Outer heaven light sea.
Lu Yang's figure silently emerged, his aura extremely weak. Under the cover of the [Wu You Heaven], he appeared to be merely an unorthodox, fifth grade perfected lord.
Immediately following this, his appearance also began to change. He shifted his tendons and bones, altering his muscles and flesh, transforming his originally youthful and handsome appearance into a square-jawed face that looked more trustworthy and steady. His stature also became taller and broader, giving anyone who saw him the immediate impression that this was a man of awe-inspiring righteousness.
Only then did he fix his gaze forward.
"Mmh, this must be it..."
What entered his vision was a truly massive pit, sitting right there within the outer heaven light sea. Given its immense scale, it had to be the [Celestial Court].
But it's still not as big as that wretched place.
The "wretched place," or rather, the Immortal Nexus, was of such a scale that it could no longer be described as a pit; it was an abyss that practically tore the outer heaven light sea apart.
Lu Yang looked around, silently sensing everything in his surroundings.
In a trance, he seemed to see six great dragons within the [Celestial Court], coiling around the entire world realm. Among them were the Shaoyin and Taiyang dragons he had seen before.
It feels a bit unfamiliar, and there's a sense of isolation...
Lu Yang frowned. Even setting aside the dao fruit, he could sense a barrier between himself and this world realm, a very subtle rejection.
Yet, the concepts of both sides were actually quite similar.
That's right. Lu Yang felt that the dao fruit concepts of the [Celestial Court] and the Immortal Nexus were actually very close; both depicted the five elements, just using different methods.
The problem was that their dao comprehension was not compatible.
Rather than saying they aren't compatible, it's more accurate to say they are different facets of the same thing. Although there is conflict and separation, to some extent, they can also complement each other!
Gradually, Lu Yang grew excited.
In other words, if I can cultivate through the [Celestial Court], learn its understanding of the five elements, and master its dao comprehension knowledge, it would be of immense benefit to me.
Going to an even greater extreme—could he perhaps attain a dao fruit of the [Celestial Court]? Ideally, Taiyin or Taiyang, because these two were most compatible with the [Heavenly Fire]. Thus, they could also greatly elevate his [Heavenly Pillar Profound Governance Grotto-Heaven]. Doing so would mean eating from two pots alone—a profit either way!
He even had a method to quickly learn the dao comprehension of the [Celestial Court].
The colored talent, [Disciple Becomes the Master's Standard]!
As long as I rely on this talent and take in many disciples in the [Celestial Court], when my disciples' cultivation improves and they gain insights, I can synchronize and master all their dao comprehension!
In an instant, enlightenment dawned in Lu Yang's heart: This is the optimal usage of this colored talent—stealing the dao comprehension of other super world realms to supplement myself!
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
Should I go in now?
Lu Yang thought for a moment but decided not to rush. Instead, he slightly released his aura and then waited quietly in the outer heaven light sea.
Sure enough, it didn't take long.
A streak of flowing light escaped from the [Celestial Court], then suddenly split apart. A person walked out, their aura indicating a strength around that of a fifth grade perfected lord.
Another unorthodox perfected lord?
In the next second, the newcomer asked in a loud voice, "I wonder which immortal lord has arrived?"
Standing in the light sea, Lu Yang immediately put on a cautious expression upon hearing this. He cupped his hands toward the newcomer and said, "This lowly one, Ming He, greets the [Celestial Court] immortal lord."
Perhaps due to Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's sudden appearance and assistance at the end, Lu Yang felt a sense of kinship at this moment. Plus, names like Du Huan and Lu Yang had already been spoken aloud and were widely known, carrying too much karma. So, he simply used the daoist name Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had given him in his previous life.
"So it is Fellow Daoist Ming He."
The newcomer chuckled upon hearing this. "I am Banshan, currently holding the post of [World Realm Observation Patrol Envoy] of the [Celestial Court]. I wonder what business brings Fellow Daoist Ming He to my [Celestial Court]?"
Lu Yang sighed upon hearing this. "To be honest, this lowly one is a refugee."
Speaking to this point, Lu Yang's expression turned sorrowful. "This lowly one originally lived in a remote world realm in the outer heavens. Thanks to the grace of heaven and earth, I attained a position and gained some dao comprehension."
"Who knew that the demon of the Immortal Nexus would be so savage and heartless."
"He dragged the world realm where this lowly one resided towards them, and they attacked it en masse. This lowly one noticed something was wrong in advance and managed to escape, barely avoiding the crisis of death."
"Even so, I was heavily injured. I had only heard of the great name of the [Celestial Court], so I searched everywhere and finally found this place. I ask for nothing else, only that the [Celestial Court] takes this lowly one in for a time to heal my injuries. I will definitely not implicate the [Celestial Court] or cause you to be harmed by that demon of the Immortal Nexus..."
Lu Yang finished speaking and sighed again.
On the contrary, Banshan looked understanding after hearing the story. "So that's how it is... Sigh, which unorthodox immortal lord among us isn't in the same boat?"
What the fuck!?
Lu Yang's face remained unchanged, but his heart seized... So, the four great evils of the Immortal Nexus had actually done things similar to the Mystic Spirit World Realm incident many times before?
Meanwhile, Banshan continued to comfort him:
"Rest assured, the opportunity for revenge will come soon... The thousand-year great tribulation is approaching. The Immortal Nexus has reappeared in the world, and Immortal Venerable Taiyin has already decided to launch a campaign!"
"Since Fellow Daoist and the demon of the Immortal Nexus are sworn enemies, I will petition the immortal venerable to let you be part of the vanguard!"
"That is absolutely unnecessary!"
Lu Yang immediately shook his head, revealing an expression of lingering fear. "The Immortal Nexus... those demons are invincible. I don't want to see them ever again."
"Rest assured, my Lord. This lowly one only seeks a place to rest and heal. Once my injuries are healed, this lowly one will leave immediately..."
After speaking, Lu Yang coughed a few times, expelling some sword light. Though it seemed weak, it still triggered a subtle sword cry, causing Banshan's expression to change slightly.
Hmm? This is... sword qi from the Immortal Nexus?
Banshan narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself: He didn't actively ask to go to the front lines to fight, so he shouldn't be a spy. He's someone with self-awareness.
Join the war? Don't be ridiculous. Did he not know the level of an unorthodox perfected lord?
He was also an unorthodox perfected lord. Didn't he just do patrol work in the outer heavens every day, similar to a security guard? Go to the outer heavens to fight in the war? Was he rushing to reincarnate?
Whoever dared to go had something wrong with them!
If Lu Yang had truly offered to join the war, Banshan would have immediately called for other patrol envoys to take down this harboring-malicious-intent spy on the spot.
But Lu Yang's decisive refusal, along with his look of lingering fear and shattered courage, actually made Banshan believe him a bit more. After all, they had come over the same way back then. The demons of the Immortal Nexus were so brutal; they didn't talk about 'immortal virtue' at all when they fought. Fear was normal. Not being afraid was the problem.
Thinking of this, Banshan immediately made a gesture.
"Fellow Daoist, follow me."
Anyway, he was just an unorthodox perfected lord; he couldn't stir up any waves in the [Celestial Court]. So Banshan didn't inspect him too much, just asking a few casual questions was enough.
Besides, having one more unorthodox perfected lord in the [Celestial Court] was beneficial to him as well.
Following Banshan, Lu Yang cautiously descended toward the [Celestial Court]. Just as he entered the [Celestial Court], a streak of profound light shone down on his head.
Hmm? Lu Yang raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight.
However, out of confidence in his earth-shattering wisdom, he didn't panic.
Sure enough, the profound light shone on him for a moment but discovered nothing, dispersing quickly. Seeing this, the smile on Banshan's face became a bit more sincere.
Lu Yang thought to himself upon seeing this:
This [Celestial Court] is indeed different... That wretched place, the Immortal Nexus, doesn't have these things. To achieve this step, there must be a unified system behind it.
From this glimpse—Lu Yang already understood:
Unlike the four great evils faction of the Immortal Nexus, the [Celestial Court] was likely already unified. Otherwise, it couldn't regularly patrol the outer heavens or even set up surveillance measures.
However, judging from the attitude of this [Celestial Court] immortal lord, Banshan, the cultivation environment of the [Celestial Court] should be better than that wretched place..
Just as this thought arose in Lu Yang's mind—
"Oh, right."
Banshan, who was leading the way, suddenly turned around. He took out a talisman paper densely inscribed with runes from his sleeve and handed it to Lu Yang.
"This is a [Great Dao Immortal Talisman], with a face value of ten million."
"Consider it a loan from me to Fellow Daoist. You can just pay me back slowly later. I'll only charge you twenty percent interest."
"After all, for Fellow Daoist to cultivate in my [Celestial Court] in the future, whether it's setting up a cave abode or comprehending the grand dao, you will need to spend money. With money in hand, the heart doesn't panic."
Lu Yang: "???"
Crap!
Something is wrong with this [Celestial Court]!