In the sea of consciousness, Lu Yang's divine sense manifested a light projection, gazing satisfyingly at the golden light lingering around his fingertips, as if admiring a rare and precious treasure.
Ten lifetimes of cultivation... I've finally condensed Golden Nature too.
At this moment, Lu Yang's heart was filled with boundless emotion. Thinking back to those years, the first time he saw Golden Nature was when Junior Uncle Chong Guang showed it to him. He was so envious back then.
Lu Yang stared at the wisp of Golden Nature before him. Although the faint light was weak, he seemed to see a blazing sea of light reflecting countless scenes of the mortal world. There was the sun rising high in the sky, and the moon shining brightly in the long night; there were lofty mountains and ridges, rivers, lakes, and seas; there were birds and beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects...
The myriad phenomena of heaven and earth were all contained within this wisp of Golden Nature.
If thrown into the mortal world and seen by a Qi Refining cultivator without any concealment, they would probably sink into it instantly, living out a lifetime as if in a dream or illusion.
The so-called "Golden Millet Dream" and "Rotten Axe Handle Tale"—their roots lie in this.
It is because Golden Nature contains the complete Dao comprehension of a Foundation Establishment Perfection—Great Perfected One, including their perception of heaven and earth. Perhaps in the eyes of a Perfected Lord, it is still very immature.
But in the eyes of a Qi Refining cultivator, it is no different from the real world.
Withdrawing his thoughts, Lu Yang's vision quickly began to pull away from the boundless scenery before him. Time seemed to accelerate at this moment; sun and moon fell, mountains and seas collapsed.
Phew!
When he came back to his senses, the many scenes he just saw were gone from his eyes. Only a point of light lingered at his fingertips, brilliant and dazzling.
"Pity there's only a wisp, far from enough to uphold a Blessed Land." Lu Yang took a deep breath. Refining Golden Nature to ascend the Blessed Land—Golden Nature is one of the driving forces for upholding the Blessed Land. If the extracted Golden Nature is insufficient to support the Blessed Land's ascension and merge with the Dao Fruit, the result is body perishing and Dao disappearing.
This point is actually very difficult.
Because no one knows how much Golden Nature is needed for the Blessed Land to ascend perfectly until it merges with the Dao Fruit. One can only rely on the cultivator's own Dao comprehension to guess.
Guess right, the chances of attaining the Golden Core increase greatly.
Guess wrong, success falls short at the last step.
The most outrageous thing is that too little Golden Nature won't do, and too much won't do either. Because once there is too much Golden Nature, it will turn around and erode the cultivator's own soul and divine sense.
I can't exactly call it erosion.
Strictly speaking, Golden Nature should eventually merge with the soul as one. This is a natural change, but harmful to Foundation Establishment.
Only a Perfected Lord's soul can withstand the fusion of Golden Nature and maintain the self under the impact of Golden Nature. A Foundation Establishment soul is ultimately lacking in stature.
A little Golden Nature might be endured with willpower, but once there is too much Golden Nature, even the strongest will would collapse, subsequently affecting the soul.
By then, let alone seeking the Golden Core, the person would fall into madness.
History is not short of similar examples.
Therefore, for a Foundation Establishment Perfection, every extraction of Golden Nature is actually walking a tightrope. One wrong step leads to eternal damnation.
But fortunately—
I have cheats.
Lu Yang smiled confidently. The reason was simple— In his previous life, he had attain the Golden Core using an Immortal Spirit body. He knew the amount of Golden Nature he needed like the back of his hand!
For others, extracting Golden Nature is walking a tightrope.
But for Lu Yang, extracting Golden Nature is just a small matter supported by complete data and practice from long ago. There is no difficulty to speak of.
Speaking of which, should I just settle it now?
Lu Yang rubbed his chin. After a little thought, he decided to postpone it and not rush to settle it with [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
The reason was simple—
Settling now, the return isn't enough! Even for a Golden Talent, there's a big difference between one settled from a Perfected Lord's Golden Nature and one from a Foundation Establishment's Golden Nature.
Anyway, I don't lack Golden Talents right now. Better to wait until I attain Perfected Lord to settle it and maximize the benefits!
With this thought, Lu Yang put away the Golden Nature and exited his sea of consciousness.
Just then, a nervous-looking demon cultivator walked quickly into the Five Imperial Military Commanders' Mansion. It was Xiao Shan, the veteran of the [One Heart Society] who first defected to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly upon seeing this: "What's happening?"
"Someone is causing trouble!"
Xiao Shan said in a deep voice, "A large number of officials seem to have received some order. They all walked out of their mansions and gathered towards the Xuanwu Gate, saying they want to see the Crown Prince!"
"Oh?"
Lu Yang's thoughts turned, and he instantly understood the intention of the person behind the scenes. After all, Li Taian's move was an overt plot; he never intended to hide it from Lu Yang.
unfortunately, it was too late.
If it were before, this overt plot might really have given me a headache. After all, at that time, I still had to consider the attitudes of the Crown Prince and the Empress.
But now it was different.
With the Five Imperial Military Camps in hand, as long as I snatch the Son of Heaven's Seal from the Empress's hands, I can control Tianwu City immediately. This is the true key!
Real struggles were always like this.
Intrigues, overt plots, covert plots—all were empty. In the end, whoever controlled military power, whoever had the bigger fist, was the final winner.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately looked at Xiao Shan and chuckled lightly, "Pass my order—defend the Xuanwu Gate to the death. Do not allow the officials to go for an audience. Block the news too; don't let the Crown Prince and the Empress know... But tell the men not to use force. On the surface, persuade the officials to be rational."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Xiao Shan saluted immediately, then left quickly. Only then did Lu Yang turn around and look at the Five Imperial Military Commanders already controlled by [Marionette].
"Send a few officials out."
Lu Yang said calmly, "Have them mix into the crowd of officials, then attack the Imperial City Division on their own initiative. dispose of them afterward. Make it clean."
"Yes!"
The Five Imperial Military Commanders responded without hesitation, then also walked out of the mansion.
Tianwu Hall, outside the Xuanwu Gate.
"Demon dragon bringing disaster to the country, blocking inside and outside, disregarding court politics, harming loyal and good people!"
"A mere demon cultivator dares to cause great chaos in Tianwu City. Tell me, is this Jiangdong our human cultivators' Jiangdong, or their True Dragons' Jiangdong?"
"Punish the treacherous and evil! Kill the demon dragon!"
Voices loud enough to deafen the ears, blessed by spiritual power, boomed into the Tianwu Hall, but were blocked by rays of incense offering divine light, not disturbing a single blade of grass or tree inside the palace.
And in front of the Xuanwu Gate, a dense mass of Dao Court officials displayed their official positions one after another. Most of them were petty officials with Qi Refining cultivation. Yet these people, full of hot blood but incredibly stupid, were the easiest to fool. A few words from several Foundation Establishment officials incited their blood to rush to their heads.
And in this state of public outrage, violent conflict was inevitable.
Finally, as a streak of brilliant light flew out from the crowd and injured an Imperial City Division cultivator responsible for blocking, the conflict at the breaking point erupted completely.
With someone taking the lead, everyone's courage multiplied.
And such chaos was naturally fully observed by Lu Yang, who was adjusting his breath inside the Five Imperial Military Commanders' Mansion. However, he wasn't flustered at all; instead, he revealed a cold smile:
Someone sends a pillow just as I get sleepy.
You want me to go on a killing spree? Then I'll grant your wish... I was just worrying about what excuse to find for a great purge, and you delivered it to my door.
The next second, Lu Yang's expression turned solemn.
At the same time, the five Imperial Camp Commanders who had just ignited the turmoil at the Xuanwu Gate also walked in. Before they could speak, Lu Yang preempted them:
"I understand the situation."
"The Imperial City Division was personally appointed by His Majesty, one of the most elite departments of our Dao Court. Not fearing the might of the Imperial City Division—these are no longer ordinary officials."
"These are obviously all thugs! Thugs!"
Just then, an Imperial City Division cultivator walked in quickly, carrying a dossier in his hand covered with dense writing.
"My Lord, the confession of the [Minister of War] is out."
"He remembered everything. A considerable portion of the officials are Demonic Sect spies. We checked, and they happen to be those people besieging the Xuanwu Gate!"
"What?"
Hearing this, Lu Yang immediately said angrily, "Immediately send the confession to the mansions of the Three Excellencies. Show it to the Empress and the Crown Prince too. The situation is already clear."
"Without a doubt, this is an evil conspiracy by the Demonic Sect in Jiangbei intending to destroy the stability and unity of our Dao Court. They assassinated His Majesty, but finding that the Imperial City Division and I stood out at the critical moment to stabilize the court, they created this drama of forcing the palace to create chaos."
"If this can be tolerated, what can't be tolerated!"
"We can't hesitate any longer. We must strike hard!" As his voice fell, Lu Yang slapped the table directly, then looked at the five Imperial Military Commanders waiting by the side:
"Immediately issue a martial law order. No officials in the entire city are allowed to leave their mansions. Those who leave without authorization will all be regarded as Demonic Sect spies. The Imperial Camps have the authority to kill on the spot!"
As his voice fell, the five Imperial Military Commanders raised their hands instantly:
"LOYALTY!"
Speaking up to here, Lu Yang smiled again: "Of course, the officers and soldiers of the Five Imperial Military Camps have worked hard and achieved high merit in suppressing the turmoil stirred up by Demonic Sect spies this time."
"I make the decision—after this matter ends, all officers and soldiers of the Five Imperial Military Camps will be issued an extra salary payment. Don't choose between spiritual materials, cultivation methods, or comprehension—issue them all! If anyone establishes merit in this operation to root out Demonic Sect spies, I will personally pay out of my own pocket for even more rewards!"
After speaking, Lu Yang waved his big hand—
"Five Imperial Military Camps, move out!"