The Prodigies War

The atmosphere fell into silence. The old monsters present felt their hearts ripple, and some even showed faint traces of envy.

Even though this was the Fate Lotus World, where the Principles of Fate filled every corner...even though they themselves were mighty, ancient beings...in all these countless ages, not a single one of them had ever truly crossed the threshold of Fate.

Strictly speaking, throughout all the epochs of the Sea of Fate, almost no one had ever truly comprehended the power of Fate. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to. Rather, the Principles of Fate were simply too taboo. Even those with peerless talent found it nearly impossible to perceive, let alone grasp them.

But Xia Zhi was able to absorb and refine the Principles of Fate so naturally and effortlessly. That fact alone was enough to shake these old monsters to their cores. After a long while, Xing Jianxia and the others silently turned and left. They asked nothing more. Just witnessing such a scene was already enough.

Lin Xun remained seated beside Xia Zhi, but suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. The four dao dominions each possessed their own origin power.

For instance, the Five Principle Laws of the Return Dominion were born from the origin of the Return Dominion. The Principles of Fortune came from the river of time in the Fortune Dominion. Now, the Principles of Fate were born from the origin power of the Kunlun Dominion!

It should be noted that his Nirvana power could already fuse the Five Principle Laws of the Return Dominion and the Principles of Fortune into one. So why couldn’t he also comprehend and refine the Principles of Fate?

In the past, perhaps his talent and cultivation had been insufficient, preventing him from touching such mysteries. Now he had reached the Immeasurable Realm, and even the profundity of Nirvana had undergone earth-shaking transformation, was it possible that he could now sense the mysteries of Fate?

With this thought, Lin Xun quietly circulated his qi, calmed his mind, and began to perceive. Time passed. Nothing changed. Lin Xun couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. Could it be that the Principles of Fate wasn’t something just anyone could comprehend?

Just as he was about to give up, Xia Zhi, who was deep in cultivation, suddenly seemed to sense something. She opened her beautiful eyes and glanced at Lin Xun beside her, a hint of confusion in her gaze.

Earlier, she had felt that the Fate Principle power she was drawing in had become somewhat uncooperative, as if it were trying to slip free from her control. How could she possibly allow that? She immediately strengthened her absorption, forcibly refining those strands of Fate Principles that were trying to escape.

However, as time went on, the Fate Principles descending from the heavens grew increasingly unruly, as though they were struggling desperately to break free.

At this moment, when Xia Zhi saw Lin Xun sitting cross-legged beside her, realization struck her like lightning. She immediately withdrew the force she had been using to seize the Fate Principles. Then, she saw it. Those crystalline, silk-like strands of Fate Principles power drifting down from the heavens, clear and translucent, all surged toward Lin Xun instead.

“I see.” Understanding dawned on Xia Zhi, and a trace of guilt appeared in her eyes. Earlier, she had been so focussed on her own cultivation that she had unconsciously monopolized the Fate Principles Lin Xun could have perceived. That was wrong of her.

In other words, Lin Xun had indeed been capable of comprehending the Principles of Fate all along. It was just that he had been sitting too close to her, and the aura of Fate had naturally been drawn entirely to Xia Zhi.

At this moment, as if in apology, Xia Zhi guided all the Fate Principle power she had sensed toward Lin Xun.

......

Lin Xun, who had been on the verge of giving up, suddenly trembled from head to toe. An indescribable, faint wisp of dao profundity surged within his heart. It was almost imperceptible, yet the instant he sensed it, his entire body shook with uncontrollable excitement.

This...this is the aura of the dao of Fate!

Who would have thought that just as he was about to abandon all hope, the situation would suddenly reverse, the path unexpectedly opening once more?

“So...I really can comprehend the Principles of Fate...”

Lin Xun forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, calmed his mind and began to perceive it through the power of Nirvana. In the next instant, he felt as though his entire being had been submerged within an endless torrent of dao power. His consciousness seemed to plunge into a vast, boundless ocean.

The waves and tides rushing toward him were all the aura of Fate! It caught Lin Xun completely off guard. The power of the Principles of Fate he was sensing was simply too immense, too overwhelming. It was like an entire Sea of Fate!

Just moments ago, he had been unable to sense anything at all. Now, in the blink of an eye, such boundless power flooded in. Lin Xun felt as if he had suddenly gone from poverty to unimaginable wealth, riding a violent rise and fall of fortune.

Little did he know that all of this was Xia Zhi quietly making amends for him behind the scenes...

Hu—

Soon, Lin Xun steadied his breathing and focused his mind, immersing himself in a profound and ineffable state of comprehension.

Fate...a taboo and supreme dao. All sentient beings possessed their own fate. From the moment of birth, the trajectory of one’s life had already begun. In the mortal world, some were born into wealth, enjoying comfort and luxury from childhood. Others were born into poverty, struggling merely to survive.

These were simply different starting points along the trajectory of life. There were billions of beings in the world, and no two were the same. The course traced by the trajectory of life itself was what was called fate.

Fate was countless and multifaceted; some were similar, but none were truly the same. One’s fate was shaped by innumerable forces: birth and death, love and hatred, fortune and calamity. Even every action, every word, every fleeting thought in life might become a turning point in one’s fate.

However, for mortals, if they did not step onto the path of cultivation, their fate remained forever bound to the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, from which there was no escape. For them, fate might change, but life and death lay beyond their grasp. Sooner or later, all would return to a handful of dust.

As for cultivators who defied the heavens, though the paths they tread might differ, their destination was the same: to undergo transformation after transformation, to reshape their fate time and again, to break free from the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and ultimately transcend the great dao itself.

Those who reached the Longevity Realm gained longevity. Those who reached the Immortal Realm gained immortality. Those who reached the Eternal Realm gained eternity. From the names of these realms alone, one could tell that once a cultivator stepped into them, their fate was destined to change completely!

However, even for cultivators, truly controlling one’s own fate was nearly impossible. For the path of cultivation was fraught with murderous calamities, and changes lurked within every realm. Every choice, every thought, every unconscious action could alter the course of one’s fate.

Compared to mortals, cultivators at least sought ways to alter their fate, to seize the power of ‘my fate is determined by me, not by Heaven.’ Of note, despite the countless mighty beings in this world, from ancient times to the present, very few had ever truly comprehended the power of Fate or pierced its profound mysteries.

Take the Sea of ​​Fate as an example. It gathered the most powerful beings from every epoch, all standing at the very peak of the Immeasurable Realm, yet those who could comprehend the mysteries of Fate were almost unheard of!

This alone was enough to show just how taboo this dao truly was. Now, at this very moment, Lin Xun was comprehending the mysteries of the dao of Fate!

......

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Xing Jianxia seemed to sense something and turned to look into the distance. Silently, a golden divine bird swept through the sky, carrying a graceful figure upon its back as it headed straight towards the Five Elements Heavenly Pass.

The woman wore a flowing red robe. Her appearance was as enchanting as a young maiden’s, her skin crystal-clear and snow-white, and her bearing radiant and dazzling. It was none other than Su Wanjun!

“She’s here...”

Fu Nanli and Daoist Shanfeng were also startled and hurried over. Su Wanjun halted before the Five Elements Heavenly Pass, her gaze locking onto where Lin Xun and Xia Zhi sat, her expression momentarily dazed.

Wisps of dreamlike, ethereal Fate power drifted down from the heavens, bathing Lin Xun and Xia Zhi in a soft, luminous glow. The scene clearly caught Su Wanjun’s attention as well.

“Fellow Daoist, please come to the Five Elements Heavenly Pass for a chat.” Xing Jianxia said, giving a cupped fist salute.

In the previous Fate Lotus World, Su Wanjun had appeared and single-handedly held back Huanglong Zhenjun, Zhu Tianjun, and a host of other old monsters. This was a tremendous favor.

Although Xing Jianxia and the others were deeply wary of Su Wanjun, they also knew very well that this ruthless demoness, who always acted alone and killed without blinking, could seize a heavenly pass with ease if she wished.

In fact, had she wished to enter the All-Wonder Domain, she could have done so effortlessly countless epochs ago! In other words, Xing Jianxia did not believe that Su Wanjun had come here to fight for the heavenly pass.

“I only came to take a look. There’s no need to mind me.” As Su Wanjun spoke, her eyes never left Lin Xun and Xia Zhi.

Xing Jianxia and the others exchanged glances. At once they understood it was the power of the Fate Principles that had drawn this demoness here.

The atmosphere fell into a strange silence. Seeing that Su Wanjun remained motionless for a long time, Xing Jianxia and the others tactfully chose not to disturb her.

......

One day later, Lin Xun slowly awakened from that wondrous state of comprehension.

“How much did you comprehend?” Xia Zhi’s voice sounded beside him at once.

Lin Xun reflected for a moment before replying, “I can be said to have just glimpsed the doorway. I’ve made a little progress, but I never expected the power of Fate to be intertwined with spiritual essence, karma, destiny, and reincarnation. That truly surprised me.”

Xia Zhi said softly, “The root of fate lies in life itself. From the very moment life is born, karma is already present. Karma signifies the endless variables that accompany a being from beginning to end. The intertwining of karmic lines sketches the ebb and flow of one’s life trajectory. That is what we call fate.

“Reincarnation touches upon the ultimate transformations of fate. Once it is truly comprehended, one’s spiritual essence can drift and transform between life and death, between existence and nonexistence.

“As for destiny, it is the measure of one’s life. To comprehend it is to shatter the shackles binding one’s spiritual essence, allowing fate to transcend all bonds.

“Unfortunately, destiny is the ultimate mystery of fate. Even the Eternal Night Divine Emperor failed to truly unravel it back then. That was why she was forced to reincarnate and cultivate anew...which is why I exist today.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xun was shaken. “You already knew?”

Xia Zhi nodded. “From the moment I was born until now, all the power I’ve refined originated from her. Although she erased all traces of her former life, she and I share the same ‘spiritual essence.’ When I once again began to grasp the powers of fate and karma, I gradually came to understand things related to her.”

As she spoke, her clear eyes remained serene as ever, as though what she was speaking of was not her own past life, but something entirely unrelated to her.

Lin Xun hesitated, “Then...”

“She is her. And I am me.” As if sensing what Lin Xun was about to say, Xia Zhi spoke first, her voice gentle. “Everything she experienced in her life has no bearing on me. At most, I inherited her spiritual essence and power.”

She concluded softly, “In other words, she gave me life. I view her as my mother.”

At those words, the weight in Lin Xun’s heart finally eased. Xia Zhi was still Xia Zhi, and not the Eternal Night Divine Emperor!

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