After stepping out of the [False History], Lu Yang had been contemplating how to break the deadlock and what he needed to attain the [Heavenly Fire].
After much thought, he reached a conclusion.
My abilities can't escape the World Honored One's predictions... Hong Tian in the [False History] was essentially the peak of all the trump cards I could prepare.
Within the existing scope, Hong Tian failed.
Then he would undoubtedly die too!
So... the only way is to find a trump card that can jump out of the World Honored One's calculations, one that even He wouldn't expect. Only in this way can everything be reversed.
The answer wasn't hard to deduce:
The Fundamental Profound Wonder of the [Heavenly Fire].
Only this is something nearly impossible for me to touch while falsely holding the golden stature, yet it exceeds the World Honored One's calculations and is the key to breaking the deadlock!
The reason was simple—as long as he attained the [Heavenly Fire], he could wield its fundamental profound wonder. If the World Honored One could still suppress or even kill him in that state, would there be any need to stop him from attaining it? Killing him would depend purely on the World Honored One's mood.
Since the World Honored One tried to stop him and expended so much effort...
It meant that the fundamental profound wonder of the [Heavenly Fire] held the hope of reversing everything. As long as he attained it, the World Honored One probably couldn't do anything to him!
The logic was simple.
Next came the method... Lu Yang thought about it and felt this matter still hinged on the degree of the [Heavenly Fire]'s favor toward him.
The current level is the limit.
The [Heavenly Fire] doesn't reject my false holding and even lets me exert its Dao Fruit concepts, but it won't let me use its fundamental profound wonder.
Ultimately, the favor wasn't enough.
The reason was also simple—although Lu Yang had achieved the concept of ruling the world, it was ultimately only at the foundation establishment level, not involving the golden core.
What if he went a step further?
If even golden core perfected lords chose to submit, could their massive karma win him more favor from the [Heavenly Fire]?
Lu Yang didn't know.
But he had to try.
Four people seeking the golden core... The seeking itself isn't critical. After all, even with four more perfected lords, it can't change the future possibility of certain death on me.
The key lay in this— the three perfected lords who successfully sought the golden stature at this moment were all his people.
And in the world today, there were only these three perfected lords. In other words, his phenomenon of ruling the world had extended to the level of golden core perfected lords!
All of this is just a huge gamble.
Gambling that I can falsely held the fundamental profound wonder of the [Heavenly Fire]. If I succeed, I reverse the situation. If I fail, at worst I die, restart, and try again...
Fortunately, I won the bet.
Walking out of the [Heavenly Fire], Lu Yang's expression was very calm, filled only with frankness. His gaze toward the True Body Tathagata held not a shred of resentment or anger.
"Why?"
At this moment, the True Body Tathagata's expression also returned to calmness, though curiosity lingered between His brows. "I clearly shattered your physical body and soul."
He hadn't seen wrongly. The [Swastika] fist seal He unleashed with full force while enduring Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's sword strike had indeed shattered everything of Lu Yang's—soul, body, blessed land, golden nature... not a trace remained. Yet Lu Yang walked out of the [Heavenly Fire] with composure.
"Nothing strange about it."
Lu Yang said indifferently, "Every cultivator who gains the favor of a Dao Fruit, even if only falsely holding it, can return from the Dao Fruit in their prime state after death."
"You must be joking!"
The True Body Tathagata retorted subconsciously, "Do you take me for a fool? I am a body enlightened by the World Honored One; I have never heard of such a rule..."
"From today on, there is."
As his voice fell, the center of Lu Yang's brow lit up, reflecting an extremely complicated talisman burning with flames, seeming to contain infinite principles of the Great Dao.
[Inscribing Heavenly Chapters]
This was a very peculiar profound wonder.
Lu Yang had only come into contact with it and hadn't deeply understood it, so he only mastered the basics—simply put, he could inscribe rules into the Heavenly Dao.
This was different from rules set by Dao Fruit concepts.
The rules Lu Yang set before ultimately had only a punishment mechanism. As long as one could withstand the punishment of heavenly fire burning the body, violating them didn't really matter.
However, [Inscribing Heavenly Chapters] was different. It set iron laws.
In other words, rules that would absolutely be realized, like water extinguishing fire or yin and yang opposing each other—unshakable—cornerstones of heaven and earth.
If he said a foundation establishment cultivator falsely holding the golden stature could resurrect from the Dao Fruit after death, then they really could.
Of course, maintaining such rules required consuming his own spiritual power. And the more important the rule inscribed, the greater the encroachment on his profound wonder.
So besides directly inscribing principles of heaven and earth, there was a simpler method of using this Dao Fruit profound wonder that consumed less and took less time.
In the next second, Lu Yang's eyes moved slightly, and the talisman on his brow flashed again.
The True Body Tathagata, who was preparing to commit suicide and then resurrect through the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], froze. A drop of cold sweat dripped from His Buddha face.
"Continue."
Lu Yang smiled. "Didn't you transform yourself into an existence like an official position, able to resurrect after death? Why not continue? Don't want to anymore?"
True Body Tathagata: "..."
Of course, it wasn't because He didn't want to.
It was because just now, He suddenly sensed that the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] He relied on had been rewritten out of thin air, adding a new rule:
[The stronger the official position, the longer the resurrection time.]
A simple rule, yet it hit the True Body Tathagata's fatal weakness.
Because if He were viewed as an official position within the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], He was undoubtedly top tier. But once executed according to this new rule, if He wanted to commit suicide and resurrect via the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], it would take a full sixteen thousand years!
What kind of resurrection was that?
Even the day lilies would be cold by then!
Thinking of this, the True Body Tathagata pinched his fingers to determine karma, opening His wisdom eye to look at Lu Yang. His face turned even more ashen—the future of certain death had vanished!
Why?
Soon, He calculated the answer:
The future of certain death was obtained from Hong Tian. The one who must die is Hong Tian, a human. What does it have to do with me, the True Dragon Du Huan? The two are unrelated.
It's still [Inscribing Heavenly Chapters]!
Simply put, the [Activation Condition] for the future possibility was rewritten by Lu Yang. Lu Yang no longer met the activation condition, so the danger naturally passed.
"This... this..."
The True Body Tathagata opened His mouth wide, looking again at the [Yama Hall] inside Lu Yang. Logically speaking, the Hong Yun golden nature should have been unable to hold on!
Why was this happening?
He pinched his fingers again to calculate:
[Inscribing Heavenly Chapters]: The [Yama Hall] can function normally even with shattered golden nature.
True Body Tathagata: "..."
In the next second, the Buddha light disintegrated. The True Body Tathagata's figure vanished along with it, merging into the thousands of scattering Buddha lights and fleeing in all directions.
And unbeknownst to anyone, the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] were gone.
There's still hope!
I haven't lost yet!
Hiding within one of the thousands of Buddha lights, the True Body Tathagata remained calm. He wasn't fleeing out of fear but wanted to stall for time.
Because He still had a trump card.
He had saved this trump card until the end, not even using it in the [False History]. He thought it unnecessary, but now it seemed He couldn't wait.
Thinking of this, the True Body Tathagata immediately looked toward the overseas region.
There, a light of seeking the golden core was also flickering. But compared to Chong Guang, Empress Xiao, and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, that light appeared very strained.
Evidently, its foundation wasn't equal to the first three.
But it didn't matter.
The True Body Tathagata knew the Dao Fruit that light pointed to was the [Heavenly River Water]. Without a doubt, the one seeking the golden stature must be that Tian Qiu of the Dragon Race!
That Tian Qiu... had a Buddha affinity planted by the Buddha Child!
The so-called Buddha affinity was a karmic connection. The Buddha Child could use it, and as a higher-level Tathagata, He naturally could too. At a critical moment, He could convert an outsider!
As long as I activate the Buddha affinity, convert him into a Dharma Protector of my sect, and then have him destroy the overseas region, there might be hope to ruin this demon dragon's phenomenon. As long as his phenomenon falls and he can no longer borrow the fundamental profound wonder of the [Heavenly Fire], I can still turn the tables and not suffer a total defeat...
The True Body Tathagata calculated precisely.
In a flash of lightning, He arrived overseas. Without hesitation, He pinched a hand seal, preparing to awaken the Buddha affinity karma deep within Tian Qiu's body.
But in the next second, the True Body Tathagata froze.
Because the other party had no reaction.
He clearly sensed the Buddha affinity being awakened, but the location of the awakening wasn't the light of seeking the golden core in front of Him, but some remote sea area overseas...
This person... isn't Tian Qiu!?
Then who is he?
"Stop thinking about it."
The True Body Tathagata stood silently in the air. Behind Him, Lu Yang strode through the sky, rolling thunderous sound whistling over: "Want to turn the tables? You can't!"