Chapter 1828 — Everything Arranged Flawlessly

Moreover, to make them abandon everything, abandon their former cultivation, abandon their physical bodies, their primordial spirits, their Dao trees, their Dao fruits, was something they could not bear to part with.

If they did that, what meaning would remain in their bitter cultivation of hundreds of millions, even tens of billions of years?

Shen Mu looked deeply at the crowd and said with profound meaning, "Dao brothers, there is one thing you must understand. In the future, even if the Dao-achievers of past cosmoses beg for this chance at reincarnation, I may not necessarily grant it. The Miluo Palace, for instance. The Heaven-Opening Host, for instance. Those under the Old Man of the Boundless, for instance."

He said calmly, "Their fate is but one: to dissolve their own Dao, to return to the cosmos the energy they seized from it. In the interim there will be war, slaughter. What awaits them is..."

He pressed his lips together. "The utter annihilation of soul and spirit!"

The old woman looked at the old man Dong Yang, opened her mouth, but said nothing. Zhu Santong, the girl and the matron also looked to the old man Dong Yang. They could not bring themselves to decide, and so had no choice but to seek Dong Yang's help.

The old man Dong Yang's dim old eyes turned imploringly to Tai Yi. His voice hoarse, he said, "Dao brother..."

Tai Yi sighed and said, "Dao friend Shepherd's resolve is to cleanse all that is rotten from the prehistoric. Even the Lord of Tian Du is prehistoric rot. Even the master of the Miluo Palace is prehistoric rot. The master of the Miluo Palace was clever. When his heart of Dao died, he took the initiative to dissolve his Dao and returned his cultivation to the cosmos."

The old man Dong Yang immediately understood his meaning.

But Tai Yi still feared he did not understand, and continued, "The reason I can preserve my cultivation and strength is that my physical body and primordial spirit are both Tai Yi of this cosmos. They need not be returned. But you are different. You must return yours, to benefit the Seventeenth Epoch Cosmos. Yet this is also an opportunity. The Seventeenth Epoch Cosmos of today is vastly different from the cosmoses of old. The changes in Dao arts and divine abilities wrought by the Jing Ping Reform are a great transformation unprecedented in the trillion years of the past sixteen cosmic epochs. If you have the chance at reincarnation and rebirth, you must seize it. For being reborn in the Seventeenth Epoch will grant you far greater benefits than descending in your true bodies."

The old man Dong Yang finally made up his mind. He rose and said to Shen Mu, "I implore the Seventh Young Master to give us few cowardly rats a chance!"

Zhu Santong, the girl and the others also rose and bowed. "We implore the Seventh Young Master to give us a chance!"

Shen Mu hastily extended both hands and said with a solemn countenance, "If you trust me, I will certainly not fail you! You may set your minds at ease. I will arrange everything for you properly and completely!"

Tai Yi cleared his throat.

Shen Mu's face darkened. He shot a ferocious glare over.

Tai Yi took the hint and said, as if by accident and as if not, "Dong Yang, you have followed me for so long. There are some matters I must still remind you of. Jing Ping is quite good, but there are also some bad people there. When you reincarnate, keep your wits about you. Do not let yourself be sold and still count the money for the seller. The reputations of certain people are, shall we say, not so good."

The old man Dong Yang trembled inwardly. He thought, "Tai Yi seems to be hinting at something. Yes, the Seventh Young Master's reputation in the cosmoses of old was truly notorious. Is Tai Yi warning us to beware of being schemed against by the Seventh Young Master during reincarnation..."

But Tai Yi had not said it plainly, and he could not ask directly.

"If Tai Yi keeps talking, there will surely be complications!"

Shen Mu made his decision on the spot and led Dong Yang, Zhu Santong and the others out of the obelisk forest, thinking, "The night is long and dreams are many. We leave now!"

In the stele forest, the faces of the thirty-five members of the Heaven-Opening Host pressed against the mirror surface, watching them with eerie gazes. The old man Dong Yang and the others followed Shen Mu out through the portal. Shen Mu looked this way and that. Zhu Santong asked curiously, "What is the Young Master looking at?"

"Those coffins."

Shen Mu said, "You are about to dissolve your Dao. To let your cultivation go to waste, to dissolve it directly, would be too great a pity. I intend to capture some coffins. You help me drag them to Jing Ping, and we will smash them directly and turn them into heaven-and-earth spiritual qi and spiritual power... Strange, where have these coffins gone?"

There was still fighting in the Ancestral Court, and he had no time to search. He had no choice but to leave first with the old man Dong Yang and the others.

Upon reaching the Yuan Realm, Shen Mu immediately arranged the dissolution of their physical bodies and primordial spirits, and summoned Shen Fengqing to prepare the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel.

When Shen Fengqing saw the old man Dong Yang and the others, he was startled. He hastily sent out a fluctuation of his divine consciousness, transmitting, "Little brother, where did you find these gullible Dao-achievers?"

"Never mind that."

Shen Mu transmitted back, "They are about to dissolve their Dao, but their souls will be preserved. You arrange them properly for me. There can be no mistakes."

Shen Fengqing hesitated. "Have you told them that passing through the Six Paths of Reincarnation will wash away their memories of their past lives?"

Shen Mu wore a smile on his face.

Shen Fengqing immediately understood, nodded and gave a thumbs-up. "You are my elder brother, and I am the younger brother!"

"What are you two talking about?" the girl asked curiously.

"Nothing. We brothers have not seen each other in a long time and have much to chatter about."

Shen Mu turned his head, his countenance kindly and his smile genial. "Little brother, are there any good families? Help arrange these several Dao brothers."

Shen Fengqing opened the Book of Life and Death and made a careful inquiry. Then he said, "There is a good family. The master is a black pig who attained the Dao. He once received the blessing of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu, and is a great venerable of the demon race, with numerous offspring and excellent bloodline. Would Dao friend Zhu Santong here like to be placed in this family?"

Zhu Santong was overjoyed and laughed. "You can even choose where to be placed!"

Shen Fengqing, full of goodwill, looked at him deeply and said, "You are all friends of my elder brother... my younger brother. Naturally you deserve special consideration."