The Reincarnation Saint paused for a moment before saying, “Dao Lord Lan, you should know my background, right? And you should also know that, in the vast expanse, I have more friends than anyone.”
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “What, are you threatening me?”
The Reincarnation Saint smiled faintly, “I’m not bored enough to threaten you, but your words show you don’t truly understand what the Three Realms of Eternity mean.”
“Aren’t they the Creation, Derivation, and Fortune Realms?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
The Reincarnation Saint replied, “Yes, those are the three realms, but that’s not what I meant. I’m saying you don’t grasp what the Three Realms of Eternity truly are. To achieve the Three Realms of Eternity is to attain eternal life without decay. How difficult is eternal life without decay? Even a Ninth-Turn Saint has a lifespan that eventually runs out. To reach eternal life without decay, one must transcend reincarnation and master fate.”
Lan Xiaobu immediately realized the Reincarnation Saint was talking about something he’d never heard before, and he grew attentive.
The Reincarnation Saint continued, “How does one transcend reincarnation? Every powerhouse aiming to become an Eternal Saint must comprehend the Great Dao of Reincarnation and master its laws. Countless people have sought my guidance on the Great Dao of Reincarnation because I possess the Reincarnation Dao Scroll. Or rather, I’m the one who understands it most clearly.”
“So, you’re saying that to become an Eternal Saint, one of the nine turns must be proven through reincarnation?” Lan Xiaobu finally understood.
The Reincarnation Saint nodded, “Exactly.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t doubt his words. In fact, he’d already planned to use reincarnation to prove his Fourth-Turn Saint status, but lacking experience, he was still exploring the Great Dao of Derivation. Though he had the Reincarnation Dao Scroll, he knew it alone wouldn’t suffice to prove himself a Reincarnation Saint.
“What does mastering fate mean, then? Does one of the nine turns also need to be proven through fate?” Lan Xiaobu asked again.
The Reincarnation Saint answered, “Correct. Proving oneself through fate is even harder. The Great Fate Technique Dao Scroll isn’t something just anyone can obtain. Though both are primordial dao scrolls, the Fate Dao Scroll and Reincarnation Dao Scroll far surpass scrolls like Death, Severing, Curse, or Destruction. Only the Causality Dao Scroll can compare to Fate and Reincarnation.”
Lan Xiaobu frowned, “Isn’t luck part of fate? If I’ve proven myself through luck, doesn’t that count as mastering fate?”
The Reincarnation Saint said coolly, “Luck is luck, tied more to your Great Dao. Fate is fate, tied to your very existence. I came here to discuss two matters with you, Dao Friend. The first concerns whether you can prove your Fourth-Turn Saint status through reincarnation. The second involves the Seven Realms Stone.”
The Reincarnation Saint grew solemn, “Dao Lord Lan, I believe you’re a person of great luck, and I’m certain you’ve proven one of your saint turns through luck. But our battlefield isn’t in ordinary divine or immortal realms—it’s in the true Land of Eternity. You might think Eternal Saints are rare, that even one per realm is difficult, and that’s not entirely wrong. But you don’t realize how vast and boundless the universe is. With your current cultivation, even traveling with the Reincarnation Pot for your entire lifespan, you’d never cross the entirety of the vast cosmos…”
Lan Xiaobu stayed silent. He agreed with the Reincarnation Saint because he was right.
“Whether it’s the Longevity Realm, the Great Wilderness Divine Realm, or the fragmented realms merging in, they’re mere drops in the ocean compared to the vast cosmos—utterly insignificant. When our cultivation reaches a certain level, we’ll inevitably gather in one place: the Land of Eternity. As a Dao Lord, you’ve mastered a realm and wield its luck, which is the most fundamental step to becoming an Eternal Saint…”
Lan Xiaobu couldn’t help but ask, “What about you, Reincarnation Dao Friend?”
The Reincarnation Saint clearly aimed to become an Eternal Saint, yet he didn’t seem to be a realm’s Dao Lord.
The Reincarnation Saint smiled slightly, “To become an Eternal Saint, I naturally control a realm. But my Reincarnation Realm is a bit different. You’ve never been there, so you wouldn’t know.”
“What do you want me to help with?” Lan Xiaobu asked slowly after a moment of silence.
The Reincarnation Saint didn’t directly address the help he needed, continuing instead, “In this vast expanse, there are countless Dao Lords like you, countless beings of great luck like you. In the future, everyone will aim to become an Eternal Saint. You know a single realm can only bear so many saints—do you think the vast cosmos can bear an infinite number of Eternal Saints?”
“Are you saying even Eternal Saints are controlled by the Heavenly Dao?” Lan Xiaobu asked, startled. His goal in pursuing eternal life was to break free from the Heavenly Dao’s control. Though he was now a Dao Lord and a Third-Turn Saint, he knew he was still beneath it.
The Reincarnation Saint shook his head, “No. It’s that the vast cosmos simply can’t sustain too many Eternal Saints. Once their number reaches a limit, the universe collapses and re-derives itself. You’ve heard of the World-Destroying Tribulation, right?”
Lan Xiaobu said, puzzled, “Of course I know. Wasn’t the World-Destroying Tribulation caused by someone cultivating the Great Planetary Technique?”
The Reincarnation Saint sneered, “Do you think, after reaching Eternal Saint status through the Great Planetary Technique, you’d still need to destroy countless realms to boost your strength?”
Lan Xiaobu grew more confused, “Reincarnation Dao Friend, are you saying the last time countless realms shattered and stars crumbled wasn’t due to the Great Planetary Technique, but because the number of Eternal Saints hit a limit the universe couldn’t bear?”
The Reincarnation Saint shook his head again, “No, actually, the last World-Destroying Tribulation *was* caused by someone using the Great Planetary Technique.”
“What do you mean?” Lan Xiaobu looked at him, bewildered. His guess had been right, so why was the Saint saying otherwise?
“Because in our corner of the vast cosmos, an Eternal Saint was besieged and killed. He was targeted because the cosmos can’t sustain too many Eternal Saints. But this Eternal Saint from our region refused to go quietly. He siphoned the luck from the realms he once protected to fight back. In other words, the Great Wilderness Divine Realm is now your domain, Dao Lord Lan. If one day you become an Eternal Saint, it’ll be your foundation, the source of your luck.
As time passes, cultivators from the Great Wilderness Divine Realm will gradually develop more divine realms, immortal realms, cultivation realms, and mortal realms—all part of your foundational existence. If one day you’re struggling against a powerful foe, you could strip the luck from these foundational realms to bolster your strength,” the Reincarnation Saint explained.
Lan Xiaobu fell silent. Though the Reincarnation Saint didn’t finish, he could guess the rest. If he stripped the luck from the realms he suppressed, they’d collapse, triggering a catastrophe akin to the World-Destroying Tribulation—countless cultivators perishing, countless displaced.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s silence, the Reincarnation Saint added, “Stripping a realm’s luck and dao laws is fastest and most effective with the Great Planetary Technique. Most who reach Eternal Saint status master it. So saying the last World-Destroying Tribulation was caused by the Great Planetary Technique isn’t wrong.”
Lan Xiaobu remained quiet, not pondering whether he’d strip the Great Wilderness Divine Realm’s luck if besieged by other Eternal Saints after achieving that status. Instead, he wondered if, should he fall to such an attack, the Great Wilderness Divine Realm would collapse too.
Though he hadn’t touched the Causality Dao Scroll, he vaguely sensed a karmic tie between himself and the Great Wilderness Divine Realm. If he were killed, it might very well crumble. The treasure suppressing its luck was his fortune array disk, and many of its natural laws were likely linked to his Great Dao.
A fleeting, elusive feeling stirred in Lan Xiaobu’s heart. Perhaps…
“Dao Friend Lan, I’m telling you all this because I know you have a chance to become an Eternal Saint. In the future, if we emerge from this corner of the vast cosmos, joining forces would be the best path. I came here today not just to invite you to vie for the Seven Realms Banner, but also to inform you that the Six Paths have appeared. This is the perfect chance to prove yourself through the Great Dao of Reincarnation. So, in truth, I’m here to help you…”
Though Lan Xiaobu listened, his mind was preoccupied with the Great Wilderness Divine Realm. When the Reincarnation Saint mentioned the Six Paths, a spark flashed in his mind.
He’d need to sever his ties with the Great Wilderness Divine Realm in the future. While the Reincarnation Saint said only a realm-controlling Dao Lord had a shot at eternal sainthood, Lan Xiaobu didn’t need a realm’s beings to support his path to eternity.
He had his own realm—the Longevity Realm.
If he used a realm, or countless realms, as stepping stones, sacrificing countless lives for his eternal sainthood, he’d rather not pursue it at all.
