Chapter 61: The Ageless Dog and Cat, Safely Delivered

He slowly closed his eyes.

The item gifted to him split into two: one part remained in reality, the other naturally belonged to the game world.

Deep within his consciousness, a blood-red bottle appeared, its surface engraved with two detailed images.

The first image depicted a sapling, slowly growing larger as millennia and eons passed. Watching this fast-forwarded scene, Hua Tian saw the sapling become a towering tree that stood shoulder to shoulder with the sky. He understood this represented the process of tenacious life...

The second image was of a group of animals gradually dying, then new lives emerging among them, only to fade away in turn. Hua Tian studied this scene, uncertain of its true meaning, but did not dwell on it, instead searching for some method to break through.

He didn’t understand his old Yellow—it was an animal. Its life was nearing its end; was this about tenacious vitality?

That patent wasn’t the main point—wasn’t it for plants?

Never mind, what should be done for animals?

Should he erase the two words “about to die” from the image? Or directly disrupt the order of life in the second picture?

Torn, Hua Tian considered and opted for the second approach.

If the first could be used, wouldn’t that mean he himself could become immortal?

Open the bottle’s cap? The prompt was to open the cap.

He did so silently, then took out a single drop of the liquid hidden inside.

Staring deeply at it, he saw its detailed information leap before him.

He was stunned—wasn’t he still on the real side? How could the information appear here?

Item: Tenacity Elixir

Grade: Immortal

Description: In the Origin World, this was the first sap of the Primordial Tree, the only giant tree to survive the first breaking of life’s shackles. Any being that drinks or swallows it can hear the innermost thoughts of all things, never ages, is nearly impossible to kill, immune to parasites, and it is also the main ingredient for crafting the Three Lives Pill.

Skill: None

Note: The sap, taken directly, has overwhelming aftereffects. It can be divided into a hundred million portions.

Immortal grade sits below Sovereign, above Void.

Three Lives Pill: Pill of All Beings, Rebirth Pill, Transmigration Pill.

“I choose to divide it!”

“Very well! But if you divide it, you must use it outside. One minute after leaving, it will disappear!”

Hua Tian listened to the bottle’s voice and looked at the large heap of elixir in his hand.

He wanted to say: How am I supposed to use it outside right now!

His consciousness returned to his body; his eyes flickered open. With a thought, he saw a group of yellow dogs sitting on the ground, gazing at him, and looked up at his father, who was still tidying the house.

He went to Old Yellow’s side, gathered all the dogs, cats, and the wolf cub together.

He fed Old Yellow and the oldest cat each the largest drop.

The two eldest animals swallowed it, and instantly, a dazzling white light enveloped them. They stuck out their tongues, shaking them—it was so bitter.

Hua Tian, oblivious to their subtle reactions, continued feeding the others.

Once all the animals had been given their share, he unhesitatingly swallowed an even larger drop himself. It tasted sweet and delicious; he wanted another, but then recalled his father hadn’t had any. Looking down, he saw all the leftover elixir had vanished.

He stared at his palm as if what had just been there had never existed. Glancing at the white light surrounding the animals, he saw the transformation was still ongoing.

Hua Tian breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t fake, it would be fine—he could always do it again next time he entered.

He tried to return to the game world, but was jolted awake instantly.

The bottle told him there was a time limit—a three-year vacuum period would follow.

Never mind, if they want more, they’ll have to wait three years!

Before he could enter again, the two animals beside him—the ones defying life’s limits and fate—were surrounded by ever-brightening white light.

So bright that even Tian’s father, busy inside, felt something was off with the lighting.

Luckily, it was ten in the morning, the house faced west, and it was hot outside, so even a stronger white light wouldn’t alarm the villagers. They’d just assume Tian’s son was playing with reflective light again, teasing his dogs and cats.

Tian’s father, noticing no lights were on inside, came out curiously.

He saw the two largest cat and dog bathed in ascending white light.

He stepped closer; why weren’t the other animals glowing?

But then, the other animals who had received the elixir also began to emit towering white beams, one after another—a hundred shafts of light reaching the sky.

A saying crossed Tian’s father’s mind: “When one attains the Dao, even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.”

Could they really be so lucky? As he was letting his mind run wild, he saw his own son now shining with a light even more intense than the animals’.

That confirmed his guess.

After a while, all the white light vanished together. Tian’s father noted that none of them had actually flown away.

He glanced down at Old Yellow.

At first, he wasn’t concerned, but then he was startled.

Old Yellow’s stiff white fur had turned soft and golden, and his eyes and movements were now lively and fresh, indistinguishable from a newborn pup.

If not for his still large size, just over a meter, Tian’s father would have suspected he’d been raising a fake or that his old companion had been pretending all along.

Old Yellow immediately leaped into Tian’s father’s arms.

Feeling the subtle changes, Tian’s father recognized his dog’s familiar habits—it was still him.

He thought, “Has he really changed? Become younger?”

He stroked Old Yellow’s fur, finding it smooth and comfortable, just like a puppy’s.

Old Black, seeing his old master embrace Old Yellow, couldn’t stay calm and jumped up as well.

Tian’s father, enjoying the moment, suddenly saw a black shadow flash before him—it was Old Black, launching himself so fiercely that Tian’s father, arms full of Old Yellow, staggered forward and nearly fell backward from the impact.

Hua Tian hurried over to help, but the other animals rushed past him and formed a furry wall behind Tian’s father, cushioning his fall.

He ended up sprawled on the ground, arms full of dogs, cats, and the white wolf, his head pillowed on a chubby calico cat, while the rest licked him gently.

Watching, Hua Tian heard him mutter, “Good, good! Heaven has eyes! Our ancestors are watching over us!”

Why was he so moved?

Because when he was young, their village had deadly snakes. If you encountered one, you couldn’t outrun its strike; you’d either be poisoned or, if lucky, scare it off with a group. If not, you had to kill it with care.

Later, some villagers started keeping dogs, which would investigate any snakes out of curiosity.

Many people and dogs died; both sides harbored deep enmity.

Sometimes it was a deadly trade-off—a snake would bite a dog or person, and the enraged dog would kill the snake. Sometimes, with experience, the dog or person would kill the snake unharmed or scare it off by sheer presence, but if bitten, the snake would not be frightened away, and a fight was inevitable...

His father belonged to the latter group. On his first day in the fields, he encountered a venomous snake that had already bitten a dog. If not for his grandfather's ferocious old female dog, which killed the snake instantly, and grandfather’s quick action, his father might have been lost to the snake’s dying strike.

Afterwards, he no longer resented dogs, truly regarding them as companions. Old Yellow was from his grandfather’s line, the only pup of the old dog to survive a snake’s fangs.

Seeing his father unable to move, Hua Tian silently took over the chores.

Which was just as well; there was no way to explain the secret. His father said, “Heaven has eyes.”

This power—

You could call it Heaven’s will! Very well, time to keep tidying up.

Hua Tian went to his room, where there was only a pitiful little wooden bed, the rest filled with exercise equipment and a stack of books from his high school days of hard study. He packed up everything still usable, leaving behind anything that wasn’t.

After a last look at the remnants of the past, he turned off the lights.

When he came out, his mood soured.

The reason? He didn’t even know what else to bring, so he headed outside to load his things into the car.

Tian’s father, puzzled, watched his son head out. His son had glowed too; perhaps he’d done something for him.

Earlier, his son had been outside alone—could it be?

When Hua Tian returned, his father asked, “Tian, did you just feed them something?”

Hua Tian thought it over and decided to answer.

“Yes, there’s an old remedy in the game that can reduce sickness, so I tried it on the dogs.”

As soon as he said it, he realized it sounded full of holes—what remedy was that?

“Really? Good. For the dogs’ sake, next time I enter the game, I’ll play seriously and look for that miraculous remedy myself.”

With that, Tian’s father energetically helped Hua Tian clean the house, sealing every possible gap with putty, covering doors and windows with windproof cloth and iron curtains, and packing all their bank cards and essentials.

With the house locked up—knowing the courtyard couldn’t be fully secured—he cleaned out the lowest drains again and loaded all the cats, dogs, and the white wolf into the car.

Tian’s father sat beside a mountain of clothes and supplies; the passenger seat was filled with Hua Tian’s fitness gear, topped by the two eldest animals squeezed together.

The next row was Tian’s father, driver’s seat in front—perfect for knocking his head if needed.

Behind him was a dense pack of dogs, cats, and wolf pups.

Because he’d previously been asked to drive slowly—too many sharp turns on the road—they couldn’t let the two dogs run alongside.

At one point, Tian’s father turned around and saw them chasing the car, desperate to catch up. He tapped Hua Tian on the head, and after stopping, they realized it still wasn’t safe.

They decided to run alongside the car, pushing it quickly for six hours until they reached the welding shop.

After the mountain roads, they parked outside and Hua Tian went in alone.

“Hello, I’d like you to build a temporary double compartment for my car. It needs to hold tight in transit and be easy to remove later.”

The welders first thought it was just an old junk car, but when they got a closer look, they didn’t dare move rashly. Fortunately, having seen pictures of the latest pickup trucks online, they recognized the make—otherwise, they might have offended the scruffy owner.

Rich people pretending to be poor—truly dangerous!

The foreman quietly warned his colleagues not to offend this customer.

“Boss, this is a million-dollar car. Are you sure you want to modify it? Isn’t this a bit too extravagant for just transporting goods?”

“No choice. If I drive fast, things will fall out; if I go slow, I can’t bear it.”

“All right, I’ll get started right away. By the way, what type of cargo are you moving?”

“Nothing complicated, just animals—I want them comfortable.”

“Boss, you know, with this car’s safety, you could fit seventy or eighty animals in here easily!”

Hua Tian overheard their coded exchange and smiled, gesturing for them to take a look.

The foreman peeked in and saw the car packed with dogs and cats. No wonder he’d come.

He rolled the car over and saw the inside stuffed with luggage—just like moving house—and stopped asking questions, hurrying to work.

Two hours later, the sweaty welders finished the job.

Hua Tian paid them ten thousand yuan on the spot.

The finished compartment was like a cargo container, adding two connected layers with sturdy foam flooring inside. The original lower section was the only exit, reinforced with wire mesh.

Tian’s father put the older animals below, checking the welding for comfort, then placed the smaller ones on top, taped his phone beside them, and connected the game watch for video monitoring—ready to stop the car at the slightest problem.

Hua Tian, standing by, thought his father was being overly cautious. After all, the animals couldn’t die now.

They started off slowly, but as no problems arose, gradually picked up speed.

Every minute, Tian’s father checked the animals, counting dogs and cats to make sure none were missing, and relaxed as he watched the video feed.

He petted the puppy by his side, while Old Yellow and Old Black stared out the back window at their “harem.”

By the time they reached their new home, it was nearly 8 p.m.

Tian’s father was pleased with the new courtyard his wife had prepared.

Tian’s mother came out, knowing exactly why her husband had brought so many animals. Having been saved by them once, he’d raised dogs and cats, forgetting about his own health.

After unloading the animals and counting them again, Tian’s father checked for any mishaps.

The chorus of barks and meows soon attracted the neighbors’ attention. Seeing the earnest man at the center, no one disturbed him.

Only after he finished did people ask, and with Tian’s mother’s explanation, the onlookers understood his passion for animals.

Some stayed to watch or learn from his experience before buying pets themselves.

After settling in, Tian’s father remembered his childhood promise—if they ever had a good house, he’d provide a good environment for the animals too.

But Hua Tian’s next words left him dumbfounded.

“They can’t roam freely here. What about their food? We’re not in the countryside anymore, where they could hunt for themselves!”