Overseas, above the raging waves, Lu Yang's voice fell silent. He stood with hands behind his back, looking at the boundless world and the Grotto-Heaven scenery clustered around him.
Perfected Lord... hehe, Perfected Lord!
Lu Yang tried hard to keep a straight face, thoroughly enjoying the joy of this moment. He even disregarded the gazes of the four Dao Lords fixed on him.
What, you got a problem? Come kill me if you can.
With a thought from Lu Yang, the firelight at the center of his brow blazed, reflecting a talisman resembling dragon script and phoenix seal characters. Like a heavenly eye, it looked calmly at the sky.
At this moment, his gaze had pierced through the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Sea of Bitterness, seeing the Dao Fruits floating above the Sea of Bitterness and their masters. In a trance, he even seemed to see a vast and boundless realm far away from the Sea of Bitterness but completely unreachable.
Without becoming a perfected lord, one cannot understand the capabilities of a perfected lord.
The so-called false holding, although able to borrow the profound wonder of stature, was ultimately false holding. Without a qualitative change in the soul, looking at many things was still like seeing only a leaf and missing the forest.
In one word—disdain.
Not to mention a supreme Dao Fruit like the [Heavenly Fire], which was naturally half a head taller than other Dao Fruits and closer to the domain of the four Dao Lords.
It was precisely because of this that Lu Yang understood:
The four Dao Lords... it's probably not that They don't want to interfere in the present world, but that They can't. Or rather, They can't interfere without damaging their own Dao path!
If cultivation were compared to climbing a mountain.
Mortals are the earth bearing the mountain; Qi Refinement is the gravel at the foot of the mountain; Foundation Establishment climbs a small section up; then Perfected Lords stand at the mountainside.
As for Nascent Soul Dao Lords, they are at the mountain peak.
Or rather, on the road climbing toward the peak. The higher They climb, the harder it is to interfere with the ground, the foot of the mountain, and even the mountainside.
Nascent Soul Dao Lords are currently climbing toward that supreme peak. In this situation, if They want to interfere with trivial matters at the mountainside and foot below, it's not impossible, but They must turn back. But doing so would waste all previous efforts, and They would have to climb again.
Unless the bottom line was touched, who would be willing to do such a thing?
Only the World Honored One!
Lu Yang ridiculed inwardly: The World Honored One interferes in the present world most frequently. From another perspective, this also shows that He probably hasn't climbed as far as the other Dao Lords!
He only bullies us lower cultivators!
These were all enlightenments brought to Lu Yang by the supreme Dao Fruit. Under spiritual perception, knowledge naturally flooded into his mind without even needing calculation.
So he was certain that the four Dao Lords wouldn't descend to the mortal world because of him. Foundation establishment didn't matter; to a Dao Lord, it was like a speck of dust. But the volume of a perfected lord was already significant, let alone a supreme Dao Fruit. If a Dao Lord wanted to kill him, They really would have to turn back a few steps from the peak.
But there were four Dao Lords; who would do it?
If anyone did such a thing, the other three would inevitably take this opportunity to climb fiercely. The result would be that the one who acted would fall behind step by step.
Not only gaining no benefit but also falling behind other Dao Lords on the Dao path—naturally, no one was willing to do such a losing deal.
The only variable should be the World Honored One.
The World Honored One's realm might be the lowest, so the price to kill me is the smallest. Plus, He has a grudge against me. If He acts, the other Dao Lords would certainly be happy to see it.
In the next second, Lu Yang got his answer.
Among the four gazes fixed on him, the one belonging to the World Honored One not hesitated at all. It lingered on him for only a moment before decisively departing.
This scene was also within Lu Yang's expectations.
Don't be fooled by the World Honored One's shamelessness; in reality, He saw things clearly. What He wanted was the Great Dao; there was nothing else besides the Dao. Such a choice wasn't unexpected.
Soon, the gazes of the other three Dao Lords also dispersed one by one.
Only the last gaze lingered on him the longest. The pressure Lu Yang felt from it was also the greatest, and he knew who this person was.
The Saint Sect Ancestor!
Lu Yang said nothing and immediately bowed to the gaze.
In all fairness, for him to attain the [Heavenly Fire] this time, the Saint Sect Ancestor deserved at least seventy percent of the credit. Regardless of the motive, this was a favor!
A favor must be repaid.
Lu Yang's bow demonstrated his attitude. After he finished bowing, this last gaze finally seemed satisfied and gradually vanished into nothingness.
As for the other side—
"Hmph!"
Lu Yang lowered his head, his thoughts moving slightly. He discovered that in the unseen world, an invisible great net suddenly extended toward him through his identity as the "Huan Ming Emperor."
Instantly, Lu Yang saw that the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] had opened all permissions to him. Not only could he see all the Grotto-Heavens captured by it through the generations, but he could also see the four Dao Fruits hidden within, as well as a vast knowledge of Dao that would be useful even to a Golden Core. All it lacked was his nod.
Return to the Dao Court, and all these are mine?
Everything before was a misunderstanding? As long as I return, the "Huan Ming Dynasty" will no longer be a false-dynasty, and the True Dragon clan will become the imperial nobility of the Dao Court?
I'd be a fool to believe you!
Lu Yang sneered. Having long recognized the true style of the Dao Court, how could he believe such nonsense again? No matter how many privileges, livestock was livestock.
Once entering that pit, it was just a difference between being eaten sooner or later.
In the next second, Lu Yang didn't hesitate and directly severed all connections with the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws]. What trash Dao Court? I'm not staying!
[Inscribing Heavenly Chapters]!
As the flame talisman on Lu Yang's brow surged, soon, a brand new line of text emerged within the rules of the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws]:
[After the Son of Heaven abdicates, he is no different from a commoner]
Once the rule was established, as Lu Yang gave up the identity of "Huan Ming Emperor," the connection between the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] and him also began to fade rapidly.
This is probably also the reason the Dao Court didn't want me to truly attain the [Heavenly Fire]. This ability to modify rules is simply too overpowered, and it specifically counters the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws]. As long as I want, even if the [Heavenly Fire] is captured, I can rescue the Dao Fruit.
Regardless, the matter with the Dao Court was settled.
Lu Yang looked around at heaven and earth and suddenly laughed loudly. At this moment, he stood independent of the four great powers. The sky was high and the sea wide, free for him to gallop and venture!
Perhaps... I can also establish a Dao lineage!
After all, even the four Dao Lords left behind Dao lineages, indicating that Dao lineages also had meaning for the Nascent Soul.
Although Lu Yang didn't yet know the specific meaning, this didn't stop him from copying them. Start one first anyway; being prepared is never wrong.
Moreover—
Leaving aside my own for now, at least the Shaman Ghost Dao needs to be set up. Make the facade a bit prettier, and give the Patriarch a surprise when he returns.
Lu Yang hadn't forgotten that the crisis appearing during his seeking of the golden core this time had certain differences from Hong Tian's. The two biggest ones were that the Sword Pavilion didn't act, and the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] didn't display the power of the Dao Fruits under its rule, saving him a lot of trouble.
Lu Yang was clear about the former, as it was his own plan.
Helping Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon attain the Sword Dao Fruit and even become a Sword Dao Perfected Lord meant the Sword Pavilion no longer needed to act against him for a Titled Sword Intent.
Only the latter actually had nothing to do with him.
Thinking about it now, it was probably the Patriarch pinning down Emperor Jiayou and the others above the Sea of Bitterness... preventing the Dao Court from borrowing power from the Dao Fruits under its rule.
Ascending the position this time was not by his power alone.
Putting aside his emotions, Lu Yang gradually began to rub his fists, his heart burning:
Establishing a Dao lineage, consolidating the forces under my command, roping in allies, exploring the cultivation path of Golden Core Perfected Lords, and finding out what secrets lie in the outer heavens...
There were still many things to do!
As for where to establish the Dao lineage, Lu Yang had also thought about it: Isn't Jiangxi very spacious right now? Since the World Honored One doesn't want it anymore, it should be my Dao field!
And the Buddhist cultivators in Jiangxi had no objections to this.
If anyone might have objections, it would be the Pure Land Bodhisattvas above the Sea of Bitterness. But it didn't matter; at worst, they would just have another fight.
I am terrifyingly strong right now!
Pure Land Bodhisattvas, neither up nor down, are just right to be my whetstones!
Of course, there was one more important thing before that.
In the next second, Lu Yang looked beside him with anticipation. There, a book visible only to him was slowly opening:
[The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]!