Chapter 570: The head of the Immortal exploded (2 in 1)
Translator: GodBrandy Editor: Kurisu
All the members of Venerable White's team had some understanding about the Daoist Canon. Each person had studied this religious text at some time in the past.
But as soon as the ancient cultivator started to explain the content of the Daoist Canon, the members of the group realized that it was incredibly mysterious. When the text of the Daoist Canon was explained, the ancient cultivator used just a bunch of words that turned into the sound of the 'Great Way' itself.
Each word was a gem, and every sentence of the ancient cultivator was creating a resonance with the principles of the universe.
Strange phenomena appeared, magical clouds blossomed, and golden lotus flowers continuously bloomed and withered in the air...
The members of Venerable White's team all had different levels of strength, but every one of them was entranced with the speech. As each person heard the content of the speech, they came to different types of realizations that were suitable for themselves.
The speech the ancient cultivator was holding had yet to come to an end that Venerable Spirit Butterfly already felt the urge to immediately close up and start training. Just a few sentences from the ancient cultivator allowed him to faintly grasp the secret behind the 'Eighth Stage Profound Sage Realm'. This trip to the ancient ruins had turned out to be extremely fruitful for Venerable Spirit Butterfly just by hearing these few sentences that carried the sound of the 'Great Way' itself.
Venerable White also obtained great benefits. At this time, he had his eyes closed and was contemplating. The spiritual energy around his body was getting continuously compressed, undergoing some kind of transformation.
Likewise, Soft Feather, True Monarch Tyrant Flood Dragon, True Monarch Fallout, Cave Lord Snow Wolf, Great Master Profound Principle, and True Monarch White Crane were either contemplating or were engrossed in the speech. All of them obtained some kind of benefit.
After the group of people had safely gotten out of these ancient ruins, it wouldn't be impossible to break through a small or big realm as long as they went into secluded meditation.
The fact that they had chanced upon the speech of this powerful ancient cultivator was a lucky stroke that one could only dream of! It was the fate of a powerful being!
Not to mention that the ancient cultivator before their eyes wasn't an ordinary Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender but an 'Immortal'.
After they reached the Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender Realm while there was already another Wielder of the Will in charge, the extremely talented geniuses that had what it took to carry the Will of the Heavens went one step further and found their own ways to immortality, increasing their realm by half a step and becoming 'Immortals'.
During ancient times, each of those geniuses that managed to find their own way to immortality was a dazzling talent during their time.
The Heavenly Emperor that built the ancient Heavenly City used the city itself as a foundation for his majestic way to immortality. His way to immortality wasn't just limited to himself; the members of the ancient Heavenly City could also benefit from the effects of the immortality. As long as the Heavenly City wasn't destroyed, all the people inside had the chance to become Immortals and came in contact with the secret of immortality ahead of time.
Aside from that, the founding puppeteer of the ancient Jet-Black Sect also used a very unconventional method and transformed his body into a puppet, creating his own puppet-style way to immortality.
The ancient cultivator holding a speech in front of them was also an 'Immortal' and had thus come up with their own way to immortality. But the question was, what kind of way had they come up with?
Just as Venerable White's team was in deep thought, the ancient cultivator slowly stopped talking. The explanation of the first chapter of the Daoist Canon had come to an end!
Soon after, the full moon-shaped halo on the head of the cultivator became even more dazzling.
The jade white lotus throne beneath their body changed into starry dust, completely disappearing.
Then, a huge lotus flower started to 'grow' on their body, wrapping them up entirely.
Venerable White immediately understood what was going on and said, "That 'Immortal' is about to reveal their way to immortality!"
The Immortal displayed to all those present the principle behind their way to immortality.
Just as the Immortal demonstrated their way to immortality, the onlookers perceived an incomplete set of principles. The feeling this set of principles gave them was similar to either 'being reborn amidst death' or 'getting a new lease on life'.
A new life was suddenly born within the body of the ancient cultivator. At this time, the new life was on the verge of coming to the world. The new, soon-to-be-born, life was her child... but also she herself!
Yes, the ancient cultivator was a woman.
Just as the lotus flower grew on the body of the ancient cultivator and enveloped them, a fine and slender figure became visible through the lotus flower. It was the body of a woman.
All the present came to a sudden realization... it seemed this was the method the ancient cultivator had used to create their own way to immortality—giving birth to a new life.
The process was similar to giving birth to a baby. Their body would give birth to a new 'life', and the new 'life' in question was the cultivator itself.
After the 'new self' was born, it would inherit all the characteristics of the previous body, including knowledge, soul, cultivation level, and understandings. It was a perfectly identical copy.
In addition, the cultivator would become stronger after each rebirth.
It was a very peculiar and unique way to reach immortality.
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But right at this time, Venerable White and the others got somewhat curious. Why had this powerful ancient cultivator left behind this 'video recording' in this world?
When she was discussing the Daoist Canon earlier, who was she explaining it to?
However, the members of Venerable White's team didn't have the time to ponder about these matters. At this time, their eyes were fixated on the ancient cultivator that was about to give birth to a new life. The process of the 'Immortal' demonstrating their own way to immortality was hundreds—no, thousands—of times more incredible than the speech earlier.
Even if they could comprehend the tiniest bit of the process, it would be an incredible gain.
Before their eyes, the lotus flower enwrapping the ancient cultivator finally opened, revealing a jade body of unsurpassed perfection inside. The jade body was simply perfect and didn't have a single flaw!
It was precisely her newborn self!
As for her old body, it had already merged with the huge lotus flower, disappearing.
The 'newborn self' stood up while inside the lotus. The leaves of the lotus turned into a daoist robe that wrapped around her body.
On the other hand, the seeds of the lotus turned into a daoist cap.
The lotus flower shrank, turning once again into a jade white lotus throne that floated beneath her feet, supporting her body.
"Today, I had another easy childbirth and managed to successfully give birth to myself. This time, I tried to give birth to myself a bit ahead of time. It was a great success, and the effects were even better than what I had thought," the newborn 'Immortal' said with a smile while facing the void.
She had a very strong accent, but just as her speech back then, her words were automatically translated through the power of this world, allowing all the people that were listening to her to understand the meaning of her words.
When they saw the scene playing before their eyes, several members of Venerable White's team got a rather 'familiar' feeling from it. Was the new self of the Immortal shooting a video of herself?
They weren't wrong because she was really shooting a video of herself. When she was facing the void and talking, it felt as though she was talking to an imaginary audience.
From the looks of it, this ancient cultivator was shooting a video of herself since there was no such thing as a live streaming feature back in ancient times.
Such being the case, it was very likely that the whole scene they were seeing at this time had been recorded by her back then and left here.
"My current state is very good... perhaps the current me can deal with the upcoming battle?" The Immortal looked at the 'camera' and laughed.
Although she was laughing, one could easily tell from the video that even an 'Immortal' like her didn't have much confidence when it came to deal with the upcoming battle.
"I've escaped him for 300 years. But in the end, he still managed to find me. That man is truly persistent... well, it's not like I dislike persistent men, but if the opposite party is obsessed with chasing after you and killing you, I have a good reason to be worried!" she said.
"Aside from this... I'll try to record everything down before my death. After all, my job is precisely to record everything before my eyes... to record the 'real' history. If I really die one day, I'll record the scene of my death as well. After all, it's all a part of history." The Immortal patted her daoist robe and straightened her slightly slanted daoist cap.
After that, the scene in the video became silent.
Thirty breaths later—but it should have passed more time in the video—the originally bright scenery started to dim.
"He is here," the female Immortal said softly.
The space in front of her was torn apart by two jet-black hands.
Black-colored demonic qi covered his whole hands, pairs of blood-red eyes faintly visible amidst the demonic qi.
"I've finally found you, Cheng Lin." The voice of the owner of the two black hands was full of hatred.
"Yes, it's me!" the Immortal called Cheng Lin replied softly. Her tone was very calm and not nervous in the least.
"Tell me, Cheng Lin. Why did you leak the information about the Heavenly City! Why did you betray us?" the owner of the two black hands said after suppressing his anger. He was like a volcano, ready to explode at any time.
"So that's how it was! You discovered that I leaked the information about the Heavenly City and thus decided to chase after me and kill me! And here I thought no one would discover me, hehe," Immortal Cheng Lin said with a smile, looking incredibly charming.
The owner of the black hands came out of the crack in the space and said, "How can you be this calm? It's precisely because you leaked that information that the Heavenly City was destroyed overnight! You are a traitor that has committed an unforgivable crime."
"Hehe, I obviously knew that the Heavenly City would be destroyed as a consequence. That's the very reason I leaked that information," Immortal Cheng Lin said with a smile.
Just as she finished speaking, the owner of the two black hands instantly appeared next to Cheng Lin and used his strong arm to grab her throat.
Above the head of the owner of the two black hands was also a full moon-shaped halo. The halo was full with the principles of death and destruction—the opposite party was also an Immortal.
His build was very big, and after grabbing Cheng Lin's neck, he lifted her in midair. Still, Immortal Cheng Lin didn't revolt in the slightest.
The owner of the black hands clenched his teeth and said, "Tell me. I want to know why you betrayed us!" His voice was like that of a wild beast roaring in a low voice.
"That's a secret!" Immortal Cheng Lin smiled sweetly. Then, she blinked her beautiful eyes while facing the owner of the black hands and said, "In addition, the Heavenly City has already been destroyed. What's the point in telling you the reason? Do you want me to tell you the reason of my betrayal so that your pained heart can feel a little better?"
"You b*tch, just die!" The owner of the black hands lost his patience and tightly grabbed Cheng Lin's throat with one hand while using the other to grip her head, squeezing it with force.
In the next moment, just like something fragile getting squeezed with too much strength and breaking, the head of Immortal Cheng Lin exploded.
During the whole process, Immortal Cheng Lin didn't revolt in the slightest.
Although she was talking about dealing with the upcoming battle earlier, she didn't try to resist the owner of the black hands in the slightest when the time came. In the end, she was also an Immortal—an existence that surpassed Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcenders—and it was impossible that she didn't have the strength to oppose the opposite party even a little bit.
Just as the head of Immortal Cheng Lin exploded, the video before their eyes also came to a stop.
After that, everything returned to normality.
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Cave Lord Snow Wolf didn't dare to believe what he had just seen. "An Immortal died just like that?" It was an entity that had surpassed Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcenders and stood on the peak of the world of cultivators. Did she really die just like that? Or was she just shooting a movie?
Venerable Spirit Butterfly said calmly, "It might not be the case. In the end, only her head was smashed to pieces. Let alone an Immortal, even I have several methods to recover from such a wound."
"This matter was related to the destruction of the ancient Heavenly City. The ancient Heavenly City was turned into ashes overnight, and from the video we saw just now, that Immortal Cheng Lin played a not very honorable role in the destruction of the city." True Monarch Fallout slightly lowered his eyes. Inside his family, there was an ancestor that might know a few things about the matters related to the ancient Heavenly City.
The ancestor in question was the fifth master of the 'Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber', Fifth Cultivator of True Virtue. The Seven Cultivators of True Virtue had their name passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, the First and Second Cultivator of True Virtue surely experienced the matter related to the destruction of the Heavenly City, and the related information was likely passed down to the next generations.
True Monarch White Crane said, "I'm more curious about that Immortal with black hands that was covered with eyes. Who was he? He couldn't possibly be the Heavenly Emperor himself, right?"
Venerable White shook his head and said, "He wasn't the Heavenly Emperor. Back in those days, the Heavenly Emperor was regarded as one of the strongest Immortals, and amongst the fellow daoists that helped him build the ancient Heavenly City, there were several whose talent wasn't inferior to that of the Heavenly Emperor himself. Afterward, it is said that several of his companions found their own way to immortality and became Immortals. The owner of the black hands was probably one of those Immortals, and it's possible that Immortal Cheng Lin was also one of the companions of the Heavenly Emperor."
The nearby Great Master Profound Principle joined his palms together and heaved a sigh.
Buddhists were rather fussy about karma.
Each action cultivators performed was possibly the 'cause' that would lead to a certain 'effect'.
Now that they had seen this video, the lot of them were without a doubt deeply involved with the karma related to the ancient Heavenly City.
"This matter related to the ancient Heavenly City is simply too distant from us. Therefore, you guys don't need to worry and can be at ease. You just have to take one step at a time and keep practicing. If you think too much about this matter, you might give rise to an Inner Demon," Venerable Spirit Butterfly said with a smile.
Venerable White nodded and said, "Everyone should rest for a while. Then, we'll wait for the 'video' to start again. Before explaining the Daoist Canon, Immortal Cheng Lin explained other religious texts as well. After the rebroadcast starts, we'll watch the whole thing one more time."
The members of the group nodded one after another. After all, they missed some of the content of the video before Venerable White used his illusory reality. If they could watch the video in its entirety, it would be perfect.
Venerable Spirit Butterfly and the others sat down within Venerable White's illusory reality. They were waiting for the rebroadcast of the video while pondering about the explanation Immortal Cheng Lin had given earlier.
Venerable White silently gazed that distant charred black earth.
Immortal Cheng Lin... the Immortal with black arms covered with eyes... and the Heavenly Emperor that disappeared as the Heavenly City was destroyed...
"It's a very interesting matter," Venerable White said softly.
The effects of this video where an Immortal was giving a speech were extremely helpful. It was better to note down this place, and if the other members of the Nine Provinces Number One Group were interested, he could bring them here so that they could hear the content of the speech and understand a few things.
At that time, he might as well ask for a certain amount of spirit stones as 'admission fee'. For example, when Great Master Profound Principle discovered that there was a 'heart tempering' ancient well inside the Jingang Immortal Cave, he created the 'Jingang token of authority' and started to collect an 'admission fee' before allowing people in.
Such being the case, the person that had taken over the ancient ruins—Venerable White—could also ask for a certain amount of spirit stones as admission fee. It was the general rule in the Nine Provinces Number One Group. If one wanted something, they would have to pay for it!
However, if people wanted to come down here to comprehend profound principles, Venerable White had to accompany them and use his 'illusory reality'... from the looks of it, the cost was going to be rather high, wasn't it?
After thinking up to this point, Venerable White turned his head around and happened to see 'Little friend Shuhang No. 2', who was currently sitting down.
Oh, right. I almost forgot about little friend Shuhang. The 'Ten Thousand Mile Flying Escape Technique' rune he had with him seems to have activated. Such being the case, he should be on his way back to Earth, right? If there is enough time, I might bring him here in the ancient ruins as a reward after shooting the movie.
Of course, the movie has to be of my liking if Shuhang wants the reward, Venerable White thought to himself.
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In front of the entrance of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion.
The Sobbing Old Man was observing the gate of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion with a serious expression on his face. He wouldn't leave the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion until the gate was opened!
Speaking of which, he saw something fly out of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion yesterday. If he wasn't mistaken, the thing that flew out of the pavilion was a ghost spirit.
However, the Sobbing Old Man didn't chase after the ghost spirit. At this time, the most important thing for him was to obtain the complete version of the ❮Tome of Never-Ending Tears❯. The current him didn't have any interest in something like a ghost spirit.
Therefore, the Sobbing Old Man decided to keep observing the entrance.
He wanted to use his firm will to move the hearts of the people inside the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion. If they wanted him to become a disciple of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion, he was fine with it. After all, he was nothing but a loose cultivator!
Whether I have to wait for ten days, one month, one year, or ten years... I'll wait! the Sobbing Old Man thought to himself. He refused to believe that the people of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion would refuse to open the gate for whole ten years!
"Sob, sob, sob~ Even if I have to die, I'll die in front of the Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion! Sob, sob, sob~ feel my will!" the Sobbing Old Man said while crying.
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Crystal-Clear Water Pavilion, Time City.
"Sob, sob, sob~ when I read aloud the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ with a compassionate heart, I suddenly realized how incredible this senior monk was. Sob, sob, sob~ Although he suffered so much, he didn't bat an eye... especially that part where he was poisoned. In the end, the senior monk relied on his incredible willpower to overcome the poison. It was such a moving scene. Sob, sob, sob~" Senior Sister Ye said while crying, her tears endlessly falling.
Song Shuhang gently comforted her while wiping away her tears. Now then, Senior Sister. Although one has to read the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ with a compassionate heart, it's not like you have to abandon your intellect as well!
The scene of him overcoming the poison with his willpower was simply nonsense! Although his willpower was strong, that deadly poison almost claimed his life! Did he really survive without medicines...?
If someone had such incredible willpower, wouldn't doctors become useless?
Anyway, returning to the original topic... Senior Sister Ye cried so much. Her heart should be compassionate enough, right?
Other than a compassionate heart, she added the benevolent heart property as well.
Just as he was in deep thoughts, Senior Sister Ye flipped the pages of the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ until arriving at the last place.
"Sob, sob, sob~ It was truly touching. In the end, he died... and even his bones decomposed and merged with the earth. It's such a romantic principle. It was indeed the best resting place for the senior monk! Sob, sob, sob~" Senior Sister Ye cried, looking very aggrieved.
Song Shuhang kept gently wiping her tears away. Now then, what is the romantic part about 'even his bones decomposed and merged with the earth'?! Moreover, didn't the senior monk had incredible willpower? He was even capable of overcoming the poison, couldn't he overcome his random death as well?! He died out of the blue! It's just too strange!
Anyway, Song Shuhang had already realized that it wasn't only due to the 'compassionate heart' that Senior Sister Ye was so aggrieved. It was also due to the ❮Tome of Never-Ending Tears❯.
For this reason, she was rather sensitive at this time and was crying as soon as she was moved a bit, with tears endlessly falling.
But, on the other hand, Senior Sister Ye was rather amusing while in this state.
Of course, if she was a little less emotional, it would be even better.
"Ye Si, did you realize something?" Song Shuhang asked gently. According to the appraisal technique, if someone with a compassionate heart read aloud the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯, they would have unexpected gains...
Senior Sister Ye had already finished reading the diary, had she realized or comprehended something?
Fairy Ye Si rubbed her eyes and was sobbing from time to time.
Then, she pondered for a short moment.
"When I read it aloud, I felt as though a 'miraculous glow' had flashed through my mind," Senior Sister Ye Si said softly.
Song Shuhang's eyes immediately lit up as he said, "That should be it. That miraculous glow should be the method to ferry the souls of the dead!"
Senior Sister Ye lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "But later, I wasn't able to firmly remember the content of the miraculous glow since I was too heartbroken and started crying."
"..." Song Shuhang.
"Anyway, it's not a big deal, we can just try another time! This time, we'll succeed for sure!" Senior Sister Ye said while sobbing. Although she had already memorized the content of the whole diary after reading it once, she felt that reading it again would have better results.
"Alright. There seems to be no other choice." Song Shuhang flipped back the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ once again.
A compassionate heart, a compassionate heart!
"Shuhang, can you read the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ aloud for me?" Senior Sister Ye suddenly asked.
"?" Song Shuhang.
Senior Sister Ye said softly, "Since I cried too much, my eyes are all red. Therefore, can you read it aloud for me? I want to hear you read aloud this book."
Although she could just use the healing technique to restore her eyes to their previous state, Senior Sister Ye felt that using this method could improve the relationship between Song Shuhang and her.
Song Shuhang nodded his head and said, "...Alright."
Thereupon, he opened the first page of the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ and started to read aloud.
A compassionate heart, a compassionate heart!
Song Shuhang's voice slowly echoed in the library room. He was neither fast nor slow while reading the book aloud.
The plot of the diary reverberated in his own ears.
The senior monk in the diary was bald, wearing thin burlap clothes on his body and going around barefooted.
Although his body was skinny, his eyes were bright and full of energy. The senior monk once traversed a land full of snow and ice, refusing to eat or drink for several days.
The senior monk was cold and hungry.
Senior Sister Ye sat with her arms around her knees and closed her eyes, listening to Song Shuhang reading the book aloud.
As before, Song Shuhang's voice was neither fast nor slow while reading aloud.
Then, just as he was reading the text, Song Shuhang's body suddenly trembled.
He felt cold and hungry, and the pain caused by the frosting was transmitted from the soles of his feet. His whole body was frozen stiff!