Chapter 228 - 227: Lin Yuan to Lord Zhao

"The Heavens are not a merchant, Lord Zhao," Lin Yuan spoke, his voice a low, rumbling vibration that seemed to physically alter the atmospheric pressure within the hall. "They do not trade in fairness. They do not care about your grief, nor do they care about your sacrifices. The Great Dao is a blind, deaf, and dumb river. It flows where it wills, and it drowns whoever stands in its path."

Lin Yuan leaned forward, placing his hands flat upon the table.

"But I am not the Heavens," Lin Yuan declared, his tone shifting into a register.

Lord Zhao frowned, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

"When I absorbed the Dao of Three Rebirths, I did not merely store it," Lin Yuan explained, his eyes beginning to glow with a faint, tri-colored light—black, white, and crimson. "I merged it. I created a Tri-Dao intersection within my spiritual sea. I touched the Origin. I obtained the Origin Dao spell, the Six Arms of Reincarnation."

Lord Zhao’s breath caught in his throat. He stared at the glowing light in Lin Yuan’s eyes, paralyzed by the sheer, conceptual magnitude of what the man was describing.

"I possess the foundation. The Dao of Three Rebirths is a path through which one can begin to comprehend and cultivate the cycle of reincarnation, the endless passage between life and death," Lin Yuan continued, his voice carrying absolute and undeniable certainty. "But my cultivation is not yet sufficient. I cannot yet physically plunge my hand into the River of Reincarnation without having my soul torn apart by its karmic currents."

Lin Yuan paused, allowing the silence to settle heavily between them.

"But I will ascend," Lin Yuan declared, his voice unwavering. "I will shatter the Void Refinement realm. I will keep advancing until I reach that elusive realm where one can blur the boundary between life and death. And when I do, Lord Zhao... when I possess the raw, unmitigated power to manipulate the Six Paths without consequence..."

Lin Yuan looked directly into Lord Zhao’s eyes.

"...I will reach into the cycle of reincarnation. And I will pull your brother’s soul back into the mortal plane."

The teacup in Lord Zhao’s hand shattered.

The boiling tea spilled across his fingers, but he did not feel the heat. He sat completely frozen, his mind violently short-circuiting as he tried to process the magnitude of the promise that had just been laid before him.

"You... you would do that?" Lord Zhao choked out, his voice reduced to a frail, trembling whisper. "Daoist Lin... the backlash... Taking on the burden of another man’s karma can interfere with your own karmic flow."

"But you forget, Lord Zhao," Lin Yuan replied calmly. "When I reach that realm, things like karma will be nothing more than weeds beneath my feet. At that stage, one does not concern himself with karma."

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, his expression returning.

"Do not look too deeply into what I am doing, Lord Zhao," Lin Yuan said calmly. "My actions are no different from those of a builder laying the foundation for an architect. Every action has its purpose, and every step must align with the greater path."

He paused, his gaze becoming distant and profound.

"Bringing your brother back is not merely an act of kindness, nor am I doing it simply because I sympathize with you. It is a duty I have chosen to uphold. Heaven and Earth do not grant fortune without reason. Those who uphold their duties, honor their promises, and act in accordance with the principles of the Dao will eventually be rewarded with Good Fortune."

Lin Yuan’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"When that day comes, and I possess the power to reach into the cycle of reincarnation, I believe the fortune I have accumulated through every action will naturally guide me toward the result I seek. I do not need to force everything into place today. I only need to ensure that every step I take is aligned with the next."

His eyes flashed with quiet conviction.

Lin Yuan understood this after absorbing the Dao essence contained within the Nine Essence Genesis Pill. Cultivation is not merely about pursuing power. Every action creates a cause, and every cause will eventually produce an effect. If he wish to reach the heights he saught, then his actions must align with the path he intend to walk.

Lin Yuan looked at Lord Zhao.

"So, do not mistake this for charity. I am simply laying another foundation for the future. When the time comes, Heaven and Earth will decide what fortune awaits me."

Lord Zhao Shenming, the Lord of the province, broke. He slid out of his chair. He fell to his knees upon the floorboards. He pressed his forehead directly against the wood, prostrating himself with an absolute reverence.

"My life is yours," Lord Zhao wept, his shoulders shaking violently as centuries of repressed agony finally found a release. "My soul is yours. The Zhao Province is yours. Command me, Daoist Lin. Command me to burn the heavens, and I will strike the match."

"Rise, Lord Zhao," Lin Yuan commanded gently, but firmly. "A man whose brother is about to return does not weep on the floor. He prepares the banquet."

Lord Zhao slowly pushed himself up, his face stained with tears, but his eyes burning with a fierce, and completely unshakable devotion. He nodded heavily, taking his seat once more, his hands trembling as he tried to compose himself.

Before another word could be spoken, the heavy wooden doors of the grand hall swung open.

Bai Chen strode into the room. The young Foundation Establishment cultivator was dressed in a dark, form-fitting martial tunic, his expression tight with frustration. He carried a stack of glowing blood-talismans in his hand.

"Brother-in-law. Lord Zhao," Bai Chen greeted, bowing respectfully, though his eyes darted curiously to the shattered teacup and the lingering emotional heaviness in the room. He wisely chose not to comment on it.

"Report, Chen’er," Lin Yuan instructed, turning his attention to the young man. "What has your network uncovered regarding the Feng Province?"

Bai Chen walked up to the table, slapping the stack of talismans down with a frustrated sigh.

"I have not found anything concrete," Bai Chen admitted, his voice laced with intense annoyance. "I spent the entire night translating and communicating with the outer-branch mercantile guards stationed near the Feng borders. They utilized every contact they had in the local taverns and the outer sect registries."

Bai Chen leaned over the table, pointing to the glowing red script on the talismans.

"The Feng Province is locked down tighter than a dragon’s hoard, Brother-in-law," Bai Chen explained. "The Lord of the Feng Province operates a regime of absolute, terrifying paranoia. There are no public records of Feng Yao’s family. No registry of his birth, no registry of his parents’ occupations. It is as if they were entirely scrubbed from the mortal plane the day the boy manifested his Primordial Spirit."

"And the palace dungeons?" Lin Yuan pressed.

"I managed to get word to a merchant who supplies spiritual charcoal to the outer kitchens of the Feng Lord’s palace," Bai Chen said, shaking his head. "He says the lower levels of the palace are completely sealed off by Mid-Stage Soul Transformation arrays. Even the high-ranking elders of the Feng sect are forbidden from entering. The guards stationed there are deaf and mute cultivators bound by soul-contracts. They cannot speak, and if their minds are probed, their souls detonate."

Bai Chen let out a bitter laugh. "It is an absolute fortress of silence. If Feng Yao’s parents are being held captive there, the Feng Lord has ensured that absolutely no one in the Nine Provinces can verify it without launching a full-scale siege on the palace itself."

Bai Chen stood up straight, looking at Lin Yuan with genuine regret. "I failed, Brother-in-law. I could not confirm anything."

Lin Yuan reached out, picking up one of the glowing blood-talismans. He glanced at it, his deep purple eyes entirely devoid of disappointment.

"As expected," Lin Yuan said smoothly, tossing the talisman back onto the pile.

Bai Chen blinked, taken aback by the casual dismissal. "As expected? Brother-in-law, you tasked me with finding this intelligence so you could decide whether to accept the boy’s offer! If I haven’t found anything, how can you proceed?"

"Two days is the blink of a mortal’s eye, Chen’er," Lin Yuan stated, his voice calm. "I did not expect you to hand me a signed confession from the Feng Lord this morning."

"Then why did you make me stay up all night chasing ghosts?" Bai Chen asked, throwing his hands up in mild exasperation.

"Because a lack of information is, in itself, profound intelligence," Lin Yuan explained, tapping a finger against the table. "If Feng Yao’s parents were living peacefully in a grand estate, your merchants would have heard rumors of their lavish lifestyle. If they were dead, there would be whispers of a tragedy. But absolute, manufactured silence? A place so severe it requires deaf-mute guards and soul-detonating contracts?"

Lin Yuan smiled, a cold, predatory curve of his lips.

"That confirms that there is a secret worth killing for," Lin Yuan concluded. "It heavily corroborates the boy’s narrative. A man does not build a vault of that magnitude unless he is hiding something that can destroy him."

Lord Zhao nodded in agreement, his tactical mind instantly grasping the logic. "Daoist Lin is correct. The Feng Lord is terrified. He is holding a hostage that he knows the boy would burn the province to the ground if not because of that."

"Just continue," Lin Yuan commanded, looking back at Bai Chen. "Do not halt the investigation. Tell your contacts to keep digging. But do not expect immediate results. The true verification will likely come when the tournament concludes."

"And what of the boy’s offer?" Bai Chen asked nervously. "He wants you to reach the Top 3 in exchange for Primordial Essence. Without absolute confirmation, are you still going to trust him?"

"I am going to do exactly what I have always done, Chen’er," Lin Yuan said, standing up from the table. His robes flared as he turned toward the grand doors of the hall. "I am going to shatter the rankings," Lin Yuan said, confident in his new found combat prowess.

"Whether the boy honors his end of the bargain or attempts to betray me, I will be standing in the Top 3. The rest is merely details."

Lin Yuan looked at Lord Zhao. "It is time, Lord Zhao. The Grand Court summons us."