Chapter 176: Pioneering the Path of Borrowing Lifespan

“Go to the world of your Yao race?”

Hearing this, Fang Han merely smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor refusing.

The strange beast Fei had an unpredictable temperament, and his words were always a mixture of truth and falsehood. At present, Fang Han had no need whatsoever to visit the Yao World.

The sealed domain had been successfully established, and all the primordial qi gathering points had been gathered together.

The necessary conditions were now complete.

Next, it was time to formally begin borrowing lifespan from Heaven.

Fang Han sat cross-legged in midair above the sealed domain. Taking it as collateral, he focused his mind and began circulating the Twelvefold Longevity Methods.

His consciousness once again drifted upward, connecting with Heaven.

This time, the instant he touched that boundless depth, Fang Han keenly sensed faint ripples being actively transmitted by the will of the Heavenly Dao.

“I have come today to borrow lifespan.”

Fang Han's voice rang out clearly.

This time, Fang Han was not borrowing lifespan merely for himself.

Rather, he intended to become the first person in this Martial Dao World to open the path of borrowing lifespan from Heaven.

Thus, unlike his previous experience of borrowing lifespan alone, the process was far from simple.

In an instant, countless intricate and densely woven rules surged into Fang Han's sea of consciousness like a tide.

Every single one had to be deduced and agreed upon with the will of the Heavenly Dao in advance. Once finalized, none could be changed.

This process was not a mundane negotiation where one person spoke and the other responded.

Instead, it was a profound and mysterious chain of reactions that followed the natural workings of the Dao.

It was much like the magnificent flame that naturally leapt forth once firewood had been ignited. Everything unfolded smoothly and organically.

In Fang Han's eyes, the traces of the Heavenly Dao circulating throughout this world suddenly underwent a transformation.

From this day onward, the fact that mortals could borrow lifespan from Heaven was engraved directly into the Heavenly Dao of this world, becoming one of its unalterable iron laws.

As the saying went, 'Touch one part and the whole body moves.'

This was not simply the addition of an isolated rule.

Rather, it triggered a series of reorganizations among the laws related to borrowing lifespan.

This naturally included...

The Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan Tribulation.

However, Fang Han faintly sensed that the Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan Tribulation brewing within the Martial Dao World might manifest in a form completely different from that of the Great Qian World.

The negotiations over the matter of borrowing lifespan continued for a full seven days and seven nights.

Throughout this period, Fang Han's divine sense remained outside his body, continuously connected with Heaven.

Not only did he feel no fatigue, he was instead more exhilarated than ever before.

It was as though he had suddenly comprehended the Dao, and his spirit had fallen into a state of immense satisfaction.

Finally, every detail had been thoroughly discussed and settled.

Next, Fang Han would become the first person in the Martial Dao World to borrow lifespan, officially accomplishing the feat.

Using him as the template, future martial artists would also be able to borrow lifespan from Heaven.

As the creator of this entire system of rules, Fang Han naturally understood the process like the back of his hand.

The amount of lifespan Heaven could lend would be determined through a comprehensive evaluation of the borrower's remaining lifespan and future potential.

Before long, the result was determined.

He could borrow two hundred years.

“Two hundred again?”

Fang Han's heart stirred.

In the Great Qian World, Li Shun's limit for his first lifespan borrowing had also happened to be two hundred years.

Was there some hidden mystery connecting the two?

Fang Han immediately sent out a strand of divine sense, attempting to uncover the truth.

“Why is it fixed at exactly two hundred years? Can it not be increased further?”

The response from the will of the Heavenly Dao carried an unmistakable firmness.

“This is the limit of borrowing lifespan. It cannot be increased.”

“What do you mean by 'limit'?”

The will of the Heavenly Dao fell silent for a long while.

Then, it directly transmitted a vast and indistinct scene into Fang Han's mind.

Beneath a gloomy sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared without end.

A towering ancient tree that seemed to connect Heaven and Earth stood silently in the distance.

Suddenly, an indistinct figure appeared before the enormous tree.

The figure struck without hesitation.

With a single blow, the towering tree was severed.

In that instant, Heaven and Earth descended into a terrifying upheaval resembling the end of the world.

The entire vast world seemed to have been forcibly cleaved into two separate realms, one above and one below.

From that moment onward, Heaven and Earth were forever severed.

Fang Han sensed the contents of the vision and gradually came to an understanding.

“In ancient times, humans could communicate with gods and shamans. They could cultivate wondrous Daoist arts and obtain miraculous methods of longevity.”

“Yet after Heaven and Earth were severed, humans and gods could no longer meet, and the hope of attaining longevity was lost forever.”

“This limit on borrowing lifespan is a shackle that appeared upon humanity during that ancient calamity.”

“Even if Heaven and Earth lend lifespan, they cannot break this invisible shackle.”

“Humans have a limit to their lifespan, much like...”

“The Yao race has a limit to its offspring.”

Once Fang Han slowly regained consciousness, the Martial Dao World's first journey of borrowing lifespan had already come to an end.

“The Fangcun puppet truly is extraordinarily profound. It clearly neither lives nor dies and therefore should not be subject to any so-called lifespan restriction. Yet the will of this world's Heavenly Dao cannot detect even the slightest flaw. It still permits me to borrow lifespan.”

Fang Han carefully comprehended the changes taking place within this body.

Strictly speaking, he had still not truly broken through to the Grandmaster realm.

Yet by relying on the heaven-defying divine ability of the Wupeng True Body, he already possessed combat strength powerful enough to crush every Grandmaster.

“A puppet has neither life nor death, but if it remains manifested in the outside world for a long time, its appearance and blood vitality will still undergo changes corresponding to the passage of age.”

“However, if I maintain the puppet's state within Fangcun without changing it, then even if the manifestation in the outside world grows old and dies, I can simply summon it again and descend into the mortal world anew.”

“To put it plainly, the puppet within Fangcun is like a fixed character save point. No matter what calamities or experiences it encounters in the outside world, I can restore it with a single thought and return to the moment when it was anchored.”

“However, I need to be careful when deciding whether to update this save point. There is no regret medicine to be had afterward.”

“I need to weigh the puppet's age, condition, strength, and cultivation realm carefully.”

“Also, now that I have successfully borrowed lifespan once in this Martial Dao World, I wonder whether I will be able to borrow lifespan again after returning to the Great Qian World.”

“And another thing. It now appears that the Yao World and the Great Qian World are essentially worlds of the same level. There is an obscure connection between them. It seems they may both have been formed from countless fragments of the shattered Primordial Wilderness in bygone times.”

“If I activate Threefold Self-Reflection in the Great Qian World, what kind of changes will occur in the Yao Beast World and this subordinate pasture?”

“The flow of time in these two worlds is identical.”

“I have never tried activating Threefold Self-Reflection in the Martial Dao World either. I wonder whether this Confucian divine ability will still work here?”

Once the thought arose, countless questions immediately flooded Fang Han's mind one after another.

After reaching an agreement with the will of the Heavenly Dao to borrow lifespan, and personally experiencing such an earth-shaking fortune, Fang Han felt that his understanding of the principles of Heaven and Earth had unknowingly deepened.

The level at which he contemplated matters had also leaped from that of a single world to the entirety of the shattered Primordial Wilderness.

“The road must be walked one step at a time. For now, I should spread this method of borrowing lifespan throughout the world and establish my name as the Grandmaster for generations to come!”

“Fei!”

“Just give the order!”

At Fang Han's command, the Martial Dao World instantly underwent a tremendous upheaval.

Fang Han's ethereal, towering figure suddenly manifested high above the firmament of this world.

Such a miraculous phenomenon naturally attracted the attention of countless martial artists.

They all raised their heads and recognized the figure.

“This... isn't that Fang Han?”

“Ever since he defeated two Grandmasters with the strength of the Gang Qi realm, he disappeared without a trace. The world has long been saying that he is dead. How is he suddenly appearing in the sky today, and with such an enormous spectacle?”

“Manifesting the Law and Phenomenon of Heaven and Earth. What realm does that represent? Even an Innate Grandmaster should be nowhere near capable of such a feat, right?”

Although the Martial Dao World was isolated from information and news traveled slowly, rumors concerning Fang Han had already spread throughout the world like wildfire during this period.

Now that he had reappeared before the world in a manner resembling the descent of a divine being, it naturally stirred enormous waves in an instant.

Under the countless gazes filled with awe, Fang Han's voice, vast and resonant like the bell of the Heavenly Dao, thundered throughout the entire world.

“The Heavenly Dao is vast and distant; life and death follow constant law. Prosperity must decline, and all that flourishes will eventually wither...”