Posing as the Chaos Master's disciple was an enormous karmic entanglement!
And as the Chaos Master's disciple, he was obliged to verify whether Dao Lord Zuo Lian had fulfilled his oath. That was likewise an exceptionally perilous karmic bond!
With this layer of karma hanging over him, it would only be natural for Dao Lord Zuo Lian to finish Xu Ying off.
Of course, he had no choice but to investigate.
If he did not, the karma from impersonating the Chaos Master's disciple would likely erupt just the same, potentially reducing him straight into chaotic qi.
Being entangled by these two major karmas back-to-back was something Xu Ying had been forced into. If he had not impersonated the Chaos Master's disciple, the being within the Hongmeng purple qi would have killed him; by posing as one, he at least secured a slim glimmer of survival.
What was more, because he cultivated the Karma Great Dao, karma bound him closely, leaving him no say in the matter.
He had to resolve the matter of Dao Lord Zuo Lian and bring the oath that had once destroyed every cultivator in the Spirit Realm Universe to fulfillment so that it ceased to exist. Only then could he smoothly cultivate the Karma Great Dao into the Immortal realm.
Otherwise, should he ascend, he would inevitably trigger the oath, turning into chaotic darkness and perishing completely.
"The greater the karma, the faster the cultivation—and the quicker the death!"
Xu Ying composed himself. If he did not want to die right now, he had to resolve the problem of Dao Lord Zuo Lian first. The being within the Hongmeng purple qi was not a Dao Lord, but an Indestructible from that bygone era known as True King Pei Yi.
Recounting what had happened back then, True King Pei Yi said, "The root of it all lies in a Chaos Oath. In those ancient days when Dao methods were still primitive, an elder and a youth arrived in the Spirit Realm aboard a peculiar ship. Back then, Dao Lord Zuo Lian was not yet a Dao Lord, but a young man who had not yet attained immortality."
In the Spirit Realm of that era, Dao methods and divine abilities were thoroughly backward. No one could breach the blockade of the Thunder Marsh to reach the Immortal realm.
Zuo Lian was the one person with high hopes of breaking through the Thunder Marsh Heavenly Tribulation at the time.
On the eve of his tribulation, the elder and the youth sought him out.
The elder called himself Qu Hong, while the youth introduced himself as Shen Tulun. They told Zuo Lian that the architecture of their Great Dao was too rudimentary to break through the heavenly tribulation, making it impossible to attain immortality.
To achieve immortality and break free from life and death, one had to refine the architecture of the Great Dao.
Spirit runes back then were far inferior to what they were now. The two of them demonstrated a divine power that awed Dao Lord Zuo Lian.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian then pleaded with them to improve the spirit runes, whereupon the two laid down a condition.
True King Pei Yi said, "Their condition was that once Dao Lord Zuo Lian reached the Lord of Great Dao realm, this ship would return, and Dao Lord Zuo Lian would have to lead all the experts of the Spirit Realm to go with them, saving their lives and standing against their mortal enemy: the Dao Alliance."
Xu Ying's heart stirred slightly. "What is the Dao Alliance?"
True King Pei Yi shook his head. "I do not know."
Xu Ying asked, "Where did Qu Hong and Shen Tulun come from? Did their ship sail from another world within the Spirit Realm, or from the Sea of Chaos?"
Pei Yi shook his head. "The ship came from the Sea of Chaos, but which universe within the Sea of Chaos it hailed from, nobody knows."
Xu Ying frowned slightly. "Go on."
Pei Yi continued:
"Dao Lord Zuo Lian had no idea what the Dao Alliance was either, so he agreed. The elder and the youth had him swear an oath to the Chaos Master. After Dao Lord Zuo Lian swore the oath, the two shared their Dao insights with him whole-heartedly, explaining all kinds of Dao methods. In just a few short years, Dao Lord Zuo Lian's Dao cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and his understanding reached ever greater heights."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian was a peerless genius.
Back then, he was still in the Ascension stage, yet his Dao cultivation had already reached the level of his first Dao attainment. At the same time, he transcribed many Great Dao insights from the elder and the youth. If anyone in the Spirit Realm could master higher Great Daos such as Chaos, Hongmeng, and the Five Primordials, it was entirely thanks to his transcriptions.
Over three hundred years, the elder and the youth elevated his Dao cultivation to heights he could never have imagined before. Then, the three of them joined forces to redesign and improve the spirit runes.
Another hundred years passed, and the spirit runes finally underwent a complete transformation, becoming Great Dao patterns that could lead straight to the Lord of Great Dao realm!
The elder and the youth boarded their ship to depart. The elder, Qu Hong, repeatedly warned Dao Lord Zuo Lian, saying, "A Chaos Oath is extraordinarily dangerous; under no circumstances must it be broken. In the future, someone will come aboard this ship to fetch you. You must remember to board the ship with the experts among your people."
The youth Shen Tulun also said, "At that time, our world will face an apocalyptic catastrophe, invaded by the Dao Alliance. If you do not come, I fear we will not survive. I hope Fellow Daoist Zuo will not forget this debt of gratitude."
"After the elder and the youth left, a very long time passed without any ship arriving," True King Pei Yi said. "Dao Lord Zuo Lian gradually cultivated to the Lord of Great Dao realm, his cultivation boundless and unfathomable. Aside from him, there were four other Dao Lords whose cultivations shook heaven and earth. As for those of us in the Indestructible realm, our numbers were many."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian nearly forgot about the Chaos Oath of those days—too much time had passed.
Yet suddenly one day, a ship arrived in the Spirit Realm. Aboard it were not the elder and the youth, but an unfamiliar young man soaked in blood, begging for an audience with Dao Lord Zuo Lian.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian met the young man, who recited the ancient oath and demanded that Dao Lord Zuo Lian keep his promise to lead all the experts of the Spirit Realm to rescue their people.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian inquired about the war, only to learn that the elder Qu Hong had already fallen in battle, while the youth Shen Tulun was still on the front lines, his fate unknown.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian hesitated. The war with the Dao Alliance was so horrific; if the experts of his own Spirit Realm went, countless of them would surely perish. The elder and the youth had certainly shown him guidance and kindness back then, but was he supposed to wager the lives of every expert in the Spirit Realm just to repay that debt?
Yet if he did not go, he would violate the promise made that day. Should he disregard the lives of all the Spirit Realm's experts and lead them into a bewildering war, all for the sake of a single promise?
And so, Dao Lord Zuo Lian told the young man that he could board the ship and travel to the battlefield himself to support Shen Tulun and the others, but the other Dao Lords and Indestructibles of the Spirit Realm could not go.
The young man kowtowed heavily to him, weeping as he pleaded, recounting how brutal the battlefield was and how ferocious the Dao Alliance was, and that Dao Lord Zuo Lian's power alone would be insufficient to turn the tide of the war.
The young man knocked his head until he was bruised and bleeding, telling Zuo Lian that he had come bearing the survival of their entire race; if he could not recruit enough powerhouses, his people would go extinct. He begged Dao Lord Zuo Lian to honor the oath of old and bring along all the experts of the Spirit Realm.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian was thoroughly displeased.
The young man also said that before departing, Shen Tulun had told him that if Dao Lord Zuo Lian refused to honor the oath, he would surely be hunted down by the Chaos Great Dao. When the tolling of the bell came, it would be too late for regrets.
"Accustomed to his own arrogance, Dao Lord Zuo Lian retorted that back then Shen Tulun and Qu Hong had taken advantage of his youth and ignorance to coax him into swearing an oath, and now they wanted to use that oath to make him wager the lives and fortunes of the entire Spirit Realm—which was nothing short of petty villainy."
True King Pei Yi said, "He declared that the Chaos Master was a Lord of Great Dao, and so was he. He commanded the heavenly and earthly Great Daos of the Spirit Realm, wielded supreme power, and was the master of the Great Dao. As for a mere Chaos Oath, he could break it or honor it as he pleased."
Hearing up to this point, Xu Ying asked, "And then?"
True King Pei Yi said, "The young man kept kowtowing, pleading for his help, but Dao Lord Zuo Lian grew irritated and flatly refused. Driven to utter despair, the young man boarded his ship and returned to the Sea of Chaos, saying he would live and die with his people.
"After he and his ship sailed into the Sea of Chaos, we heard the tolling of the bell." Saying this, he could not help shuddering.
"When the bell tolled, every single immortal in the Spirit Realm was struck by calamity, turning into wisps of chaotic darkness and returning to the Sea of Chaos!"
To this day, he still did not understand how all those people had died, or what manner of divine power had struck them all simultaneously.
The big bell could not resist asking, "Every immortal died at the exact same moment? Do you know the exact words of the oath Zuo Lian swore back then?"
Pei Yi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Dao Lord Zuo Lian's natural talent was extraordinary after all; he survived, evading the erasure of the Chaos Great Dao. Later, when I met him, I asked him about the oath he made back then. He said that at that time, he had sworn to lead every immortal of the Spirit Realm to the battlefield, to support Shen Tulun and combat the Dao Alliance."
Hearing this, Xu Ying, the big bell, and the rest were chilled to the bone.
"Based on that single sentence of an oath, the Chaos Great Dao wiped out every immortal in the Spirit Realm! Even after that generation of immortals died, anyone thereafter who successfully passed the tribulation would likewise turn into chaotic qi and meet an untimely death!"
Xu Ying finally understood why the civilization of the Spirit Realm had fallen into ruin.
Everyone capable of ascending and attaining immortality had died under the Chaos Oath, causing more and more Dao methods to be lost until things gradually devolved into their current state.
"In the Spirit Realm, whoever ascends dies." Xu Ying stowed the big bell and walked toward the exit of the Hongmeng Dao scene. Suddenly stopping in his tracks, he looked back and asked, "Since you have seen Dao Lord Zuo Lian, do you know where he is?"
Pei Yi said, "I do. He hides within the Dao scenery of Mount Tianjing."
Xu Ying nodded gently and turned to leave.
True King Pei Yi called out, "Fellow Daoist, is killing him the only way to resolve the Chaos Oath?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "Merely killing him will not sever the karma. Everyone who was bound by the oath back then must die."
True King Pei Yi's face went deathly pale. Xu Ying glanced at him and turned to leave.
Standing silently amidst the Hongmeng purple qi, True King Pei Yi murmured, "I do not want to die... I do not want to throw away my life alongside Zuo Lian..."
Xu Ying stopped and looked back. "I have a method that might allow none of you to die."
True King Pei Yi froze, then was overcome with ecstasy. He hurriedly pressed, "What method?"
Xu Ying smiled faintly. "I will tell you after I see Zuo Lian!"
He reached the edge of the Hongmeng Dao scene, halted, and hesitated, reluctant to take that step outside.
"Ah Ying, why hesitate?" the big bell asked.
Xu Ying said, "By digging up Dao Lord Zuo Lian's past, I am afraid I have formed a karmic bond with him as well—and that karmic thread will surely be vastly thicker than the one with True King Pei Yi! I worry that the moment I step outside, my heavenly tribulation will erupt!"
With his strength, passing the tribulation would be effortless; smashing through the Thunder Marsh with a single fist would be nothing. But ascending to immortality meant death.
"Can you suppress your calamity fortune!?" the big bell asked.
Xu Ying steadied his thoughts and smiled. "The karma of a Lord of Great Dao is bound to be formidable—a single strand of karma is enough to push my Karma Great Dao straight to the fifth or sixth tier of the Dao Realm! Still, I can certainly give it a try!"
Heroic pride surged in his chest as he mobilized his Great Daos of Taiyi, Chaos, and Hongmeng, standing ready to suppress his calamity fortune at any moment!
"My Taiyi, Chaos, and Hongmeng have all reached the brink of the Indestructible realm. There is no calamity fortune I cannot suppress!"
Xu Ying took a stride forward and walked out of the Hongmeng Dao scene. Immediately, a colossal thread of karma pierced through the void and merged into his karmic golden wheel!
Xu Ying felt his mastery over the Karma Great Dao skyrocket madly, his cultivation soaring so fast that in an instant, calamity fortune descended upon his head!
Indeed, just as he had anticipated, the boost brought by this karmic thread was utterly terrifying. In mere moments, it propelled his Karma Great Dao straight toward the fifth and sixth tiers of the Dao Realm!
The calamity fortune of the heavenly tribulation grew violently intense, threatening to surge over him and force him to face the tribulation and ascend! Xu Ying channeled his various Great Daos to shroud the heavenly secrets, combat the calamity fortune, and obfuscate karma, finally preventing the tribulation from crashing down.
Right at that moment, countless karmic threads swarmed in all at once, descending uniformly upon his body before being swept up by the karmic golden wheel.
Xu Ying looked at those karmic threads—they numbered in the millions, densely packed and staggering in quantity! His karma cultivation skyrocketed once again, and the calamity fortune suddenly became impossible to suppress!
"My good disciple You Xuan, what have you done now?"
At Taiwei Palace, the righteous sects of the world were gathering. You Xuan raised the banner of the crusade against the demonic path, rallying righteous leaders across Cuixu Continent, Lingxi Continent, Lingfang Continent, and beyond, assembling an army of a million cultivators prepared to subjugate the demonic path.
Even though Xu Ying was not at Taiwei Palace, You Xuan still invoked Xu Ying's name to embolden the righteous forces of the world.
Learning that such an old immortal was aiding their campaign against the demonic path, the righteous cultivators were inordinately inspired, their morale soaring as they marched toward the demonic territory.
The grand war between the righteous and demonic had officially commenced. Yet Xu Ying only felt more and more karma piling onto him, his karmic Dao power growing so immense that he could no longer hold it down.
"Pei Yi, I need you to lend me a hand to help suppress my calamity fortune!" Xu Ying suddenly called out. "Help me suppress my calamity fortune and accompany me to see Dao Lord Zuo Lian, and I can spare your life!"
No sooner had his words landed than the Hongmeng Dao scene behind him surged forth, engulfing him. True King Pei Yi's figure slowly manifested from the Hongmeng purple qi, saying in a deep voice, "Very well! I will go with you to see him."
With his help suppressing the calamity fortune, Xu Ying could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The two hastened toward Mount Tianjing.
Upon reaching Mount Tianjing, Xu Ying saw a Dao scenery resembling a cascading galactic waterfall descending from the heavens into the mountain. This, presumably, was Dao Lord Zuo Lian's hiding place.
With True King Pei Yi leading the way, the two stepped into this Dao scenery.
Moments later, an immortal palace came into view, where a youth could be seen cultivating before it.
"Zhangsun Shenghai?" Xu Ying froze in astonishment. "How is he still alive?"
Seeing him, Zhangsun Shenghai broke into a smile.
In Lingxu, the domain where the demonic path dwelt, thousands of demonic experts were presently in a frenzy of excitement, all looking toward Lu He, disciple of the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons.
During this time, Lu He had united the demonic forces of the Spirit Realm, subduing every intractable figure in the demonic path to become the Dao Ancestor of the Demonic Path.
Right now, thunder rumbled; he was undergoing his tribulation, preparing to ascend.
"After countless years, the only person to ascend is actually one of us who cultivates the demonic path!"
Watching from afar, the demons saw Lu He strolling leisurely through the Thunder Marsh, impervious to any lightning Dao image.
At last, Lu He blasted through the Thunder Marsh and laughed heartily:
"I have attained immortality! From this day forth, I shall unite both righteous and demonic—where is that bell toll coming from?"
*Dong—*
Lu He was obliterated into ash.
Chapter 761