Settling Karma
A burst of clear light rose from Xu Pingfeng's body, and after a few flashes, he passed through the pitch-black deep sea and saw the underwater rift valley.
He wore a robe as thin as a cicada's wing, which wrapped around Xu Pingfeng like a membrane, allowing the white-robed Warlock, Primordial Spirit was on the verge of dissipation, to breathe freely underwater while resisting the terrifying water pressure.
Water-repellent clothing!
Warlock have no shortage of Law Artifact, which allow them to adapt to all kinds of environments and never have any weaknesses.
Even if it exists, then continue spending money to refine weapons.
In the dark depths of the sea, the water ripples, and the Great Rift Valley resembles the gaping maw of a monster, waiting for lost fish to walk into its trap.
Xu Pingfeng opened his palm and glanced at the radiance emitted by the pure white scales. According to the scales, the "White Emperor" was below.
The scales were imbued with the aura of the "White Emperor's" soul, which was the basis for Xu Pingfeng's ability to communicate with the White Emperor over thousands of miles.
Xu Pingfeng looked up and could sense the terrestrial immortals and the first-rank brute staring at him through the endless ocean, but he was wary of the monsters in the underwater rift and did not rashly go into the water.
I will never reach a point of utter despair.
Xu Pingfeng muttered to himself, then took out a luminous pearl that emitted a brilliant white light from within the clear light enveloped him, and entered the underwater rift.
The white light plummeted rapidly, swallowed by endless darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Pingfeng stepped into the mud and finally reached the bottom of the underwater rift valley.
Holding the luminous pearl aloft for a moment, a huge yet blurry outline vaguely appeared at the edge of its bright, intense light.
After walking another hundred steps or so, Xu Pingfeng caught a glimpse of the monster.
What appeared before him was a face that closely resembled a human's, but was more rugged and ugly in detail, with six slightly curved long horns on its head, and its head was as tall as the city wall of the capital.
If you add six curved, upward-pointing horns, then it would be twice the height of a city wall.
The six long, curved horns were covered with innate, magical patterns, and with Xu Pingfeng's current status, he could tell at a glance that they contained the Principle of the Great Dao.
If these patterns can be thoroughly understood, they can be transformed into a powerful array.
But he abruptly closed his eyes. Those patterns were valuable, but too dangerous, like a bottomless vortex that nearly swallowed his already weakened Primordial Spirit.
Very powerful, extremely powerful. Even though the monster before him was asleep, Xu Pingfeng could still estimate that it was far more powerful than Bai Di.
"You've come."
A grand and ethereal voice entered Xu Pingfeng's mind directly.
"Xu Qi'an repelled the Gara Tree; we've lost." Xu Pingfeng said in a low voice, scrutinizing the "human face."
"This is your true form?"
"It's just a severely injured body. Back then, when the Daoist Venerable banished us from the Nine Provinces Continent, I fought him and was almost killed. My injuries haven't fully healed yet."
Huang's voice rang out again.
Xu Pingfeng neither believed nor disbelieved, and said:
"As long as the Great Feng Dynasty exists, the Supervisor will not die. Your goal of refining the Gatekeeper will be difficult to achieve."
"Our current strategy is to avoid their sharp edge and wait until a hundred years later, when Xu Qi'an has passed away peacefully, then we can make a comeback and overthrow the Great Feng in one fell swoop."
At that moment, a soft laugh came from one of the curved ram's horns of "Wild".
"Master Supervisor, are you feeling quite pleased with yourself?" Xu Pingfeng stirred his Primordial Spirit and transmitted his thoughts telepathically:
"Xu Qi'an, whom you supported, has successfully advanced to the first rank, becoming one of the strongest figures in the Nine Provinces Continent. As a result, my plan to refine the Central Plains' fortune and advance to the Heavenly Fate Master has to be halted."
The supervisor's calm and collected voice came through, also transmitted through divine sense:
"Has Wei Yuan been resurrected?"
Xu Pingfeng paused for a moment, then snorted coldly.
The supervisor laughed:
"Pride and arrogance are your greatest weaknesses. You have entered the ranks of second-grade Warlock at a young age, you consider yourself clever and look down on all the heroes in the world."
"How do you feel about being driven to desperation by your own son, in such a predicament?"
The supervisor's words were like a knife stabbing into Xu Pingfeng's chest, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge and his face to twitch.
"You still want to make a comeback? Do you think Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng will leave if you don't die?" the supervisor laughed.
"Given the hatred Xu Qi'an harbors for you, you can't escape. Even with 'Huang' protecting you, he will fight you to the death."
Huang fell silent.
Luo Yuheng's delicate brows furrowed slightly:
"Don't be careless. You said that the White Emperor's true form is 'Wilderness,' but why would it return to the Nine Provinces disguised as the White Emperor? If its true form were to descend, we would have no chance of advancing to the first rank."
Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment:
"This indicates that there is a problem with its physical form, or that it is inconvenient for it to return to Kyushu."
If it's the former, they can try to kill "Wild"; if it's the latter, the situation is more troublesome.
"Let's test the waters first," Xu Qi'an said.
Luo Yuheng grunted, and a jet-black "water phase" floated out from above his head, disappeared into the sea, and swam rapidly in circles beneath their feet.
A whirlpool ten meters in diameter immediately appeared on the sea surface. The whirlpool expanded rapidly, and in an instant, it became fifty meters in diameter. The sharp tail of the whirlpool twisted and pierced into the seabed like a sharp blade.
Soon, Xu Qi'an saw the seabed and the Great Rift Valley through the center of the vortex.
At this point, the vortex created by the "water phase" had expanded to a diameter of 100 meters, a truly spectacular sight.
As a terrestrial deity, Luo Yuheng is no less skilled in water combat than any water-attribute Gods and Devils descendant. Even if the White Emperor's physical body were still intact, Luo Yuheng would not be afraid to fight it in the water.
Upon seeing this, Luo Yuheng raised the iron sword in his hand, and the gleaming blade burst forth with soaring Sword Qi. Immediately afterwards, a layer of blazing flames traveled along the blade, burning fiercely.
Her sword-wielding hand was entangled with a swirling current of air, spinning faster and faster.
Xu Qi'an wasn't idle either. He gently clenched his fist, twisted his waist, pulled his right arm back, and his qi surged and gathered in his fist, the rising qi distorting the air.
Compared to Luo Yuheng's dazzling maneuvers and godlike skills, the first-rank martial artist's aura appeared much more simple and unadorned.
In the Great Rift Valley.
Xu Pingfeng suddenly looked up and saw a twisted, enormous whirlpool pushing aside the seawater and heading straight for the Great Rift Valley.
Through the center of the vortex, he could vaguely see Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng gathering their strength, their killing moves about to strike.
Behind him, the sleeping "Wilderness" had its eyes closed and its mouth slowly opened, a clear and magnificent power brewing within.
On the sea, Luo Yuheng's sword-wielding hand moved at its fastest speed, the swirling energy around it reaching its limit. She threw the sword aside and scolded playfully:
"Go!"
With a whoosh, the cyclone, as if equipped with a propulsion unit, propelled the iron sword burning with scorching flames towards the center of the vortex.
The sword strike was swift and sharp, combining the speed of the wind element, the explosive power of the fire element, and the sharp killing power of the Human Sect Swordsmanship.
On the side, Xu Qi'an unleashed a punch that he had been holding back for a long time.
The force of the punch was heavy and powerful, like a mountain collapsing or a tsunami. If you accidentally touched the seawater of the punch's force, it would hiss and vaporize instantly.
On the other side, a dazzling light spewed from the gaping fangs of the "wild" beast.
The pitch-black rift valley was illuminated as brightly as day.
Boom!
The moment the light touched the iron sword, it exploded instantly, causing thousands of tons of water to boil. An earthquake struck the seabed, and the soft mud layer within a radius of dozens of miles was simultaneously ripped up. Mud and sand that had accumulated for hundreds of years turned into gray smoke and dust that shot into the sky, turning the clear seawater into a turbid mud soup in an instant.
The great rift valley where Xu Pingfeng was located collapsed, and huge rocks tumbled and crashed down.
He quickly teleported to the side and saw a blazing iron sword pierce through the muddy water, trailing a magnificent and dazzling tail of flame, and plunge into the forehead of the sleeping monster.
The iron sword only penetrated halfway before it exhausted its strength.
At this moment, the unparalleled fist intent followed closely, vaporizing the turbid currents along the way. The fist intent slammed into the hilt of the sword, pushing its rear half into the body of the human-faced, sheep-bodied monster.
The sleeping monster's eyelids twitched violently, as if it were about to wake up.
Xu Pingfeng felt a chill run down his spine, his scalp tingling. A terrifying pressure rose with the monster's resurgence, a pressure that even the Gara Tree Bodhisattva did not possess.
It is somewhat similar to the heroic spirit of Confucian sages and the Dharma image of Vairocana Buddha.
On the sea, Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
Having already reached the first-grade realm, they could understand the terrifying power of this pressure more clearly and intuitively than Xu Pingfeng.
Xu Qi'an had never seen the spirit of the Confucian sage or the Dharma form of the Great Sun Tathagata, but he had seen Shen Shu, who was reconstructed with only one head missing, and he had seen how terrifying he was when he was berserk.
Now, he sensed the power of the same rank within the aura of "desolation".
This is power that is infinitely close to the highest grade.
What's going on? Is the true form of "Wilderness" really that terrifying? Xu Qi'an felt a chill run down his spine.
Just then, he, Luo Yuheng, and Xu Pingfeng heard a "click" sound.
One of the long, curved horns on the head of the human-faced, sheep-bodied monster broke off.
The innate patterns on its curved horns lit up, devouring everything around it, including seawater, light, and the power of water spirits, like a bottomless abyss in legends, swallowing all things in the world.
This very horn once killed the supervisor in Qingzhou and sealed his Primordial Spirit within it.
"Huang" paid a price, deliberately breaking off one of its horns to deal with Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng.
This was once a top-tier weapon, used to dominate the ancient times. It contains its innate supernatural Divine Ability and is the embodiment of spiritual essence.
The broken horn slowly rose, its tip pointing at Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng.
At that moment, alarm bells rang in Xu Qi'an's mind. In addition to a martial artist's premonition of danger, he had the Unseen sense that this attack could not be avoided.
Because of her special status as a terrestrial immortal, Luo Yuheng's vision was even clearer. She "saw" the mysterious and eerie runes rapidly spreading, transforming into a "vortex" that swept everything, including them.
"I once heard a descendant of Gods and Devils say that the Great Wilderness's innate divine Divine Ability is to devour all things; the more powerful beings it devours, the stronger its innate divine Divine Ability becomes."
Xu Qi'an said in a low voice.
Luo Yuheng frowned and remained silent. This kind of innate supernatural Divine Ability in the Great Wilderness was not Law Technique in the ordinary sense, and her golden body could not be immune to it.
Xu Pingfeng was secretly wary, never expecting its true form to be so terrifying.
However, the stronger the ally, the more advantageous it is for him.
How can one contend with a terrestrial deity or a first-rank martial artist without being powerful?
Buzz!
The space suddenly rippled, like a curtain being pierced, and the broken corner shot out, its target Luo Yuheng and Xu Qi'an.
Centered around the broken corner, mysterious and eerie patterns transform into a rolling vortex that devours everything.
Luo Yuheng's eyes flashed with golden light. Just as she was about to meet the broken horn, her belt suddenly tightened, and Xu Qi'an pulled her back slightly.
"Get out of here."
Before Luo Yuheng could get angry, he swooped down, clasped his hands together, and grabbed the broken horn.
Call!
The eerie and terrifying cyclone suddenly expanded, Xu Qi'an, like a moth drawn to a flame, could no longer escape from it.
The broken corner was half the height of the city wall. Compared to it, Xu Qi'an's body was not even as big as a moth; he was a fly, a fly pierced by a sword.
The skin on his hands peeled off rapidly, revealing tender, red muscles, which also peeled off quickly.
His vital energy and life force rapidly dissipated, seized by the cyclone.
Inside the Great Rift Valley, Xu Pingfeng's eyes lit up as he watched this scene.
The White Emperor's Divine Ability powers were truly beyond his expectations; judging from the situation, it seemed he could inflict a great loss on Xu Qi'an.
"Don't come any closer!"
Xu Qi'an stopped Luo Yuheng, who wanted to step forward to help, and grinned:
"Watch closely, I'll show you the brute strength of a first-rank martial artist."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qi'an's robes ripped open, revealing his clean and muscular body, with smooth and sharp muscle lines displayed before Luo Yuheng's eyes.
His muscles rippled silently, a terrifying force traveling from his calves to his thighs, then to his waist, and finally up to his arms.
"Ahhh"
Xu Qi'an raised his head and let out a deafening roar.
Two beams of golden light shot from his eyes, piercing the sky.
The entire ocean began to boil, with tens of thousands of hectares of seawater surging and rolling high into the sky, spewing out white foam.
Dark clouds rolled across the sky, and lightning flashed within them, creating an apocalyptic scene.
Luo Yuheng was taken aback. In her unique vision, the elements of the entire world were in disarray, as if something that did not belong to this world had appeared, causing the order of the Great Dao to go awry.
Luo Yuheng looked at Xu Qi'an again and saw that the elements of heaven and earth avoided him and dared not touch him. The strange and mysterious patterns spreading from the broken horn were also pushed away by him little by little.
She couldn't help but recall a rumor she had heard before about a warrior.
The ultimate martial artist is one who focuses solely on self-cultivation, detaches from the outside world, and creates his own world.
"Click!"
With a crisp cracking sound, the ram's horn, which was half the height of a city wall, broke open and split into countless tiny cracks. Before that, the mysterious patterns that shrouded the surrounding area had already dissipated.
"Click!"
The tip of the ram's horn shattered completely, broken off by brute force by a first-rank martial artist.
The all-consuming vortex then dissipated.
The curved ram's horn quickly fell back, heading towards the underwater rift valley, returning to "Huang's" forehead. The break was perfectly sealed, as if it had never been broken, but the sharp horn that Xu Qi'an had broken off was difficult to heal.
Xu Qi'an stood proudly between the sky and the sea, his hands stripped of flesh and blood, leaving only bare white bones. His aura was no longer strong, and he was about to fall back to the second rank, although his rank was still the first rank.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Qi'an roared ferociously towards the seabed:
Kill him!
The roar was as loud as thunder.
In the deep sea rift, the ram's horn pattern on the top of the desolate head suddenly lit up, and a cyclone was generated in response.
Kill me? Xu Pingfeng's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively tried to use a teleportation spell.
But it was too late; the cyclone enveloped him, freezing him in place.
Immediately afterwards, his flesh and blood were rapidly stripped away, transforming into pure spiritual energy that was swallowed into the center of the vortex.
The desolate sigh echoed through the Great Rift Valley:
"The situation in Yunzhou is hopeless; you are not as important as you think."
"My spiritual essence is damaged, and I don't want to fully awaken yet. Compromise is the best option for me. The power of a first-grade martial artist far exceeds my imagination."
"Waiting for Xu Qi'an to die peacefully a hundred years later? Too late. The tide of history has already begun to surge, and a great calamity is imminent."
"You are too weak and are not qualified to be my ally. Only those of the first rank can participate in the great calamity."
"Devouring you is a good option for me. Luck and spiritual energy are equally important, and you are Qi Refinement!"
Amidst the desolate murmurs, Xu Pingfeng's body slowly dissolved, his face filled with despair, his Primordial Spirit trembling as it emitted a furious roar:
"No, you can't kill me, don't kill me."
The resentment and bitterness were so intense they seemed almost tangible.
He suddenly looked up and, through the center of the vortex, saw Xu Qi'an coldly looking down at his ugly state.
"The thing I regret most in my life is that I didn't strangle you back then."
Xu Qi'an raised his palm, his aura condensing into a spear, and slowly said:
I'll kill you today!
"I have heard of the execution of a tyrant, but I have never heard of the murder of one's father."
He hurled the energy spear with force, piercing Xu Pingfeng's chest.
Xu Pingfeng's body completely disintegrated, and his Primordial Spirit vanished.
This Qi Refinement cultivator at the peak of the second rank seemed not to have expected his end to be like this.
Driven by his eldest son, he died at the hands of a descendant of Gods and Devils.
The turbulent sea gradually calmed down, and the dark clouds that had shrouded the sky dissipated.
Xu Qi'an stood suspended in mid-air, his back hunched, breathing heavily.
His reason for taking the initiative to receive "Wild's" long horn was twofold: firstly, he didn't want Luo Yuheng to be in danger, and secondly, he wanted to "subdue" it and make it understand one thing:
You may be very powerful, but if I were to risk my life against you, you would risk yours just as much.
When Xu Qi'an saw the sleeping "Wilderness" through the vortex stirred up by Luo Yuheng and determined that there was indeed something wrong with its main body, he made up his mind about this plan.
And I know it will definitely work!
The core and the Gara Tree's withdrawal from the Central Plains are the same thing; why should I pay such a heavy price for an ally?
Moreover, they were allies whose power had already waned.
From the moment the Yunzhou army suffered a complete defeat, the relationship of their triangular alliance was already unstable, because they no longer had a common goal in the short term.
As expected, when he crushed "Wild's" long horn, showing an attitude of fighting to the death, "Wild" chose to compromise.
"Settling the matter of cause and effect, wiping away all past grievances!"
Xu Qi'an opened his arms wide towards the azure sky, as if embracing a new life.
Luo Yuheng's eyes were gentle, and for the first time ever, she revealed a subtle, gentle smile.
She seemed to have thought of something, and frowned, saying:
"Is the supervisor dead or alive?"
Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment:
"He should be alive, right? Never mind, never mind him."
"A mere Fate Master is of little use."
The supervisor is definitely beyond saving, and Xu Qi'an thinks that he shouldn't worry about Old Silver Coin, no matter who else he's worried about.
You never know what he's planning.
In the pitch-black depths of the ocean, a massive body floats on the water, drifting towards a more distant overseas destination.
With its eyes closed, as if asleep, it drifted away with the current into the distance.
From one of the curved ram's horns came the sigh of the supervisor:
"I told you, he wouldn't rest until he killed his own father, but you wouldn't listen. Now you're all set."
"The spiritual essence is missing another piece."
Huang said calmly:
"The Warlock feels great; my power has increased once again."
The supervisor continued rambling on:
"A great calamity is imminent, and you still want to go overseas?"
A vast and ethereal voice echoed:
"Do you want to know what's overseas? I'll take you somewhere; I need to prepare for a great calamity."
Luo Yuheng looked at the middle-aged man in purple in his palm and said:
"Turtleback Island has a considerable reserve of money and grain, which we can take back to alleviate the imperial court's predicament of lacking food and silver."
Xu Qi'an raised his bloodshot finger bone and poked Luo Yuheng's delicate cheek, laughing:
"Imperial Preceptor, my injuries are severe, and I urgently need dual cultivation to heal."
Luo Yuheng maintained a stern face and spoke in a businesslike tone:
"I am already a terrestrial immortal, so there's no need to mention dual cultivation anymore. There is no longer any romantic relationship between us."
"Your good friend, the Flower Goddess, said something similar," Xu Qi'an thought to himself as he turned his head and wrapped his arms around my waist, making a soft, whining sound.
Donghai County.
The East Sea Dragon Palace is lavishly decorated.
Inside the hall, Dongfang Wanrong, dressed in a light green dress and possessing a charming appearance, entered carrying a wooden tray. She placed the tea in front of Nalan Tianlu and said with a smile:
Congratulations, teacher, on reshaping your physical body.
Nalan Tianlu had gray hair, a thin face, and a gentle smile.
He gazed at his beloved disciple's charming face, and suddenly sighed:
"I originally planned to send you to the Heavenly Sect after I recovered my physical body. Since that boy made a lifelong promise to you, even if it offends the Heavenly Sect, I will make him marry you."
"But just now, the Grand Wizard sent me a message, summoning me to return to Jingshan City immediately."
Dongfang Wanrong frowned:
Why?
Nalan Tianlu's expression was strange. After a moment of hesitation, he said:
"The war in the Central Plains has been quelled, Xu Qi'an has been promoted to a first-rank martial artist. The Grand Wizard said that the Wizard God has issued a decree summoning all wizards in the world back to Jingshan City, and you must go with him."
Looking at Dongfang Wanrong's bewildered expression, he said, word by word:
A great calamity is imminent.
Arantha.
Beneath the Bodhi tree, the Bodhisattva of the Garuda Tree looked at the Bodhisattva of Lapis Lazuli, whose white robes were as white as snow and whose blue robes were as green as a waterfall, and said:
"Next, Guangxian and I will work together to help you heal and restore your cultivation."
The Lapis Lazuli Bodhisattva asked:
"You've gone to see Him?"
The galaxy tree hummed in response:
"The great calamity of the era of Gods and Devils is coming. You must prepare yourselves to face this calamity."
"Furthermore, Xu Qi'an has risen to the first rank, becoming the strongest martial artist of our time. The opportunity the Demon Race has been waiting for has arrived. Alanto will first face a military disaster."
The Bodhisattva of Lapis Lazuli and the Bodhisattva of Guangxian, depicted as a young monk, both had solemn expressions.
Qingzhou.
Ragged, disheveled refugees crowded at the city gate, listening to the officials explain the contents of the notice.
"From this day forward, Qingzhou will recreate the Yellow Register, and all those registered will have their past actions forgiven."
"From this day forward, the imperial court will open its granaries wide, and all those who participate in the reconstruction of Qingzhou will be allocated land. Soup porridge kitchens will remain in place until the autumn harvest."
Those dirty, once numb faces now radiated new hope, and their eyes shone with light.
Great Feng, all the notice boards displayed the same notice.
Darkness has ended, dawn has arrived.
The Imperial Palace.
The empress, dressed in a dragon robe and exuding an aura no less majestic than any man, ascended to the top of a tall building. A gentle spring breeze greeted her, cool but not cold.
She stood with her hands behind her back, raised her fair chin slightly, and a smile appeared on her lips.
To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, and to Establishing Destiny for the people.
May peace prevail for all generations!
Haoqi Tower.
"Ta-da!"
With slow footsteps, Xu Qi'an, dressed in the uniform of a silver-clad official, ascended to the seventh floor and saw the familiar tea room, the familiar furnishings, and behind the tea table, the familiar man in blue robes sitting cross-legged.
The man with slightly graying temples smiled gently and said:
"You've arrived?"
Tears blurred his vision. Xu Qi'an carefully straightened his clothes, and just like before, bowed and clasped his hands in greeting:
"This humble servant greets Duke Wei!"
Most people in this world are obsequious, but you remain unchanged!
End of volume!