Chapter 169 Reincarnation (Supplement) The Seventh Me

The man was dressed in a blue robe, with a handsome face and a jade pendant hanging from his waist. When he bowed and raised his face, it bore a striking resemblance to the Emperor, suggesting he was likely one of the lesser-known princes.

The emperor glanced at him only once before his gaze slid to the woman in white, and his originally deep eyes became much clearer.

He immediately stood up and gave up the only high chair in the secret room.

"Bai Lu, you are not feeling well and should not stand for long. Please sit here first."

The woman in white was none other than the legendary Holy Palace. Since she entered the secret chamber, an indescribable, rich fragrance has wafted out, intense and pure.

She slowly opened her eyes, like a bud just beginning to bloom. Although her face was mostly covered by a thin veil, Xiao Lin Feiran could still vaguely see the peerless beauty beneath the veil.

She didn't look at the other three, but kept her gaze on the bookshelves and the corners.

Lin Feiran almost thought she had seen her, and slowly clenched the hem of her clothes with both hands. But the next moment, she looked away.

"Aheng, I'm not tired."

His voice was slightly hoarse, his tone gentle, and then he sighed, his voice carrying an emotion that Lin Feiran couldn't understand—a mixture of reluctance and sorrow.

Seeing that she had her back to him, the Emperor smiled and said nothing more. He simply moved the high chair behind her, leaving it up to her to decide whether she sat or not.

"Kang'er, it's been many years."

The Emperor then smiled and looked behind him, sizing him up and down: "You've grown a lot taller."

A thin layer of sweat beaded on Shentu Kang's back as he forced a smile and said, "Father is joking. It has been four or five years since we last met. In another two years, I will be of legal age... I wonder if Father has summoned me here because I have committed some wrongdoing?"

"What mistakes could you possibly make?"

The Emperor simply smiled and turned to Ding Yi: "Father, how much longer until the auspicious hour?"

One that rests on the dome is called "fixed".

One that falls to the ground is called "stillness".

A thing suspended in mid-air is called "emptiness".

As the three characters "墨" (mo) were written, the previously empty secret room suddenly trembled, then became even quieter.

Ding Yi withdrew his hand: "There are still two quarters of an hour left."

The Emperor nodded: "Two quarters of an hour? That's enough. After all, I've given this kind of dying explanation many times."

Shen Tu Kang stared blankly at all of this, feeling very puzzled, but dared not utter a sound.

He couldn't afford to offend any of the three people in front of him, so he simply kept quiet and stood aside.

"Kang'er, it's been many years. How is your cultivation of magic?" The Human Emperor spoke again, raising his hand to touch the bronze cauldron, but not looking at him.

Shen Tu Kang's eyelids twitched, and he immediately bowed and said, "Father, are you joking? Our clan has never been born with spiritual veins; we are just mortals. How could your son cultivate?"

The Emperor simply smiled.

Five years ago, you fell seriously ill with a persistent high fever and were too weak to walk.

I will send you to Nanpingzhou to recuperate. During your recovery, you will meet a master in a bamboo forest. He says that you have a spiritual vein, though weak, that you can still cultivate.

Overjoyed, you immediately became his disciple and have been practicing for five years now.

Shen Tu Kang's face turned ashen, a suspicion flashing through his mind, yet he dared not believe it.

"Father, how...how could you have known..."

The Emperor then turned to look at him and said, "Kang'er, life doesn't have that many coincidences."

"Your illness was caused by me, and the cultivator you encountered was also carefully selected and sent to you by me. It's just a pity... your cultivation level has stalled at the Forgetfulness Realm, and you can't advance even a fraction further."

Shen Tu Kang stood there stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief. It took him a long time to react before joy gradually appeared on his face.

“Father, you have long known that I am different from others, which is why you sent me to Nanping Continent and hired cultivators to teach me carefully…”

The Emperor chuckled softly and sighed in a low voice.

"My last child was just like you, thinking so highly of me..."

"Aheng!"

The Holy Palace Lady interrupted, her voice carrying a hint of anger.

"Okay, I won't say any more."

The Emperor sighed softly and said to the person before him.

"Kang'er, you are my most extraordinary child. However, due to the intense power struggles in the palace, your father had no choice but to send you out of the palace."

The time has come; the world is now in your hands. This edict is proof.

Shen Tu Kang could hardly believe his eyes. When Ding Yi brought the imperial edict, he unfolded it and read it carefully, sentence by sentence. It was indeed a genuine imperial edict, which made him the crown prince.

Their clan did not live long, and could even be considered short-lived. The longest-lived ancestor only reached forty, and most of the others died at thirty-six or thirty-seven. Therefore, they had to have children or establish a crown prince earlier than ordinary people.

He knew it would be him all along, he had thought it would be him all along!

Shentu Kang was overjoyed. He looked up at the Emperor, his eyes slightly moist. But before he could express his feelings, his smile froze on his lips, and he collapsed to the ground.

"So this can be considered leaving with a smile, without regrets?" The Emperor glanced behind him. "Is that right, Bailu?"

The Holy Palace closed his eyes and said nothing more.

The Emperor shook his head, effortlessly climbed onto the bronze cauldron, and leaped inside.

"Bai Lu, without them, how could I have stayed with you for hundreds of years?"

Without them, who would have thought that mortals could also cultivate?

Ding Yi had been standing beside Shen Tu Kang for a long time, silently watching him. No one knew what he was thinking.

Only after hearing the Emperor speak did he slowly raise his head, recite a passage from the Heart Sutra of Rebirth, and then raise his whisk.

Suddenly, a burst of inspiration filled the secret chamber. Ding Yi raised his hand and formed a hand seal. A jade bead the size of an infant's fist emerged from Shen Tu Kang's body, radiating a faint glow.

The Emperor squatted inside the bronze cauldron, squinting as he looked around, a hint of intoxication in his eyes.

"What a magnificent revolving bead! If it weren't for the gift from the esoteric sects, how could you and I possess such a heaven-reaching treasure?"

Xiao Linfei squeezed in the corner, her hands tightly covering her mouth and nose, her pupils trembling, her eyes filled with horror.

It was a bead, but it wasn't perfectly round.

Some parts are concave, while others are elongated and protrude, making the shape quite strange.

Upon closer inspection, it resembles an infant about to grow hands and feet!

Lin Feiran's breath hitched, and her mind was shaken.

However, the shadow only flashed by, and no one noticed it except for her who happened to see it.

The Holy Palace had already closed its eyes and sat cross-legged among the peonies on the ground. Ding Yi was still looking at Shen Tu Kang and reciting the Heart Sutra. The Emperor was focused on the object in his palm and cherished it very much.

After rubbing it for a moment, he swallowed the bead and sighed.

"Father, we can begin."

Ding Yi slowly pursed his lips, raised his hand, and threw Shen Tu Kang's corpse into the bronze cauldron.

Suddenly, the peony painted on the ground trembled gently as if it were real, as if it were facing the wind.

As it swayed, the array patterns drawn on the stems, leaves, and petals intertwined haphazardly. Bai Lu sat among them, casually fiddling with them, and these almost dazzling patterns were perfectly fitted together, forming a very large magic array.

The magic array was not confined to this secret room, but extended outwards, its reach unknown.

In an instant, streams of pure spiritual light flowed in along the array patterns, all converging beneath the bronze cauldron in the room.

In an instant, Shen Tu Kang's body cracked into pieces, like ice breaking off on a lake, splitting, separating, and falling away.

A faint glow emanated from the Emperor's throat, the light emanating from the Revolving Pearl.

He spoke, but his voice was hoarse like the hiss of a snake. After a sigh, he tried to squeeze into Shen Tu Kang's body.

Lin Feiran subconsciously closed her eyes, not daring to look any longer, but her other senses were still active.

The slick sound of flesh being squeezed out still lingered in my ears, occasionally punctuated by the faint cracking of bones, with drops of blood falling from time to time, and a lingering stench of blood in the air.

Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps only a few moments, before the commotion finally stopped. With her eyes tightly closed, she heard the Emperor's voice again.

“Father, we have failed. This child’s body is sixty percent compatible with mine, which is already the most suitable, but we still can’t integrate.”

His voice was very calm.

Possession is not always successful. From the moment the Father chose him and began to lead him through this cycle, he only succeeded six times, but failed countless times.

There's no other way; if mortals want to possess another's body, this is the only chilling and cruel method they have.

He has been constantly choosing one of his offspring to possess and reincarnate, a process that has continued for nearly two hundred years. He has also been in the position of Human Emperor for almost two hundred years.

In the latter half of the history books, he is both criticized and praised, as if he were playing a game in the world. Whether he knew or was guilty, he could no longer stir up the slightest ripple in people's hearts.

"This child is still lacking in some aspects."

Ding Yi did not respond to his sentiments, but simply said, "Swallow the bead. It cannot be separated from a person for too long. Not long ago, I tested the aptitude of those princes, and one of them is 90% compatible with you. There will be no more mistakes. In two days, transfer the bead into his body and send him out of the palace."

Which child?

"Aheng".

"Oh? I didn't know that one of my offspring shares the same name as me?"

The Human Emperor swallowed the Reincarnation Pearl, squinted and tried to recall for a long time, but unfortunately there were too many people in his memory, and he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

Bai Lu's eyes were tightly closed, and her face was even paler than before, yet she still managed to speak in a hoarse voice.

“Aren’t you called Shen Tu Lu? Who else knows the name Shen Tu Heng these days besides me?”

I will wait patiently for him to grow up.

The Emperor and Ding Yi spoke lightly, as if chatting casually. In this abundant spiritual energy, the two walked outside, then stopped and looked back.

Bai Lu did not follow, but instead closed her eyes and walked to the bronze cauldron, scooping people out piece by piece, her hands trembling slightly.

The Emperor looked at him meaningfully and said, "I remember you liked him a lot when he was a child. When we came here together just now, you always walked in front of him and refused to look back. Were you afraid that you would see what he looked like when he grew up and couldn't bear it?"

Bai Lu pursed her lips and remained silent until she brought the person out and placed them in the spirit box. Only then did she speak: "...When you were little, you were also very likable to me."

The pungent, sweet smell filled the air, and she suddenly coughed, covering her mouth. The emperor's expression darkened, and he immediately stepped forward. As soon as he got close, he saw blood flowing from between her fingers.

His expression hardened, and he stopped speaking as before, only anxiously saying, "I will take you to Daohe Palace immediately!"

...

After a moment of panic, the door to the secret room closed, leaving two terrified people leaning against the corner of the wall, their eyes tightly shut, afraid of seeing something horrifying.

Xiao Lin Feiran didn't dare to be stunned for too long. She immediately lowered her head, quickly took out the spirit jade with both hands, and tried to arrange it according to the magic circle that had appeared briefly before. After about ten attempts, the connecting magic circle finally reappeared.

Before leaving, she collected all the spirit jades to avoid leaving any trace.

A moment later, just as the two disappeared into the secret room, the bookshelf opened again, and another person walked in from the outer room.

The person who came was Ding Yi, who had returned. Actually, he didn't have anything important to do; he just came back to clean up the remaining mess and wipe away the dust that he hadn't had time to wipe away earlier.

As he moved to a corner, he dusted off the dust, and his hand suddenly paused.

In one corner of the wall, the dust was lighter than in other places.

His eyes flickered slightly, then he continued cleaning the secret room and slowly walked out.

...

The banquet finally began, but apart from the Emperor who strolled over, there was no sign of the Holy Palace Consort.

This is not surprising, as she never attends her own birthday parties.

Everyone was seated except for Lin Lang. The Emperor looked at the chief eunuch beside him and asked, "Minister Lin, you did not enter the palace today?"

The chief eunuch immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, General Lin has already entered the palace. He said he was going to play with his daughter before leaving the flower hall. We have already sent someone to call them back."

The Emperor nodded and joked, "In Minister Lin's heart, his wife and daughter are always the most important."

The ministers below nodded with smiles, and amidst the teasing, Lin Lang finally appeared with his daughter, his face still bearing a bright and cheerful smile.

"Fortunately, we didn't miss the time. I was playing with my daughter and forgot the time. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

The emperor simply smiled and said, "How could I be a narrow-minded person? Quickly take a seat and punish yourself with three cups."

Lin Lang grasped Xiao Lin Feiran's cold hand, led her to a seat, and after drinking three cups with a smile, the matter was put behind him. As a result, no one saw his almost soaked collar.

Lin Feiran disappeared for nearly an hour.

He originally wanted to call on the palace servants to search together, but they were busy preparing for the banquet and cleaning up the mess, and they didn't have time to spare. He was also worried about entrusting the whole matter to others, so he searched the palace inch by inch by himself.

But even so, we didn't see her.

He was almost at his wits' end, and just as he was about to call his wife into the palace, Kobayashi Hiran rushed out, grabbed his leg, her hands trembling slightly, but her voice remained calm.

"Father, I've witnessed something terrible..."

Lin Lang finally relaxed. He bent down and hugged Lin Feiran, patted his back gently, and whispered, "Slowly, don't be afraid. Even if the sky falls, Daddy will hold it up. It's okay that we ran into each other... It's good that you're alright."

He picked up Lin Feiran and carried her to the vicinity of the banquet hall. He paused slightly, put her down, and said, "Manman, you must remember that you have been with me for the entire hour, understand?"

She nodded, and then he led her into it.

Thinking of this, Lin Lang felt it necessary to emphasize it to her, so while everyone was talking, he looked at Lin Feiran and said softly.

"Slowly, next time you run off, remember to call your parents with you, otherwise what if you get lost? No matter what happens, the three of us will always stay together."

Xiao Lin Feiran stared at him, somewhat dazed.

I never expected that someone who is usually unreliable and likes to whine in front of his mother could say something like that.

She paused for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"I'll invite you next time."

Lin Lang looked at her, his gaze softened, and he couldn't help but rub her face: "You're so good, so good. Even if you cause a huge disaster, Daddy will cover for you. Even if I can't cover it up, your mother definitely can!"

"..."

Just as Lin Feiran was speechless, she caught a glimpse of someone hurrying towards the main seat, whispering something to her. The Emperor's eyes flickered slightly, and his deep gaze slowly swept over her.

"Gentlemen, tonight is an auspicious time, coinciding with the Holy Palace's birthday. I am very pleased. How about we continue the banquet until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)? No one is allowed to leave the table or abandon me before that time."

...

In the courtyard, Lin Feiran, who had just escaped from the Great Snow Mountain, looked at everyone, his eyes still somewhat dizzy.

Besides Ding Yi, there were many cultivators from the Star Domain standing around the Human Emperor, while Lin Lang was the only one opposite them.

Upon seeing Lin Feiran return, he immediately sheathed his sword, stepped forward to support her, and asked anxiously, "Manman, how are you feeling now?"

He checked Lin Feiran first. Although Lin Feiran looked disheveled, there were no injuries on his body. He just looked a little tired. He breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Minister Lin, now that your daughter has returned, we should take her away. I've already told you the reason: she knows some things she shouldn't know. Fortunately, she's smart and didn't tell you, so she won't be implicated too much."

After all, I greatly appreciate you as my subject.

Lin Lang ignored him, focusing on straightening Lin Feiran's clothes, and then turned to have a servant bring over hot tea and food.

"You've spent seven days in the snow-capped mountains and you've become so thin. Your father has no idea how you managed to survive. Eat something to warm yourself up."

Xiao Lin Feiran was already exhausted, and the journey had left her feeling dizzy. Now that she was back home, with the wind and snow blocking her from the outside world and hot tea in hand, even with the likes of the Human Emperor in front of her, she couldn't help but relax and feel an inappropriate drowsiness.

Now that I'm home, I don't have to force myself anymore.

As her vision blurred, she saw her mother suddenly appear, reach out to catch her as she drowsily fell asleep, and look up at the opposite side with a cold smile on her lips.

"Today I'll see who has the guts to take my daughter away!"

Xiao Lin Feiran drifted into a deep sleep. In her half-awake state, her eyes were slightly open, her mind was hazy, and she could not hear much. She could only see the Holy Palace Lady sitting cross-legged in front of her, forming a hand seal and ending her practice. Her voice was very indistinct.

"I've sealed her memories; she won't remember the past anymore...we..."

...

The sound of flowing water reached Lin Feiran's ears. She opened her eyes and woke up, staring blankly at the hazy light of day. Suddenly, a dazzling golden-white light entered her vision.

Her eyes flickered slightly as she looked to the side, only to find herself lying in Ru Xian's arms, tightly clutching his sleeve.

"Awake?" He raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips, and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "You almost fell into the water just now. How about it, do you remember the beginning and end of how your memories were sealed?"

He didn't mention the seven days that were of most concern to the two of them, but instead asked her about the sealed memories that she cared about most.

Lin Feiran did not spring up from his arms as before, but lay there, her clear eyes reflecting the floating clouds in the sky, her gaze unfocused.

"I remember." Her voice was a little hoarse.

Ru Xian's gaze paused: "What's wrong?"

...

"Nothing much, it's just that suddenly I miss my parents a lot."

Author's Note: Tears welling up.