Chapter 677: The Runes on the Wheel of Reincarnation

“Junior Brother, if we return like this, we might still not be a match for your senior brothers. Let’s study the Wheel of Reincarnation first; there’s no rush to go back.”

“Yeah, right now we have nothing in our hands. We can’t defeat Laozi, that sly old fellow, unless we fully refine the Wheel of Reincarnation.”

Shui Miao and Xuan Kong’er spoke up in agreement. Both felt that Ci’en was still too young and inexperienced to be of much help.

The Wheel of Reincarnation was the most powerful magical artifact. Only by fully refining it could one truly become invincible.

However, Daoist Ci’en hurriedly shook his head and said, “Brothers, you won’t be able to refine the Wheel of Reincarnation. It’s a treasure that our Master brought from his birthplace. Even our Master hasn’t completely understood its principles, so how could you possibly figure it out? However, we can borrow its power, and that alone should be more than enough.”

“How do we activate it? And who will activate it?”

Xuan Kong’er looked warily at Daoist Ci’en. He couldn’t possibly trust Ci’en completely based on just a few words. Compared to Shui Miao, Xuan Kong’er would rather trust Shui Miao, whom he had fought against, than trust Ci’en. Shui Miao had been born into hardship, striving from an ordinary person to his current state, enduring many trials and gaining insights into life. But this Daoist Ci’en was a disciple of Master Hongjun, who was an ancient and immensely powerful figure in the Three Realms, even older than Pangu himself. Who could possibly know what intentions such a person might be hiding?

Shui Miao also had similar concerns, but he instead felt that Ci’en was trustworthy.

“I can activate it, if you two brothers trust me,” Ci’en said. Though kind-hearted, he wasn’t foolish and naturally sensed Xuan Kong’er’s distrust. “Big Brother, if you don’t trust me, you can examine my memories and probe my thoughts. I’m not a puppet, and I certainly won’t try to seize the Wheel of Reincarnation.”

“Hehe, alright, alright, we believe you. We’ve already said we’re brothers; brothers don’t lie to each other,” Shui Miao said, and with a thought, he retrieved the Wheel of Reincarnation. “However, you’re just too kind-hearted, Little Brother. For now, it’s better if I keep the Wheel of Reincarnation. After all, the problems in the Immortal Realm are very complicated.”

“Hmm, that’s probably a good idea,” Xuan Kong’er quickly nodded.

Ci’en hesitated for a moment before stammering, “But… but I only know how to control the Wheel of Reincarnation and don’t have any other skills. If I can’t help you with that, I won’t be of any use to you at all.”

“You can teach us how to control the Wheel of Reincarnation—tell Shui Miao or me. Since you consider us brothers, surely you wouldn’t hesitate to share such knowledge, would you?” Xuan Kong’er suddenly gave a cold smile. He found Ci’en’s excuse ridiculous—trying to deceive them into handing over the Wheel with such a childish ploy was laughable.

Shui Miao, however, had a different perspective. He thought Ci’en was very innocent, like a blank sheet of paper, honest and straightforward.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you; it’s just that Master asked me to keep it a secret,” Ci’en explained, clearly conflicted.

“Alright, alright, let’s not argue anymore. I’ve made up my mind. Let’s first find a place to study the Wheel of Reincarnation. As for time… we can solve that problem by forging a Tower of Time.” Shui Miao made his decision, acting on his own thoughts without listening to anyone else. Even if it meant offending others, he wouldn’t waste words.

“Great, I agree. I already have a Tower of Time ready; forging one is unnecessary.”

Xuan Kong’er immediately nodded in agreement, thinking he and Shui Miao were on the same page.

Hearing Shui Miao’s words, Ci’en had no further objections and simply nodded in consent.

Thus, the three of them entered the Tower of Time.

Inside the Tower of Time, the three sat cross-legged in meditation. Shui Miao and Xuan Kong’er silently exchanged thoughts through mental communication.

“Shui Miao, what do you make of this? Just as we were about to become sworn brothers, Ci’en showed up and disrupted everything. He insisted on joining our brotherhood and trying to obtain the Wheel of Reincarnation. I don’t trust him. Why don’t you use that artifact you used on me to probe his mind and see what his true intentions are?” Xuan Kong’er said outwardly, though his inner thoughts were half-believing, not entirely skeptical.

Shui Miao was somewhat speechless. He had thought that after becoming sworn brothers, they could finally accomplish something great together. Now, however, he found himself even more burdened. These two troublesome brothers—one extremely good, the other extremely wicked—made it hard for him to act as the middleman. “Don’t worry, Brother. I’ll handle it. Just keep an eye on him. We shouldn’t harbor ill intentions, but we must remain cautious.”

“Alright, Brother, I’ll watch him closely.”

Xuan Kong’er secretly channeled his magical energy, keeping a wary eye on Ci’en.

Ci’en had a prestigious background, and no one dared to offend him. If he really was a disciple of Master Hongjun, the trouble could be enormous.

Though fearless of most things, even Xuan Kong’er feared the legendary Master Hongjun.

Legend had it that Hongjun existed even before the heavens and earth. Known also as Hongyuan Yuandaoren, he was older than the Three Realms themselves, and even Pangu was said to have been brought into existence by him. His disciples were already terrifyingly powerful—how much more so must he himself be? Thus, even Xuan Kong’er became cautious and refrained from acting recklessly.

Ci’en, however, did not meditate. Instead, he opened his big eyes wide with curiosity, observing everything inside the Tower of Time.

His behavior resembled that of a naive, inexperienced young man who had just left home.

But to Xuan Kong’er, everything Ci’en did might have been an act.

※※※

Shui Miao had no time to pay attention to Ci’en or even Xuan Kong’er. He closed his eyes and focused, sending his consciousness into the Planet of Artistic Insight, where he began to seriously and meticulously study the Wheel of Reincarnation. The Wheel’s formations were indeed incredibly wondrous. Just the fact that it could control the destinies of all beings in the Three Realms was already miraculous beyond imagination.

The Purple Fortune Qi flowed and circulated within the Wheel of Reincarnation…

Shui Miao traced the flow of Purple Fortune Qi to understand the formation patterns and investigate their functions.

The Wheel of Reincarnation consisted of many layers, each intricately interwoven and interconnected in various ways. These connections were countless and complex, so convoluted that it was impossible to follow them all. Even someone with extremely powerful mental abilities couldn’t possibly decipher the entire operational mechanism of the Wheel at once—let alone even a tiny fraction of its transformations.

It was precisely for this reason that Xuan Kong’er had never been able to unravel the Wheel’s secrets.

Now, Shui Miao had a unique idea: instead of trying to comprehend all the layers at once, he would first study one layer thoroughly to understand its nature.

After careful observation, research, and analysis, Shui Miao discovered that the Wheel of Reincarnation contained many special inscriptions. These inscriptions seemed to carry extremely significant meanings. To understand their functions, Shui Miao copied them onto objects of different attributes and infused them with Purple Fortune Qi to observe the changes.

“Huff!”

Suddenly, a flame erupted from the alchemical furnace in front of the three—a blue flame!

Seeing the flame, Xuan Kong’er was immediately intrigued and asked, “Shui Miao, what is this? I’ve never seen a flame like this before!”

“This…” As the blue flame burned brighter, Daoist Ci’en exclaimed in surprise, “This doesn’t seem to be a flame from our world. I once heard my Master mention that there’s a kind of blue flame in his homeland. It looks beautiful and alluring, but it’s actually extremely dangerous. Ordinary water from our Three Realms cannot extinguish it; it can even burn underwater and deep underground. Only water from my Master’s world can put it out.”

“Let me try…”

Xuan Kong’er immediately summoned a stream of Holy Yin Evil Water and poured it onto the flame, but the blue flame only roared and burned even more fiercely!

“Brother, quickly put it out! We don’t have water from Master’s world…”

Ci’en cried out in fear.

Shui Miao, however, remained calm, his eyes fixed on the blue flame as he said coolly, “It’s fine. Let it burn. even if it burns down this Tower of Time, it doesn’t matter. What we need to do now is to understand and become familiar with the mysteries of another world, and then find ways to control them. Only then can we gain more secret weapons.”

“…”

Xuan Kong’er’s eyes flickered as he quickly memorized the previous inscription pattern. Excited yet wary, he remained vigilant toward Ci’en, fearing he might summon Master Hongjun.

The blue flame continued to burn…

Soon, Shui Miao summoned a second inscription. Under the stimulation of Purple Fortune Qi, the inscription transformed into a large mass of dark brown gas. When this gas touched the blue flame, the flame doubled in size, engulfing the entire alchemical furnace.

Before everyone’s eyes, the furnace slowly melted into liquid form.

Yet the temperature inside the Tower of Time did not rise.

“Haha! I understand now. This must be a cold flame from another world, and that dark brown gas might be wood-element energy from that world. When they meet, the flame naturally becomes extremely fierce. If I try a few more times and find the water-element energy from that world, I should be able to extinguish this blue flame.”

Excited, Shui Miao activated several more inscriptions, but the flame only grew larger and stronger!

Gradually, the flame became uncontrollable. It burned through the Tower of Time and into the dark matter cosmic space.

This blue flame was incredibly wondrous—it could even consume dark matter, continuously expanding and growing stronger.

“How could this be?”

Shui Miao’s thoughts raced as he muttered to himself, “Isn’t this energy from another world? The Wheel of Reincarnation is the supreme artifact governing our Three Realms. Why can it summon a cold flame from another world? Such formations existing within the Wheel of Reincarnation simply don’t make sense!”

“Exactly! How could there be such a formation inside the Wheel of Reincarnation? Could it secretly contain a formation capable of destroying the Three Realms?” Xuan Kong’er joined in the speculation, sharing the same confusion as Shui Miao.

“Brother, if you still can’t extinguish this cold flame, I’ll… I’ll have to inform Master to come here…” Seeing the fire growing out of control and impossible to contain, Ci’en panicked. “We’ve broken Master’s rules by introducing an external flame source. If we’re not careful, the consequences could be unimaginable!”

This cold flame could burn anything—even dark matter.

Indeed, it was terrifying.

However, what shocked Shui Miao and Xuan Kong’er even more was that their third brother, Ci’en Daoist, was actually considering summoning Master Hongjun…