Although initially smug and satisfied, itching to immediately do something big, after a field inspection, Lu Yang instantly discovered an awkward problem:
'Fuck me, where is the World Honored One?'
Five thousand years ago, right at the tail end of the thousand-year great tribulation, the Celestial Court had already been repelled. Even Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao was still at his peak state.
The entire Immortal Nexus could be described as a scene of peace and prosperity.
However, Lu Yang didn't know what to do. Where was the so-called greatest altering of causes and shifting of effects in history that the World Honored One had spoken of? I can't fucking see it.
'Right, in the official history, there is absolutely no altering of causes and shifting of effects. The current history has long been molded into the shape the World Honored One desires; it is the result after modification. It's normal that I can't see it... But in that case, how am I supposed to hitch a ride? Is the World Honored One tricking me?'
Lu Yang felt a bit of a headache.
In the official history, the World Honored One attained the Dao one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago. The karmic history had long been altered, so the World Honored One's Dao attainment naturally no longer existed here.
Under these circumstances, who should he look for?
Go directly to the Pure Land?
'No!'
Lu Yang instantly snuffed out the thought in his heart. Not because he worried the World Honored One would screw him over, but because the Ancestor of the Saint Sect was currently chasing right behind him.
'The Ancestorof the Saint Sect still has to keep an eye on the Netherworld right now, so he can't go all out to find me. But he can certainly focus his surveillance on a few key individuals... By altering causes and shifting effects, I am clearly colluding with the World Honored One. If I were the Ancestor of the Saint Sect, I would guard the Pure Land heavily.'
'If I go to the Pure Land, it's equivalent to walking right into a trap.'
Then where else could he go?
Suddenly, Lu Yang's eyes lit up: 'False history! That's right. The official history has already been completely modified, so I can't find it. But the false history is different.'
However, very quickly, he slumped down again:
'No good. The false history is also fucking inside the Saint Sect. Moreover, as far as I know, the false history was originally created by the Ancestorof the Saint Sect. Me running in there?'
What's the difference between that and suicide?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but scratch his head, grumbling inwardly: 'There are no flaws. No wonder this old immortal bastard could ultimately attain [Inevitable Fate]!'
He was overly cautious—too rigid, too absolute in his actions.
Every potential karmic flaw he could conceive of seemed fraught with danger. As a result, he found himself stalled within the web of cause and effect—unable to advance, yet equally unable to discern how the deadlock might be broken.
"How about... looking for a person?"
Lu Yang changed his perspective and continued thinking: "To enter the false history, I don't necessarily have to take the formal entrance. Smuggling in through karma is actually viable too."
After all, he now had the augmentation of a Dao Fruit Secret Method and an Overlord-Level Dao Soldier. His application of [City Rampart Earth] had practically reached the ceiling. As long as someone possessed the karma of both the official history and the false history, he could enter from their karmic thread in the official history and then exit from the false history karmic thread on the other end.
Then, who was there?
Someone who possessed both the karma of the official history and the karma of the false history, yet happened to have left the false history, ordinarily walking in the present world, allowing him to seize an opportunity...
At this thought, a name naturally popped out:
'Feixue!'
Lu Yang instantly grew excited. The current Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue... Oh wait, she hadn't sought the Golden Core yet. At this time, she should be Foundation Establishment Perfected One Xue Feihong.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately looked at Chong Guang and the Primordial Heavenly Demon beside him, smiling: "I'll have to trouble you two. Go find Perfected Lord Feixue for me."
As his words fell, the Primordial Heavenly Demon and Chong Guang didn't hesitate in the slightest. They nodded immediately, already realizing the heaven-sent fortuitous encounter that had landed on them right now—after all, this karmic trip had the augmentation of the [Tribulation]. To them as Inner Demons, this was cultivation practically being delivered to their doorstep!
Moreover, they inherently had this intention.
The Primordial Heavenly Demon went without saying; he was more than happy to see the scene of Paramita collapsing. As for Chong Guang, he placed more value on what Lu Yang had said earlier:
[Let us go to the mountain peak!]
Paramita was hard to seek, and the mountain peak was hard to climb. Chong Guang was not a stupid person; how could he not understand that Lu Yang's actions were a good thing for all cultivators?
Soon, two gusts of sinister wind swept outwards.
Five thousand years ago, Inner Demons had yet to appear in the world. The methods of the Primordial Heavenly Demon and Chong Guang were completely unknown to anyone. Unless a Great Perfected Lord emerged, almost no one could detect them.
And at this time, the Great Perfected Lord era hadn't been opened yet.
Therefore, Lu Yang was very at ease with the two of them. He merely attached a strand of his divine sense to them, ensuring he could grasp the current situation at any time to avoid any unexpected incidents.
Before long, the sinister wind arrived at the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea and drifted inside. With Chong Guang, Perfected Lord Feixue's direct disciple present, they found the Foundation Establishment Perfected One Xue Feihong from five thousand years ago without expending much effort. However, when Lu Yang activated his divine sense and took a look, he was almost dumbfounded.
What met his eyes was a young girl.
Unlike the Perfected Lord Feixue of five thousand years later, the current Xue Feihong's hair hadn't reached her waist yet, nor did she possess the elegant temperament of a classical noblewoman.
Instead, she looked more like a lively servant girl.
When Lu Yang saw her, she was being besieged.
However, she wasn't afraid in the slightest. On the contrary, she placed her hands on her hips and laughed heartily. While stepping barefoot on the river, she casually unleashed divine abilities to suppress her attackers.
She was unbelievably heroic and unrestrained.
But this wasn't the reason Lu Yang was dumbfounded. After all, a Foundation Establishment Perfected One had long ceased to enter his eyes. What truly left him dumbfounded was the karma on Feixue's body.
'That is... [Inevitable Fate]!?'
That's right. Although it was very hazy and the specific contents were unclear, after receiving the augmentation of [City Rampart Earth], Lu Yang could vaguely see many things clearly.
'I'm absolutely not mistaken. There is an [Inevitable Fate] on Feixue's body!'
In an instant, Lu Yang gasped:
'How long has this [Inevitable Fate] been following Feixue? It couldn't have been following her all along, right? In that case, the Ancestor of the Saint Sect is even more terrifying than I imagined!'
Prior to this, Lu Yang had always thought that the [Inevitable Fate] in the Netherworld was the Ancestor of the Saint Sect's first intervention, and dealing with him was the second. But looking at it now, if Perfected Lord Feixue also had an [Inevitable Fate] on her, the Ancestor of the Saint Sect wasn't just fighting a two-front war; he was fighting a three-front war!
'However,... this makes sense.'
All along, Lu Yang had been very curious: given Perfected Lord Feixue's personality, how could she hack her way through thorns and thistles in a broken place like the Saint Sect, going all the way to become a Perfected Lord?
This was not just a matter of strength.
No matter how high your strength was, could a Foundation Establishment cultivator slay a Perfected Lord above their realm?
In the Saint Sect, having strength alone was not enough. After all, higher-level cultivators exerted layers upon layers of oppression. You had to know how to secure personal gain, understand conspiracies, and possess tricks to truly grow.
Yet Perfected Lord Feixue had managed to rise, emerging as a sudden new force. The moment she broke through, she even directly suppressed the Saint Sect's veteran Golden Core, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian. It made one couldn't help but wonder—what was Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian doing before that? Why didn't he directly nip Feixue in the bud?
And what about factions outside the Saint Sect?
What about the Sword Pavilion? Were they just eating free meals? The Saint Sect produced a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator skilled in battle, yet they didn't hurry to kill her and send her into the Sword Pavilion to enjoy blessings?
But now, Lu Yang had achieved some realization:
'I misunderstood Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian. It's not that he didn't try. He might have even tried more than once, but he failed every single time...'
The same applied to other factions.
Because Perfected Lord Feixue's growth was an [Inevitable Fate]. No matter how winding the process was, the result was already destined... Was she truly the Ancestor of the Saint Sect's biological daughter?
'No, that's not right.'
Lu Yang slapped his forehead. His way of thinking was truly too lower-cultivator-like. With the Saint Sect's style, let alone a biological daughter, they wouldn't even take care of their biological mother like this.
'I should change my line of thought. Feixue... is probably an excellent talent for the Ancestor of the Saint Sect!'
'The kind that cannot be lost.'
'Rather than saying this [Inevitable Fate] is protecting Perfected Lord Feixue's growth, it's better to say he's fertilizing his own leeks... waiting for the day of the harvest.'
At this thought, Lu Yang was instantly horrified.
'This is troublesome now.'
With this Inevitable Fate present, he probably couldn't touch Perfected Lord Feixue's karma anymore. Once he triggered the Inevitable Fate, the Ancestor of the Saint Sect's giant hand would arrive.
Lu Yang immediately ordered Chong Guang and the Primordial Heavenly Demon to retreat.
'Besides Feixue, who else is there?'
'Someone possessing the karma of both the official history and the false history... That batch of Zou Yu descendants in the Saint Sect from the false history? No, that's the leverage the Ancestor of the Saint Sect uses to control the World Honored One. It's equally crucial, so it's impossible for the Ancestor of the Saint Sect not to pay attention to them. Looking for them is no different from looking for Feixue.'
Lu Yang once again realized the terror of [Inevitable Fate].
The Ancestor of the Saint Sect's [Inevitable Fate] was absolutely not just a simple Dao method profound wonder, but also a method of doing things, controlling everything without leaving the slightest flaw!
'...Calm down. The Ancestor of the Saint Sect is not omnipotent.'
'Variables are the underlying logic of the light sea. No matter how incredible the Ancestor of the Saint Sect is, it's impossible for him to control all variables. There must be a critical flaw!'
Lu Yang's gaze was cold, his thoughts spinning rapidly.
The flaw—where is it?
(End of Chapter)