My Life is Doomed!

Seven years passed in the blink of an eye.

Immortal Calendar year 89.

"It's been four years since I resumed my cultivation and returned to the Greater Heavenly Cycle, but I've been unable to break through. It's probably because I've stayed in the market all this time and lacked experience."

"In a few days, I want to set off and retrace my old path, to see Angming City and Yinlian Village again."

On this day.

Meng Nan spoke to Zhao Xiaoshuang about something.

After carefully recalling the recent period, Meng Nan realized that he had never ventured out for experience since he started cultivating.

He was either in Yinlian Village or in this Qingtian Market.

He never left home, only focusing on arduous cultivation.

His progress in the early stages was indeed acceptable, but it seemed to have reached its limit now.

In his second life, Meng Nan had gone out once with Zhao Xiaoshuang and Feng Ying, but he had died after just over a month, not experiencing anything.

In this life, he wanted to truly go out and gain some experience.

"Return to Angming City?"

Zhao Xiaoshuang was stunned.

She knew Meng Nan's obsession with cultivation.

Meng Nan had lost his memory seven years ago, and his cultivation had regressed. For the past seven years, he had been cultivating arduously, not daring to stop for a moment except for necessary relaxation.

Now that he had encountered a bottleneck, he finally wanted to go out.

However, the thought of retracing fifty thousand li was something she hadn't expected.

After a moment of surprise, Zhao Xiaoshuang immediately said, "I'll go with you."

Meng Nan had been in a state of retrospective illumination for seven years; no one knew when he might pass away.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoshuang indulged him in whatever he wanted to do.

For example, cultivation.

For example, alchemy.

Logically speaking, Meng Nan was nearing his end; what was the point of starting to cultivate again from scratch?

His remaining years were few.

It was a waste of time and money!

But Zhao Xiaoshuang silently supported him.

This time was no different.

"I don't have much time left to live either, and I don't want to be separated from you. Take me with you."

Zhao Xiaoshuang smiled at Meng Nan.

This was the truth.

Although she had advanced to the True Essence stage and could live a few more years with each minggan [a type of spiritual herb], she had also used 'Great Pills' multiple times in previous years, which had damaged her lifespan.

She only lived a few years longer than him because her cultivation was deeper than Meng Nan's.

However, at this point, nearing ninety years old, Zhao Xiaoshuang also felt that her end was near.

She didn't want to be separated from Meng Nan in these final moments.

Hearing Meng Nan mention it, she suddenly also wanted to return to Angming City and see Yinlian Village again.

"Okay."

"Together."

Meng Nan smiled.

April, Immortal Calendar year 89.

Qingtian Market.

"Sigh!"

Qian Yu stood outside the market, watching Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang leave, and couldn't help but sigh.

She knew that this farewell might be a permanent one.

Recalling the past, Meng Nan was only 18 years old, just at the Fetal Breath Stage, when he confidently spoke to her about cooperation. It didn't work out at first, but later Meng Nan produced the 'Suoluo Seed', which forged a connection between them. It allowed her to advance to the True Essence stage and see the world of Angming City, Tianlin Cave, Qingtian Mountain, and tens of thousands of li beyond.

She even had hope of glimpsing the Qi Refining Immortal realm now.

Looking back, it felt like yesterday.

But when she looked back again, she realized that nearly a century had passed.

"My old friend departs."

"There's nothing worth lingering for in Qingtian Market."

Qian Yu reminisced about the past.

For these years, staying in 'Qingtian Market' was partly for cultivation.

Cultivation required resources, and the market was the source of wealth.

But after she achieved the fifth level of Sense Imprint, the market's output no longer had much effect on her.

She only stayed because of old acquaintances, with only Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang remaining. She stayed to protect Meng Nan during his breakthrough, hoping he could advance to True Essence and gain more lifespan.

Unfortunately, she never got to wait for it.

The others.

Including the three children, were either dead or scattered.

There was nothing left to hold her back in Qingtian Mountain.

"Immortal path!"

"How difficult is cultivation!"

Qian Yu sighed. Those around her left one by one, either through death or separation. Even she, after decades, had a heart filled with dust, accumulating deeper and deeper, unsure how to sweep it away.

Now, her mortal roots were severed, and she had no close friends left.

"Let's go."

Qian Yu turned around.

The next day, Qian Yu left Qingtian Market alone and ventured deep into Ghost Mother Mountain.

Perhaps by the time she emerged, she would be a Qi Refining Immortal Master.

If she failed to emerge—

Time flew by, and several more months passed.

The immortal path is difficult.

The roads in the Southern Border are also difficult.

Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang set off in April of '89, and by the end of the year, they had only traveled twenty thousand li, entering the range of the former Tianlin Cave.

Judging by their progress, Meng Nan's plan to visit Angming City before this life ends seemed unlikely to be fulfilled.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

He was enjoying the journey.

The mountains and rivers.

The forests.

The Yao Beasts.

The duels.

This was Meng Nan's first time truly walking in the wilderness of the Southern Border. He had encountered Yao Beasts, poisonous insects, and miasma, and he had also seen the majestic and magnificent primeval lands.

No amount of description or text could compare to the shock of actually coming out to walk and see with his own eyes.

Meng Nan was immersed, no longer fixated on returning to Angming City. He focused more of his energy on experiencing the scenery along the way.

However, upon entering the territory of the former Tianlin Cave, the atmosphere seemed a bit strange.

"In the past month, we've encountered three groups of people walking in the opposite direction. This isn't normal."

The Southern Border was vast and sparsely populated.

They weren't traveling on any main roads, traversing mountains and crossing ridges without any discernible path. Yet, even so, they had encountered three groups of people, more than ten individuals, within a month.

It was too abnormal.

The last time there was such a commotion was in Immortal Calendar year 50, when Tianlin Cave changed hands.

Now, forty years later, could something else have happened at Tianlin Cave?

"Let's go!"

"Let's check it out!"

Zhao Xiaoshuang's face showed excitement.

Meng Nan also felt anticipation.

With little time left, neither of them cared about the dangers ahead. Instead, their curiosity was piqued.

They immediately continued forward.

In just a few days, they encountered people again.

But this time, instead of just passing by, he came straight at them with a compass—

"He's coming for us!"

Zhao Xiaoshuang warned Meng Nan, then her longsword let out a clear clang as she called out to the approaching person, "Fellow Daoist, halt, lest there be a misunderstanding."

"Haha!"

"No misunderstanding, I'm here to kill you!"

The man looked middle-aged and moved with incredible speed. As he swept past, the leaves and grass around him swayed as if cheering him on.

He lightly tapped the ground.

His body moved like a phantom.

Clang!

Before Meng Nan could even react, he saw sparks fly from his left. He looked again and saw a figure flash past. Zhao Xiaoshuang held her sword, its blade trembling slightly. It was clear the man had tried to ambush Meng Nan, but Zhao Xiaoshuang had blocked him.

One sword strike repelled the enemy.

Zhao Xiaoshuang held her sword in her right hand and formed a hand seal with her left—

Zzzt!

Lightning flashed in her palm, and thunder rumbled in the air.

The next moment, a bolt of lightning struck down, shattering the void.

Boom!

The man's form was immediately revealed by the blast.

"Heh!"

"Palm Thunder! Just as I suspected, remnants of Chashan!"

Wei Yuncong chuckled, feeling incredibly lucky. With the world so vast, it was difficult to find these scattered Chashan remnants.

Running into him like this was clearly his good fortune.

Immediately.

Wei Yuncong's True Essence surged, and his figure vanished again, though he was still present, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"This is the 'Stealth Technique' from the Sky-Scraping Cliff's 'Evergreen Technique.' It uses plants to conceal one's form and mask their aura, making it ideal for ambushes."

Zhao Xiaoshuang held her sword defensively, explaining to Meng Nan.

"Sky-Scraping Cliff."

"Evergreen Technique."

"Stealth Technique."

Meng Nan checked his records and knew the origins of the 'Evergreen Technique' and 'Stealth Technique.'

Among these, the 'Evergreen Technique,' like Chashan's 'Thunder Illumination Scripture' and 'Dragon Mountain Scripture,' were cultivation methods for quasi-cultivators who hadn't yet entered the Dao of Immortality.

Only by being accepted as a disciple by an Immortal Master or by rendering great service could one be taught the true cultivation methods.

Within these techniques, there were usually several matching sorceries that were rarely passed down, such as 'Stealth Technique' or 'Palm Thunder.'

These were characteristic of each sect.

Seeing the 'Evergreen Technique' meant they were under Sky-Scraping Cliff. Seeing 'Stealth Technique' meant they were very likely registered disciples of an Immortal Master.

They couldn't be underestimated.

Zhao Xiaoshuang was on full alert. She cultivated the 'Gale Thunder Sword Technique' and the 'Hundred Changes Thousand Illusions Cloud Mist Movement Technique,' but at the moment, she had to protect Meng Nan, making her movement technique difficult to employ.

Relying solely on the 'Gale Thunder Sword Technique' to block this person wouldn't be easy.

She gradually began to show signs of strain.

"An old man and an old cripple, coming out to adventure like youngsters?"

"You two really are old in body but young at heart."

After probing for a while, Wei Yuncong quickly realized that the old woman among them was stronger, likely at the level of two or three stages of Sense Imprint. Her eyes and ears had already completed the fixed sense, granting her far superior vision and hearing, making her a formidable opponent who wouldn't be taken down easily.

However, she was trying to fight while also protecting the useless old man, creating an opening out of thin air.

Wei Yuncong laughed heartily, feigning an attack on the old man but deliberately not killing him, merely using him to threaten the old woman into coming to his rescue.

Again and again.

An opening became apparent.

"Here it comes!"

Wei Yuncong's figure flickered in and out of sight, moving back and forth. At this moment, he suddenly attacked from the side, his sword aimed at a spot the old woman could hardly shift her stance to defend.

This strike was bound to succeed.

However—

As Wei Yuncong's sword struck, he saw that the old woman, unable to form a hand seal or swing her sword, merely turned her head and opened her mouth. A flash of blood light suddenly shot towards his face.

The blood light was extremely fast.

There was no time to dodge at all.

"My life is over!"

Wei Yuncong was overcome with great joy and sorrow, as if falling into hell. He collapsed to the ground, his face unrecognizable.