Chapter 466: New Life

Spiritual energy surged, and clouds rose to the heavens.

They gathered up on the ceiling of the Water Moon Paradise and turned into drops of rain.

Thus, all of the Water Moon Paradise welcomed a downpour.

Tang Jie did not know how much spirit power a Soul Transformation True Person had.

But he knew that Luo Hanzhen had returned his lifetime of cultivation to this land.

The spiritual surge lasted for a very long time before finally dispersing.

When the spiritual surge was exhausted, the clouds faded and the rain stopped. Luo Hanzhen was gone, leaving behind only his violet robes and that wine jar. As for the table and plates, they were created from spell arts and had naturally ceased to be.

Perhaps because he had been waiting for his death in the paradise, he had brought nothing else.

That wine jar was clearly a treasure of some sort.

But Tang Jie was not tempted. He came forward and collected the violet robes and wine jar, and then he walked off the stone steps and into the thousand-year fields.

This was his first time walking off the stone steps. The rules of the Water Moon Paradise forbade cultivators from doing so, just like how Agriculture Hall disciples couldn't step onto the stone steps. Though they were in the same place, it was like they resided in two different worlds.

But now, Tang Jie had broken this rule.

For he was fulfilling his promise, collecting Luo Hanzhen's remains to respectfully send him off.

Even though there was only a robe, a cenotaph still needed to be erected.

The cenotaphs of the seniors of the Basking Moon Sect who had Returned their Remnants were set up on a mountain slope.

There were countless tombstones here. In the past, the Agriculture Hall disciples were responsible for collecting the remains, but today was an exception.

The Agriculture Hall disciples did not interfere. They stood to the side and watched as Tang Jie passed through the fields with that robe.

Tang Jie walked slowly and lightly.

He finally arrived before the tombstones.

Zhao Hui pointed at a grave. "This place is True Person Luo's."

If not for Tang Jie, Luo Hanzhen might have chosen to Return his Remnants right there.

Dying right at one's burial spot was a rather clean and simple way of handling things.

But now, he had a filial son to send him off.

Tang Jie walked up to the grave and placed the robe and jar inside.

A disciple came forward to fill in the grave, but Tang Jie took the shovel from him. "I promised Senior that I would send him off, so let me do this."

The Agriculture Hall disciples backed away, and Tang Jie began to shovel dirt into the grave.

Once the grave was filled in, he erected the tombstone. He then respectfully kowtowed three times in front of the grave.

After doing all this, Tang Jie exhaled. "Senior Brothers, thank you for not trying to stop me."

Zhao Hui hastily said, "Junior Brother was personally sending him off, so what reason would we have to stop you? But by leaving the stone steps and entering the fields, you've broken the rules. I have no choice but to report this matter."

"It's fine." Tang Jie nodded. "Senior Brother should carry out your duty."

According to the rules of the sect, leaving the stone steps and not stealing anything would result in a punishment of at least 3000 contribution points, which meant a reduction of at least 10 days. Even though it was needed for paying final respects, the rules were the rules, and those ten days needed to be deducted.

Sure enough, that night, that monkey appeared and poked the mark on Tang Jie's forehead, telling him that the ten days had been deducted before disappearing. In truth, the monkey had probably known that Tang Jie had broken the rules. He had just been feigning ignorance while he waited for the disciples to report on the matter. If Zhao Hui hadn't reported it, then he would have suffered together with Tang Jie.

Tang Jie didn't argue and simply continued cultivating.

He had already spent seventy-some days in the Water Moon Paradise. He should have been able to stay for thirty-some more, but this was now twenty-some days. Thus, in the following period of time, Tang Jie cultivated even more diligently.

As his cultivation progressed, he grew older and older, his energy and blood reaching a state of total exhaustion.

Tang Jie knew that the day of the absolute death of his mortal body was not far off.

On this day, Tang Jie was still cultivating when he suddenly felt his lungs seizing up and his vision going blurry.

And then he crumpled to the ground, unable to support himself.

He knew that this was a sign that the mortal body was on the verge of death.

He lay quietly on the ground, countless memories going through his mind.

It felt like his past was flashing past his eyes.

A smile appeared on Tang Jie's "elderly" face.

He closed his eyes, and his heart gradually stopped beating, his chest no longer rising and falling, as if he had died.

In normal circumstances, the death of Tang Jie's body would mean that his mind would enter a slumber.

But Tang Jie was different from others. He had one soul sharing two bodies.

Even if the avatar experienced true death, his mind would not fall with it.

This made this moment somewhat different for him.

As the mortal body neared death, his mind ascended rather than falling asleep.

Tang Jie felt his soul soaring, breaking free of its old body and looking down on himself from the sky.

He saw his body.

Old, withered, rotting, and thick with death energy.

Yes, his body was nearing death.

Tang Jie clearly felt the process of his life dying, saw his flower of life withering and his body taking step after step to death and decay.

No one understood his body more than himself, so he understood more than anyone the complete death process.

Suddenly, Tang Jie was enlightened. He now had a more practical understanding of the process by which something died, though he didn't know exactly what it was. At this moment, there was a gust of wind.

It blew over his "corpse" on the terrace.

The silver hairs on the head came off, and the old skin peeled off like the shell of a boiled egg.

There was a shower of dust.

In the middle of that dust, Tang Jie could feel a life force sprouting within that deceased body.

This was a power he had never seen before, like a seed sprouting. It was the complete opposite of that corpse, brimming with a powerful vitality.

A new life!

The spiritual body's new life!

Tang Jie saw his rotting body disappear, and a brand-new Tang Jie appeared. Gone was that withered appearance, and it was like he had returned to his childhood. Even his head had gotten much smaller.

Is… that how it is?

Tang Jie finally understood.

This was life and death!

This was Life!

At this moment, a cycle of life had completed.

By experiencing this cycle, Tang Jie had inadvertently glimpsed the Great Dao of Life.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Tang Jie's body suddenly began to shine.

His mind sank back down, and the Tang Jie on the ground opened his eyes.

Whew… He exhaled.

The mortal body had died, and the spiritual body had been born!

At this moment, Tang Jie had finally completed his transformation from the mortal to the spiritual.

The spiritual body was like a newborn infant. Although it still retained an adult appearance, it was fundamentally no different from an infant, and needed to grow quickly.

Growth was always more difficult than death, so the growth of the spiritual body took far longer than the time it took for the mortal body to wither and die.

This was the most important phase for remolding the spiritual body. The quality of the external environment would determine the purity of the spiritual body, and the higher the purity, the greater one's future potential.

Remolding the spiritual body in an environment like the Water Moon Paradise was something every cultivator yearned for.

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Alas, Tang Jie didn't have the time. He only had ten days left to remold his spiritual body.

For the long process of remolding the spiritual body, ten days was far too short. At this, Tang Jie could only bitterly smile and comfort himself. "At least it's better than nothing, and I also comprehended a little of the Dao of Life, so it was worth it."

When the spiritual body was gaining new life, Tang Jie finally comprehended some of the Dao of Life, so when the soul returned to the body, it subtly influenced it. The Dao of Life was the Dao of vitality, so his spiritual body now had a flourishing vitality far above the norm.

To put it in more practical terms, his lifespan had been extended.

As the mortal body ultimately had to die, it didn't really matter how much longer it had to live. After cultivating the spiritual body, a cultivator's lifespan suddenly had meaning. Firstly, the lifespan was extended to one thousand years.

Of course, this was one thousand years in the ideal situation. Numerous battles, lingering injuries, and cultivation corruption could all lead to a loss of lifespan.

Besides that, some powerful spell arts were also linked to life force.

For this reason, a cultivator's life was not completely dependent on their cultivation realm. From a certain perspective, their life was a kind of expendable resource. The longer their lifespan, the greater their capital. As for their previous mortal body, that didn't even have the right to be expended.

For this reason, there was no lack of people in the cultivation world with high cultivation levels and long lifespans who ended up dying of old age before those of low cultivation levels and short lifespans. It was because those people had used up too much of their capital.

Luo Hanzhen was an example of someone who had consumed all of his capital.

As for Tang Jie, he had just obtained this new capital.

Because he had glimpsed the Dao of Life, he had gained an additional 200 years of lifespan on top of the 1000 years gained from the spiritual body. This was only the beginning, and there would be more increases in the future. The advantage of the Dao of Life was simple and direct: anyone who comprehended it would gain more lifespan.

The thousand-year spiritual body was only the start. As the spiritual body grew, its lifespan would also grow.

Normally, a truly complete spiritual body could be improved by an ordinary cultivator to have a lifespan of around 1800 years. A body that was completed within the Water Moon Paradise could be improved by 30% more, reaching a lifespan of 2400 years. Comprehending some of the Dao of Life had boosted this by another 20%, which made for 2900 years of lifespan. Some lifespan-extending medicines could get him to 3000.

Alas, this was something he could only dream about.

The Three Withering Tribulations were also known as "the thirty-year calamity", for it normally took thirty years to overcome them.

To go from life to death, the death of the mortal body, took five years. And to go from death to life, the growth of the spiritual body, took twenty-five years.

Twenty-five years of age would be a normal person's most youthful and most resplendent period, and it was this time that was needed to complete the spiritual body.

Tang Jie had taken sixty days in the Water Moon Paradise to go from life to death, and this was thanks to the three spirit plants. Now that all his medicines were used up, ten days was only enough to make a very small step.

But Tang Jie had already let the matter go and had stopped seeking perfection. At worst, he would stop at six hundred meters and then go and cultivate for twenty-some more years. For a cultivator, twenty-some years was like the time it took to snap one's fingers.

With this thought in mind, Tang Jie continued cultivating.

Ten days went by quickly.

This day was Tang Jie's 103rd day in the Water Moon Paradise, the last day he could stay here.

According to the rules, when his time was up, Tang Jie would automatically be teleported out of the Water Moon Paradise.

Tang Jie continued to meditate on the terrace.

Perhaps because he knew that his time was almost up, though he was cultivating, he was a little absent-minded. In truth, he was just waiting to be sent out.

Time continued to pass.

But the expected teleportation never came.

The Water Moon Paradise had no sun or moon, but its sky was still illuminated.

The light brightened. The light dimmed.

As Tang Jie saw the sky darkening and the Agriculture Hall disciples dispersing, he was left all alone. But nobody came to send him away.

Flabbergasted, he thought about what to do and finally said to the sky, "Disciple Tang Jie has been in the Water Moon Paradise for 103 days, and my time is up. So why has Senior not sent me out yet?"

A few moments later, that monkey's laughter came from the sky. "Heheheh, if your time were up, the mark on your forehead would have sent you out. Since you haven't been sent out, you still have time, so why the rush? Of course, if you want to go, I won't try to keep you. It's up to you whether you stay or go."

Tang Jie froze as he wondered, Did I count the days wrong?

But this was impossible. He clearly remembered each day he had spent in the paradise, and he had also comprehended the Dao of Wisdom. There was no way he could get something like this wrong.

Had that monkey forgotten to take the ten days from him?

But this was also impossible. He had seen that monkey appear with his own eyes and take the ten days from the mark on his forehead.

Wait…

Tang Jie had a flash of realization.

Exhaling, Tang Jie said, "Since that's the case, can this disciple ask how many more days I can remain in this paradise?"

The monkey froze for a moment, and then it sighed. "You're quite sharp. You've asked the right question. Why don't you take a look at the mark yourself?"

A light descended from the heavens, appearing before Tang Jie and gradually condensing into a mirror.

Tang Jie saw that his forehead was brightly shining.

He remembered that the light signified the number of days he had in the paradise.

The brighter the light, the more days. As time passed, the light would dim, and when it completely went out, he would be sent out of the paradise.

Yesterday, Tang Jie had sensed that the mark had been so dim as to be almost lightless, but now, it was as bright as the noon sun, several times brighter than when he had first entered the paradise.

"This is…"

"Hyahyahyahya!" The monkey mischievously laughed. "Who else could it be? It's naturally the contribution points Luo Hanzhen left you."

Although he had already guessed, Tang Jie was still shaken. "Senior Luo!"

The monkey went on, "Do you think that you were playing an adopted son for free? You naturally needed to benefit somehow. Don't tell me that you didn't realize it."

Tang Jie composed himself and replied, "I had some thoughts about it at first, but after seeing nothing for so many days, I naturally thought that there wasn't anything. I didn't think that…"

The monkey chuckled. "Then you got nothing and even lost ten days for it. You weren't angry about it?"

"'Angry'? How could I be?" Tang Jie chuckled. "I sent off Senior Luo in respect for his lifetime of service to the sect. Although losing ten days is somewhat of a pity, my mind was at ease. If I sent him off and then cursed the heavens and earth for not getting any of his inheritance, then it would be better to not have been his filial son. Although I have times where I am fake and hypocritical, that's only to enemies. I would never do such a thing to my own people."

"Hahahaha!" The monkey's laughter became a little more normal. "Good words. I've observed you for one hundred days and saw that you sent him off with sincerity and showed no desire for his belongings. You treated Old Luo with respect and have a sincere heart, so this is to reward you. Go and cultivate so that you don't let Old Luo down. That old man left you lots of contribution points—enough for you to stick around in the Water Moon Paradise for another 300 days. This should be enough time to get you through the Three Withering Tribulations, and when they are past, the summit of Water Moon Peak awaits. You can go up and look around, and Old Luo even left some words for you."

I see.

Tang Jie got what was going on.

It was clear that Luo Hanzhen had spoken with the monkey before passing, leaving behind his contribution points for Tang Jie to extend his time in the Water Moon Paradise. But it was clear that he had also wanted to put Tang Jie through some tests. If Tang Jie ignored his requests or started cursing after not getting anything, then he would truly get nothing. Even when he was sent out, he would never know that Luo Hanzhen had been meaning to extend his time.

"But aren't contribution points not supposed to be easily transferred?" Tang Jie asked.

The monkey let out its strange laugh. "Hyahyahyahya, so you also know that they aren't easy to transfer. But Luo Hanzhen was the First Deputy Hall Master of the Blood War Hall, second only to the 19 Celestial Chiefs. By coming here to Return his Remnants to the paradise, he is making one final contribution to the sect. How could the Basking Moon Sect ignore his final request, and how could this be called 'easy'?"

Tang Jie bitterly smiled. "Senior, thank you for your instruction."

"Ah, forget it," the monkey lazily said. "Originally, there was no way you would have been able to reach the summit. Although someone asked me to take care of you, I just couldn't be bothered. But now that you've come across this opportunity, you're basically bound to get to the summit. Since that's the case, let me give you a few more words of advice."

Someone asked you to take care of me? Tang Jie was startled.

The monkey continued, "Remember: if you want to go higher, you must not wait for the Three Withering Tribulations to completely pass before heading to the summit."

"What?" Tang Jie was taken aback.

The monkey ignored him, continuing, "The earlier you go, the better… If you can't get to the summit, you should at least try to get to the 750-meter terrace."

After saying all this, the monkey fell completely silent.

'The 750-meter terrace'?

Tang Jie recalled that Luo Hanzhen had wanted him to show the handiwork of the Cloud Ancestor at 750 meters.

Tang Jie didn't know who the Cloud Ancestor was, but it sounded like what he had left was even more important than the Moonlight Pond on the summit.

The light of the mark gradually retreated into his forehead. Only when he thought about it would it come back.

But Tang Jie knew that this light would shine for him until he passed the Three Withering Tribulations.

He didn't understand what the monkey had said, but he knew that the monkey wouldn't swindle him.

Since the monkey had said that he should head up the mountain before the Three Withering Tribulations were over, he needed to work hard.

Although he still lacked the strength, he was recovering that strength every day.

The moment new life bloomed within the spiritual body, Tang Jie had returned to the normal track of getting stronger the more he cultivated.

While he was still weak, it wouldn't be long before he could surpass his former self and ascend to the summit.

As he looked at the summit, his eyes overflowed with confidence.

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