Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System

Besides, her two sons had already passed the exam to become Scholars. As long as the Great Yuan didn't fall, it wouldn't be difficult for them to secure official posts in the future.

"If Linghua isn't going, we can't leave without her. We just can't. Your uncle is right. At worst, we'll just remain commoners. You and Master Guo, take care."

Mrs. Chu of the Zhang Family wiped away her tears. In a daze, she knew this might be the last time she would ever see Chu Lingguang.

THUD!

"Master, I don't want to leave either."

Wang Chao suddenly dropped to his knees.

Since passing the provincial examinations, he had started a family and built a career. He had worked hard to finally gain a firm foothold in the Great Yuan. The idea of suddenly leaving it all behind, uprooting his entire family to live on an isolated island overseas, was something Wang Chao inwardly rejected.

But his master's command was hard to disobey.

He had steeled himself and brought his family along.

Seeing Hei Hu refuse Guo Wei had given him hope, and now that Mrs. Chu of the Zhang Family was also staying, Wang Chao finally found the courage to speak his mind.

Guo Wei was taken aback.

He couldn't help but look toward Li Murong and Wu Feihong.

"Master."

"We don't want to leave either."

Wu Feihong and Li Murong said as they slowly knelt.

"Master Guo."

Their families, standing behind them, knelt down as well.

"Lin Guang, what about you?"

Guo Wei asked.

"Master, Second Aunt and Linghua are my family. I can't bear to leave them, and I'm also afraid of implicating them."

Chu Lingguang said.

"Master Guo, why don't we just stay at your Martial Arts Hall? Baiyang County doesn't have a Canal running through it anyway. Even if the Immortal Vine is in the Canal, the fires of war won't reach us here."

Wei Fanghua suggested.

Yang Shaorong was still in the Yuanchu Mountain camp, so she didn't want to leave either.

"Alright, we'll stay in my Martial Arts Hall. If anything happens, Lin Guang and I will deal with it."

Guo Wei said.

Having lived in this place his whole life, Guo Wei was also very reluctant to leave so suddenly.

"Go get Hei Hu and bring him here too."

Guo Wei said to Wang Chao.

"Yes."

Wang Chao's face lit up with joy.

"If he's not willing to come, knock him out."

Guo Wei added.

"I understand, Master."

Wang Chao mounted his horse and galloped toward South City.

Since becoming the South City Garrison Commander, Hei Hu had neglected his cultivation. Coupled with his lack of experience in real battle, his strength was no longer a match for Wang Chao's. Wang Chao certainly had the power and means to bring Hei Hu back to Baiyang County by force. Besides, Master Hei's entire family still lived in Baiyang County.

In the end, Hei Hu and Zhang Linghua's family also returned to Baiyang County.

"Master, it's raining."

"This rain is so strange."

"Such dense Spiritual Qi! It seems like Spirit Water."

「The next morning.」

Chu Lingguang discovered a hazy, orange drizzle falling over Qiling Prefecture.

The closer one got to the Canal, the heavier the rain fell.

And the more abundant the Spiritual Power became.

"Your Highness, Guo Wei and Chu Lingguang have taken Yang Shaorong's family and returned to Baiyang County. It seems they've forgotten their agreement with you."

Grand Protector Yan said.

A vine in his sleeve was gradually fading.

"To each their own. Let them be."

The Seventh Prince's expression was placid.

Since his family had contacted an overseas sect and formed an alliance, he too had successfully stepped into the Qi Refining realm. Furthermore, he discovered he possessed a dual Water and Fire Spiritual Root. This earned him the high regard of an Elder from the overseas Cyan Cloud Sect, who had taken him on as a closed-door disciple.

"It's raining."

"Your Highness, a Spirit Rain has begun to fall."

Just then, someone came in to report.

The Seventh Prince was overjoyed and hurriedly sped toward a certain location.

"Master, the time has come."

He stopped before a doorway and bowed.

The doors opened on their own, and a green-robed elder with the air of an immortal walked out. He raised a hand to the sky, and the falling Spirit Rain suddenly accelerated, plummeting as if devoured by a vortex and forming a single, concentrated stream.

The stream of water surged toward the green-robed elder with a great RUSH.

The green-robed elder opened his mouth, and as if his torso were a bottomless pit, he shockingly sucked in the entire gushing stream.

The surroundings had been damp and gray, but as the elder absorbed the downpour, the rain in the area ceased. It felt as if the clouds were parting and the sun was shining through.

"Master, your Star System…?"

The Seventh Prince was dumbfounded.

The green-robed elder's Star System was like a bottomless pit. It seemed to have swallowed the entire Canal, completely absorbing all the Spirit Rain that fell within a hundred-mile radius.

All those who had been bathing in the Spirit Rain, trying to absorb and refine it into Spiritual Power, suddenly felt as if that power was being stripped away. It was as if they had been snatched from a place of dense Spiritual Power and tossed into a barren, bitter land where nothing grew.

"When you inherit my legacy, you will understand that the technique I used today is nothing worth mentioning."

The green-robed elder let out a satisfied burp.

A gentle ripple of Spiritual Power emanated from his body. But as it passed by the Seventh Prince and the others, the ripple swelled into a tidal wave. It tore through the surroundings with unstoppable force, knocking everything down and reducing it to rubble.

An untold number of people were disintegrated by this wave of Spiritual Power, torn to pieces or even reduced to a mist of blood.

"Master, your divine power is unparalleled! Your disciple is filled with admiration."

the Seventh Prince said, bowing.

"I have already laid an Array here. You are to stay here and not move about. I am going to meet those fellows from Yuanchu Mountain."

the green-robed elder instructed.

"Yes."

The Seventh Prince had no objections. Sensing the strange properties of the Spiritual Power that had just washed past, he realized he was now inside a powerful Array, receiving its innate protection.

The green-robed elder then shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of green light and speeding toward the Canal.

At this moment, many Practitioners had already gathered above the Canal, some riding swords through the air, others standing upon the void itself.

Most of them were Practitioners from Yuanchu Mountain, with a minority from overseas sects. But the strength of every Practitioner from the overseas sects was not to be underestimated.

"If a fight breaks out, what do we do?"

Down by the Canal, Qin Yu asked.

Although he and Yan Zhen had gained a Spirit Root Constitution by merging with something strange and possessed Qi Refining cultivation, the gap between them and the experts from Yuanchu Mountain and the overseas sects was simply immense.

In a chaotic battle, they would just be cannon fodder.

"Don't worry too much. They're here for the Immortal Vine. As long as we don't get involved, we won't be in danger."

Yan Zhen said with a calm expression.

"I'm just afraid Zhang Xuan will order us to charge forward later."

Qin Yu said worriedly.

"We'll still have to put on a show."

Yan Zhen said with a smile.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the vines on the Canal began to roil.

The orange Spiritual Qi in the sky, as if sensing something or being absorbed by a behemoth, transformed into a beam of orange light and shot into the Canal.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The moment this happened,

the green-robed elder and the experts from Yuanchu Mountain, like Yuan Shanhe, all swarmed toward the spot where the Spiritual Qi beam had entered.

In an instant, Sword Qi crisscrossed the sky, Talismans flew through the air, and Magic Techniques blotted out the sun.

"This…"

"Run!"

Yun Hong shouted.

Ever since the Yun Family had allied with the overseas sects to oppose Yuanchu Mountain, his only friends left in the sect were Yan Zhen and Qin Yu. Seeing the situation devolve, he immediately grabbed them to make a getaway.

Qin Yu didn't hesitate for a second and turned to flee.

"Nobody move! Anyone who dares to leave the Canal will be killed without question!"

Kou Han yelled.

PFFT!

Two timid Outer Disciples were cut down by a single slash of Kou Han's sword.

"The Immortal Vine belongs only to Yuanchu Mountain! Whoever helps the Elders obtain the Immortal Vine will be a great hero of Yuanchu Mountain! All of Yuanchu Mountain's Spirit Medicines, Spirit Grasses, and Cultivation Techniques will be theirs for the taking!"

Kou Han boomed.

Engulfed by his aura and under his powerful intimidation, the crowd didn't dare to make a rash move.

Yun Hong and Qin Yu also didn't dare to run.

Yan Zhen, however, kept his eyes fixed on the Canal.

He saw Yuan Shanhe and the green-robed elder from the Cyan Cloud Sect both dive to the bottom of the river. The other high-level Practitioners all rushed down after them.

A massive vortex appeared on the river's surface.

The vines were pulled and sucked into the vortex.

A moment later, the Canal's water level dropped, and the riverbed ran dry.

In the middle, a bottomless black hole appeared. A faint orange halo and the sounds of colliding Magic Techniques could be heard from within.

Many Practitioners rode their swords down into it.

Finally, Zhang Xuan, Li Mao, and Kou Han also jumped into the black hole.

On the riverbed, the water had completely receded. Boats were stuck in the mud, and fish and shrimp flopped about. An untold number of lives in the Canal were baked to death by the sun in a single day.

SWOOSH!

"Yan!"

Qin Yu cried out.

He saw that Yan Zhen had also jumped into the black hole.