Free Web NovelChapter 317: Chapter 317: The Truth of Rebirth is Finally Revealed
The universe is infinite. Within their star system, the highest-level world was the Divine Realm, a place countless Immortals dreamed of reaching.
Below the Divine Realm was the Immortal Realm. Legend had it that Immortals possessed infinite lifespans; as long as they passed their reincarnating tribulations, they could live as long as the Immortal Realm itself.
And below the Immortal Realm, there were countless other worlds.
Based on their size and the completeness of their laws, they were categorized as Great Thousand Worlds, Middle Thousand Worlds, and Small Thousand Realms.
The Nine Heavens Xuan Realm, where they resided, was once a complete star system world with perfect laws, thriving and prosperous.
That was until the great war with the Demon God, which nearly destroyed the world and caused the Nine Heavens Immortal Realm to crumble.
Do the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm still exist now?
Is the Spirit Realm still connected to the Immortal Realm?
Song Wanning knew the answers to none of these questions.
As for the Outer Heaven the Heavenly Dao had mentioned, that referred to the star system worlds that existed beyond their own.
She had once read about it in a travelogue, but she had only gleaned the barest of details.
Song Wanning had no way of knowing whether those accounts were the fanciful imaginings of her predecessors or truths known only to the senior masters of old.
Now that the Heavenly Dao was broaching the subject, a trace of confusion slowly colored Song Wanning’s expression.
"In the beginning, I too was a great star system world. The Divine Realm and Immortal Realm teemed with countless Cultivators, not to mention the innumerable Small Thousand Realms like the one you’re in now!"
A touch of nostalgia laced the Heavenly Dao’s voice.
"But did you know? It was precisely because of the Nine Heavens Xuan Realm’s prosperity that it drew the covetous eyes of other star system worlds."
"That star system was called Wood Sculpture."
As it spoke the name, the Heavenly Dao’s voice became tinged with a furious, teeth-grinding hatred.
Hearing this, Song Wanning seemed to understand something. The Evil Qi surrounding her body gradually dissipated, and she chose to sit down cross-legged and listen quietly.
She gazed at the stone stele. ’It’s hard to believe,’ she thought, ’that the Heavenly Dao has emotional fluctuations just like an ordinary person...’
"This is something I only learned from the memories of those people..."
The Heavenly Dao’s voice was filled with self-mockery.
"Star system worlds weren’t supposed to interact; each existed peacefully on its own. But for some unknown reason, the Wood Sculpture Realm began to decline."
"It wasn’t just the dissipation of Spiritual Energy; many living species also vanished one after another, and disasters occurred frequently."
"It even began to threaten the Heavenly Dao Rules..."
"Later, who knows where the Wooden Sculpture World Heavenly Dao found such a depraved method, but it began to dispatch its people to other worlds—"
"What’s even more infuriating is that it was able to grant them immense luck, far surpassing that of the worlds’ native inhabitants!"
"And after those individuals with extraordinary luck grew strong, they would use every means possible to plunder the nutrients of other worlds, even inciting great wars to send those worlds into decline!"
"Back then, the Wood Sculpture Realm secretly transported a group of people right under my nose. The heavenly secrets were veiled, and I couldn’t detect them at all... Later, relying on their heaven-defying luck, that group cultivated all the way to the level of Heavenly Gods and then sought out the Demon God!"
"The Demon God always thought that I was the one who wanted to destroy her. But she was my most outstanding child! Why would I ever harm her?!"
"If she had been able to give birth to a new world and become a new great star system world herself, I would have been nothing but proud..."
The Heavenly Dao gave a bitter laugh. The Demon God’s misunderstanding of it ran too deep; even as a mere wisp of Divine Thought, she still believed it was the one who wanted to obliterate her.
Song Wanning had considered many possibilities, but she had never imagined this.
"Then that war... the one between the Heavenly Gods and the Demon God..."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, vaguely sensing the truth.
The Heavenly Dao nodded. "Yes, just as you suspect. By the time the war between the Heavenly Gods and the Demon God began, I finally realized something was wrong with the invaders, but it was already too late."
"Once the war started, both sides fought to the death, causing the entire world to begin collapsing."
"Countless Great Thousand Worlds and Small Thousand Realms were implicated..."
"The Demon God and that group of invaders, as the instigators, were flagged by the Heavenly Dao Rules for world-destruction. The rules automatically activated, and Heavenly Thunder descended, attempting to obliterate the Demon God."
"Although I am the Heavenly Dao, I do not have complete control over the rules..."
"It was then that I detected the Wood Sculpture Realm’s intentions, but it was too late to stop it. In the end, all I could do was my best to salvage the situation, desperately trying to reduce the power of the Heavenly Thunder."
"But in the end, I could only save a single wisp of the Demon God’s Divine Thought..."
Having said this, the Heavenly Dao fell into a long silence.
The Demon God’s excellence was such that even it had to take notice.
It had been extremely fond of that outstanding junior, yet it had to watch helplessly as she fell to the schemes of those people!
A world collapsing, an invasion by another of its own kind...
Looking back on it now, that day was like a nightmare.
"From then on, the Nine Heavens Xuan Realm collapsed, its laws shattered, and the Lower World completely disintegrated."
"The Great Thousand World you are in was also affected. Later, it was even split in two, reduced to a low-grade Small Thousand Realm!"
"And I... became a Heavenly Dao Fragment, abandoned in the Lower World."
A deep sorrow arose in the Heavenly Dao’s heart.
Once upon a time, its Nine Heavens Xuan Realm had been full of vigorous life, endlessly prosperous.
But now, it was declining bit by bit, becoming nourishment for another world. How could it possibly be willing to accept that?
That was why it had sought out Song Wanning.
As if sensing the Heavenly Dao’s sorrow, Song Wanning’s own mood plummeted.
She found it hard to imagine what the Three Lives Mirror must have felt all this time, whenever she cursed and swore at the Heavenly Dao.
And what about her?
For so long, she too had misunderstood the Heavenly Dao, mistakenly believing it had abandoned her.
Before, she could never understand why a Heavenly Dao would not love its own people, insisting instead on favoring an outside soul.
Now, she finally understood.
The one truly favoring Ye Chuxue was not the Heavenly Dao of this world at all, but the invading Wood Sculpture Realm.
"Senior, then my rebirth was..."
Song Wanning pursed her lips but still voiced the question that had been in her heart all along.
She had wondered many times how, with her rotten luck, a Divine Artifact could have possibly fallen into her hands.
"Everything you experienced... it all really happened..."
The Heavenly Dao knew what Song Wanning wanted to ask and held nothing back, telling her everything.
"Ever since the Lower World fell, the power of the invading Heavenly Dao has grown more severe. Especially in a heavily damaged small world like this one, I have lost almost all initiative and am suppressed by the outsider..."
"Even the Heavenly Dao Rules have been affected."
"So I once again had to watch as the invader, Ye Chuxue, grew stronger bit by bit, leading Gu Qingyuan and the others to be corrupted as well, all of them walking the path to world destruction."
Gu Qingyuan, Bai Yang, and the others were extremely weak-willed. They were easily deceived by Ye Chuxue and even did all sorts of outrageous things for her.
"At the moment of your death, it was as if I was watching the Demon God fall all over again..."
"I did not want to make the same mistake twice. Therefore, as you were dying, I exhausted the power of the rules to reverse time and space, sending you to be reborn... I also made sure to inform you that Ye Chuxue possessed astonishing luck."
"If you want your revenge, you must plan every step carefully!"
It was also because it had exhausted its power that it had been slumbering ever since, only recently managing to wake up for brief periods.
