Inconstant Heavenly Fate

"Whew, it's finally over." Having walked far beyond the reaches of Demon City, Lu Yang and Jiang Lianyi peeled off their Invisibility Talismans. "It isn't over yet. I used the power of my rudimentary Dao fruit to place Zhu Tian under control. There are too many eyes and ears around here; once the crowd has mostly dispersed, we'll go pay him a visit." ... While the clash between half-immortals captivated the realm, few paid attention to the three battles between the Tribulation Transcendence experts. Among those three, the gap was widest between Jiang Mingzi and the Taowu Clan Head, leaving the least suspense regarding the outcome. Backed by his ancient ancestor, Jiang Mingzi fought with far more ferocity than ever before. Ever since the Taowu Clan joined the Demon Empire, Clan Head Ji Youming had spent his days flaunting his borrowed might to bully the Phoenix Clan. The Phoenix Clan hadn't dared to retaliate, fearful of handing the Demon Empire a pretext to dispatch troops. Now, the chance to strike back had finally arrived. "Jiang Mingzi, I think we can sit down and talk!" Ji Youming coughed up mouthfuls of blood, a chill gripping his heart. This old fellow was beating him to death, holding nothing back whatsoever. "Talk, my ass! You die today!" Jiang Mingzi possessed a fiery temper; previously, his station had restrained him from acting so unruly. "Fine, fine, fine! You forced my hand!" Incensed, Ji Youming burned his essence blood, exhaled billows of smoke, and summoned lightning. The lightning that had crackled during the clash between Zhu Tian and Jiang Lianyi hadn't been conjured by either of them, but rather by Ji Youming. "Luotian Immortal Lightning!" The lightning seemed to forge a miniature world. Rivers and mountains manifested amidst the clouds, while myriad beasts and plants took shape from pure lightning. Then the world collapsed into ruin, and the lightning condensed into a surging torrent of purplish-blue slurry that crashed violently toward Jiang Mingzi! A few Body Integration stage cultivators noticed the disturbance and felt their eyelids twitch. Had they stood in the path of that lightning, not even their bones would have remained. "By this power I decree the rule: [Within three breaths, you shall not dodge!] Die, old bastard!" Ji Youming roared. Jiang Mingzi unfurled the Banner of Five Virtues and waved it vigorously. The banner billowed proudly, displaying the prominent ancient characters for Virtue, Righteousness, Benevolence, Propriety, and Faithfulness. When the purplish-blue lightning slurry splashed against it, not an ounce of its destructive power took effect. "How is that possible!" Ji Youming was utterly dumbfounded. That technique was among his absolute trump cards—how could it be nullified so effortlessly? Jiang Mingzi sneered. Why would he ever explain that the Banner of Five Virtues was a premier defensive treasure capable of scrambling yin and yang, rendering it impervious to all dharmas? "By this power I decree the rule: [Within three breaths, you shall not dodge!]" "Inconstant Heavenly Fate!" An inexplicable force converged at Jiang Mingzi's fingertip. Sensing imminent peril, Ji Youming turned to flee, but bound by the decree, he could not escape for those breaths and was forced to endure the strike head-on. "Don't think you're the only one who knows how to defend!" Ji Youming pulled a lion pelt from his storage ring and held it in front of him. This was a defensive treasure crafted from the remains of the previous clan head, Ji Xiong. *Pfft.* Jiang Mingzi's finger punched straight through the indestructible pelt, tapping Ji Youming directly between the brows. "What did you do?!" Ji Youming felt something shift, yet he couldn't put his finger on what had changed. Jiang Mingzi had no intention of explaining his technique's effects to his enemy. The two resumed their clash, but Ji Youming's maneuvers began to go wrong at every turn. Either the circulation of his cultivation technique snagged, or his hand seals lagged half a beat behind, plagued by endless bizarre mishaps. Inconstant Heavenly Fate was a karmic divine ability that suppressed an opponent's luck for a set duration. In other words, it cursed Ji Youming with terrible misfortune. The two fought for hundreds of exchanges. Ji Youming was already no match for Jiang Mingzi; coupled with the impenetrable defense of the Banner of Five Virtues neutralizing every attack and the wretched luck causing continuous blunders, he spent nearly all of those hundreds of bouts getting pummeled. Jiang Mingzi struck with ruthless precision, every blow aiming for the kill, until finally... "Aaargh—!" Transforming into a thousand-zhang phoenix, Jiang Mingzi tore open Ji Youming's chest with claws as hard as tempered steel. Seeing the writing on the wall, Ji Youming abandoned his physical shell. Projecting his soul and burning his lifespan, he made a desperate escape! "Hmph, quite the swift runner, aren't you?" Jiang Mingzi snorted coldly. He hadn't expected Ji Youming to flee so decisively; unless he burned his own lifespan in kind, catching him would be impossible. "Could it be that I fought too savagely just now and terrified him?" Paying Ji Youming no further heed, Jiang Mingzi stored the fallen corpse into his storage ring and headed toward Demon City to seek out his ancient ancestor. ... "Pant, pant, pant—" Still gripped by lingering terror, Ji Youming ceased burning his lifespan once he saw Jiang Mingzi wasn't giving chase. *Returning to the clan in a soul state carries far too great a risk of being discovered along the way.* *I must seize someone's body and use it to head back!* Ji Youming arrived outside the city walls. Gathered here were low-level cultivators lacking senior protectors, none of whom had dared to enter the city to watch the battle. Anyone among them would suffice. "You'll do!" Without a second thought, he plunged directly into a young cultivator's spiritual platform. The young cultivator's soul was seated in meditation. At the sight of Ji Youming, he jumped in fright. "Kid, what's your name?" Ji Youming sneered wickedly. Currently in his true form, his hideous countenance was enough to terrify crying children into silence. "I-I'm called Kong Hao." The young cultivator named Kong Hao was visibly rattled. "Kong Hao, is it? I'll remember you... Wait, where did these iron bars come from?" Just as Ji Youming moved to attack Kong Hao and perform body seizure, he discovered an iron-barred partition separating them. "This is a seal... Why would there be a seal inside your body? Who is sealed in here?" Ji Youming was utterly baffled when a familiar, chilling voice suddenly rang out. "It's sealing me, of course!" Ji Youming whipped his head around and found another Taowu locked behind the bars. Trembling from head to toe, he cried out in shock, "Ji Xiong!" Ji Xiong was blind in one eye. His voice sounded as if something were caught in his throat, producing a raspy, grating chuckle that carried unmistakable gloating. "Ji Youming, you committed treason against your superior, rebelling to usurp my seat as clan head! Did you ever think this day would come?" "Wh-what are you going to do!" In his prime, he naturally would have had nothing to fear from the former clan head. But having just survived a bloody ordeal against Jiang Mingzi, he was at his absolute weakest. Encountering the old clan head now, he had no choice but to take a beating. "What am I going to do? You're going to stay locked in here with me, of course!" Ji Xiong roared, bringing his might down to suppress Ji Youming! This was the space that sealed Ji Xiong. Ji Youming could have walked away freely, but how could Ji Xiong ever let his bitter enemy slip through his fingers? He had been trapped in this place for so many years; while he hadn't figured out how to unravel the seal, he had thoroughly mastered how to seal someone else inside! ... Half a day later, the battle of Demon City finally drew to a close. The confrontation between two ancient half-immortals sent shockwaves throughout the world. Ji Youming had vanished, his life or death unconfirmed. The clash pitting two Dragon Clan Tribulation Transcendence elders against the Dijiang Clan elder and the Jiuying Clan forefather ended without an official victor. However, anyone with discerning eyes understood that was merely a diplomatic statement; both the Dijiang elder and the Jiuying forefather had suffered grave injuries requiring extended recuperation. Inside the Demon City Imperial Palace, Zhu Tian assumed human form and sat upon the imperial throne that symbolized supreme authority. "Your Majesty..." Wrapped in bandages, the Dijiang Clan elder attended at his side. "That's enough. Step down, there's nothing for you to do here," Zhu Tian waved him away irritably. Once the elder departed, two figures—a man and a woman—materialized within the Imperial Palace. It was Jiang Lianyi and Lu Yang. With only three people present, the vast palace felt exceptionally cavernous. Zhu Tian rubbed his hands eagerly, greeting them with a beaming smile as he vacated the throne. "Fellow Daoist Jiang, please, have a seat! The chair was rather chilly, but I've already warmed it up for you." Jiang Lianyi turned to Lu Yang. "Senior Brother, would you like to sit?" Lu Yang: "..." *You want me, a mere human, to sit on the throne of the Demon Empire's sovereign?* Lu Yang glanced toward Zhu Tian. "Why don't you sit?" The three traded polite deferrals back and forth until Zhu Tian finally resolved the dilemma by producing two more imperial thrones from his storage ring. Arranged in a circle, the three chairs bore an uncanny resemblance to rural folk gathered around a hearth for an idle chat. Jiang Lianyi cut straight to the question she yearned most to have answered: "Do you know where my husband is?" "Ah? He's still alive?"