Three months later.
A strong wind blew, and Qi Heng stood alone on the peak, gazing at the scenery below with a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
No matter how open-minded a person was on weekdays, when facing death, there would always be a sense of reluctance.
"After all, it has come to this."
"No matter how much I pretended to be calm and composed, deceiving everyone, I couldn't deceive my own heart..."
In fact, his body had already reached a certain limit and could undergo Dao transformation at any moment.
With his power, even if he sustained a fatal injury, he could suppress it as long as he wished, and not die immediately.
But at this moment, it was because he had released his suppression and allowed the Dao transformation to begin.
The laws of the Great Dao were burning, and even the Heavenly Dao had undergone some change. Under a mysterious power, all things returned to their origin, and transformed into chaos.
After the Dao light, blood rained down, scattering across the starry sky, and the three thousand Great Daos clashed, shaking heaven and earth...
"The Great Dao is in turmoil, this is a sign of a Da Luo Golden Immortal's fall. But the Palace Master's immortal techniques are the best in the world, dominating the present era, how could this be... how could this happen..."
The immortals in the Yin Yang Immortal Palace were thrown into panic by this sudden change.
A Da Luo Golden Immortal merged with the Heavenly Dao, imprinting themselves into the myriad laws of heaven and earth.
Whenever a Da Luo Golden Immortal was on the verge of death and no longer at their peak, they would be unable to suppress the three thousand Great Daos of heaven and earth, thus causing the Great Dao to become turbulent and the heavens to weep blood.
With the Heavenly Dao undergoing change, this had to make many immortals at the peak of Golden Immortal realm think of this.
"But why... logically, it's impossible..."
"That peerless man, like a divine being, in his prime, should be more than capable of suppressing the myriad laws of heaven and earth. Why would this happen..."
The path of immortality is about seizing, taking, killing, plundering, and fighting... contending for supremacy, seizing destiny, and taking spiritual energy, with countless bones... only then can one strengthen oneself and draw nourishment from heaven and earth step by step, to reach the end...
However, at the deepest point, it becomes the complete opposite... it is about returning, giving back, sacrificing oneself...
Like the Kun fish in the ocean, it will eventually become whale fall.
Qi Heng, shrouded in Dao light, let out a long sigh and finally looked at his disciples and grand-disciples below the mountain peak.
After a moment of silence, he finally gently extended his arm.
In his eyes, there was an indescribable expression, a helplessness, a self-mockery, even a hint of sorrow, an apology, and a bitterness. But in the end, these expressions disappeared, leaving only one color.
That was determination, absolute determination!
His voice, at this moment, truly echoed through the nine heavens and the earth.
"Return, alas, soul's lament, life has nothing to rely on."
"The flesh is burned, what use is the soul, the soul has nine points of yang oil..."
"Tonight, what night is it? With no reliance and no desire, ignite the nine oils in my soul."
...
"The blood has dried up, the tears have withered in the wind..."
"Your soul, has it ever faded? My life, returns to the nine heavens..."
As a heavy voice fell, the surroundings changed dramatically.
The Yin Yang Immortal Palace, already a blessed land and spiritual dwelling, had, after Qi Heng's demise, become the dragon脉 of the entire continent.
The news of Qi Heng's demise quickly spread throughout the world.
When the news first broke, it was like a great wave that swept through the entire immortal world, and then stirred up monstrous waves within the immortal world, almost triggering a hurricane in the entire immortal realm.
A figure who marked an entire era had fallen, heralding the beginning of another era...
Countless ambitious individuals began to act, and the world became chaotic once more.
The eighth trial, and also the eighth reincarnation, simultaneously began.
Strangely, in this eighth reincarnation, Wu Tao, upon rebirth, not only possessed all his previous memories, but his soul had also been restored to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Such a start.
In a cramped room, a small boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a short-sleeved beast skin, sat on a wooden frame bed, coughing incessantly.
Premature aging, withered before blooming.
A boy of twelve or thirteen, yet to experience hardship, had his hair turn white overnight.
The syndrome of premature aging was baffling.
In this life, Wu Tao was born in a village called Wu Family Village. The village, with dozens of households and thousands of people, were all blood relatives, passed down through generations.
Wu Family Village belonged to a barbarian tribe. This tribe was very backward, a theocratic society dominated by "Shaman Prophets."
Besides this, in more distant places, there were many other tribes, such as the Liu family tribe, the Xu family tribe, the Zhang family tribe, the Zhou family tribe, the Li family tribe, and so on...
They were all barbarian tribes.
What Wu Tao found strange was that the people living here had a very high average height, all over two meters, and possessed immense strength. With a little training, lifting three to four hundred kilograms was commonplace. They were vastly different from the mortals Wu Tao knew.
It was worth noting that Wu Tao, a cultivator of both physical and spiritual arts, only broke through the ten thousand jin limit in strength after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.
...
As for the reason for Wu Tao's premature aging, extreme weakness, and susceptibility to various illnesses, it was also quite interesting.
Wu Tao's father was a hunter, who usually hunted in the mountains.
On one occasion, Wu Tao's father brought back a blood-stained bronze statue. Since it was made of bronze, it was worth some money, so he brought it back.
And this blood-stained bronze statue was the real culprit behind Wu Tao's premature aging.
In other words, Wu Tao had been cursed by this blood-stained bronze statue.
"This is really interesting."
Wu Tao suddenly thought of something and a smile appeared on his face, "This world doesn't seem simple either."
He gently got off the bed, opened the door of the cramped room, and walked into the living room outside.
In the hall, a bronze statue was placed there, carved with a ferocious demon god.
The statue looked very crude. A demon god with a thousand hands and a thousand feet, with its fangs bared and a pair of blood-red eyes shining brightly.
"Huh?"
According to Wu Tao's careful observation, the deep red bloodstains on the statue were becoming deeper with the passage of time.
"What's going on?"
Holding the statue, Wu Tao examined it thoroughly, but found nothing else unusual. He then frowned and placed it on the table.
In this life, Wu Tao's mother was outside, boiling medicine for him.
The human civilization in this world was extremely backward. The large house behind them was where their family of several slept, with no kitchen, bedrooms, or even toilets.
The medicinal aroma wafted through the air, making Wu Tao frown again.
In this world, his parents searched everywhere for doctors to cure Wu Tao's premature aging. Every day, they gave Wu Tao various herbs day and night to nourish his body.
Wu Tao took several different herbs every day, and his parents also made decoctions from some unknown herbs to soak his body in.
After taking the medicine, Wu Tao, while his parents were not looking, carried the bronze statue to a hidden corner and carefully examined it.
The power system in this world was very unique, seemingly entirely based on spiritual power and curses.
In the surrounding tribes, many terrible events erupted daily. These events were classified as curses from demon gods, and were graded according to their power.
As for the main force against curses in this world, the so-called revered Shaman Prophets, they also disappointed Wu Tao.
The Shaman Prophets in this world relied mainly on spiritual power, but the method they used to enhance their spiritual power and temper their souls was through the blood sacrifice secret arts of the demonic path...
Continuously nourishing their souls, and once their internal spiritual power became sufficiently strong, they could seek out certain cursed objects, then use their own spiritual power to subdue the curses and gain partial power from the cursed objects, thus becoming powerful Shaman Prophets.
However, the Shaman Prophets who gained immense power not only failed to protect their own tribesmen but also oppressed them with their power, brainwashing them through faith, and blinding them, in order to elevate their own status.
This was the reason for the dominance of divine power in this world.
"So-called curses are like spells."
"As for those so-called divine arts, they are completely based on the power of the soul and spirit, used to deceive people."
In this life, Wu Tao grew very slowly. Other children were over five feet tall at twelve or thirteen, but Wu Tao was only three feet tall.
...
After carefully examining the blood-stained bronze statue once more, Wu Tao discovered that besides bronze, the statue's material was mixed with a very unique substance.
"If I took this to the cultivation world, it would probably be worth some spirit stones."
Putting down the statue in his hand, Wu Tao shook his head gently.
At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard from nearby, and then a burly man with a beard, wearing yellow and white beast skin clothes, and carrying a dead fawn on his shoulder, rushed in.
"Father."
Seeing the person arrive, Wu Tao spoke directly.
Seeing Wu Tao standing outside, Wu Fu's face darkened. He was about to say something, but then he seemed to recall something and his expression softened as he asked, "Why are you here, and carrying such a heavy statue?"
"I've been cooped up at home too much and felt a bit restless, so I came out for a walk to clear my head," Wu Tao shook his head and explained.
"Damn it! Your mother doesn't even discipline you. I'll talk to her properly later!" Hearing this, Wu Fu's face turned grim, and combined with his muscular physique, he looked somewhat terrifying.
However, he seemed very kind towards Wu Tao.