"To say nothing of where one could even find so many corpses of fallen Golden Core cultivators.
"When a cultivator dies, they return their Dao to heaven. Even though a Golden Core is the condensed culmination of a cultivator's comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth, it still requires a wonder of heaven and earth as its Dao Foundation.
"Once the Dao returns to heaven, the wonder loses its miraculous nature, and the laws condensed within the Golden Core lose their foundation. Not only is the Golden Core's quality severely degraded, but over time, it also risks disintegrating, making long-term preservation impossible."
As if the topic had touched upon his field of expertise, Daoist Xiumu spoke with clear and thorough logic.
A rare flush of color rose to his face, and his tightly pinched wrinkles smoothed out without him realizing it.
"Yet all of these problems and complications can be effortlessly resolved—so long as the cultivator is willing.
"If the Golden Core is excavated while the cultivator is still alive, it won't trigger the mechanism of heaven and earth's malice. With the wonder of heaven and earth as its core, the Golden Core can be preserved indefinitely.
"Granted, the cultivator will lose all their cultivation and become no different from a mortal. But it's only the Golden Core realm, after all—rebuilding it from scratch takes hardly any effort!
"With sufficient resources, a new Golden Core can be condensed in at most ten years.
"Well, while the production cycle is still a bit lengthy, given our current number of cultivators, we can still achieve a bumper harvest of several hundred Golden Cores every year."
In the calmest tone imaginable, Daoist Xiumu uttered words that made one's blood run cold.
"Long-term, stable, and harmless. How could that lucky fool Zhang Debiao, who merely stumbled into good fortune, ever compare to us?
"He can't compare at all!
"So if Fellow Daoist has any needs, you must give us priority!"
Daoist Xiumu looked at Li Fan, an eager gleam flashing in his eyes.
Li Fan was obviously not going to be convinced by such a simple speech. Shaking his head repeatedly, he said, "Fellow Daoist, do not try to deceive me. What cultivator would willingly have their Golden Core cut out, only to repeat the cycle every decade or so? Just thinking about it fills me with dread..."
"A misunderstanding, entirely a misunderstanding!" Daoist Xiumu hurriedly cut Li Fan off.
"Our extraction of Golden Cores has long since become painless and harmless. Not only do those cultivators feel no pain, but they even experience an extraordinary, soothing pleasure. In fact, I know of one fellow who, just to continually experience the bliss of having his Golden Core harvested, throws himself right back into cultivation the moment his core is removed.
"Right now, he's practically our most efficient cultivator—on average, he can produce a dual-method Golden Core every three or four years."
Daoist Xiumu saw nothing whatsoever amiss with what he was saying, explaining it to Li Fan with boundless enthusiasm.
Even as cold and detached as Li Fan was, looking at Daoist Xiumu before him, a creeping chill could not help but well up in his heart.
"Therefore, Fellow Daoist, your concerns are completely superfluous.
"We have passed the inspection of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and received official recognition. Think about it: every year, we have to pay tribute in a certain quota of materials to the Alliance. If there were really any quality issues with our goods, the Alliance would have come knocking on our door long ago! So please, rest easy, Fellow Daoist!"
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. "The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals knows what you are doing as well? Then why have I never heard of this?"
Upon hearing this, Daoist Xiumu muttered in a low voice, "Isn't it just because our concepts are too advanced? The Alliance said that if this were made public, it would definitely cause misunderstanding among the general populace.
"That's why it's kept strictly confidential.
"They're all just common mortals; it's only natural they can't accept it. But an extraordinary figure like Fellow Daoist Yu should be able to understand our methods, shouldn't you?"
Full of anticipation, Daoist Xiumu looked at Li Fan.
"I can understand it intellectually, but it's still somewhat difficult to accept all at once," Li Fan replied, half-truthfully.
As if he had discovered a rare kindred spirit, Daoist Xiumu clapped his hands in praise. "I knew it! My eyes did not deceive me! Fellow Daoist is a person of profound wisdom and spiritual roots!"
He stood up abruptly and paced back and forth, babbling with excitement. "It is natural law for creatures to grieve for their own kind. It's completely normal that you cannot entirely reverse your perspective just yet!
"However, I believe that once you come see our place for yourself, your mind will change in no time!
"What do you say, Fellow Daoist? Care to come take a tour?"
Li Fan didn't even have to think about it; he was about to decline outright.
Yet something unexpected happened.
Somehow, as he looked at the decrepit, feeble cultivator before him and contemplated the countless Golden Cores that might be waiting there,
Li Fan, who needed intact Golden Cores to unlock his anchor, underwent a bizarre change of heart as if possessed by ghosts and spirits.
"Alright! It wouldn't hurt to have a look!"
He nodded in agreement.
The instant the words left his mouth, shock and horror flooded Li Fan's heart.
He realized with a start.
The grey-robed cultivator before him was definitely countless times more dangerous than he had imagined!
*All I wanted was to buy a few cultivator Golden Cores to use—how on earth did I run into this kind of madness?*
*My luck is simply rotten!*
Cursing inwardly, Li Fan silently began to chant, "True..."
Mid-chant, Li Fan stopped himself.
In his heart, he suddenly felt that it wasn't that big of a deal.
*Surely things haven't reached the point where I need to use True Reversion immediately, right?*
*After all, they are certified by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. It shouldn't come down to outright robbery and murder.*
*Besides, I've spent so long laying out plans in this lifetime, finally reaching the current situation with great difficulty.*
*If I use True Reversion now, everything will have to start over from scratch—wouldn't that be an enormous hassle?*
...
A swarm of thoughts surfaced in Li Fan's mind all at once.
They actually led Li Fan to convince himself and change his mind.
"Fellow Daoist Xiumu, what do you call your place, and how do we get there?" Li Fan asked, now wearing an expression of keen interest.
Daoist Xiumu slapped his forehead, looking somewhat vexed with himself. "Ah, right, right! I almost forgot to introduce it to Fellow Daoist Yu.
"Our place is called...
"Simmering Mortal Longevity."
Whether it was Li Fan's imagination or not, when Daoist Xiumu uttered those final words, his tone and expression momentarily turned eerie and sinister.
Only a breath later, Daoist Xiumu returned to his previous enthusiastic demeanor.
"As for how to get there...
"Fellow Daoist, just hold on to me!"
Li Fan then naturally and unquestioningly took hold of Daoist Xiumu's sleeve.
"Stand firm, Fellow Daoist!"
Daoist Xiumu called out loudly, chanting incantations under his breath: "Heaven and earth bear the Ruomu, night and day dissolving mortal life..."
As if billowing thick smoke had rolled in, everything around them turned a hazy grey in the blink of an eye.
Aside from twisting lights and shadows, and eerie noises whistling past,
nothing else could be seen clearly.
Yet at this very moment, Li Fan felt not the slightest sense of danger in his heart.
Staring at the grey mist enveloping him, an inexplicable sense of belonging even welled up within him.
It was as if he had always belonged there.
After who knew how long, the grey mist dissipated.
The surrounding scenery became clear once more.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, we have arrived!"
With Daoist Xiumu's greeting, Li Fan took in the sight of Simmering Mortal Longevity clearly.
A colossal tree standing between heaven and earth, yet entirely withered, yellowed, and covered in mottling, stood before his eyes.
Hanging densely from the branches were countless cultivators.
Just like fruit covering a whole tree.
A brand-new shock for Li Fan to ring in the new year.
Chapter 585