Chapter 109: Troubles Within and Threats Without

Innate Spiritual Treasures! As the name suggests, these are treasures born even before the primordial heavens and earth were formed, nurtured within the chaotic primeval cosmos. Among them, the most outstanding contain the divine essence of the Great Dao; even the most ordinary ones embody profound mysteries of the Heavenly Way. For cultivators, they greatly enhance one’s Daoist cultivation and can suppress destiny’s flow. Thus, they have long been fiercely contested by all beings in the primordial world. It can be said that whenever an Innate Spiritual Treasure emerges, even the lowest grade, powerful figures inevitably compete to seize it.

The God-Slaying Spear, though merely an Innate Spiritual Treasure, has a reputation unmatched, and even the Primordial Saint cannot underestimate it.

Speaking of the God-Slaying Spear, it is one of the rare Innate Spiritual Treasures unable to suppress fate and lacks defensive capabilities, yet its offensive power rivals even the most supreme Innate Treasures.

The false information deliberately spread by Qingxu, aided by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, set the entire primordial world ablaze. From quasi-saintly powerhouses to mortal cultivators without formal Daoist recognition, all eyes turned to Beiming, eager to seize the God-Slaying Spear. Influential sects rallied their followers, factions formed through connections, and proud lone cultivators maneuvered openly and covertly — a tangled web of schemes unfolded.

As the saying goes, the Heavenly Way watches over all, and good and evil bear their due karma. Qingxu’s single falsehood stirred the primordial world into chaos, unleashing countless bloodshed and claiming thousands of lives. This karmic retribution fell squarely upon him. After all, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is a Mysterious Origin Sage, untouchable by cause and effect.

Had this immense karmic burden fallen on anyone else, their path of cultivation would have become perilous, fraught with obstacles, and their life hanging by a thread. Yet, for Qingxu, it was of little consequence. Possessing the Great Innate Karma Art, this karmic energy was not a curse but a boon, even supplementing his merits without offsetting them—a true defiance of heaven.

[Great Innate Karma Art Level One]
[Great Innate Karma Art Level Two 5%...]

Since the chaos ignited by the God-Slaying Spear, torrents of karmic energy have surged into Qingxu’s true self. Like a fish in water, the Great Innate Karma Art flourished, continuously advancing. Concurrently, various karmic Dao techniques spontaneously manifested within his primordial spirit, encompassing offense, defense, self-preservation, and support, in endless variety.

[Chan Sect’s Destiny Divine Light envelops the body, acquired postnatal merit points...]

There is a common saying: blessings do not come in pairs, and misfortunes never come singly. Yet this time, Qingxu defied the adage. The prompt from the Investiture System left him stunned—fortune truly arrived in pairs. Not only did the Great Innate Karma Art rocket forward, but his postnatal merits also rapidly increased.

“It must be that my master intends to use the Chan Sect’s destiny merit divine light to offset the massive karmic burden I bear!” Given the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s regard for Qingxu, this was a natural deduction.

The vastness of the saintly lineage’s destiny merits within the Great Daoist Sect is simply unfathomable. Even a mere mortal possessing a fraction of this saintly sect’s destiny merits can instantly ascend to the pinnacle of quasi-saintly rank. Though Qingxu’s karmic burden was significant, offsetting it with Chan Sect’s destiny merits posed no difficulty.

If it had been the Jie Sect instead, the Overlord of Tongtian would likely have given up, unwilling to expend the sect’s precious destiny merits to cover such a huge karmic debt of a disciple.

Among the Four Great Daoist Sects of the primordial world, the Chan Sect ranks second only to the Human Sect. It far surpasses the Jie Sect and the Western Buddhist Sect. Moreover, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s strict emphasis on innate talent means the Chan Sect has few disciples, resulting in an abundance of destiny merit. By contrast, the Jie Sect’s destiny merits amount to merely about one-tenth of the Chan Sect’s, yet the Overlord of Tongtian commands thousands of disciples, many of whom act recklessly. Even so, they can shield a few cataclysms under normal circumstances, let alone the Chan Sect.

Receiving such tremendous benefits at once, Qingxu felt both gratitude and shame toward the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. He had concealed many secrets, yet his master had helped him so earnestly. Who among humans is without feelings?

“However, my master’s sacrifice this time is destined to be in vain. The Chan Sect’s merits on my body do not affect the sect’s destiny merits at all!” Reflecting on this, Qingxu resolved to reveal the secret of the Great Innate Karma Art to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. In truth, at this juncture, further concealment was impractical. Yet the secrets of the Red-Blue Lightning and the Investiture System must remain utterly hidden. His intuition warned that these contained epoch-shaking mysteries, and any leak would mean mortal peril.

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At the geomagnetic core of Beiming, unrest also simmered.

The "Ice Soul Mine," unchanged since ancient times, seemed suddenly shrouded in a grim and oppressive atmosphere. On the surface, over four hundred laborers toiled in orderly fashion, but upon closer inspection, their hearts were chaotic.

The Ice Soul Mine, sealed by billions of years’ worth of profound ice, terrifying extreme magnetic rays, and the ancient prohibition of the Ice Soul Patriarch, is effectively isolated from the world. However, this is the primordial world, where ordinary logic does not apply. With Qingxu’s false news spreading, everyone here, through celestial calculations, understood that formidable powers and forces from the primordial world were converging upon Beiming. To them, this was a once-in-millennia opportunity.

No one among the lowly laborers or the squad leaders wished to endure the endless, sunless toil of the Ice Soul Mine. Every soul longed to escape but feared the Ice Soul Patriarch’s silent but deadly authority. Moreover, their unity was fragile, so they endured. Now, with this rare chance before them, if missed, who knew when another would come?

“Wait and watch. When the chance comes, we must escape. This life of neither man nor ghost—I've had enough,” was the silent sentiment of nearly every laborer. Yet outwardly, everything appeared as usual, each doing their assigned task.

The Ice Soul Patriarch’s cultivation is profound and unfathomable, not far from that of a Mysterious Origin Sage. How could the upheaval in the primordial world escape his notice?

Having discerned the impending chaos, the Ice Soul Patriarch cursed silently, deeply frustrated. After countless years of painstaking planning—only hundreds of years more to go—his transformation to corporeal freedom would be complete. Yet now, this news appeared: some damned God-Slaying Spear? Was the Old Ancestor even alive or not?

“Which saint dares oppose the Old Ancestor? Who framed the Old Ancestor this time? Once discovered, they shall be ground to dust,” the Ice Soul Patriarch vowed after calculating the celestial signs. He despised the saint who concealed the heavenly secrets and the one who spread the rumor, vowing to avenge this grievance once this crisis was weathered.

Despite his hatred, the Ice Soul Patriarch had to temporarily set aside revenge. The urgent matter was to handle the crisis—not only the furious primordial powerhouses attracted by the God-Slaying Spear but also the over four hundred laborers under his watch. These laborers were the culmination of his efforts since ancient times and the hope for his rebirth and transformation. No matter what, he could not afford any mishap.

To handle this crisis, he had to maintain some advantage; otherwise, the laborers would surely turn and revolt.

“The one advantage is that most of these laborers have been forced to swear a deadly oath. These people can serve as a resistance force,” the Ice Soul Patriarch pondered. The binding power of the Heavenly Dao oath is not to be underestimated; breaking it invites certain punishment.

Because of Qingxu’s falsehood, the Ice Soul Patriarch found himself besieged by internal and external troubles, truly walking on thin ice. One misstep could ruin a lifetime’s reputation and turn his dream of rebirth and transformation into nothing but a fleeting illusion. His sole consolation was his own safety: his heart was attuned to the Ice Soul at Beiming. Even a Mysterious Origin Sage would think twice before moving against him.

To assassinate the Ice Soul Patriarch, one must annihilate the Ice Soul Heart, the core of Beiming. To do so would cause the entire region to dissolve, the crust to shift, climates to soar, seas to rise, and the four great continents to face unprecedented catastrophe and carnage. Such karmic consequences are grave, and even a Mysterious Origin Sage would exercise extreme caution.

Qingxu’s avatar within the Ice Soul Mine schemed and manipulated, weaving connections, exacerbating the internal strife tenfold. He also flattered the giant squad leader, Ju Kun, rallying a faction of laborers. He had become the de facto chief strategist of Ju Kun’s forces.

At this tense moment, Ju Kun heavily relied on Qingxu. To him, Qingxu was a brilliant tactician, loyal, and most importantly, indispensable for survival. Thus, Ju Kun treated him with utmost sincerity.

It was unclear what bad fate had fallen upon the Ice Soul Patriarch to have provoked Qingxu. Barely days after Qingxu’s arrival, he delivered a “surprise”: before external troubles had even fully arrived, internal chaos had already erupted. The vast laborers split into eleven factions, with ten squad leaders and the main team leader balancing power.

Although the main team leader was unmatched in strength, alliances among two or three squad leaders could hold their own.

“Ju Kun is brave but simple-minded, strong limbs but a shallow head—perfect for manipulation. He acts openly while I work in the shadows. With him and other laborers as cannon fodder, my escape plan gains solid footing. No matter how formidable the Ice Soul Patriarch is, he lacks corporeal form. Besides, several quasi-saints have arrived this time. Even ignoring others, the brothers of Emperor Jun alone provide enough challenge. If that Luo Fan from before shows up, things get even more interesting—heh, heh, heh!” Qingxu’s sly smile twisted his face, pride swelling within.

What truly delighted Qingxu were these laborers of the Ice Soul Mine. These “ancients” were anything but simple; their emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, grief—were plainly displayed, barely concealed. Under such conditions, Qingxu’s stratagems easily thrived. While secretly maintaining strong ties with nine other squad leaders, he treated the main team leader like a brother, weaving intricate plots. With Ju Kun as the front-line shield, Qingxu dared to act without restraint.

Unbeknownst to the Ice Soul Patriarch, Qingxu had already, unwittingly, seized control of the major factional trends among these laborers.