Leaving the karmic scene.
And in the next second after he left, he saw the karmic scene of his meeting with the World Honored One suddenly burst and vanish like a dream bubble.
All karma was severed, leaving no trace.
'He was waiting for me...'
In this instant, Lu Yang experienced a flash of enlightenment: 'The World Honored One actually anticipated long ago that I would use the [Time-Reversing World Dao Instrument] tomeet him one more time.'
'So he intentionally kept this karmic scene intact until after meeting me, only completely destroying himself then. Now, even if I still wanted to see him and returned to that point in time, I wouldn't be able to see anything... And this is just the World Honored One. How do these Dao Lords play so many tricks?'
Lu Yang couldn't help but scratch his head.
'Five thousand years ago... I remember [Sky-shrouding] saying that was the time the World Honored One attained the Dao. It could be considered the greatest altering of causes and shifting of effects in history.'
'Those words actually make sense.'
'The World Honored One's Dao attainment clearly received the consent of all the Dao Lords. Acting secretly under the cover of his karma, no one would notice an ant like me...'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang was suddenly startled:
'Thinking about it carefully, isn't this too much of a coincidence?'
'The greatest altering of causes and shifting of effects in history, and simultaneously the biggest flaw left on the great karmic net. Anyone can use this opportunity to secretly stir up trouble.'
'Could this have been intentionally left behind by the World Honored One?'
'The foundation of my [Project: Collapse Paramita] is [City Rampart Earth]. But aside from me, could it be that no one else can use this move?'
Of course there was! The World Honored One himself, for instance.
'Never mind anything else. If the World Honored One can use [City Rampart Earth] as the core to complete the [Buddhist Kingdom on Earth] and falsely hold a Nascent Soul stature, he could definitely do this too!'
'[Project: Collapse Paramita]. What I can achieve, the World Honored One actually has hope of achieving as well... Fuck, could this have been one of the World Honored One's plans all along, and I just happened to take the first step? It's not impossible! The World Honored One's rhetoric just now really didn't sound like something he came up with on the spot.'
It clearly looked like he had been planning it for a long time!
'Looking at it this way, although the Ancestor of the Saint Sect has him by the throat, and he is considered the weakest among the Dao Lords, the World Honored One clearly has no intention of sitting still and waiting for death.'
'He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, too!'
Lu Yang didn't actually feel surprised by this. After all, the underlying logic of this wretced place was exactly this— If you want to live, you'd better have some fucking tricks!
And they had to be big tricks.
Sticking to the old ways and only knowing how to bury your head in cultivation—that was the ancient flair. And to see the end result of the ancient flair, one only needed to look at the group of Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords in the Star Palace.
"...Forget it."
Lu Yang checked his condition. His divine sense was nearly exhausted, and a majority of his spiritual power had been consumed. Fortunately, all the goals of this karmic trip had been completed.
'But this is the limit. The [Time-Reversing WorldDao Instrument] lacks both the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual and the corresponding Dao Fruit Secret Method. Therefore, the time it can trace back is very limited; at the very least, it can't reach five thousand years ago. Furthermore, it can't alter excessively heavy karma. Its power, to be frank, is just so-so.'
I still have to rely on myself!
At this thought, Lu Yang immediately pushed the [Time-Reversing World Dao Instrument]. Under the protection of boundless iridescent light, his consciousness returned to the present world, detaching from the great karmic net.
[Nourishing Life Master].
As the iridescent light withdrew, Lu Yang's figure reappeared. He opened his eyes, and wherever his gaze fell, it seemed as if a thunderbolt flashed through the void.
A second later, he looked towards the present world, a look of exhilaration on his face:
"The time is now!"
The Netherworld, [Attaining Dao Hidden Profound Palace].
[Sky-shrouding] stood with his hands behind his back. His narrow eyes, the only part of him not obscured by smoke, narrowed slightly as he thoughtfully observed the Celestial Court battlefield.
The time Lu Yang spent traversing karma was buried within karma itself. In the present world, it had only been less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn since he withstood the curse of [Blood Money] and escaped into the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] to evade Immortal Venerable Taiyin's further cursing.
"...Interesting."
[Sky-shrouding] sighed with great interest while slowly pacing forward. Just like that, he walked out of his estate and arrived directly in front of the [Ghost Gates].
Following that, he raised his hand, curled a finger, and knocked gently.
Thump!
A muffled, booming sound instantly exploded on the [Ghost Gates]. The gates, which originally only accepted souls, now shockingly opened wide for him!
If Lu Yang were here, he would definitely be greatly astonished. Because [Sky-shrouding]'s Dao attainment in this lifetime was vastly different from his past life. In his past life, [Sky-shrouding] had to fight alone against countless heroes, expanding the Netherworld to the entire light sea before he could obtain the opportunity to step into the Netherworld.
But this lifetime was different.
[Sky-shrouding] completely ignored the present world; he didn't even manifest his form there. He simply walked plainly and ordinarily into the [Ghost Gates].
Unimpeded.
Expanding the Netherworld was a choice he had to make in his past life because he had left the Netherworld, was rejected by it, and suffered a severe drop in strength.
But now, he was undeniably at the peak of his life, so why would he need to expand the Netherworld? Even walking brazenly into the Netherworld like this, the Netherworld wouldn't detect him! And as his Knowledge-Perception Barrier spread out, the Netherworld even perceived him as one of its dead spirits, putting up absolutely no resistance.
At the same time, [Sky-shrouding]'s aura was also climbing.
[White Wax Gold], [Overturned Lamp Flame], [Eternal Flowing Water], [Silted Sand Earth], [Great Forest Wood]—the five-element Dao Fruits transformed into a five-colored halo behind his head.
And beneath his feet, a Great Dao slowly emerged.
Five elements perfected, Void Attainment Great Dao!
In this domain, [Sky-shrouding] had undoubtedly gone further than Immortal Venerable Taiyin. At the very least, the completion level of [Inversion] far exceeded that of [Gathering the Wealth of All].
The combination of the two formed the Ultimate Dao!
Below Golden Core Perfection, the Great Dao limit of the light sea. In that distant golden age, the current Dao Lords were merely at this realm!
"Truly interesting."
While pacing within the Netherworld, [Sky-shrouding] pondered inwardly: 'My karma was altered. So that's what that inexplicable emotion at the time was about.'
'Someone was using [City Rampart Earth] to alter causes and shift effects.'
As of now, that segment of the past had already been transformed into Forbidden Knowledge. Although very weak—at most causing a Qi Refining cultivator's thoughts to stagnate.
Early Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could withstand it.
But regardless, its essence was "Forbidden."
Being able to achieve this was also a manifestation of strength. After all, in this wretched place, if you couldn't produce even a sliver of Forbidden Knowledge, it only proved that you had no tricks.
"Let me see."
[Sky-shrouding] wasn't in a hurry to let [Inversion] devour the other five-element Dao Fruits to assault the core of the Netherworld. Instead, he stopped halfway and waited leisurely.
'Master of Tribulations... his [City Rampart Earth] Dao Fruit Secret Method still requires [Overturned Lamp Flame].'
'I have already drawn their attention for him. The rest depends on him. Being someone capable of making the World Honored One place a piece on the board, he should be able to show me a good play.'
He knew very well that if he continued, he would inevitably fail.
'The Netherworld already has a master.'
'If I want to attain the Dao, I still need a breaking point... Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations and Ferryman of Karma, what will you do? Let me see what kind of massive event you can cause.'
At this thought, [Sky-shrouding] raised his head.
Almost simultaneously, Lu Yang within the [Nourishing Life Master] also sensed it violently. A trace of solemnity surfaced on his face: "It's here... earlier than expected!"
Rumble!
At this moment, above the [Sea of Bitterness], a will descended from an infinitely high and ethereal place. It was shockingly the gaze cast down by a Dao Lord from [Paramita]!
Wherever the gaze fell, all phenomena fell silent.
In his past life, the Dao Lords had waited until [Sky-shrouding] assaulted the core of the Netherworld before making a move. Yet in this lifetime, they actually struck early!
(End of Chapter)