Chapter 2114: Heading to the Magus Civilization Battlefield

Sage Laozi and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi did not tell Duan Ning about her past life.

Memories of a past life were something she had to uncover for herself.

If Sage Laozi and the others revealed too much, they would inevitably become entangled in the karma surrounding her reincarnation.

As sage-level powerhouses standing at the very pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, their understanding of the Great Dao ran deeper than most.

That was precisely why they were even more cautious about interfering with matters of karma.

As for why they had previously gone to such great lengths, even under immense pressure, to find Sect Master Tongtian and interfere with his growth in this lifetime, there were several reasons...

Before Dao Ancestor Hongjun departed from the Immortal Realm, he had foretold that the civilization would eventually face a great calamity.

He had also warned that conflicts among the Buddhist, Daoist, and Yao factions would only grow more intense, and that when the time came, Sect Master Tongtian would be needed once again.

Beyond that, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Sage Laozi still felt guilty toward Tongtian, who had perished all those years ago.

For all these reasons, they had taken the initiative to search for his reincarnation.

Yet even figures as powerful as Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Sage Laozi could still make mistakes.

The workings of the Great Dao and matters of karma were simply too mysterious and profound.

Of course, based on what Duan Ning had told them, Sage Laozi and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi now had a general idea of where Tongtian’s reincarnation might be.

Combined with Laozi’s own deductions, the answer gradually became clear.

“Junior Brother must have gone to the Magus Civilization battlefield,” Laozi said. “And he most likely went there as a rogue cultivator.”

“Mhm.” Celestial Venerable Yuanshi nodded and fell silent.

Sensing the atmosphere growing awkward again, Duan Ning ended her transformation and quietly moved over to Xuan Du’s side.

“Senior Brother, do you think we should...” Celestial Venerable Yuanshi suddenly began.

“No.” Before he could finish, Laozi raised a hand. “It was only some time ago, shortly after I learned of Ning’er’s identity, that I sensed another change in the karmic fluctuations surrounding our Immortal Realm Civilization.”

“And this time, they seem to be shifting in an unfavorable direction...” Laozi added.

“I cannot say for certain whether it has anything to do with our interference in Tongtian’s reincarnation.”

He fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

“In any case, since Master already made his arrangements before departing, perhaps we should stop interfering and let nature take its course.”

Follow the natural course of the Dao, and govern through non-action.

That had always been Laozi’s philosophy.

After making several attempts and realizing that the course of events could not be forcibly changed, Laozi eventually gave up on actively interfering with Tongtian’s karma. Instead, he chose to remain true to his own Dao.

The more one interfered, the more mistakes one risked making. Sometimes, doing nothing was the wiser choice.

When Laozi mentioned that the karmic trajectory of the Immortal Realm Civilization had once again begun shifting in an unfavorable direction, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi’s expression immediately grew solemn.

His first thought was of the Chan Sect legions he had just dispatched beyond the Immortal Realm, along with the large portion of the Immortal Realm Civilization’s main forces that had already entered the Magus Civilization battlefield.

Could this latest karmic anomaly be coming from that direction again?

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi did not know.

Even Laozi, the sage most accomplished in divination and deduction within the Immortal Realm Civilization, probably could not say for certain.

For now, however, everything on that battlefield appeared to be progressing smoothly. There were no obvious signs of trouble.

“Does that mean we can’t do anything?” Celestial Venerable Yuanshi could not help asking.

The Dao he followed was fundamentally different from Laozi’s.

Laozi had already chosen to let events unfold naturally. Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, however, still wanted to make one more attempt.

He had always believed that human effort could overcome fate. That was precisely what he had done during the Great Investiture of the Gods all those years ago.

Had Celestial Venerable Yuanshi simply stood aside back then and followed Laozi’s philosophy of non-action, how could the disciples of the Chan Sect possibly have competed against the Jie Sect, which had been overflowing with talent and overwhelming strength at the time?

Laozi did not answer. With his eyes closed, he seemed to have withdrawn from everything around him.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi looked at him for a moment before his gaze drifted toward Duan Ning. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

In this lifetime, Sect Master Tongtian and the three Xiaos were biological siblings. That meant the karmic bond between Duan Ning and Duan Po was naturally extremely deep.

For the time being, that connection might even surpass the karmic ties Duan Po shared with Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Laozi.

After all, the three of them had only been siblings in a past life.

In this life, Duan Ning was the one who shared a genuine bloodline connection with Tongtian’s reincarnation.

If they wanted to help Sect Master Tongtian grow more quickly without directly interfering with his karma, then perhaps Duan Ning was the answer.

Through her, they might be able to locate Duan Po and provide him with assistance through reasonable means, allowing him to grow faster without forcibly altering the course of his life.

If they handled things this way, perhaps they would not disturb the natural workings of the Great Dao.

And if so, they might also avoid causing any further unfavorable changes to the karma of the Immortal Realm Civilization.

With that thought in mind, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi walked over to Duan Ning.

“Martial Niece, are you willing to go find your big brother?”

In her previous life, Duan Ning had indeed been Celestial Venerable Yuanshi’s martial niece—well... nieces—so Yuanshi did not find it awkward to address her that way now.

Duan Ning was naturally worried about her big brother. Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded.

“Very well. I’ll send you to the Magus Civilization battlefield. Hopefully, you’ll be able to reunite with your big brother soon,” Celestial Venerable Yuanshi said.

“However, you must not tell him anything about his reincarnated identity. Aside from that, you may help him however you can,” he instructed.

Duan Ning nodded, though she did not fully understand the reasoning behind it. As Laozi’s disciple, she had dabbled in divination over the past few hundred years and understood that matters of destiny and karma were not to be tampered with lightly.

There was a reason the Immortal Realm had the saying, The secrets of heaven must not be revealed.

Aside from those instructions, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi also told Duan Ning to make one final visit to Jade Void Palace before departing for the Magus Civilization battlefield.

There were several things he wanted to give her.

“Those treasures suit you exceptionally well. Although some were destroyed long ago, I should still be able to recreate them,” Celestial Venerable Yuanshi said.

“The Primordial Golden Bucket, Golden Dragon Scissors, Dragon-Binding Cord...” He paused, then turned toward Laozi.

“Senior Brother, I’ll need to borrow some materials from you. You still have quite a bit of Mount Shou Copper left, don’t you?”

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi had no shortage of top-grade materials himself. He was simply missing one or two specific ones.

Sage Laozi did not respond, seemingly having already entered meditation.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi did not mind. He knew perfectly well where the artifact-refining chamber of the Palace of Eight Views was.

After gathering the materials he needed, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi wasted no time and headed toward the exit.

Just as he was about to pass through the gates of the Palace of Eight Views, Laozi’s voice suddenly sounded behind him.

“Junior Brother, you wish to interfere with Tongtian’s karma because you want what is best for him. You want him to grow faster. But by doing so, we may instead cause events to develop in a direction neither of us can predict.”

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi stopped in his tracks. He glanced back at the Palace of Eight Views, then thought about the Dao he had followed throughout his long life.

After a brief silence, he clenched his teeth. “I’m simply doing what I believe is right!”

With that, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi departed, flying toward Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun.

After his departure, Duan Ning stared at the now-empty entrance of the Palace of Eight Views.

Then she looked toward her master, who had already returned to meditation, before finally glancing at Xuan Du beside her.

After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously asked, “Master... am I still supposed to go to the Magus Civilization battlefield?”

Laozi remained silent for a while. When he finally spoke, his answer was rather intriguing.

“Do you want to?”

“Of course!” Duan Ning replied immediately, nodding eagerly.

Aside from wanting to find her big brother, Duan Ning’s lively personality had never been particularly suited to remaining quietly within the Palace of Eight Views and following Laozi’s Dao.

Some prestigious orthodox sects with stricter standards might have described someone like her as having “unresolved worldly ties”.

Laozi let out another sigh.

“Go, then.”

Upon hearing this, Duan Ning could barely hide her joy.

Even so, in front of Sage Laozi, she managed to restrain herself, merely winking at Xuan Du to share her excitement.

At the same time, the thought of suddenly leaving the Palace of Eight Views, where she had lived for several centuries, left her feeling a little sad.

Learning that she and her brother might be reincarnations of certain figures had also placed considerable pressure on her heart.

Still, Duan Ning’s happy-go-lucky nature kept her from showing much gloom or worry.

Sage Laozi seemed to see right through her. He finally opened his eyes, looked deeply at Duan Ning, and said, “No matter what happens, you will always be my disciple.”

Sometimes, a single sentence was enough to move someone deeply.

“Master!”

Duan Ning immediately dropped to her knees and bowed deeply three times, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

Laozi merely waved.

“Go, now.”

Then he vanished from the Palace of Eight Views.

When Duan Ning finally stood and wiped her tears, Xuan Du was already waiting beside her with the warm smile of a kindly old man.

“Since you’re heading to the Magus Civilization battlefield, I’ll make a few more batches of pills for you to take along.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Duan Ning replied, feeling a lump forming in her throat.

Throughout the entire Primordial World, the only person whose alchemy surpassed Xuan Du’s was probably their master, Laozi himself.

Xuan Du had once mentioned that their junior brother, Dong Fangbai, was not much inferior to him in alchemy either.

Unfortunately, Duan Ning had yet to meet him.

Coincidentally, Xuan Du brought up both of her junior brothers at that moment.

“Although White Eyebrow and Dong Fangbai won’t be going to the Magus Civilization battlefield themselves, I’ve heard that their disciples have already set out. They’ll most likely be heading to the same battlefield as you.”

“If you run into trouble, you can seek help from the Mount Shu Sword School or Tianyi Palace. You and I are the only direct-line disciples of our Human Sect. Be extremely careful out there,” Xuan Du reminded her.

Compared to their master, who was often elusive and difficult to find, Xuan Du seemed much more like a kindly old grandfather when it came to looking after Duan Ning.

“I will, Senior Brother,” Duan Ning replied.

***

While Duan Ning prepared to leave the Palace of Eight Views for the Magus Civilization battlefield, the Wu forces from the Reincarnation Underworld of Primordial World were also nearly ready to depart.

Aside from Ancestral Witch Houtu, the most renowned powerhouses among them were undoubtedly the ten underworld kings, each possessing quasi sage-level strength.

However, the ten underworld kings were responsible for guarding the Reincarnation Underworld and could not easily leave their posts.

Therefore, the one chosen to lead the Wu forces on this campaign was Zhong Kui, one of the Four Grand Judges of the Underworld.

Possessing quasi sage-level strength and wielding the acquired spiritual treasure known as the Soul-Snaring Hook, Zhong Kui was one of the most outstanding young talents the Reincarnation Underworld had produced over the past tens of thousands of years.

Before setting out, Zhong Kui was even granted a personal audience with Houtu, the ancestral witch.