Chapter 706 - 653: Xiaowu’s Rebirth
The eldest senior sister returned, and Shi Xiaowu was particularly happy. His tired body suddenly felt energized. In just one night, he managed to solve the calculation that had eluded him for a long time.
Shi Xiaowu put down the pen and picked up the blueprint of the Puppet Elixir Furnace in front of him, with detailed numbers marked precisely to the smallest unit.
"Once Qii Yue tries a few times and refines this Puppet Elixir Furnace, at least Yuan Nourishing Elixirs can be mass-produced."
Mentioning Qii Yue, Shi Xiaowu’s eyes dimmed a bit, and his smile was tinged with bitterness.
He tried hard but ultimately couldn’t catch up to Qii Yue’s pace.
Shi Xiaowu stood up and walked to the window, looking toward the top of Heavenly Cry Peak, where the bright moon hung high and the galaxy dazzled.
"Little junior sister has been in seclusion for several days, the lack of any disturbance means everything is going smoothly."
Shi Xiaowu turned back and glanced at the box on the table, which contained a foul-smelling Elixir that looked like a ball of mud.
After hesitating and struggling for a moment, Shi Xiaowu finally walked over, picked up the Elixir, and threw it into his mouth, lifting his jaw.
Gulp!
"Ugh... Tastes like mud, Master Li must be pulling my leg again!"
Shi Xiaowu’s stomach churned, and he hurried out of the room to puke but suddenly halted at the threshold.
He surveyed the surroundings and chuckled wryly, "Another Illusion Array."
Identifying the Illusion Array outside the door, Shi Xiaowu casually looked around and found the flaw. He walked out of the array along the corner of the wall, although the environment outside hadn’t changed at all, he stopped again.
"A double Illusion Array?"
Shi Xiaowu frowned, took a couple of breaths of cold night air, and couldn’t help but cough.
He suddenly remembered Elder Tao, who when his lifespan was nearing its end, would always cough continuously as if he were sick.
"Cough, cough, it must be the eldest senior sister’s concern for me, trying out the Illusion Array’s effectiveness again, it’s pointless..."
Shi Xiaowu found the flaw again, walked through the side path out of the Illusion Array, and paused once more.
"Triple? Cough, cough, cough!"
Shi Xiaowu gazed around the bamboo forest, the cold wind whispered, the bamboo leaves rustled, the environment was impeccably set up, but the number of bamboos was incorrect.
He was sensitive to numbers, so sensitive that in his idle time, he counted the number of bamboos in the bamboo forest, which he just recounted two days ago.
Leaving the Third Layer of the Illusion Array, Shi Xiaowu had no desire to stroll, just felt chilled, unable to endure the cold night wind.
Meow~
Danggui was perched on the courtyard wall, licking its paws.
"Danggui, fought with the Mountain Lord again and came here to hide?"
Meow!
Danggui jumped from the wall into Shi Xiaowu’s arms.
"What did the eldest senior sister give you to eat upon her return? You feel heavier, and the fur on your head is prickly, cough, cough, cough!"
Shi Xiaowu felt something was amiss, but a violent bout of coughing interrupted him. He carried Danggui back to the house, shut the doors and windows to block out the cold wind.
Ever since he cultivated the ’Five Elements Returning to Truth Skill’ left by the eldest senior sister, he was always energetic, not needing sleep, but today suddenly felt weary, wanting to sleep.
Shi Xiaowu yawned, set Danggui aside, and sat by the desk in a daze.
Inexplicably, he recalled his entire life, from childhood memories to the present.
His greatest regret in life was failing to form a core, letting down his master and eldest senior sister’s kindness in recognizing his worth, unable to confess his feelings to Qii Yue, unable to visit the Immortal Realm, to see the ancestor who created the ’Great Derivation Calculation Scripture’...
Suddenly, a peal of thunder sounded outside, the gale violently flung open the window, scattering papers from the desk.
Meow~
Danggui feared the thunder, cried out, and hid away, while Shi Xiaowu waved away the flying papers and ran to the door, seeing tribulation clouds gathered towards Heavenly Cry Peak’s summit.
"Wonderful, little junior sister is about to begin her tribulation crossing, Danggui, look quickly, little junior sister she...!!!"
Shi Xiaowu’s voice abruptly halted; he saw ’himself’ sitting in a Taishi Chair, smiling with closed eyes, already devoid of breath.
A buzz resounded in Shi Xiaowu’s mind, the world spun around him.
He tremblingly touched his body, watching helplessly as his hands passed through bodily form, ethereal and intangible.
"I... have already..."
Died?
Impossible!
Shi Xiaowu frenetically shook his head, having consumed the Lifespan Extension Pill; he shouldn’t have reached this point so soon...
Rumble!
Jiangg Ziying’s Tribulation Thunder was about to descend; time didn’t allow Shi Xiaowu to think much.
According to his research and statistics, among cultivators who had taken Lifespan Extension Pills, some did fail to extend their lifespan.
Because any Elixir has a chance of failing, albeit a very small chance, rounded off to insignificance.
The surrounding scenery began fading like a mirage, Shi Xiaowu felt submerged underwater, unable to rise, sinking further.
The little junior sister also formed her core; with the eldest senior sister around, everyone would be well taken care of; departing this way wasn’t bad.
If there’s another life, he’d want to apprentice under his master again, be the junior brother to the eldest senior sister, and meet Qii Yue once more...
Splash!
Shi Xiaowu burst through the surface, seeing the Merfolk and Merfolk Country spoken of by the eldest senior sister, seeing those wandering souls awaiting reincarnation.
He was taken to one of the islands, entering a long waiting period, he wasn’t sure how long until a Merfolk carried him onto a Bone Ship heading towards the Netherworld.
Thereafter he was in a muddled state, forgot a lot yet remembered many things, until a beam of light suddenly pierced his eyes, a large hand slapped his bottom.
Ouch!
Shi Xiaowu cried out, discovering he was crying like an infant, his vision was blurry, hearing only chaotic sounds.
"Congratulations, madam, gave birth to a little master."
"Quickly, notify the lord."
Shi Xiaowu felt wrapped up, placed into a warm embrace, completely bewildered.
Had he successfully reincarnated?
Why did he remember everything from his past life so clearly?
Shi Xiaowu tried to make a sound, tried to move his limbs, but it was futile due to his infant body.
He took a long time to adapt to the ’baby’ life, being served and fed like a helpless being.
On his hundredth day, his father, a wealthy merchant who adored him, gave him a grand name:
Shi Potian!
At that moment, it was as if lightning struck his heart, dispelling gloom and rekindling hope, filling him with confidence.
All this is the will of the Heavenly Dao, it’s a chance to start over, permitting him to abandon everything of Shi Xiaowu, to live again as Shi Potian,
to make a world-shattering comeback!
Suddenly, Shi Xiaowu was energized and had a goal, full of vigor.
From swaddling, he began cultivating the ’Five Elements Returning to Truth Skill’. After trying, he found he could cultivate all five sections, indicating he still possessed Five Spirit Roots, all familiar.
Furthermore, during this cultivation, he sensed sparse Spiritual Energy, yet his cultivation speed wasn’t slow, indicating high root placement of Five Spirit Roots after reincarnation.
Shi Xiaowu seized every moment of this precious opportunity to cultivate ravenously. He learned to walk before turning one, began outsmarting the estate’s servants.
Hiding behind people to secretly read books, learning Martial Arts.
His parents pampered him greatly, especially his father, resembling his godfather, Guo Zhen, burly but unlike his godfather, his father loved praising him, declaring even his fart louder than others’.
If anyone dared to criticize him, his father would immediately give them a hard time.
And he did live up to expectations, becoming a prodigy admired across several villages at a young age, surpassing peers, effortlessly surpassing those older than him.
Anyone who spoke of Shi Potian envied him and showered him with compliments.
Apart from knowledge and martial arts, Shi Xiaowu’s cultivation also advanced rapidly; he reached Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation by age three, his foundation solid.
But he didn’t reveal his cultivation ability to anyone; that year, an Early-Stage Qi Cultivator visited, almost swindling his father’s estate, and he secretly resolved it.
Through that cultivator, he learned he was in a remote town in Cang Country, still having the chance to go to the Heavenly Interence Sect to seek enlightenment.
Shi Xiaowu was ecstatic, became even more diligent, aiming to re-enter the Heavenly Interence Sect at age six, to apprenticeship under Lii Jiuchuan again, to call Jiang Yuebai eldest senior sister once more.
Thinking of entering the sect, astonishing everyone in every aspect, Shi Xiaowu couldn’t help but grin foolishly.
"This time, I, Shi Potian, will certainly form a core, certainly reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao! If Heaven stops me, I’ll break through it!"
The little Shi Potian stood on a rockery in the garden, making bold declarations, then slyly took out a small portrait of Qii Yue, smiling shyly.
Unbeknownst to him, outside the Floating Life Illusion Dream, Qii Yue, along with others, watched Shi Xiaowu’s ’rebirth’, also smiling shyly...