[Responding to Emperors].
Lu Yang advanced with irresistible force. After clearing the second orifice, he once again gained an opportunity to sense the [Nascent Light Sea]. However, this time, his thoughts had changed.
'Something isn't right.'
Looking at the flowing abstract pattern before him, Lu Yang frowned tightly. 'This broken thing... even the Patriarch felt there was no way to take it directly.'
Lu Yang had always placed absolute trust in his own world-shocking comprehension ability. If even Patriarch Nether Whisper couldn't take away the reward of [Responding to Emperors], he truly couldn't imagine who else could. So, either there was a problem with the this stage, or there was a problem with the method.
'Which one could it be?'
Lu Yang instinctively suspected the black-robed man. After all, as a Perfected Lord of the Saint Sect, he didn't hesitate to evaluate every Saint Sect disciple from the worst possible angle.
However, after careful consideration, he felt that shouldn't be the case.
'If there truly is a trap, even if the other party's methods are too brilliant for me to see through, the [Immortal Nexus Survival Guide] wouldn't fail to notice it.'
After all, that was a talent provided by [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
While he didn't trust Saint Sect disciples, he absolutely trusted [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. The latter was the very foundation of his survival in this dreadful place.
'It's more likely a problem with the method.'
At this thought, the second comprehension session came to an end. For Lu Yang, this comprehension session couldn't be called fruitful; at the very least, he gained absolutely nothing.
'This is normal, too. After all, I've already deduced three Dao Fruit Secret Methods. Even with my currently profound foundation, without elevating my stature to a Great Perfected Lord, trying to create even more Dao Fruit Secret Methods is pushing it a bit too far... It's definitely not because my comprehension is lacking.'
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yang returned to the place of darkness.
The black-robed man's figure also walked out again, rubbing his hands together. "How is it? Does Fellow Daoist wish to open the third orifice? I won't be careless this time."
"Hehe."
Lu Yang chuckled lightly, then suddenly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, I actually have a question I'd like to ask Fellow Daoist. Could Fellow Daoist enlighten me?"
"Speak freely," the black-robed man nodded.
"Is opening orifices truly the condition to clear [Responding to Emperors]?"
"...Oh!"
Before Lu Yang even finished his sentence, the black-robed man's tone underwent a subtle change. He asked with a half-smile, "Why would Fellow Daoist have such a thought?"
"Because from the very beginning, you never said opening orifices was the method to take the [Nascent Light Sea]," Lu Yang recalled, shaking his head. "You only said the only way to obtain the [Nascent Light Sea] is to establish a connection with it, but you never explicitly stated what that has to do with opening orifices."
"Opening orifices merely opens a passage within [Hundun]."
"If this is just your trap, deliberately inducing others to open orifices so they can't take the reward, then everything makes sense."
The more the black-robed man listened, the more peculiar his expression became.
Only after Lu Yang finished speaking did he sigh, then asked curiously, "Why does Fellow Daoist think so poorly of people? You aren't a disciple of my Saint Sect, are you?"
Lu Yang: "..."
Following that, the black-robed man explained, "Actually, Fellow Daoist has put the cart before the horse. It's not that I deliberately use opening orifices to trick people into being unable to take the reward."
"In fact, from the moment you sense your Dao Fruit within [Hundun], you have already failed to clear the stage."
"The reason I left behind the trial of opening orifices is actually because I felt the test of [Responding to Emperors] was too difficult. Many people didn't understand the underlying principles and failed to clear the stage in a daze."
"Therefore, I specifically left some leeway for the failures, allowing them to also gain some compensation for their failure by continuously comprehending the [Nascent Light Sea]."
Lu Yang listened with an expressionless face.
Make it up. Keep making it up!
Seeing his completely disbelieving expression, the black-robed man could only lament how the hearts of men in the sea of light were not what they used to be in ancient times. He then said, "Anyway, Fellow Daoist's words are not wrong."
"Opening orifices is indeed not the method to clear the stage."
"As for the correct method to clear the stage, it actually doesn't matter if I tell Fellow Daoist... Even if it were spread out, very few people would dare to attempt the correct method."
At this point, the black-robed man suddenly smiled. "The correct method is, after entering [Hundun], do not forcefully open orifices. Even go so far as to actively sever the divine sense connection with the outside world. Just like that, sense the [Nascent Light Sea] within [Hundun] and establish a connection with it. That is how you clear the stage."
"However, the moment a connection is generated with a Dao Fruit on the outside, it's over."
"In this regard, the higher the comprehension and the better the talent, the easier it is to fall into the trap. Because for someone with good talent, sensing a Dao Fruit is simply too easy."
"So Fellow Daoist is already out of luck."
As his words fell, the black-robed man looked at Lu Yang with a twisted sense of amusement, wanting to properly admire the other party's contorted expression upon missing out on a fortuitous encounter.
"Oh." Lu Yang remained unmoved.
As a result, it was the black-robed man who grew curious. "Does Fellow Daoist not feel it's a pity? With your low comprehension and such an ugly appearance, you originally had hope of clearing the stage."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yang's face instantly darkened.
What do you mean I'm ugly?
When I first entered the Saint Sect, I was selected into Heaven-Mending Peak as an outstanding disciple! My appearance screams tall and handsome; how can it possibly have anything to do with ugly?
'Oh right, these guys with peerless talent judge people by their Dao resonance, not their flesh and physical appearance.'
Damn comprehension-sexuals!
Lu Yang cursed inwardly, but his face remained impassive. He said in a deep voice, "If I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate. The fortuitous encounter of the world cannot possibly all belong to me."
Hearing this, the black-robed man nodded. "Fellow Daoist is open-minded. It seems I am the one who is too attached to appearances."
This was also normal. Cultivators without [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] were like this. Their view was stuck in this single lifetime, and they could only live a relatively failed life.
"Let's continue opening orifices."
Lu Yang formed a hand seal. "I advise Fellow Daoist to just give up. At my current realm in the mid-stage of the Golden Core, I am basically invincible under heaven."
The black-robed man did not refute him.
After all, Lu Yang's foundation was indeed the best he had seen in his entire life. Even his main body from his memories, with its world-shocking talent, was actually inferior back then.
"Who is inferior?"
Suddenly, a thought inexplicably popped into the black-robed man's mind. It was very faint, very subtle, like a single splash on the churning waves of a vast ocean.
The black-robed man was instantly stunned.
"This is..."
The next second, his eyes changed.
It was merely a single thought, yet in an instant, it usurped all of the black-robed man's thoughts, causing all his actions to completely align with that faint thought.
[Who is the person claiming to be invincible under heaven?]
—It was just such a simple thought that made the black-robed man stare fixedly at Lu Yang. Boundless light of wisdom and Great Dao characters seemed to surface in the depths of his eyes.
Simultaneously, Lu Yang also deployed the [Divine Firmament Thunder], preparing to execute his third Dao Fruit Secret Method, which was also his most prized one. However, on the other side, upon seeing the [Divine Firmament Thunder], the black-robed man seemed to understand something and couldn't help but sigh in realization:
"I see, has the [Tribulation] already emerged in the world?"
No wonder he was startled awake.
So that Lord's scheme from back then had already reached this point? [Inevitable Fate], it truly was [Inevitable Fate]. Is there no one left who can stop Him?
In this moment, all sounds faded into absolute silence.
Lu Yang's movements halted, time seemed to freeze, and all things and affairs stopped in their tracks before this single thought, waiting patiently.
Bang!
The next second, the black-robed man's body exploded violently. The frail body manifested from rules was fundamentally incapable of bearing this faint thought for a prolonged period.
Everything rapidly returned to normal, and Lu Yang stood frozen in place.
'What... just happened?'
He had only experienced a similar feeling once before, when the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion cast his gaze down.
Motherfucker, did a Dao Lord just cast their gaze down!?
Impossible! This is [The Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness].
Not a Dao Lord?
The black-robed man, the Master of Beast Taming Peak... the Master of the Netherworld? Lu Yang instinctively recalled the remnant thought within the Netherworld Core from his previous life that perished together with [Sky-shrouding].
No way, you can actually wake up?
An enemy from the underground???
'No, not necessarily an enemy... This is an opportunity!'
An opportunity to communicate with the Master of the Netherworld and obtain a massive amount of forbidden knowledge!
Lu Yang took a deep breath, glanced at [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] beside him, calmed his mind, and waited patiently for a moment, preparing for the black-robed man to reappear.
However, bizarrely, he waited for a full half-hour.
The black-robed man completely vanished, and that thought suspected to be from the Netherworld did not reappear, as if everything that had just happened was merely his hallucination.
No way, right?
Did I cause [Responding to Emperors] to crash?
(End of Chapter)