Chapter 205 A Desperate Gamble

A heavy atmosphere filled the barracks; Lu Dachuan's words were like a massive boulder, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

The name 'Fentian Demon King' no longer represented merit or glory, but rather a death trap of mountain-high bones where survival was impossible.

After a long silence, Ling Xiaoning finally couldn't help himself, his voice trembling slightly.

"Then... then we just wait here? What if Thousand-Household Liao and the others..."

"What if they lose?"

Feng Qing took over, "Then the sky over Jingzhou Prefecture will collapse. By then, for people like us, the only difference will be whether we live a few days more or a few days less."

Hearing this, Lu Dachuan took another heavy swig of wine and wiped his mouth.

"So the Banner Master having us assist in defense is also a precaution. If it really comes to that, we'll hold out as long as we can and save as many people as possible."

Chen Mu didn't listen any further. He sat cross-legged back on his bunk and closed his eyes. The outside discussions, fear, and worry all receded as his mind fully sank into that Void Realm only he could see.

The System panel slowly emerged.

[Chen Mu: Seventeen years old. Remaining Lifespan: Forty-two years. Plundered Lifespan: Three thousand two hundred and fifty-eight years.]

Three thousand two hundred and fifty-eight years.

The second layer of 'Unification of Calamity and Astral Qi' had reached nearly sixty percent completion after the last infusion of nearly four thousand five hundred years of Lifespan. He had once estimated that at this rate, reaching Perfection in the second layer would require at least another three thousand years. With three thousand two hundred and fifty-eight years on hand, could he make a push for it?

Chen Mu's brow furrowed, his heart filled with hesitation.

According to his previous experience, the further the Lifespan infusion went, the harder the conversion became. It was uncertain whether these three thousand two hundred-plus years would be enough to successfully Breakthrough.

But he didn't have much of a choice.

The appearance of the Fentian Demon King was like a high mountain blocking his path. It was a completely different level of existence, one that required the top leader of the Demon Suppression Division like Liao Huaizhong to personally lead the elites to exterminate it.

Following the rules and Cultivating steadily, how many years would it take?

Ten years, twenty years, or fifty years?

He couldn't afford to wait. Those remaining forty-two years of Natural Lifespan urged him on every moment.

Furthermore, troubled times had arrived, the Demon King had appeared, and a great war was about to begin. Without sufficient strength, let alone plundering Lifespan, even preserving his life would be a pipe dream.

Team C could still avoid disaster by assisting in defense today, but tomorrow they might be sent to an even more dangerous place. Seven Black-Scaled Demon Snakes in Shi Town had almost caused casualties in Team C; what if they encountered the elite demon soldiers under the Demon King's command?

Moreover, he hadn't come to the Prefecture for a peaceful life, nor for a step-by-step promotion. What he wanted was faster, harsher, and more efficient plundering. Now, a path to obtain a massive amount of Lifespan was right before him. Even if the path ahead was a death trap, he had to gamble on that slim chance of survival.

But the prerequisite was that he had to be qualified to sit at that gambling table.

Right now, he didn't even have the qualification to sit at the table.

Chen Mu took a deep breath, completely clearing his mind of stray thoughts. He didn't disturb anyone, even adjusting his breathing until it was barely audible.

Sitting firmly with his five centers facing the sky, he infused all three thousand two hundred and fifty-eight years of plundered Lifespan.

[Infusing...]

[Year 7,787: You refocus your mind and continue the nearly stagnant process of 'Unification of Calamity and Astral Qi'. The sixty percent of converted Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi within your body flows through your Meridians like dark gold lava. Between them and the remaining forty percent of ordinary Protective Aura, there seems to be an invisible chasm. You use the 'Soul-Loss Art' to suppress your mind and the 'Taibao Horizontal Training' to use your maximally strengthened Meridians as a bridge, channeling the Origin of Calamity Power to wash away that barrier bit by bit, strand by strand.]

[Year 9,105: A negligible loosening appears in the barrier. You seize this fleeting opportunity to condense the Calamity Power into fine needles and pierce into the core structure of the Protective Aura. Pain, an indescribable pain, as if every inch of flesh is being crushed and reconstructed, every Meridian is being roasted by fire and then frozen by ice. You grit your teeth as fine trails of blood begin to seep from your seven orifices, yet you dare not relax in the slightest.]

[Year 9,874: The conversion progress arduously reaches eighty percent, yet the resistance suddenly doubles. The remaining ordinary Protective Aura seems to have developed a certain 'resistance', rejecting the Fusion with Calamity Power even more violently. Every bit of progress requires several or even ten times the previous Calamity Power and mental effort. Lifespan is draining frantically, but the progress is as slow as an old ox pulling a broken cart, making one anxious.]

[Year 11,023: You fall into a state of near-desperate deadlock. The conversion stops at the ninety-five percent threshold, unable to advance further. The Calamity Power and Protective Aura form a bizarre balance within your body, pulling and consuming each other. Your body becomes a battlefield, and every heartbeat is accompanied by a tearing pain. You know that if this continues, not only will you fail to Breakthrough, you might even suffer Qi Deviation and have your cultivation completely ruined.]

The veins on Chen Mu's forehead bulged, his inner garment was long soaked with sweat, his face was as pale as paper, and his lips were bitten until they bled, yet he never made a sound.

Zhuifeng circled him anxiously, letting out low whimpers and pawing at his pant leg, but received no response.

In the barracks, Lu Dachuan was already snoring, Feng Qing had lain down at some point, and Ling Xiaoning was tossing and turning, doing who knows what. No one knew that Chen Mu, right beside them, was undergoing a dangerously desperate cultivation session.

Just a little more, just the final bit.

Chen Mu's consciousness maintained a bizarre clarity amidst the intense pain. He could feel that he had reached the limit of the second layer's Perfection, needing only one final strike to completely break through.

But his Lifespan was about to run out.

The three thousand two hundred-plus years he had plundered were now almost gone. The infusion process became intermittent, as if it could stop at any moment.

Finally.

[Lifespan exhausted. Infusion terminated.]

The prompt sounded with a heart-chilling coldness.

Chen Mu's mind shook as his consciousness returned to his body. A strong sense of weakness and the irritation of an incomplete task surged into his heart simultaneously. He was only one step away from the Perfection of the second layer of 'Unification of Calamity and Astral Qi'.

That one step, however, was like a chasm.

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes and looked at his hands. Beneath his skin, a dark golden light flickered and vanished—a sign of the Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi flowing. His strength had indeed increased, and by no small margin. If he were to fight the lead snake of Shi Town again in his current state, he was confident he could kill it independently within ten moves.

But it wasn't enough, far from enough.

This bit of enhancement was still like an ant looking up at a mountain in the face of an existence like the Fentian Demon King.

All he had left was those forty-two years of his Natural Lifespan.

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened bit by bit, eventually turning into a cold, resolute determination.

When he first arrived in this world, he had just obtained the System. To kill Li Feiyu, he had resolutely infused his Natural Lifespan to train 'Taibao Horizontal Training' to Perfection just to gain a slim chance of survival. At that time, he only had one year of life left.

Now he held a stronger Cultivation Technique and faced a greater crisis, yet he still had forty-two years of Lifespan left.

To gamble, or not to gamble?

If he didn't gamble and followed the rules, he might find a way to extend his life within forty-two years, or he might luckily survive mission after mission and slowly accumulate.

But the shadow of the Fentian Demon King had already descended. The elites of the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division had moved out in full force, and chaos was evident. Being one step slow could mean a dead end.

The corner of Chen Mu's mouth curled into a very faint arc.

This life of his was won through fighting—from Li Feiyu's Dao, from the White Tiger Demon Beast's claws, from Xu Changze's Power Of Will suppression. Each time, he had gambled his life to reach today.

Since that was the case, what was the harm in gambling one more time?

His thoughts moved without any further hesitation.

"Infuse Natural Lifespan to continue the second layer, Unification of Calamity and Astral Qi."