Chapter 39: Reincarnation

Immediately after the clan leader explained the plan, the entire family sprang into action. Each member, in a very speedy manner, organized everything with great exactness and urgency. There was a tangible sense in the air as if everybody knew something monumental was about to happen.

The thought of having thousands of cousins with bodies that could match that of kings was over a fantasy. It was not only the physical power excitement but the opportunity to help people who had been stripped off cultivation practices all their lives. The capability of giving them a chance to train gave the Xian family limitless possibilities in the near future. They all knew that upon opening that door to cultivation, the look on the horizon would brighten up with endless possibilities.

One of the younger ones couldn't help but whisper with a smile, "It's great to be the clan head. You don't have to do all the dirty work; you can just point your fingers at people to take action."

Another guffawed, "What kind of hard lives were we living in our past ones, huh? Working day after day without relief. The human beings were never created to exist like that! Even dogs would have gone into revolt!

Meanwhile, with guidance by the elders, preparations were going smoothly and wonderfully well. Xian Lang and all the other new budding members of the family were marched towards the legendary Fairy Pool which long ago had been discovered by the leader of the clan.

"This pool is no ordinary treasure," declared the second elder who stood at the entrance of the pool. "It is a treasure sent by heaven and earth itself, so rare and magical that it could clean the muscles and even purify the marrow of a human body. Everyone will be given the chance to bathe under its waters for an hour, not one minute more. Otherwise, its potent effect will be negated."

He looked gravely as relatives came, stepped into the pool with reverence and awe, but there was no one to tarry when the time was up. There were many more yet to wait in their turn; ordinary relatives who had been told that their best hope at last was come.

Among those wading into the pool was Xian Ruomeng, wide-eyed and bright with wonder. "Grandfather," she called out to the second elder, as she slid into the water, feeling marvellously refreshed. "What does the pool do?" she asked. "I feel fantastic!"

The elder just smiled blandly at her. "You will see about its nature when you go back to cultivation after immersing yourself. Patience, child. All will be revealed in time."

And so, hours turned into days, days into weeks, and the news like wildfire spread through the Xian family's household. All had been informed that a great, unparalleled opportunity lay in wait for them and could not be missed. No matter how pressing their current responsibilities were—whether they managed businesses, led teams, or oversaw operations in far-flung lands—they all received the call home.

The Xian family was revered in every street of Feihua City as the most powerful and influential force. It therefore didn't come as a surprise when all of its members began to retire from public life and retreat back to the family estate. Xian family-owned shops suddenly shut, and this sudden coordinated retreat caused whispers to spread through the city like wildfire.

"What is it? I don't know either," said a bystander who watched the usually bustling Xian family shop close its doors.

"I don't know, but if the Xian family moves like this, then it must be something big," another person replied.

"Maybe it's the Yunxiao Dynasty sending envoys again? Preparing for some grand celebration?"

There was much gossip in the streets, but things were far more simplistic than that: because of the mysterious, almost mythical Fairy Pool, the Xian family had all convened together within their reach.

Meanwhile, at the estate, a clearly pregnant Jiang Ruolan waddled her way towards the pool. The oldsters and some of the other members of the family surrounding Jiang Ruolan greeted her warmly, laughing.

"Jiang Ruolan, are you sure you should be here in your condition? one of the elders teased, with a smile. That belly's so big, I'm surprised you're still walking around!

"There's no avoiding it," Jiang Ruolan replied, grinning. "The elders have spoken, and when the elders speak, we all listen!"

An old aunt started cackling from behind, "I'll bet it's a boy you have there! That belly's a shape of a warrior".

"Nonsense," chimed in someone. "It's bound to be twins! Only twins would give you that glow about you."

Jiang Ruolan laughed heartily, rubbed her belly. "Boy or girl, my husband and I will be happy. We love them the same!"

Beside her, a large, middle-aged man stood silently, nodding his head in assent. But none of them knew that within Jiang Ruolan's belly, the child had already gained full consciousness of the world outside.

An ancient, yet so essential in the unborn, Xian Daoling-a former magnificent god-thought silently, deep within his conscience, about the new life he had. "So, this is my new family?" he thought while listening to the light-hearted conversation from the outside. "A simple, mortal clan."

He had been reborn after an intense God war, the culmination of which was that he must give up himself to save the Divine Weapon, Mirror of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. He had hoped the mirror would hold his soul for rebirth. Now, lying in the womb, he could feel a familiar aura of the mirror resting in his consciousness, a spark of his past power with him.

"I may have been born into a humble family this time, but it doesn't matter. I rose from nothing once before. I'll do it again in this life."

The fairy pool's subtle energies stirred the divine mind of Xian Daoling, and they found them so powerfully radiating in his mother. With a careful focus, he began tapping that energy even before his birth. That was only the beginning; much more awaited him. Indeed, the Mirror of Six Paths was both his protector and his key to retrieving the power he once wielded.

But he had to drop this line of thinking when, listening from inside to a muttered conversation in the air outside his mother's womb,

"What is this big opportunity?" one person asked. "We ordinary people cannot cultivate it, right? What's the point for us to get in?"

"Because of the Fairy Pool," another person replied. "Apparently, it has something to do with making one's body stronger. The elders want everybody to bathe in it. It can be our salvation!"

The talk swirled around, but yet, none of the mortals understood the real magnitude of the power at the Fairy Pool. It was no ordinary treasure. This pool, Xian Daoling knew, was a rare relic capable of transforming the body and soul, making even the lowliest mortal capable of great feats of cultivation.

Soon, the truth would come to light. Regular members of the family, who in their lives could never plant, stood on the practice path after getting out of the pool. They were feeling power inside, and that no danger would touch Xian family again.

As the mortals threw themselves into their newfound fortune, Xian Daoling smiled to herself. "The Six Paths of Reincarnation and the Fairy Pool. so much luck in one lifetime. With this, I'll surpass even the heights of my previous life."

He began reading on the divine engraving that was within the mirror and prepared himself for his next moves. He was a long way to the destination, but he was never unfamiliar with hardships. Having guided by the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Xian Daoling would certainly rise again, but this time, there was nothing that could stop him.