Read Novel Full Chapter 1248: Chapter 1242: Karmic Luck
Chapter 1248: Chapter 1242: Karmic Luck
“The old thief broke through the Dao?”
In Grandhaven Prefecture, Li Zhiheng, dressed as a Daoist, sat quietly drinking tea.
Gazing at the wisp of white smoke rising from his hand, he suppressed the bewitching whispers of ‘Kill him! Kill him! echoed from the Heavenly Dao Divine Heart.
His gaze remained complex for a long time.
The shopkeepers nearby were a family of three, serving tea and pouring water for Li Zhiheng.
The one in charge was a middle-aged man. He walked over to Li Zhiheng’s side, carrying a plate of snacks. Looking up, he broke Li Zhiheng’s train of thought.
A worried look filled the middle-aged shopkeeper’s eyes. “Guest, the city is full of ‘cultivators’ right now. You had better quickly find a safe place.”
As the main city of the prefecture, Grandhaven City occupied the sprawling area of an entire Region.
Its towering city walls were forged from rare materials, making it an exceptionally rare sight.
Rumor had it that hundreds of thousands of years ago, before the Imperial Dynasty was even founded, Human Race cultivators built it to defend against the Wu Tribe and Demon Race.
It was expanded continuously over the ages, resulting in its current layout, maintained by generations of cultivators.
It was a pity that, looking around, there were absolutely no commoners left on the streets.
Even the sparse few people wandering about were fully equipped cultivators, highly vigilant of one another.
The Blood Moon was coming; who had the time or luxury to police cultivators? One careless misstep could lead to murder and robbery.
In the sky above, flying swords and spirit boats darted back and forth.
It was estimated that almost every cultivator in Grandhaven Prefecture was frantically rushing toward Grandhaven City.
Of course, there were exceptions outside the city as well.
Li Zhiheng had seen them: cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans who claimed territories as petty kings, keeping commoners penned up like livestock to enjoy their final moments of pleasure.
They fantasized that when the Western Frontier’s disaster finally arrived, they could transform into the legendary demons and monsters, attaining immortality.
The cultivators passing by Li Zhiheng didn’t dare to act out of line in the slightest.
“This shopkeeper’s family… weren’t they slaughtered two days ago? How did they come back to life?”
“Hurry up and leave, the one sitting there drinking tea is clearly no ordinary person.”
Li Zhiheng ignored the cultivators fleeing as if running for their lives.
He looked back at the shopkeeper. “Why don’t you leave?”
“Leave… where could we possibly go? It’s death no matter where we run. We are just commoners.” The shopkeeper sighed heavily, carrying the plate away to busy himself.
Li Zhiheng waved at the cute little girl. The girl looked to be seven or eight years old. Unafraid of strangers, she walked right up to Li Zhiheng’s side.
Expressionless, Li Zhiheng gently patted the child’s head. “Child, are you afraid?”
“I’m afraid. It’s been chaotic here for decades. I heard the people here randomly kill others everywhere. Ah Hu from next door died.”
The proprietress placed both hands on the girl’s shoulders, her expression turning incredibly gentle.
“It was the people from the Sage Master Martial Academy who were killing. I recognize them.
My husband and I are usually so busy; we have to wake up in the middle of the night to knead dough.
Niuniu would carry her book basket to school early every morning. I used to tell her that when she grew up, she could become an immortal… She never came back.”
“The next day, we searched and searched. We found her at our breakfast stall. Her feet were completely blistered; she must have run for a very, very long way.
When it got dark, she must have panicked, lost her sense of direction, and found her way back to the stall.”
The little girl was innocent and pure. “Our family is together again.”
Li Zhiheng chatted with the family of three for a while, then let out a long sigh.
Leaving a stack of yellow joss paper on the table, he turned to leave.
“Sage Master Martial Academy, one of the three major factions of Grandhaven Prefecture.
I know of them. Thank you for your hospitality. I will repay you for this morning tea when the time comes.”
Turning away, he saw the family of three waving at him.
After he had walked far into the distance, the shop behind him was suddenly revealed to be covered in thick dust—merely a ruined, shattered stall.
Lying there were three skeletal remains, two adults and one child, their tattered clothes fluttering lightly in the wind.
Li Zhiheng walked down a street that still maintained the illusion of a prosperous scene, only to let it revert to the tragic, lifeless reality of scattered bones.
Along the way, eating and talking, scattering yellow joss paper, and owing spiritual favors.
“This isn’t how you devour karmic luck! You should rob it, not exchange for it!!!”
“What you are exchanging for is hidden merit! I don’t want it! I don’t want it!!!”
“Thump… thump…”
The heart was beating wildly.
The Zhao Clan Old Ancestor’s Heavenly Dao Divine Heart—this artifact truly had an ancient history.
In the past, following the Zhao Clan Old Ancestor, it devoured human karmic luck and was hunted down by the Demon Race—alas, wiped out.
To replenish karmic luck, he devoured his own descendants, and in Azure Cloud Prefecture, he had wanted to devour the karmic luck of two entire prefectures.
Following Li Zhiheng, it basically starved for nine meals out of every three days.
Finally getting a full meal, this karmic luck, let alone negatively influencing Li Zhiheng, actually ended up restraining the heart with its dense karmic merit.
That karmic luck was left behind after people died—the lingering resentment of the deceased. Li Zhiheng was essentially conducting a transaction with karmic luck.
“If you don’t help them get revenge, I’m going to explode!!!”
The heart roared in absolute fury.
Li Zhiheng frowned, muttering to himself as he walked.
“The immortals and gods want to restore their rule. You and the Blood Moon are exactly the same.
I rely on you to cultivate, but I will not blindly bend to your will. My elders told me to be a good person, so I will be one.”
“By the way, are you an immortal?”
The heart beat even faster, then screamed frantically: “I don’t know! Go devour karmic luck for me! I want to grow up! Grow up!!!”
Li Zhiheng raised an eyebrow. The Heavenly Dao Divine Heart was undoubtedly an object of the immortals and gods.
But this heart was a little different from the Blood Moon and the entity in the Banshu family.
It was purely driven by hunger, and its host got to enjoy the benefits alongside it—it just depended on who had the willpower to suppress whom.
Centuries had passed. Li Zhiheng had been continuously exploring methods to suppress the Divine Heart.
Discarding one’s humanity was one way, but when Yuanwu lost his life, that method was broken.
The Old Ancestor had always said that blocking a river is worse than channeling its flow.
“If you are an immortal, just eating won’t do. I’ll teach you how to be an immortal.”
“You teach me???”
The heart skipped a beat, and then… “I don’t want to eat hidden merit! I want karmic luck, pure karmic luck!!!”
Li Zhiheng merely shrugged his shoulders.
The young Daoist strode down the street where bones littered the path and cultivators ruthlessly roamed, heading straight toward the Sage Master Martial Academy, as if casually walking through a living purgatory.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Inside Grandhaven City, Li Tianming and Banshu Qingping had already arrived.
Banshu Qingping’s expression was peculiar. “Just how many people has your Li Clan sent?”
These ‘whoosh’ sounds were continuous transmissions. Peach wood swords, white smoke, Dark Crows…
On the journey back to Grandhaven City, there had been no fewer than thirty message exchanges.
He had long known that Azure Cloud Prefecture’s intelligence and communication networks were formidable, but he never expected them to be this frequent.
More than once, Banshu Qingping suspected that these reports included questions about whether Li Tianming had eaten breakfast.
“Our family has always believed that intelligence is one of the most crucial factors in determining success or failure.”
Li Tianming relayed the message that he had just conveniently slain a Golden Core realm great demon.
Then, putting on his smiling mask, he said, “The situation has changed. A junior of my family discovered that the Sage Master Martial Academy has been murdering people as the Blood Moon approaches.”
“Murdering people amidst the chaos?” Banshu Qingping’s expression changed.
“Yes, murdering commoners, as well as many ordinary people fleeing on the roads. Some fleeing minor sects didn’t even make it halfway out of Grandhaven Prefecture before their souls were sent to the netherworld.”
Li Tianming’s voice gradually turned cold and calm.
“Your Grandhaven Prefecture is getting stranger and stranger. The Peerless Hall hasn’t infiltrated the Sage Master Martial Academy that deeply, so this isn’t their doing.
However, we’ve seen this method and purpose of killing before; it’s very similar to how blood was seeped into the earth in the Western Frontier to forge the Blood Moon, yet it isn’t exactly the Blood Moon either.”
“How is that possible…” Banshu Qingping couldn’t believe it. “Is it possible that your family’s junior made a mistake? After all, he is just a junior.”
“We might make a mistake, but he definitely wouldn’t.”
A scoff emanated from behind the mask.
Banshu Qingping didn’t dare to argue back; there was no telling which Li Tianming had just popped out.
He said in a deep voice, “In other words, in our Grandhaven Prefecture, there is another faction secretly murdering people, imitating the methods of the Western Frontier, and their ultimate goal is also to summon an immortal.”
“You’re very smart.”
Li Tianming said eerily, “I’m becoming more and more interested in your Grandhaven Prefecture.”
Just ahead was the Prefecture Lord’s Estate. Banshu Qingping was fraught with worry.
Seeing him like this, Li Tianming offered a word of comfort.
“Don’t look so miserable. With Grandhaven City in this state and the Blood Moon looming, who knows when you might drop dead. Worrying is useless.”
“Daoist friend, could you let the little friend who eats steamed buns come back?” Banshu Qingping’s face looked terrible.
“I’m afraid he’ll be tricked by you people.”
Not long after the two entered the city, a group of cultivators hurried over to greet them, clearly having sensed their Void Refinement realm auras.
The man at the front wore a token on his waist engraved with the character for ‘Valley’.
Upon seeing Banshu Qingping return safely, a practically imperceptible flash of shock crossed his eyes.
However, how could such a minute change escape the eyes of Banshu Qingping and the current Li Tianming?
“Jade Mist Valley…”
Banshu Qingping muttered as he followed the crowd.
“Oh, your Jade Mist Valley is the most heavily infiltrated of all—half of it is basically the Peerless Hall.” Li Tianming once again demonstrated the formidable intelligence network of the Li Clan.
Banshu Qingping’s expression shifted slightly. “Half? Where did your Li Clan get this intelligence?”
“Heh, just because you ask, does that mean I have to tell you?”
“…” Banshu Qingping was left utterly speechless. The previous Li Tianming had claimed he was very honest.
…
Grandhaven Prefecture.
Jade Mist Valley.
At this moment, Li Wei was sitting on the ash of a man-sized incense burner in Jade Mist Valley.
Three half-man-sized incense sticks were burning above him.
In front of him stood numerous disciples of Jade Mist Valley, fully equipped and clearly about to execute some mission.
“Hello there, Li Chuyuan.”
Li Wei gazed into the crowd of disciples at Li Chuyuan, who was dressed in robes embroidered with Bagua array patterns.
It had to be said that Li Chuyuan truly had some skill.
He had managed to evade wave after wave of pursuit by the major factions of Azure Cloud Prefecture, and the Imperial Dynasty’s wanted posters for him hung on the walls of every major prefecture.
Just look at him: living perfectly well, and he had even put on some weight. How nice.
Li Wei shrugged. After cultivating at home for decades and mastering the Spear Dao, coming out to relax felt incredibly refreshing.
With a relaxed expression, he cursed softly, “Damn it, immortals and gods really do exist.”
The more he cultivated, the more his cursing skills seemed to grow. These decades of cultivation weren’t completely in vain.
That day in the Northern Frontier, after seeing Min Youguo and hearing the word ‘immortals and gods’, that guy surnamed Min had made it sound so casual.
But that fellow always operated in reverse.
There was absolutely nothing happening in the Northern Frontier, yet back then he had made it sound incredibly tense, only for the Northern Frontier to be completely fine.
As for the Western Frontier, the guy surnamed Min spoke of it like casual after-dinner gossip, yet a Body Integration expert playing a month-long game of pursuit and escape inside had almost fallen victim to its tricks.
Don’t be fooled by how easily he seemed to play around in the Western Frontier back then; it was entirely filled with great terrors.
It was only because he possessed spatial rules and had a plan and a target.
What if another Body Integration cultivator went to take a look? As the days passed, it would only grow more terrifying.
Grandhaven Prefecture wasn’t simple either.
The Western Frontier’s disaster hadn’t arrived yet, and the Peerless Hall hadn’t made any overt moves, but the Banshu family produced a bizarre baby, and Zhiheng discovered the Sage Master Martial Academy slaughtering commoners.
With the treacherous and unpredictable undercurrents in Grandhaven Prefecture, the Old Ancestor had no choice but to come out and take a look himself.
Gazing at Jade Mist Valley, Li Wei furrowed his brows tightly.
“Is it possible that the immortals have been hiding beside us all along, and we simply haven’t noticed?”
However, glancing at the panel before his eyes, he felt reassured.
[Family Will: 679,287]
[Family Body Integration Realm Cultivators: 3]
Looking at Li Chuyuan, who was fraught with worry within the crowd, Li Wei broke into a broad grin.
“With enough for six full-strength manifestations, my power is much stronger than before.
Including myself, we have three Body Integration experts, plus our family’s retainers. I’d like to see, even if they are immortals, what kind of waves they can possibly stir up.”
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