Chapter 353: Chapter 238: Entrustment and Tribute, Youth and Longevity

Lin Changheng nodded slightly. "I am aware of your talent in the Talisman Dao, but your cultivation is what’s fundamental. You mustn’t neglect it."

"I understand."

And so, the two sat by the window, sipping tea and talking softly.

They spoke mostly of everyday matters and their insights on cultivation. When the recent incident with the Qiu Family Ancestor came up, they only touched on it briefly, never delving deep.

As the night deepened, Lin Changheng rose to his feet. With a gentle pull, he drew her soft, fragrant body into his arms.

Tantai Feiyue leaned obediently against his firm chest, listening to the strong, slightly quickened beat of his heart. She soaked in his reassuring warmth and scent, then felt his mischievous hands begin to wander.

Once again, they proved the old adage: absence makes the heart grow fonder.

...

「A few days later.」

Lin Changheng first went to visit the Ink Master.

The Ink Master was lying on a bed, now completely devoid of the vibrant spirit of a Pill Master and the dignified air of a Cultivator. He was indistinguishable from a withered mortal at death’s door.

"Ink Master."

Lin Changheng stepped forward and called out softly. In the silent room, his voice sounded exceptionally clear, yet also heavy with sorrow.

On the bed, the Ink Master’s eyelids trembled with effort before slowly fluttering open.

Those eyes, which had once sparkled with wisdom and Insight, capable of precisely controlling the changes within a refining cauldron, were now utterly clouded. They had lost all their light, leaving only a dull, deathly stillness.

"Is that you, Li’Er?"

He struggled to focus, and only after staring for a long moment could he vaguely make out Lin Changheng’s silhouette.

"...It’s... Changheng..." He opened his mouth, his voice as dry and hoarse as a broken bellows. His breath was as faint as a silken thread, making every word an immense struggle.

Lin Changheng circulated the True Intent of his Rongsheng Divine Abilities. The feedback was immediate: the Ink Master’s body was suffused with an aura of Withered Silence—the sense of decay that signaled the very end of life. "Ink Master, it’s me," he said. "I’ve come to see you."

The Ink Master tried to move but found even lifting a single finger an impossible task. In the end, all he could manage was a weak blink. His clouded eyes held a complex mix of emotions: faint relief, deep exhaustion, and perhaps a trace of unspoken regret.

"You’re... back... Good... good..." he said, his voice trailing off as his breath grew even weaker.

Lin Changheng crouched by the bed, bringing himself to eye level with the Ink Master.

He looked at the elder who had once guided him onto the Alchemy Dao and cared for him so well, now reduced to this state. Even with a Heart Nature as resilient as his, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

’Without reaching the High Tiers, a Cultivator can’t even retain their final dignity. They can only wait for death on a sickbed, just like a mortal.’

He softened his voice, took a Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag, and gently placed it beside the man’s head. "I refined an elixir. It might help you hold on for a while longer... long enough to see Li’Er."

’The Ink Master was over one hundred and thirty years old,’ Lin Changheng thought with concern. ’His life force is withering naturally. He could pass away at any moment. If he doesn’t get to see Mo Zhaoli one last time, it will be an immense regret for them both.’

The elixir he had offered the Ink Master was a Life Solidifying Pill. It couldn’t grant Longevit, but it could minimize the body’s consumption of life force, putting him into a state akin to suspended animation.

In this way, it could "extend" the duration of his life.

The Ink Master’s gaze slowly shifted to the Jade Bottle, a faint ripple stirring in his eyes. He gave an agonizingly slow nod.

"You are a thoughtful child, Changheng..." He gasped for breath, gathering the strength to continue. "I... know my own body... My time has come... No medicine can reverse it, only delay it..."

"To be able... to see my proudest disciple one more time... Heaven has already been kind to me..." His gaze struggled to focus on Lin Changheng’s face, as if trying to commit it to memory. "The path of the Alchemy Dao... is arduous... and long. You must... keep walking it..."

"For my sake... see... the higher and more distant vistas of the Alchemy Dao..."

He hadn’t finished speaking before his strength gave out. He was seized by a violent coughing fit, his body curling up like the last withered leaf in an autumn wind, poised to fall at any moment.

Lin Changheng’s heart sank with a heavy sigh.

"I will, Ink Master," he promised in a low, firm voice, reaching out to take the old man’s withered hand.

Feeling the warmth and the faint stream of life force from his palm, the Ink Master’s ragged breathing calmed slightly. With his last ounce of strength, he gave Lin Changheng’s hand an infinitesimally small squeeze in return. "From now on... please take care of Li’Er for me..."

The image of a gentle figure surfaced in his mind. Lin Changheng nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, Ink Master."

Only then did a faint, relieved smile appear on the Ink Master’s face. He knew Lin Changheng’s character well. With that promise, he could finally pass on in peace.

After that, Lin Changheng said no more. Once the Ink Master had given a nod of assent, he watched as a female attendant arranged by the Xu Family crushed the Life Solidifying Pill and administered it to him.

Lin Changheng stayed for another moment. Seeing the Ink Master’s life force begin to settle and his consciousness fade almost completely, he quietly departed.

...

After leaving the Ink Master’s courtyard, Lin Changheng went to see Xu Fugui.

"Brother Lin!"

The fit, sturdy look Xu Fugui had from his time spent striving in the outside world had vanished once more.

As if inflated like a ball, he had regained his potbelly and his face had grown rounder. An uninformed observer might mistake him for some worldly, prosperous gentleman, so apparent was his corpulence.

"Tsk, tsk. Fugui, you’re living a much more comfortable life than I am."

Lin Changheng watched the graceful figure of the concubine Xu Fugui had just waved away, clicking his tongue in amazement.

With sixty years of friendship between them, there was no need for Lin Changheng to put on airs.

"Hahaha! I overtaxed my core essence in the past and took far too many elixirs, accumulating a great deal of Pill Poison. It made it impossible for me to break through to Foundation Establishment. From that point on, my perspective slowly began to change..."

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