The overturned cushion was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pool, its ripples spreading outward in ring after ring, refusing to settle for quite some time.
Hongjun was still expounding the Dao, his voice as calm as water flowing through mountain streams for countless millennia, without the slightest ripple. Yet among the two or three hundred people in the hall, more than half had already let their thoughts wander.
Taiyi stood there, looking at Hongjun with an expression of earnest concentration—his brows slightly furrowed, occasionally nodding as though he had grasped some crucial point. But inwardly, his thoughts churned like storm-tossed seas.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the system's response.
That moment just now—the overturned cushion, Zhunti's face reddened with suppressed fury, Hongjun's sweeping gaze—throughout it all, he had clearly felt something deep within his sea of consciousness stir. Like a sleeping beast startled awake, opening its eyes in the darkness.
But after waiting for quite a while, nothing happened.
Hongjun had now reached the "taboos of entrusting the Three Corpses to spiritual treasures," his voice flowing slowly through the hall. "...A spiritual treasure tainted by karmic burden cannot bear the good corpse; one with overly heavy baleful aura cannot bear the evil corpse; one with an unstable origin cannot bear the obsession corpse..."
Quite a few people in the hall frowned at those words. The requirements were far too harsh. Where could they possibly find such suitable spiritual treasures?
Taiyi listened as well, but most of his attention was elsewhere.
He was thinking about that sensation just now—that tremor from deep within his sea of consciousness could not have been mistaken. The system had definitely been triggered, so why had it not responded?
Was there a delay? Or was it "confirming" something?
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Wait.
Since it had been stirred, it would definitely come.
Time passed bit by bit.
Hongjun began explaining the specific method for "entrusting the good corpse." "...One must nourish the spiritual treasure with the origin of one's good thoughts for seven times seven, forty-nine days. Each day, it must be refined with essence blood, with mind and spirit connected..."
People in the hall began clicking their tongues inwardly—this method consumed far too much mental energy. One misstep could damage one's origin.
Taiyi tried to deduce it as well, but the instant he mobilized his mana, his sea of consciousness suddenly shook violently!
It was no illusion, but a real and unmistakable tremor. Like a stone dropped into a deep well, ripples spread from the deepest depths, expanding layer by layer.
Immediately afterward, an icy, chaotic torrent carrying an ancient aura of taboo surged from the deepest part of his sea of consciousness without warning.
Taiyi let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning several shades paler.
Fortunately, everyone around him was listening intently to the Dao, and no one noticed him—except Di Jun. His elder brother turned his head and glanced at him, asking in a low voice, "What is it?"
"It's nothing." Taiyi forced out a smile. "I was just deducing the method. The mental strain was a little too great."
Di Jun frowned and studied him for a moment before handing him a bottle of pills. "Just focus on listening to the Dao. Do not rush for quick results."
Taiyi accepted the pills and thanked him, but did not take any.
He closed his eyes and focused all his strength on steadying his mind.
That torrent was rampaging through his sea of consciousness. It was not spiritual energy, not mana, not even "information" in the ordinary sense. It was something more fundamental—warped, reversed fragments of understanding concerning karma itself.
He "saw" it.
Not with his eyes, but through some deeper form of perception.
Countless fragmented scenes flashed through his consciousness—
He saw Hongyun offer up his seat, Zhunti obtain it, and Jieyin sit beside him—that was the original "ordained course."
He saw himself knock over the cushion, Zhunti furiously attack, and the two of them battle fiercely in Zixiao Palace—that was another "possibility."
He saw the cushion overturned and then set upright again. Zhunti sat on the fifth cushion, Jieyin on the sixth, yet the two Karma Threads connecting them to the cushions now both bore a minute crack—that was the "reality" currently unfolding.
Those scenes intertwined, overlapped, and collided with one another. Finally, they exploded with a boom, transforming into countless rune fragments that flickered with dark golden light.
The fragments circled and danced within his sea of consciousness like a flock of birds returning to their nest, finally converging toward a single destination—the deepest part of his Three Flowers Dao Foundation.
[ Ding— ]
It was not a sound, but a tremor that directly affected the level of his Primordial Spirit.
Then, a scarlet system interface forcibly opened, filling his entire field of consciousness:
[Forbidden Sign-in mission completed]
[Location: Zixiao Palace (Heavenly Dao core radiation zone)]
[Action evaluation: During Hongjun's exposition of the Quasi-Saint Dao, performed an 'act of defiance' through a method not recognized by the Heavenly Dao—intervened in the ordained karmic trajectory of the cushions, causing the established fate line to deviate]
[Completion evaluation: 93%]
[Requirements met: 1. The action was witnessed by more than three future Saints (the Three Pure Ones present)? 2. Did not directly attack Hongjun or damage the foundations of Zixiao Palace? 3. Executed at the moment when the cushions' karmic entanglement was at its fiercest?]
[Calculating rewards...]
It was here!
Taiyi's heart pounded wildly as he forcefully suppressed the excitement that nearly spilled over. He maintained the posture of listening to the Dao with closed eyes, his expression calm and even carrying the detached air of someone who had gained enlightenment from the lecture—but beneath his sleeve, his fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Within his sea of consciousness, the system interface refreshed frantically:
[Basic reward: Taboo Points ×1000 (issued)]
[Calculating additional rewards...]
[Karmic disturbance assessment: Extremely high]
[Degree of deviation from established fate line: Moderately high]
[Obtained: Taboo Relic Fragment of Karma Reversal ×3]
[Obtained: Heavenly Dao Loophole Coordinates ×3 (encrypted and stored in system space)]
[Obtained: Temporary Ability: Karma Insulator (duration: twelve shichen)]
[Current Taboo Points balance: 1319]
He had succeeded!
Taiyi let out a long breath inwardly, but before he could finish exhaling, an even stronger shock struck.
The three crystalline fragments formed from dark golden runes had already sunk into the depths of his Three Flowers Dao Foundation. The instant they made contact—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three dull explosions erupted deep within his Primordial Spirit.
Taiyi felt as though his consciousness had been torn into three pieces, each one enduring a different distortion.
The first fragment brought "blur."
He could "see" the Karma Threads extending from his body begin to lose clarity. The thread of brotherhood connecting him to Di Jun—once so clear that he could see the origin connection formed when the Sun Star had nurtured them—now grew hazy, as if separated by frosted glass. The racial Karma Thread connecting him to the Demon Race—once as thick as an arm and tightly linked to the fortune of the Heavenly Court—also became thinner and paler. Even the finer Karma Threads were becoming blurred.
The second fragment brought "chaos."
His perception of his own heavenly secrets began to grow confused. He could no longer see the road ahead clearly, and the road behind him also became vague. Even the most fundamental question of "who am I?" began to waver—was he Eastern Emperor Taiyi? Or Lin Yuan? Or... something else? He felt as though he had been thrown into a thick fog, surrounded by endless white in every direction, unable to see anything clearly.
The third fragment brought... "taboo."
An icy, chaotic power carrying an ancient aura of taboo began to seep into the origin of his mana, into his Three Flowers Dao Foundation, into every strand of his divine sense. That power was remaking him, twisting him, pushing him toward some unknowable direction.
[Fragment of Karma Reversal fusion in progress...]
The system prompt appeared coldly.
[Fusion progress: 1%... 3%... 7%...]
Taiyi gritted his teeth and circulated his cultivation method with all his strength to stabilize his Primordial Spirit. True Sun Fire surged through his meridians, while the Three Flowers appeared above his head and revolved slowly, attempting to digest this sudden foreign power.
But that power was too bizarre.
It had not come to "merge." It had come to "overwrite"—like pouring a bucket of ink into clear water. It was not blending, but contamination, distortion, turning what had once been clear into something turbid and chaotic.
He could feel that his own "existence" was becoming... elusive.
Like a reflection in water. You could see it, but if you reached out to grasp it, you would catch only a handful of water.
Just then—
Hongjun's gaze swept over from the high platform.
It was not deliberate, merely the natural sweep of his eyes as he lectured. His gaze moved from left to right, from the Three Pure Ones to Nuwa, past Zhunti and Jieyin...
Then it paused on Taiyi for half a breath.
Only half a breath.
Yet in that instant, Taiyi felt as though an invisible hand had seized his Primordial Spirit.
It was not an attack or suppression, merely a pure "gaze." That gaze was calm to a frightening degree, like a bottomless icy pool. One could not tell whether it held anger, pleasure, or whether it simply did not care at all.
But Taiyi could sense what that gaze contained—it was "watching."
Watching his physical body, watching his Primordial Spirit, watching the circulation of his mana, watching the changes occurring deep within his sea of consciousness—changes that should not have existed.
Watching the three Fragments of Karma Reversal that were fusing.
Watching the taboo power that was seeping in.
Watching his Karma Threads become blurred.
Watching his heavenly secrets become chaotic.
Taiyi's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.
He forced himself to remain calm, maintaining the posture of listening to the Dao with his eyes closed. He even kept his breathing steady and the circulation of mana around him at its normal rhythm. Yet within his heart, towering waves had already risen.
Had he been discovered?
No, not necessarily.
Hongjun's gaze lingered for only half a breath before moving away, and he continued lecturing. "...Entrusting the evil corpse is even more perilous. One must repeatedly temper the spiritual treasure with the origin of one's evil thoughts until the treasure generates baleful aura..."
His voice remained even, without the slightest hint of anything unusual.
But Taiyi knew that the Dao Ancestor had noticed.
Though he did not know exactly what Hongjun had noticed, he had definitely sensed an "abnormality." Hongjun simply had not pursued it. Perhaps he did not care. Perhaps he felt there was no need. Perhaps... he was waiting for something.
Taiyi suppressed the tremor in his heart and returned his attention to his sea of consciousness.
The fusion continued.
[Fusion progress: 12%... 18%... 25%...]
With every percentage fused, his perception of karma became clearer, but his own karma became more blurred. It was a contradictory experience—you could see the fate trajectories of others more clearly, yet become increasingly unable to see your own.
He tried to "look" around him.
The world had already changed in his eyes.
He could "see" the Karma Threads extending from everyone—the black-and-yellow Karma Threads of the Three Pure Ones were solid as iron chains; Nuwa's Karma Thread of creation glowed with vigorous life; the dark golden Karma Threads of Zhunti and Jieyin intertwined with each other. Though both sat upon cushions, Zhunti's thread was clearly brighter, while Jieyin's was dimmer, as if he had been implicated; the severed Karma Thread on Hongyun was slowly dissipating, and with each portion that faded, the gray-black Calamity Qi above his head grew denser...
Even the great powers standing in the rear rows had clearly visible Karma Threads—some thick, some thin, some tangled into knots, some straight as swords.
But when he looked at himself, he saw only a mass of... chaos.
Blurred, distorted, elusive.
Several major Karma Threads remained, but all the details were a mess. Like a painting soaked in water, its outline remained, but its colors had bled and its lines blurred until nothing could be seen clearly.
So this was "one's own karma becoming blurred"?
Taiyi could not say how he felt.
Time passed bit by bit.
Hongjun's lecture continued, reaching the difficulties of "entrusting the obsession corpse." "...Obsession is stubborn, and the object of entrustment must possess sufficient weight to bear it. If the spiritual treasure is too insubstantial, obsession will easily become empty talk..."
Many people in the hall knitted their brows—clearly, severing obsession was even more difficult than severing good thoughts or evil thoughts.
Zhunti sat on the fifth cushion, his expression having already regained its calm. His eyes were closed, his palms pressed together, and dark golden Buddhist light circulated around him. From time to time, he nodded lightly, as though he had understood some crucial point. But Taiyi could "see" that the Karma Thread linking him to the cushion was trembling faintly—not the stable sort of tremble, but an unstable tremble marked by minute cracks.
Jieyin sat on the sixth cushion. His sorrowful face remained expressionless, but his eyelids twitched faintly. His Karma Thread was also somewhat unstable, tightly entangled with Zhunti's, as if he had been dragged into it.
Over by the Three Pure Ones, Laozi still had his eyes closed, Yuanshi's brows were slightly furrowed, while Tongtian surveyed the entire hall with great interest—especially Taiyi.
Nuwa's gaze also occasionally swept over him, carrying a hint of probing curiosity.
Di Jun stood beside Taiyi, all his attention on the Dao lecture. He could sense that his younger brother's aura fluctuated somewhat, but assumed Taiyi had gained some enlightenment from the lecture and did not pay much attention to it.
Only Taiyi himself knew that his sea of consciousness was currently being turned upside down.
[Fusion progress: 41%... 53%... 67%...]
The three dark golden crystals had sunk into the deepest part of his Three Flowers Dao Foundation and begun intertwining and merging with his origin laws. With every percentage fused, he felt his "sense of existence" weaken a little—not that he was becoming weaker, but that he was becoming... harder to grasp.
Finally—
[Fusion progress: 100%]
[Fragment of Karma Reversal fusion complete]
Taiyi slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
He opened his eyes. Deep within his golden pupils, a flicker of dark golden light flashed and vanished, so quickly that it seemed like an illusion.
The world had completely changed in his eyes.
He could "see" the flow of Karma Threads, the intertwining of fate trajectories, and the hidden calamities and opportunities upon every person.
But when he looked at himself, there was only chaos.
Blurred, distorted, unfathomable.
Was this the price of taboo power?
He raised his head and looked toward Hongjun on the high platform.
The Dao Ancestor was still expounding the Dao, his voice calm and his expression indifferent. Yet at the instant the fragments completed their fusion, Hongjun's gaze paused upon him once more.
Only for an instant.
But in that instant, Taiyi felt as though he had been seen through completely.
From body to Primordial Spirit, from mana to karma, from past to future—every secret had nowhere to hide.
He forced himself to remain composed, maintaining an earnest expression as he listened to the Dao. He even nodded faintly, as though responding to what the Dao Ancestor had just said.
But his back had already been soaked in cold sweat for the second time.
Hongjun quickly shifted his gaze away and continued. "...Once the Three Corpses have been entrusted, one must use one's own Dao Fruit as the guide and nourish them gradually. Only when the Three Corpses fully harmonize with the spiritual treasures entrusted to them may one attempt to sever them..."
His voice remained calm, without any hint of abnormality.
But Taiyi knew that the Dao Ancestor had seen everything.
He simply... had not intervened.
Why?
Taiyi did not know.
Perhaps, in Hongjun's eyes, this small "abnormality" was not worth mentioning at all? Perhaps the Dao Ancestor was waiting for something? Perhaps... there were rules involved that Taiyi did not know?
He suppressed the doubts in his heart and returned his attention to the lecture.
Hongjun had now reached the most crucial part:
"...The method of the Three Corpses is the foundation of becoming a Saint. Yet the path to sainthood does not end there. The Heavenly Dao has flaws. The Great Dao has fifty; Heaven derives forty-nine, and one escapes..."
The hall fell silent in an instant.
Everyone held their breath.
What was the Dao Ancestor... hinting at?
Taiyi pricked up his ears as well.
But just then, deep within his sea of consciousness, that newly born, twisted Karma Thread suddenly flashed.
Immediately afterward, the system interface appeared on its own:
[Temporary Ability: Karma Insulator activated] [Duration: twelve double-hours] [Effect: During this period, all of the host's karma will be temporarily concealed and cannot be traced by the Heavenly Dao]
Taiyi's heart jolted.
Twelve double-hours...
In other words, for the next twelve double-hours, no matter what he did, the Heavenly Dao would not "see" him?
He looked toward Hongjun on the raised platform.
The Dao Ancestor was still lecturing, his voice calm and distant:
"...This lecture will last three years. What I speak of today is merely the method of entrusting the Three Corpses. There are still such hurdles ahead as severing the corpses, nurturing them, and unifying them..."
Three years?
Taiyi was first stunned, then suddenly understood.
Of course. How could the lectures at Zixiao Palace ever be finished in one sitting? The first two lectures had each lasted thousands of years. This time, the path of the Quasi-Saint concerned the foundation of becoming a saint. Three years... was probably considered short.
He took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart.
Three years, and twelve double-hours of karmic insulation...
Perhaps he could do something.
He closed his eyes and began listening to the lecture in earnest.
Hongjun's voice slowly flowed through the hall, every word containing the true meaning of the Great Dao.
Within Taiyi's sea of consciousness, the three fragments of Karma Reversal had already fused completely. That forbidden power was slowly seeping into every inch of his flesh and every wisp of his Primordial Spirit.
Karma had blurred. Heavenly secrets had grown chaotic. The forbidden power was in hand.
He needed to think carefully about how to walk the road ahead.
He opened his eyes and looked at the six meditation cushions before him—Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, Zhunti, and Jieyin sat upon them, Dao rhythms circulating around their bodies.
A faint, imperceptible darkness flashed deep within his golden eyes.
The lecture had only just begun.
The real show was yet to come.
Before you continue