The Lifespan Life Pattern was a most peculiar thing, deciding whether a cultivator lived or died.
And to obtain a high-grade Lifespan required not only talent but also fortune.
In the Dao Book of the Nether Cycle of Yanfu – Lifespan Chapter, the section regarding the Lifespan Life Pattern was shrouded in deliberate vagueness.
It was said that Yanfu Dao had once offended some ancient deity; ever since then, whenever disciples attempted to "draw" a Lifespan Life Pattern, the results were abysmal.
One former Yanfu Successor, known as Seeing Ghosts, was born under miraculous omens six lives of reincarnation, fated from birth, awakening two innate Heavenly Mandates, and attended by a second-rank Ghost Emperor.
By the age of seven, he had condensed the Saint Manifestation of the Blood Sea Butcher of Avīci Hell, achieving Dragon-Elephant Perfection, and by eight, condensed his first Blue-Blood Life-Essence, reaching half-step Seventh Rank.
His talent was peerless and his path smooth.
But from that point onward, he began an agonizing journey of "drawing" for Lifespan.
For the next 197 years, Seeing Ghosts burned mountains of Fate-Fire upon his Dharma Body, drawing 34,527 times in total.
The first 30,000 draws exhausted all his accumulated cultivation resources.
He then borrowed heavily from the sect and drew another 4,000 times before finally obtaining a satisfactory Lifespan Life Pattern.
Though this ordeal did not prevent him from eventually achieving the rank of Second-Grade Yanfu Emperor and departing to the Northern Heavens, the experience left him scarred for life.
Those years watching his lifespan bleed away while resources vanished into the void made him the most infamous "unlucky draw king" in Yanfu history.
Another predecessor, Ghost Mao, was no less exceptional.
Born with the Holy Flesh Banquet Physique, he awakened the Five Elemental Heavenly Mandates: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, each tied to one of the Five Organs. His foundational roots were unimaginably deep.
Before the age of ten, he had condensed the Saint Manifestation of the Flesh-Banquet of Five Punishments, attaining half-step Seventh Rank, only a few years behind Seeing Ghosts.
Ghost Mao too fared terribly with his Lifespan draws, over 20,000 attempts spanning 107 years before success.
Had Seeing Ghosts not later broken that record, Ghost Mao's infamy would have echoed through the sect for centuries.
Beyond these two "top-tier unluckies," Yanfu Dao had many mid-tier cultivators who also drew over ten thousand times without success.
Many of Yanfu Dao's great powers bore similar, miserable scars in their histories.
Such was the curse of the Lifespan Life Pattern.
Too weak a Dharma Body, and one would never form a strong Lifespan.
Too strong a Dharma Body, and Heaven itself seemed to resent it; the cost per draw multiplied, and the odds of success plummeted, as though the very Dao cast a "misfortune aura" upon you.
Even the most gifted Yanfu Successors, those who achieved Saint Manifestations, would find themselves bottlenecked for decades at the Seventh Rank, wasting time and essence in endless failed Lifespan attempts.
Though nearly all past Yanfu Successors eventually reached the upper Three Grades, the wasted years and resources left deep pain behind.
Yet Jing Qian, having awakened his Lifespan Life Pattern while still in the Ninth Rank, possessed a heaven-defying stroke of fortune.
For him, the resources others squandered on drawing blind boxes could instead be poured directly into reforging, guaranteeing the birth of a supreme Lifespan Life Pattern.
Even more crucially, freed from the tyranny of chance, he would waste no years in the Longevity Realm.
He already knew his plan clearly: once he had drained the Ghost Origin Hall dry, regardless of how high his Lifespan Life Pattern rose, he would deprioritize it, shifting all effort toward the next great leap.
As long as the Spiritual Construct he retrieved from Hidden Sword Mountain was strong enough, he would immediately break through to the Subduing Spirits Realm, beginning the condensation of his Fiendfire.
Only then could he keep pace with Master Shang Xi's grand design.
His teacher had schemed for over three millennia to set this in motion
; to miss that chance would be unforgivable.
The Lotus-Forging Fate-Fire Art roared on, drawing the Ghost Hall's vast energies into Jing Qian's body, allowing him to enhance his Lifespan Life Pattern without restraint.
Each enhancement consumed two thousand Azure-Wing Life-Essences, and within a single minute, he could reinforce it three times.
In one day, that was 4,320 reforgings, costing 8.64 million Life-Essences, equal to 8,640 Golden-Root Life-Essences.
Such mana could forge 864 supreme-grade Divine Fiendfires, or 86 top-tier Immortal Auras exceeding the lifetime accumulation of most Star-Seizer Sovereigns.
When all this power poured into Jing Qian, his Lifespan Life Pattern surged skyward.
By the end of the first day, it had successfully advanced into the Golden Root Life Pattern and continued to strengthen at a staggering pace.
By this point, nearly ninety percent of the spiritual energy within the entire hall had been consumed.
Yet Jing Qian showed not a shred of mercy; he had no intention of leaving the fat serpent a single wisp.
He continued reforging for another two full hours, until the Ghost Origin Hall's aura was nearly indistinguishable from that of the outside world. Only then did he finally stop.
At this moment, his Lifespan Life Pattern had reached a truly absurd level: "Two Months, Two Days."
Every passing year now granted him an additional sixty-two years of life, an utterly monstrous result.
At last, Jing Qian had fulfilled his cultivation plan in full.
This breakthrough shattered every previous limit of his strength, granting him comprehensive improvement in every manifestation. More importantly, he could already sense that a period of explosive power growth was about to begin, and the thought filled him with boundless anticipation.
Slowly, Jing Qian emerged from his meditative trance. The Three-Life Reincarnation Eye at his brow opened a thin slit; a single glance swept across his body.
The faint disharmony between spirit and flesh left by his recent ascension instantly vanished under the Eye's divine power. His body and mind became one, seamless and perfect. He felt indescribably at ease.
Then, he turned toward the Ghost Cauldron and asked:
"Snake Lord, why have you gotten so thin?"
The Ghost Origin Hall was now drained bare, and the once-chubby black serpent before him had shrunk dramatically from the thickness of a man's wrist to that of a chopstick.
Yet instead of anger, the emaciated serpent spirit smiled obsequiously and said:
"Deputy Sect Master No-Money, please forgive this old slave's ignorance! I failed to see the depth of your foundation. During your ascension, this old slave dared not disturb you in the slightest; all the stored energy was yours to take. Think of it as my humble offering to please the new Master of Yanfu Dao!"
Jing Qian's expression grew awkward. He had absorbed so much of the serpent's hard-earned energy that he was already feeling guilty. Seeing the snake suddenly turn so deferential only made him more uneasy; he feared being burdened by a karmic debt.
"You flatter me, Snake Lord," he replied politely. "This junior's cultivation demanded much… I took more than I should have. I hope you won't hold it against me."
The serpent waved its tail humbly.
"Master need not worry. This old slave's duty has always been to accumulate energy for Yanfu Dao, to nourish its disciples. It is only right that you take what you need."
Then, lowering its voice slightly, it added:
"However… might I ask a small favor in return? When you one day ascend the Mountain of Immortal Qi and pass by my Fate Stele, could you perhaps add a single brushstroke upon it for me? To you, it would be but a lift of the hand; to me, it would be a blessing beyond measure."
Jing Qian waved him off with a wry smile.
"That's a matter for the far future. My cultivation is still shallow; best not to jinx it, Snake Lord. For now, I'll take my leave. Next time I come, I'll bring some good food and fine wine for you."
As he spoke, the divine eye between his brows flashed, and his entire figure vanished from sight.
The thin black serpent curled its lip but didn't chase after him. Instead, it slithered back atop the Ghost King Cauldron. With a sudden twist, the massive cauldron rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, and the entire Ghost Origin Hall flipped upside down.
The Ghost King Cauldron now appeared within the shadow world beneath the hall.
There, another great cauldron awaited this one, pure white, radiating Pure Yang brilliance, its form submerged in a thicker sea of condensed energy than even the Ghost Hall had possessed.
The black serpent landed upon the white cauldron's lid, gently tapping it with its tail as it called out:
"Madam, wake up! Something wonderful has happened!"
A moment later, a beautiful white serpent, crystalline and jade-like, lazily slithered out, her voice clear and cold:
"Why disturb my dreams? Has the Yingfutu Realm finally been destroyed?"
"Not quite," the black serpent replied with a grin. "But I just met the new Yanfu Successor, and you'll never guess what happened. After forty-two thousand years, someone has once again condensed a Saint Manifestation!"
At those words, the white serpent's body trembled.
"Are you certain? Did you see clearly whose reincarnation it might be?"
"I couldn't tell," the black serpent admitted. "I sensed the aura of Life and Death, of Reincarnation, but it wasn't dominant. There was also a killing intent sharp enough to nearly pierce my divine sense, but it was veiled by a thin membrane.
Truly, I couldn't discern his origin. He may not even be one of Yanfu's reincarnated disciples."
"If that's the case," the white serpent murmured, "then all the better. If it were one of those old monsters, they'd never escape Yanfu's pursuit anyway."
She paused, her tone turning thoughtful.
"Did you manage to form any connection with him? Might he lend us aid someday?"
"No great connection," said the black serpent, "but I left him a tether at a Shadow Furnace. Through it, we can speak to his Furnace Spirit from time to time."
The white serpent's eyes lit up.
"Then that will do! Prepare more serpent balm, and we'll cultivate a good relationship with that Furnace Spirit. Once the Saint Manifestation has reappeared, not just the Yingfutu Realm but the entire Northern E Gao Heaven will be thrown into chaos.
If that master truly rises, the spirits that follow him will certainly prosper!"
"You're right as always, my dear," said the black serpent, grinning. "You have such foresight!"
Then, lowering his tone, he added pitifully:
"But that Saint seed drained me dry, took every drop of energy I'd hoarded! My dear, share a little of yours with me, or I won't last till the next Yin year!"
"Not a chance," the white serpent snapped. "You foolish snake, stop dreaming!"
With that, she slipped back into her cauldron, vanishing without another word.
The next instant, a tremendous force flipped the Ghost King Cauldron back into place, ejecting the hapless black serpent along with it.
Its wish to dip into his wife's private stash of energy was once again completely crushed.
...
After his comprehensive advancement, Jing Qian's control over divine arts and mana had improved dramatically.
His strongest Spiritual Construct, the Three-Life Reincarnation Eye, now had the qualities of a reliable combat weapon.
He could open and close the Eye with far greater ease than before. Each activation lasted less than a second, more than enough to meet his needs in both battle and cultivation, and it consumed merely six and a half minutes of lifespan. Such a cost was practically negligible.
His Golden-Root Lifespan Life Pattern not only added another tael of Life Measure but also made him utterly fearless in spending lifespan like a resource.
When he returned to Pure Yang Heaven through the power of the Reincarnation Eye, his presence before Master Shang Xi radiated brilliance unlike before.
But the world he returned to had completely changed.
After more than eighty days of refinement, Ruin-Sword Mountain had vanished entirely
, a sign that Shang Xi had fully mastered the Two Forms Extinguishing Dao Sword.
Now, he stood as a true grand sword cultivator, wielding two second-grade top-tier Spiritual Construct swords.
More importantly, the Great Wei Sword had long been used to suppress the Mother Yaksha, leaving it unusable and severely limiting Shang Xi's battle strength.
Now, with the Two Forms Extinguishing Dao Sword in hand, he once again possessed a blade of immense power,
His strength was restored to its former peak. This was no mere improvement, but a true transformation.
When Jing Qian arrived, Shang Xi was already waiting for him, leading the old white ox.
The ox bore upon its back the Sword-Grinding Cliff, Pure Yang Heaven's only true treasure.
Within the entire Yingfutu Realm, no creature besides the white ox could carry that mysterious cliff.
Seeing his master, Jing Qian stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Master, your disciple has not failed you. I have successfully condensed my Dharma Body."
Shang Xi nodded slightly.
"The timing is perfect. I'll take you to choose your sword."
With that, the two entered the Sword-Grinding Cliff and stepped into the inner realm of Pure Yang Heaven.
Shang Xi seemed more decisive and vigorous than ever before.
The inner realm looked the same as before, save for the absence of the Mother Yaksha. Leading the way, Shang Xi spoke as they walked:
"The foundation of our Hidden Sword Mountain is extraordinary. For sword cultivators like us, it is the ultimate place of enlightenment."
"Within it are naturally born Spiritual Construct swords. The weakest are of fifth rank Earth-Fiend level, each one an innate spiritual treasure of immense might."
"No matter how great your talent or deep your foundation, you will find within a sword most perfectly attuned to your being."
"You can place your full faith and your highest expectations in Hidden Sword Mountain."
"Our Pure Yang Heaven possesses no grand foundational scripture. It is by sword alone, sword arts, and sword dao that we have earned renown across the heavens. The root of that legacy lies atop Hidden Sword Mountain."
"Now that you've formed your Dharma Body, breaking into the Longevity Realm will come as naturally as flowing water. The middle three ranks of cultivation can soon be placed on your horizon."
"While other sects' disciples must labor to select and subdue their Spiritual Constructs, my disciples of Pure Yang Heaven need only ascend the mountain, choose a sword, and seal it within their Sword Casket that alone completes half the work of the Subduing Spirit Realm."
"And the sword you obtain, whether in might or in harmony, will always reach perfection. That is why our Pure Yang sword cultivators seize such a vast advantage in the middle ranks."
"I know you have been blessed with many fortunes and strange encounters, and that your ambitions are high."
"But let me tell you this with certainty, no matter how strong a sword you desire, how lofty your dream, or how vast your ambition, as long as you can bear the burden, you will find it atop Hidden Sword Mountain."
"Enough talk. I cannot accompany you up the mountain. You must go alone."
"No probing techniques work within Hidden Sword Mountain. Let your intuition guide you, the sword that belongs to you will reveal itself."
"Keep your heart calm. Follow its pull."
With a wave of his hand, Shang Xi released a thread of power containing the detailed method and precautions for claiming a sword from the mountain.
Jing Qian received it, bowed once more, and without looking back, began his ascent toward the towering mountain before him.
The sacred mountain rose like a blade piercing the heavens, majestic and vast, a thousand zhang tall, its very form resembling a colossal sword driven into the clouds. It dominated a great portion of Pure Yang Heaven's inner realm.
Everywhere upon it, swords could be seen embedded in cliffs, wedged into stones, hanging among trees, or resting within mist. Each emanated its own gleam, its own story, its own soul.
Standing at the foot of the Hidden Sword Mountain, Jing Qian looked upward, his heart filled with awe and expectation.
At a glance, he saw thousands of strange flying swords.
If what Shang Xi said was true, if even the weakest among them were fifth rank or higher, then this entire mountain was a treasury of priceless divine blades.
He had not been in Pure Yang Heaven long, yet he could not help but feel that this sect held far more secrets than he yet understood.
His master was nearly at the end of his lifespan, and yet this mountain alone proved that Pure Yang Heaven's foundations ran unimaginably deep.
It gave him the odd impression of a beggar holding a golden rice bowl. Pure Yang Heaven had been richer than it looked all along.
Still, he believed that as his cultivation and authority grew, these hidden truths would eventually be revealed to him.
He stepped onto the stone staircase leading up the mountain. Each step felt like treading upon the path of history itself, echoing with the will of countless sword cultivators who had come before.
The stairs wound upward through jagged rocks and ancient trees shrouded in luminous mist.
As he climbed, Jing Qian scanned the flying swords scattered around him.
Soon, he discovered that once he set foot on Hidden Sword Mountain, his sea of consciousness became completely sealed, his divine sense was unreachable, leaving only the five mortal senses to rely on.
Even his Three-Life Reincarnation Eye was suppressed by the mountain's overwhelming power; it could not open at all.
To so effortlessly suppress a second-grade Spiritual Construct…
The rank of this Hidden Sword Mountain could only be described as beyond imagination.
Jing Qian stepped down from the stone stairway and wandered casually onto the mountain's rocky slope.
He reached out and pulled a long azure-steel sword from the cliffside, feeling its cool weight in his hand.
In terms of rank, this fifth-grade sword was equivalent to the four Spiritual Constructs he already possessed; its power, naturally, not to be underestimated.
But on Hidden Sword Mountain, such a blade was little more than a street trinket.
He casually slid it back into the stone.
According to the guide Shang Xi had given him, the flying swords upon this sacred mountain were divided into two categories.
...
The First Category: Complete Spiritual Construct Swords
These were swords that had fully evolved, each possessing its own Life Measure, complete and autonomous.
They were the most numerous: ranging from fifth to second rank, though the higher one sought, the rarer they became.
Any single sword of this type, taken out into the wider world, could anchor the fortune of an entire sect.
They required almost no nurturing, ready to wield the moment one claimed them, truly matured treasures that could immediately elevate a cultivator's strength.
Naturally, this was the choice most Pure Yang disciples made.
Looking around, Jing Qian could tell that ninety-nine percent of the visible blades belonged to this first category: brilliant, whole, complete.
...
The Second Category: Spiritual Construct Embryos
Far rarer were the unfinished swords, Spiritual Construct embryos still awaiting full evolution.
These swords already had form and mana, but lacked Life Measure; they were incomplete, unawakened entities.
Disciples who chose such a sword had to seal it within their Sword Casket, nurturing it over the years, until its Life Measure naturally formed; only then would it become a true Spiritual Construct.
Compared to the complete swords, these embryos could not immediately boost one's cultivation or combat power. They demanded time, patience, and great resources to refine.
But once successfully nurtured, their power equaled, sometimes even surpassed, their fully formed counterparts.
More importantly, they resonated more deeply with their owners' essence, achieving near-perfect harmony.
For those cultivating the Subduing Spirit Realm, this was an immense advantage.
...
The Meaning of the Subduing Spirit Realm
Beyond the act of suppressing a Spiritual Construct, the Subduing Spirit Realm's core purpose was to refine the bond between cultivator and construct until man and sword became one.
Choosing an embryo meant a longer investment early on, but the time saved later during refinement often outweighed that loss.
In the long run, it could even be the smarter path.
Moreover, once an embryo had completed its evolution, the lifespan cost of using it was dramatically lower than that of a complete sword.
At the same rank, a nurtured embryo consumed less than one-third the lifespan of a standard Spiritual Construct.
Over centuries, that difference became enormous.
From that perspective, the advantages of choosing an embryo were undeniable.
Yet, in practice, things were quite different.
According to Shang Xi's guide, ninety-nine percent of disciples still chose the completed swords.
The reason was simple: refining an embryo was anything but easy.
To awaken its Life Measure required not only effort, but luck, and luck was fickle.
A single failed refinement meant the disciple's mountain-bestowed opportunity was wasted forever.
Worse still, the higher the sword's grade, the harder it was to birth its Life Measure.
As a result, most disciples who chose embryos ended up with weaker swords than those who picked ready-made ones.
Such results clashed harshly with the proud, forward-driving nature of Pure Yang Heaven.
Why invest years of effort and resources only to end up with an inferior sword?
Even if it saved lifespan in the long term, it was a short-sighted and meaningless trade.
And so, the vast majority of Pure Yang disciples opted for the strongest complete sword they could find.
Only those whose Lifespan Life Patterns were too weak, whose longevity could not support the strain of a powerful construct, chose the slow road of nurturing an embryo.
Jing Qian, however, had already decided on his path.
His Lifespan Life Pattern still had vast growth potential; he did not need to worry about lifespan consumption at all.
His goal was simple:
Scour the entire Hidden Sword Mountain and claim a second-grade divine sword, something so powerful it defied imagination.
With his Saint Manifestation standing at such a high level, that goal was far from unreasonable.
He continued deeper into the mountain, pausing now and then to test a sword's aura, sensing its sharpness, its spirit.
There were so many treasures here that even he began to feel dizzy from abundance.
Fortunately, the guide had included a technique for selecting the right sword.
Before beginning his ascent, Jing Qian had summoned the Qingping Sword Casket, now resting gently in his hands.
He gave it a light tap.
A clear, resonant hum echoed forth a sound laced with the living spirit of the Sword Casket itself, spreading across half the mountain.
In response, countless swords upon the slopes began to tremble and sing in unison, their voices rising into the sky.
For a moment, the entire Hidden Sword Mountain resounded with the ringing chorus of ten thousand blades singing as one.
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