The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 137 I can't hold on to it!

"Let's go. Since it's not going to work out, we shouldn't stay here any longer."

Upon hearing that her master was leaving, the old woman hurriedly said:

"Master, are you really leaving like this?"

Master's soul is now shattered, and his condition is critical. This ancient divine artifact, Eternity, may very well be our last chance for survival; how can we give up so easily?

Seated gracefully atop her phoenix hairpin, her voice remained ethereal, yet carried a hint of detached acceptance.

"It is said that the human emperor Youchao sacrificed his own flesh to Tianshui in order to have ten thousand generations of descendants. Only then did he realize that he had already found the Zhen woman in the years of wandering, but he was completely unaware of it and suppressed his heart."

"If Emperor Youchao could do it, I might be able to too. Let's go!"

Both the old woman and Zeng Daniu were startled by these words:
"Are you looking for Wan Shi to find someone?"

The peerless figure on the phoenix hairpin did not answer. Only the corners of her mouth subtly curved into an elusive smile, as if recalling, as if wistfully gazing, or even as if holding a steadfast obsession that spanned eternity.

Her thoughts surged like a tide, and in a daze, she seemed to see that figure again—that man who always carried a bit of unruliness, laughing and cursing that he wanted to "avoid fate and escape karma," but was ultimately swept away by karma and destiny.

"If it's truly fate, he can't escape me, nor can he avoid me. Conversely, why should I force it?"

The old woman said no more and left.

Zeng Daniu glanced at the small town, and finally bowed to the stunningly beautiful figure, saying:
"This junior must keep it, Palace Master. Please forgive this junior for not being able to see me off further!"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

After Zeng Daniu's figure disappeared behind her, the woman sitting on the phoenix hairpin asked in a low voice:

"My disciple, what do you think of him?"

The old woman paused for a moment, then continued walking calmly.

"There's no such thing as 'however' or 'however,' he would definitely look down on me, and I would disdain him."

But the woman on the phoenix hairpin chuckled lightly:
"He looks down on me too. He said that getting involved with me would be like incurring a huge karmic debt."
-
On the other side of Deer Town, several lazy men were hiding under a tree drinking the wine they had just stolen.

As soon as the wine jar was opened, they rushed over to smell the aroma of the wine.

"This is truly a treasure! If the shopkeepers hadn't all gone to check out that strange well, we wouldn't have been able to get our hands on this gem!"

"Could it be those jars that Old Zhang has been hiding for over ten years?"

The man holding the wine jar looked smug: "That's right! I've been eyeing it for years, but that old geezer wouldn't even give me a sip. Hehe, today I'll get a taste for him!"

Upon hearing this, the men's eyes lit up, and they rubbed their hands together, pulling out their "snacks": a bottle of vinegar, a plate, a few polished stones, and a few rusty iron nails.

The lazybones at the head of the group frowned: "It's one thing to make do normally, but with such good wine today, why are you serving up this junk?"

The others said sheepishly, "Brother, we're short on cash. Those shops are treating us like thieves!"

The leader, exasperated, said, "I've already brought the wine, can't you guys get something decent?"

Their eyes lit up, and they were about to get up when they suddenly heard a voice from the side:
"Heroes, why don't you come and sit with me for a while?"

The lazy men were terrified and hurriedly protected the wine jars, looking in the direction of the sound.

An old man stood in the shadow of a tree not far away, stroking his beard and smiling.

"Old man! What did you just hear?" they shouted.

The old man shook his head and chuckled: "What you heard doesn't matter. What matters is whether you all want to make some money?" As he spoke, he opened his palm—a gold ingot, as big as a child's fist, was clearly visible!

In an instant, the lazybones' eyes were drawn to it.

It couldn't be moved even an inch further.

"How exactly are you planning to make money, sir? Let me make this clear first: we brothers are not capable of murder or robbery!"

Lazy people are greedy, but they also know what's important and what's not.

The old man waved his hands repeatedly and said:
"How could it be such a thing! I just want to ask you all to help me retrieve something." He pointed to the treetop above, coaxing, "See that bird's nest in that branch? There's something I need inside. Please, could you please lift a finger and fetch it for me?"

"It's that simple?" The lazybones could hardly believe their ears.

“It’s that simple!” the old man said, taking out another glittering gold ingot.

The group could no longer contain themselves. They immediately scrambled up the tree. Before long, they indeed pulled a gleaming gold coin from the bird's nest.

"Wow! Copper coins made of gold?" a man exclaimed.

The old man's eyes gleamed even brighter as he eagerly exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes! That's it! Please hand it to me!"

The man made a move as if he was about to throw it down.

"Hey! Don't throw it! Don't throw it!" the old man hurriedly stopped him, his voice becoming shrill. "Hand it to me! Hand it to me yourself!"

Although the man didn't understand, he still nimbly slid down the tree trunk as instructed, held the coin in his hand, and curiously weighed and played with it.

Watching the money dart casually through the man's palm, the old man couldn't help but let a strange smile creep onto his lips. He stretched out his hand again:
"Here comes the gold of you heroes, shouldn't you give me that thing now?"

The man made a gesture to hand it over, but at the last moment, he suddenly pulled his hand back.

At that moment, a hint of panic flashed across the old man's eyes. Almost instinctively and in a state of near panic, he looked up at the sky above the town—only to find it calm and peaceful, with nothing unusual about it.

He then composed himself and asked, forcing himself to remain calm, "Why is that?"

The lazy men exchanged glances, their faces beaming with malicious smiles, and rubbed their hands together, saying, "Even a blind man could see this is a treasure! Old man, shouldn't you... give us a little more?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and he chuckled to himself: Just now he thought it was a warning from the Great Dao, a force of destiny that made them suddenly realize the truth, but he never expected it to be just insatiable greed!
That's fine. If one is neither greedy nor foolish, how can one achieve anything?
"I thought it was something serious!" The old man shook his head easily, then pulled out a heavy cloth bag from behind him. The bag was slightly open, revealing that it was full of gold nuggets. "How about it? Is that enough?"

"Oh my God of Wealth, that's enough!"

The man immediately handed the money to the old man, then snatched the bag of gold from him.

Hiding to the side, he watched the old man warily while greedily chewing on the gold.

The old man simply shook his head with pity, then looked at the coin in his palm.

"Hehe, good stuff, really good stuff! It's just a pity..."

The old man looked up at the town, where the golden light still lingered, and he was even certain that he would be doomed if he went inside.

"I wonder which ancestor has come here!"

After sighing, he put away the coin and quickly left the area.

While the Eternal Lifetime is indeed a priceless treasure, is the money that connects to the Great Dao any less valuable?
His appetite is too small to eat ancient artifacts, but he should have no problem indulging in a single coin.

As for the cause and effect, well, that's a matter for those few idiots to bear!
(End of this chapter)