That was because… although Nirvanic Rebirth was a good thing, and enabled someone to live more lifetimes, for something like that to happen to a seven-year-old child was the most brutal of calamities! 3
He hadn’t even lived a life yet. He had a road of endless possibilities ahead of him, but was stifled before he could explore any of them! All of the essence of his flesh and blood, all of his fated good fortune that had yet to be revealed, was sucked into the Nirvanic Rebirth as he started over from the beginning!
His body began to degenerate as he passed backward from seven years of age until he was in the same state he had been when he was born. The Nirvana Brand on the back of his hand faded some, and a layer of it fell off, which then transformed into a flower. Shockingly, the flower… gave bloom to a fruit!
That fruit gave rise to further shock in the Fang Clan. Even the Patriarchs who were locked away in secluded meditation came out to see.
According to the legends, the pinnacle of the Fang Clan’s Nirvanic Rebirth Daoist magic was none other than the Nirvana Fruit!
Nirvana Flowers were rare, but there were people in every generation who produced them…. However, for many many years in the Fang Clan, the Nirvana Fruit had only been spoken of as the stuff of legend. Up until then, in the entire Fang Clan there was only one shriveled up, auraless husk of a Nirvana Fruit.
Nirvana Flowers bloomed when a member of the Fang Clan experienced Nirvanic Rebirth and began to live another lifetime. They were born inside of the body, and could enable one to grow incredibly powerful. When that clan member died later on, the Nirvana Flower would wither and fade away.
However, Nirvana Fruit… were the absolute pinnacle of power. They could be preserved… and passed on as legacies!
And now… little Meng Hao actually produced a Nirvana Fruit!
This matter shook the Fang clan, and many clan members started to view Meng Hao as an extraordinary Chosen. However, his father and mother were a bit uneasy about the matter. And as they watched as their son reverted from being seven years of age to being an infant, that unease grew more intense.
This type of good fortune was something that they didn’t dare to think too deeply about. If they did… it caused their hair to stand on end in terror. It was the prospect of a child who, at seven years of age, had lost an entire lifetime, as if an eighth year of life didn’t even exist for him.
Meng Hao’s paternal grandfather looked on silently. Then one night, he left. Before leaving, he told Meng Hao’s father and mother that he was going to seek an Outsider, who he believed was the only person who could explain what was happening. Meng Hao’s maternal grandfather, the venerable old man from the Eighth Mountain’s Meng Clan, went with him.
The two of them disappeared into the starry sky.
Little Meng Hao grew up again, almost as if he had been reincarnated. He did not retain the memories of his previous life, and his personality had changed drastically. He was much quieter. He also noticed the strange looks that many clan members would give him when they thought no one was looking, and it scared him.
Such gazes were not the look you would give to a child, but rather, some type of Heavenly material or Earthly treasure.
When people looked at him in that way, his older sister would burst into a ranting rage and storm over with Meng Hao in tow to beat them up. She was frequently at his side, watching out for him.
“Don’t be scared little brother, your big sister is here to protect you!” She was fifteen or sixteen years old now, and was already slender and elegant. However, her violent personality hadn’t changed. In fact, she had actually grown more violent. 4
One day, a senior member of the clan gave Meng Hao that same strange look, which left him very frightened.
Later, he told his father about it. His father smiled and tousled his hair, then rocked him to sleep. After Meng Hao fell asleep, his father turned to leave, and his face was extremely grim. That day, the entire Fang Clan was sent into an explosive uproar, and many miserable shrieks rang out. Meng Hao’s father swept through the entire clan, sword in hand.
From that day onward, there were far fewer such gazes cast Meng Hao’s way.