Chapter 478: Knowledge of Past Lives

In the blink of an eye, the sword qi surged close to Tan Su’s face, its chilling radiance pressing upon his brows, faster than flying lightning!

Tan Su sensed the danger and dared not underestimate this move; he calmly formed a hand seal, his lips parting slightly as a thread of white qi drifted out.

The white qi expanded instantly into a lotus flower as large as a basket, its lustrous, radiant hue barely catching the sword qi midair.

A sharp “clang” echoed as a small shower of light exploded in the air!

Though the lotus was deeply indented and its petals scattered, countless tender stamens burst forth from the damage, wrapping around the sword qi with fearless ferocity.

Within moments, the once crimson, sharp sword qi gradually faded, its form and substance largely destroyed.

Yet the white lotus mysteriously gained streaks of crimson; several petals turned red, and a piercing, unmatched sword momentum subtly emanated from the lotus itself—truly eerie.

“No wonder you’re a Daisui Temple dharma heir—truly impressive skill.”

Before Tan Su could act to swallow the lotus now altered by absorbing the sword qi, a voice rang from afar in the clouds, tone curiously intrigued.

Tan Su’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but he had no time to identify the speaker.

Almost as the voice spoke, the dim, broken sword qi suddenly flared with brilliance, as if granted immense power, violently breaking free from the stamens’ grasp.

In a few flashes, it shattered the white lotus entirely, then leapt skyward and vanished.

Tan Su chanted a secret mantra, pointing his fingers repeatedly; white lotuses took root in empty space, blooming slowly, adorning his position with splendid beauty.

Yet as the lotus leaves unfolded their glow and swayed gently in the wind, countless tender stamens writhed like venomous snakes’ tongues within them, casting an aura of sinister malice over the radiant scene.

Seeing Tan Su’s response, Chen Hang smiled and swept his hand outward; thirty-six sword lights split apart and surged forward in unison.

Crimson light blazed fiercely, swirling into a chaotic mass, obscuring their number and sending chills down the spine!

Though the white lotus found no opening, it held its defenses tight, impenetrable as a storm, forcing Tan Su to stand his ground without retreating a single step.

After a fierce exchange with no clear advantage, Tan Su’s pupils suddenly flickered with a sliver of golden light; his expression changed, and without hesitation, he flipped his body out of the lotus cluster.

The instant he moved, purple celestial thunder shot toward his back.

A deafening boom shook the mountains, as if ten thousand iron-armored heavenly steeds charged forward, smashing the lotus into ruin!

Behind the thunder came a single A-ni killing sword, slashing violently—but struck empty air.

Had Tan Su

Not dodged swiftly and cleanly, he would surely have suffered a hidden wound from this sudden strike.

Seeing his strike miss, the A-ni sword did not retreat; it spun and slashed again toward Tan Su nearby!

“This broken sword… could it be A-ni?” Tan Su frowned slightly.

The flying sword was incomplete, as if crudely patched together from a few shards of iron—no better than a blacksmith’s first crude trial piece.

Yet the blurred figures of celestial demons and immortal Buddhas etched upon its blade made Tan Su dare not underestimate it; a moment’s thought confirmed this was the ancient, once-famed killing sword.

A halo of Buddhist light flashed behind Tan Su’s head; a white bone bowl flew forth to intercept it. Though split open by the A-ni sword’s force, the brief delay allowed Tan Su’s arm to be sheathed in a hazy black radiance; his fingers clenched, and he slammed his fist straight at the sword!

Flesh met flying blade—and a sharp metallic clang rang out, sparks flying everywhere!

When Tan Su finally shook loose the A-ni sword, a deep wound gaped across his knuckles, yet no blood flowed; instead, a chilling aura curled, sealing the flesh instantly as if healed from the start.

He then summoned a golden vajra staff wrapped in blazing fire, recalled the bone bowl to hover above his head, his expression turning solemn as he launched a direct assault, determined to see what ally Lu Rong had summoned.

After manifesting the Ucchuṣma Vidyārāja form, Tan Su felt as if shedding a heavy burden—free, unbound, each movement brimming with immense power; with the fiery Ucchuṣma Vajra in hand, his divine prowess shone forth.

He now resembled a wrathful Dharma King stepping from ancient murals—solemn, majestic, awe-inspiring!

Whether sword light or thunder, all barriers before Tan Su were swept away by the Ucchuṣma Vajra, unable to halt him.

After a while, as Tan Su neared the highest heavens, another faint golden sliver flickered in his pupils; he abruptly halted his assault, abandoning his plan to charge forward with his body, lost in thought.

“May I ask who you are?”

Tan Su paused, then spoke gravely.

At his gaze, the clouds above suddenly parted, drifting slowly away, and a young Daoist in black robes and a golden crown descended gently.

Tan Su saw the Daoist’s spirit clear and calm, his bearing exceptional; behind him rose a swirl of dark qi like the source of a great river—vast, boundless.

This was an aura born of profound magic power, instantly revealing his rarity; yet Tan Su discerned further: this Daoist’s foundational scripture was no ordinary supreme text—it must be the supreme true scripture pointing directly to the Dao’s origin, else his spirit would not have reacted so strangely.

“Yang-clear aura—this is a proper Xuanmen cultivator, not from a demonic sect?”

Tan Su mused inwardly.

The one Lu Rong brought to aid him could not be an ordinary cultivator;

on this point, Tan Su had anticipated it—after all, if it were an ordinary Jin Dan, he would have crushed them in mere exchanges.

But for Lu Rong, a Blood River cultivator, to have summoned a suspected Xudu Eight Sects true heir—that surprised Tan Su slightly.

He had long heard that the Eight Sects and Six Clans of Xudu Tian, though divided between Xuan and Mo, often clashed in petty squabbles and scheming.

Yet their alliance was far tighter than any other great realm’s forces could imagine; on critical matters, they always advanced or retreated together, even maintaining a dedicated Qianyuan Sichen Palace as their ancestral masters’ council hall.

Tan Su had heard this before, but only half-believed it.

Even the so-called orthodox Chan sects of Wuliangguang Tian might not be this harmonious—how much less so between Xuan and Mo?

But now, witnessing Chen Hang and Lu Rong fighting side by side, Tan Su found himself believing the rumors a little more.

At this moment, Chen Hang looked at Tan Su, studying him for a moment, then said with interest:

“I am Chen Hang of Yucheng. Greetings.”

“I wonder—did the Chan Master just now reveal the Buddha’s Six Psychic Powers: the Knowledge of Past Lives?”

…

…

Pure, radiant, clear, renowned throughout the ten directions, boundless, inconceivable.

Psychic Flight, Divine Hearing, Mind Reading, Divine Sight, Knowledge of Past Lives, Extinction of Outflows—

These six powers are the Buddha’s Six Psychic Powers, also called the Treasures of the Buddha’s Mind-Seal.

To attain them requires piercing eighty thousand karmic clouds and trampling through boundless thorn forests—manifestations of supreme meditative wisdom, rare and unfathomable techniques of the Three Realms!

Among them, Knowledge of Past Lives allows one to perceive karmic cause and effect, discerning countless thoughts as clearly as seeing ripples in sand.

It is said that ancient Buddhas endowed with great virtue, when activating Knowledge of Past Lives, perceive the river of life and death as plainly as reading lines on one’s palm—all kalpas of karmic waves rise and fall, none escaping their awareness.

Though the battle was brief, Tan Su twice seemed to foresee Chen Hang’s hidden moves and evaded them effortlessly.

Such an anomaly naturally drew curiosity.

“Yucheng? This man is from Yucheng?”

Seeing Chen Hang immediately name his Knowledge of Past Lives without surprise, Tan Su frowned slightly, glanced toward Lu Rong and Xiao Lingji, then nodded:

“The True Person speaks truly—it is indeed Knowledge of Past Lives.”

“Karmic law is ironclad, retribution clear—this is truly a sublime form of divination. No wonder Master Mei Gongxing ranked it as top-tier in compiling the ‘Golden Chapters of the Earthly Vault.’ Today I see it—its fame is well-deserved.”

Chen Hang praised, then said:

“To attain such mastery, Chan

Master, you are truly worthy as a Daisui Temple dharma heir.”

“True Person flatters me. Knowledge of Past Lives is powerful, but had I a choice, I’d rather have attained it centuries later—else I’d not be plagued by so much suffering.”

“I’d like to hear more.”

Elsewhere, Lu Rong and Xiao Lingji were locked in fierce combat; here, the atmosphere grew relaxed, the two conversing as if nothing were amiss.

Tan Su sighed, speaking honestly:

“Knowledge of Past Lives is powerful, but at my current realm, when activated, I can only glimpse blurred traces of karmic flow—truth and illusion entangled, impossible to distinguish. A wrong choice is tantamount to suicide.”

Yet the most unbearable part is that this power is not fully under my control…

It is less a technique than a sentient entity rooted deep in my mental faculty, occasionally acting on its own, forcing me to reverse-observe karma and behold retribution.

The immense cost of this power, I assume the True Person understands.

When idle, it’s manageable—but at critical moments, such an act is like tripping myself up, sabotaging my own cultivation.”

At this, Tan Su gave a self-deprecating laugh, helplessly:

“Among the Buddha’s Six Psychic Powers, had I a choice, I’d rather have attained Psychic Flight or Divine Sight—both have their difficulties, but nothing compares to the torment of Knowledge of Past Lives.”

Among the Buddha’s Six Psychic Powers, except the final Extinction of Outflows, the other five hold no hierarchy—all are equal in status.

At this, Tan Su smiled slightly at Chen Hang and asked:

“Since observing heavenly fate carries inherent flaws, among all divination arts in this universe, the upper-tier methods of the ‘Golden Chapters’—your sect’s Plum Blossom Divination—what difficulties does it entail?”

Chen Hang paused, then answered honestly:

“Plum Blossom Divination holds that all things are numbers, all things are symbols.”

Not only sun, moon, stars, seasons, geography, insects, fish, beasts, humans, birds—but even objects, brushstrokes, sounds—all can serve as divination numbers. Its scope is vast, truly exceptional among divination arts.

Yet precisely because of this, using Plum Blossom Divination often triggers the ‘Primordial Obstruction,’ which confuses the spirit’s true nature; if one fails to overcome it repeatedly, the spirit dissolves, the bones melt away.”

Tan Su listened, intrigued, and asked further: what exactly was this “Primordial Obstruction,” and how to resolve it?

Chen Hang understood his intent and pretended ignorance, answering each question fully.

This exchange of questions and answers lasted nearly half a stick of incense.

Seeing Chen Hang standing calmly in the clouds, utterly composed, Tan Su frowned, puzzled.

At this moment, Chen Hang, hands behind his back, spoke softly:

“If the Chan Master waits for my nature to break and my organs to collapse, you need not bother—I’ve prepared for it. You have no chance to succeed.”

His tone held no emotion, yet the quiet confidence within made Tan Su’s expression shift slightly.

He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head:

“From the start, you sensed my Wondrous Hearing and Inverted Sound?”

My entire scheme… clearly fell into emptiness…”

Tan Su knew Xiao Lingji could not defeat Lu Rong; though his younger sister was a true heir of a great sect, against a bloodthirsty figure like Lu Rong, she was still outmatched.

Thus, Tan Su would never stand idle while Xiao Lingji struggled—he had instead begun chatting with Chen Hang.

From the very beginning, he had been secretly activating the Daisui Temple’s secret technique, the Miaowen Biancai Dian Dao Sound, weaving it into his words.

This was an extremely subtle sound attack method—silent and invisible when activated, specifically designed to silently damage one’s internal organs and take a life without warning!

Tan Su appeared to be discussing various divination methods with Chen Hang, but in truth, he was merely waiting for Chen Hang’s injuries to manifest, so he could act with ease.

Who could have foreseen…

“The ability to perceive past lives is not always reliable; this scene was beyond my expectations… Then again, karma and retribution—even the Buddha with the Thunder Sound Jewel Staff, famed across all heavens for his divination, failed to foresee his disciple’s tribulation—how could I?”

After silently reflecting, Tan Su wiped all smiles from his face and spoke calmly:

“Chen True Person, are you truly determined to aid Lu Rong? Is there truly no room for compromise?”

“I have been entrusted; I must do my utmost.”

Chen Hang’s expression remained calm: “Master, let me see what the Daisui Temple can do.”

“Very well.”

Tan Su sighed, then suddenly unleashed a Lion’s Roar, like a tidal wave crashing against mountains!

Amid the wind stirring from all directions, where Tan Su stood, a black sun rose upward, radiating eerie, flickering evil light; icy winds howled—though shaped like a sun, it instantly froze the earth, piercingly cold!

Chen Hang didn’t move; he reached out and grasped the void, summoning a colossal five-colored hand wrapped in swirling clouds that slammed toward the black sun!

The moment the hand struck the black sun, a deafening explosion erupted, violent Gang wind surged, shaking the air!

But this battle of techniques did not last long.

Soon after, as Xiao Lingji was nearly knocked from the clouds by Lu Rong’s strike, her face turned deathly pale, and Tan Su finally lost some of his composure.

Yet to Tan Su’s surprise, Chen Hang did not seize this opportunity to attack him; instead, he transformed into a blade of light and shot straight toward the mountain that sealed Yuanzuo Wang Zhi.

Tan Su naturally knew the value of Yuanzuo Wang Zhi.

If Xiao Lingji obtained it, she could compensate for a critical deficiency in her current cultivation; Tan Su would never allow Chen Hang to take it.

He immediately activated his Great Escape technique and chased after him.

At the cost of enduring Chen Hang’s thunder technique head-on, Tan Su finally unleashed a secret method and plucked the Yuanzuo Wang Zhi from midair.

He dared not hesitate; he immediately summoned the Yama Bright King’s Mallet and blasted through the dense swarm of blood shadows, then called out to Xiao Lingji—who was now bleeding from nose and mouth—and prepared to retreat, avoiding the sharp edge.

But as Tan Su finally secured the hard-won Yuanzuo Wang Zhi and intended to toss it to Xiao Lingji so she could swallow it quickly and prevent further complications—

At that moment, Tan Su’s keen spiritual sense finally registered the truth.

“…”

He suddenly stood still, gripping the Yuanzuo Wang Zhi tightly with his five fingers and squeezing it slightly.

With a crisp “crack,” under Tan Su’s gaze, what lay in his hand was merely a small fragment of golden-red medicinal fungus, shaped like a little finger—broken and incomplete.

From the broken end, a viscous sap slowly seeped out, emitting an indescribable, fragrant aroma that, when inhaled, instantly brought clarity to body and spirit.

Tan Su had believed he had seized the complete Yuanzuo Wang Zhi.

Yet he had endured the cost of taking a direct thunder strike—and what he held was no more than two-tenths of it.

“Impressive technique…”

Tan Su’s expression grew complex as he spoke to Chen Hang:

“In such a fleeting moment, how did you manage it?”

Before Chen Hang could answer, Lu Rong, calm and composed nearby, let out a cold laugh; he stepped upon a thick stream of bloodlight and flew over, his gaze cold:

“Chen True Person’s illusionary arts far surpass mine, Master. You may be powerful, but you are not skilled in this art—how could you perceive its subtleties?

Moreover, the one who dares compete with me for the Xudu Great Elixir cannot be ordinary. Tan Su, do you not realize you will soon be fighting two future Dao Heirs?”

“Will this man be the next Yuchen Dao Heir?”

Tan Su and Lu Rong exchanged a glance across the air, then their gazes settled again on Chen Hang, lingering with gravity.

At this moment, he felt immense pressure build; he tightened his grip on the Yama Bright King’s Mallet, and inwardly, he could not help but feel a deep sense of helplessness.