Settling Karmic Ties

"Senior, Queen Medusa heard you were coming and is already on her way."

As Xiao Yan poured the wine, he said, "She said that without your help back then, she would not be where she is today."

Yang Xuan nodded. "She has a thoughtful heart. However, I came this time to see what fruit the seed I planted back then has borne."

Xiao Yan froze. "A seed?"

Setting down his wine cup, Yang Xuan looked at Xiao Yan and said, "Back then, I manifested in the Dou Qi Continent through a mystic leaf. That leaf has now become the World Tree."

Xiao Yan instantly understood what Yang Xuan meant. "Was it that lotus platform from back then?"

Yang Xuan nodded slightly. "Correct. I transformed that leaf into a lotus platform back then, and in the end, it came into your possession."

"So that was it!"

Only then did Xiao Yan understand.

The lotus platform he had taken away had actually been Senior's handiwork.

No wonder his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds whenever he sat upon it. In merely five years, he had broken through to the Dou Emperor realm and opened the great plane.

That had allowed him to come to the Great Thousand World, establish the Endless Flame Domain in less than a century, and look down upon the Great Thousand World.

Xiao Yan promptly rose to his feet and led Yang Xuan out of the palace, arriving beneath that towering tree.

"To be honest with you, Senior, after that lotus platform no longer had much effect on me, I used an array to plant it here. It then evolved into a Seven-Colored Flame Spirit Treasure Tree."

Xiao Yan looked up at the canopy, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Senior, do you know that this tree has now become the sacred tree of the Great Thousand World? Every year, countless cultivators travel thousands of miles to worship here, all for a glimpse of the seven-colored auspicious clouds in its branches."

Yang Xuan stood beneath the tree.

Sensing Yang Xuan's arrival, the entire canopy trembled gently. Seven-colored light burst forth, dyeing the whole sky in seven hues.

It appeared to be nothing more than a sacred tree, but it had in truth absorbed all the laws of fire in the Great Thousand World, becoming the incarnation of the laws of the Dao of Fire.

Standing to one side and watching this scene, Xiao Yan felt an indescribable stirring rise within him.

"Senior, this tree has shown this junior immense kindness."

Xiao Yan's voice lowered somewhat. "Back then, when this junior broke through from Dou Emperor to Heavenly Sovereign, I relied on the Dao aura it emitted. Later, when this junior founded the Endless Flame Domain, I also used it as my foundation. Without it, I would not be where I am today."

Yang Xuan withdrew his hand and looked at Xiao Yan. "You need not belittle yourself. I will not take this tree back.

"A tree is a dead thing; people are alive. It was able to help you because there is a Dao in your heart. If you had been mediocre, it would have been nothing but a glowing tree, incapable of becoming a sacred tree."

Xiao Yan scratched his head and chuckled. "Senior is right."

After pondering for a moment, Yang Xuan took out an emerald jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Yan.

"This contains the spatial coordinates of Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven, as well as the location of the plot I reserved for you. With this jade slip, you can establish a territory belonging to the Endless Flame Domain within Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven."

Xiao Yan accepted the jade slip and solemnly tucked it into his robes. "Rest assured, Senior. This junior will certainly build the Endless Flame Domain branch well and will not disappoint you."

Yang Xuan nodded. "I am looking forward to your Endless Pill Pavilion."

A seven-colored rainbow descended from the nine heavens.

Medusa had arrived.

She stepped out from the rainbow, dressed in a purple gown, her long purple hair cascading like a waterfall. Golden light flickered in her vertical pupils.

The instant she saw Yang Xuan, her body trembled slightly. A complicated emotion flashed through her eyes—reverence, gratitude, and a trace of feeling that could neither be named nor explained.

She stepped forward and respectfully bowed. "Medusa greets Master."

Yang Xuan looked at her calmly.

"Rise. I am not your master. Let us settle this karmic tie today."

Medusa straightened, an almost imperceptible disappointment flashing through her eyes before she quickly regained her composure.

"You jest, Senior. Without you, Medusa would still be struggling bitterly at the peak of the Dou Emperor realm. Medusa will never forget your kindness for as long as she lives."

Yang Xuan looked at Medusa calmly. "There is something I would like to ask you."

Medusa was slightly startled, surprise flashing in her eyes.

She had thought Yang Xuan had come merely to settle their karmic tie. She had not expected him to take the initiative to ask her something.

She bowed slightly, her tone respectful and earnest. "Please speak, Senior. Medusa will tell you all she knows."

"Do you know of the Heavens Marketplace in Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven?"

"I have heard a little about it. Xiao Yan has mentioned it a few times, saying it is the trading center of the myriad heavens and worlds, connecting countless planes."

Medusa paused. "Does Senior wish for Medusa to work at the marketplace?"

Yang Xuan nodded slightly.

"The Heavens Marketplace has an auction house that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people bidding at once. I have yet to find a suitable candidate for its chief steward. This person must be well versed in commerce, skilled in dealing with people, capable of coordinating an entire region, and possess enough patience and composure to face visitors from myriad worlds without being either servile or overbearing."

He looked at Medusa. "After much consideration, you are suitable."

Medusa's breath caught slightly.

Chief steward of the auction house—the trading hub of the myriad heavens and worlds. What an important position that was.

And Senior actually wanted her to take it.

"Senior, Medusa is merely a queen of the serpentfolk. My cultivation is only at the Heavenly Sovereign realm..." Her voice was hesitant, not because she wished to decline, but because she was uncertain whether she could bear such a heavy responsibility.

"Cultivation is not an issue."

Yang Xuan raised a hand and interrupted her. "Within Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven, there are many whose cultivation surpasses yours. But what the chief steward of the auction house needs is not cultivation, but the skill to deal with people and manage affairs. Your ability to handle matters is more precious than any level of cultivation."

Medusa fell silent, then voiced her greatest concern. "Senior, if I go to Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven, what will become of the serpentfolk?"

"The serpentfolk can move into Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven."

Yang Xuan said, "I have reserved a stretch of land outside the exclusive area for group members, where the serpentfolk may settle. Your people can build a home there."

A glimmer of light flashed through Medusa's eyes.

Build a home—those four words had been her greatest wish throughout her life.

If she could possess a piece of land that belonged to her people in Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven...

"Senior, I am willing."

She did not hesitate any longer.

Yang Xuan nodded and took a violet-gold token from his sleeve, handing it to Medusa.

The front of the token bore the four words "Heavens Auction," while its reverse was engraved with the image of a floating city—the Heavens City of Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven.

"This is the token of the auction house's chief steward. With it, you may travel freely through Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven without being restricted by invitation letters. Once the marketplace officially begins operations, you may take up your post."

Medusa accepted the token with both hands and solemnly put it away in her sleeve. "Medusa will certainly not fail Senior's trust."

"There is one more matter."

Yang Xuan continued, "The karmic tie between us shall be considered settled today. From now on, you are the chief steward of the Heavens Marketplace auction house. You and I are merely partners. Do you understand?"

Medusa lowered her head and fell silent for a moment.

When she raised it again, the disappointment in her eyes was gone, leaving only resolve and gratitude.

"I understand. I will not disappoint you, Senior."

Yang Xuan said nothing further and turned toward the vine tree.

He reached out and plucked a tender leaf from the tree. The leaf was so green it seemed ready to drip, shimmering with seven-colored light beneath the sun. He then handed it to Medusa.

"This leaf is a gift for you. If you encounter troubles you cannot resolve in the future, you may use this leaf to ask me for help. Three times."

Medusa accepted the leaf and carefully tucked it into her robes.

Standing nearby and watching this scene, Xiao Yan was filled with deep emotion.

Senior's visit had settled three karmic ties.

Every matter had been handled cleanly and decisively—neither dragging his feet nor being cold and heartless.

"Senior, when are you leaving?" Xiao Yan asked.

Yang Xuan looked up at the sky. "There is no hurry. I would also like to see whether your Endless Flame Domain has any other surprises."

Xiao Yan chuckled. "Then Senior should take a good look. Over the years, this junior has accumulated quite a few good things."

The corners of Yang Xuan's mouth lifted slightly as he followed Xiao Yan deeper into the Endless Flame Domain.

The Endless Pill Pavilion stood at the highest point of the Endless Flame Domain. It was a nine-story pagoda formed entirely from Heavenly Flames, seven-colored fire flowing across its body. From afar, it resembled a blooming seven-colored lotus.

An ancient bell hung from the top of the tower. When it rang, its chime could spread throughout the entire Great Thousand World.

Xiao Yan pushed open the doors and led Yang Xuan into the pill pavilion.

The first floor was a pill exhibition hall, displaying all manner of medicinal pills Xiao Yan had refined over the years. From first rank to ninth rank, from Dou Practitioners to Great Rulers, it had everything.

The second floor was the pill-refining chamber, furnished with dozens of refining platforms. Each was heated by Heavenly Flames, with precisely controllable temperatures.

The third floor and above were Xiao Yan's private pill-refining rooms, not open to outsiders.

Yang Xuan inspected the floors one by one, nodding from time to time. The pavilion's layout, the design of its refining platforms, and the storage of its medicinal ingredients all reflected Xiao Yan's ultimate pursuit of pill refinement.

He was a true pill-refining fanatic, a match for Han Li.

"Not bad."

Yang Xuan praised, "Your pill-refining arts have already surpassed the framework of the Dou Qi Continent and begun to touch the essence of the Pill Dao. Take one step further, and you will use heaven and earth as your furnace, all things as your medicine. What you refine will no longer be pills, but the Dao itself."

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. "Senior, what lies beyond the Pill Dao?"

"Beyond the Pill Dao lies creation."

Yang Xuan looked at Xiao Yan. "To refine a medicinal pill is merely to extract, merge, and elevate the medicinal properties within ingredients. But the Dao of creation extracts, merges, and elevates the laws of heaven and earth, creating things that did not originally exist. If your Endless Pill Pavilion can take root in Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven, it can advance from refining pills to refining the Dao."

Xiao Yan drew a deep breath and nodded heavily. "This junior understands."

A single sentence of true teaching was worth more than ten thousand volumes of false instruction.

Without that one piece of guidance, Xiao Yan did not know how many years of detours he would have had to take before truly touching the threshold of the Dao.

Yang Xuan said no more and turned to leave the pill pavilion.

Xiao Yan followed behind him, an unprecedented drive rising in his heart.

At the entrance to the pill pavilion, Yang Xuan stopped and looked back at Xiao Yan.

"It is time for me to leave. We will meet in Myriad Realms Mystic Heaven three months from now."

Xiao Yan cupped his hands in salute. "Take care, Senior."

Seven-colored radiance appeared beneath Yang Xuan's feet, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.

Xiao Yan stood at the entrance of the pill pavilion, staring at that retreating azure light for a long time without coming back to himself.

At some point, Medusa had come up behind him. She stood at his side, likewise gazing at the sky.