Eternal Life Begins with Taking a Wife

Seeing that Shen Ping did not say anything, the scholarly man smiled. “There has always been an ancient legend in this world. If you gather ninety nine souls of the Longevity Lamps, you can break through the shackles of the nine stars and transcend the world. Therefore, ever since I found out about this legend, I’ve been gathering ninety nine souls of the longevity lamps. Now, I’m very close.”

When Shen Ping heard this, he said without hesitation, “You’ve been deceived.”

The scholarly man was not angry. “Why are you so sure?” he asked with a smile.

Before Shen Ping could answer, the scholarly man continued, “In fact, I know that this legend is most likely fake. The world is only using me to clean up those Luminarists with longevity lamps and maintain the balance of the world. Even without me, there will be others.

“But that was transcendence. Even if it was an ant trying to shake a tree, it would still want to see the scenery above the world. That’s why I came. Even if I knew that I wasn’t confident, I still came. If I didn’t come, I might never have had the chance.”

The surrounding pavilions disappeared. The entire Lingzhou City had disappeared as well. Endless darkness enveloped the two of them, and only the tea table was still lit.

Shen Ping looked up at the sky. There seemed to be eyes looking down. The scholarly man sitting opposite him was not in a hurry to attack. Instead, he calmly lit an oil lamp on the tea table.

As the candlelight lit up, longevity lamps appeared behind the scholarly man. They were densely packed and looked incomparably horrifying.

Shen Ping glanced at it and asked, “Every longevity lamp represents a nine-star Luminarist. However, after every nine-star Luminarist dies, there will be one more person with a longevity lamp in the seven countries in the world. You should know this, right?”

“I do.”

“Since that’s the case, could many of these longevity lamp souls be one person?”

The scholarly man was stunned. He looked at Shen Ping and saw that he was extremely serious. He could not help but fall into deep thought. Then, he said slowly, “When a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out. Regardless of whether they are the same person in the next life, their lamp souls have changed. They are no longer the same person.”

Shen Ping shook his head with a smile. He looked at the longevity lamp souls behind the scholarly man. As an Immortal King, his true soul power was extremely powerful. Although each of these lamp souls was different, their soul power was fundamentally similar. Or rather, many of them seem to be from the same lineage. “You can’t transcend. Because you are, after all, a man of this world.”

When the scholarly man said that, he knew that the other party was unable to transcend. He was limited by his understanding, concepts, and knowledge. Even if the other party had grasped a trace of the power of fate, it would be difficult for him to escape the influence of the world and see the essence of everything.

The scholarly man seemed to understand and smiled helplessly. “Perhaps, but today, I still want to fight with all my might!”

Only then did he brazenly attack. The nine life lamps in his body flew out and rotated like a sun. The large number of soul lamps behind him provided an endless stream of energy, causing the energy of the nine life lamps to rise rapidly.

If it were any other nine-star Luminarist, they would only be able to resist with all their might. After all, the scholarly man with a large number of lamp souls was incomparably terrifying. If nine-star Luminarist represented the fate of a country, then the scholarly man was equivalent to seven countries.

He used all his strength.

Shen Ping only threw a punch. Around his fist, life lamps surrounded him. Every life lamp seemed to have light patterns on it that kept superimposing. Every circle of light patterns represented a Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Driven by the core Fate Light Pattern, these Great Dao rotated steadily.

Boom. With just one punch, he shattered the nine life lamps that the scholarly man had enhanced with a large number of soul lamps. It was like an egg hitting a rock.

As the life lamp shattered, all the lamp souls dissipated in an instant. The darkness around him receded.

It’s the same attic. It’s the same tea table. The sound of frogs could be heard from the pond in the attic. The scholarly man looked at Shen Ping. “What you used just now was not a move from this world.”

Shen Ping nodded. “Yes, so you lost.”

“It’s not an injustice. To be able to see things outside the world before I die is not a waste of this… I now understand what the book says. If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening.” The scholarly man did not look dispirited at all. Instead, he smiled brightly. “Brother Shen, before I die, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.”

“The Valley of the Night is the darkest and most sinister place in the world. Without the suppression of the lamp soul, those nourishing vengeful spirits will surge out without restraint. After countless years of accumulation, their numbers are terrifying. If I die, they will have no restraints and can destroy the seven countries in an instant.

“This is the fate of heaven and earth. Death is both life and death. Heaven and earth are heartless, but you and I are not heaven and earth, so I hope Brother Shen can help.”

The scholarly man rose and bowed.

Shen Ping was silent for a moment. “Okay.”

Only then did the man turn around and leave. However, before he could walk out of the mansion, his body dissipated bit by bit. Yang Yimo walked over and prepared to refill his tea. “Eh, where’s that scholar?”

“He, ah, was busy with his own business. Yimo, don’t cook for me tonight. I have something to do, so I’m going out.”

“Sure.”

…

Shen Ping’s figure quietly condensed in the Valley of the Night. More and more vengeful spirits crawled out of the Dark Abyss and gradually showed signs of losing control. Seeing this scene, he raised his hand and threw a few punches. A large number of light runes instantly burned the vengeful spirits to ashes. However, the vengeful spirits were endless.

“I didn’t expect the clown to be me!”

He was speechless. This scholar had really found him a good job. The lamp soul in his body surged out and floated above the Dark Abyss. The nine stars connected into a line and condensed into the Life Lamp Array to suppress those vengeful spirits.

When he was done, he walked into a grotto not far away. Inside were oil lamps and some simple living appliances. It was as if the image of the scholar reading while opening the oil lamp could be vaguely seen.

“As expected of a scholar, he can withstand loneliness. But I can’t bear it… I can’t suffer. I have to do something.”

He thought about it. Shen Ping carved words in the grotto. It was said that at the beginning of the Yun Nation, a scholar went to the capital to take the examination. He encountered an injured fox in the wilderness and kindly treated it… That fox transformed into a woman. She was extremely beautiful and had a graceful figure. She was as beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal. In order to repay him for saving her life, she gave herself to him and sang every night.

The next day, he brought Yang Yimo to experience grotto life.

Yang Yimo could not help but read it when she saw the engravings. When she read the part where she sang every night, she could not help but blush. She gritted her teeth and continued the story. The scholar was immersed in beauty and did not know the sun and moon. Suddenly, one day, his wife came to him in his dream. Only then did he wake up. He bade farewell to his gentle hometown and embarked on the path of the examination again…

Shen Ping stood at the back and said with a smile, “This scholar is a dream. Instead of being rich and virtuous, he might as well be a playboy.”

Yang Yimo snorted. “The book has Yan Ruyu, the book has a golden house. Since you read the books of sages, you seek your own path to success. The red sleeves will only wear down your aspirations.”

Shen Ping laughed. “Yimo is right. Let me do the thing that wears away one’s aspirations.”

As he spoke, he suddenly picked up his wife. In the engraving, he practiced the essence of the illustration.

Time passed. Another 50 years passed. Under the continuous hard work, the progress of fate displayed in the virtual frame finally reached 1%. Although it was still far from 10%, with 1% comprehension, he was 90% confident in smelting other Great Daos of Heaven and Earth.

He looked at the virtual frame.

Shen Ping did not try to smelt it virtually like before. Instead, he directly used the virtual frame to smelt the Great Dao of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth into the Great Dao of the Chaos Hole.

As the virtual frame vibrated, several months passed. The data displayed by the Great Dao of the Chaos Hole finally changed.