Breakthrough: Past Karma

A few days later.

Black-White Academy, in the back mountains.

"Ji Ning, you have received the inheritance of the Immortal Three-Foot Sword. It is clear that his sword path is suited for you to follow. At the beginning of one's cultivation, one must learn from the paths of predecessors. Only after reaching a sufficiently high realm can you explore your own path; that is the proper way."

"I, too, have some understanding of the sword. Seeing that you excel in the paths of water and fire, I have created this Water-Fire Sword Manual for you to use as an entry point into the sword dao."

"Watch closely."

"."

Zhou Yu's thoughts stirred, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to manifest dual swords of water and fire. Immediately, he began to execute sword technique after sword technique.

Before him, Ji Ning watched with unblinking eyes.

As he committed each sword move to memory, he was at times struck with sudden realization, and at others, filled with confusion.

Zhou Yu performed the sequence three times before stopping, and Ji Ning gradually snapped out of his trance, pulled from the lingering images of the sword.

Master is far too humble. While this sword technique is not as powerful as the Three-Foot Sword, every single move serves as a foundation for the sword dao. Learning the Water-Fire Sword Manual first will surely make studying the Three-Foot Sword much easier. I have only been his disciple for seven days, yet Master has already created this technique specifically for me. His efforts are truly painstaking. Ji Ning felt a surge of gratitude.

He had initially felt some doubt when he was suddenly taken as a disciple by a powerful Loose Immortal, but now he truly felt Zhou Yu's concern.

Ji Ning was naturally unaware that while Zhou Yu had indeed possessed strong utilitarian motives when he first took him in, those motives had vanished now that he had acquired the "Heavens Simulation" ability.

However, given Zhou Yu's character, even though he no longer needed Ji Ning, he had already accepted him as a disciple and could not simply leave him to fend for himself. He would still invest the necessary effort.

Zhou Yu offered a few more pointers before letting Ji Ning leave.

After finishing a cup of tea, Zhou Yu began his own cultivation.

His progress in the dao had been stagnant for a long time, limited partly by his own comprehension and the difficulty of the Great Paths, and partly by the deficiencies of his soul.

A Loose Immortal is an immortal who has escaped the Celestial Immortal Tribulation, yet most have had their physical bodies destroyed and their primordial spirit golden lotuses damaged; their souls are often inferior even to those of many Earth Immortals at the perfection stage.

A million-year Loose Immortal is already equivalent to a top-tier Heavenly Immortal in terms of realm, surpassing even some Heavenly Immortals.

For a million-year Loose Immortal to surpass some Heavenly Immortals in dao comprehension despite having a weaker soul is a rare feat indeed.

Zhou Yu's own insights into the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and the Great Dao of Arrays were at the level of a million-year Loose Immortal, roughly equivalent to the ninth stance of the Three-Foot Sword.

It was the combination of these two that allowed him to stand a cut above the rest.

It was only with this level of attainment that Zhou Yu had been able to survive until now, and he was even confident he could live for another one or two million years.

"I had thought that I would make no further progress before my reincarnation, but it seems that is not necessarily the case," Zhou Yu sighed inwardly.

In his previous simulation, he had mastered a level of laws equivalent to the twentieth level of the Sky Bridge, with a focus on the Space Law.

Furthermore, he had gained an incredibly sharp comprehension honed by the "Potential Boost" talent.

The combination of the two made Zhou Yu feel like a changed man; he was fully capable of taking another step forward.

Devoting himself to meditation and absorbing the mysteries of the laws, Zhou Yu's comprehension of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth began to advance by leaps and bounds, a sensation he had not felt in a long time.

Within a month, Zhou Yu had truly undergone a transformation.

"Hahaha! Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating!"

Within the Nine Absolutes Universe Array, Zhou Yu's figure split into thousands, appearing in every corner of the ten-thousand-mile space.

Progress after one or two million years of stagnation was truly thrilling.

"This move, 'Ten Thousand Shadows of One Realm', is finally complete."

Zhou Yu sighed with emotion. In terms of realm alone, this move already surpassed that of an ordinary top-tier Heavenly Immortal. It was a technique he had envisioned for a long time; he had never been able to create it before, yet now, it had come to him with ease.

At this point, I should be only one step away from the final bottleneck of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and two steps away from comprehending the complete Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, Zhou Yu pondered to himself.

He possessed a manual containing the complete "Great Dao of Heaven and Earth" titled Universe Breaking Realm, said to have been created by a Pure Yang True Immortal.

Universe Breaking Realm consisted of twelve stances, and the twelfth stance contained the complete Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Zhou Yu's current move was likely equivalent to the tenth stance of Universe Breaking Realm.

In fact, his previous combination of two Great Paths had been roughly equivalent to this level, but now he had achieved it using the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth alone.

"I created the 'Ten Thousand Shadows of One Realm' in just a month. It shouldn't be a problem to spend more time comprehending an even stronger move. As for the complete Great Dao of Heaven and Earth..." Zhou Yu sighed.

If he were a Heavenly Immortal with a soul at least a thousand times stronger, he would have a high degree of certainty in comprehending the complete "Great Dao of Heaven and Earth." Alas, he was merely a Loose Immortal; his soul was far too weak.

Many supreme Heavenly Immortals were stuck at this step for endless years; he had little hope of achieving it in the short term.

"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time." Zhou Yu did not dwell on it.

Aside from occasionally guiding Ji Ning, Zhou Yu buried himself in hard cultivation.

He did not find it dull or tedious in the slightest. For the past three million years, he had exhausted every method to live longer, and even when he could not make an inch of progress, he had continued to meditate and cultivate.

He had not found it boring then, and now that his cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds, he found it even less so.

On the contrary, Zhou Yu found joy in the process.

Without realizing it, half a year had passed.

On this day.

Zhou Yu, who had been pondering the Great Dao of Arrays, suddenly changed his expression.

Whoosh!

With a flick of his mind, a Blood-Colored Tortoise Shell flew out from his waist.

"Fellow Daoist Ganyu, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?" A blurred figure appeared upon the Blood-Colored Tortoise Shell, smiling as he spoke.

"It has been eight hundred and fifty thousand years since we last met," Zhou Yu calculated the time before saying, "I did not expect you to come looking for me at a time like this."

"You once swore a Heavenly Dao oath to assist us three times. You performed well the first two times, and now it is time for your third intervention," the blurred figure said. "Once this task is complete, there will be no further ties between us."

"Speak," Zhou Yu nodded.

As a rogue cultivator without sect or affiliation, reaching his current level had truly not been easy.

Back when he first possessed the strength of a million-year loose immortal, this mysterious person had sought him out. Tempted by the vast resources offered, he had agreed to perform three tasks for him.

The two Pure Yang-level manuals in Zhou Yu's possession, Universe Breaking Realm and Five Elements Great Destruction Array, had both been obtained from this individual.

For a loose immortal with no backing or background, it would have been impossible to learn such precious manuals without paying a price.

Not to mention the various other treasures he had received.

"I need you to go to the Haoyang Great World and assist in dealing with a Celestial Immortal," the blurred figure stated directly.

"A Celestial Immortal?" Zhou Yu frowned slightly and asked, "Which Celestial Immortal? How strong are they? What is their background?"

Dealing with a Celestial Immortal was a troublesome affair. Strength aside, the key was their background; some Celestial Immortals were absolutely untouchable.

"Rest assured, I would naturally not send you to your death," the blurred figure chuckled.

"You had better be clear. Although I swore a Heavenly Dao oath, there are conditions," Zhou Yu said calmly.

"It is Celestial Huoyun. I will provide you with a dossier; his deeds are not difficult to investigate," the blurred figure smiled. "Three years from now, go to the vicinity of Cloud Immortal Mountain in the Wilderness Great Marsh of the Haoyang Great World. Someone will naturally inform you how to proceed then."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu finally nodded.

Soon, the blurred figure vanished, and the tortoise shell magic treasure instantly cracked with fissures before dissipating into the heavens and earth.

This magic treasure had been placed under a restriction and could only be used three times; now that the three uses were exhausted, it naturally disintegrated.

Why must I deal with a Celestial Immortal at a time like this? Zhou Yu pondered for a moment before realizing this was no coincidence.

In the current Three Realms, the Great Calamity had effectively already begun.

Although the Great Xia World remained calm, the Seamless Gate had already begun acting in secret elsewhere, and many other great worlds were already rife with undercurrents.

Was the person who contacted me originally from the Seamless Gate, or some other ordinary faction? Zhou Yu could not help but frown. If it were an ordinary faction, it would be fine, but if it were the Seamless Gate, then there would be trouble.

Regardless, there is no reason not to repay the karma owed from before. Zhou Yu quickly stopped overthinking it.

If not for the many resources he had obtained from that person back then, he might not even be alive today.

Since this great karma had manifested during the Great Calamity, there was no escaping it; he could only face it head-on.