In this moment, the entire world was shocked!
Five lights of seeking the golden core, five Dao Fruits, all lit up in unison at this moment. The Foundation Establishment Realm shook violently, as if the entire realm was about to be torn down.
It went even further than that.
This abnormal phenomenon pierced all the way to the uppermost layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the bottom of the Sea of Bitterness, reflecting a brilliant radiance from above the waters of the Sea of Bitterness.
"What's going on?"
"What exactly happened in the present world?"
"How could such a huge commotion occur? A bunch of lower cultivators... even if someone is seeking to attain the [Heavenly Fire], it shouldn't cause a reaction in the Sea of Bitterness..."
At this moment, even the siege on Patriarch Nether Whisper halted. Perfected lords who hadn't participated in the siege also manifested their forms with surprise on their faces, looking down beneath the Sea of Bitterness. Watching the five Dao Fruits responding to the radiance emerge one by one, their surprise gradually turned into astonishment.
"How many?"
"Five people! Five people seeking the golden core! And all of them have extremely high chances of success... The present world actually has five peak foundation establishment cultivators with the potential of perfected lords?"
"No, that's not right. Some are unorthodox..."
"Unorthodox is still a perfected lord. Look at that Nether Whisper; isn't he also unorthodox? Yet we still can't do anything to him... In the end, it depends on the person."
For a time, the perfected lords discussed spiritedly.
Until a burst of wild, arrogant laughter broke the clamor:
"Hahahaha!"
Instantly, the Sea of Bitterness surged. A heavenly river pierced through the sky, and at the very top of the river stood a beautiful figure, hands on her hips, laughing toward the sky:
"Good! Good! Good!"
"Unprecedented since ancient time, the world seeks the golden core... Wonderful! Good! This stagnant pool of dead water can finally move a bit. Just in time for the millenium great tribulation, let's have a good fight!"
Such a distinctive personal style immediately caused many perfected lords to make way:
"It's that mad woman..."
"Feixue... forget it, forget it."
"Don't get involved with her. If you look at her one extra time, she'll fight you. If you get injured, you might end up stuck in this Sea of Bitterness for another eight or ten years!"
For a moment, all sound was silent.
Only Patriarch Nether Whisper remained, along with [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde], Emperor Jiayou of the Dao Court, and the Three Excellencies who had set up the formation to besiege Patriarch Nether Whisper.
At first, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] and the others didn't think much of it. After all, when they besieged Patriarch Nether Whisper before, Perfected Lord Feixue had ignored it. They assumed it would be the same this time and planned to continue the siege. However, in the next second, Perfected Lord Feixue looked toward them.
Immediately after, Perfected Lord Feixue spoke eerily:
"Why aren't you running?"
Hearing this, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] and the others were stunned.
Before they could respond, Perfected Lord Feixue continued speaking at a rapid pace: "You see me but don't run, which means you aren't afraid of me. But I'm so strong, yet you aren't afraid of me, which means you have ulterior motives against me. As orthodox cultivators, having ulterior motives against me clearly means you want to kill me."
"Why do you want to kill me?"
"I'll kill you first!"
As her voice fell, Perfected Lord Feixue went berserk directly. The rolling heavenly river instantly engulfed [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] and the others, who were still in a daze.
Leaving behind only the unscathed Patriarch Nether Whisper, and a lingering sound of confusion:
"Huh?"
While the waves surged above the Sea of Bitterness, in the present world, as the five lights of seeking the golden core rose, even the True Body Tathagata was plunged into shock.
Five of them! Where did five come from?
Before He could calculate the karma clearly and understand the identities of the five people, one of them took the initiative to reveal her figure. It was a woman dressed in luxurious robes.
"This humble one is Xiao Ru, attaining the [Seven Luminaries Heaven] in Jiangxi."
Her majestic voice resounded in all directions. In her palms, between her slender fingers, she held a Dao Fruit in front of her chest as if it were a supreme treasure.
Incense Divine Dao!
Long ago, when the perfected lords of the world went into seclusion, Empress Xiao had painstakingly studied the Incense Divine Dao. When Lu Yang left the [False History], the first thing he did upon finding Empress Xiao was to hand over the complete [Seven Luminaries Heaven] to her, letting her comprehend it for ten years while giving her many pointers. Only then did she reach the threshold for seeking the golden core.
In addition to this, he had spent ten years fully paving the way for her.
"It's you...!?"
Almost simultaneously, the True Body Tathagata looked up abruptly. As Empress Xiao revealed herself and stopped concealing the karma, the sequence of events surfaced:
The rumors back then saying you didn't have long to live and the puppet dynasty was about to fall—you actually spread them yourself? The Imperial City Department... I see. Since then, the Imperial City Department expanded massively, spreading the Incense Divine Dao. I thought you just wanted to use this to counter the phenomenon of the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] demoting you...
Who would have thought it was actually to allow Empress Xiao to seek the golden core!
With the Incense Divine Dao spread throughout the world, was there any ritual more suitable for seeking the [Seven Luminaries Heaven] than this? Almost instantly, Empress Xiao succeeded!
Rumble!
Also at the moment of her achievement, all Incense Divine Dao cultivators in the world underwent a qualitative change. With the wondrous blessing, they were no longer as weak as they were at the beginning!
"Now, counterattack!"
Above the dome of the sky, Empress Xiao's dharma body rose from the ground. Her cold and noble voice resounded through heaven and earth: "Clear out the rebellious factions for His Majesty. All who follow the rebels shall be executed!"
Instantly, the concepts inverted!
A perfected lord, even an unorthodox one, blessing her subordinates to deal with a group of foundation establishment cultivators was like crushing eggs with Mount Tai—there was absolutely no suspense!
With Empress Xiao attaining the [Seven Luminaries Heaven] and the Incense Divine Dao counterattacking the Dao Court system, Lu Yang's originally shaken phenomenon of ruling the world instantly regained stability. This change caused the corner of the True Body Tathagata's eye to twitch, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart. The victory He had been certain of was slipping away.
"Impossible... this shouldn't be!"
"Seeking the golden core isn't a simple matter. How could it erupt all at once? Was it coordinated? All concentrated on this day?"
While the True Body Tathagata was still pondering.
In the Jiangbei region, atop the Sacred Fire Cliff.
Chong Guang stood with hands behind his back, a look of emotion on his face. Above his head, everything fell into place naturally—the position of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] had already descended for him!
"People must rely on themselves... But on the path of seeking the Dao, being alone is inevitably too lonely."
"Having a few more fellow Daoists… actually isn't that bad."
With this thought, Chong Guang smiled brightly and took a step forward. Instantly, the [Overturned Lamp Flame] took its position, and the phenomenon of an orthodox perfected lord spanned across Jiangbei!
"Saint Sect Chong Guang, attaining the [Overturned Lamp Flame] in Jiangbei."
"Jiangbei rogue cultivators, Saint Sect disciples, heed my order— kill all Dao Court cultivators!"
Chong Guang's voice resounded loudly. Illuminated by the [Overturned Lamp Flame], all Saint Sect disciples were ecstatic, howling as they charged toward the Dao Court.
Instantly, the originally massive [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] lost both Jiangbei and Jiangxi and begin to shrink rapidly. This caused the True Body Tathagata's expression to darken slightly... His ability to resurrect at will was built upon the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] covering the world. But now, the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] had collapsed by more than half...
Clang!
A sword resonance interrupted the True Body Tathagata's thoughts. Everything happened too fast; from seeking the golden core in four directions to two successes, it took only a few breaths!
And now, the third party moved!
Jiangnan... Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon!?
The True Body Tathagata turned his head in astonishment, finally feeling that things were spiraling out of control. Because Jiangnan was the one place where someone absolutely shouldn't be seeking the golden core and attaining the Dao!
Especially Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon!
Wasn't he supposed to be the sacrifice used by the Sword Pavilion to futilely attain the [Sword Dao Fruit]? His future of certain death was almost destined. How could he seek the golden stature?
Karma, changes... how could this happen... why?
This was illogical!