“The former Head of the Alchemy Association’s Silver Lake Continent Branch and the founder of the Alchemy Tower in this ruined world, as well as the only other living Essence Gathering Realm cultivator remaining on this continent… Gu Zhen”

Zhao Xieren’s voice became hoarse from the stifled anger that had nowhere to be released.

“As I thought…”

Wu Long nodded, expecting this answer but still not pleased to be right in his estimations.

Essence Gathering Realm was the second realm in the Seven Profound Realms, while all the other cultivators Wu Long saw earlier, including Madam Liang were only in the first, Essence Awakening Realm.

“That bastard was speculating with the pill prices… as the governor it was my duty to report him to the Alchemy Association…”

The old man seemed engrossed in his memories, to the time when their conflict was just starting.

“If he is of the Gu family that I think he is, you picked the wrong person to report, or at least the wrong way. It is one of the eight founding families of the Alchemy Association and no matter how remote of a branch one comes from, they are untouchable.

If you addressed your report not through the official channels but to one of their rival families within the Association, it would be different, but that is beside the point.

Though of course, he could simply have a similar Family Name…”

“No, no, you’re right. That is exactly who he is… I did not know better at the time… And he…”

The old man looked up with agitation, as Liang Yuhan narrowed her eyes.

‘As I thought, he knows an awful lot about things normal people should not have any knowledge of, and not just in this small world’

She drew on her smoking pipe as she saw him give her a glance and a sigh of frustration almost escaped her lips since her curiosity was peaking with no answers to appease it.

“When I knew what he had done, I was furious and devastated…

I was not able to touch him due to his position, and after the day of the catastrophe that came soon after, I simply did not have enough strength. He managed to convince all the powerful factions that they needed him as the alchemist…”

The old man’s voice was becoming stifled from anger and powerlessness.

“Eventually, even as the strong practitioners who shielded him from me began dying off one by one of old age, my powers started to wane while he was still in his prime. The difference was not enough for him to defeat me without sacrifice, so he relented from attacking me while I no longer had the ability to kill him”

Zhao Xieren sighed, looking at his withered, trembling hands with scrawny, powerless fingers.

“Has he ever stated his goals to you?”

Wu Long asked, not hopeful for the results of this question.

“No, not really.

He is a bit younger than me, and quite fitting for being younger, was still ambitious at the time I first heard of him. He quite famously dreamed to become an immortal. So when this world closed off and that dream crumbled it hit him harder than most. I still remember him raving about his legacy.

Even now, he has yet to even lose a youthful appearance, and his strength seems to not only decline but even very slightly improve”

Zhao Xieren spoke as a despaired astonishment appeared in his voice when he was saying the latter part.

“Hmph, I suspect that he takes Appearance Preserving Pills since he should at least be looking middle-aged by now, but that old fart doesn’t look that much older than you”

Liang Yuhan snorted, pointing with her smoking pipe at Wu Long. She clearly found it ridiculous for Gu Zhen to cling to his youthful appearance.

The standards for men’s appearance were different between mortal cultivators and immortal cultivators, as it was considered normal for an immortal cultivator to appear young indefinitely since they technically had no concept of elderly age.

But any male mortal cultivator, that is, anyone in a realm with a limited lifespan, was expected to let natural aging take over near the last fifth or sixth part of their lifespan, since at that point it was unlikely for them to prolong it by advancing to the next realm and they were considered to have approached their elderly years as cultivators in their realm.

Though it was widely known that the majority of women would retain youthful appearance throughout their entire life, men’s natural aging at this particular period of life was viewed as dignified, whereas those men who stuck to the youthful appearance through artificial means were considered vain and desperate.

Such social norms differed from society to society but Madam Liang’s attitude showed that this world’s customs were seemingly in alignment with that general trend.

Gu Zhen, although much younger than Zhao Xieren, still was in the Essence Gathering Realm which had a maximum lifespan of give or take 15000 years which was already stretching it, since the majority did not make it to 14500. Cases like Old Man Zhao who lived past that point and approached the absolute limit were rare.

Given that this world has been shut off for at least a good 10000 of that period, as well as his life prior to that, Gu Zhen was now around 13500~14000 years old. And should start experiencing a decline both in his youth and his strength to a significant degree.

“I don’t think he takes Appearance Preserving Pills”

But Wu Long shook his head as both of them looked at him with surprise.

“Have you seen him?” .

“No, I have you to thank for that, otherwise I would not have been able to move so freely”

Wu Long smiled as he could only go on a rampage as much as he did and act with impunity because none of the Seven Profound Realms cultivators were willing to move in fear of provoking a war.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮