No matter the reasoning, the stone statues of the Star Palace eventually convinced themselves.
It all boiled down to the same point: actions speak louder than words. Since Lu Yang had already demonstrated his powerful Dharma Body and his Void Attainment of a Dao Fruit, digging into the exact origins was meaningless.
That was a mindset for lesser cultivators.
The stone statues were focused on something else entirely: How do we maximize the utility of this sudden, unexpected treasure?
"Make him search for the Dharma Body Dao."
"Too difficult. The Celestial Court has already been reduced to the backyard of the fiends of the Immortal Nexus. Trying to find clues about the Dharma Body Dao in there is a pipe dream."
"Then what do we do?"
"I remember there's a Dao Art over in the Mysterious Wall that can extract lifespan. What if we suppress him and use that Dao Art to extract his lifespan?"
"Considering he managed to cultivate such a powerful Dharma Body and smelted a fragment of the Dharma Body Dao, his lifespan should conservatively be over a hundred thousand years. That's more than enough for the thirty-six of us to split. We could instantly return to our peak conditions and finally leave these garbage stone statues."
One of the stone statues proposed the idea.
Instantly, all the stone statues fell silent. Their divine senses rippled; clearly, many were tempted. It was a genuinely viable plan.
But the next second, a figure broke the silence.
"That will not work!"
The divine senses of the stone statues immediately focused on the speaker. Another statue quickly retorted, "Why not? Give us a reason, Daoist Hao Yuan."
Exalted One Hao Yuan's divine sense fluctuated. If he tried to use reasons like morality or virtue right now, he definitely wouldn't be able to convince everyone. Ever since their disastrous defeat over a hundred thousand years ago, everyone's mindset had changed. The golden age of the past was long gone.
After a moment of silence, he gave his answer.
"Because we can't suppress him."
Before he even finished speaking, a stone statue scoffed. "Are you joking? With the thirty-six of us here, you're saying we can't suppress a mere Unorthodox native?"
"Even if he did smelt a fragment of the Dharma Body Dao, I'd say he's at most at the mid-stage of Golden Core realm. He hasn't reached the Great Perfected Lord level. Forget about the thirty-six of us joining forces; even if you acted alone, Daoist Hao Yuan, you should be able to suppress him easily. Yet you utter such nonsense..."
"Can you all not see it?"
Exalted One Hao Yuan sneered coldly. "The aura on this person looks identical to before, but it's fundamentally different. This isn't his true body at all."
As soon as these words were spoken, absolute silence descended.
For a moment, the divine senses of the stone statues once again converged on Lu Yang. But Lu Yang merely gave a cold snort and scattered them all without a hint of hesitation.
"What? Not his true body?"
"How is that possible? Judging by its mighty power, if this isn't his true body, it must be an incredibly supreme incarnation method. How could an Unorthodox native get his hands on something like that?"
"Stop calling him an Unorthodox native. The man is a peerless genius capable of Void Attainment. So what if he has some tricks up his sleeve?" Exalted One Hao Yuan shook his head. "Of course, if you don't believe me, you can make a move. But if he escapes, and we forge a bitter enmity over this, the losses will far outweigh the gains."
"..."
The atmosphere plunged into silence once more. It took a long while before a stone statue finally chuckled awkwardly. "You misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. We were just discussing strategies."
"It's normal to have different opinions."
"Since this isn't his true body, we naturally can't resort to force. We should try to win him over. But it would be best if we could somehow trick his true body into coming here..."
"Difficult! The fact that he used an incarnation to meet us shows he's already on guard."
"Sigh, morals are truly declining day by day. It's all the fault of the fiends in the Immortal Nexus for polluting the moral fabric. Nowadays, even Unorthodox natives have learned that you can't survive without guarding against others."
As they spoke, the stone statues returned to their slumber one by one.
"We'll leave this matter in the hands of Daoist Hao Yuan."
"His cultivation method is rather unique, allowing him to maintain his divine sense in a waking state for long periods. The rest of us can't do that. If we stay awake any longer, we'll start draining our lifespans."
Soon, only a single strand of divine sense remained in the great hall.
Seeing this, Lu Yang let out a soft chuckle and spoke up at the perfect moment. "It seems the Seniors have already decided how to deal with this junior. May I be informed?"
He appeared entirely fearless and confident.
In fact, Exalted One Hao Yuan's judgment was spot on. There was no way Lu Yang would come alone to a place like the Star Palace, which was swarming with big shots. That was far too dangerous.
In this lifetime, his goal was to play it safe.
Therefore, the one who had arrived was merely an Incense Offering incarnation. However, while it was an incarnation, it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing and possessed combat power matching his main body.
"...You are very clever."
Exalted One Hao Yuan's divine sense drifted over, his tone serene. "I am Hao Yuan. Representing the Star Palace, I formally invite you to join us, Fellow Daoist. Would you be willing?"
"It is what I have hoped for." Lu Yang nodded readily.
"Excellent."
Exalted One Hao Yuan spoke cautiously. "Since that is the case, as an ally, I have a proposal. I need you to extract some of your excess lifespan, Fellow Daoist."
"After all, as you can see, the condition of us old folks isn't exactly great. This matter won't require your true body to make an appearance. We can hand all the necessary tools over to you, and you can operate them yourself. Afterward, just send the lifespan over via your incarnation... We only need a little lifespan, not much. How about around ten thousand years?"
"..."
Lu Yang didn't answer. Instead, he just stood there, staring back at Exalted One Hao Yuan across the distance with wide, half-smiling eyes.
The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a moment.
Ultimately, it was Exalted One Hao Yuan who gave in first. He knew exactly what Lu Yang meant—he wanted benefits. His silence was simply a precaution to avoid revealing his bottom line.
In short:
I'm not going to state my price. Make an offer and let's see how sincere you are. If you lack sincerity, then my hands are tied.
Realizing this, Exalted One Hao Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This way of demanding benefits... Sigh, these Unorthodox natives really have been ruined by the fiends of the Immortal Nexus. Every single one of them has started playing mind games.
A moment later, Exalted One Hao Yuan spoke again.
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of the Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness?"
"It is said to be a supreme secret realm that points straight to the Nascent Soul realm. In the past, there were a total of seven trials. Now, they are divided. I have a token of passage for one of them right here..."
With that, a token landed in front of Lu Yang.
Lu Yang's expression turned peculiar.
This actually suits my needs perfectly.
To be honest, he had been trying to figure out how to access the Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness, as he lacked any karmic connection to it in this lifetime.
As for Long Tu, he had left him in the sea of consciousness of Perfected One Subduing-Spirits in his previous life. He had long since been dealt with by the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion, and naturally, Lu Yang couldn't bring him back after the restart.
Originally, Lu Yang's intention in coming to the Star Palace was to find an opportunity to demand a karmic connection to the Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness. He just hadn't figured out how to broach the subject. But now, he didn't even need to ask. Exalted One Hao Yuan had actively delivered it right to his doorstep.
But this makes sense.
The Star Palace only possesses The Mortal World trial. In their eyes, that trial has been permanently locked, so the corresponding karma naturally holds no value.
Bringing this out is mostly just an attempt to fool me.
He just didn't expect that this is exactly what I need.
As Lu Yang pondered inwardly, his face displayed a look of temptation. He first tucked the token away, then shook his head. "Just this one item is not enough."
Seeing this, Exalted One Hao Yuan simply asked directly.
"What do you want, Fellow Daoist?"
Lu Yang's eyes darted around as he thought. He didn't propose the plan to deal with Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory. After all, this was their first meeting, and they weren't very familiar with each other yet.
Under these circumstances, expecting these living corpses of the Star Palace to go up against the fiends of the Immortal Nexus and back him up was completely unrealistic. Furthermore, he hadn't demonstrated enough value to make them take such a risk. However, Lu Yang believed that given time, they would eventually choose to help him.
Therefore, he pivoted and raised a different request.
"I am very interested in your artifact and formation methods, Seniors. I wonder if there is an opportunity for me to learn them?"
He had felt something was off earlier.
The so-called Dao Soldiers of the Star Palace—those steel constructs and the profound methods that combined artifacts with formations—he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen them somewhere before.
Only now did he finally remember.
It's the Secret Explanation of Formations and Treasures!
The very first formation manual I got my hands on in the Saint Sect! Although the Star Palace's methods are far more advanced, the design principles coincide perfectly!
In other words...
The Star Palace's artifact refinement methods are connected to the Saint Sect!
A bold hypothesis surfaced in Lu Yang's mind. One of the four peaks of the Saint Sect, the Myriad Treasures Peak, specializes in artifact refinement... Could it be that it's the work of the first-generation Myriad Treasures Peak Master?