Eternal Life through Drawing Lots

Beast Rushing Mountain Range.

The encampment of the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe.

With Fang Yang’s fame spreading far and wide, the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe, in turn, became widely known.

A big name casts a long shadow.

Whether for good or for ill, as long as a name was known, it drew attention.

Under these circumstances, more and more people began arriving near the Beast Rushing Mountain Range. A great many of them were traveling merchants hoping to do business with the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe.

The fears of the merchant guilds were gradually being realized.

In other words, the White Feathered Eagle Bronze Tribe had, almost single-handedly, consolidated most of the resources in the area.

The red sun sank in the west, but had not yet completely set. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

A faint light still lingered in the sky, but the surroundings were already shrouded in a hazy veil.

In the core of the Beast Rushing Mountain Range, the marketplace was brightly lit, with the Three Oranges Restaurant shining the brightest of all.

At this moment, in an underground chamber of the Three Oranges Restaurant, several black-robed figures were gathered.

And among them, surprisingly, was the Moon Lady Envoy of the Human Desire Sect!

"My Lady, Fang Yang is deeply favored by Sen Hui and receives a great deal of attention from Sen Yue and Sen Wei. It’s very difficult for us to plot against him," a trembling, white-haired old woman said from beneath her black robe.

"Indeed. Besides, the world is teeming with countless geniuses. Why must we be so fixated on Fang Yang?" a large, bushy-bearded man asked.

Life had been difficult for them lately.

Especially after Sen Yue announced that their Human Desire Sect was responsible for the blood sacrifice of thousands of tribes. Since then, they had lived on pins and needles, terrified of exposing themselves and inviting annihilation.

So, after the white-haired old woman and the bushy-bearded man spoke, the others began whispering among themselves. They all urged the Moon Lady Envoy to change her plan.

The Moon Lady blinked her foxy eyes and shook her head. "In the Xuan Domain, Fang Yang is the only one who can trade blows with Sen Wei."

Her words immediately silenced the room.

Originally, they had pinned their hopes on Muri Shengkai, their chosen "Son of Debauchery," who they expected would sow chaos throughout the Xuan Domain.

But as fate would have it, Shengkai’s luck was abysmal. He was killed by the Fierce Beast, the Autumn Cicada.

And it was for this very reason that they were forced to turn their attention to Fang Yang.

...

「Autumn passed and winter came.」

The biting wind howled, WOOOO, freezing the land into a sheet of white.

Under Sen Wei’s leadership, the great army set out. The planned route was:

—First, they would reach the Minghai Race, then the Dongfang Race, and finally return to the Changkong Race.

Now, the army had passed through the territory of the Minghai Race and arrived at the lands of the Dongfang Race.

The Dongfang Race had once possessed numerous Cloud Islands.

But due to the previous blood sacrifice, the Cloud Islands had suffered devastating losses. Even though they had since been gradually repairing islands of all sizes, the damage was indelible.

For instance, their time-honored Guan River Festival would have to be suspended for the foreseeable future.

Rime coated the trees, and the sky was a deathly white.

One by one, the members of the Dongfang Race bid farewell to their comrades-in-arms.

Afterward, they beat their wings and flew toward the Cloud Islands, like fledglings returning to the nest.

"Fang Yang, take care. We’ll meet again at the Thunder Saint Academy," Dongfang Xuezhi said with a gentle smile, waving a light farewell.

"Fang Yang, don’t you forget! You promised me we’d have a duel in the Thunder Saint Academy." Dongfang Moran beat his wings and left without looking back.

Fang Yang stood in the snow, silently watching them leave.

For the most part, these prodigies had all sought him out before their departure, making plans to meet again at the Thunder Saint Academy.

’It was as if this was some kind of mandatory ritual.’

’Somehow, I’ve taken Sen Wei’s place, becoming an insurmountable mountain for my generation!’

’It’s as if defeating me would make one the champion of our generation.’

"’Meet at the Thunder Saint Academy...’" Fang Yang’s gaze grew profound.

’The requirements for entering the Thunder Saint Academy are extremely strict.’

’Not only does one need a Grade-A Spirit Body, but you also need a recommendation from a Saint!’

’That’s why Chen Ying told me that if anything went wrong, I could turn to her for help and go to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life to seek the Dao and immortality.’

’But if I went to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, my primary identity would no longer be a member of the Golden Clan. I would have to put the Mansion’s interests first.’

After a moment of contemplation, Fang Yang let out a long breath.

He then set off for the rear of the column, making a special trip to visit Chang Ruhui.

He felt he could now be considered a Tier One Array Master.

However, there were still some difficult aspects of the Array Dao that he didn’t quite understand and for which he needed an expert’s help.

A million wolves howled in unison, their cries shaking the heavens.

Seeing Fang Yang’s arrival, Chang Ruhui was somewhat surprised.

Chang Ruhui: "You wouldn’t come here without a reason. Is this about the Enslavement Dao or the Array Dao?"

Fang Yang: "The Array Dao..."

From dawn until dusk, Fang Yang remained with Chang Ruhui, dedicating himself to mastering the Array Dao.

At dusk, Chang Ruhui watched Fang Yang leave.

’A Tier One Array Master.’

’No, Fang Yang has even touched the barrier of a Tier Two Array Master.’

’And I learned from our conversation that Fang Yang only studies the *True Explanations of the Array Dao* when he’s bored.’

"Is he able to grasp all of this by analogy?" Chang Ruhui sighed softly. ’What terrifying aptitude, what enviable talent.’

’Compared to Fang Yang, I feel like I’ve wasted all my years.’

’In fact, I was qualified to face my Saint Tribulation during this Saint Ascension Conference.’

’But when the time came, I backed down.’

’I was afraid of dying in the tribulation, so I didn’t dare use the Saint Formation to begin my own.’

「Elsewhere.」

After Fang Yang returned from Chang Ruhui’s place, he gradually set aside matters of the Array Dao and Enslavement Dao.

But to his surprise, the Small Frost Horse actually broke through, growing into a Tier One Peak Fierce Beast.

"NEIGH, NEIGH~" The Small Frost Horse bucked and gamboled with joy.

Fang Yang watched, a little exasperated. "Tier One Peak... your growth period has been a little on the long side. The Xuan-Yu War is already over, and we still haven’t fought side-by-side."

’It was strange, now that I think about it.’

’Back then, I’d gone to great lengths to cultivate and build connections just to adopt the Small Frost Horse.’

’But as fate would have it, just as the Small Frost Horse was about to reach Tier Two and I could finally ride it, the Xuan-Yu War ended.’

Of course, Fang Yang knew the reason things had gone beyond his predictions wasn’t that the Small Frost Horse had grown too slowly.

But rather that Sen Yue’s unification of the Xuan Domain had been too fast. Far, far too fast!

Who could have imagined that Sen Yue, having stepped into the realm of a Young Venerable, could resist a Sacred Artifact with one hand and suppress five masters alone?

If you told someone about such a thing, no one would believe it.

But, against all odds, Sen Yue had done it!

"So be it, so be it."

Fang Yang bent down and stroked the Small Frost Horse’s forelock. "Just keep growing up strong. I look forward to the day we can fight side-by-side."

The Small Frost Horse didn’t understand, but it pranced anyway, circling around Fang Yang.

Day after day passed in a cycle of setting suns and rising moons.

As the days went by, Sen Wei’s grand army gradually dispersed until only the Eight Banners of the Changkong Race remained.

Closer, and closer still.

Finally, just before the Thunder Festival—the New Year—they successfully neared their clan’s homeland.