The Dao of Reincarnation (144-146) (Patreon)

Chapter 144: The Eldest Senior Brother of Falling Emperor Mountain (Part 9)

"Refreshing—truly refreshing!"

Su Chen and Mo Qianren laughed heartily. After months of relentless battle, a mutual respect had grown between them. Yet now both had reached the point of utter exhaustion, their lamps burning low.

Mo Qianren spoke. "Nangong Chen, let us decide this with one final strike!"

Su Chen nodded. "Agreed."

In those months of combat, both had gained profound insights into the martial path.

Mo Qianren plunged his hand into his own chest. Countless laws from the demon-god remnant bones condensed into a shattered long blade. In that instant, his aura plummeted, leaving him frail and weak, yet the demonic blade in his grasp effortlessly tore a rift through the starry void. He had poured every ounce of his comprehension into the Emperor Bone, forging it into a blade that attacked without defense.

The sight brightened Su Chen's eyes.

"If you had been born in a great era, you would surely have claimed your place among the peaks!"

Su Chen sighed with genuine admiration. His Innate Supreme Sword Body erupted once more. Golden lines appeared across his body, illuminating the void. His will coalesced into a divine sword covered in runes. Countless Daos and laws were engraved upon its blade. The moment the sword was unsheathed, time and space seemed to freeze.

Two terrifying waves of power swept through the starry sky. Countless stars were extinguished in their wake.

In the depths of the starfield, Su Chen's face turned deathly pale. His divine soul resembled fragile porcelain on the verge of shattering.

Mo Qianren's body exploded outright. A single bone wrapped around his fleeing soul and shot toward the Black Nether Demon Domain.

At that very moment, a pitch-black, golden-scaled claw ripped through the void, reaching for Mo Qianren's Emperor Bone.

From the direction of the Black Nether Demon Domain came an earth-shaking roar of fury.

"You dare?!"

A terrifying aura awakened. Two Great Saint-level powerhouses clashed in an instant.

"Little Chen, that's an Emperor Bone—you absolutely cannot let it escape!"

A familiar voice rang in Su Chen's mind.

Su Chen steadied his breathing and gave chase. Even he coveted such a bone. The opportunities within it were boundless. If he could comprehend its secrets, he would undergo another terrifying transformation—perhaps even qualify as a prover of the Dao in a great era!

Powerhouses from both the Black Nether Demon Domain and Azure Nether Dao Domain surged forward. But just as Su Chen prepared to deliver the killing blow, the void trembled violently.

From the depths of the Black Nether Demon Abyss emerged a demonic shadow. It towered over the heavens, causing every living soul to shudder in primal fear.

Su Chen halted. Because this was a Quasi-Emperor.

The Quasi-Emperor moved to retrieve Mo Qianren.

At the same moment, atop Falling Emperor Mountain, the hemp-robed elder chuckled softly. He drew the Sword of Destruction from the Land of Ruin and swung once.

Across endless space, the sword light blazed with unparalleled brilliance, illuminating the stars and making the myriad races tremble.

Another Quasi-Emperor had acted—one of terrifying strength!

"Black Nether Demon Domain… you have broken the rules!"

With a single slash, the arm extended by the Quasi-Emperor from the Black Nether Demon Abyss was severed.

Quasi-Emperor blood spilled across vast swathes of star seas, extinguishing countless lives.

The Quasi-Emperor from the Black Nether Demon Abyss let out a muffled grunt. "Old ghost, we want that Emperor Bone. State your price!"

The projection of the hemp-robed elder appeared across the boundless star sea.

Su Chen stared in astonishment at the elder of Falling Emperor Mountain.

"That's… Master? He is actually this powerful?"

To wound a Quasi-Emperor with one strike placed him among the strongest, even among Quasi-Emperors.

The hemp-robed elder spoke. "An Emperor Bone is no small treasure. What can you offer in exchange?"

The Quasi-Emperor from the Black Nether Demon Abyss pressed down with his aura across the stars. "A Quasi-Emperor scripture."

The hemp-robed elder shook his head. "Not enough. I want the scripture left behind by the Demon Emperor in ancient times!"

The Quasi-Emperor's expression changed drastically. "Impossible!"

The hemp-robed elder continued calmly. "Something your domain has failed to comprehend for a million years is useless to you anyway. You know full well the value of an Emperor Bone."

The Quasi-Emperor from the Black Nether Demon Abyss hesitated.

Then, from deep within the Black Nether Demon Abyss, another ancient voice sounded.

"Agreed."

The starry void stretched vast and endless.

A rune too intricate to discern flew out from the depths. The hemp-robed elder reached out and caught it in his palm. He watched impassively as the Quasi-Emperor from the Black Nether Demon Abyss departed with the demon-god remnant bone, making no move to stop him.

The elder extended his hand toward the void once more. A sacred herb appeared in his grasp. He passed the herb to Su Chen.

Su Chen paid the sacred herb no mind. His eyes were fixed on the demonic rune in the elder's other hand. A single glance left him entranced, utterly captivated.

The hemp-robed elder sighed helplessly and waved his sleeve, severing Su Chen's perception of the rune.

"This is not something you can comprehend at your current level."

He stored the rune away, ignoring Su Chen's longing stare, and vanished into the depths of the starfield.

Su Chen let out a soft sigh. He returned to Heavenly Pass and refined the sacred herb.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Azure Nether Dao Domain had undergone sweeping changes.

One genius after another rose to prominence, their names resounding far and wide.

The fusion between the Azure Nether Dao Domain and Black Nether Demon Domain deepened steadily. More and more spatial rifts tore open across the Azure Nether lands. Creatures from the Black Nether Demon Domain invaded with increasing frequency, while Azure Nether powerhouses constantly suppressed and sealed the passages.

Over the course of a century, Su Chen finally restored his divine soul to near full recovery. His cultivation advanced from the first layer of the Saint realm to the fourth.

"The suppression of this heaven and earth has grown heavier still!"

Su Chen keenly sensed that breaking through realms in this world would only become more difficult with time.

Fang Bubai had entered the Demon Abyss forbidden zone. His strength had grown even more terrifying.

Upon emerging from seclusion, Su Chen found Ji Changkong waiting for him.

"Your state is unstable."

Su Chen frowned the moment he saw him.

Ji Changkong now had half white hair and half black. One pupil remained clear and bright; the other gleamed with cold indifference.

Ji Changkong gave a bitter smile. "Senior Brother's eyes miss nothing. It won't be long before I disappear entirely… In the end, I will fail."

He continued, voice low. "When I was young, my father discovered an unhatched Innate Holy Spirit embryo. He fused my consciousness into it, allowing me to be born. All these years, I have been fighting against the Innate Holy Spirit's own will, trying to fully seize control of this body. Now… it seems I am about to lose."

A trace of loneliness flickered in Ji Changkong's eyes.

The power of an Innate Holy Spirit far exceeded what he could master at present.

"Senior Brother, I came to bid you farewell. I intend to sever my cultivation and seal myself within the divine source for one final gamble. When I emerge, it may be me… or it may be 'him.' The years stretch long ahead. Take care of yourself, Senior Brother."

Ji Changkong smiled faintly.

Su Chen shared one last pot of wine with him.

Afterward, Ji Changkong returned to the Ji Clan and entered a deep slumber, sealing himself inside a divine source.

…

Several months later, Xiao Qianling came seeking him.

"Senior Brother, something terrible has happened!"

Su Chen rubbed his temples, already feeling a headache coming on.

Xiao Qianling spoke urgently. "Senior Brother, we've finally located traces of Second Senior Sister. But every force that went to rescue her has been trapped inside a forbidden zone."

After a full century, they had at last found news of Ye Jinghong.

Chapter 145: The Eldest Senior Brother of Falling Emperor Mountain (Part 10)

Su Chen was genuinely surprised.

Ye Jinghong was still alive. Back then, she had used a special method to leave a message for Ji Changkong saying she was trapped in a forbidden zone. After that, all traces of her vanished. Perhaps even Ye Jinghong herself had no idea where she had ended up.

Over the past century, Ji Changkong had tried repeatedly to locate her. Every attempt had ended in failure.

Xiao Qianling continued, "Senior Brother, a sacred herb has appeared there. The Black Nether Demon Domain has already dispatched powerhouses to claim it."

Su Chen's expression sharpened instantly.

"Junior Sister Ye and the others from the Azure Nether Dao Domain are trapped inside a forbidden zone. How could I possibly stand by and do nothing?"

He spoke with righteous indignation.

Xiao Qianling muttered under her breath, "Senior Brother, you're obviously going for the sacred herb."

Su Chen's face remained impassive. He flicked his sleeve.

Did the reason really matter?

It did not.

Soon, word spread far and wide: Su Chen had emerged from seclusion and intended to assault the forbidden zone to rescue Ye Jinghong and the trapped cultivators of the Azure Nether Dao Domain.

"Nangong the Saint has finally come out of seclusion—and the moment he does, he's attacking a forbidden zone. Hiss… terrifying!"

"A hundred years ago, the heirs of every major orthodoxy fell into an ambush set by the Black Nether Demon Domain. Mo Qianren alone slaughtered countless ancient monstrous prodigies of our Azure Nether Dao Domain. If not for Nangong the Saint stepping in and turning the tide, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"

"Now a century has passed. Just how frightening has Nangong the Saint's strength become?"

"I hear the Black Nether Demon Domain has sent powerhouses to the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone this time as well!"

"So what if they have? With Nangong the Saint leading us, unless a Great Saint personally intervenes, who could possibly stand against him?"

"Even if the Black Nether Demon Domain deploys a Great Saint, our Azure Nether Dao Domain has peers of the same level who will block them. In terms of top-tier combat power, our domain has never feared anyone in billions of years!"

"…"

With Su Chen taking the lead, countless orthodoxies and forces rallied to his call. Some joined out of gratitude for his actions a century earlier. Others hoped to carve out a share of the spoils from the forbidden zone. Some came to settle scores with the Black Nether Demon Domain. Still others simply wished to follow in his shadow.

Their motives mattered little. What mattered was that Su Chen's prestige had not faded during his hundred years of seclusion. On the contrary, time had only elevated him into the realm of legend.

Before long, three Saint Kings had joined his ranks. The number of Saints exceeded the fingers of both hands. Nirvana Realm experts arrived in droves like clouds. This force alone was enough to sweep aside most powers in the Azure Nether Dao Domain and flatten an entire province with ease.

At the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone, powerhouses from both the Black Nether Demon Domain and Azure Nether Dao Domain arrived one after another.

A single glance revealed how different this place was from the outside world. Everything was steeped in black. Yin qi coiled thick in the air, stretching endlessly. Countless stone steles rose like small hills across the landscape. Faint, maddening whispers drifted on the wind, sending chills down the spine.

From the Black Nether Demon Domain side, the leader was not Mo Qianren, but a stranger Su Chen had never seen before. The creature's head resembled that of a grotesque monster, while its upper body was humanoid and its lower half that of a horse etched with demonic patterns. At the center of its chest gleamed a bone radiating supreme aura.

Su Chen recognized it immediately.

It was Mo Qianren's Emperor Bone!

Yet the one bearing it now was clearly not Mo Qianren.

Su Chen sighed softly to himself. Though the Black Nether Demon Domain's higher powers had traded for Mo Qianren's life back then, his fate had evidently not been kind. His Emperor Bone had been taken—most likely, he was already dead.

Of course, there remained the slim chance that he had undergone nirvana rebirth, undergone a profound transformation, and would one day return as an unparalleled supreme being. But that possibility was so remote it could be disregarded.

Suddenly, Xiao Qianling cried out in shock. "Third Senior Brother? Is that you? You're still alive?"

Behind the young supreme of the Black Nether Demon Domain stood a man and a woman. The woman on the left was not human, yet her features and figure bore an uncanny resemblance to one sculpted by the heavens themselves, she blended demonic allure with divine grace. Seductive and breathtakingly beautiful.

The man on the right was human, clad in a flowing azure robe. His face was handsome as carved jade. The moment his gaze met Su Chen's, his eyelashes trembled faintly.

At Xiao Qianling's shout, the man turned his face away.

Xiao Qianling pressed on. "Third Senior Brother, I know it's you. You're not dead!"

Su Yanbai: "…"

The woman beside him took his hand. "Yanbai is now my husband. He belongs to the Black Nether Demon Domain—no longer to your Azure Nether Dao Domain."

Xiao Qianling covered her mouth in shock.

Third Senior Brother… had actually married into their clan!

The many forces of the Azure Nether Dao Domain stood stunned. The third disciple of Falling Emperor Mountain had betrayed the Azure Nether Dao Domain, betrayed Falling Emperor Mountain itself, and joined the Black Nether Demon Domain.

Su Chen spoke calmly. "Yanbai must have his reasons. Old Three, are you willing to return to Falling Emperor Mountain? If you are, no one here today can stop you."

Su Yanbai shook his head. He bowed deeply toward Su Chen and Xiao Qianling from a distance. "Thank you, Senior Brother and Junior Sister, for your concern. But I can no longer return to the Azure Nether Dao Domain, nor to Falling Emperor Mountain. Please convey my apologies to Master on my behalf. Your disciple Su Yanbai has failed his expectations and can no longer fulfill his filial duty."

Xiao Qianling's eyes brimmed with tears. "Senior Brother Su… take care of yourself."

Su Chen nodded. "Yanbai, I will pass your words to Master."

Both sides—Azure Nether Dao Domain and Black Nether Demon Domain—stood in tense readiness, weapons half-drawn, yet neither struck first. Every gaze turned toward the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone. That was their true purpose here.

The two forces entered the forbidden zone together.

Not long after, trouble found Su Chen's group.

One cultivator spotted a tomb and, unable to resist, pried it open. A desiccated corpse burst forth and shattered the intruder's body in an instant. He perished on the spot.

"This is a Quasi-Saint!"

Su Chen reached out and seized the corpse in his grip. It roared and thrashed but could not break free.

In his hand, the corpse crumbled into a handful of gray ash.

All eyes turned to Su Chen.

"This one had no spiritual intelligence—only the instincts of its body."

The expressions of the group did not improve. Because… tombs stretched endlessly in every direction. If every sealed being inside awoke, what kind of nightmare would that unleash?

Everyone drew a deep breath. They had underestimated this Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone.

The deeper they ventured, the more oppressive the terror became. Their hearts pounded with growing dread.

What began as scattered tombs gradually gave way to isolated coffins. Eventually, in a massive heavenly pit, they found hundreds of coffins suspended midway down the divine chasm.

The moment Su Chen's group arrived, several of the coffins began to tremble.

"Not good—our vital blood has awakened them!"

A Saint King from the Azure Nether Dao Domain paled dramatically.

Before their eyes, crimson gazes lit up inside the coffins. One desiccated figure after another emerged, staring at the intruders with ravenous hunger, as though eager to devour them alive.

A battle was unavoidable.

Su Chen looked at the awakening creatures and struck first. "Kill them all together. If they alert the rest of the zone, we'll be in serious trouble!"

Chapter 146: The Eldest Senior Brother of Falling Emperor Mountain (Part 11)

A fierce battle erupted deep within the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone. Among the hundreds of suspended coffins hid creatures no weaker than Saint Kings.

Yet there were only two such beings at the Saint King level. They were swiftly overwhelmed and eradicated by the combined forces of the Azure Nether Dao Domain. Though the Azure Nether side suffered casualties in the clash, the victory came quickly.

The group then descended into the depths of the heavenly pit.

"This… this is…"

Everyone froze in place.

Beneath the earth lay a colossal crimson tree that towered into the darkness. Every branch gleamed like red agate. From them hung fruits shaped like various living creatures in miniature.

"Perhaps… it wasn't our vital blood that awakened the creatures in those coffins. Maybe they were guarding this tree all along—trying to keep us from discovering it!"

A Saint King murmured, voice trembling.

The sight before them shattered his understanding. A single tree appeared to be gestating the myriad forms of life itself. What kind of mad ambition was this?

Clearly, though, the tree had failed.

A Saint stepped forward out of curiosity and plucked one of the fruits. It resembled a small bat-like creature with black wings—no larger than a basketball.

"This is a supreme medicine!"

The Saint's face lit with wild joy. Though it fell short of a true sacred herb, it was still an exceedingly rare opportunity. And the tree bore thousands upon thousands of such fruits—dense and countless. In total value, they rivaled or even surpassed a single sacred herb.

The crowd erupted in delight.

This was a treasure land!

The worth of a single blood tree in one pit alone matched that of a sacred herb—perhaps even exceeded it.

Even Su Chen felt his heart stir. Because within the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone, such heavenly pits were far too numerous. What kind of existence had created all this?

"There is definitely a great secret hidden here!"

Su Chen grew deeply wary.

After dividing the fruits from the blood tree, the group affectionately named it.

The Myriad Spirits Treasure Tree.

They left the pit and pressed onward, sweeping through the zone. As expected, every subsequent heavenly pit contained its own Myriad Spirits Treasure Tree.

"This isn't a forbidden zone at all—it's clearly a blessed land!"

They cleared one pit after another.

Yet the deeper they ventured, the greater the danger grew.

"How many damn pits are there in this place?"

After successive battles, aside from Su Chen, every Saint King had sustained injuries. Though the gains were immense, the casualties were equally heavy.

Still… everything they had seen so far seemed to be merely the tip of the iceberg.

At that moment, a terrifying aura erupted.

A figure wrapped entirely in white bandages radiated overwhelming power. Behind it loomed an endless starry sky. It wielded a treasured pagoda and was locked in combat with another being.

Su Chen's gaze pierced through space. He saw clearly that the one battling the bandaged figure was none other than the leader of the Black Nether Demon Domain.

"Divine King Physique… That is actually a Divine King Physique creature. Why has it ended up in such a state?"

The being fighting the Black Nether leader was unmistakably a Divine King Physique—one of the most powerful physiques in existence. Yet now it had become something neither human nor ghost.

This was a small-achievement Divine King Physique that had reached the Saint King realm—its divine might unrivaled.

The clash between the two supreme beings shook heaven and earth.

"What in the world has the Black Nether Demon Domain done?"

The crowd watched in horror as a vast army of desiccated corpses surged forward like a tide of locusts, pursuing the Black Nether forces without end. The numbers only continued to swell.

"Not good—retreat at once!"

Su Chen had no intention of intervening. The sheer volume was overwhelming. One after another, Black Nether powerhouses vanished beneath the corpse tide, swallowed without raising the slightest ripple.

The living beings of the Azure Nether Dao Domain retreated along their original path in full retreat. But they soon discovered that the way back had vanished entirely. A wave of numbness crawled over their scalps. With no other choice, they gritted their teeth and pressed forward.

"Where… is this place?"

They found themselves in a mysterious realm. It resembled an enormous mountain—so towering that its peak could not be seen, making them feel infinitesimally small. Behind them, the survivors of the Black Nether Demon Domain pursued relentlessly, trailed by an endless tide of corpses.

The eerie atmosphere chilled them to the bone. Something unspeakably terrifying seemed to lurk within, waiting.

Su Chen made the decision without hesitation. "Going inside may be our only chance of survival!"

No one wavered. They plunged straight into the mountain. The remaining Black Nether survivors followed without pause, diving in after them.

The corpse tide, however, halted at the base of the towering peak. They roared and howled in fury and unwillingness, yet not a single one dared to take a single step inside.

Seeing this, neither the Azure Nether nor Black Nether cultivators showed any sign of relief. They understood clearly: whatever existed here was far more dreadful—something even the corpse tide feared.

"Nangong Chen? Is that really you? You entered this place too?"

A figure emerged from the depths of the divine mountain amid the tremendous disturbance. It was one of the Azure Nether Dao Domain prodigies who had been trapped here long ago.

Su Chen recognized him at once. "Yuwen Wushuang?"

Yuwen Wushuang nodded.

"What happened here?" Su Chen asked.

Yuwen Wushuang gave a bitter laugh. "This place is extremely strange. Very few of us are still alive. The rest have died… and turned into grotesque, deformed monsters driven purely by the instinct to kill."

He led Su Chen and the others to a site where corpses were piled into mountains.

"They all underwent mutation right here and became those things."

Su Chen surveyed the scene: masses of mangled flesh, unrecognizable monstrosities covered in fangs and gaping maws. Even with his discerning eyes, it was clear—these beings had been utterly transformed by some unknown influence, evolving into an entirely alien form of monster.

Yuwen Wushuang smiled bleakly. "Nangong Chen… this may very well be our final fate. Everyone here will eventually be affected. We'll all turn into something neither human nor ghost."

Su Chen's heart sank. In his previous life, the Demon Abyss had also caused countless creatures to undergo unknown mutations under the radiation of the Demon Mountain. But those changes had been nowhere near as horrifying as this.

Su Chen casually seized one of the Black Nether Demon Domain survivors.

"Nangong Chen, what are you doing?"

The four remaining Black Nether powerhouses who had escaped the tide glared at him in fury.

Su Chen stripped the captive of his cultivation without a word. In almost the same instant, terrifying changes erupted across the Black Nether cultivator's body. His flesh twisted and distorted visibly at terrifying speed.

Under Su Chen's emotionless gaze, the man crumbled into flying ash.

"It seems the speed of mutation is directly tied to one's cultivation level."

Su Chen repeated the experiment several more times. He showed no mercy whatsoever.

Without their leader, the Black Nether cultivators were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter in his presence.

"If we don't leave this place soon, we will all end up the same way."

Dread gripped the hearts of everyone present. Every single test yielded the same result: sooner or later, regardless of duration, mutation began.