[Responding to Emperors].
Lu Yang sat on the grand armchair. In the blink of an eye, he entered the place of darkness. He then sensed his Dao Fruit, and very quickly, the black-robed man walked out from the darkness.
"Hm? It's you?"
Upon seeing Lu Yang, the black-robed man was momentarily stunned, then said in surprise, "Having not seen you for a few years, I thought Fellow Daoist had long since died on the outside."
"Cut the crap."
Lu Yang grinned, rubbing his hands together. "So you won't accuse me of lacking immortal virtue—go on, I'll let you make the first move. Let me see what other tricks you still have up your sleeve."
Hearing this, the black-robed man couldn't help but laugh out loud. "When Fellow Daoist fought my first orifice self last time, you only survived relying entirely on that set of profound wonders meant for taking a beating. If not for the special properties of the [Pine & Cypress Wood], Fellow Daoist probably wouldn't have even passed the first orifice. Yet now you actually dare to speak so arrogant."
"Is that so?"
Lu Yang formed a hand seal. An illusory, fruit-shaped ball of light instantly surfaced between his eyebrows. Flowing with Great Dao characters, three Dao Fruit profound wonders were perfectly combined within.
[Mountain-Bearing Dao Fruit]!
"Hm?"
Seeing this, the black-robed man instantly revealed a look of surprise, though he quickly recovered his calm. "I see. So this is Fellow Daoist's underlying confidence?"
"A Dao Fruit Secret Method?"
"Not bad, I suppose. But it's a pity it's still not enough."
The next second, the black-robed man similarly drew talismans in mid-air, modifying concept to simulate Dao Fruits. Before long, an identical Dao Fruit surfaced.
"Starting from the second orifice, I will also utilize Dao Fruit Secret Methods. Furthermore, I will replicate one additional Dao Fruit profound wonder that Fellow Daoist's Dharma Body has devoured."
At this point, the black-robed man let out a somewhat malicious laugh. "By the way, I've specifically thought of a method to counter Fellow Daoist's resistance this time. So if Fellow Daoist uses the same old routine, you might get beaten quite miserably. Please bear with me, Fellow Daoist...?"
The laughter abruptly stopped.
Because before that, the [Mountain-Bearing Dao Fruit] pulsing between Lu Yang's eyebrows had changed. The [Pine & Cypress Wood] was replaced by another profound wonder.
[Overturned Lamp Flame]!
The original ratio also rapidly transformed. Like a machine that had its gears swapped, after a brief stagnation, it immediately began operating again with an entirely new posture.
Instantly, a blinding firelight was ignited within the darkness, subsequently transforming into a round mirror that landed in Lu Yang's palm. The round mirror had a bright side and a dark side. The bright side faced outward, while the dark side faced inward, dividing Yin and Yang. Just by laying eyes upon that round mirror, the black-robed man couldn't help but feel a sensation of having nowhere to hide.
[Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit]!
Seeing this, boundless light of wisdom seemed to flash in the depths of the black-robed man's eyes. In an instant, he saw through the method. "[Overturned Lamp Flame], [Placer Gold in Sand], [Wellspring Water]..."
The next second, he couldn't help but praise, "An excellent Dao Fruit!"
"The [Wellspring Water] acts as the true oil for the [Overturned Lamp Flame]."
"Illuminated by the [Overturned Lamp Flame], the [Placer Gold in Sand] naturally reveals its preciousness, transforming into treasure light. The treasure light then reflects back onto the [Overturned Lamp Flame], allowing the two to mutually complement and benefit each other..."
"How did you do it?"
The black-robed man looked bewildered. "With your talent, you only comprehended the [Nascent Light Sea] once, yet you directly comprehended two Dao Fruit Secret Methods?"
"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing."
Lu Yang curled his lips disdainfully. "How did I do it? Naturally, I relied on my talent and hard work! A talentless person like you wouldn't understand."
Upon hearing this, the black-robed man was so angry he laughed.
Me? Talentless?
"Fellow Daoist should know who I am by now, right?"
Lu Yang nodded. "I know. The first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak, right."
"Then you still dare to say such things?" The black-robed man couldn't understand. In terms of talent, back in the day, no one in the entire sea of light dared to speak loudly in front of him!
However, Lu Yang's reply left him stunned. "Why wouldn't I dare? After so many years have passed, Fellow Daoist's information has long since been buried. Even Beast Taming Peak doesn't have many records left. In fact, until recently, I didn't even know that the Netherworld was actually forged by Fellow Daoist."
"...What?"
As Lu Yang's words fell, the black-robed man's expression stiffened abruptly, and he instinctively shook his head. "This is impossible. How could my records possibly be buried by time?"
Or rather, it should be the exact opposite.
If his plan succeeded, he would inevitably go down in history! When that time came, every single living being in the sea of light should know his name.
Why is it like this?
At this thought, struggle filled the black-robed man's eyes, as if he had fallen into some massive internal conflict. Meanwhile, Lu Yang curiously observed the changes in him.
'What will happen?'
That's right, he did it on purpose.
Ever since learning that the black-robed man's true identity was the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak, he had planned to test him like this, to see if he could obtain some more forbidden knowledge.
However, this time he was disappointed. Because after the struggle, the black-robed man suddenly recovered his calm. Then, he looked up at Lu Yang and said faintly, "Fellow Daoist has gone off-topic. Although Fellow Daoist has mastered a second Dao Fruit Secret Method, if you want to defeat me and open the second orifice, you still have to fight..."
Before he even finished speaking, Lu Yang had already struck.
He held a hand seal firmly. The round mirror-like [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] in his hand rotated slightly. Of its bright and dark sides, the dark side aimed straight at the black-robed man.
"Passing the brightness and continuing the darkness, mother and child inherit from each other."
As the Dao sound fell, endless dim and dark colors instantly climbed into the black-robed man's vision. In the blink of an eye, boundless darkness flooded his sea of consciousness.
In this moment, the black-robed man felt as if all things were illusory, as if he had been locked in a place unilluminated by lamps or fires, where the sun and moon did not shine, where he couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face. But soon, he roused his profound wonder, gathered his essence, qi, and spirit, and his soul leaped forcefully, breaking through the blockade in his sea of consciousness and regaining clarity.
However, though the darkness faded, the crisis was not resolved.
"Qi and form flourish in the earth, momentum stabilizes on the high ridge!"
The [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] in Lu Yang's hand had already flipped again. This time, the bright side faced outward. A brilliant golden light instantly tore through the void and roared toward him!
This time, the black-robed man couldn't dodge in time. Illuminated by the golden light, his soul—which had just leaped forcefully—collided head-on with it.
Instantly, it was as if a raging fire ignited within his soul. Using his heart-mind as the lamp and his sea of consciousness as the oil, it burned fiercely, throwing his divine spirit into chaos. All he could see was a blindingly bright light. And his body, which he had only just regained control of, now completely fell to its knees and shattered into pieces!
The black-robed man sighed helplessly. "A miscalculation... I underestimated him."
If Lu Yang had used the [Mountain-Bearing Dao Fruit], he wouldn't have ended up like this, because he had long since prepared to counter the [Pine & Cypress Wood].
Yet, Lu Yang used the [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit].
An entirely unfamiliar Dao Fruit Secret Method, and a sneak attack to boot. Caught off guard for a moment, he suffered a crushing defeat. Otherwise, even if he wasn't a match, he could have at least exchanged a few moves.
"Ugh..." The black-robed man couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"Yes, yes, yes! That look of unwillingness is exactly what I wanted to see!"
On the other side, Lu Yang looked immensely proud. He now mastered three Dao Fruit Secret Methods; the [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] was merely one of them.
His combat strength was surging, soaring, dominating!
The next second, he suddenly looked around.
Mm... [The Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] is very safe. No need to worry about a live broadcast to the entire sea of light like last time with the Dharma Body Dao.
At this thought, Lu Yang finally threw his head back and laughed out loud:
"I am invincible under heaven!"
The Netherworld.
In an unspeakable realm forever unreachable by the living, a divine sense that had been slumbering for ages was suddenly stirred. Several thoughts surfaced amidst the grogginess:
'[Responding to Emperors]... invincible under heaven?'
'What divine being is this?'
(End of Chapter)