Densely packed threads of Karma were displayed within the pitch-black universe. As a brilliant light descended into their midst, the already sensitive Karma was instantly stirred.
The First Layer of the [Paramita].
The World Honored One, currently in closed-door cultivation, snapped his eyes open. A trace of wariness surfaced in his gaze: 'A sudden review of Karma... Why? Could we have been exposed?'
He was still feeling apprehensive about the great battle from a few days ago. After all, they had "crossed the sea under deceitful heavens" right under the Primordial Saint's nose. If the Primordial Saint grew suspicious and tested them again, Dao Tianqi alone wouldn't be able to play both roles indefinitely. At that point, the grand play would surely fall apart.
Therefore, he immediately followed.
In the next second, the World Honored One's silhouette appeared simultaneously within the Great Karmic Net. After looking around, his tense heart relaxed considerably.
'It's not the battle from a few days ago.'
'This segment of historical Karma is from when I crushed the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]? Hasn't that old bastard already visited it once and returned empty-handed...'
The World Honored One pondered, silently observing.
On the other side, the Primordial Saint naturally saw the World Honored One's silhouette. However, since the other party didn't approach and only watched, he couldn't actually do anything to him.
After all, the man was already on the first layer of the [Paramita]. Any step he took was upward. Even if he were thrashed again, he wouldn't die and would still watch regardless. Furthermore, this place was the Great Karmic Net, which was inherently and closely tied to [Karma]; it was impossible for the Saint to block his vision right now.
'...Fine.'
The Primordial Saint shook his head, quickly casting aside his concerns. What he needed to do this time was vital; so what if he was watched? No one could stop him in the end.
In the next second, he focused his gaze.
Time reversed and years flowed. The scenes he had viewed once before manifested again, with every person appearing vivid and lifelike.
"The Gatekeeper lineage."
This time, the Primordial Saint did not attempt to rescue the Gatekeeper lineage from beneath the World Honored One's massive foot. Instead, he continued tracing back, arriving at even earlier Karma.
Subsequently, his silhouette became illusory, strikingly merging into the karmic scene. He paced into the depths of the Gatekeeper lineage's palace, appearing before the original Gatekeeper—almost simultaneously, the original Gatekeeper sensed something and abruptly looked up.
"Taiyitian greets Fellow Daoist."
The Primordial Saint quirked the corner of his mouth, a gentle and friendly smile naturally appearing on his face, his cold gaze covered by positive emotions.
'At this point in time, my reputation is still quite good.'
'I'll use this reputation to see if I can fish out some intelligence.'
At this thought, the Primordial Saint's expression became even more sincere. He was very good at playing the "good man" and had significant insight into manipulating hearts and gaining trust.
Until he was exposed by Sisui, he had acted flawlessly.
However, this time, he hit a wall.
"Taiyitian... Haha, Fellow Daoist truly likes to joke."
Upon the high platform, the original Gatekeeper seemed to be flipping through a book. Seeing the Primordial Saint arrive, he first snapped the book shut and then let out a cold laugh.
"A remnant of the Name and Form schools dares to come see me?"
At these words, the Primordial Saint instantly realized something was wrong, his eyes narrowing slightly.
In history, he had dealt with this original Gatekeeper. Initially, the other party had expressed disgust toward his name and the inheritance of the Name and Form schools.
However, by relying on his high reputation at the time, he had successfully deceived him.
Therefore, the original Gatekeeper within the karmic scene should not have this attitude toward him under any circumstances. Even if he disliked him, he shouldn't be so directly mocking.
Unless—
"You know?"
The Primordial Saint's aura abruptly turned explosive. However, before he could finish speaking, the originally solid karmic scene shattered, turning into nothingness like a phantom dream.
This verified the Primordial Saint's suspicion—the karmic scene only shatters when the person within it realizes that their current state is "not the present" but the "vanished past." Of course, if the person within the scene actively cooperates, this restriction can be bypassed.
But clearly, the original Gatekeeper had no intention of cooperating.
Just then.
The [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record] in his sleeve vibrated slightly. The Primordial Saint lowered his eyelids and scanned it with his spiritual sense, quickly seeing several characters that had appeared out of thin air:
[The book in his hand!]
"..."
After a moment of silence, the Primordial Saint struck again, regathering the karmic scene. He then paced inside, but this time he remained silent, only observing from the shadows.
Soon, he saw the contents of the book in the original Gatekeeper's hand.
It appeared to be a register.
The register had a total of eighteen pages. Each page had a name and title written in purple-gold profound ink. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but a closer look revealed infinite mysteries.
[Understanding the Mandate of Heaven] (Zhi Tianming)
[Great Fortune Arrives] (Da Yunlai)
[Immortal of the Crown Tassel] (Zhu liuxian)
One name and title after another... Initially, the Primordial Saint didn't know what they represented, until two titles he recognized met his eyes.
[Supreme Name]
[Selfless Form].
'The Ancestors of the Name and Form schools.'
The Primordial Saint had seen these two names within the inheritances of the two schools inside [Supreme Grandmaster]; they were the sources of the two lineages. Why were they appearing here?
In that case, what about the other names?
In the next second, a resonance came from the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record] again. The Primordial Saint looked once more, seeing characters slowly surfacing on the book, stroke by stroke:
[This is the Dao Register.]
[In the Pre-Ancient Era, that transcender forged this treasure to record the titles of the various Dao Ancestors. However, according to him, this was merely a failed product.]
[What that transcender truly wanted to forge was a different kind of book.]
[But even so, for a Dao Ancestor, this is an unquestionable supreme treasure... However, the one in his hand is not the original; it should merely be a copy.]
'Dao Register...'
The Primordial Saint knit his brows tightly, watching the original Gatekeeper within the karmic scene continuously flip through the register until he reached the final page.
The name of the final Dao Ancestor leaped off the paper.
[Xuande]. (Profound Virtue)
"RUMBLE!"
In an instant, ripples rose in the Primordial Saint's eyes, and the consciousness within the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record] fell into even greater shock after a brief moment of stagnation.
'Xuande? How could it be Xuande?'
'The successor of [Jun] could not possibly be a Dao Ancestor of that era! He has restarted a dozen times; he should only be a mortal of this era!'
'Why?'
The consciousness within the book immediately began scouring its sealed memories.
Then, it "remembered."
'That's right, there truly was a person named [Xuande] back then—the most mysterious eighteenth Dao Ancestor, and the final Dao Lord of that era.'
'He was the [Little Junior Brother] of all the Dao Ancestors.'
'That being said, no one had ever seen this Dao Ancestor.'
'Is this [Jun]'s doing?'
'The most mysterious... Could it be that he attained the Dao in the future, but was brought to the past by [Jun] using Deity Transformation methods to establish his status as a successor in that era?'
For a moment, the consciousness within the book felt a sense of horror.
Because this memory was too real, entirely different from Altering Causes and Shifting Effects. No matter how it thought, there were eighteen Dao Ancestors in that era's memory!
But if Xuande truly were the successor of [Jun], the past must have been altered.
Yet, it had noticed nothing.
Could the majesty of a transcender reach such a degree!?
Following the horror was an inexpressible fanaticism—the obsession called "transcendence." And when that fanaticism reached its extreme, it turned into bone-chilling killing intent.
"Xuande, Lu Yang..."
Almost simultaneously, the Primordial Saint spoke in a low, ethereal tone—
"This person cannot be allowed to remain."
(End of Chapter)