Eternal Life through Drawing Lots

Time flowed on.

Yet Soaring Cloud Pass was like an insurmountable mountain looming before Fang Yang, remaining unconquered despite his prolonged assault.

「Three days passed.」

In other words, even if Fang Yang and the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe gave up on conquering Soaring Cloud Pass right now, they would still be past the deadline.

They would be late if they advanced, and they would be late if they retreated.

It was a truly disheartening outcome.

A somber silence fell over the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe.

Faced with this outcome, they couldn’t accept it, yet they had no choice but to do so.

The night was dark, illuminated only by candlelight.

Seventh Uncle Fang and Second Uncle Fang, his two clan uncles, stood outside the White Feathered Eagle commander’s tent.

They gazed at the tent, their expressions a mixture of emotions.

Seventh Uncle Fang sighed with regret. "It seems Ah Yang’s decision has ended in failure. Whether we take Soaring Cloud Pass now or not is meaningless."

"Failure is failure. Who can guarantee that every decision they make in life will be the right one?" Second Uncle Fang, however, was far more philosophical.

Then, his eyes glinted as he continued, "Even the Thunder Ancestor, a Tier Nine Venerable, had his moments of obscurity. What we need to do is handle the aftermath for Ah Yang..."

Fang Yang’s two uncles were plotting in secret.

They had to deal with the consequences of him missing the deadline.

They wouldn’t hesitate to mobilize all the Fang clan elders if they had to.

In short, they were determined to protect Fang Yang.

As for Fang Yang making a mistake here, they felt it was perfectly normal.

People grow through trial and error, after all.

As long as Fang Yang could get back on his feet, that was all that mattered.

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the White Feathered Eagle’s main camp tent.

Fang Yang sat cross-legged before a table, his head bowed as he worked through various documents.

However, his eyes were bloodshot, as if to show he was at his wit’s end trying to figure out how to conquer Soaring Cloud Pass.

While Fang Yang feigned distress, the White Feathered Eagle, which served as a sort of Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit for the Bronze Tribe, keenly felt the tribe’s collective anxiety.

For the White Feathered Eagle, the tribe’s anxiety was one thing.

But seeing the sorrow etched between Fang Yang’s brows made its heart ache, as if it were being squeezed by a venomous snake.

In that instant, a moment of clarity returned to the White Feathered Eagle’s eyes.

It flapped its wings softly, stirring a gentle breeze as it moved to stand before Fang Yang.

"SCREE, SCREE..."

The White Feathered Eagle chirped softly, expressing its intentions with a flurry of motion.

It cried out, volunteering itself to Fang Yang, ready to give its all for him.

Even if it meant its own demise, it would resolutely complete its mission!

’Is the Overlord’s aura always this intense?’ Fang Yang thought in surprise.

Then, a rare, gentle smile appeared on his face as he reached out to stroke the White Feathered Eagle’s head.

He soothed it, saying, "Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything."

Having painstakingly dragged things out until they were on the verge of missing the deadline, he certainly couldn’t let the White Feathered Eagle charge into the fray now.

After all, he was merely waiting for the one-month period to end—waiting for the outbreak of the Great Sacrifice Disaster.

In short, he simply did not want the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe to perish.

This was his foundation, a force that truly belonged to him.

Besides, the White Feathered Eagle’s future path was extraordinary.

It even had a chance of becoming a Desolate Beast!

The White Feathered Eagle was linked to his Celestial Eagle Cross Spear killer move; he would never let it be sacrificed for nothing.

...

「Star Fall Mountain.」

In the Thunder Fire Purple Gold Palace.

Boundless lightning flashed, and a churning Sea of Fire billowed.

A powerful energy erupted from the palace, as if its master was taming something incredible.

All who looked upon the Thunder Fire Purple Gold Palace from afar trembled with fear.

"The Monarch still hasn’t fully refined the Three-Plume Cyan Bottle Sacred Artifact..."

This was the exact impression Sen Yue wanted to convey to the world, in order to lull the five great monarchs—Hei Liwu, Muri Guang Huang, and the others—into a false sense of security.

After all, no one knew that his, Sen Yue’s, talent and aptitude were so astounding.

He could easily command the Wish Power of Ten Thousand People and, in an extremely short time, had completely washed away the True Spirit brand left by the Three-Plume Cyan Bottle’s original saintly master.

It could only be said that while people knew the Young Venerables were formidable...

...they didn’t truly comprehend just how formidable they were.

The feats accomplished by the Venerables were simply too exaggerated to seem real.

On this day, as Sen Yue was orchestrating his plans within the Thunder Fire Purple Gold Palace, he suddenly felt a premonition and thought of Fang Yang.

"Mingxin, let me ask you, what is Fang Yang’s situation?" Sen Yue opened his eyes. His Purple Gold Daoist Robe drifted around him, and his voice boomed like a great bell, echoing through the hall.

Outside the meditation chamber, the acolyte Mingxin immediately knelt and replied, "Reporting to the Immortal Master, Fang Yang is still stalled in the Hengyu Mountain Range. I’m afraid he won’t be able to reach the Cloud Sea Archipelago by the deadline..."

When Sen Yue learned of Fang Yang’s current situation, he raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

As he pondered, the faint illusion of a vast Star Realm materialized behind him.

Within it, an immortal crane beat its wings, radiating a bright, holy light.

But at its foundation, there was a dense, blood-black shadow.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover it was a ferocious Evil Dragon, suffused with turbid Demonic Qi, hiding in the depths!

"Fang Yang possesses a grand destiny..."

Sen Yue shook his head and sighed with emotion. "It seems he might truly succeed on the Kun-Peng Path. On that day, it might not be impossible for me to reverse-birth the Sun from the Taiyin!"

The path of Taiyin was already a grand path leading to the level of a Tier Nine Venerable.

If the path of the Sun were added to it, he would rank among the top five of all Venerables!

「Three days later.」

「Hengyu Mountain Range.」

A secret order arrived from the Thunder Punishment Banner, addressed directly to Fang Yang.

’I don’t have to go to the Cloud Sea Archipelago anymore. It’s ordering me to take the White Feathered Eagle tribe and return to the area of the Thunder Punishment Banner’s main garrison...’

Fang Yang held the Purple Gold Secret Order, a look of astonishment on his face.

The order redirected him to the Beast Rushing Mountain Range, which was under the Thunder Punishment Banner’s jurisdiction.

He was to capture, kill, or drive out the pride of Northern Barbarian Lions, forcing them to leave the northern region of the Beast Rushing Mountain Range.

However, he had to accomplish this using only the strength of the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe; he was forbidden from requesting aid from the local garrison!

When Fang Yang announced this news, the members of the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe instantly sighed in despair.

How could they possibly deal with the pride of Northern Barbarian Lions with only the strength of the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe?

That pride of Northern Barbarian Lions was a herd of ten thousand, presided over by a Ten Thousand Beasts King!

Even some Silver Tribes would likely suffer a setback against the Northern Barbarian Lions.

Even Fang Yang looked extremely distressed on the surface, but inwardly, he secretly sighed in relief.

This consequence for missing the deadline was, relatively speaking, still acceptable.

The White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe might seem like a Bronze Tribe, but with Second Uncle Fang and Seventh Uncle Fang present, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a Silver Tribe.

"SCREE?" The uncomprehending White Feathered Eagle blinked its eyes.

Because in its perception, it vaguely sensed that its master, Fang Yang, was... happy?