Chapter 1973 – Metamorphoses

Chapter 1973 – Metamorphoses

“Humanity has never blamed anyone for our predicament… not even that empyrean supreme from the darkness,” the elder sighed. “Existence is a massive forest of darkness and countless races hunt through it. We were just defeated by others.

“The number of defeated since time immemorial outnumber the number of carp in the rivers. Humanity is just one of them.

“But we are very lucky to have those such as the great god Pangu and august personages like Hongjun who willingly gave themselves up to be our respective guardian gods and resident heavyweights, thereby extending our fortunes.”

Lu Yun said nothing. Although the beaten down elder in front of him was two hundred and fifty kilometers tall, there was nothing weird about them standing face to face. In fact, Lu Yun was floating in front of the self-styled wretched old man.

He knew this was the elder giant’s power. Humans were cultivators too! But their cultivation and great dao had receded after being sealed in the tomb for such a long period of time. Only the most basic of survival instincts remained.

Yet humans were connate dao forms, after all, the most beloved species of great daos and orders. Thus, the dao bones here gave them new power—power that could suppress all cultivators.

“I want that.” Lu Yun ignored the elder’s words and pointed to the fruit of life and death. “It’s very important to me.”

“Are you going to resurrect the woman at the heart of life?” asked the giant instead of expressing his thoughts one way or another.

“The World of Immortals! That is where the humans of the chief worlds reside now. It is coveted by many, so I need a peak grand supreme that belongs to me to safeguard the world,” Lu Yun explained.

“Mmhmm,” the elder nodded. “You have ended the Land of Reincarnation and manifested the World of Immortals. Good, very good. Immortal dao has finally blossomed in the chief worlds again.” He smiled faintly.

“The immortal dao…” Lu Yun started, thinking of the origin of immortal dao—Hongjun. The elder giant had mentioned Hongjun just now as well.

The august personage was undoubtedly another heavyweight of the human race—he’d expunged his bloodline to conceal himself. He was now more like a connate divine spirit. No one knew his origins or background, including his dear friend the god of Mount Tai.

It would seem that Hongjun, Pangu, and the others had put on an act for the mountain god while playing along with him at the same time. All of it had been to protect the last traces of human bloodline.

“Take it, this item only attracts unwanted attention from others if it stays here,” sighed the elder. “The tree god was our sacred tree and originally sealed here with humanity. When he sensed the presence of immortal dao in the realm again, he decisively gave up his primary body to break free of this ancient burial mound. He left to seek out immortal dao in the chief worlds so he could stand guard over it.”

“In the past, the cultivators of the Land of Reincarnation grew bigger the more they cultivated…” Lu Yun suddenly recalled his question. As opposed to saying that humanity was in the Land of Reincarnation, it was more accurate to say that they had always been in the Hongmeng and worlds.

“That should be the work of the tree god,” the elder blinked. “When humans raised livestock for food early on in our history, we used certain tricks to make them grow bigger and bigger. That ensured enough food for the race.”

As I thought, a meat farm.

But Lu Yun wasn’t part of the livestock. It was all other races in the Land of Reincarnation that were being fattened up for humanity. However, not everything always went according to plan. The food was ready, but humanity didn’t grow according to their original trajectory. They passively drifted along the ebbs and flows of the Land of Reincarnation.

It reminded Lu Yun of the end of the human dao era. All races beneath the heavens rebelled against human rule then—that hadn’t been a coincidence. Hands from the land of darkness and other places were certainly behind it.

Goosebumps rose on Lu Yun’s arms. He’d thought that he and the World of Immortals could gradually assimilate into the chief worlds, that he just needed to beat back the grand supremes when they concluded their business at the tomb of the empyrean supreme. After that final hurdle was cleared, they would receive the approval of the chief worlds and become part of it.

But now, he found himself ridiculously wrong.

The chief words had never considered the World of Immortals part of itself. Even now, the dragons were the only faction involved with the World of Immortals of their own accord. Everyone else was related to the Myriad Spirit, Firstspirit Grand Supremes, and Yun Yi.

Chu Xingran’s divine nation of Darklake had likely risen purely because of Yun Yi’s aid. It’d joined the World of Immortals and the entire nation cultivated immortal dao.

……

The fruit of life and death easily dropped into Lu Yun’s hand and was shuffled into the Tome of Life and Death. He didn’t immediately return to the beating heart. Handing the sleeping Chu Xun to the elder giant, he sat down cross-legged to meditate.

The Tome of Life and Death glowed with a subtle metamorphosis after it absorbed the power of life and death from the fruit. A tiny green shoot grew in the center of its internal world, emanating brilliant green splendor.

This was the first instance of life in that world.

When the demon of immortal dao had been in residence, he’d created numerous flora and fauna in the empty world. Those were created from the internal force of the treasure and weren’t true life forms. This sapling was a real living entity.

The elder giant looked silently at Lu Yun, like he was watching his own grandson.

“The humans of old have died. We cling to life through the dao bones in this tomb. The reborn human race, bloodline, and inheritance falls to you,” he sighed as he watched Lu Yun.

“What is that?!” His eyes went wide.

The Tome of Life and Death suddenly emerged from the young man’s sea of consciousness and floated over his head. The three parts of the Brushes of Reincarnation combined as one and an unknown hand gripped it, drawing and writing various things into the treasure.

“Reincarnation… this is true reincarnation,” murmured the giant.

The brushes split back into three after a dozen breaths and reentered the Tome of Life and Death. Previously resembling an ancient bronze scroll, it abruptly turned into a bamboo scroll!

The power of life and death surged into Lu Yun’s body like a charging river. Buffeted by the waves of energy, his internal force spontaneously transformed into the power of reincarnation.

It surged out of his body back into the Tome of Life and Death, forming a perfect circulation cycle that continued until the final trace of life and death vanished from the treasure. Filled with the power of reincarnation once more, it slowly sank into Lu Yun’s sea of consciousness.