In the dim universe, blazing white light filled heaven and earth. And riding the brilliance, a monk slowly walked past, beneath his feet the intertwined and tangled scenery of karma.
Unlike Lu Yang.
For the World Honored One, altering cause and changing effect didn't need to be so complicated at all. He only needed to walk on level ground, and the karmic scenes would naturally retain his footprints.
"Excellent, excellent!"
"My heart dwells nowhere, thus passing through a hundred thousand billion Jambudvipa worlds without hindrance."
The monk slowly walked forward , neither fast nor slow. At first glance, his movements were very slow, yet the great karmic net spontaneously flowed beneath his feet.
And with every step he took, a footprint would be imprinted on the karmic net. Wherever he passed, the footprints would emit a faint glow. Flower buds grew from the light, then bloomed, transforming into lotus flowers one after another. They covered the sky and earth, filling the universe, tightly blocking his figure and the path behind him.
Every step produces a lotus!
This was a method that could only be displayed within the great karmic net. Every lotus flower could distort karma, preventing subsequent Dao Lords from tracing his tracks.
Although facing the Primordial Saint, this was merely a minor trick.
However, as long as it could block for a period of time, even if only for a second, for a Dao Lord, it was a crucial opportunity enough to decide victory or defeat.
In an instant, karma shifted.
The World Honored One once again arrived at the Saint Sect within the karmic scene. He saw Heaven-Mending's remnant thought slumbering within Heaven-Mending Peak, and immediately awakened it again.
"Mmh."
Having had the previous conversation with Lu Yang, this time Heaven-Mending's remnant thought didn't reveal confusion again. After merely zoning out slightly, he revealed an enlightened smile:
"The backdoor is open. Sorry to trouble Senior Brother."
As his voice fell, the World Honored One didn't pause in the slightest. Utilizing the karma provided by Heaven-Mending's remnant thought, he vanished from his spot again, continuing to advance deeper.
The next second, an anomaly abruptly occurred.
"Boom!"
Unparalleled mighty power violently crashed into this karmic scene. Wherever it passed, the lotus flowers left by the World Honored One withered one after another, scattering into mud.
Heaven-Mending's remnant thought lifted his head, as though peering beyond the layers of karmic illusion—toward that indescribably vast, unfathomable presence now casting its gaze upon him.
"Heaven-Mending… no wonder no trace of your movements could be found in karma before your disappearance."
"So this is where you were hiding."
A calm voice drifted faintly through the void—unhurried, unchanged even after a hundred thousand years—as if all things beneath heaven lay within its grasp, unable to escape its dominion.
Yet in the face of such a presence, Heaven-Mending's remnant thought simply threw his head back and laughed.
Then—he raised his middle finger.
"Bastard! Out of everyone, you're the only one I'd find filthy even if you tried to transcend me!"
"Just wait for your death!"
Before his voice faded, the karmic scene shattered with a boom.
Sixty thousand years ago, the World Honored One opened his eyes. What met his gaze was a zen meditation room, with faint green smoke drifting about. Sitting upright before him was a handsome youth.
The First-generation Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, Bu Tianque.
'...It's this time.'
Realization surfaced in the depths of the World Honored One's eyes. This was sixty thousand years ago, after Beast Taming filled the Netherworld with his body, his last meeting with Heaven-Mending before his disappearance.
He didn't expect that the karma would lead to this moment.
The next second, a voice sounded:
"Must you all act so recklessly?"
"Beast Taming wouldn't listen to advice, and you are the same. I've said it, as long as you all stay in line, I guarantee I can protect you. You don't need to worry about perishing..."
That was his own voice.
The World Honored One didn't interfere with the established historical progression, remaining silent in his heart.
On the other side, Bu Tianque within the karmic scene shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Since Beast Taming is already dead, I have no heart to distinguish right from wrong."
"Senior Brother, how can you ask me to trust that old bastard again?"
"Getting to where he is today, the Ancestral Dragon was deceived by him, Sisui was deceived by him, and the other Dao Lords were also deceived by him. Now, Senior Brother, you still want us to trust him?"
"It's not about trusting him!"
The World Honored One heard a bit of frustration over a failure to meet expectations in his own voice: "It's about trusting me! I said I could protect you, don't you trust me?"
The atmosphere instantly deadlocked.
In his memory, this conversation ended on bad terms. Not long after that, Bu Tianque suddenly disappeared, causing Pill Cauldron to completely go mad as a result.
'Such heavy karma.'
The World Honored One pondered in his heart.
This karmic scene was different from the previous one. Because the previous Heaven-Mending remnant thought had sealed himself off, there was almost no karmic entanglement, so many things could be said.
However, the karma in the current scene was unbelievably heavy. The World Honored One could sense that if he made even a slight interference different from history, this karmic scene would instantly shatter. Therefore, he could only make one interference, and it had to align with historical progression.
Fortunately, Bu Tianque had planted a foreshadowing long ago.
"When words don't match, even half a sentence is too much. I'm leaving."
Within the karmic scene, Bu Tianque stood up with a cold face and said faintly: "Before I leave, Senior Brother, don't you have anything to give me as a farewell gift?"
This was a conversation that existed in history.
At that time, he gave a jade pendant, a spiritua; artifact he had meticulously refined. It could be used for self-defense at critical moments, theoretically capable of blocking a single strike from a Dao Lord.
'So the karma is here.'
The next second, the World Honored One sighed, then took out the [Nascent Soul Pill], handing it to Bu Tianque along with the established self-defense jade pendant from history.
At this moment, the karmic scene shook violently.
Bu Tianque blankly looked at the jade pendant before him, and the [Nascent Soul Pill]. The anger in his eyes vanished entirely, replaced by realization and a smile.
"Speaking of which, I've always trusted Senior Brother."
"Hmph... remember to pay me back."
"Don't worry, at least tens of thousands of years will be enough to pay you back."
As his voice fell, Bu Tianque put away the [Nascent Soul Pill] and the jade pendant, then left the zen meditation room. Along with him, the karmic scene was also collapsing.
The World Honored One pressed his palms together, lowered his eyelids, and sat watching the karma around him shatter and scatter. Then he turned his head to look at the towering figure walking towards him step by step.
"Myriad Treasures, what did you do?"
The voice rumbled over.
The World Honored One didn't answer, decisively dispersing his projection in the great karmic net.
...
Meanwhile, on the [Paramita].
The World Honored One's main body stood on the second tier, smiling slightly:
"Sixty thousand years ago, Heaven-Mending obtained the [Nascent Soul Pill] before his disappearance. And sixty thousand years of time is enough for him to send it up here unnoticed by anyone."
This was very reasonable.
At this moment, majestic karmic light fell from the second tier of the [Paramita], locked onto a certain position on the first tier, and directly pulled out a cluster of light.
It was precisely the [Nascent Soul Pill]!
It actually came from the Netherworld to the [Paramita], not only evading the sight of all the Dao Lords, but even bypassing the Primordial Saint's blockade!
In an instant, all the Dao Lords looked over!
[Myriad Treasures... what are you doing?]
[Isn't that pill used to prevent getting lost?]
[No, its not!]
Agitated thoughts howled on the [Paramita]. At this moment, apart from the Primordial Saint who was in the Netherworld, all the Dao Lords chose to make a move without hesitation!
They didn't know the specific use of the [Nascent Soul Pill], however, their Dao Lord perception still made them sense danger. Therefore, they all made moves to block him. Yet the World Honored One didn't waver in the slightest. Instead, he arched his back, firmly protecting the Nascent Soul Pill beneath him, actually intending to take this strike head-on!
'As long as I can hold on for an instant, it's enough.'
'At worst I'll drop a tier. Anyway, as long as the [Nascent Soul Pill] merges with the [Paramita] and causes the [Paramita] to be destroyed, one tier or two doesn't matter!'
The World Honored One calculated very clearly.
However, exactly at this instant, the towering figure originally trapped in the Netherworld suddenly raised his head. A smile appeared on the face invisible to mortals.
The next second, the figure disappeared.
"Pfft!"
Within the [Netherworld Lord's Palace], the ink-colored precious wheel shattered with a boom. Dao Tianqi spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, crystalline drops scattering, shock surfacing in his eyes.
Merely because at this moment, the combined strike from the four Dao Lords—Sword Lord, Cang Hao, Spiritual Power, and Dao Arts—was entirely blocked by a slender, fair palm.
The Primordial Saint!
The Primordial Saint, who should have been hostile to the World Honored One and had made several moves wanting to destroy the [Nascent Soul Pill], actually chose to help the World Honored One at this most critical moment!
In a flash, the palm disappeared, and the ethereal figure returned to the apex of the [Paramita], still as unrestrained and free as before the battle began, completely lacking the slightest bit of wretchedness.
Such an attitude made the World Honored One, who had already merged the [Nascent Soul Pill] into the [Paramita] and whose plan was a massive success, instantly feel uneasy.
Why help me?
Did something go wrong somewhere?
Why?
The next second, the Primordial Saint's voice rang out again, but it wasn't directed at any Dao Lord present. Instead, he raised his head to the sky and laughed heartily for the first time in a long while:
"The [Variable]! Is already within my palm!"
Almost simultaneously, inside the Netherworld.
"Crack!"
Dao Tianqi walked out of the [Netherworld Lord's Palace], looking with astonishment at the [Ancestral Dragon] he had casually suppressed earlier, which had almost no power to resist.
Its body was shattering.
The pupils covered in cracks finally couldn't hold on anymore at this moment, thoroughly disintegrating. However, what poured out from within wasn't the expected Primordial Spirit consciousness.
But ordinariness.
No Primordial Spirit, no consciousness, only an aura belonging to an ordinary dragon pupil at the Dao Integration Great Perfected Lord realm, dotted with azure brilliance, carrying a mocking smile.
Lu Yang similarly saw this scene clearly.
He also realized the problem faster than Dao Tianqi—
"It's not the Ancestral Dragon..."
"He is not the Ancestral Dragon, he is Cangjiang! The Cangjiang Dragon Lord!"