First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1837 - So-Called Karma

Su Yi also could never have anticipated that the six-inch sword coffin would be so tyrannical. It actually managed to suppress the Book of Karma completely!

This was entirely unexpected for the simple reason that the sword coffin had acted entirely of its own accord, taking no instructions from him at all.

It was as if it had a will of its own, and it was targeting the Book of Karma specifically!

“Wait here,” said Su Yi. He then drew closer to the six-inch sword coffin and the Book of Karma.

Kcch!

The sprawled-out book seemed to sense his arrival. Its pages rustled, and it struggled upright.

The six-inch coffin reacted immediately, surging with murderous intent.

The Book of Karma instantly wimped out. It lay there, unmoving, save for the line of frantic cursing that floated onto a blank page: “Fuck! I understand now! Third Brother Sword, you bastard! You’re colluding with that anomaly to bully me!”

The six-inch sword coffin did nothing, but its mere presence was like a silent threat. The Book of Karma dared not act recklessly.

Third Brother Sword? That’s most likely referring to the sword inside the coffin. And the anomaly... most likely me.

Su Yi found this rather strange. The Book of Karma is actually sentient?

He crouched to stare at the book. “Why do you call me an anomaly?”

The book flipped to a blank page, and a line of text appeared. “A paltry little Immortal King isn’t qualified to converse with this lofty tome!”

Bang!Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The six-inch sword coffin slammed into the Book of Karma.

The book trembled violently, its pages crumpled and squished. It opened to a new, blank page, quivering with trepidation. “Fine! I’ll graciously grant you an opportunity to converse with me out of respect for Third Brother Sword!!”

Bang!

The six-inch sword coffin descended upon it once more; it seemed displeased with the book’s attitude.

The impact left an indent on the book’s cover. It looked as if it might well fall apart at the seams.

Shockingly, it recovered in the blink of an eye, except that its pages were still crumpled up. It looked downright wretched.

It then sprawled out in resignation once more and wrote, “Put Third Brother Sword away, or I refuse to talk to you!”

“...” Su Yi was at a loss for words.

But when he saw the sword coffin rise as if to strike the book again, he promptly intervened. “Allow me.”

The sword coffin stopped mid-strike.

The Book of Karma sighed in obvious relief, and its crumpled pages started to relax.

Su Yi inwardly sighed in relief too. The six-inch sword coffin wasn’t under his control, but it was obviously at least somewhat willing to listen to him.

This discovery told Su Yi that the coffin, much like the book, was intelligent and aware!

He took a moment to steady himself, then looked at the Book of Karma. “It’s time for you to answer my questions.”

Wisps of chaos energy rose from the book, and the crumpled pages smoothed out, good as new. The book then turned to a new, blank page.

A line of text appeared. “Beneath the god level, all not subject to the ironclad rules of karma are ‘anomalies’ to me.”

Su Yi mulled that over. “Does that mean that after becoming a god, cultivators are no longer subject to karmic fetters?”

“No,” said the Book of Karma. “Gods are merely qualified to fight back... Well, at least qualified to attempt it. Were I determined, not even a god could escape my karmic entanglements!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised, and he asked with great interest, “Then how high of a cultivation base do you need to be exempt from karmic fetters?”

“It’s hard to say,” said the Book of Karma. “Anomalies like you can contend with karmic power before becoming gods. Even after becoming a god, a cultivator’s ability to contend with karma has little to do with their strength, but rather, the nature of their Epoch Law.”

Su Yi thought for a moment and roughly understood.

Karmic power was, ultimately, another type of Epoch Law. Whether another Epoch Law could contend with it depended on its nature and relative strength.

Here, Su Yi realized something.

The Grand Dao of Profound Ruin could sever karma. Didn’t that mean that this power of the Grand Dao from the River of Destiny was even stronger than the Epoch Laws of most gods?

Epoch Laws were, ultimately, just another type of power of the Grand Dao. The only difference was that they represented the Laws of an epoch’s civilization. 

Profound Ruin could sever karma. That perhaps meant it had the potential to transform into an Epoch Law!

Su Yi’s spirits soared. This discovery had undoubtedly opened a new door for him. It deepened his understanding of Profound Ruin, as well as his perception of Epoch Laws.

And if Profound Ruin had such potential, how could the Grand Dao of Reincarnation not have it too? After all, the gods forbade the return of the power of reincarnation!

As Su Yi pondered, new lines of text appeared in the Book of Karma.

“Your confusion is due to the limits of your cultivation base and horizons. When you step onto the path of divinity, all of your doubts will disappear.

“I’ve been trapped here since the early days of the Primeval Era, and I know almost nothing of what’s happened in the outside world.

“Even if I answer your questions, it’s highly likely that the situation has changed dramatically during my countless years here. My knowledge is undoubtedly distorted, full of holes, and out of date. Don’t rely on it.

“In other words, I’m not omniscient. I simply bear witness to the happenings of karma and can sense karmic ties that others cannot.”

The writing paused. Some time passed before the next line appeared. “You’re an anomaly unafraid of karmic fetters. Were anyone else to converse with me, they’d be fettered by karma and face unpredictable disaster.

“Ao Chiting’s misfortune is a perfect example. He couldn’t control his obsession with achieving divinity, and he was completely fixated on grasping the power of the karma. That’s how he proved his Dao and became a god. Although he succeeded in the end, the day he became a god, karma shackled his entire body. In the end, he didn’t just kill himself. He brought doom upon everyone in the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea.”

Su Yi furrowed his brow. “Didn’t you warn him?

“I’m merely a treasure,” said the Book of Karma. “I can control the power of karma, but I too am subject to its confines, and I cannot interfere in anything. If I forcefully interfere, I’ll suffer a backlash, and moreover, an unpredictable disaster will befall whoever’s karma I intervened in.”

“This is the natural order! A supreme, ironclad rule! If you’re dead-set on understanding why that’s the case, well, too bad! That is, unless…”

The book had only just written this when it shook violently, and countless cuts appeared on the text-filled page

The Book of Karma panicked and hurriedly erased that last sentence.

A new line of text appeared in its place. “See that? That’s a taboo! I can say no more. If I do, I’ll be the first to suffer!

Su Yi’s gaze was strange. For some reason, the book’s writing seemed full of deep resentment and frantic anger.

Although he didn’t know it, his presence in the ruins of the Dragon Palace had made the Book of Karma come dangerously close to a backlash on several occasions…

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “In that case, why didn’t the Dipankara Buddha suffer a similar fate when he tried to claim you? He even went so far as to destroy the Dragon Palace.”

“He’s like you,” wrote the Book of Karma. “He can neutralize karmic ties.

“The paths Buddhists seek are usually connected to karma, so they have numerous secret methods of countering it.

“Karma is distributed throughout the flow of destiny. It stretches across the past, present, and future. All living things, regardless of their cultivation base, create karma every time they act.

“Buddhists seek to grasp karma, contemplate the past, comprehend the present, and derive the future. Their grasp of karma is naturally far beyond other cultivators.”

“The Dipankara Buddha contemplates the past. He was dead-set on acquiring me because…”

Here, the writing came to an abrupt halt once more. This was undoubtedly yet another taboo. If the book continued, it would suffer an inevitable karmic backlash.

“These secrets impinge upon too many taboos. I can tell you no more, and even if I could, it would be hard for you to grasp the secrets therein. Prove your Dao and become a god. Then, all will become clear.”

More lines of text appeared. The book was suddenly talkative. It seemed that if Su Yi didn’t stop it, it would go on forever.

Su Yi decisively interrupted it. “Then let’s set that aside.”

The book seemed like it had yet to get its fill. “Oh… Okay. Actually, you have no idea how lonely I’ve been. All these years, I’ve only had myself to talk to. I couldn’t find anyone like you to talk to. Argh! It’s lonely at the top. There are no words for how alone I’ve been.”

“...” Su Yi didn’t know what to say. Great! The Book of Karma is a dishonest scoundrel, and a chatterbox, too!

But it’s all directed at me. Anyone else, and it’d be too scared of a backlash to even let out a fart.

“Stop!” When Su Yi saw that the book was about to say something else, he immediately interrupted it. “There’s something I need your help with.”

“Hmph,” said the book. “I just knew you came to the ruins in search of me. Go on, then. Out of consideration for Third Brother Sword, and assuming it’s within my abilities, I wouldn’t mind helping you.”

It made it sound like it was giving alms to the poor, but Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to take it to task.

He called Xi Ning over and said, “Have a look and tell me what karma is hidden within the mysteries that have surrounded her since her birth.”    

Earlier, Xi Ning told her that numerous mysteries had accompanied her her whole life, and she still didn’t have answers. Some were connected to her origins, others, to the nature of her talent.

Still others involved long predetermined karmic ties!

Not even the Xi Family knew why there were so many mysteries surrounding her. It seemed completely unfathomable and taboo.

Even Xi Ning herself had yet to find any answers.

Thus, one of her goals for this expedition to the Immortal Realm was to find the Book of Karma and use its power to shed light on the bundle of mysteries surrounding her.

Now, the time was ripe!