"Power from Permanence? Like the Vidyadhara's ability to molt to undergo rebirth?" Feixiao recalled what she knew of 'samsara'. Even if she expanded her vision to the cosmos brimming with countless abilities, only the long-vanished Aeon of Permanence had ever wielded such authority. But that Aeon had long since disappeared, leaving behind far too few traces.
Among the Xianzhou, folk tales of samsara were riddled with fabrications. Which fragments were true, which were the inventions of storytellers—none could say.
But one truth was undeniable: the molting of rebirth, to the Vidyadhara, was no different from death!
"After samsara… will Jingliu still be Jingliu?"
It was already a consensus that the reborn Vidyadhara were not the same beings as their predecessors.
And though there were many who claimed to be reincarnators, carrying over their past-life memories, none had achieved anything significant. In the end, they were dismissed as opportunists.
Feixiao turned her gaze, her eyes clouded with conflicting thoughts, settling on Sylvester.
Could this [Samsara Elixir] truly save Jingliu? Or was it simply another kind of 'release'?
"The Abundance promised eternal flesh, yet led the Xianzhou into the calamities of three eras. Samsara… is nothing more than a delusion for eternal life, twisted under the torment of Mara."
Jingliu's voice was as calm as ever, but as she stared at the pill in her hand, light rippled in her eyes, betraying emotions far from her composed tone.
"At least, that is what I believed before."
Topaz & Numby fixed their gaze on the black-and-white pill, saying nothing. From past experience, Sylvester was not one to lie. So, she waited.
The chance to live anew—such a temptation was immense for many, especially the long-lived. Unlike the short-lived, who had long accepted death, the long-lived barely grasped the concept. Yet when the day finally came, they discovered that not even millennia had prepared them.
To stave off death, many had chosen madness.
And here was a golden Curio—the [Samsara Elixir]. What limits could it reach? Even though it wasn't hers, Topaz could not look away.
Sylvester tapped the table with his fingers, his posture utterly relaxed compared to the heavy silence of Jingliu, Feixiao, and Topaz.
"I can tell you now—this pill's power far surpasses your most ideal expectations."
He raised his right hand, showing a single finger. "Nine times. Up to nine rebirths. Each lasting nine days."
"What do you mean?!" Feixiao's ears twitched in confusion.
Jingliu and Topaz also stared, uncomprehending.
Nine rebirths? And only nine days each? What sense could that make? Would one reincarnate into a baby, live barely over a week, and start again? Mothers could not reincarnate. Even a single sip of milk would be denied.
Sylvester offered no riddles, but spoke clearly.
"Each cycle is complete. In nine days, one will live from an infant's first cry to an elder's last breath. On the tenth day, they revert to infancy. Through it all, memories remain intact. And when the process ends, the body is restored to its peak, every hidden wound completely erased."
Memories preserved? That alone was rare beyond measure. If Jingliu could regain her prime—even with the Mara still lurking—that was already worth it.
Feixiao's face brightened with joy. She raised a thumb at Jingliu. "This time, you really are saved."
"Hah…" Jingliu exhaled, her breath faintly trembling.
To return directly to her former self, without clinging to cruel methods of clarity—that was far better.
"But that's not all." Sylvester leaned forward, his voice steady. "Each rebirth's growth, the Path energy—from nothingness to its peak, accumulates altogether. At the end of the ninth life, everything bursts forth in a single overwhelming enhancement."
"What?!" Topaz gasped.
Not merely a return to the peak, but multiplied many times over. That wasn't regaining the summit—it was creating a new one.
"So, nine rebirths, plus one's own foundation—that makes it tenfold power increase!" Feixiao's fox ears stood straight, her eyes wide, pupils contracted. "Just like that? Just by waiting a few days?"
"Of course, it isn't so simple." Sylvester shook his head.
His denial, oddly, gave Feixiao relief. At her level, she knew well that power was never attained so easily. Even with fortune, a twenty percent gain was heaven's gift. To multiply one's might tenfold—that would upend the cosmos.
Yet Sylvester was far from done.
"No, it isn't simple. A golden Curio could never be so shallow. There's more."
He split the pill, black from white.
"Take the black half, and the nine samsaras begin. Each cycle will shatter and reshape your abilities into something new. Ice might turn to Fire. Yaoshi's Curse might shift to Aha's Blessing. But know this—it will never leave you weaker than before. At worst, equal. On the tenth samsara, everything resets. But if you grow impatient, and consume the white half earlier—the samsara ends immediately. By the next dawn, your body returns to its peak, and the abilities gained during the samsaras remain."
Sylvester's pulse quickened.
Nine rebirths. Nine rerolls. And if none satisfied, the tenth rebirth acts as a safeguard.
His throat dry, he downed a sip of tea before adding, "Of course, fewer cycles mean less accumulation of Path energy."
But the others had already tuned him out.
Compared to reshaping destiny itself, mere Path energy accumulation was trivial. Path energy could be cultivated—but gifts and laws could not.
Many in the cosmos had oceans of Path energy, but lacking refined techniques, they could never unleash it fully.
This pill, however, rewrote those limits, reshaping gifts entirely.
Such groundless, impossible exaltation was nothing short of an Aeon's boon.
"No doubt… a golden Curio."
All doubts about samsara vanished. Only burning desire remained.
Even the battle-hardened Feixiao, even the ever-stoic Jingliu, flushed with heat.
Not just shock—yearning. For such power, within reach, could change everything.
"If Diamond had such a pill… I wonder how strong she'd become," Topaz murmured absentmindedly.
The words struck like thunder.
Feixiao and Jingliu locked eyes, then snapped their gaze to Sylvester's hand, to the pill he held.
"What a terrifying thing." Feixiao fished out a cloth and wiped sweat from her brow.
Even she—carefree as she was—could not help but imagine: 'What if I had one?'
Tenfold power. Abilities reforged anew. She knew it—such a gift would cure her Moon Rage, elevate her to the mightiest beneath the Aeons. With her divine blade, no throng of Abundance's Emanators could withstand her.
"Whew…" Feixiao breathed out, turning to Jingliu. "Now, I can truly say congratulations."
This was Jingliu's fortune. She might envy, but she did not begrudge. Especially not when Jingliu's plight was harsher than her own.
Yet Jingliu shook her head, a spark of thought glimmering. As if struck by inspiration, she asked, "What if… an Aeon consumed this pill?"
Feixiao's fur bristled, her scalp prickling. "You mean… giving the Reignbow Arbiter nine rebirths?"