"Why does it seem like it didn't have much of an effect, right?" Immortal Venerable Jicheng smiled, voicing the question for Ximen Yue.
Ximen Yue hurriedly bowed his head to apologize.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng merely waved his hand dismissively. "The Tiandu Feathering Pill grants eight hundred years. The Everlasting Life Fruit grants five hundred years. The Rebirth Longevity Fruit grants three hundred years.
"All of them are exceptionally rare treasures. Among the countless treasures I have seen over the past three thousand six hundred and twelve years, the value of these few would certainly rank among the very top.
"Yet now, they have all gone to benefit an old dying man like me," Immortal Venerable Jicheng said with a touch of self-deprecation.
"Together, they could grant an ordinary cultivator an additional one thousand six hundred years of life.
"Yet used on me...
"Heh heh. Can you guess what the result was?" Immortal Venerable Jicheng asked.
Seeing that Immortal Venerable Jicheng seemed rather approachable, Han Yi grew a bit bolder. He was the first to answer: "Five hundred years?"
Immortal Venerable Jicheng chuckled softly and shook his head repeatedly.
"Two hundred years?" Ximen Yue ventured.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng still shook his head.
"Twenty years?" Li Fan suddenly spoke up.
His guess was so drastically low that both Han Yi and Ximen Yue turned to stare at him.
"Bold as your guess is, you still overestimated it!" Immortal Venerable Jicheng laughed heartily, raised his right hand, and held up a single finger.
"Ten years.
"That is the final deadline I managed to buy myself.
"And that is only when factoring in the longevity treasures offered by the other cultivators as well," Immortal Venerable Jicheng said in a low, muffled voice, chuckling.
Hearing this, shock and dismay surfaced on the faces of Li Fan and the other two.
"How could this be?" Disbelief was written across Ximen Yue's face. "Could it be that the Heavenly Profound Mirror's appraisal was inaccurate?"
Li Fan and Han Yi also looked grave, fixing their gazes on Immortal Venerable Jicheng, seeking an answer.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng did not answer right away. Instead, he pointed to the massive tree before him and asked the three, "Do you know what kind of tree this is?"
Han Yi and Ximen Yue examined it for a moment, then both shook their heads, unable to identify it.
Li Fan, however, answered without hesitation: "An Azure Cloud Willow. An ordinary spiritual wood with no real value other than ornamental."
After all, he had not spent all that time studying the Heavenly Physician Immortal Scripture in vain.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng appraised Li Fan with his cloudy eyes, seemingly surprised that he could recognize it. He followed up with another question: "Then do you know the maximum lifespan of an Azure Cloud Willow?"
Li Fan thought for a moment and said, "For an Azure Cloud Willow to live eight hundred years is already exceedingly rare in this world. Surviving past a thousand years is practically impossible."
Immortal Venerable Jicheng nodded slowly. "You are correct.
"This Azure Cloud Willow was planted back when I broke through to Dao Integration and was formally chosen as the successor to the Garrison Court Commander-in-Chief.
"That was more than nine hundred years ago.
"Back then, I was high-spirited and overflowing with grand ambitions.
"I assumed death was still far, far away from me. I thought I could take another step forward and attain longevity."
Jicheng shook his head.
"How foolishly naive I was..."
The Immortal Venerable sighed, returning to the subject at hand.
"For over a century, I watched with my own eyes as this old companion who walked the path with me approached death from old age.
"I tried every method imaginable to keep it alive.
"Azure wood spiritual liquid, immortal soil, divine nectars...
"I tried every treasure under heaven.
"Yet it barely dragged it back from the brink of death.
"Lingering on its last breath...
"It was then that I realized: death is inevitable for us."
Immortal Venerable Jicheng looked up once again at the withered Azure Cloud Willow.
"I merely did not expect that the same fate would befall me so soon."
With those words, Immortal Venerable Jicheng fell silent.
The three exchanged glances. None dared interrupt, standing quietly in wait.
After a long time, Jicheng slowly spoke again: "When one's destined lifespan is near its end, aside from taking that next step and completing a holistic metamorphosis of oneself, all other methods can only slightly delay the arrival of death.
"Not only are the effects vastly diminished, but the more one struggles, the faster similar methods lose their efficacy.
"Take the longevity treasures you presented. I had already consumed too many things with similar effects in the past. That is why one thousand six hundred years shrank to a mere ten.
"If Heaven decrees your death at the third watch, who can keep you alive until the fifth?"
Jicheng looked up at the sky, an inexplicable emotion flitting across his clouded eyes.
"Still, ten years is enough for me."
The old man's voice dropped lower and lower, until the three could no longer make out his words.
"Dare I ask, Venerable, does this mean these longevity treasures are not actually as precious as imagined?" Han Yi could not resist asking after a long pause.
Heavenly Venerable Jicheng glanced at the three and let out a low chuckle.
"The younger you are, the more precious they are.
"The older you are, the more useless they become.
"Do you understand?"
Hearing this, all three wore pensive expressions.
"Well now, seeing vibrant young people like you today, I've ended up talking a bit more than usual.
"It is time to give you your rewards."
Without Immortal Venerable Jicheng making any visible movement, three jade plaques glowing with exquisite iridescent light suddenly appeared, each flying toward one of them.
Li Fan caught the jade plaque and saw profound, intricate patterns carved around its edges, encircling the character for Law in the center.
"This is the Law-Audience Jade Plaque. With this medallion, you may go to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters, the Protector General Hall, and apply to use the Yanfa Jade," Jicheng explained to them.
As if remembering something, Immortal Venerable Jicheng reminded them, "Remember, one Law-Audience Jade Plaque grants only a single chance to apply.
"After submitting your application, you may have to wait a very long time before your turn arrives. Furthermore, every deduction of techniques has a time limit.
"Do not let insatiable greed cause you to miss your chance.
"Heh heh, back in my day..."
Immortal Venerable Jicheng's voice grew fainter and fainter, until it became utterly inaudible.
At that moment, the blue-robed cultivator who had guided them in quietly reappeared beside them.
"Let us go," he transmitted mentally.
Li Fan and the others put away their Law-Audience Jade Plaques and slowly withdrew from the courtyard.
"Lad, a word of advice. Your plaque can only be used to apply for the deduction of Nascent Soul-tier techniques. If you merely use it to deduce a core technique for cultivating through the realms, that would be rather wasteful.
"You could try having the Yanfa Jade deduce techniques with special, unique effects.
"Though it will only be at the Nascent Soul level, it may yield miraculous results."
Just as Li Fan stepped out of the small courtyard, Immortal Venerable Jicheng's voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
Li Fan could not help looking back. Immortal Venerable Jicheng stood just as they had first seen him, gently stroking the withered Azure Cloud Willow.
His silhouette looked desolate.
Li Fan saw an old man walking toward the end of his life.
Slowly bowing to him, Li Fan departed in silence.
Chapter 333