The Fifth Life!

Immortal Calendar Year 120.

Yaozi Mountain.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Meng Nan opened his eyes and accessed the Death Log--

[Death Log]--

[Name: Meng Nan]

[Age: 120 years]

[Cause of Death: Corpse split in two during a fight over a great medicine]

[Cultivation Before Death: True Essence Stage, Sense Imprint Realm]

[Time Reversal: Five months]

"Cultivate the Greater Heavenly Cycle's internal energy in reality, then enter again. The time reversal will increase to five months."

Meng Nan glanced at the [Death Log], and then images appeared in his mind--

Monkeys cried incessantly between the mountains on both banks.

Two giants ran along the cliff face, surrounded by gusts of black wind.

Suddenly, a gray light flashed, shattering the giants' Dharma bodies, and two large human heads flew out. Upon closer inspection, though they appeared aged, it was still recognizable that these two heads--

One belonged to Meng Nan.

The other belonged to Zhao Xiaoshuang.

An old couple, husband and wife, both met their demise.

Then the black wind dispersed, and the gray light revealed itself to be several flying daggers. Following that, a middle-aged cultivator emerged from the side, a smile on his face, and swept away their bodies, disappearing in an instant.

"Killed by someone again."

Including this time, Meng Nan had already died five times. Twice due to Qi Deviation, twice from being killed, and once from Natural Death, and even then his lifespan was cut short.

Meng Nan shook his head.

He stood up and looked around. This appeared to be a cave dwelling, specifically a cultivation quiet room within it.

He looked at himself again--

His hair had turned white once more.

His hands were somewhat withered.

His clothes were a darker shade.

"120 years old."

Meng Nan took a Storage Bag from his waist. He probed it with his internal energy. The space wasn't large, similar to the one he obtained in his fourth life. Inside were mostly jade slips.

Stacks upon stacks.

Piles upon piles.

An extremely large quantity.

Each pile had a note attached, summarizing its contents and year. These were Meng Nan's records for the past hundred years.

"Books exchanged for jade slips."

This made things much simpler.

Meng Nan took out a jade slip that recorded an overview of the past century's events and placed it against his brow.

Zheng Shanpeng's promotion.

Tianlin Cave's eight cities.

Zheng Shanpeng's escape.

Qingtian Market.

Everything up to this point was the same.

It wasn't until Immortal Calendar Year 90, when 'Ancestor Shi', one of the five patriarchs of Chashan, passed away, that Sky-Scraping Cliff, in alliance with Shepherd Ridge, launched a full-scale assault.

In just five years, Chashan was destroyed, and its disciples scattered.

In this life, Meng Nan had switched allegiance to Tianlin Immortal Master early on. From being Zheng Shanpeng's disciple in his fourth life, he became his junior brother, still clinging to his coattails.

Then came city building and corruption.

Using this, he advanced the 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique to the hundredth level. He also used the embezzled funds to forge the 'Soul Banner', gaining more methods.

Afterward, Sky-Scraping Cliff attacked, and Meng Nan fled back to Chashan with Zheng Shanpeng.

He began cultivating within Chashan.

"Twenty-nine Qi Refining Immortal Masters."

"Five peak Ancestors."

In this life, Meng Nan finally understood Chashan's true foundation.

Immortal Masters.

Ancestors.

The numbers weren't large.

Most of the sect were still disciples like Meng Nan, struggling in the mortal world.

The source of the dispute between Sky-Scraping Cliff and Chashan traced back to Immortal Calendar year 35. That year, Chashan discovered a secret realm, which was originally a medicinal mountain filled with spirit herbs beneficial for the cultivation of Immortal Masters and even Ancestors.

Over ten years later.

The news spread.

Sky-Scraping Cliff then clashed with Chashan. The conflict intensified over several decades, becoming irreconcilable, and ultimately leading to Chashan's destruction.

When Meng Nan died for the fourth time, Sky-Scraping Cliff and Chashan were locked in a fierce battle.

Five years after that, Chashan was swiftly defeated.

It couldn't withstand Sky-Scraping Cliff in the end.

Meng Nan had slipped away long before the great war began. Seeing how things were going, he never returned. Earlier in this life, he had already guided Qian Yu and others to establish themselves in Qingtian Market. So, after leaving Chashan, his first stop was Qingtian Market.

But he didn't stay long.

A few years later, his 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique had improved slightly, reaching the 130th level. His 'Soul Banner' was also nearing completion. At this point, he and Zhao Xiaoshuang set out from Qingtian Market, crossing Ghost Mother Mountain and heading southwest.

They stopped in Xuanwu Mountain for several years along the way.

Then they crossed Xuanwu Mountain again and arrived at Blood Lotus Mountain.

Each of these mountain realms, whether spanning north-south or east-west, stretched for hundreds of thousands of miles, comparable in scale to places like Chashan, Sky-Scraping Cliff, and Shepherd Ridge.

The lands within were vast, with numerous mountain ranges and crisscrossing rivers.

Twenty-odd years passed in a flash.

Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang established a cave dwelling in Yaozi Mountain within the Blood Lotus Mountain realm, and had been cultivating there for over four years.

This place was a million miles away from Qingtian Mountain, separated by layers upon layers of mountains.

It was an entirely different world.

Qi Refining Immortal Masters ruled their territories, and ancient Yao claimed mountains as their own.

Human cultivators!

Yao cultivators!

Here, they had already reached a state of parity.

But whether north or south--

Rogue cultivators sought only to survive and persist, constantly pursuing the Qi Refining realm.

Meng Nan.

Zhao Xiaoshuang.

Were also members of the vast sea of rogue cultivators.

Wandering the land, seeking breakthroughs, ultimately perishing in the wilderness.

"Five months from now."

"A great medicine?"

Meng Nan could see the scene of his own death five months later, but he knew nothing of the intervening period; there was no memory inheritance.

He could only guess and ponder.

However, it was more direct to ask Zhao Xiaoshuang.

Meng Nan walked out of the quiet room and saw that the cave dwelling was quite spacious. Seven or eight small rooms had been carved out: some for cultivation, some for alchemy, and some for artifact refining.

Zhao Xiaoshuang was currently seated cross-legged in one of the quiet rooms, cultivating.

One hundred and twenty years old.

At this age, Zhao Xiaoshuang's hair was also graying, and her face was somewhat sallow, similar to her third life.

As she cultivated, a sword lay across her lap. Her aura was different; she was no longer cultivating the Thunder Illumination Scripture. Instead, it bore some resemblance to the Dragon Mountain Scripture, exuding a sharper edge.

Meng Nan looked a couple more times, a guess forming in his mind--

"This is an advanced technique from the Dragon Mountain Scripture, Chashan's true inheritance, the Lesser Thousand Sword Scripture!"

Zhao Xiaoshuang had actually changed her cultivation technique!

She had originally cultivated the Thunder Illumination Scripture. Even if she were to advance further, she should have switched to the Five Thunder Secret Record, not the Lesser Thousand Sword Scripture.

Meng Nan was slightly surprised, then quickly understood: "Compared to lightning techniques, Xiaoshuang prefers swords. If the conditions allowed, switching to the Lesser Thousand Sword Scripture is quite reasonable."

Next, he looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang's cultivation.

Observing her aura, her True Essence was abundant.

This was even stronger than many peak True Essence cultivators Meng Nan had seen in his previous life.

"It seems I've found the right path."

Meng Nan was delighted.

At this moment.

Zhao Xiaoshuang had just finished her cultivation. She opened her eyes, and the couple met again.

"Huh?"

"Amnesia?"

"So, I'm talking to a nineteen-year-old kid right now?"

"In your memory, I should be nineteen years old. That year, I had just given birth to Meng Xingzhe and was still young, tender as a spring chicken. Now look at me, I'm an old woman. Are you disappointed?"

"Little kid, are you scared?"

"Tell Grandma what it feels like."

Zhao Xiaoshuang in this life was indeed the same as ever. After hearing that Meng Nan had amnesia, she was only surprised for a moment before she couldn't help but tease him.

Meng Nan looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang and shook his head. "You've changed."

"Hmm?"

Zhao Xiaoshuang looked at Meng Nan.

Meng Nan sighed with emotion. "When you were eighteen, you'd blush for days just from being called husband. Now—"

"Eighteen?"

"Husband?"

Zhao Xiaoshuang was neither shy nor annoyed, merely amused. "You can only dig up those old, stale stories now."

The two chatted and laughed for a while.

Only then did Meng Nan get to the main topic.

Initial news, we'll be launching on New Year's Day!