Because Lu He had possessed a native of the Spirit Realm upon descending to the Cuixu Continent, he was forced to cultivate anew. Upon reaching the Ascension realm, he had to undergo tribulation.
Therefore, from the very moment he possessed that body, his death had already been sealed.
Lu He's tribulation was merely an insignificant stir that did not disturb Xu Ying far away at Mount Tianjing.
When Xu Ying met Zhangsun Shenghai once again, the tangled sentiment between them—hoping the other would die yet also hoping the other hadn't—finally settled.
"Elder Senior Brother, how do you happen to be here?" Xu Ying asked in surprise.
Zhangsun Shenghai replied, "When I descended from the heavens, I happened to land nearby. Fortunately, I encountered Master."
Xu Ying blinked. "Master?"
Zhangsun Shenghai said solemnly, "That is right—Master! He is possessed of boundless divine abilities, a peerless Lord of Great Dao living in seclusion here. During these days following him in cultivation, I have made rapid progress and gained tremendous insights into various Great Daos. Junior Brother Xu, how have your circumstances been of late?"
Xu Ying could not help letting out a sigh.
Same people, different fates.
Both were disciples under Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, yet the moment Zhangsun Shenghai landed, he encountered the foremost person in the Spirit Realm, Dao Lord Zuo Lian, and received his personal guidance.
As for himself, upon landing he had been reduced to nothing but a head. He had cultivated the Karma Great Dao and taken You Xuan as a disciple, which had repeatedly nearly brought about heavenly tribulation and cost him his life.
His attainment in the Karma Great Dao was not particularly formidable, yet the karmic threads entangled around him were manifold and extraordinarily terrifying. The slightest misstep would mean his demise.
Xu Ying looked toward the palace behind Zhangsun Shenghai and suddenly called out in a clear voice, "Dao Lord Zuo Lian, junior Xu Ying has come to pay respects."
There was no movement from within the palace.
Xu Ying raised the big bell and struck it lightly. The tolling resonated deep and long, echoing throughout this Dao scenery.
Zhangsun Shenghai watched the big bell in astonishment. The ripples across the bell wall caught his eyes, and even though his Chaos Great Dao was cultivated to an exceptional level, strands of Chaos Qi could not help spilling from his eyes!
Startled, Zhangsun Shenghai hastily looked away.
After a moment, a voice echoed from within the palace: "Shenghai, invite the honored guest inside."
"Honored guest?"
Zhangsun Shenghai was taken aback for a moment, then bowed toward Xu Ying. "Honored guest, please."
Xu Ying smiled faintly and followed him into the palace.
Behind Xu Ying, Hongmeng surged as True King Pei Yi followed closely in his wake.
Throughout the palace, fluttering white hair could be seen everywhere, draped over balustrades and corridors like sheer gauze.
Upon arriving at the main hall, they saw an old man seated on a prayer mat with his back to them, white hair carpeting the floor.
"The honored guest from the Chaos Sea has tracked me down after all."
Even with his back turned, Dao Lord Zuo Lian still carried an awe-inspiring bearing. His voice was deep and resonant; as he spoke, the Great Daos of heaven and earth resonated along with it, the sound resembling the voice of the Dao itself.
"Have you come this time to take my life?" he inquired.
Hearing this, Xu Ying shook his head with a smile. "Dao Lord has misunderstood. I am not the Chaos Master's disciple. In truth, I am merely a rather fortunate person who, while journeying through the Chaos Sea, heard the tolling of a bell within the Chaos Sea, and thus asked my friend Lord Bell to imprint the Chaos ripples formed by that bell toll."
At these words, everyone in the hall was stunned.
True King Pei Yi blurted out, "You are not the Chaos Master's disciple? How dare you deceive me! I'll see to it that you die without a burial place!"
The big bell also panicked and cried out, "Ah Ying, you've always been a master liar! Why did your tongue slip now?! If you can't bluff them, we're all going to die!"
Xu Ying paid them no heed. He recounted his experience of encountering the bell toll in the Chaos Sea and apologized, "I cultivate the Karma Great Dao and inadvertently crossed paths with Dao Lord's karma, learning of Dao Lord's Chaos Oath. I had no intention of meddling in this..."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian kept his back to them. After a brief silence, he said, "Were it not by the Chaos Master's intention, how could you have imprinted his Great Dao bell toll? An existence of such boundless divine abilities must have already foreseen the future, and thus chose you as his messenger."
Xu Ying was profoundly astonished. Pondering carefully, he said, "There is indeed that possibility. The Chaos Master's cultivation is so profound that it defies comprehension. But why would he believe that I could resolve Dao Lord's Chaos Oath?"
He mused, "My strength is meager. Even if I wanted to kill Dao Lord, it would be utterly impossible."
True King Pei Yi sneered, "You want to kill Dao Lord? With your meager abilities, I'm afraid you would need to cultivate for tens of millions of years!"
Xu Ying wore a troubled frown. "Dao Lord uses a secret technique to evade the Chaos Great Dao, and having hidden away until now, you could surely continue hiding. I cannot kill Dao Lord, nor can I break Dao Lord's secret technique to expose Dao Lord to the Chaos Great Dao. So why did the Chaos Master choose to send me?"
Dao Lord Zuo Lian asked, "Is there anything unique about you?"
Xu Ying said, "I cultivate the Karma Great Dao and can perceive various karmic fortunes. My Chaos Great Dao has also reached a level nearing immortality. Furthermore, I am proficient in the Hongmeng Great Dao..." Saying this, he felt slightly guilty.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian guided him patiently: "Since you cultivate the Karma Great Dao, how do you think you should resolve this karma?"
Xu Ying replied, "Junior's attainment in the Karma Great Dao is still quite shallow, so what I say may not be accurate. But I believe that to untie a bell, one must seek the one who tied it. Back then, since Dao Lord Zuo made an oath to lead the experts of the Spirit Realm to aid them, then you simply fulfill this oath."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian hummed softly. "How is it to be fulfilled?"
Xu Ying said, "Dao Lord Zuo takes Pei Yi, boards a vessel bound for the Chaos Sea, and goes to keep the appointment."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian was slightly taken aback. "That simple?"
Xu Ying said, "That simple. Back then, the oath established by Shen Tulun and Qu Hong was that in the future, you would lead the experts of the Spirit Realm to support them. Now, of the experts of the Spirit Realm, only you and True King Pei Yi remain. Once you board the vessel and keep the appointment, the Chaos Oath will come to an end."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian laughed heartily, his white hair swaying incessantly. After a long while, his laughter finally subsided. "If the Chaos Oath could be lifted just like that, wouldn't that mean all those experts of the Spirit Realm died in vain back then?"
Xu Ying said calmly, "Such is a Chaos Oath."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian sneered, "Back then, I was unwilling to see them march to their deaths over a single oath of mine, never expecting that they would all perish under the Chaos Oath. Now I am asked to fulfill the appointment in order to dispel the oath. Heh-heh, if so, how innocent and unjust were their deaths?"
Xu Ying said leisurely, "Every sip and every bite—is it not preordained?"
All around, white hair flew wildly and myriad Daos boiled. Xu Ying, Zhangsun Shenghai, True King Pei Yi, and the others each groaned, feeling the Great Daos within their bodies fall silent, rendering them unable to move.
"Are you saying my actions caused their deaths?" Dao Lord Zuo Lian asked, chilling murder in his voice. "Are you saying that had I not broken the contract back then, they might have lived?"
Xu Ying's expression remained calm. "Dao Lord, this is not merely my claim, but the cycle of karma—the way it was destined to be."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian remained murderous. "Your explanation does not satisfy me."
Xu Ying smiled and said, "Dao Lord, I am merely an outsider passing through. What explanation could I offer that would satisfy you? All I see is that in today's Spirit Realm, there are no longer any immortals, reduced to the state it was in before you became an immortal. I see that the people of the Spirit Realm possess spirit runes of unmatched subtlety in vain, for no one can cultivate the supreme Great Dao. I see the peerless geniuses of the Spirit Realm squandering their years generation after generation, turning into corpses, turning into barren earth. I also see that the prosperous era Dao Lord Zuo sought to establish back then seems never to have existed, and the people Dao Lord Zuo sought to protect back then have all died. Arriving here, all I see is an obstinate old man, no longer the high-spirited Dao Lord Zuo Lian of old."
Xu Ying sighed and asked, "How much longer does Dao Lord wish to let the Spirit Realm lie in waste?"
As his voice fell, the surroundings turned freezing and dead silent, devoid of any sound. After a moment, the pressure abruptly dissipated, and Dao Lord Zuo Lian turned around to face Xu Ying directly.
Though his hair was snowy white, his face did not appear aged, only his eye sockets were sunken—plainly the result of prolonged mental torment.
"Are you certain that as long as we leave, the Chaos Oath will be lifted?" His gaze locked onto Xu Ying's eyes.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat, and into his ears came the big bell's voice, anxious: "Yingzi, under no circumstances should you confirm it! The waters of the Chaos Sea run deep. If you make reckless promises, there will surely be karmic retribution in the future!"
Xu Ying said decisively, "I am certain!"
Dao Lord Zuo Lian asked, "How can you be certain?"
Xu Ying said, "I guarantee it with my life! After you two depart, I shall be the first to undergo heavenly tribulation! Once I pass the tribulation, if I am not obliterated into Chaos Qi, it will prove the oath is lifted. If the oath remains intact, I shall naturally perish, my Dao snuffed out, ceasing to exist!"
Dao Lord Zuo Lian exhaled a mouthful of foul qi. As he breathed it out, his hair began to shrink back, soon returning to normal.
He rose to his feet and said in a heavy voice, "Good. I shall trust you this once."
Xu Ying also stood up and smiled. "Back in the Three Realms, I was renowned far and wide as a man of utmost integrity, known to everyone under the sun. My word is my bond, and my actions bear results. Dao Lord Zuo may rest completely assured."
True King Pei Yi couldn't help saying, "Dao Lord, he is not the Chaos Master's disciple and cannot make decisions on the Chaos Master's behalf! What is more, he wants us to enter the Chaos Sea, yet hasn't even provided us a ship!"
"I have ships," Xu Ying smiled faintly. "Very, very many ships, which can guarantee that while aboard, you will not be disturbed by the Chaos Sea."
Hearing this, True King Pei Yi hesitated as well. *Could he truly be the disciple of the Chaos Master? Otherwise, how could he have prepared so thoroughly, even having ships ready?*
Dao Lord Zuo Lian said, "To be able to come bearing a bell imprinted by the Chaos Master represents the Chaos Master's attitude. I trust him..."
True King Pei Yi said no more, thinking to himself, *Within the Chaos, there must be a tremendous will interfering with the workings of the Spirit Realm.*
Xu Ying suggested, "Before the two of you depart, could you pass down the Dao methods you have learned and comprehended, leaving them for the people of the Spirit Realm to benefit posterity?"
True King Pei Yi sneered, "It's you who wants to learn them, isn't it?"
Xu Ying smiled. "I originally had nothing to do with your affairs, yet I was dragged into this, so carrying on your supreme teachings is only reasonable."
Dao Lord Zuo Lian said, "My Dao has already been passed down."
Xu Ying froze, immediately whipping his head toward Zhangsun Shenghai, his eyes so red with envy they could drip blood. He said tremulously, "E-Elder Senior Brother, Dao Lord Zuo passed his Dao methods to you?"
Zhangsun Shenghai wore a faint smile and nodded.
Xu Ying showed a hopeful look and asked Dao Lord Zuo Lian, "Dao Lord Zuo, if—and I say if—your successor were to die, would you look for another successor?"
His eyes sparkled, looking as if the moment Dao Lord Zuo Lian nodded, he would immediately dispose of Zhangsun Shenghai and become Dao Lord Zuo Lian's successor himself.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian said, "I would. But I would first eliminate the person who killed my disciple."
Xu Ying dismissed the thought, casting a jealous glare at Zhangsun Shenghai.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, my Hongmeng Great Dao could be passed down to you," True King Pei Yi said.
Dao Lord Zuo Lian shook his head. "Pei Yi, there is no need. I have already imparted the Hongmeng Great Dao to Zhangsun Shenghai. Save some time; it is time for us to set out."
True King Pei Yi nodded slowly, casting an apologetic look at Xu Ying.
Xu Ying burned with jealousy, itching to choke Zhangsun Shenghai's neck like strangling a swan goose and squeeze out every last technique he had received.
Zhangsun Shenghai said solemnly, "Master, please rest assured. After you leave, your disciple will remain in the Spirit Realm to preach the Dao and instruct pupils on Master's behalf, until the Spirit Realm flourishes."
Zhangsun Shenghai was deeply shaken, his gaze falling upon him as he said, "You wouldn't do that."
Xu Ying's expression was indifferent. "If the other shore moves against the Three Realms, I certainly will."
More than ten days later, the emerald rock multi-decked vessel reached the edge of the Spirit Realm and slowly entered the Chaos Sea.
This vessel bore no imprint, yet within the Chaos Sea, it suddenly gave a slight jolt, drawn by a bizarre force toward an unknown direction.
The two aboard exchanged a glance, both thinking at the same time: *He truly is the successor chosen by the Chaos Master.*
The moment the emerald rock multi-decked vessel sailed into the Chaos Sea, the karmic Dao power throughout Xu Ying's entire body nearly boiled over. His cultivation in Karma soared, breaking through his suppression in an instant!
A peerless heavenly tribulation was forming!
Chapter 762