Chapter 6: The Sixtieth Birthday Limit
Yun State, Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa.
After taking the tenth top-grade Wash Marrow Pill, Lin Jiang waited for the medicine to take effect. In his free time, he checked in with the system.
System Name: Lifespan Check-in System
Host: Lin Jiang
Lifespan: 26/2390
Looking at the remaining lifespan on the system, Lin Jiang was very satisfied. From what he knew, most cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage in the cultivation world could live for more than a hundred years. The Foundation Building Stage doubled their lifespan, reaching around two hundred years. Golden Core cultivators could live for five hundred years, and only Nascent Soul Ancestors could live for over a thousand years. Anyone over two thousand years old would be a powerful Soul Formation Ancestor, and Yun State didn't have such a powerful existence.
In other words, if Lin Jiang stayed safe without any accidents, he could live longer than a Soul Formation Ancestor.
"Immortality seems possible."
Lin Jiang sighed and thought, "With daily check-ins, how can I possibly use up my lifespan? The Lin family is unbeatable in terms of prolonging life, and not a single person in Yun State can match me."
"Oh no, here we go again."
In just a moment, the powerful effects of the top-grade Wash Marrow Pill kicked in. Lin Jiang's stomach started hurting badly, and he rushed to the restroom. It took him a whole half hour before he returned, covering his nose.
It's so stinky.
The top-grade Wash Marrow Pill helped cleanse the body, eliminating impurities through the intestines. That was why it smelled so bad. Lin Jiang almost got overwhelmed by his own poop.
"It's time for my morning training session. I'm really dedicated. I have to meditate for two hours."
Lin Jiang glanced at the time and realized it was time for his scheduled training. He exercised for two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, and one hour in the evening. It was a total of five hours a day, which was quite tiring.
"Not bad. Lin Die didn't deceive me. These three thousand spirit stones were well-spent."
After two hours, Lin Jiang opened his eyes from meditation, having finished all six top-grade Wash Marrow Pills. They greatly helped him. Previously, two hours of meditation could only allow him to circulate his energy through one meridian. Now, he could do it through three, a 300% improvement in efficiency.
According to Lin Jiang's estimation, without using the top-grade Wash Marrow Pills, it would take him at least thirty years to reach the third level of Qi Refining. Now, he estimated it will take about ten years.
·······
It was time for the Lin family's annual family gathering. Their ancestral home was not big enough anymore. Compared to when Lin Jiang first attended nine years ago, the number of Lin family members had multiplied several times.
Lin Batian had worked hard throughout the years. He went from having nine sons and six daughters to now having fifteen sons and nine daughters. He even had two concubines who were pregnant, so there might be more brothers and sisters next year.
The second and third generation of the Lin family also had many marriages, further contributing to the growth of the family. As a result, the Lin family's end-of-year gathering had expanded to more than ten tables.
"Fifth brother, where did the Twelfth and Fourteenth go?"
Lin Jiang asked Lin Hai, who was by his side, why he couldn't see the twelfth and fourteenth brothers. They were there last year, they couldn't have died, right?
If they had died, why hadn't they invite him for the funeral?
"You only go home once a year, no wonder you don't know. Dad came up with a new rule this year. If you're twelve and haven't tested for Spiritual Root, you get kicked out of the family and become an ordinary member. Everyone behind you moves up. So now, Thirteenth Brother became Twelfth Brother."
Lin Hai glanced at Lin Jiang and couldn't help but feel a little envious. Lin Jiang had the freedom to guard a manor all by himself and live carefree.
"Oh, I see."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang sighed. The cultivation world truly was cruel. Without Spiritual Root, they didn't even have the qualifications to attend family gatherings. The future would surely be difficult.
"If I ever get married, I must marry a cultivator, not an ordinary person."
Lin Hai explained earnestly, "When cultivators marry each other, the probability of their children having Spiritual Root is very high. Just like our father, Lin Batian, all his concubines are cultivators. Now, out of their twenty-plus children, seventeen have tested positive for Spiritual Root. The probability is quite high."
In the second and third generations, some people married ordinary women and had several children who didn't possess Spiritual Root. Now, the Lin family had established a new rule. They didn't even have the qualifications to live at the mountain gate and had to be sent to some manors. They might have no worries about food and drink, but they had no social status.
"What Fifth Brother said is correct."
Lin Jiang casually agreed. It was impossible for him to get married. Women would only affect his cultivation speed. Besides, wasn't it sweeter to spend a little money and have a one-hour date? As long as your wallet and waist could handle it, you could have a different love affair every day, super sweet.
"Ahem, Sixth Brother, listen to Father's words."
After a while, Lin Hai coughed to remind Lin Jiang to be careful, not just bury his head in eating and anger the old master, and get punished again.
Lin Jiang nodded and stopped eating. As a Level 2 Qi Refining cultivator, he couldn't eat much. It wasn't that he couldn't handle it, but all the food today had spiritual energy. If he ate too much, he could easily explode and die. If he died from eating, he wouldn't live up to the system.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, you need to work hard this year. This is probably your last chance. Learn more from Third Brother..."
Lin Batian said to Eldest Brother Lin Shan and Second Brother Lin He with some sorrow. Eldest Brother Lin Shan was already fifty-seven, and Second Brother Lin He was fifty-five as well.
They reached the peak of Level 10 Qi Refining a few years ago, and still were. They had also taken a Foundation Building Pill once in these years, but they failed to break through. If they didn't make a breakthrough this year, they might not have a chance to achieve Foundation Building Stage.
"Fifth Brother, why did Father say that this year is the last chance for Eldest Brother and Second Brother?"
"Don't you usually read books?"
"No, I don't read. Why bother with that stuff?"
"You- forget it, let me explain to you. There's a saying that the breakthrough from Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Building Stage has a limit of sixty years. It means that if you don't break through before sixty, it's basically hopeless to achieve the Foundation Building in this lifetime. Because after sixty, even if you use a lot of elixirs, your vitality will decline, and the effect of the Foundation Building Pill will be greatly reduced."
"Isn't the eldest brother only fifty-seven? There are still three years!"
"What do you know? One Foundation Building Pill is worth nearly twenty thousand spirit stones. It can't be taken casually. Our eldest brother and the second brother have already used it once, so technically they are not eligible to use it again. But our father is giving them a chance because of their hard work in managing the family for many years, even if they don't have extraordinary achievements."
"And it's very harmful to the body if the breakthrough fails after taking the Foundation Building Pill. It often takes three to five years to recuperate. If you forcefully take it twice in a row, it's a matter of life and death, you know?"
"I understand, I understand. Thank you, Fifth Brother, for your guidance."
Lin Jiang replied repeatedly. If that was the case, then the eldest brother and the second brother didn't have much time left. But Lin Jiang didn't think this would apply to him. He could live for over two thousand years now, so it would take at least another one or two thousand years for his vitality to decline. So he wasn't worried.
"Our family's Library Pavilion has many books on cultivating immortality. Take some time to read them. It will be beneficial for you."
"Yes, Fifth Brother. After I finish eating, I will go and borrow them."
Lin Jiang nodded. It seemed that he really needed to read those books. It was embarrassing to have practiced cultivation for over a decade and still be a beginner.
Lin Batian taught the oldest and the second-born, but didn't say much more and didn't scold Lin Jiang. After all, there were too many children to handle, so he had no choice but to become an invisible person.
After the dinner ended, the Lin family members dispersed in groups. The Lin family's territory was not small, and the grown-up children were sent to various places to guard and work. They didn't often see each other, so the end-of-year family gathering was a good time for everyone to come together.
Lin Ying happily ran up to Lin Jiang. She didn't have a good relationship with her other siblings. The age difference between the oldest and the second-born was too big, and she thought her younger siblings were too childish. So, besides her own brother Lin Jiang, she got along well with Lin Die.
"Third Sister, this is this year's spirit stone, 300 pieces."
Lin Jiang brought Lin Ying to find Lin Die and handed over most of this year's income to her. This was to repay a debt.
"I don't need the spirit stone. You use it first and work harder in your cultivation."
Lin Die shook her head. She was the first in the second generation of the Lin family to reach the Foundation Building stage. Lin Batian favored her and fully supported her. Plus, her mother had considerable personal wealth, so she didn't lack spirit stones.
"Even so, I have to pay it. If I owe something, I have to repay it. That's the rule."
"Sixth Brother, it seems like you didn't listen to Dad just now. You're already twenty-seven after the Lunar New Year. How many years are left until the sixty-year limit? You're only at the second level of Qi Refining. Use this spirit stone to buy Qi Gathering Pills."
Lin Die felt a bit depressed. Among her siblings, her relationship with others was ordinary, but she often went to Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa with Lin Ying, so her relationship with Lin Jiang was good. She truly hoped that Lin Jiang could break through to the Foundation Building Stage.
"Brother, I think Third Sister is right."
"Nonsense! Being sixty years old and not breaking through to the Foundation Building Stage is not the end of the world. Besides, spirit stones can be earned again. In a few years, my income from the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa will still grow."
Lin Jiang shook his head and directly placed the spirit stone in Lin Die's hand. He wasn't in the habit of owing others. Being debt-free makes one sleep well at night and enjoy meals.
After giving Lin Die the spirit stone, Lin Jiang grabbed Lin Ying and ran, not giving her a chance to regret. It was time to pay respects to dear mother. Dear mother had been good to him, and Lin Jiang never forgot his gratitude. He always fulfilled his filial duties.
Translator:
Hello, I'm the translator of this novel, and this novel is our first cooperation with fanqienovel.com. I have to say, it's not easy to obtain their translation authorization. We managed to persuade them to let us translate this novel, and if it can bring them decent sales, the cooperation will continue and we will be able to translate more novels from them - so if you like this novel, please give it a vote on novelupdates (https://www.novelupdates.com/series/cultivation-being-immortal/). If possible, a free rating on amazon.com (https://amzn.to/497JkxB) too. It's very important to us! I hope we can introduce more interesting novels from fanqienovel in the future for you!
As for this novel itself, it started with an ordinary xianxia background but as times went by, the world changed and science developed. Mortals became stronger and stronger, and cultivators had to find their position in the world. No harem, no idiots in the story. It took me a month to finish reading this story and it can be ranked as one of the top ten xianxia novels I have read. Continue reading and I believe you will enjoy it!
