"Emperor father, was it really necessary?" Qi An asked the sitting older man sitting on his massive throne.
Zulin had changed very little over the years. He was still tall and handsome conveying a sense of awe and power. He was intelligent and powerful and wrestled the north continent into his complete control.
The only odd thing about him was the faint scar funning across his face. Something he refused to speak to anyone about. Qi An had seen one of his siblings ask about it centuries ago, the Qilin Sovereign never deigned to answer.
"Billions are dying over there father," Qi An murmured.
"Trillions," Zulin corrected. "Sacrifices for our empire. They have only themselves to blame for siding with the dragons. And what's with that emperor father bullshit? We're alone, just call me dad."
"Em…of course dad," Qi An stuttered. "I do not question your intentions. But surely a more cleaner method could've been used. The cycle of karma can be a punishing thing."
"At times I forget, you're still only a child," Zulin chuckled. "Our enemies deserve non of our mercies. They are not like our misbehaving lords, best to annihilate their foundation," the Qilin Sovereign sneered.
"Besides, we are in control over the cycle of karma. My child, you need not worry about such trivial things," Zulin dismissed. "Take this as a learning opportunity. The flow of karmic luck is a complex subject. Too much karmic luck and it becomes uncontainable, too little and you become unable to stave off from invoking disaster. That foolishworm attracted too much for himself to control it. Glean as much insight from this as you can from his mistake."
"Of course, em…dad," Qi An replied politely.
The Primordial Qilin clan were creatures of luck. They sought out places of great luck and can perceive the both positive and negative karma.
Qilins, the children of the Qilin Sovereign though few in number were exceptionally powerful. The average qilin was stronger than the average dragon. Each individual was nurtured and developed accordingly unlike the dragons who had many lesser members ignored for the most part.
At the Golden Immortal realm, the qilin unlocks their unique ability. Karmic luck manipulation, the ability to move karmic luck by the force of their own will. This was extraordinarily difficult but can have great results.
In a sinful place like the north continent, this talent was crucial to their survival as well as control over their vassals. After all, karmic luck was something that could make or break a cultivator.
"Relax son and enjoy the fruits of our labour," Zulin reassured. He conjured up an image of a mountainous region. A region belonging to the north continent.
"The insects are already celebrating as we speak. The north continent is no longer the sinful rotting corpse it once was. Thanks to my efforts, it shall be restored to a superior land to even the east continent," he bragged.
"But oceans, that Sea Eye will suck it all dry," Qi An grimaced. "I liked the view from beeches."
"So what? There's nothing good to be gained from those waters in the first place. Besides, those old ancestors in hiding won't let it remain. One of them will solve the issue for us," Zulin waved in a dismissive way.
"Remember son, we didn't cause this. The dragons simply had too much negative karma," the Qilin Sovereign smirked.
"Of course em…dad, the dragons are a sinful lot and deserves heavenly punishment," Qi An replied smiling back.
'Life is difficult, the clans of the north are used to brutal struggles and cannot be trusted. We are born poor and our lands damaged. Father is only doing the best he can,' Qi An reminded himself. 'Dragon Sovereign, apologies for your losses. But you only have yourself to blame.'
The north continent was a deeply damaged land. A fact originating from Shenni all those years ago. The mighty beast emperor callously drenched the very essence of this land in sin. What would he care if the world was destroyed anyway?
Zulin was born into a sinful world. Luckily, his natural talent gave him the opportunity to rise into the Qilin Sovereign. This scheme against Zulong was merely another boon to his goal.
Zulong was too successful. He had too much luck and was granted too much merit. What's more, the dragons lacked a treasure able to properly regulate this much luck, unable to suppress it all.
It was childsplay to draw it all to the north continent. In addition to the forced movement of negative karma to Kailong Chen, it was simply too easy for Zulin. To put it simply, the dragon was too fat.
'Finally, I am rid of you,' Zulin toasted in his mind.
The transferring of karma took an immense amount of preparation. Many tens of thousands of years worth of recourses were pulled into his palace in order to bolster his own strength to the level where Zulin could both give and take karma on this scale and distance.
The north continent was deeply infected by negative karma courtesy of its previous ruler while the east sea was thriving in enormous amounts of positive karma. So bloated the east sea was that it was incredibly unstable.
The dragons lacked treasures capable of regulating so much luck, unlike the qilin whose natural talents negated this necessity. From there it was a simple matter of taking the positive karma, something Zulin had done so many times in the past in other areas, and offloading the negative karma.
"Zulong, ah Zulong, take this as a lesson. You flew too close to the sun," Zulin mused with a smirk. "You crossed someone you should never have. Now you must pay the price. With you out of the way, the qilin can truly rise."
…
ROAR!
The cry of a true celestial dragon contained many unique properties. It was the cry of a ruler, a leader, an instructor. It was essentially an instruction given to obey the will of the dragon.
With the immense pressure brought on by two catastrophic events. Zulong did not hesitate using this ability. His handsome facial features snarled in rage at the devastation going on around him.
The east sea was covered in storm. Uncontrollable lightning struck every corner of his domain. The sea twisted and turned, rising up into massive tsunamis millions of kilometres tall. All while the sea eye sucked in everything it could get its hands on.
Where the sea eye lead to? No one knows. The ocean of sin on the other side was so thick that even Chaos Immortals couldn't penetrate it with their gaze. Nor would they want to either.
Zulong's roar sundered the heavens and quaked the earth. He could be heard from all corners of the world. The fierce winds and roaring tides reversed themselves beneath his wake and returned to calm.
Though this was only a moment of calm before a second storm. The Sea Eye was wholly undeterred by Zulong's command. It certainly felt it as evident of it slowing down somewhat, but then it sped up again.
The mass of golden Qi clouds also shrunk slightly before rising back up to push outwards. Zulong was struck silent at this event, he had given his all in that last roar, even further enhancing it with an enormous amount of his power yet it still wasn't enough.
The Dragon Pearl shook beneath the force of golden luck Qi. It trembled despite its best attempts.
"It can't be, the negative karma is so huge that xiantian spiritual treasures of the highest tier are failing. Even our positive karma wants to get away," the Primordial Turtle king moaned in despair at the sight.
Zulong deeply wished to smash something to vent his rage. Just where did this sleeping giant come from? Who has the power to do so much damage despite the four seas' best attempts?
"Brother, the rejection force, it's getting too strong," Qinglong called out. The azure dragon's voice was strained in obvious pain.
"Can you, Baihu and Xuanwu form the four symbols formation and suppress this?" Zulong asked hopefully.
Qinglong shook his head. "Without sister Zhuque, such an action is impossible," he said.
"Our powers are intrinsically linked. Even without sister Zhuque present, we are still amplified. However, as you can see, we still aren't of much assistance," Xuanwu chimed in. His beautiful androgynous features were marred by a depressed frown.
"Your majesty, the force is getting too much. We can't hold on," Mosasaur ancestor who'd also been forced into his true form cried out in pain.
Various Chaos Immortals from the Calamity Snail god to Plesiosaur ancestor to even the western Blue Whale god nodded in agreement. When the pressure becomes too great, these mighty figures could not maintain their Dao bodies and transformed into their bestial original forms.
"Are you all suggesting we retreat now," Zulong spat angrily. He could not let things go as it was now, he'd come too far to abandon everything.
"No your majesty, merely a temporary regrouping to get our bearings together. We can figure something out once later," Mosasaur ancestor clarified.
Zulong gritted his teeth in frustration. If they'd all just left then there would be nothing to stop his Qi Dragon of luck from imploding and leaving. His own treasures needed him to be close in order to give accurate commands and function at full power.
The ancestral dragon raced to think of something. He scanned around the battlefield and grimaced at the ocean of sin surrounding him.
'Yu'er,' he suddenly remembered and concentrated his divine sense downwards. 'Kailong Chen should still be able to hold in this current,' he thought depressingly mentally kicking himself.
"Regroup in Kailong Chen," Zulong ordered. "We'll use the formation there to save as much as we can."
It deeply pained him to abandon his luck Qi but Zulong hardened his heart. After all, luck can be regained with enough merit.
The host of Great Principle Chaos Immortals dived into the sin infested waters. Under Zulong's lead, they teleported into Kailong Chen quickly easily resisting the Sea Eye's pull.
Above the ocean, the Dragon Pearl and Twenty Four Sea Calming Pearls lost much of their lustre. While they held on for now, this won't be for luck. In a few minutes, their restrictions will break apart completely.
Zulong touched upon palace grounds along with the rest of the Great Principle Chas Immortals and Great Unity Golden Immortal higher ups. He immediately saw Gui Daiyu standing admits a crowd.
His wife was holding their egg protectively in her arms and appeared very anxious.
"He probably would've been safer in the vault," Zulong sighed when he approached her.
"Probably," Gui Daiyu murmured before being embraced by the Dragon Sovereign.
"I'm glad you're safe," Zulong said.
"I would not be much of an empress if I couldn't keep my city safe. But trillions have already perished outside," Gui Daiyu grimaced.
"I'll find who did this and make them pay, for now we have more pressing matters," Zulong let go of her and reached out with his mind.
Kailong Chen's defence formation answered him almost immediately. Zulong assumed control from Gui Daiyu and immediately, the barrier surrounding the underwater city strengthened to unprecedented levels.
Zulong's gaze snapped upwards towards withered Qi Dragon of luck.
"Ministers, aid me," Zulong ordered.
"Yes your majesty!"
Kailong Chen's formation was one designed for defence against external foes and to trap them in for a counter attack. However, it simply did not have the range needed to affect the Qi Dragon of luck.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Nevertheless, the energy it provided Zulong allowed him to reach up and pull slivers of his karmic luck towards him. This was a final gamble, he can't salvage everything but he could still take what he could.
A massive dragon claw formed from Zulong's immortal energy shot into the sky. It stretched out, reaching, hoping to grab hold of what it can.
Zulong sighed and mused to himself, 'We'll have to find a new place to call home after this.'
…
"Oh no you don't," Zulin sneered.
…
A malevolent force slammed into the dragon claw. It was a dark pillar shaped like a hoof. It kicked at the dragon claw which was built thin to allow for maximum range with such great force that the forearm bent in an unnatural way, snapping the claw.
"Who dares!" Zulong roared. The dragon had just about enough of the whole ordeal. He identified the goof and immediately made several guesses.
"Villain, show yourself this instant," the Dragon Sovereign demanded. His voice though fatigued still carried royal authority.
The heavens despite being covered by a raging storm rumbled. The clouds trembled in fear and the lightning hit anywhere but here.
"Hmph, dumber than I thought," Zulin's voice registering in Zulong's ear was all the confirmation he needed.
The dragon's human face could only be described as ferocious at this moment. If looks could kill, the entire universe would've ceased to exist.
"You, I should've killed you all those years ago," Zulong roared. He burst out of the water uncaring for the protection Kailong Chen gave him.
In the wake of his sudden leave, Yinglong assumed total control over Kailong Chen's formation. The surprised ministers called out for Zulong though he ignored them.
"DIE!" Zulong punched out with his right fist.
Reality caved beneath the pressure. Time and space distorted, shattering like glass. The void outside the east sea was thrown into chaos with hundreds of spacial tides generating from Zulong's enraged blow.
The hoof made out of malicious negative karmic luck shattered into a million shards that all fell into the east sea.
"Heh, heh, thank you, saved me some work transferring that load into the water," Zulin mocked from a voice projection. An illusionary figure of the Qilin Sovereign appeared floating in the air wearing an infuriating smirk.
"You failed Dragon Sovereign," Zulin said, every world dripping in contempt. "Your empire is crumbling as we speak. The heavens have already deemed it a blight. Though tell you what, I can tell you of a method to save them."
Zulong wordlessly swiped his palm obliterating the illusionary projection in a single blow.
"Wow what a temper," Zulin's image reformed in the same space the original was destroyed. "Nice try but I'm not actually here, are you too dumb to figure that out too?"
"Zulin," Zulong snarled before his face morphed into a mocking smirk. "I see you appreciated my gift, you're certainly much more handsome than before," he mockingly said pointing at his own cheek. It corresponded to the scar running along Zulin's face.
"Very funny worm, very funny. Even in such dire times you can still joke," Zulin chuckled. "I was gonna leave you to your fate but for humouring me so, I'll tell you how to quell the sea eye."
Zulong frowned as the thunder storm raged on around him. He was not worried about Kailong Chen at the moment. The amount of Chaos Immortals below could easily hold the city safe.
"The Sea Eye is the pit of sinful karma. It sucks the world in and obliterates it into nothingness for the very land itself is sinful. It's bad news for everyone," Zulin said. "But you, my friend, is also a great being of karma. So the one way you can offset this is by jumping in."
"Use your essence, your very being to offset the karma and quell the Sea Eye," Zulin suggested.
"Do you take me for a fool horsey?" Zulong spat. "What I possess can never quell something like that."
"Oh I know," Zulin smirked. "But you could say, use your body to seal it up. You're very strong, your physique is easily able to plug that hole for several Yuanhui thereby earning yourself great merit. Gives quite a bit of karmic luck that action will do."
"Don't do it your majesty," trillions of voices yelled out from Kailong Chen interrupting them.
"Don't let him trick you. Throwing yourself in there will be the equivalent of suicide," Xuanwu said with vigour. "I've studied the underwater lake for thousands of years and the Sea Eye is only a more malicious version of that. It'll be a fate worse than death."
"Don't do it brother," Qinglong said. "If you need a sacrifice then I'll do it." Dozens of volunteers appeared while Zulong frowned more and more.
To seal the Sea Eye, one's physique needed to be incredibly powerful. Zulong was the ideal candidate, he could fight over a dozen Great Principle Chaos Immortals with his body alone and win.
But if another Great Principle Chaos Immortal like the Calamity Snail God or Colossal Shark jumped in, they'll be torn apart. What's more, Zulong will have the Dragon Pearl and Twenty Four Sea Calming Pearls with him.
"You devious little shit," Zulong spat.
"You should never have crossed me in the first place," Zulin responded with equal venom. "Go on. Take the plunge. Oh glorious Dragon Sovereign."
Zulong slapped the illusionary body into smoke before turning to face the Sea Eye in the distance. He appeared very hesitant and even more unwilling.
The ancestral dragon stood there among the storm for a few minutes appearing very unsure of what to do. Zulin who reformed behind him merely chuckled.
Without his notice, Baihu, Xuanwu, and Qinglong had already jumped out of Kailong Chen along with a whole slew of others yelling at him to stop.
"My clan is a strong one. Their foundation is deep and powerful," Zulong said to Qinglong.
Zulin perked up and smiled while the members of the four seas had a look of horror dawning on their faces.
"Your majesty, we need you. We can't just lose you now," Colossal Shark screamed. "Who will protect the four seas with you gone. There are still two sovereigns out there."
"The sea clans and the Primordial Celestial Dragon clan are the protectors of the Sea Eye. Non would dare," Zulong sighed.
"Zulong!" Gui Daiyu escorted by her father appeared in the sky. Her Great Unity Golden Immortal level physique appeared insignificant amidst the storm. "You can't just decide to do this. We can find somewhere else to start again."
"Yu'er," Zulong's resolve crumbled when his wife appeared.
"What of our son?" Gui Daiyu tearfully said. Seeing his wife in tears, Zulong began to step away from the direction of the Sea Eye.
CRACK!
Zulong snapped in the direction of the Qi Dragon of luck. The Twenty Four Sea Calming Pearl's chains all snapped and the chain of beads fell into the ocean. The Dragon Pearl was thrown into the sky and shrunk back to its normal size.
The Qi Dragon of luck screamed in agony as cracks appeared all over its body.
"Now or never," Zulin sang while receiving murderous glares by everyone. With the Dragon's sudden deterioration, the Sea Eye grew even stronger
"I'm sorry everyone," Zulong quickly said before bolting towards the Sea Eye. He did not dare look back else his resolve may crumble again.
In a flash, his ten thousand kilometres long body appeared. Zulong flew full speed directly towards the Sea Eye. "Yinglong, I leave the four seas to you. Take care of my wife and child."
"Zulong! NO!" Yinglong called out. He directed primordial Qi into a whip hoping to catch his elder brother.
"Get back here!" The likes of Xuanwu, Colossal Shark, Mosasaur, Primordial Dolphin, Qinglong, Gui Daiyu, Primordial Turtle, Calmity Snail and many others tried to chase after the ancestral dragon.
But Zulong was simply too fast and too strong. He blew past everyone with ease and had his eyes set on the Sea Eye.
"Finally," Zulin smirked watching the spectacle.
"Sea Eye, let you be SEALED!" Zulong roared diving forward.
BOOM!
"GAH!" Zulong cried out in pain having suddenly been hit in the face by a solid white surface.
'Lotus?' Zulong thought in realisation as his momentum was completely halted. 'Master?' He jerked around to see the human form of Da Hai with his hand stretched out.
"Reckless child," Da Hai scolded. Yet his lips portrayed a vagyuely proud smile. He spun the 12 Petals White Lotus generating a whirlpool of white petals pushing Zulong back.
"Master why?" Zulong barely uttered before Yinglong's whip caught his body. He was pulled away from the sea and was unable to stop himself from hitting the ocean surface.
Not far away, Yingzhou had shimmered into existence merely moments before Zulong reached the Sea Eye. Its sudden appearance brought everyone's morals up.
"Exalted Saint is here," The earliest generation of experts all smiled.
Da Hai grimaced at the scene around him. "Fuck, I was nearly too late" he spat.
"Master, I won't let you stop me," Zulong whipped his body around breaking Yinglong's hold on him. He swam forwards only for Da Hai's hand to grab him by his neck. Da Hai was puny next to Zulong, a man a little over 1.7 metres tall next to a ten thousand kilometres dragon.
"And I can't submit you to that fate," Da Hai argued back dragging Zulong out of the east sea into the sky. Zulong struggled against his master's grip but couldn't break it at all despite the enormous size difference.
"You're stronger, you broke through?" Zulong said startled.
"In a manner of speaking," Da Hai replied maintaining his hold on his disciple. Zulin sneered at the exchange. "Senior Da Hai, the Sea Eye is not a force you can resolve that easily. Surely you can see that the dragon's luck has become unmanageable."
"Silence you degenerate mongrel," Da Hai commanded. His sudden burst of anger caused Zulin to pause, his illusionary body began suffering from static before breaking down.
…
In the north content, Zulin gripped his chest in fright. His concentration was broken.
"What's wrong father?" Qi An immediately went to his side.
"The old monsters of this world aren't simple," was the only reply he got
…
"Master, unhand me," Zulong yelled urgently. "The Sea Eye is growing stronger as we speak. I can still salvage this."
"No, you're not getting anywhere near the Sea Eye," Da Hai said throwing Zulong away. He turned his attention towards the dying Qi Dragon of luck. "So big, no wonder Qilin Sovereign was able to do this. Poke a hole in the balloon and the Qi will come rushing out."
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
BOOM!
In mere moments, the purple golden dragon imploded into a titanic mass of golden gas clouds. The pure essence of karmic luck. They immediately began funnelling northwestwards towards the north continent.
"NO!" Zulong cried out having recovered from Da Hai's throw. "Don't go in there, the energy from that pit will tear you apart!"
"Oh no you don't," Da Hai said to the clouds of karmic luck. He raised his right hand like a baseball pitcher. The small red needle he held in his right hand glistened under the light from rampaging lightning.
"YAH!" Da Hai threw with everything he had tossing out the only treasure that could save the day.
A long red staff that kept growing.