Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Mirror of Reincarnation

At the same time, the tip of the spear pierced into the golden-armored man's heart, and blood spurted madly forth! Having accomplished all of this, the eight-headed demon finally exhausted all its strength, life reaching its end, and fell powerlessly toward the earth.

A gratified smile tugged at the golden-armored man’s lips. His fingers moved like lightning, tapping rapidly on his chest, and the torrent of blood ceased at once. His face had turned ghastly pale, terrifying to behold; the final blow from the eight-headed demon had destroyed every last trace of his vitality. It could be said that the two had perished together.

Yet, even so, the golden-armored man’s face showed not the slightest regret. He threw back his head and laughed heartily to the heavens. “My lord, I have finally slain this eight-headed fiend. I have not failed the task you entrusted to me!”

After his laughter faded, a violent fit of coughing seized him, and blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

A hint of sorrow appeared upon his face. He caressed the armor that had now faded to an ordinary hue, sighing repeatedly in helplessness. With one hand he reached out, and, in a flash of light, the heart-protecting mirror lying in the distance returned to his palm.

“Reincarnation Armor, you have followed me for so many years. Who would have thought that, in the end, you would shatter with me? My life is at its limit—so be it, let me fulfill your destiny as well.” The golden-armored man spoke softly.

Then, placing the heart-protecting mirror between his palms, he summoned forth two glowing auras—one gray, one green—that burst forth and poured into the mirror. Visibly, the armor on his body began to melt away, the molten metal flowing down his arms and into the mirror.

As his true energy and the molten metal of the Reincarnation Armor fused with the heart-protecting mirror, the artifact began to greedily absorb it all. Upon its surface, a strange symbol appeared: the image of a yin-yang fish, swirling with gray and jade-green colors—the powers of life and death, the very essence of existence and demise!

Weariness flashed across the golden-armored man’s face, his pallor deepening. Only when every last piece of armor had melted and vanished into the heart-protecting mirror did the process finally cease.

Now, the mirror in his hands had been utterly transformed. What once was but an ordinary talisman now exuded an ancient, primordial aura, as if from the dawn of time. Mysterious ripples shimmered across its surface.

Gazing upon this newly forged copper mirror, Long Yun’s expression changed abruptly. He exclaimed in astonishment, “The Demon Heaven Mirror?”

Indeed, the ancient mirror forged by the golden-armored man was identical to the Demon Heaven Mirror that Long Yun had seen before in the Azure Sect.

“So this is the origin of the Demon Heaven Mirror?” Long Yun murmured, filled with disbelief. Where exactly had he come to?

As he pondered, the golden-armored man cradled the ancient mirror and sighed. “Since you have fused with the Reincarnation Armor, you shall be called the Reincarnation Mirror. Before, you were my storage space. Now, you possess the power of life, death, and rebirth. Among divine artifacts, you will have your place—though you are still missing one last thing.”

At these words, the golden-armored man’s gaze shifted to the long spear tightly clutched in the corpse of the eight-headed demon. He smiled faintly, “Yes, you still lack a spirit. The Eight-Headed Elder’s Cloud-Piercing Spear is a rare artifact as well. Let me refine it into your spirit.”

With a wave of his hand, the power of life and death surged out, enveloping the Cloud-Piercing Spear and suspending it in midair.

“Refine!” the golden-armored man whispered. Wrapped in the force of life and death, the long spear began to spin. With each rotation, it was further refined by this power.

At last, the spear melted, forming a cylindrical celestial embryo that floated in the air.

A trace of color returned to the golden-armored man’s pale cheeks, as if his life was about to fade away. Not daring to delay, he cried out, “Artifact spirit, return to your place!”

The cylindrical celestial embryo slowly drifted toward the Reincarnation Mirror in his hands.

At that moment, the eight-headed demon, still sprawled on the ground, suddenly swung its massive arm and struck the embryo, shattering the golden-armored man’s power of life and death.

With immense force, the embryo shot off at incredible speed and embedded itself in the distance. Immediately, a surge of pitch-black demonic energy enveloped it completely.

The celestial embryo absorbed all the demonic energy like a whale drinking water, and soon a thick layer of stone formed on its surface. Upon this stone skin, images of myriad demons in wild stampede appeared.

“The Heaven-supporting Pillar?” At this moment, Long Yun was so shocked he nearly leapt to his feet. No wonder when his spiritual sense touched the Heaven-supporting Pillar, he sensed such powerful demonic energy within.

So this was the truth. The so-called Demon Heaven Mirror was in fact the Reincarnation Mirror, and the Heaven-supporting Pillar was the artifact spirit that had never merged with the mirror.

Now, at last, Long Yun understood everything. All those legends in the Azure Sect about the Heaven-supporting Pillar and the Demon Heaven Mirror were lies.

He knew well the immense power of the Reincarnation Mirror—should this divine object ever be truly united, it would possess a might to shake the world through the ages. The Azure Sect’s ambitions were not small.

The Azure Emperor, having been trapped here, must also have uncovered the true secret of the Reincarnation Mirror. Yet, despite his extraordinary cultivation, the countless demons accumulated within the mirror’s inner realm over countless eons had grown so fearsome that even he was forced to remain imprisoned.

In an instant, Long Yun finally and truly understood: the so-called Demon Heaven Illusion was in fact a space created by the combined power of the Azure Sect’s strongest, sending the disciples into the internal world of the Reincarnation Mirror.

With this, Long Yun solved every riddle that had plagued him since entering the Azure Sect. Clearly, his arrival in this realm was no accident—it was the deliberate doing of the sect elders, spurred on by Chu Huarun’s machinations, seeking to seal him away forever.

A faint smile curved Long Yun’s lips. So, you wish to kill me? Chu Huarun, if I ever leave this place, your death is certain.

Once more, Long Yun’s eyes turned to the golden-armored man. The man’s lips bore a bitter smile as he murmured, “So, this is the will of heaven, denying the birth of such a world-defying artifact. I can only hope that, in the future, someone worthy might find the spirit and unite with you, becoming the true master of the Reincarnation Mirror.”

With those words, the golden-armored man’s form gradually faded, dissolving into countless emerald-green points of light that drifted away between heaven and earth. The Reincarnation Mirror in his hand also transformed into a stream of light, burrowing deep into the ground, vanishing to an unknown depth.

“Was it the power of the reliefs in the burial chamber that brought me here?” Long Yun mused. “If so, then all before my eyes is the true illusion. Senior in golden armor, though I do not know your name nor your legend, your sacrifice—giving your own life to slay demons—deserves my deepest respect.”

He knelt down, preparing to bow toward the spot where the golden-armored man had vanished.

“Do not bow!” A stern voice suddenly echoed forth, and a gentle force held Long Yun upright, making it impossible for him to bow no matter how he tried.

Startled, Long Yun listened as the voice spoke again, “You are the successor of my lord, and my young master as well. If you were to bow to me, how could I face my lord?”

Long Yun seemed to understand something, and replied, “The lord you speak of—is it the Dragon God of Creation?”

“Yes! I was the Left Protector under the Dragon God of Creation. My name is Zhong Xuan, and I am the very same golden-armored man you saw just now.”

“It truly is you, senior! You have not vanished?” Long Yun said with a smile.

“No, I have passed on. What remains here is but a wisp of my divine consciousness. If not for sensing the aura of my lord upon you, I could never have brought you to this place.”

Long Yun nodded and sighed softly, “Senior, I am indeed a descendant of the Dragon God of Creation, but I am not his successor. I am merely a failed candidate, one who did not receive his legacy.”

“That cannot be! Young master, the aura within you is exactly like my lord’s. No one else but you could possibly inherit his legacy!”

Long Yun shook his head. “But the Dragon Fang is not mine.”

The voice paused, then burst into laughter, as if awakening from a dream. “So that is how it is. Since my lord has arranged it thus, I will say no more. Let all things follow their destined course.”

“Senior, there were many demons outside just now, trying to break in. The external formation is already partly destroyed. If there is another attack, I fear it won’t last much longer,” Long Yun said suddenly.