149: Chapter 149 What Can Be Done When the Heavenly Cycle Ends?

"In his first life, Haotian was reincarnated as an Acquired stone spirit. Relying on the Origin of his Chaos stubborn stone foundation, he eventually cultivated to become a Golden Immortal, only to be slain by an enemy."

"In his second life, he was reincarnated as a demonic beast kept by the Human Race, and was slaughtered after reaching adulthood."

"In his third life, he was reincarnated as a mixed-blood white Dragon. He was wiped out by tribulation Qi before he was even born..."

"The fourth life was a crow... the fifth was Xiangliu... the eleventh and twelfth lives were of the Asura Clan..."

— —

Beside the Naihe Bridge.

Because Shi Yan was interested in Haotian's Reincarnation bodies, Houtu set aside her work to explain them to him one by one.

She informed him of all two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight lives that Haotian had experienced so far.

"In his hundredth life, he was reincarnated as an enlightened boy serving a Loose Immortal. He was exceptionally talented and profound in Dao techniques, befriending Fellow Daoists across the world. He intended to live freely, but because he was entangled in the Karma of the Yao Race, he perished."

Houtu's voice did not falter as she recounted life after life. There were birds and beasts, plants and Essence Spirits, Mortals of the Human Race, and the myriad races of the Primordial world. There were noble lives and lowly fates.

Only by experiencing all things in the world could one be qualified for the position of Heavenly Emperor.

"In his two hundred and fiftieth life, he was reincarnated as a branch member of the Phoenix tribe. Although he lacked a pure Bloodline, his possession of the stubborn stone Origin allowed his cultivation speed to far exceed that of his peers."

"But because of his soaring arrogance, he provoked the personal guards of the Phoenix tribe's Crown Prince, Young Master of the Phoenix Clan. They extracted his Origin, wiped away his intelligence, and he eventually died of old age."

"In his three hundredth life, he transformed into an ordinary bamboo spirit in Kunlun Mountain. He took root on a cliff for a hundred years and finally managed to Cultivate spiritual consciousness, only to be cut down by a passing spirit crane, causing his spiritual consciousness to fade away."

"In his eight hundredth life, he was a common physician in the Mortal realm. He traveled everywhere to save the dying and heal the wounded, accumulating countless merits. Yet, because he traveled everywhere, he ultimately died of illness."

Sipping spirit tea and listening to the stories, Shi Yan suddenly froze while shaking his spirit teacup upon hearing about Haotian's eight hundredth life. The rim of the cup tapped lightly against the table, emitting a very faint dull sound.

His brows furrowed slightly, and clear suspicion arose in his originally indifferent gaze. He looked up and interrupted Houtu: "Stop for a moment."

Houtu's words came to an abrupt halt. She lowered her hands and turned slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes as she replied softly: "Senior."

Shi Yan looked up at her, his gaze serious, his words clear: "You just said that in his eight hundredth life, as a Mortal physician, he saved the dying, healed the wounded, and accumulated merits, yet he ultimately died of illness?"

Houtu nodded and replied truthfully: "That is correct."

"In that life, he was born into a Mortal family of physicians. Educated by his parents, he traveled across the Human Race territories after reaching adulthood to treat the illnesses of the masses.

However, in his Mortal body, he contracted a disease in the northern lands. Although he could alleviate it, he could not cure it completely. Ultimately, with no medicine available to treat him, he died in a foreign land."

Impossible!

Shi Yan's first reaction was disbelief.

He held authority over the Human Dao, and the successive Human Emperors managed the Human Race.

He protected the Mortals of the world. Although there were occasional natural disasters and wars in the Human Race territories,

anyone who harbored good intentions and committed no major sins would have a stable lifespan. There was no way a person of high virtue and great accumulated merit would die of illness in their prime and not meet a good end.

"In that life, was he a pure-blooded Human Race?"

Shi Yan needed to confirm. If he wasn't a pure-blooded Human Race, it would be fine.

If he was, it would mean that the Heavenly Dao could, to a certain extent, interfere with the Mortal territories where the Human Dao was most concentrated.

This was something Shi Yan absolutely could not accept.

Hearing Shi Yan's question, Houtu thought for a moment, then shook her head and said: "It should not count."

"Haotian's Reincarnation bodies are all reincarnated with their Origin intact. Coupled with the Heavenly Emperor status deep within his foundation, his Origin at birth is considered half-stone and half-the-race-of-his-Reincarnation."

Hearing Houtu's words, Shi Yan, who had just put down his teacup, picked it up again.

It seemed there was no need for deduction.

Haotian, possessing the Heavenly Emperor status, indeed allowed the Heavenly Dao to make slight maneuvers within the Human Dao territories.

But it could only be related to Haotian's affairs.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, his expression returning to its usual calmness.

"So that's how it is. It was my overthinking. Continue."

Houtu nodded and said no more. Her voice returned to being gentle and calm as she followed her memories of previous lives, continuing to recount the remaining years of Haotian's Reincarnation.

"In his eight hundred and first life, he was reincarnated as a clam spirit at the bottom of the Beiming Sea—and died a miserable death."

"In his nine hundredth life, he was born as a scholar in a Mortal dynasty. He fathered a child with excellent talent, who was discovered and taken away by Cultivators from the Human Race who specifically sought out tribespeople with talent for Cultivation,

he himself spent his time enjoying wealth with his wife and died of old age."

"In his one thousandth life, he became a mayfly."

"In his one thousand five hundredth life, he was reincarnated as a female spirit fox. Because of his foundation, he was chosen by his Old Ancestor and placed in the harem, but died when giving birth due to excessive loss of Origin."

"In his two thousandth life, he transformed into a forget-worry grass outside the Netherworld, living by absorbing the Qi of Reincarnation. Just as he cultivated complete spiritual consciousness, he was plucked by an Asura Cultivator and brewed into forget-worry soup."

"In his two thousand five hundredth life, he became an Outer Sect Disciple of the Jie Sect. Everything went smoothly, but when attempting to Breakthrough to Golden Immortal, he failed to pass the Golden Immortal tribulation and perished."

"In his two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eighth life, he was born in the north, grew up on food from a hundred families, and unfortunately died after falling during play."

As her voice faded, Houtu gently raised her eyes, looking toward the figure of a child who had just stepped into Reincarnation, ignorant and unknowing. A faint glimmer of sigh finally rose in her eyes.

"Senior, these are the complete two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight lives of Haotian so far."

Shi Yan held his teacup without drinking for a long time, his gaze fixed on the vortex of Reincarnation,

"Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight lives. Some noble, some lowly, some good, some evil, some long, some short. Every life was controlled by the Heavenly Dao."

Houtu responded softly: "There were clearly many opportunities to become a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, but because it was not yet three thousand, he died accidentally."

Take, for example, the life as an Outer Sect Disciple of the Jie Sect.

With the blessing of the Jie Sect's Luck and a top-tier foundation, becoming a Grand Unity Golden Immortal should have been very easy.

Yet he died in the Golden Immortal tribulation; anyone with a discerning eye would know that was abnormal.

"Since he has already completed two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight lives, how does the Heavenly Dao plan the next two lives?"

Hearing this, Houtu's jade hand tightened slightly as she replied:

"Replying to Senior, the next life, which is the two thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth life, he will be reincarnated as an ordinary medicinal herb on a cliff in the Nanshan of the Primordial world, with a lifespan of five years."

"And the three thousandth life, which is also the final life of Perfection, he will be reincarnated as an Innate Blood Sea Grass."

"That will be the last Innate living being remaining in the world when the Blood Sea is destroyed."

Shi Yan's fingertips paused, a faint, imperceptible surprise flashing through his eyes.

Innate Blood Sea Grass?

What is Hongjun trying to do?

In the original timeline, Haotian's final life should have been reincarnated as a human.

He even had a younger sister who pushed forward the Calamity.

Shi Yan activated the kongtong seal and the Chaos Pearl within his Primordial Spirit, beginning to deduce using the power of the Human Dao and the supreme treasures.

His silver eyes were gradually replaced by the colors of Xuanhuang and Chaos.