A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

There was no point continuing this discussion.

Neither Aksai nor the Purple River Lord was wrong. They merely walked different paths.

One chose survival above everything else. The other had chosen to remain with the place he called home until the very end.

No amount of persuasion would change either of them.

"...Very well."

Aksai muttered, almost to himself. He then waved his sleeve.

Dozens of jade vials appeared in neat rows before him, floating quietly in the air.

Thirty in total.

They were quickly divided into three groups.

Ten vials in each group.

Each vial contained thirty pills.

In total, there were three hundred pills of each type.

The first group contained healing pills. The second contained Spirit Essence recovery pills. The third contained aura-concealing pills.

The Purple River Lord looked at the floating vials with visible surprise.

"These pills.... They are... Oh!"

Aksai paid little attention to his reaction.

These pills had not been prepared for today.

Most of them had originally been products of his routine alchemy cultivation.

Although he lacked a complete Third-Order alchemy inheritance, he still possessed several basic pill recipes obtained through his trade with Haan Di.

Those recipes were ordinary.

Far from top-tier.

Still, they were more than enough for practice.

After all, the Enchanted Everwood Farm continuously produced a tremendous amount of medicinal herbs and Spirit plants.

Obtaining high quality Spirit resources had never been Aksai’s problem.

Rather than paying established alchemy masters an enormous fee while consuming even more resources, he preferred refining the pills himself. Plus, the expertise of these so-called alchemy masters from the subcontinent was also rudimentary at best. Aksai was a better alchemy master than almost all of them.

Of course, he had no illusions about being a true alchemy grandmaster. Compared to the standards of the empire, he was a mere apprentice in the field.

He merely enjoyed learning another cultivation art.

As a loose cultivator, every additional skill increased his chances of survival.

With Nuri constantly assisting him through analysis, calculations, and countless simulated refinements, he could cultivate multiple arts simultaneously without hindering his progress.

The only things limiting him were time and inheritance.

Unfortunately, neither could be solved within the Dadangar Subcontinent. And he was reluctant to leave the subcontinent until he became a Nascent Soul but that in the past. He might need to reevaluate his priority based on his current circumstances.

Furthermore, it wasn’t that Aksai had not tried to obtain the best the subcontinent could offer. However, the highest-quality inheritances within the subcontinent remained firmly controlled by the Big Five righteous sects and the Major Three demonic sects.

As the newest Lord who had not even stepped into the late-stage Core Formation realm, he lacked means to access them.

As for the pills before him, they were products from his earlier days of practice. Every one of them contained a small amount of pill toxin.

Even with Nuri’s assistance, completely eliminating the learning curve had been impossible. Only after refining countless batches had he gradually mastered those recipes and produced pills with almost no impurities.

Those flawless pills naturally remained reserved for himself. The lower- and medium-grade batches, however, had little value to him now.

Sharing them was not something he minded. With a flick of his sleeve, all thirty jade vials slowly floated toward the Purple River Lord.

"Since you’ve decided to become a thorn in the Empire’s side, so be it."

He spoke calmly.

"Consider these as my parting gift.... in case we don’t meet again."

The Purple River Lord instinctively caught the floating vials with his Spirit Sense.

After briefly inspecting them...

His expression changed dramatically.

His eyes widened.

"...Three hundred healing pills..."

"...Three hundred Spirit recovery pills..."

"...Three hundred aura-concealing pills..."

He looked back at Aksai in disbelief.

The quality alone astonished him.

Yes, they contained pill toxins.

But so what?

To the Purple River Lord, these were still extremely valuable Third-Order pills.

During life-and-death situations, even a pill with major impurities could determine whether someone lived or died.

He immediately tried pushing the vials back toward Aksai.

"Little brother, I can’t accept these. You’ll need them even more than I do. The coming days won’t spare someone like you simply because you’re cautious.

"You also have the Emerald Cove Guild to protect. If you possess this many pills, then save them for your own people."

Aksai casually waved his hand, stopping the returning vials midway.

"That won’t be necessary, Old Purple."

His voice remained indifferent.

"Let me worry about my guild my own way. You don’t need to be so formal with me. We’re already allies."

He looked toward the distant mountains.

"Unfortunately, it looks like the alliance may not hold for long in the future. I don’t think I’ll be able to provide much help to your sect from now on.

"To be honest... I might not even be in a position to help."

His gaze returned to the Purple River Lord.

"So take them. Distribute them among your core sect members. Although they’re Third-Order pills, their medicinal properties are relatively gentle."

"Even mid- and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators can consume them. They’ll suffer some mild side effects afterward because of the pill toxins... but they’ll survive."

The Purple River Lord remained silent. His fingers unconsciously tightened around the jade vials.

Aksai’s expression gradually turned colder.

"I have no intention of opposing the Empire’s invasion."

He spoke each word clearly.

"But that doesn’t mean I’ll welcome it with open arms."

A faint breeze passed between them.

"If not for yourself... then accept these pills on my behalf."

Aksai looked toward the horizon where the first rays of sunlight illuminated the mountains.

"This... This is my own way of resisting."

The Purple River Lord remained silent for a bit. Eventually, his fingers tightened around the storage ring containing the thirty jade vials.

Finally, he nodded.

"Thank you, little brother. I won’t refuse your kindness."

Without another word, he stored every vial inside his storage ring.

He knew these pills would probably save many lives. Keeping them would benefit the Purple River Sect far more than satisfying his own pride.

’This Lord doesn’t take anything for free.’

The Purple River Lord thought to himself and made up his mind. After putting away the pills, he suddenly reached inside his robes.

A purple token appeared in his palm.

It was carved from a single piece of Spirit jade. Flowing river patterns covered its surface, while a tiny purple mountain stood proudly in its center. Mysterious Essence Equation runes lined its edges, carrying the unmistakable aura of the Purple River Sect.

The Purple River Lord gently tossed it toward Aksai.

Aksai caught it with his Spirit Sense.

"This is..."

"The Grand Purple River Token of the Purple River Sect," the Purple River Lord replied calmly.

"It is normally bestowed only upon the core sect disciples and grand elders."

He looked directly at Aksai.

"Refine it using your Spirit Sense and a drop of your blood."

Aksai frowned slightly.

He had many questions.

Why now?

What was the old man planning?

However, seeing the seriousness in the Purple River Lord’s eyes, he decided not to ask. Instead, he calmly bit the tip of his finger. A single drop of blood landed on the token.

His Spirit Sense immediately entered it. The blood quickly disappeared into the jade.

Moments later, the token emitted a soft purple glow before becoming completely linked to Aksai. Seeing the successful refinement, the Purple River Lord smiled faintly.

He waved his sleeve. Dozens of jade slips appeared one after another, floating quietly between them.

Each carried a different aura. Some contained cultivation techniques. Others stored Spirit Spells.

There were also records on formations, poison arts, refining methods, and various secret techniques accumulated by generations of the Purple River Sect.

The Purple River Lord gently pushed every jade slip toward Aksai.

"These are the complete inheritances possessed by the Purple River Sect. Every cultivation technique. Every Spirit Spell. Everything."

Aksai’s eyes narrowed.

The Purple River Lord continued before he could ask anything.

"Even as the Sect Master, I am bound by the sect’s blood oath. I cannot casually hand these inheritances to outsiders."

"But... there are always loop holes"

A bright smile appeared on his face.

"You are no longer an outsider. I’ve just appointed you as one of the Purple River Sect’s Grand Elders. The blood oath no longer considers this a violation."

Aksai finally understood.

The Purple River Lord had deliberately given him the token first.

Only then could he legally transfer the sect’s inheritance. The old man took a deep breath and spoke further.

"After we part today... I... I intend to dissolve the Purple River Sect."

His voice remained calm.

Almost peaceful.

"I’ll release every disciple and elder from their obligations. They’ll all be free. I don’t know how many will leave and how many will choose to remain by my side."

He chuckled softly.

"Frankly speaking... I won’t persuade anyone to stay."

His gaze gradually turned distant.

"With the path I’ve chosen... I can’t even guarantee my own survival. Much less theirs."

A brief silence followed.

Then he looked back at Aksai.

"So these jade slips cannot remain with them."

"I don’t care if they’re eventually cultivated by former enemies of the Purple River Sect. I don’t even care if some demonic cultivator inherits them."

His expression suddenly hardened.

"But I refuse... to let them fall into the hands of those imperial bastards. They claim our techniques are beneath them. They claim they have no interest in the inheritances of this backwater."

He gave a cold snort.

"But I’ve lived for too many years to believe the words of hypocrites."