Lest I Die Before Using Up All My Lifespan—What a Waste

"How should I test it...?" Having already chosen the Heavenly Dao blessing effect, Chen Fan looked somewhat longingly at the max-level God-Slaying Cannon beside him. One domineering aspect of the Heavenly Dao blessing was that not only did this particular God-Slaying Cannon possess the effect, but all God-Slaying Cannons built in the future would also have it—so long as they were connected to the camp's ghost fire and remained within the camp's bounds. For others, that might pose a bit of a dilemma. For him, though, it was fine. He had copper pipes. The problem now was... He really wanted to test the God-Slaying Cannon's Heavenly Dao blessing effect, but it was currently winter. The rainy season had already passed, there was no ghost tide, and there were no enemies around for him to fire a test shot at. "Forget it." He clicked his tongue in regret and sank back into the rocking chair set atop the wall. Dusk gradually fell. The core members of Fan Domain had all returned to the camp, giving off the feeling of coming home after clocking out of work. Some ordinary members of Fan Domain had returned as well, while others remained stationed at Fan City and Sunset City. Inside the Fan Domain camp. A crowd had gathered outside the entrance of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. Not only members of Fan Domain's Dark Pavilion, but also several returning official members stood on the fringes, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to peer inside. The scene within was simply far too lively. "Is Pavilion Master Qiu soaking in that vat in there?" A Fan Domain member belonging to the War Pavilion peered into the depths of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion with a look of sheer curiosity. "Who else could it be?" A member standing beside him said, somewhat speechless, "Could it be a pot of braised pork belly?" "Pavilion Master Qiu is truly ruthless to himself." The first speaker couldn't help sighing in admiration. "You can say that again!" A flicker of dread passed through another member's eyes. "Did you see what's inside that vat? It's filled with all kinds of poisonous insects—centipedes, vipers, you name it. Just now, I saw with my own eyes a centipede burrow right into his ear. How is this any different from torture?" "The only difference from torture is probably that Pavilion Master Qiu chose it himself." Qi Yue stood off to the side, maintaining a blank, silent demeanor without speaking for a long time. Deep down, he naturally hoped Shao Qiu would pull through. Of course, he felt that as long as Shao Qiu hadn't deceived himself—if his conviction was truly that steadfast—there shouldn't be any problem. He was merely contemplating another matter: if he had delayed his breakthrough by a few days, would he have avoided suffering that bodily torment? Although body tempering through Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart looked very impressive, it had also been intensely painful. Still, he couldn't say it had been entirely without benefit. At the very least, he had saved Fan Domain a Martial King Pill—those things were rather expensive—so it counted as a modest contribution to the domain. Monkey came over to join the excitement as well. Standing amid the crowd, he looked at Pavilion Master Qiu being boiled and steeped in the great vat inside the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, his expression complicated as he gazed at the vat filled with all manner of venoms. Besides supervising the pavilion masters, his duties included handling interrogations, yet he had never imagined a method like this. The main purpose of interrogation was to extract information, not kill people. Put through such agony, could a person even survive? Time trickled by. Those gathered outside the entrance of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion gradually dispersed. After all, they had work to do the next day and couldn't sleep too late. Before long, not a soul remained outside. Only Shao Qiu, completely unaware of what was happening outside, soaked in the vat, letting out bloodcurdling screams from time to time. Truth be told, the Fan Domain camp was typically quite quiet at night, so screams like that sounded just like a ghost creature invasion—downright chilling. Soon, a full shichen had passed since Shao Qiu began his body tempering. Everyone else in the camp had gone to sleep. Only Chen Fan stood alone at the entrance of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, gazing quietly at Shao Qiu inside. A shichen had passed. If Shao Qiu's goal had merely been ninety-nine percent body tempering, he should have emerged by now. Since he hadn't, it meant his objective from the very beginning had been complete body tempering. At this stage, it could no longer be stopped. All Chen Fan could do was wait. Two shichen later, there would either be a corpse here, or a Shao Qiu who had achieved complete body tempering. "..." Chen Fan stood where he was, remaining silent for a good while before walking away. There was nothing he could do right now, and he needed to go back to his room to sleep. Soon, dawn broke. A new day began. A crowd gathered outside the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion once more. This time, however, the chatter was filled with admiration and disbelief. "Pavilion Master Qiu actually survived!" One Fan Domain member said in shock, "Body tempering of that intensity felt even more terrifying than Brother Qi's Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart, yet he still survived!" "What's so strange about that?" A Dark Pavilion member beside him beamed with pride. "Let alone three shichen, another thirty shichen wouldn't be a problem for our Pavilion Master Qiu!" Evidently, as a member of the Dark Pavilion, he felt immense pride over Pavilion Master Qiu's successful complete body tempering. "Stop talking out of your ass." Tormented all night, Shao Qiu was currently soaking in the altar inside the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, looking feebly toward the exit. "If you want to boast, boast about yourself. Don't drag me into it. Thirty shichen? Half a shichen more and I would've died right here." Truth be told, he had truly come close to dying this time. The Myriad Poisons Body Tempering Method was far more terrifying than he had imagined. It simply was not something a human being could endure. This tempering method had surfaced directly in his mind—a technique belonging to him as a special cultivator of the living dead. He couldn't help wondering who had invented this method in the first place, or rather, who had first used it to temper their body. How had they persevered? The physical pain was one thing, but the psychological torture was even worse. The sensation of geckos and centipedes burrowing into his nose and ears had nearly driven him mad. Just then, Shao Qiu noticed Chen Fan appearing at the entrance of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. He hurriedly scrambled to climb out of the altar and called out, "Domain Lord." "It's fine." Chen Fan walked up to the altar inside the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, his expression complicated as he looked at Shao Qiu, who was visibly in poor condition. After a brief pause, he turned to Qi Yue nearby. "Did you tell him?" "Not yet." Qi Yue shook his head, hesitating slightly. "I haven't figured out how to tell him yet. He doesn't look like he's in a great mental state right now, and I'm afraid telling him might break his spirit." "It still needs to be said," Chen Fan said softly. At least this should be the last case in Fan Domain; they couldn't have everyone copying him in the future. "All right, Shao Qiu, take today to rest. I have some business in Fan City to attend to first. I'll leave the rest to you two." With that, he turned and walked out of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. He had to go check on recent progress in Fan City today. "Right." Before leaving, Chen Fan suddenly looked toward Shao Qiu, who was in rather poor shape within the altar, and said seriously, "I watched your tempering process." "If you can endure tempering like that, you are bound to achieve great things in the future." "Keep it up." Whether people in this world were simply more ruthless, or if only Qi Yue and Shao Qiu were this extreme, he didn't know. The way those two tempered their bodies had practically stunned him. Did cultivation really have to be done like this? It wasn't as if he didn't understand the principle of 'no destruction, no creation,' but wasn't this destroying oneself a bit too thoroughly? What if they couldn't rebuild? "Thank you, Domain Lord!" Hearing Chen Fan's praise, Shao Qiu stood up from the altar in excitement and grinned. "Rest assured, Domain Lord, leave any future assassination missions to our Dark Pavilion!" Chen Fan said no more. He turned and left the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, boarded the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, and headed toward Fan City. "Hehe." Lying back in the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion's altar, although Shao Qiu had suffered through three long shichen of torment, a proud smile spread across his face. Those three shichen had tortured not just his body—his physical injuries had already completely healed from soaking in the altar—it was mainly psychological torture. Yet now, he felt it was all worth it. He was Fan Domain's second Martial King with complete body tempering. Not only that, more importantly, he was an assassin. For an assassin to achieve complete body tempering to break through to Martial King was even harder. From a certain perspective, he was rarer than Qi Yue, and the difficulty was far greater. Even better, before the Domain Lord left, Shao Qiu had seen it—the Domain Lord was full of admiration for his breakthrough. "Right." Shao Qiu suddenly looked up at Qi Yue in curiosity and asked, "What did the Domain Lord mean before he left? What was that about me not knowing something yet? Is there something you haven't told me?" A broad smile hung on his face. He was in an exceptionally good mood right now. How to describe this feeling? It was like studying hard for a decade and finally seeing one's name at the top of the imperial examination roster—the moment you learn you've passed, all the fatigue and pressure of years just wash away. This moment was the absolute best. Most people didn't have many peak moments in their lives. For him, today was his crowning moment. Many years from now, his cultivation might reach higher heights, but he would definitely remember this day, this moment when he staked his life to attempt a breakthrough to complete body tempering. "..." Qi Yue remained silent for a long while. He tried weighing his words, worried about breaking Shao Qiu's spirit, but after thinking it over and failing to find any gentle phrasing, he decided to be blunt and lay it all out: "Shao Qiu, the Domain Lord upgraded the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion to its maximum level. The cultivation speed is now forty times." "Huh?" Shao Qiu froze, murmuring after a moment, "Upgrading the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion is that simple? Then why couldn't Immortal Slaughter Holy Land level it up after all that time back then? Forty times... that's insane. But this is a good thing, why hide it from me?" "There's something else." Qi Yue paused before continuing, "Did you know that buildings gain a max-level effect once upgraded to the maximum level?" "No." Shao Qiu shook his head decisively. "I'm not an architect, how would I know that? But I get what you're saying—you mean after the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion reached max level, it gained a max-level effect, and this effect sounds pretty good, right?" "Indeed." Qi Yue nodded. "The effect is actually quite straightforward: it allows any Martial King within the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion who has reached ninety-nine percent body tempering to automatically break through to complete body tempering. To put it simply, all you needed to do was take a Martial King Pill to ensure you reached ninety-nine percent body tempering, and then the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion would automatically elevate you to complete body tempering." "There was no need to put yourself through all this." As the words fell, the smile on Shao Qiu's face slowly froze. His head drooped. He remained silent for a long time, his body entirely motionless. Seeing this, Qi Yue waited beside him for a while. He had intended to offer some comforting words, but he truly was no good at consoling people. After some thought, he prepared to leave and give Shao Qiu some quiet time alone. He could understand. This blow was indeed a bit too heavy. He himself had been fortunate—when he broke through to Martial King, the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion didn't yet have this max-level effect. But Shao Qiu had begun his breakthrough on his own right after the pavilion had been maxed out, before the Domain Lord even had the chance to announce it. Just then, a voice came from behind him: "Impure." "..." Qi Yue froze and turned around. He saw Shao Qiu looking up, staring straight at him. In Shao Qiu's eyes, there was not much disappointment or sorrow; instead, there was extreme resolve, and even a hint of... smugness. Qi Yue stood there, momentarily at a loss for words. Shao Qiu's expression was completely different from what he had imagined. He had assumed Shao Qiu would collapse in despair. After all, it meant he had endured so much agony for nothing—all of it futile effort. When a person realizes that all their recent struggles were meaningless, it was easy to fall into self-doubt and psychological collapse. He had thought Shao Qiu would be the same. Yet unexpectedly, there wasn't a trace of pain or grief in Shao Qiu's eyes. Instead, he looked rather excited and proud. Could this fellow's mind have broken so badly that he'd gone mad? Before Qi Yue could speak, Shao Qiu mumbled to himself, "Using a Martial King Pill to break through to ninety-nine percent body tempering, and then relying on the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion's max-level building effect to reach complete body tempering—a Martial King with complete body tempering like that is impure." "..." Qi Yue paused. He hadn't expected Shao Qiu to think that way. Normally, he wasn't one to explain himself, but today he really felt compelled to clarify. "It's completely the same." "A complete body tempering Martial King achieved through the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion's max-level building effect is identical to ours—there's no difference whatsoever." "A Martial King with complete body tempering is a Martial King with complete body tempering anywhere you go. How could there be any difference?" "No, no, no, you don't understand." Shao Qiu stood up from the altar, looking deadly serious. "In terms of power and effect, they might be identical." "But the means of acquisition are different, and so the test of a person's temperament and willpower is different. In the future, Fan Domain will surely have more Martial Kings with complete body tempering, but since others will reach it through the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion's max-level effect, their mental fortitude definitely won't compare to ours." "What's more, aren't the two of us basically one-of-a-kind collector's editions? In the entire Fan Domain, only the two of us achieved complete body tempering through our own grit. Isn't that an immense honor?" "..." Qi Yue stood rooted to the spot, silent for a long time. He truly hadn't expected Shao Qiu to look at it from this angle. But it did make sense. As long as Shao Qiu could sort it out in his own head, that was enough; Qi Yue had mainly feared Shao Qiu would drive himself into a dead end. "You don't feel any pain at all? If you'd broken through a bit later, you wouldn't have had to suffer that bodily torment." "What does physical pain matter?" Shao Qiu waved his hand dismissively and cleared his throat. "Care to hear about my past? I can tell you." "No." Qi Yue refused swiftly and decisively. Having confirmed that Shao Qiu was fine, he turned and left the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. This news had not been made public to Fan Domain's official members. After all, not many people in Fan Domain were close to breaking through to Martial King right now. It wouldn't be too late to share the news once someone was on the verge of breaking through. Fan Domain had quite a few people now; letting word leak out would only invite trouble. "Refreshing!" Having mostly recovered, Shao Qiu stretched and sat up in the altar, looking at Qi Yue's departing back. He was now officially a Martial King with complete body tempering. He was a special cultivator: the living dead. After ascending to a complete body tempering Martial King, another martial skill tailored for him appeared in his mind, automatically elevated to the Great Perfection stage. On paper, his combat power was now higher than Qi Yue's, though he couldn't quite see through Qi Yue; in a real fight, he wasn't sure if he could beat him. This was the unique trait of the living dead. He never needed to practice any martial skills or cultivation methods; he only needed to break through in cultivation realm. Every time he broke through to a new realm, a martial skill or cultivation method would automatically surface in his mind, instantly mastered to the Great Perfection stage. What had appeared in his mind this time was a yellow-grade stealth martial skill. Shao Qiu stepped out of the altar and walked somewhat unsteadily toward the exit of the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion. "Pavilion Master Qiu." Just then, Zhao Shengping entered the camp and blocked his path, his face beaming with smiles. "The night-travel suits and specialized weapons the Domain Lord had me forge for your Dark Pavilion are all ready. Want to take a look?" "Of course!" A glint lit up Shao Qiu's eyes. Full of anticipation, he followed Zhao Shengping toward the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion outside the city wall. He had remembered this matter all along. Last time, when they dug up so much Earth Gold from the ground, he had nearly been dumbfounded. In the past, a dagger forged from merely a tiny fragment of Earth Gold had possessed unfathomable power, only to be confiscated by that damned Immortal Slaughter Holy Land in the end. Now, an entire dagger and night-travel suit forged from so much Earth Gold—he had long been waiting for them. Inside Fan Domain's Heavenly Artifact Pavilion. Full of pride, Zhao Shengping presented a pitch-black dagger wrapped in red cloth. "Try it." Although his braised meats tasted delicious, making braised dishes wasn't his job, only a hobby. His profession was an artifact refiner, and he naturally took immense pride in his craft. "Let me see." Shao Qiu eagerly took the dagger. The dagger he had once treasured as a gem had only been a green-grade spirit treasure, since it incorporated merely a speck of Earth Gold. This dagger, on the other hand, was nearly ninety percent Earth Gold, supplemented by other materials; its power was vastly superior to his former weapon. "Light." That was Shao Qiu's first impression upon taking it. "Heavy." That was his second impression. "Not bad, not bad at all." Shao Qiu nodded repeatedly, thoroughly satisfied. "This is the feeling. Weapons forged from Earth Gold always have this paradox of feeling both light and heavy." "It takes no effort to wield, yet has a substantial heft in the hand." "It's especially suited for an assassin. No other material can achieve this. Not only do weapons made of Earth Gold have this effect, but most importantly, they possess an exceptional shield-breaking effect against formations, protective spirit qi, and the like. For an assassin, it's the most perfect specialized weapon." "This grade..." Shao Qiu paused slightly, a golden glint flashing in his eyes after a moment. "This is a yellow-grade spirit treasure?" "That's right." Zhao Shengping chuckled. "Speaking of which, credit goes to the Domain Lord. His Heavenly Artifact Pavilion has a special effect: all spirit treasures forged inside have a slight chance of raising their grade by one tier. By rights, a spirit treasure forged from Earth Gold should be green-grade. While most Martial Kings have green-grade specialized weapons..." "None can compare to this." "Exotic treasures made of Earth Gold are definitely the top tier among green-grade items." "However..." Zhao Shengping paused, then broke into a grin. "By sheer luck, it triggered that low probability, and the weapon jumped to yellow-grade! Of course, it's also at the very top tier of yellow-grade spirit treasures." "I originally intended to report this to the Domain Lord, but I just learned he went to Fan City, so I brought you over to feast your eyes first. What do you think of this weapon?" Shao Qiu carefully cradled the dagger in both hands, his eyes glazed with disbelief. If a man once had a hideously ugly wife, the day he met a woman of moderate beauty willing to have a one-night stand with him, he would be ecstatic. Yet if one day he encountered a ten-out-of-ten breathtaking beauty, he wouldn't hesitate for a second—he would turn on his heel and run. The leap was simply too vast. It was either a badger game trap or an encounter with a ghost. His former dagger, which he had treated like a treasure, had only had a speck of Earth Gold at the tip. Now, this one skipped right past green-grade into yellow-grade. Anything—be it a spirit treasure, an exotic treasure, or a building—the moment it reached yellow-grade, it practically commanded unbelievable power! "This..." Shao Qiu looked up at Zhao Shengping in disbelief. "This yellow-grade dagger belongs to me from now on?" "Where would I get the authority to decide that?" Zhao Shengping shook his head. "I only let you see it so you could feast your eyes. After all, having gone to the trouble of forging it, I had to show it off a bit, right? As for how to dispose of it, that naturally has to wait until the Domain Lord returns. If I gave it to you now and you took off with it, what would I do?" As he spoke, he took the dagger back from Shao Qiu's hands. "I definitely wouldn't run off! If I were going to run, I would've done so long ago instead of fleeing back to Fan Domain from Wind and Rain Tower," Shao Qiu said hurriedly, his heart aching as he watched the dagger being retrieved. "Who can say for sure?" Zhao Shengping set the dagger aside and brought out a night-travel suit from behind him. "Back then, the profit was too small. Now, a yellow-grade spirit treasure is more than enough to tempt someone to betray their faction. Come, take a look at this night-travel suit." "Is it yellow-grade too?" Shao Qiu asked eagerly. "How could that be?" Zhao Shengping retorted in annoyance. "It only has a low probability of breaking through a grade. You can't treat a low probability like a certainty! I forged so many specialized weapons and night-travel suits, and only this dagger managed to break through to yellow-grade." "Although this night-travel suit is only green-grade, it's woven entirely from Earth Gold. Its effect certainly won't be lacking. Try it on." Before he could even finish speaking, he saw Shao Qiu dash off into the distance like a wisp of smoke. Zhao Shengping reflexively called out, "Where are you going?" "I'm going to Fan City to report my work from these past days to the Domain Lord!" "By the way—" "Why does your smithy smell like braised meat? It reminds me a lot of a guy I used to know." Shao Qiu's figure quickly vanished at the end of his vision, his voice fading away. "Leaving just like that?" Zhao Shengping looked with some regret at the freshly cooked pot of braised stew beside him. In addition to the specialized weapon and night-travel suit, he had prepared a pot of braised food, intending to let Shao Qiu taste it first. But before he could even introduce it, Shao Qiu had sprinted away. Meanwhile, in Fan City. "Yesterday, we brought in another seven hundred thousand ghost stones." Wang Kui flipped through the account book in his hands as he reported, "Several factions have already paid off their credit limits. But since we gave them a one-month deadline, the rest will likely need a bit more time." "Mm." Chen Fan gave a slight nod, leafing through the account book Wang Kui handed him. For those factions, the sooner they repaid, the better, because early repayment meant receiving a new credit limit and an upgraded credit rating, allowing them to purchase more Skeleton Horses to sell in their own territories. However, that was the ideal scenario. Not every faction had ideal trade routes. Taking the Skeleton Horses back, selling them, and making the round trip all took time. Aside from a few factions located nearby with solid trade routes, it was difficult for other factions to liquidate the Skeleton Horses they purchased in such a short period. "No rush on this," Chen Fan closed the account book. "Since we promised them a month, give them a month. After that month is up, if any faction hasn't paid, we'll talk then." "Also, outposts have been set up continuously over these past days," Wang Kui continued reporting. "Some Fan Domain members have been sent out to serve as outpost stationmasters, primarily responsible for relaying communications via voice transmission talismans." "Mm." Listening to Wang Kui's report, Chen Fan's brow furrowed slightly. This was actually quite normal; every faction set up such outposts, mainly because voice transmission talismans had limited range. Contacting distant individuals required intermediary relays. Still, he found it rather cumbersome, having witnessed the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land's ultra-long-distance voice transmission talismans. If they could get their hands on those ultra-long-distance talismans from the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land, there would be no need to establish so many relay stations. It consumed both time and effort; the expenditure of ghost stones was negligible, almost pocket change, but it tied up personnel. Fan Domain had few members to begin with, and scattering so many across outposts left even fewer on hand. Once Wang Kui's report was mostly done, Chen Fan stood up and walked out of the room, intending to browse the marketplace to see if he could pick up any more bargains. Just as he pushed open the door, he saw Shao Qiu standing outside with a face full of smiles. Noticing the grin on Shao Qiu's face, Chen Fan's expression turned slightly odd. "Didn't Qi Yue tell you?" "He told me, he told me everything." Shao Qiu said earnestly, "But it doesn't matter. I feel that breaking through to Martial King on my own is purer. The breakthrough from the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion isn't pure." "..." Chen Fan fell silent for a moment before nodding. "It's best you think of it that way. You are indeed purer." "Um, well..." Shao Qiu scratched his head. "Domain Lord, I'd like to report on my work while I was away these past few days." "Go ahead." Chen Fan didn't move, remaining in place to listen to Shao Qiu's report. "It's like this." Shao Qiu cleared his throat and began his report earnestly: "Initially, the first city we reached was Jiangnan Water City. We uprooted one of Wind and Rain Tower's shops there, and then proceeded to hit shops they had planted in other cities one after another." "From those shops, we learned of Wind and Rain Tower's recent operation: escorting a Sea Embryo. At the same time, we uncovered the location of Wind and Rain Tower's headquarters." "How did you find the location of their headquarters?" Chen Fan asked in surprise. "Could Wind and Rain Tower have explicitly marked their headquarters' location in their intelligence transmissions?" "No." Shao Qiu shook his head. "I just tracked down the people escorting the Sea Embryo and followed them all the way. Their base was deep in the ocean, very far from land. By boat, it would take about a full day." "I recall you didn't have a boat. How did you get across?" "I clung to the bottom of their ship." "You didn't need to breathe?" "I possess a stealth martial skill. Trained to the Great Perfection stage, it grants an effect similar to turtle breathing—I can suspend respiration and enter a state of suspended animation." "Mm." Chen Fan gave a slight nod. He was aware of this. As a special cultivator of the living dead, whenever Shao Qiu broke through in cultivation realm, a martial skill would appear in his mind, automatically mastered to the Great Perfection stage. That truly was somewhat abnormal. "Wind and Rain Tower is an assassin organization; security on their island couldn't have been lax. How did you infiltrate?" Barring any surprises, this assassination operation against Wind and Rain Tower had likely been carried out by Shao Qiu alone. The other members of the Dark Pavilion wouldn't have possessed the ability to hold their breath underwater for nearly a day. "Well..." Shao Qiu scratched his head. "The island they occupied was quite unusual—a rocky islet rising over ten meters above the sea surface. Ghost creatures essentially couldn't climb up, and there were no city walls. Having no walls made things much easier, but assassins are still very sharp to external surroundings. At the time, I was worried they would detect me, so I sacrificed one year of my lifespan to activate the Concealing the Heavens martial skill." "I see." Chen Fan nodded. "Meaning, you sacrificed one year of your lifespan to destroy Wind and Rain Tower, right?" "That's correct." "If I remember correctly, when you infiltrated the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land back then, didn't you also sacrifice fifty years of lifespan?" "Yes, exactly! Domain Lord, you have an impressive memory." "You're in your twenties now, right?" "Yes." Shao Qiu nodded solemnly. "I'm twenty-five this year." "In other words, assuming a lifespan of one hundred years, you have at most twenty-four years left to live." Chen Fan said expressionlessly, "Be honest with me: do you have some method to extend your life? Because with the way you're playing around, I seriously doubt you'll live much longer." "I don't." Shao Qiu shook his head. "How could I have a way to extend my life? Since ancient times, I've never heard of any method to prolong lifespan." "But here's how I see it, Domain Lord. Although there are no exact statistics, the average lifespan of people on the Eternal Night Continent is fifty years, or even lower. After all, this world is crawling with all kinds of ghost creatures, making it easy to die early." "Suppose a person's natural lifespan is one hundred years, but you die at fifty—doesn't that mean the latter fifty years were completely wasted? So my thinking is: sacrifice it when you need to, don't hoard it, lest you die before using up all your lifespan—what a waste!" "Don't you agree, Domain Lord?" "..." Chen Fan didn't reply, feeling a headache coming on. He had no idea how to respond to that. What did he mean, "lest I die before using up all my lifespan—what a waste"? In two lifetimes, this was the first time he had heard someone talk like this. Were those words even fit for human ears? "Don't spend your life force like that in the future." This guy's worldview was clearly skewed. Chen Fan had no intention of arguing philosophy, but advised him earnestly, "Fan Domain has invested quite a bit in you. If you die early, all of Fan Domain's investment goes down the drain. Treasure your life as much as possible. If there's something you can't handle, tell me, and I'll deal with it. You don't have to shoulder it all alone." "Understood." Shao Qiu nodded, indicating he grasped the point, and then tentatively asked, "Domain Lord, have the specialized weapons and night-travel suits over at Pavilion Master Zhao's place finished forging? Can the Dark Pavilion claim them?" "They're already done?" Chen Fan nodded in comprehension. "Seems Zhao Shengping works pretty fast and gets things done nimbly." Forging so many spirit treasures was no simple task. They were spirit treasures, after all, not command tokens from the Living Workshop that could be banged out with two taps of a hammer. "Go collect them." He didn't say more; those items had been forged for the Dark Pavilion to begin with. "Well..." Shao Qiu grinned sheepishly. "One of the specialized weapons broke through to yellow-grade. That yellow-grade weapon... um... er..." He stammered for a while, unable to spit it out. Chen Fan chuckled, naturally understanding what Shao Qiu meant. He just hadn't expected Zhao Shengping to actually hit that low probability. "Very good." Without another word, Chen Fan agreed on the spot: "Go back and take it. That yellow-grade weapon is definitely yours; you've earned merit this time." "Where did you put the things brought back from Wind and Rain Tower?" "They've all been handed over to Pavilion Master Wang for storage in the warehouse." "In the future, when returning from such operations, report to me first. Tell me the specific spoils and casualties." "Understood." Shao Qiu nodded earnestly and hurriedly. "Roughly how many ghost stones?" "A total of four hundred and seventy thousand ghost stones." "That many?" A flicker of surprise flashed in Chen Fan's eyes. "Last time when we destroyed the Pill Sect, we only seized a hundred-odd thousand ghost stones. How could an assassin organization like Wind and Rain Tower have four hundred and seventy thousand?" "Indeed," Shao Qiu nodded. "And they're mostly high-grade ghost stones. But it makes sense—since Wind and Rain Tower doesn't build structures, their ghost stone reserves are likely more plentiful than other factions'." "Four hundred and seventy thousand ghost stones." Chen Fan patted Shao Qiu on the shoulder with a grave expression. "Such a massive sum entered the treasury and I didn't even know. Do it again next time, and you can step down to vice pavilion master." "All right." "Go back and claim your specialized weapon. I'll wander around on my own for a bit." "Right away!" Beaming with excitement, Shao Qiu sprinted off toward the city gates like the wind. This was the first yellow-grade spirit treasure of his life—and he was certain it wouldn't be the last. "..." Accompanied by Monkey, Chen Fan walked along another street designated for free trade among merchant guilds, scanning the vendors' wares to see if he could pick up any more bargains. Yet the name 'Shao Qiu' kept flashing through his mind, making him click his tongue inwardly. Four hundred and seventy thousand ghost stones. Putting himself in the other's shoes: If it had been him, he certainly would have run. There was no way he'd return; taking four hundred and seventy thousand ghost stones anywhere would allow one to stage a grand comeback. Yet that fellow actually came back. Truth be told, Chen Fan felt a bit moved. The guy genuinely believed Chen Fan could help him build a Dark Pavilion that would shake the world. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of an incense stick on a nearby stall. A rather trashy white-grade exotic treasure. Yet it reminded him of the Ask-the-Heavens Incense in the warehouse. Obtained in the past, lighting it allowed one to ask a single question and receive an absolutely correct answer. The drawback was that if the question lacked an absolutely correct answer or could not be answered, the incense would be wasted. He still had one stick left, which he had never dared to use. Fan Domain currently lacked many materials. He really wanted to ask in one breath: "I currently lack such-and-such, such-and-such... (naming a dozen materials), where should I go to obtain these materials?" He didn't know if that would count as a single question, but he hadn't dared to conduct the experiment—the risk was too great; if it failed, the Ask-the-Heavens Incense would be ruined for nothing. Just then. "Domain Lord Chen." A greeting sounded from behind. Chen Fan turned around and saw three people dressed in uniform sect robes looking at him with respectful expressions. "Ah, I remember you. I have some impression." Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully. These people should be from the Tianxia Pavilion. He had seen them when he went to Jiangbei to deal with the Jiangbei Chen family, though he didn't know what business they had with him now. "Greetings, Domain Lord Chen." The leading young man cupped his hands respectfully. "My name is Tianqi, a direct disciple of the Jiangnan Tianxia Pavilion. Last time, I had the privilege of meeting Domain Lord Chen in Jiangbei City." "Oh, speak." Chen Fan nodded. He remembered that last time, a woman in a white dress had harbored some hostility toward him, but she hadn't come this time. It seemed Tianxia Pavilion had come with an amicable attitude. "It's like this." Tianqi took a deep breath, suppressing his inner nervousness and doing his best to remain calm. "The annual Architects' Exchange Conference is approaching. This time, our Tianxia Pavilion is taking the lead in organizing it, bringing together renowned architects from Jiangbei, Jiangxi, Jiangdong, and Jiangnan." "As an architect who established Fan Domain with his own hands, Domain Lord Chen possesses unique methods and understanding of architecture. We would like to invite you to participate in this conference." "Not going." Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Fan refused on the spot. He wasn't an architect; what business did he have attending an architects' conference? What was there to discuss? His entire experience consisted of clicking confirm to build and upgrade—that was it. You people don't even have an interface panel; what is there to exchange? Besides, how dangerous was the outside world? Jiangnan was a place of mixed crowds, especially an architects' conference where so many people would gather. What if someone stabbed him in the back? Far too dangerous. No matter the reason, he had no justification for going. "Please don't be in a rush to refuse, Domain Lord Chen," Tianqi hurriedly said upon seeing his reaction. "In the past, the Architects' Conference was usually held within the organizer's territory. For instance, this year it was originally supposed to be held on Tianxia Pavilion's grounds." "However, because Fan Domain rose abruptly during the rainy season and built Fan City, which has now become a crucial nexus of exchange for surrounding factions, many factions come here." "Therefore, Tianxia Pavilion wishes to hold this year's Architects' Exchange Conference in Fan City. In addition to inviting you to attend, we also wish to ask if we might borrow Fan City as the venue for the conference." "That can be done." Chen Fan suddenly broke into a smile. "No problem at all. I warmly welcome everyone to hold their discussions in Fan City." He had no idea what those architects would discuss, but he knew it would surely bring popularity and foot traffic, along with many architectural blueprints. That was advantageous to him—as long as he didn't have to leave this region. "By the way." He suddenly thought of something and asked hesitantly, "Let me ask you a question. From an architect's perspective, do you know what one plus one equals?" Tianqi paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Domain Lord Chen, although this Tian is merely a Tier 6 architect, after studying hard for many years, I naturally understand this." "One plus one naturally equals four hundred and forty-four." "This is the consensus of all architects."