Chapter 1010: Mud Figurine Makes a Move

Chu Feng felt a chill. He had been to this place multiple times before, even sitting beside the stone embryo, enjoying the burning talisman paper offerings, and nothing had ever happened. But now, it was glowing. Dust stirred and fell in a steady stream, and its animal skin robe sleeves billowed.

Chu Feng felt a huge headache, realizing the truth of the saying: one cannot walk by the river often without getting their shoes wet. He had visited this place repeatedly without encountering any problems, but today, something significant was finally happening. Was the mud embryo about to settle scores with him?

He felt a bit guilty. Everyone else who came here worshipped and kowtowed piously, but he had never been so reverent. He had even, at one point, harbored thoughts of stripping off the mud embryo's battle robe and taking its prayer beads. Although he never acted on these impulses or plundered anything, the thoughts had been very strong.

Now, he really wanted to say, "Hey, buddy, you just keep sleeping; I'm just passing by!" In fact, he tried to do just that, attempting to slip away with a forced nonchalance. However, an inexplicable field energy emerged, trapping him; he couldn't move.

Chu Feng sighed in despair, his scalp tingling as he looked at the mud embryo.

Time flowed like a rushing river; countless eons, perhaps hundreds of millions of years, had passed. The dust on the mud embryo was so thick it had long obscured its true appearance. Now that it was glowing, dust several inches thick was falling from it. In particular, one of its robe sleeves was billowing, rustling loudly, and emitting dazzling light. The mud embryo's movements were truly a bit frightening. Normally, this place was as silent as snow, but now dust was flying, making it a little hard to breathe.

"Hmm, something's not right!" Chu Feng's heart pounded, but he also noticed something unusual. Everything stemmed from one of the mud embryo's hands. Its main body hadn't moved; the billowing of the animal skin robe originated from its left wrist, which was shimmering with dazzling light, rippling runes, and brilliant radiance.

It was the string of beads! Composed of animal bones, teeth, bird beaks, and other materials, it was threaded together by unknown biological tendons, forming a beautiful yet ancient string of beads. At this moment, the smoothly polished bird beaks, animal teeth, and crystalline bone fragments all vibrated together, emitting light. The entire string of beads was sacred, serene, and incomparably brilliant!

Initially, it ascended like the morning glow, illuminating all directions, then finally resembled a breathtaking divine rainbow, too dazzling to look at directly. Most importantly, it exuded a supreme aura that awe-inspired people. Even a Divine King would feel as insignificant as an ant, as weak as dust, utterly negligible in its presence.

Chu Feng was sure that if he hadn't had the stone box, he might have been completely overwhelmed and unable to stand safely here. He might not have exploded into dust or been utterly destroyed, but he would most likely have collapsed to the ground. In the past, the strongest beings he knew were at the Reflection level, and he had no idea there were higher realms. He had even once thought that this string of beads was made from polished Reflection-level animal teeth and bird beaks. Now, that guess seemed utterly ridiculous, miles off the mark. This string of beads was definitely an ultimate artifact, capable of driving all cultivators in the heavens mad.

Protected by the stone box, Chu Feng gradually stabilized and stopped trembling, but his heart still felt a chill, sensing that something was about to happen. He observed carefully: the mud embryo's main body truly hadn't moved. Although much dust had fallen, its true form was still heavily caked, its real appearance obscured; he couldn't even discern if it was male or female, old or young. Only its left hand, specifically its animal skin robe sleeve, was billowing!

The bone string was glowing too intensely, and at that moment, it shot out a colorful beam of light directly towards Chu Feng, making escape impossible. The beam carried the aura of eons, composed of fragments of various grand dao, like a divine decree spanning the sky, descending upon Chu Feng.

"No!" Chu Feng roared, his heart feeling like it would burst, his soul light trembling as if the end of the world had arrived. Was the mud embryo truly going to settle scores with him?

With a hum, the light enveloped him. The sacred and mighty colorful beam could seemingly crush everything, omnipotent, binding Chu Feng from head to toe, instantly surging through him. During this process, the stone box shimmered, but after a slight tremor, it returned to normal, not blocking the beam of light shot from the string of beads.

"I'm just passing by!" Chu Feng wanted to scream, but no sound came out. He couldn't move; even his soul light felt frozen. It was like a mountain flood pouring down, surging through Chu Feng's body, the sound incredibly loud and deafening, making his flesh tremble and his soul light resonate.

What was happening? Suddenly, he felt as if he had transcended, able to observe everything within himself. The colorful beam was impacting his entire being, from blood and bone to soul, every inch being meticulously combed through. Then, Chu Feng saw a terrifying sight: how could there be two of him?

One was his true self, perfectly fine. The other had blood dripping from its eyes and a strange smile on its lips, almost perfectly overlapping with his own body. He was terrified, instantly realizing what it was! The ominous substance, had it not been completely eliminated yet?

"Aow..." A piercing shriek, like a wailing ghost, horrifying and terrifying, erupted from Chu Feng's own flesh and soul, shattering the tranquility at the end of the reincarnation road.

Yes, Chu Feng had a sudden realization: this stone embryo wasn't merely sitting here in closed-eyed slumber; it was guarding this path, preventing certain things from entering reincarnation. Though seemingly still and lifeless, it was silently overseeing everything. At the same time, he understood that it wasn't that the crude stone millstone wasn't strong enough; rather, his flesh and soul light had never been completely crushed or formatted. He had arrived with his physical body, which was why some ominous substance still lingered.

But here, with the mud embryo presiding, whether it was a lifeless object or still alive, the string of beads on its wrist was carrying out a certain directive: purifying everything and deterring anything from this path. This was the final screening, eliminating potential dangers!

Chu Feng didn't know whether to feel fortunate or terrified. The ominous substance was far more frightening and complex than he had imagined, not yet completely eradicated, requiring the mud embryo's intervention. More precisely, the string of beads on the mud embryo's wrist had been activated, grinding away the terrifying substance. Gray mist was not allowed in reincarnation!

Chu Feng recalled how he had once wanted to take this string of beads for himself. Now, it truly seemed utterly audacious, a case of ignorance being bliss. However, he also secretly sighed, thinking that if he could wear this item on his own wrist, he wouldn't need to fear any ominous substance and could freely use his Minor Six Paths Time Art without any hidden dangers.

The "Chu Feng" that had been entangled with his true body, bleeding from all seven orifices and covered in wounds, now directly exploded, completely annihilated by the colorful beam shot from the shimmering string of beads. At this moment, Chu Feng felt as if a prisoner had broken free from a dark cell, his entire being feeling several times lighter. This made him feel even more refreshed than after the purification at the stone millstone. He knew that this time, the hidden danger had been completely eradicated.

Spiritual obscurity—how terrifying was that? If the gray mist hadn't been completely eliminated here, how could he compete with the geniuses of the Yang Realm in the future? With such an inherent deficiency, he would only grow dimmer and dimmer!

"Hmm?" At the same time, Chu Feng noticed that after the "Chu Feng" with blood flowing from its seven orifices, which had been attached to his flesh and soul light, was obliterated, it transformed into tiny specks of gray powder, not completely disappearing. However, there was no longer any ominous or strange quality; after being completely purified, it was restored to a special kind of substance.

At this point, something within him stirred, pulling in and absorbing the tiny specks of the most fundamental gray powder. This startled Chu Feng greatly, but then he felt relieved. The small black-and-white millstone slowly rotated within his body. This item was very special and extremely resilient. Chu Feng had faced many dangers before, his physical body rotting away, even turning into blood and bone, but it had always remained, never perishing. It existed between matter and energy, proving greatly useful.

Now, as it absorbed the most fundamental gray powder, it underwent a change, no longer distinctly black and white, but rather somewhat grayish. Chu Feng's heart stirred with a thought: in this world, where was there absolute black and white? Many people walked in a gray area. He clearly understood that this grayish small millstone was even more extraordinary than before. What it absorbed here was an extremely special primordial substance, the tangible remnants left after the ominous and strange had been purified. He even suspected that this was originally an astonishing item that had been contaminated, and now, returning to its origin, it was regaining its true form.

He clearly knew that the small black-and-white millstone was very useful to him. The prehistoric lands of the Yang Realm were rich in spiritual essence, and dangerous areas in mountains and rivers contained various rare fruits. He needed the small millstone to help him evolve. Originally, cultivators most suitably absorbed pollen, but with the small millstone, he could resolve everything, purifying rare fruits and the like. Moreover, if he evolved using domain methods, consuming the spiritual essence contained in the renowned mountains and rivers of the Yang Realm, the small millstone's role would be even greater.

With a hum, the bone string on the mud embryo's wrist stopped glowing and dimmed. Its robe sleeves also ceased billowing, and the place instantly returned to tranquility. Chu Feng regained his freedom, no longer restrained. His expression was complex. Was this the mud embryo taking action, or was it simply the rules of this place purifying him?

He could only marvel that the Land of Reincarnation was too mysterious. Perhaps it wasn't something a mere history of evolution could create. It held immense secrets, connecting to some very important nodes in the history of cultivation! How many had fought battles here? How many ultimate beings had manifested and contended within reincarnation? How many beings were truly involved in this grand scheme, and at what levels were they? Was the Emperor, who followed the strongest path and was mentioned by the Stone Fox, involved in this? What level did he stand at compared to some of these beings?

Chu Feng had too many questions. However, no matter how long he lingered or murmured, he received no answers here. The silence of this Land of Reincarnation might just be an illusion; fierce clashes could be happening elsewhere, unseen. He understood that his own level was insufficient.

Chu Feng resolutely set off, leaving this place and heading towards the incredibly mysterious Reincarnation Cavern! That cavern was the ultimate destination of reincarnation. What did it hold? His heart churned with anticipation and apprehension, unable to find peace.

With a whoosh, Chu Feng leaped up, transforming into a streak of light, and plunged into the ancient cavern marked with mottled imprints of reincarnation.