The divine light in Lu Changhe's eyes faded. Across heaven and earth, many intangible things suddenly shattered, while certain collapsed structures reemerged. Karma snapped; above and below the heavens, everything was thrown into utter turmoil.
Countless immortals were stunned. For a time, their vision was engulfed in mist. Entangled karmic threads shifted in the blink of an eye—so rapidly that not even immortals could grasp a fraction of it.
An instant later, throughout Immortal Heaven, across past and present, a furor finally erupted.
Many mighty figures abandoned all pretense, casting their gazes downward. Unseen halos of immortal radiance surged beyond the void, signaling their imminent intervention.
In an instant, ripples of immortal light spread layer upon layer around Wei Yuan. Figure after figure emerged as multiple immortals manifested directly.
Wei Yuan stood high above Qingming, gazing serenely at the gathering of immortals. The immortals fell silent for a moment, looking back at him.
In their eyes, Wei Yuan resembled a black hole. His karma was obscured; nothing could be discerned.
This was a telltale sign of immensely weighty karma, as the immortals well knew. Wei Yuan's sudden slaying of Lu Changhe naturally carried unimaginable karma. Let alone ordinary immortals, even the mighty figures pulling the strings from behind the scenes could not fathom the karmic ties surrounding Wei Yuan at this moment.
Yet even if karma could not be read, the fact that not a single drop of mortal karmic luck remained on Wei Yuan was plain for all to see. Fury immediately washed over the faces of several immortals; halos of immortal power flared, poised to strike at any moment.
Yet beneath Wei Yuan's feet lay Qingming, teeming with the vibrant clamor of the mortal realm—a flourishing golden age unlike anything most immortals had ever witnessed. Straight thoroughfares crisscrossed the land; cities sprawled like scattered stars, dense with high towers; vast, boundless fields stretched to the horizon, where numerous massive steel puppets and countless domesticated spirit beasts toiled in the soil. And the ones piloting the puppets were astonishingly Dao Foundation cultivators.
Qingming's population had been growing at a breakneck pace, now nearing two hundred million.
Many immortals wore ferocious expressions, but inwardly they were calculating the cost: a single strike dropped here would inadvertently implicate countless mortals. Weighed down by karmic debt when the backlash arrived, they might only end up benefiting their own enemies.
Among the immortals who had manifested, Cui Zhengxing and Xu Youyi were naturally present, while Immortal Zhao Li stood in the outer, rear ranks. Cangwu stood at a distance, the gaze he directed toward Wei Yuan carrying a peculiar glint.
Lu Changhe's corpse did not fall, floating beside Wei Yuan.
Cui Zhengxing declared sternly, "The Seven Clans and Thirteen Prominent Families share the same roots and branches; every single lineage is of paramount importance! It was only through the painstaking blood and sweat of our immortal ancestors back then that we earned today's chance to break the deadlock. Wei Yuan, you have breached trust, broken your word, and assassinated Lu Changhe before all eyes! How grave is your sin! No one can protect you today!"
Wei Yuan merely said, "Since Mister Cui was the first to speak, pray be the first to strike."
Cui Zhengxing's face flushed red and drained pale by turns, never expecting Wei Yuan would publicly put him on the spot.
The process by which Wei Yuan had slain Lu Changhe had been clearly seen by all the immortals, save for one bizarre detail: not one of them knew how Lu Changhe's true spirit had vanished.
In their eyes, the true spirit had merely flashed for an instant before vanishing into thin air. Such a method was truly uncanny; without understanding it, none dared lightly cross hands with Wei Yuan.
Furthermore, Wei Yuan was effectively one with Qingming at this moment; attacking Wei Yuan was tantamount to attacking Qingming itself. And though Qingming had less than two hundred million people, it was extraordinarily prosperous, and practitioners were as numerous as ox hairs. Therefore, an immortal's strike descending here would inevitably trigger natural disasters. If tens of thousands died in Qingming as a result, the karmic debt incurred would likely equal slaughtering millions outside.
Even True Immortals were unwilling to taint themselves with such karmic debt and cause-and-effect. Moreover, as True Immortals, they had countless ways to kill; they could easily borrow someone else's blade rather than stain their own hands with karma.
Liumiao from not long ago was a living example—having somehow become coated in grievances, karma manifested at the critical juncture, causing him to take the full brunt of Wei Yuan's strike and perish on the spot.
His face dark, Cui Zhengxing made no further move. But an old man stepped out from the void. The immortal light cloaking him bore a distinct, grayish-black aura of decay, leaving a faint stench of rot wherever he passed.
In the shifting radiance around him, countless flowering trees could be seen withering and dying at rapid speed; even rocks and soil weathered and rotted away, disintegrating at last into flakes of tribulation ash.
This was the first time Wei Yuan had ever seen an immortal whose lifespan was near its end. This immortal was so old that he could barely control his immortal heaven world; what manifested was the rotting interior of his grotto-heaven.
He looked at Wei Yuan with muddy eyes, his gaze filled with undisguised complexity: hatred, jealousy, ferocity, and venomous resentment. Wei Yuan could not even fathom why the man harbored such immense malice toward him.
The immortal spoke with a thick, phlegmy rasp, saying slowly, "This immortal is Xu Shuhe of Northern Qi. Though aged, I have more than enough left in me to kill you!"
Wei Yuan's pupils narrowed.
Northern Qi also had an Xu family, but they were far away and had maintained a low profile in recent years, so their fame was muted.
The immortal ancestor of Northern Qi's Xu family was none other than Xu Shuhe. Rumors that his lifespan was drawing to a close had circulated many years ago, and with no talent capable of ascending to immortality emerging from the family, Northern Qi's Xu family had acted with great restraint over the past century, keeping their heads down and biding their time.
Never had Wei Yuan imagined that today, Xu Shuhe would emerge from seclusion, laying bare his murderous intent from the very start.
Wei Yuan's thoughts raced, and in an instant, he understood their backup plan. Clearly, none of the clan immortals wished to sacrifice themselves to drag Wei Yuan to the grave. Therefore, Xu Shuhe—whose lifespan was running out and whose family lacked a successor—became the perfect choice. He was with one foot in the grave anyway, perfectly positioned to drag Wei Yuan down with him in death, without having to care about harming mortals or being weighed down by karmic debt.
Wei Yuan had not expected them to have such a move prepared. In their earlier planning, not even True Monarch Yanshi had thought that Xu Shuhe was still alive, let alone capable of delivering a blow. At that time, Wei Yuan had concealed his killing intent so thoroughly that not even Yanshi knew he had resolved to assassinate Lu Changhe; only thus could they deceive the mighty figures behind the scenes.
Xu Shuhe extended an age-spotted hand, a pitch-black glow rising in his palm. He sneered, "When one grows old, one cannot bear the sight of young, tender things. Little fellow, do you have any last words?"
Wei Yuan's divine sense flashed like lightning. In an instant, he reached a decision, issuing a barrage of orders through the Flourishing of the Many Realms. In that moment, countless images surfaced in the minds of Qingming's cultivators; within a single breath, vast amounts of information were imparted into their hearts.
Every able-bodied mortal—even without completing Body Casting—naturally received this information in their minds.
Scene after scene showed all the immortals gathered above Qingming, as well as those who had not appeared in person but had struck at Qingming openly or from the shadows. It also included Lu Changhe's prior deeds, along with the sight of his floating corpse at this very moment.
Countless people felt their heads throbbing with splitting pain, but they also grasped the full cause and effect of the situation, understanding why the immortals sought to destroy Wei Yuan.
Suddenly, everyone seemed to hear the clanking rattle of chains, as though something that had hung upon a figure high in the sky had now been completely unburdened.
Someone cried out, "The Realm Lord has severed his karmic bonds with us!"
A scholar-cultivator froze, murmuring instinctively, "The Realm Lord does not want the immortals' strike to reach us, so he released the realm's defenses?"
"The karma has been cut as well!" This shout was exceptionally piercing, carrying across dozens of li—it came from a Golden Core Dharma Idol cultivator.
In just a few breaths, every mortal understood what was happening. Wei Yuan was no longer using Qingming's realm domain power to defend himself. That way, an immortal's strike would not spread to Qingming, nor trigger disasters natural or manmade.
Xu Shuhe was somewhat perplexed, asking involuntarily, "Junior, what are you doing now?"
Standing high above Qingming, Wei Yuan said placidly, "Nothing much. Just letting the people of Qingming know what is happening, and letting them see the true faces of you clan immortals."
Xu Shuhe was infuriated and barked, "Mere mortals are nothing more than ants! How are they worthy of knowing our visages? Truly, their deaths would not be worth regretting!"
Wei Yuan offered a faint smile. "The minds of Qingming's people have already been awakened. I merely let them know the truth of what transpired and the true faces of immortals. As for what they choose to do in the future, that will be entirely up to them. Who knows? Several centuries from now, some heavenly genius among them might uproot your Northern Qi Xu family entirely."
Xu Shuhe sneered continuously, his face twitching as wisps of black qi seeped from his age spots of various sizes. He said, "Uproot my Xu family? Delusional wishful thinking! Today I cast aside this ruined husk to rid the world of a scourge. My old friends from the other clans will naturally protect my Xu family's descendants. And before long, someone from my Xu family will ascend to immortality once more. You may die in peace; the future of the Xu family is not for you to worry about!"
With that, he jabbed out a finger, and a speck of black light slammed into Wei Yuan in a flash!
This was the strike of a True Immortal. In his youth, Xu Shuhe had also been a formidable True Immortal; though aged and decaying now, the power behind his strike was in no way inferior to Lu Changhe's.
Wei Yuan was blasted back hundreds of zhang in an instant, only to be yanked to a halt by several invisible chains. That sudden jerk forced him to endure the full power of Xu Shuhe's blow. Even his dharma body could not withstand it, and he immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood, which rained down toward the earth below.
Within the Flourishing of the Many Realms, dark clouds gathered and black winds swept across heaven and earth. In a single instant, countless mortals were flung into the sky; some fell into the sea, some smashed into tall buildings, and even more vanished directly into the howling wind.
Wei Yuan had just slain Lu Changhe, nearly exhausting all his trump cards. Having now voluntarily relinquished the defense of Qingming's realm domain, he could rely solely on his dharma body and own Dao power to defend himself, resulting in severe injuries from Xu Shuhe's single blow.
Meanwhile, high above in Immortal Heaven, Mister Gu held a Sub-Sage treasure, glaring from afar at True Monarch Yanshi's small courtyard. Immortal light rose and fell within the courtyard, where Yanshi stood by the gate, locked in a standoff with Mister Gu.
Yanshi was expressionless. "Do you truly intend to stop me?"
Mister Gu replied with calm poise, "How would I dare stop you? But while you possess the Patriarch's immortal sword, I hold a Sub-Sage relic. If you wish to leave, I will not bar your path; however, what might happen to View Master Zhu Yan inside is hard to say."
Yanshi looked to the side and said, "Come out. Stop hiding."
A Buddhist chant resonated from the void as an aged monk stepped forth. Bowing in greeting, he said, "Greetings, Palace Master Yanshi. Your discerning gaze is like a torch; this old monk could not conceal himself after all. If Palace Master does not leave, it equates to keeping both of us here. If you think about it carefully, it is quite a worthwhile trade."
At this time in Qingming, apart from the clan immortals, no other immortals manifested.
Wei Yuan soon took a second blow, spewing fresh blood once more. Xu Shuhe had little lifespan left, so every strike directly burned a portion of his life force, even using his decaying grotto-heaven as fuel, unleashing immense power.
Though gravely wounded, Wei Yuan's gaze remained clear and resolute as he patiently waited for an opening in his opponent.
Xu Shuhe sneered, "You had better draw upon the realm's power. Killing you like this is no fun at all. Stop your hypocritical virtue. If I clear out some mortal ants for you before I die, shouldn't you thank me properly?"
Wei Yuan did not reply, merely studying him intently, searching for every possible flaw.
At that moment, within Qingming, a mortal suddenly leaped onto a low roadside wall and cried out, "The Realm Lord would rather walk into death than bring harm to us! But we have all learned to read; we understand something of the sages' principles! I, Zhang San, may be unworthy, but I am no coward afraid to die! I am willing to use this body to shoulder a fraction of the burden for the Realm Lord! Let heaven and earth bear witness to this oath!"
As his voice echoed, a slender thread of karmic bond actually arose between heaven and earth, latching back onto Wei Yuan. Instantly, a glimmer of light so faint that even immortals could scarcely detect it illuminated on Wei Yuan.
Yet in the blink of an eye, more and more mortals and practitioners voiced the cry: "I am willing to shoulder the burden for the Realm Lord!" The voices converged into a torrential flood that swept across all of Qingming!
Even with immortals weighing heavily upon the realm, these millions upon millions of mortals and low-level cultivators who were regarded like ants, having understood the truth of what transpired, all chose to stand forward.
Even if death was the only outcome, they resolved to die on their feet, beside their Realm Lord.
In an instant, countless points of faint light lit up upon Wei Yuan. Though each light was tiny and frail, when gathered together, they shone so brilliantly that Xu Shuhe narrowed his eyes and was forced to turn his head away. The streak of black light he had just unleashed also disintegrated into ash and smoke amid the dazzling brilliance!
Feeling the hundreds of millions of light motes surrounding him, Wei Yuan finally understood:
So this is the will of the people.
Chapter 1135