"Greetings, Fellow Daoist."
Inside the tea pavilion, atop the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, Perfected Lord Feixue wore a faint smile. She raised her hand to gesture for Lu Yang to sit and pushed a cup of clear tea before him.
Lu Yang took his seat and swept his divine sense over it.
This single sweep made it impossible for him to look away. Flowing within the cup was a concept he had never seen before—yet had just witnessed!
The great yang governs heaven's mandate, its qi transforms and circulates the innate, heaven's qi is solemn, earth's qi is still, cold descends upon the great void, yang qi does not command. Cold is what the great yang's water qi transforms into—in heaven it becomes cold, on earth it becomes water. Because water is positioned below yet born above, descending gives birth to fire. Thus water and fire are unified in governance, both ruled by the great yang...
Lu Yang was shocked inwardly but showed nothing on his face:
"May I ask Senior, what concept is this?"
Perfected Lord Feixue smiled upon hearing this: "This was left behind from the last Thousand-Year Great Tribulation. A perfected lord from the Outer Heavens was killed, and his concept was scattered across the world."
"I was fortunate enough and obtained a strand."
"It played no small role in my attaining [Ravine Stream Water]. Unfortunately, it became useless after I became a perfected lord, so I use it to entertain honored guests."
As expected, it's related to the Thousand-Year Great Tribulation.
Lu Yang deliberately showed a look of astonishment, then asked curiously: "I observe this concept is extraordinary. Could it be there are cultivators comparable to us in the outer heavens?"
"You're asking the wrong person."
Perfected Lord Feixue chuckled lightly: "I only experienced the last Thousand-Year Great Tribulation, and only the late stage of it. I never truly experienced the profound mysteries of the Great Tribulation."
"As for the records recorded by the sect..." Speaking of this, Perfected Lord Feixue's expression turned unpleasant. Though still smiling, there was no warmth in her eyes, only coldness: "Because of [Sky-Shrouding], all records are untrustworthy. Heaven knows how many records that bastard destroyed."
[Sky-Shrouding]! You've done all kinds of evil!
But in the next second, Perfected Lord Feixue changed the topic: "If you are truly interested, I can call Qiluo (iridescent brocade) and Hanguang over. They know more clearly."
Currently, the Saint Sect had a total of four perfected lords.
Among them, Chong Guang naturally needed no mention. Perfected Lord Feixue only emerged at the end of the Great Tribulation and didn't truly participate in that earth-shattering battle of perfected lords.
Only [Perfected Lord Hanguang who Drift Above the Heaven] and [Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade] were the older generation Saint Sect perfected lords who survived that Thousand-Year Great Tribulation. As personal experiencers, they undoubtedly knew more clearly what exactly happened back then and the origin of this "Great Sun Concept."
"Please enlighten me, Senior."
Lu Yang knew Perfected Lord Feixue's character. Moreover, he also needed someone to consult with. Therefore, he didn't hide it and directly took out the already damaged Heaven-Observing Mirror.
"This is something this junior obtained unexpectedly recently."
"The concept within is similar to the concept in senior's hand. If so, I'm afraid the massive World Realm behind it is already plotting against us."
"This is..."
Perfected Lord Feixue's divine sense landed on the Heaven-Observing Mirror and immediately sensed the residual "Great Yang Concept" within. Her originally somewhat casual expression instantly became solemn. In the next second, a third mighty force descended out of thin air, transforming into a woman in brocade robes and rosy cloak, gentle and graceful.
Lu Yang looked over and instantly recognized the other party.
Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade!
Unlike Perfected Lord Feixue's strongly contrasting appearance and personality, Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade looked delicate and frail.
Although the two perfected lords had different appearances—one domineering, one weak—since Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade had already attached her Grotto-Heaven to Perfected Lord Feixue's Grotto-Heaven, their auras faintly harmonized. Standing together, they were like twin lotus flowers on one stalk, not sisters but closer than sisters.
"Qiluo, come take a look."
Perfected Lord Feixue pointed at the Heaven-Observing Mirror Lu Yang took out and said: "Do you have any impression of the concept on this object? Did you see it during the last Great Tribulation?"
"Hm?"
Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade glanced at the Heaven-Observing Mirror upon hearing this. Her beautiful face changed slightly: "Where did this concept come from? A remnant from five thousand years ago?"
Lu Yang shook his head: "Obtained recently."
As these words came out, Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade frowned tightly, finally sighing helplessly: "It seems the [Weight] of the supreme Dao Fruit is still too heavy."
"Feixue, the Great Tribulation is about to begin."
With a simple sentence, Lu Yang immediately understood. He knew his previous speculation that "the number of perfected lords is the benchmark for the Great Tribulation" was likely correct.
"If I'm not mistaken, this concept should originate from the [Celestial Court]. The person who left this concept is different from that outer heaven perfected lord who died in the Great Tribulation back then. It should be one of the Taiyang Intermediate Positions, not the Taiyang Primary Position." Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade said as if enumerating family valuables.
Perfected Lord Feixue remained silent, drinking tea quietly.
Lu Yang understood in his heart and immediately clasped his hands: "Please enlighten me, Senior. What is the difference between the Taiyang Primary Position, Taiyang Intermediate Position, and our Dao Fruits?"
"Similar yet different."
Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade said in a deep voice: "Our Dao Fruits are based on the Five Elements, combining with the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches to elucidate the profound mystery of heaven and earth."
The Celestial Court is different. They primarily use the Six Qi, combined with the twenty-four solar terms, thereby elucidating the mysteries of heaven and earth. Each qi is divided into [Governing Heaven] and [Residing in the Spring], further distinguished by [Primary Position] and [Intermediate Position]. They are no less than our Dao Fruits—those who hold these positions all possess the power of a Perfected Lord."
"Among them, the Taiyin and Taiyang are particularly outstanding, comparable to our supreme Dao Fruits."
After finishing, Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade glanced at Lu Yang before continuing: "The Celestial Court Perfected Lord who died in the tribulation was exactly such a figure."
"He held the Taiyang's Primary Position—though it was the [Residing in the Spring Primary Position], not [Governing Heaven]."
"But even so, he had already consolidated the Taiyang's [Residing in the Spring Primary Position], [Residing in the Spring Intermidate Position], and [Governing Heaven Intermidate Position] and is comparable to our mid-stage Golden Core."
"If he could have further seized the [Governing Heaven Primary Position] and completely unified the Taiyang, he would have been comparable to our late-stage Great Perfected Lord—and one with a supreme Dao Fruit at that! After all, in the Celestial Court, the [Governing Heaven Primary Position] of both the Taiyang and Taiyin lineages holds stature similar to our supreme Dao Fruits."
At this point, Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade smiled coldly:
"But precisely because of this, he died."
"The other three factions created an opportunity, and in the end, the Sword Pavilion's Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao struck, severing his true spirit with a single sword, causing him to fall to the overseas."
Six Qi interpreting heaven, four positions per qi.
Lu Yang rubbed the teacup in his hands, inwardly astonished: "By this calculation, this world realm called the [Celestial Court] actually has a full twenty-four Dao Fruit positions!"
And among them were even two supreme positions.
Though still inferior to this wretched place, the gap wasn't large.
Speaking of which, the person in the mirror earlier seemed to call this wretched place the [Immortal Nexus]. What deep meaning does this have? Is it also related to the Thousand-Year Great Tribulation?
Just as Lu Yang was pondering, Perfected Lord Feixue, who had been silent, suddenly spoke:
"Since the Great Tribulation is approaching, there is no better day than today. I intend to break through to the late stage of the Golden Core today. Is Fellow Daoist interested in staying and cultivating the Great Dao together with me?"
Clean and neat, hiding nothing.
Lu Yang understood instantly: Cultivating the Great Dao together... Is this wanting me to learn from Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade, attach my Grotto-Heaven, and replace Chong Guang to help her break through to the late stage?
This kind of attachment had pros and cons.
The benefit was receiving grace after attaching the Grotto-Heaven. Even if the realm didn't reach the mid-stage of the Golden Core, one could achieve an undying Grotto-Heaven, henceforth free from the suffering of reincarnation.
The downside was that the Dao path was cut off.
But on the other hand, one would also become the weakness of a late-stage Great Perfected Lord and receive their protection. So Perfected Lord Feixue's meaning was actually just one sentence:
Stop struggling—I'll take care of you!
Translator note:
Taiyang = Great Yang
Taiyin = Great Yin