In a place of boundless darkness, where one couldn't even see their own hand in front of their face, a beam of firelight abruptly flared up, expanding in all directions with blazing intensity.
[Holding Candle Driving Night Light]!
Fire separates inside and out, light manifests surface and interior; Yin within and Yang without. Outwardly, it pierces through all secrets; inwardly, it conceals boundless heavenly mysteries. It locked straight onto the black-robed man's location.
Faced with this beam of firelight, the black-robed man didn't even bother dodging. Instead, he pinched a streak of pitch-black lightning between his fingers. As if holding a brush, he began writing and drawing in the empty void. Before long, a talismanic character was written in mid-air. Then, with a surge of profound wonder, it similarly burst forth with brilliant light.
Looking out, it was entirely identical to the [Holding Candle Driving Night Light] born from the [Overturned Lamp Flame]!
'I'll be damned...'
Seeing this scene, Lu Yang felt his scalp tingle slightly. After all, with his current Dao comprehension, he could naturally tell what the black-robed man had just done:
'He drew out a Dao Fruit profound wonder!'
'He used the [Master of Great Tribulations] to sketch a framework, modifying the concept to make it take effect in a short period of time... This is using a Dao Fruit profound wonder like a talisman!'
The [Master of Great Tribulations] could actually do such a thing.
Although he could also execute the profound wonders of other Dao Fruits by modifying concept, that required using a complete Dao Fruit as a framework.
But the black-robed man was different.
He was painting entirely out of thin air. With a few casual strokes, he sketched out the framework. The advantage was that he didn't need to borrow a complete Dao Fruit... and he could use multiple at the same time!
The next second, the black-robed man formed incantations with his fingers, moving as fast as light and electricity. He actually drew three talismans in a row. Aside from the [Overturned Lamp Flame] he had just used to counter Lu Yang, there was also the [Boundless Dao] of the [Great Relay Earth], the [Shared Nourishment] of the [Wellspring Water], and the [Gaining Momentum] of the [Placer Gold in Sand]!
Instantly, heaven and earth turned entirely white.
In this process, within just a split second, the profound wonders of Lu Yang and the black-robed man transformed into streaks of blindingly bright light that flashed between the two of them.
[Overturned Lamp Flame] clashed.
The two beams of firelight collided. You expose my secrets, I expose yours. Simultaneously, an earth-yellow hue fell, tightly trapping Lu Yang in the center.
[Boundless Dao], sealing the path!
With this profound wonder sealing off his retreat, Lu Yang had nowhere to run. Yet almost simultaneously, he was constantly opening up new "retreat paths," fighting for room to maneuver.
Next was [Gaining Momentum].
This profound wonder was applied to the [Divine Firmament Thunder], used by the black-robed man to accelerate the charge time of the heavenly tribulation. Ultimately, it evolved into an absolutely massive streak of lightning.
[Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation]!
And as the lightning locked onto Lu Yang and descended, the final [Shared Nourishment] was simultaneously deployed. It ensured that when Lu Yang attempted to transfer his injuries, they would be transferred right back to him, completely sealing off his last bit of operational space. It forced him to tank this thunderbolt head-on!
'Completely suppressed in every aspect...'
Bathing in the lightning, Lu Yang muttered inwardly: 'I used all four profound wonders of the Dharma Body Dao, yet they were all suppressed head-on by the opponent's operational skill in actual combat.'
'So this is a system?'
'[Overturned Lamp Flame] for tracking, [Boundless Dao] for crowd control, [Gaining Momentum] for charging up, [Divine Firmament Thunder] for the sure-kill strike, and [Shared Nourishment] to prevent injury transfer.'
It looked like just a single sentence.
However, after experiencing it firsthand, a wave of realization surfaced in Lu Yang's heart. 'I see. It truly has formed a system. The coordination is simply flawless.'
In comparison, although he could also use these four profound wonders, and even combine them, he couldn't do it as effortlessly as the black-robed man. In fact, because he deployed multiple profound wonders simultaneously, they would clash with each other. This was due to an insufficient understanding of the profound wonders he had mastered.
Knowing the surface but not the underlying principles.
'It's normal, though. After all, these profound wonders were all usurped using the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture]. Their essence is still just piling up on the Dharma Body; I've never deeply studied them.'
'But now that I've seen it, I can learn it too.'
Lu Yang's eyes were completely calm as he formed a hand seal.
Subsequently, his Dharma Body—which had been disintegrating inch by inch under the [Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation]—suddenly emanated an azure light that blew like a howling gale.
[The Heart of Eternal Rectitude]!
'The twin qi of Yin and Yang intertwine to give birth to thunder. By discerning the Five Elements, one finds that its Dao rests in Xun.'
'Xun embodies the central realm of Heaven. The four directions and the four corners are thus divided into the Nine Heavens.'
"Among the Nine Heavens, only one abides within the Brahma Qi. Within the heart, it is called the Divine—therefore it is known as the Divine Firmament. It maintains the balance of all things, governs both objects and beings, and presides over Heaven's calamities and blessings'
This was the relevant Dao comprehension knowledge regarding the [Divine Firmament Thunder].
This was also the method he had mastered after deeply studying the [Pine & Cypress Wood]. By expounding upon the concept of the profound wonder he needed to adapt to, he could slightly accelerate the speed of adaptation.
Lu Yang formed seals with his hands and chanted incantations with his mouth. Cloaked in the azure wind, he seemed to drift like an immortal. He actually tanked all the lightning head-on! For every fraction his Dharma Body was shaved off, it regenerated by a fraction. The closer he was to death, the more indestructible he became. The more severe his injuries, the more fiercely the azure wind of the profound wonder blew!
And that wasn't all.
Within the azure wind, a hazy layer of golden sand could faintly be seen, draping over Lu Yang like a robe, further enhancing the profound wonder of [The Heart of Eternal Rectitude].
[Gaining Momentum]!
For [Placer Gold in Sand], the precious quality is hidden within the sand; it is only through washing and refining that it becomes a treasure. It similarly held the concept of undergoing hardships before transforming into true gold. Moreover, the [Pine & Cypress Wood] favored residing beneath Metal.
Following that, Lu Yang changed his hand seal again, grasping a beam of shimmering spring essence.
[Wellspring Water]!
[Placer Gold in Sand] carried the meaning of tempering, while [Wellspring Water] possessed the virtue of nourishment. Furthermore, the two exhibited the phenomenon of "Metal generating Water," forming a mutually beneficial cycle.
The combination of the two further elevated the aura of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]!
Simultaneously, Lu Yang activated the [Mystic Gate Spirit-Refinement Art], pairing it with the Tribulation Wave to sever the future, minimizing his chances of failure to the absolute lowest.
The reason I didn't win earlier was definitely because I hadn't stacked enough of [The Heart of Eternal Rectitude]!
'Metal and Water generate each other, capable of nurturing towering forests.'
'Only when Metal and Wood overcome each other does a supremely prosperous and wondrous destiny arise!'
As his words fell, the golden sand and spring essence merged simultaneously. The azure light, which was already exceedingly vigorous, surged like oil poured onto a raging fire, shattering the lightning in an instant!
Witnessing this scene, the black-robed man's expression remained unchanged, but he was cursing up a storm inwardly:
'The [Pine & Cypress Wood] is about to complete its adaptation... This bullshit monster!'
Don't let the fact that he seemed to effortlessly suppress Lu Yang just now fool you. In reality, that was the absolute pinnacle of his skills; his operation was so perfect it even scared himself.
But what about Lu Yang? Relying on nothing but a single [The Heart of Eternal Rectitude], he just tanked his maximum damage output head-on. It felt exactly as if he hadn't made a single mistake and pulled off a perfect string of operations, yet still ended up getting beaten to death by the opponent's plain, unadorned, punch-after-punch combo.
No matter who you were, you wouldn't accept this!
But watching Lu Yang grow increasingly stable under the enhancement of the azure light, while the feedback from the [Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation] grew increasingly feeble, he could only sigh.
"Forget it, forget it."
"Although it's limited to taking beatings, at least you know how to combine profound wonders. Your Dao comprehension hasn't gone to waste entirely. I'll consider it some progress for now."
The next second, the azure light completely engulfed the [Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation], erasing all the thunder. And Lu Yang walked out from within, his clothes in tatters.
"Congratulations," the black-robed man nodded slightly. "You have passed the first stag—"
"Go to hell!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Lu Yang stepped out of the lightning, his figure flashed as he flew forward. Before the black-robed man could even finish his sentence, Lu Yang viciously smashed a fist right into his face.
Rumble!
The black-robed man was instantly blown to pieces.
Inside the pavilion, Lu Yang opened his eyes again, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Evidently, although the black-robed man talked a big game, in reality, he was using weak force to deflect a strong force. The process of fighting him was actually extremely arduous.
'I have attained enlightenment!'
Regarding the method of merging Metal and Water to elevate [The Heart of Eternal Rectitude] just now, he had actually mastered the prerequisites long ago. He was fairly proficient in the Dao comprehension of all three.
But he didn't know how to use them before.
It was like a highly complex math problem. He knew all the formulas required to solve it, but he just couldn't put them together to crack the problem.
But now, he had successfully solved one.
Although it was primarily used for taking beatings and lacked many of the outward variations of on-the-spot adaptation during combat, he had ultimately completed a perfect combination of profound wonders.
'Perhaps this is the method of a Great Perfected Lord of the Immortal Nexus.'
Realization dawned on Lu Yang. Great Perfected Lords anchored themselves to Dao Fruits. At the very least, they could deploy three Dao Fruit profound wonders simultaneously. One could imagine how much power they would have when combined.
With this thought, he immediately exited [Responding to Emperors].
Having just gained some enlightenment, his hands were itching for a fight.
The next second, Lu Yang returned to the [Seven Luminaries Heaven]. Spotting Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue, who was currently meditating and regulating her breath, he laughed heartily. "Feixue, let's fight again!"
Upon hearing this, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue was momentarily stunned. Then, she raised a beautiful eyebrow, amazement surfacing in her eyes.
'He's different... did he get stronger?'
In a split second, her peerlessly beautiful face rapidly contorted, a ferocious curve forming on her red lips. She then similarly threw her head back and laughed, riding a streak of light into the sky.
"You think I'm afraid of you?"