After the recent calamity, the Primordial World grew relatively peaceful. Of course, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans were busy expanding their territories and claiming resources.
The peaceful days passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, two million years went by.
Over the years, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans had all been claiming territory and resources. But since plenty remained from the various factions, and Ancestor Dragon, Heavenly Phoenix, and Ancestor Lin had all personally experienced the last calamity and understood all too well how brutal war could be, they were careful to hold back and avoid provoking conflicts. Even when disagreements arose, they settled them through discussion. For the time being, the three clans lived in peace.
The calm in the Primordial World gave many relatively weak creatures room to grow. Countless beings took on human form and embarked on the path to immortality, gradually restoring some of the Primordial World's vitality after the calamity.
The calamity had made the living beings of the Primordial World almost obsessively focused on strength. Many began seeking immortals and pursuing the Dao wherever they could.
As a result, many beings joined the three clans to further their cultivation, greatly strengthening the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans. They became the undisputed three great powers of the Primordial World.
East Sea, Penglai Immortal Mountain.
"Ah, I still haven't got a clue," Li Yi sighed. "In the past two million years, my Magic Power has grown a little, but my cultivation hasn't advanced at all. I haven't even touched the edge of the Dao of Reincarnation."
Li Yi extended his spiritual sense beyond the hall (spiritual sense served the same purpose as divine sense, but since it was guided by willpower, it was called spiritual sense) and saw that Azure Flood Dragon was fast asleep, drool even hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"What a lazy fool." Li Yi shook his head helplessly. Azure Flood Dragon had attained the Golden Immortal rank a million years ago, with Kwai Water essence energy swirling around him.
But the fellow was a complete slacker. Back when he'd wanted to get his hands on a better cultivation method, he'd even dared to charge into a savage beast's lair. Now that his life was no longer in danger—especially after attaining the Golden Immortal rank—he'd returned to his flood-dragon nature and become exceptionally fond of sleep.
Li Yi left him alone. Surely he could protect his own mount?
He stepped out of the hall and gazed at the lush forest, where Lotus Root Sapling and the ginseng baby were playing in the grass. He couldn't help but sigh. "I've been here so long. In my previous life, I'd have gone through reincarnation countless times by now."
Suddenly, Li Yi stopped. A spark of inspiration flashed through his mind, but it was still hazy.
"Reincarnation, reincarnation..." Li Yi repeated the word, hoping to seize that fleeting spark.
"Life and death, annihilation, reincarnation..." A look of delight appeared on Li Yi's face. "That's it. From life to death, returning to annihilation; then from nothing to something, from death to life. That itself is a cycle of reincarnation."
But then Li Yi furrowed his brow. "That's still rather one-sided. Reincarnation also encompasses time and space. You could even say it touches on every law. Life and death are only one part of it."
Li Yi's thoughts raced. He'd finally found a glimmer of insight and didn't want to let it slip away. "But what if life and death aren't understood in the conventional sense? Could they be understood as concepts that encompass everything?"
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. "If I connect life and death with reality and illusion, existence and nonexistence, wouldn't that work?"
Li Yi could barely contain his excitement. "Then I can first understand the conventional relationship between life and death, use it to deduce the relationship between existence and nonexistence, and from there comprehend the true meaning of reincarnation."
"Ha, ha..." After more than two million years of quiet meditation, Li Yi had finally sorted out his thoughts. He couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Just as Li Yi was reveling in his breakthrough, a roar!!!! rang out across the entire Primordial World. High above the East Sea, an enormous Nine-Clawed Divine Dragon spiraled upward.
The dragon exuded an awe-inspiring aura that could overpower all beasts. The spiritual pressure of a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal was even more staggering.
"Heavenly Dao above, from this day on, I, the Dragon Ancestor, shall be the Lord of Scales and Armor."
Not long after, a blazing phoenix, tens of thousands of zhang tall, appeared above the southern volcanoes. "Heavenly Dao above, from this day onward, the Phoenix Clan shall be the Lord of Flying Birds."
"Roar!!!!" A gigantic Qilin appeared in the direction of Buzhou Mountain. "Heavenly Dao above, from this day onward, the Qilin Clan shall be the Lord of Beasts."
"Hmph, they're asking for it!" After hearing the three clans' declarations, Li Yi scoffed. They would be standing in the way of countless beings and offending who knew how many. It was only a matter of time before someone plotted against them.
In the Western Region, a mysterious, gloomy black hole let out terrifying roars from time to time. "Hongjun, Yang Mei—it's all because of you! I won't let you get away with this!"
After a brief pause, another venomous roar came from within the hole. "A bunch of tiny ants dare to claim dominion over the Primordial World? They truly don't know their place!"
At Kunlun Mountain, a fragment of the Jade Butterfly circled above Hongjun as mysterious runes flashed across it. When the three clans made their declarations, it suddenly stopped. Hongjun furrowed his brow, then closed his eyes again.
In the southeast, Yang Mei sat cross-legged on a cushion, meditating. Hearing the three clans' declarations, he shot them a cold look. "Hmph!" Yang Mei snorted, plainly furious with the three clans.
The powerful beings throughout the Primordial World reacted in different ways to the clans' declarations, but most of them felt displeased. If the three clans weren't so powerful, they would probably have been wiped out on the spot.
After hearing the three clans' declarations, Li Yi felt displeased too, but he let the matter go. He knew the three clans would eventually decline. As long as they didn't provoke him, that was all that mattered.
From then on, Li Yi stopped cultivating in seclusion. Instead, he planted flowers and plants with relatively short lifespans on Penglai Island, observing their entire life cycle, from the moment the seeds sprouted until the plants withered.
Flowers bloomed and fell, day after day, year after year. Li Yi observed them closely, and without realizing it, he began to develop an indescribable understanding of reincarnation.
Reincarnation was utterly impartial. It wasn't a law, yet it stood on equal footing with the highest law, the Law of Balance.
Li Yi gradually came to understand that reincarnation could be divided into several levels:
First came Self Reincarnation; second, All Things Reincarnation; third, World Reincarnation; and finally, Cosmic Reincarnation.
Cosmic Reincarnation was impossible to comprehend. The highest level he could grasp was World Reincarnation. Once he understood Self Reincarnation, he would be able to attain the rank of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
Li Yi could now be said to have crossed the threshold into the realm of Self Reincarnation. He'd already gained a deep understanding of death and life, so this was only one more step forward. It had been much easier than he'd expected.
"Since Cosmic Reincarnation is beyond my grasp, then the furthest I can go on the path of reincarnation is the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. To go further, I'll have to comprehend a rule of my own from within reincarnation—or even create one!"
Li Yi had understood this from the start and had never expected to comprehend Cosmic Reincarnation. It was simply too difficult, and the Law of Balance would never allow it. After all, that could cause the entire universe to collapse.
Li Yi wasn't discouraged. Reincarnation involved an exceptionally large number of rules. With his profound understanding of it, comprehending those rules later would be much easier.
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