Chapter 145

Chapter 145: Karma (4000 words, two-in-one)

In the Lava Heart Cave, Sheng and Zhao Qionman had already donned the black robes of the Black God Sect, officially becoming members.

The Black God Sect didn’t guard against Sheng and Zhao Qionman at all. After all, they couldn’t escape, let alone that Zhao Qionman was participating in constructing an important magic array at one of their branch outposts.

If Zhao Qionman slacked off or deliberately delayed the construction of the array, the cultivators of the Black God Sect would punish Sheng.

This made Zhao Qionman too afraid to act rashly every day.

During these days since joining the Black God Sect, Sheng and Zhao Qionman had also learned what exactly the Black God Sect was up to.

They wanted to fuse ordinary people with monster beasts.

This way, commoners could possess the power of monsters and use them as spiritual roots for cultivation, somewhat similar to the concept of “spiritual root planting” for commoners.

However, the issue was that the cost of “spiritual root planting” was extremely high because there were very few spiritual roots available for planting.

Those that could be planted weren’t truly spiritual roots but rather rare treasures capable of drawing spiritual energy, merely serving as substitutes when planted into humans.

Moreover, the majority of ordinary people who underwent this process had a very low cultivation ceiling. Very few reached the Cavern Realm, and breaking through to the Golden Core Realm was practically impossible.

Most individuals who underwent spiritual root planting were nobles from various human kingdoms or famous martial artists who wished to live longer. These people weren’t aiming to become cultivators but simply desired a longer life.

The wealthier and more powerful someone was, the more they feared death.

And only such individuals could afford the capital for “artificial spiritual roots.”

But now, the actions of the Black God Sect were disrupting this world.

Monster beasts were far more abundant than those rare treasures.

Monster beasts were everywhere.

If the method of “fusing humans with monster beasts to enable cultivation” proved feasible, then the Black God Sect would almost completely transform this world.

It was an incredibly radical idea.

Imagine a world where everyone could cultivate—what a grand spectacle that would be!

But the question arose:

Was it truly a “grand spectacle” and not a “catastrophe”?

When humans fused with monster beasts,

Could humans retain their sanity?

Would they not become beast-like?

Even if we assumed that fusing with monster beasts had no adverse effects on the body and everyone in the world could cultivate, would the resources of this world suffice?

A cultivator required an immense amount of resources! And the higher the realm, the more resources were needed.

If everyone could cultivate, could this world really sustain it?

However, Sheng and Zhao Qionman believed it wouldn’t reach the point where “everyone could cultivate,” and even the first step hadn’t been solved by the Black God Sect.

At the Black God Sect, though Sheng hadn’t participated in the experiments involving monster fusion, he couldn’t leave Zhao Qionman’s side for even a moment. Meanwhile, Zhao Qionman worked with other array masters to improve the human-beast fusion arrays.

Thus, during this time, the two witnessed the Black God Sect’s horrifying actions.

The sect’s cultivators went into the mortal world to capture ordinary people, including young men and women, elders, and even children and infants were not spared!

These mortals were placed together with monster beasts inside the magic array, and using the spiritual energy emitted by a rare treasure in Baiwa City, they attempted to fuse them.

The fusion process was excruciatingly painful, with an extremely high failure rate.

Out of a hundred people, at most only one could successfully fuse.

Zhao Qionman and Sheng also learned the truth about Baiwa City.

Initially, Zhao Qionman and Sheng thought the strange phenomenon in Baiwa City was caused by something brought by the Black God Sect.

In reality, this rare treasure in Baiwa City wasn’t from the Black Lotus Sect.

The Black Lotus Sect had come to Baiwa City because it was an unclaimed land, located at the border between the Southern Demon Realm and the Wu Kingdom, without any governance.

Unexpectedly, this place spontaneously generated a rare treasure.

And this treasure was Baiwa City itself.

According to the Black Lotus Sect’s calculations, Baiwa City would transform into a secret realm, which would then be contained within a scroll.

Such examples weren’t unheard of.

Ten thousand years ago, in the wilderness, a region had been separated by the Dao, becoming a blessed land and contained within a scroll, eventually obtained by a cultivator in the Ascension Realm.

Sheng knew that the branch leader of the Black God Sect had his own plans, wanting to claim the entire scroll for himself and thus hadn’t reported it to the main sect.

Otherwise, a treasure of this magnitude would definitely have been guarded by powerful beings.

As the “Baiwa Scroll” formed, it expelled all foreign entities, leaving behind only the native “residents of Baiwa City.”

Hence, the streaks of white light appeared.

Although the ultimate goal of the Black God Sect was the fusion of mortals and monster beasts,

The gap was too vast, so they planned to find a commonality between cultivators and monster beasts first, then apply it to mortals.

Similar to how medical cultivators tested drugs on animals before using them on humans, the principle was roughly the same.

The Black God Sect utilized the white light from Baiwa City.

They had Zhao Qionman and other array masters create an array that directly transported cultivators expelled by Baiwa City to the Lava Heart Cave.

Every day, Zhao Qionman watched helplessly as her creation harmed countless people, feeling her heart being cut by a knife, filled with guilt.

Sheng also realized he had become a bargaining chip for his wife.

He had even considered ending his life.

But even if he died, could he save his wife from this place?

Sheng endured silently, even actively helping the Black God Sect, pretending as if he had “seen the light” and wanted to assist the sect in completing this monumental task!

Sheng’s behavior earned him the recognition of the branch leader of the Black God Sect.

Sheng had risen from being a mere captive to becoming an official of the sect’s branch.

Because the sect was short-handed at the time, the poison suppressed Sheng’s strength, and over this period, Sheng had indeed done much for the sect.

After careful consideration, the branch leader gave Sheng the antidote.

On the fifth day after obtaining the antidote, Sheng planned an escape.

Taking advantage of the guards’ negligence, Sheng fled with his wife.

Sheng thought he was about to succeed when the branch leader of the Black God Sect blocked his path.

Sheng and Zhao Qionman were dragged back into the mountain cave.

“Sheng, I trusted you so much, yet you betrayed my trust.”

The branch leader of the Black God Sect, Qi Hui, stared at Sheng.

“This has nothing to do with my wife. Kill me if you must, but spare her!” Sheng clenched his fists tightly.

“Why do you think you’re qualified to negotiate with me?” Qi Hui asked.

“Let my husband go! I’ll work wholeheartedly for the Black God Sect! I swear upon my Dao that I will never betray it!” Zhao Qionman stood in front of her husband.

Qi Hui merely smiled. “Negotiation requires leverage, and unfortunately, you two have none!”

With a wave of his hand, Qi Hui threw Zhao Qionman aside. When she struggled to her feet, she saw Qi Hui gripping her husband’s neck tightly.

“The array is complete, and the main sect has sent many array masters. You’ve already lost your utility. If it weren’t for your contributions to the Black God Sect, you would’ve already been thrown into the array for fusion. Now, this situation is your own fault, not mine.”

“What are you planning to do?!” Zhao Qionman shouted.

Qi Hui tossed a treasure, binding Zhao Qionman to a pillar.

“What do you think I’m going to do?” Qi Hui smirked as he threw Sheng into the array. “Release the Blood Bat Beast.”

“Yes.”

A disciple of the Black God Sect opened a cage, placing the restrained Blood Bat Beast into the array.

“Beast! Release my husband! Beast! Beast!”

Zhao Qionman struggled fiercely.

Yet she could only watch helplessly as her husband fused with a monster beast, hearing his agonizing screams, tears of blood streaming down her face.

“Unbelievable, it actually succeeded, and so perfectly.”

After an incense stick’s worth of time, Qi Hui looked at Sheng lying on the ground, with only some beast-like features remaining on his back, and couldn’t help but marvel.

The ultimate goal of the Black God Sect wasn’t just to allow every commoner to successfully fuse with a monster beast but also to ensure that after fusion, they retained no beast-like characteristics.

Among the hundreds of successful fusions in this branch of the Black God Sect, no one had reached this level.

But two individuals with minimal beast-like traits emerged.

One of them was Sheng.

“If you have the guts, kill me!”

Sheng lay weakly in the array, staring fiercely at Qi Hui.

“Why should I kill you? Our Black God Sect needs to expand and make some noise. Go carry out a mission in the Wu Kingdom.” Qi Hui said coldly. “If you refuse, I’ll kill your wife. The choice is yours.”

“Don’t agree with him!” Zhao Qionman shouted at her husband. “Husband, my hands are stained with too much blood. I deserve death. Husband, we cannot harm innocent lives anymore. Let us be husband and wife in our next life.”

Qi Hui didn’t stop Zhao Qionman’s shouting but instead threw a token in front of Sheng. “If you agree, pick up this token. Otherwise, both of you die.”

Sheng looked at the jade token on the ground, then at his wife.

In the end, Sheng chose to grab the token.

“A wise decision.”

Qi Hui smirked, retrieved the treasure, and left with his hands behind his back, his voice echoing from behind.

Zhao Qionman stumbled over and tightly embraced her husband.

Not long after, once Sheng fully adapted to his body post-fusion, he was sent on a mission.

The night before their separation, Zhao Qionman handed Sheng a storage bag and a palm-sized coffin:

“These are my treasures, and I’m giving you Xiao Tiao as well. Please take care.”

Zhao Qionman earnestly looked at her husband and whispered.

“The Baiwa Scroll will be completed in seven or eight years. By then, numerous sects will surely come to vie for it. What the Black God Sect is doing is playing with fire.

Although the array we tried to escape through was destroyed, they probably won’t suspect that I set up another one.

Didn’t I extract the rules of Baiwa City before leaving, turning them into a magical bead?

Once you return, when the sects get involved in Baiwa City, we can try to send this bead into Baiwa City. This way, we can help those cultivators escape, earn their gratitude, and perhaps they can help us escape as well.

In short, everything depends on your return.”

“Alright!” Sheng nodded firmly. “You must take care of yourself.”

“Hmm.” Zhao Qionman hugged her husband tightly. “Be safe on your journey.”

The next day, Sheng left, and Zhao Qionman watched as her husband disappeared into the distance.

Standing beside Zhao Qionman, Qi Hui crossed his arms behind his back. “You two, if you’d just joined us, there would’ve been no trouble. All our sacrifices are for a better world. I can’t understand why you resist so much.”

“What you’re doing is immoral! There will be no good karma for you!” Zhao Qionman said coldly.

“Karma?”

Qi Hui chuckled.

“My father was the master of a sword academy. One day, a cultivator came to our academy, and my father warmly welcomed him. However, the cultivator lusted after my mother, disgraced her, and killed my father when he tried to protect her. Everyone in the academy except me perished in flames.

Guess what happened to that cultivator later?”

Qi Hui turned around. “I’ll tell you. That cultivator later reached the Nascent Soul Stage, founded a sect, and was revered as a divine figure by countless cultivators and commoners. Tell me, where’s the karma in that?”

Zhao Qionman: “…”

“Go back.”

Qi Hui walked away.

“You two could be considered old friends of mine. I didn’t tell him about the child you carried, but after Sheng fused with the beast, whether the child you bear is human or beast remains unknown.

Logically speaking, those who fuse with monster beasts shouldn’t have reproductive capabilities.

You two are exceptions.

I should’ve reported this to the main sect, but I didn’t.

If you choose not to keep the child, that’s your decision. I won’t force you to keep it.

Consider this my last favor to you two ‘old friends.'”

[I caught a cold, and it’s truly miserable. My head aches terribly, and my shoulders are sore. My whole family has caught a cold. Is it flu season already?

By the way, hasn’t it been raining here for nearly a month?

I just checked the weather forecast, and it’s supposed to rain for the next half-month. Life’s tough.]