Lu Yang didn't quite know what to do with the rescued Suo Huan.
So, he decided to just go all the way and stop thinking about it. He directly tossed the present-world Suo Huan to the Suo Huan inside the Righteous Dao Banner to handle, washing his hands of the matter entirely as an absentee boss.
"I was just bored and saved him in passing."
"Patriarch, Master, Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand. This was just my personal caprice. The next time I encounter something similar, I won't intervene."
"Stop looking at me with those smiling eyes, it's gross."
"Go away, go away!"
Lu Yang practically fled the Righteous Dao Banner. He had no choice; the looks Patriarch Nether Whisper and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon were giving him gave him goosebumps.
Making it seem as if he were a good person.
Returning to his cave abode, Lu Yang closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. After a long while, he took a deep breath, his emotions gradually settling. When he opened his eyes again, he had already restored his usual demeanor.
His eyes were filled with sinister schemes and cunning plots.
A second later, Lu Yang formed a hand seal. [Divine Firmament Thunder] surfaced in his palm, then gradually altered its concept, an iridescent light diffusing from his fingertips.
Before long, [Divine Firmament Thunder] had transformed into the appearance of another Dao Fruit. It was shockingly [City Rampart Earth]. Countless iridescent rays spread out like a spiderweb, linking with the unseen great web of karma. In a daze, massive and majestic scenes began to flash rapidly past Lu Yang's eyes.
These were all "history."
They were the [Causes] that had already been recorded by the great karmic net, and everything in the present world and even the future were the [Effects] born from them.
A drink and a peck, preordained by fate; it was nothing more than this.
Under Lu Yang's influence, his consciousness could sink into the karmic scenes conjured by the iridescent light at any time. Yet he could only watch; he had no way to interfere.
'It's still lacking...'
The genuine [City Rampart Earth] could interfere, altering causes and shifting effects, but his pirated version could not. It could only observe, unable to truly exert influence.
'Lacking the stature of a Supreme Dao Fruit, the gap between Dao Fruits is actually this immense. The terrifying profound wonder capable of altering karma has directly become a mere auxiliary viewing tool. This is practically a devastating destruction of the original mechanism. No wonder the old Dragon Lord kept such a low profile after [Vast Ocean Water] fell from the Supreme stature.'
Lu Yang furrowed his brow tightly, suddenly sensing something.
Following that, his gaze pierced through the [Sea of Bitterness], and he began to scrutinize the Heaven-Reaching Great Dao currently standing within it, falling into brief contemplation.
[Tribulation].
'Because of the Primordial Heavenly Demon, my resonance with the [Tribulation]—as the creator of the inner demon—is growing stronger and stronger. But it still lacks a decisive factor.'
In Lu Yang's eyes, the [Tribulation] was like a maiden waiting for the right price, carefully selecting a suitor. Currently, he was its most favored candidate. However, besides him, it had several other backup choices. Therefore, to gain its absolute favor, he had to demonstrate more capabilities.
But this wasn't difficult.
'I still have a trump card up my sleeve.'
'As long as I summon the Dharma Body Dao, drawing Dao Lord interference, and then live-stream it across the entire light sea, the [Tribulation] will absolutely abandon the others and proactively respond to me.'
When that time came, [Divine Firmament Thunder] would inevitably advance to a Supreme Dao Fruit.
If there was any regret to speak of, it was that this advancement wasn't an elevation of [Divine Firmament Thunder]'s fundamental essence, but an augmentation from the [Tribulation].
Therefore, it didn't truly belong to him.
If he restarted, he probably wouldn't be able to take the Supreme Dao Fruit [Divine Firmament Thunder] back with him. Hoping to use this to reach the heavens in a single bound was still too optimistic.
Of course, this wasn't a major problem.
Lu Yang had never forgotten that [Divine Firmament Thunder] was merely a transitional phase. His ultimate goal remained Void Attainment after gathering the Supreme Five Elements concept with the five True Treasures.
'[Divine Firmament Thunder] was formed by gathering ordinary Five Elements concept, yet it possesses this level of strength. If I achieve Void Attainment using the Supreme Five Elements concept, it's equivalent to upgrading all the materials. I refuse to believe the final product won't reach the level of a Supreme Dao Fruit!' Lu Yang pondered inwardly.
[Vast Ocean Water] and [Great Forest Wood].
Currently, he only lacked these two Dao Fruit concept. Alas, he couldn't defeat [Sky-shrouding], and the old Dragon Lord was too cunning. He could only consider this matter after becoming a Great Perfected Lord in his next lifetime.
However, right at this moment.
"Hm."
Suddenly, Lu Yang opened his eyes. The pirated [City Rampart Earth] in his hand—created by modifying concept through the [Master of Great Tribulations]—abruptly produced a resonance.
'My karma was plucked? What's going on?'
Lu Yang's expression turned stern, and he immediately began inspecting the anomalous karma. Then, his frown deepened: 'It's the Primordial Heavenly Demon and Martial Uncle Chong Guang!'
The Myriad Martial World Realm. The karma of this region had been obscured. If he hadn't created a pirated [City Rampart Earth] at this very moment, granting him an incredibly close connection to the karmic net, he truly might not have discovered that someone was altering causes and shifting effects. Did they want to change the outcome of the Primordial Heavenly Demon being suppressed by him?
At this thought, Lu Yang immediately focused his mind.
[Commanding Past and Present]!
Boundless iridescent light shot out from his palm, carrying Lu Yang into a sea of mesmerizing colors in an instant. What met his eyes was shockingly an infinitely vast, boundless net.
On the great net, there were countless knots.
Each knot symbolized a strand of karma. When different karmic strands combined to form a mesh, it represented a corresponding karmic event.
When different karmic events combined further, they formed even larger events, entangling even more karma. It was a chaotic tangle that couldn't be severed or untangled, ultimately forming this massive karmic net. To a certain extent, the stature of this great net was not the least bit inferior to the [Sea of Bitterness], and was perhaps even harder to fathom.
'The World Honored One meddled below again?'
Lu Yang stood upon the great karmic net, his brow furrowed deeply. "It shouldn't be the World Honored One himself. Otherwise, given the gap between me and a Dao Lord, it would be impossible for me to notice any clues."
If the World Honored One had truly acted personally.
Then he absolutely would not have any memories of it and would simply treat the altered historical karma as factual reality from the very beginning. Therefore, this possibility could be ruled out.
"In that case, it's the [Time-Reversing World Divine Instrument]."
"The World Honored One himself didn't intervene, but his enlightened incarnation used this artifact to make a move? Trying to rescue the Primordial Heavenly Demon? Or is there another plan..."
Lu Yang's eyes were ice-cold, his thoughts calm and composed.
In today's world, only he possessed Dao comprehension at the level of a [City Rampart Earth] Perfected Lord. As long as the World Honored One didn't act personally, no one understood karma better than him!
While pondering, Lu Yang also continuously performed divinations.
Searching through karma, retrieving through time.
The iridescent light constantly danced in his palm, its colors shifting. After a long while, it finally stopped. Following that, a smile surfaced on Lu Yang's face:
"Found it!"
Before his voice faded, Lu Yang had already locked onto a karmic scene.
Calculating the time, this karmic scene should have taken place three days after he suppressed the Primordial Heavenly Demon, left behind Martial Uncle Chong Guang and the seal, and departed.
That day should originally have been calm and tranquil, with nothing happening.
However, under the interference of a majestic, mighty power, the preordained [Cause] was modified. A vast Buddhist light, which shouldn't have appeared, forcefully descended upon that location!
For Lu Yang, who was also situated within the great karmic net, this sensation was even more profound. It was as if an entity transcending the mortal world, sitting high upon Paramita, treated the great karmic net as a chessboard, casually picked up a chess piece, and gently placed it down upon the board!
(End of Chapter)