Section 90: The Reason for Rebirth
June 18, 2014 Author: Gu Zhenren
Rebirth had always been Chu Yun’s deepest secret, but the Star Saint had seen through it with a single sentence.
“Could my rebirth…” Chu Yun was profoundly shaken, staring at the Star Saint.
The Star Saint, resembling a young boy, knew his question and nodded. “That’s right, your rebirth was arranged by me. At the time, I chose Ning Fanchen as the candidate to eliminate the Night Emperor. I even went so far as to send Outer Heavenly Demons in advance for him to slay, allowing him to endlessly extract the Luck of Xingzhou without any future worries. In the end, he failed, only managing to kill Ju Ye King, one of the Night Emperor’s avatars. The Night Emperor, orchestrating from behind the scenes, succeeded and stirred up the era.”
“After his rebirth, the Night Emperor condensed various Dao Transformation techniques into one, forming the Divine Path Technique—’Dao Transformation.’ Alas, this technique poses too great a threat to the Net of Law. You know how important the Net of Law is to the Immortal Pouch World; it’s what maintains the ordered space within the Sea of Chaos. If the Night Emperor were to act and dissolve the Net of Law, it would cause irredeemable destruction to Xingzhou. At that point, the Sea of Chaos would surge in and engulf everything.”
“I have already reincarnated and merged with the Dao. Xingzhou is me, and I am Xingzhou. If the Sea of Chaos arrives, I too will be severely impacted. I cannot tolerate the Night Emperor’s continued arrogance. Coincidentally, you found the Dragon Wish Tree. The Dragon Wish Tree is a miraculous Demonic creature that can consume Dragon Eyes to fulfill a dragon’s last wish. The Azure Sea Dragon’s dying wish was to return to twenty years prior. This was an immense wish, one that the Dragon Wish Tree and the Azure Sea Dragon’s Dragon Crystal alone could not fulfill. So, I mobilized the Luck of Xingzhou and poured it into the Dragon Wish Tree. This caused the timestream of Xingzhou to rewind twenty years, starting anew. Simultaneously, I also chose you as the new candidate to resist the Night Emperor.”
Chu Yun’s eyes widened upon hearing this, his expression frozen in disbelief.
The truth behind his rebirth was finally revealed, and he was struggling to accept it.
The Star Saint’s abilities surpassed his imagination; he had actually managed to rewind the timestream of Xingzhou by a full twenty years. However, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
Chu Yun himself had also reached a similar stage.
During his battle with the Dragon Emperor, he had utilized the Moon Rabbit and the World Power of the Immortal Pouch World to rewind time, successfully reviving three of his demonic creatures and securing victory.
The Star Saint had done something similar, but his power was far greater than Chu Yun’s, directly rewinding the vast Xingzhou by twenty years. Chu Yun surmised that the Innate Demonic Creatures the Star Saint used as the core of his formation likely possessed abilities similar to the Moon Rabbit’s time manipulation.
What Chu Yun truly couldn’t comprehend was why the Star Saint, at the Saint level, would go through such elaborate lengths to deal with the Night Emperor. Why not just directly eliminate him?
“Saints, despite their status, are merely a realm for Monster Tamers, and not omnipotent,” the young Star Saint sighed softly. “Especially Saints who have merged with the Dao; while their words become law, they also mean they must adhere to heavenly laws. A Saint is the World itself; if a Saint violates the laws, they are essentially opposing themselves. Most crucially, across the Nine Provinces, there are Nine Saints. These Nine Saints mutually restrain each other, making any move a ripple effect that impacts everything. Particularly our Xingzhou, being the youngest Immortal Pouch World among the Nine Provinces, it possesses the most vitality. Therefore, Saints from other provinces covet it, and I must constantly guard the Star Saint Palace.”
The Nine Great Saints in the world were not in harmony. Their relationships were complex, marked by periods of hostility and alliance. Currently, they were in a state of deadlock, a complex stalemate akin to a game of chess.
Thus, Saints generally resided at the center of the World, the heart of the Net of Law, managing the entire Immortal Pouch World. Without the governance of Saints, the Immortal Pouch World would be like farmland left uncultivated, leading to far greater losses than gains.
Saints rarely intervened directly. Their emergence was always a sign that the situation had reached a critical point, where inaction would lead to the world’s collapse and destruction.
Especially since Xingzhou was the youngest World, Saints from the other eight provinces covertly interfered, extending their influence into Xingzhou.
Within Xingzhou, there were many individuals from other provinces. The former Ku Tuo King was a prime example. He came to Xingzhou and founded Ku Tuo Temple, essentially acting as an outpost for Tuo Zhou’s aggression against Xingzhou. Although Ju Ye King was a native of Xingzhou, he was swayed in Ghost Continent and established Nine Nether City, which also served as a forward base for Ghost Continent’s operations in Xingzhou.
Behind these events, Tuo Saint and Ghost Saint were respectively orchestrating their schemes.
This was the nature of Saints. They treated the world as a chessboard, and all living beings as pawns, manipulating fate from behind the scenes as supreme beings.
“Where there are people, there is the Jianghu; where there is the Jianghu, there are disputes. Saints are not as carefree as you imagine…” the young Star Saint frowned slightly, his voice tinged with a hint of bitterness. “In the future, when you manage the Immortal Pouch World, you will find that as more lifeforms migrate, you will become more concerned, and the tasks will become increasingly burdensome, leaving you with no free moments.”
Chu Yun had been diligently absorbing the information from the Star Saint’s words. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “I think I understand a little. Although Saint-level experts are the pinnacle of Monster Tamers, they must either defend and manage their Immortal Pouch World or contend with other Saints. The majority of their energy is dispersed, making them seemingly powerless against the Night Emperor.”
“It’s not about being powerless,” the young Star Saint shook his head. “You are still at the peak King level, so it’s understandable that you don’t fully grasp it. Saints are like chess players, and the living beings are the pieces. The most common method for Saints is no longer direct engagement or combat. Instead, it involves intricate planning and diligent cultivation to achieve their objectives…”
At the Saint level, especially for those who had reincarnated and merged with the Dao, they had achieved a form of immortality. The World was them, and they were the World.
When two Saints went to war, it was an attack of two worlds upon each other, a true world war. If a Saint were pushed to the brink and personally engaged, every action would possess terrifying power capable of overturning mountains and destroying the sun and moon.
Open warfare was something even Saints wished to avoid. This was because if it occurred, the meticulously cultivated Immortal Pouch World would suffer immense losses. It would be a foolish endeavor, akin to injuring one’s enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred yourself, benefiting neither party.
Chu Yun listened, understanding only partially. Ultimately, his cultivation base was still too far removed from the Saint level.
He decided not to delve too deeply, content to engrave the Star Saint’s words in his memory, to be pondered again when his cultivation and realm had advanced further.
“Right! The Night Emperor has successfully killed the Outer Heavenly Demon and truly been reborn. Does that mean I’ve also failed? Will Senior Star Saint have to rewind time again?”
“Hehehe,” the young boy chuckled. “Do you think rewinding time is that easy? The last time, I had no choice and expended a vast amount of Luck to reverse twenty years of time. To do it again now, I cannot afford the loss of Luck. The Night Emperor is exceptionally talented, one of the few individuals across the Nine Provinces capable of influencing the macro-affairs of Saints at the Emperor level. However, once he condensed the divine ability ‘Dao Transformation,’ he could no longer advance to the Emperor rank. This was a misguided path.”
“You have not failed. I did not make you rebirth to kill the Night Emperor. You only needed to release the Dragon Emperor, giving Xingzhou a force to balance him, and that would have achieved my goal. Unfortunately, in the previous life, I supported Ning Fanchen, but I did not allow him to grow to the point of resisting the Night Emperor. He also failed to awaken the Dragon Emperor. In this life, you not only released the Dragon Emperor but also obtained the Ultimate Immortal Pouch, capable of resisting the Night Emperor. You have succeeded beyond my original plan,” the Star Saint said with a smile.
Killing the Night Emperor was, in fact, a sign of the plan’s failure.
Because the Ghost Continent existed, the Night Emperor’s soul would return there. The Star Saint himself had made this attempt before. He dispatched the Night Emperor’s Outer Heavenly Demons to kill the Night Emperor in Night Emperor City.
But it was useless. The Night Emperor returned from Ghost Continent.
The Star Saint’s true objective was to cultivate someone who could counter the Night Emperor, preventing Xingzhou’s balance from being disrupted. He had completely succeeded.
Seeing the Star Saint’s beaming smile, Chu Yun suddenly had an epiphany. In that instant, he understood—the Star Saint had never intended to completely destroy the Night Emperor!
Although the Night Emperor died at the hands of the Outer Heavenly Demons, his physical body was perfectly preserved.
Was this an oversight on the Star Saint’s part?
No.
He had done it intentionally.
If he had truly destroyed the Night Emperor’s body and extinguished the flicker of hope for his rebirth, the Night Emperor would have been confined to the Ghost Continent. In other words, he would have become a pawn of the Ghost Saint.
How could the Star Saint bear to part with such useful pawns as Emperors and Great Emperors in his grand design for the world?
Historically, the Star Saint had repeatedly sent down the Star Saint’s Will for powerful individuals to comprehend, enhancing their strength. The Night Emperor was among them. He had expressed goodwill towards the Night Emperor, but the Night Emperor had not accepted it, instead sealing the Star Saint’s Will and embarking on the path of “Dao Transformation.”
The Star Saint then sent down Outer Heavenly Demons, sending the Night Emperor’s soul to Ghost Continent. In Ghost Continent, the Night Emperor received assistance from the Underworld Emperor. And who was the Underworld Emperor? He was a Great Emperor of Ghost Continent, and naturally, a pawn of the Ghost Saint.
However, the Night Emperor did not remain in Ghost Continent. Instead, he forced his way through the Ghost Gate Pass, intending to be reborn in Xingzhou and reclaim his past glory. Behind this, there was actually a battle of wits between the Star Saint and the Ghost Saint.
Ultimately, the Night Emperor returned to Xingzhou. He once again became a pawn of the Star Saint. However, the Star Saint knew this pawn was rather special and disobedient. It required someone to balance him.
Thus, he intended to support King Ning, but King Ning failed. Following this, he covertly assisted Chu Yun, and Chu Yun succeeded. Not only did Chu Yun obtain the Ultimate Immortal Pouch to counter the Night Emperor, but he also released the Dragon Emperor.
This was the power of a Saint!
This power was not about moving mountains and overturning seas, nor about destroying heavens and shattering the earth.
This power was hidden. Only by reaching a very high level of insight and cultivation could one vaguely comprehend it.
This power was also immensely formidable, more enthralling than destructive power.
This power was manipulation, like a chess player controlling the pieces in their hand. It was a game, no longer a crude and barbaric direct confrontation. The clash of these powers everywhere showcased the vast and profound wisdom of Saints.
The true victor was not Chu Yun, nor the Night Emperor, let alone the Dragon Emperor. It was the Star Saint, forever the one who, from the Star Saint Palace, meticulously planned and orchestrated the world.
(To be continued)
