Chapter 717: Haotian, the Drunkard, the Butcher

The bright moon breaks through the clouds.

In the Underground World.

The battle has already ended.

Except for a portion of captured monks, the rest have all died in battle.

The Herdsmen also suffered many casualties, but at this moment, they have forgotten their grief, singing and dancing under the moonlight and starlight, cheering and celebrating for the victory.

Only a small number of people who know the truth continue to look up at the Chessboard in the sky.

Lu Chenjia also looks up, watching the Chessboard, her expression never relaxing from beginning to end.

"Hey, little Flower Addict, aren't you tired from keeping your head up? Let's go dance too."

Just then, a voice rings out from behind Lu Chenjia.

Her brows knit slightly, and just as she is about to rebuke the person, she suddenly finds the voice somewhat familiar. She turns her head quickly and sees Yu Liancheng, dressed in black as if he were about to melt into the night, his face wearing a smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

Seeing Lu Chenjia still dazed, Yu Liancheng pulls her slender hand and rushes into the crowd of singing and dancing people.

Someone recognizes Yu Liancheng and lets out a cry of surprise; everyone's gaze converges, but Yu Liancheng just laughs aloud: "Keep the music playing, keep on dancing."

This is a small town at the border between the Song Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom.

The town is very small, very ordinary, with only one narrow street. The houses by the street are old and dilapidated, and the market is filled with the smell of rotten vegetable leaves and chicken droppings.

At the east end of the street is the town's only butcher shop. Although the town has not been affected by the flames of the war of the world against the Tang, life is inevitably impacted; pedestrians hurry by, and the street is desolate. The usually lively butcher shop also appears somewhat bleak.

Although business is not good, the butcher of the shop is in a very good mood; in any case, he does not rely on this butcher shop to make a living.

Footsteps sound, and the butcher looks up, his body suddenly stiffening. What enters his eyes is a silhouette; judging from the curves of the figure, it is a woman with an extremely voluptuous body. But the woman is shrouded in a layer of faint halo, making it impossible for anyone to see her true face.

Or perhaps, she is woven from countless rays of light.

The butcher's breathing gradually becomes rapid, and the hand gripping the knife handle trembles slightly. The fear in his eyes grows thicker, and then sweat begins to flow from his forehead, spilling out in beads the size of soybeans.

If other townspeople were to see this scene, they might be very surprised.

Having lived together for decades, they have never seen the butcher look panicked or fearful.

Even when the local magistrate came to his door, his expression was very calm, as if the official were just an ordinary guest.

But at this moment, anyone can see that the butcher is terrified, as if the sky had collapsed.

However, the butcher dares not flee, nor does he even dare to take a single step; he trembles in fear, and as if finally unable to bear the woman's gaze, he begins to break down.

He breaks down into loud sobbing.

Wailing loudly.

"Are you willing to act for me?" The woman's voice rings out, extremely melodious and pleasant; even using a 'lark' to describe it would be an insult. Yet this voice is also so ethereal, like a wisp of flowing cloud in the high vault of the sky. And it is also so cold, like the frost in the deepest part of a ten-thousand-year ice cavern.

The butcher is startled, finally stopping his crying, wiping away his tear stains, and lowering his head, his voice slightly hoarse as he says: "In your eyes, this lowly one is but an insignificant ant. To be able to act for God is my greatest honor."

The woman says again: "Though you are an ant, you are a freak among ants, capable of flying very high and very far. If you can accomplish this matter for me, I shall grant you eternal life."

The drunkard remains silent; if believing in Haotian could lead to eternal life, he would have joined the embrace of the Daoist Sect along with the drunkard before the last Eternal Night, becoming Haotian's most devout believer. Even if Haotian asked him to swing his butcher knife at his parents, he would never have the slightest hesitation.

The woman looks at the drunkard, her tone as indifferent as ever: "True eternal life."

The drunkard's breathing becomes rapid, rapid from excitement.

He raises his head and sees the woman's eyes.

These eyes are transparent and beautiful, without any impurities; in their deepest depths lies true starlight, and every grain of starlight is an independent Divine Kingdom, each Divine Kingdom endowed by time with an eternal aesthetic, no matter how the world changes, remaining so solemn.

And now, these eyes begin to reflect the drunkard's figure.

In these eyes, the drunkard sees the hope of eternal life.

Thus, the drunkard's knees bend, and he kneels before the woman, kissing the soil beneath her feet in the most devout posture.

He and the drunkard have avoided Haotian for tens of thousands of years, all for the sake of staying alive.

And now, Haotian has found him and will grant him eternal life.

Then, why could he not become a believer of Haotian?

The butcher suddenly wakes up from his bed.

He sits up straight, wipes away sweat that does not exist, and feels a lingering fear.

"Could it be... that everything just now was a dream?"

The butcher looks through the window at the night sky, where stars are scattered and the bright moon hangs high. But he soon shakes his head; as a peerless powerhouse above the Five Realms, an old monster who has lived for ten thousand years, even Fuzi can only be considered a little brat in front of him. A powerful existence like him would never have dreams based on his daily thoughts.

If he truly had a dream, it only represents some kind of omen.

Or perhaps... a dream sent by Haotian?

Soon, the butcher confirms his thought.

Because the drunkard, holding his wine gourd, has come to find him.

Both are survivors of the last Eternal Night, legends of the cultivation world who have lived longer than Fuzi.

Because they have lived so long, they are each other's only companions.

The drunkard also had a dream almost identical to the butcher's.

Haotian asked them to do one thing and promised them eternal life.

Eternal life!?

Both of their breathing gradually becomes rapid.

This is Haotian's promise to them, and also their highest pursuit.

"Yu Liancheng? Has he returned from the Haotian Divine Kingdom? This is not a person easy to deal with."

"With the two of us joining forces, there is no one in the world we cannot deal with. Furthermore, as long as one is human, one has weaknesses. Just as our weakness is the fear of death and the thirst for life, which is why we did not hesitate to become a dog for Haotian, then as long as we find Yu Liancheng's weakness, we can also win with a single strike."

The two are legends of the cultivation world.

But for the sake of eternal life, they can become a dog of Haotian.

From now on, they will tell everyone.

What is so bad about being a dog!?

……

The far north, a land of extreme cold.

Here stands a snow-capped peak.

This is the coldest mountain peak, furthest from the human world.

The mountain has always been rarely visited by people, and even animals are almost never seen.

Yet, at some unknown time, more than ten black crows appeared in the snow-capped mountains, their bodies exuding an ominous aura, yet they merely circled a single area, occasionally letting out one or two hoarse, unpleasant, strange cries; even though they never ate, not a single crow died.

Deep within the ice peak, hundreds of zhang underground, there was a blurry human figure, her entire body shrouded in a pure, holy halo, making it impossible to distinguish her specific features, though one could vaguely discern that she was a woman with a full figure.

The woman is sleeping.

The moment she wakes, the world will tremble! The shadow of Darkness will shroud the world.

……