Before Lu Yang's words had even faded, [Sky-shrouding] narrowed his eyes. In his view, the most valuable piece of intelligence in that entire speech was the very first sentence:
The Lord of the Netherworld is on his last breath.
Was it true? Or false?
[Sky-shrouding] sized Lu Yang up. Looking into the other party's large, sincere eyes, he pondered inwardly and ultimately decided that this answer should be true.
Because only this made sense.
'If the Lord of the Netherworld were still at his peak state, or even just recovering from severe injuries, given the current sheer mass of the Netherworld, he could absolutely challenge a Dao Lord.'
'But what actually happened? My intent to attain the Netherworld was so blatantly obvious when I entered, yet the Lord of the Netherworld never once stepped out to squash me like a bug. It is evident that his condition is likely incredibly poor. Being on his last breath is the only reasonable explanation; he's just been hiding in the Netherworld all this time, so the Dao Lords can't do anything to him.'
'And so... that is why I am here.'
[Sky-shrouding]'s eyes darkened. 'That old undying freak from the Saint Sect absolutely wants to borrow my hands to kill the Lord of the Netherworld, so he can sit back and reap the spoils as the fisherman!'
The truth was now clear.
The question was: what to do about it?
Just then, Lu Yang's eerie voice drifted over: "Senior, it is my turn next. Please explain in detail the six steps a Great Perfected Lord must take to reach Paramita."
Still asking?
[Sky-shrouding] instantly sneered inwardly. I already know the situation with the Lord of the Netherworld. Naturally, the transaction ends here. Do you really expect me to answer you?
However, he quickly fell silent.
Because Lu Yang didn't seem the least bit anxious. He just stared at him blankly. [Sky-shrouding] could tell that this calm and unhurried demeanor was not an act.
"...What else do you know?"
Lu Yang smiled. "Actually, I don't know much. Just the methods of that old undying freak from the Saint Sect. I'm just not sure if Senior knows them."
There was a high probability he didn't.
Otherwise, [Sky-shrouding] wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state in his past life.
But this was to be expected.
The reason Star Soul knew about the Five Heavenly Destinies was because of his close relationship with the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao. [Sky-shrouding] didn't have such profound origins or background.
This was indeed the reality.
Yet, a massive problem now lay before the two of them: both Lu Yang and [Sky-shrouding] only had one question left to ask.
Although it was technically Lu Yang's turn to ask, [Sky-shrouding] felt that the moment he answered, the other party would absolutely take the answer and run. Because if he were the one asking first, he would absolutely do the exact same thing... They were both Saint Sect Perfected Lords taught by the same master; they knew every trick in the book.
What to do?
On the other side, Lu Yang also realized this problem. After pondering for a moment, he spoke in a deep voice: "Could the six steps of a Great Perfected Lord be related to Dao Fruit Secret Methods?"
"Oh?" Hearing this, [Sky-shrouding] immediately revealed a look of surprise, then chuckled. "It seems Fellow Daoist is not completely ignorant of Great Perfected Lords."
"I see..."
Lu Yang thought about it and suddenly suggested, "How about this? Senior tells me the content of the Great Perfected Lord's six steps without going into the details of the Dao Fruit Secret Methods."
"Afterward, I will tell Senior about the methods of the Saint Sect's old undying freak. Of course, I will only tell Senior a portion of the information and keep the specific details a secret. We will just break our answers down like this and exchange them piece by piece, until one of us guesses the full answer and the transaction concludes."
"What do you think?"
As Lu Yang's words fell, [Sky-shrouding] narrowed his eyes. The hazy smoke churned as he fell into deep thought... because he felt this proposal was actually very good.
'For Great Perfected Lords—at least for those of the Grotto-Heaven Method—Dao Fruit Secret Methods are the foundation.'
'If I just give him a brief overview of the six steps without telling him the structure and proportioning methods of the Dao Fruit Secret Methods, he will definitely continue to ask for more.'
As expected of a fellow Saint Sect Perfected Lord. To quickly devise such an appropriate method to resolve their mutual conflict proved that this Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations and Ferryman of Karma was truly a talent.
"Let's do it that way."
[Sky-shrouding] nodded slightly, then directly transmitted his voice via divine sense: "The so-called six steps of a Great Perfected Lord encompass everything from the Late Stage of the Golden Core to Golden Core Perfection."
"To categorize them in layman's terms: Initial, Ordinary, Advanced, Peak, Ultimate, and the final step, Golden Core Perfection."
"Among these six steps, the first five are all within the Late Stage of the Golden Core. As for the final step, one actually already has half a foot across the critical threshold of seeking the Nascent Soul realm."
"The key to all of this is the Dao Fruit Secret Method."
"Take Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao, for example. If he recovered his peak cultivation, he would only be at the Initial Great Perfected Lord level. He hasn't yet created a Dao Fruit Secret Method of his own."
Speaking of this, [Sky-shrouding] shook his head disdainfully. "Unfortunately, the Dao Fruits he chose are flawed. He won't have any hope in this lifetime."
"As for the mark of an Ordinary Great Perfected Lord, it is having created one Dao Fruit Secret Method. A Great Perfected Lord at this level can be considered the baseline. One level higher is the Advanced Great Perfected Lord. The mark of this level is having created three Dao Fruit Secret Methods, and the Dao Fruits can even cooperate with one another."
"For the vast majority of Great Perfected Lords, reaching this step is their absolute limit."
"At the same time, this is also the threshold for a Great Perfected Lord to seek the Nascent Soul realm. In other words, becoming an Advanced Great Perfected Lord means you are at least qualified to attempt climbing Paramita."
"Although the result is doomed to be failure."
Lu Yang looked thoughtful upon hearing this. "Is it because of the Dao Fruits? Three Dao Fruit Secret Methods means the Great Perfected Lord achieved it by gathering three elements, so their potential is limited."
"Exactly."
[Sky-shrouding] sneered coldly, paused for a moment, and then continued, "Since we've reached this point, Fellow Daoist should also understand the level of a Peak Great Perfected Lord."
Lu Yang nodded. "A Great Perfected Lord with all Five Elements complete!"
"Correct!"
"With all Five Elements complete, having five Dao Fruit Secret Methods at their fingertips that can be matched and combined at will—this is a Peak Great Perfected Lord."
[Sky-shrouding] smiled. "On top of this foundation, whether or not one possesses a Supreme Dao Fruit creates another half-tier separation. Having a Supreme Dao Fruit puts you half a head above someone who doesn't."
"As for going even higher, the fifth step, the Ultimate Great Perfected Lord... I call it the Extreme Dao. Reaching this step is only possible if one has achieved Void Attainment in a Great Dao."
"Simply put, one must attain a Great Dao out of the void, push it to its peak, and then fuse it with their own Five Elements Dao Fruits. By stacking the two, one can produce a profoundly mysterious resonance with the unseen [Critical Point], as if everything further ahead is a sheer cliff."
"And the sixth step, Golden Core Perfection."
"Just as the name implies, this step is standing on that [Critical Point] and taking one more step forward—stepping right off the cliff. Once that step is taken, there is no turning back."
"Either you die on the path to seeking Paramita."
"Or you succeed and become a Nascent Soul Dao Lord."
Speaking of this, a look of melancholy surfaced in [Sky-shrouding]'s eyes, but he quickly composed himself and smiled. "Of course, this only applies to the Grotto-Heaven Method."
"As for the Three Foundations of Spiritual Power, Dharma Body, and Dao Arts, or even the Great Daos of Void Attainment, there are other profound mysteries. At the very least, they do not rely on Dao Fruit Secret Methods... However, I believe the fundamental essence shouldn't differ too much. The division of these six steps should be consistent, even if the specific characteristics vary."
"So, what do you think?"
[Sky-shrouding] chuckled lightly. "Pairing Dao Fruit Secret Methods is as difficult as ascending to heaven. If Fellow Daoist is interested, I wouldn't mind offering a little guidance..."
"Goodbye!"
Before his voice had even faded, Lu Yang waved his hand and instantly vanished from within [The Mortal World]. The entire exit was executed with effortless grace, leaving without so much as ruffling a single cloud.
[Sky-shrouding]'s voice came to an abrupt halt.
The vast expanse of [The Mortal World] instantly fell into dead silence.
It wasn't until a long while later that an unimaginably terrifying fluctuation of mighty power violently erupted. It blotted out the sky and covered the earth, practically crushing more than half of [The Mortal World] to dust.
I got played by a fucking Saint Sect Perfected Lord?
I was careless!
Never in his wildest dreams did [Sky-shrouding] expect that after hunting geese all day, he would actually get pecked in the eye by a goose today! If word of this got out, how could he ever show his face in the Saint Sect again?
"FUCKKKK!!!"
(End of Chapter)