First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1838 - A Bundle of Mysteries

Su Yi concisely explained Xi Ning’s situation.

The Book of Karma was obviously intrigued. A line of text floated onto its page. “In this world, every cause leads to an effect. I have to say, you're asking the right person—or rather, the right book. The gods might not have been able to help, but that doesn’t mean I can’t!

“Miss, press your hand on my cover, and I’ll clear up your uncertainties and resolve your doubts!” the book said with confidence.

Xi Ning was uncharacteristically nervous, but she nonetheless placed her hand on the Book of Karma.

She had more than just one secret surrounding her, and they’d been there since the moment of her birth. Even gods saw them as a taboo, and not even they could discern the secrets therein.

Yet now, with help from the Book of Karma, she might… really be able to learn the truth!

A wisp of the red power of karma surged from the Book of Karma and wrapped around Xi Ning’s slender fingertips.

A moment later, the book’s pages rustled, and chaos energy rose. Countless profound and inscrutable glyphs flashed within its pages, as if it were divining something.

Occasionally, even indistinct, illusory images appeared on the pages, like fleeting shadows, gone as soon as they appeared.

“I found you!”

Suddenly, the flipping pages came to an abrupt halt, and a mysterious imprint floated onto one of the pages.

It depicted a dark, barren world. All was dark as bleak, save for the indistinct outline of a floating sword.

What’s that? Su Yi and the others looked over.

A line of text appeared in the Book of Karma. “It’s a diagram created based on that young woman’s innate talent. It’s extremely strange, like a bundle of mysteries. It’s practically indecipherable. All we can do is wait until she awakens her latent talent. Perhaps then she can comprehend the mysteries of that diagram.”

Su Yi was quite surprised. This is a diagram that’s accompanied her since her birth, but she needs to awaken her latent talent to grasp its mysteries. This is only further proof of how extraordinary and mysterious Xi Ning’s origins are! 

New lines of text appeared in the book, one after another. “What I can say with certainty is that the diagram is connected to the most taboo of Daos, the Dao of Destiny!”

“The Dao of Destiny?”

“That’s right!” The Book of Karma seemed excited, but cautious and on guard, too. “I suspect that even before she was born, this young lady received the favor of destiny!”

Xi Ning’s eyes flashed. “My innate talent came accompanied with this diagram. Does that mean that someone arranged all of this before I was even born?”

“It’s hard to say,” said the Book of Karma. “Unless…”

But then, the writing came to an abrupt halt. Countless cracks appeared on the page, and it looked as if it were about to burst into flame. 

The Book of Karma panicked and frantically erased the line of text. “See that? I bumped into yet another taboo!”

“...” The crowd fell silent.

But Su Yi somewhat understood. He said to Xi Ning, “Discussing that diagram’s origins almost made the Book of Karma suffer a backlash. Thus, the diagram's origins are surely extraordinary. In other words, if someone really did arrange all of this, then their cultivation… is sufficient to contend with the power of karma, and not even the Book of Karma can see through it!”

The Book of Karma wrote, “Why do I get the sense that you’re making fun of me for being useless?”

“Don’t like it?” asked Su Yi. “Why not try to divine the diagram’s origins, then?”

The book instantly fell “silent.”

“Did someone… arrange my destiny before I was born…?” A hint of bewilderment appeared on Xi Ning’s delicate brow. “But I’ve never felt like others were in control of my life…”

“Don’t worry about all that,” Su Yi said comfortingly. “You might well learn the truth once you’ve awakened your innate talent.”

Xi Ning nodded.

“That’s not necessarily true,” wrote the Book of Karma. “That’s far from the only mystery surrounding this young woman. Earlier, I sensed a mysterious treasure within her vital source energy. Although I could sense its existence, I couldn’t tell just what kind of treasure it was. Miss, might you reveal it so I can have a look?”

Su Yi instantly looked at Xi Ning too.

She froze, stunned, then shook her head. “From the moment of my birth, it was fused into my vital source energy. There’s no removing it, nor can I show it to you.

“But every time I focus on my cultivation, I can clearly sense that the treasure is shaped like a leaf. It’s extremely indistinct, though, as if it's shrouded in chaos power.”

A leaf? Su Yi was stunned, and extremely curious. “What does the treasure do?”

Xi Ning fell silent, and Su Yi instantly realized his question had been inappropriate. He backpedaled, “If answering would violate your privacy, you needn’t say any more on the matter.”

Xi Ning shook her head. “There’s no reason I can’t tell you. It’s just that this treasure is something really unique, and I ordinarily cannot even sense its existence. I can dimly sense it when I cultivate, but the leaf only actually reacts when I break through. Every time that happens, I enter a wondrous state of enlightenment.

“It’s like cultivating beneath a towering tree rooted in chaos. I can easily break through any barriers in my cultivation and grasp mysteries of the Grand Dao that I ordinarily could not.”

Su Yi pondered out loud, “In that case, its applications sound somewhat similar to the legendary Tree of All Worlds.”

“It’s different,” said Xi Ning. “The leaf doesn’t simply give me breakthroughs in my cultivation and grasp of the Grand Dao. Whenever I run into difficulties and barriers, it neutralizes them with ease. It even…”

She thought for a moment, then said solemnly, “I suspect that with the leaf’s help, I won’t encounter any barriers even when I prove my Dao and become a goddess.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but be impressed. A treasure like that is unquestionably taboo! With such a wondrous treasure, you can advance your pursuit of the Grand Dao by leaps and bounds, soaring to prominence without any fear of interference!

He finally understood why Xi Ning had come to the Immortal Realm largely for the Book of Karma, and not simply because she wanted to become a goddess.

With that mysterious leaf, she had no need to fear failing to achieve divinity!

“Over the years, I’ve always called it the Enlightenment Leaf, but I still don’t know where it came from or why I have it,” said Xi Ning, a confused look on her face.

This was a treasure that any cultivator would drool over, but to her, it just seemed far too mysterious.

Suddenly, a new line of text appeared in the Book of Karma. “Miss, every effect has its cause. Both the diagram of your innate talent and the leaf within your vital source energy were born with you. That means the seeds of this karma were planted long ago. You needn’t push it. When the time comes, all will become clear.”

Xi Ning nodded silently. This answer couldn’t really resolve any of her confusion, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t gained anything at all.

At the very least, she understood that someone had arranged her destiny from the moment of her birth. That diagram and the Enlightenment Leaf proved it.

For all its power, the Book of Karma couldn’t divine the karmic ties behind it. It was thus easy to imagine how terrifying of an existence the one who’d arranged her destiny was!

“If you ask me, this isn’t a bad thing,” said the Book of Karma. “How could someone capable of influencing destiny and resisting karma go to all this trouble just to harm you?”

Xi Ning was stunned. She thought for a moment, and indeed, from the moment of her birth, she’d never felt as if she were under another’s control. On the contrary, her unique talent and the Enlightenment Leaf had let her soar to prominence in her pursuit of the Dao. Within her clan, others of the same generation had long since ceased to compare to her.

Even some of the clan’s old-timers paled by comparison!

“I’m sure there are secrets behind it all,” wrote the book. “But both now and in the future, your destiny is still in your hands. After all, if you live, you might well meet with disaster, but you can at least decide how you die, right?”

Its words were grating to the ear, but it wasn’t wrong.

Xi Ning instantly understood what the book was getting at.

If, down the line, she discovered that her life was under another’s control, she could still refuse to go along with it. Worst case scenario, she could simply… kill herself!

Here, Su Y interjected. “If you really run into difficulties you cannot resolve, I naturally won’t remain a bystander.”

Xi Ning was briefly dazed, but then, an irrepressible smile tugged at her lips. “Then I’ll just have to thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist.”

“Right, I almost forgot. With Fellow Daoist Su here, you can break the arrangements of destiny, karma, fate, and all that other stuff!” The book seemed rueful. “I’ve lived for a long, long time, but this is my first time encountering an anomaly like you!”

“....” Su Yi wasn’t sure whether the book was insulting or praising him.

“Right! Anomalies aren’t subject to karmic fetters, and that means… unpredictable variables will arise around anything, and anyone, you’re involved with….” The Book of Karma seemed to remember something. “No wonder Ao Chiting managed to find release in the end, and no wonder I never sensed Brother Sword’s presence. It was all because of you!”

“Even more coincidentally, this woman shrouded in mysteries has come here alongside you. Is there perhaps an unknown karmic thread connecting it all?

“That’s entirely possible! Dammit, I’m an expert on the Dao of Karma, but even I almost overlooked that possibility!” The Book of Karma instantly seemed excited. “Then let’s see whether or not this karmic thread exists. If it does, it’ll prove that it was no coincidence that the two of you appeared here together!”

Su Yi and Xi Ning exchanged glances. Their hearts shook, and they couldn’t help but recall how they’d first gotten acquainted. 

It all started in the Precious Gem Workshop, one of the Immortal Realm’s three great black markets.

After that, the two of them gradually got to know each other…

Then, they met in the Eastern Sea and set off for the ruins of the Dragon Palace. The entire time, everything seemed perfectly natural. Nothing seemed fishy or out of the ordinary.

In truth, even if something fishy had been afoot, given their wisdom and breadth of experience, there’s no way they wouldn’t have noticed.

At least, that’s what they’d thought. When they heard the Book of Karma’s hypothesis, they both couldn’t help but feel a bit strange.