Chapter 977: Nüwa Island, Reincarnation

Within the small Palm Buddha Kingdom, Wu Tie trudged forward step by step with difficulty.

He glared ferociously at Gongsun SanYang, shouting again and again that he would kill this treacherous old villain.

White Buddhist light surged from the surrounding void, crushing Wu Tie tightly, but his brute strength was too great; this Palm Buddha Kingdom only made his movements difficult, nothing more.

Gongsun SanYang sat slumped on the Buddha's palm, hysterically spitting at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie simply ignored him, his eyes ferocious, gripping a black sword that exuded terrifying killing intent, and stepped toward him slowly but resolutely.

Light scattered in Gongsun SanYang's eyes as he suddenly spoke.

"If you do not believe me, then listen to my detailed explanation so you may understand everything's origins and consequences."

The heavenly way of Mu Dalu has already become disordered.

The mighty ones of the great god clans, with their supreme divine powers, eroded and interfered with Mu Dalu's heavenly laws. Just as Wu Tie saw when condensing his Dao Seal, countless alien Dao parasites have taken root in Mu Dalu's great Dao.

Among these, the Reincarnation Great Dao has become especially perilous and chaotic.

After ordinary humans die, their souls enter reincarnation; not only are all memories wiped away, but a large amount of soul power is gradually worn down. Thus, today's humanity, even before birth, is innately frail and weak compared to humanity in ancient myth.

For comparison, in ancient mythic times, humanity's innate souls were like towering divine trees; now they are as feeble as chives.

Chives—this makes it convenient for people to harvest.

For example, the ox clans, werewolves, snake people, and python people of the underworld have physiques far stronger than humans by nature, but their wisdom is far inferior; they are muddle‑headed and mostly act on instinct.

Put simply, they are born stupid; no matter how strong they train their bodies, their civilizations will not advance.

With their innate souls weakened, a person's natural potential becomes minuscule; they basically will not amount to much.

But before that, in the reincarnation of ancient mythic times, those with great divine powers borrowed reincarnation to take rebirth, retaining past causes and not being confused by the womb's mysteries; they could speak at birth and walk upon landing, and the world called them "sages descending into the world."

At that time, many high Buddhist monks treated reincarnation as a task, tempering their souls, accumulating merit, refining themselves, and building up their cultivation; life after life they piled up merit, eventually forging a Buddha's fruition.

Besides Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and many other sects also often used such heaven‑stealing methods, taking reincarnation as a tool to make up for past deficiencies, perfect their own Dao foundations, polish a perfect cultivation realm, and open a heavenly‑reaching orthodox path.

Then, reincarnation was orderly.

Orderliness allowed scheming, cutting corners, and, within the framework of heavenly‑earthly order, doing some tricks to swap heaven and earth.

The present world's reincarnation is disordered.

Disorderly, mixed, perilous—like countless chaotic grindstones piled together; a soul entering is subjected to a mad, chaotic grinding and washing that utterly erases all past karma and marks. An ordinary person's soul that enters becomes a clean slate; what they will become in the next life, where they will be reborn, is left entirely to fate.

Ninety‑nine percent of the world's common folk live muddled and die muddled, born confused and die confused; they naturally have no fear or perception of reincarnation.

Yet the mistresses of Nüwa Island, along with the human race's core high‑level figures, are systematically probing—or rather eroding—the present Reincarnation Great Dao in an orderly fashion.

The present heavenly way limits human lifespan to a maximum of one yuan—129,600 years. When a person's yang lifespan reaches its limit, ordinary folk may pass, but those who are immensely important to humanity, the true high‑level elite, how could Nüwa Island allow them to simply vanish?

For example, a leader of a great human tribe born in the Heavenly Number One Fate Field.

He is benevolent, wise, broad‑minded, fair and just, leading his tribe to prosperous growth; his cultivation is strong, he commands countless knowledge and possesses ocean‑like wisdom. Were it not for the limits of heavenly‑earthly rules, he could easily condense a Dao Seal and enter the Venerable Rank.

Moreover, he has accumulated a vast amount of merit, gaining the support and adoration of countless common folk.

Put more plainly, such a human leader bearing the "Human Emperor's Aspect" might have the chance to break through in a day and become a saint on the spot.

Could you bear to let him just wander once into the chaotic reincarnation, be completely cleansed, not knowing where his soul will go next, and simply dissipate like that?

There is a good chance he would be reborn as a tiny rat‑person in a small tribe within the realm of Fuxi Divine Kingdom, a newborn rat‑person doomed to starve or be eaten.

Or he might be reborn in the former western demon kingdom of the Sui Dynasty, becoming a little wild boar that grunts all day, follows its parents scrambling over the mountains, and roots for yam tubers with its snout.

That certainly would not do.

Ideally, such a human leader would naturally retain all past memories, all knowledge and wisdom, keep full sentience and thought, continue to take rebirth in a great human tribe of some fate field, and keep shining for humanity's strength.

For example, like Gongsun SanYang, a great tribe's grand shaman.

For example, like the Divine Emperor of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty.

For example, like those Divine Emperors of the earlier Sui Dynasty.

Like the Sui Dynasty, the Divine Emperors of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty reign at most thirty thousand years before voluntarily abdicating, after which they gradually fade away.

In fact, they were all guided by Nüwa Island and gathered together in the Reincarnation Valley.

Powers such as the Sui Dynasty and the Fufeng Divine Dynasty, able to ascend to the Divine Emperor's throne amid countless rivals' open and hidden attacks, and to maintain their national strength despite strong enemy offensives, are naturally humanity's top‑tier elite and finest talents—whether the former Sui Dynasty's Divine Emperors or those of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty.

Nüwa Island's screening method is crude, simple, yet effective.

After entering the Reincarnation Valley, Nüwa Island will employ secret arts, consuming astronomical resources and taking great risk, to escort these selected human elites, once their yang lifespan reaches its limit, into hiding within reincarnation.

When yang lifespan reaches its extreme, it is not only bodily decay but also the dimming and extinction of the soul's vital fire.

Only through reincarnation can the death‑taint be washed from the soul, new vitality infused, and, aided by reincarnation's power, the newborn soul fuse with a fresh, vigorous body to become a brand‑new life possessing a yang lifespan of 129,600 years.

And this new life retains the memories, wisdom, and all experiences and lessons of the previous life.

Such a new life might, in just a few years, attain the Divine Realm; they have greater strength and more time to ponder heaven and earth, to dissect heaven and earth, and to devise ways to open a new path for humanity.

Wu Tie stared at Gongsun SanYang in astonishment.

He suddenly recalled the edict he had previously received, bearing the joint signatures of the thirty‑six Grand Emperors of the Sui Dynasty.

At that time, Wu Tie wondered why the mistress of Nüwa Island could obtain so many joint edicts from the Sui Dynasty's Grand Emperors; logically, they should have long exhausted their yang lifespan.

Then Wu Tie thought those Sui Dynasty Grand Emperors were like the ancients of the Azure Lotus Observatory and Red Lotus Temple, self‑sealed somewhere just barely clinging to life.

But now, looking back, Wu Tie could not help but feel his hair stand on end.

It is quite possible that many of those thirty‑six Sui Dynasty Grand Emperors have successfully undergone reincarnation, yet they retain memory of their former identities across multiple lifetimes, their soul fluctuations and imprints unchanged, allowing them to endorse that edict with their signatures, seals, and soul marks.

Nüwa Island's doing this is… overturning heaven and earth, seizing the creation of the cosmos… just how many ancient human monsters has Nüwa Island gathered?

Or perhaps their cultivation is all limited to below the Venerable Rank.

But these old monsters' experience, insight, knowledge, and experience, the wisdom accumulated over long ages… what terrifying power this is!

Wu Tie had already approached to within less than a li of Gongsun SanYang; the closer he got to that thousand‑foot Buddha statue, the greater the pressure and resistance on him. Constant surging shockwaves appeared before Wu Tie, and even the slightest movement of his body would trigger a furious backlash from the entire Palm Buddha Kingdom.

Here, Wu Tie stopped his steps.

He looked at Gongsun SanYang and said in a low voice, "You mean you are also one of the elite chosen by Nüwa Island… entered the Reincarnation Valley, and retained all your memories from reincarnation… a human elite?"

Gongsun SanYang glared at Wu Tie and snapped, "Not so? In my day I led an offshoot of the Youxiong tribe, a pioneering band of merely a thousand as the spark, in that perilous beast‑infested wild fate field, I opened up billions of li of territory, the tribe multiplied and grew strong, founded Leize City, bred hundreds of millions of descendants, the youths were all like dragons, and over thirty percent of the populace reached the Divine Realm!"

With such merit, in the evaluation of the Youxiong Tribe's own clan, I received a superior rating…… My merit, shouldn't it deserve a single cry of 'outstanding talent'?

Wu Tie stared in shock at Gongsun San Yang.

As for Gongsun San Yang's merit, Wu Tie does not comment; the so-called superior evaluation, Wu Tie knows nothing of the details, and also does not critique.

However, in Gongsun San Yang's Thunder Marsh City, among hundreds of millions of citizens, over thirty percent are at the Divine Clarity realm!

Wu Tie's scalp went numb in waves.

What terrifying power is this!

This is just one Thunder Marsh City, merely a tiny branch tribe that split off from the Youxiong of humanity. Beneath Wa Island, how many destiny fields are there, and on each destiny field, how many Youxiong tribes? And how many tribes as powerful as Thunder Marsh City?

But……

Wu Tie raised his head and looked at the sky.

Within the Palm-heart Buddha Realm, the external sky cannot be seen.

Yet Wu Tie knows that above the extremely high firmament, humanity's enemies still firmly suppress all of humanity.

They are freely employing means, using various schemes and treachery, using all kinds of wicked cruelty, madly harvesting humanity's souls and bloodlines.

On Wa Island's destiny fields, no matter how many Divine Clarity humans there are, they remain trapped on this land, they remain merely the leeks in the eyes of those deities. Hundreds of millions of Divine Clarity beings— in the view of those so-called gods dwelling high in the firmament, these Divine Clarity humans are nothing but vast expanses of thriving, lush, plump leeks.

Slightly sturdier than ordinary leeks, but still leeks.

Wu Tie again resolutely took a step forward, the void trembled slightly, and the surrounding space's cracking sound grew ever more piercing.

Wu Tie said in a deep voice: "Then, logically, you should have been reborn elsewhere— how did you come to the Supreme Demon Realm to become the Demon Emperor?"

Gongsun San Yang looked with a pallid face at Wu Tie approaching step by step, and he said in a deep voice: "What do you think? I am merely……"

Gongsun San Yang's eyeballs twitched slightly, and a faint light flickered in his pupils.

Wu Tie then laughed: "No need to say it, your next words are surely lies… Ha, no matter where you come from, if you harbor ill will toward me, don't blame me for cutting you down."

"Becoming the Demon Emperor of the Supreme Demon Realm was merely an accident." Gongsun San Yang gave a dry cough: "In this reincarnation of mine, there were some deviations; I was not reborn in human territory, but mistakenly entered the imperial household of the Supreme Demon Realm."

After a few light coughs, Gongsun San Yang said in a deep voice: "After all, I have accumulations from my past life; among the royal family of the Supreme Demon Realm, I naturally stood out, and in just a few thousand years I ascended to the Demon Emperor's throne."

"Keep talking, I'm listening……" Wu Tie gritted his teeth, struggling forward bit by bit: "Keep talking, I'm listening… Heh, this Palm-heart Buddha Realm— where did you get this treasure? Though looking at your withered appearance, activating it once is no easy feat, right?"

The sound of the void shattering kept ringing, the Palm-heart Buddha Realm violently trembled, and the surface of the thousand-zhang Buddha statue where Gongsun San Yang stood continually cracked with fine fissures.

Wu Tie's forced breakthrough inflicted severe damage upon this tiny Palm-heart Buddha Realm.

After all, Gongsun San Yang never truly controlled this small world; he merely sacrificed over ninety percent of his essence, energy, and spirit, letting the Palm-heart Buddha Realm activate on its own.

"The reason I ascended to the Demon Emperor's throne is also for the sake of our humanity's examination." Gongsun San Yang looked solemnly at Wu Tie: "To speak frankly, this is my true intention, without a single false word… Consider this: if the Supreme Demon Realm were to unify the Fu Wind Divine Dynasty, there would never again be wanton slaughter in the future."

Wu Tie stared in astonishment at Gongsun San Yang, never having expected him to utter such words.

"This is an attempt." Gongsun San Yang said seriously to Wu Tie: "An attempt of great exploratory significance… The Supreme Demon Realm is a tool used by extraterrestrial demons to harm humanity; if we could perfectly control this tool in humanity's hands…"

Wu Tie sneered, then took another heavy step forward: "But what does this have to do with your scheming against me? Your Six Paths Treasure Wheel just now… nearly wore away my consciousness."

Gongsun San Yang drew a deep breath, then suddenly grinned: "You want to know why? But I don't intend to tell you!"

Wu Tie was now less than thirty zhang away from Gongsun San Yang.

Behind Gongsun San Yang, a golden sword curtain shot up into the sky.

Radiant, majestic, upright and proper, brimming with the righteousness of heaven and earth, filled with the dignity of the human way.

Accompanied by the cheers of countless billions of common folk, this sword curtain rose tens of li high, then, like a heavenly river pouring backward, it came straight down upon Wu Tie.