At this moment, the entire light sea fell into dead silence.
In the direction of the Celestial Court, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue distanced herself from the Star Palace's six Great Perfected Lords of the Spiritual Power Dao. Frowning slightly, she looked towards the direction of the Immortal Nexus.
It wasn't just her. Including Immortal Venerable Taiyin, the Star Palace, and even the Mysterious Wall far away on the horizon—as long as it was a cultivator possessing the stature of a Great Perfected Lord, they all sensed it. They either walked out of their cave abodes, ended their secluded meditation, or jolted awake from their meditative states. One after another, they raised their heads and looked towards the Immortal Nexus.
Lu Yang naturally was no exception.
However, unlike many people, he didn't focus his attention on the present world. Instead, he looked up at the sky, his gaze piercing through the [Sea of Bitterness], looking upwards.
Above the [Sea of Bitterness].
What met his eyes was a lofty, ethereal expanse that was fundamentally untouchable. The billowing sky canopy was boundlessly oppressive. Looking up from below was like gazing at a mountain peak from the foot of the mountain.
However, right at this moment, from above the mountain peak, a beam of radiant light suddenly cascaded down. It was very faint and very ordinary, yet it plummeted unstoppably into the [Sea of Bitterness], sank past the Foundation Establishment realm, shone into the present world, and continued all the way down. Finally, it tumbled into the Netherworld, which was dim year-round and never saw the light of day.
It illuminated half of [Sky-shrouding]'s face.
Yet even so, only smoke could be seen on the illuminated face—[Sky-shrouding]'s Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual for [Great Forest Wood] was unshakable.
'Cang Hao!'
[Sky-shrouding] sneered coldly, silently chewing over the title of the person who attacked in his heart. This was the true name of the Dao Lord of the Dao Court; speaking it aloud would only bolster his momentum.
Meanwhile, all around [Sky-shrouding], scenes visible to the naked eye were stripped away from his body out of thin air. These were [Sky-shrouding]'s past, his karmic history. Now, they formed a scroll of time, protecting him in the center.
The World Honored One had made his move.
Inside the [Nourishing Life Master], Lu Yang gazed far into the distance. This time, [Sky-shrouding] no longer deliberately concealed anything, so he clearly saw the identities of the two clashing parties.
'The Dao Lord of the Dao Court and the World Honored One.'
Why was this happening?
He wasn't surprised that the World Honored One acted to protect [Sky-shrouding]. However, in his past life, the first to attack was the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion. Why had it changed to the Dao Lord of the Dao Court in this lifetime?
Although the Dao Lord of the Dao Court had also attacked in his past life, it was after the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion. Why had the order changed? And what about the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao? In his past life, it was the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao who stepped in to stop the Dao Lord of the Dao Court. Yet this time, he hadn't made a move. What was he waiting for?
Lu Yang frowned deeply, his mind racing.
To him, the experiences of every lifetime were critically important, serving as the basis for his future actions. Therefore, if the future changed, he had to know the reason.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to use it as a reference.
"The abnormal actions of the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion and the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao..."
Just as Lu Yang was deep in thought, suddenly, the look in [Sky-shrouding]'s eyes—who had been sitting and watching the entanglement between the World Honored One and the Dao Lord of the Dao Court—shifted slightly. He then formed a hand seal.
In an instant, Lu Yang immediately noticed the change, and subsequently, a look of shock surfaced on his face: 'It's the Netherworld? The guiding power of the Netherworld has been affected. The [Ghost Gates] suddenly stopped opening to the outside, and the soul reincarnation process has been halted? The reason he's doing this is...'
Clang—!
[Sky-shrouding]'s action was like blowing a charge bugle. The ringing of a sword from Paramita interrupted Lu Yang's thoughts. The Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion had attacked!
However, before the sound of the sword ringing could arrive, the surging sound of ocean waves followed closely behind. A vast, boundless sea of spiritual power enveloped [Sky-shrouding], isolating the sound of the sword cry. The two sides once again fell into a stalemate—in this lifetime, it had actually become a wrestling match between the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao and the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion!
"...I understand now!"
Finally, Lu Yang grasped an unseen sliver of inspiration and achieved a sudden realization: "The key is the Netherworld. This factor influenced the actions of the two Dao Lords!"
Among the six Dao Lords of the light sea, only the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion and the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao had demands from the Netherworld.
The reason was very simple:
"On the Sword Pavilion's side, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao just defected. One could say he forged a deep enmity with Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue and Immortal Venerable Taiyin. He needs the Netherworld to preserve his life."
"Therefore, the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion was unwilling to act first, because the power of the Netherworld was still active over at the Celestial Court. If he rashly attacked [Sky-shrouding], and [Sky-shrouding] cut off the Netherworld's reincarnation in response, then Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao would be in deep trouble. That's why the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion waited a moment and didn't attack immediately."
This wasn't abandoning the strangulation of [Sky-shrouding].
It was merely waiting for a moment.
In fact, just now, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao had already led the cultivators of the Sword Pavilion to flee rapidly. Only after that did the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion immediately and decisively strike.
'As expected, Great Perfected Lords truly are different.'
'Regardless of what methods he used, regardless of his level among Great Perfected Lords, the moment Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao recovered, even the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion valued him more.'
'[Sky-shrouding] clearly realized this as well, even earlier than I did. So he rapidly severed the Netherworld's power of reincarnation and rebirth. This wasn't to deal with the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion, but to curry favor with the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao! That's why the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao intervened to block the attack at the critical moment.'
After all, the Star Palace was still fighting the Celestial Court right now!
Because of the Netherworld, the Star Palace side was fighting one life against countless lives, having to hold back for fear of casualties. If not for Lu Yang earlier, they would likely have suffered a crushing defeat long ago.
The importance of the Netherworld went without saying.
And when [Sky-shrouding] severed the Netherworld's power of reincarnation and rebirth, a massive flaw instantly appeared in the Immortal Nexus's immortality and indestructibility, making it no longer as terrifying.
The Star Palace's chances of winning vastly increased because of this.
'The fact that the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao didn't act against the Dao Lord of the Dao Court right from the start was probably also out of consideration for this. Waiting for the highest bidder... this is no joke.'
Because the current situation was different from his past life!
In his past life, the Star Palace hadn't conquered the Celestial Court, and there was no hope for the Dharma Body Dao to revive. Therefore, the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao was more than happy to see [Sky-shrouding] successfully attain the Netherworld.
But in this lifetime, the Celestial Court was already right before their eyes, and the revival of the Dharma Body Dao was hopeful. [Sky-shrouding] was no longer the only choice for the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao. Of course, considering the desire to cause trouble for the Ancestor of the Saint Sect, he definitely still leaned towards taking action. But it was no longer unconditional; it required explicit benefits.
Fortunately, [Sky-shrouding] reacted quickly.
By severing the Netherworld's power of reincarnation and rebirth on the spot, he allowed the Star Palace to completely occupy the winning position in this battle at the Celestial Court, subsequently prompting the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao to choose to intervene.
After sorting out his thoughts, Lu Yang let out a long breath, though his expression remained solemn.
'It's not over yet.'
The World Honored One, the Dao Lord of the Dao Court, the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion, the Dao Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao... These were all just appetizers. If nothing unexpected happened, that exalted figure should be making a move soon.
In the next second, Lu Yang experienced a flash of comprehension.
It wasn't just him. Even [Sky-shrouding] in the Netherworld, and even all the Great Perfected Lords, experienced a sudden flash of comprehension. Deducing the karma, they saw an unalterable result:
[Sky-shrouding] failed to attain the Nascent Soul realm.
His body died, he fell from grace, and his Dao filled the Netherworld!
On the blank sheet of paper called the present world, at this moment, an existence transcending the mortal dust picked up a brush and left an eye-catching stroke of ink—[Inevitable Fate] had descended!
Destined by fate, utterly unavoidable!
However, unlike his past life, [Sky-shrouding], who had long been prepared for this in this lifetime, remained calm and composed despite his inward shock. He didn't lose his bearing.
"I see. So this is [Inevitable Fate]?"
He suddenly recalled his previous Dao discussion with Lu Yang, sighing inwardly: 'So this is the method you didn't tell me about? It truly was something I couldn't have anticipated.'
'Even if I had anticipated it, it would be very difficult to deal with.'
'But since you also have ambitions, you will inevitably have to face it just like me... What is your method?' A hint of curiosity surfaced in [Sky-shrouding]'s heart:
'Inevitable fate has arrived.'
'Where is the variable?'
[Nourishing Life Master].
At the exact same moment the Ancestor of the Saint Sect acted and [Inevitable Fate] manifested in the present world, Lu Yang flicked his sleeve and stood up. His eyebrows flew upward, and a raging inferno burst into flames in his eyes:
"The time has arrived!"
(End of Chapter)