In the void, the black-robed youth sat cross-legged, a smile on his face. Golden light flowed at his fingertips, leaping like a golden snake before finally submerging into the space between his eyebrows.
'The [Divine Firmament Thunder] is even more perfect.'
Lu Yang was deeply satisfied. Faintly, he seemed to see an illusory light and shadow within this Dao Fruit—a profound wonder that was about to take shape and condense.
'The Dao comprehension of the [Pine & Cypress Wood] has greatly filled its previous flaws. From now on, as long as I attain the Dao Fruit, everything will naturally fall into place.'
As the saying goes, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Having Dao comprehension alone was not enough. Only by truly occupying the Dao Fruit and experiencing its internal workings could he genuinely master its core secrets. Only then would Lu Yang have the confidence to fill the [Divine Firmament Thunder]'s gap in the Wood element.
'At least all the immense effort I put in wasn't wasted.'
Lu Yang still felt lingering fear when he thought about it. After all, that was the World Honored One. Although it was merely an enlightened manifestation, to some extent, it represented the World Honored One's attitude.
Of course, this was also within his worst-case scenario plans.
Or rather, from the very beginning, he had been prepared to clash head-on with the World Honored One.
If he hadn't considered the possibility of the World Honored One intervening, he wouldn't have needed to make a special trip to the Star Palace to see if he could reap some benefits and maximize his strength. Naturally, running into the World Honored One at the Star Palace was an unexpected accident.
'After this incident, the World Honored One definitely has his eyes on me.'
'At the very least, my future attempt to attain the [Pine & Cypress Wood] definitely won't be hidden from him. When the time comes, he will most likely lay a trap for me inside the [Pine & Cypress Wood].'
Despite saying this, Lu Yang didn't panic.
The reason was simple: he was far too familiar with the World Honored One. He had already figured out exactly what kind of traps this 'magnanimous' lord could lay during his lifetime in the Celestial Court.
'It's nothing more than trying to guide me!'
'But my Dao Heart is perfect now. Even if he really does lay a trap inside the [Pine & Cypress Wood] to guide me, I have more than enough confidence to handle it.'
In contrast, the [Pomegranate Wood] was different.
It wasn't that he was afraid of that old... old but vigorous Ancestor of the Saint Sect.
It was mainly because he wasn't very familiar with the Saint Sect Ancestor, and he had absolutely no idea what kind of trap might be buried inside the [Pomegranate Wood]. Therefore, if he could avoid making that gamble, he wouldn't.
'Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory is dead, and the [Pine & Cypress Wood] is left vacant. Based on the experience from my previous life, even if the Pure Land still has Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta to fill the vacancy, it won't happen in just a year or two. It will take at least a dozen years. That amount of time is more than enough for me to beat him, seek the Golden Core, and claim the position.'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but let out a long breath.
His path forward was bright indeed.
As for whether the World Honored One would discover the secret of him possessing all four elements complete, Lu Yang wasn't worried in the slightest. After all, he had never displayed those methods in front of outsiders.
'At most, the World Honored One knows I possess a powerful Dharma Body.'
'That's nothing. After all, my body is right here; anyone with eyes can see it. Devouring Dao Fruits isn't the only method to cultivate the Dharma Body Dao.'
'However, by making [Sky-shrouding]'s secret public, the World Honored One will definitely grow suspicious. And not just him—any native of the Immortal Nexus would suspect that I also hail from the Immortal Nexus. But none of that matters. As long as the secret of possessing all four elements remains unexposed, all other secrets are not worth mentioning.'
He had restarted so many times, after all.
To put it bluntly, he knew better than anyone what the bottom line for each Dao Lord taking action was, and he knew exactly how to dance back and forth right on the edge of their tolerance.
'Among all the secrets I hold right now, the four complete elements is the most important one.'
'Because having all four elements means I practiced Si Sui's cultivation technique. In the future, it's highly likely I will reclaim control of the Dharma Body Dao, thereby shaking the very foundation of the Grotto-Heaven Method.'
'This is the absolute bottom line.'
'As long as I don't touch this bottom line, jumping around a bit won't be a big problem. No matter how much the World Honored One targets me, the most he'll do is enlighten another Titled Tathagata.'
But if he did cross that bottom line, he feared the World Honored One's massive foot would come stomping right down on him.
Because of this, during his previous battle with [Vajradhatu Ratnasambhava Tathagata], Lu Yang was willing to use up [Supreme Dao Transformation] rather than expose his bottom line.
'Anyway, the [Pine & Cypress Wood] is already half in my hands now.'
'Seeking the Dao has always been fraught with peril. As long as I can achieve my goal, any price paid is worth it.'
Lu Yang was already very satisfied with these battle results. What's more, he had an unexpected harvest this time—the Golden Nature of [Vajradhatu Ratnasambhava Tathagata]!
[Currently settling the experiences of 'Vajradhatu Ratnasambhava Tathagata'...]
[You are a member seated among the Five Directional Tathagatas of the 'Vajradhatu', a manifestation body personally enlightened by the World Honored One. You are innately divine, descending into the world in response to the summons of believers...]
Text surfaced on the interface.
Surprisingly, although the Golden Nature of [Vajradhatu Ratnasambhava Tathagata] was a three-in-one fusion, the settled experiences had nothing to do with the three Pure Land Bodhisattvas.
Instead, it was a fragmented record.
Lu Yang frowned slightly and carefully reviewed the record on the interface. Suddenly, a look of astonishment crossed his face. "[Vajradhatu]... could this be the World Honored One's Grotto-Heaven?"
According to the record, there were a total of five Titled Tathagatas within the [Vajradhatu], governing the five directions. They usually remained in a state of slumber, acting on behalf of the World Honored One to respond to the Buddhist cultivators and believers under his command. For example, Buddha Children and ordinary Tathagatas were actually sent down by them; the World Honored One himself rarely involved himself in the details.
'Why does this sound a bit like an AI?'
'I knew the World Honored One's One Mind felt weird. Many times, it wasn't actually the World Honored One paying attention, but rather a product that closely resembled him.'
'Looking at it this way, has the World Honored One been slacking off?'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang wore a look of deep contemplation:
'[Vajradhatu]... perhaps this is the source of One Mind, and the foundation that links all Buddhist cultivators together. Is this the method of a Dao Lord?'
According to the record, the [Vajradhatu] was not located on the Paramita, yet it was positioned higher than the [Sea of Bitterness]. It was somewhat like a secret realm space anchored beneath the World Honored One's stature. It contained endless concept and connected to all the Buddhist cultivators of the Pure Land. It could be said that under the Pure Land's jurisdiction, all myriad phenomena and entities would manifest within the [Vajradhatu].
'Isn't this just the [Sea of Bitterness]!'
Lu Yang's eyes lit up brightly, recalling his previous hypothesis that the World Honored One was actually the first-generation Master of Myriad Treasures Peak... Wasn't the ultimate goal of artifact-formations to refine the [Sea of Bitterness]?
It matched! Everything matched perfectly!
'If that's truly the case, then the [Vajradhatu] might be the culmination of the World Honored One's Dao of Artifact-Formations. He actually refined a miniature [Sea of Bitterness]!'
It was just that this miniature Sea of Bitterness was refined exclusively for the Pure Land's Buddhist cultivators. But regardless, in Lu Yang's eyes, this remained an epoch-making creation.
'Given enough time, if Buddhist cultivators truly expanded across the entire sea of light,wouldn't the [Vajradhatu] be able to directly replace the [Sea of Bitterness]?'
The World Honored One's ambitions were massive!
But that made sense. No matter what, he was still a Nascent Soul Dao Lord. Although he might be the weakest among them, precisely because of that, he would be even more driven to find a way to overtake the others on a curve.
'I've obtained another piece of high-value intelligence.'
When it came to intelligence, Lu Yang never felt he had too much. After all, this was exactly how [Sky-shrouding] had been hollowed out by him lifetime after lifetime until he was completely under Lu Yang's thumb.
It would definitely be put to good use next time!
Reeling in his thoughts, Lu Yang shifted his gaze, looking at the interface of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] while rubbing his hands together in anticipation... Next up was drawing a talent!
'No matter how you slice it, [Vajradhatu Ratnasambhava Tathagata] belongs to the highest tier of stature beneath the World Honored One, and he also fused the Golden Natures of the three Pure Land Bodhisattvas. If the three Bodhisattvas hadn't lacked the strength and foundational depth, he could have possessed the stature of a Great Perfected Lord. This has to yield a colorful talent, right?'
Soon, [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] began to shake.
Lu Yang's pupils shrank, his full attention focused on the interface. The feeling was akin to slowly opening a sealed blind pack, watching as what burst out from within was—
[You have obtained the Colorful Talent: Vajradhatu Mandala!]
Colorful light!
It actually dropped!