A Promise Spanning a Century, Chen Changsheng Falls Asleep Again

"Emperor Zuo, it's not that I refuse to collect your body. My time is simply up."

"Please bear with it for now, old man. I'll come back to collect your body after some time."

Chen Changsheng called out to "Emperor Zuo," eight hundred steps away.

Thirty years in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground were nothing more than the blink of an eye.

Over those final thirty years, Chen Changsheng advanced another three hundred steps, yet he was still two hundred steps away from the Bronze Ancient Hall and Emperor Zuo's remains.

Seeing that it was almost time for him to sleep, Chen Changsheng could only make an agreement with Emperor Zuo first—he would return in a hundred years to collect his body.

Having said that, Chen Changsheng turned and returned to the Bronze Ancient Hall.

The eighty years in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground could be called the most peaceful period of Chen Changsheng's life.

There were no tangled grudges or affairs of the heart here, only endless silence.

Every day, Chen Changsheng studied Dao Patterns, then collected the bodies of the dry bones that passed by.

While collecting those dry bones, Chen Changsheng often picked up strange little trinkets.

There were rust-covered iron rods, expired pills, and most absurd of all, a large silver bone that Chen Changsheng had found.

This bone had no other use, but its hardness was among the very best.

After some thought, Chen Changsheng decided to keep it.

Bronze Ancient Hall.

Chen Changsheng stored all the little things he had collected over time in the System Space, then lay down inside the stone coffin.

Chen Changsheng had long grown accustomed to the darkness within the stone coffin.

Before falling asleep, Chen Changsheng still voiced the concern in his heart.

"System, although I've stayed in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground for so long, I still can't guarantee my safety."

"Nothing will happen to me while I'm asleep, right?"

In response to Chen Changsheng's question, the system's voice rang out in his mind.

"Replying to host, there is no need for you to worry about this."

"During sleep, the host will enter an invincible state. No existence will be able to harm you."

"Furthermore, during sleep, all of the host's vitality will cease. At that time, you will be no different from a stone on the ground."

"What existence capable of threatening the host would attack a stone for no reason?"

At this answer, a sharp gleam immediately flashed in Chen Changsheng's eyes.

"System, if that's what you mean, doesn't that mean I can roam freely through the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground while asleep?"

"The system does not recommend that the host do this, because the invincible period during sleep has a time limit."

"The invincible period lasts only ten breaths. Once ten breaths have passed, the host will be forcibly awakened."

The moment those words came out, Chen Changsheng's face drooped.

He had originally wanted to take advantage of this invincibility mechanic to do something—for example, make a huge slingshot and launch himself out.

The instant he was flung out, he could immediately fall asleep. That way, he would be able to enter and leave the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground at will.

Though the interval might be a little long, it was still an ingenious method.

But who would have thought that the system's invincibility period had restrictions too? How stingy.

After grumbling a little about the system's miserly ways, Chen Changsheng said, "System, begin the sleep."

"Set the sleep duration directly to the maximum. My attribute points are still too weak."

"Sleep begins. Sleep duration: one hundred and sixty years."

As the final word reached Chen Changsheng's ears, his consciousness completely ceased at that very moment.

Chen Changsheng fell asleep, and the final trace of living human presence in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground vanished completely.

Chen Changsheng's disappearance brought no change to the vast Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground. It remained exactly as it had always been.

"Creak—"

The heavy coffin lid was pushed open, and Chen Changsheng, dressed in tattered clothes, sat up from within.

After moving his stiff body a little, Chen Changsheng looked around.

Nothing around him had changed. There was not even any dust.

If not for the decayed clothes on his body and the extra one hundred and sixty attribute points on the system panel,

Chen Changsheng would definitely have thought that he had merely taken a simple nap.

"This unchanging environment is truly suffocating."

"No wonder they say that seven days in the mountains are a thousand years in the world. In a place like this, time really passes too quickly."

After sighing with emotion for a moment, Chen Changsheng looked at the system panel in his mind.

Host: Chen Changsheng

Strength: 1

Speed: 1

Defense: 91

Spiritual Power: 0

Lifespan: 320

Chen Changsheng had long grown accustomed to having his strength reset to zero.

Looking at the one hundred and sixty attribute points now in hand, Chen Changsheng did not hesitate in the slightest and directly went all in on defense.

After allocating the points, Chen Changsheng nodded in satisfaction, then said,

"System, can you give me some labels?"

"The kind that converts each set of data into a specific realm. Otherwise, I have no idea how much I'm worth!"

Faced with Chen Changsheng's request, the system's cold voice sounded.

"Adding labels. Labels added."

Very soon, a small change appeared on Chen Changsheng's system panel. Each statistic now had a corresponding strength level after it.

What was interesting, however, was that aside from defense being marked Nascent Soul Early Stage, all the other statistics were marked mortal.

"Tut, tut!"

"Unbreakable beneath the Nascent Soul Early Stage. This defense is passable enough. At the very least, protecting myself outside shouldn't be a problem."

As he spoke, Chen Changsheng sat cross-legged and began his first cultivation in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground.

At present, Chen Changsheng did not possess the slightest bit of cultivation. Things like fasting were simply impossible for him.

If he did not quickly regain his cultivation, Chen Changsheng might very well starve to death.

A vast amount of spiritual energy began pouring into Chen Changsheng's body, and his realm soared all the way from the Qi Refining Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage.

The fundamental reason Chen Changsheng could possess such a world-shocking speed

was that he was too familiar with these realms, and the resources on him were too abundant.

Others spent time desperately raising their cultivation, while Chen Changsheng spent vast amounts of time reading books.

Although Chen Changsheng had never deliberately studied cultivation techniques, he had read far too many books for that to matter!

Chen Changsheng knew the cultivation techniques of Supreme Clarity Temple, Xuanwu Kingdom, and Night Moon Kingdom by heart.

He remembered every book in Xuanwu Pavilion, and he had nearly worn out the books in the Book Grave from reading them.

Beyond that, Chen Changsheng had gained quite a lot from his two trips to Night Moon Kingdom.

Master Yuhua, Wanyan Aguduo, Hu Zhan, the Young Master of the Fox Clan, and Lin Hu, the Young Master of the Tiger Clan.

Chen Changsheng had helped collect the bodies of all these people, and while doing so, their Storage Rings had naturally fallen into Chen Changsheng's pocket.

After all, an Undertaker could not run a losing business!