Chapter 221: Chapter 220: The Abyss Has a Heaven and Earth Grand Scheme?
This was not a Holy Land, so Jiang Zuo had no way to borrow external power. Even if he could use a Holy Land Array, it would be a huge strain given his current abilities.
Low Cultivation might be easy to hide in other places, but his weakness would be completely exposed when facing a true Great Power.
For instance, the being in the Abyss.
Right now, Jiang Zuo couldn’t probe that being’s status, but the aura of the Abyss had already begun to appear. This place could be destroyed at any moment.
If that being was as strong as the one Jiang Zuo had faced in his previous life, it was hard to say if anyone in this world could even match it.
’Do many people know about this?’
’Or does the Island Lord know?’
Jiang Zuo didn’t know the answers, but he had to find a way to get to the edge of the Abyss.
At the very least, he needed to understand the situation inside.
While Jiang Zuo was still pondering, a waiter came to his side and asked, "Sir, would you like to order anything?"
It was an open-air restaurant, surrounded by a wooden railing.
Jiang Zuo walked to the railing and casually ordered some food.
Then he gazed out at the sea and fell into deep thought.
’Should I sleep alone tonight, or with Su Qi? After all, her senior sister is here. Who knows if they have a habit of sleeping together. If they do, that would be great.’
"Young friend, I see a darkness upon your brow. It just so happens I have a divination I’d like to offer you." A voice suddenly spoke up beside Jiang Zuo.
Jiang Zuo turned his head and saw a middle-aged Daoist.
’Ah, it’s that familiar Daoist.’
Jiang Zuo then turned back to look at the sea. "You sensed it? The aura of the Abyss?"
The Daoist shook his head. "No. My divinations can resolve crises and grant fortunes. They are a priceless opportunity, bestowed only upon those with whom I share a karmic link."
"Today, you and I share that link."
Jiang Zuo shook his head and said calmly, "The Karma Technique of heaven and earth, the myriad forms of cause and effect... what you perceive as a karmic link might actually be a calamity."
"I don’t know what kind of person you are, but I suggest you stay away from me now."
The Daoist began, "Young friend, I..."
SLAP~
Before the Daoist could finish, a hand slapped him across the face.
The crisp sound echoed all around.
"I-I’m so sorry," the waiter immediately bowed his head and apologized. Luckily, he hadn’t dropped anything.
Jiang Zuo chuckled from the side. "See? I told you to stay away from me."
The Daoist: "..."
’This guy is absolutely infuriating. Something always goes wrong whenever I run into him. Not once has it gone smoothly!’
After the waiter left, Jiang Zuo asked, "Can you perceive the state of the being in the Abyss below?"
The Daoist dropped his act and simply held out his hand.
Jiang Zuo placed a Third-Grade Spirit Stone in his hand and added, "If you dare to say you don’t know or anything like that, just see if your Karma Technique has a future."
The corner of the Daoist’s mouth twitched. After taking the Spirit Stone, he tossed a book to Jiang Zuo. "Everything you want is in here. I have to leave now."
Jiang Zuo caught the book. The words "Liyuan Island" were written on the cover.
He then sat down and began to examine the book. He paid no mind to the Daoist; he knew the man had already left without needing to look back.
’This Daoist is not to be underestimated. If I get a chance in the future, I should investigate who this guy really is. I never met him in my past life. Then again, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to meet someone who hung around a place like this. I’m still not sure of the Daoist’s true power, but he definitely has a lot of good stuff. I hope he doesn’t disappoint me. At the very least, he should be superior to most people.’
In his past life, he had met many people, including numerous experts.
But there were few he truly admired. Of course, being admired by him wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Take the tofu maker, for example. Because Jiang Zuo admired him, he ended up locking the man away for tens of thousands of years.
If not for a major brawl with Jiu Xi that allowed the man to escape, he might still be locked up.
Jiang Zuo then turned his attention to the contents of the book on Liyuan Island.
Liyuan: To isolate the tipping point of the Abyss.
In the ancient era, the Celestial Stele Divine War began. The Human Race was forced to participate, suffering countless casualties and facing near-extinction.
An endless Abyss appeared in the depths of the sea, and from it surged an endless darkness.
The Human Race faced imminent annihilation.
Just as the Human Race was on the brink of extinction, Qin Tian emerged from seclusion. With his power alone, he suppressed the Abyss, then laid out a grand cosmic design to eternally Seal the Abyssal Being within.
He then built an island on top of it and assigned people to stand guard.
This was the opening summary. After reading it, Jiang Zuo frowned.
’Celestial Stele Divine War? That must be the great war that took place in ancient times. And that war was fought on the Ancient Battlefield.’
Jiang Zuo didn’t actually know much about this war; he didn’t even know what the Celestial Stele Divine War was.
’And this Qin Tian... to be able to suppress the Abyss by himself, he must have been an incredible figure in his time. But none of that is what’s most important. The important thing is the grand cosmic design.’
’A grand cosmic design was laid out here? Why didn’t I notice it?’
He had come here in person in his past life and seen no trace of it whatsoever.
’Unless Qin Tian’s attainments in this field surpassed my own... but that’s impossible.’
Then there was only one conclusion: by that time, the grand design had already vanished, and the Abyss had completely broken free.
The only reason it hadn’t come out to cause trouble was either because Jiu Xi had done something to it, or it was deterred by his own fearsome reputation.
The reason he had come back then was purely because something from the Abyss had run off to his territory to cause trouble. Adhering to the principle of eradicating problems root and branch, he had come directly to send that Abyssal Being on its way to the next life.
This place was connected to the true Abyss, and he had originally intended to cross over.
But after fighting the entity on the other side a few times, it chickened out and permanently closed the connection.
’It was quite ferocious at the time, but sadly, it couldn’t take a punch.’
Jiang Zuo snapped back to the present and looked up at the sky. ’If Qin Tian really did leave behind a grand cosmic design, then it must still exist, or it’s beginning to unravel.’
Jiang Zuo didn’t know the specific reason.
But the sudden appearance of the Abyssal aura clearly indicated that the grand cosmic design was weakening.
However, he couldn’t see this grand cosmic design. Although it was man-made, its profundity was something very few could comprehend.
The current Jiang Zuo was completely unable to see it.
In fact, even if he could see it, he wouldn’t be able to control it.
A grand cosmic design was a series of interconnected links, completely different from an Array. It was a manifestation of the Dao, a connection of cause and effect.
"Cause and effect... Then where is the ’cause’? Who destroyed the ’cause’ between heaven and earth?"
’If this truly is a grand cosmic design, and the ’cause’ has been broken, then the ’effects’ will be triggered endlessly. A grand cosmic design is exceptionally sturdy, yet also relatively fragile. Everything depends on the ’cause’. The establishment of the ’cause’ must be connected to everything. I have no way of knowing whether the primary ’cause’ has been broken or just a secondary branch.’
Jiang Zuo then opened the book again. The layout of the grand design should be in here. Although the ’cause’ itself certainly wouldn’t be detailed, understanding the design was like having a map. It would allow him to go in and check the situation.
He might even be able to rely on it to see if the situation was salvageable.
This made Jiang Zuo very curious: just how did that Daoist get his hands on these things?
********
Thank you all for your concern. I’ve already swapped my coffee for goji berries.
I’ll see how it goes these next couple of days. If there’s no improvement, I’ll go to the hospital this weekend for a check-up (mainly for an EKG, color doppler ultrasound, and chest X-ray, all of which I had done last year with no issues.).
Thanks.
