“To join Thunder Sword Sect as a rogue cultivator, you need to be below Void God Realm. If you’re at Void God Realm or above, you must leave a soul imprint to enter. I’m already at Void God Realm, even on the verge of stepping into Human Immortal Realm, and I don’t want to leave my soul imprint, so I can only choose the path of a rogue cultivator. Still, I’m grateful, I’ve made it to Shenken Cultivation Realm, at least I no longer have to constantly fear being swept away by void vortices.”
“Today, I nearly fell in枯林域, seeking opportunities is too hard. But it wasn’t without gain, I obtained half of a broken low-grade spirit vein, a small fortune for me.”
“Today, I killed someone for the first time, a Golden Core cultivator. He’d reached Golden Core Realm yet still roamed around looking for cauldrons. Who knows how many women fell to him, thankfully my cultivation far outstripped his.”
…
After a long while, Lan Xiaobu set the diary down.
The later entries chronicled Su Cen’s grueling journey of cultivation and survival, sometimes a single spirit herb or piece of material could thrill her for ages.
As a rogue cultivator, Su Cen’s path was fraught with hardship. Unlike him, she had many unanswered questions, with no sect to guide her, she could only discuss with other rogue cultivators, nearly getting ambushed several times.
From the cultivation realm to the immortal realm, even before meeting Qiao Aolun, Su Cen’s journey was extraordinarily tough, a testament to her exceptional talent.
She’d cultivated to Soul Refining Realm on Earth, and as a rogue cultivator, not only ascended to the immortal realm but reached Immortal King status, that wasn’t something luck alone could explain.
The Reincarnation Pot sped on, another half-month passed, over a month total, before Lan Xiaobu saw from the Reincarnation Saint’s positioning orb that they were nearing their destination.
“Reincarnation Dao Friend, all I see here is a vast expanse of void clouds, how do we enter the Six Paths Nirvana Land?” Lan Xiaobu halted the pot and called the Reincarnation Saint out.
Void clouds weren’t true clouds but a mass of void substances clumped together, somewhat like mist, yet unlike mist, they could contain anything but moisture.
The Reincarnation Saint chuckled, “These aren’t void clouds, they’re the Six Paths Nirvana Barrier. From here, they look like void clouds, but up close, if your cultivation’s weak, you can’t even enter.”
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense swept the barrier, instantly feeling a powerful reincarnation aura surge toward him, he glanced at the Reincarnation Saint and said flatly, “I’m afraid it’s not just that you can’t enter, right? For someone weaker, they’d likely fall directly within this barrier.”
Lan Xiaobu saw through the Reincarnation Saint’s little scheme clearly, this guy was sly, if he couldn’t cross the barrier and died, so be it, a test of his worth to the Saint.
If Lan Xiaobu didn’t need the Saint’s help, he’d have kicked him and told him to get lost.
The Reincarnation Saint smiled, “I was just about to tell you, crossing the Six Paths Nirvana Barrier is part of comprehending the Six Paths laws. Once we step in, we start sensing them. Rest assured, Dao Friend Lan, with our strength and understanding of the Reincarnation Great Dao, passing through is a breeze.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t call him out, he stowed the pot and said, “You go first, I’ll follow.”
Without a hint of hesitation, the Reincarnation Saint stepped into the barrier.
Lan Xiaobu followed close behind, the moment he entered, a wave of despair crashed over him, then a thousand-zhang giant blade cleaved down from above, blood sprayed, his body shredded, his consciousness plunged into chaos, he felt his soul drifting in the void, desperate to find a reincarnation channel and move to the next cycle, fearing that delay would make him forget who he was and what he should do.
Wait, something’s off, Lan Xiaobu’s heart jolted, his Luck Dao Tree began to sway and spin, the next moment, the sensation vanished, leaving only a tearing emptiness around him.
An illusion?
Lan Xiaobu frowned, pondering, then realized it wasn’t quite an illusion, it was a deep-seated memory from his mind, perhaps a recollection of a past life triggered by the barrier, without the Luck Dao Tree, he’d have sunk into that death memory, his consciousness cycling through reincarnation.
Glancing at the Reincarnation Saint ahead, the Saint was clearly familiar with this place, already miles in, yet his lack of warning suggested he wasn’t surprised Lan Xiaobu might get trapped in a past life’s memory. The Saint had stopped a few miles away, though his divine sense didn’t sweep over, Lan Xiaobu still felt watched.
Something felt wrong, Lan Xiaobu linked his will to the Emperor Rest Tree, instantly clearing his mind, he sensed the surrounding reincarnation laws swirling around him, then slowly spreading outward.
It clicked, the Reincarnation Saint was cunning, he knew this barrier well, understood that first-timers would trigger past-life cycles, Lan Xiaobu didn’t know how many lives that meant, but he was sure sinking into that loop would stir the nearby reincarnation laws, letting the Saint glean his aura.
That way, the Saint could uncover his origins, whether he’d been a top-tier powerhouse.
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly, he didn’t even know his own past, yet this guy wanted a sneak peek, still testing his worth as a partner, not sharing the barrier’s details was a deliberate move to probe his roots through the laws.
With that, Lan Xiaobu willed the flowing reincarnation laws around him into action.
He crafted an image of himself as a pre-cosmic entity, cleaving open the vast universe with a single stroke, casually forging billions of laws, constructing endless cosmic rules, and birthing one primordial divine ability after another.
Not stopping there, he shaped himself as a grand creator, as the universe expanded and the Great Dao evolved, willingly dissolving himself to become billions of stars and laws across the cosmos.
Finishing this construct, Lan Xiaobu mused, this should scare the pants off the Reincarnation Saint, no more thoughts of betrayal, he, Lan Xiaobu, the universe’s founder, a mere Reincarnation Saint wouldn’t dare cross him.
Though he’d done this, doubts lingered.
At the start, he’d seen a thousand-zhang blade split his body, likely a past life, a grim one, slain outright, yet impressive, to be cleaved by such a blade meant he wasn’t weak.
Right now, Lan Xiaobu wanted to fully let the barrier’s laws affect him, to explore his past lives, but he didn’t dare, once he did, waking up wouldn’t be in his control, and the nearby Saint wouldn’t miss the chance to peek into his origins.
Time passed, how long he didn’t know, the Reincarnation Saint trembled, casting a fearful glance toward Lan Xiaobu before speeding off, vanishing in moments.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t know the Saint had fled, he’d grasped the Entry Wheel Law.
Now he understood the Six Paths Nirvana, reincarnation required the Entry Wheel Law, the foundation for a soul to enter the reincarnation channel, the bedrock of the Six Paths.
He also knew the Saint hadn’t lied, continued comprehension would let him easily grasp the Entry Wheel Law here, turning it into the first of his Six Paths.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t, he worked to perfect his own Entry Wheel Law, if it was his Six Paths, his laws, they had to align with his vision.
To him, not everyone deserved reincarnation, the Buddhist notion of放下屠刀立地成佛—放下屠刀立地成佛—was nonsense in his eyes.
If放下屠刀就能成佛, the world would’ve long been a hellscape, anyone could kill freely, then drop the blade when it suited them to ascend.
Two words summed up that absurd theory: heh, heh.
Lan Xiaobu forgot the Reincarnation Saint existed, the Entry Wheel Law around him sharpened from vague to clear, nearly solidifying, as he walked forward through the process.
When the law fully merged into his Great Dao’s charm, Lan Xiaobu stepped out of the Six Paths Nirvana Barrier.
