The Law of Heaven

Chapter 117 The Origin of the Supreme Being

The twilight illuminated Aihara's slightly bewildered face. He frowned and asked, "You know about my background? What did you mean by altering cause and effect?"

Now that the Xiang family is coming, his awakening of the Pure Eye should no longer be a secret, but he still knows nothing about his background.

Unexpectedly, the old man seemed to know something.

"The so-called modification of cause and effect means that the people of the Xiang family will temporarily forget your existence. Only when the cause and effect related to you is blocked can you be brought here."

Amidst the sizzling of boiling tea, the old man recounted: "The year you were born, seventeen years ago, happened to be the year a terrible primordial disaster struck. The disaster occurred at Mount Kailash in the snowy region. Xiang Chaonan became famous there back then; he had achieved the highest rank of immortality and even had the potential to go further."

After Xiang Chaonan returned to his hometown, he seemed to be affected by something. Although he retained his rank of Grand Master, his strength was far less than before. He severed ties with almost everyone around him, and with his two children, he settled there permanently.

Aihara frowned slightly: "I see."

Judging from his uncle's various actions over the years, the old man probably wanted him to stay away from his family.

The exact reason remains unknown.

What exactly was the accident back then?

Aihara asked curiously.

“I don’t know either. The cause and effect of that matter have been covered up, and very few people know about it. Your second uncle must know, but he’s no longer here.”

The old man replied.

"Ok."

Aihara sighed, life is not easy.

The old man asked, "Do you feel regret?"

Aihara, puzzled, asked, "Why feel regret?"

“If Xiang Chaonan hadn’t stolen you back then, you would still be the pride of the Xiang family, growing up in the family. As a young master of the Xiang family’s clan, you would at least have a rank by now.”

“What’s there to regret? Even if I had to choose again, I would still choose to live with my uncle and sister. I don’t know why my second uncle stole me away, but I trust him completely and he wouldn’t hurt me.”

"Aren't you envious of the resources of the Xiang family?"

"Even without a physiognomist, I can still achieve the highest rank."

"You have quite the nerve, so you look down on the Ruan family too?"

"Indeed, I didn't like it."

In the brief silence, neither the old man nor the boy spoke, and there seemed to be a slight awkwardness in the atmosphere.

"That was a rare opportunity. A hundred years ago, Xiangye failed to produce a descendant with the potential to inherit the spirit. A hundred years later, heaven has once again favored the Ruan family, but none of them had the discerning eye to recognize its potential and they missed this golden opportunity."

The old man sighed.

"That's great."

Aihara clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you for letting me go."

"You kid."

The old man was displeased: "What do you mean?"

"Everyone already knows, so you don't need to hide it from me."

Aihara said irritably, "Just how twisted is this family that would initiate the ritual of the Formless Rebirth because of greed, causing such a terrible disaster, and even dragging their own grandson and granddaughter into it, indirectly harming so many innocent people? This is all the Ruan family's responsibility. If I had grown up in such a family, I might not be alive today."

He was standing up for his sister.

It was also to stand up for the Ruan siblings.

With great power comes great responsibility.

The Ruan family's irresponsible behavior is bound to backfire; not criticizing them is already showing good manners.

"That makes some sense."

The old man said quietly.

Over the years, whenever she thought of those two poor children, her heart ached, and she couldn't sleep at night.

Even if the ritual of the formless rebirth is terminated, the fate of the two children cannot be changed. It is just unknown who devoured whom in the end, ultimately allowing the mirage dragon to be perfectly fleshed.

But the scene of the mirage dragon colliding with the gods was deeply etched in the old man's heart, and he could never forget it in his life.

Was that the children's last struggle?
she does not know.

Can I ask you a question?

Aihara poured the old man a cup of tea.

"Just ask."

The old man reached out his trembling hand and took the teacup.

Aihara asked expressionlessly, "Back then, when the board of directors of Deep Blue Union passed the proposal to initiate the Wuxiang Rebirth Ceremony, did Chairman Ruan really give his approval?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then laughed and said, "If I said yes, would you throw the tea in my face?"

Aihara also laughed and said, "I don't know who you are, so why would I splash you? I wouldn't dare."

The old man didn't answer the question directly, but instead told him a story: "I don't know if you've ever heard the saying, 'All life in this world originates from a grand death.' This saying may be interpreted differently by different people."

But the most authoritative and convincing interpretation I have is that all immortal beings in this world originated from a great resurrection. The word "resurrection" is an absolute taboo in our world.

Almost all recorded primal disasters in history are inextricably linked to the concept of resurrection. And in this world, the only being capable of returning to life is the will of Heaven. And within the resurrection ritual of Heaven, various other things emerge, such as… the Chosen Ones.

Aihara's heart skipped a beat, and the ancient dragon deep within his consciousness opened a sliver of its vertical pupil, the intense gold light flashing briefly.

Fortunately nothing happened.

The old man was just mentioning it casually.

“You were born in a very peaceful era and did not witness the horrific events of a thousand years ago. Of course, I did not see them with my own eyes either, but I have read many banned history books.”

The old man spoke eloquently: "History records describe that a thousand years ago was the age of gods, where mythical creatures roamed the world, and primal disasters were frequent, causing endless calamities. The floods and droughts you are familiar with, earthquakes or tsunamis, even smallpox and the Black Death—their origins are all primal disasters. The ritual of the formless rebirth is just like everything that happened in this city. The curse of heavenly principles flows from the stillborn fetuses of mythical creatures, infecting every excellent host and prompting them to evolve. A very few individuals will possess the qualification to contain the origin of heavenly principles; this is the curse that Ruan Xiangtian suffered back then. Later, for his own schemes, Ruan Xiangtian transferred the curse to his two children."

This ritual had not been performed for a thousand years since the age of the gods fell silent. A thousand years ago, the last chosen one of heaven laid the foundation for human reason at the cost of his own life, hoping to prevent the resurrection of heavenly reason through physical means and to stop the return of the age of the gods.

The so-called human principles are the taboos that immortal beings cannot violate, and those who violate them will inevitably be punished. But even so, it still cannot prevent tragedy from occurring.

"Child, do you know why?"

Aihara pondered for a moment: "Greed?"

The old man hummed in agreement: "Or perhaps it's human instinct. There will always be people in this world who want to peek into the secrets of the universe, because that's the only life in history that can be resurrected. Life and death are the furthest distance in the world. What if someone could reverse life and death?"
I can tell you frankly, even in the thousand years since the Human Reason Covenant was established, the immortal races have never stopped their research into resurrection. More than a hundred years ago, Jiuge established the Central True Pivot Academy, secretly researching all of this. I even have reason to suspect that back then…”

The old man suddenly stopped talking at this point.

Aihara was stunned.

You should say it! Cutting out a chapter means your whole family will die!
“I have reason to suspect that some people in the Central True Academy knew what was in the Mist Mountain back then. But even so, they still did not step in to stop it. They just watched as the six major families made a terrible mistake.”

The old man sighed.

Aihara's hand, which was resting on his knee, jerked as if he had been electrocuted.

He thought of an old dog.

Ye Xun.

Ye Xun is a spy.

The spy planted by the Central True Privy Council within the Deep Blue Alliance was out of control because his superior mysteriously disappeared and was most likely dead.

The old man's suspicions were justified.

"Later, the Deep Blue Alliance decided to initiate the ritual of the Formless Rebirth, which was actually a last resort. Many people in the five major families back then had already been corrupted, including even Fu Wanghu, who was given high hopes."

The old man sighed, “You haven’t been polluted, so you don’t know that kind of pain. It’s probably about ten times more painful than that of someone with terminal cancer. The only way for those people to survive is to initiate the ritual of formless rebirth, thereby opening the path of evolution, even if there is only a sliver of hope.”

Aihara coldly asked, "Does the people in power have the right to trample on other people's lives just because they are sick and want to live? You are the people in power, you enjoy the vast majority of resources in this society, but you have no corresponding responsibility."

For your own selfish desires, you have disrupted the balance of this world and created such a great disaster. In the end, whatever retribution you receive, you deserve it. But even if you die ten thousand times, those innocent people will never come back to life. Is that what you call being forced into it?

The old man smiled silently: "You're right, but if your sister is already dead, now there's an opportunity before you. If you initiate the ritual of the Formless Rebirth, your sister can be brought back to life."

Aihara wasn't the kind of confused male protagonist you see in movies and TV shows. He gave his answer in just one second: "If I did something so disgusting to keep my sister alive, she would be very disappointed in me."

My uncle raised my sister very well; she would rather die than accept living like that. As her brother, if that day ever comes, I will use every other means possible to try and save her without harming any innocent people. If she doesn't come back to life, I will kill everyone responsible for her death.

His voice was soft.

But it was cold and hard, yet resounding.

The old man seemed a little dazed. Looking at the boy's hard face, he said softly, "Youth is wonderful. Young people are spirited, daring to love and hate. It's something to be envied."

Unfortunately, the Chairwoman Ruan of that time couldn't do what you did; she still softened her heart. Because Ruan Xiangtian, in order to get her to initiate the ritual of formless rebirth, personally killed his two children. After witnessing all of this, Chairwoman Ruan, in extreme grief, personally initiated the ritual of formless rebirth. The essence of Heavenly Principle flowed out and was absorbed by Ruan Xiangtian.

At that time, Ruan Xiangtian was the most powerful individual infected by the Curse of Heavenly Principle; the essence of Heavenly Principle resided only within him. In other words, Ruan Xiangtian was the key to unlocking the Formless Rebirth Ritual, and we could not kill him.

Later, Ruan Xiangtian became the host of Heavenly Principle, and his vitality was so strong that he was difficult to kill by ordinary methods. At that time, the old chairman considered using some extreme methods to kill him completely. However, once Ruan Xiangtian died, the source of Heavenly Principle would shift. If it were inherited by some uncontrollable and treacherous person, it would cause an even greater disaster.

For example, if Fu Wanghu had happened to be infected with the Curse of Heavenly Principle at that time, and the essence of Heavenly Principle had transferred to him, then we wouldn't be sitting here drinking tea now. This city was destroyed more than ten years ago.

The board also needed to analyze data from Ruan Xiangtian to determine methods for treating genetic diseases. Therefore, he was merely imprisoned, not executed. He was the most valuable experimental subject, and under our control.

Ruan Yang and Ruan Qi were also resurrected, but there was only a very low probability that they would retain their consciousness. More likely, they would be like the other advanced experimental subjects, appearing to still possess human consciousness but actually becoming pseudo-humans. Fortunately, they withstood the price of resurrection.

This is also why Ruan Xiangtian transferred the curse to the two of them; their talent is one in a million. Although the ending was unsatisfactory, they do indeed have the potential to break free from the shackles of the rules, like the legendary supreme beings.

A sigh of regret echoed in the sea breeze.

The old man's back view seemed lonely.

Aihara suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Chairwoman Ruan did it to save Ruan Yun and Ruan Qi. Didn't she consider the consequences of doing so?"

It sounds like the Deep Blue Alliance had many unavoidable difficulties back then, but ultimately it was they who initiated the ritual of the formless rebirth, causing those genetic disease patients infected with the curse of heavenly principles to become blood food and be dragged into hell.

But for some reason, perhaps due to human nature, Aihara's dislike for the old chairman lessened considerably.

Although Chairman Ruan still carries the burden of her sins, from another perspective, she can also be considered a pitiful person.

Aihara still doesn't approve of her actions, but if her plan can be successfully implemented, it is indeed feasible.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

Wrong is wrong.

It's all that damned Ruan Xiangtian's fault.

What a fucking beast.

Sooner or later, I will personally twist off his head to offer as a sacrifice to the heavens.

"Theoretically speaking, if Ruan Xiangtian doesn't act like a demon and the Blissful Society doesn't cause trouble behind the scenes, then if everyone unites, it might still be under control. But reality is cruel; it's hard for people to be good, but it's too easy for them to turn to evil."

The old man said bitterly, "Like you now, even though you have extraordinary abilities, it's still very slow to make money without harming others. But if you violate human morality and rob people, you can earn a month's worth of money in a day."

Similarly, Ruan Xiangtian and his team couldn't accept the long and painful treatment; they'd rather seek the path of evolution. You know what happened later; it was indeed the old chairman's fault, and the sins she bore were unforgivable.

Aihara shrugged: "If I'm really short of money, I'll just hurt those who violate human morality, and double-cross them. All the evil people in the world are my breadbasket."

The old man laughed, annoyed: "You little rascal."

Aihara suddenly remembered the god-like being he had seen that night and asked curiously, "What exactly is this supreme being you're talking about? Do Ruan Yun and Ruan Qi really have a chance to become such an extremely powerful being?"

After a long silence, the old man gave him a deep look: "The Formless Rebirth Ritual has only three possible outcomes. First, Heavenly Principle is resurrected through physical means. Second, the Chosen One is born to usurp the throne. The third, and the least likely, is that there have only been a handful of cases throughout history, perhaps even only one... That is when the host of Heavenly Principle overcomes Heavenly Principle's consciousness with their own and takes its place!"

Aihara was startled and exclaimed: "Humans have replaced the laws of nature?"

The old man said in a low voice, "This is just a guess, and it hasn't been confirmed yet. No one knows how it was done; that supreme being is a mystery. No one can see into His existence, and no one knows His origins."

(End of this chapter)