Chapter 403 A Small Gift
Shu Mountain.
An elderly man of tall stature, accompanied by the Shu Mountain Sect Leader, walked into the great hall and glanced at a young man inside, expressing admiration: "Truly, heroes emerge early…"
The old man's hair and beard were white, and the wrinkles and spots on his face showcased the passage of time. His body was filled with the aura of age, but his eyes were sharp and spirited, making it difficult for others to look directly.
At the sight of this old man, Li Nuo felt as if he was seeing an unsheathed sharp sword.
Faced with this Semi-Saint of Shu Mountain, even he felt a subtle pressure.
Despite being a Semi-Saint himself, Star-picking Tower's Huang Yuan did not exert such pressure on Li Nuo, nor did his master. No wonder he sought a breakthrough in cultivation; his strength was already at the Half-Saint Peak, just a step away from that legendary realm.
Li Nuo cupped his fists in salute to the old man, saying, "Junior Li Nuo, pays respects to Master Taixu."
The old man gently waved his hand and said, "I am Ling Que. Your strength is no less than mine; there's no need for excessive courtesy. Address me as an equal."
Master Taixu's age was close to two hundred years. Even his master would likely respectfully call him an elder, a respect owed to the old gentleman.
Before Li Nuo could speak, Master Taixu said, "They have already informed me of the events. My talent is limited, and I cannot hope to glimpse the path of the Saint in this life. Rather than dying old and idle in the mountains, I would exchange this frail body for a few Semi-Saints from enemy nations, thus not dishonoring Shu Mountain's name…"
Only someone at the Half-Saint Peak could say such things so casually.
Li Nuo had no doubt; if he wished, killing three Semi-Saints like Huang Yuan before dying would be simple.
Martial Arts has always disregarded worldly matters; the rise and fall of dynasties are unrelated to them.
Li Nuo originally expected setbacks on this journey, but did not anticipate Shu Mountain's strong rectitude. He intended to grant him thirty years of life, but now felt it was insufficient.
Li Nuo cupped his fists and said, "Senior's integrity is truly admirable to Junior. I present this small gift to Senior, hoping one day Senior may break through to Martial Saint…"
The Shu Mountain Sect Leader glanced at Li Nuo, seeing no gift on him.
Master Taixu equally dismissed the remark; having lived nearly two hundred years, he faced his impending end with equanimity. If he could sacrifice for the country and be noted in history later, it wouldn't tarnish Shu Mountain's reputation.
Silently, he noticed the Shu Mountain Sect Leader's expression change suddenly, staring at him in shock as though something remarkable had been discovered.
In the eyes of the Shu Mountain Sect Leader, something truly remarkable indeed had occurred.
He saw the blemishes on the forefather's face rapidly disappear, white hair mixed with large areas of black hair, giving an instant feeling of becoming youthful again.
At this moment, Master Taixu also realized the changes in his body and looked down at his hands, feeling his body return to its peak, with shock and bewilderment saying: "This, this is…"
Li Nuo smiled slightly and said, "Nothing much to send, just gifting Senior sixty years of life span, a small gift that expresses insufficient gratitude…"
"What!"
The Shu Mountain Sect Leader stared at Li Nuo in disbelief at what he heard.
Having lived for decades, this was the first time he'd heard of gifting life span.
And the gift was a full sixty years.
Though this sounded utterly absurd, the changes in the ancestor's appearance forced him to believe.
Wasn't this more potent than a Lifespan Extension Pill?
If the Shu Mountain Sect Leader harbored any doubt, Master Taixu, being a Semi-Saint, knew his body well; this moment, he clearly felt his body seeming to revert to sixty years ago!
The body from sixty years ago, with cultivation still at the current peak.
With these sixty years, he had enough confidence to step into the Martial Saint realm!
At this moment, this Sixth Realm Peak Martial Path Half-Saint looked at Li Nuo with eyes full of disbelief and enormous surprise, lips slightly trembling, unable to speak…
In this world, could someone really gift another sixty years of life span freely?
...
Soon, two streaks of light flew out from Shu Mountain.
The previously peaceful and serene sea of clouds was torn apart suddenly, revealing two long pathways.
Beneath Master Taixu's feet, he stepped on a giant sword, quickly slicing through the sky.
Even at his fastest speed, the young man beside him could still steadily keep pace.
The speed of a Sword Cultivator is the Martial Artist's limit, but Li Nuo managed to keep up without using the Legalism Semi-Saint's abilities.
The Righteous Qi Cloud is invisible, making Li Nuo appear to fly in the air.
The two were hurrying to Sanqing Sect.
The Grandmasters of Shu Mountain had already led a group of Fourth Realm disciples heading to Yue Country.
The speed of Righteous Qi Cloud was extremely fast, with the mountains and rivers swiftly receding below, Li Nuo gazed towards the front, where Master Taixu couldn't see, the Law Code quietly floated as always.
As cultivation continued to advance, the power within grew more, and the connection between Li Nuo and the Law Code became increasingly clear.
He had already confirmed that the Law Code couldn't have been solely created by Legalism.
At least, the aspect of extending life through judging criminals surely involved the Yin Yang School's techniques.
In the process of obtaining criminals' abilities, Li Nuo also detected a trace of extremely faint Thief School's power.
When the criminal's image appeared on the Law Code, Li Nuo sensed traces of the School of Calligraphy.
Moreover, he had a certain intuition.
The Law Code hovering before him was not complete; it seemed to be missing a part.
But exactly what was missing, he couldn't say.
Perhaps, with continued cultivation advancement, one day, all secrets regarding the Law Code would be revealed…
...
Sanqing Mountain.
Two streaks of light crossed the sky, landing on Yuxu Peak.
Upon sensing these two Semi-Saint auras, one aura appeared each from Yuxu, Yujing, and Yuhua Peaks.
The next moment, opposite Li Nuo and Master Taixu, three figures appeared.
Three people, two men and one woman, the two elders had white hair and beards, and the last person was a middle-aged woman.
"Master Taixu?"
The two elders saw Master Taixu and their faces were full of astonishment.
This fellow from Shu Mountain, they naturally recognized. When Master Taixu became famous, they had just begun their cultivation. What surprised them was that Master Taixu, Ling Que, who was nearly two hundred years old and nearing the end of his lifespan, looked nothing like someone who was about to exhaust their lifespan.
The last time they saw him, he had a head full of white hair and a face full of blemishes. How come he looked so much younger this time?
Could it be that he made a breakthrough?
Impossible, he was already at the Half-Saint Peak, and the next step would be the Martial Saint. Yet, his aura at this moment was still only at the level of a Half-Saint.
The young man beside Master Taixu was even more shocking to them.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed only in his early twenties, but the aura emanating from him was no weaker than that of Master Taixu.
When did such a powerful figure emerge in this world?
Just as the two sect masters of the Sanqing Sect were filled with doubt, they saw the young Half-Saint bow slightly to the sister beside them and said, "Greetings, Master."
Both turned their heads simultaneously. When did the sister take in a Half-Saint disciple?
After bowing to the master, Li Nuo then bowed to the other two elders and said, "Greetings, respected uncles..."
The two looked at Li Nuo and then exchanged glances, the confusion in their hearts deepening.
Moments later.
Yuxu Palace.
"I see."
"Congratulations to the sister for accepting such a talented disciple."
"Haha, in that case, our Sanqing Sect now has four Saints..."
...
The two had already heard about the sister accepting a highly talented disciple.
They just didn't expect him to reach such a level in such a short time.
Of course, the paths of Legalism and Martial Artists are completely different, things impossible for Martial Artists might occur for other schools.
Apart from marveling at the nephew's cultivation, what intrigued them more was how Master Taixu had become youthful.
Among the three Half-Saints of the Sanqing Sect, only the sister was younger and had a lifespan of another 60 years. The two of them would face the limitations in twenty years...
However, such questions were hard for them to ask directly.
True Man Yujing looked at Master Taixu and asked, "I wonder what brings Master Taixu to the Sanqing Sect this time?"
Master Taixu replied, "The world is in chaos now, Wei Country has allied with Chu Country to attack Daxia. Although we are people of Martial Arts, our sect is rooted in Daxia. I wish to invite the three of you to descend the mountain and resist the foreign enemies together. What say the three of you?"
True Man Yuhua glanced at Li Nuo, easily guessing that his visit to the Sanqing Sect was for this matter.
Unexpectedly, he even managed to move Master Taixu, who hadn't descended the mountain for years.
After all, since it concerned her disciple, she didn't wait for the other two sect masters to speak and said, "Though our Sanqing Sect does not concern itself with worldly matters, should Daxia fall, we too would struggle to remain uninvolved. Since Shu Mountain is willing to assist the court, I, representing Shangqing Sect line, am also willing to contribute to the common people..."
Sanqing Sect, in name one sect, but in fact, three, and as Shangqing Sect Master, she could only decide for the Shangqing line.
After brief contemplation, the sect masters of Taiching and Yuqing nodded, and True Man Yujing said, "Since the sister has decided, it's not reasonable for my Taiching line to stand by idly."
True Man Yuhua then continued, "The three lines of Sanqing Sect advance and retreat together, my Yuqing line is also willing to resist foreign enemies alongside Shu Mountain."
Li Nuo cupped his fists and said, "Thank you to Master and the two respected uncles."
As a disciple of the Sanqing Sect, being generous to the predecessors of Shu Mountain, he couldn't be stingy to his own people. Li Nuo looked at the three and said, "I have a small gift for Master and the two respected uncles..."
The three sect masters of the Sanqing Sect did not overthink. True Man Yujing even said, "Nephew, there's no need to be courteous; since we're meeting for the first time, if any gift is to be given, it should be us gifting you..."
Only the face of Master Taixu from Shu Mountain showed a look of astonishment.
He was well aware of what the "small gift" Li Nuo mentioned actually was.
Could it be that he also intended to gift them 60 years of life span?
As a Half-Saint of Legalism, his lifespan wouldn't exceed two hundred years.
Considering Li Nuo's age, he could at most live for another 180 years, and having already gifted him 60 years, now he planned to gift the three sect masters——did he intend not to live himself?
...
Yue Country.
Outside the city of Bo State, in the military tent.
Bai Yu paced the room anxiously, his face filled with urgency.
He had already received the news that both Wei Country and Chu Country were invading Daxia simultaneously. Daxia's national strength was already inferior to Wei Chu's, dealing with one alone was challenging enough, being attacked from both sides, it had no chance of victory.
Though Yue Country was small, it had an army of a hundred thousand. He wished fervently to mobilize troops back to the country, but without orders from the court, he could only remain here, holding his troops at bay, almost driven to desperation.
At this moment, a figure walked in from outside.
Bai Yu glanced back, and after a slight moment of surprise, a look of joy appeared on his face, he immediately said, "Lord Li, is there another mission?"
Li Nuo nodded.
Bai Yu's face shone with even more joy, and he hurriedly asked, "Does it involve mobilizing troops back to Daxia?"
Li Nuo shook his head.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yu's expression visibly turned disappointed.
Li Nuo continued, "This mission is even more crucial, we must launch a blitz attack on Wei Chu..."
Bai Yu was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly raised his head, uncertainly asking, "Blitz, blitz against whom?"