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Chapter 6 – The First War of Karma
Night bled across the sky, casting a blanket of darkness over the Bloodleaf Continent. Yet deep within the Obsidian Flame Mountains, one peak burned with eerie light. It was not fire—but karma—gathered in a molten sphere above the summit. Beneath it stood three of Li Xuan's clones and a thousand elite cultivators dressed in black, faces veiled, a single emblem on their chests: the Karma Seal.
The war had begun.
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Sect Cleansing
Li Xuan had no interest in peace.
The murder of Jiang Wei had been a calculated act of provocation. Now he would use it to cleanse weak sects, eradicate potential threats, and assert absolute dominance over the surrounding realms.
The first target: The Ashen Sky Sect, supporters of the Burning of Heaven Sect.
Their elders were in seclusion when Li Xuan's forces descended.
No declaration.
No diplomacy.
Only retribution.
Formations that had not been activated in centuries crumbled under the karmic artillery launched by his generals. His elite auctioneers—previously mere merchants—used refined soul artifacts crafted from countless trades to slaughter disciples by the hundreds.
The sect head fled into a forbidden realm—only to find a clone of Li Xuan waiting there, seated atop a throne of corpses.
"Running?" Li Xuan asked coldly.
The sect head wept blood.
"I only followed orders—!"
A karmic seal bloomed on his forehead.
"I return them to you," Li Xuan said, pressing two fingers together.
The sect head's soul shattered. His body turned into ash.
A message burned into the void: Cause. Effect.
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Rise of the Auction Empire
Across the lower realms, rumors spread like wildfire.
Three sects collapsed within a week. Their elders disappeared. Their treasuries were seized. All known allies of the Burning of Heaven Sect were labeled as Marked.
People whispered of a dark auctioneer emperor who ruled from behind shadows.
No one saw his face.
No one knew his base.
But everyone obeyed.
In less than ten days, the Thousandfold Echo Hall went from a mere marketplace to a sovereign power.
Li Xuan's real body remained in seclusion, cultivating.
But his clones worked as agents of conquest.
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The Karma Network
Li Xuan stood in the depths of a secret void chamber, eyes shut. Around him floated ten thousand karma threads—some bright, some black, others chaotic. They were the result of his latest formation: the Karma Convergence Array.
This array tracked every debt, promise, oath, betrayal, and desire in realms connected to the Thousandfold Echo Hall.
His voice echoed within the chamber:
"Filter the threads."
In response, seven soul mirrors projected visions—scenes of sect heads betraying allies, rogue cultivators planning rebellions, hidden deals struck in quiet caves.
He tapped one.
A young woman was seen poisoning a master alchemist for his cauldron.
"Fated. She belongs to me now."
Another image showed an elder secretly sabotaging the protective formation of a rival sect.
"Karmic cycle complete. Convert him."
The Karma Network wasn't just for information.
It was a weapon.
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Birth of a Hidden Sect
Behind the public auction and silent conquests, Li Xuan began building his true power: the Silent Root Sect.
This sect didn't exist on maps.
It didn't register on divine sense.
It moved as shadow—beneath, above, around everything.
It recruited orphans, betrayed geniuses, crippled cultivators, and those cast away by fate.
Each one was cultivated through cruel methods and awakened via karma pain seals—mystic inscriptions that amplified strength by dragging one's fate to the brink of collapse, then snapping it back with karmic correction.
Only the worthy survived.
But those who did… became monsters.
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Trial of the Generals
The seven generals were not chosen.
They were forged.
Li Xuan summoned all his candidates—twelve in total, each peak Nascent Soul or beyond—and placed them in the Trial of Black Karma.
This trial manifested illusions of their worst regrets, sins, and fears, binding them in karmic chains.
One cried for his dead brother he had sacrificed.
Another relived the betrayal of his sect.
A third burned endlessly, reliving the time he massacred innocents for a treasure.
Only seven emerged.
They bowed together before Li Xuan.
"We swear loyalty. From now until death."
Li Xuan placed a karmic brand on each of their foreheads.
"You are my generals."
They were reborn—each given one realm to rule, nine elite guards, and authority over auction-related expansions.
Their names soon became legends whispered in dread:
General Xue, the Blood Seal Commander
General Yin, Master of Silent Ash
General Wu, the Storm Reaper
General Ran, Keeper of Fates
General Lin, the Smiling Shadow
General Hao, the Iron Ascender
General Yue, Queen of the Veil Flame
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Realm Submission Begins
One hundred realms.
That's how many minor realms Li Xuan's factions had begun to take over.
Each realm was seeded with an auction outpost, led by an elite.
Li Xuan didn't rule by armies alone.
He used deals.
He offered spirit stones, cultivation pills, forbidden techniques… in exchange for oaths of karma.
Oaths sealed by soul.
Those who broke the pact lost their cultivation… or their lives.
One by one, sects bent the knee.
Not by choice.
But because Li Xuan gave them what they wanted.
He knew the hearts of men—and bound them with fate.
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End of Chapter 6