Chapter 29: Karma Invites Trouble

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

He had not even visited Dragon Island in this lifetime, and he had only memorized his cultivation techniques from his previous two lives. Yet, Dragon Island had somehow vanished on its own.

Was it due to so-called karma?

Because he had practiced the "Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art" ahead of schedule, intercepting the karma between it and Zhao Xuhe, causing Dragon Island to vanish along with it?

The karma of cultivation techniques and the destiny of opportunities were predetermined.

So, this was Zhao Xuhe's destined opportunity; Lu Yang could neither snatch it nor practice it, otherwise, someone would immediately deduce the karma and track him down by following the thread?

After realizing this, Lu Yang laughed out of sheer fury.

This world was so damn disgusting!

Great cultivators could precalculate opportunities to benefit their own disciples, and if an accident occurred, they could calculate the cause and pull the deviated karma back onto the right track.

Under such circumstances, how could an ordinary person ever rise?

They could only bow their heads and live as beasts of burden.

Take this moment, for example: on the surface, it seemed only Zhao Xuhe had appeared, but in reality, the one truly pulling the strings was likely the so-called "Master" behind him!

Lu Yang was a hundred percent certain that it was undoubtedly a Foundation Establishment True Person!

Looking up, Lu Yang thought of the Daoist Hongyun from his previous life once more, feeling as if a pair of eyes were looking down from the vast, infinite heavens above.

"...Why are you forcing me?"

At this thought, anger surged from Lu Yang's heart, and a dark impulse took hold. He turned his gaze toward Zhao Xuhe, a mocking curve tugging at the corners of his lips.

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

"Junior Brother, watch out!"

*Swish!*

A flash of sword light erupted. Zhao Xuhe felt his vision blur, and by the time he saw clearly what was happening, his brimming rage was instantly extinguished by a wave of chilling dread.

The person who had just stepped forward was a fellow disciple under the same "Master." He had joined the sect three years earlier than Zhao Xuhe and had reached the peak of the mid-stage at the sixth level of Qi Refinement through the "Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture." His true qi had been tempered to the limit of the fifth grade, making him significantly stronger than Zhao Xuhe.

However, that senior brother had now vanished.

His flesh, skin, bones, and blood had been completely devoured by a crimson divine light. In the blink of an eye, only an empty human skin remained, slowly drifting to the ground.

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

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for granting me liberation."

Within the spiritual light, a phantom figure emerged. He showed no sign of anger at being slain by Lu Yang's sword; instead, he even carried a sense of blissful release.

Then, he turned his gaze toward Zhao Xuhe.

"Junior Brother, before coming here, Master remarked that my foundation was shallow and my merit was slight. He said it would be difficult for me to reach the perfection of Qi Refinement in this life, and Foundation Establishment was hopeless."

"I sought Master's guidance, and only then did he command me to come with you to save your life at the critical moment. You have accumulated merit over three lifetimes; in the future, you should have a thirty percent chance of achieving Foundation Establishment. Now that I have saved your life, the karma is set. If you achieve Foundation Establishment in the future, you shall assist my reincarnated self in attaining the Dao."

As his voice faded, the spiritual light soared into the sky.

Below, Lu Yang's gaze grew increasingly cold.

"...Using my hand to set karma for your own disciple to facilitate your reincarnation? You are certain I cannot stir up any trouble, so you want to squeeze out my last bit of value?"

Lu Yang shifted his gaze and saw that one by one, disciples of the Saint Sect were stepping out from beside Zhao Xuhe. Every single one of them was at the peak of the mid-stage, sixth level of Qi Refinement.

At the same time, Zhao Xuhe finally reacted. A look of excitement crossed his face as he shouted, "Senior brothers, as long as you help me capture this thief today and reclaim my opportunity, I will surely repay you with all my heart once I achieve Foundation Establishment! I will help you all return in your next lives and attain the perfection of Qi Refinement!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to nod.

"Rest assured, Junior Brother."

"Opportunities belong to those destined for them. This thief has stolen your opportunity without cause; his crime is unforgivable. With Master watching over us, we shall certainly help you capture this thief!"

Lu Yang burst into laughter upon hearing this. "After all that talk, you're still just trying to rob me?"

"Obstinate."

The leading disciple of the Saint Sect shook his head and sneered, "My name is Lu Yuanchun. Since you refuse to surrender, do not blame me for being ruthless."

As he spoke, the man named Lu Yuanchun performed a hand seal. His aura surged to the late stage of the seventh level of Qi Refinement. He then summoned a golden divine mirror that hung high in the sky, replacing the sun. Instantly, thousands of golden rays cascaded down like a torrential rain of blades, swallowing Lu Yang.

Lu Yang's brows furrowed, and his figure vanished instantly.

Immediately after, a streak of sword light soared into the air, splitting into thousands of fragments. He charged left and right, but he could not escape the area covered by the golden rays and was forced to endure the onslaught.

"Master had already calculated that this thief excels in swordsmanship; how could he not provide a solution?"

Lu Yuanchun smiled triumphantly and looked at Zhao Xuhe. "Junior Brother Zhao, I have trapped the thief, making it difficult for him to utilize the subtle movements of his sword to escape."

"Please activate the Precious Seal to seize his flying sword. Once that is done, the matter is settled!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Zhao Xuhe cupped his hands and, without delay, produced a shimmering golden seal, casting it into the air toward Lu Yang's sword light.

"This thing again..."

Lu Yang's eyes flickered. He recognized it as the "Primordial Magnetic Golden Seal" that Zhao Xuhe had used in his second life—a magical treasure specifically designed to suppress flying swords.

Having learned his lesson from his previous life, Lu Yang naturally would not let Zhao Xuhe succeed. With a thought, the Blood Sun Sword Pill moved according to his will. Instead of making contact with the Golden Seal, it dodged it, then pivoted its sword light into a sky-filling shroud of Blood-Transforming Divine Light, sweeping down toward Zhao Xuhe.

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 announced loudly, "Junior brothers, please make your move."

As soon as he finished speaking, several more Saint Sect disciples stepped forward. With eerie smiles on their faces, they committed suicide one after another before the divine light could even strike them.

In an instant, streaks of blood-red light erupted from their corpses.

These blood-red lights acted like chains, temporarily trapping Lu Yang's Blood-Transforming Divine Light and making it difficult to withdraw. His mental circulation felt suddenly sluggish.

Zhao Xuhe and Lu Yuanchun had clearly come prepared.

Lu Yuanchun, in particular, had received secret teachings from his Master before coming, learning much about Lu Yang's background, which allowed him to prepare numerous countermeasures.

Thus, he had set a strategy before the battle: first, restrict Lu Yang's speed to ensure he could not escape; second, have Zhao Xuhe suppress the Sword Pill; and finally, have the accompanying junior brothers work together to suppress the Blood-Transforming Divine Light. No matter how high Lu Yang's divine abilities were, he was nothing more than a lamb for the slaughter.

"You have exhausted your tricks. The outcome is decided!"

Lu Yuanchun sneered, feeling his chances of victory soar. He shook the golden divine mirror, and thousands of golden rays followed in succession, intending to refine Lu Yang to death.

Seeing this, Lu Yang could only sigh.

"So this is the benefit of having a background..."

With his current strength, even fighting multiple opponents, people like Lu Yuanchun and Zhao Xuhe should not have been his match. However, the opponent's preparations were simply too thorough.

Every move struck directly at his weaknesses.

And all of this was because of Zhao Xuhe's mysterious "Master," who had deduced the karma and calculated the destiny to create such a targeted arrangement.

Generally speaking, he was indeed powerless at this stage.

"Fortunately... I have a cheat!"

The Blood Sun Sword Pill was brought from his previous life by the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. It did not belong to the realm of karma, and thus, it naturally feared no calculations.

Even if Zhao Xuhe's mysterious "Master" could calculate his mastery of swordsmanship and his Blood-Transforming Divine Light, it would be absolutely impossible to calculate the true nature of the Blood Sun Sword Pill!

In the next second, Lu Yang's mind moved, and he surged his true qi once more.

*Clang! Clang!—!*

The Blood Sun Sword Pill let out a long howl. Suddenly, the formation patterns on the sword pill exploded, locking heaven and earth and sealing the universe, instantly encompassing everyone within!

In less than a heartbeat, Lu Yang had deployed the grand formation he had spent twenty years researching and perfecting in his previous life!