Chapter 1433: Past Milestones

Chen Mobai politely declined, citing his low cultivation level, as he was still only at the Void Refinement stage.

"After Tianzun's union with the Dao, his first priority will undoubtedly be to reorganize the cycle of reincarnation. The Beast Plate is one of his objectives. Little Martial Uncle, is there anything you wish to obtain from Tianzun?" Kongming nodded, recalling this fact, and asked Chen Mobai.

Most major powers in the Three Realms supported the reorganization of reincarnation, especially since it allowed them to curry favor with Tianzun, the newly promoted Innate Dao Lord. The only ones likely to be unwilling were the Ghost Mother and her Nine Sons from the Netherworld. The key to reorganizing reincarnation, the Six Path Sub-Plates, also contained the Ghost Mother's Daoist will, something Tianzun would certainly not let go of. In Kongming Heavenly Lord's view, Chen Mobai would certainly not oppose Tianzun and could use this opportunity to gain a huge favor from the Innate Dao Lord Tianzun.

"Let's see when the time comes. Isn't the Beast Plate still with the Heavenly Emperor?" Chen Mobai replied. He, however, couldn't think of anything he wanted from Tianzun. He cultivated Sagely Virtue. Although Luo Yixuan might develop an acquired Dao related to life and death in the future, she was only at the Nascent Soul stage, so considering such things was still too far off.

"That's right. The Heavenly Emperor will probably also have some negotiations with Tianzun," Kongming said, thinking of something, and couldn't help but shake his head.

Amidst the shimmering silver light, the four True Immortal Dao Lords of the Eastern Huangyuan Villa had already departed.

Forbidden Land.

The wood-crowned youth stepped emotionlessly out of the Qinghua Realm. He first looked up towards the direction of the Three Sacred Realms of the Spirit Void Immortal Realm. Sensing no Pure Yang presence, he let out a cold snort. Then, he looked towards the deepest part of the Star Sea, somewhere close to chaos.

"I didn't expect the Dao that Ancestral Dragon didn't want would actually flourish," Reincarnation muttered, clicking his tongue after sensing the Heavenly Emperor's true form. The Innate Dao of Life and Death in the Three Realms was originally infused by Reincarnation through the Book of Life and Death, an Innate Supreme Treasure of the Zixiao Universe. For this reason, the Dao that Tianzun was to merge with was the one Reincarnation had created.

Reincarnation, who commanded life and death, had at some point in the past seen when he would die: Tianhai achieving creation, and all things returning to nihility. In that nihility, he, who controlled life and death, would also vanish as the Great Dao was annihilated. Originally, Reincarnation thought it was a delusion, as life and death, like Nirvana, were transcendent Daos, beyond the concept of death. Even if the universe met its end, he should have survived. However, after the Tianhe Realm was opened, Tianhai refined the first strand of creation energy, which was identical to the beginning of the death he had foreseen.

Under these circumstances, Reincarnation dared not gamble, so he left behind a Dao beacon within the Dao of Life and Death of the Three Realms, allowing for his return. When he left the beacon, Reincarnation had already attained the Pure Yang realm by creating a new world. But the methods left by a Pure Yang realm cultivator would certainly not escape Tianhai, who was about to achieve creation. Therefore, Reincarnation allowed the Ghost Mother to break out of the Netherworld to resist Tianhai. After Tianhai shattered the Dao of Life and Death, Reincarnation's Dao beacon was concealed within the fragments. Subsequently, Reincarnation, over a long period, gradually approached his eventual death.

Now, since his Dao beacon had revived, it signified that in the Zixiao Universe, his true body had indeed confirmed the death he had witnessed earlier. However, the Dao beacon that had revived in Tianzun only contained all of Reincarnation's memories from the time it was left. Therefore, he did not know the reason for the nihility he faced at the time of his death. After all, although he was currently only an Innate Dao Lord, Reincarnation could still vaguely perceive the existence of the Zixiao Universe. This implied that the universe created by Zixiao Dao Venerable had not entered nihility.

So, a question arose: If there was no nihility, why had his true body, Reincarnation, been annihilated? Who did it? Considering that anyone capable of annihilating his true body would at least wield a Dao of Termination, and possibly even be a Ninth-tier being, Reincarnation decided to thoroughly conceal his identity and investigate the truth using Tianzun's name.

The clue had been in plain sight for a long time: Tianhai! Her achievement of creation had brought about nihility. Previously, Reincarnation had thought that perhaps the realm of creation itself had caused a stress response in the Zixiao Universe, prematurely triggering the final tribulation and leading to the universe's destruction, thus affecting mighty beings like himself and reducing them to nothingness. But now that he had returned, Reincarnation felt that things were not that simple. He needed to thoroughly investigate Tianhai.

Thinking this, Reincarnation's gaze turned towards Xuanyuan Heaven within the Three Sacred Realms. Tianzun's identity was perfectly usable. Tianzun was Tianhai's disciple, and now that he had ascended to the Innate Dao Lord realm, it was perfectly legitimate for him to return and govern Xuanyuan Heaven. During this process, his own cultivation realm also needed to be raised as quickly as possible. A Seventh-tier Dao union, even for an Innate Dao Lord, was still somewhat weak. It would be best to reach the Pure Yang realm; only then would Reincarnation feel a sense of security. Coincidentally, within the Three Realms, the Innate Hunyuan Dao was also vacant.

"Oh!" Just as Reincarnation was sensing the Hunyuan Dao, he discovered the existence of the Hunyuan Golden Dou. After possessing Tianzun, Reincarnation, for the sake of disguise, also inherited all of Tianzun's connections. The Hunyuan Golden Dou, as an artifact refined by Tianzun's clone to achieve the Dao, was intimately connected to him. However, in order to merge with the Innate Dao of Life and Death, Tianzun had purged all Daos except for life and death, so Reincarnation was currently unable to summon the Hunyuan Golden Dou. Nevertheless, for Reincarnation, this was merely a matter of time. He simply needed to fully comprehend the Hunyuan Dao. Moreover, he currently possessed the Life-Death Plate, an Innate Supreme Treasure that had been reborn through Nirvana alongside the Dao, so he intended to let the Hunyuan Golden Dou remain outside for a while.

After clarifying his next actions, Reincarnation also saw various Dao avatars descending through the void.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on your union with the Dao.""The Immortal Realm has gained another Heavenly King.""This old one, Wanling, greets fellow Daoist Tianzun."

One by one, the True Immortal Dao Lords greeted Reincarnation, who now occupied Tianzun's body, with courteous words and friendly expressions.

"Greetings, fellow Daoists," Reincarnation replied. He also restrained his arrogant nature and returned their greetings to these "country folk" of the Three Realms. It was also a good opportunity for him to understand the current situation of the Three Realms through them.

Soon after, a female cultivator in a long blue-black dress with waist-length hair arrived at the Forbidden Land, accompanied by three True Immortals.

"Greetings, Heavenly Lord Beixuan." The many True Immortals present greeted the female cultivator very politely. She was indeed the Heavenly Lord of the War Department. The Grand Ancestor of Nine Heavens Demonic Extermination was her deputy, and like Wuwei, was an Immortal Lord.

"So it's Junior Sister," Reincarnation said, recognizing Heavenly Lord Beixuan's identity.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on your promotion to Innate Dao Lord. However, I am currently on official business. After I apprehend the culprit, I will properly celebrate with you," Heavenly Lord Beixuan said with a slight bow, her gaze falling on Dao Lord Wanling, who was still unaware of what was happening. After receiving the Heavenly Emperor's decree, she immediately led all the True Immortals of the War Department, except for the Demonic Extermination, to apprehend the target. However, by the time they arrived at Wanling's cave mansion, he had just sensed Tianzun's union with the Dao and had come here to join the crowd. She had tracked him all the way here using a secret Dao technique.

"Oh?" To the surprise of Reincarnation and the True Immortal Dao Lords present, Heavenly Lord Beixuan and the other three True Immortals of the War Department teleported around Wanling, encircling him completely.

"Heavenly Lord, what is the meaning of this?" Wanling asked, his heart trembling, though he had already guessed the reason.

"By decree of the Heavenly Emperor, you are to be arrested and imprisoned in the Immortal Dungeon. Please do not resist, or you will suffer unnecessary pain," Heavenly Lord Beixuan stated calmly, her eyes flickering with the ebb and flow of tidal waves. The boundless spiritual energy and vast starlight of the Forbidden Land surged and receded with her breath, instantly forming an invisible prison that descended with Wanling at its center.

The Dao of Primordial Beginning! Reincarnation couldn't help but exclaim inwardly upon seeing this. Heavenly Lord Beixuan, being able to serve as one of the Eight Heavenly Lords alongside Heavenly Lord Xuansu, had naturally cultivated the Five Tai Daoist Scriptures of Xuanyuan Heaven. She practiced the original "Book of Primordial Origin" left by the Water Mother. Although she had not yet ascended to an Innate Dao Lord, with a single thought, she controlled all the Primordial spiritual veins of the Spirit Void Immortal Realm. However, to be safe, she still brought the other three True Immortals of the War Department. After all, Wanling had also inherited the Dao Lineage of the Seven Creation Sages.

"I am innocent! Even the Heavenly Emperor cannot pervert justice!" Wanling exclaimed. He initially wanted to resist, but after mustering his courage to clash his Dao against Heavenly Lord Beixuan, he found he was no match at all. He could only surrender, hoping that the Heavenly Empress's lineage would rescue him.

"I am only responsible for apprehending you," Heavenly Lord Beixuan said. She nodded slightly at Wanling's cooperation, expressing her stance. She presumed the Heavenly Emperor had already arranged how he would be interrogated and sentenced after being taken back. The Heavenly Emperor had endured this for tens of thousands of years and was nearing abdication; Beixuan didn't believe Wanling would fare well. A dignified-looking True Immortal from the War Department took out a set of spiritual talismans and affixed them to various parts of Dao Lord Wanling's body. Finally, he produced a set of shackles and bound Wanling. Only then did Beixuan release her Dao suppression.

Just then, more Dao spiritual light descended. It was the four, including Kongming.

"Greetings, fellow Daoists. Junior Sister is here too, what a coincidence," Kongming said as they arrived, seeing Heavenly Lord Beixuan detaining Wanling, a look of surprise on his face.

"Since Junior Sister has finished apprehending the person, as your Senior Brother, I intend to pay my respects to Master's divine statue. Might you be able to take me to Xuanyuan Heaven?" Reincarnation finally spoke up. Upon hearing his words, Kongming and Ji Yuhan merely showed slight changes in expression. Xuansu and Wuwei, however, had their pupils constrict. They hadn't expected their casual conversation at the Eastern Huangyuan Villa to actually come true.

"I still need to take Wanling back to Miluo Heaven. If Senior Brother can wait, you could come with me to Miluo Palace. It would also be a good opportunity to have an audience with the Heavenly Emperor," Heavenly Lord Beixuan replied. Her reply made Reincarnation frown slightly. He currently did not wish to meet the Heavenly Emperor, even if the one seated in the Ziwei Palace was merely a clone.

"How about I take Senior Brother there instead?" Heavenly Lord Xuansu offered.