Within Biyou Palace, the surging might of the Sages intertwined at the center of the great hall.
Sect Master Tongtian rose from the Cloud Bed.
The hems of his robes, previously still, stirred slightly at this unexpected development.
"Fellow Daoist Houtu, have you discovered something?"
Tongtian's voice echoed through the great hall.
Houtu stood at the center of the hall, her plain long dress trailing over the blue bricks.
She did not answer immediately, but slowly withdrew her outstretched right hand.
"A very faint layer of karmic retribution is entwined around the Jie Sect disciples."
"This karmic retribution is unusual. It intertwines with their divine souls, taking the form of dark-red threads."
Sect Master Tongtian stopped in his tracks.
He examined the disciples outside Biyou Palace once more.
In his sight, there was only the fluctuating fortune above their heads and the baleful hostility he had forcibly suppressed.
As for karmic retribution, he could not detect even a trace.
"Karmic retribution?"
"If it were ordinary karmic retribution, it could never escape my divinations."
"Even with a supreme treasure concealing heaven's secrets, it should have nowhere to hide in a Sage's presence."
Sect Master Tongtian's right hand settled on the hilt of the Qingping Sword.
It was an unconscious movement.
Houtu turned and looked toward the void beyond the great hall.
"The Earth Dao governs reincarnation and is most sensitive to the karmic retribution living beings incur during their lives."
"This karmic retribution did not arise naturally. It is as though some external force forcibly grafted it onto them."
"It evaded the Heavenly Dao's perception, yet took root deep within their divine souls."
Upon hearing this, Sect Master Tongtian walked to the entrance of the great hall.
He looked at the disciples sitting on their meditation cushions, their faces contorted with