Chapter 818 571: Rebirth!
Chaos has not yet opened, the primordial state unjudged.
A vast and boundless river of life traverses the endless chaos, its waters surging ceaselessly, each drop containing life force and creation akin to the opening of the heavens and earth.
On the river's surface, green waves ripple, countless world seeds float like shattered starlight, each one is a world yet to be born, holding infinite possibilities.
Above the mother river, in the void, a figure sits quietly with legs crossed.
He is the opener of the mother river, the Supreme Chen Sheng Celestial King, Panwu Daoist Monarch—Chen Sheng.
His eyes slightly closed, his expression indifferent, neither joyful nor sad, seeming to merge with the chaos.
A plain white Daoist robe is untouched by dust, its hem gently floating in the void, his aura completely gathered, not revealing his strength.
Yet the demeanor of overlooking all realms and controlling life and death still naturally exudes.
All things of the world, the birth and destruction of stars, the cycle of all realms, all within his single thought.
Suddenly, his brow faintly frowned.
"Interesting."
A simple word echoed through the chaos.
Chen Sheng slowly opened his eyes, in them seemingly the stars in flux, the Great Dao circulating.
He casually raised his right hand, lightly scooping toward the void.
Only to see, from the depths of the mother river, a dim white light spot, nearly extinguished, drawn by invisible power, slowly landing in his palm.
The light spot is clear and pure, carrying a strand of familiar, ancient Dao Rhyme.
It is exactly the last True Spirit left behind by the ancient Youming, who had already vanished in the Great Void.
Chen Sheng lowered his gaze, calmly sweeping over that point of True Spirit in his palm.
"Quite insightful."
"I, Chen Sheng, accept your final sentiment, and hope you can surprise me."
He lightly waved his left hand, a gentle and rich energy of creation appeared out of thin air, like a wisp of celestial mist, slowly integrating into that point of True Spirit.
A complete energy of creation, this treatment is almost equal to his own incarnation.
Chen Sheng raised his hand, lightly tossed it into the surging life mother river below.
"Go."
As the words fell, that point of True Spirit, wrapped in vast energy of creation, dived like a meteor into the endless mother river, instantly engulfed by the overwhelming waves, disappearing into the depths of the river.
Chen Sheng remained seated with legs crossed, his eyes once again slightly closed, an endless Divine Thought spread out, instantly covering the entire river of life, perceiving every trace of billions of worlds within the river.
...
The continent of Aislan, on the edge of the Silvermoon Forest.
An ancient and solemn knight's bastion stands quietly on the forest's edge.
The bastion is constructed entirely from dark stones, its walls covered in marks of time, engraved with ancient and intricate patterns, each line narrating the family's glory and vicissitudes.
On the third floor of the bastion, in a luxuriously decorated yet slightly somber bedroom.
Thick velvet curtains block out the light, letting in only a sliver of cold moonlight, obliquely shining on the bed.
A youth lies on the bed, wearing an exquisitely tailored black noble suit, the fabric luxurious, the collar embroidered with the family's exclusive emblem, but the fabric is stained with a few dark red marks, his hair disheveled, showing signs of recent severe pain and distress.
The youth's face is pale as paper, lips dry and cracked, eyes tightly closed, brows furrowed intently, breathing weak and rapid, as if desperately struggling in an endless nightmare, on the verge of losing all vitality.
It is unknown how much time has passed.
The youth's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
Those eyes, at first, were muddled and bewildered, like a cold pond shrouded in thick fog, devoid of any spirit.
In the next moment, his mind exploded, countless shattered scenes, fragments of memory like a raging torrent, violently surged, intertwined, and collided.
His head felt like it would split, as if thousands of needles were piercing his sea of consciousness.
"Who am I..."
The youth murmured, his voice hoarse and dry, filled with marrow-deep confusion and pain.
He pressed his inflamed, throbbing forehead hard, three completely different life memories, like three massive waves, violently clashing and tearing deep within his soul.
One, was Leylin Mason.
A warm castle, a stern father, the honor and constraints of the Mason knight family, and that forbidden path of the black wizard...
One, was the ancient Youming.
Vast and timeworn, soldiers and warhorses, dazzling years, slashing all peers, arduously cultivating for two hundred sixty years, achieving Taiyin body refining, finally emerging, becoming a Corpse Dissolving Immortal...
And another, was Wan Zhonglou.
A blue planet, eastern red, the fairest era, Ansteel constitution, wandering overseas, a regional warlord, remnants of an old era...
"Ugh—"
The intense headache made him involuntarily groan, his body slightly curled up, hands clutching his head tightly, cold sweat seeping from his forehead, his face pale to near transparency, as if he might faint again any second.
At this moment.
A cool and gentle breath suddenly emerged from the depths of his sea of consciousness, like a clear spring flowing through a cracked, dry land, instantly soothing all agitation, chaos, and severe pain.
The intertwined, chaotic memories gradually settled, sorted, and became clear and orderly.
All discomforts vanished like smoke.
The youth slowly released his hands and opened his eyes once more.
This time, the confusion and pain in his eyes faded away, replaced by a sharpness as keen as a knife, along with a deep profundity and weariness from having weathered countless tribulations and seen through life and death.
That gaze belonged to Gu Youming.
"I... am alive again!"
He murmured internally, a surge of post-disaster ecstasy quietly rising in his heart, a brilliant light shining in his eyes.
A lifetime of bitter cultivation, fallen in a single morning.
He thought he would completely vanish between heaven and earth, never imagining that he could be reborn!
He slowly propped himself up, leaned against the bedhead, and closed his eyes to compose himself, beginning to systematically sort through the memories in his mind.
Moments later, he opened his eyes again, with no trace of confusion, only clear comprehension and calmness.
"My former body was named Lei Lin Mason, the heir of the Mason Knight family on the continent of Aislan, and simultaneously, an apprentice-level dark wizard hidden in the shadows."
"The previous body's death was due to an error while cultivating the dark wizard meditation method, causing spiritual power to go berserk, and the sea of consciousness to collapse... which let me seize this body."
"The wizard aptitude is level five, and the former body's aptitude was almost the poorest level."
"With such aptitude, wanting to walk the orthodox path of white wizards is as hard as ascending to heaven; even the lowest-level wizard academies wouldn't enroll him."
"Instead, the path of forbidden dark wizards is unfettered, accepting even the most inferior aptitudes, allowing one to defy fate using forbidden techniques and break through limits."
Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a faint smile; there was no trace of frustration in his eyes, only a glimmer of eager anticipation.
In his previous life, his starting point was equally low.
He slaughtered countless fellow paths, borrowed thousands of opportunities, and fought for a chance to step by step ascend to the peak.
"The poorest aptitude?"
"It's merely... a new starting point."
At this moment, his attention returned to the sea of consciousness.
The cool halo that had just soothed the pain reappeared, accompanied by countless clear, cold streams of information directly reflecting into his heart spirit.
[Biological Chip]
[Level: Level 1 (Advancing to the next level requires 100 points of Source Power)]
[Extreme Computation Power: 100]
[Skill Simulation Available: Level 1 Black Raven Basic Meditation Method, Level 1 Three-Star Ring Flame Technique, Level 1 Shadow Stealth Technique...]
[Skill Simulation Unavailable: Corpse Dissolving Immortal Technique, Taiyin Form Refinement Great Technique (Ancient Tribe Version), Two Yi Microdust Talisman (Incomplete)...]
[Source Power: 0]
Looking at this clear-as-mirror panel in his mind, Gu Youming's heart remained calm.
Such things he had long been accustomed to.
Leaning against the bedhead, he tapped his fingertips lightly on the bed edge, the rhythm steady, speaking to himself internally:
"I wonder what the ceiling of this golden finger is; it seems to be stronger than the Blood Bead I obtained back then."
In his previous life, he had killed no less than a hundred traversers.
Golden fingers seized, researched, and dissembled by him numbered over a hundred kinds.
Systems, Magical Treasures, bloodlines, talents, special abilities...
Almost every kind had been researched to the extreme by him.
He even classified all golden fingers handled into clear levels based on their ceilings.
"The poorest was the Blood Bead I initially obtained; it could only superficially nourish the body, with a very low ceiling, and its limit was only strength to lift a cauldron, with a single effect, far inferior to the Craftsmanship System, Culinary God System."
"The strongest was the Celestial Master System obtained after slaying the Great National Teacher; it encompassed Daoist mystic arts, ghost catching, evil suppression, feng shui, cultivation... almost embodying myriad Great Dao."
"In my past life, I gathered the strengths of all golden fingers, taking the strengths to complement the weaknesses, eliminating the chaff and retaining the essence, and created the Taiyin Form Refinement Great Technique, establishing the ancient tribe, becoming the founder of a lineage, by which time I had already surpassed the ceiling of all golden fingers."
A trace of recollection flashed in his eyes, which was the most glorious peak on his path.
"Later, I ascended again, borrowing the fortune of the dynasty to shed the mortal fetus, achieving the Corpse Dissolving Immortal and raising strength another layer, notable as Celestial Being!"
"Unfortunately... ran into Xuanyang Daoist."
Gu Youming gently shook his head, no longer indulging in the regrets of the past.
"Wizards..."
He murmured in his heart, with a glimmer of expectation and heat in his eyes.
In his sea of consciousness, the fragmented memories of this entirely new world, a brand-new system, gradually became clear and complete.
"The brand-new cultivation system, completely different from my last life's Corpse Dissolving Immortal and Chen Sheng's Nascent Soul Great Dao."
"Truly powerful wizards can casually pluck stars, match the sun and moon, roam the universe, wage war on other dimensional planes, and even resist the Divine Spirit!"
Thinking of this, a nearly insane blazing flame ignited in his eyes.
In his previous life, he was defeated by Chen Sheng's Nascent Soul Great Dao; though he was eventually relieved, there was still a hint of unwillingness hidden in his heart.
This life.
New world, new system, new golden finger.
He might not be unable to walk a stronger, more absolute, heaven-defying path.
"In this life, I might go further!"
A chilling light flashed in his eyes, his edge revealed, he clenched his fist, and his determination was as strong as iron:
"What is the Nascent Soul Great Dao?"
"My Corpse Dissolving Immortal Technique might not be inferior!"
"Once I stabilize my footing in this wizard world, re-cultivate the Corpse Dissolving Immortal Technique, and then fuse with the wizard system, I shall definitely surpass my former self, surpass that so-called Nascent Soul Great Dao!"