Essence [Original Novel] Chapter One: Past Life and Present Life

Whose eyes touch whose brows,\ Whose smile can withstand whose tears.\ Whose heart can bear whose reincarnation,\ Whose palm lines can atone for whose sins.\ Flowers bloom and wither in due time,\ Spring passes and autumn comes, all for nothing.\ I long for you, I weep for you.\ Perhaps two people love each other, yet are separated by the ends of the earth.\————————————————\The sky is dark, yet one can still see light. Gradually, that light is swallowed by the darkness.\A young boy, holding a pitch-black greatsword. He looks only seventeen or eighteen, but his face is terrifyingly pale, and a trace of blood drips from the corner of his mouth. Opposite him is a voluptuous woman, the look in her eyes showing some panic.\"Chen, give it up. You can't defeat me. I don't want to kill you," the woman said to the boy with some reluctance.\"Shut up! It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, Xue'er wouldn't be dead. If it weren't for you, how could I have become like this? All of this is your fault," the boy called Chen shouted angrily.\"If that's the case, I can't spare you either," the woman said with a trembling voice, and suddenly a long sword appeared in her hands.\"It's the Immortal-Slaying Sword! Looks like you killed the Sword Immortal!" The boy looked at her and suddenly smiled.\"What are you smiling at?" the woman asked in confusion, but she held the sword even more tightly.\"Time's up!" The boy didn't answer her. He gradually closed his eyes, and in such a dangerous place, closing his eyes is undoubtedly an act of courting death.\The woman's gaze sharpened, and with a firm grip, she swung the Immortal-Slaying Sword, sending a visible aura of the sword flying toward the boy. As the sword aura advanced, space shattered bit by bit, revealing the immense power of the Immortal-Slaying Sword. As the sword aura reached the boy's front, he spoke words that stunned her.\"Actually, my name isn't Ling Chen; my name is Ling Xingchen!" The boy suddenly smiled, and upon hearing his words, the woman felt a chill run down her spine.\In the Tianyuan Continent, who doesn't know Ling Xingchen, the orphan of the Ghost Cry clan, who entered the Sacred Realm at seventeen, single-handedly resisting invaders across five dimensions; fighting against the Extraterrestrial Emperor with the power of the Sacred Realm and slaying him; risking himself to enter reincarnation for sealing the dimensions, reincarnating six times, and creating an unbreakable formation—the Nether Moon Six Paths Formation... Ling Xingchen can only be described as powerful.The woman was terrified. Hearing this name, no one could remain calm. This name carried not only power, but also something more.
With a 'whoosh,' Ling Xingchen moved, sending visible ripples through the space. No one could see when he moved. In the blink of an eye, he was behind the woman. Before she could even speak, Ling Xingchen pierced her forehead with a sword.
A generation of strong warriors, just like that, fell.
"The Grim Reaper? Let me deal with you myself," Ling Xingchen said with a face full of killing intent. The world knew him as the sixth reincarnation, but little did they know, his reincarnation was actually the seventh...

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Year 9997 of the Tianyuan Calendar, Yaslan Empire, Qingyang Town.
This year marked the decennial Bai Alliance Competition in Qingyang Town, and many prominent figures would come to watch, including the imperial family of the Yaslan Empire.
Qingyang Town may not be very large, but its geographical location made it the throat of the Yaslan Empire. If this town fell, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Because of its strategic importance, one-third of the empire's army and powerful warriors were stationed here.
Ling Chen was born into such an environment. As a member of the empire's greatest clan, the Ling family, his strength was generally expected to exceed that of others. Yet, Ling Chen had only reached the Martial Cultivator realm. Ling Chen was fifteen years old this year and had been cultivating since the age of five. When the clan members realized his strength had remained at the Martial Cultivator level, they began to mock him, and it hadn't changed for ten years.
He didn't know that today would change his life forever...

P.S.: Xiao Yan returns for the first chapter, Can'er—please highlight, readers—please shower with flowers. Starting from New Year's Day, normal updates will resume, generally one chapter every two days. Today is an exception, hehe... Can someone please help with the layout... →_→