The Master of Beast Taming Peak!
Lu Yang was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized. 'I was wondering why someone who popped out of nowhere could fight me, even when Feixue was no match for me.'
'So it's the one who forged the Netherworld.'
'Then it's not surprising, not surprising at all...'
Following that, he focused his attention on the object left behind by the first-generation Master of Monster-Rearing Peak. [Nascent Light Sea]—this name was too damn intimidating.
But time was limited, and Lu Yang didn't dare delay. He quickly skimmed past the handwriting and refocused his attention on the page that resembled both a book and a painting—overlapping lines interwove into countless circles. At the same time, these circles intertwined with each other, ultimately outlining an even more massive circle.
This was an incredibly abstract pattern.
However, when Lu Yang truly looked deeply into it, he gradually discovered that these lines seemed to come alive, transforming into the countless concept he had mastered.
"This is..."
Lu Yang froze, his gaze locked onto one of the circles in the pattern. Because if he substituted the lines on it with the concept he had mastered...
Then he was extremely familiar with the way the lines were combined to weave this circle.
'Is it the [Pine & Cypress Wood]?'
No, it wasn't a complete Dao Fruit. It only had an embryonic form, a framework. It was just like... the embryonic Dao Fruit of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]!
In an instant, Lu Yang understood.
"My heavens... this kind of thing, this kind of thing can actually be created by a human? Just how high was the Dao comprehension of that first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak?"
Comprehending the Great Dao was an incredibly profound and mysterious matter.
When the vast majority of cultivators were in a state of comprehending a Dao Fruit, they knew the "what" but not the "why." They relied more on a vague, unseen intuition.
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde, for example.
Those further up, like Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue, had their own unique understanding of the Great Dao. They analyzed its essence and ultimately turned it into their own resources.
As for the absolute pinnacle, Lu Yang had previously always believed it to be [Sky-shrouding]. At his realm, the Five Elements Dao Fruits held no secrets for him. He knew the "what" and the "why." For him, there was never any such thing as "it can only be sensed, not explained." He could even bring forth new ideas and attain Pseudo Void Attainment Dao Fruits.
But now, Lu Yang saw a new pinnacle.
'Five Elements Dao Fruits? The first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak had already surpassed that level. [Nascent Light Sea]... he was simulating a newly born sea of light!'
Lu Yang was utterly astounded inwardly.
He was not only amazed by the ambition of the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak, but even more amazed that—he succeeded! At least in Lu Yang's eyes, the [Nascent Light Sea] was quite perfect.
'All concept are in a state before chaos has been split.'
'The Five Elements Dao Fruits I know of all have embryonic forms, but none have officially formed. Different Dao Fruits are even blending together, without clear boundaries...'
"...Hm?"
In an instant, Lu Yang jolted and reacted. 'Different Dao Fruits blending? Isn't this exactly the ratio between Dao Fruits that I was pursuing earlier?'
The very instant he comprehended this, the picture in Lu Yang's eyes changed again. The originally rigid, motionless picture seemed to suddenly come alive. The lines actually began to flow, and the circles formed by their intertwining were no longer stagnant. Instead, they separated and merged, constantly converging with other circles and then parting again.
This made Lu Yang feel somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
To be honest, when the black-robed man told him earlier that the reward of [Responding to Emperors] required comprehension, his blood ran cold. After all, his talent was very unique.
Without Patriarch Nether Whisper by his side, his talent was difficult to utilize.
Yet now, relying solely on himself, he had comprehended the profound wonder of the [Nascent Light Sea] in less than a quarter of an hour, and had even made the picture move.
'Oh my... could my comprehension ability be a little too good?'
I'm scaring myself!
Filled with a degree of satisfaction, Lu Yang immersed himself even more earnestly in the evolving patterns of the [Nascent Light Sea], without attempting to capture the shifts of the entire sea of light.
'The best method, of course, is to comprehend the entire [Nascent Light Sea].'
'If nothing goes wrong, only by doing that can it be completely mastered... but this is too difficult. For me, it would be an attempt to bite off more than I can chew.'
'There's no need.'
Although his ego had inflated slightly just now, he was actually still very self-aware. Therefore, he completely ignored the shifts of the entire pattern.
His gaze was firmly locked onto the circular pattern he had just seen, the one suspected to be the embryonic form of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]. He just watched it flow among the countless lines, converging and separating with circles formed by different lines. Then, he distinguished them... Finally, he saw the scene he wanted.
'It's really there!'
'It's the [Placer Gold in Sand] and the [Wellspring Water]! At this moment, the embryonic pattern of the [Pine & Cypress Wood] has converged with the embryonic patterns of these two Dao Fruits!'
Lu Yang immediately threw his entire heart and soul into it.
This was his method of comprehension. It was still the same principle: shoot the arrow first, then draw the bullseye. Biting off more than he could chew would only lead to indigestion. As long as he could comprehend this, it was enough!
Meanwhile, in reality.
On the seat of [Responding to Emperors], dense streams of light suddenly surfaced on Lu Yang's main body. These streams of light were fine and bright, flowing like river water.
"This is...?"
The next second, Patriarch Nether Whisper and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon both appeared. They had been guarding Lu Yang this whole time, so they naturally noticed this anomaly immediately. However, soon after, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon revealed a look of delight. "Are the Dao Fruit profound wonders... combining? Did Lu Yang comprehend something?"
"It seems so..."
Patriarch Nether Whisper narrowed his eyes. From his perspective, the flowing light around Lu Yang grew increasingly clear, finally revealing their true forms. They were talismanic character.
These characters combined with each other, subsequently generating concept.
Following that, the concepts combined with each other, forming three brilliant lights. Then, these three brilliant lights connected end-to-end, subsequently transforming into a halo of light.
However, this was not the end. The halo of light slowly began to rotate around its center point. Like a machine that had finally had its switch pressed and started operating, before long, the halo transformed into a fruit-like ball of light. The moment it appeared, before it even moved, the surrounding void had already collapsed!
Almost simultaneously, Lu Yang opened his eyes.
His consciousness plummeted from the boundless heights of comprehending the [Nascent Light Sea]. He abruptly stood up. With the world spinning around him, he had already returned to the real world.
"Haha! I did it!"
In this moment, the depths of Lu Yang's heart were filled with joy.
Earlier, during his battle with the black-robed man, he had increased his power by combining the [Pine & Cypress Wood], [Placer Gold in Sand], and [Wellspring Water].
However, the combination at the time was still too hasty. It seemed perfect when he looked at it then, but looking back now, there were actually many minor flaws. However, after comprehending the [Nascent Light Sea] and clearly witnessing the phenomenon when the three blended together, he had successfully merged the three profound wonders completely!
The result was the fruit-shaped ball of light in his hand.
'This is—the Dao Fruit Secret Method!'
Realization dawned in Lu Yang's heart. To put it bluntly, this was a combination skill of Dao Fruit profound wonders. It was also the key to why Great Perfected Lords of the Grotto-Heaven Method were ahead of other Dao lineages.
Different Dao Fruits, blending together to form a "Dao Fruit."
"The so-called Dao Fruit Secret Method, depending on the targeted objective and direction, will yield different results even with the exact same Dao Fruits."
"Take me, for example."
"The Dao Fruit Secret Method I combined using the [Pine & Cypress Wood], [Placer Gold in Sand], and [Wellspring Water] is fundamentally based on the profound wonder of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]."
'Therefore, this Dao Fruit should be called the [Dao Fruit of Defying Branches to Uphold the Mountain]. Through it, I can drastically enhance the adaptation profound wonder of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]. However, if I change the primary profound wonder to the [Placer Gold in Sand] instead, what derives from it will be an entirely new Dao Fruit Secret Method.'
'This is the method of a Great Perfected Lord of the Grotto-Heaven Method.'
'Combining at least three Dao Fruits with each other, and by adjusting the primary and secondary ratios, deploying different Dao Fruit Secret Methods... This actually already had an example.'
The Dao-Seeking Immortal Method!
The hidden condition for a Grotto-Heaven Method Perfected Lord to break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core—the Dao-Seeking Immortal Method formed by combining three True Treasures—was actually the embryonic form of a Dao Fruit Secret Method!
'From the early stage to the mid-stage of the Golden Core, one masters the Dao-Seeking Immortal Method.'
'From the mid-stage to the late stage of the Golden Core, one masters the Dao Fruit Secret Method.'
'The cultivation process progresses layer by layer, with a clear system. I must admit, the technical depth of the Grotto-Heaven Method is boundlessly higher than that of Spiritual Power, Dao Arts, and Dharma Bodies!'
At this thought, Lu Yang suddenly froze.
'Speaking of which, if I now had Perfected Lords of the [Placer Gold in Sand] and [Wellspring Water] anchored to me, wouldn't I be able to become a Great Perfected Lord of the [Pine & Cypress Wood]?'