Chapter 1520: The Land of Reincarnation

Where did this voice come from? At first faint and indistinct, then suddenly booming and deafening—it was utterly abrupt.

Could the Reincarnation Pool harbor another world within? Shi Hao stood at the bottom of the pool, astonished, carefully searching for the source.

The Golden Lion was listless. Given its strength, it shouldn’t have been able to descend to the lakebed, but because it inherited the legacy of the Ancient Monks, it was protected here. However, it was severely injured now, and even though this place suited it, it was still struggling.

Shi Hao expanded a barrier of light to keep it alive.

“Underground!”

Shi Hao was certain—the sound came from beneath the pile of bones at the lake’s bottom.

Because it was growing clearer, no longer vague, he could now discern it.

This made him hesitate. The lakebed was littered with countless skeletal remains, all left behind by virtuous monks of the Ancient Monk lineage after their passing. Was he really going to dig through their remains?

Among them were golden bones, suspected to belong to immortal monks!

In the end, Shi Hao still acted. Having endured the Eighteen Ancient Buddha Strikes and being tempered by these monks’ bones, he felt no psychological burden.

The Golden Lion was also forced forward, made to move the bones and clear a path.

What kind of terrifying accumulation was this? Shi Hao was shocked to discover that even after digging a hundred zhang deep, there were still more bones, leaving him somewhat numb.

Finally, at one hundred and eight zhang deep, they reached the bottom.

Below was a network of caves, densely packed like a honeycomb, with ancient tunnels interconnected.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Suddenly, a sound echoed from the cavern—like footsteps.

This was completely unexpected, making Shi Hao’s nerves tense instantly. The cavern was filled with lake water—how could such strange sounds emerge here?

As for the Golden Lion, it was equally alarmed. Could there really be other living beings in these underground caves beneath the lake?

Clang!

The sound of shackles, accompanied by the clanking of chains, echoed as if from the depths of the abyss, chilling to the bone.

What was happening? It was as if they had connected to hell itself, with some terrifying, shackled creature approaching step by step, about to emerge.

“Lead the way!” Shi Hao pushed the Golden Lion forward, forcing it to advance deeper into the cavern.

Such eerie phenomena beneath the Reincarnation Pool were beyond Shi Hao’s expectations.

There were many underground caves, all interconnected.

Suddenly, the Golden Lion’s fur stood on end, its golden mane bristling as if it had encountered something horrifying.

Soon, Shi Hao caught a glimpse of the scene in the cavern. In the dim underground passage, a lifeless procession moved silently, shackled and flickering in and out of sight as they passed by.

“Ancient corpses? Or Netherworld soldiers?” Shi Hao’s heart trembled.

Or perhaps they were Burial Beings—had they stumbled into some unknown realm, intruding upon the Burial Domain?

In the darkness, the grating sound of shackles and the cold gleam of chains made it seem like the dead of the underworld were passing through.

This was far too bizarre!

Shi Hao remained vigilant, focusing intently, but the cavern was too narrow, and the procession soon vanished into the depths.

“Follow!”

After a brief silence, Shi Hao uttered this single word, pushing the Golden Lion forward to lead the way.

“You… are insane!” The Golden Lion resisted. To it, this place was too sinister—either connected to the Burial World or leading straight to hell. Following further was suicide.

Shi Hao merely gave it a cold glance, forcing it to grit its teeth and press on. After all, it didn’t want to die, not in such a humiliating way.

Half an hour later, the Golden Lion went from terrified to numb, feeling as if they had truly entered hell, encountering numerous processions.

These beings, all shackled, moved through the underground tunnels toward a single destination.

“Is this a Netherworld march?” The Golden Lion was deeply apprehensive.

Shi Hao remained silent, following behind. At times, he even bypassed some groups to observe them from the front.

“Hmm?” Soon, he was stunned, finding it unbelievable—he had spotted a massive ancient beast that looked familiar.

This was a Heavenly Beast he had seen in the Heavenly Beast Forest. How had it ended up here?

“Lord Yintuo?” At that moment, the Golden Lion was incredulous, staring at an elderly figure among the procession.

It recognized one of them—a powerful cultivator who had been part of the hunting party targeting Shi Hao. Now, he stood among the Netherworld soldiers, lifelessly marching forward.

Shi Hao found it strange. When he looked closer, he too recognized the man—the so-called Yintuo had once pursued him. How was he here?

Logically, after the ancient beast’s roar, all living beings in the area should have been obliterated, their bodies and souls destroyed.

As for the few cultivators who had taken refuge in the Reincarnation Pool, Shi Hao had already sent them to their deaths, leaving no remains.

“This is truly bizarre!” Shi Hao was baffled.

Along the way, they recognized more figures, including many Heavenly Beasts that should have belonged to the Heavenly Beast Forest.

Finally, at the end of a tunnel, Shi Hao saw six massive stone gates—no more, no less.

The processions gathered here, motionless, as if waiting for something.

In an instant, Shi Hao recalled the booming voice from earlier: “The Land of Reincarnation, the Gates of Dao open!”

Could this be the place the voice had spoken of?

Both he and the Golden Lion were awestruck. Was this reincarnation? Were these deceased beings being sent to be reborn?

Suddenly, Shi Hao stiffened—before one of the stone gates, he saw another familiar creature: the Heavenly Rat, which had pursued him when he first entered the Heavenly Beast Forest.

He remembered clearly—this beast had been impaled by the withered branch of a mysterious ancient tree. In its final moments, it had begged, chanting an incantation about reincarnation.

Moreover, Shi Hao had seen it fall into the Reincarnation Pool.

“It… came here.”

How had these beings descended? Shi Hao had been atop the monks’ bones the entire time, yet these creatures seemed to bypass him and the Golden Lion, manifesting directly in the caverns.

“Could it be that after the ancient beast’s roar, most of the Heavenly Beast Forest was destroyed, and the various Heavenly Beasts and some foreign cultivators were forcibly sent here for reincarnation?”

This was beyond belief!

Shi Hao recalled the Heavenly Rat’s words—those sent into the Reincarnation Pool would submit, possibly losing themselves.

The rat had said that all beings in the Heavenly Beast Forest were lost, likely related to this, existing in a state of ignorance.

“Is this the reincarnation constructed by the Ancient Monks?” Shi Hao was skeptical but also felt a chill, mixed with deep admiration.

Many beings had died, their forms vanished, yet they reappeared here, seemingly awaiting reincarnation. This was a grand feat.

“Could the entire Heavenly Beast Forest be an experimental ground?”

Shi Hao strongly suspected that the beings killed by the ancient beast’s roar had been captured here, possibly to be reborn.

Of course, he doubted this “rebirth” truly restored life. More likely, their bodies were recreated, their consciousnesses hazy, turning them into obedient soldiers.

“The Gates of Dao open!” The booming voice resounded once more.

Boom!

All six massive stone gates swung open, revealing surging chaos—mysterious and terrifying.

The Netherworld soldiers and corpses divided into six groups, expressionless, each stepping into one of the gates.

Simultaneously, the six gates emitted light, shrouded in mist, ancient and solemn. Chanting filled the air, sending the departed toward reincarnation.

“This is truly strange!” Shi Hao muttered. Was this the work of the Ancient Monks?

“Hmm?” Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the patterns between the six gates.

They were scriptures—complex carvings depicting supreme divine abilities!

“The legacy of the Ancient Monks?!” Shi Hao was stunned.

This wasn’t just one scripture but many, covering the stone walls, exuding an astonishing aura of the Great Dao.

The Golden Lion was equally shocked, then fixated on one scripture, utterly entranced.

However, most of these scriptures were incomplete, with at best half preserved.

Shi Hao focused on a set of carvings—eight diagrams forming mysterious hand seals, imbued with profound and unfathomable meaning.

There were no explanations, just the eight diagrams.

The diagrams were complete, but the crucial accompanying incantations were missing.

Shi Hao had a strange feeling—these eight diagrams seemed to encompass the essence of the Eighteen Ancient Buddha Strikes, vast and profound.

His heart raced. He had deeply experienced the Eighteen Strikes—they were priceless.

Moreover, he understood that the so-called eighteen strikes were also a terrifying offensive technique, magnifying a person’s weaknesses to an extreme degree. What kind of fearsome method was this?

The original diagrams were here. If he could decipher them, it would become an astonishing combat art!

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, all six gates shone, and the carvings and scriptures on the walls glowed as well, their power acting upon Shi Hao and the Golden Lion.

Then, they were flung into one of the gates, tumbling inside.

Were they being sent into reincarnation, forced to be reborn?

Both were terrified but powerless to escape, watching helplessly as they were carried away!