Chapter 721: Took a Life
Zhang Yuelu asked, “The Liberation Realm requires an external object as an anchor. What did Lin Lingsu use as his?”
The mortal shell replied, “It was one of my original body’s eyes, an arm, six ribs, and half a heart. Using these as the foundation, flesh and blood were regenerated. Thus, the body was rebuilt. Then, the Three Corpses and Nine Worms formed the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, thereby recreating a soul. Finally, the soul was infused into the body, creating Lin Lingsu, the Imperial Preceptor of the Jin Dynasty. My original self called Lin Lingsu the evil body. From that moment on, only the good body remained.”
Qi Xuansu could not help but marvel at the power of First-Tribulation Immortals. They can create life without a woman?! It’s no wonder Immortals can’t bear children. They don’t have to since they can clone themselves!
Zhang Yuelu sighed. “Planting a twig and getting a tree—truly the work of an Immortal.”
Lin Lingsu’s creation was like sticking a willow branch into the ground and watching it grow into a new tree, a practice farmers called cutting propagation.
Zhang Yuelu grew increasingly convinced that the so-called “original body” was True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao. Based on their respective behaviors, Lin Lingsu had indeed brought disaster to the nation. One of the cited causes of the Jin Dynasty’s downfall was the emperor being obsessed with rumors, being neglectful of governance, and exhausting the people. The chief instigator of this obsession was none other than Lin Lingsu. In contrast, True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao had an excellent reputation, embodying everything the world imagined of an Immortal. Thus, the notion of an evil body and a good body seemed to fit perfectly.
The fact that both were founding patriarchs of the Shenxiao lineage further strengthened this theory.
Only one thing did not match up. There were 160 years between Lin Lingsu’s disappearance and True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao’s investiture. When True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao created Lin Lingsu, he could not have been merely at the Heavenly-Being level. He had to be at least an Immortal. Even adding 100 years for a heavenly tribulation, that would not make up 160 years, unless True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao became an Immortal before the age of 40, created Lin Lingsu soon after, and then lived another 60 years. Adding on 100 years after one tribulation, that made exactly 160 years.
But then again, historical records clearly stated that Lin Lingsu disappeared at the age of 44.
There was one more possibility: True Lord Qingxu Yuanmiao was not a First-Tribulation Immortal, but a Second-Tribulation Immortal. In that case, the 160-year gap would be easily accounted for.
As for why a Second-Tribulation Immortal like him could not revitalize the Daoist Order, the reason was simple. At that time, the Confucian School had a Second-Tribulation Sage from the School of Mind, known as the Sage of Mind.