Chapter 365: An Li’s Reincarnation

The emerald-green Tree of Dao Enlightenment gently swayed its canopy.

Ribbons of light, like drizzling luminescent rain, fell upon the great hall, seeping into its very structure.

Lu Ye's voice was calm as he spoke profound truths in brief phrases—green lotuses parting chaos, a bright moon illuminating eternity, radiant mist spreading, divine birds wheeling.

Myriad marvels emerged one after another.

The disciples of the Heavenly Gate were spellbound.

Lu Ye spoke freely and widely, yet never disjointed.

Even when sharing thoughts as they came, his words progressed from the simple to the profound, easy to grasp yet endlessly thought-provoking.

For Lu Ye to expound the Dao was akin to a Nobel laureate lecturing undergraduates—offhand insights, if grasped, could easily lead to publications in top-tier journals.

Yet this analogy falls somewhat short.

For Lu Ye's teachings not only made his audience understand but also directly enhanced the Dao attainment of everyone present.

Even if you didn't comprehend, it didn't matter.

If you listened attentively and immersed yourself, your Dao would still progress.

What did the gate master say?

Who knows!

How much has your Dao improved?

At least fifty percent!

Such was the wonder of a Celestial Lord's sermon—you'd improve even without understanding.

But if you did understand? That would be extraordinary.

As the lecture continued, breakthroughs occurred among the listeners one after another.

Vast amounts of heaven and earth energy, along with stellar energies, converged upon this place.

Lu Ye's own power grew as well. The energy grew so dense that merely three days of lecturing elevated his cultivation to the Third Heaven of the Stellar Realm.

His qi underwent constant purification, its quality now several times greater than during the Terrestrial Realm.

Time flashed by.

Lu Ye ended his sermon.

Every person present closed their eyes at that moment, as even vaster heaven and earth energies came roaring in.

Breakthrough!

Ascension!

Unending breakthroughs!

This was but a modest gift Lu Ye bestowed upon the Heavenly Gate.

It can be said that such a gift is almost one-of-a-kind.

No Celestial Lord can reach the Fifth Heaven, and even if there are reborn experts, they would not expose themselves prematurely.

The difficulty of growing without revealing one's reincarnation versus growing while exposed will drastically increase.

It’s frightening.

But Lu Ye is unafraid.

For others, exposing reincarnation is fatal, but for Lu Ye, it only excites him further and makes his path of growth clearer.

A path to the Dao paved with countless bones is far more satisfying than a cautious one.

Lu Ye also seized the opportunity to train.

Before long, another half-month passed.

Lu Ye's strength reached the fifth layer of the Star Realm—his advancement was truly rapid.

The main reason was the incredibly dense energy here, with numerous powerhouses achieving breakthroughs.

Lu Ye realized that this seemed to be a highly effective training method as well.

Far faster than simply absorbing spirit stones alone.

One after another, cultivators succeeded in their breakthroughs.

Some even reached the Immortal Realm, while others advanced two or three minor realms in succession.

"Thank you, Grand Master!"

"Thank you, Grand Master!"

Lu Ye received endless thanks—this was the might of a reincarnated Celestial Lord, absolutely formidable.

After such an event, Lu Ye solidified his position as the Grand Master in the Fifth Heaven.

Seeing that the vast majority had completed their breakthroughs, Lu Ye finally addressed the urgent task at hand.

That was—searching for the Dark Origin!

Last time, the Devourbeast's betrayal must have struck a heavy blow to the Dark Origin.

If the Dark Origin sought to revive An Li, it would remain in the Fifth Heaven.

Because An Li was born of the Fifth Heaven—even if she died and was reborn, she would still belong to the Fifth Heaven.

She could not go to any other Heaven due to the rules laid down by the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens.

For An Li to revive, she must return to the Fifth Heaven.

The Dark Origin would linger here for her revival. As long as they could locate the Dark Origin, even if they couldn’t destroy it, An Li’s revival would not go unchallenged.

But how to find it was a new challenge.

Lu Ye was well-acquainted with the Dark Origin.

Though Providence could not detect where the Dark Origin resided, mortals could perceive it.

Wherever It dwells, chaos and darkness will surely fill that place.

First, send Tianmen's forces out to search for various anomalous sites.

Then, I'll personally take Shen Xitong to check each spot—might just hit the jackpot?

On another note, Lu Ye must also work on leveling up.

He's still weak as hell. Apart from effectively striking the Dark Origin through Providence, he can hardly do anything else.

In this life, his cultivation speed is much faster than in his previous one.

The damn Demon Tide, which should have erupted in the Fifth Heaven, is holding off for now.

But we still gotta prep for it.

After all, so many Soul Banners are prime fodder for the Human Emperor Banner, and Lu Ye doesn’t want to waste them.

Upon hearing Lu Ye’s orders—especially since they were jobs for Providence itself, not looking like his own beef—the Tianmen members naturally had no objections.

Meanwhile.

An Li had already been through the reincarnation wringer countless times.

Her core spirit had gradually begun to take ghostly shape.

However, An Li was clearly far from cozy. While reincarnating under the protection of the Dark Origin had its benefits,

with benefits came drawbacks.

The drawback was that she could not form any connection with the world—meaning, she was a freakshow to every living soul.

Just standing there, everyone who looked at her saw something wrong.

From childhood, even her own parents disliked her, forget about strangers.

One cycle like this—she didn’t care.

But ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times…

It choked the life out of her.

This feeling of being isolated and bullied by everyone was absolute hell.

Even when she finally got strong enough to wreck all those who had tormented her,

what good did that do?

She began trying not to kill.

Trying to play nice with others.

But nobody would give her the time of day.

The whole world froze her out!

She had not a single soul to count on, no one to rely on.

Never had, not in this life, not in any other!

She felt empty inside.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

Good or bad, we all need love.

Love is what you make of it—real if you believe it, fake if you don't.

An Li was hurting.

Sigh...

Yes, An Li was starved for love...

If, under such circumstances, someone appeared who was willing to believe in her and have her back...

An Li wouldn't even recognize how far she'd go.

She could only keep trying to calm herself.

Another cycle of reincarnation ended, and An Li was left gasping. No, she needed to pace herself.

If she didn't, she would go mad.

She didn't want to reincarnate now—she wanted to rest. Turning from True Spirit back into a mere soul was harder than she had imagined.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation—every path but rebirth was blocked. It was deliberate; they wanted no karma with An Li.

Where did that leave her?

An Li wandered aimlessly.

Without thinking, she wound up at the very bottom of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

And there it was... her deepest obsession...