Published at 13th of May 2026 5:33 am

Chapter 4267: Dao Sword

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Karma. To others, it was illusory and ethereal. Only to someone like Lu Yin, who cultivated karma, would it be visible and tangible. Only he could restore it.

Long ago, if Master Qing Cao had not stripped time but rather directly severed Uncle Jiang’s karma, then the man would have never been able to recover. That was the terror of severing karma.

How much karma could be severed from a person? If their karma vanished entirely, would it mean… that the person themselves did not exist?

Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked toward the distant megaverse. There were many insects there, including the Verdant Sage that had called out to the Immortal Lord.

Lu Yin had been the one to raise that Verdant Sage, and yet it could not possibly be loyal to him. It had called to the Immortal Lord out of instinct.

Lu Yin stared at the bug as karma swept out. It revealed traces of the Verdant Sage’s past. With a casual wave, Lu Yin severed karma.

There was no obvious effect, or if there was, Lu Yin could not see it. After all, he was not an insect.

But…

Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened, and he struck again. This time, he was not merely severing karma, but completely erasing all of the Verdant Sage’s karma. By taking the severing of karma itself as the cause and rendering the present outcome inviolable, the result was inevitable.

A sword descended.

The karma-severing sword fell, and the Verdant Sage’s karma was torn apart, sliced to fragments.

Once the Verdant Sage’s karma was completely destroyed, Lu Yin stared at the Verdant Sage, but the bug just stood there, seemingly dazed and not moving at all. It seemed like an empty shell.

It was not dead, yet there was no difference from death. Its past was gone. Everything that it had possessed, everything that it had ever thought or hoped, was all gone. It was nothing more than a living body.

Lu Yin let out a breath. This karma-severing sword was, from the moment he had first comprehended karma, his first true attack technique that used karma.

A karma-severing sword? No. It was the Dao Sword.

The Dao was this: all things begin at the origin and end in nothingness. What exists ultimately returns to nonexistence. That was the Dao, and this was the Dao Sword.

His Karmic Dao was still increasing, so Lu Yin kept testing his Dao Sword.

To sever karma was to sever the dust-covered past. What had already been obtained, what had been gained through those experiences, and what thoughts and intentions had arisen from those actions were all taken away. Even so, whatever had been lost or whatever injuries were inflicted by those experiences would remain. This plunged Lu Yin into deeper contemplation.

He was erasing a portion of a creature’s experience, that much was clear. Logically, when those experiences were removed, what had been gained should disappear, and what had been lost should return. However, if what had been lost already existed elsewhere, then how could it be returned? That involved other people’s karma, which Lu Yin could not consider for the time being. Even the injuries he himself had suffered still remained. Within the context of karma, that was unreasonable.

The only explanation for something so unreasonable was that severing karma did not completely sever that karma. Or rather, Lu Yin’s Dao Sword only severed a part of karma, the part that could be severed, while there were other parts that could not be cut. In that case, where did the unseverable karma come from?

Lu Yin could not see that other karma, but that did not mean that it did not exist. After all, there was no other explanation for something so unreasonable.

Above the karma that he was aware of, there must exist a higher level of karma, or perhaps a cosmic law. Lu Yin had long suspected this possibility, and this merely served to further confirm those suspicions.

He thought of it being similar to how, above the River of Aeons, there was a main stream. It was also like how it was difficult for various beings to interfere with the workings of the cosmos itself. No matter how strong one became, they would always have to exist within the omniverse.

Further contemplation was not necessary for the time being. Lu Yin simply needed the ability to sever a portion of karma; that was enough. If he could truly sever karma to the point of completely ending that karmic experience, to the point of returning what had been lost and taking away what had been gained, then he would truly be at the level of a god.

He tried out his Dao Sword again.

It was indeed effective, but every power had a cost, and his Dao Sword was no exception. Each time he used the Dao Sword, however much karma he erased from his target, that was the same amount of karma that Lu Yin himself lost. Karma was the foundation of his Dao Sword’s power.

That was normal. It was no different from the Karmic Heavenwheel. Even when Green Lotus used that technique, it cost karma. The stronger the opponent, the greater the loss of karma. It could not be used endlessly.

At last, the explosive growth of his Karmic Dao came to an end. Lu Yin looked over at his Champions’ Stage Purgatory. Was it finally over?

He truly wished that it would continue.

At this moment, his Karmic Dao was already more than half the size of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. If another Immortal Lord came along, it might be possible for the Karmic Dao to grow to match the size of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Lu Yin asked Old First to drag the Immortal Lord out.

The cauldron continued to suppress the green stalk. No one would be fooled by the Immortal Lord’s heavy injuries. Any creature who could cultivate to the Immortal level was not simple. Lu Yin did not want any accidents to occur.

“How did it feel?” Lu Yin asked.

The Immortal Lord replied, “It’s the power of karma, but it has no effect on me.”

That was normal. While placing a powerhouse like the Immortal Lord in the Champions’ Stage Purgatory could grant Lu Yin an increase of karma, for beings who had long since overcome Dukkha, their will was firm. Very little in their karmic past could have any affect on them.

“What exactly do you want?” the Immortal Lord asked.

“There’s no rush. There’s a question I’ve always been curious about, and I hope that you can give me an answer.” Lu Yin stared at the Immortal Lord. “Why do you look at human civilization differently?”

The Immortal Lord grew puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Lu Yin said, “Stop playing dumb. That Immortal Verdant Sage that was able to revive—you gave it a human form. Why?”

“Because humans have potential. I could see that.”

“Oh? You could see that humans would definitely give birth to an Immortal being?” Lu Yin challenged. The Immortal Lord was about to answer, only for Lu Yin to cut them off. “Luo Chan told me that, back before your Nest civilization went to war with the Third Rampart, you had already seen the potential of humans. To be honest, I don’t believe that, so I’m hoping that you can clear up this confusion for me. In return, I might not necessarily kill you.

“You schemed with all your might to break free from the Plume Immortals. It wouldn’t be worthwhile for you to simply die at the hands of our civilization.”

The Immortal Lord fell silent, but Lu Yin was in no hurry. He was willing to wait as long as necessary.

Neither Mister Mu nor Old First said anything. They knew nothing about this at all.

There had been many times when Lu Yin would say something seemingly irrelevant to an enemy, and doing so had become a habit for him. However, it was precisely those irrelevant comments that could occasionally yield crucial information.

For example, through questioning Luo Chan, Lu Yin had answered the question of whether the Immortal Lord had learned about the potential of humans before the war with the Third Rampart or after. That verified the fact that the Immortal Lord must have known about human civilization before that encounter. However, the Immortal Lord continued to hide this information, which indicated that there was a problem.

After a short while, the Immortal Lord said in a low voice, “Human civilization was once glorious.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. The Nine Ramparts spanning the cosmos. The Immortal Lord knows of that as well.

“I don’t know just how magnificent the human civilization once was, but over the years, my Nest civilization has destroyed many megaverses and spawned countless Verdant Sages. They have learned about the origins and histories of many civilizations. Among those civilizations were some that mentioned human civilization. Those civilizations might not have known the name of your species, but they had records of the human form.

“In some civilizations’ records, human civilization is considered to be…” The Immortal Lord stared at Lu Yin. “A fishing civilization.”

Lu Yin arched a brow.

Mister Mu was stunned. A fishing civilization?

On the other hand, Old First was not surprised. Ever since Lu Yin’s first visit to the toads’ seven-colored land, Old First had asked Ancestor Shan some questions and had learned a few things about the past human civilization.

A fishing civilization? No, that term was utterly insufficient to describe what humanity had once been. At the very least, Old First’s father had been capable of slapping a fishing civilization dead, yet he would not have dared to make a move against humanity when that species had been at their most glorious peak.

The Immortal Lord continued on in the same low tone. “That’s all I know. You can verify this through karma, but more than one civilization has records of the human form and attributes that form to a fishing civilization. I knew that a species capable of becoming a fishing civilization must possess great potential, and the facts have proven my belief to be correct.”

Lu Yin pondered. There were some civilizations that might not be particularly strong but still possessed truly ancient inheritances, and those civilizations might have some knowledge of the ancient human civilization. That could be a way forward. He could search through the histories of various civilizations for mentions of the Nine Ramparts spanning the cosmos. Through that, it might be possible to find the scattered bits of human civilization that still persisted.

Obscura had already given a definitive answer: there were other human civilizations in the Aevum Inch. Since that was true, he would search for them.

“There’s one more thing that I’ll give you for free,” the Immortal Lord continued, “Luo Chan feels disgust for your kind.

“Luo Chan’s ability comes from the Plume Immortals, which means that the Plume Immortals feel disgust for you humans. It is possible that your civilization was once enemies with the Plume Immortals or even went to war against them. Those birds are vengeful to begin with, and since they’ve happened to appear near your megaverses, they will never let you go.”

Lu Yin said, “Thank you for the warning. One other thing: from what you know, which is a more likely explanation for Yue Lu’s sudden appearance near our human civilization: coincidence or outside intervention?”

Mister Mu and Old First stared at the Immortal Lord. They also wanted to hear this answer.

The Immortal Lord thought for a moment. “Coincidence.”

Mister Mu was surprised. “Really? Coincidence?”

“Unless there is a being who is capable of entering the Plume Immortal Civilization and then leaving unscathed, I cannot imagine who would be capable of luring Yue Lu to your human civilization. The distance is too far. Much, much too far. Even an Immortal being might not live long enough to cover such a distance. Even if Yue Lu continuously teleported, with each teleportation covering an extremely vast distance, it would still take it a long time to reach your location. That’s why I’m more inclined to believe that it was a coincidence.”

Rather than coincidence, it was reasonable for most beings to believe that outside intervention was more likely. The Aevum Inch was indescribably vast, so why would that strange bird suddenly appear within range of their human civilization?

Still, the Immortal Lord’s reasoning also made sense. Who could possibly enter the Plume Immortal Civilization and leave unscathed? Even if Obscura had experts capable of doing that, how long would it take them? The Plume Immortals were not stupid, and they would not simply allow themselves to be used. Besides, coincidence was a real thing. If it were not, the word itself would not exist.

“Now, can you tell me what you actually want?” the Immortal Lord asked.

Lu Yin looked at the green stalk. Before this moment, he truly had not decided what to do next.

Kill the Immortal Lord? That felt wasteful. However, if they were not killed, they would forever remain an enemy. Also, if they were rescued by the Plume Immortals, it would lead to greater trouble.

Lu Yin would not be deceived by the fact that the Immortal Lord was controlled by the Plume Immortals. Their strength was no less than most of those birds. For example, Yue Lu was no match for the Immortal Lord in terms of direct combat, and it would be forced to escape by teleporting.

There was no doubt that the Immortal Lord was an elite powerhouse.

However, Lu Yin now knew what to do.

He would use his Dao Sword to sever the karma related to the Immortal Lord arriving to fight them. That would cover up this entire interaction, while also serving as preparation to use the Immortal Lord against the Plume Immortals in the future.

The Dao Sword could sever karma and destroy karma, and it could also plant karma.

Lu Yin had learned how to weave karma back in the Consciousness Megaverse, but with the Dao Sword, it was possible to hide a killing intent within an opponent’s karma.

The only thing that remained unknown was how much karma it would cost Lu Yin to sever that portion of karma.

The Immortal Lord was an Immortal, and they were also much stronger than Lu Yin. It would cost an astonishing amount of karma to weave such a powerhouse’s karma, and severing their karma would be the same.

Lu Yin took a deep breath, hoping that the cost would not be too exorbitant. He had only just managed, with great difficulty, to raise his Karmic Dao to its current size.

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