Chapter 60: Every Cause Must Have Its Effect

Time flew swiftly, the years passing like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, another thirty years had passed.

When Lu Yang opened his eyes again, although his face showed no signs of aging, a streak of frosty white had appeared amidst his once-thick black hair.

"In the twinkling of an eye, I am already eighty years old."

Although Qi Refining cultivators live longer than mortals, their lifespan is only one hundred and fifty years, not much higher; eighty years old already means passing middle age.

In another twenty years, Zhao Xuhe's Heaven-Stealing Art will unlock.

"Although there is no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment in this life, once I refine the Sage Thief, I can attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment and accumulate experience in advance."

The path of the Dao is in sight, the path of the Dao is in sight.

Even the "Great Yin Metamorphosis and Corpse-Release True Method," after thirty years of secluded study, had allowed him to successfully devise a clever secret technique thanks to the Mingdao Jade Slip.

"To truly cultivate the 'Great Yin Metamorphosis and Corpse-Release True Method' to completion, one must undergo 'death followed by metamorphosis,' but if I die, the Book of Hundred Lives will trigger a restart. However, this 'death' is not absolute; the 'Great Yin Metamorphosis and Corpse-Release True Method' cannot possibly cause the cultivator to truly die."

"The so-called 'death' is actually limited to the physical body."

"After the physical body dies, the form is refined underground; claws and hair continue to grow, and the corpse remains as if alive, eventually attaining the Dao. It is just that for others, when the physical body dies, it is truly death."

"After all, the physical body is the raft of the soul; once the body dies, the soul will gradually dissipate, and death is merely a matter of time."

"However, conversely, as long as I keep my soul conscious while causing my physical body to die, ensuring the soul does not perish, the Book of Hundred Lives will not be triggered."

"In this way, perhaps there will be an opportunity for 'death followed by metamorphosis'."

This was the solution provided by the Mingdao Jade Slip; Lu Yang felt its feasibility was very high, with the only issue being the clever secret technique created for this purpose.

"Although according to the Mingdao Jade Slip's deduction, this secret technique is sufficient to stabilize my soul after the physical body dies so it does not dissipate, I have never seen a soul that can truly exist independently of the physical body. If I could witness such a sight once and record it with the Mingdao Jade Slip, having the data would perfect the secret technique..."

More importantly, Lu Yang knew that similar existences existed in this world.

Foundation Establishment True Persons!

A Foundation Establishment True Person has a heavenly lifespan of three hundred years; this is actually just the lifespan of the physical body, while the soul's lifespan is far greater, which is why they often choose to reincarnate after death.

Although after a Foundation Establishment True Person reincarnates, everything starts over and their cultivation base falls from the Foundation Establishment position, they do not suffer the mystery of the womb; they will inevitably awaken their past memories before the age of eight, and thereafter their cultivation progresses a thousand li in a single day. As long as they can ascend to the Foundation Establishment position again, they can gain another three hundred years of heavenly lifespan.

Of course, such things cannot continue indefinitely.

Because every reincarnation wears down one's own karmic fruit; if a Foundation Establishment True Person's Dao practice does not increase, they will only become weaker and weaker in the end.

The first reincarnation will inevitably be a child of heaven.

The second reincarnation can still be a dragon or phoenix among men.

The third reincarnation becomes an ordinary genius.

By the fourth or fifth life... if the Foundation Establishment True Person's cultivation has not improved, they will completely fade into mediocrity like a mortal, no longer possessing their former transcendence.

This is what is called: "The fruit of a True Person is cut off after five generations."

Moreover, even after reincarnation, there is no guarantee of returning to Foundation Establishment; once a True Person reincarnates, they cannot suppress their fate, and the karmic debts of the past will come one after another.

With a slight carelessness, dying prematurely is quite normal.

Therefore, every True Person is extremely cautious when reincarnating, concealing heavenly secrets and rarely telling outsiders, to avoid accidentally suffering karmic calamities.

Under such circumstances, how difficult is it to witness the reincarnated soul of a Foundation Establishment True Person?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately felt another headache coming on, so he had to temporarily set it aside and turn to calculating whether his great undertaking of spreading the Dharma had made any progress.

"Taiwei Treasure Register, command the Heavenly Pardon."

Lu Yang formed a hand seal and chanted the incantation; the Taiwei Treasure Register divined the heavenly secrets, and his spiritual consciousness quickly sank into the omnipresent web of karma between heaven and earth, beginning a keyword search.

Soon, corresponding information surfaced in his mind:

"In the late years of the Great Zhou, the昏君 (tyrant ruler) was without virtue, causing the common people to suffer terribly; thus, a Heavenly Book appeared, divided into four volumes scattered among the people, immediately causing hidden dragons across the world to rise."

"When the chaotic world was pacified, the four volumes of the Heavenly Book also found their owners. One volume was held by the Haoran Academy, copied generation after generation by scholars; one volume was obtained by the Xuankong Temple, becoming the supreme scripture of the Buddhist sect; one volume was annotated by the Celestial Master's Residence, serving as the token of faith for successive Celestial Masters; only the final volume drifted into the mortal dust, its whereabouts unknown."

Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism divided the world among them, becoming the source of the martial path of the current age!

"Good, good!"

Lu Yang's face showed surprise, and he immediately circulated the Sage Thief; the next second, he felt a mighty surge of fate sweep over, instantly submerging his body.

In an instant, Lu Yang's body unexpectedly exploded with a loud bang.

Yet strangely, after the body exploded, it did not turn into flesh and blood but transformed into countless tiny dust particles, with Lu Yang's consciousness residing at the very center of the dust.

He could feel that every particle of his physical body was currently undergoing the scorching and refining of fate.

The fireworks of the human world refine the Sage's Golden Body!

就这样 (Just like this) it continued for a long time, until that mighty surge of fate was completely consumed, only then did the dust particles gather again, immediately re-manifesting Lu Yang's physical shell.

However, this time, his body had undergone earth-shattering changes.

"The Sage Thief Golden Body is slightly completed!"

A glint of sharp light flashed in Lu Yang's eyes, and then he stomped his foot; in that instant, a terrifying fluctuation capable of shaking mountains and peaks spread out like ripples with a loud boom!

Under the impact of this terrifying fluctuation, the mountain cliff cave dwelling where Lu Yang resided seemed to experience an earthquake; rocks tumbled down one after another, as if an invisible storm was raging, and countless fierce birds and beasts were startled, looking toward the peak where Lu Yang was in seclusion, before fleeing in terror.

"... eels pretty good."

Lu Yang exhaled deeply, feeling for the first time a sense of "solidity" transmitted from his body; at present, he feared that relying solely on his physical body, he could rival the late stage of Qi Refining!

However, the next second, his expression turned grave.

"According to Senior Brother Luo's experience, the Sage Thief uses all people under heaven as provisions, greatly damaging merit; a slight completion can still muddle through, but a great completion will inevitably attract calamity."

"Many who cultivate the Sage Thief fail at the last moment precisely because of this calamity; with good luck, they might save their lives, but with bad luck, like that true disciple who was counter-killed by the Secret Realm natives, they die directly. However, now that I am behind the scenes, who within the Secret Realm can become my calamity?"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang could not help but fall into deep thought.

Jiangnan, Yushujiange.

Yun Zhiqiu stood on a pavilion, yet compared to his heroic and vigorous appearance sixty years ago, he now looked like an old man on the verge of death.

Just then, a flying letter broke through the air and arrived.

Yun Zhiqiu caught the flying letter and fixed his gaze upon it; his face immediately changed drastically, and he at once mounted a beam of escaping light, arriving at the Yun family's ancestral home in no time.

As soon as he entered the gate, a young man with a haggard expression walked out; upon seeing Yun Zhiqiu, he cried loudly, "Grand-Sect-Uncle, the Old Ancestor is about to pass away! To see you one last time, he has already lit the Seven-Star Lamps; once the lamps go out, he will inevitably reincarnate and start over. Time is short, please hurry inside to see him!"

"How could this be!" Upon hearing this, Yun Zhiqiu immediately showed a look of sorrow.

Beyond that, there was also panic.

The Yun Family Old Ancestor, the Yun family's only Foundation Establishment True Person, the pillar supporting the Yun family within Jiange for hundreds of years, had actually reached the end of this life!

(End of Chapter)