"Is the Grand Dao of Karma truly this powerful?"
Xu Ying, Wei Yi, Nangong Hao, and the others could not help but feel despair. They were heaven's chosen, their cultivation vastly surpassing their peers, and their journey into the Tianjing Ruins had blessed them with opportunities rarely encountered under normal circumstances.
The swift rise in their cultivation and strength over these past days had swelled their confidence, convincing them that joining forces would make dealing with Dao Lord Hong an effortless task.
Yet the five of them had struck simultaneously, unleashing so many Immortal treasures all at once, and they had failed to harm even a single hair on Dao Lord Hong!
Even when Xu Ying unleashed Hongyuan and joined hands with Wei Yi and Shi Yuting, Dao Lord Hong had still managed to withstand the blow. His strength was absurdly terrifying!
Just as Dao Lord Hong was about to strike and wipe them out in one fell swoop, he took a single step forward, and his expression suddenly shifted. He began to cough violently.
With that cough, he felt his own Grand Dao suffer damage, and he coughed up a mouthful of Dao blood!
Dao Lord Hong looked at the Dao blood on his hand, momentarily startled in disbelief. His gaze immediately shifted toward the chaos lotus.
The lotus came with its own pool, within which chaotic vapors billowed and luminous spiritual radiance shone so brilliantly it was difficult to look upon directly.
Above the flower, a sphere floated suspended, and slender torrents of spiritual radiance sprayed from the apertures of the lotus pedestal to nourish the sphere.
Dao Lord Hong stared at the sphere, astonishment washing over his face. "A Hongyuan! You possess a cosmic Hongyuan on your person?! And an innate spiritual root?! Cough, cough!"
He could not stop coughing up blood. Meeting the chaos lotus head-on moments ago had inflicted a Dao injury upon him.
For an existence in the Immortal realm, the Dao was equal to the body. A Dao injury to the flesh meant a Dao injury to one's very self, something exceedingly difficult to heal. Yet inflicting harm upon someone in the Immortal realm was even harder to accomplish, and now, a top-tier powerhouse among Immortals like him had actually been injured by this innate spiritual root!
"He's injured!"
Xu Ying was overjoyed and shouted at once, "Everyone, summon Lord Lotus with me again!"
Without hesitation, he poured all his strength into activating the chaos lotus. Wei Yi and Shi Yuting, however, took a step back, their faces pale, unable to join in.
When the two of them had joined forces to drive the chaos lotus earlier, they discovered that the treasure's demand for magical power was monstrously terrifying. In virtually an instant, it had drained the majority of their reserves. Now, they had no power left to summon the chaos lotus a second time!
Because Xu Ying had cultivated the Three Qi Penetrating the Mysterious and the Nine Mysteries Returning to One, what flowed from his Taiyi Cave Abyss was pure primordial qi. His cultivation was practically inexhaustible, sparing him any such concern for the moment.
Fortunately, Nangong Hao and Zhuo Daochun rushed forward without delay, combining their might to unleash the chaos lotus once more.
Dao Lord Hong's expression changed abruptly. He took to the air immediately, retreating far away to evade the lotus and its pool!
Yet the chaos lotus's might surged outward, turning the space before and behind him into absolute chaos. His Grand Dao of Karma suffered damage under the onslaught, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Dao Lord Hong stopped at once and swept his sleeves. A spinning wheel appeared, its wheel whirring and spinning at lightning speed. Threads of karma shot out in every direction, weaving into intricate patterns and tactical arrays. In an instant, the surrounding heaven, earth, time, and space were sealed by karma!
This was his Dao-attaining treasure, the Karma Spinning Wheel.
Once deployed, this treasure could weave the karmic threads of billions or tens of billions of living beings into fabric in a short time. It could also scramble cause and effect, alter the trajectories of stars and the direction of the Grand Dao, and disrupt the normal operation of an entire universe.
However, the inescapable net woven by the Karma Spinning Wheel proved utterly useless against the chaos lotus's assault. All karma shattered under the chaos, reduced to nothingness.
"This treasure is a natural counter to me!"
Dao Lord Hong grew solemn. Mobilizing every cave abyss at his disposal, he unleashed the most powerful divine ability he had ever created in his life to meet the chaos lotus's strike head-on!
*Boom!*
Spitting blood, he was sent flying backward, hurtling straight through a waterfall of Chaos Qi. This time, his injuries were even more severe. With the Dao equal to his body, multiple parts of his form suffered damage.
Nangong Hao's cultivation was also completely drained, leaving him unable to sustain the chaos lotus.
Xu Ying and Zhuo Daochun stepped forward again, driving the chaos lotus to deliver a third strike.
With nowhere to run and no way to dodge, Dao Lord Hong could only meet it head-on, adding further wounds on top of his existing injuries. Yet after this third activation of the chaos lotus, the magical power of Xu Ying and Zhuo Daochun was also declared utterly spent.
Both of them had cultivated the true teachings of Taiyi, achieving the Three Qi and Nine Mysteries, so what flowed from their Taiyi cave abysses was primordial qi. But the flow from a Taiyi cave abyss was finite. The two of them were like a pond continuously taking in water while also constantly discharging it; when the outflow exceeded the inflow, the water in the pond would still run dry.
Fortunately, the true teachings of Taiyi allowed them to recover their cultivation much faster than ordinary cultivators.
Deciding decisively, Xu Ying stowed the chaos lotus, leaped into the air, and spurred the Taiyi Myriad Daos Cauldron to press the advantage, attacking Dao Lord Hong while seizing the chance to recover his magical power.
Zhuo Daochun also unleashed his one to two hundred Immortal treasures, radiating earth-shattering might as they surged toward Dao Lord Hong!
At the same time, the big bell flew out, activating all its cave abysses of various sizes, which hung all over its body. Clanging loudly, it attacked Dao Lord Hong without needing Xu Ying to guide it.
The Zhuxian broken sword also took flight, joining the fray.
Two people and two treasures wheeled up and down around Dao Lord Hong, exhausting every technique at their disposal and waging a battle that seemed to tear heaven and earth apart. Even after taking three strikes from the chaos lotus and suffering severe Dao injuries, Dao Lord Hong still forced them into a steady retreat!
*Bang!*
The Five Elements Light-Splitting Sword exploded, scattering its five-element energies across every corner of this chaotic space. Zhuo Daochun let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth from the backlash.
The Five Elements Light-Splitting Sword was an Immortal treasure he had claimed, containing the Grand Dao of the Five Elements and possessing immense power, yet he had never expected Dao Lord Hong to shatter it directly!
The next instant, with a sharp tear, the Wuji Heavenly Book was also ripped apart, aggravating Zhuo Daochun's wounds. This heavenly book was another Immortal treasure he had seized, containing the Grand Dao of Wuji. Now that the book was ruined, the Grand Dao of Wuji hidden within spilled across the ground.
Dao Lord Hong fought with growing ferocity. *Clang! Clang! Clang!* With three heavy blows in rapid succession, he struck the Taiyi Myriad Daos Cauldron until it nearly caved in, knocking it away from above Xu Ying's head, and moved in to slay Xu Ying.
The big bell rushed over desperately, ringing with a resounding toll to block the lethal blow.
Xu Ying unleashed his Firmament of Divine Powers, clashing head-on against Dao Lord Hong, only to be sent hurtling backward by the shockwave.
Suddenly, another loud bang echoed. Zhuo Daochun's Grand Supreme Measuring Ruler was shattered by Dao Lord Hong, its contained Great Dao scattering into the surrounding space. Unable to endure the backlash of the treasure's destruction, Zhuo Daochun vomited a large mouthful of blood.
Wei Yi, having recovered a bit of his cultivation, immediately charged into the battle upon seeing this. Yet at the very first clash, his Slaughter Splendid Banner was torn to shreds, injuring his mind and soul!
The Dao of Slaughter dispersed, releasing waves of soul-chilling killing intent through the chaotic space.
Refusing to wait until their cultivation fully recovered, Nangong Hao and Shi Yuting also joined the fray, unleashing the treasures they had collected in waves to resist Dao Lord Hong.
Yet even when they deployed these supreme treasures, they could usually leave only minor wounds on Dao Lord Hong. The shattering of treasure after treasure compounded their injuries again and again!
Moreover, the number of treasures they had collected was limited. Once every treasure was destroyed, their deaths would surely follow!
"If only we could cultivate the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture freely at will!"
Despair gripped the five of them. Powerful as the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture was, it was simply too difficult to comprehend, impossible to master thoroughly, let alone practice at will.
Dao Lord Hong gave them no opportunity to restore their cultivation and magical power. Crushing them with overwhelming dominance, he forced them into frantic defense, leaving them no leeway to pool enough power to summon the chaos lotus.
"Your farce ends here!"
Suddenly, Dao Lord Hong activated the spinning wheel. *Swish! Swish! Swish!* One thread of karma after another crisscrossed through the air, piercing straight through the bodies of Xu Ying, Zhuo Daochun, Wei Yi, Nangong Hao, and Shi Yuting!
The five stiffened instantly. They suddenly discovered that their bodies were no longer under their control; their primordial spirits, divine senses, and Great Daos were all held fast, filling them with shock.
Even more karmic threads flew out from the spinning wheel, piercing through the Taiyi Myriad Daos Cauldron, the Scroll of a Hundred God-Demon Battles, and the other Immortal treasures one by one.
Hundreds of supreme treasures froze in midair, trembling faintly, unable to break free from the bonds of karma.
"Lord Ying, farewell forever!"
Seeing this, the big bell scurried outward in a panic, crying out, "Lord Ying, once I achieve great success in my cultivation in the future, I will avenge you!"
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
A volley of karmic threads struck, but the moment they made contact with the big bell's surface, the bizarre ripples across its body deflected them away, preventing them from piercing through.
Lord Bell was overjoyed and yelled, "Hong Tiangang, I'm your natural counter! Just wait until my cultivation reaches its peak... Lord Hong, spare my life!"
Unable to pierce its shell, the karmic threads simply wove through the bell's suspension loop, stringing the big bell up in midair.
On the other side, the Zhuxian broken sword darted up and down, dodging the attacks of the karmic threads and even severing several of them, but it too was eventually pierced by karmic threads and hung immobilized in the air.
In just a brief moment, they had suffered total defeat.
Likely deeming Xu Ying the most dangerous, Dao Lord Hong had pierced him with the greatest number of karmic threads, weaving what almost looked like a human-shaped current of light around him.
Fortunately, these karmic threads possessed form but lacked physical substance, causing him little tangible harm.
*The Grand Dao of Karma is truly terrifying, capable of controlling our very actions.*
Xu Ying's eyes flickered, his gaze shifting toward the streaks of Chaos Qi cascading from the sky. Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang had opened this chaotic realm within the Chaos Sea an unimaginably long time ago, leaving it eroded by the Chaos Sea and inherently unstable.
*I could use chaos to suppress all other Great Daos, channeling more Chaos Qi into this realm to forge a space where no Dao can exist, restricting the reach of his Grand Dao of Karma. That way, there might still be a chance of victory in this battle.*
With this thought, Xu Ying tried to move his body, but he remained completely paralyzed, with no chance of breaking the heavens above.
*I could also release the Chaos Qi from my Martial Dao Cave Abyss. Lord Lotus gathered so much Chaos Qi; I could use it to create a zone devoid of all Daos...*
Xu Ying attempted to mobilize his divine sense to communicate with the chaos lotus, only to find that his divine sense was also unusable.
His heart sank. The Grand Dao of Karma was simply too overbearing, and he could find no way to break it.
"In this world, some claim Taiyi is the supreme Dao, some say the Five Primordials are the greatest, others claim Primordial Origin is supreme, and still others say Chaos is above all. Yet the truly paramount Grand Dao is karma."
Dao Lord Hong stood in midair, suppressing the Dao injuries in his body as his voice boomed. "Calamities are karma; they can lay waste to a universe and destroy its mightiest beings. The Great Dao tides are also karma; so long as you are within the tide, no matter where you flee, it will catch up to you. Those who say Chaos counters Karma speak utter nonsense."
He shook his head and addressed Xu Ying and the others. "They say karma does not exist within chaos, and therefore chaos counters karma. But no one can remain submerged in chaos forever. The moment one leaves it—regardless of where in the Chaos Sea they find themselves, in whichever universe, or even upon whichever ship—karma will seek them out anew, demanding repayment."
Dao Lord Hong raised his hand lightly. The supreme treasures in the air began to drift slowly, naturally giving off lethal, trembling vibrations.
"Karma is the mightiest of all Great Daos. Control karma, and you control everything!"
The moment his words fell, those hundreds of Immortal treasures—including the Taiyi Myriad Daos Cauldron Xu Ying had taken—erupted with full power, crashing violently into one another!
The scalps of Xu Ying, Zhuo Daochun, and the others tingled in horror as they watched those supreme treasures annihilate one another beneath their opposing might. In the blink of an eye, barely over a dozen remained.
Fragments of the shattered treasures drifted through the realm, and the various innate Great Daos contained within them fell toward the ground.
Only a handful survived, including the big bell, the broken sword, and the Taiyi Myriad Daos Cauldron. Even these were battered and broken, their might far diminished from before.
Witnessing this, all five felt their hopes dashed completely.
Suddenly, they felt their bodies move against their will, each preparing divine abilities to strike at one another!
They were like marionettes on strings, stripped of all autonomy, puppets dancing to the tune of karma.
*We've truly met our end this time. Dao Lord Hong was still one step ahead,* they lamented silently in their hearts.
Right at that moment, Xu Ying caught sight of the glowing Dao radiance scattered across this chaotic space beginning to flow, all gathering toward a single point.
Xu Ying froze slightly, and then an uncontrollable surge of wild joy surged within him.
The glowing Dao radiance merged into a stream, rising from below to form the silhouette of Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang!
*Of course! The Grand Dao Master can draw upon the heaven and earth Daos of the revived Dao domains to reconstruct his fleshly body, so naturally, he can also borrow the power of different Great Daos within these treasures to rebuild his form!*
Understanding dawned on him at once. *A sliver of the Dao Master's indestructible consciousness must reside in this chaotic space! That consciousness was not strong enough to gather the Daos directly from intact Immortal treasures, but once the treasures shattered, he could assemble those Daos to reconstruct his fleshly body!*
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than his gathered divine ability was unleashed, hurtling toward the other four!
At the same time, Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang, formed from the condensed Dao radiance, soared through the air like an ascending immortal, charging straight toward Dao Lord Hong!
"What is this?!"
Dao Lord Hong was thoroughly shocked. Casting aside his control over the karmic threads binding Xu Ying and the others, he immediately drove the Karma Spinning Wheel, sending myriad karmic threads surging toward Dao Master Xuanhuang!
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
Whistling through the air, the threads of karma inexplicably passed straight through Dao Master Xuanhuang's body.
Dao Lord Hong breathed a sigh of relief. Grasping the myriad karmic threads in his hand, he chuckled. "Dao Master Xuanhuang, you have merely revived using the Daos within these treasures; you are no match for me! I can control your every move!"
Just as he said this, he froze, looking down. He saw that the myriad karmic threads he held had somehow pierced through his own body.
"No, I control karma. It cannot bind me..."
Before the thought could finish, he saw Dao Master Xuanhuang striding toward him!
"The karma you owe Tianjing must be repaid today! This is the karma of the Great Dao of heaven and earth. Even an Immortal who cultivates the Grand Dao of Karma cannot escape this reckoning."
Dao Master Xuanhuang swept his hand down in a slash. The blow appeared visibly slow, yet Dao Lord Hong felt himself locked by karma, completely unable to evade it.
He heard the sound of his internal Grand Dao of Karma shattering, and the hissing spray of his blood splashing through the air.
In the darkness behind his head, one karma cave abyss after another crumbled and collapsed, tracing the connections back into the myriad universes.
Across the myriad universes, every cultivator belonging to Dao Lord Hong's lineage of the Grand Dao of Karma, regardless of cultivation level, saw their physical body and primordial spirit disintegrate into fine dust at that very moment.
Dao Lord Hong, who cultivated the Grand Dao of Karma, along with his entire lineage, was completely erased through karma.
Chapter 747