Chapter 450

Chapter 450: Settling Karmic Ties

"I was still short of seventy or eighty trillion heavenly secrets points, then I could transcend and ascend to the Hongmeng Dao Realm."

Ye Xu drank tea and pondered.

During this period, the income from the Golden List of the Unparalleled Rankings, the divine weapons list, and the beauty list, plus the nearly forty trillion heavenly secrets points contributed by the Amitabha Emperor, he had already accumulated fifteen trillion heavenly secrets points.

When the Immortal Emperors of the Qing Xuan plane returned from plundering the alien universe, he would be able to gather enough heavenly secrets points.

"At most half a month."

Ye Xu’s expression flickered slightly.

Half a month later was the time when the Taihuang Ancient Realm opened.

"It seemed I could only leave my Second Primordial Spirit Avatar in the lower realm and enter the Taihuang Ancient Realm to take a look." Ye Xu thought to himself.

The Second Primordial Spirit Avatar, "Ye Li", cultivated the Immortal Golden Body. After the Great Calamity in the Immortal Realm and the battle against the Heavens erupted, he traveled in all directions, and now he had perfected the Immortal King cultivation.

One more step, and he could step into the end of the Great Dao.

"After entrusting these three auras of destiny to the avatar to refine and absorb, he could step into the end of the Great Dao." Ye Xu murmured.

The Dao King had given him a great gift.

Su Mu returned to the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, his spirits low.

"It seemed your conversation didn’t go well." Ye Xu laughed.

Su Mu smiled bitterly, "In fact, what the Dao King said made a lot of sense; I was powerless to refute it."

"I wanted to kill him because of Withered Wood’s death."

"However, for all living beings, if he could truly reorganize the Qing Xuan plane in the turmoil of this era, the death of Withered Wood seemed insignificant in comparison."

Ye Xu did not say more.

In the past, he believed that the Dao King had betrayed his teacher and exterminated his ancestors, committing huge crimes.

However, after witnessing the actions of Li Ruoyu, the Innate Divine Beings of the Pangu universe, the Mad Daoist, and the Immortal Emperors of the Qing Xuan plane, he knew that the Dao King’s evil deeds were insignificant compared to theirs.

In this world, people like Yi Tianxing (the human ancestor) were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Precisely because of this, he saved the human ancestor and helped him achieve Transcendence through Merit.

"The world bustled around, all drawn by gain."

"The world rushed about, all for gain’s sake."

Ding!

Suddenly.

Above Linglong City, the Secret Realm Ranking shone with strange light, the sound of the Dao shook heaven and earth, manifesting an illusion of flowers raining down and golden lotuses sprouting from the ground.

"What was going on?"

"Was it another disturbance caused by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Numerous cultivators were alarmed.

In the heaven and earth, it was as if an invisible brush was writing stroke by stroke, dot by dot, on the blank first place of the Secret Realm Ranking.

After a short while.

The words "Taihuang Ancient Realm" filled everyone’s sight.

"The Taihuang Ancient Realm? How come I’ve never heard of it?"

"How many entries on the Secret Realm Ranking do you actually know?"

"Ignorant!"

A man scoffed. "The Taihuang Ancient Realm, that’s nothing less than the number one spot on the Secret Realm Ranking?"

"The Taihuang Ancient Realm has manifested…"

Ye Xu murmured.

The turmoil in the lower realm had officially begun.

Ever since the moment he peered into Lin Qianmo’s innermost memories, Ye Xu had already guessed that the blank number one spot on the Secret Realm Ranking referred to the Taihuang Ancient Realm, connected to the creation of the Tianyuan.

He was not surprised.

"The Taihuang Ancient Realm…"

The Amitabha Emperor also sensed the spectacle at Linglong City.

Golden light gleamed within his eyes as he gazed distantly towards Linglong City.

A sharp glint flickered in the Dao King’s eyes.

"Disciple, with only half a month left before the Taihuang Ancient Realm opens, this master needs to lie low for now." The Amitabha Emperor looked at the Dao King and said, "After parting today, master and disciple, who knows when we might meet again."

The Amitabha Emperor sighed heavily.

All because of an Enlightenment Tree, he and the Dao King had forged an intricate bond.

"Take care, Master."

The Dao King knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to the Amitabha Emperor.

"I hope that one day, we can meet again in the Hongmeng Dao Realm."

Leaving these words, the Amitabha Emperor gradually faded away.

Watching the Amitabha Emperor depart, the Dao King stood up and flew towards the Spirit Realm.

He still had one matter of karma to resolve.

Half a day later.

The Dao King descended upon the Taihao Heavenly Sect, unnoticed by anyone.

His Divine Sense silently enveloped the sect. Within a single breath, he had pinpointed Yan Duxing’s location.

"Yan Duxing, in the past you were Di Wuyou’s favored grand disciple, deeply trusted, and no one dared touch you."

At this moment, on a Divine Mountain, an elder of the Emperor Venerable Realm sneered coldly. Holding a demonic whip crackling with baleful aura, he brought it down again and again, lashing Yan Duxing.

Yan Duxing was covered in wounds.

He gritted his teeth, a bone-chilling killing intent hidden deep within his eyes.

In the past, these elders had treated him with utmost respect. But ever since Ancestor Mo Yuheng descended to the lower realm and announced the expulsion of the Dao King from the Taihao Heavenly Sect, his status had plummeted dramatically.

A quasi-emperor, stripped of all his magic power and demoted to a menial laborer.

Neither able to live nor permitted to die.

Had it not been for Yan Duxing’s formidable physique, cultivated through the Suppress the Prison Divine Physique, he would have been whipped to death long ago.

"Ninth Elder sneered, “Yan Duxing, utter just one curse—call Di Wuyou a lowly bastard—and I’ll show you mercy today.”

"“Never!” Yan Duxing roared.

Dao King had treated him as both mentor and father.

His very life had been saved by Dao King.

How could Yan Duxing betray such kindness?

Crack!

Ninth Elder lashed another whip across Yan Duxing’s back; corrosive energy ate away at his flesh, agony searing through him. Yet he clenched his teeth without making a sound.

“Di Wuyou betrayed ancestors and masters—I never imagined he’d raise such a loyal disciple,” Ninth Elder spat contemptuously. “Pity he can’t even save himself now. He won’t come for you.”

“Oh?”

Just then, a dark figure materialized silently behind Ninth Elder.

Dao King gazed at Yan Duxing, eyes brimming with rare tenderness and pride. “Good disciple,” he said gently, “your master has returned.”

He’d chosen Yan Duxing as his apprentice precisely for this unyielding spirit.

Time had proved him right.

“Di Wuyou?!”

Ninth Elder froze in terror before swiftly regaining composure. “Traitor!” he sneered. “You dare return to the sect?”

“You’ve walked right into our trap.”

“Insufferable noise!”

Dao King’s sleeve flicked—and Ninth Elder’s body exploded, soul extinguished.

“Master…?”

Yan Duxing stared at Dao King, disbelief choking him.

“Disciple… pays homage to Master.” Joy and shock tangled in his chest, years of anguish finally finding safe harbor. He crashed to his knees, tears welling.

Suddenly, urgency seized him. “Master, you must flee now!

The Ancestral Master issued an Order of Immediate Execution upon your discovery.”

“I returned today to take you with me.”

Dao King affectionately stroked Yan Duxing’s head. Boundless magic surged through the disciple’s wounds, sealing flesh and bone before their eyes.

As Dao King channeled his sacred energy, Yan Duxing’s aura erupted in waves, enlightenment striking him like a thunderbolt.

BOOM!

The heavenly tribulation descended.

Yan Duxing was about to attain the Emperor realm.

At the same time.

Within the Taihao Heavenly Sect, surges of powerful aura revived. More than ten Divine Senses locked onto the Divine Mountain, gazing at Dao King.

“Traitor, how dare you return to the sect?”

Li Ruoshui was furious and was the first to descend upon the Divine Mountain.

“Master!”

Yan Duxing was extremely worried.

“Focus on facing the tribulation. Leave the rest to your master.”

Dao King drew a line with his index finger, creating an independent space and isolating Yan Duxing from everyone else.

“Wuyou is here for a visit. Please come out, patriarch, to meet me.”

Dao King ignored Li Ruoshui and announced in a loud voice: “If the patriarch still doesn’t come out, I’ll have to force you out.”

“How insolent!”

Another Immortal King descended. An Immortal Weapon clanged loudly, with the sound of the great Dao thundering. It was a Celestial Cauldron containing the heavens and earth within, the great Dao like chains that sealed the heavens and locked the earth, smashing down towards Dao King.

Bang!

Dao King flicked a finger, releasing a thread of white light that sliced through the great Dao, dividing it into two.

In an instant, that Immortal King was cut in half. His physical body and spirit were utterly annihilated.

Li Ruoshui’s eyelids twitched.

Why, in so short a time, had Dao King’s strength reached such a terrifying level?

“Hahaha…”

A voice of laughter approached from the distance. Mo Yuheng, clad in a green robe, strode through the air and arrived.

Wearing a smirk, he stared at Dao King and said: “Wuyou, have you returned this time to settle accounts with me?”

Dao King nodded.

“Last time, on the Sea of All Realms, if not for Master Mituo stepping in to save me, I’d have died at the patriarch’s hands.” Dao King stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face calm as if recounting a story unrelated to himself.

“Truthfully, from the day I killed Master Withered Wood, I knew I was just a pawn for the patriarch. If I hadn’t acted, I couldn’t have avoided catastrophe. And if I had, I’d still face a future calamity.

To survive, I had no choice but to kill Withered Wood and become the master of the Taihao Heavenly Sect.”

Dao King spoke fluently without a pause.

He saw everything with perfect clarity.

“To the patriarch, I’ve always been nothing but a tool to bear fortune’s burden.”

“Correct.”

Mo Yuheng said with a laugh.

“It’s just a pity I underestimated you, Wuyou.”

"Even several Immortal Kings could not keep an eye on you, allowing you to escape the palm of my sovereign hand."

He revealed an expression of regret, saying, "Had you not been so ambitious, recklessly trying to free yourself from my control, given your talents, I truly might have hesitated to end your life."

Dao King smiled.

"Di Wuyou, if you still cherish the grace of the sect, then seek forgiveness with humility. We may yet spare your life," shouted the Third Master of the Taihao Heavenly Sect.

"If I didn’t cherish that grace, honorable Masters, you would all be dead men already."

Dao King grinned wide.

"Today, I come solely to kill the Founding Master."

BANG!

Dao King marshaled his mana, his presence erupting.

Mo Yuheng’s gaze sharpened intensely.

"Proof of the Second Primordial Spirit?"

"How could your power advance so swiftly?"

Mo Yuheng said, his voice thick with disbelief.

"Ten Thousand Immortals Bowing!"

Dao King offered no reply.

The divine ability detonated.

Across the Eight Directions of Heaven and Earth, figure after figure of Immortals manifested. Dao King sat amidst this celestial court like a Heavenly Emperor.

In the next instant,

the countless Immortal phantoms and the myriad Great Dao of the Heavens bent together in a simultaneous bow towards Mo Yuheng.

THOOM!

Terrifying power, like the waters of the Heavenly River, shattered space-time and surged into Mo Yuheng’s body and primordial spirit.

"How is this possible?"

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!!"

Mo Yuheng roared, hysterical.

From the very beginning, Dao King had been nothing but a minor character with a spark of cleverness in his eyes, an insignificant ant beneath notice.

He never could have imagined he would die by Dao King’s hand!

"Please set out on your journey, Founding Master!"

Dao King’s expression remained calm as he bowed deeply.

KA-BOOOOOM!

The full force of this divine ability exploded forth. It pierced the River of Time, sealing off the present and the past. Mo Yuheng’s physical form and primordial spirit were utterly pulverized into fine dust, annihilated without a trace.

A single strike, an instant kill!

Dao King’s gaze was as unfaltering as the Ancient Well.

His fortune and destiny had not yet been fully refined, yet he had already achieved perfection in the proof of the Second Primordial Spirit. Killing Mo Yuheng, who had only just entered the Second Primordial Spirit, was as effortless as turning his hand.

"Founding Master!"

The Masters of the Taihao Heavenly Sect were gripped by profound grief and rage. Their gazes, fixed on Dao King, brimmed with murderous intent; they longed to dismember him a thousand times over.

They had never dreamed that an insignificant disciple from the mortal realm could, in such a short span, grasp such terrifying power.

Even their godlike Founding Master had seemed utterly brittle before him.

Dao King drew himself up, tall and still, closing his eyes.

No one dared take a step forward.

They scarcely dared to breathe.

The atmosphere was unbearably eerie.

After the time it takes to burn two incense sticks,

when Yan Duxing had fully weathered his heavenly tribulation and his cultivation base was completely consolidated,

Whoosh!

Dao King’s power enveloped Yan Duxing, and both vanished from the Taihao Heavenly Sect.