Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 5: Life span.

As soon as the courtyard door opened, there was a sharp sound of wind, followed by a broom that smashed through the crack of the door and landed on the threshold. Old Lady Zhao's fierce voice came from inside: "Second brother, if you don't find your wife today, don't enter this door again!"

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Que saw a timid figure being driven out in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

The figure was wearing a half-worn blue robe, with his head lowered, and stepped quickly out of the door. It was Zhao Laoer.

The two sides met in a narrow alley. Zheng Que nodded to Zhao Laoer as a greeting, but Zhao Laoer's eyes were a little straight and his face was distracted. He seemed not to notice Zheng Que at all. He walked past Zheng Que in a daze with unsteady steps.

Looking at the other person's back, Zheng Que shook his head slightly. He himself was in big trouble now. The problem of "calling ghosts" had not been solved yet. He had no mind to ask about other people's affairs.

While thinking, Zheng Que quickened his pace and walked towards his residence.

Soon, he opened the door and walked into the house, then closed the door with his backhand and quickly glanced around.

The room was in a mess, with all kinds of furniture and utensils overturned on the floor. There was almost no place to step. It was just as messy as when I left in the morning.

He kicked aside some of the furniture that was in the way and tidied up a little. He didn't bother to sweep the floor carefully. He ate some of the dry food he had stored and immediately walked into the inner room and came to the bed.

Just like before, Zheng Que first put his shoes right side up and wrong side up, then he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to practice.

As his mind immersed in the operation of the technique, he once again entered that void and chaos. Cold air currents filled the air from all directions, like dandelions flying in the sky and wandering freely.

Zheng Que continuously intercepted strands of spiritual energy wrapped in Yin energy, introduced them into his body, and refined them into his Qi sea.

As time passed slowly, he absorbed more and more spiritual energy and Yin energy, and the coldness in his body became more and more severe. His body temperature dropped rapidly, and his face gradually turned pale and bloodless.

After practicing like this for half an hour, Zheng Que suddenly felt something and opened his eyes abruptly.

He was currently sitting on the lame armchair, surrounded by ruins that roughly outlined the contours of a vast palace. Through the gaps in the wall, he could hear the howling of the cold wind from outside, making a mournful and eerie sound. In front of him was a mottled long table, on which lay the ancient [Book of Life and Death].

Looking at the dilapidated hall, Zheng Que's expression remained unchanged, and he vaguely understood in his heart that as long as he absorbed enough Yin Qi, he would be able to enter here.

The reason why he occasionally dreamed of this place before he entered the Tao was probably because he was contaminated by negative energy in reality.

Just as he was thinking, a stream of black air like smoke suddenly surged out from between his eyebrows, and then quickly disappeared into the [Book of Life and Death] in front of him.

Zheng Que came to his senses and without wasting any more time, he reached out and grabbed the [Book of Life and Death].

As soon as his fingertips touched the cover of the book, an overwhelming chill immediately hit him. In an instant, the strong sense of death, mixed with the vast unknown and fear, was like the overturning of the Milky Way, rushing down and almost drowning him completely!
Zheng Que was deeply shocked. In the darkness, the old book in front of him seemed to turn into a cold and bottomless black abyss. It was majestic, heavy, and cold, as if it was the end of all living things, conveying endless death and silence, as if it was going to devour everything in the world.

Just a quick glance and Zheng Que almost lost his mind and quickly withdrew his hand. At that moment, his whole body was covered in cold sweat, his chest was heaving violently, and he was gasping for breath.

After calming himself down, he looked at the [Book of Life and Death] again. The yellowed booklet lay quietly on the table, and there seemed to be nothing special about it.

But Zheng Que's expression had become extremely serious.

【Book of Life and Death】…

With my current level of cultivation, I can’t even bear to touch the cover!
At this time, Zheng Que saw that the negative energy emerging from his brow had begun to gradually decrease. He immediately realized that he could not stay in this dilapidated hall for long.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, then reached out again and grabbed the cover of the [Book of Life and Death].

The moment his fingers touched the [Book of Life and Death], the sense of annihilation that was like the destruction of the world and the death without a single chance of survival once again swept over him like a tide, as if to completely annihilate him. At that moment, Zheng Que felt like he was a small boat, alone in the vast ocean, facing the huge waves.

Death roared towards him. Zheng Que gritted his teeth. This time, he didn't let go. Instead, he used all his strength to desperately turn the cover. The next moment, all thoughts in his mind almost stopped, leaving only endless death and despair.

Zheng Que was in a daze and didn't know how long it had passed before he gradually woke up. The negative energy that had surged from his brow had become extremely thin, and a corner of the [Book of Life and Death] in front of him was turned over.

Under this corner, the same yellowed paper was exposed, covered with rows of special characters. The strokes of those characters were ancient and vicissitudes, like insects and birds, which he had never seen before.

But the strange thing is that Zheng Que can completely understand the meaning of those words:
Species: Human.

Name: Zheng Que.

Native place: Born in Changfu Town, Taiping County, Tuzhou, Dali Dynasty.

Life span: sixteen years, seven months and three days. He died at the hour of Hai.

This……

Zheng Que was suddenly shocked. This was his own name!
The place of origin also matches perfectly!

But he is sixteen years old this year!

To be more precise, from birth to now, he has been exactly sixteen years, seven months, and three days old in this life...

In other words, I can only live until the hour of Hai tonight?

Thinking of this, Zheng Que reached out again and grabbed the corner of the [Book of Life and Death] that was opened.

This time, when his fingers touched the [Book of Life and Death], apart from feeling a biting cold, he no longer felt the same feeling of death and despair roaring towards him.

He immediately exerted force and turned the page completely open.

A yellowed piece of paper immediately appeared in front of him.

The handwriting on the paper was clear and neat, but it only contained records about Zheng Que, and the rest of the paper was blank.

At this moment, the last bit of black energy between his eyebrows also entered the [Book of Life and Death]. The surrounding scene immediately twisted and turbulent, and all the colors quickly faded, turning into a bizarre light. In the blink of an eye, he returned to his room.

At this moment, the daylight outside the window had long disappeared, dusk fell, and under the dark night sky, the bleak starlight illuminated the outlines of distant houses and nearby trees. The whole town was eerily quiet.

Squeak!

At this moment, the locked door was suddenly pushed open by something.

A familiar voice immediately reached Zheng Que's ears: "Disciple, I didn't eat enough last night!"

　[Note] The term "物类" comes from the line "The origin of 物类 must have a beginning" in Xunzi's "Encouragement to Learning," and generally refers to the categories of all things. A more accurate term would be "species," but this is a modern scientific term that would be out of place in the book's quasi-ancient setting.

　　PS: In order to make it easier for fellow immortals to listen to the book, all the notes in this book will be placed in the preface, and they will not take up the main text.

　　Regarding updates, there will be five updates today, and two updates per day starting at 12:15 noon tomorrow. The update volume will be adjusted after the recommendation.

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(End of this chapter)