Chapter 29: Karma Invites Trouble

Zhao Xuhe's words made Lu Yang feel as though he had instantly fallen into an ice cave.

After all, in this life he had not even visited Panlong Island, and the technique was memorized from his previous two lives, yet Panlong Island had actually vanished on its own?

Was it due to so-called karma?

Because he had cultivated the "Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art" ahead of time, intercepting the karma between it and Zhao Xuhe, Panlong Island had consequently disappeared?

Techniques carry karma; opportunities are predetermined.

So this was Zhao Xuhe's destined opportunity, something he could neither seize nor cultivate, or else he would immediately have his karma deduced by others, who would then follow the clues to hunt him down?

Realizing this, Lu Yang suddenly laughed in extreme anger.

This world was damnably disgusting!

Great True Persons calculate opportunities in advance to secure benefits for their disciples; if accidents occur, they can deduce who caused them and force the deviated karma back onto the correct path.

Under such circumstances, how could ordinary people ever hope to rise?

They could only bow their heads and serve as oxen and horses!

Just like now; on the surface, only Zhao Xuhe appeared, but in reality, the one truly acting was likely the so-called "Master" behind Zhao Xuhe!

Lu Yang was one hundred percent certain that this person must be a Foundation Establishment True Person!

Lifting his head, Lu Yang once again thought of Daoist Hong Yun from his previous life, as if seeing a pair of eyes looking down from the ten-thousand-zhang dome of the sky above.

"Why force me?"

Thinking of this, anger surged in Lu Yang's heart and malice sprang up beside his gall; he then looked at Zhao Xuhe, the corners of his lips curling into a mocking arc.

Almost simultaneously, a figure suddenly stepped out from beside Zhao Xuhe.

"Junior Brother, be careful!"

Swish!

A flash of sword light appeared; Zhao Xuhe felt his vision blur, and by the time he saw the scene clearly, the fury filling his chest was instantly extinguished by a chill.

The person who had just stepped forward was a fellow disciple under the same "Master" as him, having entered the sect three years earlier; he had cultivated the "Dragon-Tiger Copulation Yin-Yang Great Bliss Ode" to the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, the peak of the mid-stage, and his true qi had been tempered to the limit of the Fifth Grade, making his strength far superior to Zhao Xuhe's.

Yet now, that senior brother had vanished.

His skin, flesh, bones, and blood had been completely devoured by a scarlet divine light; in the blink of an eye, only an empty human skin slowly drifted down where Zhao Xuhe stood.

The next second, a spiritual light flew out from the human skin.

"Thank you, Daoist friend, for liberating me."

Within the spiritual light, a phantom figure appeared, showing not the slightest anger at being slain by Lu Yang's single sword strike, but even carrying a hint of joyful relief.

Immediately after, he looked toward Zhao Xuhe.

"Junior Brother, before we came this time, Master commented that my foundation was shallow and my merit insufficient; achieving Perfection in Qi Condensation in this life was difficult to seek, and Foundation Establishment was utterly hopeless."

"I begged Master for guidance, so he ordered me to accompany you to save your life at a critical moment. You have accumulated merit over three lifetimes, so in the future you have a thirty percent chance of achieving Foundation Establishment; now that I have saved your life, our karma is sealed—if you achieve Foundation Establishment in the future, you must assist my reincarnated self in cultivating and attaining the Dao."

As his voice fell, the spiritual light leaped upward into the dome of the sky.

Below, Lu Yang's gaze grew even colder upon seeing this.

"Using my hand to seal karma for his own disciple so he can reincarnate and start anew? He is certain I cannot stir up great waves and wants to squeeze out my last bit of value?"

Lu Yang shifted his gaze and saw disciples of the Holy Sect stepping out one by one from beside Zhao Xuhe, all possessing cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, the peak of the mid-stage.

At the same time, Zhao Xuhe finally reacted, his face filled with excitement as he shouted loudly: "Senior Brothers, if you can help me capture this thief and reclaim my opportunity today, then when I achieve Foundation Establishment in the future, I will do my utmost to repay you and assist you in returning from reincarnation to attain the fruit of Perfection in Qi Condensation!"

Upon hearing these words, everyone nodded one after another.

"Junior Brother, rest assured."

"Opportunities belong to those fated to receive them; this thief unjustly stole your opportunity, a crime unforgivable. With Master watching from above, we will definitely help you capture this thief this time!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang burst into loud laughter: "Say a thousand words or ten thousand, isn't it still just forcible seizure?"

"Obstinate and unenlightened."

The leading disciple of the Holy Sect shook his head, sneered, and said: "My name is Lu Yuanchun; since you are unwilling to surrender, do not blame me for being ruthless."

As his voice fell, the man named Lu Yuanchun formed hand seals, his qi aura clearly at the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation, late-stage cultivation; he then sacrificed a golden magic treasure mirror into the air, where it hung high, replacing the sun and moon, instantly showering down ten thousand strands of golden rosy light, sharper than blades, engulfing Lu Yang like a torrential rainstorm.

Seeing this, Lu Yang furrowed his brows, and his figure vanished instantly.

Immediately after, a sword light soared into the sky, splitting into thousands; it darted left and right but could never escape the area covered by the golden rosy light, forced to withstand it directly.

"Master long ago calculated that this thief excels in sword arts; how could he not bestow a countermeasure?"

Seeing this, Lu Yuanchun smiled triumphantly, then looked at Zhao Xuhe: "Junior Brother Zhao, I have trapped this thief, making it difficult for him to employ the wonders of sword arts and aerial escape."

"Please, Junior Brother, activate the magic treasure seal to capture this thief's flying sword, and the matter will be settled!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Zhao Xuhe cupped his hands, then dared not delay; he immediately took out a glittering golden magic treasure seal, sacrificed it into the air, and directed it to fall upon Lu Yang's sword light.

"This thing again."

Lu Yang's gaze shifted slightly; he recognized this as the "Yuan Ci Golden Seal" that Zhao Xuhe had used in his second life, a magic treasure designed to suppress flying swords.

Having learned from the lessons of his previous life, Lu Yang naturally would not let Zhao Xuhe use it freely; he immediately moved his mind, and the Blood Sun Sword Pellet responded to his will, avoiding contact with the Yuan Ci Golden Seal entirely, then swirling its sword light to transform into a sky-full of Blood-Transforming Divine Light that swept down toward Zhao Xuhe.

Seeing this, Zhao Xuhe was greatly alarmed; he retreated in panic, shouting: "Senior Brother!"

"Do not panic; it is merely the struggle of a trapped beast."

On the other side, Lu Yuanchun remained calm and said loudly: "Junior Brothers, please act."

As soon as his voice fell, several more Holy Sect disciples stepped forward with eerie smiles on their faces; without waiting for the divine light to descend, they committed suicide one after another.

Instantly, beams of bloody light erupted from their corpses.

These bloody lights seemed like chains, temporarily trapping Lu Yang's Blood-Transforming Divine Light within them, making it difficult to withdraw, causing his mental operations to feel sluggish.

Zhao Xuhe and Lu Yuanchun had clearly come prepared.

Especially Lu Yuanchun, who had received secret instructions from his Master before arriving, learning many details about Lu Yang, and thus preparing many countermeasures.

Therefore, before the duel began, he had formulated a strategy: first restrict Lu Yang's speed to ensure he could not escape, then have Zhao Xuhe suppress the sword pellet, and finally have the accompanying junior brothers jointly suppress the Blood-Transforming Divine Light; no matter how high Lu Yang's divine abilities were, he would be like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"At the end of one's rope; the situation is decided!"

Lu Yuanchun sneered, feeling his chances of victory greatly increased; he immediately shook the golden magic treasure mirror, causing ten thousand strands of golden rosy light to follow in succession, intending to refine Lu Yang to death on the spot.

Seeing this, Lu Yang could only sigh.

"This is the benefit of having a background..."

With his current strength, even fighting many alone, the likes of Lu Yuanchun and Zhao Xuhe were not his match; alas, the opponent's preparations were simply too thorough.

Every strike hit his weak points.

And all of this was because Zhao Xuhe's mysterious "Master" had deduced the karma and calculated the fate, resulting in such targeted arrangements.

Generally speaking, at this stage he truly lacked the power to turn the tide.

"Fortunately... I have a cheat!"

The Blood Sun Sword Pellet was brought from his previous life by the "Book of Hundred Lives"; it does not enter into karma, so naturally it fears no deduction.

Even if Zhao Xuhe's mysterious "Master" could calculate his proficiency in sword arts and predict the Blood-Transforming Divine Light, he absolutely could not calculate the true nature of the Blood Sun Sword Pellet!

The next second, Lu Yang moved his mind and urged his true qi once more.

Clang clang—!

The Blood Sun Sword Pellet let out a long whistle in response; then the array patterns on the pellet suddenly exploded, locking heaven and earth, sealing the universe, instantly encompassing everyone within!

In less than the blink of an eye, Lu Yang had already deployed the great array he had studied and refined over twenty years in his previous life!

(End of Chapter)