Gu Changyuan, Unbound by Cause and Effect

Outer Boundary Domain

After Luo Qingchen and Gu Changyuan finished their embrace, Gu Changyuan's divine sense stirred. He suddenly detected two familiar auras intruding upon the layers of restrictions within his body.

These were restrictions he had laid down long ago in the chaotic and murderous environment of the Ruin of Disorder, designed to counter all sorts of unimaginable attack methods.

Using himself as the foundation, combined with the forbidden secret arts he comprehended in the Ruin, he had set up multiple composite restrictions around his origin of existence.

This set of restrictions covered various aspects: preventing peering into his origin, blocking karmic snooping, and resisting karmic tampering.

It allowed his existence to somewhat detach from conventional karma, fate, prying eyes, and even partial heavenly divination.

At this moment, these two sensations of contact were the instinctive reactions of the restrictions triggered when someone attempted to pierce this firewall using the laws of karma.

Hmm?

Gu Changyuan's brow twitched imperceptibly as he let out a soft sound of surprise in his heart.

Almost the instant he sensed the touch, his unimaginably powerful divine sense traced it backward, accurately locking onto the source of these two auras and analyzing their essence.

It was those two little ones, Tushan Youyao and Bai Zeming.

He immediately understood.

Tushan Youyao's Nine Nether Tribulation Karma and Bai Zeming's Clear Karma Realm—he was naturally aware that the innate divine abilities of these two disciples were closely related to karma and fate.

Given the current situation, it was highly likely that Bai Zeming had glimpsed the ominous signs of the fated tribulations of Ye Qingxue, Yue Lingxi, and Luo Qingchen, while Tushan Youyao was attempting to intervene with her divine ability, plucking the strings of karma to buy them a chance of survival.

However, herein lay the problem.

Because of Gu Changyuan's own set of restrictions, the series of crucial future events—his reunion with his three disciples, his intervention, and his reversal of their deadly fate—were completely outside Bai Zeming's karmic field of vision.

In the corner of the future that Bai Zeming saw, there was only a desperate scene of the three senior sisters isolated, helpless, and surrounded by a heaven-piercing bloodbath.

Gu Changyuan, the greatest variable and savior, was shielded from the relevant karmic threads by his restrictions.

And when he met up with Ye Qingxue and the others, his contact with them linked his karmic threads with theirs.

When Bai Zeming pried into the future of Ye Qingxue's trio, he would inevitably touch upon Gu Changyuan's restrictions following the karmic threads.

And when Tushan Youyao attempted to alter that karmic thread with her Nine Nether Tribulation Karma divine ability, her power would also inevitably touch Gu Changyuan's restrictions.

The result for both of them was naturally similar: they suffered a backlash from the restrictions within Gu Changyuan's body.

Gu Changyuan did not hesitate in the slightest. Following those two karmic threads backward, he sent two streams of gentle origin power across the vast distance to the two in the Demon Realm.

In an instant, it melted away all the forbidden punishments on their bodies, even nourishing and repairing the hidden soul injuries left behind from previously pushing their divine abilities.

Just as Gu Changyuan finished dealing with the minor interlude over at the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, he sensed four figures exuding rather strong auras rapidly approaching their position from the direction of the Outer Boundary City.

Ye Qingxue also noticed the disturbance, albeit slightly slower than Gu Changyuan.

She immediately floated forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Gu Changyuan, looking toward the horizon and saying:

Master, judging by their auras, they should be the four City Lords of the Outer Boundary City.

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly, indicating he understood. Finding their flying speed too slow and too lazy to wait for them to approach and ask questions, he simply raised his right hand.

Aiming at the general direction of the four, his five fingers casually made a grasping motion in the empty air.

Om—!

In the distant sky, the space around the four streaks of light flying at high speed suddenly rippled and folded violently.

The four City Lords only felt their vision blur. The surrounding scenery instantly twisted and changed, and a completely irresistible force enveloped them.

In the next instant, the four of them appeared somewhat disheveled out of thin air in the midair about ten lengths in front of Gu Changyuan, the light of their flight arts not yet fully dissipated.

The focus and vigilance from their flight still lingered on their faces, but now it was entirely replaced by shock and bewilderment. They looked at each other, completely uncomprehending of what had just happened.

They were the dignified City Lords of the Outer Boundary City, Half-Immortal level existences, hegemons of a region.

Yet they had been directly shifted here without any power to resist, like someone picking up little chicks?!

What kind of divine ability was this? It was simply unheard of!

What is the matter?

A flat, emotionless voice transmitted into their ears, interrupting their shock.

Only then did the four snap back to reality, turning their heads in unison to look at the source of the voice.

They saw four people hovering in the air not far ahead: three stunningly beautiful women, each with different looks and temperaments, and a young man in black clothes with an aura as deep as an abyss.

The three women were clearly centered around this man, and... with their eyesight at the eighth level of the Half-Immortal Realm, they actually couldn't see through this man's depths at all.

Associating this with the unimaginable spatial shift just now, and the terrifying pressure and nine heaven-reaching giant swords that had enveloped a thousand miles, making all beasts flee and scattering the tribulation clouds earlier... the answer was self-evident!

One of them, an old man wearing a dark robe with an ancient face and the steadiest aura, suppressed the stormy waves in his heart. Forcing himself to calm down, he took a step forward, respectfully clasped his fists, and bowed to Gu Changyuan. His voice carried an imperceptible tremble:

R-replying to Senior! We juniors are the City Lords of the Outer Boundary City. Just now, we sensed a sudden anomaly spanning a thousand miles around here, with world-covering pressure and an unknown terrifying sword intent appearing. Fearing a great upheaval that might endanger the stability of the Outer Boundary Domain, we specially came to investigate the situation. We absolutely... absolutely have no intention to offend!

Another middle-aged brute wearing fiery red battle armor with a blazing aura hurriedly added, his tone even carrying a bit of flattery:

Right, right, right! As City Lords, maintaining the basic order and safety of the Outer Boundary Domain is our duty! Sensing such a powerful fluctuation, we naturally had to come and investigate to prevent any accidents! We definitely did not mean to disturb Senior's peace!

What they said was not false.

The giant swords Gu Changyuan had summoned earlier, and the subsequent might that suppressed the entire area and triggered worldly anomalies, had caused too great a commotion.

Not only were these four City Lords alarmed, but the cultivators of the entire Outer Boundary City, and even several nearby strongholds, had sensed that soul-trembling terrifying aura and the faint phantoms of nine giant swords in the sky.

Countless people looked up in horror, discussing animatedly and guessing what earth-shattering event had occurred deep within the Outer Boundary Domain.

Gu Changyuan's gaze calmly swept over these four people. The fear, dread, curiosity, and a trace of the sense of responsibility they had to force themselves to come investigate as City Lords, which they tried hard to conceal on their faces, were all clearly seen by him.

Oh?

He responded indifferently, the end of his voice rising slightly, revealing neither joy nor anger.

You really just... came to see the situation?