"You're ruthless."
Quietly leaving the Heaven-Mending Peak ancestral hall, Lu Yang appeared remarkably calm. After cursing those old Saint Sect geezers a million times in his head, he made a firm decision.
I'm giving up on the [Pomegranate Wood]!
In this lifetime, I'm supposed to hide in the shadows and grow steadily. Why would I risk drawing the Saint Sect Ancestor's attention again just for the [Pomegranate Wood]?
That's practically courting death.
If it comes down to that, I might as well assassinate a Wood-element Perfected Lord, refine their reincarnation into a Life Form Body, and devour their Dao Fruit.
But that thought just gave Lu Yang another headache. The reason was simple, aside from [Pomegranate Wood], none of the other Wood-element Dao Fruits belonged to easy targets.
[Great Forest Wood] goes without saying—skip it. [Plains Forest Wood] is under the Dao Court's control; with the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] locking it down, I don't stand a chance. As for [Weeping Willow Wood] and [Pine & Cypress Wood], I could probably figure something out, but they're in the Pure Land. Heaven knows if that would draw out the World Honored One.
That leaves only [Mulberry Silkworm Wood].
Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade. She's the only one without a minefield of background connections. At worst, I'd offend Feixue. But she's already attached herself to Feixue's Grotto-Heaven.
That presented its own set of problems.
Even though Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade was only at the early Golden Core stage, attaching herself to Feixue meant she indirectly gained the immortality trait of a stabilized Grotto-Heaven.
Under these circumstances, fighting above his realm, waiting for her to die, and refining her into a Life Form Body right after she reincarnated before she could recover her cultivation... was nearly impossible. The only way to devour the [Mulberry Silkworm Wood] would be to wipe out Perfected Lord Feixue alongside her.
But doing that would almost certainly attract the attention of the Saint Sect's old geezers.
After all, Perfected Lord Feixue was the Saint Sect's current leading figure. Taking her out wasn't just an attack on her; it was a direct slap to the faces of the sect's elders.
What a headache.
Lu Yang massaged his temples. If I knew it'd be like this, I should've just taken a risk, picked the second anchor point, and restarted back when I controlled the Heavenly Fire.
Then I could've traded the [Heavenly Fire] to the Dao Court for the [Plains Forest Wood].
The more he thought about it, the more tempting it sounded. Based on his past life's experience, the Dao Court would definitely agree to that trade.
But reason quickly took over.
The circumstances in my past life were unique. Without the right external environment, rushing in to make a deal would likely just end with a Dao Lord robbing me blind.
Dealing with Dao Lords introduces too many variables. It's too dangerous.
Besides, I just restarted. Killing myself to restart again right now would be a massive waste of The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes' pages. I'll keep it as a backup plan.
For now, I need to figure out a solution in this lifetime.
Turning it over and over in his mind, Lu Yang wanted to slam his fist on a table. Damn it all! Not a single Dao Fruit is straightforward. They're all under the watchful eyes of the Dao Lords. How am I supposed to play this game?
Forget it. Between two evils, choose the lesser. Compared to the Saint Sect geezers, the World Honored One is slightly easier to handle. I'll focus on the [Weeping Willow Wood] and [Pine & Cypress Wood]. [Weeping Willow Wood]... Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon? No good. She's reliant on a backer, just like Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade.
Then it has to be Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory.
Lu Yang reached a conclusion in his mind.
That guy has rotten luck. In my past life, Emperor Jiayou focus-fired and obliterated him, and the World Honored One didn't even bother descending to the mortal realm. That means he isn't closely watched.
The target was set.
Next was the execution. Should he just storm the front gates? No. The moment he revealed his [Dharma Body Dao] cultivation with all four elements complete, he'd attract unwanted attention.
I'll have to kill him using the [Divine Firmament Thunder].
And I need a plausible motive to dodge the Dao Lords' senses as much as possible.
Once I kill him and capture his reincarnation, I'll immediately retreat to Responding to Emperors. By the time I deovour the Dao Fruit, even the Dao Lords won't be able to do anything about it.
A plan gradually formed in Lu Yang's mind.
I've got it. The [Divine Firmament Thunder] is still considered an Unorthodox Dao right now. If an unorthodox cultivator rebels against the fiends of the Immortal Nexus and conveniently kills one along the way, would that draw out the World Honored One? Whatever. Even if it does, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Sometimes you just have to charge in blind!
With that, an idea leaped to the forefront of his mind.
The Mystic Spirit World Realm!
The unluckiest unorthodox World Realm out there. Drawn in by the Immortal Nexus, it fell under the Sword Pavilion's control and was ultimately carved up and devoured by several Perfected Lords. It was a golden opportunity served on a silver platter!
A violent clash of World Realms resulting in the fall of a Bodhisattva... Now that has a nice ring to it!
Lu Yang's mind raced. "If things follow their normal trajectory, the Mystic Spirit World Realm will be bled dry by the Sword Pavilion. The Pure Land wouldn't even be involved."
"But now, I'm here."
"And that changes everything."
With a single thought, Lu Yang rode a streak of light straight into the sea of light. His expression was placid. "In the past, I wouldn't have had the power to orchestrate something of this magnitude."
Back when he was just a Foundation Establishment Perfected One, he had to rely on his foresight from restarting to leak information and manipulate the world's Perfected Lords into fighting over the Mystic Spirit World Realm. Now? He didn't need to jump through those hoops. He could simply take what he wanted through sheer force.
Within the shadowy depths of the light sea, a brilliant radiance suddenly erupted.
"Manifest!"
Lu Yang formed a hand seal. The jewel-like [Yellow Court] hovered above his fingertips, swathed in bright light. An invisible net of karma rapidly spread out from him.
Rumble!
In that instant, the [Yellow Court]'s profound wonders were pushed to their absolute limits, capturing every thread of karma within the surrounding sea of light and projecting the corresponding visions internally.
Soon, a World Realm came into view.
It was massive—easily a tenth the size of the Immortal Nexus itself. It brimmed with an intense Dao Fruit concept, only slightly inferior to the [Divine Firmament Thunder].
The Mystic Spirit World Realm!
Lu Yang's gaze narrowed. He used the [Yellow Court] to envelop the Mystic Spirit World Realm. A powerful karmic concept surged within, carrying the crushing weight of a mountain.
Even though the karma of an entire realm is massive, it's ultimately of the Unorthodox Dao. There's still a gap between it and a Golden Core Perfected Lord. It's hovering right at the absolute limit of what I can alter. If it were even a fraction stronger, I wouldn't be able to move it... but as it stands, making a minor adjustment shouldn't be a problem.
Without hesitation, Lu Yang channeled his spiritual power.
The immense stature of his mid-stage Golden Core and four-element [Dharma Body Dao] poured entirely into the [Yellow Court]. He reached out and gave the ethereal projection of the Mystic Spirit World Realm a gentle push.
Boom!
The moment the karma shifted, a terrifying backlash ripped toward him. Lu Yang's pupils shrank. In a flash, he manifested the Tribulation Wave in his hand.
Empowered by the Tribulation Wave, fragmented visions of the future flooded his sight. They depicted the consequences of the shifting karma on the Mystic Spirit World Realm, many of which deviated wildly from his intentions. He didn't hesitate. Driving the Tribulation Wave, he delivered a ruthless slash.
Every unfavorable future vision was severed outright!
With that done, an anomaly rippled through the sea of light.
Right in the path of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, several streams of [Two Polarities Birth and Destruction Profound Light] abruptly collided. The impact churned the tides, triggering a localized tremor across the sea of light.
This tremor subtly knocked the Mystic Spirit World Realm off its trajectory.
Originally on a collision course with the Sword Pavilion's territory, the realm was now hurtling directly toward the Pure Land.
It was entirely plausible and left absolutely no traces.
Only then did Lu Yang finally exhale a heavy breath of foul air, a look of elation crossing his face. That concludes step one. Next up... setting the death trap!