Rumble!
As soon as Perfected Lord Feixue's voice fell, she had absolutely no intention of continuing to guard the Saint Sect. Instead, she brazenly charged out, speeding straight toward the direction of Jiangnan.
"Hmph..."
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] saw this, and his gaze darkened slightly. As for Perfected Lord Feixue's earlier words, although he was somewhat moved, he didn't take them to heart.
Paths that are different cannot make plans together.
Perfected Lord Feixue believed that her own persistence was the Dao, but in his view, this was too ethereal and illusory, far less tangible and clear than cultivation realms and Dao Fruits.
As for saying that without persistence, seeking the strongest Dao in the world would be meaningless—to him, that was even more nonsensical. Who cared if it was truly one's own? As long as it could be used, as long as it could make him stronger and allow him to ascend to the [Paramita], that was the greatest meaning. Therefore, he didn't even bother to argue with Perfected Lord Feixue.
After all, right now wasn't the time for debating the Dao, but for fighting!
Truth only existed on the edge of a sword!
The next second, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] leaped into the air, sword in hand. Above the dome of the sky, [Placer Gold in Sand] suddenly brightened, cascading down thousands of rays of brilliance.
Aside from this, two other Dao Fruit stars also resonated with him at this moment: [Furnace Crucible Fire] and [Rooftop Tile Earth], successively glowing with light.
Seeing this scene, Perfected Lord Feixue instantly narrowed her eyes.
Although both she and [Sky-Shrouding] were rather disdainful of the fact that [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] had crippled himself despite breaking through to become a Great Perfected Lord...
Thinking it was due to [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s insufficient Dao comprehension.
However, this statement was actually inaccurate. [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s failure was less about insufficient Dao comprehension and more about bad luck.
He had actually calculated quite well.
[Placer Gold in Sand] had its precious quality hidden deep and required fire to reveal its true form. But it had to be a gentle fire, a soft fire, whereas [Furnace Crucible Fire] was slightly too violent.
But under these circumstances, he introduced [Rooftop Tile Earth], using an Earth-element Dao Fruit as a mediator. On one hand, it could disperse the fire's intensity; on the other hand, it could generate Metal to aid Metal, thereby achieving the situation of "Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal." It should have been a rather superior combination.
Alas, he miscalculated one step in the end.
The clash between [Rooftop Tile Earth] and [Furnace Crucible Fire] buried a hidden danger for him, which magnified over time, finally causing him to be reduced to a half-cripple.
But was this his problem?
At most, only half of it was. The other half was bad timing and luck.
After all, at that time, the Sword Pavilion only had [Furnace Crucible Fire] and [Rooftop Tile Earth]. Finding a feasible path from them was already quite difficult for him.
Who could have thought there was such a pitfall?
He even suspected that someone had plotted against him back then.
Therefore, even with his stature as a Great Perfected Lord fallen, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s strength was definitely not weak, sufficient to fight Perfected Lord Feixue head-on.
Rumble!
For a time, it was like heavenly thunder hooking earthly fire. Under the two Great Perfected Lords, two of the top-ranking Golden Core Perfected Lords fought with real fire, truly resembling the heaven collapsing and the earth cracking.
However, all the aftershocks were currently smashed into the Light Sea Boundary River between Jiangnan and Jiangbei. Both sides tacitly avoided causing damage to the Immortal Nexus.
Of course, this was also because both of them had a well-thought-out plan.
On Perfected Lord Feixue's side, naturally, it was because she had already said what needed to be said to Great Sage Xuan Yuan and Great Sage Ming Zhu earlier, not delaying proper business because of this.
As for [Heavenly Fire].
She could also guess [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s goal, but [Heavenly Fire] had been in seclusion for so long. How could it be captured so easily?
On the other side, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] was equally confident.
In his view, while Perfected Lord Feixue's strength was certainly powerful, she ultimately lost out due to being too young and lacking experience, having cultivated for only a little over five thousand years.
Therefore, she was unaware of some ancient methods.
…
[Sea of Bitterness].
Having sent away Perfected Lord Feixue, the Old Dragon Lord finally took a deep breath and looked at everyone: "Alright, follow me. Any later, and I fear the opportunity will be gone."
As soon as these words came out, Tian Qiu and Mu Changsheng naturally followed good advice and decisively kept up. Although Great Sage Xuan Yuan and Great Sage Ming Zhu showed hesitation on their faces, the Old Dragon Lord had presided over the overseas regions for so many years and still held some prestige. So, after a brief thought, the two Great Sages chose to follow.
Soon, everyone arrived at their destination.
Splash!
In an instant, everyone narrowed their eyes, as what entered their vision was shockingly a swath of intense vermilion light, causing even the dharma eyes of Perfected Lords to feel a stinging sensation.
After struggling to adapt to the intense light, everyone finally saw clearly where the light source was... It was a Dao Fruit floating in the [Sea of Bitterness] like a solitary island.
"This is... what?"
Great Sage Xuan Yuan stared blankly at the Dao Fruit before him, feeling that the [Thunderbolt Flame] under his control actually generated a strong commotion at this moment.
However, unlike the usual violence of [Thunderbolt Flame], the fire light currently emitted by [Thunderbolt Flame] revealed an unprecedented submissiveness, as if a general who had won a hundred battles met the monarch he served. Even before getting close, he felt a head shorter than the other party.
It's [Heavenly Fire]!
Not only the Supreme of the Fire Element but also a Dao Fruit symbolizing "Rule" among the Supreme Dao Fruits. Its suppression of other Fire-element Dao Fruits was simply incredibly strong!
"We actually found it..."
On the other side, Great Sage Ming Zhu was equally dazed. Finding a Dao Fruit directly in the Sea of Bitterness, and a Supreme Dao Fruit at that—this was simply no different from hitting the jackpot.
Theoretically, it was impossible!
But everything has variables, and everything has exceptions. This is the inherent principle of heaven and earth.
The Old Dragon Lord sighed with emotion in his heart. How did he find [Heavenly Fire]? Very simple—thanks to the Dao Fruit book obtained by [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao].
For a full five years, apart from healing his injuries, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] constantly performed deductions in the [Sea of Bitterness], using the [Heavenly Fire] Dao Fruit book to chase the currents it stirred up in the [Sea of Bitterness]. Chasing with the Dao comprehension of a Great Perfected Lord for five years, he finally locked onto its position.
And this was only temporary.
The position of a Dao Fruit in the [Sea of Bitterness] was not immutable but constantly changing. Moreover, a single move could span hundreds of millions of miles, making it impossible to capture.
One second it was here, the next second it might be gone.
Therefore, the Old Dragon Lord dared not slack off. He immediately looked at Tian Qiu and Mu Changsheng, saying in a deep voice: "Long nights bring many dreams. Act now, seal it immediately!"
Hearing this, Tian Qiu and Mu Changsheng hurried forward.
Among them, only Tian Qiu was specially cultivated by him, while Mu Changsheng was a pleasant surprise. And the function of Tian Qiu, or rather [Heavenly River Water], lay precisely here.
Fire of the Heavens and Water of the Heavenly River counteract each other in position.
Although generally speaking, [Heavenly Fire] suppressed [Heavenly River Water], under special circumstances, it was possible for [Heavenly River Water] to reverse the roles and take charge.
This was the Old Dragon Lord's plan.
Not to verify and attain [Heavenly Fire], but to directly find its location in the [Sea of Bitterness], seal it, pack it up, and take it away without anyone knowing.
At the same time, the sealed [Heavenly Fire] would suffer some damage to its concept due to this experience, thereby making it more convenient for [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] to demote its Supreme position. If not for this, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] wouldn't have cooperated with the Old Dragon Lord, even actively pinning down Feixue.
Meanwhile, Mu Changsheng felt increasingly nervous in his heart.
I don't know if that nameless Perfected Lord from the Saint Sect received my message. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... I can't let the Old Dragon Lord succeed.
His biggest bargaining chip right now was the Old Dragon Lord.
If the Old Dragon Lord became a Great Perfected Lord and that nameless Perfected Lord gave up on revenge, then how could he improve? Heaven above, this could affect my Dao path!