Chapter 1624: Six Realms of Reincarnation

"Master, are you on the path to enlightenment?" The three disciples were astonished. In front of the thatched hut, Ye Fan, with a calm mind and still body, pondered his own path. At this moment, he felt a profound clarity within.

What he saw was not just the scenery before him, but also countless past events, bits and pieces, many unforgettable memories, drifting through his mind. Later, many old memories faded, like dust rising to reveal a crystal-clear immortal platform, reflecting some deeply etched moments: people gazing up under the starry sky, calling his name; someone fighting a supreme being to the death, leaving him forever...

All of this traced back to the moment he shattered in the cosmos. It began in the past and ceased there, with more than half of three centuries being a blank, which led to his current state.

He had only fully recovered in recent years, yet his head still ached. Every time he tried to recall something, it felt as though a knife were slicing through his soul.

He clearly felt his physical body was stronger, even more so after reshaping it. Furthermore, law fragments were sealed within his flesh and blood, entwined throughout his body, yet he could not use them.

With a soft sigh, Ye Fan stood up and said, "Don't worry about me. Go pursue your own paths. I need to think deeply."

In the following days, Ye Fan wandered among the hills. He spotted a tree struck by lightning, its trunk completely charred, having been dead for several years. Yet, it was now sprouting new branches and buds.

He paused there for a long time, sensing a vibrant life force – the power of rebirth after a catastrophe – which resonated deeply within him.

Ye Fan stood there motionless for a long time, appearing petrified for several days, like a stone statue. During this period, birds landed and animals approached, ignoring him, treating him as a piece of dead wood without a second glance.

It wasn't until half a month later that he finally stirred, beginning to explore his own nature and observe other paths, moving towards his next goal.

At this point, his entire being exuded an aura of vitality. Like the lightning-struck tree, he was nurturing new hope after a great tribulation, cultivating a distinct life force within his flesh and blood.

Ye Fan's body glowed faintly, appearing somewhat translucent, permeated with vital energy. His three disciples, watching from the distant horizon, were greatly astonished.

"Master isn't manifesting any law fragments, so how do I feel a sort of Dao power circulating? This is truly strange."

"No, that's an instinct, a life force dormant in his flesh and blood. It's his sealed Dao resonating."

"Master is going against the heavens! Others are studying the Immortal Scriptures of the Great Emperor. Yet, he insists on pondering his own path. This isn't just about recovery; it's about soaring to unimaginable heights!"

Upon witnessing this, the three disciples immediately understood. They knew Ye Fan was forging his own path, aiming to truly escape his predicament and break free from all constraints.

"It would be bad if Yin Tiande or Yaoguang arrived; they would interrupt Master's meditation. We should stay with him."

"No need. Even if they came, they couldn't harm Master in the Flying Immortal Battlefield. I sense his primal power is even more vigorous than before, unfathomable."

Ultimately, the three disciples moved away from the horizon. Although they didn't go truly far, they were no longer within Ye Fan's direct line of sight, so as not to disturb his thoughts.

A lone wolf lay on the ground, having finally succumbed to the ravages of time, its eyes closing in old age and weakness.

Ye Fan approached and stood silently for a moment. A wisp of death qi permeated the air, the wolf's carcass grew cold, leaving behind only silence.

"No next life, no rebirth. Life ultimately reaches its end..."

Ye Fan walked several dozen steps away, then stopped and sat on a rock, calmly observing the mountains and rivers.

Several vultures flew down and landed, beginning to tear at the wolf's carcass, instantly making it a bloody sight. As more and more vultures arrived, only scattered remains were left on the ground, a brutal scene.

"It has reached its end; there is no path forward." Ye Fan moved to the next location.

It was a desert, where the golden sands, though intensely hot, still supported life: snakes, ants, cacti, all embodying vitality amidst despair.

Ye Fan looked back towards the direction of the wolf's carcass, then turned his gaze to the desert. Several similar strands of vitality permeated the air, making him slightly pause.

As the sun set, coloring the horizon crimson before sinking into the vast desert, a great river unexpectedly flowed past his feet. Ye Fan felt a sense of desolation, grandeur, and power.

He journeyed alone, moving at the pace of a mortal, unhurriedly, taking in the desert scenery and experiencing the solitude and bleakness under the starry night.

Finally, Ye Fan entered the great grasslands. He witnessed withered thorn bushes turn verdant after a heavy rain, and saw the lush growth of grass, a vibrant scene of life. He experienced the process of life force transformation.

Then, on a rainy night, he saw a giant carp by the lake shore, struggling to rub and tear its belly, extending sharp claws as it evolved towards a higher level of life.

He had seen so much, seemingly unconnected. Ye Fan was merely pondering his own path, walking aimlessly. While he would pause upon seeing these things, it didn't necessarily mean he had gained any profound insight.

"Metamorphosis, a process of new life."

Ye Fan returned to the front of the thatched hut. The gecko's severed tail had long since grown back, now stronger than before.

The old snake, too, had advanced with miraculous speed. That day, it underwent another metamorphosis, shedding its old skin. This time, the horn on its head appeared even more crystalline, and small protrusions had appeared on its belly, as if dragon claws were about to emerge.

"A thousand years of accumulation, released in a single month. The snake is truly about to transform into a flood dragon," Ye Fan murmured to himself.

Accumulation, precipitation, and then a sudden burst of activity in a short period, achieving a sublimation – this was his intuitive understanding, his first reaction based on the observed facts.

Ye Fan left the thatched hut for the second time, starting from there and following the same path as before. The lightning-struck tree had revived, and it was foreseeable that it would one day flourish again, its branches and leaves growing dense.

"Within decay lies new life; in despair, a new dawn emerges."

Ye Fan embarked on a more distant journey. Passing by the former site of the wolf's carcass, he saw a vigorous life force there. All traces of death had dissipated, leaving only life energy blooming.

Large patches of lush green grass had appeared in that spot, growing exceptionally vigorously, nourished by the remnants of the wolf's carcass.

"Is there no reincarnation?"

He was stunned. The lone wolf was dead, no longer existing, yet it had nourished another form of life.

He looked up towards the distance, where several vultures were flying, then descended to the ground, clearly having found a new target. They fought and snatched, making it a bloody scene.

In areas frequented by vultures, he saw much bird droppings, and the vegetation there was exceptionally luxuriant and abundant.

"The Six Paths of Samsara in this world," Ye Fan suddenly uttered.

In the distance, Ye Tong, Huahua, and Yang Xi were all greatly startled. That day, on a whim, they had followed him from afar, feeling that their Master had been pondering his path endlessly without a solution, and hoping to somehow participate.

"Didn't Master always disbelieve in an afterlife? He never trusted the past, nor did he place his hopes on a future life, striving only for the present. Why has he suddenly changed his mind?!"

"What happened? Why have Master's views changed?"

"Could it be that Master's physical condition is so severe that it requires reincarnation to be fully resolved?"

They were all alarmed, sensing that something was amiss. Though worried, they didn't approach, remaining at the edge of the horizon.

Ye Fan was momentarily lost in thought. He had, of course, not changed his beliefs. Instead, he was understanding reincarnation from a different perspective. The so-called Six Paths of Rebirth, living this life solely for the next, was not what he was contemplating.

What he saw was a transformation of pure matter and pure imprints: a wolf dying and turning into a carcass, then into fertile soil. This was the most fundamental and ordinary form of dissipation and decomposition.

After transforming into fertile soil, it was absorbed by vegetation, leading to vigorous growth. The lone wolf became a component of another life form; this was an alternative kind of reincarnation.

Abundant grass was eaten by deer and sheep, transforming into yet another life form. What remained unchanged were the most fundamental elemental substances.

Herbivores became food for beasts, and the wolf's carcass became food for vultures, becoming part of their bodies. This cycle continued, a different kind of Six Paths of Reincarnation.

"I am a world. My Dao, my techniques, my imprints are reincarnating within my internal world; they have never dissipated," Ye Fan murmured to himself as he departed.

Afterward, he entered the great desert again, seeing animal carcasses beneath cacti and predators hunting. All of this, too, was a cycle, another form of reincarnation.

The desert smoke rose straight; the long river reflected the round setting sun.

Finally, even the path he walked was a cycle, eventually leading him back to the thatched hut.

From personal transformation to the grand cycle of reincarnation, Ye Fan's heart was tranquil. The simplest natural scenes he had observed along his journey had led him to contemplate the issues of his own being.

That day, he sat down in a meditative posture, his body glowing faintly. There was a subtle sensation that a great Dao was about to emerge, bringing silence to the world.

He appeared solemn and majestic, as an awe-inspiring aura permeated his body, radiating outwards in strands and wisps. In the distance, Ye Tong, Huahua, and Yang Xi were astonished; the fluctuations of those law fragments filled them with dread!

"Boom!"

On this very day, everyone throughout the mountains and rivers felt a majestic pressure, as if an unparalleled powerhouse had emerged, breaking free from a seal. The Dao fluctuations emanating from him were terrifying.

"Has Master recovered?!" All three of Ye Tong's group showed joyful surprise.

But soon, their expressions turned serious as they watched intently.

Ye Fan's body was translucent and gleaming. The law fragments revived, transforming into countless stars, and his entire body resembled a world, becoming a vast cosmos.

The sight was terrifying; it was a change akin to the creation of heaven and earth. Chaotic mists swirled, law fragments revived and formed rivers of stars, constructing a human body cosmos.

Ye Tong, Huahua, and Yang Xi held their breath, intently watching everything. They felt an supreme majesty and a world-shaking power of laws.

It seemed as if the entire Great Dao of heaven and earth had entered Ye Fan's body, recreating a new, immeasurably vast world within him.

However, the ultimate outcome was that Ye Fan suddenly opened his eyes, and then his body trembled violently. He shattered the endless rivers of stars and destroyed the myriad stars of all domains. His internal world instantly dimmed, losing its translucence, and all the stars exploded.

"Master!" Ye Tong and the others cried out, rushing towards him.

"This is merely my body; there's no need to replicate an already existing cosmos." Ye Fan stood up. The powerful law fragments that had just revived vanished again, and his eyes returned to their dim state.

"Master, are you alright?" Yang Xi asked worriedly.

"I am very well, better than ever," Ye Fan replied, surprising them. Currently, he showed no signs of spiritual power fluctuations, and his cultivation had not returned. Why would he say that?

After that, Ye Fan fell into deep thought, remaining motionless for a long time.

"Master, what are you thinking about?" Ye Tong asked with concern.

"I'm thinking about some concepts: accumulation, metamorphosis, sublimation, passing away, reincarnation, and eternal life," Ye Fan answered truthfully.

The three disciples looked at each other with strange expressions. The last two of these concepts clearly transcended what a Great Saint should contemplate. What was their Master trying to achieve?

"Master, are you feeling alright?" Huahua asked.

"Thud."

Ye Fan rapped him on his bald head, making him wince in pain. "It's been three hundred years, and you're still hitting me?"

"Let's go to the Emperor Pass," Ye Fan said at that moment.

Ye Fan was coming and intended to enter the Emperor Pass. This news, once released, shook the entire majestic ancient city, causing many hearts to skip a beat.

Hadn't he lost his cultivation? How dare he come here? This wasn't the Flying Immortal Battlefield, where the power of other mighty ones was restricted. What did he intend to do?!

"Ye Fan, the Sacred Body, is coming! He will arrive at the Emperor Pass!"

"The news is true! Only three disciples accompany him; there are no other masters. He truly fears nothing here!"