The sun was setting behind the overcast sky on Qing Mao Mountain.
It was early in the evening, and it looked like a light rain was going to fall tonight.
It was around this time that people began to light their houses and candles could be seen shining despite the daylight left.
There were only maybe a few hundred lit now but as the night wore on thousands would shine to make the mountain mirror the stars above.
Situated on the mountain was Gu Yue Village, A mortal Gu master village that spalled across the forested mountainside giving it a rich touch of human civilization.
In the middle of Gu Yue Village was a magnificent pavilion. Many people were around who looked to be preparing for some sort of festival or ceremony. Banners were being strung and special lanterns with the words opening and ceremony written on them were lit and hung at the corners of the pavilion.
"Are you excited for tonight's ceremony? It looks like the clan head is going to start his annual prayer to the ancestors" someone near the pavilion said.
The head of the Gu Tue clan had a middle-aged appearance, his sideburns were graying, and he was clothed in ceremonial white robes. He walked down the center of the pavilion and was followed by ten clan elders wearing similar but far more simple robes.
The clan leader stopped before a tall ornately carved shrine; the ancestral shrine and lit the copper incense. Instead of using a candle or match as one would expect he held a bright red bug on the tip of his finger that shot a flame at each of the candles. Once the incense was lit he got down on his knees to begin his prayer. The ten elders quickly followed suit and kneeled in prayer behind the clan head.
Hours would pass before the elders stop praying and the ceremony would commence.
Unnoticed by all of this a young man, quite far away, could be seen sitting peacefully with his eyes closed in meditation.
If anybody were to look closely, they would see twinkling multicolored lights around him and a face of serenity. To a mortal these would simply look like lights but any immortal would be able to recognize these as dao marks, or more specifically dao marks so dense that they were visible to the naked eye.
Two hours passed with neither the young man or the clan elders moving in the slightest.
As time passed the number of lights floating around the young man continued to dwindle.
After finishing his prayers the clan head kowtowed before the statue. Behind him ten thuds could be heard as the elders followed suit and smacked their foreheads against the ground.
Many of the surrounding civilians and less important members of the clan also finished their own personal prayers and kowtowed towards the shrine.
With the prayer over people silently got up and walked out of the sacred temple.
In the hallway, sighs of relief were heard from the crowd of elders and the atmosphere loosened up. The noise of discussion slowly rose.
"Time flies too quickly, in the blink of an eye, a year has gone by."
"The previous ceremony feels like it just happened yesterday, I can still recall it vividly."
"Tomorrow is the opening of the annual grand ceremony. I wonder what new clan blood will show up this year?"
"Ah, I hope that some highly talented youths will appear. The Gu Yue clan hasn't seen a genius emerge for three years now."
"Agreed. The Bai Village, Xiong Village these few years all had some talented geniuses appear. Especially that Bai Ning Bing from the Bai clan, his natural talent is quite terrifying."
Most people spoke of their hope for talented youths while others reminisced about their own ceremonies from their youth.
While these discussions were happening a youth opened his eyes for the first time in over two hours.
"Gu Yue Village, I actually made it back again. If Spring Autumn Cicada was not rank 9 I would have had no chance of success."
Fang Yuan stood from his meditation and gazed out the window. He let the wind and rain land on his body without care as he gazed at the well lit mountain.
He spent some time comparing his first, second, and third sets of memories. He found it comical that three distinct lives brought him to the same place in time and space.
I guess it's not three lives to anybody but myself now. Returning to before my second life's origin has practically erased that timeline for anybody but my own memories."
A small smile appeared on his face.
Heavenly Cicada's Swaddle truly is a mystical killer move. Its protections are unmatched by nearly anything else but it cost me Spring Autumn Cicada. Its destruction was unavoidable if I wanted to avoid alerting Heaven's Will of my return but it had put me in a much weaker position compared to my second life.
Heavenly Cicada's Swaddle is a compound killer move primarily made up of time path and heaven path Gu worms. In simple terms it sends a person back in time and protects them from Heaven's will's notice.
Hhmm, what's the cost of a single rank 9 Gu compared to avoiding heaven's will. I will eventually refine the Gu again but if heavens will knew of my existence it would stop at nothing to kill me. Despite my attainment levels I would be helpless to stop it at a mortal.
From the start of my second life my path was guided by heavens will and dictated by fate, it kept me just powerful enough to fulfill its goal and simultaneously keeping me within its control. Even the venerables schemed until the end to use me for their own purposes until I revived Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable. The only way to succeed in this life is to avoid their attention and grow as quickly as possible before Spectral Soul is able to take over Heavenly Court. Fang Yuan thought with a sigh.
Even though he had been reborn, the Spring Autumn Cicada was destroyed and converted into protective dao marks. If he wanted to rerefine the Spring Autumb Cicada he would have to destroy the associated dao marks, similar to fate Gu after it was destroyed in his second life.
Even if I was a chess piece, I doesn't matter. I would gladly submit myself to their whims if it meant I would achieve eternal life but that is naive. Unsurprisingly I must be more than a pawn if I am to succeed in this life. Fang Yuan's heart burst forth ambitious and determined feelings. To be able to be reborn, this fact made the loss of the Spring Autumn Cicada entirely acceptable.
Unlike the beggining of my second life I've had plenty of time to plan and prepare for this one. While my death was not ideal I have already planed for whats to come.
Without heavens will's attention and guidance there is no guarantee of what will happen. For the first time since entering the Gu world Fang Yuan has unrestricted freedom and the capabilities to do as he wishes with it.
The problem in front of Fang Yuan right now was cultivation. He had to increase his foundation as quickly as possible then reach rank three and leave this mountian.
In his second life he had Spring Autumn Cicada to rapidly advance his cultivation. In this life he has nothing besides himself and his attainment to push his cultivation forward.
To cultivate as fast as possible, I will have to take resources from the clan. With the state I am right now, I have no power or ability to travel back and forth across the dangerous mountains. Even an ordinary mountain boar can take my life. If I can reach the cultivation of a third rank Gu Master, I'd have the means to protect myself and leave the mountain on my own.
To a person who has reached venerable in his past life Qing Mao Mountain is way too small, it is a cage that restricts him but at the same time protects him and allows him to grow.
Fang Yuan smirked as he remembered making a similar analogy in his second life. How little he used to know of the cage he was stuck in.
It would be the height of foolery to leave this mountain anytime soon. As I did in my last life I will wait and cultivate in the village until I am strong enough to leave this mountain.
At this moment, the door to his room was lightly pushed open and a young teenager walked in.
"Big brother, why are you standing in the rain by the window side?"
Fang Yuan's little brother, Fang Zheng, was stood at the doorway. While they looked similar Fang Yuan stood with his back straight eyes focused while Fang Zheng lowered his head and looked at his own toes; this were thier signature stances.
"I saw that big brother's window was not shut closed, so I thought I'd come in here and close it. Tomorarow is the awakening ceremony, it's so late and you haven't gone to bed yet big brother. if Uncle and Aunty knew, they would be worried."
"Hmm, let them worry. This is the eve of the most important day of our lives and their prattle can fall on deft ears for all I care."
Fang Zheng's eyes widened a fraction, he had never heard his brother speak so dismissively at anyone before.
For a second his mind wondered off to a few years ago where his brother would laugh and tell him stories. He got a little sad because he missed his brother's fantastical stories.
Quite quickly he could hear those constant whispers of self doubt that have plagued him since he knew the difference between him and his brother.
At the thought of his aunt and uncle, Fang Yuan laughed silently. In the name of upbringing, his aunt and uncle grabbed hold of the inheritance left behind by his parents while inflicting harsh treatment against his younger brother and himself. Fang Yuan understood as he had once held the inheritance himself, if he was in their position he would havebeen more ruthless and secretly killed both Fang Zheng and himself in order to keep the inheritance for himself.
Fortunately for him his aunt and uncle were not demons and did not have the ability to truly consider such an action.
Fang Yuan thought back to his second life. His brother had never been anything other than a minor nuisance used as a tool by others in an attempt to take advantage of him.
It is only the natural way of the world. The strong eat the weak, survival of the fittest; these have always been the rules of this world. Everyone has thier own ambitions, always struggling to grasp the opportunities. His brother has never been strong enough to break the threads that bound him and instead embraces them for they are all he's ever known.
With a look of pity Fang Yuan spoke to his brother. "Get some rest little brother, tomorrow will be full of surprises."
This was the first time Fang Zheng saw this look on his brothers face but he understood it immediately. Underneath the look he also saw the arrogance that look contained and Fang Yuan's belief that he was superior.
Under such a gaze, he felt as small as a mouse, powerless, hopeless.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, big brother." Not daring to say anymore, Fang Zheng slowly closed the door and left.