Chapter 520: Karma Spun into Silk, Calamity Woven into a Net

Perhaps it was because his elder brother's grandson, after seeing the mission report, had shown a dejection at being mocked?

Although Fuling Zhenjun had always wanted to teach him a lesson, to make him face reality.

But when it really happened, it still didn't sit well in his heart.

To put it bluntly, it was just selfishness at work.

Path-Unity, Path-Unity—though one may have the power to shake the starry heavens, in the end one is still human, and humans are inherently exceedingly complex creatures.

Actually, if it weren't spoken out, it wouldn't be that serious—after all, Fuling Zhenjun had never thought to take Chi Jiuyu's life.

Nor had he ever thought to leave this matter unattended.

But now that it had been uncovered and laid out in the open, basking in the sunlight, it looked utterly sordid.

Lin Ji looked at him: "Everything, every bit of it, is the result of your own selfishness at work, and in the end you still wanted to shove the blame onto my junior sister."

At this point in the conversation, the look Jiling Zhenjun gave him had even become somewhat strange.

"Regarding this matter, I will get Li Yuangeng to give me an explanation."

Li Yuangeng, a Dongzhen of the Taishang Dao Sect.

The Star Domain Garrison Commander overseeing the Southern Star Domain—in other words, the Dao Lord of Yanlei.

Fuling Zhenjun opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

Lin Ji said no more either.

If there hadn't been this business of making Chi Jiuyu take the fall, he wouldn't have bothered to quibble over so much—after all, this really wasn't any big matter.

But since he had gone and done it, then he would quibble properly!

Beside him, Jiling Zhenjun hesitated a moment, but finally spoke:

"Senior, compared to all this… what about the matter of the human who defected?"

Although he had misspoken just now, this matter still had to be brought up.

Right now this matter was the most urgent, wasn't it!

Lin Ji glanced at him:

"It's fine."

Jiling Zhenjun paused:

"But that defected human may infiltrate the Central Continent. Should we halt all returning starship services in progress and then inspect the starry routes one by one?"

"A trifling matter—no need for such a great show of force. Just keep watch over the starry sky."

"Hm?"

They're already heading to the Central Continent, and this is still a trifling matter?

"As for the reasons behind it… that is not something you should know."

Jiling Zhenjun: "……"

What a familiar line.

……

……

Several hours later, outside the Central Continent.

A massive passenger starship hovered quietly, its tail propulsion engines spraying out fine motes of spirit energy.

Inside the starship, in a private cabin.

The projection device on the tabletop cast a star map of the entire star domain, updated two years ago.

As the name suggests, it was a star map encompassing the Four Directions Star Domains as well as the Central Continent.

From the very birth of the starry heavens, the footsteps of humanity had trod every corner of the starry sky.

Yin Zhihe stared blankly at the star map before her.

Her eyes reflected the Four Directions Star Domains—spreading out like feather after feather, encompassing countless stellar bodies, vast and boundless.

The stars shine and fade in but a flash of light; all beings are born and perish in silence.

Yet all of this began from the most insignificant point at the very center—

The Central Continent.

The starry heavens, which blaze forth countless miracles at every moment, began from the seemingly unremarkable Central Continent.

Began from…the selfless 'Tai' Ancestor.

"Central Continent…" she murmured softly, her gaze somewhat dazed.

How many years had it been since she herself returned to the Central Continent?

The time on the far side of the starry sky had been too long—long enough that she had even nearly forgotten her own past.

"If only everything weren't like this…"

If only there were no those undying 'Immortals'; if only it were the Cang Clan leading all beings, then everything…

Would it perhaps have been different?

Gradually, she recalled the past—the days when she was still in the Salvation Valley.

Under her master's arrangement, she and her junior sister had set off together for the starry sky, heading to a planet where a human civilization had just been born.

Spreading civilization, guiding them onto the Dao, connecting them with the starry heavens.

That's right—the humans, who paid no heed to foreign races, would, when it came to their own kind, send people over at the first instant to spread civilization.

She had witnessed with her own eyes those humans, after receiving the inheritance of civilization, launching great construction works and driving out the foreign races.

At that time she had not yet awakened and saw nothing wrong with it.

But now, on reflection, compared to the 'Tai' Ancestor who willingly transformed into the starry heavens to benefit all beings, the utmost selfless and sage—

These overbearing, domineering humans were simply selfish to the extreme!

Those immortal humans who refuse to die exude stench from every pore.

Huh~

She exhaled softly.

After closing her eyes and calming her thoughts, Yin Zhihe slowly opened them.

She reached out, picked up a candy from the dish on the table, peeled off its wrapper, and dropped the translucent sweet into her mouth.

A sweet, sugary flavor slowly spread from her tongue, carrying a cool chill.

【Dear passenger, this starship will initiate return jump in ten minutes. Please check your belongings and note any rule changes…】

【Ten minutes…】

Though she had imagined countless times the moment of returning to the Central Continent.

But now that it was upon her, she could not help feeling nervous, excited.

Finally, she could contribute her own strength to the Cang Clan's return to the Central Continent.

The decayed, ancient human race will surely be replaced by the Cang Clan, walking the correct path!

Her conviction grew even stronger!

Ding dong!

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Yin Zhihe paused, then said calmly, "Who is it?" The suite was equipped with a dedicated voice-transmission array, but only after the passenger inside responded could the person outside activate it.

"Hello, we're delivering you some fruit."

"…"

As she pressed a button beside the table, a transmission magical energy circuit lit up, and a plate of sliced fruit was delivered inside.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Thank you for choosing this flight. Qiu Zhen Shipping serves you wholeheartedly."

In truth, there was still plenty of fruit left unsold.

So they simply gave it to passengers in the suites, to leave a good impression.

These days, Jing Yue's business is growing larger, so Qiu Zhen must also stabilize its base.

"…"

Looking at the fruit before her, sensing the service staff gradually walking away outside the door, Yin Zhihe furrowed her brow slightly.

Even now…

The Reverse Body had only triggered a small portion.

Even if that boy guarding the Fuling Star System is useless, he's still a He Dao cultivator—surely he's not this incompetent?

And whether it was an illusion or not…

She felt that her journey so far had been far too smooth.

Aside from that one time when she threw out the Sacred Beast scale for aid, she had encountered no obstacles at all…

This was clearly abnormal.

Though she hated to admit it, the human race's overwhelming strength was undeniable.

High-level cultivators emerged endlessly—let alone He Dao, there were many Tong Xuan and even Dong Zhen.

"When faced with desperate odds, one must dare…"

Though she despised the Holy Emperor Yuan who spoke these words, the saying itself held truth.

And now that she had come this far, there was no turning back.

Success!

She would be the first awakened human to return to the Central Continent.

Failure!

Also within expectation.

Ten minutes later.

The starship hovering outside the Central Continent finally connected to the Tai Shang Dao Sect's Star Jump Array's towing program.

As transmission array patterns glowed across the ship's hull, the jump engine activated, and swirling vortexes of distortion appeared across the vessel's surface.

The black expanse of space rippled.

The entire starship vanished abruptly!

…

…

The return jump via the Star Jump Array lasted only an instant.

But to Yin Zhihe, that instant felt endlessly long.

The moment "Jump initiated" echoed in her ears, she pressed herself against the chairback, clenched her fists, held her breath, and closed her eyes.

Even her spiritual aura was suppressed to its lowest.

She thought she heard it—the sound of her own slowing heartbeat.

Thump!

In the interval before her heart beat again, she finally felt once more that terrifying, perfectly sealed, unyielding, indestructible principle that filled every inch of space.

Power capable of shaking entire planetary systems could not manifest even one ten-thousandth of its strength in this environment.

Many cultivators born in the stars, experiencing the Central Continent for the first time, felt discomfort—or even panic.

But Yin Zhihe felt only peace.

Her magic power flowed more smoothly; the Dao she cultivated leapt and resonated in joy.

The "flower in the mirror, moon on the water" that she had sought but could not obtain, distant beyond reach, was now laid out before her eyes with perfect clarity.

As magic power circulated within her body, a wisp of spiritual energy was swept along and drawn into her.

Immediately after, countless strands of spiritual energy surged in like waves, carrying a profound and ineffable Dao resonance, continuously flowing into her body.

Dao Merging, within arm's reach!

So easy, as if she only had to reach out a hand to pluck it down.

A trace of joy unconsciously rose on her face. She slowly opened her eyes, wanting to look once more at that strange yet familiar Central Continent.

Yet what greeted her eyes was a void utterly devoid of any concept, empty to the extreme.

Hmm?

She saw a single thread of silk "grow" out from her body, stretching toward the distance, not knowing where it connected to.

Yin Zhihe's heart was filled with bewilderment.

'This is... what happened?'

Turning her head slightly, she saw countless slender, graceful backs neatly arranged in rows stretching toward the distance, with no end in sight.

This scene was enough to make anyone shudder.

Yin Zhihe, already tense in her heart, was no exception. With a chill running down her back, she hurriedly turned to look at another direction.

What met her eyes was the same—dense, endless rows of neatly arranged backs.

With a sudden turn of her head, a face appeared before her eyes without any warning—Bai Xi, fair and delicate—making her pupils contract sharply.

And that face showed an expression identical to hers, even its appearance exactly the same as hers.

She opened her mouth to scream, only to discover that no matter how loud she was, not the slightest sound spread through this void empty to the extreme.

One after another, figures identical to her appeared like this.

Filling up and down, all directions, past and present.

And the threads of silk "growing" from their bodies kept interweaving and entwining, ultimately forming a "net" that covered all existence, as if capable of encompassing every concept.

Her vision blurred once more.

Countless "selves" vanished into nothing.

Looking down again, Yin Zhihe discovered she was firmly "stuck" by a "net," unable to move.

A clear and beautiful woman with white gauze covering her eyes, holding a small banner, stood amid the dim, profound, and thick "calamity."

The banner's surface flapped loudly in the heavy "calamity," four great characters shining brilliantly—

Fortune and Misfortune Are Mine. (End of Chapter)