Chapter 723: Heavenly Venerable Rebirth Establishes His Manor

"The world changes far too quickly. Old fossils like us can barely keep up with the times anymore." Nangong Shirong looked up at the countdown of "14" displayed in the sky and sighed.

Xu Bai stood behind him and smiled. "There is no need for you to be concerned, City Lord. Who could have imagined an Eternal Heavenly Venerable capable of reversing the principles of heaven and earth would appear so suddenly, without warning?

"And this being is utterly mysterious. Not a trace of his origins can be found. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't materialize out of thin air like this." Xu Bai's tone grew somber.

Nangong Shirong nodded slightly. "That's why everyone now speculates that this Heavenly Venerable Rebirth is most likely an ancient cultivator who has survived since the Great Reformation.

"Just like you." Nangong Shirong glanced at Xu Bai.

Xu Bai lowered his head in thought. "An ancient cultivator..."

Cultivators across the entire world burned with curiosity over the true identity of this Heavenly Venerable Rebirth. Yet after such a long period of investigation, not a single shred of information about him had leaked.

The Myriad Immortals Alliance only had a few Dao Unity cultivators among its ranks. If no matching candidate could be found after going by process of elimination, then this new Heavenly Venerable probably hailed from the ancient era. Most likely, having observed the principles of heaven and earth while hidden within the mist all this while, he finally succeeded in attaining the Dao recently.

As for the possibility that Heavenly Venerable Rebirth was a cultivator from the Five Elders Council, the Council's frequent movements in recent times had ruled that out.

First came an official announcement congratulating the birth of the new Heavenly Venerable. Then all cultivators conducting friendly visits within the Myriad Immortals Alliance's territory were swiftly recalled. Every force along the border regions withdrew inward...

The Five Elders Council was clearly wary of this newly born Eternal Life powerhouse.

After a long silence, Xu Bai suddenly asked, "City Lord, do you think cultivators who die can truly be resurrected under Heavenly Venerable Rebirth's power?"

"Personally, I am skeptical. The divine power of a Heavenly Venerable is awe-inspiring and fearsome, but resurrection is far too mystical a matter." Nangong Shirong shook his head. "Even if it could be achieved, certain conditions would likely need to be met. If a cultivator has already been obliterated, body and soul scattered, and one wishes to resurrect them in that state..."

Nangong Shirong snorted coldly. "Never mind an Eternal Heavenly Venerable. Even a legendary Great Luo Golden Immortal would probably be powerless.[1]

"As for the truth, it will be revealed in fourteen days. We just have to wait."

Xu Bai fixed his gaze on the number floating in the sky, visible to all.

Black and white at the same time, the numbers flowed through each other in an unbroken cycle, suspended quietly at the edge of the heavens. According to the Myriad Immortals Alliance's official explanation, the countdown marked the principle reversal progress of Heavenly Venerable Rebirth.

When it reached zero, the Principle of Life and Death governing the Xuanhuang World would be completely overturned.

An era in which everyone could be resurrected would then begin.

Let's see what methods this Heavenly Venerable Rebirth has. Xu Bai's eyes narrowed as he drew out a folding fan and waved it gently.

As the countdown in the sky over the Xuanhuang World continued to tick down, Lan Yu, the loser of the principle-reversal conflict, refused to accept his fate.

He hadn't withdrawn his bounty for lifespan-extending treasures. Instead he raised the stakes, offering even his own cultivation technique, the Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Technique, as a reward. He was plainly desperate to delay his final hour.

But Heavenly Venerable Rebirth had no intention of letting him go.

On the day the countdown turned to one, the phenomenon marking a Dao Unity cultivator's fall appeared without warning over Yuandao Province.

"Dao Unity cultivator Lan Yu practiced the Dao..."

Perhaps because Lan Yu had taken action to defy the principles of heaven and earth in this lifetime, the death phenomenon bore a closer resemblance to those who cultivated the new methodology than to the world-mourning grief Li Fan had witnessed in his previous lifetimes.

Before the cultivators of Yuandao Province could even react, the countdown in the sky dissolved into intertwining tendrils of black and white mist and surged straight toward Yuandao Province. The mist swept over and swallowed the phenomenon of Lan Yu's fall, and the number shifted from 1 to 0.

The entire Xuanhuang World trembled faintly, as though some wondrous transformation were taking place. When the sky cleared again, every cultivator could faintly make out an ancient, solemn manor floating above the canopy of the Xuanhuang World.

"Rebirth Manor."

The large words on the manor's plaque stood out clearly. Every cultivator who saw Rebirth Manor instinctively gained knowledge of the resurrection rules tied to Heavenly Venerable Rebirth.

Under the shadow of Rebirth Manor, when any cultivator fell, a single spark of their true spirit would be cast into the manor.

Once the eighteen-year cycle of reincarnation was complete, that true spirit, carrying the cultivator's memories, could return to the world from the manor.

If they had prepared a physical body beforehand, they could be placed into it directly. If the death was sudden and no preparation had been made, they would be randomly reincarnated into the body of a newborn in the Xuanhuang World...

When they learned the detailed rules of Rebirth Manor, the cultivators of the Xuanhuang World erupted in an uproar. Almost no one had expected the so-called resurrection to be the real deal.

But this method of resurrection went beyond what they could accept.

Survival and reproduction were human instincts. If one had no hope in their path of cultivation, one might place hope in the next generation instead.

But under the rules of Rebirth Manor, a newborn cherished as a treasure by their family might have their body seized by a cultivator who had died eighteen years earlier. How was this any different from possession?

Who could guarantee that the cultivator who died back then and now returned bore no grudge against them? If someone painstakingly raised a newborn only to have it turn against them in adulthood, how would that be handled? Everything a family had built would end up benefiting an outsider. How absurd was that?

The workings of Rebirth Manor clearly clashed with the ethical values modern cultivators held. For a time, the cultivators of the Xuanhuang World could not accept it.

Fortunately, a more detailed explanation soon arrived from the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

Within Rebirth Manor, a true spirit would retain only the memories of its past life. Emotions like love, hate, and resentment would all be washed away. Looking back on past experiences would feel like recalling a dream, without the weight of old feelings.

Moreover, when a true spirit descended and was reborn, it did not seize the body outright. Instead, the two merged. The essence of life remained unchanged; it simply gained a set of "past life" memories...

After these explanations, the cultivators of the Xuanhuang World still harbored resistance in their hearts, but the tide of the times was unstoppable, and the Axiom of the Heavenly Venerable could not be defied.

Whether willing or not, they had no choice but to accept it.

And so heated discussions of "rebirth" and "resurrection" gradually spread to every corner of the Xuanhuang World.

1. typically highest rank of immortality in Daoist and xianxia cosmology. ☜

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