“Master, are you alright?”

Chen Mobai was about to inquire about the poem on his and Shi Wanyu’s card when he turned to see the girl in sunglasses vomiting blood, which startled him greatly.

He intended to reach out to help the master before him, but remembering the presence of a lady nearby, he promptly asked Shi Wanyu to check on her instead.

“No need, our fated meeting today has ended, I shall take my leave.”

The girl in sunglasses waved her hand, stopping Shi Wanyu who was approaching.

After uttering those words, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, swept all the items like cards and tablecloth from the table, and then, as if becoming ethereal, she abruptly retreated and vanished into the wall behind her, disappearing from their sight.

Chen Mobai’s consciousness soared, searching high and low, but only caught a glimpse of the girl’s heel disappearing through another wall.

He hesitated, but chose not to pursue forcefully.

“What could this poem mean?”

Shi Wanyu, left behind, looked at the card in her hand and muttered to herself.

“I’ll look it up on an ancient text website when I have time later.”

Chen Mobai casually suggested, to which Shi Wanyu happily agreed, then tucked the card into the compartment of her black crossbody bag.

“Are you familiar with the exchange event?”

Chen Mobai glanced at the card he drew, roughly understood its literal meaning, and slipped it into his sleeve pocket before posing a question.

“Pretty much, I’ve been to most of the booths with friends.”

Shi Wanyu answered excitedly.

“Shall we stroll together? I need to visit Yan Shou Academy to inquire about some professional matters.”

Chen Mobai politely asked, making his destination clear first, so if Shi Wanyu had other plans, she could easily part ways according to his words.

“Sure!”

To his surprise, Shi Wanyu blushed, lowered her head, and quickly agreed.

“Then let’s go.”

Without overthinking, Chen Mobai took one last glance at the spot where the girl in sunglasses had been sitting, now empty, collected his emotions, and said to Shi Wanyu before turning to walk toward the end of the alley.

As he stepped into the light outside, he wiped his face with his right hand, and scales like black crystals flew out, re-covering his face and forming a half-mask.

Shi Wanyu, wearing shiny black round-toe leather shoes, followed him out with a joyful expression.

Seeing Chen Mobai don the mask again, she felt a sense of exclusive pleasure, her whole being filled with joy, her bright and clean face radiating genuine happiness.

Some passersby were stunned by the sight of the beautiful and graceful Shi Wanyu emerging from the alley with a delighted face.

When they saw her hurry to the side of the young man in the red and black robes of the academy, their faces showed a hint of regret.

So, the beauty was already taken.

Damn, who is this guy from the Refining Department, hiding behind a mask?

Is he too ashamed to show his face?

Even the victors of the duels probably don’t go to such lengths.

A couple of male students, seeing Shi Wanyu smiling genuinely beside Chen Mobai, couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy and muttered under their breath.

“Yan Shou Academy only has four booths, one for Yan Shou, one for health preservation, another for medical consultation, but the most popular is the beauty-preserving booth, always packed with people.”

Chen Mobai listened to Shi Wanyu’s cheerful tone and inhaled her fresh scent, feeling refreshed.

This was much more pleasant than shopping with Hua Zijing.

Although he, the vice president, was quite handsome, he rarely smiled, always wearing a stern face, which put pressure on Chen Mobai, who enjoyed appreciating beauty.

Shi Wanyu was different; walking together, her delicately made-up face was always smiling, and Chen Mobai could feel her genuine joy. The lively rhythm of her small leather shoes on the pavement, exuding her youthful and vibrant spirit, lifted his mood, which had been somewhat gloomy due to the tribulations of Forming a Golden Elixir, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Why are there four booths? I thought there was only one for Yan Shou.”

Chen Mobai kept the conversation going, following the youthful and lovely words of his companion.

“I know this because our Liuguang Academy and Yan Shou Academy are on the same campus, and we interact regularly. They claim to study the art of eternal youth, but in reality, only the core Foundation Establishment cultivators and teachers can participate in Yan Shou’s projects.”

“Although Yan Shou Academy split from Sentence Mang Refining Department, its annual admission scores are just average, so most students who enroll aren’t really interested or talented in researching ‘Yan Shou,’ which takes a long time to yield results. They usually choose courses in health preservation and beauty.”

“The Art of Health Preservation is practiced by many cultivators in their later years at Immortal Gate. After mastering it, they can open a tutoring class. If they make a name for themselves, it can be quite profitable. And beauty preservation goes without saying; many female cultivators would pay any price for it.”

As she spoke, Shi Wanyu clenched her small fist, indicating she was one of them, a charming gesture.

As they talked, they arrived at the Yan Shou Academy booth.

True to Shi Wanyu’s words, the beauty booth was crowded.

However, the second most popular health booth was almost empty.

This was probably because the exchange event was aimed at students, all young and vigorous, with little need for health preservation.

“Wanyu, didn’t you say you were going to the Refining Department to watch the duels? Why are you here?”

Just then, Shi Wanyu seemed to run into acquaintances, as two girls queuing at the beauty booth called out in surprise when they saw her, one of them looking puzzled at Chen Mobai in the red and black robes.

“They’re my roommates; I’ll go say hi.”

Caught by acquaintances, Shi Wanyu suppressed the urge to show off the person beside her and softly excused herself.

“Sure, I’ll go ask my own questions.”

Chen Mobai took the opportunity to part ways, and as soon as he sat down at the Yan Shou booth, he felt two intense gazes on him.

Without looking back, his consciousness told him it was Shi Wanyu’s roommates, one of whom seemed to have guessed his identity, looking slightly excited.

“This esteemed senior from the upper academy, each consultation here costs 100 Good Deed points, which support our academy’s research on prolonging human life.”

The booth was manned by a good-looking young man with dyed white hair, pretending to be ageless. He pointed to the payment code beside him.

Without hesitation, Chen Mobai took out his phone and paid the consultation fee.

“What would you like to ask, senior? My name is Yu Rulin, the chief of Yan Shou Academy. I’ve just established my Foundation last year.”

The white-haired youth introduced himself with poise. The chief of the hundred and twenty prefectures didn’t require much; generally, those who could establish their Foundation during their studies could become the chief.

“My father participated in the World Opening wars when he was young and once encountered a very dangerous situation. He used a technique that consumed his lifespan to increase his cultivation realm. I’d like to ask if there’s a way to replenish the lifespan he lost?”

Chen Mobai fabricated a reason he had thought of long ago, his words filled with the lament of a filial son, earnestly wanting to help his father.

“Oh, which technique did he use? Wildfire Spring Wind Technique? Starfire Spread Technique? Shocking Bell Strike Technique? Or Dry Wood Fierce Fire Technique? Embracing Firewood Technique…”

Yu Rulin listed a bunch of techniques, all seemingly related to burning lifespan to temporarily increase cultivation or break through realms.

Chen Mobai had never heard of them, and it wasn’t appropriate to look them up on his phone on the spot, nor did he dare to choose randomly, so he tried to steer the conversation in the direction he wanted.

“I didn’t hear my father mention it; he didn’t even want me to know, to avoid distracting me from cultivation. I discovered it myself after noticing something was off. Mainly, I want to ask if there’s a way to replenish lifespan that’s been consumed by techniques or elixirs?”

Yu Rulin didn’t suspect anything and nodded confidently.

“That’s the simplest thing. However, I study Yan Shou topics. If it’s about replenishing lifespan, you should go to the medical booth over there.”

“What’s the difference?”

Chen Mobai genuinely didn’t know and asked with a puzzled tone.

Yu Rulin, seeing the red and black robes on him, patiently explained.

“In the professional field of lifespan, we refer to the time a person naturally dies without suffering accidents or illnesses as their fate.”

“There might be slight differences for each person, but the general age won’t vary too much. This is determined at birth, and only breakthroughs in cultivation realms or heaven-defying items like the Immortal Chun Fruit can increase and extend it.”

“For example, it’s like a container that can hold one liter. No matter what you pour into it—water, beverages—you can’t exceed the container’s capacity. Consuming lifespan is like prematurely releasing some of the water that was filled in the container. Once the water dries up, it means the lifespan is exhausted, and the person’s life comes to an end.”

Chen Mobai easily understood and couldn’t help but give Yu Rulin, the chief of Yan Shou Academy, a good review for his professional level.

“So, to replenish lifespan, you just need to pour more water into the container?”

He asked, and Yu Rulin nodded, then pointed to the medical booth across the way.

“Our Yan Shou research is about increasing the container’s capacity beyond cultivation realm breakthroughs, which is to extend the innate fate, one of the ten great challenges of Immortal Gate. Consuming lifespan is just because the body and mind have been overdrawn in advance, and the container might even be damaged. This is a different direction from Yan Shou; simply put, you’re sick and need medical treatment.”

Although blunt, Chen Mobai was very interested in what he heard.

Because Yu Rulin’s meaning was clear: replenishing lifespan wasn’t difficult at all and not worth the effort of the chief of Yan Shou Academy.

Following his guidance, Chen Mobai went to the neighboring medical booth.

The booth owner was just a Qi Refining ninth layer practitioner named Le Chengwei. Chen Mobai didn’t look down on him, but compared to the chief Yu Rulin, his professional level was far inferior.

He insisted that Chen Mobai specify which technique was used before he could prescribe the right medicine to replenish lifespan.

With no such thing to tell, Chen Mobai saw he was stubborn and couldn’t communicate, so he had to return to Yu Rulin’s booth.

“Esteemed senior from the upper academy, although my small booth isn’t busy, I must stick to my specialty. If you want to talk about Yan Shou, I can chat with you a bit more, but if it’s about replenishing lifespan, please don’t come to me.”

Yu Rulin frowned slightly when he saw Chen Mobai, masked, return, and put down his book.

He had already explained because Chen Mobai was from the Refining Department. If it were any other academy, even the top ten academies, he would have sent him to get medical treatment right away.

“Brother Yu, how about we find a coffee shop and have a good private chat?”

Chen Mobai’s words made Yu Rulin click his tongue, and he looked impatient, about to refuse, when Chen Mobai’s black crystal mask suddenly peeled away, revealing his true face.

Yu Rulin’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw it clearly.

“Ah!”

At the same time, Shi Wanyu’s roommates, who had been watching Chen Mobai, seemed to have seen his true face and couldn’t help but exclaim.

Luckily, in a flash, Chen Mobai wiped his face, restoring his mask to cover half of it.

Those who heard the shout and looked over didn’t notice anything unusual, looking strangely at Shi Wanyu’s roommates, who didn’t say anything, just covered their mouths, looking excited.

“Chen Senior, I know a good maid café nearby, this way please.”

Yu Rulin’s attitude changed completely, and he stood up, taking the lead, while also calling over a junior from the neighboring health booth to watch his Yan Shou booth for him.

“Wait a moment, I’ll say hello to a friend.”

Chen Mobai nodded, then turned to Shi Wanyu, who had been watching him, and waved. She quickly separated from her excited roommates and trotted over to him.

“I have some professional topics to discuss with Chief Yu. Would you like to come along, or would you prefer to browse on your own first?”

Although Chen Mobai’s words were tactful, his intention was clear.

Shi Wanyu’s bright face dimmed slightly, and she nodded, indicating she would go shopping with her roommates and wouldn’t join them.

“Alright, let’s make plans to meet another time. I still owe you a lipstick, and I’ll buy it for you then.”

Chen Mobai nodded and then left with Yu Rulin, who had been waiting for a while.