Chapter 686: Homeland (1/2)
Chapter 686: Homeland
The Soul Divergence Incantation allowed one to cultivate an undying soul. Once that soul appeared, the cycle of reincarnation in Heaven and Earth could not destroy it. Even if you died, your flesh and blood would be reborn years later.
It was not one of the three thousand great Daos of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, but rather, something that Ke Yunhai had acquired by chance and taken to be a priceless treasure. Because he could not cultivate it successfully, he passed it on to Ke Jiusi.
However, it was too difficult for Ke Jiusi, despite his incredible latent talent. He could not acquire full enlightenment; in the end it had required the precious treasure that Ke Yunhai had forged before his death, coupled with the vast changes Ke Jiusu experienced, in order to comprehend it and form an undying soul that the cycle of reincarnation could not destroy.
“Life and Death,” murmured Meng Hao. “The Soul Divergence Incantation….” He seemed to have gained partial enlightenment, but the matter was still hazy. It was like he had grasped a vague direction, but when he examined it closely, there was nothing there.
Eventually, Meng Hao opened his eyes and looked down at the black and white pearls in his hand. He gazed at them for a long time, until it seemed that his will itself was fusing into the blackness and whiteness.
The black and white seemed to transform into a vortex that could consume everything. As it rotated slowly, a vision appeared in Meng Hao’s mind. In the vision, he stood there, his cultivation base fully active. His right hand stretched up, and the Black White Pearls rotated in his palm.
Indescribable ripples spread out from the two pearls, filling the entire world. Countless living things all prostrated themselves, and Meng Hao could easily decide whether they lived or died. It was as if the two pearls contained a great Dao which could determine and control life and death.
One day, the ship finally stopped moving. Meng Hao was in a bit of a daze as he opened his eyes and caught sight of a familiar body of water. It was the Milky Way Sea. He also saw a familiar land mass, the Southern Domain.
The ship had stopped at the border of the Milky Way Sea and the Southern Domain, and it was at this point that Meng Hao fully regained his senses.
Everything he had experienced seemed like a dream. The dream had been a dream of a journey, or perhaps a search for the Dao.
“The truths of life and death are something that cannot be understood by someone who has not died.”
Meng Hao sat there silently for a long time before finally rising to his feet. He turned to look back at the Milky Way Sea. Its surface was calm, and no waves could be seen. He took a deep breath.
“It seems the time has come for me to leave, and so the ship has delivered me here.
“Through the Soul Divergence Incantation, I could gain enlightenment about the difference between life and death. Yet even now I’m standing outside of the door, pacing back and forth in hesitation.
“Well then, am I willing to pass into death so quietly?
“No! I’m not willing!” His eyes filled with intense determination that burned like a fire. It kindled the flame of life inside of him, incinerating his confusion and a bitterness regarding his future.
“I still have hope. My Dao Foundation may be gone, but I still have hope!
“And my hope… lies in the Rebirth Cave!!” His eyes shined with an intense glow. The Rebirth Cave was where his hope lay, and it was his last resort.
Although he didn’t understand much about the Rebirth Cave, there were many, many legends about the place in the Southern Domain. Most spoke of powerful experts who, when their lives were reaching the end, when they were about to die, would enter the Rebirth Cave, hoping that inside, they would somehow be able to find a way to cause their life force to burn bright once again.
If you likened birth to a starting point and death to a finish line, then life and death form a cycle. As for the Rebirth Cave, according to the legends… it allowed for a second cycle, almost like a second life.
Meng Hao had heard many such legends in the Southern Domain. Actually, he had personally stepped foot into the region of the Rebirth Cave, although only the outer area, not the cave itself.
To experience rebirth, one’s body must first die. Only after death could one have life in defiance of the Heavens!
“According to the legends, not just anyone can enter the Rebirth Cave,” he thought, “only people who have an overwhelming desire to live, people who are pervaded by an aura of death, who have incredible determination and willpower. Only people like that can enter.
“Otherwise, one will automatically perish along the way.” He looked in the direction of the Southern Domain, and the brightness in his eyes grew more and more intense. It was filled with stubborness, with the unwillingness to accept what the future seemed to hold. He took a deep breath.
“I, Meng Hao, will enter the Rebirth Cave! I will see what exists inside, and will find out whether or not I can acquire that second cycle, and live a second life!” He walked across the deck of the ship, then disembarked. When he stepped onto the sandy shore, he looked back to see the ancient Underworld Ship slowly drifting away. Fog spread out over the sea, covering the ship up.
In the moment before it vanished, the armored old man’s eyes suddenly flickered with profundity as he looked at Meng Hao.
Meng Hao looked back, and their gazes met through the fog. What the old man saw was not Meng Hao’s world, and what Meng Hao saw was not the old man’s world.
Gradually the ship disappeared into the fog. Eventually, the fog dissipated. The ancient Underworld Ship was nowhere to be seen.
If the ship did not wish to be seen, then no one would ever be able to see it.
On the border between the Southern Domain and the Milky Way Sea there was a barren beach. Occasionally, the remains of various birds or beasts could be seen, but there was no sign of human habitation.