The [Sea of Light] had suffered under cultivators for far too long.
Lu Yang himself was startled by this sudden thought. However, he quickly realized: 'That wasn't my thought—it was that ripple of karma!'
Why would this happen?
With this realization, he immediately formed a hand seal and began rubbing sparks between his fingertips, doing everything in his power to sense that obscure, unclear karmic fluctuation.
'In the beginning, the light sea was pure.'
'Until in a certain world realm, a mortal tempered his body, endured countless hardships, and finally resonated with the Dharma Body Dao, becoming the very first cultivator of the light sea.'
'Soon, under the leadership of this first cultivator, that world realm officially embarked on the path of cultivation and began expanding at an astonishing speed. With the overwhelming advantage of cultivators against mortals, if there were no unexpected variables, this first cultivator would have inevitably achieved unimaginably great deeds.'
'And so, the variable arrived.'
'Soon, the second cultivator of the light sea appeared. By observing heaven and earth, he perceived the existence of spiritual qi and refined the very first wisp of spiritual power.'
'Thus, the Spiritual Power Dao manifested in the world.'
'Before long, the world realms led by these two cultivators discovered each other through an unseen resonance. And naturally, the first Great Tribulation occurred.'
Lu Yang's deduction abruptly came to a halt.
Simultaneously, a wave of realization flooded his mind: 'That's right, the first Great Tribulation. It was triggered by the variable, and its purpose was to destroy the newly born cultivators!'
The [Sea of Light] did not like cultivators.
Because whether it was Dharma Body or Spiritual Power, as the cultivators grew increasingly powerful, their encroachment upon these two primordial Great Daos became increasingly severe.
Ultimately, neither the Dharma Body nor Spiritual Power would belong to the [Sea of Light] anymore.
That was why the Light Sea wanted to exterminate cultivators. This wasn't the Light Sea possessing conscious awareness; it was more akin to a body's automatic immune response kicking in after detecting a pathogen.
However, precisely because of this... the Light Sea ultimately failed.
'If the [Sea of Light] possessed consciousness, it absolutely wouldn't have spawned Spiritual Power cultivators to deal with Dharma Body cultivators. Wouldn't that be the equivalent of drinking poison to quench thirst...'
And the facts indeed proved this.
Lu Yang resumed his deduction, and the vast karmic net immediately responded to him: 'The war between the Dharma Body cultivators and the Spiritual Power cultivators raged for an entire millennium. Throughout this Great Tribulation, in order to secure victory, the cultivators relentlessly researched and studied, seeking to become stronger and bring out their respective advantages more perfectly.'
'And so, the Dao Art Dao manifested in the world.'
'Dao Arts were born from Spiritual Power and Dharma Body, disrupting the plans of both sides. Neither side ever expected a third party to enter the fray.'
'In the name of maintaining stability, the Dharma Body cultivators and Spiritual Power cultivators joined forces to eradicate the Dao Art cultivators.'
'As a result, the Dao Arts fled, escaping to the barren fringes of the Light Sea.'
'Meanwhile, both the Dharma Body cultivators and the Spiritual Power cultivators had suffered catastrophic losses and were forced to call a truce. Both sides focused on recuperating while simultaneously spreading their Dao lineages.'
'Gradually, everyone realized that the sea of light was actually unbelievably vast. There was absolutely no need for them to fight to the bitter end over a few world realms. As the years passed, the hatred of the older generations was buried by time, and an increasing number of cultivators chose peaceful coexistence, seeking the Dao together.'
'Thus, cultivator civilization ushered in its second explosive era of rapid advancement.'
Calculating up to this point, Lu Yang couldn't help but shake his head. 'An expected development. What happened next? Don't tell me the sea of light rubbed together Dao Fruits next?'
Would it really fall into the same pit twice?
Driven by curiosity, Lu Yang continued sensing the karma, and soon he had his answer:
The good news was that the sea of light wasn't stupid enough to create Dao Fruits in order to combat the Dharma Body, Dao Arts, and Spiritual Power. The bad news was that it wasn't that smart either.
It chose to coexist with the cultivators.
As the saying goes, if you can't resist, just lie back and enjoy it. Under the influence of the cultivators, the sea of light gradually underwent a complete transformation, no longer resisting their existence.
Because of that, the cultivators began growing stronger and stronger.
During this period, Dao Fruits emerged. This further exacerbated the explosive growth in the cultivator population, while also providing them with a fourth viable path.
Moreover, as the three great foundations of cultivators, the primordial Great Daos of Dharma Body, Spiritual Power, and Dao Arts were unimaginably vast—more than enough to accommodate all cultivators.
As time flowed on, finally, the very first cultivator to completely master a Great Dao emerged. This cultivator was a latecomer, yet possessed peerless comprehension. He pioneered the method of devouring Dao Fruits. Relying on this to rapidly elevate his cultivation base, he came from behind and seized control of the Dharma Body Great Dao.
'It's Si Sui!'
Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected to hear Si Sui's name here. Devouring Dao Fruits—wasn't that exactly what the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture] was all about!
'Completely mastering a Great Dao... does that mean advancing to Great Perfected Lord?'
Lu Yang speculated inwardly. He was also on the verge of mastering the Dharma Body Dao now, and he clearly understood that mastering the Dharma Body Dao and using it to reach the [Paramita] were two entirely different concepts.
'This is a fragment of taboo knowledge!'
The 'weight' of his thoughts gradually increased. However, Lu Yang had already endured the torment of taboo knowledge many times, so he could still bear this level of strain.
'What's next? What happens next?'
Lu Yang's curiosity grew increasingly intense. After all, this was a heaven-sent serendipity, brought about because his actions of enlightening the Inner Demon and instructing Chong Guang aligned perfectly with a certain karma.
Soon, the vast karmic net transmitted a sensation.
'Where there is one, there will be two. Soon after, the Spiritual Power Dao and the Dao Art Dao also found their masters. They used their own understanding and comprehension to alter the primordial Great Daos.'
'And then, they made a discovery: the Dao path was severed.'
'The three primordial Great Daos were the three great pillars of the Sea of Light. By mastering them, they had reached the absolute pinnacle. There was no longer any path upward.'
This should have been a perfect environment.
All cultivators possessed incredibly long lifespans, and the most outstanding among them could even achieve immortality. Although the number of cultivators continued to grow, the Light Sea was similarly infinite and boundless.
However... human ambition is like a boulder rolling down a high mountain. Once it starts, it can never be stopped.
With the Dao path severed and no way to advance, no one was willing to accept this outcome. The three Masters of the Great Daos entered secluded cultivation for long years, painstakingly searching for a method to break through.
Until one day—
Rumble!
Accompanied by a deafening roar echoing in his ears, Lu Yang abruptly opened his eyes. His connection with the vast karmic net had been violently severed, and the backlash instantly swept over him!
Pfft!
In an instant, despite his currently high stature and incredibly resilient Dharma Body, he still felt as if he had been struck by a massive blow. The bones and sinews throughout his entire body were shattered tens of thousands of times in a single moment!
In that split second, he didn't dare hesitate, hastily forming a hand seal.
'[The Heart of Eternal Rectitude]!'
Instantly, the Dao Fruit profound wonder of the [Pine & Cypress Wood] enhanced his Dharma Body. The nameless mighty power that should have continued shattering and completely annihilating his Dharma Body was rapidly diminished.
Simultaneously, his Dharma Body—which had been severely injured in the blink of an eye—began recovering at an inconceivable speed. The two mighty powers clashed and tore at each other within his body. It was only after a long while that Lu Yang finally gained the upper hand, dragging his life back from the brink of death.
Hoo...
Only then did Lu Yang exhale a breath reeking of blood, a look of profound shock surfacing in his eyes. 'That strike just now... it wasn't someone attacking me from afar.'
"It was knowledge!"
'The vast karmic net couldn't bear the [weight] of that fragment of taboo knowledge, which is why it severed its connection with me, resulting in the backlash!'
'Incredible...'
Just a single fragment of knowledge was so [heavy] that even the vast karmic net couldn't bear it. This meant this knowledge had long been buried at the very bottom of the karmic net.
Thanks to this, he was unable to learn about that dust-covered past.
Of course, he hadn't gained nothing.
At the very least, he had comprehended one thing:
'Within the Sea of Light, aside from the Dharma Body, Dao Arts, and Spiritual Power, there is another Great Dao that has never been attained. It is the self-immunization mechanism of the sea of light.'
'It is innately positioned in absolute opposition to cultivators.'
'However, because the other three Great Daos all had cultivators occupying them while this one did not, the sea of light was forced to suppress it and chose to coexist with cultivators.'
As for this Great Dao, it possessed a name that left much to the imagination.
'[Tribulation]!'