[Sky-Shrouding] was not the kind of person who liked to be in the limelight.
At least compared to that bastard who relied on the Dharma Body Dao to broadcast live to the entire Sea of Light—and even cursed him in front of everyone—his actions were much more steady.
In his eyes, there was only the Dao path.
In other words: when he issued a declaration to the entire sea of light, he wasn't declaring what he planned to do next, but declaring—
I have already finished.
Rumble!
Overseas, at the ends of the earth.
Dense ink color poured out continuously from the Netherworld, connected by the end of the earth. Centered on the Immortal Nexus, it spread relentlessly toward the entire sea of light.
Seeing this scene, [Sky-Shrouding] smiled lightly with his hands behind his back. His grim gaze seemed able to pierce through the [Sea of Bitterness] and see that misty and untouchable Paramita.
"Come, all come."
…
Jiangbei, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
Perfected Lord Feixue pushed open the door of her sleeping palace. Looking at the turbulence of wind and clouds in the sky and calculating karma, an indescribable emotion surfaced in her beautiful eyes.
Immediately after, the surrounding world rippled like water, seemingly reflecting lake light. A figure faintly emerged from the light, like a drop of ink on white paper. It was Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian, who had already broken through to the late-stage Golden Core. However, compared to Perfected Lord Feixue, his aura was even more vast.
This didn't mean he was stronger than Perfected Lord Feixue.
On the contrary, this indicated he couldn't perfectly control his aura. Instead, it was a situation that appeared due to a flawed foundation and insufficient Dao comprehension.
But he couldn't be blamed for this.
Because he had inherited the two Sword Pavilion Perfected Lords formerly under Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao, the conflict between [Furnace Crucible Fire] and [Roof Earth] still existed.
Logically speaking, he actually couldn't have succeeded.
However, through unknown methods, he persuaded the Formation Spirit currently inside the Heaven-Reaching Hall to help, thus barely maintaining his own state.
"Still alive?" Perfected Lord Feixue looked sideways and sneered.
"You're only relying on the [Thirty-Three Heavens Vertical and Horizontal Go Dao Grand Array] to barely balance the conflict between Dao Fruits."
"You a Great Perfected Lord... how long can you last?"
Facing this mockery, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian appeared very calm. "As long as I can be. It's better than not making it to the stage at all."
"Moreover, with Senior Formation Spirit's help, as long as I am within the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, I can display peak combat power. Even if the situation is urgent and I must leave the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, as long as I take an formation piece in advance for assistance, I can also fight for an hour or so, not delaying important matters."
"As long as you know." Perfected Lord Feixue shook her head.
Immediately after, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian said in a deep voice, "[Sky-Shrouding]... He is Overseas, and his plan seems related to the Netherworld. Should we stop him?"
"Stop him?" Perfected Lord Feixue asked back. "How to stop him? The Thousand Year Great Tribulation is approaching. Mysterious Wall and the Star Palace are all present. Why should we go stop him?"
"Moreover, since he dares to do so, naturally he is confident."
Speaking of this, Perfected Lord Feixue suddenly sighed. "He is concentrating the tribulation of the entire Thousand Year Great Tribulation all on himself."
"Originally, this Great Tribulation would last at least a thousand years, like the last one."
"But with him pulling this stunt, not only is the Great Tribulation time advanced, but he also made himself the target of everyone. I'm afraid he already plans to be the bird that sticks its head out."
What is the bird that sticks its head out?
Originally, the Thousand Year Great Tribulation had a period of "a thousand years." Within these thousand years, the entire sea of light would be a battlefield— a gluttonous feast.
Early-stage Golden Core Perfected Lords could improve rapidly by hunting Unorthodox paths, refining True Treasures, and stepping into the mid-stage.
Mid-stage Golden Core Perfected Lords could ally with each other, complementing and benefiting one another, charging for the late-stage Golden Core.
Late-stage Golden Core Great Perfected Lords could leverage the tribulation, accumulate foundation, and seize the opportunity of the Dao Lords' greatly reduced control over the present world to look toward the Paramita.
However, all these required time.
In this situation, the earlier one stuck their head out, the easier it was to become the target of everyome. After all, there were many monks but very little porridge. The positions were limited. If you rise up, then I lose my chance.
[Sky-Shrouding] was exactly like this.
He opened the Great Tribulation in advance and brazenly adopted a posture of seeking the Nascent Soul, equivalent to directly shattering everyone's plans for the Great Tribulation.
At this moment, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian also figured it out, frowning. "With his cultivation, he could completely plan slowly, forming alliances vertical and horizontal, first eliminating those threatening to him step by step, then seeking the Nascent Soul. Why be so reckless of the consequences? Could it be he really isn't afraid of the whole world being his enemy?"
"Or does he have allies?"
Perfected Lord Feixue shook her head. "Allies? The Great Dao thoroughfare has always been traveled alone. Moreover, involving Nascent Soul matters, it's absolutely impossible for him to have any allies."
"Then that's seeking death!"
Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian said with certainty. "Since that's the case, it means being enemies with the Perfected Lords of the entire sea of light. How can he withstand the surging general trend?"
"...Dont be hasty."
Perfected Lord Feixue paused, shaking her head. "If we can't sit still, could Mysterious Wall and the Star Palace can? Moreover, how could the Nascent Soul be so easily sought?"
Speaking of this, she raised her head, seemingly looking toward the Paramita as well.
"Dao Lords are watching from above."
…
Sea of Light.
Mysterious Wall and the Star Palace had already gathered in one place. One side possessed magnificent palaces, like stars arching around the moon. The other side was a towering Immortal Mountain.
On the Mysterious Wall side, led by Celestial Master Chongying Yuanyou, they had now actively come to the Star Palace. Looking around, he instantly saw inside the gloomy palace, a full dozens of statues lined. Each statue resembled a lifeless object, with only faint wisps of divine sense circling around them. The main seat was completely empty.
The Star Palace truly is pitiful and lamentable.
Celestial Master Chongying Yuanyou thought to himself. He held absolutely no regard for those "Star Lords" on Star Palace's periphery. They were nothing more than a group of raised servants.
Only these statue-like figures were the true ancient cultivators of the Spiritual Power Dao, each one was his former friend and colleague, and the true foundation upon which the Star Palace stood..
And looking at these statues, he felt a few points of superiority in his heart.
After the collapse of the Dharma Body Dao, the lifespan of all cultivators dropped significantly. Especially these Ancient Method cultivators; who knows how many perished because of this back then.
Fortunately, the Dao Lords of both faction were still there.
However, an awkward point arose. The Dao Lord of the Spritual Power Dao didn't involve the authority of "Lifespan," so there was no way to replenish fading life.
Instead, the Dao Lord of the Dao Arts Dao had higher means.
The result also created the current Star Palace and Mysterious Wall.
All Spiritual Power Dao cultivators had to transform into stone sculptures, sealing away vitality, curling up in the Star Palace to sleep.
Meanwhile, Mysterious Wall cultivators relied on a super Dao Arts covering the World Realm to barely maintain their lifespan, not needing to sleep like the Star Palace cultivators. But the drawback was they couldn't leave the Mysterious Wall World Realm, so much so that compared to the Star Palace, Mysterious Wall's presence in the sea of light was very low.
Gathering his thoughts, Celestial Master Chongying Yuanyou said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, the situation is clear."
"Someone among the Immortal Nexus devils is seeking the Nascent Soul. And other Immortal Nexus devils plan to watch the fire from across the river, letting us stop him, taking the opportunity to consume our strength."
"Everyone, who plans to go?"
The voice echoed in the huge Star Palace. Only after a long time did a divine sense transmit from a statue. "I'll go. Anyway, I won't live long."
"Give it a gamble, maybe dead wood can meet spring again."
"If I fail, I might as well die a quick death."
As the voice fell, that originally weak divine sense began to revive rapidly. The statue also quickly shed its stone texture, revealing a middle-aged man.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Haoyuan." Celestial Master Chongying Yuanyou nodded slightly.
Back then, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao charged into the Star Palace single-handedly and finally left swaggering. None of the Ancient Method Golden Cores of the Star Palace was willing to fight him.
Of course, this wasn't because they were afraid of the half-crippled Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao.
But because they didn't want to waste their lives, which were already approaching the end.
However, arriving at the life-and-death moment of the Thousand Year Great Tribulation, past concerns naturally ceased to exist. These Star Palace cultivators instead became more active than one another.
In the final analysis, they were losers.
As the victors of the past, Immortal Nexus Perfected Lords were seeking the Dao, while these losers were fighting for life.
Naturally, they were far more reckless and unrestrained.
(End of Chapter)