The Dharma Body Dao was re-established. Although it was broken and could not be mentioned in the same breath as its peak period, its influence on the light sea remained unimaginably massive.
Lu Yang stood in the [Sea of Bitterness], his hands behind his back, facing the wind.
His gaze reached straight to [Paramita], paying absolutely no mind to the complex gazes of the Star Palace's Great Perfected Lords, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue, and Immortal Venerable Taiyin beside him.
Only at this moment did Lu Yang finally take out the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier he had previously obtained from the Star Palace, the [Realm Sovereign]. Emerging simultaneously was the [Divine Firmament Thunder]. However, after receiving the augmentation of the [Tribulation], the [Divine Firmament Thunder] had already undergone an earth-shaking transformation.
Supreme Dao Fruit!
'The profound wonder itself hasn't changed, but the level of the Dao Fruit has. The things I couldn't do in the past because the Dao Fruit's tier wasn't high enough, I can now do.'
For example, Dao Fruit simulation.
Previously, although he could simulate other Dao Fruits by modifying concepts, he couldn't completely simulate all the profound wonders of a Supreme Dao Fruit.
But things were different now.
Lu Yang gently flicked the [Divine Firmament Thunder]. The Dao Fruit, wrapped in brilliantly golden lightning light, suddenly changed its radiance, transforming into a cluster of supreme flaming light.
[Heavenly Fire].
The familiar profound wonder welled up in his heart, possessing absolutely no difference from the genuine [Inscribing Heavenly Chapters]; he commanded it as easily as moving his own arm, until Lu Yang reached out and gently brushed past it again.
A second later, the flaming light collapsed and vanished formlessly, replaced by a terrifyingly unparalleled sharp concept. Simultaneously, endless scenes flashed around it. It was exactly [Sword Edge Gold]! Lu Yang possessed the relevant Perfected Lord-level Dao comprehension for it, and his simulation was identical to the original!
Following that, Lu Yang changed his hand seals once more.
This time, the metal qi dissipated. Endless, dense iridescent light surfaced, layering upon each other like piled bricks and tiles, transforming into a towering Dao Fruit.
[City Rampart Earth]!
Whether it was its profound wonder, aura, or stature, it possessed absolutely no difference from the [Time-Shifting World-Changing Instrument]. Whatever the genuine [City Rampart Earth] could do, it could also do.
Including the Dao Fruit Secret Method!
Seeing this scene, a trace of a satisfied smile finally surfaced on Lu Yang's face, which then turned into regret: 'It's a pity I can't take it with me when I restart.'
The current Supreme [Divine Firmament Thunder] was completely built upon the augmentation of the [Tribulation]. And right now, he had merely obtained the favor of the [Tribulation]; he was not the Lord of the Great Dao, so the [Tribulation] didn't belong to him. Therefore, after restarting, even if he chose to carry over his cultivation base, he could only bring back the ordinary [Divine Firmament Thunder].
Aside from that, the same applied to the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier.
This thing was an external object specifically forged for him by the Star Palace in this lifetime, and it belonged to the category of consumables. Moreover, if he chose his cultivation base, it would be impossible to also choose this item.
'These are all things that can only be encountered by chance, not sought out.'
Lu Yang sighed inwardly but quickly regained his calm. He would deal with the matters of the next life in the next life. In this lifetime, the major event he was going to execute hadn't even begun yet!
At this thought, the Supreme [Divine Firmament Thunder] and the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier [Realm Sovereign] instantly merged. The three rings that formed the main body of the [Realm Sovereign] firmly buckled around the [Divine Firmament Thunder] just like that, slowly rotating, placing this Dao Fruit in the center, surrounded by countless formation patterns.
Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual!
The effect of the [Realm Sovereign] was equivalent to exactly this. As the three rings operated, the [City Rampart Earth] simulated by the [Divine Firmament Thunder] also rapidly underwent an anomaly.
The original [City Rampart Earth] displayed a seven-colored light.
However, at this moment, the seven-colored light was restrained and merged into one, ultimately bursting forth with an astoundingly pure, flawless, blinding white light!
Once upon a time, this was the karmic Dharma light that only the World Honored One had displayed!
Iridescent light mixing together, transforming into blinding white.
'Back then, the World Honored One must have completed the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual for [City Rampart Earth], thereby achieving that largest-scale altering of causes and effects in history.'
Now, he had done it too!
Although he had taken a shortcut using an Overlord-Level Dao Soldier, facts spoke louder than words. As long as the result met his requirements, the process was merely a minor detail.
At the same time, the [Tribulation] seemed to sense the major event Lu Yang was about to execute, growing increasingly close to him as a steady stream of mighty power continuously surged over.
If the Thousand-Year Great Tribulation was a play directed by the Dao Lords.
Then at this very moment, Lu Yang stood undeniably at the center of the stage. In this great tribulation, in this play, he was the sole protagonist!
[Sky-shrouding] was merely a supporting character!
Not only that, but as his true body advanced to Great Perfected Lord, the sections regarding the Late Stage of the Golden Core in the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture] of the past were officially unsealed for him.
And what highly interested Lu Yang was that the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture] recorded Sisui's classification of the Late Stage of the Golden Core—the Great Perfected Lord level—from back when he had yet to become a Nascent Soul Dao Lord. On this point, he gave an entirely different answer from [Sky-shrouding]:
'The Late Stage of the Golden Core, in my eyes, is nothing more than four steps.'
'The first is named [Entering the Dao]. Wielding the Primordial Great Dao, one can borrow the Great Dao to execute profound wonders and hold stature to ascend to the high heavens. Cultivating to this point means one has officially entered the hall.'
'The second is named [Dao Integration]. The Dao merges with the body, forming its own cycle. One no longer borrows the Great Dao but truly transforms the Great Dao into one's own profound foundation.'
'The third is named [Immortal Bridge]. At this step, one has already caught a preliminary glimpse of a higher realm, only to see a surging great river before their eyes, difficult to cross; one can only build a bridge and attempt to cross.'
'The fourth is named [Heaven Treading]! Walking to this step is like treading on thin ice. One already stands on the threshold of detaching from the mortal dust, and this is likely the absolute peak of the present world...'
Lu Yang comprehended this briefly and immediately understood: '[Entering the Dao] is roughly equivalent to an ordinary Great Perfected Lord in Sky-shrouding's classification, [Dao Integration] is a high-tier Great Perfected Lord, [Immortal Bridge] is the pinnacle, and [Heaven Treading] is the absolute limit... Sisui's standards are truly high; he directly deleted the "newly entered" tier altogether!'
This was probably also Sisui's arrogance.
Perhaps in his view, a newly entered Late-Stage Golden Core level like Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao simply couldn't be called a Great Perfected Lord, so he didn't even mention it.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang didn't forget to inwardly mock [Sky-shrouding] a bit:
'Look at Sisui's classification.'
'Entering the Dao, Dao Integration, Immortal Bridge, Heaven Treading—they sound much better than [Sky-shrouding]'s set of "high-tier," "pinnacle," and whatever. The modern Immortal Nexus is still too utilitarian. The names they choose don't care if they sound good or not, only if the phrasing is intuitive. Saying them out loud loses face; how can they compare to the charm of the ancient flair.'
Only then did Lu Yang snap back to reality, reigning in his thoughts. He withdrew his gaze that was gazing out at [Paramita] and instead lowered his eyes, looking down upon the mortal dust of the present world.
"You—" Immortal Venerable Taiyin still wanted to speak.
However, this time, before her voice could fade, a heavenly chasm surfaced out of thin air beneath her feet, subsequently dividing the two realms and isolating her on the outside.
[Heaven-Sun Axis Dao Fruit]!
"Consider yourselves fortunate."
Only then did Lu Yang speak faintly: "For this upcoming grand play, Seniors, you get to sit in the best seats in the audience and watch to your heart's content..."
Before his voice faded, heaven and earth abruptly went dark!
Above the [Sea of Bitterness], the silhouette belonging to [Paramita] abruptly receded at this moment, vanishing completely, as if it had suffered some heavy blow.
However, correspondingly, the figure Lu Yang had glimpsed once before—the one situated above [Paramita], appearing incredibly minuscule because of its sheer power—moved. He drifted down from [Paramita] just like that, stepping into the [Sea of Bitterness]. His robes fluttered as he arrived before Lu Yang and then pointed a finger forward!
The Ancestor of the Saint Sect descended to the mortal realm!?
'No! It's too weak!'
'It is far from reaching the level of a Dao Lord. It can kill me, but I'm not to the point of being completely powerless to resist.'
Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply, but he didn't panic: 'It's not descending to the mortal realm; it's merely a single thought stirring the spiritual qi, descending with the heavy pressure of a [Paramita] stature...'
Similar to the Heaven's Collapse technique Patriarch Nether Whisper had executed back then.
Lu Yang coldly stared at the figure before him. It had no face, no gender characteristics, only a finger that continuously enlarged and grew increasingly clear before his eyes.
Have I finally moved your killing intent now?
At this moment, Lu Yang's mood instead returned to tranquility. He even recalled the experience of being pointed to death by a single finger from the Heaven-Mending Peak Master back when he was still in Qi Refining.
The state of mind from that time surfaced once more.
Lu Yang suddenly grinned and chuckled lightly, which quickly turned into wild, unbridled laughter:
"...HAHAHAHA!"
On what grounds? On what grounds can you kill me with just a casual point of your finger? Am I destined to be a beast of burden, while you are destined to sit high above?
[Inevitable Fate]?
Bullshit!
The Dao Lords sat enthroned upon the mountain's summit, gazing down as all other peaks dwindled into insignificance. From that lofty height, they watched the cultivators below—mere mortals at the mountain's foot—slaughter one another without end.
Such days—should not continue any longer.
"Fellow Daoists, Seniors..."
Facing the increasingly close finger and the terrifying pressure that nearly brought his mind to a halt, Lu Yang slowly raised his right hand above his head, then clenched it into a fist tightly.
At this moment, through the Dharma Body Dao's light sea live broadcast, all living beings could see Lu Yang. They saw the fearless smile on his face even when facing a destined death. Following that, a voice filled with fighting spirit spread throughout the [Sea of Bitterness] via the Dharma Body Dao, reverberating across the entire light sea:
"LET US GO TO THE MOUNTAIN PEAK!!!"
Even if we cannot do it today, I invite you to walk with me. Someday in the future, we will cast off the oppression on our bodies and climb to the mountain peak!
If you cannot go up... then I will make him fall!
As his voice faded, Lu Yang finally shifted his gaze, looking head-on at the finger that had already landed between his eyebrows. His lips moved slightly, emitting a soft murmur:
"Let's play a game of karmic hide-and-seek."
This was the greatest boast in a hundred thousand years, yet the tone in which it was spoken was incredibly relaxed: "Let's see if you catch me first, or if I make you fall down first."
Our contest will cross through time and space!
A second later, under the watchful eyes of the masses, and in the split second before that single finger was about to point Lu Yang to death, his figure abruptly vanished from the spot.
(End of Chapter)