Chapter 424: The Past of Reincarnation Celestial Worthy

Lu Ye had little contact with the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation.

But since the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation controlled reincarnation, it was inevitable that Lu Ye would interact with him, given how many of his friends had been killed.

The Celestial Lord of Reincarnation came across as a kindly old man.

If anyone sought him out regarding matters of reincarnation, he’d say, "No problem, no problem!"

Of course, there were times when he flew off the handle.

Did Lu Ye have any conflicts with the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation?

Lu Ye couldn’t recall any.

But on the path of cultivation and the fight to claim the Dao, enmity didn’t always arise from direct conflict.

The Celestial Lord of Reincarnation rose to prominence two eras before the Dark Ages, during what was known as the Age of Myriad Clans, when he established the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Before the Age of Myriad Clans was the Celestial Court Era, when the Underworld managed rebirth.

Later, the Six Paths of Reincarnation had replaced the Underworld.

Though the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation had already reached the Celestial Lord realm by then and was among the strongest in that realm, he believed his foundation was insufficient and held back from becoming a Sage.

Then, the Heaven-Devouring Ephemera emerged unexpectedly, ascending to Sagehood in demonic form.

At that time, the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation was still growing stronger. With the rise of the Demon Sage, the demonic path flourished, and demonic qi roiled like a tide, making the entire demon race unprecedentedly powerful—declaring dominion over the myriad realms.

And demons had always adhered to the law of the jungle. Most crucially, demons preferred devouring flesh and blood over souls.

Thus, the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation was drowning in souls.

Every day, countless souls and spirits arrived at the Six Paths of Reincarnation, pushing his power straight to the Celestial Lord pinnacle.

As time passed, the Demon Sage Heaven-Devouring Ephemera vanished, and the other races, suppressed for so long, exploded in long-pent-up fury.

Perhaps because "pride before the fall" was heaven’s decree, the Myriad Clans collapsed.

Chaos swallowed the world again.

At that point, the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation began contemplating whether to attain Sagehood.

After all, the bloodier the wars, the busier his Six Paths grew.

Until the rise of a certain artifact.

This artifact wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was certainly the first to be mass-produced like cheap talismans.

That artifact was the Soul Banner.

The damn Soul Banner didn’t stop at killing—it imprisoned souls, preventing them from entering the cycle of reincarnation.

The Celestial Lord of Reincarnation cursed the bastard’s ancestors eighteen ways to hell.

Gradually, he realized that the Six Paths of Reincarnation had reached its peak, like the stock market before a crash.

Go all in or bail?

After weighing the karmic scales, the Celestial Lord of Reincarnation finally made his decision.

Forward!

Then he met the Demon Sage—yes, that infamous Li Mo himself.

The same Demon Sage who was the most ruthless and brutal slaughterer in the most savage era.

If he wanted to ascend to sainthood, he would have to compete with this guy for ascension.

Reincarnation Celestial Worthy thought about it and laughed. "Ah, never mind. My lifespan is endless anyway. As long as the Six Paths of Reincarnation remain unbroken, I won’t perish."

Once again, Reincarnation Celestial Worthy gave up on sainthood.

At the time, Li Mo even sought out Reincarnation Celestial Worthy, trying to persuade him with kind words to ascend to sainthood. Because Li Mo was genuinely covetous of the Six Paths of Reincarnation—if Reincarnation Celestial Worthy competed with him for the Dao, he could accumulate even richer energy and foundation.

But after a hundred years of coaxing outside the Six Paths, even cursing Reincarnation Celestial Worthy’s ancestors hundreds of times, he still wouldn’t budge.

Reincarnation Celestial Worthy preserved himself.

After Li Mo attained sainthood, the Six Paths of Reincarnation was on the verge of collapse.

No souls—there were simply no souls left.

The Soul Banner had practically become commonplace in the cultivation world. It could no longer even be called a magical artifact—it was just a decorative item, along with countless other demonic artifacts.

Purple River Chariots, Skull Thrones, Human Skin Drums, Bone Pagodas, Filth Pools, Blood Seas, Soul Oil Lamps... beyond counting.

The methods of imprisoning souls were endlessly varied, all centered around one principle: absolutely preventing reincarnation, subjecting them to endless torment.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation was in dire straits.

It nearly fell to the same state as the Netherworld.

Under these circumstances, Reincarnation Celestial Worthy dropped all talk of sainthood. His strength was inherently tied to the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

When the Six Paths were strong, Reincarnation Celestial Worthy could be called second only to the Saints. When they were weak? Who knew? No one had ever seen Reincarnation Celestial Worthy fight during the Six Paths’ weakest moments.

Later, the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens rose with unstoppable force.

And he was truly unstoppable!

A single man, went on a rampage. The Great Sage of the Nine Heavens knew that if vermin weren’t purged root and stem, they’d bring endless calamity—so he slaughtered without restraint.

This realm had already lost most of its inhabitants during the Dark Ages’ chaos. After the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens’ rampage, life in this realm was nearly wiped out.

Don’t think Lu Ye’s current toll of lives taken is staggering, to the point where even the Human Emperor Banner reaches its limit. Compared to the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens, it still pales in comparison.

Because Lu Ye’s current world still has both good and evil people.

In the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens’ era, if you punched and annihilated ten million people, a halo of virtue might even manifest behind you.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation were suddenly bursting at the seams with souls.

But the Lord of Reincarnation wouldn’t even dream of challenging the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens for the Dao—because it was just too terrifying.

One could say the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens’ ascension to sainthood was decreed by the cosmos itself, the choice of fate.

Sure enough, after the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens became a Saint, humanity began to flourish.

And then came Lu Ye. Truth be told, Lu Ye was also incredibly strong—a peerless talent, mastering all arts.

But strangely, many people aren't afraid of Lu Ye, because he is benevolent!

Honestly, if Lu Ye hadn't experienced betrayal in his previous life and had truly become a saint, the Path of Protection would have become unprecedentedly active, directly rising as the prevailing doctrine of the era.

What kind of problem would arise then?

It's obvious—a simping epidemic would spread, where people would feel no shame but instead take pride in it.

Self-sacrifice masquerading as love, believing this to be true love.

All we can say is, thankfully, Lu Ye did not become a saint.

Did the Reincarnation Celestial Worthy participate in poisoning Lu Ye?

The system gave a clear reply.

"Ding, of course! He isn’t afraid of you. If you can’t become a saint, he’ll work toward sainthood himself. If you do become a saint, faced with the *Six Paths of Reincarnation*, you’d be too compassionate for all beings to deal him a fatal blow—at most, you’d just seal him. What does he have to fear?" The system confirmed.

Lu Ye...

"Whatever. Water under the bridge," Lu Ye said with a smile.

In this life, he wasn’t following the Path of Protection anymore. As for the collapse of the *Six Paths of Reincarnation*? If it crumbles, just rebuild it.

Right now, he could do nothing about the Reincarnation Celestial Worthy—like it or not, he had to suck it up.

"Let’s go! Cave of No Return!"

Originally, he was still debating whether to enter the Cave of No Return, but now? No need to think—just go in!

If he finds treasures, great. If not, he’ll just push the Immortal Realm to its limits inside the cave and transcend via heavenly tribulation!

"Ding, Host, why did you punch yourself just now when I was speaking?" the system asked curiously.

Lu Ye remained expressionless. "Just killing time, seeing which is tougher: my fist or my ribs."

"Ding, no!"

"Ding, you punched your chest last time too. Let me think—what happened then?"

"Fine, I won’t lie to you. I was just wondering—what were you doing in Shangguan Huanling’s dream?"

The system short-circuited.

"Alert! Alert! Host, immediately throw out all those weird thoughts about me in your head!!!"

"Bzzt, Host, swap 'sister' for *me* in your fantasies!"