In the dim universe, Lu Yang quietly descended, riding a blinding white light. He looked down at the densely packed, chaotically intertwined great karmic net beneath his feet.
"Phew..."
Only at this moment did Lu Yang's soaring emotions begin to ease. The fear he had suppressed deep in his heart finally surfaced with hindsight.
'What the hell did I just do.'
'Provoking the Ancestor of the Saint Sect? I'm so fucking awesome... No, I'm going to die; I'm going to die. Isn't it better to keep quiet and make a fortune? Why do I have such a loose mouth...'
Lu Yang patted his chest, allowing his breathing to gradually calm down. He also let the immensely inflated mindset from just becoming a Great Perfected Lord return to cautious prudence: 'Calm down. Only calm people can achieve great things. Regardless, I'm still safe for now. The rest depends on how I operate.'
His self-awareness remained very clear.
Because there was one irrefutable point: although he spoke big words and made wild boasts, it couldn't change the fact that he was running away.
'This is a game of hide-and-seek.'
Lu Yang looked up at the dim universe around him and suddenly felt somewhat curious: 'Speaking of which, where exactly is this massive karmic net located?'
The Netherworld, the present world, the Foundation Establishment realm, the Sea of Bitterness, Paramita—Lu Yang had either been to or seen all these places. However, the existence of the great karmic net completely exceeded the scope of his knowledge. He was one hundred percent certain that the great karmic net wasn't some illusory concept, but a real existence.
But where did it exist?
'Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones can sense this place, and Golden Core Perfected Lords have further permissions. But only [City Rampart Earth] allows one to enter this place...'
Just as Lu Yang was pondering.
Boom!
In an instant, the originally tranquil great karmic net suddenly began to vibrate, as if an immeasurable weight was pressing down upon it.
'Not good.'
Lu Yang instantly realized something was wrong. Looking up at the sky, he felt as if a mighty power was descending from somewhere infinitely high and far away.
'The Ancestor of the Saint Sect is searching for karma!'
Lu Yang took a deep breath, not daring to hesitate any longer. He immediately formed hand seals, and the [City Rampart Earth] simulated by the [Divine Firmament Thunder] in his hand instantly bloomed with light.
And outside the [Divine Firmament Thunder], the three rings formed by the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier, the [Realm Sovereign], were rotating. At this moment, the light of one of the rings abruptly dimmed. In its place, an intense power of karmic anchoring erupted fiercely from the Dao Fruit.
'Time anchor, five thousand years ago!'
For this karmic trip, Lu Yang abandoned the [Time-Reversing World Divine Instrument] that he used to command as easily as his own arm. After all, that thing had been tampered with by the World Honored One.
'One cannot be without caution against others, let alone the World Honored One.'
Although using the [Time-Reversing World Divine Instrument] had almost no cost, this very fact made Lu Yang feel uneasy, fearing the World Honored One might screw him over big time.
So he would rather give up this supreme treasure and instead use his simulated [City Rampart Earth] to alter causes and shift effects. The latter was at least more worthy of his trust.
Of course, flaws also arose from this.
'Out of the three rings of the [Realm Sovereign], every time I travel, one ring will break. I can at most travel to three points in time on this trip.'
One of which must be used to return to the present world to prevent himself from getting lost in the karmic scenes.
In other words, he only had two chances.
'The first is used for five thousand years ago. The second is to go to the point in time that can cause the Netherworld to collapse. It's enough, just that there's no room for error...'
In the empty space above the great karmic net, streaks of iridescent light swirled and spilled from Lu Yang's palm, only to be gathered back bit by bit by his ten fingers. As if lighting a candle, he brought two fingers together and pointed, landing at the very top of the iridescent light, causing a speck of white light to abruptly surface within it.
[Time-Reversing World Dao Fruit]!
Using [Pine & Cypress Wood] as the wick, lighting the [Overturned Lamp Flame] to illuminate the era he was traveling to, and then using [City Rampart Earth] to anchor the corresponding karma—
"Go!"
Just before the gaze from that infinitely high and distant place broke through the blockade and landed on the great karmic net, Lu Yang's figure had already vanished, riding the white light.
A moment later, the gaze descended.
However, all that met its sight was boundless karmic history. It was like a super-massive maze, simply impossible to take in all at once.
To find a single person in this massive, countless karmic history was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Although he wasn't incapable of doing so, he would have to withdraw the mighty power projected onto the Netherworld and focus all his attention on the great karmic net. Otherwise, he could only search them one by one.
But the Netherworld...
Looking down at the great karmic net, the majestic gaze fell into a brief silence. Only after a long while did he seem to make a decision, and the gaze vanished from the spot.
Five thousand years ago, karmic scene.
Jiangbei, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
Accompanied by a sudden flash of white light, a tall, handsome young man in black robes stepped out. With one hand behind his back, he then looked up at the boundless sky.
"The person whose name is called, step up before me."
Familiar words drifted over from the platform, yet it was a voice he had never heard before. Lu Yang glanced over and found an unfamiliar Saint Sect disciple.
'That makes sense. Five thousand years ago, it couldn't have been Senior Brother Liu Xin.'
'I didn't expect to end up here.'
Lu Yang sighed with emotion. Five thousand years ago, his true body didn't exist, so he could only anchor the karma of a location. The result was naturally returning to the Saint Sect.
He was surrounded by a bustling crowd, yet no one noticed his existence. Lu Yang paced forward just like that and quickly left the Saint Sect. Mountains, rivers, sun, and moon revolved beneath his feet. With just a casual step, he traveled from Jiangnan to overseas, only stopping when he reached a lone island.
"This body of mine cannot move about freely."
"Fortunately, I came prepared."
Lu Yang found a cave abode on the island, settled inside, and sealed his aura and karma. Only then did he flick his sleeve, summoning Chong Guang and the Primordial Heavenly Demon.
Formless, intangible Inner Demons that could transform at will.
This was Lu Yang's most reliable method within the karmic scenes. After all, in these karmic scenes symbolizing the past, strength wasn't the most important thing.
What was important were "traces."
'I am too strong right now.' Lu Yang sighed inwardly.
Every Late-Stage Golden Core Great Perfected Lord was a variable to the present world. Every action, every thought could influence the direction of the present world.
Therefore, before the Dao Lords open the Great Perfected Lord era, every Great Perfected Lord in the world had their own designated prison. Even Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao had one. This showed just how heavy the weight of a Great Perfected Lord was... And this weight was even more apparent within karmic scenes.
'The key is the Dharma Body Dao.'
'This body of mine is already a Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lord. If I use spiritual power exceeding the Foundation Establishment realm, it will inevitably be sensed by the Dharma Body Dao within the karmic scene.'
When that happened, everything would be over.
How could two Dharma Body Daos exist simultaneously in one era? This wasn't the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]... So, the only result would be the shattering of the karmic scene.
Therefore, in many cases, the stronger you were, the harder it was to alter karma.
It depended more on your methods, on whether you had tricks.
'Fortunately, I am different from orthodox Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords. I'm not some brute who only knows how to throw punches and kicks. Not only do I have tricks, but my tricks are excellent.'
Besides Chong Guang and the Primordial Heavenly Demon, Lu Yang also had the Righteous Dao Banner. Patriarch Nether Whisper, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, Suo Huan, and even Empress Xiao inside were all existences that had been whitewashed by the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. They had no cause and no effect. Therefore, their movements within this karmic scene were far less restricted than his.
So then—
'How should I go meet the World Honored One and hitch a ride?'
(End of Chapter)