Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

Chapter 388: Chapter 357 Portrait_1

Xu Mu hid in the shadows, watching Xu Tiantian pack up her stall and depart.

This time he did not follow those insignificant lower-level cultivators. Instead, he transformed himself into an invisible state, watching Xu Tiantian every day.

At first, nothing abnormal occurred. Xu Tiantian was either healing people or cultivating in the Palace of Pure Heart. Occasionally, she would go sightseeing, pretty much like any ordinary cultivator.

Watching her like this for two or three months, just as Feng Luan’s Golden Pill celebration banquet was about to begin, if Xu Tiantian wasn’t his daughter, he might not have been able to resist using the Soul-Searching Technique directly on her.

Fortunately, heaven doesn’t fail those who try. Finally, there was a clue.

On this day, as usual, Xu Tiantian saw the last patient, and it was already completely dark. She controlled her magic artifact and flew towards the Palace of Pure Heart.

Over the dark sea, the moonlight cast a silver glow, forming shimmering reflections.

Xu Tiantian, dressed in white, was like a fairy soaring from the heavens.

A wisp of blue smoke silently followed her, entering the formation of the Palace of Pure Heart.

Like always, after washing up, Xu Tiantian sat on a cushion and meditated. At her level, unless there was a special need, she preferred to restore her energy through meditation rather than sleep.

After who knows how long, Xu Tiantian suddenly opened her eyes. She then stood up and fetched the candles, sitting down in front of a portrait with her eyes closed, enveloped in a calm aura that looked like simple meditation.

The mural on the wall was a portrait of a woman—soft lines, elegance, and purity.

It was none other than Xu Tiantian herself.

The portrait seemed to be a gift from an admirer. Xu Tiantian had extraordinary talent and good looks, and it was normal for her to have admirers, more than one, in fact.

Xu Mu had seen this portrait before—the possessions in Xu Tiantian’s domicile had been examined more than once by his Divine Intent and found to be normal without any exceptions.

This very thing was what baffled him.

It would be understandable for those patients, driven by gratitude, to venerate Xu Tiantian’s portrait.

But Xu Tiantian meditating on her portrait was too strange.

Even someone with narcissism would rely on a mirror, not a portrait gifted by someone else.

Could it be that she was fond of the boy who had spoken?

Her father’s heart pounded in his chest.

But that shouldn’t be the case!

He wasn’t a man of old-fashioned thinking, nor did he interfere in the love affairs of his children or prioritize backgrounds.

If Xu Tiantian was indeed fond of someone, she only needed to tell him. Mo Wuxin wouldn’t be too concerned with such matters either, since Xu Tiantian was no longer a child.

But if she didn’t like anyone, then why would she meditate with this ordinary painting?

Suddenly a doubt surged in Xu Mu’s mind, but he didn’t immediately reveal himself.

If Xu Tiantian didn’t want him to know, pushing her wouldn’t help unless he used Soul Searching. But doing so could harm their harmony as a family and damage her soul.

That’s why he hadn’t used it so far.

In regards to the bewitched souls technique, whether it could work or not was aside the point. Even if it did work, the consequences wouldn’t be much different.

The best course of action would still be to resolve it without Xu Tiantian’s knowledge.

Xu Tiantian did not meditate for long, about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. She then returned to the bed and lay down to rest.

Looking at Xu Tiantian, who had fallen asleep, Xu Mu became more bewildered.

The next day, Xu Tiantian washed up as usual and then went to the city to check on the patients.

This time, Xu Mu did not follow her. Instead, he appeared in Xu Tiantian’s room, standing before the portrait.

The candles in front of the painting had been put away. The painting looked ordinary and plain. The whole room looked plain and ordinary, apart from being more refined than an ordinary person’s room; there was nothing unusual.

Aside from liking to heal people, Xu Tiantian’s personality was impeccable, and her lifestyle was quite modest. Other than at the time of cultivating, she didn’t waste resources unreasonably.

Xu Mu stretched out his hand, and the painting automatically rolled up into a scroll and flew into his palm.

His Divine Intent penetrated it, examining it carefully, but he still found nothing.

Unrolling the scroll again, Xu Mu saw that the ink was only ordinary spiritual ink. Aside from its ability to withstand the years without fading, it was nothing special. The paper was of higher quality, made from a tier-three spiritual grass. Not only could it last for thousands of years without decomposing, but it also had a faint fragrance which was conducive to concentration during cultivation.

The wooden shaft supporting the scroll was a type of tier-four fruit tree called yellow pear wood, which only had the features of being rot-resistant and bright in color. In comparison, its value was even less than that of tier-three paper.

The whole picture, without considering its artistic value and calculating only the cost of materials, was worth about twenty to thirty lower-grade spirit stones.

This amount of spirit stones was negligible to any Foundation Establishment cultivator, which was consistent with Xu Tiantian’s thrifty nature.

After checking back and forth more than a dozen times, Xu Mu still found nothing unusual.

“Could it really just be used as a meditation item?”

He held the portrait, standing in place deep in thought. His gaze unconsciously turned towards the wall where the painting was hung.

His Divine Intent penetrated it and found that the wall was made of ordinary bluestone. There were no engraved formations inside, nor any unusual fluctuations.

This house had existed since the establishment of the Palace of Pure Heart. Because it was protected by the external formation, there was little wear and tear after eight hundred years. The overall structure had only been simply repaired at the roof area.

Xu Mu didn’t think the house was a problem, so everything circled back to the portrait.

He had already investigated the painter, who was a disciple from a small family of the Palace of Pure Heart. This disciple was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, while their aunt was in the late stage with potential to break through to Golden Pill stage, a peer of Mo Wuxin. They pursued Xu Tiantian because they had this support.

After a simple investigation yielded no issues, Xu Mu had ordered Mo Wuxin to conduct a more thorough investigation, with results pending.

“That’s right, she seemed to have lit some candles. Could there be any connection there!”

Xu Mu meticulously recalled all of Xu Tiantian’s actions and found that the appearance of the two candles seemed inexplicable.

Cultivators do not believe in gods or buddhas and certainly wouldn’t worship them. Aside from ancestral rituals, there was no need for candles.

Considering the patients’ actions, Xu Mu felt that something was definitely amiss.

He re-hung the portrait, then used mana to reproduce two candles on the spot. After lighting them, he placed them on either side of the portrait.

After waiting for a while, the portrait was still as calm as before, with no abnormalities.

Now Xu Mu was truly at a loss.

“Could it be that I’m overthinking this? That there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Tiantian?”

Thoughts flickered in his mind. Then he sat down cross-legged in front of the portrait, his eyes half-closed, mimicking Xu Tiantian’s actions last night.

He waited until both candles were burnt out. Still, nothing unusual happened.

“It seems I’m indeed overthinking it. If there were really a problem, Tiantian definitely wouldn’t appear unaffected!”

Xu Tiantian’s behavior and personality had been consistent for decades. If she truly were bewitched by something, there absolutely wouldn’t be a total lack of signs.

Just as Xu Mu was about to clear the room of his presence and prepare to leave, he couldn’t help but take one last look at the portrait.

“Could I have forgotten something?”