During their last meeting, Lu Yang had asked [Sky-shrouding] a question.
It was regarding the Five Elements proportioning: why was [Sky-shrouding]'s proportioning clearly unreasonable, even harboring severe hidden dangers, yet it still succeeded?
At the time, [Sky-shrouding] didn't answer.
His excuse was to wait until the trouble with Hong Yun was resolved. So now, Lu Yang asked again... That being said, he actually already had a guess:
"It should be Senior's Dao of Void Attainment, right?"
In his past life, the Great Dao of Void Attainment that [Sky-shrouding] ultimately used to seek attainment in the Netherworld was named [Inversion]. Its profound wonder could freely swap the two sides of a matter.
'The key problem with [Sky-shrouding]'s Dao Fruit combination lies in the fact that the earth qi of [Silted Sand Earth] is too thin to bear [Great Forest Wood]. However, if he possessed that Great Dao of Void Attainment, he could make fine adjustments to his Dao Fruit's Golden Nature, reversing the concept of [Silted Sand Earth]'s thin earth qi and turning it into abundant earth qi.'
This way, the problem would cease to exist.
In other words:
'This old ghost wasn't just doing a simple Five Elements Dao Fruit proportioning; he integrated the Great Dao of Void Attainment on top of the Five Elements foundation. That's simply absurd!'
The higher his cultivation base grew, the more Lu Yang understood just how difficult this was.
After all, one must know that [Sky-shrouding]'s [Inversion] was not the same as his [Divine Firmament Thunder]. The foundation of [Divine Firmament Thunder] was inherently the concepts of the Five Elements Dao Fruits.
Therefore, [Divine Firmament Thunder] could harmonize with the Five Elements Dao Fruits to form a Dao Fruit Secret Method.
But what about [Inversion]?
Strictly speaking, this Great Dao of Void Attainment was a foreign object among the Five Elements. Placing it into a Five Elements Dao Fruit proportioning was like dropping a drop of oil into a cup of water.
It was destined to be incompatible.
Yet [Sky-shrouding] actually pulled it off, making the Great Dao of Void Attainment compatible with the Five Elements Dao Fruits. This was something that violated the laws of the Great Dao, yet he succeeded.
'If my guess is true, then I fear there is still a vast distance between me and [Sky-shrouding]. I am still following known Dao comprehension in my cultivation, whereas he has already begun to transcend the limits of Dao comprehension, even defying the laws of the Great Dao itself. I don't even understand how he managed it.'
Lu Yang sighed inwardly but quickly rallied his spirits.
After all, he never worried about falling temporarily behind. With [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] in his possession, as the knowledge he mastered grew, he would eventually catch up.
On the other side, [Sky-shrouding]'s mood was similarly not very good.
Because Lu Yang had guessed correctly.
'To think he actually guessed my Void Attainment... But given my talent, it's not surprising that someone figured it out.'
However, what made him somewhat uncertain was whether this person had guessed it long ago and was deliberately setting up a smokescreen, or if he had only recently achieved a breakthrough in his Dao comprehension?
That being said, on the surface, he remained completely unruffled, chuckling lightly:
"Since Fellow Daoist already knows, why bother asking?"
"Then I won't ask." Lu Yang shook his head. "I plan to change the question. If Senior can answer it, I can also lend a hand with the Hong Yun matter."
"...Ask."
[Sky-shrouding]'s tone was calm. He himself had questions to ask during this visit to Lu Yang. Since both parties were willing to converse, things would be much easier to handle.
"Just how much of a gap is there between a Great Perfected Lord and a Dao Lord?"
Lu Yang asked in a low voice. This question similarly concerned his [Project: Collapse Paramita]. At the very least, he needed to know the score before executing the plan.
"Ho ho."
Upon hearing this, [Sky-shrouding] immediately narrowed his eyes, making a judgment in his heart: 'It seems this person hasn't advanced to Great Perfected Lord before. This is how it should be.'
The Great Perfected Lord era hadn't been released yet.
Under the will of the Dao Lords, in the current sea of light, every Great Perfected Lord had their own prison cell. No one could wander the light sea freely.
Yet this Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations and Ferryman of Karma—whose background was unknown and origins unclear, suspected of being a Saint Sect Perfected Lord—had recently caused such a massive incident in the light sea.
His strength was terrifyingly high, making one involuntarily suspect that he was the reincarnation of a Great Perfected Lord, which made [Sky-shrouding] feel somewhat unbalanced in his heart.
After all, if they were both Great Perfected Lords, how come you got to fool around freely outside?
But seeing the situation now, the other party actually wasn't the reincarnation of a Great Perfected Lord. For a moment, [Sky-shrouding] felt relieved, thinking that this made perfect sense.
Immediately after, he chuckled softly and said:
"If we go by my standards, both the Early and Middle Stages of the Golden Core realm are actually just laying the foundation. It's only at the Late Stage of the Golden Core that one truly begins seeking the Dao."
"If Fellow Daoist wants to ask how much of a gap there is between a Great Perfected Lord and a Dao Lord..."
"...Then I will only say it is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth, impossible to measure."
"However, I can also use my personal experience to break it down for you, Fellow Daoist—what a Great Perfected Lord must do to draw closer to the level where the Dao Lords reside."
Lu Yang immediately focused all his attention.
Then, he saw [Sky-shrouding] remain silent, looking at him with a half-smile in his narrow eyes, as if asking:
You're just planning to freeload off me?
"...What does Senior require?" Lu Yang wore a helpless expression.
"Taking turns, one sentence each."
[Sky-shrouding] finally stated his terms, speaking in a deep voice: "I ask a question, you answer. After answering, you ask, and then I answer. We continue until we are satisfied."
"I just answered one of your questions, now it is your turn to answer mine."
"Acceptable." Lu Yang nodded. "Senior, please speak."
"To the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]!"
A second later, the two simultaneously rode streaks of light and arrived in [The Mortal World]. Only after ensuring that the Dao Lords could not interfere did [Sky-shrouding] pose his question:
"What is the connection between the Netherworld and the [Tribulation]?"
[Sky-shrouding] didn't directly ask whether the Lord of the Netherworld still existed; instead, he planned to probe indirectly. Yet, Lu Yang instantly connected it to the crucial point.
'Did this guy discover that the Lord of the Netherworld is still alive?'
'Why?'
In his past life, he was deceived by the Ancestor of the Saint Sect all the way until his death. In this life, he actually discovered it early? Was it related to the [Tribulation], or was it related to me?
Lu Yang was alarmed inwardly, but his face remained impassive. He immediately shook his head and said, "The Dao of [Tribulation] is meant to target cultivators; naturally, it has no connection to the Netherworld... It's my turn. Senior, please continue what you were saying earlier. What must a Great Perfected Lord do to draw closer to the level where the Dao Lords reside?"
"...Six steps."
After a moment of silence, [Sky-shrouding] spoke in a low voice. "From the Late Stage of the Golden Core to Golden Core Perfection, there are roughly six steps to take. Once you finish walking them, you can seek to attain Paramita."
"Although the gaps between these six steps aren't as massive as the gaps between major cultivation realms, they are still not small."
"Take Gangxing, for example."
Speaking of this, [Sky-shrouding] scoffed disdainfully. "With trash like that, even if he recovered his cultivation as a Great Perfected Lord, I could still beat him back down!"
"Which six steps?" Lu Yang continued to press.
However, this time, [Sky-shrouding] didn't answer. Instead, he looked at him carefully and suddenly smiled. "Fellow Daoist, you actually guessed what I'm going to ask, didn't you?"
Lu Yang tilted his head innocently.
[Sky-shrouding] no longer beat around the bush, stating directly: "It's my turn to ask. Fellow Daoist, do you know what exact state the Lord of the Netherworld is in right now?"
What state?
Almost dead, of course. Weak enough that as long as you seek attainment in the Netherworld and crash into it with a self-sacrificing strike, you can smash him to death entirely... Can I actually tell him this?
Lu Yang fell into deep thought.
In all fairness, in his [Project: Collapse Paramita], [Sky-shrouding] carried an enormous amount of weight, because only he could draw enemy fire on his behalf.
But he couldn't let him actually succeed.
Because the prerequisite of [Project: Collapse Paramita] was to scrap the Netherworld first. But if [Sky-shrouding] truly succeeded, how could he still destroy the Netherworld?
However, Lu Yang quickly felt relieved.
'I'm really losing my mind. Do I need to worry about this kind of thing?'
In today's world, who least wanted [Sky-shrouding] to truly attain the Netherworld?
The Ancestor of the Saint Sect!
'With this master around, so what if I tell [Sky-shrouding] the whole truth? Once [Inevitable Fate] comes into play, he's destined to fail anyway.'
'If I tell the whole truth, maybe it will even tie up a bit more of the old undying freak's energy.'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang hesitated no longer and immediately said:
"The Lord of the Netherworld is currently at his last breath. He previously left a incarnation in [Responding to Emperors], but in order to contact me, it's already gone now."
(End of Chapter)