Chapter 222 - 221: The Dao of Three Rebirths

Lord Zhao fell backward, scrambling away from the creature, his face completely drained of blood. He pointed a finger at the thrashing beast, his hand shaking so badly it took him a moment to find his voice again.

"An Ancestral Fish..." Lord Zhao gasped, his voice cracking with sheer awe. "What fortune... what impossible, heaven-defying fortune! Never has an Ancestral Fish been pulled from the Great Sea since the ancient era! Many speak of them as myths! If anyone in the Central Continent hears of this, your wife will become the absolute obsession of every cultivator alive!"

Bai Qingyue stared at the magnificent, terrifying creature, her chest heaving with exertion, her hands still trembling from the strain.

The Ancestral Fish stopped thrashing. Its golden eyes locked onto Bai Qingyue.

It opened its mouth.

A single, blinding orb of pure Dao Essence floated out from its maw. The orb contained three distinct, swirling colors—black, white, and a deep, bloody crimson—that chased each other in an endless, mesmerizing cycle.

The orb drifted through the air, floating gently until it hovered directly in front of Bai Qingyue’s chest.

Having delivered its ultimate fortune, the massive Ancestral Fish dissolved into a shower of golden sparks, drifting harmlessly back into the roaring sea.

Bai Qingyue reached out, tentatively touching the floating orb of Dao Essence.

"I... I cannot read it," she whispered, a profound sadness touching her features. "Because my cultivation is shattered, my spiritual sea cannot interact with the resonance. It is a closed book to me."

"Allow me," Lord Zhao said, stepping forward eagerly, his eyes practically burning with covetous desire. He extended his Divine Sense toward the orb.

A moment later, Lord Zhao hissed in pain, staggering backward and clutching his head.

"I cannot comprehend it either," Lord Zhao groaned, rubbing his temples. "The laws within this essence are beyond my comprehension."

Lin Yuan stepped forward, positioning himself protectively between Lord Zhao and his wife. He raised his hand, placing his palm an inch away from the swirling, tri-colored orb.

He closed his eyes, extending his Against Heaven comprehension and his Divine Sense into the essence.

The knowledge exploded in his mind.

Lin Yuan’s eyes snapped open, his deep purple irises flashing with a profound revelation.

"The Dao of Three Rebirths," Lin Yuan spoke, his voice echoing across the void, carrying a weight that made the starry sky above them seem to dim in reverence.

"Three Rebirths?" Lord Zhao repeated, completely bewildered. "What does that mean? I have heard of the Dao of Reincarnation, but Three Rebirths?"

Lin Yuan kept his gaze fixed on the orb.

"There’s a popular saying," Lin Yuan began, reciting the profound truth he had just deciphered. "’The Dao gives rise to one. One gives rise to two. Two gives rise to three. And three gives rise to all things.’ This orb is the Rebirth Essence. It is the conceptual foundation that leads to the rebirth of all things."

Lin Yuan turned his head to look at Lord Zhao, his expression entirely solemn.

"It is an essence of reincarnation that can rival one of the pinnacles of cultivation, a realm where one can physically touch the cycle of reincarnation and pull someone out of it. With the Dao of Three Rebirths, one can begin to comprehend the countless cycles of life and death and, ultimately, manipulate the Six Paths of Reincarnation itself."

Lord Zhao’s entire body violently shook.

The color drained from his face, replaced by a look of sheer, agonizing heartbreak and desperate, overwhelming yearning.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation, Lord Zhao’s mind screamed, his soul tearing itself apart. To pull someone from the cycle...

If he had that Dao. If he had pulled that fish. He could have possessed the hope of pulling his beloved brother’s soul back from the cycle of reincarnation. He could have undone the greatest tragedy of his life.

Lord Zhao stared at the orb hovering in front of Bai Qingyue. A dark, covetous shadow fell over his heart. He wanted it. He wanted to lunge forward, snatch the orb, and flee into the void.

But as his muscles twitched, Lin Yuan shifted his stance by a mere fraction of an inch.

The suffocating, absolute pressure of the Unshaken Stage washed over Lord Zhao like a tidal wave of glacial ice.

Lord Zhao froze. The bitter, agonizing reality crashed down upon him. He was at the Resolute Stage. Lin Yuan was at the Unshaken Stage. If Lin Yuan was still at the Early Stage, Lord Zhao might have gambled his honor, and steal that essence. But now? Against a man who had casually extorted a Half-Step Transcendent stage cultivator?

If Lord Zhao took a single hostile step, Lin Yuan would effortlessly execute him and toss his corpse into the infinite waterfall.

Lord Zhao closed his eyes, a single, bitter tear escaping his lashes.

She possesses immense fortune, Lord Zhao thought, forcing his greed into a shallow grave. But the Heavens demand balance. Is this why such a devastating misfortune had to befall her? Was her cultivation shattered so that the balance of Heaven and Earth could be maintained against such impossible fortune?

"Ten minutes," Lin Yuan stated sharply, breaking the agonizing silence. He could feel the spatial pressure of the Exotic Realm beginning to compress his spiritual sea. "The realm is rejecting us. We must leave."

Lord Zhao nodded weakly, his spirit utterly deflated. "Join hands."

They linked hands once more. Lord Zhao channeled his Qi into the seal, and the scripture finally ignited, its entire surface burning away until nothing remained.

The starry void collapsed inward.

CRACK!

They materialized once more in the center of the eastern courtyard of the provincial palace. The morning sun hung almost exactly where it had been when they left, yet there was a subtle difference in the atmosphere. Nearly an entire day had passed in Sky Jade City.

Then, Lord Zhao immediately released their hands, taking several large steps backward. He looked tired. The veteran expert looked entirely exhausted, carrying the weight of a shattered dream.

"I will leave you to your fortune, Daoist Lin, Lady Bai," Lord Zhao said, his voice entirely devoid of its usual booming resonance. He bowed deeply, refusing to look at the glowing orb that had materialized in the physical world alongside them. "I must meditate. I bid you a good morning."

Without waiting for a response, Lord Zhao turned and walked rapidly out of the courtyard, fleeing the temptation before it could consume his Dao Heart.

Lin Yuan watched him go, fully aware of the agonizing internal war the Lord had just fought.

He turned his attention back to Bai Qingyue. She was staring at the tri-colored orb of the Dao of Three Rebirths still hovering before her.

"Because of your current state, you cannot interact with the essence yet. I will store it in my spatial ring for you," Lin Yuan said smoothly, extending his hand. "Once we conclude this tournament and I ask Emperor Tianxu to restore your cultivation, you will be able to comprehend it. It will become the foundation upon which you ascend."

Bai Qingyue did not move. She looked at the orb, and then she looked up at Lin Yuan, her eyes blazing with absolute determination.

"No," she said firmly.

Lin Yuan’s hand paused. "No?"

"I will not take it, Yuan," she stated, shaking her head. "I want you to absorb it."