Chapter 3133: The Secret of Immortality
Zhang Ruochen had not expected Wu Yue to say such words. Was this truly an open and honest discussion?
Xue Jue War God continued, "She told me her secret."
"What secret?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "To trace this matter to its source, we must start from the time when Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable was alive. Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable spent his entire life searching for the method of immortality, and he set his sights on Jiusi Yitianhuang, who had already lived six lifetimes."
"Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable killed Jiusi Yitianhuang's sixth life form and seized his secret of immortality."
"However, Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable did not anticipate that Jiusi Yitianhuang had not truly been killed, but had survived into his seventh life. After Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable died of old age, the seventh-life Jiusi Yitianhuang told the news that Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable had obtained the secret of immortality to his four disciples, which led to the later incident of the Four Sons Dismembering the Corpse."
"As for the seventh-life Jiusi Yitianhuang, he took away Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable's wife, the Ancient Moon God, as an act of revenge. After the Ancient Moon God died, she was buried in a secret place. After endless ages passed, a ghost soul was conceived within the tomb."
"Under the guidance of Jiusi Yitianhuang, this ghost soul gave birth to spiritual intelligence and embarked on the path of cultivation. This is the current Wu Yue."
Although Zhang Ruochen had heard Xu Wen Zhi's analysis and knew that Jiusi Yitianhuang might have played an important role in the historical case of the "Four Sons Dismembering the Corpse," he was still deeply shocked to hear such hidden secrets.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, Wu Yue's meaning is that Jiusi Yitianhuang and Fengdu Dadi are destined to fight in the future? She used the marriage arranged by Void Heaven to attach herself to the Void Heaven Sect and find a way out for herself? That doesn't seem right. If she wanted to rely on Void Heaven, wouldn't it be better to just marry Void Heaven directly?"
Xue Jue War God said, "She said that the way out she planned was you. She believes that you will not be an ordinary person in the future."
"Did Grandfather believe that?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "Why wouldn't I believe it? My grandson's future achievements will surely surpass those of Fengdu Dadi and Jiusi Yitianhuang."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. Although he had such aspirations, at this stage, he would not be so overly ambitious.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "No, that's not right! Even if Fengdu Dadi is a ghost soul born from Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable's corpse, he is still a new life, a completely different person. If he possessed Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable's memories and still had entanglements with his previous life, he would have already attacked the Darkness Temple. That's the first point."
"Secondly, even if Fengdu Dadi and Jiusi Yitianhuang were to fight, what does that have to do with her, Wu Yue? It wouldn't affect her in any way."
"And thirdly, there are too many unreasonable aspects to the secret matters Wu Yue spoke of regarding Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable and Jiusi Yitianhuang. It is definitely not the truth. Moreover, as a ghost soul born from a corpse after countless years, she could not possibly know the secrets of that time. Jiusi Yitianhuang would not have told her such disgraceful matters."
So-called ghost souls are, for the most part, Earth Souls.
An Earth Soul is the shadow of a living being or a corpse, which can fall off in the Santu River region and transform into a member of the Ghost Clan. This is why members of the Ghost Clan almost never have memories of their previous lives, nor do they have shadows; they are completely new life forms.
The Sacred Souls and Divine Souls that cultivators cultivate are all cultivated from the Human Soul, one of the three souls—Heaven, Earth, and Human. A Human Soul can also transform into a member of the Ghost Clan, but it requires specific methods.
Wu Yue absolutely could not be the Human Soul of the Ancient Moon God, because a Human Soul could not have survived from over two million years ago to the present.
Xue Jue War God laughed and said, "I have considered all the points you mentioned, but you have overlooked one person."
"Who?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "Yourself."
"Me?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "Ruochen, you underestimate yourself too much. Do you know how much pressure you are already putting on me, your grandfather? If even I feel pressure, does Wu Yue, who is your enemy, really have no pressure? Has she never thought that she might die by your hands in the future?"
"You must understand, when you first became a god, you attracted the simultaneous attacks of Qingtian and the Lord of the Darkness Temple. To them, you were already a threat, making them wary."
"Now, the threat you pose is more than ten times greater than it was then."
"The reason no one is moving against you now is, first, the fear of Heavenly Mother; second, the uncertain attitude of Void Heaven. And third, and most importantly, at the current stage, neither the Heavenly Court nor Hell wants to offend Xinghuantian and the Starry Sky Cliff."
"Once the Heavenly Court's first Starry Sky Defense Line is breached, and the Hell Realm no longer needs to stabilize Xinghuantian and the Starry Sky Cliff, your situation will become dangerous. If you also reject Void Heaven and refuse to become the Young Venerable of the Real Divine Palace, the outside world will surely believe that you and Void Heaven have fallen out. By then, under the surging tide, only your identity as Heavenly Mother's Divine Envoy might not be enough to protect you."
"This is the reason for my internal conflict. On one hand, I hope you will agree to become the Young Venerable of the Real Divine Palace. On the other hand, I don't want you to become a person I find strange and detestable."
"Ruochen, do you know what I like most about you? It's not actually your talent, but the fact that you would go through fire and water for Kong Le, dare to charge into the Hell Realm, and dare to fight Xiu Chen. In the end, even if you are cursed by the entire world, you still do it without hesitation."
"There are not many gods left in this world who can always put emotion and righteousness first!"
Xue Jue War God let out a bitter laugh, then his gaze sharpened again. He said, "For now, Wu Yue's heart must belong to the Darkness Temple, and she must have many plans in her mind, including, when the time is right, putting you to death. But what she said—about planning a way out for herself and being optimistic about your potential—is definitely another side of her."
"When she knows that the things she is plotting are impossible, the latter choice will be her only path to survival. Just like when she chose you in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, from that moment on, she was preparing two options."
"This woman is ultimately very dangerous and carries great karmic consequences." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Jue War God, however, was unconcerned. He said, "If she truly holds to a strategy of advancing and retreating, then even if she wants to kill you, she will definitely not do it herself. Instead, she will help you in every way. Just like this time, when the Darkness Temple dealt with the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and the Blood Absolute Family, Wu Yue completely played the role of an amnesiac, pushing Wu Bian forward as the main culprit."
"She said that in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, Wu Bian originally wanted to kill you, but it was her advice that saved your life."
Zhang Ruochen was in awe. Wu Yue's actions were truly watertight; no wonder she could convince Xue Jue War God.
"Uncle's death was somewhat related to her advice. Grandfather, do you really not hate her?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
A deep look appeared in Xue Jue War God's eyes, and he countered with a question: "If we really want to trace it back to that point, wouldn't the responsibility for Qing Sheng's death fall more heavily on you and me?"
Zhang Ruochen's body and mind were both shaken.
Xue Jue War God said, "Qing Yuntai is dead, Qing Yun Que has also paid the price, and Pu Chuan Qi will die too. Let it end here!"
"Since Void Heaven arranged the marriage, she married you. As a grandfather, I can only help you analyze the pros and cons and the various possibilities. The final decision can only be made by you. You are no longer a child!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Grandfather, do you think Jiusi Yitianhuang really has a method of immortality?"
Xue Jue War God smiled. "What true method of immortality exists in this world? If there truly was a method of immortality, how could Xinghuantian Heavenly Venerable have died?"
"It is merely a transformation from one life to another. Just like you, this is now your second life, right? After you die, as long as your physical body is preserved, it can transform into the Corpse Clan or the Bone Clan. That would be your third life."
"If the Corpse Clan or Bone Clan falls, they can petrify and transform into the Stone Clan. That would be your fourth life!"
"And so on and so forth, each life is a new beginning. Just like the Reincarnated Golden Boy of the Buddhist Sect, each has its own method."
"But how much of the previous life's memories can be preserved with each new birth? Each new life is a completely new person, requiring cultivation from scratch. Can they still cultivate to the Divine Realm? Will they die midway? Will they suffer Divine Form Annihilation?"
"Someone like Jiusi Yitianhuang, who has lived nine lives, each life reaching an extremely high realm, and still managing to die a good death—there is only one such person in the entire universe."
Zhang Ruochen looked thoughtful and said, "So, the so-called secret of immortality of Jiusi Yitianhuang should be that he has mastered some method to preserve part of the memories of his previous life. Also, he should be able to pass on part of the power of his previous life to the next life, which is why he can reach an extremely high realm in every life."
"Perhaps he has mastered some kind of supreme treasure!" Xue Jue War God said.
Zhang Ruochen thought of the Old Corpse Ghost and said, "There must also be a special technique, a technique that can be cultivated in every life."
For experts at the level of Jiusi Yitianhuang, Zhang Ruochen and Xue Jue War God could only glimpse a few superficial aspects; everything else was pure speculation. The truth of the matter might not even be clear to the current All Heavens.
That was Jiusi Yitianhuang's greatest secret!
Zhang Ruochen left Xue Jue War God's Divine Realm World and returned to the Hanhai Manor.
In the manor, lanterns and colorful decorations were hung, and the word "happiness" was pasted everywhere.
On the corridors, in the gardens, and on the pavilions, maidservants in colorful clothes could be seen everywhere, busily working.
"Greetings, Ruochen Realm Lord."
One hundred and eight gods, exuding powerful auras, stood neatly outside the Chenxin Haoyue Divine Hall, kneeling on one knee and bowing to the approaching Zhang Ruochen.
The scene was truly spectacular.
They were all False God Divine Generals, dressed in bright red wedding robes, which looked bizarre.
"You bastards, what Realm Lord? You should call him Young Venerable! The person before you is the Young Venerable of the Real Divine Palace, one of the future giants of the Destiny Temple."
Xue Tu kicked out, knocking two False Gods of the Undying Blood Clan to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen asked coldly, "What's going on?"
"They were all found by the Grand Clan Leader. A total of one hundred and eight Divine Generals, also known as the One Hundred and Eight Happiness Gods, meaning great fortune. The day after tomorrow, they will go with you, Senior Brother, to the Darkness Temple to pick up the bride. How does this formation look?"
Xue Tu lowered his voice and added, "Originally, the Grand Clan Leader wanted to invite one hundred and eight True Gods, but he was scolded severely by the Old Clan Leader, who said that such a lineup was only used when a Clan Leader married his principal wife."
Zhang Ruochen had long known that his grandfather was flashy and loved grand spectacles, so he was not surprised by such an arrangement.
"Has the Old Clan Leader arrived in the Fate Divine Domain?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Tu said, "Of course! To go to the Darkness Temple to pick up the bride, naturally, an elder of sufficient weight must accompany you. The Grand Clan Leader was worried that the Darkness Temple might deliberately cause trouble, so he invited the Old Clan Leader."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath inwardly. He had never expected his grandfather to invite the Old Clan Leader to take charge. This weight was certainly heavy enough!