Chapter 363 - 362: Fortune Banner

The stolen fortune flowed toward the Elephant Demon King’s silver arm, where it gathered into a brilliant sphere that pulsed with an extraordinary concentration of karmic energy. Bai Qingyue staggered backward, her Golden Core trembling as the sudden loss of her foundational fortune destabilized the spiritual Qi circulating through her body.

"Qingyue!" Lin Yuan roared.

He released a burst of golden-purple thunder that forced the three arms restraining him to recoil, then immediately abandoned his attack and rushed toward his wife.

His movement was so fast that the Elephant Demon King barely had time to turn its head before Lin Yuan appeared beside Bai Qingyue and caught her in his arms. Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, staining her pale gown, while her face had become noticeably paler.

Lin Yuan’s expression darkened as he examined her condition. Her Golden Core was still intact, but the sudden disruption to her fortune had placed tremendous pressure upon it, and the spiritual Qi within her meridians was circulating unevenly. He immediately guided a stream of his own spiritual Qi into her body, stabilizing the most dangerous fluctuations while his Dao Fruit examined the foreign power interfering with her karmic foundation.

The Elephant Demon King staggered backward, absorbing the stolen fortune into its silver arm. For an instant, it seemed ready to celebrate its success, but the expression on its face quickly changed. The fortune it had stolen was far more substantial than it had expected, and the overwhelming concentration of karmic energy caused the runes on its arm to blaze with blinding intensity.

"What is this?" the demon gasped, staring at the glowing limb. Its crimson eyes widened as it attempted to comprehend the extraordinary fortune flowing through its body.

"This is not merely the residual Heaven and Earth luck left behind by an ascension. Her soul possesses a naturally occurring fortune of monstrous proportions! Such a concentration of fortune is almost unheard of, and her very existence seems to draw the favor of Heaven itself!"

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he heard the demon’s words.

Naturally occurring fortune!

The phrase echoed through his mind, connecting several pieces of information that had previously remained separate. He had always known that Bai Qingyue possessed extraordinary natural luck, but he had never fully understood the extent of its influence.

Her fortune had repeatedly guided her toward opportunities that seemed impossible to obtain through ordinary means, and her presence had often caused the circumstances around them to develop in unexpectedly favorable ways.

He looked down at the woman resting in his arms.

Bai Qingyue had once been hailed as the greatest prodigy of Azure Cloud City, yet her cultivation had been crippled by circumstances beyond her control. Despite the suffering she had endured, she had eventually recovered and begun walking her path again.

Her life had repeatedly brought her into contact with extraordinary opportunities, and even after losing so much, she had continued to possess a natural fortune that seemed to defy ordinary understanding.

Lin Yuan remembered the Dao Fishing.

It had been Bai Qingyue who had drawn the Dao of Three Rebirths from the exotic realm, an outcome that even he had not anticipated. At the time, he had treated the event as another fortunate coincidence, but the revelation before him suggested that it might have been far more significant than he had realized.

Her fortune was not merely a blessing that occasionally improved her chances. It might be an intrinsic aspect of her existence, something deeply connected to the laws of Heaven and Earth.

A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind with the clarity of a lightning strike.

The Five Emperors. The Peerless God Tournament. The Fortune Banner.

He remembered the explanation given during the tournament, when the Fortune Banner had been presented as the reward for the ultimate victor. Its true purpose was to amplify the fortune of its bearer, allowing a cultivator with sufficient natural luck to receive a tremendous increase in cultivation and combat strength.

"The winner will receive the Fortune Banner," Lin Yuan recalled. "If a cultivator with immense fortune holds that banner, their cultivation will increase by leaps and bounds beneath Heaven’s blessing."

At the time, he had understood the banner’s value, but he couldn’t activate it for himself. The Fortune Banner had therefore remained within his spatial ring, waiting for a situation in which its unique properties might prove useful.

Now, the purpose behind the Emperors’ decision became clear.

They had intended to use the banner to elevate a fortunate genius, providing the Nine Provinces with another powerful cultivator capable of surviving the dangers of the Sacred Grounds. The artifact had been designed for precisely this kind of situation, when natural fortune alone might not be enough to overcome an overwhelming enemy. Bai Qingyue’s extraordinary luck made her an ideal candidate to wield it.

Lin Yuan did not hesitate.

He reached into his spatial ring, and a brilliant golden light immediately appeared beside his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Fortune Banner, allowing the ancient standard to materialize before them. Its fabric shimmered with countless dormant runes, each one carrying a faint trace of the Great Dao, while its golden shaft radiated a solemn aura that made the surrounding spiritual Qi tremble.

"Qingyue!" Lin Yuan called out, placing the heavy banner into her trembling hands. "Remember what the Emperors said about its purpose. The Fortune Banner can amplify the fortune of its bearer, and your natural luck is precisely what it needs. Hold it firmly and channel your fortune into the artifact. Do not worry about the demon. I will not allow it to interrupt you."

Bai Qingyue looked up at him, her eyes widening as she understood his intention. Despite the pain spreading through her body, she reached out with both hands and gripped the golden shaft. Her fingers were stained with blood, and her breathing remained uneven, but the moment she touched the artifact, a faint golden resonance spread through its surface.

Across the ruined plaza, the Elephant Demon King’s expression changed dramatically.