This idea was undoubtedly extremely bold, but Lu Yang already had an action plan. For this, the existence of the Primordial Heavenly Demon was necessary to him.
"You shall stand guard here."
Lu Yang looked at the [Thunder-Sovereign Demonbane General] and spoke in a deep voice: "Draw down lightning every day to bombard the seal, and simultaneously ensure that no one can forcefully break it."
"At your command."
The Divine General bowed once more, then stood up. His light and shadow dispersed, reverting back into a talisman that landed squarely at the very top of the mountain wall.
Instantly, a bolt of lightning was drawn down from the vault of heaven, channeled into the mountain, and struck the Primordial Heavenly Demon, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
"Endure it for a bit, Fellow Daoist."
Seeing this, Lu Yang smiled. This lightning was different from before. This time, he was utilizing the [Creation] concept within [Divine Firmament Thunder].
As the name implied, although the lightning augmented by this concept looked equally intimidating, it possessed no killing power. Instead, it had a nourishing ability. Being struck by this lightning would not only cause no injury, but it also offered considerable benefits—slightly elevating one's Dao comprehension and spiritual power, while simultaneously expelling impurities.
This way, the Primordial Heavenly Demon would only slowly grow stronger.
And during this process, the pressure he exerted on Chong Guang would also increase, which would similarly help Chong Guang borrow the Primordial Heavenly Demon's power to temper himself.
Killing two birds with one stone!
"Alright, the two of you Fellow Daoists shall remain here and focus purely on your cultivation... When the time comes that I need to use you, I will naturally come to inform you."
As Lu Yang's words fell, he rode a streak of light and vanished from the Myriad Martial World Realm in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, within the mountain seal, the Primordial Heavenly Demon endured the strikes of the lightning while raising his head to watch Lu Yang's departing back, silently recalling every word Lu Yang had just said to him.
'...Then let's give it a try.'
'[Tribulation]... if I don't drag the Dao Lords off their high horses, how can I live up to this name? World Honored One... you were the one who wanted me to attain this Great Dao, so don't blame me!'
Mystic Spirit World Realm, Heavenly Court.
Lu Yang returned silently, sighing with emotion inwardly: 'What a pity. With the Primordial Heavenly Demon's obsession, I'm afraid there's no way to take him into the Righteous Dao Banner to be my brother.'
Because the Primordial Heavenly Demon's obsession was precisely to not be a puppet.
Unable to control his own life and death, constantly at risk of being reduced to an abandoned piece—he could never accept such a thing. On this point, he was exactly the same as Martial Uncle Chong Guang.
'Forget it, it's not a big problem.'
'Given the World Honored One's personality, as long as the [Tribulation] appears early, this Primordial Heavenly Demon will probably be enlightened and brought out by him in every lifetime just to snatch the prize.'
'At worst, every time I am reborn in the future, I will just come and 'persuade' him and Martial Uncle Chong Guang once. It's nothing more than a repetitive operation and won't take much effort. At the very least, considering their value, it's worth it for me to do so. Whether I can reach the absolute pinnacle in the Dao of Inner Demons depends entirely on the two of them.'
'Moreover, my [Project: Collapse Paramita] cannot succeed without them.'
'However, it's still too far off right now. My strength is severely lacking, and the timing isn't right either. I must wait until [Sky-shrouding] seeks to attain the Netherworld before I can set it into motion...'
Before that, there was still one more thing he needed to do.
[Mark of Fulfilling Virtue].
This [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] that he won from Perfected Lord Feixue might also contain a backup plan left by the Master of Beast Taming Peak. He had to go investigate it.
However, just as Lu Yang was deep in thought.
Suddenly, a streak of light descended. The Mystic Spirit World Realm Supreme stepped out of it with a bizarre expression and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, it seems you've gotten yourself into some trouble!"
"What?" Lu Yang paused.
"People from the Star Palace are here!" The Mystic Spirit World Realm Supreme continued, "Their expressions look exceptionally foul, like they want to beat you up. Why don't you go outside and lay low for a bit?"
"..."
Hearing this, Lu Yang's expression also became somewhat strange.
However, a second later, a voice drifted over eerily: "It's not that exaggerated. It's just that Fellow Daoist Master of Tribulations has been giving us one surprise after another lately."
Hiss!
Before the voice even faded, Lu Yang sucked in a breath of cold air. He then looked at the figure who had appeared not far away at some unknown time, offering a bitter smile as he cupped his hands:
"Greetings, Senior Hao Yuan."
This Great Perfected Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao who had been slumbering in the Star Palace had actually come to see him personally now! Looking at his appearance, he had clearly broken free from the constraints of the stone statue!
The next second, Exalted One Hao Yuan stepped forward. With a complex expression, the first sentence out of his mouth was: "Do you know why I came to see you so late, Fellow Daoist?"
The Star Palace was indeed a bit late. After all, from the time he left the Star Palace, returned to the Mystic Spirit World Realm, and showcased his strength by head-on defeating the [Tathagata Ratnasambhava of the Vajradhatu], a full ten years had passed until today. Even considering the unique nature of the Star Palace, they shouldn't have delayed for a full decade before coming to see him.
"This is all because of you, Fellow Daoist!"
Exalted One Hao Yuan said in annoyance, "I'm not afraid to tell you, Fellow Daoist, but thanks to the lifespan you sent over previously, several of us have already awakened."
"When news of you arrived back then, we indeed had some disagreements."
"I hoped to further our cooperation, but some intended to capture you instead. Because of this, some arguments arose. We were originally about to reach a consensus very quickly..."
Speaking up to this point, Exalted One Hao Yuan's expression grew even more bizarre:
"But right at that moment, the inner demon was born."
"Uh..." Lu Yang froze.
The birth of the inner demon? What did that have to do with the Star Palace? That bunch of Spiritual Power Dao cultivators had been trapped in stone statues for so many years... Oh, wait, it seemed there was a connection.
"The entire Star Palace!" Exalted One Hao Yuan gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Including myself, all the sealed Perfected Lords of the Spiritual Power Dao birthed inner demons without exception! It even nearly triggered a riot in the [Secret Cultivation Chamber] where we slumber! It took a tremendous amount of effort just to barely suppress it!"
"..."
Since words had reached this point, Lu Yang could only tilt his head and look at Exalted One Hao Yuan with wide eyes, revealing an innocent expression unique to the Saint Sect.
Exalted One Hao Yuan, however, spoke eerily: "From that moment on, almost everyone intended to make a move against you in order to eradicate this inner demon nuisance from the root."
"However, right after we finally unified our decision, the True Demon was born."
"We could all see that after the birth of the True Demon, the existence of inner demons could no longer be altered. Even if we killed you, Fellow Daoist, it wouldn't help matters anymore."
"In fact, it was the exact opposite."
"Because your thunder techniques seem to be able to counter inner demons, our original decision was immediately overturned, and everyone plunged into arguments once again."
"Going back and forth several times like this is what caused such a long delay."
"Originally, it would have been delayed for another few years."
Speaking of this, Exalted One Hao Yuan's expression became even stranger: "Until a few days ago, when you suddenly opened the Star Gate and threw something over..."
Lu Yang's expression became even more innocent.
Seeing this, Exalted One Hao Yuan instantly felt rage welling up in his heart: "Fellow Daoist, that is my Star Gate, which connects directly to me! Where do you think I usually stay?"
"The [Secret Cultivation Chamber]!"
"You just threw that damned thing through the Star Gate right into the place where all the Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords of the Star Palace slumber after turning into stone statues!"
"Just a few years ago, we were tormented miserably by the inner demon riot. The [Secret Cultivation Chamber] that we had painstakingly rebuilt nearly exploded because of it! Right now, I still have a few Fellow Daoists with lower cultivation bases who, because they were infected by the World Honored One, let out weird 'Alas' sounds from time to time. They are currently undergoing a lengthy clearance treatment..."
After his voice fell, Exalted One Hao Yuan sighed again:
"Therefore, everyone quickly reached a decision."
"We cannot let you continue to cause such havoc, Fellow Daoist. It's better to resolve this matter as soon as possible, and simultaneously have me come and immediately retrieve your Star Gate."
Lu Yang: "..."
What do you mean by that? To actually show such an expression treating me like a god of plague. Setting aside the facts, are you guys saying you're completely blameless?
However, so my previous actions actually caused the Star Palace such exhausting trouble to deal with? If Exalted One Hao Yuan hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have even known!
Excellent. When I restart, if I still want to cooperate with the Star Palace in my next life, or if I want to deal with them, I'll just replicate this entire routine all over again!
(End of Chapter)