Chapter 722: The Heavenly Venerable Who Attained The Dao Of Life And Death

Witnessing the scene, Li Fan's first thought went to the Rain of Returning Selves that Yin Shangren had once described.

But the corpses falling from the sky were all clearly distinct in appearance, so he quickly ruled that out.

This was no Rain of Returning Selves. It was the corpse giant they had encountered before, now coming apart.

Huangfu Song reached the same conclusion at the same instant. He frowned deeply. "What is this? Did we stumble upon the Immortal Alliance dealing with the corpse giant?"

He and Dongfang Yao were at a loss, but a vague suspicion had already begun forming in Li Fan's mind.

Is this a sign of the Principle of Life and Death being reversed once more? His heartbeat quickened.

Counting the days, even if Lan Yu took lifespan-extending treasures, his time must be nearly spent. It seems he chose this path after all. But to disperse the manifestation of the reversed Principle of Life and Death in so short a time... is Lan Yu truly that powerful?

A flicker of doubt moved through him.

Or... is something else at work here?

Li Fan still did not fully understand the mechanics behind a reversal of the principles of heaven and earth, nor how it exerted its effects upon all things.

But what was unfolding before him, the sudden and total collapse of the freely moving corpse giant, was an unmistakable sign that two utterly opposing forces had collided.

This doesn't mean Lan Yu gained the upper hand in their conflict. It only shows that the Eternal Heavenly Venerable who reversed life and death might have been caught off guard by Lan Yu's counterattack. After all, He has likely only just reversed the principle and hasn't yet completed the Axiom establishment step.

Before one has truly entered the Eternal Life realm, the gulf between them and Dao Unity is narrower than I had thought.

As Li Fan pondered this, the rain of corpses gradually came to an end.

Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao watched the countless bodies vanish into the depths of the White Mist, their expressions shifting.

"Hell, this White Mist gets weirder by the day," Dongfang Yao muttered under his breath.

After a brief rest, the three pressed on into the White Mist, continuing their search for traces of Lost Domains.

Meanwhile, in Tianliang Province, Xu Bai, who had been chatting amiably with envoys from other provinces, suddenly excused himself and left.

He returned to the Tianxuan Mirror and began searching for any clues related to "conflicts over heaven and earth's principles."

There were no results; no anomaly whatsoever.

But that itself was the greatest anomaly of all.

The conflict's influence had reached even the depths of the White Mist. The rest of the Xuanhuang World could hardly be unaware of it.

Paradoxical events must be occurring somewhere, and the Immortal Alliance was deliberately covering them up.

Xu Bai considered this for a moment, then left the Tianxuan Mirror and contacted Liu San.

He told Liu San to halt pill refinement for now and ordered the Medicine King Sect's cultivators across the provinces to investigate whether any strange occurrences were happening near them.

The Medicine King Sect disciples' consciousnesses were linked through the Oneiric Seasons Array, so word spread quickly.

Within half a day, reports from every province poured in to Xu Bai.

"A raving mad cultivator burst out of the White Mist, attacking everything in sight and utterly fearless of death. Before the Immortal Alliance cultivators could kill him, he collapsed on his own. When they checked, they found the cultivator was already a corpse."

"In Tianlin Province, a Golden Core cultivator died suddenly during core formation. The phenomenon of his fall had already manifested in the sky, and his friends were preparing to collect his body. But then the man suddenly came back to life. The phenomenon ceased abruptly, yet the clouds filling the sky lingered for a long time, as if unwilling to accept it."

Interesting... Xu Bai's eyes flickered.

"In Taihua Province, there was a pair of Dao Companions. The wife had died long ago, but the husband refused to accept it and kept her corpse preserved in ice. Not long ago, this devoted man suddenly appeared before a crowd, accompanied by a female cultivator. People assumed he had finally moved on and found a new Dao Companion. But on closer inspection, they realized the woman at his side was his wife, who had been dead for years. Her eyes were dull, her movements unnatural, and she remembered none of her living friends..."

Xu Bai read on, his expression growing heavier by the moment.

Beyond the first reports of the half-dead losing the ability to move, more and more cases of resurrection emerged from every corner.

This was not limited to a single province. The entire territory of the Myriad Immortals Alliance suffered the same fate.

And it's not just the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Even the Five Elders Council…

Xu Bai's face grew stern.

Is this Lan Yu's doing? Is that Eternal Heavenly Venerable of Life and Death accelerating the establishment of his Axiom?

From what Xu Bai knew, Yuandao Province, where Lan Yu resided, showed no signs of conflict.

He didn't crush this competitor directly in battle. Instead, he used the overwhelming momentum of the principle-reversing process to smother him.

Xu Bai's eyes narrowed. It seems this Eternal Heavenly Venerable of Life and Death never considered Lan Yu worth His attention. He couldn't even be bothered to deal with him directly.

All He needs is to keep moving forward, methodically, toward eternal life. Lan Yu, standing in His way, is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. There is only one outcome: to be crushed.

Xu Bai could almost hear Lan Yu's roar of frustration as his path to Dao attainment was severed.

Perhaps things will conclude soon. All I have to do is wait.

He ordered the disciples of the Medicine King Sect to keep gathering intelligence. To prevent external disturbance, Xu Bai sealed his communication spirit talisman again.

He simply watched events unfold.

And, as he had expected, the growing frequency of resurrections eventually alarmed the cultivators of the Immortal Alliance.

Murmurs of fear and uncertainty grew louder, until finally the Myriad Immortals Alliance issued a proclamation.

"Cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, remember this great day.

"After many long years, our Myriad Immortals Alliance is about to welcome a new Eternal Heavenly Venerable.

"The dead cannot return to life. This is the principle of heaven and earth.

"But from this day forward, that established truth will be rewritten.

"The Heavenly Venerable who reverses the Principle of Life and Death is named 'Rebirth.'

"So do not panic. Celebrate with all your hearts.

"Under the divine power of Heavenly Venerable Rebirth, any cultivator who has fallen may be resurrected after eighteen years, retaining even the memories of their past life.

"A new era has arrived!"

After the announcement went out, cultivators across the world fell into stunned silence.

Then came trembling, doubt, fear… all manner of emotion erupted at once.

Every branch of the Myriad Immortals Alliance was besieged by cultivators packed shoulder to shoulder.

They were desperate to know the details. What form would this resurrection take?

But the officials in every province were just as confounded, utterly in the dark.

All they could do was try to maintain order and wait for the day the answers would finally come.