Clear the Karma, Sever the Grudges

Above the River of Forgetfulness, deep in the sky, hundreds of bolts of Human Path Lightning coiled and swirled. From their appearance to their present state, it took only two or three breaths before a Chaos vortex was created.

At the center of the vortex, a wave that could shake even the gods was emanating, as if it were brewing something earth-shattering.

At the edge of the vortex, thick bolts of lightning constantly flickered, weaved, and intertwined, their leaked power causing even the gods, including the Tongpan God, to feel their scalps tingle and instinctively want to flee!

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out, and a Divine Sense flew by. Several bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the gods' escape route and forcing them to stop and turn back.

The chief judge's expression suddenly changed as he recognized the voice's owner. He was about to speak when he was interrupted by a series of explosive sounds.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From the Chaos vortex in the sky, bolts of lightning struck down one after another, hitting the same spot repeatedly!

That place was none other than where Lü Liang was.

A Divine Spirit Talisman was bathed in Thunderfire, struck by lightning one after another, and slowly fell. The aftershocks of the lightning also fell to the ground, flowing and escaping across the surface of the Netherworld, passing over the land, forests, cities, and the feet of the spirits.

Several streams even flowed past the feet of several deities who had lost their Virtual Talisman. Those deities immediately trembled, jumped up on the spot, and looked terrified.

"These lightning bolts contain the Human Path Order! They can purify supernatural thoughts!"

Soon, a deity discerned a trace of the source, his voice tinged with fear.

Human Path Order, as its name suggests, maintains the Order of human society, emphasizes the relationships between people, and is most resistant to those gods and ghosts who claim to control the fate of mankind.

Most of the City God and Subordinate Deity in the Domain of Law have lost their Virtual Talisman. Now, they can barely maintain their divine bodies only by relying on the characteristics of the Netherworld. If they were in the Mortal Realm, their Divine Body would immediately collapse.

In such circumstances, once they encounter the light of Human Path, they are like mice seeing a cat, trembling with fear, terrified that their extraordinary will to live will be dispelled and they will vanish into nothingness.

"How could the Netherworld appear within the Human Path Order? Could it be the work of Min Yuan...?"

Although the divine judge had not lost his talisman, he was still startled by the flowing light on the ground. Connecting the events of the day, he pondered the reason. His gaze fell on the streaks of lightning that had descended from the sky.

"The timing of this Human Path Thunder —right after Min Yuan was suppressed—suggests that it was likely Min Yuan's doing. But how could a god control the Human Path Order? Even mortal scholars might not be able to accomplish this in their entire lives, let alone the Divine Path, which is opposed to Human Path?"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Min Yuan! It was you who mobilized the Human Path Order!"

While the gods, including the Tongpan God, were astonished and terrified, Lü Liang's Divine Spirit Talisman, after being struck by lightning time and time again, slowly came into contact with a wisp of Divine Sense, leaving him utterly astonished.

Lü Liang's talisman was complex and profound, with numerous lines and an ever-changing aura. When the Order Lightning struck it, which was enough to repel the extraordinary, cracks appeared on the surface of the talisman, as if it would shatter at any moment!

But as several bolts of lightning struck, the talisman was merely knocked downwards. It did not actually collapse, and even the surface cracks did not increase.

"A waste of effort! If you could control the Human Path Order, you could shatter this Core Talisman of mine. Right now, you're merely manipulating a projection of that Order. Its power is inherently inferior to that of the outside world. Furthermore, anything from the Human Path that enters the Netherworld is immediately weakened, making it impossible for you to shatter my talisman. Although this talisman appears to be at the Third Grade level, its essence far surpasses..."

Perhaps because his Divine Body was completely shattered and his foundation destroyed, Lü Liang was able to break free from his previous panic and confusion and speak in a coherent manner, but his Divine Sense were still tinged with an inescapable gloom.

As he spoke, specks of orange light gradually emanated from the cracks in the talisman.

"While the Human Path Order is powerful, it is taboo in the Netherworld and cannot last. Someone will soon take action..."

Lü Liang's Divine Sense emanated from the talisman, seemingly trying to shake Qiu Yan's confidence. He was about to speak when Qiu Yan interrupted him.

"Oh? Forbidden? Thanks for reminding me, in that case..."

Divine Sense arrived, and the falling lightning suddenly increased tenfold, pouring down!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The lightning, like rain, did not scatter but instead focused on one spot, enveloping Lü Liang's talisman and the Yin-Yang Pagoda!

"You want to destroy the Yin-Yang Pagoda?" Lü Liang finally showed a hint of panic again.

In this situation, Lü Liang was almost completely despondent, but the reason he still had a sliver of clarity was due to the secrets hidden in the top seven floors of the Yin-Yang Pagoda.

Today's defeat brought him endless shame, but survival is the most important thing right now.

As a reincarnated deity, Lü Liang had only managed to return to the Third Grade after decades of effort. Such an achievement was something to be proud of, but before he could even rejoice, he had already been surpassed by Qiu Yan.

Moreover, he saw a resemblance to his disciple in Qiu Yan, which amplified his displeasure. This was not out of hatred for his disciple, but rather stemmed from feelings he had suppressed for a long time.

He had finally achieved victory, but the thunderbolt struck and he was completely overturned. Not only that, his Divine Body was destroyed, and his talismans were struck by the thunderbolt. He was as frightened as a stray dog. Even if he tried to appear calm, he could not hide the fear and frustration in his heart.

If I manage to escape alive, I will definitely come back for revenge!

Hoping to gain the upper hand in a verbal exchange, Qiu Yan didn't give him that chance at all. Instead, Qiu Yan gleaned crucial information from the conversation and began attacking the Yin-Yang Pagoda.

"Stop! You can't destroy my talismans, much less destroy the Yin-Yang Pagoda!"

Qiu Yan's Divine Sense replied, "Keeping your talisman was part of the plan. As a reincarnated deity, even if your strength is weak, the connections you cultivated in heaven are still there. Destroying your talisman might invite retaliation, so it's better to keep it to extract information! As for this Yin-Yang Pagoda, it would be good if it could be destroyed, but even if it can't..."

"You want to suppress me? Don't even think about it!" Lü Liang's Divine Sense suddenly erupted, trembling and struggling. The power he unleashed actually shook the surrounding lightning, clearly indicating that he had been accumulating power for a long time and wanted to break free.

"Oh?"

With a Divine Sense, Qiu Yan unleashed a burst of lightning, several bolts merging into one, directly suppressing the strange phenomenon of the talisman and destroying Lü Liang's meticulous plans in an instant.

"Whether or not to suppress you is not your decision, just as when we First Meeting, my Divine Office and Divine Rank were not something I could decide myself. Because of your words, I was stripped of them. Now the situation has reversed, which is a sign that Karma and effect are coming to an end!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several Karmic Thread appeared around them, slowly solidifying and binding Qiu Yan and Lü Liang's talismans.

"We 'First Meeting, and I'm stripping you of your Divine Rank Divine Office?" Lü Liang's Divine Sense was already extremely weak at this point, but upon hearing this, he still felt doubt and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

"It seems you don't remember at all. Never mind then. I'm bringing this up only to clarify Karma. This was just an interlude in our lives. However, this interlude made me realize the significance of a higher level of Divine Grade, which led to the situation we have today, and also sowed the seeds of your current predicament."

Qiu Yan and Lü Liang first met in Yin Xiao'e's Underworld Main Hall. At that time, Lü Liang was high above and had amazing power. With just one sentence, he forced Yin Xiao'e to remove Qiu Yan and Huang Jue from their Divine Rank Divine Office.

At that time, Qiu Yan didn't even have the right to leave a trace in Lü Liang's memory.

Looking back on the past and then at the present, life is unpredictable, but the difficulties in getting to this point are unknown to outsiders.

"Alright, it's time to sever Karma and settle scores." Qiu Yan shook his head, composed himself, and flicked a finger.

Whoosh!

The gaps between heaven and earth were filled with electric light, covering the talismans and the Yin-Yang Pagoda.

Lu Liang only had time to utter a single thought of resentment before the aura of the City God of Jiannan Dao dissipated.

"Impossible!"

"Lord Circuit City God, he..."

As soon as this aura dissipated, the gods were greatly alarmed.

However, before their surprise could spread, another strange phenomenon occurred in the sky.

Boom!

A muffled rumble of thunder, and an indescribable giant hand emerged from the River of Forgetfulness, grabbing the Chaos vortex formed by the Human Path Lightning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The vortex pulsated, lightning crackled, and it clashed with the giant hand, the Human Path Order within it rising and falling, about to break free.

Stimulated by this, the giant hand trembled violently, and thick black mist surged from within, instantly covering the sky and obscuring the Human Path Lightning. Then, the hand clenched tightly.

A deafening crackling sound echoed through the sky.

Amidst the exploding lightning, the Human Path Order immediately collapsed. The lightning scattered, but was caught in the giant hand. Then, with a flick of the wrist, it was thrown into the crack in the sky. Following this, a Black Light split off from the hand and, with a swift stroke, extended along the crack.

The crack slowly healed.

The sky returned to its usual gray hue, and everything seemed the same as before.

After doing all this, the hand suddenly shattered, turning into a cloud of black mist and disappearing without a trace.

At the same time, a warning-filled thought crashed down, filling the entire underworld and causing the Divine War tremble. Even Qiu Yan felt an instinctive sense of fear, but his mind remained calm.

"Who unleashed this giant hand? Why did it appear from the River of Forgetfulness and then turn into black mist?"

The thunder had vanished from the earth, the smoke and dust had dissipated, and Lü Liang and the Yin-Yang Pagoda had disappeared without a trace, leaving only Qiu Yan.

His aura had weakened considerably, and his gray robe was still tattered, but his Divine Radiance remained undiminished, and he held a small tower about half an arm's length tall in his left hand.

Suddenly, he raised his right hand and beckoned upwards. Something fell from the sky—a ball of lightning, its shape shifting and dispersing. At its very center was a small wisp of dark energy, which trembled slightly as if struggling.

Qiu Yan observed the black aura and carefully sensed its power.

"This doesn't seem like punishment, just a warning..."

He recalled what Lü Liang had said earlier.

"Human Path Order, taboos in the Netherworld..."