The raging wind howled, inky-dark clouds churned overhead, and the blizzard grew ever more ferocious.
In less than half a day, everything that had once shocked the eye was buried completely beneath the snow.
All that remained was an endless expanse of white.
It was not until evening that the snowfall finally ceased. The slanting rays of the setting sun cast a pale glow across the boundless snowfield.
Silence reigned.
Then, all of a sudden, a faint sigh echoed through the stillness.
“Greed confuses the heart and claims lives.”
At the very place where Lengshan City had already been utterly destroyed, the space suddenly rippled like water. From within that distortion, a building abruptly erged.
It was none other than the Jixia Bookshop.
Inside the dim interior, Zhou Xunzhen was nowhere to be seen.
Only a single, feeble fla flickered at the center.
The books lining the four walls were drawn, as if moths to a fla, into its core by an invisible force, where they were incinerated.
Within the firelight, countless images flashed past in rapid succession, like scenes in a revolving lantern.
At the sa ti, Zhou Xunzhen’s chanting voice rose slowly within the space.
“The celestial gnomon turns, the six realms hasten their return.”
The images spun, reflecting the past, when Zhou Xunzhen had first arrived in Lengshan and established this bookshop.
He had drawn a boundary around himself, never stepping beyond his study for several years.
As the flas flickered, the Zhou Xunzhen within those images aged rapidly, his appearance growing increasingly withered.
Yet his chanting voice did not falter in the slightest.
“Casting bait in Lengshan, stirring mortal greed.”
The light within the flas shifted abruptly.
Fang Xun gripped the Lengshan Venerable tightly in his hand, his gaze falling upon the laborers kowtowing like ants at his feet. For the first ti, a chilling killing intent born of greed took root in his eyes.
Xiong Jin, upon hearing from his subordinates that the Lengshan Venerable had appeared, slowly turned his head toward his nephew Jiang Chongguang. Deep within his eyes, a trace of madness ignited.
Yu Niang, who had nearly escaped Lengshan County, was completely consud by jealousy and resentnt after overhearing passersby speak of Fang Xun’s imminent rise to power.
Cheng Yishu, Yu Shang, Sun Wu…
And even the constables and laborers of Lengshan County.
All of them were drawn into the swaying firelight.
And as if nourished by their offerings, the fla silently surged several feet higher, its waves of fire roaring toward the heavens.
Zhou Xunzhen’s chanting voice bood like a great bell, reverberating throughout the sealed study.
The tone of his voice rose from a feeble murmur of old age to one of cold detachnt, as though gazing down upon all living beings.
“Greed for wealth corrupts the seal, bringing forth countless calamities.”
“The masses vie for fortune, the sea of life runs dry.”
Within the depths of the flas, the events of an entire year in Lengshan County replayed.
All of it, born from a single word: Greed.
Xiong Jin led his forces in an assault upon the city, slaughtering without restraint.
Floodwaters surged, claiming half the population.
And in the end, the cataclysm of mountains collapsing and earth splitting apart buried everything.
…
As if fed by unseen fuel, the flas within the book shop surged ever more violently, illuminating the once dim interior as bright as day.
Zhou Xunzhen’s voice, once aged and gloomy, gradually turned sonorous and forceful.
“Take the city as a cauldron, and desire as the banner.”
“Stealing fate, seizing opportunity, borrowing bones to endure the cold.”
All the books within the book shop transford into streams of light, flying one after another into the raging fire.
Within the final, frenzied flickers of the firelight, faint images could be seen. Faces of the people who had once lived in Lengshan County surfaced one by one.
Boom!
In an instant, the entire Jixia Bookshop was swallowed by flas.
Yet in the very next mont, the surging inferno abruptly froze in absolute stillness, as though ti itself had been forcibly halted.
A figure stepped out from the solidified sea of fire.
It was Zhou Xunzhen.
His body still hunched, he raised his head toward the heavens and ascended step by step, treading upon empty air.
“Countless ants of the mortal world—knock upon the gate in my stead!”
With each step he took upward, his silver hair turned black inch by inch. His bent spine cracked and straightened, becoming as upright as a drawn sword. Even his wrinkled skin began to transform at a miraculous pace, reverting to that of a youth.
“When the tribulation of ashes are exhausted, ascend the altar of immortality!”
By the ti Zhou Xunzhen finished his chant and completed his path to the heavens, he spoke calmly to the world itself: “Today, I, Zhou Xunzhen, break through the Celestial Phenona and enter the realm of Creation…”
“And borrow another lifeti from the heavens!”
For a brief instant, heaven and earth seed to fall into complete stillness.
Then, an imnse and unfathomable aura descended from above, enveloping Zhou Xunzhen.
He underwent nirvana rebirth, transforming into a graceful sixteen-year-old youth.
Vitality surged within him like a boundless tide.
Now fully transford, Zhou Xunzhen’s face remained devoid of joy or sorrow.
He gently closed his eyes, savoring his regained youth, as if the entire world had faded away, leaving only himself.
At that very mont, from the farthest edge of the horizon, two concealed streaks of light slowly descended.
Both newcors wore official robes. The mont they landed, they bowed deeply toward Zhou Xunzhen.
“Congratulations, Senior, on overcoming the [Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan] Tribulation and advancing your cultivation.”
Zhou Xunzhen cast them a faint sideways glance. After a long pause, he spoke in an even tone, “If you encounter difficulties in the future, you may co to Jixia Academy to find .”
As he spoke, a golden page drifted down, hovering before the two n.
“Many thanks for Senior’s generous gift!”
Only after they respectfully accepted the token and looked up again did they realize that Zhou Xunzhen had already vanished without a trace amidst the vast snow-covered sky.
“A Creation Realm expert…” After a long silence, the younger official finally exhaled in relief and muttered.
“It’s just a pity. Lengshan County has been completely wiped out. As the newly appointed Magistrate, it seems I have nowhere left to assu office.” The young man shook his head, though there was not the slightest hint of regret in his tone.
The older man beside him, bearing an imposing official aura, stroked his beard and replied indifferently,
“Destruction paves the way for renewal. After such a catastrophe, everything has been wiped clean. It will be easier for you to act.”
“This humble subordinate owes this opportunity entirely to your guidance, my lord!” the young man quickly said, cupping his hands.
These two were none other than Yin Fengshuo, the Prefect of Lengshan Commandery, and Shen Chongguang, the newly appointed magistrate of Lengshan County who should have taken office long ago.
Ignoring Shen Chongguang’s flattery, Yin Fengshuo gazed at the lifeless ruins below and let out a faint chuckle.
“He should have risen to great heights, yet fell into calamity and died abruptly. Fang Xun, you truly never had the fate for wealth and honor. Fifty years ago was the sa, and it remains so even now.”
Shen Chongguang imdiately lowered his head, focusing on his nose and heart, pretending not to hear.
He had long known that Prefect Yin and Fang Xun were at odds, which was why he had gone along with the flow and allowed Fang Xun to fall into disaster without offering aid.
But his composure was not deep enough. After holding back for a mont, he could not resist voicing his concern.
“My lord, Lengshan is, after all, under your jurisdiction. Now that it has been destroyed entirely…”
“What if the Sacred Capital holds you accountable?”
Yin Fengshuo replied lightly,
“The culprit, Fang Xun, has already been executed. As for , at most I will bear the charge of negligence and lose three years of salary.”
“Besides, I have gained a favor from a Creation Realm expert this ti. Heh…”
Shen Chongguang nodded in sudden understanding, not daring to say another word.
Their escape lights rose once more, and the two departed in an instant.
Lengshan County fell into deathly silence once again.
As night descended and the day drew to its end, neither Zhou Xunzhen, who had regained youth and a new life, nor Yin Fengshuo, cold and calculating, noticed the tiny gnat fluttering endlessly above the falling snow and shattered ruins.
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