413: Chapter 413 The entire East Pole is in complete chaos.

"I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Yan fell onto a grassy plain.

Unable to vent his frustration, Zhou Yan's face turned red with anger.

This plain was similar to the one beneath the snow-capped mountain, but there was nothing here except for a massive gate.

At the same time, Zhou Yan understood that it was the gate to leave this place; as long as he walked through it, he should be able to exit.

But Long Tianxing hadn't come out yet.

If something went wrong with him, Zhou Yan would definitely fight his way back, both to avenge Long Tianxing and to teach that bald donkey a lesson.

"What do you mean 'it's fine as long as you're dead'? And what's this about going to the Wheel of Reincarnation Path? Is that even human speech?"

To wait for Long Tianxing, he simply sat down cross-legged.

That sentence from Bodhidharma was no different from saying 'Why don't they eat meat?'

He had originally thought that an antidote would be within three steps, believing he'd quickly found the solution to the Meng Zhang incident, but he hadn't expected the other party to pull such a stunt.

This was even more far-fetched than Zhou Yan collecting every single Cultivation Technique.

Because he was afraid of dying, Zhou Yan had once sought out the Fourth Elder, asking intentionally or unintentionally how Qingxu Grotto-Heaven would resurrect him if he died.

The Fourth Elder knew Zhou Yan was referring to the incident in Kaifeng. Although many things hadn't been explained then for the sake of his training, there was no need for secrecy now, so he naturally explained a part of it.

Recalling what the Fourth Elder said at the time:

"Methods of resurrection have existed since ancient times. It's just that because people have developed the Underworld more now, and because the Underworld is controlled by Guixu and Wrath Prison, resurrecting someone isn't that difficult."

"As long as you don't enter Reincarnation yourself or go to some troublesome places in the Underworld, we can just go down and fish you out."

"When the time comes, we'll help you reconstruct your dao body and extend your lifespan; it won't be a problem at all."

"For those who die an untimely death, as long as their lifespan is extended, there won't be much of an impact. At most, the Foundation will be somewhat unstable, and the actual lifespan will be significantly shorter."

"But for the current you, you still need to be careful. After all, your status is different now, and there will inevitably be some people with ill intentions."

"If someone kills you, shattering your Nascent Soul and obliterating your Soul until only a sliver of true spirit remains..."

"...then that true spirit will be drawn into the Wheel of Reincarnation Path at an extremely fast speed. Once you enter there, it would be incredibly difficult for even the Old Ancestor to save you."

"Not to mention your current status. Often, even if you aren't down to just a true spirit and your Soul still exists, someone might be camping for you in the Underworld, wanting to throw you into the Wheel of Reincarnation Path or something."

"If you don't want to undergo Reincarnation like that, you'd better remember this."

"No matter the situation, even if only a sliver of true spirit remains, you must use every means or will to forcibly stabilize yourself and not let yourself be pulled away."

The memory ended. Thinking of the seriousness in the Fourth Elder's voice back then, he knew this matter was not simple.

The cultivation world had developed for so many years, yet he hadn't seen many records of returning from the dead in history books.

That meant resurrection, even for high-level Cultivators, was definitely not as easy as it was made to sound.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Soul Cultivators.

On the contrary, there were many records of reincarnated beings, many of whom were even Reincarnations from great Sects. This also proved that the stronger one was, the harder it was to be resurrected.

Regarding these parts, the Fourth Elder had been vague and glossed over many things, but the only thing he emphasized—over and over again—was the terror of the Wheel of Reincarnation Path.

So here was the problem.

Zhou Yan didn't know what Meng Zhang wanted to say, so he asked this Bodhidharma.

As it turned out, Bodhidharma said he also had a Legacy, and the 'him' here should be a Clone or something similar.

Once he reached that place of Legacy, he would know everything.

But that place of Legacy happened to be a 'hellish place' in the truest sense.

The weak would reincarnate upon arrival; for the strong, the Reincarnation process was even faster.

"How is this wanting me to know the truth? This is being in a hurry to make me start a New Game Plus, isn't it?"

"Since he doesn't know what will happen, I might die, so he's letting me die directly so he doesn't have to bear the Karma, right?"

Just as Zhou Yan was complaining, Long Tianxing fell down, landing face-first.

Zhou Yan stood up immediately and took two quick steps to help him up.

After checking his body several times and connecting with his Heart Demon a few times, he didn't find anything strange about him.

He just had a key on him, just like Zhou Yan.

However, this key was very different from his own in both material and appearance.

His was tattered and worn, while Long Tianxing's appeared to be in much better condition.

"Fine, fine, it really is a world that judges by looks. Even monks recognize people based on their faces."

He said this, but since they were already at the gate, he didn't have time to dwell on it and planned to talk after leaving.

And so, grumbling, Zhou Yan supported Long Tianxing as they walked out of the gate.

However, Zhou Yan seemed to have forgotten that he had left a body behind in the Secret Realm. Feeling the connection break, he simply assumed that body had died.

Meanwhile, in that dark space...

A withered tree was injecting light into a body.

"Damned fellow, you'd better not let me catch you later!"

Watching the body gradually stabilize, the little girl sitting on the withered tree became increasingly radiant.

Normally, in this place, once someone died, their body would turn into particles and be taken to the gate.

But for some reason, even though this body was dead, it remained active.

When she detected this body lying in that corner, she had silently gone over and brought it back.

She could feel that whether it was consciousness, Soul, or anything else, this body truly had none of it.

Yet it could indeed accommodate these things; it wasn't a Puppet, but a true life form.

This made her very curious. Unsure if the person was truly dead, she injected vitality, wanting to sustain its life and ask that monk what was going on later.

But unexpectedly, the Secret Realm suddenly closed, meaning everyone had already left.

At the same time, she received news that the monk was going back into a deep sleep; before she could say anything, she could no longer contact him.

This body also died completely due to unknown reasons as the Secret Realm closed.

Since the Secret Realm had closed, the dead body would not return to that plain.

At this moment, a bold idea formed in her mind.

"Since nobody wants this body, it belongs to me."

"Great Monk, whether you see this or not, I'm not toyng with the body of the deceased."

"This was discarded by the other party, and they don't seem to be trapped in this Secret Realm, which means it's been abandoned."

"Since I picked up something unwanted, this... this is called recycling and reuse, an act of following the virtue of frugality!"

Saying this, she laughed and turned into a green light, drilling into the body. Simultaneously, the body underwent some subtle changes.

"Finally, I'm out!"

Zhou Yan walked through the vast white passage and finally saw the sky of the outside world.

He let out a loud shout as soon as he emerged.

Although for the outside world, this trip to the Secret Realm had only been a short dozen days or so, for him, several years had passed.

He hadn't even spent that long on his cultivation, so it was inevitable that he would have some emotional fluctuations.

However, once he saw the current situation clearly, he realized there was a problem.

When he had looked out from the corridor, there had been blue skies, white clouds, and no one outside.

But after walking out, the blue sky and white clouds had vanished, replaced by a massive mirage above that looked like a Small World.

And ahead, the flames of war were already rising everywhere.

The forest that was once full of giant trees had been turned into a scorched plain.

A large number of Cultivators were making their moves, fighting their respective enemies.

The entire Eastern Extreme had turned into a complete mess.

It was impossible to tell which faction was which, or exactly what had happened.

One could only see humans, Yao, and things that were neither fighting frantically. Just the confrontations between Nascent Soul Domains alone, he saw more than one.

"Holy crap, did I transmigrate again?"

Just as Zhou Yan was standing there in a daze, a Yao Race Cultivator's eyes turned cold.

He had just heard a familiar voice from the person beside him, which was why he turned back to look.

It really was this person.

"It really is a Small World. I've finally found you, Zhou Yan!"

As he spoke, pitch-black magical power condensed on his body, seemingly about to manifest into some form.

But at that moment, the dazed Zhou Yan saw someone calling him from the side—it was a tiny ant covered in black gas.

Although he recognized at a glance that it was the Nascent Soul he had suppressed with the small sapling, his current confusion left him no time for catching up.

He looked around again to ascertain the situation, while simultaneously pointing a finger casually. A wisp of pure Power of Law gathered at his fingertip.

The moment he saw this power, the Dali Ant, who was about to rush over, felt his whole being go cold.

That sense of dread coming from the Soul even made his Nascent Soul tremble slightly.

"Gulp! It's Soul Transformation!"

After saying that, he vanished from the spot. Along with him, the entire stretch of terrain behind him also disappeared.

No kill notification popped up, so Zhou Yan knew the other party had been rescued. However, being touched by the Law of Consumption, he was in for a rough time.

The Yao Race and Human Race Cultivators who were originally about to move also stopped their fighting, looking toward the man supporting another human youth.

"What a terrifying attack. Fortunately, it wasn't me who stepped up just now, or I'd be in a sorry state."

A small part of the originally chaotic battlefield suddenly went quiet, causing others to cast their gazes over here as well.

They were all Prodigies; although they hadn't reached the level of comprehending Laws yet, they could all see the cause of that rift's formation.

The trace of the attack was clearly just a long straight line, at most the thickness of a pinky finger.

But the reason the resulting effect was so terrifying was that in that instant, a fearsome power had swallowed everything around it.

Even now, the trees beside the rift were slowly withering on the side facing it.

Zhou Yan looked at the group of Cultivators who were either in awe or in fear of him. He didn't bother with them and simply shouted a question.

"Is anyone here from the Northern Region? Someone come and explain to me what happened!"

[End of Eastern Extreme Secret Realm Arc]