He Disappeared

Just as the morning light cut through the milky fog in the forest, Yuan Tianzong returned from afar, stepping on strands of magnificent golden light.

Having heard yesterday that Yang Chan liked fruit, Yuan Tianzong had relied on his cultivation to travel to a town over a hundred kilometers away and buy a huge pile of it.

On his way back, he had also caught several wild eels in a mountain stream.

"Mr. Yuan, I only mentioned it casually. You didn't have to go to so much trouble." Seeing the labels on the fruit bags, Yang Chan realized he had gone out of the mountains to buy them.

"It wasn't troublesome. The round trip only took twenty minutes."

"After we eat, I'll teach you a set of Fitness Fist. It'll be very helpful for improving your vitality and blood."

Yang Chan nodded. "All right."

She obediently went along with him, though deep down, she was extremely curious about the process behind Yuan Tianzong's words: "If you want longevity, you must first die."

Could people truly live forever?

For thousands of years, even the emperors of every dynasty had been unable to solve this problem. Could he really crack it?

Thick lichen and moss wrapped every mountain rock in fuzzy green, while vines of unknown age crept over them, their tendrils hung with glistening droplets of dew.

Time passed day by day.

Finally, one late night, Yang Chan felt that she was about to give birth!

Yuan Tianzong seemed to have known her due date all along and had stayed by her side.

When Yang Chan shot him a look, he immediately rose and helped her up. "Let's go."

Yang Chan did not ask where they were going and simply followed him.

A short while later, Yuan Tianzong and Yang Chan stood before a cave entrance. After pushing aside the grass, she was astonished to discover an artificially excavated passage inside.

"Yes, I dug this passage. Inside is an ancient tomb that has existed for a very long time."

An ancient tomb?

"Mr. Yuan, you want me to give birth inside an ancient tomb?"

"Yes."

"...My child won't be in danger, will they?"

"Don't worry."

At that moment, Yang Chan was still most concerned about the child in her womb.

After entering the passage, Yuan Tianzong lit a torch he had prepared beforehand. As he soothed Yang Chan, he explained why they had come to the ancient tomb for her delivery.

"Ancient tombs, especially yin tombs like this one situated in a place of extreme yin, are heavy with death energy."

"The ancients once said that such yin tombs are yin eyes within yang land. You can think of them as the gates of the underworld—the place where the realms of yin and yang lie closest together."

"Like the narrowest gorge along a great river separating two lands."

"If you want to 'die,' you must make use of this kind of special environment."

Yang Chan nodded. At this point, she could only see it through to the bitter end and find out how this Martial Arts Myth intended to grant her longevity.

Before long, the two arrived at a burial chamber in the deepest part of the ancient tomb.

The tomb's owner had clearly held great status in life. The burial chamber had been built in a Bagua layout, and all eight walls were covered in exquisite murals.

There were also many wall cabinets, each filled with priceless burial treasures.

The coffin that had originally rested in the center had long since been tossed aside by Yuan Tianzong. In its place stood an even older bronze coffin, its surface mottled with rust.

With one hand, Yuan Tianzong pushed open the heavy coffin lid. With the other, he grabbed Yang Chan and leapt inside.

Rumble—

With a heavy sliding sound, the coffin lid closed once more.

The bronze coffin was quite spacious, leaving the two inside without feeling cramped. There was even plenty of room to stretch out.

Although she had mentally prepared herself countless times, Yang Chan had never expected him to bring her into a coffin.

Judging by the situation, he even intended for her to give birth here.

"Mr. Yuan, you're not asking me to give birth in here, are you?"

"Yes. Fun, isn't it?"

"Fun my ass!" Yang Chan forgot about his terrifying identity. Gentle as she was, she could not help getting angry.

Giving birth in a coffin?

How was anyone supposed to give birth in a setting like this?!

And right in front of a man!

Yuan Tianzong's tone remained calm, yet it brooked no argument. "The environment is a little unusual, but this is the only place where you can give birth."

Yang Chan took a deep breath and quickly calmed herself down.

She knew very well that Yuan Tianzong might be a genius, but there was definitely a touch of madness in his bones.

For the sake of his goal, he could care for her even more attentively than a household nanny.

But if she refused to cooperate, he likely would not show her any tenderness.

If she ruined his plan, the Xiang and Yang families might even face utter destruction.

Having thought it through, Yang Chan said nothing more and listened to the faint heartbeat within her belly in the pitch-black coffin.

At that moment, Yang Chan felt like she was squatting over a toilet stall with no door, awkward beyond words.

However, as the contractions began, the increasingly intense pain gradually made her forget that awkwardness.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Yuan Tianzong moved closer, placed his arm in Yang Chan's mouth, and let her bite down hard on his wrist. His other hand pressed against the crown of her head.

At once, Yang Chan clearly felt a massive warm current pour into her body and flow through every limb and bone.

The pain vanished within that wandering warmth. Inside her womb, it was as though an invisible force was slowly pushing the child in her belly outward.

The miraculous scene left Yang Chan, now free of pain, utterly amazed.

What kind of divine technique was this?!

With Yuan Tianzong's miraculous methods, not only was childbirth painless, it proceeded incredibly smoothly.

The instant the child, covered in sticky blood, was born, Yuan Tianzong swiftly pushed Yang Chan into a corner of the coffin. Brimming with excitement, he supported this crucial object that shared his fate with one hand!

A newborn in one hand, the Tui Bei Tu in the other.

Without the slightest hesitation, he bit through his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood over the Tui Bei Tu. At the same time, his fingertip sliced across the newborn's finger, forcing several drops of blood out to fall upon it as well.

Just as Yang Chan in the corner was worrying about her child, a hazy, strange light suddenly lit up the darkness!

Yang Chan's eyes flew wide open as she stared at the glowing strange book. One complex and profound character after another emerged from its surface, rose into the air, and finally transformed into a pure white thread.

For the first time in her life, she was witnessing such a mythical scene with her own eyes.

Her worldview was collapsing, then reforming...

To be honest, she had still doubted Yuan Tianzong's words before this.

But now, with the mysterious spectacle right before her eyes, she finally realized that this ageless legend was truly pursuing a path that could shock the entire world!

The white thread glowing with soft light wrapped around Yuan Tianzong, then wrapped around Yang Chan's child as well.

Two identical destinies. One had just been born into the world inside a coffin.

Under the original process, this world would have recorded his existence for the first time.

But now, his destiny and Yuan Tianzong's destiny were connected by the Destiny Thread. The two identical destinies were tightly linked at this moment, like twins sharing one name. As long as they did not appear together, one ID could serve both of them.

From this day onward, this newborn would live in this world in his place.

And he had disappeared!

As the light faded, Yuan Tianzong returned the newborn to Yang Chan and pushed mother and child out of the coffin.

"Miss Yang, thank you."

As he spoke, Yuan Tianzong took a test tube from his robes. The crystal liquid inside, glittering like stars, made her face fill with shock. "This liquid of yours is... is..."

"That's right. It is the liquid you obtained from the far side of the moon. It may truly allow people to live longer and break through Longevity Research, but you cannot erase your own traces. That insurmountable forbidden zone is an unsolvable equation."

"Mr. Yuan, this liquid does possess miraculous life-giving effects, but it also has severe side effects. Don't act recklessly!"

Yuan Tianzong downed the Star Liquid in one gulp and burst into laughter.

"There is no ship in this era that can carry me, Yuan Tianzong!"

"Rather than cling to life here, I'd rather place a grand bet against this damned heaven!"

"Miss Yang, do not try to disturb me after you leave."

"The consequences of ruining my plans will be severe!"

His words fell.

The coffin lid slammed shut.

At the same time, a powerful force erupted from within the coffin.

The ground burst apart, and the entire bronze coffin plunged into a pitch-black abyss before Yang Chan's trembling eyes...

"Madman. He really is a madman!"