Eternal Life through Drawing Lots

The curtain had fallen.

The battle had ended.

The downpour ceased, and the storm dissipated.

The incredibly fierce battle finally concluded with the death of the great demon and the annihilation of the beast tide.

On the Yanshi Great River, everything seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

But the diverted streams, the turbid, bloody water, and the shattered debris all spoke of the battle’s brutality.

"Fang Yang, thank you for your help," Chen Xing said with a sincere expression.

Chen Yuan, shedding her usual composure, said with lingering fear, "If you hadn’t stepped in to help, I’m afraid Wenxi would have been doomed."

Qing Wenxi nodded hurriedly, all her previous confidence and coldness gone.

The debt of saving one’s life was not something to be taken lightly.

Besides, she was no heartless ingrate; she was naturally immensely grateful to Fang Yang.

"Heh, no need to be so polite." Fang Yang gave a faint smile, not taking the credit. "If any of you were in my position, you would have helped our clan sister Wenxi, too."

But regardless, the fact that he had saved Qing Wenxi was undeniable.

As Fang Yang was the foremost expert of his generation—the young prodigy who had supplanted Sen Wei’s place in the hierarchy—his every move was quickly learned by others.

This was also one of the reasons so many young prodigies wanted to defeat him and quickly make a name for themselves.

Under such circumstances, the story of Fang Yang saving Qing Wenxi spread like wildfire, without him even having to lift a finger.

Those who heard of his actions were all rather surprised.

In the public’s mind, Fang Yang had always been a cold, even cruel, person.

No one ever imagined that Fang Yang would one day save someone.

Before long, however, they had come up with their own explanation for Fang Yang’s behavior:

"Fang Yang was probably just withdrawn because he was ostracized by his classmates before."

"That makes sense. It’s normal for an orphan like him to be cold and solitary."

"Heh, his true nature isn’t bad, after all. I knew it. How could someone favored by the Sen clan be a bad egg?"

Gradually, these remarks coalesced into a storm of consensus.

When Fang Yang learned of this "storm of consensus," he was surprised himself.

’All I can say is, once you’ve stormed the fortress, the scholars line up to champion your cause!’

...

The Aquamarine Palace.

Two Frost Horses, one large and one small, were trotting about playfully.

Meanwhile, Fang Yang sat with Fang Min in a garden pavilion, savoring their tea.

"I still don’t have any specific intel on that great demon’s origins."

"But I’ve heard it’s connected to the Dao of Stars."

"And that phenomenon you’ve always wanted to see—’the moon over the sea, rising with the tide’—is set to appear at dusk in three days."

"Are you sure you won’t stay a while longer?"

With that, Fang Min lifted her teacup.

She blew gently on the hot tea, and the fragrance of jasmine filled the air.

Her limpid, expressive eyes gazed at Fang Yang, full of affection.

She was very fond of her younger cousin, Fang Yang.

Growing up, Fang Yang had always been exceptionally mature—so mature it was almost heartbreaking.

And unlike Fang Xuan, Fang Lanxi, and the others, Fang Yang was never rambunctious.

It was for this reason that when it came to Fang Yang’s cold demeanor, esteemed clan elders like Second Uncle Fang would only say he was *like* the Carp Eagle Ancestor, Fang Nian, not that he *was* Fang Nian.

Fang Yang was not the same as Fang Nian.

Fang Yang’s coldness was a manifestation of extreme rationality.

At this moment, Fang Yang glanced at the tea in his cup and said slowly, "Like you, sister, I am now responsible for guarding a territory.

If I’m absent from the Leran Grassland for too long, it will destabilize the soldiers’ morale. In a more serious case, it could even lead to suspicion..."

A few tea leaves drifted in his cup, swaying with the gentle ripples.

The two of them, sister and brother, quietly soaked in the serene atmosphere, exchanging a few words now and then.

But their relationship, ultimately, was not as close as it once had been.

They each had their own world now; they no longer revolved around each other.

Inside the Aquamarine Palace, all was peaceful and serene, a picture of tranquil times.

Outside the Aquamarine Palace, however, the scene was bustling with feverish activity.

Soldiers were busy clearing the river and salvaging the remains of Fierce Beasts.

This was all about cold, hard profit!

The more they collected, the more Yuan Stones they earned.

Perhaps for commanders and generals like Fang Yang and Fang Min, they wouldn’t stoop to competing with their soldiers for profit.

If they did, they would ruin the reputation they had painstakingly built and be looked down upon by their superiors.

In the long run, the loss of profit would be far greater.

It wasn’t that they didn’t vie for profit—they simply vied for much greater stakes.

But the common soldiers below would never think that way.

It was dirty, unsightly work, but who would turn their nose up at more Yuan Stones?

Even people from neighboring tribes came sneaking around to salvage Fierce Beast carcasses.

"Oh, right, old-timer."

"You just have to smear this ointment all over your body. That’s how you’ll attract the Spirit Fish."

On a certain stretch of the river, Wu Zhou... that is, Friday, stood on a small boat.

He was speaking to an old man.

The old man’s body was slathered in the herbal paste.

Ever since parting ways with Lin Tianxue, Ma Hao, and the others in the underground grotto that day, Friday had left the Snow Swallow’s Bronze Tribe to become a Loose Cultivator—a demonic cultivator.

And now, he was tricking an old man into acting as human bait to catch fish—a truly black-hearted scheme!

’I never thought Fang Yang could control a thousand Flying Eagles. His power is even more imposing than a Tier Three Cultivator’s... Truly terrifying.’

Friday mused to himself as he waited for the Spirit Fish to arrive.

’If he had just endured a hundred years as a Daoist soldier in the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, he might have had the chance to become a Daoist disciple and formally join their ranks.’

’He might even have had the opportunity to inherit the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Manifestation] and become a legendary general!’

’If that had happened, maybe he could have stood as Fang Yang’s equal.’

’But the path of a hundred-year Daoist soldier was far too difficult.’

’Even for the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, which dominated the Heavenly Domain, a prodigy who could complete the hundred-year path and inherit the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Manifestation] was a once-in-a-millennium occurrence!’

"SPLISH, SPLASH..."

The sound of swimming fish reached his ears, and Friday’s eyes lit up instantly.

His expression unchanging, he looked on until he saw a school of fish swarming the old man, tearing at his flesh.

Only then did he leisurely make his move.

Although he hadn’t obtained the inheritance of the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Manifestation], he had mastered the fundamental techniques of the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.

And so, when dealing with ordinary Spirit Fish and Loose Cultivators, he naturally succeeded time and again.

...

「Three days later.」

「Dusk.」

On Heart Lake Island, the grass was lush and orioles took to the sky.

Fang Yang stood there quietly, his gaze fixed on the great river.

Behind him stood Second Uncle Fang and Fang Min.

They actually had many questions about why Fang Yang wanted to see the "moon over the sea, rising with the tide" phenomenon.

As far as they knew, the Carp Eagle inheritance had no Secret Technique that made use of such a phenomenon for cultivation.

But since Fang Yang didn’t elaborate, they could only bury their questions deep in their hearts.

’Perhaps Sen Hui helped him?’

’If they asked, wouldn’t that be incredibly awkward?’

"SWOOSH..."

"SPLASH..."

"CRASH..."

As time passed, the last rays of the setting sun vanished, and darkness fell.

Fang Yang’s figure seemed to be swallowed by the darkness, becoming difficult to discern.

At that exact moment, the river tide swelled with immense power, seeming to merge heaven and earth.

Then, a bright moon slowly rose, emerging in unison with the tide in a magnificent, breathtaking spectacle.

In the eyes of Fang Min and Second Uncle Fang, it looked as if a vast, bright moon was rising behind Fang Yang at that very moment, its power blanketing the world.

Bathed in the light of the brilliant moon, Fang Yang looked like the Taiyin Star Monarch descending upon the mortal realm, creating an incredibly powerful visual impact.

For Fang Yang, however, this moment meant something else. He could feel the Stellar Power that had lain dormant within him for so long stirring to life once more.

It was as if something was calling out to him!

And so, following the pull of the Stellar Power within him, he slowly reached out his hand.

A ball of starlight materialized in his hand, brilliant and dazzling.

The next moment, a ball of divine light appeared from nowhere, tearing through the void.

Like a magnet drawn to iron, the divine light shot straight into his hand, merging with the ball of starlight.

This bizarre scene immediately unsettled Fang Yang’s two elders.

One’s mouth twitched, at a loss for words.

The other blinked her limpid eyes again and again, as if trying to make a silent, helpless complaint.