Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 788 (1): Further Exploration of Karma

Zhao Changhe had no way of knowing what was happening far away in Hangu Pass. His eyes could not see that far.

After his dual cultivation with Yue Hongling, his injuries had somewhat recovered, but he still had a mountain of things to take care of.

When he woke up, Yue Hongling was still asleep. It was not that she had been overwhelmed by their cultivation session, but rather, the intense battle followed by their dual cultivation had given her new insights, sending her into a meditative trance. Zhao Changhe chose not to disturb her and instead focused on sensing his own condition.

His wounds had not fully healed, but his cultivation potential had grown.

Battle had always been the greatest tempering force, especially for someone like him, whose cultivation was built upon vicious blood. Even though he had already moved beyond the stage of refining his vicious blood qi for his advancement, a battle of such intensity still brought him tremendous gains. Moreover, this place had been meticulously shaped by Tngri for his own revival, embedded with an exceptionally refined Spirit-Gathering Array. The vast and boundless power of faith accumulated here was now without an owner. While this power of faith was useless to others, ever since Zhao Changhe had obtained the page of destiny, drawing upon this energy was as effortless as soaking in a spiritual spring.

A mere session of dual cultivation had already granted him immeasurable benefits, so much so that even his cultivation partner had entered a deep meditative state.

He could still train here for a while longer. He even wondered if he should call Lady Three over as well and absorb all the power of faith accumulated in this place before considering their next move...

Taking out his newly acquired page of illusion and reality—though it would be more aptly called the page of existence and nonexistence—he examined it carefully. To his surprise, the blind woman had still not appeared. Normally, each time he obtained a page of the Heavenly Tome, she would respond almost immediately. Yet this time, there was nothing but silence, which felt oddly unfamiliar to him.

He called out to her a couple of times but received no answer. Zhao Changhe decided not to dwell on it and instead focused on the page.

In terms of conceptual profundity, it was beneath the page of karma. But since Zhao Changhe also had the page of destiny and had been given some guidance by the blind woman, he could at least perceive a thread of karma. Even though perceiving it did not mean he could do anything with it, and he might not even understand what kind of karma it represented, the mere ability to see something provided a sense of reassurance. It made him believe that, sooner or later, he would be able to grasp it. That was the whole point of visibility: things that could be perceived could be, eventually, comprehended.

But this page of existence and nonexistence? It left him utterly lost. There was nothing to see, let alone any immersive demonstration like the previous pages. The very essence of this page was abstract beyond measure.

Existence and nonexistence, being and nonbeing—this concept first hinged on definition. Take, for instance, an empty pocket. If one were to ask whether there was anything inside, the answer would depend entirely on how one defined "something." If the term referred to money or material possessions, then the pocket was empty. But if one considered the presence of air, dust, or even unobserved microscopic particles, then the pocket was not truly empty. Without a clear definition, the debate over existence and nonexistence could spiral into an endless argument.

Right now, inside this page of the tome, if one were to ask whether there was an embroidered undergarment within it, the answer was definitively no. But was there nothing? Well, there was law, a governing principle the likes of which this world was built upon.

By extension, the law dictated by this page of the Heavenly Tome—the concept of existence and nonexistence—ought to refer to a clearly defined target. For instance, if one were to specify a particular time and place, then the presence of Dragon Bird in that moment and location would constitute existence. If it were absent, that would be nonexistence. If it were not physically present yet could still be seen, that would be an illusion. If it were present yet invisible, that would be concealment.

The transformation between existence and nonexistence was not something that could be cultivated, at least not at his current level. What could be grasped from this page at best was an understanding of falsehood and truth, void and reality. Even the blind woman dared not call this the page of existence and nonexistence, only referring to it as the page of illusion and reality.

It was thus no wonder why Tngri had not learned much even after having had it for so long, and no wonder Lie had simply discarded it, saying that it did not align with his path.

Meanwhile, someone like Papiyas was entirely different; this page of the Heavenly Tome could allow him to elevate his illusions to an unparalleled level. However, using something so profound solely for the purpose of illusion arts was no less of a waste than using a nuclear bomb to kill a mosquito.

As for the blind woman and Jiuyou, what could this page grant them? Would it be possible, for instance, for the blind woman to manifest a physical body from nothingness? It was not entirely impossible. Theoretically, as long as something could be defined under the laws of this world, it should be capable of emerging from nonexistence into existence by relying on this page. That would be the true essence of its law, and perhaps even the most fundamental cornerstone of reality itself.

Zhao Changhe, on his side, had no interest in using this page to learn illusion arts. At most, he would learn how to break illusions.

What he truly wanted to understand was void and reality. While similar to illusion and reality or falsehood and reality, they were not exactly the same. The key to grasping them lay in perceiving reality, in developing the ability to see through the essence of things.

For instance, Zhao Changhe focused his energy into his eyes and carefully examined the karmic connection between himself and Yue Hongling.

Did karma exist? It undeniably did.

Yet it was unseen, intangible—a concept of the void.

Yet if it existed, then it could also manifest into reality.

Previously, using his Qi Observation Technique, he could only discern that there were threads or strings connecting them, but he could not tell what those connections represented. However, at this moment, with the aid of this page of the Heavenly Tome, Zhao Changhe could clearly identify the fundamental nature of the thread that bound him to Yue Hongling.

The starting point of their bond was gratitude.

Yue Hongling had once saved his life. It was that kindness that was the cause from which all subsequent events had unfolded. It was the root of their intertwined fates.

From that beginning, many potential paths had branched out, one of which was the master-disciple bond that had once seemed possible. Zhao Changhe had sought to learn martial arts from Yue Hongling, but that line had already been severed. The one that remained was admiration, of which belonged sentiments such as “this is the jianghu I long for” and “I want to become someone like that.” That admiration, born from gratitude, had then intertwined with another thread—the desire a man harbors for a beautiful woman. The threads twisted together, spiraling into a single, ever-thickening cord.

And at the moment she became the wife of the stronghold master in Beimang, that thread bore fruit... Zhao Changhe’s face turned a little red. Because he had just realized that ever since that moment, he had been in love with Yue Hongling. Had he not seen it so plainly before his eyes, he would never have dared to acknowledge it.

And just as a single cause could shape multiple effects, certain paths that might have once existed, such as the possibilities of Zhao Changhe becoming a mountain bandit or committing evil, had been entirely severed by the intertwined forces of Yue Hongling’s kindness and his admiration for her. Despite having been in the heart of a mountain stronghold, he had ultimately come to walk the path of a hero, to the point where even Tang Wanzhuang had been astonished by his choices. It all stemmed from that initial cause.

Every strand of cause and effect, every thread of karma, was now laid out before him, clear and distinct.

The abstract notion of karma had taken tangible form, and everything was now visible to him.

Tracing the past was relatively simple, but when looking forward into the future, one would be met with the sight of lines that no longer converged neatly. Instead, they branched once more.

The clearest, strongest, and most natural path led to growing old together with Yue Hongling, their hearts forever as one, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Given their current bond and personalities, this was the most likely outcome. There were no branches depicting betrayal or abandonment; such paths simply did not exist. That realization pleased Zhao Changhe greatly. This at least confirmed that he was not someone who would waver in his affections.

But there were still conditional branches, possibilities dictated by external factors. Both he and Yue Hongling had a chance of meeting an untimely death. There was even a strange fate where they were forcibly separated, unable to reunite. These outcomes made sense. As people who constantly teetered on the edge, an early death was hardly an unusual fate. Just the day before, he had nearly died himself.

The strongest and most probable path was still only a possibility. Whether it would become a reality depended on his own efforts, and this was how it should be.

Still, it made him wonder if when one mastered karma to a high enough level, could they then fiddle with these threads of karma and push fate toward certain outcomes?

At least now that he could see it, no one could secretly manipulate the course of his and Hongling’s destiny without his knowledge.

Yet, if his relationship with Yue Hongling was relatively simple and easy to discern, other threads were far more complex.

Out of curiosity, Zhao Changhe attempted to view his own future independent of Yue Hongling. The result was a mess. He was met with the sight of countless tangled, blurry strands that he could not unravel. At this moment, he lacked the ability to properly observe it.

It was exactly as the blind woman had said: Even she could not see her own fate clearly. Zhao Changhe then could not help but wonder just what kind of power one needed to achieve in order to truly be able to reach that level.

Zhao Changhe suspected that even if he tried to examine his karmic connection with the blind woman, it would be far more complicated than his connection with Hongling. Their relationship was layered with countless unknowns, and it would likely be so chaotic that he would not be able to make any sense of it. He wondered if the blind woman herself could.

Regardless, seeing karma was more than just reassurance, it had practical applications in martial arts as well.

Just as he could sever qi veins, he could also sever karma.

This would be his next area of study. He had a feeling that it would be useful in dealing with people like Yangyang, whose fate was tied to reincarnation. It might also help in situations like his and Old Xue’s, where there was always the looming possibility of Lie forcibly seizing their bodies... If he could master this ability to its highest level, could he erase someone entirely? Eliminate them at the karmic level? If he could sever every thread that connected them to existence... would they simply vanish? frёeωebɳovel.com

However, his injuries were still unhealed, and his head was beginning to ache from pushing it too far. Zhao Changhe let out a long breath, shaking his head as he withdrew from the Heavenly Tome. He rose to his feet and left the secret realm.

There was still much to be done. He could not just sit here meditating on martial arts theories all day. For instance, Li Shentong’s injuries still required another round of treatment, though he would have to recover a bit more before he could see to that.