Chapter 547: The Secrets of Reincarnation and the Divine Dao
In the midst of a violent dizziness, Li Xiao felt an endless darkness engulf his consciousness, as if he were plummeting into an infinite abyss.
When he finally awoke from the darkness, he found himself standing on a vast, white plain that stretched endlessly in all directions.
The white sand and gravel covered the land as far as the eye could see, seemingly merging with the horizon.
Just as confusion filled his eyes, cheers erupted from nearby.
Li Xiao turned to see a group of people shouting excitedly, “The Netherworld! This is the Netherworld! The legendary eighteenth level beneath Kunxu!”
“The Cult Master was right! Reincarnation after death is real!”
“We can be reborn! We can be reborn!”
Hearing the Demonic Cult members’ clamorous shouts, Li Xiao gradually regained his senses.
“I’m dead.”
He recalled the scenes from Myriad Laws University City: Zhang Yu and the others fighting to the death against the Demonic Cult Golden Core cultivators, and the moment Shi Huaiyu finally crushed him.
The anger and pain in his heart vanished in an instant, replaced by a surge of excitement and anticipation.
“What joy is there in life? What suffering in death? A lifetime of bitter cultivation is nothing compared to shedding this mortal shell and being reborn through reincarnation!”
He chanted the Ascension Cult’s slogan aloud, then joined the other cult members in uproarious laughter.
“Death is not the end!”
“No wonder they forbid us from dying so easily!”
“They’re afraid we’ll refuse to live as their slaves and choose reincarnation instead!”
An infinite hope flickered in Li Xiao’s eyes, as if he could already see himself being reborn into Kunxu’s Fifth Layer, Tenth Layer, or even as an Immortal Embryo.
Even if one lifetime failed, there would be another, and another after that.
“In one of those lives, I’ll be born with a better lineage and greater innate talent, allowing me to reach even greater heights on the Immortal Dao.”
Remembering Zhang Yu’s superior innate talent, and the privileged births of Ji Yuanshu, Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin… Li Xiao’s eyes burned with an insatiable longing for the future.
At the same moment, lines of text began flashing before his eyes.
“The Reincarnation Immortal Emperor, lamenting the suffering of all living beings and their hopelessness in this life, made a grand vow to rebuild the Netherworld, seeking a sliver of Immortal opportunity for all under heaven.”
“According to the contract, you may now begin your 15th reincarnation.”
Li Xiao, still brimming with excitement, paused slightly at these words.
Immediately, lines of text and data flooded his vision, detailing his assets after deducting debts, taxes, reincarnation fees, and other necessary expenses — calculating his disposable wealth after death.
“-2.566 Spirit Coins.”
Beyond the Spirit Coin tally, there were various other currencies Li Xiao had heard of or never encountered before, along with seemingly priceless items like Divine Powers, Immortal Artifacts, Dao Veins, and Merit. However, the statistics for all these categories showed zero.
As for the currencies from the First Layer, they weren’t even included in the calculations.
Staring at these figures, Li Xiao felt a growing sense of dread.
At the same moment, another option popped up before him.
“Are there any additional posthumous assets you wish to register? This includes overlooked properties, hidden wealth, cultivation arts and knowledge not recorded in the Dao Repository… anything you deem valuable can be registered.”
“Warning: The upcoming reincarnation process involves numerous expenses. To ensure a favorable rebirth, please complete your asset registration carefully before proceeding.”
Watching this unfold, Li Xiao’s heart sank.
He attempted to register his assets, but none of his cultivation arts or knowledge could be assigned any value. Clearly, Li Xiao possessed nothing that could be converted into currency. Even his attempts to disclose information about Zhang Yu and the Demonic Cults yielded no results.
“Is it that they disdain these secrets? Does the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor scorn such trivial matters? Or is there some compromise among the higher powers? Perhaps secrets held by the dead cannot freely influence the living world?”
Li Xiao had no opportunity to verify his theories. After repeated failures, the additional posthumous asset registration process was skipped, and he was ushered into the formal reincarnation procedure.
A vast array of options immediately appeared before Li Xiao.
Which Kunxu Layer should he reincarnate into: the First Layer or the Thirty-Sixth Layer?
Li Xiao wanted to choose a higher layer, but he discovered that every layer beyond the First Layer required payment. With his net worth in the negative after death, he was left with no choice but to select the First Layer.
Having chosen the First Layer, where exactly should he reincarnate? Which city? The city center or the outskirts?
Male or female?
Beautiful or ugly?
Then there were his Immortal Dao aptitude and physical body endowments: talent for artifact refinement? Martial Dao innate talent? Photographic memory? Exceptional intelligence?
Or perhaps he could be born with a Divine Spirit Root? An Immortal Spirit Root? Or even a congenital Sacred Body? A divinely ordained Immortal Embryo?
Each selection would legally grant Li Xiao these attributes in his next life, but every adjustment to his innate talents came with a hefty price tag.
Then there was his family background: good or bad? A commoner’s family? Or the descendants of corporate employees? What were his parents’ professions? Their cultivation realms? Their net worth?
Even his personality could be fine-tuned.
For example, one of Li Xiao’s personality traits in his next life was a devotion to the Immortal Dao. Deleting this trait, or adding or adjusting others, would also incur additional fees.
Below that was a Merit value Li Xiao couldn’t understand.
Apparently, because his disposable assets after death were negative, his Merit was displayed as -326.
Li Xiao had no idea what it meant to be born with negative Merit, but he was certain it couldn’t be good.
As he scrolled through the endless reincarnation settings and saw the cost for each minute adjustment, Li Xiao grew increasingly despondent.
He could already envision his future lives, each one spent as an impoverished member of the lowest class, life after life… destined to repeat this cycle endlessly.
Li Xiao couldn’t help but let his mind wander: “If this continues, won’t people just keep getting poorer? Will everyone eventually flow down to Kunxu’s First Layer? Where do the people above come from? What about the ever-increasing number of monster race students at Celestial Monsters University? Are they all reincarnated from higher realms?”
“Or is natural reproduction also possible? Is it not true that everyone is a reincarnated soul?”
“Perhaps there’s something else involved in population regulation besides this reincarnation cycle… The reincarnation process we’re witnessing is just a small part of a vast reincarnation system. Maybe the reincarnation procedures differ across different layers of Kunxu and for individuals of different statuses…”
But the next moment, he shook his head. “What’s the point of thinking about this now?”
The most pressing issue facing Li Xiao was still reincarnation.
Suddenly, a man beside him roared, “They even control reincarnation?”
Another man replied, laughing and crying, “Heaven and earth, cause and effect, reincarnation… There’s nothing in this world the Immortals don’t control! Nothing they don’t control!”
“They’re just playing with us! The Immortals are playing with us! The Ascension Cult is deceiving us, making us work for them and earn them money lifetime after lifetime. And every time we reincarnate, they strip us bare again…”
Laughing, he collapsed to the ground, muttering, “I won’t reincarnate anymore. I won’t be reborn. I refuse to be poor again…”
But soon, because he had delayed initiating the reincarnation process for too long, everything began to operate automatically. The man transformed into a rainbow-colored beam of light and shot skyward, hurtling toward his new life.
Others who wished to commit suicide, seeking true annihilation of their souls, discovered that they were now mere ethereal spirits. In this pure white Netherworld, even suicide was impossible. In the end, they could only transform into rainbow light and depart with expressions of utter despair.
Li Xiao watched this scene, then turned to look at the reincarnation options before him. His heart had become like a stagnant pool.
“In my next life, I’ll be even poorer, not even a First Layer Immortal Capital resident anymore…”
“And in the life after that, I’ll be even poorer still, each life poorer than the last.”
The thought of his future lives as a First Layer pauper, the prospect of endless cycles of poverty… Li Xiao felt a terror unlike anything he had ever known.
He saw no glimmer of hope in the future, only darkness, only endless suffering.
At that moment, all he wanted was to die… to find true, complete, and eternal rest.
Amidst the cries of pain, rage, and despair, Li Xiao transformed into a rainbow-colored beam of light and shot skyward, embarking on his new life.
Kunxu, Second Layer.
Myriad Laws University, University City.
Ye Xingli’s laboratory.
Hearing Zhang Yu’s question, Fu Ji fell into deep thought.
“As expected… that boy Zhang Yu would ask about it after all.”
Although Zhang Yu had temporarily resolved Feng Yuhuan’s troubles and then wholeheartedly resumed refining the prototype mechanism, completing the final steps, Fu Ji knew that his conversation with the Evil Gods in the Dark Spirit Realm had undoubtedly left a mark on his mind.
But by then, Fu Ji no longer intended to keep secrets from Zhang Yu.
Perhaps it was because she had been influenced by him.
Perhaps it was because she saw him as having matured.
This time, Fu Ji didn’t conceal any information about the Divine Dao. Instead, she spoke directly: “The Divine Dao is essentially a path of cultivation.”
“The most basic Divine Dao is the path of cultivating step by step to become a Righteous God, a formal employee of the Heavenly Court.”
“A more advanced Divine Dao involves housing the will of Righteous Gods transmitted from the Spirit Realm, becoming vessels for their influence in the material world, tools for their intervention in reality.”
“And the most extreme path, which Zhang Pianpian is likely now treading…”
Hearing Fu Ji’s words, Zhang Yu’s expression immediately turned grave as he listened intently to her explanation.
“To become a Righteous God’s reincarnation, gradually mastering their authority, resources, and even memories.”
“Ordinary Righteous Gods could never achieve this. Only high-ranking Righteous Gods within the Heavenly Court are capable of such reincarnation.”
“Such a Righteous God often has multiple reincarnated bodies. Through constant competition and mutual devouring, only the final survivor will ascend to become the new god.”
Fu Ji sighed, “Zhang Pianpian is likely following this very path.”
“Throughout this process, the stronger Zhang Pianpian becomes, the more of the Righteous God’s memories she will acquire. This continues until she defeats all her rivals, becomes the true Righteous God, and fully integrates that vast reservoir of memories into her being.”
“Of course, Zhang Pianpian could also be defeated by other competitors during this process, becoming nourishment for their reincarnated bodies.”
“Even if she succeeds in the end, compared to Zhang Pianpian’s own meager memories, the Righteous God’s memories are overwhelmingly vast, like a boundless ocean…”