It was merely a matter of an instant.
One second, Lu Yang was still surprised by the Ancestor of the Saint Sect's refusal to compromise; the next second, endless brilliance completely covered and overturned his vision.
The entire light sea, all World Realms, Dao Fruits, and even the [Two Polarities Birth and Destruction Profound Light] vanished without a trace at this moment. Lu Yang's vision plunged into darkness. He knew nothing of heaven and earth were. Dao arts collapsed, profound wonders became invisible, leaving only the deepest despair settling in his heart.
'This is...'
In the boundless darkness, Lu Yang couldn't even recall what he had just seen. Even as a Great Perfected Lord, it was difficult to bear the taboo within his memories.
A Dao Lord's true body!
Only a Dao Lord's true body could achieve such an effect. Were the Dao Lords going to destroy the world again? Was he going to be forced to restart before even seeing the results?
However, Lu Yang quickly realized something was wrong. Because although a sharp pain came from his eyes and he felt dizzy, he hadn't died. It was just that his divine sense was difficult to project outward. It was as if he had become a lone boat in a vast ocean under a violent storm—dangerous, but not yet capsized.
'It's not a Dao Lord's true body.'
'I understand now. Unlike the past life, the Dao Lords haven't descended to the mortal realm in this lifetime, but are fighting on [Paramita]. So there is still a thin membrane separating us.'
[Paramita] mitigated the harm a Dao Lord's true body posed to lower cultivators.
But even so, probably only a Great Perfected Lord like him could barely survive. Below the Great Perfected Lord level, a large swath of Golden Core Perfected Lords would probably die.
There was no helping it; who told only Golden Core Perfected Lords to have the qualifications to see a Dao Lord's true body? The remaining Qi Refining cultivators, and the Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones plummeting after the collapse of the Foundation Establishment realm, probably couldn't see anything at all. Let alone mortals completely devoid of any divine anomalies. Dying suddenly like this could be considered a blessing for lower cultivators.
'This won't do!'
Lu Yang was getting a bit anxious. He went through untold hardships to create such a scene precisely to clearly see the methods of the Dao Lords on [Paramita]. How could he continue to be blind?
At this thought, he immediately formed hand seals.
In an instant, [Overturned Lamp Flame] shone brightly. A brilliant light coalesced between his eyebrows, transforming into a bright mirror that pierced the boundless darkness before him.
[Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit]!
Then he saw that in another direction, a bright light also shot into the sky. It was similarly [Overturned Lamp Flame], its mighty power and profound wonder even surpassing his Dao Fruit by a notch.
'It's [Sky-shrouding]...'
Lu Yang experienced a sudden realization inwardly. [Sky-shrouding] could also activate [Overturned Lamp Flame], and the Dao Fruit Secret Method he used was clearly a five-element combination, stronger than his three elements.
Although previously, in order to attain the Netherworld, he had fed all his Dao Fruits to his Void Attainment [Inversion], this didn't mean the profound wonders of the Dao Fruits had vanished. Just like the Dharma Body Dao, [Inversion] clearly also retained the profound wonders of the Dao Fruits through some method, not wiping them clean.
After all, who would complain about having more methods?
Meanwhile, on the other side, [Sky-shrouding]—now Perfected Lord Ling Xiao the Eastern Sovereign—also noticed Lu Yang. Their gazes met in the air for a moment.
But soon, they tacitly shifted their gazes away. Compared to the little secrets they held against each other, the battle of the Dao Lords on [Paramita] was the absolute priority.
"What exactly is happening?"
Lu Yang looked as far as he could. The [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] between his eyebrows was already pushed to the extreme, finally allowing him to faintly see the scene inside [Paramita].
The first thing that entered his sight was a streak of sword light.
Clang!!!
The moment he saw the sword light, the sound of a sword hum also reached Lu Yang's ears, instantly causing his Dharma Body to crack and explode, blood spurting out in an instant!
'It's the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion!'
At this moment, Lu Yang's eyes were covered by the sword light, practically turning into white jade. Then they cracked inch by inch, turning into a pile of fragments on the ground like shattered glazed glass.
Clatter...
In an instant, the shattered eyeballs rolled out of his eye sockets like tears, hitting the ground with clattering sounds, sending chills down the spine of anyone who saw it.
What was even more terrifying was that this injury was clearly not temporary. When Lu Yang attempted to recover his damaged Dharma Body and shattered eyeballs, it felt like filling a bottomless pit. No matter how much spiritual power or profound wonder he threw in, his injuries didn't change in the slightest.
This forced Lu Yang to lower his head.
But he had already achieved his goal—the sword light may have permanently destroyed his eyes, but it had also illuminated [Paramita] for him, even if only for an instant.
There were no Dao Lords' true bodies.
Under the cover of [Paramita], there were only the manifestations of the Dao Lords' respective concepts.
What kind of scene was that? To put it simply, it was like looking up at the starry sky from the bottom of a well, seeing the stars, the bright moon, and the vast azure sky.
Sword light, murky vastness, Dao Arts illusions, spiritual power ocean, giant golden Buddha—the five concepts rose together, surrounding that minuscule figure high above.
Even the great karmic net fell into chaos at this moment. The past history of the present world, endless years, surfaced one after another amidst the Dao Lords' clashes. There was also the future of this great battle; numerous scenes flashed. Some were about to turn into reality, only to shatter instantly and return to phantoms.
Abstract and incomprehensible.
And this was a scene that had been diluted by [Paramita]. If what he saw wasn't this, but the true bodies of the Dao Lords, he would probably die instantly.
But even so, Lu Yang still managed to summarize quite a few things—
'The heaven-piercing sword light symbolizing the Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion suddenly leaped from the fourth tier to the fifth tier, becoming the first person to block the Ancestor of the Saint Sect.'
'The Dao Spiritual Power and Dao Arts are also climbing. It seems because I revived the Dharma Body Dao, it filled a missing concept. The Dao Lord of Spiritual Power rose from the third tier to the fourth tier. Although the Dao Lord of Dao Arts didn't leap from the fourth to the fifth tier, his presence also grew significantly stronger.'
'The World Honored One, on the other hand, hasn't changed much.'
'Is he slacking off? Or is this just his level?'
Lu Yang desperately recalled the momentary scene that had just flashed through his mind, because the related contents were rapidly fading from his memory.
The knowledge of [Paramita] was not something a Great Perfected Lord could pry into!
'Hurry, I must quickly draw corresponding conclusions based on the scene I saw in that single glance, and then save those conclusions in my memory...'
The scene of [Paramita] could be forgotten.
But conclusions such as who was stronger and who was weaker among the Dao Lords, what methods they had, who were allies, and everyone's attitude towards the Primordial Saint—these would not be deleted.
And these were his bargaining chips for his next life!
'Furthermore...'
Recalling the final scene of that fleeting glimpse, a haze couldn't help but surface in Lu Yang's eyes: '...The other Dao Lords don't seem to be able to shake the Ancestor of the Saint Sect.'
Simply because, within the scene of [Paramita] he saw in that single glance, the images presented by the other Dao Lords were incredibly abstract, difficult to understand and comprehend. Only the Ancestor of the Saint Sect remained unchanged. He was still as minuscule, still sitting high above, still looking down upon everything beneath his feet.
Just like [Inevitable Fate].
"Hm?"
Right at this moment, Lu Yang suddenly staggered. Having lost his eyes, he could only use his divine sense to perceive, only to feel that the pressure coming from overhead had grown significantly heavier once more.
[Paramita] was still falling!
Clearly, with the Foundation Establishment realm shattered and one of the present world's pillars missing, the battle between the Dao Lords further accelerated the fall of [Paramita]!
(End of Chapter)