The Mirror of Karma and the Mirror of the Heart
The Mirror of Karma, or Mirror of Retribution, originates from the concept of cause and effect. It is a mirror-like magical artifact in the cultivation world that can reflect the good and evil deeds of the living or the deceased. Its core function is "reflecting karma," where karma refers to karmic obstacles. Reflecting karma means using the mirror's image to force the living or the deceased to confront their own sins as a basis for judgment; it can only reveal outward behavior. The Mirror of the Heart is also a mirror-like magical artifact, capable of reflecting the hidden secrets of the mind of mortals or cultivators standing before it. Unless a cultivator is at the Nascent Soul stage or higher, no other level of cultivator can escape the scrutiny of the Mirror of Karma and the Mirror of the Heart.
Five mirrors reflecting karma were lined up in a row on the sword-training ground. The Mind Mirror was placed next to the mirrors reflecting karma. Both the mirrors reflecting karma and the Mind Mirror were protected by an array, so that they would only reflect the image of people standing within two meters in front of them.
After the members of the Dragon Valley Sect arranged the Mirror of Illumination and the Mirror of the Mind, they withdrew in an orderly fashion.
Lin Shi handed the puppet Xu Xinghao to Xu Xingran, and then, at Zhao Xiyue's prompting, stood directly inside a Mirror of Revelation in the corner. The souls of Wang Sujun and the other three were placed in front of four other Mirrors of Revelation by the elders of the Dragon Valley Sect.
The members of the Dragon Valley Sect stared intently at the scene displayed on the Mirror of Karma.
The Mirror of Karma before Lin Shi clearly revealed her beautiful face and graceful figure, without any dark or dirty images. The souls of the four nominal disciples, including Wang Sujun, had barely stood before the Mirror of Karma when numerous images flashed before them. These images included various acts of bullying and ostracizing Lin Shi, the exhumation of Xu Xinghao's remains to create a puppet, and scenes of them secretly bullying other lower-ranking disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect.
Upon seeing the images displayed in the Karma Mirrors, the disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect couldn't help but murmur amongst themselves. The Dragon Valley Sect's leadership ignored the disciples' discussions, simply having Lin Shi stand in front of each Karma Mirror for a while, but each mirror only reflected Lin Shi's appearance.
The elders of the Dragon Valley Sect were cautious. Seeing this, five elders went up one by one and stood in front of the Mirror of Karma for a while, but they cast a spell, making the image blurry. After they left the Mirror of Karma, they said loudly, "The Mirror of Karma is normal."
"Let Lin Shi stand before the Heart Mirror." The Dragon Valley Sect leader spoke, ordering Lin Shi to stand before the Heart Mirror. His tone was much gentler than before.
Lin Shiyi stood in front of the Heart Mirror as instructed.
This time, the Heart Mirror didn't just reflect Lin Shi's appearance. Looking into the mirror, Lin Shi saw flashes of her past memories. At first, the images were chaotic, but they quickly settled into more fixed scenes. First, there was the scene of Lin Shi at age 13, when the evil cultivator Long Tian wiped out her entire village, and she herself was subjected to soul-searching and forced into a puppet. Next, there was the scene of Lin Shi killing 12 evil cultivators in Bali Town.
What followed were scenes from Lin Shi's imagination. She fantasized about successfully cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness, then spending at least a hundred years, at most a thousand, to become a new Heavenly Dao, directly ascending to the ranks of immortals, obtaining godhood, and achieving immortality. However, since no Heavenly Dao had fallen in the small world, the middle world, or the great world, there was no shortage of new Heavenly Daos. Her fantasy quickly shattered into fragments. Finally, it transformed into the scene Lin Shi most desired: through diligent cultivation and travel, she gained opportunities, leveling up her cultivation along the way, eventually reaching the Mahayana stage and ascending to the Middle Heaven Realm. During her cultivation journey, she slew countless evil cultivators!
After the Heart Mirror finished playing more than one set of images, it started playing the same images on a loop again.
The members of the Dragon Valley Sect and the Seven Peaks Sect remained silent for a long while, watching Lin Shi's innermost thoughts revealed in the Mirror of the Heart. An awkward atmosphere filled the air. Aside from the scenes of encountering and slaying the evil cultivator, Lin Shi's true thoughts were almost entirely the unspoken thoughts and long-cherished dreams of other cultivators.
As is customary, the elders of the Dragon Valley Sect went to examine the Heart Mirror again. After the elders moved away from the Heart Mirror, they announced loudly, "The Heart Mirror shows no abnormalities."
The Dragon Valley Sect Master's expression softened considerably. He first glanced at the numerous Dragon Valley Sect disciples, then looked at Lin Shi and said, "Lin Shi, although you are not a disciple of my Dragon Valley Sect, you have a good character. There are very few cultivators who can simultaneously seek immortality and do their best to save the world. I hope you will have this opportunity in the future to break through the shackles of cultivation and ascend to the Central Heaven Realm! Wang Sujun, Xue Yingying, Zhang Qianqian, and Yuan Tianyi, four nominal disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect, were the first to bully you, and even dug up the bones of your deceased friend from his grave twenty years ago to make a puppet. It is understandable that you killed them."
As soon as the Dragon Valley Sect leader finished speaking, an elder behind him completely annihilated the souls of Wang Sujun and the other three, reducing them to ashes. Their families were also instantly wiped out by the sword energy, leaving only their souls, who went to be reborn in a daze.
"But the Dragon Valley Sect's rules cannot be changed for an outsider disciple like you who has come to the Dragon Valley Sect for an exchange. Guards, set up the arena and have Lin Shi fight Yan Hezhi, the twenty-second generation chief disciple of the Dragon Valley Sect, before deciding on Lin Shi's punishment." The Dragon Valley Sect's leader spoke last. As soon as he finished speaking, the Dragon Valley Sect's elders, guest ministers, stewards, and disciples quickly and methodically dispersed to take action.
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