The Secrets of the Dao Fruit

Lu Yang was shocked. When he experienced the [Rules of Buyi Town], he had heard the Silent Daoist talk about the [Rules].

Body Integration Realm, one gains initial control over the rules; during the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, one masters rules on a larger scale; and immortals, through the power of their Dao Fruits, control the rules of the entire world.

But he really didn't expect that Dao Guo could even do something like creating the rules of [reincarnation].

If immortals truly created the rules of reincarnation, could they also have created other rules?

How many of the things that seem commonplace today were created later, when they didn't exist in High Antiquity times?

Why did the nameless High Antiquity beings refine stars into continents? What was their purpose? Was it a manifestation of some kind of rule, or perhaps they were creating some kind of rule?

Lu Yang looked up at the bright sun in the sky. The sun was the moon, something that would have been impossible in Lu Yang's previous life.

The sun, a star regarded by people as the source of life and power, may also be a manifestation of some kind of rule.

Lu Yang bombarded the Immortal Fairy with a barrage of questions, which clearly overwhelmed her, leaving her completely bewildered.

"Anyway, based on what I've seen and heard since my resurrection, there's not much difference between now and High Antiquity times. At most, the stars that have been refined into continents are one example, and the sun is another."

"Since you asked about the Dao Fruit, I'll tell you about it while I'm at it."

"However, the Dao Fruit of Immortality is too far removed from your future cultivation. Knowing too much now will be detrimental to your future practice. I can only tell you a little bit. If it were that little girl Yun Zhi, I could tell her a lot more about the Dao Fruit... Oh, it seems she doesn't need me to tell her this kind of knowledge."

The Immortal Fairy held up two fingers and counted them as she explained the knowledge of Dao Fruits to Lu Yang: "Dao Fruits can be divided into two types based on the different rules they control."

"The first type is the Dao Fruit of Time of the Immortal of Time, which controls the rules of time. The rules of time are objective and inherent. The function of the Dao Fruit of Time is to master the existing rules and modify them according to one's own will. As for the extent of the modification, only the Immortal of Time knows."

"The second type is my Immortal Dao Fruit, which controls the Immortal Rules. The Immortal Rules are rules I created; there were none before. The Immortal Rules only apply to me... Oh no... Clothface counts too, so the Immortal Rules apply to both Clothface and me, but their effect on him is far less than on me."

"The rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit of the shameless can only allow him to appear on any statue. It is the most basic rule of immortality, used to escape. If he dies, he cannot be resurrected."

"I'm different." Speaking of herself, the Immortal Fairy grinned, appearing very confident.

"As long as you utter my name, regardless of the time, place, or language, I can be resurrected! The four celestial beings are extremely envious of this ability!"

"What a pity, they weren't skilled enough to achieve immortality." The Immortal Fairy was smug; as the self-proclaimed leader of the Five Immortals of High Antiquity, she naturally had some reason to be so.

Lu Yang suspected that the Immortal Fairy had eaten the food he had prepared, and on the verge of death, she had a profound enlightenment, comprehended the True Intention of immortality, and borne the Immortal Dao Fruit. However, after borne the Dao Fruit, she automatically deleted the bad memories.

"And then there's Ying Tianxian, whose Dao Fruit was also created out of thin air—the [Jie-Responding] Rule."

"Rules for dealing with calamity?"

"The most common manifestation of this is the tribulation of lightning. You see, from the Nascent Soul stage to the Spirit Transformation, and from the Spirit Transformation to the Void Refinement, you all need to undergo a tribulation of lightning. This is a situation that only exists now. In High Antiquity times, cultivators did not need to undergo tribulation of lightning."

"Ying Tianxian believed that people in the world, in their cultivation, only pursued the level of power and the speed of cultivation, neglecting their State of Mind and losing the original meaning of cultivation. Therefore, he produced the [Tribulation-Responding] Dao Fruit to add a test for cultivators."

"As it turns out, Ying Tianxian's decision was correct. With the appearance of the lightning tribulation, cultivators began to pay attention to their State of Mind and worked hard to cope with the lightning tribulation, so they would no longer easily suffer from Qi Deviation."

"The Dao Fruit of Tribulation is a typical example of extending the rules to the whole world, adding another layer of rules for everyone."

"So you know? If someone becomes an immortal after I die, and attains the [Reincarnation] Dao Fruit, it's equivalent to the same situation as me and Ying Tianxian, creating a new rule out of thin air."

"I just don't know if this [reincarnation rule] applies to specific people or to everyone."

The Immortal Fairy further explained, "When it affects a specific person, generally speaking, it means that the holder of the nascent Reincarnation Fruit can reincarnate continuously, thus achieving an alternative form of immortality."

"It affects everyone, meaning everyone has their own past life, including you, Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, Tao Yaoye, and so on. However, I think this possibility is unlikely."

"Why?" Lu Yang pressed.

"Think about it, if everyone is reincarnated, doesn't that mean the total number of souls in the world is fixed?"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Have you ever wondered how souls came into being in High Antiquity times, before the rules of reincarnation existed?"

Lu Yang was startled; he had never really thought about this kind of question.

The Immortal Fairy continued, "In High Antiquity times, a fetus developing in the womb would automatically absorb the essence of heaven and earth. This essence would converge to form the soul. This essence of heaven and earth was formless, intangible, imperceptible, and undetectable."

"The origin of the soul has always been a mystery. After the five of us became immortals, we worked together to deduce that there exists a substance in the world that we had never discovered before, called essence, which is the source of the soul."

"The birth of a soul can be seen as a rule; let's call it the rule of the soul for now."

"If the rules of reincarnation apply to everyone, they will inevitably conflict with the rules of the soul. The rules created will inevitably clash with the original rules, which is a major taboo in condensing the Dao Fruit."

"If the immortal who controls the Dao Fruit of Reincarnation weren't stupid, this wouldn't have happened."

After hearing the Immortal Fairy's explanation, Lu Yang remembered a question, "Fairy, can your immortal rules cover everyone?"

If the rule of immortality could apply to everyone, it would mean that everyone would live forever.

This is an immense temptation that no one can resist.

The Immortal Fairy denied Lu Yang's idea. "I had this thought when I first condensed the Immortal Dao Fruit. At that time, I thought that everyone was risking their lives to improve their realm and seize resources, wasn't it all for the sake of becoming an immortal and achieving immortality?"

"If I made everyone immortal, wouldn't the world be at peace?"

"After I told Ying Tianxian and the others about this idea, they reacted strongly and jointly stopped me, saying that I couldn't have such thoughts."