Script of Reincarnation

At this moment, the secluded courtyard of the Supreme Elder was unusually quiet.

Even before entering, Lu Yang could already sense several powerful auras gathered within.

None of them were particularly sharp, and there was no killing intent, yet the atmosphere itself carried an inexplicable heaviness.

Lu Yang slowly pushed open the courtyard doors.

The first thing he saw was an old man lying upon a wooden bed.

His body was extremely thin, his cheeks sunken, and his long hair had long since turned completely pale white.

This was the Supreme Elder, the strongest existence of the Lu Family.

Yet at this moment, the old man looked no different from an ordinary elderly mortal who had reached the final moments of his life.

Surrounding the bed were the various Grand Elders, Lu Tianhe, Lu Qingyu, the Old Family Head, and several ordinary elders.

Lu Yang’s gaze swept across them, landing on a familiar face.

It was none other than Lu Ming.

For a moment, Lu Yang’s eyes lingered upon him.

The young man who had once stood proudly among the geniuses of the Lu Family had completely changed.

His face was mature, his expression calm, and the arrogance that had once accompanied him during his youth had disappeared without a trace.

Over forty years had passed since the two of them had competed against each other.

Since a young age, Lu Ming had been one of the most outstanding geniuses of the Lu Family.

Unfortunately, he encountered Lu Yang.

After being defeated in the Family Grand Competition, Lu Ming completely accepted the difference between them.

Over the following decades, he had gradually grown into a reliable cultivator of the family.

His father had passed away many years ago, and after entering the Spirit Awakening Realm, he eventually became one of the Lu Family’s elders.

Lu Yang gave him a faint nod.

Lu Ming also nodded in return.

The rivalry of their youth had long since become nothing more than a distant memory.

Lu Yang then looked towards the Internal Affairs Grand Elder.

The old man merely sighed and shook his head helplessly.

Lu Yang’s expression became slightly solemn, understanding that the Supreme Elder didn’t have much time left.

For some reason, looking at the Internal Affairs Grand Elder suddenly caused Lu Yang to fall into a brief daze.

When he first met this man, he was only five years old.

At that time, the Internal Affairs Grand Elder was already a majestic Spirit Awakening cultivator, standing at the very peak of the Lu Family.

He had assumed his position only several years earlier and was still considered to be in the prime of his life.

But now, his hair were completely white, his face was covered in wrinkles, and even his once straight back had become slightly hunched.

Perhaps he had another decade of lifespan left, but ultimately, his end was already visible.

The same applied to the True Teaching Grand Elder and the Old Family Head.

These people had once been the pillars that supported the Lu Family.

Now, they were among the oldest remaining members of the clan after the Supreme Elder, and in another twenty years, they would probably all be gone.

Lu Yang’s gaze finally returned to the Supreme Elder.

The old man seemed to notice his arrival and slowly opened his eyes.

When he saw Lu Yang, a faint smile appeared upon his wrinkled face.

"You’re here."

Lu Yang nodded, "Supreme Elder."

"Come over." The old man’s voice was weak, but it remained clear.

Lu Yang walked over and sat beside Lu Tianhe and Lu Qingyu.

The Supreme Elder looked at everyone for a long while, his eyes carrying a trace of nostalgia.

He began to talk about many things, such as the Lu Family’s past, the changes that had occurred over the past century, the various elders who had already passed away, and even some trivial matters that Lu Yang had never heard before.

Nobody interrupted him, everyone listened quietly.

They all understood that this might be the final opportunity to hear the Supreme Elder speak.

Eventually, the old man smiled faintly.

"You’ve all grown up."

His gaze swept across the room.

"The Lu Family has also changed, from barely being able to guard our small piece of land with four or five Spirit Awakening cultivators in my youth to becoming one of the strongest Spirit Awakening Realm families in Canglan Prefecture."

His voice gradually became quieter.

"Perhaps... this is simply the cycle of heaven and earth."

After a long while, the Supreme Elder suddenly waved his hand.

"You all go outside."

Everyone was stunned.

The Old Family Head frowned slightly.

"Supreme Elder?"

The old man’s gaze fell upon Lu Yang.

"I have something to discuss with Lu Yang."

Everyone exchanged glances for a moment before, one after another, they stood up and left the room.

Lu Tianhe glanced at Lu Yang before leaving, while Lu Qingyu also gave him a questioning look.

Lu Yang merely shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.

Soon, the room became completely sile, with only Lu Yang and the Supreme Elder remaining.

Lu Yang looked towards the old man.

"Supreme Elder, what is it?"

The old man didn’t immediately answer, slowly sitting up.

Despite his extremely weak body, his movement remained surprisingly steady.

At that moment, his cloudy eyes suddenly became somewhat profound.

"Do you know the origin of the Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique?"

Lu Yang was slightly startled, pondering for a moment before answering.

"The Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique is the foundation of our Lu Family’s cultivation, and as far as I know, our founding ancestor discovered it in an ancient ruin during a great struggle more than two hundred years ago together with several other cultivators. After that, the ancestor brought the technique back and established the Lu Family."

The Supreme Elder nodded.

"That is indeed what the family records say, however, the truth... is far from that simple."

Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The Supreme Elder looked at him for several breaths before sighing.

"The Lu Family is fortunate, to think that a genius like you would be born in this family. Under normal circumstances, you will almost certainly enter the Essence Gathering Realm, therefore, there is something I must tell you."

Lu Yang’s expression became serious at these words.

The Supreme Elder slowly stood up.

His body was clearly extremely weak, yet he still walked towards the wall.

He stopped before an ordinary looking section of the wall and reached out.

With a faint click, the wall suddenly separated, and behind it was a hidden compartment.

The Supreme Elder reached inside and carefully retrieved an ancient manual.

The manual was yellowed with age, and even the material itself appeared different from ordinary paper.

The characters written upon its surface were slightly different from the modern Great Qian script, yet Lu Yang could still recognize them.

His pupils slightly contracted as he read the name of the manual.

’Blood Burning Essence Combustion Art.’

The Supreme Elder returned to the bed and slowly sat down, handing the ancient manual to Lu Yang, "Read it."

Lu Yang accepted it carefully.

The moment his fingers touched the manual, he could sense an extremely ancient aura.

He opened the first page; the words written were extremely simple, yet the contents made his expression gradually become solemn.

After reading several pages, Lu Yang finally raised his head.

"Supreme Elder..."

The old man nodded.

"You must have already noticed it; the Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique isn’t the complete name of our clan guarding cultivation technique."

Pausing briefly, the Supreme Elder spoke slowly.

"Its true name is the Azure Moon Spirit Control Art, and the so-called Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique is merely the Spirit Awakening Realm Chapter of that cultivation technique."

Lu Yang’s expression changed.

"Just the Spirit Awakening Realm Chapter?"

The Supreme Elder nodded.

"Our ancestors never obtained the complete technique. More than two hundred years ago, the founding ancestor discovered the ruins of an ancient cultivator with several other cultivators, and among the ruins was this Chapter of the Azure Moon Spirit Control Art. At first, he believed that it was just a Spirit Awakening Realm cultivation technique, albeit an exceptional one, but later, he discovered that this cultivation technique wasn’t created by the cultivator whose ruins he discovered. Instead, it belonged to a far more ancient inheritance."

Lu Yang’s expression became increasingly solemn.

"How ancient?"

The Supreme Elder calmly replied.

"Before even the previous dynasty, more than a thousand years ago. At that time, there existed a tremendously powerful faction. Its influence once spread across an enormous region, and its inheritance included cultivation techniques reaching far beyond the Spirit Awakening Realm. Unfortunately, that faction eventually collapsed, and after its destruction, its inheritance was scattered, including the legacy cultivation technique, the Azure Moon Spirit Control Art. The various cultivation realms of the Azure Moon Spirit Control Art were separated and passed down through different descendants, and the Chapter the founding ancestor obtained was one of them."

Lu Yang’s fingers tightened slightly around the ancient manual. "Then the person who left behind that ruin..."

The Supreme Elder nodded.

"That was probably a descendant of that faction, most likely a Spirit Awakening cultivator who died several centuries ago. From the records and notes left behind in those ruins, our ancestors gradually pieced together this ancient history."

He looked at Lu Yang before continuing.

"That is why the Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique has always been treated as the foundation of the Lu Family, but there is another part of that inheritance."

His gaze fell upon the manual in Lu Yang’s hands.

"And that is, the method to protect it."

Lu Yang lowered his eyes.

"The Blood Burning Essence Combustion Art?"

The Supreme Elder’s voice became exceptionally solemn.

"Yes, if the Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique is the method for cultivating the Dao... then this Blood Burning Essence Combustion Art is the method to protect that Dao."