"The karma of opening heaven?"
Dao Masters Zong Qi, Li Jian, and Sha Zhe all froze. What could that mean?
"Could the Kaiyuan Divine Axe still need to open the heavens a second time?" Sha Zhe asked. "Has it not already split open heaven once? Why would it still owe the karma of opening the heavens?"
Dao Master Luo wore a bizarre expression. "That scoundrel Hong Tiangang cultivates the Dao of Cause and Effect. He must never have received the true transmission and has cultivated himself into total muddleheadedness. Back then, he actually told Brother Hua that while the Kaiyuan Divine Axe had already opened the heavens, its master had yet to do so."
Dao Master Li Jian pondered for a moment. "Does Dao Brother Luo mean to say that the Kaiyuan Divine Axe is an innate numinous treasure native to our other shore—an object with a master that cannot be refined by anyone else? And that its master will eventually reclaim it to split open heaven and earth, opening up a Hongyuan? Is that the meaning?"
Dao Master Luo nodded slightly.
Li Jian continued, "Yet you also once said, Dao Master, that this treasure is extraordinary, far surpassing other numinous treasures in might because it has undergone the tempering of opening heaven and earth."
Dao Master Luo nodded once more.
Li Jian could not help but chuckle. "Isn't that a contradiction? The Kaiyuan Divine Axe has undergone the tempering of opening heaven and earth, yet it still lacks the karma of opening heaven, awaiting its master to wield it and split open heaven and earth. If it has never split open heaven and earth, how could it have been tempered by opening heaven and earth?"
Sha Zhe and Zong Qi nodded in agreement.
Sha Zhe laughed. "The divine axe opened heaven, but its master has not opened heaven; therefore, the divine axe has not opened heaven and lacks the karma of opening heaven. What kind of absurd logic is that?"
Dao Master Luo sighed. "That is precisely what is so strange. An innate numinous treasure meant for opening heaven and earth that has never actually done so—yet somehow it must have, or how else could it bear the tempering of opening heaven and earth? Isn't that utterly contradictory? Thus, the only explanation is that Hong Tiangang cultivated the Dao of Cause and Effect until he went stark raving mad."
Sha Zhe, Zong Qi, and Li Jian nodded along.
This was a confusion of cause and effect, certainly not a missing karmic link!
Dao Master Luo remarked, "The Dao of Cause and Effect is truly abstruse and bizarre. Dao Lord Hong most likely fried his own brains studying it. Among those who can cultivate the Dao of Cause and Effect to the Immortal realm, practically none have a normal head on their shoulders."
They arrived outside the First Sacred Ground of the other shore. Dao Master Luo looked around, frowning slightly. The exact location of the First Sacred Ground had always been a mystery; apart from Luo Taizong, no one knew where it lay.
In the past, Dao Master Luo had also searched for this sacred ground, but failing to find it, he had simply let the matter drop.
This time, by trailing the Kaiyuan Divine Axe, he could finally locate this precious land. Rumor had it that finding this place would allow one to fathom all the worldly Daos of the other shore; for him, it might well provide the breakthrough he needed.
Yet even after pursuing it all the way here, he still saw no trace of the sacred ground.
Xu Ying and the Ancestral God had vanished upon reaching this spot, proving they had already stepped inside. Yet the cosmic void remained deathly quiet, vast and desolate, showing no sign of the First Sacred Ground.
Zong Qi and the other two Dao Masters mobilized their respective Great Daos to scour the surroundings. However, outer space was simply too immense; even as Dao Masters, they could not pinpoint the location of the First Sacred Ground.
Dao Master Luo's eyes flickered. Suddenly, he waved his sleeve, igniting soul fire in all directions until it filled hundreds of millions of li around them.
Suddenly, Dao Master Luo detected an unusual fluctuation and said, "It is right here!"
The carriage moved, rolling into the sea of fire before coming to a halt.
Zong Qi and the other two followed. They watched as Dao Master Luo slowly stood up. The sea of flames dissipated, leaving behind only a single, straight line of fire.
This thread of fire was extraordinarily peculiar—infinitely slender, countless times thinner than a single strand of hair. Without careful scrutiny, it would have been impossible to detect.
Dao Master Luo murmured softly, "The First Sacred Ground of the other shore lies right here."
"This single line is the First Sacred Ground?" the three exclaimed, finding it hard to believe.
Dao Master Luo drew back the soul fire within that line. Suddenly, an immeasurable surge of flame erupted from the thread. What had been a mere sliver of soul fire turned into an entire ocean of roaring flame as it surged outward!
"This single thread is no ordinary line; it contains an entire universe within."
Dao Master Luo stepped forward, walking directly into the thread. "No wonder no one could ever find the First Sacred Ground. To think it was hidden in the cosmos in such a state."
To find such a sacred ground within the boundless universe was truly next to impossible.
Zong Qi and the other two followed behind him. As they advanced, all four of them flattened into paper-thin figures, completely devoid of thickness.
They traversed this wondrous passage, unaware that they were passing through the starry skies of the other shore, heading straight toward its very heart.
Only when they entered the sacred ground and looked back did they perceive the magnificent spectacle held within that razor-thin thread: the entire universe of the other shore was contained within that single, infinitely slender line!
At that very moment, a boundless brilliance surged forth, sweeping toward them!
"Xu Ying!"
Dao Master Luo's eyes flared with sharp light. He immediately spotted Xu Ying and a robust young man standing on a jade platform, their bodies enveloped in radiant light.
That robust man was in a peculiar state, cleaved to the waist by a massive axe. The dazzling radiance was erupting precisely from that great axe and the jade platform!
"I will never spare you!"
Consumed by fury, Dao Master Luo soared into the air, clawing straight toward Xu Ying!
Dao Masters Zong Qi, Li Jian, and Sha Zhe scrambled to keep up, each roaring furiously as they charged toward the jade platform!
Just then, boundless light flooded the four Dao Masters' vision, instantly blinding them.
*Whoosh—*
A profound light flared intensely within the First Sacred Ground of the other shore. When the radiance faded, Dao Master Luo, Zong Qi, Li Jian, and Sha Zhe had all vanished.
The jade platform was completely deserted. Xu Ying and the Ancestral God—who had nearly been cleaved in half—were nowhere to be found.
*Something is wrong with this light!*
Amidst the radiance, Xu Ying activated the Nine Daos and instantly felt immense Dao strength contained within the dazzling light. It felt as though karma and reincarnation, Taiyi and Wuji, Grand Primordium and Chaos were circulating in sequential succession!
This power was so vast and surging that he could not resist it. It swept him and the Ancestral God along, hurtling them down into the unknown!
He attempted to unravel the profound light with various divine powers, but the Dao strength held within this peculiar brilliance was far too terrifying for him to breach.
*What kind of divine power is this?*
Unease churned in his heart. While he too could integrate different Daos among the Nine Innate Daos to create marvelous divine powers, his cycling verification of the Nine Daos remained incomplete. The cultivation levels of his nine Great Daos were uneven, limiting the divine powers he could develop.
*The marvelous application of this divine power is far beyond mine! Reversing the cycle of reincarnation, tracing cause and effect upstream, uniting all Daos into one to become Wuji! Re-enacting the Grand Primordium and regenerating Chaos! Brilliant, truly brilliant! Wait, I think I just saw Dao Master Luo. How did he get here too? I'm afraid I'm really in for it this time...*
Xu Ying felt deeply anxious. *I wonder if taking him as my adoptive father would work... probably not? Or maybe if I make him call me Martial Uncle, will he give me a cleaner death?*
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the profound light abruptly ceased and dissipated.
The moment the light cleared, the surrounding Chaos Qi bore down upon them with crushing weight. Without hesitation, Xu Ying mobilized the Chaos Great Dao. Yet just as the surrounding Chaos Qi surged before them, it came to an abrupt halt, repelled by an invisible force.
The Ancestral God stood beside him, clutching the Kaiyuan Divine Axe. The divine axe seemed to have lost all its power, looking completely plain and unadorned.
Taking advantage of the lull, the Ancestral God restored His physical body, bringing His two halves together and closing the wound. Looking around in bewilderment, He was just about to speak when Xu Ying placed an index finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.
The Ancestral God immediately clamped His mouth shut and transmitted via divine sense: "Dao Ancestor Xu, where are we now?"
Xu Ying transmitted back, "We should have been cast into the Chaos Sea. When You were standing on those footprints just now, Dao Master Luo and three other Dao Masters tracked us down; they are somewhere nearby!"
The Ancestral God felt a chill run down His spine.
At the time, He had been exerting every ounce of strength to control the Kaiyuan Divine Axe and had not seen His surroundings, unaware that Dao Master Luo had followed them.
Xu Ying transmitted, "Though my Chaos Great Dao is quite decent, I won't be able to hold out long against the pressure of the Chaos Sea. Let us quietly slip away and put some distance between ourselves and Dao Master Luo."
He tiptoed forward, and the Ancestral God followed on tiptoe, axe in hand.
Suddenly, a terrifying fluctuation of the Soul Dao erupted behind them, so intense that its tremors rippled through the Chaos Sea. Fortunately, the divine power had not been unleashed in their direction.
Xu Ying and the Ancestral God quickened their pace, fleeing the blast zone of that soul power.
Soon, three more distinct divine powers erupted not far away. It was likely Zong Qi and the other two Dao Masters unleashing their own powers to search for Xu Ying and the Ancestral God.
Steering clear of the chaotic surges, Xu Ying and the Ancestral God slipped away unnoticed. After walking an unknown distance, Xu Ying abruptly stopped and summoned an emerald rock multi-decked vessel.
The Ancestral God, who had still been fretting over how they would survive in the Chaos Sea, beamed with joy at the sight. "Ah Ying, you actually prepared a vessel! Truly thorough of you!"
The two boarded the emerald rock multi-decked vessel, and Xu Ying smiled. "This ship bears the imprint of the other shore. By activating it, we can return directly to the other shore!"
The Ancestral God chuckled. "Once we get back, we might even be in time to capture a few more numinous treasures."
Xu Ying shook his head. "By then, those treasures will have long flown out of the other shore toward their respective universes."
He activated the vessel's imprint, but his expression gradually grew strange.
Seeing this, the Ancestral God hurriedly asked, "What is it?"
Xu Ying's voice was filled with bewilderment. "The imprint of the other shore on this vessel isn't working. It cannot take us back. I have another one!"
He brought out a second emerald rock multi-decked vessel and channeled his Dao strength into its imprint. His brow furrowed once more. He quickly retrieved a third vessel.
Yet the third vessel was the same!
Xu Ying's frown deepened. He brought out a fourth vessel, and a moment later, a fifth.
Before long, the Ancestral God found Himself surrounded by emerald rock multi-decked vessels—hundreds of them, an entire fleet!
*Just how many vessels did Ah Ying plunder from the other shore?*
Just as the thought surfaced, Xu Ying knitted his brows tightly and muttered, "Wrong, this is completely wrong. It's impossible for the imprints on every single vessel to fail. Something must have gone wrong..."
The Ancestral God inquired, "What happened?"
Xu Ying paced back and forth, racking his brain. "The imprints on these vessels are still intact, yet for some reason, they cannot establish a connection with the other shore at all. It's as if... as if the other shore doesn't even exist!"
The Ancestral God froze. The other shore didn't exist?
Then in this boundless Chaos Sea, how were they supposed to find their way back?
Xu Ying collected himself and said, "No need to panic. I have another way—we can head to the Three Realms! I left an imprint on the other shore shala tree in the Three Realms. As long as I sense the shala tree, I can find the direction of the Three Realms!"
He stowed all the vessels away, keeping only one. Reinvigorated, he smiled. "Once we return to the Three Realms, getting to the other shore will be simple."
The Ancestral God also felt relieved. Xu Ying quietly reached out with his senses toward the shala tree, but after a long while, his face drained of color.
"The Three Realms... also seem to not exist."
On the other side, Dao Master Luo regrouped with Zong Qi, Li Jian, and Sha Zhe. All four possessed an emerald rock multi-decked vessel of their own. Yet they too discovered that while the imprints remained, the vessels had lost any fixed course!
*The other shore no longer exists.* The same thought struck all four Dao Masters simultaneously.
Dao Master Luo said in a heavy voice, "The other shore would never vanish out of thin air. Something must have gone wrong!"
Zong Qi suggested, "Could it be that we are simply too far from the other shore to sense its position?"
Dao Master Luo pondered. "That is very likely. We shall travel aboard a single vessel and search for the other shore!"
The four boarded one emerald rock multi-decked vessel, putting the others away, and sailed through the boundless Chaos Sea.
After journeying like this for more than ten years, they still caught no trace of the other shore.
Dao Master Luo said, "I know the bearings of several of the myriad universes. We only need to find one of them, and we can find our way back to the other shore!"
The four Dao Masters drifted through the Chaos Sea for several more decades. Suddenly, Dao Master Luo's eyes lit up with delight. "I have sensed one of the universes!"
Zong Qi, Li Jian, and Sha Zhe were overjoyed. Drifting for decades without sensing a single familiar universe had driven them to near despair. Now, at last, they saw a glimmer of hope!
"That profound light must have been the doing of that beast Xu Ying! Using the unfathomable might of the Kaiyuan Divine Axe or some other numinous treasure, he cast us far away from the myriad universes!" Dao Master Li Jian laughed. "Little did he expect our luck to be this good. Our heading is correct, and we can finally return to the other shore!"
Zong Qi sneered, "Once we return, we will tear him into ten thousand pieces and scatter the Three Realms to the winds!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
The three laughed heartily, yet Dao Master Luo remained silent. Startled, the trio turned to look, only to find Dao Master Luo's face pale as iron.
"Fellow Daoists, the universe I sensed... is the Lou Realm."
A corner of Dao Master Luo's eye twitched violently, his voice raspy. "Yet the Lou Realm was already destroyed... a hundred million years ago..."
The hearts of Zong Qi and the other two skipped a beat. Dao Master Luo had sensed a universe that no longer existed?
How could such a thing happen?
Recalling their inability to sense the other shore, a terrifying conjecture crept into their minds.
Meanwhile, Xu Ying and the Ancestral God had also drifted through the Chaos Sea for decades without encountering a single universe.
Over these decades, the Ancestral God had grown scruffy and stubbled, looking considerably weathered.
Just then, Xu Ying's surprised voice rang out: "Ancestral God, there is a universe ahead!"
The Ancestral God rushed over immediately. Sure enough, amidst the dim, inscrutable Chaos Sea, a speck of light appeared—the faint glow radiating from a universe.
They steered the emerald rock multi-decked vessel forward, and the full panorama of the universe gradually entered their view.
Xu Ying and the Ancestral God stood frozen at the bow, completely dumbfounded.
"Tianjing?"
Chapter 865