Scolding aside, Lu Yang's reaction was anything but slow.
The next second, bright light blossomed from his body, transforming into a sky full of vermilion fire that surged and rolled. He actually broke free from under that slender palm!
Within the rolling vermilion fire, Lu Yang's figure was half-hidden, mostly merged into the firelight. Only a hand and a face emerged—forming seals, chanting mantras, his teeth clenched tight. Disregarding where his opponent was, he exerted all his strength to unleash the profundities in his hands indiscriminately.
Righteous Dao Banner, [Enlightenment].
Tribulation Wave, [Revolution of Law]!
The former delayed the incoming attacker's further assault, while the latter severed the lingering influence of the [Knowledge-Perception Barrier] that had already permeated this space.
Only such a drastic shift finally drew surprise from the attacker: "Hmm."
Lu Yang looked toward the sound but was instantly rendered speechless. What entered his vision was a figure shrouded in smoke, indistinguishable as male or female.
It was [Sky-Shrouding], no mistake.
But the [Sky-Shrouding] in this trial should only be a projection, impossible to be that Great Perfected Lord at his peak state. Yet even so, he still chose to hide his appearance?
This meant that when [Sky-Shrouding] entered this [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] back then, he was already like this. How long had he been hiding? And to think Lu Yang had hoped to see the true face of this Saint Sect senior this time. Hiding so deeply, could this old ghost actually be an ugly woman?
Numerous distracting thoughts flashed through Lu Yang's mind in an instant.
The next second, a round light emerged on his forehead, stirring up colorful rosy clouds that instantly swept through heaven and earth, plunging all directions into a dim obscurity.
"Heaven and Earth have Righteous Qi!"
Lu Yang chanted words in his mouth, the point of light on his forehead becoming increasingly brilliant. Then, it exploded with a bang, shattering the surrounding darkness and illuminating the world in dazzling golden-white.
[Yellow Court], Open Heaven!
Above, are the sun and stars; below, are the rivers and mountains...
Where the glorious light passed, mountains and seas rose from the ground, the sun and moon hung high in the sky, and layer upon layer of concepts emerged, directly encompassing both [Sky-Shrouding] and Lu Yang.
Immediately, just like when he dealt with Immortal Lord Duxuan in the past, Lu Yang smashed out all the concepts he had collected after devouring the [Inscription of Heaven] Dao Fruit. Looking out, it was a vast ocean of light illuminating heaven and earth, swallowing the exposed figure of [Sky-Shrouding].
However, Lu Yang's movements did not stop.
After unleashing his full power, he didn't even look at the result. In an instant, the hand seals changed, and he immediately began gathering concepts around himself as well.
"Solid as a rock! Impregnable as a fortress! Layered peaks and ranges!"
With every sentence Lu Yang spoke, corresponding concepts fell upon him, blessing his dharma body and causing thousands of layers of sturdy barriers to emerge around him.
At the same time, he pushed the profundity of the [Heavenly Fire] concept to its limit.
[Those who intend to harm me shall suffer heavy punishment.]
Forced Inscription: [Maximize the power of the above concept's profundity.]
Almost at the instant Lu Yang finished all this, another pale hand appeared out of thin air, pressing silently against the center of his back.
Boom!
The next second, all the concepts condensed around Lu Yang collapsed in response. But correspondingly, dense curses also converged into heavenly fire, blooming with radiance.
The Punishment of Heavenly Fire Burning the Body!
It was originally the light of [Heavenly Fire], and now empowered by the [Inscribing Heavenly Chapters], locked on through rules, it struck squarely on the palm that had sneak-attacked the center of Lu Yang's back!
In an instant, colors exploded between heaven and earth. Fire rained down like a storm, numerous concepts presented themselves and then shattered in sequence, making it difficult for Lu Yang's divine sense to even probe outside his body. He could only hold his hand seals and guard himself tightly. Only after a long while did he see a figure standing not far away with hands behind their back, looking at him with great interest.
Until this moment, the opponent still did not reveal their true face.
Aside from the palm, clothes, and a bit of the torso that had manifested, drifting outside the smoke were only a pair of narrow, calm, and indifferent eyes.
The next second, the opponent chuckled lightly: "[Heavenly Fire]?"
The familiar voice even made Lu Yang feel somewhat nostalgic. At the same time, an inexplicable sense of pride arose... I'm freaking fighting [Sky-Shrouding]!
And it's a draw!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Lu Yang covered his mouth and teeth, forcing down the fresh blood in his throat. waving his hand, he gathered a healing concept that poured down like spring water to mend his cracked dharma body.
This appearance, compared to the seemingly unharmed [Sky-Shrouding] not far away, clearly showed a huge gap.
But Lu Yang didn't care.
Regardless of whether I'm injured or not, I'm not dead yet. Not dead means I haven't lost! Not losing means it's a draw. I don't believe this old bastard can really kill me!
The next second, the [Sky-Shrouding] projection spoke:
Your Dao Heart is not bad.
The terror of the [Knowledge-Perception Barrier] was known to all. Its standout feature was its insidiousness; once deployed, people often died without even knowing how they died.
Yet Lu Yang had broken free.
"You didn't simply absorb the power of the mind in this trial of [The Mortal World], but mastered some method of tempering the Dao Heart before absorbing it."
The [Sky-Shrouding] projection spoke with fervor and assurance: "Quite interesting. Using the power of blood qi to rouse the will, reinforcing it with the invincible momentum of a hundred victories. Possesssing this technique, yet relying on the cultivation of a Golden Core Perfected Lord to slaughter indiscriminately in the first trial... The most important thing is that you could actually bring your cultivation in..."
At the end, he made a judgment:
"From the Saint Sect?"
Lu Yang fell silent for a moment, then immediately put on an expression of righteous indignation, scolding angrily: "Absurd! How could I collude with the Jiangbei Demonic Path?"
"This seat is the Sect Master of the Jiangxi Righteous Dao!"
"Jiangxi? Righteous Dao?"
This time, the [Sky-Shrouding] projection was truly stunned. He even stroked his chin, chuckling lightly: "Fellow Daoist, why is your righteousness black?"
Lu Yang's expression didn't change as he said faintly: "It's not black, it's profound darkness . We cultivators seek truth and cultivate profoundness. Is there a problem with Qi being the color of profoundness?"
Hearing this, the [Sky-Shrouding] projection sighed: "Even in the Saint Sect, there aren't many like you, fellow Daoist. Your words even have a hint of the Sword Pavilion's style. It seems the Immortal Nexus hasn't been peaceful in recent years."
After speaking, a look of curiosity appeared in his eyes:
"What about the Jiangxi Righteous Dao Pure Land?"
"Naturally, it was destroyed."
Lu Yang made quips with his mouth, but his heart was calm and cold. The [Dao Enlightenment and Self-Realization Immortal Method] that had just condensed between his palm and fingers was already pushed to the limit.
Otherwise, he worried the [Sky-Shrouding] projection would stab him while talking.
At the same time, he also saw through the reality of this projection opposite him... Early Golden Core, condensed [Dao-Seeking Immortal Method]—actually no different from himself!
If not for that, he wouldn't have had the strength to fight back just now.
At this moment, raging vermilion fire surrounded Lu Yang. One hand held the Immortal Method, the other formed seals. Behind him, thousands of colorful rosy clouds were reflected, confronting the smoke opposite him.
On the other side, the [Sky-Shrouding] projection remained as usual. Streams of smoke coiled like dragons, mingling with his dharma body. Only now did Lu Yang see his palm clearly; there was an extra layer of scorched black in the center. Clearly, the Punishment of Heavenly Fire Burning the Body just now hadn't truly failed to cause him any harm.
"Pure Land destroyed..."
The [Sky-Shrouding] projection seemed to be in deep thought and didn't rush to continue attacking. Only after a moment did he look up again at Lu Yang, who was ready for a formidable enemy.
"Fellow Daoist's luck is actually not bad."
The [Sky-Shrouding] projection's gaze landed on Lu Yang's forehead, seemingly seeing through everything: "Using a Grotto-Heaven to refine a True Treasure? Good luck, and equally extraordinary spirit."
"But since fellow Daoist dared to risk severing your path to do this, could it be you also noticed something?"
As soon as these words came out, Lu Yang instantly narrowed his eyes.
Noticed what?