“You know me?” asked Wang Wei.
“There is a picture of you in the Ancestral Hall and every year, all the people of Heavenly Tree Village–even the ones who left–will come back to worship you.”
‘That would explain the Incense I noticed in this village,’ thought Wang Wei as he looked in the direction where it was most concentrated, most likely the Ancestral Hall.
Meanwhile, the young man who recognized him seemed very excited as his words were very loud and uncontrollable. And it was not just him, but also the people around.
Although Wang Wei’s physical appearance had drastically changed, his temperament did not change much, so people were able to recognize him.
All the villagers looked at him with great joy. Over the years, Heavenly Tree Village has become famous throughout the area. And that was not only because their annual harvest is always abundant no matter what, but also because anyone who left this village is guaranteed to become successful.
Whether they become scholars and pursue a life that serves the country, a merchant that desires wealth, or a general with military power: all of them succeeded. And this has never stopped for more than 3000 years.
As a result of this, many people knew of the magic of this village and lusted after it. But in the end, all of them died because of strange accidents. This fact applied to cultivators as well.
And the villagers knew that the reason for the change of their village was because of a young master that once visited, so they enshrined them in the Ancestral Hall and offered him incense every year; they considered them the Guardian of the village.
And the status of this village is the towering tree that the Guardian once planted, and even the village was renamed after it.
“Lead me to see your Ancestral Hall,” said Wang Wei, an act which made the young man elated. He hurriedly led the way while all the other villages followed them.
Meanwhile, in Wang Wei’s eyes, the power of Fate and Time flashed; watched the fate of this village and everything that occurred since he left. He saw the lives of the original members with which he interacted.
He saw how they prosper after he left, got sick, grew old, and die. He watched as they told their descendants stories about their interaction with him.
One person, in particular, got his attention. It was the aunty who was bold enough to ask him if he wanted a concubine while showing up his daughter. That aunty died of old age at 116 years old, however, his daughter left the village and married a noble in a secular kingdom.
Her lineage eventually overthrew the leader of the kingdom after a few generations and established a dynasty of their own. However, after 634 years, that dynasty was also conquered by someone else.
Luckily, her lineage never cut off contact with the village, and was still blessed with tremendous luck. Their family escaped once the capital was breached, hid for a while, and even became a cultivator family.
After a few more generations, their clan even gave birth to a Divine Altar Realm cultivator, becoming the pride and joy of this village.
And she was not the only one. Wang Wei watched the rise and fall of all the people that were born in this village; he watched their birth and death in just a few seconds.
‘An action that I made on a whim affected the lives of so many people, for thousands of years. My action has singlehandedly changed the fate of all the people of this village.’
As he thought of this, Wang Wei’s eyes changed once again. This time, he saw the life of this village had he not interfered. He saw how about 5 decades later, an earthquake would hit this village killing most of the people, with only a few survivors.
Then, these survivors would move to another village. However, three generations later, this village would be captured and forced to work in mines until all of them died instead.
‘Parallel Timelines?’ thought Wang Wei as he tried to see other possibilities. For example, what if he never even met the people of this village, would that change anything? Unfortunately, he could not do so.
‘Maybe I need to understand the Dao of Time before I can see them.’
While in deep thought, Wang Wei walked into the Ancestral Hall where he saw a picture of his younger self hanging in the middle of the room. He was a little surprised as he expected the painting to only have a slight resemblance to him.
After all, how could the people back then remember him so deeply to the point of being able to paint with such vivid detail? Even if they did, the memories of mortals were always fading with time, so that would be an issue.
He looked at the painting and calculate the cause and effect.
‘I see.’
It turned out that the tree that he planted acquired some form of sentience and remembered him. Then, it sent the image to the people of the village in the form of a dream when they decided to place him in their Ancestral Hall.
Wang Wei looked at the deep and pure Incense and this room. In terms of quantity, it did not come close to the one he absorbed in the Heavenly Abode World, but it outclassed it in terms of purity.
This shows that the villagers admired him deeply in their hearts, and offered them incense not because he was some almighty god that could determine their fate.
‘Karma, cause and effect, every action has an equal or opposite reaction. One single action can have everlasting and far-reaching consequences, just like a stone dropped in the middle of a lake, creating countless ripples or waves.
‘And since there is negative Karmic or Karmic Sin, there is also Karmic Virtue. Benefiting the world or changing the lives of mortals for good is a way for cultivators to garner Karmic Virtue.
‘And this whole system of rewarding Karmic Sins or Virtue can be interpreted as another way that Fate keeps the Order of many worlds: a way to keep the overwhelming power of cultivators in check.’
Wang Wei’s eyes lit up as he waved his hand to gather the Incense Power in this room. Then, he headed for the tree that he planted: it was at least a few hundred meters tall.
He placed his hand on it, feeling a slight trembling. Feeling the slight consciousness, Wang Wei sighed. After so many years, the tree had the opportunity to gain sentience, turned into human shapes, and became a Spirit Race.
However, it refused in order to keep guarding this village.
“A small gesture led to your creation and existence. So, the fate and Karma between us is deep, so let me help you.”
Wang Wei waved his hand and two things manifested. One of them was a small part of the World Source he acquired, while the other was a massive Void Stone that can create more than a hundred space rings or one large enough that can hold people inside.
He then proceeded to fuse these two things into the tree.
“I hope that one day, you will become a towering tree able to support Heaven and Earth.”
After saying that, he felt his mind and spirit clearer than before. So, he sat down cross-legged in front of the floor, entering a deep state of enlightenment.
And while he was doing so, Dao Rhymes emanated from his body, spreading to all corners of this village. Then, a massive spiritual energy storm washed toward the village but did not harm anyone.
Instead, it baptized their bodies making them stronger, and faster, and increasing their lifespan. Previously, all the villagers could live up to 100 years old and more, now, they could live for 150 and more after this experience.
Everyone cheered in excitement.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei was in that state for a week before opening his eyes: wisdom flashed across his eyes as well as the Karmic Laws that governed the very fabric of the universe, then he muttered:
“Karmic Freedom? How can cultivators be free from Karma when the very air we breathe, the spiritual energy we use, the grass we walk on, the people we meet in our journey, and the connection we make or are born with, are a form of Karmic Bondage? There is no escape.
“To become free of the shackles of Karma, one has to blend with it, become one with all the cause and effect of the universe. And only then can one achieve the feat of severing all Karmic Ties.
“Such a process would require a mind broad enough to accept all living things’ sins, depravity, joy, and sorrow. All the good and evil of the world, the positive and negative, the Yin and Yang.”
After saying these words, a very study yellow thread appeared above Wang Wei’s head: this was the representation of his Karmic Sins. With a wave of his hand, a blade appeared in the sky and cut off that thread.
Immediately afterward, a red spherical aura came out of his body. Countless souls screaming and yelling could be seen inside. Unfortunately, their roars of hatred no longer had any effect whatsoever on Wang Wei.
As he watched this massive Karmic Sin slowly disappear, he waved his hand to condense it into his heart direct into the Chaos Flame. Using the method he learned from the Flame Emperor, he converted the Karmic Sin into a Karmic Flame.
So, a brand new bright red flame was beating inside his heart before being absorbed by the Chaos Flame.
Then, Wang Wei continued. The Karmic Blade in the sky turned into armor before fusing into his fleshly body and disappearing.
“A pseudo-Karma Unbound Body?” he muttered.
This invisible armor can protect him against Karmic Attacks or Curses like the one Di Tian used. Additionally, it would protect him from not being affected by Karma.
Unfortunately, with his current ability, he cannot be completely free from some Karma. However, he can reduce the effects that they have on him. Additionally, he still has to pay many of the Karmas he already owed as he could not sever this one for now.
Nevertheless, Wang Wei planned that after becoming a Great Emperor and repaying all the Karmic Debts he has, he will sever all Karmic Connections he has–even the ones with his parents.
He could already tell that his future will be filled with trouble and danger, and removing all karma connecting to him might be a way to protect the people he loves from his enemy.
Additionally, in front of the right expert, any form of Karma is a hidden danger. If it was not for the fact that Wu Hong was not connected to him by Karma, he would have severed the connection between the two of them as well.
Wang Wei exhaled out loud:
“The next step is to understand the relationship between Karma and Time. Why can seal a person over a long time wash away the Karma in their bodies? And how can going through Samsara also wash away Karma?