William Carter lifted the old man's withered hand, but William Carter had to raise his own arm high just to barely touch the old man's hand. The old man bent his back slightly, gently grasped the tender little hand, and felt the faint warmth coming from William Carter's palm.

William Carter and the old man entered the house and sat directly at the table. William Carter said to the old man, "Old sir, in a moment I'll teach you a chant. Try to circulate your battle energy according to the chant, understand?"

"You’re going to teach me?" The old man smiled bitterly and nodded. At nearly a hundred years old, he was actually going to be taught by William Carter, a three-year-old child.

William Carter took the old man's hand and began, "Stars shift, mountains fall, rivers and seas overturn, break through the barrier..."

This chant from William Carter was not a cultivation formula, but rather a way for the old man to use his own battle energy to refine the immortal energy. At the same time, William Carter gently guided the immortal energy into the old man's body.

William Carter did not infuse a large amount, because the celestial spirit flower was 'too potent'—ordinary people could hardly withstand the nourishment of immortal energy.

Moreover, the old man was too unfamiliar with immortal energy. If too much was infused at once and the old man was startled, the immortal energy could go out of control. Not only would the infused energy be wasted, but the old man's injuries could also worsen.

While infusing immortal energy, William Carter also drew out the cold, gloomy energy—extracting a portion and then infusing an equal portion of immortal energy, waiting for the old man to refine it.

At first, the old man hesitated. After all, cultivation methods should not be practiced lightly; if the method had an opposing attribute, it could even affect his own battle energy.

However, after only a moment's hesitation, the old man began to try circulating his energy according to William Carter's chant.

The old man did not fully trust William Carter's chant, but he didn't want to hurt William Carter. He didn't want to hurt a child who trusted and cared about him.

As the old man circulated William Carter's chant, he did not sense the presence of immortal energy in his body, but there were no adverse effects either—his battle energy still flowed smoothly.

However, while circulating, the old man always felt as if there was something extra inside him, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The old man and William Carter sat quietly like this for more than half a day before the old man managed to refine a trace of immortal energy, and William Carter had only extracted a trace of the cold, gloomy energy.

Perhaps the amount of immortal energy was too small, so the old man's battle energy did not change much. This was good news—at least for William Carter, who didn't have to worry about changing the treatment method if the old man's battle energy changed.

As for the cold, gloomy energy that William Carter extracted, it was less than one-twentieth of the total—almost negligible in terms of impact on the old man's body.

Healing is, after all, a gradual process, especially when dealing with an ailment that has accumulated over fifty years. Moreover, the immortal energy would continuously nourish the old man's body, and as his health gradually improved, William Carter would be able to extract more and more of the cold, gloomy energy each time.

After completing a full cycle, the old man slowly finished and opened his eyes. For some reason, he felt a bit lighter, as if the pain had lessened.

Of course, the old man did not believe this was thanks to William Carter, since the persistent pain in his body still reminded him otherwise.

"Little one, you haven't left yet?"

The old man smiled at William Carter, a bit surprised that the fifth child of the Fang family, known for being mischievous and restless, could sit still for three hours.

"Either way, I'd be alone if I went back, and you're alone too, so old sir, you can keep me company." William Carter grinned, his face beaming.

The old man was stunned, his eyes stinging with emotion. In truth, he was the one who needed companionship the most, yet William Carter said he was keeping the old man company.

"Old sir, what's your surname and given name?" William Carter asked bluntly.

"This old man’s surname is Ye, given name Fan. Now, even the current head of the Fang family has to call me Mr. Night." The old man said calmly, "I've served four generations of Fang family heads. If you become the next head, and if I live that long, maybe I'll serve the fifth generation, haha..."

"I don't want to be the head. The eldest has already been set as the next head of the Fang family, so I won't get involved," William Carter said directly.

Mr. Night was taken aback, then chuckled. In previous generations, every member of the Fang family fought with all their might for the position of family head. But this generation was different—the second and third sons had run away to travel and make their own way, and the eldest was set as the next head only because Fang Hao tricked him when he was young.

Outsiders had no idea how many people coveted the position of Fang family head, but these siblings were carefree, preferring to live freely rather than rule the most powerful family in the northern desert.

William Carter was secretly amazed. He had thought Mr. Night was at most around eighty, but hearing that he had served four generations of family heads, that was the status of a great-grandfather—at least a hundred years old.

What William Carter didn't know was that, although cultivating battle energy couldn't defy the heavens like true cultivation, it still greatly extended one's lifespan. Mr. Night was already fifty when he was injured, and now, fifty years later, he was exactly a hundred.

"Mr. Night, who was it from the Li family that injured you back then?"

"It was the Li family patriarch. Back then, he had already reached the seventh rank. It's said that for the past twenty years, he's been in seclusion, striving to break through to the eighth rank." Mr. Night's eyes grew cloudy, as if recalling the past.