Chapter 207: A Human Dies Four Times in Life

Jiang Li once recalled a saying from his previous life:
A human dies three times in life.
The first death is when your heart stops beating, your breath fades, and you are declared biologically dead;
The second death is when you are buried, people attend your funeral, and declare that you no longer exist in this society—you quietly leave;
The third death is when the last person in the world who remembers you forgets you. Then, you truly die. The entire universe will have nothing to do with you anymore.
At the time, Jiang Li felt this made a lot of sense. But now, he had new insight and decided to add one more sentence.
The fourth death is when everyone in the world remembers you—and all the cringey things you did during your edgy phase.
F**k you, Yunbo!

Coming from a technological world in his past life to the immortal-cultivation-filled Nine Provinces, it was inevitable he’d indulge in some fantasies—like imagining himself as the Supreme of the Nine Provinces, invincible across the land, everyone bowing before him, raising one arm and the crowd rising in response, glaring once and enemies scattering… basically the more ridiculous the better.
Although those fantasies have now all become reality—if not exceeded. For example, back then he didn’t dare imagine too much, maybe just fantasizing about reaching the Tribulation Stage. And now, he was already in the Mahayana Stage above that.
But the issue wasn’t the content—it was the tone and phrasing.
Too f***ing embarrassing.
He had hidden this novel under the third brick from the left beneath his bed. Very hard to find. When he left Huayun Sect in a hurry, he forgot to take the book. Later, after experiencing so many incredible events in the Nine Provinces, he gradually forgot about it.
If it hadn’t been displayed at today’s auction, Jiang Li would’ve completely forgotten he ever wrote such a novel.
Thankfully, it was written in his previous life’s language and only a few thousand words long. Even if someone wanted to decipher it, they’d have no way to start.
Otherwise, Jiang Li was seriously considering leaving the Nine Provinces and fleeing to the Zombie World.
Right now, he really wanted to thank the system—thank goodness for the auction mission, which gave him an excuse to cover up his cringey history.

“This honored guest… fellow Daoist, what’s the matter…” the elderly auctioneer looked at Jiang Li hesitantly, unsure why he was reacting so strongly—he even stood up.
“Nothing, I’ve just admired the heroic and unmatched Human Sovereign Jiang for a long time. To see something he left behind today fills me with such joy I couldn’t help but express it by standing up.” Jiang Li quickly returned to normal and sat down calmly.
He didn’t want to reveal his identity—even if others didn’t know it was a cringey novel, he knew.
To publicly announce his identity and boldly walk off with his own edgy novel… Jiang Li’s sense of shame wouldn’t allow it.
“My Dao heart’s not firm enough,” Jiang Li reflected again.
The Ruyi Gourd was confused. How is this senior having enlightenment twice in one auction?

There were plenty of Human Sovereign Jiang fanatics in the Nine Provinces, and some were even more dramatic than Jiang Li. The auctioneer didn’t think much of it and continued the auction.
Seeing some people in the crowd questioning the origin of the book, the old man explained: “Indeed, this book is not recorded in any official or unofficial history. The characters inside are like nothing we’ve seen before, hence we call it a ‘Heavenly Book.’ The Chamber of Commerce invited several cultivators who study the Human Sovereign, and their conclusion was unanimous—this book was definitely written by Jiang the Human Sovereign.”
The old man didn’t mince words: “Unfortunately, it’s only a few thousand words long. That’s too little to decode such an unfamiliar script. Unless we find more works like it, we’ll never understand what Jiang the Human Sovereign was trying to say.”
“Of course, if the person who wins this book is powerful enough to meet Jiang the Human Sovereign, maybe they could just ask him.”

Upon hearing that, the Ruyi Gourd curiously asked, “So what’s written in the book?”
Jiang Li didn’t answer. He just stared at the Ruyi Gourd and told it a story.
“Once upon a time, seven gourds became spirits and called a mortal their grandpa. They curiously asked, ‘Grandpa, Grandpa, where did we come from?’ Grandpa smiled and said, ‘Your parents were just as curious—you take after them. They asked the same question.’ The gourd spirits asked, ‘But we’ve never seen our parents.’ Grandpa smiled again and said, ‘Yes… where are your parents?’”
“After that, no one ever saw those seven gourd spirits again. Instead, Grandpa was surrounded by entirely different gourd spirits.”
The Ruyi Gourd shuddered after hearing the story and quickly smothered its curiosity.

“In that case, this is indeed one of the Human Sovereign’s ink treasures. Starting price: five thousand top-grade spirit stones.”
Wang Bian and Dean Meng were itching to bid—no matter what, they were determined to win this treasure today.
“Eight thou—” Wang Bian had barely started shouting when a louder voice drowned him out.
“Fifty thousand top-grade spirit stones.” Jiang Li’s voice brooked no argument, and the price was utterly shocking.
Fifty thousand top-grade spirit stones—that’s enough to buy three or four Tribulation-to-Immortality techniques!
Where did this rich a**hole come from? Does his family own a spirit stone mine?!
Wang Bian had only prepared fifty thousand spirit stones, and now he was completely shut down.
Dean Meng had made more preparations—after scraping together funds from all over, he had six thousand spirit stones. He figured Jiang Li was bluffing, acting rich but only really had fifty thousand.
So Dean Meng made a new offer: “Fifty-one thousand…”
“One hundred thousand,” Jiang Li immediately doubled it.
He had to win this book—not even a True Immortal could stop him.
Jiang Li’s bid was so ridiculous that Wang Bian and Dean Meng, who had prepared thoroughly, were defeated before the fight even started—no chance at all.
The auctioneer was ecstatic. He didn’t know where this VIP bidder came from, but he didn’t even blink at the price. One hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones far exceeded the Chamber’s expectations.
“One hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, once.”
“One hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, twice.”
“One hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, three times.”
The old man tapped his gavel: “Sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on winning the Human Sovereign’s Heavenly Book.”
Despite winning the item that everyone desired, Jiang Li felt no joy in his heart.
The first thing he did after getting the book was to shove it into a box and layer it with multiple seals—not even a True Immortal could open it. Then he put that box inside another box, layered more seals, and repeated the process three times before finally placing the final “box” into his storage ring.
“Now I can relax.” Jiang Li let out a long sigh.

“Would you like me to arrange escorts for your safety?” the auctioneer offered considerately. Normally, the Chamber didn’t provide that service, but seeing as this was a major client, he made an exception.
Jiang Li declined.
The Tianyuan Dynasty’s public safety had always reassured him. But just a few steps out of the auction house, a group of men with fierce expressions and hostile intent surrounded him.
Among them were young masters who felt publicly humiliated, and bandits looking to take advantage.
Jiang Li sneered. I’ve been waiting for you lot.
Without hesitation, Jiang Li struck, delivering a brutal lesson to the group—one that would leave them bedridden for three months, even with pills.

【Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission】