Star Palace.
Within a spacious metallic room inside the golden-white disc, two figures—a man and a woman—stood side by side, their faces carrying looks of keen interest.
Both possessed immense auras and breathtakingly flawless appearances. In fact, they didn't look naturally born at all; instead, they exuded a distinct, almost manufactured perfection. However, there was no doubt that their statures were at the Perfected Lord level. Rings of rippling starlight hovered behind their heads, coalescing into two distinct star charts.
"So this is the Unorthodox cultivator from the Mystic Spirit World Realm."
The man spoke first. The star chart behind his head depicted a fierce, multicolored tiger with a flaming tail—he was the Tail Fire Tiger Star Lord under the Azure Dragon Constellation of the Star Palace.
In contrast, the star chart behind the woman depicted the Chamber Sun Rabbit.
She let out a light chuckle, her fair face as beautiful as mutton-fat jade. "A native is still a native. I can sense the sheer astonishment in his heart."
Directly in front of them, an inscribed formation glowed with spiritual light, projecting a screen that displayed Lu Yang's figure. He was looking left and right, his face a picture of pure marvel. This sight only deepened the contempt in their hearts. "Unorthodox is Unorthodox. Just a bunch of ignorant country bumpkins."
"Alright, enough wasting breath on this native."
The woman looked impatient. "If you ask me, there's no need to take him to the mother star. He'll just pollute the spiritual qi there. Let's just finish the mission right here."
"We can't do that."
The man shook his head. "We still have to go to the mother star. Don't forget, we brought combat Dao Soldiers this time. We don't have any research facilities on board."
"True."
The woman's red lips curled into a cruel smile. "But since that's the case, beating him half to death before sending him to the mother star works just the same, right?"
"Suit yourself," the man replied indifferently.
"Then I'll make the move." The woman immediately rubbed her hands together, her eyes burning as she looked at Lu Yang like a prey about to be dissected.
"Perfect timing. I meticulously refined the Dao Soldiers we brought this time, and they haven't seen real combat yet. According to the evaluations from the higher-ups, with the enhancement of these Dao Soldiers, I can hold my own for a hundred exchanges against those early-stage Golden Core cultivators from the Immortal Nexus without losing. Now is the perfect time to test their power!"
Unable to hold back, the woman immediately channeled her spiritual power.
Rumble.
In an instant, Lu Yang saw the golden-white disc before him erupt with blinding light. The cluster of steel constructs behind it also began manifesting phenomena.
Looking closely, the entire cluster was actually a single, integrated entity.
Interesting...
Lu Yang nodded slightly, pondering inwardly. Is this the Spiritual Power Dao? Using massive reserves of spiritual power as a foundation, and then leveraging external objects to maximize the advantages of that power.
A very clever approach.
Though it looks like technology at first glance, it's actually not. It's more like an extremely high-tier artifact-refinement method. And it feels inexplicably familiar...
Just then, dense Dao patterns suddenly surfaced on the opponent's constructs, shooting toward him like binding chains. Lu Yang saw it clearly: these Dao patterns were extremely similar to Dao Fruit concepts. As they intertwined, they actually birthed a concept bearing the trait of 'Supression'.
Are they trying to capture me directly?
Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and delivered a slap. Crackling lightning instantly tore apart the Dao pattern chains descending upon him.
If Lu Yang were truly an Unorthodox cultivator, this might have given him a headache.
However, the Unorthodox identity was merely a disguise. At his core, he was still a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator of the Dharma Body Dao with all four elements complete. They possessed nowhere near the power required to supress him!
And Lu Yang didn't even bother to hide this fact.
Anyway, my entire cultivation base has been washed clean by The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes. As long as I don't actively expose myself, no one will be able to tell that I cultivate the Dharma Body Dao.
At most, they'll just wonder how an Unorthodox Perfected Lord has such a high stature.
Which is easy to explain: I'm just absurdly talented.
Besides, with my aura and disposition, I look exactly like someone with heaven-defying comprehension.
Lu Yang hadn't forgotten his current persona: a genius who grew step-by-step through talent and hard work in a minor world realm, ultimately achieving Void Attainment for a Dao Fruit.
Boom!
Lu Yang activated the [Divine Firmament Thunder]. Golden lightning instantly illuminated the surrounding sea of stars, completely exceeding the reaction limits of the two Star Lords' divine senses.
In a flash, the steel cluster led by the golden-white disc trembled violently. Elegant formation patterns surfaced, blooming with boundless light. Under the enhancement of the two Star Lords, they erupted with ocean-like power, attempting to block the lightning. But by the time they activated, it was already too late.
The lightning vanished in the blink of an eye.
Crack!
The next second, large swathes of the steel cluster were pulverized before the formations could even activate or display their might, turning into drifting debris in the sea of stars.
"You native!"
Inside the golden-white disc, the woman—the Chamber Sun Rabbit Star Lord—glared furiously. Under her manipulation, the steel cluster began rapidly converging.
Each steel construct acted like a muscle; the flowing formation patterns were like surging blood and meridians; and the woman's divine sense served as the neural signals connecting them all. Soon, what was just a cluster of separate, specialized constructs completely merged into a single entity.
"Dao Soldier—Radiant Spirit God!"
The cultivators of the Star Palace primarily practiced the Spiritual Power Dao.
However, compared to the ever-changing Dao Arts and the high-attack, high-defense Dharma Bodies, pure spiritual power—while strong—felt somewhat ordinary.
But the Dharma Power Dao cultivators quickly found a workaround.
That was artifact refining and formations. These external tools could maximize the advantages of the Spiritual Power Dao, drastically boosting the combat prowess of its practitioners.
And this was exactly what was happening now.
Holy crap... it stood up!?
Lu Yang watched as the previous steel cluster vanished, replaced by a colossal, heaven-spanning steel Dharma Body.
And right in the center of this steel Dharma Body's chest was the golden-white disc housing the woman. The star chart of the Chamber Sun Rabbit burned fiercely within it, like an inextinguishable star. The combination of the two actually made Lu Yang feel a stature and mighty power approaching that of a Perfected Lord from the Immortal Nexus.
This... this is amazing!
To be honest, Lu Yang had always looked down on the Star Lords of the Star Palace. Strictly speaking, they were even inferior to the Immortal Lords of the Celestial Court.
But now, he had changed his mind.
Considering the sheer number of Star Lords, and pairing them with these bizarre artifact-refining methods, if it comes down to a one-on-one fight, the Immortal Lords of the Celestial Court might lose!
A fiery glint appeared in Lu Yang's eyes.
With his Dao comprehension, he could naturally see through the operating principles of this so-called 'Radiant Spirit God'. Simply put, it used artifact refinement and formations to patch up flaws.
A steel Dharma Body like this, reinforced by formations, can absolutely be used as a true Dharma Body. Aside from its inability to extend lifespan, it has no flaws. The various artifacts it's equipped with can actually replicate the profundity of Dao Arts. The only issue is that with so many formations, the spiritual power consumption must be astronomical...
While Lu Yang was lost in thought, his opponent made her move.
Rumble!
The Radiant Spirit God raised its right foot. Countless Dao patterns condensed on the sole, instantly manifesting a seal as it stomped ruthlessly toward Lu Yang's position.
"Unorthodox native, you belong under someone's foot!"
A shadow instantly engulfed Lu Yang's vision.
But the next second, like sunlight piercing the dark of night, a streak of golden lightning tore through the sole of the Radiant Spirit God. The golden light shattered violently.
Crash!
In an instant, the storm created by the shattering golden lightning swept through the surrounding sea of stars. The violent impact immediately drew the gazes of countless onlookers.
"Looks like it's not enough."
Lu Yang held one hand in a fist, raised high above his head, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "Did Fellow Daoist step on a nail?"