So That's How It Is

Seeing that Senior Brother Dai was unconvinced, Meng Jingzhou launched into a colorful explanation. "The two of us were out travelling a few days ago when we spotted a plume of black smoke rising from a mountain ravine. Suspecting an evildoer was about to bring calamity upon the mortal realm, we charged straight to their doorstep! That villain claimed to be the Nine Nether Cult Master, wielding vast and terrifying divine powers. Fortunately, neither of us is an ordinary person, and we had quite a few tricks up our sleeves. After a desperate life-and-death struggle, we finally subdued the fiend! And when we ripped off his mask, we discovered the villain was none other than Li Haoran!" "The Nine Nether Cult Master—what a mysterious, elusive figure! Yet we two captured him single-handedly. We're not asking for much: just three Acting Sect Master redemption vouchers each will do." "...Do you even hear what you're saying?" As the most senior of all the disciples, having lived for nearly a millennium, Dai Bufan had never felt his intelligence insulted quite like this. Lu Yang spread his hands helplessly. Squatting down to untie Li Haoran, he remarked, "See? I told you Senior Brother Dai wouldn't believe it." Naturally, the promise to give Li Haoran thirty percent of the contribution points upon success was completely out of the question now. "Why wouldn't he believe it? We really did capture the Nine Nether Cult Master!" Meng Jingzhou believed every word he had spoken was the honest truth. "Enough. What actually happened?" Dai Bufan knew that while the two were a pair of clowns, they wouldn't joke about a matter like this. There had to be a reason. Of course, if they dared to claim they really were here just to swindle contribution points, he would tie them up securely and hang them right outside the Mission Hall entrance. "Ahem, it went like this." "At first, Junior Brother Li was a bit nervous about meeting his fiancée, so he asked the two of us to come along for backup. Later, we found out his fiancée is beautiful, kindhearted, and higher in cultivation than he is. She's perfect in every respect—there's simply nothing to nitpick. The only issue is that she's a bit older." Dai Bufan crossed his legs, raised his teacup for a leisurely sip, and remarked offhandedly, "Being a bit older is no issue at all. Where is she from? A year or two older?" "Two thousand years older." *Pfft—!* Dai Bufan spat out a mouthful of tea. Thinking his ears were playing tricks on him, he coughed violently and took quite a while to regain his composure. "How many? Two thousand years?!" Wouldn't that make her of the same generation as the Sect Master and the masters? Dai Bufan looked Li Haoran up and down several times, yet he utterly failed to see where Li Haoran's charm lay. "Junior Brother Li's fiancée is named Su Yiren. She's a Body Integration cultivator." "Oh, Su Yiren. I've heard she's a beauty, likely cultivating on Mount Tianzhu." Dai Bufan oversaw all of the Dao Seeking Sect's intelligence, his eyes and ears reaching across the Central Continent, giving him knowledge of Body Integration cultivators unknown to ordinary people. "Senior Su's husband was named Qin Haoran, also a Body Integration cultivator. He perished while attempting to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Due to the unique nature of his cultivation technique, he reincarnated." Qin Haoran? Dai Bufan searched through his memory of Body Integration cultivators, but could not recall anyone by that name. "Qin Haoran reincarnated as Junior Brother Li. To renew their bond, Senior Su became Junior Brother Li's fiancée." "Later, in Luofeng Commandery, we inadvertently stumbled upon the trail of Nine Nether Cult disciples. Senior Su stepped in, thwarted their plot, and led us to see the process of manufacturing Phoenix Blood Stones." "You saw Luofeng Commandery soaking stones in phoenix blood?" Dai Bufan did not seem surprised by this. "Senior Brother Dai knew about it?" Lu Yang was astonished. Dai Bufan rolled his eyes. "Anyone with half a mind could figure it out. What kind of ore vein formed from a fallen Body Integration cultivator can be mined for four thousand years? What, does a phoenix have no flesh, just blood plasma?" "It's only because phoenix blood is so hard to come by. Everyone was worried that exposing the secret would cause the Phoenix Clan to become enraged and refuse to sell any more blood." Lu Yang: "...Fair enough." "Afterward, Junior Brother Li broke through and gained a fragment of his past life's memories, learning that in his previous incarnation, he was the Nine Nether Cult Master." When Lu Yang finished speaking, Dai Bufan remained silent, rhythmically tapping his index finger on the tabletop. "Reincarnation... rebirth... the Nine Nether Cult..." "The Nine Nether Cult believes there is a place of reincarnation in the world called the Nine Nether, and Li Haoran is the reincarnation of their Cult Master..." "Senior Brother Dai, does reincarnation really exist?" Senior Brother Dai shook his head. "I don't know. However, there are countless rumors among the populace. For instance, in the north, there was supposedly a divine child who shone with golden light, possessed innate knowledge from birth, could soar through the skies and burrow through the earth, and was claimed to be an immortal spirit reincarnated. The local commoners revered him as a deity." "And in reality?" "Some fool hadn't mastered his cultivation, and his Nascent Soul broke loose and ran off." Meng Jingzhou: "..." "Or take another case: in a minor sect, an extraordinarily talented young genius suddenly emerged. One day, a grand powerhouse visited the sect, saw the genius youth, and turned pale with shock, finding the youth's talent and appearance to be the spitting image of a deceased old friend." "And what happened next?" "Later, the powerhouse discovered his old friend had faked his death just so he could return to youth, infiltrate a small sect, show off, and slap people in the face." Li Haoran: "..." "In short, those rumors of reincarnation among the masses cannot be trusted. They're either baseless fabrications or false information crafted to build momentum, or due to other bizarre reasons. Among the intelligence I've gathered so far, not a single case has been a genuine reincarnation." "The Nine Nether Cult Master involves far too many things, and I know very little about reincarnation myself. This matter is best left to Eldest Senior Sister to decide." "Then let's go find Eldest Senior Sister..." Before Lu Yang could finish his sentence, a cool, crisp voice drifted over. "No need. I am already here." Her tone was indifferent, as frigid as ten-thousand-year ice. Space twisted, and a graceful figure stepped out of the unknown void, appearing before the four of them. It was none other than Yun Zhi. While they had been speaking, Dai Bufan had already notified her. "I had never imagined that Junior Brother Li might be the reincarnation of a grand powerhouse." "Reincarnation does not exist; it is mere nonsense. If Junior Brother Li truly is the Nine Nether Cult Master reincarnated, it could only be the work of a Dao fruit." Yun Zhi recalled her deductions regarding the purposes of the Four Great Demonic Cults. "Could it be that the Nine Nether Cult condensed a rudimentary Reincarnation Dao fruit long ago?" "Open your mind, and think of nothing." Li Haoran hurriedly cleared his spiritual platform, making it pristine and stainless, thinking of nothing at all. Yun Zhi's eyes seemed to contain a sky full of stars—breathtakingly beautiful, stirring the soul, as if encompassing all the mysteries of the world and drawing one entirely into them. Those eyes resembled the legendary celestial eyes that could see through all things, yet also seemed like the Heavenly Eye from the Buddhist six divine penetrations. Only Dai Bufan knew that this was a technique Eldest Senior Sister had created herself, one that no one else in the world knew. Li Haoran felt as though every secret of his entire being had been seen through completely: his upbringing, his cultivation history, his psychological journey... absolutely nothing could escape those eyes. Yun Zhi withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes briefly, and reopened them as they returned to normal. Li Haoran let out a breath of relief; the pressure from Eldest Senior Sister just now had been overwhelming. "So that's how it is." Her tone held unquestionable confidence, as though she had seen to the heart of the matter. Lu Yang pressed eagerly, "Eldest Senior Sister, what did you see?" Yun Zhi spoke in a calm, aloof voice: "Turns out there are things even I cannot see through." Lu Yang: "..." Eldest Senior Sister, are you even normal?