Ordinary people certainly couldn't live for so long.
Thus, the elder before them was a cultivator.
Moreover, his strength had reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
Qi Refining stage cultivators could live for up to five hundred years.
Among them, most cultivators gained fifty years of lifespan for each layer they advanced.
By calculation, the elder was now also nearing the end of his life force.
Besides the elder, there were many other powerful cultivators present. They were from the previous generation of the Wang family, and according to the Wang family's memories, they had long been dead.
In reality, however, this was a deceit orchestrated by the Wang family's higher-ups.
Every patriarch of the Wang family had a lifespan exceeding a hundred years, and all of them were cultivators.
The current patriarch of the Wang family also possessed good spiritual roots.
Their choice to conceal themselves was actually to avoid suspicion. After all, if so many ancient monsters who had lived for hundreds of years suddenly appeared in the Wang family, other families would inevitably become suspicious of the Wang family's situation.
"Haha, Wang Fu, well done. This Lin Xiao Tian indeed took the bait," the elder leading the group laughed triumphantly.
Due to his extreme age, his voice was very hoarse, sounding even somewhat eerie. Wang Fu, standing before him, couldn't help but get goosebumps.
"This brat took the bait so easily, he's truly too young."
"Heh, this time we'll ensure this brat never returns."
"The blood of young cultivators, tsk tsk, it's been a while since I've savored it."
"Heh, Second Brother, you're too hasty. Don't forget, he also possesses a Foundation Establishment stage demon core. We need to get that first."
"Haha, Eldest Brother speaks wisely. After we obtain all those things from him, it won't be too late to refine him."
"Your mind is only on refinement. I shouldn't have let you cultivate the Blood Rage Art back then. This technique is too sinister; it requires the nourishment of young women's blood periodically. It's ultimately not the righteous path."
"Alright, Eldest Brother, you have the nerve to say that. Every woman I use is one you've finished playing with after dual cultivation. Have I ever complained?"
After finishing their exchange, the two brothers actually burst into laughter.
Wang Fu, standing by their side, listened in terror. Were these truly the ancestors of the Wang family? They were too perverse!
"Wang Fu, you've done well. This is your reward. Eat this, and you'll live at least twenty more years," the elder threw a red pill towards Wang Fu.
"Thank you, Great Grandfather!" Wang Fu said, tears of gratitude streaming down his face.
Not being able to become a cultivator, gaining a few more years of life was the greatest reward for him. He believed his ancestors wouldn't lie to him.
After Wang Fu left, the elder let out a sinister laugh.
"The dead are the most reliable. If you blame anyone, it's only because you have little cultivation value, yet you are of my Wang family bloodline."
Subsequently, the elder glanced at someone in the corner.
This person was none other than the current patriarch of the Wang family.
"The Ten Thousand Poisons Gu has been planted. This person will be handed over to you later. You should know what to do."
"Yes!"
The Wang family patriarch nodded respectfully.
He certainly knew what to do.
He and the elder cultivated the same technique.
There was only one way to upgrade this technique: by consuming humans!
Moreover, the humans they consumed were 'Gu people'!
'Gu people' were those who had been inflicted with Gu worms. The more potent the Gu worm, the better the effect after consumption. It was even better if they were one's own relatives.
Compared to dual cultivation and refinement, this method was the most vicious.
"However, this Lin Xiao Tian, he actually managed to survive the Kunlun Valley and even made that monster obey him. We should still be cautious."
"Haha, Boss, you're too cautious. He's so young, how strong can he be? Unless his cultivation is above the sixth layer of Qi Refining? You and I both know how difficult that is."
"But he did obtain a Foundation Establishment stage demon core, his strength must have increased significantly."
"How long has it been? Can he absorb it all? Furthermore, no matter how strong he is, he's still just a Qi Refining cultivator. We have magic treasures to assist us. Crippling him would be easy, wasn't that the case with those few from the Lin family back then?"
"Hahaha, true. With magic treasures, it doesn't matter how many Lin family members come; they're all easy prey."
...
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao Tian provided the map given by Wang Fu to the exploration team, which indeed saved them a lot of effort.
However, even with the map from the Wang family, it did not detail the specific depth Lin Xiao Tian was looking for. The rest had to be explored slowly by the exploration team.
A few days later, Lin Xiao Tian received news from the exploration team.
Of the ten teams that ventured in, only one person returned.
The person who returned died before he could even meet Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian glanced at his injuries. This person had actually been drained of blood.
But upon closer inspection, there were no wounds on his body.
To achieve such a feat, Lin Xiao Tian speculated that, similar to the Kunlun Valley, he had encountered some kind of demonic beast.
Lin Xiao Tian arranged for him to be buried with honors and, as per the contract, gave his family a large sum of money, enough for them to live their lives without worry.
Despite the loss of so many exploration teams, Lin Xiao Tian did not give up and continued to dispatch more teams.
Lin Xiao Tian also found Wang Xiang and asked him to find cultivators to take on the mission.
However, Wang Xiang was extremely resistant to this task.
Upon inquiry, Lin Xiao Tian learned that the Death Desert was actually a forbidden zone for cultivators.
Over the years, no cultivator had ever emerged alive from within.
Even for normal people, there was only a ten percent chance of survival.
"Right, someone from the Lin family also entered the desert before, and never came out. He was also a cultivator," Wang Xiang suddenly said.
Lin Xiao Tian was taken aback.
He had never heard of this from his grandmother.
"Who was that person?" Lin Xiao Tian immediately asked.
"The previous patriarch of the Lin family."
Lin Xiao Tian blinked.
The previous patriarch of the Lin family was his own grandfather.
No wonder his grandmother hadn't told him, and was so resistant to his plan to enter the desert. It all stemmed from this.
"It used to be a battlefield. Old Master Lin was in charge of that area. Legend has it that he was later forced into a corner by the enemy and chose to enter the depths of the desert, disappearing without a trace," Wang Xiang finished, then cautiously glanced at Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian listened as Wang Xiang recounted more about the Death Desert. He discovered that the disappearances of the Lin family members were almost all related to the Death Desert.
After bidding farewell to Wang Xiang, Lin Xiao Tian returned to the Lin family and happened to encounter the old lady.
The old lady had been in much better spirits since learning that Qin Yuxiang was pregnant. Previously, when Lin Xiao Tian said he was going to the Death Desert, she would always wear a stern face whenever she saw him. Now, she was much more cheerful, especially since Lin Xiao Tian had contributed significantly to the pregnancy.
"By the way, tomorrow is your grandfather's death anniversary. Prepare yourself, we'll go and pay respects to your grandfather tonight," the old lady sighed.