Deep within Zhushan Sect, a stone gate remains perpetually closed, the stone walls covered with bamboo pattern runes.

On the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber, two cultivator bodies lie silently, precisely the "human resources" just brought back from the Southern Domain by the cultivators in red and gray robes.

Tian Duzhi, clad in a dark green Daoist robe, had a young-looking face, yet the corners of his eyes bore the vicissitudes of age.

He lowered his gaze over the two bodies on the stone platform, his face showing no emotion, only a slow nod:

"Well done."

The red robe cultivator just breathed a sigh of relief when Tian Duzhi’s light voice sounded again:

"Next time, your task quantity will double."

The red robe cultivator’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly spoke:

"Uncle Master!"

The gray robe cultivator’s voice even trembled: "This..."

Both of them knew their Uncle Master’s disposition well, dark and unpredictable, ruthless and merciless, but this time his request was truly too high.

Tian Duzhi slowly sat upright, his dark green Daoist robe stirred without wind, and the temperature in the secret chamber suddenly plummeted, with the bamboo pattern runes emitting a slight "sizzling" sound.

He raised his eyes to look at the two of them, his gaze brewing with black air, his voice monotone yet carrying a bone-chilling pressure: 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Oh, do you have any objections?"

Both froze instantly, recalling their companion who questioned their task last year and was ultimately refined by the Uncle Master into a "bamboo puppet!"

Being punished was already light; they feared more that one day they might become the "human resources" on the stone platform.

The red robe cultivator gritted his teeth, pulling on the still-astonished gray robe cultivator, both bowing in unison: "As you command!"

Only when the stone gate closed again did they dare wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads, staggering out of the secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, Tian Duzhi slowly stood up and walked to the pond on the east side of the chamber.

The pond water was as black as ink, with eight translucent small fish swimming within, their bodies faintly entwined with a light gray aura.

They were the "Eight Sufferings Spirits" manifested from his own fate, also the foundation of his "Eight Sufferings Rotation Technique."

He looked up at the dome of the chamber’s ceiling, where a "Star River Map" was carved, corresponding to the flow of heaven and earth’s fate.

"The Eight Sufferings of Life: Birth, Aging, Sickness, Death, Separation from Loved Ones, Meeting with Hatred, the Thriving of the Five Skandhas, and Unfulfilled Desires..."

Tian Duzhi sighed, his voice full of unwillingness:

"To me, the greatest suffering is nothing more than unfulfilled desires——those unattainable for the Primordial Spirit Great Dao!"

He was the prodigy not seen in a millennium of the Zhushan lineage, born with the fate of the Sect.

At three years old, he felt the spiritual energy, established his foundation at eleven, and at ninety-seven, he cultivated to become a Venerable of Yin Divine, breaking the record left by the Ancestral Master.

He once believed that he would always be smooth sailing, becoming the second True Immortal of Zhushan and ascend to the Immortal Realm!

But who would have thought that this step would confine him for as long as one hundred fifty years.

He had no choice; his growth trajectory coincided with the Child of Fortune of two generations.

The previous Child of Fortune ascended at two hundred thirty years old, leaving no room for fate gap with Ling Wenxuan, the fate of the Zhushan lineage was like dust before the great momentum controlled by the Five Major Sects.

"If unable to become immortal, even if a giant during life, enjoying three hundred years of lifespan, ultimately ends as a handful of yellow soil."

Tian Duzhi held his hand over the bamboo-patterned edge of the pond, black air from the palm seeping into the water, causing the eight small fish to swim frantically:

"Such a world is hell to me! After all this cultivation, in the end, it’s nothing more than a mirage, tragic and lamentable!"

A hundred years ago, he watched as one Yin Divine Venerable after another faced the Child of Fortune of the previous generation.

Some caused great calamities, yet were cut down under the Child of Fortune’s sword, becoming the opponent’s "stepping stone," others calculated in hiding, ending up with their Divine Soul obliterated.

In the past, he didn’t understand, but with his lifespan nearing its end, he fully realized——they were not unaware of the unchangeable great momentum, but they would rather break than be whole, dare to gamble everything!

"With only fifty years left of lifespan, even if hope is slim, this seat must seize a thread of life, break through the tribulation and become immortal, riding the tide of the Child of Fortune’s ascension."

Seizing meat from the mouths of the Five Major Sects was undoubtedly immensely difficult, but no matter how hard, it must be done!

A manic light flashed in Tian Duzhi’s eyes, as he raised his hand to summon a pill furnace covered in bamboo patterns.

The pill furnace floated in the air, emitting dark red firelight, absorbing the two bodies on the stone platform into the furnace.

In less than half a stick of incense time, two strands of pure blood essence flew out from the furnace, flicked into the pond by his fingers.

The eight small fish eagerly devoured the blood essence, their bodies expanding immediately, the gray aura on the fish growing a bit denser.

Looking at the activity in the pond, Tian Duzhi’s calm eyes carried a trace of obsession:

"Almost there, almost there! In another thirty years, the Eight Sufferings Rotation Technique will reach Great Success! By then, whether breaking through the tribulation and becoming immortal, or preparing a bridal gown for others, this seat is willing to gamble!"

...

Billions of miles away.

At the core area of the Spiritual Eye on a sea island, Chen Sheng sat cross-legged, with a Treasure Mirror of the Water Moon suspended in his palm, clearly reflecting every move of Tian Duzhi.

Watching that obsessed figure in the mirror, Chen Sheng slowly shook his head and flicked his fingertips, causing a ripple on the Water Moon Treasure Mirror.

"Manifesting the Eight Sufferings Spirits with one’s own fate, this ’Eight Sufferings Rotation Technique’ indeed has some cleverness."

Chen Sheng’s voice echoed in the Spiritual Eye bubble, with a hint of detached commentary:

"It’s a pity, from the very start, this was a stalemate."

His Divine Sense moved, and the Water Moon Treasure Mirror revealed a rune hidden at the core of the Heaven-Mending Dao, the final form of which was the "Eight Sufferings Revolving Technique" cultivated by the Envied One.

Chen Sheng flicked a finger, causing the phantom to dissipate:

"This technique was designed by the Heavenly Immortal Patriarch of the Heaven-Mending Dao, laying the groundwork for the scion of fortune."

"What the Envied One thought was his trump card, was merely a tool for others to harvest ’extraordinary fortune’, no matter how he cultivated and grew, he ultimately was just a sacrifice."

Thinking this, Chen Sheng shook his head, as the shimmering waves appeared on the Water Moon Illusion Mirror.

The obsessive figure of the Envied One gradually faded in the mirror, replaced by silhouettes exuding the oppressive aura of ghostly gods.

His gaze swept over the figures in the mirror, with a touch of indifference as if selecting chess pieces.

On the left side of the mirror, an elder in a black robe transformed into a pool of blood, the blood energy nearly breaking through the mirror surface.

That was the Blood River Venerable of the Blood Shadow Sect, nearing the end of his lifespan, forcibly squeezing his own fortune with Forbidden Techniques.

On the right side, the Sand Venerable of Harmony Sand Dao sat cross-legged within the flowing sand array, sand particles around him transformed into thousands of sharp blades, etching dense runes on his body.

Chen Sheng sneered lightly:

"These are Pseudo-Venerables, ultimately inferior, trapped by lifespan, limited by fortune, they can only make one desperate gamble."

"Blood Shadow, Harmony Sand, along with the Envied One..."

His gaze continued to wander, finally settling on a Miao Gu Venerable controlling myriad poison worms in the mirror, tapping his fingertip again:

"Gu techniques are full of changes."

The shadows in the Water Moon Illusion Mirror constantly changed with his fingertip movements, eventually leaving six Pseudo-Venerables with distinct auras.

Their silhouettes formed a bizarre vortex within the mirror, faintly connecting to the calamity energies of the world.

Chen Sheng withdrew his hand, a hint of mischievous smile in his eyes:

"This seat shall lend you a hand, don’t disappoint me!"

He flicked his finger towards the mirror, a barely perceptible strand of golden Spiritual Qi merged into the mirror, drifting towards the Envied One’s seclusion site.

At the same time, inside the Heavenly Envy Chamber of Bamboo Mountain Sect, dark green bamboo-pattern runes cast the chamber in a ghastly light.

The Envied One sat cross-legged on a mat, surrounded by eight gray pillars of energy, the manifestations of the "Eight Sufferings Revolving Technique" he cultivated—"birth, aging, sickness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting hated ones, unfulfilled desires."

Within the energy columns, countless painful phantoms struggled and roared, each roar transformed into pure Spiritual Power, flooded into his brow.

This bitter cultivation had lasted three months, the spirits of the Eight Sufferings were increasingly condensed, yet the Envied One always felt a missing link.

It was a feeling of being constrained by an invisible shackle, as if no matter how he advanced, he could not break out of a predetermined framework.

While concentrating on deducing the technique’s key insights, a barely discernible golden flash crossed his brow suddenly, an intuition arose, like a shocking thunder!

"Hmm?"

The Envied One abruptly opened his eyes, gray energy waves surged in his gaze, he was startled to discover that the presumed flawless "Eight Sufferings Revolving Technique" actually had two flaws.

"Not good! This technique has such a great risk!"

The Envied One broke out in a cold sweat, hastily severing the spell:

"I must perfect it quickly!"

He raised his hand, sweeping the bamboo scrolls on the desk to the ground, and started frantically carving on the stone wall.

This perfection process began like a bursting dam, initially just fixing two flaws, but as he carved, new inspirations continuously emerged.

As time passed, the Envied One consecutively comprehended the deadlock of Eight Sufferings’ cycle, letting the Eight Sufferings mutually generate and destroy, forming an endless closed loop.

The bamboo-pattern runes in the chamber constantly changed with his deductions, the carvings on the stone wall grew denser, eventually forming a complete technique diagram over the entire wall.

In just a few months, the initial "Eight Sufferings Revolving Technique" had become unrecognizable.

The originally gray spirits of the Eight Sufferings now glinted with purple-golden luster, swirling around him, carrying a weighty flow of Dao Rhyme.

"It’s done!"

The Envied One slapped the ground hard, his figure soared into the air, purple-golden energy surges erupted, causing the chamber’s dome to tremble slightly.

He felt an unprecedented abundance of Spiritual Power within, felt the Eight Sufferings’ energy move with innate ease, his eyes burned almost ablaze. This

newly created technique thoroughly broke out of its original cage, not only resolving all risks, its power had multiplied threefold.

He walked to the pond, seeing the fish swimming had transformed into a wholly purple-golden Spiritual Fish, surrounded by faint Dao Rhyme.

The Envied One burst into loud laughter, laughter full of repressed centuries’ exuberance and arrogance.

He whispered to himself:

"Once my cultivation reaches Perfection, I’ll use this ’Purple Mansion Eight Sufferings Cycle Technique’ to reversedly slay immortals, overturning your web of fortune!"

At the Spiritual Eye of East Sea, Chen Sheng watched the arrogant figure of the Envied One in the Water Moon Illusion Mirror, a satisfied smile formed on his lips:

"Good, this is what is worthy to stir the turbulent waters like a catfish."

Soon, Chen Sheng’s gaze turned towards the remaining five, quietly setting pieces, making this great calamity of fortune even more lively!