Chapter 688: Great Supernatural Power of Karma

For eighteen years Lu Yang had walked the earth, never once imagining that the day would come when he would have to change his very name.

The spell was real enough, and its subversion of the natural order was equally genuine.

"So, this means I've mastered it?" Lu Yang looked at the Immortal Fairy with deep skepticism; no matter how he turned it over in his mind, something felt profoundly amiss.

The Immortal Fairy spoke with absolute conviction, her reasoning seemingly ironclad: "Why shouldn't it count? Do you not know that a name represents one's destiny? To alter the name is to alter fate itself. Now that you have taken a new name, your future path will diverge."

"To take it a step further, all curses are enacted through a name. By changing yours, you have severed the old karmic ties. You are no longer the person you were before. The alteration of the name upon your identity jade is merely a token of this; the curses can no longer find purchase upon your person."

When a curse was invoked, it locked onto the identity of "Lu Yang." With Lu Yang transformed into "Lu Yin," the old identity was discarded; the curse, finding no target, naturally could not fall upon him.

The Eldest Senior Sister also concurred with the Immortal Fairy's perspective: "Though I know not why the results of your cultivation have deviated slightly from what was anticipated, the act of altering your name directly at the level of karma proves that this technique is indeed a grand divine ability of the karmic class."

To master a grand divine ability of the karmic class while only at the Nascent Soul stage was a feat unheard of since antiquity.

Only Meng Jingzhou remained utterly bewildered, lost as to what grand divine ability of karma they spoke of, and what exactly had been mastered.

Had he somehow missed a crucial turn of events?

Lu Yang explained: "It is like this. Were the two of us not cultivating the grand divine ability to Invert Yin and Yang? Well, I have mastered it. I was called Lu Yang before, but now I am called Lu Yin."

"Hold on a moment, let me catch my breath." Even with a mind as sharp as Meng Jingzhou's, it was impossible to absorb such a reality on the instant.

"Are you telling me that you used to be 'Lu Yang,' and now you are 'Lu Yin,' and that even the name on your identity jade has shifted?"

"Precisely."

Meng Jingzhou drew in a sharp breath of cold air; this technique was simply too defiant of the heavens. He had not even detected the slightest inkling of Lu Yin invoking the divine ability.

The Eldest Senior Sister gazed intently at Lu Yang for a brief moment before speaking again: "This move of Junior Brother's is indeed extraordinary. It alters one's name from the very root. Even if one were to encounter a Body Integration stage cultivator who is ignorant of karmic arts, they could be thoroughly deceived."

Spells of karma and time were renowned for their absolute obscurity; the vast majority of cultivators could toil for over a decade without ever seeing a glimmer of success. Among those of the Body Integration stage, cultivators who understood karmic divine abilities were few and far between.

Even among those at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, most possessed only a superficial understanding of karma; someone like the Grand Preceptor of the Great Yu Empire, who used karma as the embryonic form of a Dao Fruit, was exceedingly rare.

The prerequisite for possessing the embryonic form of a Dao Fruit was to have achieved monumental insights in that specific field, which illustrated just how lofty the Grand Preceptor's talent in karma truly was.

After Lu Yang achieved mastery, the Eldest Senior Sister remained for another seven days. During these seven days, Lu Yang was consolidating his gains, while Meng Jingzhou was attempting to comprehend the principles.

Seven days later, Lu Yang discovered there was nothing in this technique that required consolidation, while Meng Jingzhou discovered that every single facet of the technique demanded comprehension.

Meng Jingzhou was forced to admit that he simply could not learn this move.

Forget it, let Lu Yang go about with his new name; this young master had no need for a change of name.

Seeing that the two had ceased their cultivation, the Eldest Senior Sister resumed her flight toward the Prisoner Peak to interrogate the two great sovereigns.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Radiant Sun Sect.

A totem of the sun was painted upon the walls, its glowing image illuminating the meeting hall as bright as day.

Sect Master Chi had gathered the high officials to deliberate on matters of great import; everyone remained hushed and solemn, listening to Sect Master Chi speak.

"The primary reason for convening everyone today concerns two matters—"

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This was by no means the kind of sun that the Golden Crow had transformed into during the ancient era; the surface of the present sun was incandescently hot. Even across a great defensive array, one could feel its terrifying temperature. A Body Integration stage cultivator would be reduced to ashes within mere seconds in such an environment.

If they continued to conduct these sun-landing experiments in this manner, it was highly probable that the next batch sent to ascend the sun would be the high officials themselves.

"Therefore, I wonder if we ought to shift our line of thinking. What if we attempt a moon-landing at night instead? The sun and moon share a common cosmic essence; we might indirectly study the sun by doing so."

The moment these words were uttered, they met with immediate opposition from everyone present.

The Deputy Sect Master was the first to stand and berate Sect Master Chi for his disloyal proposal: "The sun and moon have never appeared together, which proves that even if they share an essence, a deep rift exists between them. Our sect reveres the power of the solar yang; how can we bow before the lunar yin? This matter is absolutely out of the question!"

An elder also stepped forward to manifest his devotion: "Those Daoists who were burned to death surely possessed unfaithful hearts and thus failed to receive the sun's approval. I am but a sack of old bones, having revered the sun for my entire life; I will certainly endure the trial and set foot upon it. Therefore, count me in for the next batch of sun-ascending members!"

Sect Master Chi felt a profound sense of helplessness as he watched the high officials grow increasingly fanatical, one after the other.

I can understand that you do not fear death, and I respect your resolve, but if you all go off to ascend the sun and immolate yourselves, will there be anyone left among the high leadership of our Radiant Sun Sect?

He had known all along that this suggestion of his would find no favor with the crowd.

"The sun-landing plan shall be shelved for the time being. Let us move to the second matter for discussion."

"The pure yang energy rippling within Holy Son Long Jingzhou of the Heavenly Court Sect is extraordinarily potent, even surpassing the Pure Yang Immortal Body by several degrees. It is highly likely that the Ancient Heavenly Court possesses a specialized method of cultivation."

"Furthermore, I have discovered that a severe conflict suspectedly exists between Long Jingzhou and the Young Sect Master Lu. I fear it concerns the succession to the leadership of the Ancient Heavenly Court. We can use this point to our advantage, secretly winning Long Jingzhou over to our side to stir up internal strife within the Heavenly Court Sect, thereby allowing us to reap the rewards!"

One of the elders of the Radiant Sun Sect voiced his confusion: "How could we possibly achieve that? The Ancient Heavenly Court possesses vast wealth and immense power. They have an ancient immortal like Heavenly Venerable Dou, and a half-immortal like the Ancient Ancestor of the Phoenix Race who defeated the Sovereign of the Vermilion Heaven. Coercion is entirely out of the question, and we cannot possibly match them in terms of material temptation either."

Sect Master Chi shook his head: "You have mistaken one fundamental point. The one with vast wealth and immense power is the Ancient Heavenly Court, not Long Jingzhou."

"An unequal distribution of resources exists within any organization. The resources Long Jingzhou receives are bound to be lesser than those given to the Young Sect Master; therein lies our opportunity."

"If we throw the entire weight of our sect behind Long Jingzhou, could we truly not surpass the resources allocated to him by the Ancient Heavenly Court?"

"Moreover, we have studied the sun for tens of thousands of years, and our research findings are of immense benefit to cultivation. I refuse to believe that Long Jingzhou would remain unmoved."

Upon hearing this, the high officials felt that Sect Master Chi's words carried a fair amount of reason.

"It is worth a trial. If we can secretly bring Long Jingzhou into our camp, our future operations will be considerably easier."

"Very true, very true. We can certainly make an attempt."

Just as the crowd was engrossed in discussion, Sect Master Chi's personal guard rushed into the meeting hall holding a piece of intelligence, which he hurriedly handed to Sect Master Chi.

The intelligence detailed how Sect Master Yun had displayed divine might in Spring River City, capturing two ancient sovereigns alive before vanishing to parts unknown.

Sect Master Chi laid down the intelligence report.

"The issue of stirring up internal strife within the Heavenly Court Sect to reap rewards is hereby void. Let us replace it with a new second matter."

The high officials all turned their eyes toward Sect Master Chi in unison.

Sect Master Chi spoke with utmost seriousness: "Should our Radiant Sun Sect throw ourselves at the mercy of the Heavenly Court Sect and defect to them?"

The second update will be at eleven o'clock

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