The Dao of Reincarnation (101-103) (Patreon)

Chapter 101: First Steps on the Demonic Path (Part 13)

In the desolate wilderness, corpses littered the ground.

A pampered young man dressed in luxurious brocade robes stood frozen, staring blankly as his personal guards, his protecting elders, and his sworn protectors fell one after another before his eyes.

His master had once told him he would become an unrivaled supreme powerhouse, a dazzling figure who would illuminate an entire era. He needed unshakeable confidence and a heart as steady as Mount Tai, even if it collapsed before him.

Lin Xiuyuan had always believed he could achieve it. Today, he realized he was wrong. Looking at the demonic figure that seemed to have crawled straight out of hell, terror gripped Lin Xiuyuan's heart.

"You… you can't kill me! My master will never let you go! White Cloud City will never let you go! In the future, I am destined to become a Saint, to step into the starry void and become an unrivaled powerhouse! There is absolutely no way I will die at the hands of someone like you!"

Su Chen gave a wide, mocking grin.

"A divine physique… only one that grows up becomes a powerhouse. A dead one is nothing at all."

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Chen struck to kill.

In Lin Xiuyuan's horrified gaze, a terrifying restriction suddenly activated. In the next instant, a pale jade hand tore through the firmament, reaching down to seize Lin Xiuyuan and carry him away.

Su Chen had anticipated it long ago. An ancient altar materialized around him. A saint artifact of horrifying power awakened, blocking the jade hand in midair.

"A saint artifact! Who exactly are you? Why dare lay hands on the successor of my White Cloud City?"

A voice thundered from beyond the sky, tinged with panic.

Su Chen offered no reply. He continued his advance toward Lin Xiuyuan.

"Do you understand that by doing this, you make yourself an eternal enemy of White Cloud City?"

Su Chen severed Lin Xiuyuan's head with a single stroke.

"Very well... No matter how far you flee, no matter what orthodoxy stands behind you, White Cloud City will make you regret what you have done today!"

The incarnation of White Cloud City's Saint roared in fury.

A divine physique had been slain.

Su Chen did not linger. He urged his saint artifact to shatter layer after layer of space and vanished without a trace.

Moments later, the true foundation of White Cloud City mobilized. Terrifying auras swept across the land. When they arrived at the battlefield and saw the carnage, rage consumed them.

The entire Northern Desert was shaken.

The death of a divine physique was no small matter. Ordinary prodigies could die and be replaced—perhaps only a few future Void Refining or Nirvana realm seeds lost. But a divine physique was different.

At minimum, such a being would become a Saint in the future, with a high probability of reaching Saint King level. They were the true heirs of the Northern Desert, the pillars that would anchor the next era. Across all living beings, a divine physique prodigy might appear only once in a millennium.

The old ancestor of White Cloud City—a Saint King—dragged his aged body to the Central Continent. At enormous cost, he borrowed a Quasi-Emperor artifact and reconstructed the truth of what had happened. Watching his clan's divine physique genius perish, the elderly Saint King wept bitterly.

This death meant that when his own lifespan finally ran out, White Cloud City would decline completely. Their destiny would be severed!

"What a Sun-Devouring Sacred Land! So vicious!"

Rage consumed the old Saint King. Considering the current state of the Northern Desert—countless prodigies already dead, irreconcilable hatred between the two domains—he immediately visited the major powers of the Northern Desert and rallied them to launch a joint assault on the Western Regions.

With a vengeful Saint King willing to serve as the vanguard, the other sacred lands, ancient clans, and orthodoxies quickly followed suit. They saw an opportunity to plunder the Western Regions' fortunes. If they could destroy the Western Regions' orthodoxies and occupy their territory, combining the strength of two domains, could they not become a second Central Continent?

Under the leadership of this aged Saint King, Northern Desert forces easily crushed many fringe orthodoxies of the Western Regions. One newly ascended sacred land was completely annihilated—its Saint perished, its saint artifact shattered.

The sacred lands and major powers of the Western Regions grew terrified. Having witnessed the precedent, they had no choice but to unite and launch a counteroffensive against the Northern Desert.

In the ensuing war, Profound Connection realm cultivators were mere ants. Void Refining realm cultivators were nothing more than cannon fodder. Only Nirvana realm Venerables could put up any real resistance. Clashes between the Saints were frequent.

This was a war even more brutal than the one that had once raged between the Southern and Western Domains.

The situation had already far exceeded Zhou Hao's expectations. But… no matter how many died, Zhou Hao did not care. What mattered to him was that too many had perished. The laws and origin qi released from their deaths fed back into the world, triggering terrifying tidal surges. The opportunity to step into the Saint King realm had finally arrived!

Zhou Hao's face lit up with wild joy. He sensed the rules of heaven and earth shifting, the tidal surge of origin qi reaching its peak. This was the perfect moment to break through to the Saint King realm.

But the moment the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land's phenomenon erupted, it was instantly detected by the old Saint King of White Cloud City.

"Sun-Devouring Sacred Land… Zhou Hao!"

Rage consumed the old Saint King. Without another word, he raised his Saint King weapon and charged straight toward Zhou Hao, smashing the breakthrough opportunity to pieces.

Zhou Hao's expression turned pitch-black as his ascension was forcibly interrupted. He immediately summoned the deepest foundation of the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land and clashed with the old Saint King.

Facing the frenzied, vengeful old Saint King, Zhou Hao was quickly forced back. His Saint King weapon was sent flying.

Just as the old Saint King prepared to deliver the killing blow, a terrifying aura suddenly exploded from deep within the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land, shielding Zhou Hao at the last instant. It was the sacred land's last surviving Saint King ancestor, a figure who had long since reached the end of his lifespan and was clinging to his final breath to preserve the sect's glory.

Seeing another Saint King block his path to vengeance, the old Saint King of White Cloud City wasted no words. He burned his life essence without hesitation, forcibly restoring himself to peak Saint King combat power!

"Zhou Hao! You dared to assassinate the divine physique of my White Cloud City. Today, no matter what, you will pay with blood for blood!"

His eyes blazed crimson with murderous intent. He wanted nothing more than to slaughter Zhou Hao and avenge his clan's successor.

The Saint King ancestor of the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land opened his turbid eyes. His gaze flickered with complex emotions as he looked at Zhou Hao. In the end, he let out a long sigh and burned everything he had left to stand between Zhou Hao and the old Saint King.

"Sacred Lord… I can only hold this old bastard back for five breaths!"

Zhou Hao did not hesitate. Even though it meant abandoning the Saint King opportunity he had schemed for so long, being targeted by a mad Saint King left him no choice. If he did not flee now, he would truly die here.

When the old Saint King of White Cloud City saw Zhou Hao attempting to escape, he ignored the Saint King ancestor's attacks entirely. He charged straight after Zhou Hao, enduring blow after blow.

Zhou Hao's body exploded and reformed several times. In the final moment, he awakened his Saint King weapon once more. While the weapon and the sacred land's Saint King ancestor held the old Saint King at bay, Zhou Hao poured every ounce of strength into tearing open space and fleeing the battlefield, returning to the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land.

Back inside the sacred land, Zhou Hao went straight to the pill hall. He swallowed every single healing pill he could find in great gulps. His storage ring had been destroyed in the battle; countless treasures had turned to ash. He immediately entered seclusion to recover from his injuries, determined to seize the next origin qi tide and break through to Saint King.

However… one day, a terrifying aura rose from the two-domain battlefield—like a blazing sun slowly ascending. All origin qi in the region vanished in an instant.

Zhou Hao sensed the disturbance and opened his eyes. When he looked toward the source, boundless fury surged within him. He had spent so much effort igniting war between the two domains… only to dress another in wedding robes.

…

Chapter 102: First Steps on the Demonic Path (Part 14)

"Damn it… bastard!"

Rage boiled inside Zhou Hao.

A century of meticulous planning had been on the verge of success—only for the old Saint King of White Cloud City to interrupt at the critical moment. He had suffered grievous wounds, lost the sacred land's last Saint King ancestor, and even the Saint King weapon had vanished.

And now, someone else had reaped the harvest he had sown. A hundred years of scheming, reduced to nothing.

Suddenly, Zhou Hao frowned.

The outside world had fallen eerily silent.

"Who dares sneak into the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land and cause trouble!"

The grand hall's doors were gently pushed open.

A figure shrouded entirely in black robes stepped inside slowly. The black-robed man lowered his hood, revealing a face both familiar and strangely distant.

Zhou Hao's pupils contracted sharply.

"Zhou Chen… you really didn't die! Excellent… excellent! So you were never controlled by the Slave Seal Pill at all!"

Looking into Su Chen's calm, indifferent eyes, Zhou Hao finally understood—he had been thoroughly played. His voice turned icy. "The divine physique of White Cloud City… you killed him on purpose, didn't you? You deliberately used White Cloud City's power to wound me severely."

Su Chen did not deny it. He merely gave a faint smile. "The Sacred Lord is truly perceptive. So… please, Sacred Lord, allow me to send you on your way."

Su Chen gripped the Heaven-Questioning Blade. The ancient saint artifact's power awakened within him.

Facing an opponent armed with a saint artifact, Zhou Hao showed no surprise. His gaze remained cold. "A single saint artifact—that's your reliance? How naive. Even gravely injured, this seat is not something an ant like you can shake!"

Zhou Hao unleashed his full saintly might. Though Su Chen wielded a saint artifact and had reached the peak of the Nirvana realm, he still appeared insignificant before Zhou Hao.

Yet Su Chen showed no fear. He charged straight toward Zhou Hao.

At the same moment, the once-silent Sun-Devouring Sacred Land erupted with terrifying auras. One after another, they surged toward Zhou Hao. Every figure burned with desperate momentum and self-detonated without hesitation.

A single Nirvana realm cultivator's self-explosion could never harm Zhou Hao at his peak.

But the Zhou Hao of this moment was already heavily wounded, his strength reduced to less than a tenth. He faced Su Chen's saint artifact—and now the suicide blasts of one Nirvana realm Venerable after another. Even someone as ruthless as Zhou Hao felt his heart bleed at the sight.

These Nirvana realm cultivators were the backbone of the sect. Raising even one required immense resources. Now they were being expended like disposable tools.

Zhou Hao's fury reached a boiling point. He resolved to kill Su Chen at any cost.

The Sun-Devouring Sacred Land had become a scene of utter devastation.

Facing Zhou Hao's iron determination to end him, Su Chen quickly fell into a disadvantage. Only by relying on the saint artifact did he repeatedly snatch his life back from the brink.

Su Chen evaded Zhou Hao and positioned himself at the very center of the sacred land. Beneath his feet, blood-colored patterns spread outward like a spiderweb, rapidly covering the entire Sun-Devouring Sacred Land.

"Blood Sacrifice Technique!"

Zhou Hao's expression changed dramatically. He cried out in shock. "How do you possess the Blood Sacrifice Technique? No… this is bad…"

His rock-solid confidence wavered as Su Chen's aura climbed higher and higher. He knew he had to kill Su Chen immediately. If Su Chen broke through to the Saint realm, it would be his death.

The Blood Sacrifice Technique originated from the Gu clan. Only direct bloodline descendants could use it. That was why Su Chen had spent years secretly slaughtering and devouring the direct descendants of countless powerhouses during the prodigy conflicts. He had been waiting for precisely this moment!

The Heaven-Questioning Blade fully awakened. In the sky above, the phantom of an ancient Saint materialized. His gaze burned with fierce clarity as he charged straight toward Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao gritted his teeth. Burning his life essence, he poured every last drop of strength into clashing against the ancient Saint's phantom.

Two terrifying waves of saintly might collided and swept outward.

Yet at this moment, the vast majority of the Western Regions' powerhouses were stationed at the front lines against the Northern Desert. The few who remained simply watched with folded arms, content to observe the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land's tragedy unfold.

Zhou Hao forced the Heaven-Questioning Blade back and lunged toward Su Chen, intent on stopping his breakthrough.

But the instant he tried to draw upon the power of heaven and earth, his expression changed drastically. Horror flooded his face. He violently coughed up a mouthful of pitch-black blood. The inky droplets fell upon mountains and rivers, instantly turning vast stretches of land into lifeless wastelands.

"When… when did you poison this seat?"

Zhou Hao stared in utter disbelief. He could feel the strength draining from his body. His indestructible saintly physique began to age at a visible pace. Deep within his soul, the toxin had already taken root—a terrifying poison even a Saint could not expel.

Seeing Zhou Hao's incredulous expression, Su Chen threw his head back and laughed.

"Zhou Hao—today is the day you die!"

While Zhou Hao had been drawn to the Northern Desert battlefield, Su Chen had slipped back into the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land unnoticed. Using an improved version of the Slave Seal Pill, he had quietly taken control of the pill hall's personnel. Every single healing pill in the sacred land had long since been swapped by him.

He had gambled that Zhou Hao would be targeted by the old Saint King of White Cloud City. And he had won. Zhou Hao had indeed been forced into desperate flight by the old Saint King. He had survived—barely.

But those healing pills had already been laced with colorless, tasteless, undetectable poison. In his urgency to recover, Zhou Hao had never bothered to inspect them carefully. Now, after successive brutal battles, the toxin had finally penetrated deep into his soul.

Zhou Hao let out a miserable laugh. "Zhou Chen… this seat underestimated you. You truly are ruthless—far more ruthless than this seat ever was! But do you think this battle is over?"

He coughed violently. "Zhou Chen… you will die. You will die in the most miserable way imaginable. Hahahaha… from the very beginning, you and I were both fish on the chopping block!"

Su Chen frowned. "Zhou Hao, what are you talking about?"

Zhou Hao suddenly exploded with violent motion. With his last remaining spiritual Qi, he unleashed the sacred land's ultimate killing move.

"Devour Heaven, Annihilate Spirit!"

Su Chen had been prepared. He hurled the Heaven-Questioning Blade forward and immediately retreated from the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land.

The entire sacred land was swallowed by the terrifying killing technique. Space shattered. The sacred land itself disintegrated along with everything inside it.

The shockwave caught Su Chen. His body cracked like porcelain on the verge of shattering. He hurriedly stuffed a large handful of healing pills into his mouth.

"A Saint's corpse… gone just like that!"

Su Chen cursed inwardly. Zhou Hao truly deserved to be called a hegemon. Knowing death was inevitable, he had chosen in his final moments to drag the entire Sun-Devouring Sacred Land down with him rather than let Su Chen benefit from his remains.

Though he had not obtained Zhou Hao's corpse, Su Chen's gains were still immense. Amid the sacred land's destruction, he had sensed a fleeting trace of the path to becoming a Saint. Riding the tidal surge of qi released in the collapse, he prepared to seize the moment and achieve sainthood.

Suddenly, he sensed a new presence beside him.

He turned.

A woman in a black dress sat quietly on the edge of a sheer cliff, gazing at him in silence. Her ink-black pupils radiated an indescribable nobility.

"Hanchan…"

The familiar face brought a flood of memories from a hundred years ago rushing back into Su Chen's mind. Ever since he had left the Western Regions for the Northern Desert all those years ago, he had never seen Zhou Hanchan again. He had assumed she died inside the sacred land. Yet here she was—alive, unchanged, and watching him with those deep, unreadable eyes.

Chapter 103: First Steps on the Demonic Path (Final)

Zhou Hanchan's figure vanished, reappearing in front of Su Chen in the blink of an eye. She stared at him in silence.

"Hanchan… where have you been all these years?"

Su Chen forced a smile, his voice filled with concern.

Yet Zhou Hanchan did not answer. She continued to gaze at him motionlessly, like a lifeless puppet. The stillness sent chills down the spine and made the scalp tingle.

Su Chen murmured, "For the past hundred years, I searched for you everywhere, but I never found any trace. I thought Zhou Hao had taken your life…"

At last, Zhou Hanchan spoke. Her face remained utterly expressionless.

"You are not my brother… You don't need to keep pretending anymore. Though you resemble him closely, you are not Zhou Chen. The real Zhou Chen died during the outer sect trial. From that day onward, the one who returned was never him again… you have simply been wearing his skin.

"My brother was just an ordinary outer disciple. He had no grand ambitions, no iron will, and he certainly didn't know so many profound cultivation methods. All he ever remembered was what I liked. All he ever wanted was for both of us to survive in the outer sect.

"Who exactly are you?"

Faced with Zhou Hanchan's quiet accusation, Su Chen fell silent. After a long moment, his voice came out hoarse and low.

"I am Zhou Chen… and Zhou Chen is me."

Zhou Hanchan's aura suddenly exploded outward. Quasi-Saint realm power surged unrestrained. The sky darkened. The sun was obscured. Day and night lost their light.

Su Chen's body was hurled backward. Mountain ranges shattered in his wake.

"You are not Zhou Chen! I will kill you myself… and avenge my brother!"

Her tone was cold—unmelting ice and snow. She had noticed long ago. Ever since her brother returned from the outer sect trial, he had changed. Though he still cared for her, doted on her…

There had always been an invisible barrier. Beneath that familiar skin, another person had been desperately trying to play the role of Zhou Chen.

Zhou Hanchan had refused to believe it at first. She tested him again and again. From his favorite foods to daily habits, to the moment she began cultivating…

This "brother" had become better—stronger, more outstanding. He had become the sacred land's celebrated true disciple, admired by all.

"But what I wanted… was the brother who protected me with everything he had, the one who lived and breathed for our survival together!"

People vanished like snuffed candles. After their parents died, countless disciples inside the sect had coveted the inheritance their parents left behind. Countless others had cast greedy eyes on the young, graceful Zhou Hanchan.

In a sect steeped in darkness, Zhou Chen had raised her step by painful step. Every day had been a struggle. Their only wish had been to survive—together—even if it meant lying broken and bleeding in some forgotten corner, Zhou Chen would still shield her with his own body.

Su Chen rose from the rubble, drenched in blood. Looking at Zhou Hanchan's cold, emotionless face, a trace of daze flickered through him.

He was Zhou Chen. But Zhou Chen… was ultimately not him. Zhou Chen could have abandoned the martial path for Zhou Hanchan. Su Chen could not.

He grinned, blood staining his teeth.

"Little Chan'er… From now on, I won't hold back. Show me everything you've learned in these hundred years!"

A hundred lifetimes of reincarnation... Am I myself… or someone else?

Su Chen had never imagined that the final step would come at the hands of this life's little sister.

Zhou Hanchan's face remained blank.

"I will kill you with my own hands… and then I will find whatever trace of my brother remains."

Words were useless now.

Su Chen fully unleashed the Primordial Taotie Physique. The ferocious beast of the ancient era manifested in the world, opening its blood-drenched maw as though it would devour heaven and earth itself.

Though gravely wounded and without his saint artifact, Su Chen's strength remained horrifying.

Zhou Hanchan had disappeared for a hundred years—no one knew where she had gone. Yet the divine physique phenomenon that now surrounded her was incomparably noble, as though a true deity from the Primordial Era had awakened. Her power was in no way inferior to Su Chen at his peak—perhaps even stronger.

Blood flowed from Su Chen's mouth. He refused to yield. Countless cultivation methods surged through his mind, linking together like meridians.

Heaven and earth trembled. Winds howled, and clouds surged. Boundless phenomena rolled outward in majestic waves.

This was the phenomenon of becoming a Saint!

Zhou Hanchan raised her pale hand.

Twelve demonic pavilions materialized out of thin air, ancient and oppressive, descending toward Su Chen with crushing weight.

A colossal pressure slammed into him. Excruciating pain tore through his mind. An ancient soul imprint flared to life inside his sea of consciousness, blazing with blinding light, trying to force him to abandon all resistance.

"The Sun-Devouring Soul Tether!"

Su Chen clenched his teeth against the agony. Shock rippled through him. Even after Zhou Hao's death, the soul tether in his mind had not vanished…

An overwhelming, suffocating aura pressed down from point-blank range, intent on suppressing him completely.

"This much… and you think you can make me bow to fate? What a joke!"

Su Chen's teeth ground together audibly. Zhou Hao's final words echoed in his ears. A bitter, desolate smile curved his bloodstained lips. The already gloomy sky darkened further, as though the heavens themselves were furious.

In that moment, Su Chen caught a glimpse of an incomprehensibly massive face hovering above the Western Regions, looking down upon everything.

The firmament itself was a cage. All living beings were merely marionettes on strings. Neither he nor Zhou Hao had ever truly been free. From the very beginning, everything had been a meticulously staged performance.

Countless runes suddenly blazed into existence around Su Chen's body—brilliant, flickering like countless candle flames. They converged in his palm, forming a sword.

It was not a saint artifact. It was the accumulation of nine lifetimes.

"I am Zhou Chen. Zhou Chen is me. Even if this is fate… fate must still be seized by my own hand!"

Su Chen swung the sword.

The sword light cleaved through all twelve demonic pavilions and slashed toward Zhou Hanchan.

The strike was too fast—impossibly fast.

Zhou Hanchan had no time to react.

Su Chen's consciousness suddenly went dark.

In his final moment of awareness, that unparalleled sword passed within a hair's breadth of Zhou Hanchan and continued skyward—straight toward an incomprehensibly vast figure clad in white robes, countless demonic patterns flowing across them like rivers of stars.

Zhou Hanchan stood frozen.

Gentle spiritual rain began to fall from the sky, pattering against her skin.

Was it rain… or tears? She could no longer tell.

Before her lay a single pill.

"Swallow it. Become a Saint."

…

Su Chen opened his eyes. He had returned once more to the Reverse Fate Space.

"So that's how it was… Those old bastards really were ruthless enough."

His mind gradually cleared. The Sun-Devouring Sacred Land… the Primordial Remnant Clan… Zhou Hao… Zhou Chen. From the very start, they had all been pawns.

Zhou Hao—the Sacred Lord himself—never even possessed the master imprint of the Sun-Devouring soul tether. That was why he had relied on Slave Seal Pills to control others. In the end, the man had been nothing more than another unfortunate puppet!

Su Chen gave a wry laugh. Who could have imagined that the master of a sacred land, a peak Saint, was himself enslaved? And in the end, he died under the very soul tether he thought he controlled.

Su Chen had no idea what the shadowy existence behind it all hoped to achieve by orchestrating such an elaborate game—at such enormous cost.

But one thing was certain: that existence had a purpose. And that purpose… most likely centered on Zhou Hanchan.

No one would go to such lengths purely for entertainment. No one would spend centuries setting up such a grand play just to watch a good show.