System Granted Me Immortality; I Outlived Everyone

Chapter 11: The Clever Yet Foolish Fox, Taoist Chen Changsheng

Having figured out the situation, Chen Changsheng prepared to leave.

Just then, the unconscious fox-eared girl stirred awake.

Finding the green-haired corpse staring directly at her, she instantly curled into a terrified ball.

“Wuwuwu!”

“Please don’t eat me, my meat is sour.”

Her reaction thoroughly amused Chen Changsheng.

“How do I know it’s sour without taking a bite? Besides, you look so fresh and tender. The mouthfeel must be excellent.”

This sent the fox girl into an absolute panic.

“I’m not fresh at all, it’s just a little baby fat!”

“I’m actually super skinny, just skin and bones underneath. If you eat me, you’ll definitely chip a tooth.”

She slapped her small hands over her face, her fox ears drooping in sheer terror.

A long moment passed, but the anticipated pain never arrived.

She parted her fingers slightly, peering through the cracks with wide, round eyes to assess the situation.

Somehow, the green-haired corpse had slipped into a set of clothes and scrubbed some of the moss off his face.

“You aren’t an Unrotting Bone?”

Chen Changsheng rolled his eyes. “A corpse that does not decay for a hundred years becomes a Jiang. If it remains unperished for a thousand years, it becomes an Unrotting Bone.”

“An Unrotting Bone is born from the concentrated death aura of heaven and earth. It is impervious to fire and water, and practically immune to blades.”

“They draw strength from resentment and feast on flesh and blood.”

“If such a legendary omen of misfortune were actually standing here, there wouldn’t even be scraps of you left.”

Confirming he wasn’t the mythical monster, the fox girl immediately threw herself into a grand, full-body prostration.

“This Junior has disturbed Senior’s secluded cultivation. Please forgive my offense!”

Staring down at the kneeling girl, Chen Changsheng considered brushing her off and going their separate ways.

On second thought, he realized he could extract some free intel from this painfully naive demon first.

He had been randomly teleported here eighty years ago and had spent the entire duration building his tomb.

He knew absolutely nothing about the local geography. Wandering blindly was a surefire way to invite unnecessary trouble.

Pondering this, Chen Changsheng hummed thoughtfully before speaking.

“Why are you here alone? Where are your clansmen?”

The fox girl answered with utmost reverence.

“To answer Senior, this Junior is but a drifter. I have no clansmen by my side.”

“What year is it, and what shifts in power have occurred in these lands?”

“It is currently the three hundred and eightieth year of the Daqian Dynasty. All is peaceful; no major upheaval has taken place.”

“However, this Junior heard that three hundred miles east, a Soul Formation great cultivator has emerged at the Shangqing Temple.”

The name Shangqing Temple immediately triggered a search through his memories.

To prevent getting lost post-teleportation, he had hoarded every map he could get his hands on.

While he couldn’t claim to know every inch of the Daqian Dynasty, he was confident in navigating at least half of it.

If I remember correctly, the distance between Shangqing Temple and Linglong Sect is roughly over a thousand miles.

To think I got flung this far.

After that brief internal monologue, Chen Changsheng spoke.

“Considering your intrusion was unintentional, I shall not pursue your crime of trespassing in my cave dwelling. You may leave!”

“Huh?”

“Senior, I just leave like this?”

The clueless fox girl had inadvertently spoken her inner thoughts out loud.

Chen Changsheng’s voice turned icy. “What else do you want?”

“But in a situation like this, shouldn’t Senior bestow a Fated Chance?”

“Who told you that.”

“That’s how it always happens in the tales!”

Meeting her clear, utterly vacant gaze, Chen Changsheng couldn’t suppress his inward amusement.

Foxes were reputed to be unparalleled tricksters. This was his first time meeting one so stunningly dense.

“Very well. Since our meeting is fate, I shall bestow a Fated Chance upon you.”

Without missing a beat, Chen Changsheng casually spouted off some profound insights regarding Foundation Establishment.

These were simply the ramblings the little monk Yixiu had discussed with him back in the day.

That little monk used to visit him constantly to chat. Aside from strictly guarding the Heavenly Buddha Temple’s cultivation methods, Yixiu had no filter.

Changsheng knew absolutely everything about him, right down to the fact that Yixiu still wet the bed at age five.

Finishing his impromptu lecture, Chen Changsheng waved his hand dismissively.

“Our karma ends here. You may leave.”

“Show your face before me again, and your little life will be forfeit.”

“Thank you for the guidance, Senior. Hu Meiniang will remember this for eternity!”

With one final, sweeping kowtow, the fox girl eagerly scrambled away.

Watching her retreating back, Chen Changsheng chuckled, then promptly set off in the exact opposite direction.

His defense stat might be absurdly high right now, but his attack power was effectively zero.

In other words, he couldn’t actually defeat that little fox in a fight.

If she had realized he was a paper tiger, things would have gotten incredibly awkward.

As for those profound Foundation Establishment insights…

Chen Changsheng had no idea if they actually worked. After all, he had never reached the Foundation Establishment realm himself.

Leaving the cave that had been his bed for eighty years, Chen Changsheng resumed his aimless wandering.

Niansheng was already living her own life; she no longer needed him to worry about her.

There was only one thing left for him to do: find a new goal to kill time during his impossibly long waking years.

……

“Chen Changsheng!”

The furious roar echoed through the Scripture Depository. A heroic-looking man in Taoist robes swept his gaze across the room, hunting for his target.

Hearing his name, a bleary-eyed Chen Changsheng poked his head out from behind a towering pile of ancient texts.

Recognizing the intruder, he flashed a bright grin. “Senior Brother Qingfeng! Can I help you?”

Seeing that perfectly innocent expression, Qingfeng looked like he wanted to cough up blood in frustration.

“Junior Brother Changsheng, you have been at the Shangqing Temple for ten years.”

“A full decade, yet you are still loitering at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. Do you even want to reach Foundation Establishment?”

Chen Changsheng casually waved him off. “Ah! Foundation Establishment isn’t something you can rush. Taking it slow is never a mistake.”

“The road of life is so very long. A leisurely pace is good for the soul.”

Qingfeng’s eyelid twitched violently.

This Junior Brother Changsheng of his had arrived at the temple ten years ago, boasting a highly respectable High Grade Wood Spirit Root.

Upon his arrival, the entire temple had practically fallen over themselves to dote on the new disciple.

He was always smiling, methodical in his chores, and possessed boundless patience.

He engaged in zero internal politics and chased neither fame nor profit. His days consisted entirely of reciting Taoist scriptures and quietly cultivating.

A little Junior Brother like this would become the treasured mascot of absolutely any Sect.

But as the years bled away, the glaring problem with Junior Brother Changsheng became impossible to ignore: he had way too much “patience.”

With a High Grade Wood Spirit Root, reaching Foundation Establishment should have taken five years, tops.

Yet here he was, ten whole years later, stubbornly refusing to break through.