Chapter 771 – See You in the Next Life
The Ghost King said, “Since you care so much about that little Divine Devil disciple of yours, then let him be this world’s savior instead. Gu Qingchen, everything between heaven and earth has karma. It’s natural to pay back any debt that’s owed. Even if I can give him a soul, if he hasn’t earned any great merits for the world, then everything will be in vain even if he does reincarnate – someone who should die will still die, and someone who should disappear forever will still do so.”
Gu Qingchen frowned slightly, as if deep in thought.
The Ghost King continued, “That would be the case, unless you give this chance to accumulate virtues to him. Then he will be recognized and respected by the Dao of Heaven. The soul he’ll receive will be eternal, and even his next life will be successful and smooth. He can become whatever he wants to become. In the end, all the injustice and suffering he suffered before will be repaid by the Dao of Heaven. How about it, do you want to think about it?”
Gu Qingchen fell silent.
The Ghost King said, “After all, since I agreed to this, I should see things through to the end. I wouldn’t have bothered to say so much if not for you. It’s simply a waste of words.”
A moment later, Gu Qingchen smiled involuntarily. He looked at the huge skeletal face and said, “Ghost King ah, Ghost King, your scheme is perhaps a little too far-reaching. Not only do you want me to owe you in this life, but you also want me to owe you in all lives hereafter. You really leave me speechless.”
In exchange for half of his soul, the Ghost King would send Lingyu into reincarnation. This deal should have ended in this life, but the Ghost King’s suggestion was to make it so that Lingyu would have the chance to reincarnate forever, which was equivalent to him owing the Ghost King in all lives hereafter.
But, so what?
He would agree after all.
The skeleton’s face in the clouds made a shouting expression.
“This King was merely giving a suggestion. You can decide for yourself.”
“Thank you. I will consider it carefully.”
Gu Qingchen walked towards the distance with Cangdi Fenglang’s corpse in his arms.
When the dark clouds in the sky were about to disperse, suddenly, he heard the Ghost King whispering in his ear, “Gu Qingchen, you said that you will become my Ghost Empress if you have a next life – do you really mean that?”
Gu Qingchen smiled. “I always keep my word.”
The Ghost King laughed twice, wild and happy. “Gu Qingchen, then you and I will see each other in the next life.”
Gu Qingchen said, “See you in the next life.”
This farewell might be farewell for all eternity.
Yan Tianhen suddenly burst into tears. He looked at Gu Qingchen with the same teary eyes. “Dage, Master tricked that Ghost King.”
Yan Tianhen sniffled and looked at Lin Xuanzhi. “The Southeast Land’s Pillar of Heaven contains part of Master’s soul. When he was trying to get the other eight Pillars of Heaven under control, his soul had already been damaged. The last soul and spirit supporting his body were scattered as early as when he finally suppressed Sheng Ren. When Master summoned me over for the last time, he passed all the rest of his cultivation to me. It wasn’t long before he became a corpse.”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I also met the Ghost King. Many years ago, before Xi He and Lian Hua came to Spirit Sect, the Ghost King came to look for Dao Zu.”
Chang Sheng was still young at that time. Dao Zu held his hand and leisurely walked between mountains and seas. Dao Zu told him that it was better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books.
He also told him that only when he walked more and saw more monsters and beasts would he be able to understand the beauty of this world and treat every plant and every living being with awe.
One day, when they went to the bitter sea, they met a beautiful male, who was wearing a thin black robe with his long black hair falling to the waist.
Dao Zu was very surprised. “Why are you here? Did something happen in the Ghost Realm?”
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, but he was happy to see Dao Zu and said joyfully, “It’s precisely because there’s nothing wrong that I have the time to come here to find you. I just miss you very much. Can’t I come here for that reason?”
Dao Zu’s hands were extremely warm, and Chang Sheng could feel Dao Zu’s tenderness when talking to the man.
That tenderness was different from the tenderness with which Dao Zu treated Chang Sheng, but what exactly was the difference? Chang Sheng as a child couldn’t really understand.
“Although this world has dense spiritual Qi, it doesn’t have ghost Qi. Don’t stay here for too long. You can only stay here for three days at most, otherwise it will damage your cultivation,” Dao Zu said gently.
The man snorted. “There were so many small worlds to choose from, but you just had to choose such a place. Are you hiding from me on purpose? You don’t want to be this King’s Ghost Empress, but don’t tell me you’re afraid that I’ll actually force you to marry me?”
Dao Zu said, “I’m not afraid of that. The Ghost King is a frank and straightforward person. How can he force people and make their lives difficult?”
The man called the Ghost King curled his lips. “Don’t put a moral high hat on this King. Just what kind of person this King is – how can you know better than me?”
Dao Zu smiled. “Then I’ll rephrase it. I’m not a person whom others can force.”
Ghost King: “…”
The Ghost King waved his hand. “Forget it, there are many beauties in the Boundless World. Since you have no intention of marrying me, I don’t want to marry an enemy. I just came to see how you’re doing. Since you look good, I’m relieved.”
Dao Zu looked at the Ghost King. “You came just for this?”
The Ghost King raised his eyebrows. “Otherwise?
Dao Zu asked, “You don’t have any other matters?”
The Ghost King answered, “Of course not.”
He added, “I feel terrible here, so I’ll leave first. I probably won’t appear for a long time. I’ll leave you a token. If you need my help, you can call me with this token. However, don’t use it casually if there’s no big deal. This King is usually very busy.”
“Okay, I won’t use it unless I have to.”
It seemed that the Ghost King just came to see Dao Zu. After seeing him, the Ghost King left.
The vast sea was still the vast sea, but Dao Zu stood by the sea and didn’t leave for a long time. He just looked at the boundless sea. His dark but bright eyes were like stars, reflecting the light of the sun, the moon, the sea, and the stars.
Chang Sheng took Dao Zu’s hand and asked, “Master, who was that person just now?”
Dao Zu said, “He’s someone I can’t bear to lose.”
Chang Sheng said, “What do you mean you can’t bear?“
Dao Zu looked down at Chang Sheng and smiled at him. “I can’t bear to see him in trouble, and I can’t bear to see him suffer even a little. In short, all kinds of ‘can’t bear’.”
Chang Sheng also looked at Dao Zu, “If you like him, then why don’t you stay with him?”
Dao Zu replied, “Humans and ghosts walk different paths. In this life, he is destined to become a Ghost Immortal.”
After that, Chang Sheng never saw the Ghost King again.
Dao Zu protected Cangdi Fenglang ‘s corpse with immortal spirit beads and hid it in a secret chamber deep under Spirit Sect.
After he rested, he handed the stringless zither to an outer disciple with the surname of Wan, who had been learning zither skills with him. He asked him to hide the zither well and don’t take it out until he had to.
He divined the Heavens and predicted that in ten thousand years, evil Qi cultivators would make a comeback, which would eventually be the biggest disaster facing the Nine Lands. Thus, he refined such an evil spirit array and gave it to the Shuiyun family, who had learned array arts from him, leaving the last hope behind.
Then, Dao Zu shifted the orbit paths of the celestial bodies, changing the fates of Chang Sheng and Lingyu, and also changed the future trajectory of the Nine Lands. This was a power that reached the Heavens.
Yan Tianhen looked at the starry night sky and couldn’t help exclaiming with awe, “Dao Zu has reached the point where he can change fate and oppose Heaven. Just how profound is his Dao attainment?”
Lin Xuanzhi, however, said somberly, “This is the method of burning the soul to oppose Heaven. Dao Zu has a pure spiritual constitution, which is the one constitution that’s closest to the Dao of Heaven. He sacrificed his soul to change the fate ordained by the Dao of Heaven.”
Chang Sheng also learned the art of divination from Dao Zu. At this time, Lin Xuanzhi clearly saw that the lifestar belonging to Lingyu seemed to have been faint and dim.
Dao Zu hid Lingyu’s lifestar in the clouds so that the Dao of Heaven couldn’t find his existence. When Lingyu took the Reincarnation Pill, not even the Dao of Heaven could prevent his reincarnation.
“Since evil Qi cultivators cannot be completely destroyed right now, let’s wait until ten thousand years later.”
Dao Zu looked at the sky. He seemed to be telling no one in particular, “The Nine Lands’ sparrow spirits are the last resort for destroying evil spirits. The world will experience new growth after death. There are sources of sparrow veins in the Boundless World that never dry up. Just find one.”
Then, Dao Zu went to the Demon World to find Sheng Ren, who had been hiding there and recuperating, and fought him for the last time.
When Sheng Ren was slapped down into the dark abyss, he shouted incredulously, “Impossible, you can’t possibly defeat me. This is impossible!”
Dao Zu asked, “What’s impossible? You merely did your best, while I fought with my life. I’ll help you manage those evil spirit subordinates of yours. You don’t have to worry about anything after you die.”
Sheng Ren roared, “Gu Qingchen, I’m your younger brother, you cold-blooded monster!”
Dao Zu smiled coldly. “I’ve always been cold-blooded and stubborn. If you want anyone to blame, you can only blame yourself for not being smart enough. If you reach the afterlife, you might as well look around to see if you can see the woman who killed our mother.”
After saying that, Dao Zu turned and left without looking back.
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help clicking his tongue. “Master is still the same Master – ‘obey me and prosper; oppose me and perish’. He hasn’t changed at all.”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “Indeed he hasn’t. Master usually never argues with others, and no one dares to disobey his words, so some people will always mistakenly believe that he is weak and easy to bully.”
How can someone who became the master of the Nine Lands be the fool who only knew to sacrifice himself that Sheng Ren believed him to be? Dao Zu had divined everything, arranged everything, and also paved the way for everything.
Yan Tianhen said, “Although I don’t feel very happy, I have to admit that Dao Zu really did divine everything. If I were him, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to predict so far into the future.”
Lin Xuanzhi shook his head. “No, he miscalculated a little.”
Daozu didn’t expect that Sheng Ren would be so lucky. Even though he was seriously injured, he could still survive in the dark abyss.
This was probably why Dao Zu didn’t tell Lingyu about Sheng Ren’s true identity. After all, that was his own younger brother. Even if Dao Zu said it resolutely and coldly, he probably still felt extremely miserable in his heart. Therefore, Dao Zu didn’t want to mention it again, nor did he want others to mention it again.
——-
Zaki~ I really hoped that Dao Zu reincarnated as Esteemed Lan Yue… but sigh, he didn’t have an afterlife? *cries*… :'(
