Cursing was one thing, but life had to go on.
Therefore, after cursing, Lu Yang turned his attention back to the Netherworld's blueprint, beginning to search for a certain "weak point" that could cause the Netherworld to instantly collapse.
In the end, he fixed his gaze upon the [Yellow Springs Road].
"If the [Ghost Gates] are the key that allows the Netherworld to embed itself beneath the present world, then the [Yellow Springs Road] is the foundation that allows the Netherworld to continuously grow stronger."
"Therefore, as long as I tamper with the [Yellow Springs Road], making the Netherworld unable to guide the residual true spirits of scattered souls, the Netherworld will be unable to grow stronger. Consequently, as time passes, the stagnant Netherworld, just like the present world, will find it increasingly difficult to bear the heavy pressure of [Paramita]."
The method to achieve this was [City Rampart Earth]!
Utilizing the [City Rampart Earth] at the level of a Supreme Dao Fruit, paired with an Overlord-Level Dao Soldier, and supplemented by the [Time Reversing World Dao Fruit], he could elevate its profound wonders to the absolute pinnacle.
Then, he would traverse karma and spacetime.
He would arrive at the era when the Netherworld was newly established and far from grown, tamper with the [Yellow Springs Road], alter the causes and shift the effects, and subsequently cause the future Netherworld to collapse!
This was the complete picture of [Project: Collapse Paramita].
'I have to admit, even among Supreme Dao Fruits, [City Rampart Earth] seems to stand a head taller than the rest. Its overpowered nature is truly prominent.'
Lu Yang's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
This might not necessarily be because [City Rampart Earth] itself was that powerful; it was more likely because of the World Honored One's existence, which indirectly elevated the stature of [City Rampart Earth].
So here came the question: how to tamper with the [Yellow Springs Road]?
For him, he could learn the Netherworld blueprint itself, because the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak had dissected the entire blueprint and analyzed it extremely thoroughly.
In this regard, he learned very quickly.
However, when the problem jumped outside the blueprint itself and required him to modify the blueprint—Lu Yang's impoverished talent left him completely clueless.
"At a time like this, I still have to rely on my peerless talent."
"Patriarch, save me!"
Lu Yang formed a hand seal and summoned Patriarch Nether Whisper on the spot. However, to his surprise, Patriarch Nether Whisper currently wore an expression as if his mind had wandered beyond the heavens.
"...Patriarch" Lu Yang called out softly.
Only then did Patriarch Nether Whisper snap back to reality, his brow furrowing tightly. "This Netherworld blueprint is incredibly formidable. It gives me a very familiar feeling."
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Lu Yang instantly narrowed his eyes. A certain speculation surfaced in his mind, only to be quickly dismissed: The first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak isn't dead yet!
But soon, he recalled what the World Honored One had said earlier. In the eyes of the Dao Lords, [Sky-shrouding], Perfected Lord Feixue, Patriarch Nether Whisper, and even himself seemed to share a certain commonality... And it was precisely because of this commonality that the Dao Lords accepted the rationality of his appearance.
But the question was—what was this commonality?
High talent?
Before Lu Yang could figure it out, Patriarch Nether Whisper clapped his hands, having worked it out himself. "That's it! This is very similar to my method of falsely holding a Golden Position!"
[The Mysterious Nether Lord-Commander of the Ghost Wardens]!
The method of falsely holding a Golden Position created single-handedly by Patriarch Nether Whisper, the only one of its kind in the entire world. Yet now, Patriarch Nether Whisper considered it very similar to the Netherworld's blueprint?
At this thought, Lu Yang instantly shifted his gaze.
The highest tier of the Netherworld, the name of its core component—[Palace of the Netherworld Lord]!
Was there truly a connection?
Lu Yang's expression shifted several times. Alas, there was too little relevant intelligence. While the names certainly sparked the imagination, they were basically just baseless speculations without any evidence.
Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Lu Yang chose to give up and stop dwelling on it. On the other side, Patriarch Nether Whisper also readjusted his mindset and began dedicating his entire focus to comprehending the Netherworld blueprint... Seeing his talent working so hard, Lu Yang felt at ease.
Mystic Spirit World Realm, Heavenly Court.
Lu Yang cautiously left the [Mark of Fulfilling Virtue]. During this process, he clearly sensed his past karma being stripped away.
Just like how the karma of his meeting with the World Honored One was stripped away, only this time, what was stripped away was all the karma of him obtaining the Netherworld blueprint. All relevant memories were completely erased from his mind. This wasn't a memory manipulation like the Knowledge-Perception Barrier; rather, it was directly rendering the past into nothingness.
Since it never happened in the first place, how could there be memories of it?
For a moment, Lu Yang stood blankly in place, then sighed dejectedly. "I'm already this strong, yet I still can't clear the stage?"
"Forget it, forget it."
After lamenting for a while, Lu Yang simply sat down and entered a state of meditation to regulate his breathing, his expression completely normal. From beginning to end, there were no anomalies in his surroundings.
In the blink of an eye, two and a half years passed.
Within the quiet room, Lu Yang, sitting cross-legged, could finally hold it in no longer. A bead of sweat the size of a soybean slowly rolled down from his neck along his back.
'Has he left after so long?'
'He should have left, right! Fuck me, this is the only bad thing about the Saint Sect's old undying dog. His gaze is different from the other Dao Lords; I fucking can't sense it!'
Lu Yang hadn't recovered his memories.
The karma also remained in its modified state. However, just like before, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had already told him the true "history" via divine sense.
At the same time, news arrived from Patriarch Nether Whisper. After two and a half years of comprehension, he had basically figured out the specific structure of the [Yellow Springs Road]. He was confident he could plant a "Cause" without destroying its structure, subsequently creating the "Effect" of the Netherworld collapsing completely in the present world!
'Everything is ready, except for the east wind!'
For a moment, Lu Yang even felt a bit excited. "All that's lacking is the resonance of the [Tribulation] and the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier. The opportunity for both... is in thirty years!"
In thirty years, the Star Palace would finish forging the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier.
Similarly, in thirty years, the Star Palace had resolved to attack the Celestial Court. A massive war where even Perfected Lords would find it hard to escape death should be enough to trigger the resonance of the [Tribulation].
'I must stand out in this war.'
'The Star Palace attacking the Celestial Court. Only by becoming the deciding factor and the tide-rider of this war can I draw closer to the [Tribulation], until I reach its critical point.'
Lu Yang calculated silently in his heart, deducing the karma:
'Once I reach that critical point, I will devour the Dao Fruit in one fell swoop, causing the Dharma Body Dao to reappear in the world... In that way, the [Tribulation] will inevitably descend upon me!'
When that time came, all the elements would be complete.
This would be the biggest thing he had ever done since his ten-plus restarts. Even he couldn't predict the outcome, but it would inevitably be an unprecedented upheaval throughout the ages.
'If I succeed, I'll have the capital to flip the table!'
'Even if I fail, I'll be able to see the methods of those Dao Lords in the sky more clearly. Moreover, such a massive event—it will absolutely draw an overpowered talent!'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's expression instead grew increasingly calm, all emotions pressed deep into the bottom of his heart:
'To personally trigger the great tribulation of Paramita collapsing and the light sea being destroyed.'
'If I can succeed and cause such a massive event, there's no way [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] won't give me an overpowered colorful talent, right?'
Depending purely on the outcome of this lifetime, if it met his expectations, he could even forfeit inheriting his cultivation base in this lifetime and opt to draw a talent instead. As for his cultivation base, the worst-case scenario was just replicating the operations of this lifetime all over again. It was merely the cost of one page of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. He had the capital for it now!
And so, very quickly, thirty years passed—
(End of Chapter)