I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

Qin Yuan said, "Because of my karma, I have already repaid it the moment I do it."

The Lord of Reincarnation frowned. "How should I repay it?"

"The people I killed deserved to die. The forces I destroyed deserved to be destroyed. I owe no one anything, so I have no karma."

The Lord of Reincarnation was silent for a moment, then turned to another page. "And what about the woman beside you?"

She looked at Lin Qing'er. Lin Qing'er, standing behind Qin Yuan, felt somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze.

The Lord of Reincarnation's fingers traced across the ledger, page after page, turning faster and faster. Her expression changed, from calm to surprise, from surprise to shock.

"You...you are the Azure Emperor?!"

Lin Qing'er was taken aback. "The Azure Emperor?"

"Azure Emperor, guardian of the pinnacle of all realms, you sacrificed countless lives to seal the King of the Otherworldly Demons. You owe all living beings 99,999 lives! You must reincarnate 99,999 times to repay your karma!" The Lord of Reincarnation's voice shrilled. "How could you be here? Your karma is not yet cleared; you shouldn't be here!"

Lin Qing'er's face turned pale. She didn't know anything about the Azure Emperor or karma. All she knew was that she grew up by the stream behind the Xuan Yuan Sect and was an ordinary cultivator.

But the Lord of Reincarnation's words instilled in her a strange sense of fear.

Qin Yuan took her hand. "Don't be afraid."

He looked at the Lord of Reincarnation. "I will repay her karma."

The Lord of Reincarnation sneered. "Karma cannot be borne by another. This is the rule of reincarnation, an unchanging iron law throughout all realms. If you try to bear her karma in her place, you will be devoured by the karma itself and never be able to be reborn."

Qin Yuan didn't hesitate. "I said I'd pay it back."

He released Lin Qing'er's hand and walked towards the Wheel of Reincarnation. Sensing his approach, the Wheel of Reincarnation began to spin faster, and the six patterns emitted different colors of light—white for the heavens, yellow for the human realm, red for the Asuras, gray for the animals, black for the hungry ghosts, and purple for the hells.

Qin Yuan placed his hand on the Wheel of Reincarnation.

In an instant, countless images flooded his mind. They were Lin Qing'er's memories from her previous life—the Azure Emperor standing atop the myriad realms, wielding a cyan longsword, facing an overwhelming army of otherworldly demons. Behind her were countless cultivators, mortals, and living beings. Before her stood the King of Otherworldly Demons, his presence overwhelming and terrifying.

The Azure Emperor raised her sword, its light soaring into the sky. The King of the Otherworldly Demons was sealed away, but the Azure Emperor herself collapsed from exhaustion. Before she died, she glanced at the world behind her, her eyes filled with no regret, only a deep weariness.

The scene shattered, replaced by black karma. That karma surged out of the Wheel of Reincarnation like a tide, flowing into Qin Yuan's body. Each drop of karma carried the lament of a lost soul—those who sacrificed themselves in the war against the alien demons, those who died because of the Azure Emperor's decisions.

Karma was eroding Qin Yuan's meridians, bones, and soul. His body began to crack, and black fissures appeared on his skin, like parched earth. Black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Lin Qing'er rushed forward, trying to pull his hand away. "Brother Qin Yuan, no! I don't want you to suffer for me!"

Qin Yuan didn't let go. He gently pushed Lin Qing'er away with his other hand.

"Step back."

Lin Qing'er refused. She tried desperately to pull Qin Yuan's hand away, but the moment her hand touched Qin Yuan's arm, it was repelled by a black force. Karma didn't recognize her; it only recognized Qin Yuan.

The Lord of Reincarnation watched all this, a complex emotion flashing in his turbid eyes. "Are you really going to bear the karma of 99,999 lives for her? Do you know what that means? You will be devoured by karma, your soul will dissipate, and you won't even have a chance to reincarnate."

Qin Yuan did not answer. He closed his eyes and focused all his energy on protecting the Heavenly Dao. Golden light and black karma clashed fiercely within his body. Karma tried to devour his existence, while the Heavenly Dao tried to protect it. The two forces fought like two armies clashing within him.

His cultivation began to fluctuate. His first level of the Eternal Saint Emperor realm teetered on the brink of collapse under the impact of karma, but the Heavenly Dao stabilized it. This cycle repeated itself, and his cultivation slowly climbed higher amidst the pain.

Eternal Holy Emperor Level 1 – Eternal Holy Emperor Level 2 – Eternal Holy Emperor Level 3 –

Lin Qing'er knelt beside the Wheel of Reincarnation, tears streaming down her face. "Why...why are you so good to me..."

Qin Yuan opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes had turned a mixture of gold and black, but his gaze towards her remained gentle.

"Because... you are Lin Qing'er. The Lin Qing'er who washed the spiritual herbs by the stream behind the Xuan Yuan Sect."

His cultivation level continued to rise. Eternal Saint Emperor Level 4 – Eternal Saint Emperor Level 5 – Eternal Saint Emperor Level 6 –

The Lord of Reincarnation stood up, walked to Qin Yuan, and looked down at him.

"Is it worth it for you to do this?"

Qin Yuan said, "There's no question of whether it's worth it or not. It's just a matter of whether you're willing or not."

Eternal Holy Emperor Seventh Level — Eternal Holy Emperor Eighth Level — Eternal Holy Emperor Ninth Level —

The Lord of Reincarnation remained silent for a long time. Then she made a decision that surprised everyone.

She raised her hand and placed it on the Wheel of Reincarnation. The Wheel of Reincarnation slowed down, and the black karma stopped flowing out and began to flow back.

"You may leave," said the Lord of Reincarnation. "I will forgive her karma."

Qin Yuan looked at her. "Why?"

The Lord of Reincarnation said, "Because I see in you something I didn't have when I was young."

She didn't explain further. She simply waved her hand, and the Wheel of Reincarnation stopped spinning, while the light from the six-path pattern dimmed.

Qin Yuan withdrew his hand, his body swaying slightly. Lin Qing'er supported him; his hands were trembling, and his entire body was covered in black cracks, but the Heavenly Dao was slowly repairing these cracks.

"Your injury..." Lin Qing'er said with heartache.

"It's nothing," Qin Yuan said. "It'll be fine in a few days."

He looked at the Lord of Reincarnation. "Thank you."

The Lord of Reincarnation did not respond. She sat back on the edge of the roulette wheel, reopened the thick ledger, and acted as if nothing had happened.

Qin Yuan led Lin Qing'er toward the exit of the Sacred Realm of Reincarnation.

Behind him, the voice of the Lord of Reincarnation came: "Qin Yuan, above us are the Origin Sacred Domain, the End Sacred Domain, and the Pinnacle of Myriad Realms. The people in those places won't be as soft-hearted as I am. You'd better watch yourself."

Qin Yuan didn't turn around. "I know."

The two passed through the light curtain and left the Sacred Realm of Reincarnation.

Ahead, a raging fire burned fiercely. The fire had no temperature, only a primal, savage creative force.

The Sacred Land of Origin.

The Origin Sanctuary has no sky, no earth, no stars, no void. Only a ball of fire.

The flame hovered in the "nothingness," vast as a world itself. Its color was not fixed—red like blood, orange like sunset, yellow like amber, white like ice, blue like the deep sea, purple like a dream, and gold like the sun. The seven colors cycled endlessly, each transformation accompanied by an indescribable fluctuation of power. That fluctuation was neither heat nor cold, but a primal, savage, untamed creative force.