Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Oldest Person in Jiuzhou

The Nine Provinces Guardian Formation was a concept Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu had conceived long ago.

The Heavenly Demons that came from the other worlds always appeared at random locations. Although Jiang Li could easily defeat them, he first needed to be aware of their arrival and then rush to their landing spot.

The time this would take would be sufficient for the Heavenly Demons to wreak widespread havoc, resulting in millions of casualties.

To reduce casualties and gain time, they gave birth to the idea of the Nine Provinces Guardian Formation. In their vision, this formation would envelop the entire Nine Provinces. When a Heavenly Demon arrived, it would need a quarter of an hour to break through the formation. In the meantime, Jiang Li could then receive news of the attack, rush to where the formation was broken, and kill the Heavenly Demon.

However, there were two difficulties with this formation.

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The first was the constant maintenance of this grand formation, which required a massive spirit energy. Jiang Li summoned the six major sects and nine empires to rotate in providing six Body Integration Realm cultivators. The Imperial Palace provided two more, totaling eight, to continuously supply spiritual energy to maintain the formation.

Even though the six major sects and nine empires were powerful, they were powerless against the Heavenly Demons. No one wished to be killed by a suddenly appearing Heavenly Demon, so they all agreed to Jiang Li’s proposal.

The second problem was the enormity of this formation. No formation had ever encompassed all of Nine Provinces before. It wasn’t as simple as just enlarging the formation. They had to consider the terrain, the transportation of spiritual energy, and other issues, which made the design of the formation exceedingly challenging. Even a Body Integration Realm cultivator would have to pour their heart and soul into the design.

It was for this reason that Bai Hongtu only started designing it after breaking through to the Transcendence Tribulation Stage.

“Using an Immortal Artifact for the eye of the formation?” Although he was not informed beforehand, Jiang Li was not surprised.

This formation had a significant function, so naturally, it needed a treasure capable of shouldering such a colossal responsibility to serve as the eye.

“Yes, I asked the Old Sage of Longevity. He said that the Yin Yang Heaven Seal can bridge heaven and earth. It has the power of Spiritual Enlightenment, making it the most suitable for being the eye of the formation.”

“Is the Sage of Longevity still doing well?” Jiang Li asked curiously.

“Of course, considering his lively spirit, I will probably die of old age while he is still alive. Do you want to see him?”

“I have a few questions to ask him.”

“Can I also come to visit the Old Sage of Longevity?” The Sacred Lady of Pure Heart pointed to herself. She had only heard of the Old Sage’s reputation, but she had never seen him before.

“Yes, the Old Sage loves lively events. He will be glad to have more people,” Bai Hongtu nodded.

“I still need to prepare for the Immortal Artifact Appraisal Conference. You two can go ahead. He is at the cave for Sealing Self.” After saying this, Bai Hongtu hurriedly left.

Dong Zhongren had heard from Wang Bian that his secret had been exposed to Jiang Li, so he felt embarrassed to stay and hurriedly left as well.

As Budda Wu Zhi was interested in the Immortal Artifact Appraisal Convention, he also bid farewell to Jiang Li and the Sacred Lady of Pure Heart and wandered off enthusiastically.

“Is the Old Sage of Longevity truly the oldest person in the Nine Provinces, and is he truly an immortal?”

On the way to the cave of Sealing Self, the Sacred Lady of Pure Heart asked.

“He is indeed an Immortal. As for the age issue, it depends on how old your Master Hongchen is, excluding the uncertain Hongchen Immortal Maiden, he is indeed the oldest person.”

“I suspect he is a disciple of the Heavenly Dao, but he has always denied it.”

Before becoming the Human Emperor, Jiang Li frequently asked the Old Sage for advice and held him in high respect.

The Sacred Lady of Pure Heart was slightly surprised. If he truly was a disciple of the Heavenly Dao, then the Old Sage was indeed as his name suggested living for an extraordinary length of time, even immortality.

A disciple of the Heavenly Dao would be at least fifty thousand years old.

Body Integration Realm cultivators could live for two to three thousand years, witnessing the rise and fall of countless forces throughout their long lives.

But the Old Sage had witnessed the growth and demise of countless Body Integration Realm cultivators.

When Nine Provinces still had connections with the Immortal Realm, many immortals visited Nine Provinces but always returned to the Immortal Realm after a few hundred years. Only the Old Sage, a native of the Nine Provinces, found Nine Provinces more comforting than the Immortal Realm, returned to Nine Provinces, and never left again.

Jiang Li figured he planned to retire in Nine Provinces.

But, thanks to this oldester, many puzzles were solved, such as what was in the Immortal Realm, how to become an Immortal, that there was more beyond the Transcendence Tribulation Stage to becoming an Immortal and that Hongchen Immortal Maiden was an incarnation of Heavenly Dao’s ‘beauty’.

Moreover, when the previous Human Emperors failed to stop the Heavenly Demons, the Old Sage would step in to assist, slaying the Heavenly Demon.

But he could only provide help a limited number of times.

After becoming an immortal, all the spirit energy would be fully transformed into immortal power, which was only available in the Immortal Realm. After descending to the mortal world, the immortal power in an immortal’s body would decrease with every use.

When the Old Sage descended, he planned to replenish his immortal power in the Immortal Realm. Sadly, there were problems with the stairway to becoming an Immortal, and he couldn’t go to the Immortal Realm.

That was troublesome.

Once his immortal power was exhausted, his body would collapse, and he would suffer from the Five Decay Syndrome for immortals and die!

Thus, he did his best not to employ his power.

“Old Sage, are you home? I’ve come with more questions.” Jiang Li shouted in front of the stone door of the cave for Sealing Self. The stone door then opened on its own.

Upon entering, they found that the cave was filled with ancient books, neatly shelving on the bookshelves, while others were scattered all over the ground. Of course, “ancient” is relative to the Old Sage. To him, these books were just recently published.

“Everytime you come, you always have questions. Can’t you just visit this old man for no reason!” The Old Sage pretended to be very indignant, but the Sacred Lady of Pure Heart could tell that he was glad Jiang Li had come.

“Hm, you even brought someone else with you. That’s rare.” The Old Sage resembled an ordinary old man seen in the countryside with his skinny body, stooped back, age spots, and calloused hands. He was wearing common coarse hemp clothes.

This was a manifestation of his life energy condensed to the extreme.

The Old Sage considered the Jiang Li who was hailed as the Human Emperor and felt a great sense of awe. Who could have expected the young child who was at the Nascent Soul Stage then to now be so profound?

Being an immortal, he couldn’t accurately judge how strong Jiang Li was. “This girl looks quite pretty. Which family’s child is she?”

“In response to the Old Sage, Pure Heart is from the Red Dust Pure Land. She is the descendant of Master Hongchen.”

“Hongchen Immortal Maiden, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” The Old Sage chuckled and warmly invited them in, even offering their finest spiritual tea and pastries.

All three of them were fasting, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy good food.

The Sacred Lady of Pure Heart had a feeling that after hearing that she was the descendant of Master Hongchen, the Old Sage’s attitude towards her warmed considerably. The way he looked at her had also changed.

His gaze seemed to carry the kind of indulgent affection like one would have for their own flesh and blood.

“He saw the Hongchen Immortal Maiden with his own eyes.” Jiang Li explained to the Sacred Lady of Pure Heart.

Rrealizing this, the Sacred Lady of Pure Heart understood that the Old Sage was still missing her ancestor, Master Hongchen..