Chapter 174: Seeking to Borrow Lifespan

Yet at this moment, the will of the Heavenly Dao within the Martial Dao World seemed to be filled with confusion.

And anxiety.

Moreover, from the traces of power circulating above his head, Fang Han could clearly see signs of restraint and suppression.

'This should be the authority that Fei spoke of.'

'It is completely different from the vast and boundless will I sensed when I previously used the Twelvefold Longevity Methods. Back then, I could even communicate and converse with it as an equal.'

'I wonder, in the eyes of the Qian Emperor, is the Heavenly Dao of the Great Qian World also like this?'

Fang Han tentatively extended a strand of his consciousness and touched the traces of the Heavenly Dao circulating above his head.

As expected, however, the will of the Heavenly Dao gave no response whatsoever.

It was as though the sense of equality Fang Han had perceived was nothing more than an illusion.

Fang Han could not help looking toward Fei.

Fei was quick to react and immediately explained, "The authority is still in my hands. If you have anything to say, simply speak to me directly, and I will relay your words."

Fang Han remained silent, but inwardly he began assessing the possibility of killing the Yao beast before him and turning it into a puppet.

After a moment, however, he secretly shook his head and temporarily abandoned the idea.

Although Fei currently acted submissive and obedient before Fang Han, killing him would by no means be easy.

The reason Fei had surrendered so quickly and completely was because he was pessimistic and cherished his life above all else.

To him, surrendering to Fang Han would cost him very little, while his own life would remain safe for the time being.

But if Fang Han insisted on taking his life...

Then Fei, who valued his life so dearly, would absolutely not sit around waiting for death.

Even if he did not fight back with everything he had, he would certainly flee in panic to the Yao World to summon reinforcements. Once any Yao King came, Fang Han would be unable to deal with them.

At that point, Fang Han would be the one desperately fleeing for his life.

'My objective is to seize the Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth from this world. That does not conflict with the needs of the Yao World.'

'By using Fei as my spokesman in negotiations with the will of the Heavenly Dao, I have a very good chance of successfully practicing the Twelvefold Longevity Methods.'

Fang Han's thoughts raced.

As for leading the martial artists in a rebellion against the Yao race's rule and rescuing this world from its suffering...

Fang Han had never even considered it.

He was perfectly clear-headed about one thing. One should only do what one's abilities allow.

'The only thing I can do is reduce, as much as possible, the number of Grandmasters being cultivated as breeding stock for the Yao Clan.'

Fang Han activated the Twelvefold Longevity Methods.

His consciousness rose toward the heavens, soaring all the way to the Ninth Heaven.

Before the vast will of heaven and earth, he was truly as insignificant as an ant.

'My name is Fang Han. I have come here today to borrow lifespan from Heaven and Earth.'

Fang Han's faint voice rang out.

As expected, it failed to provoke even the slightest reaction from the will of heaven and earth.

But...

At Fang Han's signal, Fei continuously let out deep, resonant bellows, repeating Fang Han's words once more.

Whatever Fang Han said afterward, Fei repeated every word without omission.

After a lengthy explanation, the will of heaven and earth finally developed a trace of interest in Fang Han.

"Although I cannot resolve your current predicament, I can at least make your circumstances somewhat more comfortable."

Fei, who held the authority over the Heavenly Dao of this world, spoke at that moment, confirming Fang Han's words.

Sensing that the will of heaven and earth had begun to waver, Fang Han immediately explained the Twelvefold Longevity Methods and the method of borrowing lifespan in detail.

"For you, this is absolutely a business that costs nothing yet yields immense profit."

Heaven and earth endure for eternity, their lifespans approaching infinity. When mortals borrow lifespan, their allotted lifespans are merely transferred temporarily. From the perspective of heaven and earth, there is no substantial loss.

Even in the Great Qian World, Fang Han had never heard of anyone being able to borrow lifespan without repaying it.

Even if someone used various methods to delay the arrival of the Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan Tribulation, it was ultimately nothing more than a temporary postponement.

When the time came, those destined to die would still die.

Their fate could not be escaped.

The debt could either be collected on time, or its repayment could be delayed for a hundred or a thousand years.

Either way, the debt would eventually return to heaven and earth.

It was practically a guaranteed-profit transaction.

Yet by lending its lifespan to mortals, heaven and earth could exchange it for more favorable conditions under their enslavement.

The will of heaven and earth in this world did not deliberate for long.

Very soon, it took the initiative to ask about the specific details of the transaction.

The negotiations proceeded extremely smoothly.

But just as they were about to reach an agreement, a ripple suddenly emerged from the will of the Heavenly Dao.

This transaction of borrowing lifespan from Heaven required a sufficiently valuable "collateral" as a guarantee.

Even if an extreme situation arose and the borrowed lifespan was never repaid, it would still not suffer a loss.

"Collateral? What do you want?"

Fang Han's heart stirred.

He suddenly recalled the rumors from the Great Qian World about the Qian Emperor collecting all the gold and silver in the world.

The will of heaven and earth remained silent for a moment.

Then, a series of images suddenly flashed through Fang Han's mind.

Beneath a rotten swamp stretching for hundreds of li.

Deep within a snowfield where the snow never melted.

In the wild mountains and dense forests where miasma permeated the land and sunlight never reached.

Within these hidden regions, powerful existences were each concealed and dwelling in seclusion.

'Gathering points of the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth.'

Fang Han instantly understood what these images represented.

With the assistance of the will of the Heavenly Dao, Fang Han also gained a deeper understanding of these gathering points of the primordial qi within this world.

As a pasture captured and controlled by the Yao World, the primordial qi of heaven and earth within the Martial Dao World inevitably flowed toward the Yao World.

This had caused the spiritual qi of the world to gradually wither.

There were only two exceptions.

One was the Grandmasters who served as breeding grounds for newly born Yao beasts.

The birth of Yao beast offspring required an enormous amount of spiritual qi for nourishment.

The other exception was the spiritual treasures Fang Han had previously raided.

These spiritual treasures relied purely on their own unique properties to forcibly intercept and preserve a tiny portion of spiritual qi from the mighty torrent in which the primordial qi of heaven and earth was constantly being drained away.

To the will of the Heavenly Dao, these pockets of spiritual qi represented the hope of escaping the fate of having their primordial qi completely siphoned away.

An abnormal variable beyond the confines of the world had appeared within them.

Heaven and earth themselves were not immutable. They were constantly evolving.

If these variables could be incorporated into the great cycle of the world's circulation, there might be a chance of giving birth to spiritual-qi pockets belonging to the Martial Dao World itself.

Although this still could not alter the overall fate of its primordial qi being drained away, it might allow regions capable of maintaining a certain concentration of spiritual qi to be created within the spiritual-qi vacuum.

As the will of the Heavenly Dao slowly explained everything, Fang Han suddenly understood why it had become so agitated earlier.

His wanton absorption of those gathering points of primordial qi had appeared, from the perspective of this world, to be extinguishing its future hope.

"Then how are they to serve as collateral?"

Fang Han immediately became interested.

The response of the will of the Heavenly Dao was extremely straightforward.

"Gather them together and cultivate them."

In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, these gathering points of primordial qi were still far too weak.

But if they were brought together and nurtured collectively, perhaps one day they might give birth to a possibility that would allow the entire world to break free from the Yao World's control.

Although it was merely a faint and illusory possibility, in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, its value was already sufficient to serve as collateral for mortals borrowing lifespan.

"Fine. I'll help you accomplish this."

Fang Han agreed without hesitation.

Now that he had awakened the true body of Wupeng, with the Yao beast Fei assisting him from the side, this task was utterly effortless for Fang Han.