Chapter 971: 966: Karmic Links Combat!
Chapter 971: Chapter 966: Karmic Links Combat!
At this moment, Lü Yang’s thoughts continued to churn. Unlike when he was in the era five thousand years ago, he didn’t leave the area immediately, nor did he reveal the slightest Qi trace. Instead, he quietly observed his surroundings.
“Am I a Little Novice Monk now?” he wondered. Unlike before, entering this scene of karmic links had somehow altered both his appearance and identity. This anomaly instantly put Lü Yang on high alert.
“Why is this happening?
“Is this Bhagavat’s arrangement? At this point in time, Bhagavat shouldn’t be trying to harm me… Does that mean disguising me as a Little Novice Monk is his way of protecting me?”
Lü Yang wasn’t surprised to find himself in the Pure Land. After all, he had arrived riding Bhagavat’s torrent of Time. Just as his first stop had been the Stain Sect when he traveled to five thousand years ago, his first stop upon arriving seventy thousand years ago naturally had to be the Pure Land, a place deeply connected to Bhagavat…
“Hmm? Oh no!”
It suddenly dawned on him. This wasn’t some profound secret; if his Cultivation was enough to deduce this, wouldn’t the Stain Sect Ancestral Master be able to do the same?
“The Stain Sect Ancestral Master… He’s staring right at the Pure Land now!”
Not just the Pure Land from seventy thousand years ago. Centered around this point in time, the Pure Land across all adjacent temporal stages was likely under his watchful eye!
The encirclement had shrunk even further!
From the entire era seventy thousand years ago, down to the Pure Land of seventy thousand years ago… How much time had passed? With just a single move, the entity had nearly forced him into a dead end!
If his previous self in the Great Net of Karma Links had been like a single drop in a Vast Ocean, impossible to track, then his current self was merely a fish in a pond. His concealment had plummeted. The slightest movement would likely expose him, getting him snatched up and instantly refined!
“That’s why I’m a Little Novice Monk,” he realized.
“If I manifested my true body, it would be like a Gold fish appearing out of thin air in a pond full of red fish. I would be glaringly obvious with nowhere to run.
“Bhagavat has already saved me.
“At the very least, turning me into a Little Novice Monk is like turning me into a red fish. I can blend into this pond perfectly…”
Wait. No! It still wasn’t perfect!
In a flash, despite Lü Yang’s composure, an uncontrollable glint of shock and fury surfaced in his eyes. “Unity! I don’t have Unity!”
Unity—that was the very foundation of the Pure Land!
Without it, no matter how flawless the physical disguise, someone would still spot the flaw.
Returning to the analogy, in this Pure Land pond full of red fish, he currently only looked like a red fish. Upon closer inspection, there would still be differences.
“This difference isn’t small, but it’s not massive either. At the very least, the Stain Sect Ancestral Master won’t spot it easily. But given my current situation, as long as he keeps searching, he’ll discover me sooner or later. Unless I embrace Unity, I won’t be able to slip by smoothly…”
But embrace Unity?
How the hell was that any different from dying? It might even be worse… “Bhagavat! Was this within your expectations too? Are you kicking me while I’m down?
“Bhagavat! Bhagavat!!!”
Lü Yang cursed furiously in his heart. However, cursing wouldn’t solve the problem. With the Stain Sect Ancestral Master glaring covetously ahead and Bhagavat extorting him from behind, what was he supposed to do?
Just then, a crisp bell chime rang out. “DONG—!”
Immediately after, a voice drifted over from afar. “The Stain Sect’s Beast Taming Peak Master has come to the Pure Land to visit a friend and discuss the Dao.
“Senior Brother Wan Bao, aren’t you coming down to see me?”
The voice carried a smile, sounding quite relaxed and cheerful.
On the other side, however, Lü Yang’s blood ran cold. “How could this be? The First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master… Bhagavat said that old fossil is constantly keeping an eye on him…”
His arrival meant the Stain Sect Ancestral Master was also looking this way!
What was this?
“…Bait.”
A vivid analogy flashed through Lü Yang’s mind. That was right—this was the bait the Stain Sect Ancestral Master had cast into the Pure Land to fish him out!
“In this time period, it’s the First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master. In other time periods, it might be someone else. Anyone who visited the Pure Land seventy thousand years ago will become the Stain Sect Ancestral Master’s bait. I can even consider myself lucky that the bait is the First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master. I know there’s something wrong with him…”
No, it wasn’t luck.
“It’s Bhagavat.”
Lü Yang lowered his eyelids. How could there be ’luck’ in the hands of a Master of Dao? The only one who could create an ’accident’ in front of a Master of Dao was another Master of Dao!
“Bhagavat has interfered with the Great Net of Karma Links.
“Bhagavat personally told me about the First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master’s issue. Therefore, me landing at this point in time is highly likely Bhagavat’s intentional doing.
“This is to protect me.”
Because he had received a warning beforehand, he was able to recognize the Stain Sect Ancestral Master’s bait. Otherwise, he might have taken the hook without even realizing it.
Yet at the same time…
“This is also fucking me over!”
The First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master was right in front of him. Rashly trying to escape would only expose him faster. There was absolutely nowhere to run. Only one method remained:
“Unity!
“He’s forcing my hand—making me accept Unity, or else I’ll be discovered by the Stain Sect Ancestral Master. And I have no choice but to grit my teeth and swallow this loss…”
What an animal!
Lü Yang couldn’t help but curse inwardly once more. However, as the Qi trace of the First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master drew closer and closer, he dared not hesitate any longer. He immediately began silently reciting the Enlightenment Mahayana Sutra. Gradually, the Unity he had experienced before merged into his thoughts, allowing him to rein in his emotions.
“Yi…”
In an instant, a compassionate smile hung on Lü Yang’s face. Only the slight stiffness at the corners of his mouth and a subtle peculiarity in his eyes betrayed his true state.
He had experience in this area.
“In my past life in the Celestial Mansion, I was possessed by Bhagavat. This so-called Unity doesn’t happen overnight, especially for someone like me with Dao Heart Perfection.”
Although after embracing Unity, Lü Yang could clearly sense his Perfect Dao Heart being chipped away bit by bit, it would ultimately take some time. As long as he pulled himself out before his Dao Heart collapsed, he could still preserve his sense of self. At worst, he would be left with the lingering side effect of occasionally muttering, “Yi…”
Yet, Lü Yang dared not relax his guard in the slightest.
The reason was simple: Heaven knew how long the Stain Sect Ancestral Master would keep searching. For every day the Stain Sect Ancestral Master refused to give up, that was another day he couldn’t break free from Unity.
Given enough time, it would eventually collapse!
At this thought, Lü Yang’s heart grew even heavier. “This is like boiling a frog in warm water… The Stain Sect Ancestral Master is being ruthless, but Bhagavat is no saint either.”
This was a Combat of karmic links!
The Stain Sect Ancestral Master was shrinking the encirclement step by step, while Bhagavat was helping him hide from the Stain Sect Ancestral Master’s search—but also wanted to force Enlightenment upon him.
His situation, experiences, and actions within the Great Net of Karma Links—they were all the results of the Combat between these two parties.
Formless, intangible, and difficult to describe, yet it was far more terrifying than any Combat he had ever witnessed. Lü Yang’s heart grew colder and colder, as if he were plummeting into an abyss.
“It’s like walking on thin ice…”
Just then, Lü Yang’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He saw the temple doors before him being pushed open. A heroic-looking youth dressed in a feather cloak strode in, the illusion of a Dao Talisman seemingly sparking into existence and fading away within his eyes.
The First Generation Demon Taming Peak Master had arrived.