Chapter 475 - 474: Karmic Link Exchange

Chapter 475: Chapter 474: Karmic Link Exchange

Chapter 474: Karmic Link Exchange

Cultivators who could reach the Divine Transformation realm were, in the vast majority of cases, already considered great figures in their own right.

Yet at this moment, the mindset of these great figures shifted simultaneously.

The Dao of Causality was without question one of the supreme Great Daos of the world. If the Three Thousand Great Daos were ranked, the Dao of Causality would unquestionably place within the top ten.

Correspondingly, it was also infamous for being one of the most difficult Great Dao laws to grasp.

Since ancient times, not a single cultivator at or above the Nascent Soul realm had ever managed, during the moment of Nascent Soul awakening, to capture the Dao Rhythm of karmic links and entangle it upon their Nascent Soul.

This was a Great Dao that normally required a fortuitous postnatal opportunity—finding a rule-based artifact—and then using the insight of at least a Divine Transformation realm cultivator to analyze it, merely to gain the barest grasp of its laws.

Every instance of directly gazing upon the Dao of Causality was a tremendous opportunity even for Divine Transformation realm experts.

And yet, no one could have imagined that such an opportunity would arrive so suddenly.

"Who... exactly is this person?"

Within the exchange of divine awareness, someone finally lost patience and voiced the question.

In truth, they could all tell that the figure shrouded in immortal tribulation lightning possessed the exact same aura as the Demon Sect Holy Saint who had earlier entered the pillar of light. Even now, though the other was clad in lightning armor and fire robes, there was not the slightest change in his appearance.

But they didn’t dare believe it.

Who could believe that the figure in the sky, seemingly capable of destroying the world, was the same Demon Sect Holy Saint who, upon entering the pillar of light earlier, hadn’t even reached the Nascent Soul realm in aura?

Who could believe that the figure now surrounded by the Dao Rhythm of the Dao of Causality was a youth who had cultivated for barely eighteen years?

At this moment, however, a woman’s voice of indeterminate age let out a soft sigh within the divine awareness exchange.

"There’s no need to doubt it. This person... is indeed that Demon Sect Holy Saint."

The exchange of divine awareness fell abruptly silent.

The speaker was not the strongest among them, yet none would question her words.

Tower Master Yue Xuanji of the Heavenly Divination Tower—on matters of judgment like this, she possessed absolute authority.

"This child’s fate is obscure and unfathomable. He seems to possess an Artifact that obscures divination. Even I, using the stars as my board and the sun and moon as guides, can divine only very little."

Her ethereal voice continued, "But I still obtained some information. For instance, he is the Demon Sect Holy Saint who appeared earlier—Luo Wusheng—and moreover..."

Her voice paused, then resumed with a tone that sounded like a lament over the changing of the times:

"At this very moment, he is merely... advancing to the Nascent Soul realm."

The gathered cultivators were aghast!

As Divine Transformation realm experts, they had seen more than enough of the world. Many events that shook the heavens and earth in the eyes of ordinary people could be faced by them with calm detachment.

But at this instant, they felt as though the worldview they had spent thousands of years cultivating was being slammed into the ground and ground to dust, over and over again.

Advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, surviving an immortal tribulation, and even summoning an immortal tribulation to attack an enemy—any one of these was already more than enough to strain their nerves. Yet compared to having a Nascent Soul entwined with the Dao of Causality, all of that was merely child’s play.

What did it mean for a Nascent Soul to be entwined with the karmic links Dao Rhythm?

It meant that the Demon Sect Holy Saint could choose the Great Dao of Causality—something even Divine Transformation realm experts could barely grasp the surface of—as his own fundamental Great Dao, truly attaining the Dao through karmic links!

In the entire history of the cultivation world, legend said that only one person had ever accomplished such a feat.

The founder of the ancient Daoist Sect lineage, the Dao Ancestor.

Hiss—

Within the divine awareness exchange, many Divine Transformation realm cultivators sucked in a sharp breath, silently etching the name Demon Sect Holy Saint Luo Wusheng into their memories.

This man’s terrifying beyond words!

"With such talent, why isn’t he a disciple of my Evil Ghost Lineage? I’d even hand over my sect master position to him! Heaven is truly unfair!"

"Old Heavenly Ghost, don’t shout nonsense. Aren’t our Yin Province six veins originally sects that split off from the Demon Sect’s founding ancestors? Ten thousand years ago, we were all one family... say, Fairy Yuqin, do you think it’s still possible for your Pure Maiden Vein to form a marriage alliance with the Demon Sect?"

"Fairy Yuqin has a good idea. This youthful maiden—ah, stupid fox—no, this youthful maiden thinks everyone might as well keep watching. That Demon Sect Holy Saint may not be so simple after all..."

"What does Tower Master Yue mean by that?"

"—You still haven’t noticed? The Demon Sect Holy Saint has not yet fully entered the Nascent Soul realm. In other words, he has not yet chosen his fundamental Dao."

The final response did not come from Yue Xuanji, but from the Sword Sect Master, who had remained taciturn from the very beginning and suddenly interjected.

Though he rarely spoke, no one would ever ignore his words.

In this exchange of divine awareness, this Sword Sect Master—whose cultivation stood at the peak of the Divine Transformation realm—could basically be regarded as the strongest present.

Thus, everyone’s attention once again converged on the battlefield above the Royal City.

Still, none of them believed that the Demon Sect Holy Saint’s Nascent Soul advancement could produce any further surprises.

Could he really not choose the Dao of Causality?

...

Above the Royal City.

Luo Wusheng... truly did not choose to attain the Dao right away.

Because he discovered that the Nascent Soul Tree within his dantian still showed no sign of stopping its growth.

At the same time, the immortal tribulation in the heavens was about to descend once more.

This time, it was five bolts of lightning.

The previous method could no longer be used. Even if he sacrificed the remaining half of his physical body, it would be completely insufficient to transform and control five immortal tribulation bolts.

At most, he could control three—and even then, there was no guarantee it would be enough to kill his opponent.

Fortunately, he now had a new skill at his disposal.

As for acquiring the Dao of Causality Dao Rhythm, Luo Wusheng could say he was both surprised and unsurprised.

The surprise lay in the fact that he truly hadn’t expected this legendary Dao Rhythm to be obtained so easily.

The unsurprising part was mainly because of the Red String of Causality Artifact.

Among rule-based artifacts, that red string was absolutely top-tier. Ordinary rule-based artifacts didn’t even allow one to see Karmic link threads, let alone possess the ability to transfer "results" along those threads.

Beyond that, Luo Wusheng knew that the karmic links entangling him were unusually numerous... for example, the karmic link he had once picked up in the Sword Emperor’s secret realm.

From the perspective of Dao Rhythm laws, that too counted as a form of karmic destiny.

There also seemed to be other factors at play, but they were not something Luo Wusheng could see through at the moment.

"The derived ability is actually quite interesting... It’s far inferior to the power of the Red String of Causality, and I still can’t see the Karmic link threads themselves, but it is an ability that my normal self would find hard to directly use. With the immortal soul upon me right now, I can at least give it a try..."

In truth, Luo Wusheng felt that the abilities of the immortal soul were absurdly overpowered. He had originally thought it was merely a simple amplification of spiritual energy, but after actually using it, he discovered that the immortal soul he had fused with brought about an all-around enhancement.

Spiritual energy, physical body, spiritual awareness, innate abilities—even Dao comprehension itself could all be amplified.

And this Human Immortal Stairway was even more special. With every step climbed, one could feel something akin to shedding mortality and ascending toward immortality... If a Peak Divine Transformation expert in the Ancient Heavenly Gate were to ascend a true Human Immortal Stairway, could they possibly shatter the barrier to ascension itself?

Luo Wusheng didn’t know. He simply began to quietly invoke the faint strand of Dao of Causality Rhythm entwined around his Nascent Soul Tree.

This strand of Dao of Causality Rhythm was very special. It had been derived from his insights during the last use of the Red String of Causality. In theory, it should have been an ability to transfer ill outcomes—but unfortunately, his understanding of karmic links was not that deep. So he took a step back and evolved it into a new application.

Karmic Link Exchange.

Gazing from afar at the gigantic roc in the heavens, Luo Wusheng extended a finger and pointed.

In the unseen depths, Luo Wusheng felt something peel away from his own body and entangle itself around the spirit roc in the distance. At the same time, something from the other side was likewise stripped away and wrapped around him.

The difference was that what had bound itself to him was now completely locked in place, while what had left him seemed unable to persist for long—it would soon twist back and reattach itself.

But Luo Wusheng’s goal had already been achieved.

Thunder roared furiously in the heavens as five pale bolts of lightning came crashing down.

Yet their target was no longer the Luo Wusheng they had locked onto earlier.

The five immortal tribulation bolts instead locked firmly onto the gigantic roc at the horizon and surged toward it.

The consequence of bearing the immortal tribulation had been temporarily transferred onto it by Luo Wusheng.

Without a doubt, the already gravely wounded spirit roc—after taking this five-in-one immortal tribulation—would at the very least fall into a near-death state, and there was even a real possibility of both body and soul being annihilated.

Yet Luo Wusheng’s heart sank.

For at the moment he sensed what kind of karmic link he had received in exchange, he also saw changes appear upon the roc’s enormous body.

The countless tentacles that had flashed into existence before reappeared once more upon it.

This time, however, the pressure emanating from those innumerable tentacles was hundreds of times more terrifying than before.

The tentacles were covered in bizarre patterns, exuding an aura of twisted evil and ominous corruption, giving one the deeply uncomfortable sensation of staring directly into the ugliest depths of the human heart.

"Ascending... to immortality..."

The hoarse voice sounded like a murmured dream, stirring obsessive delusions buried deep within the heart.

Facing the five immortal tribulation bolts crashing straight toward it, countless tentacles lashed about as the aura of the gigantic roc began to surge without restraint.

In the span of a single breath, it had already reached the peak of the Divine Transformation realm.

Then, in the very next instant, it was as if some kind of boundary had been torn open.

At that moment, the lightning of the immortal tribulation completely engulfed the enormous shadow.

Luo Wusheng quietly gazed at that expanse of pale lightning, like a vast thunder pool.

A trace of pity flickered in his eyes.

In his ears, beneath the murmured chant of "ascending to immortality," another voice was gradually becoming clear.

"Kill... you..."

Luo Wusheng let out a soft sigh and took another step toward the heavens.

At this point, the Human Immortal Stairway formed by the immortal soul was fully traversed.

Within his dantian, the Nascent Soul Tree did not grow any new branches. Instead, the sound of the Great Dao resounded around it, and upon the tree’s trunk, something began to slowly form—something resembling Dao Rhythm, yet seemingly of a higher order than Dao Rhythm itself...

...

Netherland.

A sea region where wind and thunder converged.

At the center of the sea, an egg as large as a human body began to tremble, dense cracks spreading across its surface.

Soon, the shell shattered.

A golden fish leapt out of the egg and splashed into the sea.

In an instant, towering waves surged across the waters.

Riding one of those waves, the golden-scaled fish burst out of the sea.

During this process, its form rapidly transformed. The golden scales stretched and elongated, while the fins on either side spread wide.

Golden light blazed forth.

From within that radiance, a roc covered in golden feathers flew out, reaching the wind and thunder above the clouds in the blink of an eye. Its speed was so fast that it faintly seemed to tear through space with its wings.

A satisfied glint flashed through the crimson-gold pupils of the roc.

"Not bad. The Buddhist sect has kept its word. Now that your Golden-Winged Roc Origin Form has been completed, the failure of the other matters is of no consequence. Once you pass through your period of weakness, I will naturally obtain what you deserve for you... Heh. The Netherland of today is no longer an era ruled by the nine-tailed foxes."

As he finished speaking, the roc suddenly displayed a look of humility, as if possessed by another persona.

"Everything shall be as the Ancestor commands."

<+>

Cultivation Realm:

1, Qi Refining

2, Foundation Establishment

3, Golden Core

4, Nascent Soul

5, Divine Transformation (Formerly Known as Tribulation Crossing)

6, Tribulation Transcendence

7, Land Immortal

Note: Link to the character Illustration:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD