Boundless Sea of Bitterness.
"Xue Feihong, you lunatic!"
An unbearable shout of rage resounded. Immediately after, the Sea of Bitterness churned, and a full six Dao Fruits emerged, finally forming a five-against-one situation.
One side was naturally [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] along with the Dao Court's Emperor Jiayou and the Three Excellencies.
The other side was Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue.
As soon as he broke free, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] looked in the direction where Patriarch Nether Whisper had been, but found nothing. His face instantly darkened:
He got away again.
Despite this, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] dared not show his anger. He didn't even dare to glance at Perfected Lord Feixue, who had allowed Patriarch Nether Whisper to escape.
Fearing she would take the opportunity to pick a fight again.
After all, in the battle just now, there was a tacit understanding between Emperor Jiayou and the Three Excellencies as Dao Court perfected lords, and their Dao Fruits were compatible, so they remained relatively composed.
Only [Chengtian Zhengde], who came from the Sword Pavilion.
And was the weakest.
Under these circumstances, he naturally became the primary target of Perfected Lord Feixue's attention. If not for Emperor Jiayou's repeated assistance, he would have been beaten to death!
The Sword Pavilion... Where are the Sword Pavilion's perfected lords?
Help me out here!
Thinking of this, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] gritted his teeth in secret again. But alas, this was his personal grudge; the other perfected lords of the Sword Pavilion wouldn't intervene.
Thus, after much thought, he could only swallow his anger, flick his sleeves, and prepare to leave.
But just then—
Rumble!
Instantly, heaven and earth shook, and terrifying waves rose in the Sea of Bitterness, capturing the attention of all perfected lords almost instantly. Rays of light and shadow emerged.
"This is... the Sea of Bitterness is about to reopen?"
"Surprising. We were still holding up our Dao Fruits, calculating that it would take another ten years or so to observe the present world, yet the Sea of Bitterness opened on its own?"
"That Nether Whisper couldn't hold on?"
"Unlikely... It should be related to the disturbance just now. The [Heavenly Fire] seems to have been attained by someone. Does he feel there's no need to continue the blockade?"
For a time, thoughts arose in the minds of various perfected lords.
The Sea of Bitterness was far from the mortal world, and everyone here was a perfected lord of the same level. Dealing with each other was troublesome. How could it compare to the joy of the present world, where they could bully lower cultivators to their hearts' content?
"...Let's go!"
In an instant, perfected lords immediately took action.
Among them, the three surviving Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land, as well as Emperor Jiayou and the Three Excellencies, were the most urgent. Almost one after another, they descended toward the present world.
"Haha!"
Seeing this scene, Perfected Lord Feixue, who remained spirited despite the great battle, grinned. A look of anticipation surfaced in her eyes:
"There's a good show to watch!"
Jiangxi, Pure Land Ruins.
Lu Yang stood with hands behind his back, the flame talisman on his brow reflecting the heavenly light as he gazed at the dome of the sky. Behind him, Empress Xiao and Suo Huan flanked him like guards.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past.
Whoosh...
In the breeze, a figure solidified from the void. Dressed in fluttering white robes, he landed in front of Lu Yang with a smile appearing on his handsome face.
Before he could speak, Lu Yang clasped his hands:
"Disciple greets Patriarch."
Patriarch Nether Whisper was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "You..."
But soon, he froze. With his current cultivation, a single thought of his divine sense could observe heaven and earth. Yet at this moment, he saw something unexpected in Jiangxi.
...Skull Mountain?
Skull Mountain, which should have been located in Jiangbei, was now sitting in the center of Jiangxi, replacing the former Great Buddha Hall. And not just the mountain range itself—including the earth veins within, and even the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm closely connected to it, the entire former Shaman Ghost Dao sect gate had been moved over!
Patriarch Nether Whisper turned his head abruptly, a complex look in his eyes.
A mere eight-hundred-li Skull Mountain was naturally nothing to a perfected lord. The problem lay in the earth veins beneath the Shaman Ghost Mountain. Moving earth veins unauthorized would invite heavenly punishment!
Even a perfected lord couldn't be exempt.
In fact, precisely because one was a perfected lord, it was easy to impact heaven and earth, so the intensity of the heavenly punishment would be even more terrifying than when dealing with foundation establishment!
And it was unavoidable!
Heavenly punishment at foundation establishment might still be diverted by secret techniques, but at the level of a perfected lord, karma was heavy as a mountain. Once locked on, it was impossible to deflect.
If not for this, why would [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde] have chosen to boil the frog in warm water back then, deliberately leaving the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm instead of leveling Skull Mountain with a single sword strike? Wasn't he worried about heavenly punishment affecting his own Dao path? Even perfected lords maintained sufficient caution regarding heavenly punishment.
After all, the last one who despised heavenly punishment was named Hong Yun.
And everyone knew the result.
This was exactly why Patriarch Nether Whisper's expression changed: To reopen the Shaman Ghost Dao in Jiangxi, Lu Yang had forcibly withstood the heavenly punishment to move Skull Mountain and the earth veins here!
"Silly child, there was no need for this," Patriarch Nether Whisper sighed.
"Patriarch is mistaken."
Lu Yang shook his head. "Where we fell is where we get up. Since we are to re-establish the Shaman Ghost Dao, it is best to do so at the original place."
"Moreover..."
Speaking of this, Lu Yang suddenly winked at Patriarch Nether Whisper and chuckled lightly, "a mere heavenly punishment... Disciple is no longer the foundation establishment cultivator of the past."
Patriarch Nether Whisper was stunned, then nodded with a smile. "Right."
Rumble!
Just then, above the dome of the sky, stars representing Dao Fruits were lit up one after another. The first to manifest were Emperor Jiayou of the Dao Court and the Three Excellencies.
For thirty years, perfected lords finally descended to the world again.
After that, the great net of karma fluctuated violently. All re-manifested perfected lords were deducing karma, using it to understand everything that had happened in the present world over the past thirty years.
Then, all the perfected lords froze.
Especially Emperor Jiayou. Disbelieving, he calculated again, but the final result remained unchanged. His face turned green with rage in an instant.
Until—
"Pfft."
As uncontrollable laughter came from the mouth of some unknown perfected lord, it was like a spark instantly igniting and detonating Emperor Jiayou's emotions.
"WITCH—!!!"
Emperor Jiayou's frantic roar instantly resounded through the world. Terrifying killing intent locked directly onto Lu Yang and Empress Xiao, who was leaning on him like a little bird behind him.
Almost simultaneously, countless Buddha lights appeared above Jiangxi, illuminating the region. This almost immediately drew the worship and praises of countless mortals. After all, the Pure Land Buddhist cultivators had only been exterminated by Lu Yang for a little over ten years, and generations hadn't truly changed. With the Buddha light reappearing now, there were still countless devout believers.
"Amitabha..."
Amidst the chanting of the Buddha's name, the three Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land manifested in turn. The leader possessed peerless beauty, her gaze full of charm; it was none other than [Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer].
But right now, this Pure Land Bodhisattva couldn't maintain the charm on her face.
In her beautiful eyes, there was only shock and rage.
"Evildoer!"
The shout of rebuke resounded through the world. Immediately after, the three Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land exchanged glances with the Dao Court's Emperor Jiayou and the Three Excellencies, reaching a consensus on their target:
Kill this demon dragon first!
In the next second, heaven and earth changed abruptly!
[Ornamental Gold], [Weeping Willow Wood], [Pine & Cypress Wood]!
[Wayside Earth], [Plains Forest Wood], [Gilded Gold Leaf], [Great Relay Earth]!
Dao Court and Pure Land—a full seven Dao Fruits were lit up at this moment. United in a line, stirring the Sea of Bitterness, they seemed to transform into a ten-thousand-foot raging wave sweeping over!
Yet facing such a scene, Lu Yang showed no fear, instead laughing loudly.
Even if Dao Lords didn't interfere, how could establishing a Dao lineage in the inland be simple? A great battle was inevitable sooner or later; having it now was just right.
"Come then!"
As his voice fell, a cold light surfaced in Lu Yang's eyes. Although Patriarch Nether Whisper deliberately concealed it, with Lu Yang's current cultivation, how could he not see the Patriarch's injuries?
At this thought, Lu Yang suddenly spat out thunderous sound:
"Today, this seat establishes a Dao lineage in Jiangxi, and I will use you all as a sacrifice to the flag!"
As his voice fell, he released his aura. A clear light rose slowly, and instantly heaven and earth shook, revealing a magnificent and majestic wonder.
It was a Grotto-Heaven.
Within it, stars aligned in formation, mountains and rivers offered rites. Showing no intention of dodging, it crashed head-on into the raging wave of the Sea of Bitterness raised by the seven Dao Fruits!
Instantly, all perfected lords gained enlightenment.
Golden Core Perfected Lords—Grotto-Heavens interacting with Dao Fruits, receiving profundity from heaven and earth.
Thus, their titles were born of heaven and earth, transformed from concepts. At this moment, as Lu Yang completely released his aura, his karma was also revealed to the world:
[Heavenly Pillar Profound Governance Grotto-Heaven]
[Perfected Lord Yuji Siming]!
Translation notes:
Perfected Lord Who Presides over the Supreme Throne and Commands Fate (Yuji Siming Zhenjun)