Chapter 1634: Eternal Life {Grand Finale}

“Is Fang Han dead?”

Within the heart of the World-Transcending Free King Buddha, there was only bitterness. It felt as if he had lost his every support; a fellow Immortal King was now utterly dejected.

“He is dead.” The words in the mouths of Daoist Hongmeng and the Ancestral Dragon of the Primal Wilderness tasted like poison. “Next, we too shall fall. We cannot resist their combined strength; Creation and Progenitor are far too overbearing.”

“A battle to the death!” The Ancestral Dragon unleashed a fierce fighting intent.

“No!” Fang Qingxue shook her head. “Fang Han will not die. The Kings are not omnipotent, but he is all-powerful. He will be resurrected once more, severing all shackles, and become even stronger than before.”

Fang Qingxue’s words were resolute, as if she were articulating a fundamental truth.

Suddenly, just as she finished speaking, the Gate of Eternal Life—which had only just dimmed—shook violently. Light erupted from within, and countless streams of the Aura of Eternal Life flew out, transforming into spheres of scorching suns that illuminated the entire heaven and earth with a pure clarity.

The Immortal King of Truth, who had been the first to charge toward the entrance prepared to enter and claim the Gate, was struck by these suns of eternal life. Instantly, his body burst into flames. He roared, “What is happening?! How can there be a new change…?”

Before his voice could fade, a massive hand reached out from the Gate of Eternal Life. This hand covered an unknown number of light-years; with a single grab, it snatched the Immortal King of Truth and squeezed.

Pop!

The Immortal King of Truth exploded like an egg. Countless vital energies, divine senses, laws, and origins were crushed into powder as he let out a final scream: “You…!”

He could not even finish his sentence before he was wiped out. That massive hand had crushed an Immortal King—one who had dominated countless epochs—as easily as one might crush an ant.

“Retreat! Retreat immediately!”

The Immortal King of Creation was shocked and hurriedly called out to all the Immortal Kings. The Lord of Progenitor also froze in his tracks, his expression incredibly grim.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Waves of tremors echoed from the void. Following the hand that had crushed Truth, a gargantuan body emerged. His features were clear—it was precisely the Fang Han who had just vanished! His magic power was now billions of times stronger than before!

The entire Gate of Eternal Life flew up under his will, fixing itself behind his body. He looked down upon the world, a ruler overlooking all living beings.

“Immortal King of Creation, I thank you. Your killing blow allowed me to sever all lingering ties and successfully ascend to a new realm. Now, I have completely transcended the Immortal King stage; I master the Gate of Eternal Life.”

Fang Han’s voice rolled out like thunder.

“Impossible!” Creation simply could not believe his eyes.

“How could you possibly be resurrected?” The face of the Lord of Progenitor twisted in disbelief.

“This is all a lie! He is just bluffing! He must be extremely weak right now and is no match for us! Let us unite once more and slay him! No matter how many times he resurrects, we shall slay him that many times!” The Progenitor Holy King roared repeatedly, his purple divine body expanding to thousands of light-years in scale as he brewed his full power.

“It is useless. The Kings are not omnipotent, but I am all-powerful…” Fang Han suddenly took a step forward, launching an attack against the remaining Immortal Kings. “I only gave you one opportunity. Now, all karma has been settled; you have lost everything. All that remains for you is to perish. I am about to inaugurate a new grand era, and you have no place within it.”

Bang!

Fang Han arrived before the Progenitor Holy King in a single step. With a flick of his iron fist, the Holy King’s towering body was instantly pierced. The Holy King tried to strike back, but his fists disintegrated before they could even touch Fang Han’s body.

Chi-la!

Fang Han walked right through his body. The Progenitor Holy King was left riddled with holes and collapsed, letting out a final sound: “I am not reconciled… not reconciled…! I dominated for over twenty epochs, only to be destroyed in a single move…”

As his voice echoed, his body was sucked into the Gate of Eternal Life.

“Let’s go!” The Immortal Kings of Noble Spirit, Origin, True Spirit, Dimensions, and the others immediately tried to flee. They scrambled to escape at top speed.

But Fang Han’s body simply flickered. Streaks of light traversed across their necks, and instantly, blood sprayed into the sky as their heads were plucked off simultaneously.

Their headless bodies collapsed into the universe. Their consciousnesses, concentrated in their heads held in Fang Han’s hands, wailed, roared, begged, or tried to resist.

Fang Han clenched his fist, and all the heads were crushed into powder.

Origin is dead!

Dimensions is dead!

Noble Spirit is dead! …

In a single move, the numerous Immortal Kings were slaughtered like dogs. Not a single drop of blood stained Fang Han’s body. Only the Immortal King of Creation and the Lord of Progenitor remained.

“I’ll stake it all!” The Lord of Progenitor’s body suddenly expanded, transforming into a massive sphere of demonic aura. “Progenitor of Demons, Ruler of Myriad Devils, Demonic Soul of Heaven and Earth, Indestructible Realm, Dao of Immortality, turn the immortal into rot…!”

“You wish to self-detonate? Even that cannot harm me!”

Fang Han raised his hands, and the Gate of Eternal Life behind him flew high, suppressing the Lord of Progenitor.

Under that suppression, the Lord of Progenitor self-detonated! All his power exploded in an attempt to destroy the world once more. Unfortunately, every shred of his power was absorbed into the Gate of Eternal Life.

The world became clear! Even the self-detonation of the strongest, the Lord of Progenitor, failed to shake Fang Han.

Only the Immortal King of Creation remained.

“Immortal King of Creation, all your calculations have become like passing smoke. The Dao of Eternal Life you pursued has become an empty void. What else do you have to say? I know your entire life was spent calculating against me, wanting to refine me so you could master the Gate of Eternal Life. But now, you know the result.” Fang Han said indifferently, “Everything has passed.”

“Yes… everything has become empty. The heavens and earth break and vanish, vanish and break. In the vast blue sea, no one achieves eternal life. Fang Han! I no longer wish to see the new era you create. What world lies at the deepest part of the Gate of Eternal Life? What truly lies there? I no longer care to know.”

The Immortal King of Creation smiled faintly and sat down. Suddenly, his body erupted into raging true fire. “I care for Creation, but no-life surpasses eternal life…”

Amidst his murmurs, the body of the Immortal King of Creation turned into a wisp of green smoke. He had performed self-dissolution, vanishing completely. From that moment on, not even a shadow of him would remain in the long river of history. In the new era, no one would remember him.

“Fang Han, you won.” Fang Qingxue looked at it all, her heart free of both joy and sorrow. “Everything has ended. The blooming and wilting of flowers in the heavens no longer has anything to do with us…”

“Come with me. Enter the Gate of Eternal Life! Step into the new era…”

Fang Han smiled, looking at Fang Qingxue, Hongmeng, the Free King, the Ancestral Dragon, and all the disciples of the Era Gate. “Three thousand epochs have become the past…”

As he spoke, he was the first to walk into the Gate of Eternal Life. Fang Qingxue and the others followed in single file.

As their silhouettes disappeared into the Gate, a faint voice drifted out:

“When I attain Eternal Life, all living beings in the heavens, in all their forms, shall also attain Eternal Life…”

“When I attain Eternal Life, all living beings in the heavens, in all their forms, shall also attain Eternal Life…”

They shall exist forever with the world.

{THE END}

Author’s Afterword (Meng Ru Shen Ji)

Finally, it’s over. I’ve been writing Eternal Life from July 18, 2010, until now. It’s been nearly 19 months—over a year—and five million words later, the period has finally been drawn.

Eternal Life is the longest book I’ve ever written, equivalent to the word counts of Romance of Dragons and Snakes and Yang Shen combined. With updates of nearly 10,000 words every day, it was also my most exhausting book, but when I finally wrote the words “The End,” everything felt worth it.

Although there were many points criticized or places that were not perfect toward the end, I poured a lot of my heart and blood into this. This book has been my most successful in terms of performance and popularity, even far surpassing Yang Shen, which won me eight consecutive championships.

From Qidian to Zongheng, I created this book. Its settings, magic treasures, and cultivation techniques represent the most innovation I’ve ever put into a work. Each of my books has started a trend: Fo Ben started the “Great Desolation” (Honghuang) genre; Dragon and Snakes started the “National Martial Arts” genre. This book, Eternal Life, can be seen as starting the “Devouring” (Chi-ren) genre.

Actually, I wrote this book purely as a release. In reality, there is too much “unfairness” (bu-ping). Why does the protagonist “eat” people? He is eating unfairness, eating unjust matters. I took every kind of unfairness I felt and used this book to slay and devour them. My wish is that in this world, there will be no more unfairness.

Looking back at my career, I posted the first chapter of Fo Ben Shi Dao on February 20, 2006. Without realizing it, six years have passed. From Fo Ben’s 2 million words, to Black Mountain’s 1 million+, Dragon and Snakes’ 2 million, Yang Shen’s 3 million, and this 5 million for Eternal Life—I’ve written a total of 13 million words.

Thinking about it, it’s truly incredible. I started writing at 22, and now I’m 28. I’ve dedicated the most brilliant period of my life to these books. From a hot-blooded youth to an “uncle” nearing thirty—how many six-year periods does a life have?

The ups and downs of these six years… looking back, I’m filled with deep emotion. The past is like smoke; remembering the beginning feels like it was just yesterday. To the book friends seeing the finale today, many of you must have followed me since Fo Ben Shi Dao six years ago. To be able to walk together for six years is a form of predestined karma.

Buddha says that to cross a river in the same boat requires a hundred years of cultivation; our six years together, sharing honor and disgrace—I still remember everyone voting for me and subscribing back at Qidian, actively discussing in the review sections, and then following me to Zongheng to gather popularity. What kind of karma is this? I think we must have been brothers who shared life and death in our previous lives.

Karma arises and karma fades; gatherings and partings are inconstant. Eternal Life has officially ended, and my writing career turns a new epoch once more.

Finally, regarding the new book. Originally, I was going to start it on February 10, but many plot points aren’t settled yet, and writing Eternal Life has left me utterly exhausted. So, I plan to postpone the new book’s launch to March 1st. I need to take a good rest during this time.

On March 1st, let us gather again. At that time, Meng Ru Shen Ji shall return with a new book.