53: Market turmoil, hidden murderous intent

In the dim underground cave, Lin Gou's consciousness re-coalesced from a cold void.

He sat up abruptly.

Around him was the familiar damp air, and the sound of water dripping from stalactites, crisp and rhythmic, like a death stopwatch counting down.

This resurrection was different from any other time.

An unprecedented sense of trepidation, like a cold venomous snake, coiled around his Divine Soul.

He closed his eyes, carefully replaying the brief but profound experience of death he had just endured.

It wasn't mere pain.

Instead, it was the ultimate solitude of being rejected, abhorred, and erased by the entire Heaven and Earth, by the entire Law.

It was as if he wasn't a living being, but a virus that had contaminated the world and had to be eliminated.

"Karma..."

Lin Gou murmured the word, with an unfamiliar reverence.

He immediately called up his System panel.

His thoughts focused on the brand-new skill he had just acquired.

【Karma Perception (Elementary): Can initially perceive the threads of Karma entwined around living beings.】

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Gou immediately activated this skill.

In an instant.

The world in his eyes was completely overturned.

The cave, originally composed of matter, now had an additional dimension of ethereal yet incredibly real "lines."

He concentrated his mind, trying to "look back" at the Black Wind Ancient Battlefield from earlier.

A blurry image, like a reflection in water, slowly appeared in his mind.

He saw the caravan members, their Souls Flying Away and Spirits Scattering, fleeing in all directions.

Around each of them, more or less, were intertwined some grayish-black, spiderweb-like thin threads.

Some people only had a few strands, so faint they were almost invisible, swaying in the wind.

Others, like the leader who had reprimanded the young guard, were entangled with dozens or even hundreds of strands, their color much deeper, like thick ink, clinging tightly to his limbs and torso, like an invisible prison uniform.

And the fat merchant who had been struck dead by the purple Heavenly Tribulation lightning—his original position was now an absolute "void."

At the edge of the void, countless broken threads, blacker than the deepest night, remained, twisting, struggling, and finally slowly dissipating into the cold air.

Lin Gou's heart sank inch by inch.

This Cultivation world, seemingly governed by the Law of the Jungle and lawless, was far more dangerous, and also far more... fair, than he had imagined.

In a place unseen by everyone, there was an invisible vast net, a set of cold rules, silently recording the "sins" committed by every living being.

When these sins, this so-called "Karma," accumulated to a degree sufficient to trigger a certain threshold... Heavenly Punishment would arrive unbidden.

This was the true "Heavenly Dao Reckoning."

A thought that sent chills down to his Soul, uncontrollably sprouted and spread wildly from the deepest part of his heart.

Subconsciously, with difficulty, he aimed the newly acquired ability, "Karma Perception," at himself.

Himself... this fellow who, ever since his Transmigration, had been "courting death" all along, using countless death experiences to farm rewards.

This anomaly who treated death as a tool and danger as an Opportunity.

Was his body also already entangled with those dark threads of Karma, representing the ultimate judgment of the Heavenly Dao?

His gaze slowly fell on his outstretched right hand.

That hand was clean, slender, and full of strength.

But in the vision of "Karma Perception"... it was pure.

There wasn't a single trace of gray, let alone that chilling pitch black.

His body, inside and out, was as clean as a freshly washed crystal, transparent and pure, emitting a faint glow that almost merged with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Lin Gou was stunned.

He reconfirmed repeatedly, even turning off the skill and reactivating it.

The result remained the same.

Why?

He had clearly "killed" Yao Beasts, tricked fellow disciples, and even, under the Heavenly Tribulation, nearly caused the Qingyun Sect's mountain-protecting formation to collapse.

Logically speaking, even if his Karma wasn't as monstrous as that fat merchant's, it was absolutely impossible for him to be so "innocent."

【Ding! System notification: Each time the host revives through the 'Infinite Resurrection Reward Farming System,' the process is equivalent to undergoing a baptism of the most Origin Reincarnation, and all Karma will be cleared.】

The System's cold notification sound was like the music of the heavens.

Lin Gou was first astonished, and then an indescribable ecstasy, like a volcanic eruption, instantly overwhelmed all his reason and fear.

"Haha..."

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Uncontrollable, hearty laughter echoed madly in the empty underground cave, startling a flock of sleeping bats.

Karma cleared!

Karma cleared!

This meant that the Heavenly Dao Reckoning, that terrifying Heavenly Punishment, simply did not exist for him!

Others had to cultivate cautiously, fearing to incur Karma and invite retribution.

But he could act without scruple!

He possessed, in the true sense of the word, infinite trial-and-error rights in this world!

This "Karma Perception," far from being a restraint for him, had become his most powerful weapon!

He could see whose sins were deep, and who was about to face great misfortune.

He could precisely select "death-courting" targets, and before Heavenly Punishment descended, take a step ahead to extract the last bit of value from those "chosen ones (unlucky fellows)"!

Lin Gou's eyes gleamed with unprecedented light.

A more insane and more efficient "reward farming" plan had silently taken shape in his mind.

He no longer delayed, discerned the direction, and with a movement of his body, silently left this backup anchor point... Half a day later.

Flowing Cloud Market.

This was a colossal market built in a multi-jurisdictional, ungoverned area at the border of several nations.

There were no towering city walls, no majestic guard armies.

Instead, there were various buildings, haphazardly constructed from massive stones and timber, stretching for miles, and people of all sorts, from all walks of life, from all directions.

The air was filled with a scent too complex to describe.

The burnt smell of low-grade Medicinal Pills, the fresh fragrance of Spiritual Plants and medicinal materials, the bloody smell of Yao Beast fur, and the turbid scent of Mortals, mixed with sweat and dust.

Everything was blended together, forming a unique, chaotic yet vibrant aroma belonging to this place.

Lin Gou changed into the most inconspicuous gray Loose Cultivator robes, carrying a rusty iron sword on his back, his face made to look weathered with a simple disguise, blending into the bustling crowd, completely unremarkable.

The "Presence Weakening Aura" made him like a drop of water merging into the ocean, naturally integrating into this noisy environment.

He activated "Karma Perception."

The entire world instantly became bizarre and colorful.

The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd on the street transformed, in his eyes, into walking "sin meters."

Most Mortals and low-level Cultivators had faint gray threads entwined around them, representing harmless lies and minor evils.

However, some Cultivators with powerful Qi were distinctly different.

He saw a one-eyed strong man fiercely arguing with a stall owner; the black threads entwined around him were so dense they were almost corporeal, like venomous snakes, coiled around his neck and the back of his heart.

Lin Gou silently tagged him as "High Risk, Farmable."

He also saw a white-robed young man sitting by a second-floor window of a restaurant, fanning himself, seemingly elegant, but above his head, three feet up, hung a faint, almost imperceptible mass of black resentful Qi, composed of the wailing of countless wronged Souls.

"Excellent, highly nourishing," Lin Gou evaluated in his mind.

This feeling was too wonderful.

It was like playing a game with a wall-hack enabled; everyone's "red names" and "gray names" were clear at a glance.

Who was a sheep, who was a wolf, and who was a wolf in sheep's clothing—he saw it all clearly.