Jiangdong, Huanming City, atop the [Star Plucking Tower].
The demon cultivator Xiao Shan, now the Commander of the Imperial City Department, had long since shed the humility of thirty years ago. His every gesture now carried the noble air of one wielding power and authority.
After all, the current Imperial City Department was the largest department in the Dao Court. Although his personal strength wasn't formidable, his status as its head was comparable to the Three Excellencies of the past. Yet even so, as he ascended the [Star Plucking Tower], his face was still filled with reverence and awe.
He didn't even ride a streak of light straight to the top.
Instead, he walked up the [Star Plucking Tower] step by step, following the spiral staircase all the way up, until finally, he felt the world broaden before his eyes.
What entered his vision was a high platform.
On the platform, clouds rolled and unfurled, the sun and moon shone together, jointly flanking a figure. Sitting with his back to the myriad living beings, gazing into the distance, he seemed to be looking at a world of his own.
"This humble subject greets His Majesty!"
Xiao Shan took a deep breath and looked at the figure on the platform with utmost piety. As his words fell, he prostrated himself without hesitation, performing a full bow with five limbs touching the ground.
Between heaven and earth, there was silence.
After a long time, that figure finally spoke faintly. Though it was clearly the voice of the one who ruled the world, it carried an indescribable loneliness and solitude.
"...Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xiao Shan kowtowed heavily before standing up. "Your Majesty, the tasks you assigned have all been completed. Everything is ready; the Imperial City Department has not failed its mission!"
"Good."
Lu Yang nodded, then smiled. "You all have worked hard these years. Don't stay in Huanming City anymore; go overseas. It's safer there."
Hearing this, Xiao Shan's eyes instantly turned red. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Your Majesty... I will stay here. The Imperial City Department has spread throughout the world, but Huanming City is ultimately the center. Someone needs to guard it for Your Majesty."
"Oh." Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. "Not afraid of death?"
"I've lived enough!"
Xiao Shan took a deep breath. "These thirty years have been happier than the past three hundred! If not for Your Majesty, we would still be wasting our lives somewhere unknown."
Looking at Xiao Shan, Lu Yang was slightly dazed. Throughout ten lives of cultivation, he had always been a loner. Under the restart mechanism of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], he had actually become much more indifferent to life. After all, everything would revert to its original state after a restart. Except for a very few people inside the [Myriad Spirits Banner], he didn't really take anyone to heart.
But since when did it start?
He actually had a die-hard loyalist... Although he had planted [Marionette] on him long ago, he hadn't activated it for over a decade.
How many others were like him?
Lu Yang looked up, sensing the wonders of the [Heavenly Fire]... His spiritual perception told him there were many. In the world today, there were actually many people standing on his side.
Empress Xiao, Chong Guang, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, Tian Qiu, Suo Huan... Regardless of the reason, be it interest or emotion, there was no doubt they all stood on his side. Chong Guang hadn't sought the golden core for ten years; Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had waited bitterly until now; Empress Xiao had exhausted her efforts to this day.
They were betting on him to win!
"..."
After a moment of silence, Lu Yang spread his sleeves and took out the [Myriad Spirits Banner]. The banner waved. "After you go in, guard the entrance of the [Star Plucking Tower]."
"As you command!"
Xiao Shan didn't hesitate and voluntarily walked into the [Myriad Spirits Banner]. After transforming into a banner spirit, he bowed to Lu Yang again before turning to leave.
This way, at least his True Spirit can be preserved...
Xiao Shan would undoubtedly die otherwise. Once Lu Yang started seeking the golden core, Huanming City would be the first to bear the brunt. Many people would surely die then; blood would inevitably be shed.
Whoosh!
On the high platform, Lu Yang remained seated cross-legged, breathing in the wind and clouds of heaven and earth. Looking up at the sky, the great net formed by the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] encompassed him from above.
Between heaven and earth, there was nowhere to go.
Since Patriarch Nether Whisper attained the [Wu You Heaven] and established the [Garden of Eternal Joy], the perfected lords of the world had gone into seclusion. Adding up the years before and after, it had been nearly thirty years.
Over these thirty years, Lu Yang had gone to many places. Especially in the last ten years, he had almost measured Jiangbei, Jiangxi, Jiangdong, Jiangnan, and the vast overseas regions on foot. Wherever the [Heavenly Fire] shone, he had walked once, until finally returning here.
No way forward, no way back.
Lu Yang looked up at the sky. Above his head, fortune vast as the sea converged into a scene of dragon and phoenix singing in harmony, symbolizing his fortune at this moment.
The fortune of the world, gathered in one body!
I can somewhat understand what Master Vanquishing-Demon went through back then... Fortune swelling day by day, as if someone is urging me to seek the golden core as soon as possible.
A mocking sneer curled up at the corner of Lu Yang's mouth.
Couldn't wait?
It seems They are also worried—worried that the [Wu You Heaven] can't hold back the perfected lords anymore. Once the perfected lords of the world return, my momentum of ruling the world will shatter along with it.
After all, if it really shattered, They would get nothing.
By now, Lu Yang wasn't anxious; They were the anxious ones. Almost every day, Lu Yang would have a whim, an inexplicable urge to seek the golden core and ascend to the position.
But he held back.
He was still waiting for the last person. He had laid many plans over the past ten years and tried everything, but very few were truly useful and regarded by him as trump cards.
So without complete preparation, he would absolutely not be impulsive.
Another half month passed. Lu Yang awoke from his meditation, his eyebrows raising slightly.
In the next second, he pushed aside his sleeve. A jade slip flew out with a faint glow, displaying a line of text: "I have done what you asked."
Lu Yang's expression turned solemn upon hearing this. He responded with his divine intent:
"Many thanks, Senior."
"No problem, it's a small matter."
The jade slip continued to flow with faint light: "Rather, I should thank you for helping Chong Guang resolve this situation... I look forward to the day we can discuss the Dao after my true body descends to the lower realm."
As the voice fell, the jade slip returned to calm.
At this moment, Lu Yang finally stood up. His gaze fixed straight on the Jiangnan region. And in Jiangnan, another person also stood up.
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon.
In this moment, sword intent radiance flowed from both their bodies. Even separated by thousands of miles, under the reflection of sword intent, they still heard each other's voice.
"How confident are you?"
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's tone was heavy. His own matter was trivial, as it was long expected, but he didn't wish for Lu Yang to walk the same path as him.
"Thirty percent."
Lu Yang responded similarly. His expression was calm as an ancient well. He had long sorted out all his thoughts. What remained now was only calmness; all emotions were suppressed to the bottom of his heart.
"Thirty percent... that's already a lot. Not easy."
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon sighed upon hearing this. "I will coordinate with you. Hopefully, there will be a miracle."
Lu Yang shook his head and looked at Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon. "There have never been any miracles. The so-called miracle is just another name for hard work."
"Human effort can achieve anything."
Lu Yang's voice was calm and powerful, stunning Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon for a moment. Then he smiled too, his brows relaxing as two Titled Sword Intents flowed from his body:
"Well said. I underestimated you, Fellow Daoist."
"Human effort can achieve anything!"
As the voice fell, the connection between the two broke.
In the next second, Lu Yang hesitated no more. Taking a step out from the [Star Plucking Tower], the aura he had accumulated for a long time bloomed freely, no longer hiding his tracks.
Boom!
Above the dome of the sky, a clap of thunder rang out.