Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 2844: Chapter 138: Life, Death, and the Cause and Effect Line

”You... you...” Ancestor Shubu’s voice began to tremble.

Mo Hua spoke solemnly, ”It’s not me, I’m just asking casually... understand? Just asking casually.”

Ancestor Shubu, gazing into Mo Hua’s eyes that were as brilliant as the stars and sharp as the Divine Sword, clearly understood the reason.

It nodded, ”I understand, I understand.”

Mo Hua asked it, ”Do you truly understand?”

Ancestor Shubu nodded earnestly.

”Then... is there a way regarding the matter I just asked about?” Mo Hua asked in a deep voice.

Ancestor Shubu frowned, although its brow was already half decayed, it still furrowed together.

”This kind of thing...”

Ancestor Shubu started to speak but couldn’t continue.

Mo Hua pursued, ”Aren’t you yourself half-dead? In other words, you are at the edge between ’life’ and ’death’. I don’t believe you haven’t thought about ’resurrection’?”

Ancestor Shubu appeared bittersweet, ”Thinking about it, yes... to break through the boundary of life and death, to achieve immortality, who wouldn’t want it? The more one has died, experienced eternal emptiness, the more they fear death and don’t want to die.”

”But this... is different...”

Mo Hua asked, ”How is it different?”

Ancestor Shubu pondered for a moment, sighed, and said, ”Taoist Friend, have you heard the phrase ’physical death leads to Dao destruction’?”

Mo Hua nodded.

Those four characters should be known to everyone.

Ancestor Shubu said, ”These four characters actually have significant implications. Physical death refers to when one’s life ends, their lifespan is exhausted, the great limit is reached, the body deteriorates, which is straightforward.”

”But ’Dao destruction’ has two meanings. One is that after a person’s death, the ’Dao’ you pursued during your life naturally disappears.”

”The other meaning refers to... being erased by the Great Dao, meaning, by the Heavenly Dao ’removing your registration’...”

Mo Hua frowned, ”Removing registration?”

”Yes,” Ancestor Shubu replied, ”removing registration. A person’s life and death, no, not just a person; the life and death of all things are predetermined. All life and death are inscribed in the eternal Heavenly Dao, circulating naturally with the alternation of days and nights, the passing of spring and autumn. Once the predetermined limit is exceeded, according to the Heavenly Dao’s regulations, the things will fade away, and people will die.”

”In layman’s terms...” Mo Hua said, ”The life and death of all living things, including humans, is like ’registration’ recorded by the Heavenly Dao. Once a person dies, their ’registration’ is removed by the Heavenly Dao?”

Ancestor Shubu nodded, ”Taoist Friend indeed possesses extraordinary insight, grasping the understanding instantly. Therefore, physical death leading to Dao destruction can also be called physical death leading to Dao ’removal’.”

Mo Hua gazed at Ancestor Shubu and asked, ”Then you being half-dead, what do you count as in the Heavenly Dao?”

Ancestor Shubu replied, ”I count as an unregistered.”

”Unregistered?” Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.

Ancestor Shubu confirmed, ”Indeed, unregistered.”

It sighed, ”I have indeed died, my lifespan exhausted, and have my registration removed in the Heavenly Dao. I can only linger in the world using some unspeakable means. But this ’lingering’ is not alive. At best, it is like barely surviving in the ’gray’ area while the Heavenly Dao doesn’t notice.”

Mo Hua frowned, ”Then don’t you want to normalize your registration?”

Ancestor Shubu seemed terrified, ”The Heavenly Dao is extremely impartial and strict about life and death, so... how can this be easy? The reason I can still exist with this half-human, half-corpse appearance is because I am very ’honest,’ very discreet, and never dare to expose myself easily.”

”Otherwise, once I do something out of line, and if the Heavenly Dao notices me as this ’unregistered’ on the edge of life and death, then I’m done for.”

Mo Hua asked, ”Curse killing me, doesn’t that count as out of line?”

Ancestor Shubu replied awkwardly, ”It was bound by the Blood Covenant; I had no choice. And strictly speaking, it’s not ’killing’, but ’exchanging lives’.”

”Exchanging lives?” Mo Hua’s gaze was puzzled.

Ancestor Shubu pointed to the already self-sacrificed Iron Skill Bone and said,

”My descendant is using his life to exchange for yours. His predetermined limit hasn’t been reached. By offering his life voluntarily, he effectively returns some ’interest’ of life to the Heavenly Dao. I intercept this interest to kill you through Cause and Effect Transformation... Of course, I am insignificant in Taoist Practice, even knowing some Cause and Effect Curse Killing techniques can’t harm Taoist Friend’s Leakless Golden Body...”

Mo Hua didn’t care about these, but asked, ”Iron Skill Bone’s life can exchange for mine? Can one life exchange for another? Then...”

Ancestor Shubu seemed to know Mo Hua’s intention and shook its head,

”Naturally, it couldn’t be that simple. There are many complexities and numerous restrictions in it, requiring the Bloodline of descendants, elaborate spell points, and various Cause and Effect laws. Practically, it is still very complex. It’s not a simple ’one life for one life’.”

After all, if it were that simple, exchanging one life for another would make killing rather easy.

Mo Hua continued to probe, ”What spell points are involved in being such an ’unregistered’?”

Ancestor Shubu showed difficulty, ”This is the core secret of my Shugubu, and forgive me, even if I die again, I cannot inform Taoist Friend.”

Mo Hua’s expression looked somewhat unsatisfied.

Ancestor Shubu hurriedly said, ”Besides, even if I tell Taoist Friend, you can’t learn it, nor can you use it.”

Mo Hua asked, ”Why?”

Ancestor Shubu asked him, ”Taoist Friend, have you ever married?”

The ’childlike’ Mo Hua shook his head.

Ancestor Shubu said, ”Naturally, you haven’t had any children.”

Mo Hua nodded.

”There you have it,” Ancestor Shubu said, ”This spell point requires the existence of Bloodline descendants, and some... are harmful to ethics. Taoist Friend possesses a Thought Body like jade, a Divine Body without impurity, with golden light faintly visible; presumably, you disdain these insidious, unorthodox techniques.”

”Having children would make it possible...” Mo Hua felt a bit regretful; he wasn’t married, didn’t have a partner, where would the descendants come from.

Given this, the things of Shugubu could not be learned.