"It's [Wayside Earth]!"
Lu Yang returned to the present world, the surprise in his eyes yet to fade. The moment he saw [Wayside Earth], he suddenly figured something out.
"The person who noticed my gaze just now should be Emperor Jiayou."
Lu Yang's expression was excited as he understood: So that's how it is. The waves in the [Sea of Bitterness] are actually ripples stirred up by individual Dao Fruits within the [Sea of Bitterness].
The stronger the Dao Fruit, the bigger the waves.
Of course, the Dao Fruit is only one aspect. A Great Dao achieved through Void Attainment should also be able to leave waves in the [Sea of Bitterness], just that I didn't discover it just now.
This reminded Lu Yang of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness].
To enter [The Mortal World], the first checkpoint of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], it seems one must obtain the ability to open the [Sea of Bitterness]. Otherwise, entry is impossible.
This was Lu Yang's personal experience. If not for being able to open the [Sea of Bitterness] back then, he would have been stopped before [The Mortal World]. Perfected One Subduing-Spirits was the same; he needed that mysterious soul named [Long Tu] to help him open the [Sea of Bitterness] in order to enter [The Mortal World].
In other words—
In the ancient era, perhaps opening the [Sea of Bitterness] was a more basic ability, or rather, an ability that a Foundation Establishment Perfected One should master.
Lu Yang wasn't guessing blindly.
Thinking carefully, a cultivator opens the [Sea of Bitterness], chases the Dao within the [Sea of Bitterness], and will definitely find a certain Dao Fruit in the end... Isn't this seeking Golden Core?
In an instant, Lu Yang had a flash of insight.
The next second, he recalled the Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture again. A passage of text he couldn't see before due to limited Dao comprehension was now clearly visible:
It really is!
Long before the Grotto-Heaven Method was born, in the ancient era, opening the [Sea of Bitterness] was a basic quality for all those at Foundation Establishment Perfection aspiring to seek Golden Core.
Because only by reaching the level of opening the [Sea of Bitterness] could one chase the waves most suitable for oneself within the [Sea of Bitterness], find the Dao Fruit most compatible with oneself, and then merge with it, thereby achieving the position of Perfected Lord... Therefore, in that era, Perfected Lords were truly the favored children of heaven!
After all, opening the [Sea of Bitterness] at Foundation Establishment was too difficult.
From this perspective, the Grotto-Heaven Method was undoubtedly more advanced. The corresponding Rank 3 True Arts even allowed Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones to lock onto a Dao Fruit without needing to Chase the Dao.
However, what was the cost?
The cultivator's Dao comprehension is substantively lowered!
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's expression changed slightly. It was terrifying when thought about carefully:
In the ancient era, since even Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones could open the [Sea of Bitterness], their comprehension of the Great Dao must have reached an extremely deep level.
One must know that is the [Sea of Bitterness], an infinite sea of concepts. To Chase the Dao within it, one must have a certain comprehension of all concepts. One's Dao comprehension must encompass everything, embracing hundreds of rivers like the sea, in order to distinguish which is good and which is bad, thereby selecting a suitable Dao Fruit.
But what about now?
Relying on the Grotto-Heaven Method and cultivation methods that directly lock onto the Dao Fruit to seek Golden Core, no other comprehensions are needed. Just having the Dao comprehension corresponding to the Dao Fruit is enough.
This way, it was certainly easier.
But undoubtedly, the potential of cultivators was also lowered. At least within the same realm, the Dao comprehension of ancient Perfected Lords far exceeded that of the current era!
Of course, in the initial stage, the boost of Dao comprehension to combat power wasn't high.
So in terms of combat power, Grotto-Heaven Method Perfected Lords were definitely stronger... However, the further one went and the higher the realm, the greater the importance of Dao comprehension.
At that time, trouble would come.
High buildings rise from the ground. If the initial foundation isn't laid well, wanting to improve later will require a thousand or ten thousand times the effort.
But where would Perfected Lords get so much time?
One must know, early Golden Core Perfected Lords only had a thousand years of lifespan! There was simply no time to re-polish and improve Dao comprehension. This was a dead knot.
Unless... one uses the Grotto-Heaven Method to break through to the mid-stage Golden Core.
Grotto-Heaven not falling, immortal and indestructible—from then on, one wouldn't need to worry about lifespan issues and could properly improve Dao comprehension. There was only a tiny regret:
One was bound to the Dao Fruit.
According to [Sky-Shrouding], breaking through to the mid-stage Golden Core with the Grotto-Heaven Method meant that no matter what happened later, the chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul would forever be only ten percent.
Damn it, it's a chain trap!
At this moment, Lu Yang admired the mastermind who designed all this to the point of prostration.
Under this design, the firmer the Dao Heart and the more one wanted to charge towards the Nascent Soul, the easier it was to fall into the trap of the Grotto-Heaven Method, leading to eternal damnation.
It must have been done by that old immortal of the Saint Sect... What a bastard!
Lu Yang sighed infinitely in his heart. It indeed fit the style of the Saint Sect's old immortal, highlighting a silent approach that leaves you unaware even as you die.
And for this, the cultivators of the world even had to thank him!
After all, factually speaking, the appearance of the Grotto-Heaven Method and Rank 3 True Arts indeed drastically increased the number of Perfected Lords, giving many people a chance to progress.
For example, [Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde].
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly felt his head become a bit heavy, and his heart turned solemn: The buried historical truth... is almost forbidden knowledge!
If I hadn't learned from [Sky-Shrouding] that breaking through to the mid-stage with the Grotto-Heaven Method would affect the Nascent Soul Dao path, I'm afraid even if I discovered the secret of Chasing the Dao in the [Sea of Bitterness], I wouldn't have been able to connect it to the Saint Sect old immortal's plot. This knowledge probably can't be spread casually.
Spreading it might attract the gaze of the Saint Sect's old immortal!
Of course, if used well, it might also serve as a killer move.
Lu Yang gradually gathered his thoughts, not daring to pursue the secrets of the Grotto-Heaven Method any further. Instead, he focused his attention on another equally crucial matter.
"I saw [Wayside Earth]."
"But as far as I know, as a Dao Fruit of the Dao Court, [Wayside Earth] should have been sealed by the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], becoming the private property of the Dao Court..."
His gaze gradually brightened.
Unless... what the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] seals is only the manifestation of the Dao Fruit in the present world, while the true body of the Dao Fruit cannot be taken out of the [Sea of Bitterness]!
This was a major discovery!
Because Lu Yang immediately associated it with [City Rampart Earth]!
The [One Mind] used by the World Honored One to seal [City Rampart Earth] was originally copied from the Dao Court. Its effect should be similar to the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws]!
In other words:
What the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] cannot seal, [One Mind] definitely cannot either.
Lu Yang pondered in his heart, trying his best to suppress his excitement:
So... although [City Rampart Earth] is currently in the Pure Land, as long as I want to, I can actually find its true body directly within the [Sea of Bitterness]!
This was different!
The Pure Land was something even a Perfected Lord couldn't break into. Even if successful, it would definitely attract the attention of the world. But the [Sea of Bitterness] didn't have so many strictures.
As long as I can find the location of [City Rampart Earth] in the [Sea of Bitterness], and find the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], I can first let Yuan Tu go through the [Sea of Bitterness] to prove [City Rampart Earth]. Catching them off guard, and immediately escaping into the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] upon success... exploiting a time difference might catch the World Honored One unprepared!
Of course, this plan was still very superficial at the moment.
After all, Lu Yang hadn't found the specific location of [City Rampart Earth] yet, nor did he know if the World Honored One had left any powerful backup plans in the [Sea of Bitterness].
But in any case.
Compared to his previous helplessness regarding [City Rampart Earth] and the World Honored One, at least this time he had a theoretically feasible action plan!