Chapter 1581: The Terrifying Patience of the Upper Realm Immortal Sect

The barrier walls of the Golden Sea Domain were incomparably vast; even Heavenly Beings could not be omniscient and omnipotent, monitoring every place, every single point, let alone a place casually chosen by a Void Refinement cultivator.

In fact, the cultivator himself did not know where he would leave the domain from.

Yet, it was exactly so.

When True Venerable Ji Shan flew toward the barrier wall, not far from him, a youth in blue quietly watched him, having already begun waiting several hundred years ago.

True Venerable Ji Shan had the appearance of a fair-skinned scholar; his thoughts were occupied with many things, and he looked straight past the blue-clad youth.

Even his cultivator divine soul's instincts gave no reaction whatsoever; he simply hurried past the blue-clad youth, stepped into the barrier wall in a single stride, and as wind rose and clouds surged, the world-breaking phenomenon of Jin Chong Guang blooming appeared along with it.

"A young Void Refinement cultivator…"

"A junior…"

Jiang Ding murmured.

Once, the Void Refinement cultivators in his eyes had always been ancient and powerful beings, yet now they were actually little whippersnappers — only a little over ten thousand years old, having ascended to Void Refinement less than five thousand years ago.

"And karma,"

"is it truly so bizarre and unknown?"

"Is my manipulation of karma a mistake? After all, the sword is what I excel at. This sort of hidden, behind-the-scenes guiding of karma may very well spell danger for me…"

True Venerable Ji Shan had already stepped into the barrier wall of the Golden Sea Domain in a single stride, triggering the phenomenon, about to completely miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — an opportunity planned and waited for over several hundred years.

Yet Jiang Ding hesitated.

He now possessed none of the decisiveness a sword cultivator ought to have.

Why?

Because, at this very moment, he suddenly discovered that True Venerable Ji Shan's philandering Dao Merging Divine Lord father was actually the Shadow Puppet Divine Lord of old!

Back in the day, when he had dueled the inheritor sword cultivator of the Thunder Yang Heaven Sword Realm, he had been ambushed by three Dao Merging Divine Lords.

They were respectively the Shadow Puppet Divine Lord of the Immortal Artifact Sect, the Longevity Tortoise Divine Lord of the Thunder Yang Heaven Sword Realm, and the Mysterious Yin Divine Lord of the Grand Yin-Yang Sword Realm's Grand Yin lineage — they had nearly beaten him, who was only at Hua Shen Qi at the time, to death.

Was this the entanglement of karma?

Such important information, and he had not detected it at all before!

In all previous deductions, all of Jiang Ding's intelligence, all of his data, every piece of information regarding the phrase "True Venerable Ji Shan's philandering father" had been correct — that was indeed a dashing and handsome cultivator; someone who took Shadow Puppet as his Dao title could achieve the utmost in appearance.

The data and intelligence were correct, but incomplete!

Everything appeared reasonable.

The secrets of a Dao Merging Divine Lord — how could cultivators below Void Refinement possibly know them? Even after gathering a database of divine soul memories from eight hundred and seventy thousand cultivators, it was still the same; missing some luck and being overlooked was perfectly normal.

But this kind of luck

and coincidence!

In the fierce battle and contest of the Way of Karma, it represented an extremely terrifying danger!

"Damn it!"

"I, I've fallen into big trouble…"

"I may have inadvertently touched a net — a net of karma buried and hidden for tens of thousands of years, a net that has not been removed even now, and may not be removed even after a hundred thousand years."

"I underestimated the patience of the Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong!"

Jiang Ding's gaze faintly reddened, with scorching magma-like golden patterns flowing within his pupils.

"The Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong has survived for tens of millions of years; combined with the incomplete inheritances, classics, and lessons learned from the previous generation of Immortal Sects, these sects even have histories of over a hundred million years. A mere twenty thousand years is far from enough to wear down their vigilance!"

"How wonderful…"

"Such patience, such wisdom…"

As immense and terrifying danger descended, Jiang Ding felt some fear in his heart, some delight, but what dominated was calm — his Sea of Consciousness rapidly thought and deduced.

"No,"

"things are not that bad."

Jiang Ding gradually regained his composure: "This net of karma, I have only disturbed it indirectly — like dropping a leaf onto a spider's web, causing some ripples."

"Such karmic ripples, amid the current fierce battle between the two great Immortal Sects, should not be uncommon…"

"Then now, should I continue executing the plan?"

Jiang Ding looked at True Venerable Ji Shan, whose foot was about to fall, causing him to nearly miss the opportunity.

Void Refinement cultivators, in his eyes, were like beings existing in another dimension — their movements incomparably slow, like film reels slowed down by hundreds of times.

If he wished, he could even go take an afternoon nap during this time, and only then would True Venerable Ji Shan's foot barely fall — they were entirely creatures of two different planes.

If he gave up this opportunity, he would to some extent be trapped sitting in the Golden Sea Domain, and he did not know how long it would take for a second opportunity to arise.

In this process, after the net of karma was touched, how the enemy would react was unknown — they might ignore it, or they might attach great importance to it, surround the Golden Sea Domain, dispatch a large number of powerful experts, and then catch a turtle in a jar—

After eating this lesson today, Jiang Ding truly did not dare to underestimate the enemy in the slightest.

Don't look at how he was only at late-stage Void Refinement now; once the enemy confirmed the target, mobilizing double-digit Heavenly Beings was possible, to ensure a kill — extremely terrifying.

Another choice was: knowing the mountain has a tiger, continue executing the established plan.

The price of this choice was further disturbing the net of karma.

If previously the enemy might have ignored it, treating it as a mosquito that had accidentally touched the spider's web, paying it no heed, after this disturbance they would certainly take notice and certainly respond.

How should he choose?

Clang!

The Tai Qing flying sword hummed softly.

"Not bad,"

"Tai Qing, it's still you who understands me…"

Jiang Ding laughed softly.

Quietly awaiting inevitable death, entrusting one's life to luck — this was not his path. Charging forward into fierce battle, to fight, seeking transcendence through war — this was where his dream lay.

As long as he can break through the encirclement, pass through layers of realms, and reach a Central Domain, he will be like a dragon entering the vast ocean, able to lie low completely once more; the Heavenly Ones will be unable to catch him.

Above the Heavenly Ones?

That is an existence beyond comprehension.

He can only rely on the concealing power of the treasure that suppresses fortune; if it cannot conceal, then he must face the glorious and tumultuous fate of death at the hands of sword cultivators.

Before this, Jiang Ding held an advantage: even if the web of cause and effect was touched, as long as it was not confirmed that a Dao Son of a Profound Heaven Sect existed, it would not trigger high-level attention from the Jin Chong Guang Artifact Sect or other Immortal Sects, nor would it prompt the deployment of powerful Heavenly Ones from various regions to launch a siege.

The number of powerful Heavenly Ones is limited; they cannot abandon their original battlefronts for trivial matters.

This period of time is Jiang Ding's path to survival.

As long as he escapes into the Central Domain or the Upper Domain!

As long as he escapes into these great domains, he can instantly lie low once more, and it will not trigger the phenomenon of realm-breaking; the Heavenly Ones will be unable to catch him.

"Ji Shan,"

Jiang Ding made his choice and said softly.

This voice was hazy and indistinct, as if coming from a clouded dream, carrying the power of the Six Realms of Reincarnation.

"Who?"

Like a rule of horror, Ji Shan Zhenzun instinctively turned his head.

He saw a youth in green robes.

Then, his soul instantly sank into oblivion and died; both soul and spirit were annihilated, killed by the rule.

Yet his soul-shell remained, concealing his death; the soul lamps and soul tablets within his sect were not triggered.

This soul shell, carrying his body, passed through the realm barrier as usual.

At the same time, the phenomenon of realm-breaking by a Refining Void cultivator officially appeared; winds rose and clouds surged, Jin Chong Guang bloomed, and all living beings in the Lower Domain could see it, knowing that a Refining Void cultivator had left the Golden Sea Domain and entered an adjacent realm.