Chapter 630: A Wristwatch
“This is an Longevity Pill. It can let you live another hundred years. As for how long you’ll actually live, that depends on your own fate.”
“The method for Foundation Building is not just about taking pills. If I taught you the true Foundation Building method, it would easily attract others’ covetous eyes.”
Bai Hongtu spoke as several kinds of spirit herbs flew out of the storage ring and gathered in his palm, melting into juice and congealing into a pill.
“A Foundation Establishment Pill is nothing more than a combination of a few ingredients like this. Even without the prescription, it can be refined.”
“This is what’s called a Foundation Establishment Pill. Although I don’t particularly like these things, it’s the most suitable for you.”
Uncle-Master Chu raised both hands above his head to take the Longevity Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill. Bai Hongtu, looking annoyed, pushed his hands back down and warned, “Your temperament really doesn’t suit staying in the Dragon Transformation Sect. This is an opportunity. Just behave and stay here, live as a free and easy independent cultivator.”
Jiang Li and Yu Yin also felt restless and irritated.
It wasn’t that they had anything against Uncle-Master Chu; seeing refugees, seeing Feng Qiang, and seeing Uncle-Master Chu reminded them these kinds of scenes were still playing out across the Eight Desolations.
Master Feng Qiang glanced down at his wristwatch and smiled, “It’s getting late. My martial hall doesn’t have much to offer in the way of food. How about this: I’ll host. Let’s go to the Joy Guest Pavilion to treat the three of you as a token of thanks.”
“You’re wearing…a wristwatch?” Jiang Li noticed the object on Master Feng Qiang’s wrist; it looked out of place in this environment.
“You three know about this? My junior brother gave this to me when he went home last time. It’s very strange. It functions like a sundial but is portable, and it’s very accurate. I wanted to take it apart and study it many times, but my junior brother stopped me. He’s worried I might break it.”
Master Feng Qiang took off the wristwatch. “I see you three are interested. I might as well give it to you.”
Jiang Li took the watch and examined it carefully, reaching a conclusion.
“A mechanical wristwatch, manually wound. As long as the watch isn’t broken, it can be used indefinitely.”
“Where did you get this thing?” Jiang Li asked Uncle-Master Chu. The back of the watch had a line of characters that were not in the language of the Eight Desolations, which showed the watch could not have been made in this realm.
“I once saw a menial being beaten by other menials at the Dragon Transformation Sect. I couldn’t stand it and shouted, then rescued him. To show his gratitude he gave me this device called a wristwatch. I later took it home and gave it to my elder brother.”
“Did that menial ever say where he came from?”
“He did. He said his name was Qiu Langsha and that he was some kind of singer. One day, the ground shook, houses collapsed—he didn’t know what happened. He only heard on the news that the nation deployed weapons called ‘airplanes,’ ‘tanks,’ ‘missiles,’ and ‘nuclear bombs.’ That’s what they were called, I think. I didn’t really understand what those weapons are for.”
“Then he was somehow transported to the Dragon Transformation Sect and became a menial.”
“When he first came he spoke very haltingly, like someone who had just learned to speak. Now he’s much better and speaks fluently.”
“When he first arrived he was rambling, saying that despite the language barrier he believed music could cross language, that hearts are connected. He sang a whole mess of nonsense he claimed were songs praising peace. It had no effect. The other menial disciples complained that he was noisy and beat him up again.”
“After that he calmed down.”
The three of them remained silent. Eventually Jiang Li broke the stillness, “Let’s go to the Dragon Transformation Sect.”
Master Feng Qiang had wanted to say they could leave after eating, but seeing the serious expressions on the three faces made him tremble and he couldn’t bring himself to ask them to stay.
“Uncle-Master Chu, what cultivation level are those three? Foundation Establishment?”
Uncle-Master Chu was silent for a long time. Considering their words, behavior, and the terrifying hints slipped in their casual talk, he finally spoke slowly and gravely, “Perhaps they really are at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.”
Feng Qiang and his master were shocked. “What?! They are Desolation Lords?”
Uncle-Master Chu said no more.
These three people looked naive and inexperienced, but in their every word and action there was a grandeur that encompassed the world—far from ordinary.
Before he descended the mountain, he had heard that Star Lords and Domain Lords were selecting cultivators to represent their worlds in battle against another world. Maybe these three are the strong ones from that other world.
Uncle-Master Chu did not voice this conjecture. He felt the fewer people knew, the better.
“Maybe this world can actually change?” Uncle-Master Chu thought to himself, then quickly shook his head. It seemed impossible.
…
The Dragon Transformation Sect sits in the area on this planet where spiritual energy is the densest. Set among a range of mountains, its territory stretches a hundred miles in every direction and mortals are forbidden to enter.
When the three found Qiu Langsha he was working in the fields.
Under the blazing sun, wearing a straw hat, he was swinging a hoe and bent over his planting.
Uncle-Master Chu had said Qiu Langsha was in charge of planting spirit grain to supply the outer disciples of the Dragon Transformation Sect.
“Qiu Langsha?”
Qiu Langsha looked up and, seeing the three descend from the sky, realized these were formidable experts. Terrified, he forced a smile and hurried over to greet them.
Anyone who can fly through the air like that must be an inner sect elder at least.
He didn’t know why such powerful figures came looking for him. From his experience it probably wasn’t a good thing.
“What brings you three great masters to see this small one?”
“Don’t be nervous. We are—” Jiang Li was about to say they were introduced by Chu, but then realized the man didn’t know Chu’s full name.
Jiang Li could only describe Uncle-Master Chu’s appearance briefly.
Qiu Langsha’s face lit up. “Oh, you mean Chu Le.”
But he still couldn’t understand how Chu Le would know people of such stature.
These three seniors probably had no ill intent, or they would not have used Chu Le to approach him.
Qiu Langsha hurriedly led them into his thatched hut. He wanted to pour water for them but realized he didn’t even have three cups.
Qiu Langsha apologized with a forced smile, “It’s a bit simple, please forgive me.”
He took off his hat to reveal brown hair, slightly curling.
“You plant spirit grain, and should be able to eat spirit grain. You have four kinds of elemental spiritual roots, so why are you only at Qi Refining Second Layer?” Bai Hongtu asked in puzzlement.
Hearing this, Qiu Langsha immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy.
“Great elders, forgive this small one. I eat only ordinary grains. I haven’t stolen any spirit grain. All the spirit grain is delivered to the outer disciples!”
His answer avoided the question, but the three understood what he meant.
Jiang Li also noticed Qiu Langsha’s cultivation method was severely damaged and hard to practice. Coupled with daily farming leaving no time to cultivate, it wasn’t surprising he was only at Qi Refining Second Layer.
Jiang Li didn’t press the matter and asked, “Chu Le said you come from another star. Can you tell us what happened?”
At the mention of this topic, Qiu Langsha’s smile vanished and his shoulders drooped.
Clearly, this subject was not a pleasant one for him.
But since these were three inner sect elders asking, he forced himself to recall the past: “That happened ten years ago. Ten years ago I was a very popular singer…”