Reincarnation Born of Heaven and Earth

But only Chen Yao could discern that subtle quality. With Grand Luo Insight, he could directly perceive changes in heaven and earth and resonances of the Dao that ordinary people could hardly see.

The Grand Luo Insight runes Aman had received were incomplete, giving him only a hazy sense of them, since he had not obtained the core runes. After all, even Chen Yao himself had yet to comprehend those. The Inheritance Light Cluster of true intent had not yet been fully deciphered into runes; most of the time, he used it by activating the light cluster directly.

As for Shi Hao and Qingfeng, they felt nothing at all.

They would probably have to wait until the Willow Deity recovered further before they could perceive it more clearly.

"I'm back!" Shi Hao hollered, charging toward his home and into the welcome of the uncles and aunties who had come running at the sound of his voice.

Shaking his head to cast aside his stray thoughts, Chen Yao followed, walking slowly into Stone Village and soaking in its simple, unpretentious atmosphere.

"Hahahaha! Now that you're back, little Hao, don't rush off again. Stay in the village for a good while. Auntie will make you something delicious! You must be starving, right? I bet you haven't eaten properly all this time!"

"Move aside, move aside! The village chief is coming with the milk jar!"

"Where?" Shi Hao's eyes lit up. He looked around but found nothing, drawing a burst of laughter.

"Little Hao, who are these people? Introduce them to us. You can't be rude when we have guests."

"This little girl is awfully cute. Who is she? Come on, little Hao, tell us!"

After a bout of chickens flying and dogs leaping, Shi Hao finally managed to properly introduce everyone he had brought back. Qingfeng received comforting words from the elders, Aman was promised that he could treat this place as his own home and be Shi Hao's older brother here from now on, while Chen Yao...

Afraid of becoming an outsider, he brought out a pile of new pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and kitchen utensil sets, earning the villagers' warmest welcome.

At last, amid Grandpa Chief's solicitous questions, the group reached the village entrance and paid their respects to the Willow Deity.

"You did very well. You completed your trial of venturing through the Great Wilderness. Walking the Great Wilderness alone-the mindset you cultivated now will benefit you endlessly in the future." After giving Shi Hao this appraisal, the Willow Deity turned her attention to Aman and Chen Yao, considerably surprised.

"Incredible. To think geniuses like these would appear in this realm one after another. Transcending the extreme realm-even among dozens or hundreds of geniuses who break through the extreme realm, there may not be one who can cross the threshold of transcendence. If you can keep following this path, then although you fall far short now, your future potential may not be inferior to the bloodlines of the primordial Ten Fiends." The Willow Deity gave them exceptionally high praise.

Leaving aside Chen Yao and his cheats, Aman's talent and brilliance would receive the recognition of an Immortal King Giant in the future. It was only natural that he was outstanding.

"You flatter us, Senior Willow Deity!" Although Aman could not fully sense how extraordinary the Willow Deity was, his vague intuition alone filled him with considerable reverence for her.

The villagers had already enjoyed the bustle and now dispersed, allowing the Willow Deity to speak quietly with the three geniuses.

"Willow Deity, is transcending the extreme realm really that difficult? Hasn't anyone worked out a way to get through it?" Shi Hao asked curiously.

"There are ways to break through the extreme realm. By piling up heavenly treasures and earthly rarities, or relying on the power of one's bloodline, that shackle is not particularly sturdy. But transcending the extreme realm is different. You can only walk that path yourself. Others can offer ideas and a general direction, but everyone's path has subtle differences, and some even run counter to one another. In the end, you must force your own way through. It has nothing to do with heavenly treasures, bloodlines, or aptitude. What you seek is your own Dao. It may be perilous or smooth, depending on the person. The difficulty lies in opening the path. If you cannot see it clearly, you will either struggle to advance a single inch and squander your years, or perish with your Dao extinguished. Only those of exceptional talent and brilliance can accomplish it. At the very end, even those whose journey has been smooth and safe must face a deadly tribulation with nine chances of death and only one of survival." The Willow Deity explained unhurriedly, her voice calm.

"Oh, then would it be better for me to transcend the extreme realm of blood moving before entering cave heaven?" Shi Hao asked, only half understanding.

The Willow Deity said the same thing Chen Yao had: "Forcing yourself to transcend is also the mistake of stubbornness. It will interfere with your ability to see your path clearly, and discovering in the end that you have driven your carriage north while seeking the south would hardly be good. Besides, once you break through the extreme realm, your Dao foundation is no longer restricted. You can return and cultivate it anew at any time. Squandering your years out of impatience is what you should avoid. If you cannot see clearly, stop trying to look. Focus on moving forward. Once you understand in the future, simply look back."

"Mm!" Shi Hao nodded. "I think having vigorous blood and qi and a powerful body is enough for me. There's no need to grow extra branches along the way. The most fundamental direction of blood moving should suit me best. There's no need to talk about transcendence!"

After affirming his choice, the Willow Deity turned to Aman and Chen Yao and began learning about what they had gained from transcending the extreme realm. Every genius who achieved such transcendence had something worth learning from, especially the divine abilities born alongside it, which possessed limitless scope for development and were worth studying.

Chen Yao's Heavenly Demon Tribulation arose from Twin Hands' control over the souls and the contagious nature of the three corpses god. Attacks from the three corpses god could spread, triggering a revolt of an opponent's three corpses upon striking them. The power of Twin Hands, meanwhile, acted upon the souls, altering the soul and body to cause illness, demonic corruption, and so on. Once animated, the three corpses god merged into his blood, qi, and divine radiance, granting his own three souls and seven corporeal souls a measure of autonomous instinct, much like fleshly body becoming spirit during spirit transformation. Even his magical power acquired the peculiar properties of the three corpses god. Anyone who failed to filter it out and allowed that power to seep into them would begin to fall ill, just as though a heavenly demon had invaded.

Aman focused on Blood God Transformation, which sublimated the essence of his blood. Chen Yao's Spiritual Blood and Qi was more of a secondary effect; the power to influence the souls and alter spirit and flesh through the three corpses god and Twin Hands was the main direction of his path. Aman, by contrast, had gone further than Chen Yao in Spiritual Blood and Qi because he had chiefly worked on the corporeal hand's ability to control the body.

Experiments showed that Aman's blood could freely permeate flesh. Against all kinds of living beings, especially those with bodies of flesh and blood, it could be said to seep through every opening. It could even pass directly through the barrier of the body without causing injury, and his own magical power seemed to have become an extension of his blood. During this time, Chen Yao had also taught him the Six Treasury Immortal Thief runes he had comprehended, making his divine ability even more elusive.

If one had to describe it, his blood was rather like a furnace nurturing a hundred scriptures. Its capacity for bone texts far exceeded the limits of ordinary cultivators at the same realm, and it would instinctively fuse the profound meanings of different bone texts, sublimating them to free up space. The core essence blood had even incorporated some of the corporeal hand's profound meanings from Twin Hands, along with the profound meanings of vitality and digestion from Six Treasury Immortal Thief. These had yet to undergo sublimation or transformation and were merely contained within it. But it was difficult to imagine what they might become in the future. Perhaps he could nurture supreme blood through acquired cultivation?

Because of the changes in his blood, Aman's raw physical strength was being continually nourished and slowly rising. He had already surpassed Shi Hao, who had not transcended the extreme realm and could currently exert only a hundred and eight thousand jin with a single swing of one hand.

The Willow Deity intently observed the changes in their divine abilities. What she might have gained from this while suffering from amnesia was unknown.

"Follow these paths carefully. I can sense that their potential is immense." The Willow Deity gave her assessment, then asked about other matters. "Is there anything you wish to ask me? I am about to enter slumber again, so you must hurry if you have questions."

Before Shi Hao's surprise and unease could surface, Chen Yao spoke first, asking the question he had been unable to get answered in the Void God Realm. "Senior Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit, may I ask what you think when you see this?"

He summoned his strand of creation origin immortal qi so that the Willow Deity could sense it directly.

"Reincarnation!" the Willow Deity exclaimed in astonishment, then immediately caught something else. "Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit? You know me?"

"You rose from an ordinary willow after enduring heavenly lightning, then rooted yourself in chaos, gathering innate primordial qi and undergoing nirvana to become an innate being. You also created the methods of sacrificial spirits in search of an entirely new path of cultivation. The Sacrificial Spirit Progenitor of the Immortal Ancient Era. That is all I know," Chen Yao replied.

"..." The Willow Deity fell silent, then sighed. "Sacrificial Spirit Progenitor. It has been a very long time since I heard that title."

"Sacrificial Spirit Progenitor?!" Shi Hao and Aman were shaken. They had never imagined the Willow Deity had such an extraordinary background-the founding ancestor of sacrificial spirits!

The Willow Deity did not dwell on why Chen Yao knew her identity. After apparently considering something, she seemed to find it only natural, and continued:

"This is a special strand of immortal dao creation origin qi. In an ancient era, a supreme powerhouse once possessed it and studied it, because this creation origin was extraordinary and bore traces of a reincarnation seal mark. Reincarnation was a field that supreme powerhouse studied deeply. He once said that if it could be thoroughly understood, people could undergo reincarnation while still alive. Even if they were reduced to scattered ash and smoke and their primordial spirit shattered, they would still have a chance to be reborn."

"Because of certain deeds, this strand of immortal qi was named outright: reincarnation! Reincarnation born of heaven and earth."