Chapter 619: Turning point

General Zhou and the Mohist Cultivator paid close attention to their surroundings.

Someone had plucked the threads of Karma.

This was a Domain difficult for even a Fifth-Rank to touch, and the fluctuation occurring here indicated that this place was subject to some kind of interference.

Under normal circumstances, such interference was extremely rare.

Because very few people would be specifically cared for by a Great Power; even if they were, the Great Power would have countless ways to influence them through various coincidences, rather than directly manipulating fate.

The method of directly manipulating fate was very crude, something only novices would do. For the great Dao Orthodoxy of the world, once they reached the corresponding level, they would learn methods to reduce their impact from Seniors.

Overly crude manipulation of fate was highly likely to lead to a burst of Luck, producing individuals with particularly strong resistance to fate and Karma, and they would generally develop a rebellious mentality towards those who manipulated their fate.

Many Great Powers had capsized in the gutter because of this.

Therefore, regarding the manipulation of fate, it was generally avoided if possible. If it had to be done, then the smaller the disturbance, the better.

By this era, 'Heavenly Will' had long been an open secret among the direct descendants of the world's great Dao Orthodoxy, though some in Outer Void were still in the dark, as their level was insufficient to access such knowledge.

However, this Heavenly Will usually did not target a specific person, unless you were truly a particularly important young Prodigy, capable of attracting the simultaneous attention of a group of Great Powers.

The reason it didn't target a specific person was that 'Heavenly Will' was generally used to manipulate the outcome of certain events, shifting the situation towards the desired direction. As for the myriad of thousands of people involved in the process, they were not actually noticed by 'Heavenly Will,' nor were they even seen.

It was difficult for the ants below to be targeted; unless you were outstandingly eye-catching, no one would bother with you. Manipulating fate and Karma was a very tiring process, requiring precise calculations.

Therefore, even for disciples of the world's great Dao Orthodoxy, a Karma fluctuation might not be seen even once in a lifetime, and this 'lifetime' was calculated by a Cultivator's lifespan, which was very, very long.

Was it the Great Power of the opposing side who made a move? But the Third-Rank General said it was absolutely impossible for any other Third-Rank to free up their hands right now; everyone was busy.

Then who was it?

Unknown, but no matter who it was, their manipulation technique was very crude and their skill level low, so it should be easy to detect.

Perhaps it was a Fourth-Rank who had prematurely acquired Third-Rank traits.

With this mindset, General Zhou fought Shen Shuibi with trepidation, fearing that some extremely low-probability event would occur.

Only—

The extremely low-probability event did not occur here.

Instead, it occurred amidst death.

Death was not uncommon on the battlefield, and being near death did not aid cultivation.

If you die, you die. You still won't be able to solve the advanced math problems you couldn't do before; you either know it or you don't. It has nothing to do with whether you've experienced life and death. Perhaps experiencing life and death will give you a little more motivation, but for those at the Seventh-Rank and above, they have already experienced countless life and death situations and attained longevity.

Getting a perfect score on an elementary school test certainly helps you with advanced math, but only to a certain extent.

Therefore, among the several million People of No Return, death occurred hundreds of times, but miracles like enlightenment never happened even once. Millions of deaths were all so ordinary.

But, with Cha Xike—

A miracle occurred.

From a situation of certain death, he found a sliver of hope.

Within the Golden Core and countless shattered Inner Worlds, he glimpsed a trace of that sign.

No matter how chaotic or violent the Qi, as long as it could remain stable in place, there must be a reason for its existence.

There is a saying, 'Existence is reasonable.'

This doesn't mean that everything that exists is logical; there are many illogical things in this world.

Instead, it means that since something exists, there must be an inherent reason and logic behind it. These reasons are the cornerstones that support its existence. By understanding these reasons and logic and replicating them, one can replicate anything that exists.

Nothing exists in the world without a basis; everything must have its foundation of existence. This foundation is what Cha Xike's Fifth-Rank path pursues.

The cornerstone of existence, even in such Chaos and disorder, like an explosion site… No, it *is* an explosion site. Even amidst the chaotic ruins, it must still have its own foundation of existence.

This is the order of Chaos.

Yes, even Chaos has its own order; absolute Chaos does not exist.

For example, if absolute Chaos meant no order could possibly exist within it, then would that law itself not count as a necessarily effective order?

Through this logic, one can deduce a conclusion, which is — laws themselves are bound to exist, order itself is bound to exist; even Chaos itself must have its own order, though this order and law might be very fickle and not fixed.

But from this, another conclusion can be drawn: above the unfixed laws, there exists a fixed law.

Because, through the first argument, we can conclude that no matter how much change and Chaos there is, there must always be a necessarily effective order. This proves that Chaos and order are contradictory yet unified. After their unification, it can be concluded that behind contradiction and order, there is a hidden law that supports them.

Through the above arguments, a very obvious conclusion can be drawn.

The 'Dao' exists.

If the foundation behind the foundation of an existing thing cannot be considered 'Dao', then what else can be?

This logic is similar to how, no matter how chaotic an explosion or water flow, their essence still follows the laws of physics.

However, this point is not so firm in Outer Void, in the hands of a Fifth-Rank.

Because physical laws are not solid in the hands of a Fifth-Rank; even the Heavenly Dao limit of speed can be manipulated. Temporarily altering certain physical laws is not difficult for a Fifth-Rank Cultivator.

But what about the laws behind physical laws?

Within chaotic physical rules, are there no hidden laws?

Just as he was about to be torn apart, Cha Xike comprehended this point, and in that one ten-thousandth of a second, he found the order within this Chaos, the law of this turbulent Qi that was exploding everywhere.

Although the physical rules here were changing every second, because these violent Qi themselves represented other Fifth-Rank's understanding of the 'Dao,' these Inner Worlds' Dao were constantly crushing and changing each other.

This law changed very quickly, but he still found the common law.

Thus, Shen Shuibi's Golden Core self-detonation and the shattered Inner Worlds of several Fifth-Ranks were condensed into one, centered on the Golden Core, forming a precious pearl.

The already dying Cha Xike placed this precious pearl onto his belt.

With a crack.

His Dharma Idol propped up.

However, that Dharma Idol had no image whatsoever, because before it could even take shape, it had already exploded!

Cha Xike was merely a superior Fifth-Rank, stronger than the Baiyue Kingdom Lord, but only by a limited margin. He was still far from Shen Shuibi and General Zhou, and compared to Li Qi, the Demonic Prince, Liu Junyi, and the Little Heavenly Master—these true super Prodigies who would ascend in the future—the gap was incomparably vast.

If Li Qi were to consume this chaotic and violent Qi, he would likely explode, let alone Cha Xike.

Even if he found the law and could digest and devour it, his own endurance had a limit.

It's like a person eating meat; a person certainly has the ability to eat meat, digest it, and absorb its energy, but if they eat a ton at once, they will still be stuffed to death.

Cha Xike was like this at this moment.

His Dharma Idol had already exploded, and his Inner World was shattering at an extremely rapid pace.

But, it was enough.

Before he died, he wanted to move this explosive chaotic Qi to another location, using his own body as a vehicle to transport this violent Qi to another place.

Where the last remaining Human Dao army was located.

At this moment, there were still two and a half quarters of an hour until the phased array detector activated.

General Zhou and the Mohist Cultivator were currently encircling Shen Shuibi, but they also held back some strength, because they wanted to block the area controlled by the Karma fluctuations, preventing some low-probability events from occurring.

Even when a Great Power manipulates fate, it doesn't always succeed. One just needs to be able to consciously avoid certain coincidences.

If you just don't go out, you won't get hit by a car and die. That's roughly the principle.

Under the suppression of the two, Shen Shuibi was unable to retaliate and could only be forced to defend, her living space shrinking. They could also monitor everything around them at all times.

Over there, the People of No Return had been basically annihilated. Miracles were not so easy to come by. The Human Dao had only suffered the first wave of losses; after that, they fought steadily and quickly annihilated hundreds of thousands of people in a quarter of an hour.

Extremely efficient.

From then on, of the People of No Return organization, only Cha Xike remained alive.

However, at this very moment—

General Zhou's pupils suddenly constricted!

"Over there! That's it! I'll block it." He suddenly turned his head, directly disengaging from the battle, and rushed towards the distance.

Over there, Cha Xike had transformed into a meteor, charging towards the Human Dao army that was finishing up, at an extremely rapid speed.

This speed even exceeded General Zhou's own maximum speed. It would only take thirty seconds at most to reach the army's location.

But fortunately, General Zhou only needed to intercept him head-on. If he stopped the opponent, this battle would be won!

At the same time, Shen Shuibi endured the Mohist Cultivator's attack, abandoning her defense. While suffering heavy injuries, she charged towards General Zhou.

Trying to leave!?

Her decision was very risky, because the nearby Mohist Cultivator also became anxious, immediately unleashing a barrage of attacks. Over ten Fifth-Rank Spiritual Artifacts were summoned and hurled towards Shen Shuibi!

Like a great bell and chime resounding beyond the vastness, its light shining before and shaking behind, a warrior rushing to battle, overflowing with heroic spirit!

That was the Mo Family's Sea of Spiritual Artifacts!

So many Spiritual Artifacts formed a long, radiant stream.

Looking within, first there were bows and horses, then crossbow bolts, spears, swords, blades, halberds, shields, axes, battle-axes, ji, whips, maces, hooks, forks, rakes, silk ropes, and lassos.

There were also many tigers and leopards, each manifesting a Cave Heaven, opening circular holes in The Void Realm, the Upper Eight Caves, Middle Eight Caves, and Lower Eight Caves. Within the caves were infinite sceneries, indigo ground with hooked patterns, tiger heads connected to walls, resplendent and glorious, coiled Dragons forming images, battlements taking shape, brilliantly and increasingly magnificent.

These Spiritual Artifacts manifested numerous strange phenomena, as if countless demonic fiends, with scowling brows and bristling hair, clashing horns and clenched fists, stooping and swaying, rubbing palms and clenching fists, baring fangs and gnashing teeth, swaggering and swaggering, rushed towards Shen Shuibi!

Facing such an attack, Shen Shuibi paid no heed whatsoever, completely abandoning defense, and condensed stars and moon with both hands!

The stars in the sky, brilliant and resplendent, like the Comet and the Jade Cord. They are arranged in the heavens, returning to the night's brilliance, with Celestial Pole and Shen presiding, and Ji and Bi dividing to bring wind and rain.

The Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method reappeared!

That one surnamed Zhou, don't even think about leaving!

The reference frame was forcibly transformed; Shen Shuibi became the Celestial Pole, and the 'movements' around her were all controlled by her!

They could only approach Shen Shuibi!

The Mohist Cultivator and General Zhou thought they had held back Shen Shuibi, but they never expected that it was mutual; Shen Shuibi could actually hold them back too!

If the remaining active forces outside were the Human Dao, then the Mohist Cultivator and General Zhou were holding back Shen Shuibi, leaving her to await her fate.

But, as long as the remaining people outside were the Shaman Dao Dao, then Shen Shuibi was using her life to hold them back, preventing these two from attending to anything else!

They were all top-tier Fifth-Ranks, and Shen Shuibi was even slightly stronger.

In this current state, holding them back for an hour or two might be difficult, but for just a dozen seconds, as long as she dared to fight and stake her life, how could it not be done!?

Under the Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method, Shen Shuibi rushed towards General Zhou. From Shen Shuibi's perspective, she wasn't moving, and General Zhou was coming towards her.

As a result, General Zhou, who was originally running towards Cha Xike, was now heading in Shen Shuibi's direction.

As long as their relative speed remained constant, General Zhou would never be able to approach Cha Xike. Shen Shuibi used this move to forcefully restrain General Zhou!

Even as she was bombarded by the stream of Spiritual Artifact light, her injuries growing heavier, she still did not stop, allowing General Zhou to get closer and closer to her.

General Zhou immediately realized that if he didn't kill or cripple Shen Shuibi, he wouldn't be able to leave here.

He immediately turned around, unleashing twelve-tenths of his strength!

Dare to hold someone like this? Then prepare to die! Shen Shuibi was already barely holding on; now, by holding back General Zhou like this, she was essentially taking attacks without any defense.

In half a second at most, he could kill her, and then go deal with Gou Lou!

Without needing to communicate, the Mohist Cultivator also knew this point. He made a decisive move, holding nothing back, and once again unleashed his attack!

Yes, holding nothing back. There was no longer any need to hold back.

The Mohist Cultivator and General Zhou simultaneously unleashed all their power, blasting towards Shen Shuibi!

According to their estimation, Shen Shuibi would be unable to resist. She would either maintain the restraint, face the attack head-on and die, or she would have to release the spell and quickly evade.

As soon as she evaded, General Zhou would be able to seize the opportunity to escape and go block the distant meteor!

However, Shen Shuibi stood still, continuing to trap the two.

This made General Zhou's eye twitch, but he didn't stop. His long halberd blasted out!

If she won't dodge, then die!

But at this moment, an inconspicuous meteor suddenly fell from the sky.

Who still remembers, when Li Qi recounted, he said he was 'controlling two meteors' (see end of last chapter).

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