The Evil Lineage clan could not cultivate, at least not the cultivation techniques of the cultivation world.

Therefore, the villagers of Black Cloud Village were very envious of cultivators.

So much so that when the Temple Seal Lord and his group of demonic cultivators arrived at Black Cloud Village, many villagers were willing to join them and follow the demonic cultivators just for the elusive art of cultivation.

Granny Gu, despite having powerful divine abilities and holding the secrets of the Ancient Evil Lineage, never shared these secrets with the villagers, and she didn’t even have disciples or apprentices around her.

The entire Black Cloud Village was made up of mortals, with only Granny Gu being powerfully and strangely different.

Now that the villagers knew Xiao Yecao’s appearance had not aged, they were extremely envious, realizing that this girl from the past must have embarked on the path of cultivation and achieved some level of cultivation.

The arrival of Li Muyang and Xiao Yecao in the village stirred up a small sensation.

This was beyond Li Muyang’s expectations.

Back then, Jiang Xiaoyu was just an orphan in Black Cloud Village with no presence.

But now that Jiang Xiaoyu had returned to the village, the villagers, hearing of his return, all came to visit, curious about the situation of this young man who had left the village for twenty years.

Many children and young people around seventeen or eighteen years old gathered around Li Muyang, asking curiously about the outside world, and whether the cultivators and immortals were as powerful as the legends said.

Although Granny Gu never restricted the villagers’ personal freedom, the Evil Lineage clan that had lived in Black Cloud Village for generations seldom ventured out of the Myriad Great Mountains to explore the outside world.

Over the years, the only person who had left Black Cloud Village to struggle and survive outside and returned alive was Li Muyang.

Those who were of the same age as Li Muyang now had graying hair, offspring, and many even had grandchildren.

The simple and friendly villagers welcomed these two wanderers who had left the village for twenty years in their way.

Many villagers brought vegetables and fruits, worried that they might not have anything to eat after just moving back.

Although the Evil Lineage clan lived with the ancient evil gods, aside from the strange powers in their bloodlines, the villagers of Black Cloud Village were just simple and friendly ordinary villagers.

Li Muyang and Xiao Yecao settled down in the village and received an unexpected welcome.

They also began to learn farming, opening up two acres of wasteland outside Black Cloud Village and learning to grow crops like the villagers.

Back then, Li Muyang did not need to farm because he followed the Temple Seal Lord and other demonic cultivators, who provided him with silver and living supplies.

But twenty years after Li Muyang left the village, Granny Gu completely fell out with the demonic cultivators in the back mountain.

Since then, the demonic cultivators could no longer set foot in Black Cloud Village.

Moreover, all the villagers of Black Cloud Village who had followed the demonic cultivators were coldly driven out of the village by Granny Gu, never to return.

Today’s Black Cloud Village had long returned to its appearance before the arrival of the demonic cultivators.

Simple, primitive, and kind; it was just an ordinary small mountain village.

The strange places outside Black Cloud Village also disappeared one by one.

Clearly, they had been removed by Granny Gu.

The Temple Seal Lord and other demonic cultivators completely retreated into the caves, hardly ever showing their faces.

The new generation of villagers did not know the situation of the demonic cultivators in the back mountain caves, considering them to be the terrifying monsters spoken of by their ancestors, and dared not approach.

After living a peaceful life in Black Cloud Village for two months, Li Muyang patiently spent two months of daily life with Xiao Yecao without ever asking about the discussions on the Precious Platform.

And his waiting finally settled Xiao Yecao’s heart.

On a sunny afternoon, after finishing work in the fields and sitting under the shade of a tree to cool off, drinking large cups of tea, Xiao Yecao suddenly spoke up.

“Elder Brother, we won’t live much longer…”

Xiao Yecao’s statement was somewhat abrupt and without warning.

But Li Muyang’s tea-drinking motion only paused slightly, and he showed no reaction.

“Is it the result of the discussions on the Zhenlong Platform?”

Li Muyang calmly said, “A calamity is coming to the world, and even true immortals will die… right?”

Li Muyang casually narrated the consequences of the dark catastrophe.

His calmness, in turn, surprised Xiao Yecao.

“Elder Brother, you… aren’t surprised or scared at all?”

“All the true immortals gathered, but none could find a way to save the world!”

“The future that the immortals calculated together only foresees a dark catastrophe, with all living beings perishing, a picture of despair…”

“We have less than three hundred years left…”

As she spoke, Xiao Yecao’s tone became downcast again.

Seeing Xiao Yecao’s dejected expression, Li Muyang could understand.

The girl was a natural genius.

If not for her inner demons and obsessions, she would have become an immortal long ago.

Traveling the world, invited by immortals everywhere, interacting with reclusive experts, attending the Dragon King’s water banquet.

Xiao Yecao, who had grown up like this, was proud and confident, believing that she had everything under control.

Even though she was aware of the calamities that befall the world, having attained enlightenment and become an immortal, her exceptional talents and temperament made her a formidable figure among true immortals.

She was not the least bit afraid of disasters and difficulties.

However, at the Zhenlong Platform where immortals gathered to discuss the Dao and jointly deduce the future, the only outcome they could foresee was a bleak one where immortals vanish and living beings suffer immensely.

She had just become an immortal blessed with eternal youth, only to be told that she wouldn’t live past three hundred years…

For the proud Xiao Yecao, this was a tremendous blow to her confidence.

That’s why the young girl thought of returning to Black Cloud Village, feeling disheartened and ready to give up, as if to say,

“I’m done with the outside world. I want to go back to my hometown and farm.”

But at that moment, Li Muyang sat under the shade of a tree and pointed at the two acres of freshly sprouted farmland ahead.

“Compared to the despair of the future, the growth of these two acres right now is what truly makes me despair.”

Li Muyang sighed and continued,

“Some lands are doomed from the start to yield a poor harvest, but their fate is only sealed in autumn… What kind of lousy land have you been planting on?”

“The seeds are planted haphazardly, the manure is unevenly distributed, and the weeding is not done well. Some seedlings are growing too vigorously, while others are doing poorly.”

“Although you have a talent for cultivation, when it comes to farming, I can only say…”

Li Muyang spread his hands and added,

“You might as well give up farming. This pastoral life of a hermit isn’t something you can just decide to live.”

“Of course, if you use your immortal powers to farm, then disregard what I’ve said.”

Instead of comforting Xiao Yecao, Li Muyang harshly criticized her, humiliating her farming skills.

His response was unexpected for Xiao Yecao.

The usually warm Elder Brother was not comforting her but mocking her instead, leaving Xiao Yecao visibly flustered and panicked.

She looked up in a flurry, her eyes darting about, wanting to speak but finding herself unable to say anything.

Li Muyang, paying her no mind, continued on his own.

“As for the bleak future, not living past three hundred years…”

Li Muyang shook his head, “You immortals really make people envious.”

“Ordinary people are considered rare if they can live peacefully into their sixties or seventies.”

“Yet you can live forever, and living three to five hundred years is still not enough for you.”

“So what if you only have three hundred years left?”

Li Muyang glanced at Xiao Yecao, “If you hadn’t embarked on the path of cultivation, by now you would be as old as I am, halfway into the grave.”

“At least after I die, you’ll still have one or two hundred years to live.”

Li Muyang rarely indulged in such toxic positivity, but faced with the disheartened Xiao Yecao, he felt compelled to offer some encouragement.

“What matters is not how long you have left to live but how you choose to live from now on.”

Fairy Yu was able to establish Nanjiang City amidst dire straits, protecting the people.

Could it be that my painstakingly raised celestial prodigy would simply surrender and admit defeat in the face of a dark calamity?

Li Muyang looked at Xiao Yecao and said,

“Knowing that you will die in two or three hundred years, don’t you have anything you want to do before that?”

“Any unfulfilled wishes? Any great deeds you want to accomplish?”

“Surely you won’t just languish in a mountain hollow, farming for three hundred years, right?”

Li Muyang shook his head continuously, giving Xiao Yecao a metaphorical beating.

His words made Xiao Yecao pause for a moment.

Then, the fairy’s gaze turned towards Li Muyang, her eyes suddenly filled with a strange light.

She scrutinized Li Muyang, her gaze sweeping over him.

Li Muyang, feeling her stare, was taken aback.

Instinctively, he shrank back, feeling somewhat guilty.

“Hey! What are you trying to do?”

You brat, I’m scolding you to help you regain your Dao Heart and restore your confidence.

Not for you to act like a rebellious younger sister!

Li Muyang was inwardly alarmed and quickly retreated.

Xiao Yecao blinked and continued to stare straight at Li Muyang.

“If you ask me if there’s any unfulfilled wish before I die… well, there actually is.”

The fairy stared at Li Muyang, slowly approaching.

“Elder Brother, what do you really think of me?”

Xiao Yecao moved closer to Li Muyang, her gaze locked on him, and spoke softly.

“In Elder Brother’s eyes, am I just a sister? Or… a woman?”