Chapter 434: Karmic Backlash Disappears

"Using the power of national destiny?" Governor Lyu of Huangzhou froze for a moment upon hearing this.

"Is it not possible?"

"No, no, no, naturally it is possible."

The five immortal sects and the imperial court shared an alliance of the righteous path, without any true hierarchy between them.

One hundred thousand years ago, Grandmaster Guiyuan of the Dao Inquiry Sect, alongside four others, founded the five immortal sects and established an alliance with the Great Xia empire, which guaranteed rights of law enforcement, supervision, tax exemptions, and more.

Among these terms, the masters of the immortal sects were permitted to utilize the power of national destiny.

Qiu Jin'an was well aware of the terms of this covenant, which was why he made the request.

Governor Lyu, however, knew nothing of the treaty, but prior to taking office in the desolate borders of Huangzhou, the Emperor of Xia had personally conducted a rushed briefing, during which he informed him that the sect masters could access this force.

When it came to understanding the power of national destiny, it was actually Qiu Jin'an who was more familiar.

"With Sect Master Qiu's unparalleled cultivation throughout the realm, I wonder what sort of trouble could have led to someone placing a curse upon you?" Governor Lyu asked out of curiosity.

Qiu Jin'an sighed, speaking with bitter vehemence, "It is a long story, and quite a coincidence. That day, I happened upon this young lad of the Meng family by pure chance. Driven by circumstances, the two of us ventured deep into a demonic lair, desiring to eradicate evil and restore a peaceful era to the world. Alas, the lair was the absolute stronghold of the demonic path, teeming with masters, and even I found myself at a disadvantage during the battle."

"Not to mention that two fists are no match for four hands. My strength alone was limited while the demonic path grew formidable. During the fight, those wicked cultivators placed a curse upon both me and the Meng lad!"

"So that is how it was! The cultivators of the demonic path are truly detestable!" Governor Lyu exclaimed in sudden realization, feeling the injustice on Qiu Jin'an's behalf.

"May I ask which of the three great demonic sects Sect Master Qiu infiltrated?"

Qiu Jin'an shook his head, unwilling to elaborate, and Governor Lyu tactfully dropped the matter.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged peculiar glances, though neither said a word.

"Sect Master Qiu is magnificent, charging into a demonic sect all by himself!" Mangu said, clenching his fists. The image of Sect Master Qiu single-handedly wiping out a demonic lair was incredibly striking to imagine!

When Qiu Jin'an had sneaked into the Dao Inquiry Sect, Mangu was still undergoing his coming-of-age ritual in the desolate plains, completely unaware of the situation at the time.

"Using the power of national destiny is fine, but I have only recently come into contact with it, and my control is still rather clumsy."

"No matter, it does not require a complex process. Just washing the two of us with the power of national destiny will suffice."

"Very well then," Governor Lyu agreed readily.

The power of national destiny was a matter of grave secrecy. Governor Lyu only permitted the two unfortunate souls, Qiu Jin'an and Meng Jingzhou, to accompany him, leaving Lu Yang, Mangu, and Zhao Po to wait where they were.

After the succession of chaotic events, all three felt rather drained. They had originally set out merely to help deal with a drowned ghost, yet the situation had spiraled increasingly out of control, involving the dispersion of cultivation to restart anew, the intervention of a Great Yu Integration-stage master, and Qiu Jin'an's sudden arrival to save the day.

"Who would have thought that Senior Brother Huang Ming was actually an ancient Integration-stage cultivator cultivating anew!" Zhao Po gave a bitter laugh. He had always wanted to exchange cultivation insights with Huang Ming, who had consistently ignored him. He hadn't understood why before, but now it was glaringly obvious—they belonged to entirely different worlds.

"Judging by Huang Ming's methods, he must have been highly proficient in the art of corpse driving before he dispersed his cultivation," Lu Yang analyzed. Perhaps that was exactly why Huang Ming had chosen the Corpse Driving Sect.

This was hardly surprising. The history of corpse driving could be traced back to antiquity, making it perfectly normal for a Great Yu cultivator to be a master of the craft.

"The real question is how many ancient cultivators have dispersed their cultivation to start over. Just because Huang Ming has only reached the Golden Core stage doesn't mean other ancient cultivators haven't progressed further!" Lu Yang spoke solemnly. This was different from dealing with the demonic sects; those sects had low-to-mid tier cultivators who could serve as a breakthrough point. Ancient cultivators were a different story entirely—they had started from the Integration stage, with an unknown upper limit, making them far harder to handle.

"Just restarting their cultivation, and not a single one has ascended to immortality. How embarrassing," the Immortal Fairy remarked, thoroughly looking down on these cultivators from her perspective as a genuine immortal.

"Uh, Fairy, what are you looking at?" Lu Yang noticed the Immortal Fairy lying face down on the bed, her eyes fixed intently on the glowing light screen before her.

The figures on the light screen looked deeply familiar; they were none other than Governor Lyu, Qiu Jin'an, and Meng Jingzhou, who had just departed.

"I've never seen how the power of national destiny is used, so I'm taking a look."

"Make some room, let me watch too." Lu Yang was also curious, nudging the Immortal Fairy aside slightly to lie down next to her and watch.

The chamber where the power of national destiny was controlled was heavily sealed, and the force itself possessed the innate property to repel any prying eyes. Even a Tribulation-stage cultivator would fail to breach it. However, such barriers were entirely negligible before the Immortal Fairy, the leader of the five ancient immortals.

Unless an immortal from the imperial court was personally guarding the energy, absolutely no one could stop the Immortal Fairy from eavesdropping.

On the screen, Governor Lyu led the two men into a stone secret chamber.

The chamber was completely airtight, without a single crevice, looking less like a structure built of stone blocks and more like a massive boulder hollowed out from within.

Inside the secret chamber was a small pool. The pool was empty, containing nothing save for a square indentation right in the center. Holding the Grand Seal of Huangzhou, Governor Lyu pressed it into the slot.

A substance resembling both light and water suddenly manifested, flowing in ribbons and sheets until it filled the indentation.

"So that's it. This stuff is the power of national destiny."

Seeing that Lu Yang still looked somewhat perplexed, the Immortal Fairy explained, "The power of national destiny has existed on every inch of Great Xia's soil from the very beginning, present in an invisible, unperceivable state. The Grand Seal of Huangzhou acts as a key, shifting the energy from an unperceivable state into a tangible one."

"The Grand Seal of Huangzhou is a soul-bound treasure; only Governor Lyu can wield it."

"As for its might, because it only draws upon the destiny of a single province, it isn't particularly strong. If the destiny of all seventeen provinces were gathered together, the power would be quite formidable. It seems the immortals of the Great Xia imperial court possess a bit of capability."

"Of course, it is merely a bit of capability. It still falls far short of this Fairy's level."

On the other side, Meng Jingzhou was viewing the power of national destiny up close for the first time, feeling that the hope of resolving his karmic backlash was finally within reach.

"Should I just jump straight in?"

Qiu Jin'an halted Meng Jingzhou's suicidal impulse, "If you were in the Tribulation stage, there would be a chance you might survive jumping in."

Meng Jingzhou conceded that although he was a grand Golden Core master, there was still a slight gap between himself and the Tribulation stage, so he chose to refrain from jumping.

A stream of national destiny energy, as thick as an arm, flew outward under Governor Lyu's manipulation.

Governor Lyu awkwardly controlled the energy, repeatedly dampening its inherent corrosive nature before pointing two fingers at Qiu Jin'an and the youth. With a soft command, the stream of national destiny washed over the two men.

"How comforting!" Meng Jingzhou exclaimed in surprise. This felt even more pleasant than his very first contact with spiritual energy.

A pink mist drifted out from them, quickly absorbed and melted by the power of national destiny, vanishing into nothingness.

The curse that had weighed heavily on his heart for days dissolved away, leaving Qiu Jin'an feeling immensely refreshed.

"Hah—wonderful!"

"The curse is finally gone! Time to go to a brothel to celebrate. Brother Lyu, where is the finest brothel in your Hanshui City?"

Governor Lyu: "..."

Was it really appropriate to ask him such a question?

"There used to be a place called the Zoo, which was the finest brothel, but it is currently closed for rectification."