Immortal of the Ages

Amid the uplifted gazes of millions of Immortals, the Nine Thunders Divine Ark soared into the heavens, streaking towards the dimming mortal stars above.

VROOM! The divine ark, like a colossal whale breaching the skies, pierced through the fiery chronosphere of the Great Dao Celestial Realm. Shrouded in a dense curtain of thunder. It charged forth with a resolve as if welcoming death, a spectacle of magnificent grandeur.

"Kill Lu Fan, establish a new heaven!"

"Embrace Divine Dawn, support Lu Yao!"

These endless cries spread from the Heavenly Palace, rippling across the entire Great Dao Celestial Realm. In this moment, they became the voice of the Celestial Court's populace.

On the deck of the Nine Thunders Divine Ark, Yun Xiao's expression was solemn as he retrieved the lingering spirit of the White Emperor from the jade bottle.

Divine Dawn, the War Princess, Cao Shuo, and the Devil Eye stood behind him.

As the White Emperor emerged, he was laughing, his laughter tinged with mockery.

After a moment, he looked at Yun Xiao and Divine Dawn, shaking his head and sighing, "All this hustle, for what? Sometimes, that's just the way of the world. In the end, you can't change anything. It's all futile."

"What exactly do you mean?" Divine Dawn asked, unable to contain her irritation. She stood beside Yun Xiao, the white thunder and flames in her eyes searing onto the White Emperor's spirit.

"You know what I mean," the White Emperor said, dismissing the pressure and humiliation with a relaxed face, spreading his hands. "Kill me, torment my spirit, it doesn't matter. Once the summoning edict is issued, I'm merely an outsider."

"It's a pity your final dream was cut short," Yun Xiao shrugged.

The White Emperor chuckled ruefully and looked at Yun Xiao. "You're obviously a reincarnated one too, and not young at that. How can you still be so naive? Once the summoning edict flashes, no power in the world can stop it. You can choose not to believe, but time will give you your answer."

He shrugged. "Besides, don't waste your efforts on me. In this game, I was just a nobody who lit the beacon. The fire has already spread to the highest heavens, and no one can stop the march of judgment."

"I don't mind," Yun Xiao paused, his voice calm. "From being a Rank 9 Arbiter in Sky Soaring City to today, where I've slaughtered tens of thousands of your heavenly elite and destroyed your celestial palaces, it hasn't even been ten days. Let the judgment come. In another few more days, it'll be a good way to deliver heads over thousands of miles, letting me feast on blood."

Amidst the clamor, the White Emperor laughed heartily, clutching his stomach in mirth. He stared at Yun Xiao with astonished eyes, clicking his tongue in wonder, his gaze filled with disbelief.

"Care to explain your laughter?" Yun Xiao pressed.

Finally ceasing his laughter, the White Emperor spoke in a ghostly whisper, "You and Lu Fan, both of you are reincarnated cultivators. In terms of growth, you've unleashed the legacy of your past life faster. But in wisdom, you fall short of him. You defeated me, perhaps because the peak of your previous existence just happened to surpass mine in this life by that slight bit?"

"Is that the comforting lie you tell yourself to mask your fear of me?" Yun Xiao said, his gaze unwavering.

Hearing this, the White Emperor finally lost his patience, speaking irritably, "Yun Xiao, stop this baseless confidence. Reincarnators like you might be rare in the Great Dao Celestial Realm, but in the grand scheme of the Samsara Galaxy, you're less than nothing."

"Is that so? I don't believe it. I am the greatest under heaven," Yun Xiao declared coldly, yet he quietly noted the term Samsara Galaxy.

The White Emperor scoffed, barely containing his disdain.

"The Samsara Galaxy is a realm of endless rebirths! Even just within the domain ruled by my ancestors, reincarnators like you are as common as sand in a vast desert. The true prodigies of the celestial path, they live too briefly in three lifetimes, attain enlightenment in six, and defy the heavens to be reborn in nine. You rely solely on forcibly unleashing the cultivation of one lifetime, fit only to strut before me. In this land where the fire of reincarnation blazes, you're not even worth a scallion!"

His words left Yun Xiao somewhat shaken.

The Samsara Galaxy, teeming with countless reincarnators?

The only true reincarnator Yun Xiao had encountered was the Divine Sky Sword Emperor Ling Chen, who had been slain and whose remnant spirit had wandered for a million years before being reborn. It was unclear if this was the same type of universal rebirth the White Emperor spoke of.

"So, the faster a reincarnator releases their previous cultivation, and the more they surge in power shortly after awakening, the lower their ultimate potential and the shallower their past fortunes?" Yun Xiao followed the White Emperor's mocking tone, probing the root of his disdain.

"Isn't that obvious?" the White Emperor retorted. "Reincarnating through the cycle of six realms with a withered body and a unified soul, what is it for? To gain another lifetime of insight, to start all over again! Those with heavenly talents reincarnate nine times, each life cultivating a different path, and when the nine lives converge at the moment of ultimate return, then, and only then, do they ascend to supremacy! As for reincarnators like you, who simply reclaim their past cultivation, in the eyes of true transmigrators, you're merely scrambling to prolong a dying breath, lacking the courage to truly re-cultivate. You are seen as the lowest among seekers of the path!"

The White Emperor, slain by such an individual, was understandably bitter, and this moment served as his outburst.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but laugh, remarking, "You, an old man who extends his life by preying on the weak, dare mock my reincarnation and my borrowing of five hundred more years from the heavens?"

"We're both puppets of fate, what difference does it really make between us?" the White Emperor retorted harshly.

"At least I harm no one," Yun Xiao said.

"You pride yourself on being noble, virtuous, pure. But in the face of the summoning edict, you are nothing. Don't play the hero; you're not cut out for it," the White Emperor grew more incensed as he spoke, his discontent evident.

"I suppose you envy me because I gained a new life without needing any incense offerings. Your spirit is still intact, so you dream of discovering a method of reincarnation'—a method I possess," Yun Xiao said, suddenly turning his back, a cold laugh escaping him as he looked over his shoulder at the White Emperor.

The White Emperor's spirit quivered at these words. Then he laughed again. This time, his laughter was more mocking.

"Explain again, why you laugh," Yun Xiao said calmly.

"You use the prospect of reincarnation to lure me, hoping I'd help you resolve the threat of the summoning edict. Clever approach. But the details give you away. You're just a lucky spirit who stumbled into reincarnation; you understand nothing of it," the White Emperor scoffed.

"Damn." Yun Xiao had hoped to deceive him but realized he'd slipped up in the details. He asked Blue Star, "What's this about everyone being reborn?"

"This situation is rare; there might be something special in the region, or a particular place that replaces the grand cycle of life and death dictated by the Dao Realm. We'd have to take a closer look to know what it really is," Blue Star explained.

In essence, their memories, residing at the highest pinnacle of the Dao Realm, made the lower affairs somewhat fuzzy, much like the Creator Immortal's misunderstanding of human nature.

"This fellow has stripped me bare; he'll be hard to use to my advantage now." Yun Xiao felt a headache coming on.

The White Emperor saw him merely as a lucky reincarnator who had spontaneously regained his past life's cultivation. In the White Emperor's eyes, Yun Xiao's failure to cultivate anew in this life was a sheer waste of his reincarnation, with a very low potential.

Perhaps this was his peak in life. So now, he truly despised himself. He envied, was jealous, and hated that Yun Xiao had wasted his reincarnation.

"True masters reincarnate harshly, cultivating one path in one lifetime? That fierce?"

Such an era would surely lead to much chaos, especially concerning seniority and blood ties. Perhaps scenarios like, "I am your father, but you are also my father" could arise?

The conclusion now was that once the summoning edict took effect, someone powerful would come.

That was undoubtedly very bad news.

"Yun Xiao..."

The White Emperor looked at him deeply, "The grand celestial formations of the Five Infernos Star Barrier, Sacred Emperor Barrier, and Thunder Immortal Formation all come from my ancestors. The ancient texts record that my ancestors have ruled for eons, above heaven and earth. Even a mere inch of the Great Dao Celestial Realm is sacred ground to my dynasty! Every inch of the imperial land must be contested, and you've pierced the heavens of the Great Dao Celestial Realm, invoking the karma of life and death. From now on, waiting to die is all you can do."

"That impressive?" Yun Xiao quirked his lips and said lightly, "Besides waiting to die, I can do one more thing."

"Dogfight with Lu Fan?" the White Emperor laughed.

"You're right. After the fight, how about I deliver your supreme ancestors a few heads?" Yun Xiao asked.

The White Emperor laughed again, mocking, "Enough, your weakness now is futile; before my clan, there are only heads to be taken, no knees to be spared."

"Brilliant." Yun Xiao gave him a thumbs up, his face relaxed, but in his eyes, a fierce fire blazed. He knew the celestial ladder was long. What tribulations lay beyond the third?

The path to the Six Ancestral Gods couldn't be that simple. Yet, as the vast celestial path slowly unfolded before him, Yun Xiao felt no awe. Instead, he was excited, eager, with a desire to devour the skies and roam freely!

His aspirations had grown so vast that even the Great Dao Celestial Realm could no longer contain them!

The White Emperor wanted to instill fear in him, but on the contrary, Yun Xiao licked his lips, already famished for the Samsara Galaxy.

"By the way." Yun Xiao looked at the White Emperor, amiably asking, "I have a body double that accidentally fell into the colorful celestial formation. Where might it go? Can it come back?"

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

"The Samsara Galaxy is a realm of endless rebirths! Even just within the domain ruled by my ancestors, reincarnators like you are as common as sand in a vast desert. The true prodigies of the celestial path, they live too briefly in three lifetimes, attain enlightenment in six, and defy the heavens to be reborn in nine. You rely solely on forcibly unleashing the cultivation of one lifetime, fit only to strut before me. In this land where the fire of reincarnation blazes, you're not even worth a scallion!"