Library of Heaven's Path 2: Eternal Fate of the Heavens

Tianli City, a small courtyard where the Blue Cloud Venerable resides.

Blue Cloud Venerable sat quietly to one side, with Miao Neng, Miao Wu, and others standing behind him, looking at the six powerful figures before them.

Ren Qiuyao brushed the tea leaves off her bowl, took a small sip, and retrieved a piece of paper, holding it between her fingers: "This is all the information related to the Demon Clan in Tianli City over the past three days—thirty-one items in total!"

"Amitabha, many thanks to Benefactor Ren!"

Blue Cloud Venerable nodded and gestured to those behind him.

Miao Wu understood, stepped forward with respect, holding out her hands with reverence.

Ren Qiuyao didn't hand over the paper but instead looked calmly over: "Did the Venerable forget the promise made to the Five Forms Venerable Sage? After all this time, I don't believe you haven't been employing the Causality Method to investigate."

"I have indeed investigated, but… the other side is too well-hidden, or perhaps not even in Tianli City. No definitive clues have been found yet!"

Blue Cloud Venerable shook his head: "Benefactor Ren, Five Forms Venerable Sage, and everyone else, rest assured. As a monk, I speak no falsehoods. If I discover anything, I will inform you at the earliest possible moment."

Ren Qiuyao pulled the piece of paper back: "In that case, I'll save this for later. However… the Demon Clan is cunning and ever-changing. Though these addresses are accurate and were gathered at tremendous cost by the Tianli Empire, whether we can find anyone tomorrow is hard to say."

Blue Cloud Venerable frowned.

Although their interaction had been brief, he already understood that the seemingly alluring woman before him was far from as easily misled as the Five Forms Venerable Sage.

It wasn't that the latter was foolish, but his adherence to decorum made him somewhat inflexible in his ways.

"Very well!"

After observing for a while and seeing that Ren Qiuyao had no intention of handing it over, Blue Cloud Venerable shook his head: "Using the items left by the Five Forms Venerable Sage, I can indeed trace the inheritor's causality. However... cough!"

Before Blue Cloud Venerable could finish his sentence, he suddenly spewed a mouthful of fresh blood, his face turning deathly pale.

"What happened?"

Ren Qiuyao abruptly rose, her immense soul energy spreading outward, spanning the entire courtyard.

The surroundings remained quiet, with no signs of abnormality and no strong enemy invading or ambushing.

"It's the spiritual imprint I left on the Buddhist Supreme Treasure; someone forcibly erased it…" Wiping the corner of his mouth, Blue Cloud Venerable lost his prior composure, replaced by utter disbelief.

The Reincarnation Relic Tower was a celestial treasure lent to him by the Buddha himself. Not only did it contain the Buddha's Soul Imprint, but he had also secretly embedded a portion of his own imprint, or else he wouldn't have dared to lend it to the subordinate he recently subdued.

And now, both his own imprint and the Buddha's imprint had been erased in an instant!

The strength of the other party must far surpass his own, reaching a level comparable to that of a Bodhisattva.

"No… it's the overwhelming force of the heavens…"

In his shock, he realized something: it wasn't that the opponent's cultivation was particularly high, but rather that the sheer vastness of their karma destiny rendered even the Buddha's will powerless in comparison. Otherwise, such a feat could never have been so effortlessly accomplished.

In Tianli City, someone possessed a fate greater than the Buddha's karma destiny… aside from that individual, there could be no one else.

But… why would that person make a move?

Baffled, his Spiritual Perception expanded at once, scanning the adjacent courtyard, only to frown immediately after.

There were plenty of subordinates in the yard, but the subordinate he had tamed was nowhere to be found.

"The imprint is erased?"

Ren Qiuyao looked puzzled and speculated: "Could it be related to the Demon Clan stronghold that the Venerable is seeking?"

"That is unlikely…" Blue Cloud Venerable was shaking his head when his expression changed again, his body trembling violently, and another mouthful of blood spurted out with a "cough!"

"Master…"

Miao Neng, Miao Wu, and others rushed over, their eyes filled with worry.

"The Soul Imprint on the Ten Directions Bodhi Demon Suppression Rope has also been wiped out? The same person acted again… What… what is going on?"

Blue Cloud Venerable was stunned.

The Ten Directions Bodhi Demon Suppression Rope had been taken by the Frost Demon Lord along with the Essence Pill. He had been searching for it ever since without a trace, and now its imprint had likewise been erased. Could this mean the Reincarnation Relic Tower and this artifact were kept together?

One belonged to the subordinate he had subdued, the other to the demon he had long wished to forge…

How could they have encountered someone high-ranking within the Tianli Empire, creating such conflict and even warranting such ruthless actions?

"No, we must look quickly!"

His gaze sharpened.

Setting aside the immense value of the Buddha's treasures for now, the mere appearance of the Frost Demon Lord was enough to unsettle him.

After all, this was his greatest chance for attaining his fruit of enlightenment. Missing it would make it exceedingly difficult to recover such an opportunity.

Standing up straight, his entire aura transformed. With a sweeping motion of his hand, the River of Destiny emerged, and in the next moment, waves of karmic energy surged outward into the distance.

While finding the Frost Demon Lord's Essence Pill was currently beyond his ability, tracing the whereabouts of his subdued "subordinate" was much easier.

Indeed, within moments, the threads of causality extended to a particular location. In the void before him, it was as if a mirror materialized, revealing the figures of Zhang Xuan and Prince Yuanqing.

"Die!"

Prince Yuanqing was surrounded by lightning. With a single punch, he seemed to embody the Thunder God himself, the enormous arcs of electricity ripping gaping black fissures across the sky.

Opposite him, Zhang Xuan was no longer displaying any traits of a Demon Cultivator. Instead, his entire body radiated Buddhist light. Unable to withstand the relentless lightning tribulation, he desperately dodged in all directions.

Bam!

The causal line snapped, and the image disappeared.

Because of his strong karmic connection with Zhang Xuanqing, Blue Cloud Venerable had managed a fleeting glimpse. Even so, merely achieving this brief moment of insight was fortunate; any longer, and only the Buddha himself could have made it possible.

"What is going on?"

Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, it left Blue Cloud Venerable utterly dumbfounded.

He could never have imagined how this insignificant figure he had effortlessly subdued ended up in conflict with the Crown Prince and, astonishingly, was even capable of standing against him in battle.

No matter how he looked at it, this defied all reason and expectation.

"Master, save me… Prince Yuanqing covets the Reincarnation Relic Tower and seeks to seize it…"

While deeply puzzled, a faint cry for help emerged from the severed causal line.

"For the Reincarnation Relic Tower?"

Blue Cloud Venerable's face darkened.

Had someone told him before that the Crown Prince would act so brazenly as to seize a Buddhist Supreme Treasure in open defiance, he would have dismissed it as madness. But now, with his severed connection to the Relic Tower and knowing his subdued subject wouldn't lie, the accusation seemed undeniable!

In other words… the Crown Prince coveted the treasure, not only attempting to forcibly forge it but also intending to silence the bearer!

Despicable!

Fortunately, he had traced causality to locate the scene; otherwise, he wouldn't have understood what was happening until it was too late.

"Amitabha, Prince Yuanqing, Zhang Xuanqing is a devout follower of my Buddhist Sect—why force him so relentlessly?"

Having grasped the situation, he could no longer hold back. Re-establishing the connection through causality, his resounding voice carried through as his figure blurred and leapt to the other end of the karmic thread.