Chapter 104: A Lifetime (Part Two)

Chu Tianrui actually knew how much of his lifespan remained. Xu Cheng’s golden-amber pupils brightened, and he said, "Since you are already aware, I would like to make a deal with you."

"A deal?"

Chu Tianrui suddenly retracted the Thousand-Mechanism Changing Box, causing it to transform into a transparent bead. After staring at the bead for a moment, he replied, "I have nothing of value, so I assume you, Envoy, have your eyes on this Thousand-Mechanism Changing Box of mine."

"Correct. You are a smart man. I have come precisely for this treasure. How about it? I will exchange it for one year of your life." Xu Cheng spoke quickly, gesturing toward the bead in the other’s hand.

"Envoy, you are truly a shrewd calculator! A treasure in exchange for one year of my life? You must understand, this item is a product of my heart’s blood! I will not agree to anything less than twenty years of life. I would rather you send me into reincarnation right now!"

Chu Tianrui would naturally refuse an offer of only one year. Collecting the various materials alone had taken him eight years, and he had spent another year carving and refining it into its final form. He had not expected Chu Tianrui to value his lifespan even more than his treasure.

Xu Cheng’s heart stirred, and he conceived a compromise. "Ten years—ten years at most! If you can craft another such treasure within ten years, I would not mind granting you another ten years of life."

Chu Tianrui was stunned. He had not expected this Envoy to be such a calculating soul. If he could produce a treasure in exchange for ten years of life, and if he could keep this up, he would effectively be immortal!

"Exactly as you think. If you continue to produce such treasures, I can allow you to live forever." Xu Cheng did not even need to probe the other’s thoughts to guess what Chu Tianrui was pondering.

"Immortality—everyone desires it. But I have yet to avenge my deep grievance. If I do not kill that person, I cannot live with myself! I originally intended to use this object to take that person’s life, never imagining I would have to trade it for my own survival." As he spoke, Chu Tianrui’s eyes turned bloodshot; he would not be in such a state if it were not for a vendetta of the deepest kind.

"Oh? Who is it that bears such a blood feud with you?" Xu Cheng asked quickly.

"Zuo Wenbai of the Celestial Master Path! He murdered my beloved wife. I am no gentleman if I do not avenge this!" Chu Tianrui said with seething hatred.

"Zuo Wenbai?" Xu Cheng felt a headache coming on. The matter actually involved the Celestial Master Path. Had the murderer been a practitioner of the demonic arts or a rogue cultivator from the Xia Dynasty, he would have agreed immediately, but the Celestial Master Path was the orthodox path of immortality.

"If you, Envoy, are willing to help me exact revenge, I will offer you this Celestial Mechanism Treasure Box with both hands—I will even forgo the lifespan!" Chu Tianrui’s eyes flickered, as if he could already see Xu Cheng destroying Zuo Wenbai.

Xu Cheng was tempted. "I can agree to that! However, I shall still grant you the years."

He glanced at Chrysanthemum, who remained hidden. The latter understood, and the massive Judge’s Brush on her back instantly shrank into a delicate, exquisite size. She wrote slowly upon the Book of Life and Death: "Chu Tianrui, in exchange for the Thousand-Mechanism Changing Box, receives ten years of life from the Underworld Envoy."

The moment the writing was complete, invisible golden light manifested from thin air and poured into Chu Tianrui’s body. In the blink of an eye, he had grown ten years younger.

Feeling his own youthful strength, Chu Tianrui exclaimed, "Thank you, Envoy! Thank you, Envoy!"

"Very good." Xu Cheng held out a hand, signaling for him to hand over the box. Chu Tianrui understood, and with a thought, the bead in his hand flew over to him.

As it fell into Xu Cheng’s palm, Chu Tianrui taught him how to control it. If the treasure were opened incorrectly, it would explode; the method involved tapping the forty-two radiances within the bead in a specific sequence. Although the technique was long and complex, Xu Cheng, being remarkably sharp, mastered it after a single viewing.

Delighted to be manipulating the Thousand-Mechanism Changing Box, Xu Cheng looked at Chu Tianrui again and asked, "I have been following you today. You clearly possess magical techniques, so why did you only have twenty-eight years of life remaining?"

Chu Tianrui paused for a moment at this question. "Does possessing magical techniques necessarily mean an extended lifespan?"

"Most of the time, yes," Xu Cheng replied, though he was not entirely certain.

"Then I must be one of the few exceptions," Chu Tianrui said with a despondent expression.

"Oh? How so?" The other’s words piqued Xu Cheng’s curiosity.

"The techniques I practice were passed down from the founding master of carpenters. To protect the interests of carpenters, the master specifically devised these arts. But they consist only of runes; to channel these runes and release magic, one must consume one’s own lifespan! If I do not use magic, my lifespan is not consumed."

"Your lineage does not cultivate the Primordial Spirit or magical power?" Xu Cheng was shocked. It turned out the techniques did not consume magical energy, but life itself. No wonder earlier, when he was casting spells on the inn in town, strands of white hair had appeared among his dark locks. Now, Xu Cheng understood it was the result of the life-force he had spent.

"Naturally... that is the way of it," Chu Tianrui said through gritted teeth. "Practicing these arts also carries an unknown curse. One must live a life of solitude, without kin, for anyone close to me meets a tragic end. Perhaps it was my own doing that caused my beloved wife’s death."

As he spoke, Chu Tianrui trembled, tears streaming down his face—it was hard to say whether it was for his own fate or because his wife had been killed by Zuo Wenbai.

To practice without spirit or energy is like drawing water with a bamboo basket. Yet, in the eyes of ordinary people, Chu Tianrui remained a special existence; if one were to exaggerate his feats, he would seem no different from an immortal.

"Furthermore, if we cannot harm those around us, the curse harms us instead, leaving us crippled. There is no next life for us; even if we go to the Underworld, we simply become part of the River of Oblivion! That is why we are called 'One-Life People'—we can only live for a single lifetime!"

Chu Tianrui, who had been bowing his head in thought, suddenly looked up, startling Xu Cheng. He had never heard of such a thing. He had thought the man’s solitary life was tragic enough, but he had not imagined that entering the Underworld would mean ceasing to exist as an individual, becoming nothing more than the water of the River of Oblivion.

"What would happen if you changed to cultivating magical power and the Primordial Spirit?" Xu Cheng asked, wondering why he wouldn't try a different path if one was a dead end.

"In fact, I have tried. But the magical energy in my body gradually turns into a black solid and is expelled; it simply does not integrate with my body!" Chu Tianrui shook his head. Clearly, he had tried that path before. It seemed the founding master’s method was truly a trap.

While sighing inwardly, Xu Cheng felt a sense of relief for himself. Although his current body was merged with the darkness of the Underworld, at least he was not practicing such a treacherous art.

"Very well. It is best if you do not use your techniques from now on; I still wish to see you in ten years! As for now, I shall go and exact your revenge!"

Having made a promise, he had to fulfill it. With those words, Xu Cheng used the Golden Silk Jade Leaf and vanished into thin air.