The Sword of the Taoist Priest

"Great, finally stopped crying!" The aunts and uncles all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you think he's dead?" One curious onlooker speculated, only to be met with a glare.

"Ever since last year when Xiao Qing first came to our Zizhu Town, I knew he wasn't an ordinary person." An elderly man with great prestige spoke with a wise expression.

"None of us here can match Xiao Qing, of course, he's extraordinary!" The bully added his opinion.

At the entrance of the courtyard, a crowd of onlookers began to murmur. But Long Qing was pushed out of the house by the aunt.

"You're still young, haven't married yet, you should be cautious. Otherwise, people will gossip, and I can't help you find a wife." "..."

Long Qing hesitated, stopping in the yard in silence.

"The widow Wang is too pitiful, a widow raising an orphan without any relatives to help..." "Alright, alright, everyone, please go home!" The aunt stayed behind to take care of Widow Wang, and everyone else gradually left.

Long Qing didn't want to stay, so he went back to the west gate market.

At first, everyone thought something evil had entered Widow Wang's house, but Long Qing was the only one who didn't believe that. Now, when everyone else no longer believed in evil things, Long Qing started to believe.

Back at his stall, Long Qing put on his apron.

"With this ability, why are you still killing chickens?" A crowd quickly gathered in front of the stall, and even the nearby vendors perked up their ears.

"Well, that's exactly why I have to kill chickens." Long Qing's words left everyone confused.

After a pause, he continued, "From now on, one copper coin per chicken." Everyone froze, and the other vendors were speechless. You already have no competitors in Zizhu Town, why are you lowering your prices?

Those who had taken chickens home earlier when Long Qing was away now returned to buy chickens again, after hearing about the price drop. A copper coin wouldn't even buy a meat bun.

"I only kill live chickens... Never mind, bring it here." Long Qing continued to kill the chickens with swift precision, though he had become unusually quiet.

By the afternoon, he didn't finish cleaning up until an hour later than usual.

"Xiao Qing, what's your grudge with chickens?" A nearby vendor joked.

Long Qing smiled slightly but didn't explain.

The vendor continued, "Aren't you afraid that one day the chickens in town will turn into spirits and come for revenge?" The vendor's wife interrupted, "Nonsense, we're just chicken vendors! Even if the chickens did become spirits, Xiao Qing would still butcher them!"

Hearing this, Long Qing felt even more unsettled. He hurried back to his rented yard and lay down on a lounge chair. Before long, Long Qing was already asleep.

In his dream, Long Qing once again saw the divine sword. Since crossing over, he had seen it in his dreams every time. The translucent divine sword gleamed with various divine lights, and Long Qing felt a strange connection deep in his heart.

The Sword of Eternal Life. His lifespan: 9,300 years.

A cold breeze awakened Long Qing from his hunger-induced slumber. He didn't bother cooking, still lying there, but his eyes now glimmered with light.

The Sword of Eternal Life had already been proven to exist in reality. Its abilities were threefold:

1. Time Thief

By killing a living being, one could obtain the remaining lifespan of that being. A chicken's lifespan was about seven or eight years, and by killing one, Long Qing could extend his life by six or seven years. This ability was not affected by other factors, so even if it were a sick chicken, one that could only live for a few days, Long Qing could still gain six or seven years of life by killing it. Ordinary plants didn't work, however.

2. A Hundred Years of Dream

Consumes lifespan to gain insights. It was like spending a hundred years focusing on a single task and completing it in an instant. A hundred years was the smallest unit.

For caution, Long Qing had accumulated 300 years of lifespan and used it once, instantly mastering the art of killing chickens. He later used it several more times, wanting to enter the path of cultivation. This led to the development of a method for refining his body, and his physical strength grew constantly. Long Qing could easily lift a stone mill that even a strong donkey could not pull for an entire day. No matter how hard the stone or iron, Long Qing could crush and mold it with his bare hands.

However, once his physical strength reached a certain limit, he could no longer advance. Despite using A Hundred Years of Dream several more times, he gained no new insights, so Long Qing stopped. Because of this, Long Qing believed this was an ordinary world.

3. Eternal Moment

Consumes lifespan to slow down the flow of time. If he let his lifespan drain freely, he could even freeze time. But when time was frozen, only his thoughts could move. When slowing down time, Long Qing's actions were limited to what his body could bear.

"This world is not ordinary. It seems it's not me who's abnormal." "Before going to Widow Wang's house with Aunt, I activated A Hundred Years of Dream to comprehend the Baby Crying Curse. There were indeed many profound secrets." "If there are evil things in this world, then there must be spirits and creatures of magic. Naturally, there must also be cultivation methods." "Without guidance, I can only study and comprehend by myself. Even if it takes hundreds of years, or a thousand, I might not succeed."

Long Qing now had a plan in mind. Since it was clear there was a path to cultivation, the lifespan consumed to comprehend it would not be wasted. If a thousand years didn't work, then two thousand. If two thousand didn't work, then three thousand! After all, he now had 9,300 years of lifespan! It was time to splurge!

With that thought, Long Qing immediately took action, sitting cross-legged. He closed his eyes and silently chanted in his heart. Activate A Hundred Years of Dream! Once... twice... three times... Ten times... twenty times... thirty times...

After consuming a full 9,000 years of lifespan, Long Qing suddenly opened his eyes. The light in his eyes seemed much brighter. Long Qing sniffed the air, feeling as though there was something strange in the atmosphere. It seemed as though some mysterious power entered his body with each breath.

The scorching sun overhead sent waves of heat that warmed his body. A moment of realization came to Long Qing as he began to breathe rhythmically. As time passed, a warm current appeared within his body. It was weak, like fine silken threads, intermittent. But this warm current made Long Qing feel that his power had undergone a dramatic change.

He clenched his fist, and an explosive feeling of strength made him feel invincible. "9,000 years of lifespan, exchanged for a cultivation method..." Long Qing was somewhat stunned. Was his comprehension too poor?

Also, this cultivation method seemed a bit strange. Logically, he should have comprehended a specific technique and used that technique to continue cultivating. But Long Qing felt as though he was directly absorbing the spiritual energy of the world, taking in the essence of the sun and moon.

"My strength has increased, enough to deal with spirits. I'm not afraid of chicken spirits, or any other spirits." "But for evil things, the curses I've learned might be more reliable."

Long Qing continued activating A Hundred Years of Dream, leaving himself a hundred years of lifespan and using the remaining two hundred years to comprehend two more curses.