Chapter 60: Every Effect Has Its Cause
Time flies like a shuttle through the loom of years.
In the blink of an eye, another thirty years had passed.
When Lü Yang opened his eyes again, though his face showed no signs of aging, a streak of frost had appeared amidst his once-thick black hair.
"In a flash, I'm already eighty years old..."
While Qi Refining cultivators enjoyed longer lifespans than mortals, theirs only extended to about one hundred and fifty years—not significantly more. At eighty, he was already past middle age.
In another twenty years, Zhao Xuhe's "Stealing Heavenly Secrets" technique would unlock.
"Though there's no hope for Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, once I master the Saint's Theft, I can attempt a breakthrough to accumulate experience in advance..."
The path to the Dao was within sight. Truly within sight.
Even the 《Corpse Dissolution True Method》, after thirty years of secluded study, he had managed to devise a clever shortcut using the Bright Dao Jade Slip.
"To truly cultivate the 《Corpse Dissolution True Method》, one must undergo 'death before transformation.' But if I die, it would trigger the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes to restart... However, this 'death' isn't absolute—the 《Corpse Dissolution True Method》 wouldn't actually allow the practitioner to perish completely."
"This so-called 'death' is limited only to the physical body."
"After the body dies, it refines its form underground, with nails and hair continuing to grow, the corpse appearing alive, until eventually achieving the Dao... But for others, bodily death means true death."
"After all, the body is the raft of the soul. Once the body dies, the soul gradually disperses, and death is merely a matter of time."
"Conversely, if I can maintain my soul's clarity while allowing my body to die, preventing the soul from perishing, the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes won't activate."
"This might create the opportunity for 'death before transformation.'"
This was the solution proposed by the Bright Dao Jade Slip, and Lü Yang found it highly feasible. The only issue lay in the shortcut technique devised for this purpose.
"Though the Bright Dao Jade Slip's deductions suggest this technique can stabilize my soul after bodily death, I've never witnessed a soul existing independently of a body. If I could observe one and record it with the jade slip, the technique could be perfected with actual data..."
More importantly, Lü Yang knew such entities existed in this world.
Foundation Establishment True Persons!
True Persons had a natural lifespan of three hundred years—but this referred only to their physical bodies. Their souls could endure far longer, often choosing reincarnation after death.
Though reincarnated True Persons would start anew, their cultivation reverting below Foundation Establishment, they faced no fetal mystery. They would inevitably awaken past memories before the age of eight, thereafter progressing rapidly in cultivation. If they could reclaim Foundation Establishment, they would gain another three hundred years of natural lifespan.
Of course, this couldn't continue indefinitely.
Each reincarnation eroded their accumulated merits. If a True Person's cultivation depth didn't grow, they would only weaken over time.
The first reincarnation would produce a heaven-defying prodigy.
The second, still a dragon among men.
The third, merely an ordinary genius.
By the fourth or fifth life... if their cultivation hadn't improved, they would fade into mediocrity, never to transcend again.
Hence the saying: "A True Person's fruit lasts but five lives."
Moreover, reincarnation didn't guarantee a return to Foundation Establishment. Once reborn, if they failed to suppress their fate, past karma would come knocking.
A premature death was always a risk.
Thus, every True Person exercised extreme caution during reincarnation, concealing heavenly secrets and rarely informing outsiders to avoid unexpected karmic tribulations.
Under such circumstances, how difficult would it be to encounter the soul of a reincarnating True Person?
At this thought, Lü Yang felt another headache coming on and decided to set the matter aside temporarily, shifting his focus to assessing the progress of his scripture-spreading endeavor.
"Taiwei Treasure Talisman, Decree Life Heavenly Pardon..."
Lü Yang pinched his fingers and recited the incantation, using the Taiwei Treasure Talisman to divine heavenly secrets. His spirit swiftly immersed itself in the omnipresent Web of Karma, initiating a keyword search.
Soon, corresponding information surfaced in his mind:
"In the final years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a tyrant ruled without virtue, plunging the world into suffering. Then emerged the Heavenly Book, divided into four volumes scattered across the mortal realm, stirring hidden dragons to rise."
"When the chaos subsided, the four volumes found their owners. One was held by the Vast Harmony Academy, copied by generations of scholars; one obtained by the Hanging Temple as Buddhism's supreme scripture; one annotated by the Heavenly Master Mansion as a token passed down through successive Heavenly Masters. Only the last volume remained lost in the mortal world."
"Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism divided the world among them, becoming the three great sources of martial arts!"
"Excellent, truly excellent!"
Delight flashed across Lü Yang's face. He immediately activated the Saint's Theft, and in the next moment, a surge of majestic fate's breath engulfed him, submerging his body entirely.
Instantly, Lü Yang's body exploded.
Yet remarkably, rather than scattering into gore, it dissolved into countless motes of dust, with his consciousness remaining at their center.
He could feel each particle of his bodily dust undergoing the tempering flames of fate's breath.
The smoke and fire of the mortal world, refining the golden body of a saint!
A long time passed before the vast fate's breath was fully consumed. The motes reassembled, reforming Lü Yang's physical shell.
But this time, his body had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.
"Saint's Theft... minor completion of the golden body!"
A sharp glint flashed in Lü Yang's eyes. He took a single step, and in that instant, a terrifying ripple of force capable of shaking mountains erupted outward!
Under this devastating surge, the cliffside cave where Lü Yang resided trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Boulders tumbled down like an invisible storm raged, sending countless fierce beasts and birds of prey fleeing in terror from the direction of his secluded peak.
"...Feels rather good."
Lü Yang exhaled deeply, experiencing for the first time a sense of "solidity" from his body. Now, his physical form alone could likely rival a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!
Yet in the next moment, his expression turned grave.
"According to Senior Brother Luo's experience, the Saint's Theft feeds on all under heaven, severely damaging virtue. Minor completion might slip past unnoticed, but major completion inevitably invites tribulation."
"Many who cultivated the Saint's Theft met their downfall due to this tribulation—the lucky ones escaped with their lives, while the unlucky ones, like that true disciple killed by natives in the secret realm, died unnatural deaths... But now that I operate from the shadows, who in this secret realm could become my tribulation?"
Pondering this, Lü Yang fell into deep thought.
............
Jiangnan, Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion.
Yun Zhiqiu stood atop a pavilion. Compared to his vigorous demeanor sixty years prior, he now resembled a man on death's doorstep.
Just then, a flying missive streaked through the air toward him.
Yun Zhiqiu caught it and scanned its contents—his face instantly paled. He immediately summoned a beam of light and flew straight to the ancestral home of the Yun Clan.
Upon entering, a despondent young man emerged. Seeing Yun Zhiqiu, he burst into tears: "Grandmaster Uncle... the Patriarch is fading fast. He lit the Seven-Star Lamp to see you one last time. Once the lamp extinguishes, he must reincarnate. There's little time—please hurry inside!"
"How could this be!" Yun Zhiqiu's face twisted with grief—and panic.
The Yun Family Patriarch, their sole Foundation Establishment True Person and the pillar of their clan's standing in the Sword Pavilion for centuries, had reached the end of this life!