Stepping out of the Netherworld, Lu Yang maintained a composed expression as he stepped into the vast universe. Before his eyes lay a grand web that spanned heaven and earth.
The Great Karmic Net.
This was the domain of the World Honored One, once the River of Time—recording the past, manifesting the future, and engraving the present. Infinite karmic threads converged here to create countless scenes.
Once upon a time, he had walked through this universe in an extremely pathetic state, hiding and tucking himself away, not daring to reveal his form. He had exhausted his mental strength just to evade the Primordial Saint's search. But now, things were different. He walked openly and honorably, completely indifferent to the faint gaze cast by the Primordial Saint.
What does he intend to do?
At this moment, inside the Netherworld, the World Honored One was also somewhat dazed, surprised that Lu Yang could walk into the Great Karmic Net so easily, appearing quite proficient in this path.
'Is he going to change cause to alter effect and bring Pill Cauldron back to life?'
Is it feasible?
At this thought, the answer flashed through the World Honored One's mind—Of course it is! In fact, ever since he attained [Karma], had he not harbored similar thoughts?
The reason he had been unable to resurrect Pill Cauldron until now was fundamentally simple—Pill Cauldron had been personally slain by the Primordial Saint. His soul was extinguished, his True Spirit shattered, and his karma was deeply entangled with the Primordial Saint, making it impossible to reverse. To resurrect him, one could not bypass the Primordial Saint.
If the Primordial Saint did not agree, the karma of Pill Cauldron's death could not be changed.
However, things were different now.
'If it is him...'
The World Honored One pressed his palms together, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes. This Fellow Daoist Xuande seemed to have successfully outschemed the Primordial Saint once; his methods were incredibly sophisticated.
I could not reverse Pill Cauldron's karma.
But he might.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Within the Great Karmic Net, Lu Yang paced forward. He seemed to hear the rumbling sound of a surging river as scenes of karma flashed before his eyes.
'The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master...'
Lu Yang pondered. One must realize that different karmas and different histories naturally lead to different versions of Pill Cauldron; it depended on which one was being revived.
Although they were fundamentally the same person, different karmas shaped different experiences, and the final manifestation would have massive variations.
For example, in the previous life, he had successfully revived Pill Cauldron, but that was the Pill Cauldron from the False History. His experiences differed greatly from the one in True History—at the very least, because Dao Tianqi did not exist in the False History, that Pill Cauldron would definitely lack many related memories.
That would be meaningless.
What he wanted to ask was the Pill Cauldron from the True History.
With this thought, Lu Yang locked his gaze onto the karma from tens of thousands of years ago. The fire of his Primordial Spirit illuminated the universe, parting the mists of time.
Soon, the karmic scene came into view.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master, with the resolve to die, stepped into the Netherworld. He intended to use himself as bait to send the Nascent Soul Pill into the deepest parts of the Netherworld.
His determination was beyond doubt.
However, all of this was seen by the Primordial Saint. The Ancestral Dragon legacy in the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master's hands had been the Primordial Saint's plant from the very beginning.
Resistance was futile.
Even his shattered True Spirit was later reassembled by the Primordial Saint to birth Ling Xiao, who was then sent back into the Netherworld as talent to continue working for him.
Now, the karma of the past reappeared.
The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master was in the Netherworld, looking up at the sky. All he saw was a single slender finger, tapping down gently from that infinitely high and distant place.
Almost simultaneously.
On the other side of this karmic scene, a monk in a gold robe suddenly opened his eyes. His compassionate smile was gone, replaced by deep sorrow.
'Pill Cauldron...'
The World Honored One pressed his palms together, but he felt a strong [Inevitability] shrouding this karmic scene, making it an established and unerring fact.
Since attaining [Karma], he had traced back to this segment of karma many times, only to watch the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master be slain by the Primordial Saint. He had no way to change the karma; even if he ignored everything and forcibly intervened, it would only cause the karmic scene to shatter, serving no purpose.
'...What will you do?'
'Can it be done?'
The World Honored One focused his gaze, staring intently at the scene until a figure appeared out of thin air, blocking the path of the Primordial Saint's descending finger.
Lu Yang had acted.
But unlike the collision the World Honored One expected, as Lu Yang shielded the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master behind him, the Primordial Saint's descending finger came to a sudden halt.
[Fellow Daoist shall retreat ten thousand miles upon seeing me.]
His black robes fluttered. He displayed no great power, simply standing there peacefully, yet he felt like an invisible wall that blocked the Primordial Saint.
"Well?"
Lu Yang chuckled, his face mocking: "If Fellow Daoist wishes to fight me, I will accompany you to the end. I'll let you beat me up once to vent your anger."
"..."
After a brief silence, the finger withdrew. Along with it, the [Inevitability] that filled the karma dissipated, and the karmic scene quickly returned to peace.
For a moment, witnessing this personally, the World Honored One could not help but sigh:
'He actually retreated.'
'Incredible! What leverage does this Fellow Daoist Xuande have over the Primordial Saint? To make him retreat again and again, even though the gap in their stature is so vast.'
On the other side, Lu Yang was not at all surprised. Both sides had basically shown their cards. Before having absolute certainty in suppressing him, the Primordial Saint would definitely not display his methods just for a moment's spite. However, by the same logic, he would not strike unless he was certain; once he did, it would inevitably be a killing blow.
His true crisis would come then.
Until then, he was essentially unrestrained. He could do what he wanted and go where he pleased; the Primordial Saint would certainly not stop him.
In fact, the Saint would be happy to see it happen.
After all, this indulgence itself was building Lu Yang's concept, bringing him closer to the edge of breaking through to the second layer—and thus closer to death.
Unless he never broke through.
But if he did that, it would turn into a war of attrition with the Primordial Saint, which was also advantageous to the Saint. After all, his own advancement would have no limits.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang turned around.
At this moment, the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master, having survived the disaster, still had confusion on his face. He didn't understand who the person before him was, capable of forcing the Primordial Saint to retreat to his face.
Then, he somewhat cautiously cupped his hands:
"This Senior..."
Before he could finish, Lu Yang waved his hand proactively and said in a kind tone: "Wait a moment, Fellow Daoist. This is not a place to linger. I will bring you back to the present world first."
With that, the karmic light and shadow instantly began to move. The sun and moon rotated, and time flowed. Only Lu Yang and the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master standing beside him remained unchanged, like a lone boat in the vast ocean—shaking, but never sinking, returning all the way from the past.
"BOOM!"
In the Netherworld, as the karmic dharmic light gradually faded and the True History returned to its orthodox course, the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master stood there in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.
It wasn't until he saw the youth beside him that his pupils shrank:
"...Tianqi?"
"Senior Brother Pill Cauldron!"
Dao Tianqi could no longer restrain himself. He hurried to the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master, grabbed his hand, and looked incredibly excited.
Only then did the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master finally react.
He had memories of the past and knew he should have died. Now, not only was he alive, but he had come to the future—no, not come to the future.
"It's the past being brought forward," the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master let out a long breath.
"I died long ago, and then cause was changed to alter effect to revive me. Was it [City Rampart Earth]? Or Senior Brother? That doesn't make sense. I remember Senior Brother was bald..."
"THWACK!"
Before the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master could finish, a palm slapped down on his head. The voice that was usually full of compassion now sounded a bit like it was through gritted teeth:
"Say that one more time?"
"Uh..."
The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master looked back and subconsciously shrank his neck: "Senior Brother, you're here too... so it really wasn't you who saved me."
"Makes sense. How could you snatch someone from that old bastard's hands..."
"THWACK!"
After many years, the World Honored One gave the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master a beating.
(End of Chapter)