Heaven-Piercing Enlightenment Changes, Plotting a Reversal; North Abyss Accepts the Mandate, Returns to Wu'an

Though they met each other's gaze for an instant, he could not make out the young man's face at all.

That face seemed shrouded in mist. Only the pressure that crushed all things and the power of Dao laws surged toward him like a tide, weighing on his chest until breathing itself became difficult.

The young man said nothing. The power of Dao laws flowed slowly around him, as though he were using a great divine art to deduce cause and effect—or perhaps verifying a suspicion in his heart.

A moment later, the pressure around him eased slightly. He gave a soft sound of surprise, his tone puzzled. "Strange. Yunxiao entered the mortal world burdened by karmic ties, but this was not a scheme laid by those people from the Chan Sect."

"This is strange indeed."

The young man frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "Since the Chan Sect neither discovered Yunxiao's reincarnated body nor set a trap to lure her into the mortal world, why did Yunxiao descend the mountain of her own accord and become entangled in such heavy karma for no reason?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man fell silent again. The Dao laws around him surged even more fiercely, clearly expanding the scope of his deductions.

After another moment, a trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes. "Not just Yunxiao—quite a few of the others' reincarnated bodies have also fallen into karmic entanglements and been swept into mortal conflicts."

"The time previously calculated clearly has not yet arrived. By all rights, they should have been cultivating in secret, only entering the mortal world once the great tribulation drew near."

The young man's tone grew several degrees graver. "How could so many of them enter the mortal world ahead of time, and all become