Chapter 80: Fortune and Misfortune Are Not Determined by Life and Death

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Fortune and Misfortune Are Not Determined by Life and Death

To Yun Xi, Chu Fan was her entire world.

She believed everything Chu Fan said without a shred of doubt. It was just like a few months ago, when rumors spread that he had died. Because of his promise, she had waited until the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, resolved to die on that day if she must.

This time, she believed him again. He had told her he would fall into a long coma and would need her care.

She truly believed him, so she was determined to take the best possible care of him.

More than that, she believed that Chu Fan would surely wake up before long.

Therefore, this period was an ordeal for Yun Xi, but it was also a comfort.

Because she could finally have him all to herself. From now on, they would never leave each other, always by each other’s side.

’This must be the sweetness after the bitterness!’

Only she knew how many times she had woken from nightmares in a cold sweat over the past six months, how many times she had been plagued by anxiety, how many tears she had shed.

She had regretted it more than once—facing death without ever having truly become Chu Fan’s woman.

’So this time, when Chu Fan wakes up, I’ll cast aside all those old-fashioned rules. I’ll be more forward and become his woman.’

’That way, even if I die in the future, I’ll have no regrets.’

He was by her side every night before she closed her eyes, and she saw him the moment she opened them each morning. ’This feeling is wonderful.’

The only shame was that he was unconscious and couldn’t speak with her.

Besides searching for Spirit Medicines to brew into tonics for Chu Fan, she began to cultivate diligently. During the day, she would practice her Sword Technique beneath the treehouse, and at night, she would sit cross-legged beside Chu Fan to continue her Cultivation.

And so the days passed...

Meanwhile, Chu Fan’s consciousness was wandering through a vast expanse of chaos.

Or rather, his consciousness had been wandering in this chaos for a very, very long time.

On the day he fell into his coma, his Dantian had been completely depleted and his Spiritual Power overdrawn. Within his Dantian, only the outermost ring of the Juntian Mirror, which shone like a blazing sun, continued to spin tirelessly.

He himself had lost all awareness.

Afterwards, a faint wisp of True Qi, as thin as a spider’s thread, entered his body. It traveled into his Dantian and climbed onto the lotus flower.

The lotus, which had been somewhat withered, instantly became crystalline and vibrant, like a parched land receiving a timely rain.

The lotus continuously absorbed that wisp of True Qi, and soon, the second ring of the Juntian Mirror began to spin.

It was then that Chu Fan’s consciousness stirred. But before he could fully awaken, his awareness coalesced into a shadow and was pulled away by a force from within the Juntian Mirror.

His consciousness was then left to drift in an expanse of chaos.

It was a boundless, unending chaos, like walking through a dense fog so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. There was no end in sight, and nothing to be seen.

At first, he felt a little afraid, but as time wore on, he grew calm.

’This is a good opportunity to think about everything I’ve been through in the last six months, to take stock of my gains and losses, and to reflect on the countless questions I’ve encountered.’

For instance, Zhegu Slave’s sudden death right after helping him activate his Chaos Body.

For instance, why did his Master leave the Jade Pendant and Sword Dao Inheritance for him on Zao Ying Mountain, which just so happened to be where the Divine Hall was located? ’Was that really just a coincidence?’

For instance, if his Master had already foreseen his own death, why did he still lead his fellow disciples to the Cloud Horse Jade Mine?

And what about in the Python Cave on Zao Ying Mountain? When the python spewed its poison gas, everyone else fell unconscious, but why was I completely unaffected?

Where did all the treasures from the Divine Hall go after being devoured by the Juntian Mirror?

The Divine Hall had existed for so many years. Greedy people who took even one extra treasure would have their bodies and souls obliterated. So why was the Juntian Mirror, which devoured all the treasures, accepted by the Divine Hall?

The Immortal on the Scroll who raised the King of Ten Thousand Beasts... she said the Divine Hall was called Mang Divine Hall. Who is this Mang God?

After the Juntian Mirror devoured so many treasures, why did it leave only a single Earth Spirit Pill for me?

Chu Fan couldn’t shake the feeling that everything he had experienced was being manipulated by someone behind the scenes.

But based on his experiences so far, he was still unable to find the answers to these questions.

He then began to reflect on his Cultivation over the past six months.

Whether it was his Chaos Body or the Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique, his experiences over the past six months had all proven their immense power.

Before his body was crippled, his Dantian had contained only a single Golden Core and nothing else.

Now, at Golden Core Realm Perfection, his Dantian not only contained thirteen Golden Cores, but those thirteen cores rested within a lotus seed pod, which was surrounded by twenty-eight petals. The entire lotus floated in a pool of True Qi Liquid.

’It’s obvious that because of all this, I’m practically invincible within my Realm. Even against a Nascent Soul Realm expert, a full Realm above me, I might not be without a chance to turn the tables and kill them.’

Lost in his constant recollections and analysis, he had no perception of the passage of time, simply allowing his consciousness to drift through the chaos.

Later, his thoughts turned to the Juntian Mirror, and he recalled the first time he had unlocked its first layer of seals.

That time, his Spiritual Power had surged for the first time after he viewed the Ye Family’s ancestral portrait. Afterwards, he had seen the Juntian Mirror spin in his mind’s eye.

And then, he had seen an old man, like an Immortal, performing the Lion Seal Divine Techniques.

Unlocking the first seal of the Juntian Mirror required reaching a certain level of Spiritual Power. ’So, what’s the trigger for unlocking the second seal?’

Chu Fan knew it couldn’t be a matter of reaching a certain Spiritual Power Realm, because his Spiritual Power had already reached Level 20 with no reaction whatsoever.

This complete lack of hints, having to rely purely on luck to break the seal, was driving him mad.

He was unaware that as he meditated haphazardly, fifteen days flew by in the blink of an eye.

With his consciousness lost in the chaos, he also had no way of knowing that in his physical body’s Dantian, his True Qi was boiling, rapidly filling it to the brim.

But just then, Chu Fan’s consciousness suddenly perceived a flash of light. He had caught hold of that fleeting glimmer that had once flashed through his mind.

That flash of light could be summarized in two words: Life and Death.

’Why is that?’

He recalled the moment he faced the Three-headed Profound Leopard. After unleashing the Lion Seal Divine Techniques, he had bitten his tongue to maintain a final shred of clarity, holding on until the Profound Leopard admitted defeat and left.

At that moment, death had been incredibly close. He had even contemplated it.

But because of a final thread of stubbornness and willpower, he had held on until the Profound Leopard departed.

Afterwards, his consciousness had slipped into a coma.

That feeling... it was like death.

But at that time, he had felt no fear.

Because he had firmly believed that he would not die.

Of course, life and death cannot be swayed by one’s will alone. Yet, in many situations where one cannot choose between them, perhaps one’s will can indeed influence the outcome.

Because life is the beginning of death, and death is the reincarnation of life.

It was just like what his Master had once taught him about the "Dao"—when something reaches an extreme, it reverses.

This "reversal" is not a true opposite, but merely one part of an alternating cycle.

’Is it about seeing through life and death?’

No, it was about understanding the true meaning of life.

In life, one has responsibilities to bear. In death, one has a purpose to fulfill.

To be brave and decisive, to face hardship—even life and death—without compromise, can instead ignite one’s true fighting spirit. Then one can live without shame.

To face death, standing proud between heaven and earth, with a clear conscience toward oneself and others—what is there to fear in death?

"BOOM!" At that moment, a world-shaking sound erupted. The chaos around him dissipated, and before him appeared a desolate, barren mountain range.