“From this, it’s clear that in cultivation, you must walk the righteous path in the end. The ways of evil may seem glorious and arrogant for a time, as if they’re something impressive? Heh, but what’s the final outcome?”

A resounding answer: “Not even a corpse left behind!”

“It’s not entirely the fault of the cultivation path; at the root, it’s because Ethan Sullivan’s character was too poor, incurring the wrath of both heaven and men. As the saying goes, good and evil will be repaid, and the will of heaven always comes full circle…”

……

After death, the verdict is sealed. The content of the discussions is much the same, and even the faintest dissenting voice is immediately suppressed.

Yet, in everyone’s heart, a shadow still lingers.

Although the Yiling Patriarch Ethan Sullivan has died at the Burial Mounds, after everything was done, his lingering soul could not be summoned.

Perhaps his soul was devoured along with the ten thousand ghosts, or perhaps it managed to escape.

If it was the former, naturally everyone would rejoice and celebrate. However, the Yiling Patriarch was said to possess the power to overturn the heavens and earth, to move mountains and seas—at least, that’s what the rumors claimed. If he wished to resist a soul-summoning, it wouldn’t be difficult. Should he one day restore his primordial spirit, seize a body, and be reborn, then all the cultivation sects, even the entire mortal world, would face even more frenzied revenge and curses, plunging into endless darkness and storms of blood.

Therefore, after pressing one hundred and twenty stone guardian beasts atop the Burial Mounds, the major clans began to conduct frequent soul-summoning rituals, strictly investigating body possession, collecting reports of strange phenomena from all over, and maintaining the highest vigilance.

The first year, all was calm.

The second year, all was calm.

The third year, all was calm.

……

The thirteenth year, still all was calm.

By this point, more and more people finally began to believe that perhaps Ethan Sullivan wasn’t so formidable after all, and maybe he really had perished, body and soul.

No matter how he once stirred up storms with a flip of his hand, in the end, there would come a day when he himself was overturned.

No one can be worshipped on a pedestal forever; legends are, after all, just legends.

==========================================

What I’m about to say next may sound harsher than usual, because I’m very serious—I truly feel helpless about some recent situations.

1. Restate + Emphasize: Please do not compare my work with other authors’ works. This is something that makes both authors feel awkward and annoyed, and it leaves a terrible impression on both sets of readers. Putting two works together only causes unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts.

My wish is… world peace. So please control your impulses and don’t seek momentary satisfaction. Say no to comparisons! Say no to putting others down!

2. Please do not promote me or my work in unrelated places. For example, under other authors’ works, in groups, on Weibo, etc. And please, absolutely do not spam my characters or works under unrelated artists’ Weibo posts. Love is restraint. Excessive promotion often backfires; spamming everywhere without regard for context is just awkward and may even cause resentment. I really don’t want to see this happen.

3. Most importantly—I don’t know if there really are readers who send private messages to strangers mentioning me or my work, but I want to stress this: [Please do not use the excuse of recommending my work to send private messages to strangers. Absolutely refuse any form of forcibly bringing me or my work into private messages.] Whether it’s a recommendation or anything else, it’s not needed! I am extremely averse to this behavior. Neither I nor anyone I know would ever do such a thing, and I refuse to take the blame.

After all, there is no MACHINE from POI in this world, and I don’t control it. I’m just an ordinary person who writes for fun in my spare time. I have to work hard for my real life, and that already takes up all my time and energy—I really don’t have the ability to monitor others’ actions. Honestly, I can’t enforce anything, I can only ask. And this is already the third time I’ve made this statement. Each time the announcement gets longer, and every time I write it, I rack my brains and feel torn. I hope I won’t have to write this kind of thing again in the future and can just focus on writing stories. Other than that, I can only hope everyone will pass the word along and look out for each other. I believe most readers are rational, so please, if you encounter any of the situations above, remind each other. Thank you!

I’ll put this message in Chapter 1, the synopsis, and my column. How long it stays up depends on my mood, but I think I’ve made myself very clear. If you’re truly a reader who likes my work, you’ll definitely see this ^＿^

If you’ve read this far and have no issues, thank you for your understanding. Big heart, love you all.

——20160412

Chapter 2: First Rebirth

Ethan Sullivan had just opened his eyes when someone kicked him.

A thunderous shout exploded by his ear: “Why are you playing dead?!”

That kick landed squarely on his chest, nearly making him cough up blood. His head hit the ground, and he lay flat on his back, dazed, thinking: Daring to kick this Patriarch—quite some nerve.

Ethan Sullivan hadn’t heard a living person speak in who knows how many years, let alone such a loud curse. Dizzy and disoriented, a young man’s raspy voice buzzed in his ears: “Did you ever think about whose land you’re living on now, whose rice you’re eating, whose money you’re spending! So what if I took a few things from you? They should’ve been mine in the first place!”