Chapter 359 - 138: The Sage’s Path (Part 2)

Chapter 359: Chapter 138: The Sage’s Path (Part 2)

As Zhou Changfa spoke, his breathing grew faint, until there was only silence.

"Alas!"

Fang Rui closed his eyes, heaved a soft sigh, and rose to his feet.

...

"The master is gone!"

"Father!"

"Grandpa, boohoo!"

...

Amidst the clamor, amidst cries both genuine and feigned—

Bathed in the rays of the setting sun, Fang Rui slowly walked out of the Zhou Mansion.

Outside, the streets remained as bustling as ever, unchanged by a single person’s departure. A gaggle of children ran across the road, a white-bearded old man hawked his candied haws, and swallows, returned with the warm weather, flew past with spring mud in their beaks...

"The gray-haired and the young, birth, old age, sickness, and death... the natural cycle of replacement, the laws of heaven and man, the continuation of a bloodline..."

"This is the way of all living beings," Fang Rui murmured. "Only I, the Immortal, have stepped out of the river of time."

"To be as the Taishang, forgetting all emotion, or to use emotion as an anchor—that is the choice."

He looked up. Beneath the blood-red setting sun, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner controlled the heavens, leaving half the city in fair weather and the other half in a light drizzle.

"Sunshine in the east, rain in the west... a sky without sun, yet it shines; a heart without feeling, yet it feels!"

In the light of the setting sun, Fang Rui walked through an alley of bluestone and whitewashed walls, his solitary shadow stretching long, long behind him.

...

Upon returning home, Third Lady rushed to find him with some news. "Brother Rui," she said, "Auntie fell while she was cooking."

—From Changshan County to Huaiyin Prefecture, and now to Shangluo, no matter how much the Fang Family’s fortunes had improved, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had always insisted on personally cooking one meal a day for Fang Rui.

Fang Rui’s heart sank. "I’ll go see her."

"We had a Physician we know look at her while you were out. He said she’s broken a bone. He said it’s a very tricky injury and didn’t dare to treat it."

"Don’t worry, Third Sister. You know my Medical Skill, don’t you?"

Even as he said this, a sliver of worry appeared in Fang Rui’s heart. ’I’m forty-eight, and Mother is sixty-seven... almost seventy. She’s frail, her bones are brittle. Many treatments are too harsh for her.’

’Besides, even if I can heal her, there’s a good chance she’ll be left with some lasting complications.’

As he entered the room, he could faintly hear Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family groaning in pain. But when she saw him, her face was all smiles. "Brother Rui, you’re back?"

The simple, everyday greeting brought a lump to Fang Rui’s throat.

Fang Rui was instinctively reminded of their time in Changshan County. He remembered how worried Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family would get whenever he went to the Black Market at night, yet when he returned, she always put on a brave face for him.

"Mother, let me take a look at you."

Under their anxious gazes, Fang Rui finished his examination and let out a soft breath. "It’s a bit tricky, but it’s alright. I can treat it. Third Sister, please stay here with Mother. I’m going to grab a few things. I’ll be right back."

...

’When I was there for Zhou Changfa’s passing, I felt a certain melancholy, but not deep sorrow. But hearing that Mother was hurt...’

Fang Rui had thought he possessed the detachment to ’watch the Mortal World for thirty thousand years,’ but when his own mother was involved, the tremor in his heart told him he was not nearly as indifferent as he imagined.

’Mother’s injury is treatable, and I can heal her completely. But just as I feared, it’s very likely to leave lasting complications. She won’t be able to do anything too strenuous from now on.’

’I have to level up my *Fang’s Medical Skill* again. Hopefully, it’ll unlock one of the Longevity Divine Techniques!’

In truth, Limit-Breaking a Skill was like opening a loot box; the resulting Divine Technique was completely unpredictable.

[Tribulation Points: 200,082]

’I didn’t use the 150,000-some Tribulation Points from before. Adding the points I’ve slowly accumulated over the last six years, I’ve actually broken the 200,000 mark.’

’I have plenty of Tribulation Points now. For Mother’s sake, I don’t mind taking a gamble.’

’*Fang’s Medical Skill*... Limit-Break!’

Tribulation Points -10,000!

At the same moment that countless new insights into the Medical Skill flooded Fang Rui’s mind...

VMMMM!

The panel trembled. Amidst watery ripples, a new Divine Technique slowly materialized.

[Name: Fang Rui]

[Tribulation Points: 190,082]

[Cultivation Technique: Longevity Scripture (Gold), Primordial Scripture (Vol. 3)]

[Realm: Martial Saint (Primordial Sea), Upper Grade Spirit Master]

[Skills: *Divination Skill* (Limit-Broken) (Gold), *Life-taking Saber Technique* (Limit-Broken) (Gold), *Fang’s Medical Skill* (Limit-Broken) (Gold)...]

[Divine Techniques: Immortality (Flash), Outside the Calculation, Godslaying Spirit Shattering, Withered Wood Evergreen]

...

’Divine Technique: Withered Wood Evergreen?!’

Fang Rui focused his consciousness on the panel and perceived the information it fed back to him: when activated with Tribulation Points, it converts them into ’Life Essence Power,’ which allows a person, within the limits of their natural lifespan, to be free of sickness and pain, move about normally, and retain their youthful appearance.

That’s right. This Divine Technique, just like *Immortality*, had no use for his own energy; it was powered solely by Tribulation Points.

’Is it because this so-called ’Life Essence Power’ is so special that my own energy can’t be converted into it?’

’It seems the tier of a Divine Technique has no direct connection to whether it’s powered only by Tribulation Points. I can’t make simple judgments like that.’

Fang Rui murmured to himself, a premonition forming in his mind. In the future, the Divine Techniques gained from Limit-Breaking might surpass Cultivation Technique advancements to become the new major drain on his Tribulation Points.

For one thing, his Cultivation Techniques couldn’t be upgraded any further at the moment. For another, the various Divine Techniques were just too useful to deliberately ignore.

Take last time, for example. Shielding himself from the Outer God’s Divination had consumed over ten thousand Tribulation Points in one go—enough to unlock two or three new Divine Techniques—but the rewards had been far greater!

Totally worth it.

’Oh well. Tribulation Points are meant to be spent. Besides, the Divine Technique *Withered Wood Evergreen* sounds incredibly powerful.’

’There’s one more thing. It’s not a one-and-done deal. The ’Life Essence Power’ gets used up, so it’ll need to be replenished every year or so.’

It sounded like a hassle, but the effects were truly extraordinary.

’As people grow old, their bodies degenerate until they can no longer care for themselves. But this so-called ’Life Essence Power’ can keep them free of sickness and pain, allowing them to move about normally... It’s nothing short of defying the natural order!’