Chapter 922: Karma

Void, too, was part of destiny!

In other words, achieving Transcendence and then falling into the Void was, too, part of destiny.

Li Pin felt a jolt in his heart.

The Void Emperor was the one who had brought the Dao of Karma to its absolute pinnacle. His existence surpassed even the imagination of the Supreme Beings.

That a Transcendent Being could appear right beside him without him sensing even the slightest trace of presence was enough to show just how terrifying the Void Emperor's concealment truly was.

Even if Li Pin were to one day achieve true Liberation, master the power of Karma, he still might not come close to the Void Emperor's mastery of concealment.

Yet, even someone like the Void Emperor still moved along a predetermined path of destiny.

That could only mean one thing—destiny was a force above Liberation.

"Eternity...?" Li Pin murmured.

It could only be the Eternity Realm.

To grasp one's true self across the past, present, and future. To see through every thread of karma tied to oneself, command them freely, or even reverse karma itself.

He ceased his thoughts. Because at that moment, Li Pin suddenly realized that even if he did reach the level where he could control his past, present, and future, even reverse karma itself, he still wouldn't be able to break free from destiny's shackles.

The Void Emperor looked at Li Pin. "So, then, what do you believe destiny truly is?"

Li Pin said nothing. This truth was crushing.

Frankly, this wasn't something he should've realized at this stage.

What is destiny? It was a power that not even those who achieved Liberation, nor those who trained the Phantom Space Technique to its sixth and final level—Eternity—could overcome, much less escape.

Liberation granted infinite permanence. It brought despair across matter, energy, time, and space. In the face of such an overwhelming opponent, anyone would despair, so much so that not even the thought of resisting could rise.

But Eternity was the despair of the soul. The kind of despair where, the moment you become aware of it, you realize, utterly and irrevocably, that you could never overcome it. There was no hope and no chance. To touch it was to fail.

Then there was destiny, a concept beyond the confines of the physical and spiritual realms. It was a higher-dimensional concept, one so absolute that no matter what you do, or why you do it, everything simply unfolded along the path destiny had already laid out—just as the Void Emperor fell into the void, and just as Li Pin burned himself to his limits, chasing a life of brilliance and splendor, even if only for a fleeting moment.

Just like the three hundred years he had lived so far, embracing life without regret, even trying to use this belief to persuade the Void Emperor.

That was destiny.

In that moment, a heavy, suffocating silence settled between the two.

The Void Emperor said nothing. Li Pin also had no words.

In the face of destiny, words lost all meaning. All that remained was the eternal blankness and the quiet descent into stillness.

No one knew how much time had passed before Li Pin finally spoke again.

"There must be a source."

"A source?"

"Yes, a source. Or rather... an origin."

The Void Emperor looked at him.

As Li Pin explained, his thoughts steadily aligned, flowing more clearly.

"Perhaps I am still walking along the path laid out by destiny. Perhaps my persistence, my beliefs, are all part of this destiny—meant to make my life more brilliant, more dazzling. Maybe that's why I'm burning with everything I've got, for the true self and the future I've yet to discover. But even so, I believe..."

He spoke with unwavering conviction.

"There must be an origin."

A fiery light flickered in Li Pin's eyes. His spirit and thoughts surged forward, shattering the barriers of his inner spirit and mind, pressing relentlessly toward a new frontier—the origin of all causes and all effects.

In that instant, his gaze seemed to transcend time and space, reaching beyond the past and present... into the future.

"One day, I will find it. The source of everything, and then..."

Li Pin clenched his fist. A surge of power burst forth from the depths of his inner spirit.

In that hazy moment, he saw his past self—the one who left behind martial scriptures and pointed out the path to the true self—guiding him into the realm of Dao.

Then came clarity. The present self who, amidst cycles of reincarnation, knew exactly who he was and was striving with all his might to reach the pinnacle, whose purpose was to transcend itself and constantly evolve.

And he saw the future him, carrying this belief forward. And at the right moment, when the conditions were ripe and strength sufficient, he would step forward without hesitation, without looking back, and ascend to even greater heights.

Li Pin's heart became clear. "I will—no,

we

will.

We

will destroy it.

We

will return everything to the unknown, restore mystery to all things, fill life with wonder, and make this world brimming with boundless possibility once more."

In that same moment, he fully understood his present self.

"My karma is..."

He completed the final leap in comprehension.

"To find the source that governs destiny, the origin of all causes and all effects. That is my karma."

***

Li Pin had been traveling alongside the three Supremes, Primordial, Genesis, and Ordainment, toward the Violet Nightsky Palace. As they neared their destination, he suddenly came to a halt.

Supreme Primordial looked at him with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Li Pin gave a faint smile. "I've perfected my Dao."

The three Supremes were momentarily stunned, unsure of what he meant. "Perfected your Dao?"

Then, Supreme Genesis's eyes dilated sharply.

Could it be... he has made another breakthrough?

"It's nothing," Li Pin said. "Let's keep going. We need to hurry."

At this moment, he could clearly feel that he had broken through a certain shackle, one of infinite permanence.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Now freed, his being had begun to expand without limit.

This limitless growth wouldn't fade. Instead, it would solidify, continuing to accumulate until it reached a point even he would rather avoid.

If he didn't actively restrain this boundless expansion but rather embraced it, it wouldn't take long before his existence surpassed the size of the universe itself. When that happened, his True Body would no longer be able to remain within this universe. Like the Astral Gods of the Astral World, he would only be able to travel the cosmos through his avatars.

None of the Supremes could understand the subtle changes taking place within Li Pin.

"Liberation," Li Pin murmured, quietly sensing the shift within himself.

There were still unresolved matters, and he had no choice but to suppress this change for now. Yet even so, it didn't stop him from fully grasping the sheer power of his current state.

It was a state that... utterly overwhelmed all aspects of matter, energy, time, and space.

***

After travelling for a while longer, Supreme Primordial said, "The Violet Nightsky Palace is just ahead."

He sneaked a glance at Li Pin.

After Li Pin uttered the words "I have perfected my Dao," the Supremes had gone from initial shock and confusion to slowly understanding what he meant.

Even so, none of them could truly believe it. Throughout the journey, their gazes kept drifting toward him, trying to detect whether something had fundamentally changed in him.

Noticing this, Li Pin smiled. "You're all wondering what I meant by 'perfecting my Dao,' aren't you?"

"If it's inconvenient, there's no need to explain. Everyone has their own secrets," Supreme Genesis quickly said.

Ever since Li Pin's battle with Supreme Great Heaven, where he displayed strength that far surpassed theirs, their attitude toward him had undergone a dramatic shift.

"It's not inconvenient," Li Pin replied. "In fact, if any of you need it, I can even write down the techniques during this stage and let you read and pass them along freely."

He paused, then said, "It's just as you have guessed. Not long ago, I stepped onto the path of Liberation, specifically, I've reached the realm described in the fifth level of the Phantom Space Technique."

"Liberation!?"

"The fifth level of the Phantom Space Technique!?"

"You mean... you actually did it!?"

They had mentally prepared themselves for it, but the moment Li Pin confirmed it, the three Supremes still felt as if hundreds of Primordial Bells—Supreme Divine Weapons—were ringing all at once inside their minds. The humming roar reverberated through their souls, leaving them dizzy and nearly unable to think.

"H-How... how could you have done it already?"

"How... could it happen so quickly?"

The three Supremes felt as though their understanding of the world had been completely overturned.

That was a realm beyond Supreme! In all the hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of epochs, since we achieved Supreme, not one of us had even caught a glimpse of what lay beyond.

And yet... Li Pin... how long has it even been since he became a Supreme? In just a few short stellar years, he had not only pioneered a path beyond Supreme, but had even walked it to the end, stepping into the realm above—Liberation! Has logic and reason simply ceased to exist?

"It was... within expectations, I suppose," Li Pin said calmly.

He had long realized that the key to achieving Liberation lay in severing his karmic ties, specifically, the mystery behind his inexplicable arrival in this world.

He had also vaguely sensed that the opportunity to comprehend his "True Future Self" would come through the Void Emperor.

And now, he had managed to complete those two crucial steps in one go. The Void Emperor had come to him of his own accord, giving Li Pin the chance to both perceive his true future self and comprehend his own karma. So, stepping into Liberation was only to be expected.

Supreme Genesis's voice trembled as he asked, "What exactly... did you comprehend?"

Li Pin glanced at him. He understood that even if he explained, the Supreme might not grasp it, just like how he himself had been clueless about the concept of destiny when the Void Emperor first mentioned it.

Li Pin thought,

Letting them learn of such power too soon... would not be a good thing.

"Let's go see Supreme Regalheaven first," Li Pin said, gazing at the Violet Nightsky Palace ahead. "Perhaps after meeting with him and Transcendent Equiheaven, it'll be easier to explain everything."