Chapter 229: Chapter 164: Temporal Gap, Accident
Under normal circumstances, the secret technique "Star Capturing Heaven" should be freely usable only in the Refine Spirit Realm.
If the Divine Soul is not strong enough, after crossing the vast starry sky, the Soul Division will be too weak. It won't have time to find a suitable body before dissipating, making the effort futile.
For a Qi Cultivator whose Cultivation is not yet strong enough, Soul Division is an extremely heavy burden. A single failed attempt requires a long period of recovery.
It was only Chu Zheng who, with the support of the panel, could start the attempt recklessly.
In the "Eternal Calamity Treasure Record," numerous failed cases are recorded to caution those who come after.
When choosing a body, the Soul Division mostly can only opt for the weak-souled children or naturally ignorant fools; otherwise, the consciousness of the Soul Division is easily influenced—and might even end up benefiting others.
Moreover, the state of the body's health must be stable. If it is on the verge of death or a body in severe illness, the shock of the Soul Division entering the body will most likely result in immediate death.
Therefore, some Qi Cultivators who undertake the tribulation of Soul Division choose to reincarnate from birth, laying a solid foundation from the congenital stage. However, this path is fraught with great risks.
In the fetal stage, one is completely unable to act on one's own volition, filled with uncertainty. If one does not cultivate, the Soul Division might fall into the confusion within the womb, enter a deep slumber, and might never get a chance to awaken in this lifetime, effectively wasting time.
Yet, if one does cultivate, due to the fetus's special congenital nature, progress can be extremely rapid, making it easy to cultivate a foundation that is too contrary to the natural order, thus attracting attention from the cosmos and bringing calamities upon oneself—with the slightest carelessness leading to death.
This is undoubtedly a dilemma.
Soon, Chu Zheng found a small city that stretched for several miles.
The long street was bustling and lively, with the clamor of carts and horses, and the throngs of people presented the myriad facets of life.
Viewing the rolling worldly atmosphere on the street, Chu Zheng momentarily lapsed into a daze.
Through the visions of starlight seen by his Soul Division, he had already witnessed terrifying warships traversing the cosmic space.
In his anticipation, under normal circumstances, what should appear before him would be a highly developed civilization, not the backward scene like the everyday ancient dynasty currently before his eyes.
Without further thought, Chu Zheng continued wandering between heaven and earth, searching for a suitable body, but despite a prolonged search, found none appropriate.
As time passed, the Soul Division grew weaker. He tried opening the panel to repair the feeble Soul Division, but to no avail.
In the judgment of the panel, his original body was at its peak and required no repair.
After a while, following his instincts, Chu Zheng floated toward a range of low hills where Yin Qi was rampant, slowing down the dissipation of his Soul Division's power.
Looking around, he saw a desolate graveyard with overgrown weeds and disordered tombstones scattered across the area, some half-covered by dust and vegetation, rendering the inscriptions illegible.
Without a doubt, this was a Mass Burial Mound.
The sky had darkened, and two silvery moons hung high in the heavens, their moonlight showering down and coating the world in silvery frost.
Night mist wafted from the wild graves and barrows, with ghostly will-o'-the-wisps flitting in and out, casting a chill.
Occasionally, a breeze rustled the treetops, stirring up freshly scattered paper money with a rustling sound.
Chu Zheng took a deep breath, operated his Qi-refining Technique, drawing in a bit of Moonlight to stabilize his Soul Division. This was only a temporary measure; he still needed to find a body soon.
After a brief rest, just as Chu Zheng was preparing to leave, three men carrying a rush mat slowly approached the Mass Burial Mound.
Chu Zheng's gaze lingered on the rush mat, which wrapped a body still warm. He sensed that the Yang Qi hadn't dissipated, and there was one last breath that hadn't been let out.
For his current state, this was a last resort attempt.
Moreover, he wanted to use this opportunity to confirm a suspicion of his own.
Under Chu Zheng's gaze, the three men found a corner, dug a shallow pit just big enough to accommodate the rush mat, and threw it in, covering it lightly with soil.
Under the erosion of the surrounding Yin Qi, the last bit of Yang Qi within the rush mat began to escape at an alarming rate.
The living prefer to rest in peace within the earth because only after being covered with soil can one sever the last ties to the world.
After weighing his options briefly, Chu Zheng hesitated no longer. He immediately drifted underground and took possession of the nearly cold corpse.
If what he imagined didn't work, then this time, he would have to give up.
The instant he entered the body, Chu Zheng couldn't reverse the rapidly fleeing vital energy of the body. At this moment, he reopened the panel.
This time, the information provided by the panel finally changed.
[Tree Root (Zeroth Order): Thirteen back wounds from knives, penetrating through the five viscera, Essence Blood almost fully drained, only a faint will left unscattered, beyond salvation (repairable).]
Chu Zheng chose to repair without hesitation, and a potent life force instantly infused into the heart channels. Starting from the brain's nerves, the entire body revived at an astonishing rate.
Whoosh—
Chu Zheng pushed open the rush mat and sat up from the shallow pit, drawing in deep breaths. The air was filled with the mixed stench of blood and rotting corpse smell, nauseating to the senses.
But at that moment, Chu Zheng could not care less about these issues, for his eyes shone with a terrifying brilliance, unable to conceal the excitement within.
The repair panel had worked!
This meant that, compared to ordinary Qi Cultivators, he possessed another essential advantage.