Fortune and Misfortune Are Self-Inflicted, Unrelated to God

In God-Servant City.

In the resplendent palace, the bed was adorned with silk embroidered with golden threads.

A breeze stirred the curtains and flickered the candlelight, bringing a slight chill to the air.

The second-generation king of the Henir Dynasty cried out in his dream, his body trembling.

"Father."

"No!"

"Don't come to take me away, don't..."

Once again, he saw the scene of his father, the great King Henir, in his final moments - so helpless and terrifying.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

The attendants nearby heard the King of Yinsai's cries but didn't find it strange. It seemed this wasn't the first or second time it had happened.

Normally, attendants would gently wake the king from his nightmare, but this time something unexpected occurred.

Suddenly, a melodious horn-like sound arose, spreading across the four corners of the Sacred Lake and echoing up and down the Sacred Mountain.

Hearing that horn-like sound, the King of Yinsai gradually calmed from his nightmare struggle, his breathing becoming peaceful.

Then, he fell into a deep sleep.

On the Sacred Lake.

Shelly blew the Mother Conch of All Things as she ran joyfully around the lake shore, jumping and leaping.

Yin Shen, meanwhile, gazed at the vast lake.

At first glance, it had the vastness of the sea, yet the stillness of a mirror.

The lake water reflected the clouds and stars in the sky, a sight of incomparable beauty.

No wonder the Trilobite Men called this place the Sacred Lake.

The spirit noticed that Yin Shen seemed to like the scenery very much. "God, is this Your first time here?" she asked.

Yin Shen had only recently acquired this avatar and hadn't been to many places. "I've seen this place from the Dream Realm before, but it's my first time actually being here."

The horn of life not only lulled all nearby mortals into deep sleep but also put the life forms at the bottom of the lake into a dreamlike state.

The lake contained not only Ancestral Fish but also various strange fish. Some looked like lanterns, some had armor while others didn't.

There were also giant creatures with shells, strange life forms with large pincers, and so on.

Yin Shen watched the creatures spinning on the lake surface to the sound of the horn and sighed softly.

"It's remarkable how a past disaster has led to such a flourishing and diverse array of life," he mused.

The spirit hadn't expected this either. "Just as You said, God, fortune and misfortune are intertwined."

Dawn broke, and everyone awoke from an unprecedented perfect slumber.

The King of Yinsai, supported by attendants, donned his magnificent robes and placed the golden crown upon his head.

"Your Majesty!"

"Sage of Truth Lan's letter has been here for so long, and you haven't responded."

"The people from the Temple of Truth sent another letter yesterday, asking when you plan to set out. They want to make preparations."

Not long ago, the King of Yinsai had sent an envoy to the Temple of Truth.

He inquired about how to become a fourth-level God's Grace Priest. The second-generation sage Lan didn't refuse but instead invited the King of Yinsai to come to the Temple of Truth for study.

But after receiving Sage Lan's consent, the king hesitated.

"No."

"It's too late to follow his method. Abandon the idea of going to the Temple of Truth."

The King of Yinsai was self-aware enough to know that his talent paled in comparison not only to Lan but also to Lan's students.

If even Lan's students hadn't become God's Grace Priests after so many years, he, in his twilight years, could never hope to achieve longevity by becoming a God's Grace Priest.

Since the normal method wouldn't work, the only option left was to choose a riskier approach.

"Have you made contact with the evil sorcerer?"

The so-called evil sorcerer was none other than Anhofus, infamous in the eastern regions of the kingdom.

Unlike ordinary mortals, the King of Yinsai knew more secrets.

Anhofus was not only a student of the fire demon Haru but also from the Samo family.

He possessed the secret art of immortality, which had been improved by the fire demon Haru.

He also knew that over the years, Anhofus had been improving and researching the secret techniques passed down from Haru, making significant progress.

"Your Majesty!" the attendant exclaimed. "That's forbidden!"

The king looked at his close attendant. "What's the difference between dying of old age and dying from touching the forbidden? They're both death."

"I don't want to do nothing and end up helplessly wailing on my deathbed."

The king looked to the sky, his clouded pupils devoid of any luster.

"Who knows what kind of fate God has arranged for me?"

"A nightmare hell of eternal, unresolvable torment? Or an eternally cycling beautiful dream?"

"A choice between two - how thrilling!"

Little did the King of Yinsai know, his words were witnessed by God and His emissary.

The spirit didn't understand. "Why do mortals always refuse to accept the lessons of failure, disregarding past tragedies?"

Yin Shen smiled. "If God tells mortals to die, will they willingly go to their deaths?"

"If God forbids mortals from pursuing power and immortality, can they restrain their greed and desires?"

The spirit remained silent. Having lived for so long, she vaguely understood.

Some desires and fears etched deep in the heart cannot be stopped by anything.

The spirit paused before asking again. "God," the spirit asked, "is pursuing eternal life a good thing? Or is it a forbidden realm that mortals shouldn't touch?"

Yin Shen replied, "If they can achieve immortality without bringing disaster, it's their fortune."

"If they bring catastrophe upon themselves in pursuit of immortality, it's their own misfortune."

Yin Shen didn't voice the second half of his thought: "I don't care either way."

But mortals always touch powers they can't control, and when punishment comes, they say, "It's not that I couldn't succeed, but that God wouldn't let me succeed."

They claim that God punished them because they were about to touch secrets belonging to the divine.

This way, they could make excuses for their own powerlessness and foolishness.

Fortune and misfortune are self-inflicted, unrelated to God—

In a small town several hundred miles from the Sacred Mountain and the Sky Temple.

A merchant caravan arrived in the town, causing a stir throughout.

This caravan had over a dozen large carts pulled by small stone monsters.

Most of the townspeople had only heard that in some big cities, priests and temples used monsters as tools to pull carts, but this was the first time they had seen monsters pulling carts to form a merchant caravan.

Because monsters couldn't enter villages and towns, these carts could only stop outside the town.

The townspeople came out in groups, pointing and shouting at the small stone monsters.

"Monsters!"

"Are those really monsters?"

"Why aren't they attacking people?"

"There must be a powerful figure in the caravan controlling them."

"It must be a very powerful priest."

Some mischievous children even dared to run up and touch the small stone monsters, earning a beating from the adults.

Many people from the caravan entered the town to rest, including the actual controller of this caravan.

In a dark room, windows and doors tightly shut.

Anhofus sat in a chair, with a flask in front of him.

There was no light in the room, but the flask itself emitted a faint silver glow, just enough to illuminate the area around the table.

Inside the flask was imprisoned a small figure made of bones, looking very similar to a Trilobite Man. It was entirely constructed of bones, its tiny body containing powerful energy.

More terrifyingly, it could speak.

It possessed intelligence.

"You go as soon as the king calls you. Do you want to gain power?"

"I didn't realize you were also someone who pursued pleasure and desire."

"You've been a hermit in the wilderness outside Yinsai for so long. Have you finally become impatient?"

The small bone figure seemed a bit talkative but clearly didn't fear Anhofus.

It was a monster that had signed a Spirit Realm Covenant with Anhofus. It obeyed Anhofus's orders, and Anhofus paid a price.

Anhofus smiled. "For people like us, what meaning does power have?"

"Just like the Sage of Truth Lan from the Temple of Truth, even if the King of Yinsai offered him the throne, he wouldn't want it."

The bone figure asked, "Then why are you so obedient, running back from the border as soon as the king summons you?"

Anhofus replied, "I'm pursuing the power of immortality."

The bone figure questioned, "You want immortality?"

Anhofus explained, "I'm not pursuing the power of immortality for the sake of living forever. I don't fear death."

"I won't be like my grandfather or the current King of Yinsai."

"Trembling in the face of death, exposing their ugliness."

"A truly powerful person should first possess a strong heart, have lofty goals, and then pursue what they want with fearlessness."

The palm-sized bone figure didn't understand. "Then what are you after?"

Anhofus stated, "Just to find the secret of immortality."

Seeing the bone figure's expression, Anhofus's lips curled into a smile.

"Is it hard to understand?"

"I'm not someone who pursues living forever, fears death, or craves pleasure like a vulgar person. My life is simple - it's about exploring the secrets and truths of this world."

He clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them.

"The secret of immortality? That's God's secret."

"If truth has levels, then immortality must be one of the ultimate mysteries of truth."

"Even if I could just glimpse it, I'd be content."

"Even if in the end, God punishes me in endless purgatory."

Anhofus's smile was quiet, carrying a kind of old aristocratic gentleness, but the words he spoke were so mad.

"I want to see the secret hidden behind the gates of truth, even if just for a moment before being consumed by raging flames."

The bone figure asked, "Just for this?"

Anhofus replied, "Of course, there are some other reasons, but this is the most important."

Anhofus's grandfather, the Mad King, and Anhofus's teacher, Haru, were two people who had a profound influence on Anhofus.

They both died pursuing immortality, both failed on this path.

"I want to prove that they were right."

"At least, they were brave pioneers on this path."

Anhofus's face showed a nostalgic expression. "Rather than madmen."

"Or traitors."

"Nameless supporting characters drowned in the river of history."