Third Life

The solitary moon hung in the black night sky, accompanied by twinkling stars in the background.

The dim moonlight reached down unto the ground, upon a land of natural wilderness, the forest concealing the life of nocturnal creatures. In the background, mountains silently slept like a snake—long and winding.

A flash of green light flickered in an unassuming place. In its wake, a figure fell to the ground with a soft thud.

Unadorned by anything but the purest clothes of birth.

The body lay unmoving until invisible waves spread, and he jolted upright from his face-down position.

"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch."

Stepping erratically, he pulled the ring around his neck away from his body. The ring lit up with a bright green light that revealed a soft membrane around the man's body.

Dao Jun, who had successfully pulled a trick under the watchful eyes of the immortal, reincarnated into this new place. Holding nothing but his naked body and the ring that reincarnated him for a second life—and now became the third.

The green light intensified, causing the ring to float and buzz. Then, with a click, the ring shattered. Invisible waves traveled far and wide, but they were countered by something, causing strong winds to blow.

"What happened? Why did the ring self-destruct?" Dao Jun was confused. But without the ring's green light membrane, he found himself in a more concerning state.

"This…?"

He was speechless for a moment, as if something important had been lost. With indignation, he complained, "Why is the spiritual energy of this new world so weak?"

Since it was impossible for him to continue his stay in the immortal world, he had naturally reincarnated into another world.

But who would've thought this new world's spiritual energy was so weak—calling it weak was a compliment at this point.

Dao Jun ignored the aching pain spreading across his body, forcing the spiritual energy to move and gather at his fingertips as he cast a spell to seal his cultivation.

"Cultivators refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but if the surrounding spiritual energy is weaker than the cultivator, their spiritual energy will flow back into the world."

Dao Jun let out a sigh of relief, but his problem wasn't over yet. With his vision as a Nascent Soul cultivator and the various insights he had gained from the Great Universal Evolution deduction, he grasped a certain clue about what was happening around him.

"The Great Dao of this world is reacting to my arrival? No—to be precise, to the ring's Reincarnation Dao?"

Although he was better than the rest of his fellow Nascent Soul cultivators, he was still not at the level of perceiving and using the Dao, after all. So, he could only have a vague feeling.

The invisible clash between Great Daos continued, but it soon reached its climax, and the strong winds slowly dissipated.

Green light appeared inside Dao Jun's eyes, as the shadow of the reincarnation wheel turned slowly. Due to their connection, he caught a glimpse of something. It was beyond his comprehension—like a mortal staring directly at the sun without the protection of an atmosphere.

In the darkness, various figures fought with immense power. Gods and demons raised their weapons and committed endless slaughter with each movement. Space shattered and time's flow was disturbed.

Dao Jun's mind was completely overwhelmed by the convoluted battlefield and transcendental powers. Just as his mind nearly shattered, his gaze met the eyes of one great existence.

As if there were no time barrier between them, the great existence's lifeless pupils made a rapid movement—turning from a mere projection into a living one.

Fear not only gripped Dao Jun's heart but forcefully plucked it from his chest. His mind was already crumbling, and now he faced a danger beyond comprehension.

He wanted to swear and knock himself out, but he couldn't even control his thoughts now.

Helplessly, he could only watch what the great existence intended to do with him.

Although he couldn't gain a clearer image—due to the nature of the great existence's level—Dao Jun could perceive intense malice from them.

He saw, across the infinite distance of space and time, a hand slowly emerging and reaching into his current reality.

Calling it a hand would be wrong. It was a mess of conceptual representation—a 'limb' of decayed flesh, rotting bones, and unknown black and yellow liquid dripping from the gaps.

Deranged concepts assaulted Dao Jun's mind as the 'hand' moved closer to him.

Dao Jun's eyeballs rolled backward. He lost consciousness as his vision darkened, like someone pulling a curtain over his eyes. His body went limp, and he collapsed.

His naked and helpless body soon attracted the attention of wildlife. Birds flapped their wings and landed on nearby branches; glowing eyes appeared in the distance.

But before they could act, a pulse escaped from Dao Jun's body—then another, and another—driving the wild animals away.

It was his divine consciousness; driven by a subconscious mechanism he had installed for protection. It wasn't designed specifically for this situation, but it triggered nonetheless. As someone striving for immortality, being prepared for all situations was a must.

Elsewhere—

A magnificent building rose into the sky, adorned with gilded tiles and floors. A man with a youthful appearance, bright eyes, and a clean face was busy observing the movement of the stars with a compass in his hand.

The compass had more than one hand, and each hand moved irregularly.

The man's eyebrows suddenly furrowed; his dazed gaze returned to focus as he looked down at the compass. At some point, all of its hands had aligned, pointing in one direction with clear precision.

Ideas emerged in his mind, and he was stunned for a moment before his breathing grew heavy, excitement spreading across his face.

"Immortal fate!" the man exclaimed. "The time has come for my Lin Clan to take over this small dynasty."

After circulating his energy for a moment, the man regained his composure. He turned to leave, but before taking his first step, he recalled something. He turned back again and departed directly by leaping from the building.

His figure floated like a shadow before swaying and vanishing.

Below, on the ground where lanterns were hung, life still bustled at this hour. Many people walked about, chatting and laughing.

There was no worry on their faces—only endless joy. None of them realized someone had just jumped from above.

…

The next day, as the sun rose, drawing a dividing line between darkness and light across the ground, and continued to roll upward before finally reaching today's summit—

Dao Jun, who had been sleeping on the ground, suddenly woke up. His eyes remained unfocused from the impact he suffered last night, and the horror still weighed on his heart. But after a few seconds of adjustment, he regained his composure.

"That… that wasn't ordinary horror or terror, for it to leave a mark in my mind. I despise pain—even more so, fear. There is nothing in this world that can threaten me mentally, but that thing… that clearly lies beyond natural order, for it to bypass my mental barrier."

The fear wasn't a simple emotion—it truly manifested in his mind, taking the shape of darkness clumped together. But this confused Dao Jun.

"Why didn't it manifest inside my sea of consciousness instead?"

He asked aloud, but no one was there to answer. Even with an educated guess, he couldn't unravel the truth.

"But because of this, it's easier to suppress." Dao Jun withdrew most of his mind into his sea of consciousness, leaving only the basic and essential parts active to avoid hindering his activity.

After cleaning up the mess from last night, Dao Jun finally had time to observe his surroundings—the new world into which he had reincarnated for the third time.

"Wait, third reincarnation?" Dao Jun chuckled. "I physically arrived in this world. Does this still count as reincarnation?"

But after considering the process, he made up his mind. In order to arrive in this new world, he went through the reincarnation cycle, opened with the help of the ring.

After all, it had been a gamble—whether it resulted in perfect reincarnation into a new body or physical transmigration, the fact that he was still alive was something worth celebrating.

Dao Jun raised his hands and examined them closely. "It's hollow. Everything is gone. My qi refining cultivation dropped to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm. My body refinement is also completely destroyed—rather than returning to a mortal physique, I'm like a broken pot, with water leaking from everywhere."

Lowering his hands and raising his head, his expression remained calm. "But the main problem is that my deadline is approaching. I've already lived for more than five hundred years. Without my cultivation, my lifespan has decreased significantly. If left as it is, I won't survive to see tomorrow's sunset."

Upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, cultivators gain insight into their lifespan. Because of this, they can easily tell how much time they have left—and will desperately fight back when their limit approaches.

Even so, Dao Jun still retained the form of a man in his prime. This was mainly due to his previous foundation. Even when a building collapses, its materials remain.

Dao Jun walked to the nearest tree, sat beneath its shade, and meditated.

His mind reached into his dantian, where his grey and lifeless Nascent Soul floated quietly. Under his command, the Nascent Soul flew up into his sea of consciousness.

But instead of a vibrant realm of soul, mind, and spirit—with a vast ocean and bright sky—it was a bleak painting of black and white. The stars in the sky hung down like dead fish floating on water, and the sea below had turned murky and muddy. Grey winds howled in between, bringing desolation and drought.

In front of the Nascent Soul, a soul avatar materialized, identical in appearance to Dao Jun. One large, one small—they both flew to the center of the sea of consciousness.

A land had once been created there through Dao Jun's soul method to strengthen his soul foundation. Now, only remnants remained. The Nascent Soul and soul avatar floated above it.

"Unlike my two other foundations, only my soul remained intact upon arriving in this world. But due to that strange phenomenon, even my soul has now downgraded from peak stage rank four to middle stage of the third rank."

After reminiscing, the soul avatar took another look at the Nascent Soul. A flash of pain appeared in his eyes, but he moved on. He took a dot of light from its body and placed it outside.

"Among the many things deduced by the Great Universal Evolution, this holds first rank."

He controlled the dot of light and guided it into the Nascent Soul's glabella. Soon, the Nascent Soul opened its eyes. Instead of eyeballs, there appeared deep abysses that sucked everything in—but they were quickly replaced by dull, ordinary eyes.

"I dug my own grave, but fate still sided with me," Dao Jun commented emotionally.

He then controlled both entities, which formed hand signs that mirrored each other's movements. An invisible mirror materialized between them, releasing invisible ripples that spread and covered the entire sea of consciousness.

The mirror reflected the entire scene inside, then pulled both the Nascent Soul and soul avatar into itself. It began spinning—slowly at first, then rapidly. It created a suction force that pulled in the stars above and the seawater below. Even the boundary itself was slowly being drawn inward.

When everything had been absorbed into the rotating mirror, what remained was a round, pure white crystal.

The crystal cracked and broke apart. From within, a radiant figure stepped out, absorbing the falling fragments. When the light dissipated, a new Dao Jun appeared.

He wore a white robe, had long black hair, and his eyes radiated vigorous spirit. The only difference was—this Dao Jun was made of pure light.

Dao Jun physically opened his eyes, his lips curling upward. "Soul refining cultivation: success."

He could feel his lifespan surging back like a flood, revitalizing dead land. It nourished everything in its path.