Chapter 66: The Sun Rises, Stepping into the Innate Realm
After his heartfelt conversation with the Venerable Jingtian, Luofeng left a puppet at the Shangqing Sect. The puppet was not particularly powerful—about the equivalent of two Celestial Masters—just barely enough to handle any trouble that might arise. With such a conspicuous target in place, Luofeng cheerfully brought home the various classics he had acquired from different sects.
...
Tundun Valley
Having meditated upon his divine soul for over a year, Luofeng had gained some insights. His soul had now reached the first grade once more, climbing steadily through the nine grades, opening up and radiating divine brilliance. A great sun now hung behind his head, lending him a certain air of grandeur—Luofeng fancied he could even pass for an immortal now.
As his divine soul blossomed through the nine grades, it stirred the shards of the Main God. Upon his spiritual platform, the two fragments shone continuously, and Luofeng took full control of them.
Reincarnator: Luofeng (Dominion of the Main God)
Serial Number: 00-0
Skills: Ancestral Qi Breathing Technique—one hundred twenty-four levels; Ninefold Golden Body—second heaven;
Achievements: Initial Human Immortal of the Dharma Form; Elder of the Shangqing Sect;
Artifacts: Amon’s Gift;
Authority: Descent Across Time and Space (World Coordinates)
A glint flashed in his eyes as Luofeng mused, “To traverse the myriad worlds?”
Having mastered the shards of the Main God, Luofeng now possessed the highest level of authority, allowing him to use the power of the Main God to descend into other worlds. At present, he only held two world coordinates—one from Wugensheng’s world, and one native to the Main God fragment.
With a thought, five hundred puppets in the valley gathered before him. Among them was one at the fifth-tier limit, ten at the first-tier limit—comparable to Celestial Masters—the rest were ordinary puppets, their combat power mediocre.
Gazing at the five hundred dolls, Luofeng pointed and called, “You, you, you... step forward.” Ten stepped out, all ordinary puppets.
He then activated the authority of Descent Across Time and Space, casting the puppet versions of himself into the temporal channel.
A crisp crack sounded—the puppet within the Main God’s pillar of light disintegrated into powder. Luofeng touched the remains, studied them, and shook his head in resignation. The physical strength of ordinary puppets was insufficient to withstand the pressure of traversing time and space.
He made a note of two points:
First: The Main God shard’s functions were incomplete—there was no protection.
Second: The puppets’ strength was inadequate and needed improvement.
Putting away his notebook, Luofeng ordered a cleaning puppet to sweep away the powder, then resumed his experiments.
“Bring out ten ordinary ones, and one at the first-tier limit,” he muttered.
Ten ordinary puppets and one at the first-tier limit took their places. Luofeng gently tapped the latter, opening a small space within it, then placed the ten ordinary puppets inside. When the pillar of light activated, the puppet successfully transmitted—but all contact was lost, and he could no longer control it.
He jotted down three more points:
1. Descent Across Time and Space permits space within space.
2. Upon arrival, puppets lose all contact.
3. This could serve as an escape function—to evade pursuit or curses...
Closing his notebook, Luofeng felt somewhat disappointed. It seemed that the plan to remotely control puppets across worlds would not work out. He would have to wait, and build another puppet at the fifth-tier limit to try again.
Traveling alone across worlds was not entirely safe—who could say what awaited on the other side?
As Luofeng pondered, Zhang Huaiyi and Feng Tianyang came running up with looks of delight.
“Senior Luofeng, Luoyuan is about to wake up!”
Luofeng raised his head sharply, grabbed them both, and in a single stride reached Luoyuan’s quarters in an instant.
Zhang Huaiyi and Feng Tianyang exchanged a glance, fear flickering in their eyes.
Was this even human? From the open ground to the house was nearly a mile!
Luoyuan lay there, breathing steadily, drenched in cold sweat, her eyelids twitching. Luofeng raised his hand, channeling his divine soul, and sang a mysterious, ancient, lofty, and magnificent song—a soul-chant from ancient times, learned from the Miao tribes, the most potent and familiar of all soul arts.
As the song ended, Luoyuan slowly opened her eyes, glanced around, and asked anxiously, “Uncle Feng, where are Uncle Zheng and Biqing...?”
Luofeng sighed softly, “You slept too long. Old Zheng never woke, and Biqing has passed.”
“Passed?” The words struck like a thunderbolt—Luoyuan repeated them in disbelief, tears streaming down her cheeks. In a low voice, she murmured, “How could Biqing die...?”
Luofeng stroked her head and said gently, “Death is not the end. I’ve bestowed fortune upon him; with a ghostly immortal title, he’ll return one day.”
“Sleep is a little death; great death is but a dream.”
Luoyuan suddenly looked up, her eyes red, and asked urgently, “How long?”
“A few decades at least, perhaps a century. Zhou Sheng made some calculations,” Luofeng replied, shaking his head. Matters of reincarnation were beyond even his ability to predict. Estimating a rough timeframe was already the limit.
“I can wait for him,” Luoyuan whispered.
Luofeng shook his head. “It’s too long.”
Luoyuan was just an ordinary blessed one; though her body had been healed and refined by the Eight Miraculous Arts and was now nearly immortal, she might last several centuries at best. But what of her soul?
Longevity should be for freedom and joy, not for enduring centuries of suffering. Sometimes, hope torments more than despair. To live too long is to risk madness.
Who could truly bear that?
Luofeng dared not say, nor could Luoyuan promise herself. She was a clever girl and soon realized as much. Rising, she bowed deeply to Luofeng.
“Uncle Feng, though my soul is trapped, I sense things from the outside. In my sleep, I vaguely heard a voice—it called itself ‘The Perfect Hand,’ and said it could alter memories of the soul. Please, Uncle Feng, erase my unnecessary memories.”
Luoyuan knelt before him, her head bowed.
Luofeng thought for a long while, then nodded helplessly. What else could he do? Refusing would only harm her.
...
Beneath dazzling blue light, Luoyuan underwent a cleansing of her soul. Only memories of Biqing, Luofeng, and Zheng Zha remained.
Suddenly, she opened her bright eyes and said softly, “Uncle Feng, I suppose I’m reborn now. This time I’ll take your surname—how about that?”
Luofeng withdrew his hands, the modification complete, and nodded with a smile. “As long as you’re happy.”
Luoyuan sighed in relief, closed her eyes, and slipped into sleep, silently praying that her new self would accompany Uncle Feng faithfully.
Luofeng gazed at Luoyuan, who now resembled a sleeping beauty, and sighed, “Feng? Or Feng...?”
“To awaken with a heart as pure as a child’s—Feng Baobao, is it?”
...
With many miraculous arts now in his possession and Luoyuan awakened, Luofeng released everyone else. Whether they would be hunted or return to their sects was no longer his concern.
Time drifted by.
Luofeng remained in Tundun Valley, cultivating diligently, with Luoyuan—now and forever with the memories of a fifteen-year-old—by his side.
The Ninth Grade was a major threshold; once crossed, all became much easier.
After four or five years of patient cultivation, the soul blossomed to the eleventh grade.
Then, one day, as Luofeng was drawing in vital energy, he suddenly looked up. In that instant, it was as though a great sun slowly rose before his eyes.
From the east it rose, the sun red; the world, cleansed and bright.
An endless stream of human fortune surged toward him like the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.
Three lotus flowers swayed in the wind and, aided by the power of fortune and destiny, all bloomed to the twelfth grade together.
The opportunity to step into Innateness had finally arrived.
(End of Chapter)