Mystic Spirit World Realm, Heavenly Court.
Lu Yang opened his eyes. The iridescent light at his fingertips continued to rotate as usual, making the previous encounter feel like nothing more than a dream. Only the Dao Fruit Secret Method memorized in his mind proved it was undeniably real.
Then, Lu Yang froze.
Because he realized he had suddenly forgotten something. He seemed to have just met someone, but he couldn't remember exactly who it was.
'Who did I meet?' Lu Yang subconsciously checked the [Time-Reversing World Dao Fruit] he had just obtained, instantly revealing a look of horror. 'A Dao Fruit Secret Method for [City Rampart Earth]? I met the World Honored One? How is that possible! Did the World Honored One descend to the mortal realm to catch me? Did I just get "Alas-ed"?'
More and more memories surfaced.
Then vanished.
'No, it's not disappearing memories.'
Faced with such a bizarre and eerie situation, Lu Yang didn't panic. Instead, he became extremely calm. 'It's karma. A portion of my past karma has disappeared!'
The disappearing memories were merely a side effect.
Because his Dao heart was perfect, even a Dao Lord couldn't directly manipulate his memories. However, by obscuring his karma, they could indirectly interfere with a portion of them.
'It's the World Honored One. He's obscuring the karma of our meeting?'
Just then, a lingering echo drifted past his ear:
"Do not worry, Fellow Daoist. I merely obscured a little karma. This is also a necessary measure. When the critical moment arrives, you will naturally remember..."
The voice came to an abrupt halt.
Lu Yang just stood there in a daze, letting out a long breath. Only one piece of knowledge remained in his heart: 'My cultivation seems to have advanced just now.'
His karma had been modified, the past of his meeting with the World Honored One concealed. It was replaced with: 'Just now, through years of accumulation, relying on my innate peerless talent and unwavering perseverance, I suddenly achieved a breakthrough and comprehended the Dao Fruit Secret Method of [City Rampart Earth]... What the hell is this!'
There's definitely a problem!
Lu Yang's expression instantly became tense. Right at this moment, a faint sliver of divine sense drifted out from the long-silent Righteous Dao Banner.
'Hm? Patriarch?'
Lu Yang paused, immediately sending his mind into the Righteous Dao Banner. He quickly saw Patriarch Nether Whisper, whose expression was solemn and even carried a trace of lingering fear.
Seeing Lu Yang arrive, Patriarch Nether Whisper didn't waste any words, directly handing over a strand of divine sense.
"See for yourself."
Curious, Lu Yang took the divine sense and briefly sensed it.
Instantly, the previous conversation with the World Honored One and numerous scenes flooded his eyes—these were all things Patriarch Nether Whisper had seen through his vision.
"..."
When he snapped back to reality, Lu Yang raised his head, the same lingering fear visible in his eyes as Patriarch Nether Whisper. "To think something like this actually happened..."
Thankfully, he was already accustomed to maintaining a connection with Patriarch Nether Whisper, allowing the Patriarch to observe the outside world through him. Coupled with the fact that Banner Spirits possessed no karma and thus were unaffected by the World Honored One's karmic modifications, this piece of the past would have truly been covered up otherwise. The result would undoubtedly have left him in a passive position.
But things were different now.
"The World Honored One deliberately obscured the karma, probably worried that I'd act recklessly—like contacting other Dao Lords—and also to sever ties with me so he wouldn't expose himself."
"But now I have these memories."
"This is hard evidence!"
A look of excitement gradually surfaced on Lu Yang's face. "At the critical moment, if I toss this memory out for the other Dao Lords to see, it will definitely be very stimulating!"
However, Lu Yang's expression soon darkened again.
He hadn't dared to overthink it at the time, but now there was a question he absolutely had to figure out: "How exactly... did the World Honored One know about the [Project: Collapse Paramita]?"
Just then, Patriarch Nether Whisper spoke up:
"Actually... I am more inclined to believe he doesn't know."
"Oh?" Lu Yang's eyes lit up. "Please explain in detail, Patriarch."
Patriarch Nether Whisper thought for a moment and suddenly posed a different question: "Why do you think that entity from the Saint Sect helped the World Honored One ascend to the position of Dao Lord?"
Lu Yang understood immediately.
Or rather, the only things he didn't understand were matters related to actual cultivation. With Patriarch Nether Whisper giving him a lead, he immediately caught on to the rest.
"It's karma!"
The World Honored One used it to attain the Dao, reversing time, altering causes, and shifting effects. Such methods were certainly impressive... but the other three first-generation Peak Masters of the Saint Sect weren't necessarily weak either.
"We have to think about this question in reverse. His methods are impressive? What's the use of that? The Master of Beast Taming Peak opened up the Netherworld. Amazing, right? But look at the miserable end he met. The Saint Sect doesn't care about simply having impressive methods. The key point isn't how high your methods are, but whether—whether they are beneficial to the Ancestor of the Saint Sect!"
"Only if you are beneficial will you be nurtured."
"If you're not beneficial, the higher your methods, the faster you die!"
That was why it was the World Honored One who attained the Dao.
"The Ancestor of the Saint Sect cultivates [Inevitable Fate], while the World Honored One controls karma. The latter can perfectly complement the former... for instance, by searching for unexpected variables!"
In a flash, Lu Yang completely understood.
"The World Honored One didn't discover my plan; he noticed the [Cause] I created and used it to deduce the [Effect] of Paramita overturning?"
That was why he came to be an angel investor.
In his deductions, the [Project: Collapse Paramita] was likely categorized as something that could happen, but with a low probability. So, he came to lend a helping hand.
This made perfect sense!
"If we exaggerate things a bit... this probably isn't the first time the World Honored One has done something similar. In fact, this might be exactly what he does among the Dao Lords!"
Take the Master of Beast Taming Peak, for example.
The four Dao Lords killed the Master of Beast Taming Peak right when he first opened up the Netherworld. Could they have been absolutely certain back then that the Netherworld possessed the potential to birth a Dao Lord?
"Maybe it was the World Honored One who deduced the karma and discovered this possibility, which ultimately led to the four Dao Lords joining forces to beat the Master of Beast Taming Peak into his current half-dead state, suppressing the Netherworld's growth and restricting it to the Immortal Nexus so it couldn't expand further!"
The more Lu Yang thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.
And this was just the World Honored One. One must remember that the Supreme Dao Fruit truly related to the future was [Sword Edge Gold]. What was the situation with the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion?
Could he achieve even more?
'Nascent Soul, Golden Core... [Sky-shrouding] truly didn't deceive me. The gap between the two is truly like heaven and earth. They practically don't even seem like species from the same dimension!'
Of course, the situation probably wasn't quite that severe.
It was impossible for the World Honored One to review all karma. He could probably only discover and deduce anomalous karma that reached a certain magnitude... But that was terrifying enough.
It took Lu Yang a long time to recover.
"Regardless, at least this time, the World Honored One probably didn't leak the matter, which is why he came to see me privately. Dao Lords also have their own selfish motives..."
This was a variable!
However, despite saying this, Lu Yang felt an increasing sense of urgency. As the saying goes, a long night is fraught with dreams. The longer things dragged on, the greater the variables became, and the more likely things were to go wrong.
"It's time to move."
Lu Yang had originally planned to rest for a few years, as it would take thirty years for the Star Palace to finish the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier. But now, he didn't want to wait.
'The Overlord-Level Dao Soldier and the [Tribulation] both require time; there's nothing I can do about that.'
'But for everything else, it's best if I finish them as quickly as possible. Delay breeds trouble.'
[Mark of Fulfilling Virtue]!
Lu Yang had previously held off on this fragment of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]—which he won from Perfected Lord Feixue—because he was wary of its difficulty, planning to make full preparations before attempting to clear it.
But now, he couldn't afford to care.
'At worst, I'll just create an Incense Incarnation to test the waters first.'
'After all, it's a [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] fragment specifically set up and arranged by the Master of Beast Taming Peak. It must hide significant secrets that will be of great use to my current self!'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately began forming hand seals.
His divine sense connected with the dark void.
In an instant, his consciousness felt as if it had plummeted into an endlessly vast, pitch-black expanse of light, drifting uncertainly. After a long while, he finally saw a glimmer of light.
The light slowly expanded.
His consciousness rapidly approached, and his vision gradually cleared. In a daze, a myriad of magnificent pavilions and terraces within the light were already presented before his eyes.
Rumble!
(End of Chapter)