Chapter 536 Part 3

Chapter 536 Part 3: The Tao Ancestor (3)

The enormous serpent bit its own tail, continually swallowing itself, creating a large circular body that rolled slowly like a wheel.

But during this process of self-consumption, the serpent’s length remained constant, neither shortening nor growing.

"For countless ages, entropy has been seeking its own completion," the Dao Ancestor continued.

"My struggle with entropy has continued since the last Chaos Era, before the creation of the universe, and it has brought no results."

"Moreover, it is also trying to consume itself, digesting its own differences, which are parts of the first god who created the world."

"The so-called Long Life Lock is the result of the struggle between entropy and Pangu; it essentially represents entropy’s self-consumption."

"The immortality of the Long Life Lock’s host naturally comes from entropy."

"Each time you die, every time the Long Life Lock’s chain breaks, it is a part of entropy’s digestion process."

In the great hall, the shadows continued to change, and a huge, unmeasurable figure of the giant god Pangu appeared, as if returning to the time of chaos before creation.

Pangu held a giant axe to open the sky and create the earth, being the beginning of all worlds and the power of the creation of everything.

On the other side, a giant snake was devouring the heavens and all worlds, representing the end of all realms and the power of the destruction of everything.

The two figures, at first, stood facing each other, like two sides of a coin, always opposing each other.

But at some unknown time, the two huge shadows intertwined, combining the powers of destruction and creation, making everything arise from nothing and return from something to nothing.

Eventually, the shadows transformed into a great ouroboros, endlessly devouring itself.

The ouroboros shadow shrank, and a pale golden lock began to form in the void, while this enormous ouroboros shadow became the pattern on the Long Life Lock, stretching across the emptiness.

"Your immortality is actually a part of the infinite subdivision after the fusion of the divine powers of the end and the beginning of all worlds, essentially representing the process of entropy digesting itself and the merging of divine power."

"Do you really think that every experience of being trapped in the Long Life Lock after death is just a dream?"

"For the ‘beginning of all worlds’ that opens up many heavens and realms from chaos, what difference is there between dreams and reality?"

"How you die, why you die, the more you die, the faster you die… then the process of digestion speeds up, and the return of entropy comes back faster, leading to the Great Collapse happening even quicker."

Qiao Mu was silent for a very long time.

So, this is the truth about the Long Life Lock.

And the increasingly clear and real Long Life Dream is not just a pure dream, but aligns with the divine power of the first god who created the world from nothing.

After entering the Return Ruins and realizing his true nature of immortality, one of Qiao Mu’s quests in his heart was to understand the reason for his immortality.

And now the answer has been fully revealed by the words of the Dao Ancestor.

The source of the ability of immortality comes from the incomplete everlasting serpent.

But in his heart, he still has some other doubts.

"Did the Dao Ancestor not say before that I am just an ordinary mortal? Then why me?" Qiao Mu asked again.

"You must have known by now that you are not the only one," the Dao Ancestor continued.

"You have seen Nine Dead Demon Lord and Undead Immortal Lord, but they are not the only ones; they are just many among the great number of calamity bearers in this vast universe."

"As for the so-called mortals, the term for ordinary people…" the Dao Ancestor said, then he smiled.

"From the mortal world to the immortal realm, whether cultivating immortality, honing martial skills, or following other paths, there has always been talk of talent, roots, and understanding since ancient times."

"In this vast universe, there will always be extraordinary so-called geniuses; they cultivate much faster than ordinary people, and a single moment of enlightenment can equal a hundred years of hard work for the common person. But what does it matter?"

"Those who can reach True Immortal are the so-called smartest and most outstanding geniuses born in the countless years from the beginning of chaos to the Great Collapse. Now, where are those True Immortals?"

The Dao Ancestor said with a smile, "The calamity bearers chosen by entropy are actually the hosts inhabited by Long Life Lock. They all possess the ability for immortality, with nearly endless time. What difference does it make if they cultivate quickly or slowly?"

The Dao Ancestor is the only one in this world who has achieved eternal life and invincibility through later cultivation.

The Dao Ancestor sees the world as a single morning, and countless ages as a brief moment.

If we look at mortal beings from the perspective of endless time, then the so-called ordinary people and geniuses are actually not very different. Both mortals and True Immortals are just dust in front of the final calamity.

Qiao Mu seemed to be deep in thought.

Talent, understanding, roots, and spiritual essence… these are indeed important for beings with limited lifespans, but for those who can live forever, they are not very meaningful.

Looking back, those martial arts geniuses, immortal elders, and sect leaders have all become lost souls along his long journey, with many True Immortals also falling at his hands.

"At this point, discussing talent, roots, and understanding is completely pointless. Moreover, you are no longer a mortal," the Dao Ancestor said slowly.

"In the vast worlds, there are only two beings who are immortal."

"One is entropy, and the other is me. Obviously, you are neither me nor entropy. So… who are you?" The Dao Ancestor’s words struck like a thunderbolt.

"Since you know you were once a mortal, why can you keep coming back to life?"

Qiao Mu was silent for a long time and did not answer.

His ability to live forever comes from the Long Life Lock, and the Long Life Lock comes from entropy…

But this is clearly not the answer.

"There are no mortals who are truly immortal. From the moment you first died and came back to life, you were no longer a mortal," said the Daoist Master calmly.

"Every gift comes with a price."

"With each time you die and come back to life, your soul awakens in a new body, and what you call a ‘flesh clone’ is actually the dead you."

"You know very well that each new body is not truly ‘coming back to life,’ but a completely new body created out of nothing."

"If the physical body is a new body created from nothing, then… where does the spirit come from? Does it just appear out of thin air?"

"If both the physical body and the spirit are new, then who is the new Qiao Mu?"

Only the ancestor continued:

"From the first moment of death, you are no longer a mortal… The Long Life Lock has bound your life, but each time you die, it is a transformation. Now, you, like the other hosts of the Long Life Lock, are no longer the original mortal; you have become a part of entropy, an ‘other’ outside of your ‘self.’"

"Among these many others, you have come the farthest; your immortality is the strongest… And when, in this Great Collapse, entropy swallows you, this undigested ‘child body,’ its cycle will be complete, reaching a state of perfect eternity."

Qiao Mu still did not respond, his hands hanging at his sides, speechless for a moment. He seemed to have suffered a great blow.

The true him had long been dead.

The world believed that Qiao family members were the same from generation to generation, but later he told everyone that he was actually pretending to be the Qiao family members all by himself.

But the truth of the matter might not even be clear to Qiao Mu himself: when Qiao Mu died, he truly had died, and the Qiao Lin and Qiao Sen who appeared afterward were just ‘Qiao Lin’ and ‘Qiao Sen’ who mistakenly thought they were Qiao Mu.

From this perspective, the myth of the Qiao family members being the same over the ages is the real truth, while he himself is the one who has been kept in the dark.

"So, what can be done about it?" Qiao Mu looked up at the ancestor, his eyes deep as the ocean.

He has walked through countless long years, and no words can easily shake his mind.

"You say I am not Qiao Mu." Qiao Mu’s gaze remains calm.

"Qiao Lin is not Qiao Mu, Qiao Shui is not, Qiao Jin is not, Qiao Huo is not…"

"But I believe I am Qiao Mu, and also Qiao Lin, Qiao Sen, Qiao Pifu, Qiao Shui, Qiao Jin, Qiao Xin… they are all me."

Even for ordinary people, change is always happening.

Every moment, the cells in a person’s body are going through metabolism. Intestinal epithelial cells can only live for 2 to 3 days before being replaced by new ones. Red blood cells have a renewal cycle of 120 days, liver cells last for 5 months… but in about six or seven years, all the body’s cells have been replaced, becoming a new body.

From this perspective, a person’s childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age, and old age are not the same person, but who would think that they were a different person seven years ago?

There is no one who remains unchanged in this world. In Qiao Mu’s eyes, from Qiao Mu to Qiao Shui, Qiao Jin, Qiao Huo… these are all him.

"You are indeed the one who has traveled the farthest." The Daoist master said lightly.

"I hope that when you face the true form of entropy, you can be as resolute."

"We have almost made everything clear about entropy, so let’s stop here." Qiao Mu held the Human Emperor Sword at his waist and looked at the Taoist ancestor in front of him.

"Now let’s talk about you and me."

"I think I understand why the Nine Dead Demon Lord, who tried to create the World Crossing Boat in the demon world, has ended up like this."

"The power of immortality that brings good fortune in the mortal world actually represents the pieces of entropy."

"And the one who decides which piece reaches the end is the Taoist ancestor, who is not influenced by the river of time and remains behind the scenes."

"The countless deaths and battles of the challengers in all realms are just a distant game between entropy and the Taoist ancestor."

The figure of the Taoist ancestor still stood motionless.

"You are more suitable than him." The Taoist ancestor did not argue.

As the words of the Dao Ancestor fell, the sound of flowing water echoed throughout the grand hall, and a vast river’s phantom appeared.