Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 101 - 99: The Waning Dynasty, Watching the World Unfold

Chapter 101: Chapter 99: The Waning Dynasty, Watching the World Unfold

Time flows gently like water, silently slipping away to fifteen years later.

On this day, on a nameless deserted island several miles away from Wuyin Island.

Zhang Yao lay lazily by the beach, wearing a sun hat, fishing.

"The hour has come..."

He fished for a while, glanced at the sky, and then took out the Earth Soul Crystal.

Fifteen years later:

The Earth Soul Crystal now had a dazzling golden outer layer, with a small vortex inside, constantly spinning.

Inside the crystal, something seemed to be gestating, giving off a strong sense of universal revival.

"For these fifteen years, I have ’fed’ you daily, and it’s cost me over five thousand years of my lifespan!"

"If it weren’t for waiting for your transformation to be complete, I should have left Lu Kingdom long ago..."

Zhang Yao shook his head privately, with a thought, once again channeling Primordial Energy into it.

Several years ago, he had already cultivated to the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and had long passed the bottleneck, ready to breakthrough to the seventh layer and enter the Late stage Qi Refining at any time.

But he wasn’t in a hurry to breakthrough.

For Cultivators of the Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature, the three major arrays to be inscribed during the Qi Refining Stage have different periods for construction.

The second "Vajra Mora Secret Spell Array" can only be constructed during the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and if missed, the absence of this array makes it impossible to advance to Foundation Establishment.

Unlike entry-level arrays:

The Vajra Mora Secret Spell Array, which draws on the true meaning of the Buddhist Array, requires corresponding Spiritual Objects to construct.

When construction is completed and the Indestructible Golden Body is refined, the external strength of muscles and bones is sufficient to contend with Magical Artifacts of the same level, equating to half a Body Cultivator.

But Zhang Yao, being in Lu Kingdom, couldn’t find the corresponding Spiritual Objects, and with the wait for the Earth Soul Crystal to transform, he had delayed for several more years.

"Buzz!"

With the channeling of a year’s Primordial Energy, the Earth Soul Crystal trembled slightly and then returned to calm.

"This feeling is getting stronger..."

Zhang Yao stroked the Earth Soul Crystal in his hand, showing a hint of anticipation.

The greater the price, the greater the harvest at the end, and after spending thousands of years of lifespan, the harvest should not disappoint him.

"Boom..."

A sound of a giant wave crashing came from a distance, resembling a capsizing ship, faintly mixed with countless exclamations and screams.

Zhang Yao glanced at the direction of the sound, judging it to be at least over ten miles away.

"This is the depths of Bai Bo Lake, and yet there’s a battle with warships, it seems to be quite sizable."

He shook his head and sighed:

"Just two hundred years, and the world is chaotic again."

He had been living in seclusion at Panlong Ridge and Wuyin Island, far from the mortal realm, for decades.

But cultivating immortality doesn’t extinguish humanity; he also has moments of indulging in worldly pleasures, and during such indulgences, he has learned some mortal happenings.

From the founding of Lu Kingdom to now, it’s been about two hundred years.

But compared to the former Da Wei, Lu Kingdom, after experiencing a period of prosperity, has declined even faster.

The root cause is related to Cultivators.

After the Yuwen Family usurped and took over Wuyin Island, they deeply felt the lack of power and urgently needed more Cultivators of the same clan to develop and grow their own family.

Thus—

Lu Kingdom treated the Imperial Family with great privilege, granting various privileges while encouraging childbirth, hoping to give birth to more Imperial Family members with Spirit Roots.

Unfortunately, the more descendants there were, the more diluted the bloodline became, and the proportion of Spirit Root births in the Imperial Family rapidly decreased, quickly becoming little different from the ordinary.

But the real consequences of this policy were tangible.

After two hundred years of excessive reproduction, the Yuwen surname in the Imperial Family exceeded five hundred thousand members, most being useless people who only knew indulgence, all fat and fleshy.

Even the abundant resources of the Nineteen Provinces couldn’t sustain so many members of the Imperial Family, not to mention the exploitation by various powerful merchants, officials, nobles, and local Noble Families...

The speed at which the situation deteriorated often exceeds everyone’s imagination.

Zhang Yao still remembered that ten years ago, in Lu Kingdom, although the people’s livelihood was difficult and dark undercurrents surged, at least they could maintain a façade.

But just ten years later, Lu Kingdom was already on the brink of collapse, with endless rebellions and powerful forces rising everywhere, clearly at the end of a dynasty.

"Two hundred years, sea changes and mulberry fields."

"The former Da Wei, and now Da Lu, are no more than old wine in new bottles."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yao felt quite emotional.

Even if he hadn’t eradicated the Yuwen Family, the Court supported by Cultivators couldn’t block the overwhelming tide of unrest.

In the end, the result would merely be the Yuwen Family staying on the throne, with half of the world’s people and local Imperial Family dying, followed by a reshuffling of the privileged classes, and a cycle anew.

"Such commotion, the fish have been scared away."

"Sadly, after fishing for two hours today, it’s another meager catch..."

Zhang Yao put away his fishing rod, showing a hint of regret, stood up, and rode the Escape Light back to Wuyin Island.

The changes in dynasties among humans, from the start, he never intended to get involved.

...

In early autumn, during plum rain season.

For half a month, Bai Bo Lake has been overcast with continuous rain, with few sunny days.

On this day, a rare sunny day arrived, and Zhang Yao, holding his fishing rod, excitedly arrived at a small island dozens of miles away.

Surrounded by constant fog and hidden reefs, Wuyin Island is not a place for fishing.

Fortunately, this area, belonging to the depths of Bai Bo Lake, is sparsely populated with abundant fish and shrimp, and a day of fishing often results in a good harvest.

"Swish..."

After casting his line, with the hook dropping below the lake surface, Zhang Yao patiently sat by the shore waiting.

These past few years, his cultivation couldn’t breakthrough for the time being; besides continuing to ponder over arrays and daily "feeding" the Earth Soul Crystal, he had various hobbies left.

"Don’t run!"

"Quick, catch him!"

"Remember to catch him alive!"

Not long into his fishing, a series of shouts came from a few miles away.

"Here we go again..."

Zhang Yao showed a hint of helplessness, having to put away his fishing rod.

He looked up to see a small fishing boat desperately rowing ahead and several black-awning boats chasing behind, quickly closing in.

"Another chase scene, getting tired of seeing it."

Recently, due to the world being in chaos, even Bai Bo Lake hasn’t been peaceful.

There were fishing folk escaping with their families, water bandits prowling the lakes, private militias secretly training on islands, and Jianghu people fighting vendettas...

Having seen so many types of people and events, Zhang Yao treated them as entertainment, seldom intervening unless he couldn’t bear it.

"If you can’t fish, then watch the show."

Zhang Yao took it easy, watching the chase from afar.

Ahead on the small fishing boat were an old fisherman rowing, a young man helping, and a little girl hiding timidly in the corner of the boat.

On the chasing black-awning boats, there were burly men, armed, ferocious and vile.

"Hmm?"

But quickly, Zhang Yao seemed to notice something, his expression shifting:

"That’s..."