As [Paramita] plunged even further, the repercussions echoed throughout the mortal realm. The Immortal Nexus, the crown jewel of the Sea of Light, bore the brunt of this catastrophic impact at its very core.
"The Immortal Nexus is splitting apart."
Lu Yang spread out his divine sense and immediately detected the changes.
The outer oceans are churning with massive waves. Seawater is surging backward, endlessly flooding into the territories of the four regions.
On top of that, something is wrong with the [Great Dragon River] that divides the north, south, east, and west. In essence, it should just be a boundary line formed by the gathering of the [Two Polarities Birth and Destruction Profound Light]. But now, with the Immortal Nexus destabilized and the [Two Polarities Birth and Destruction Profound Light] dissipating... it seems there is something else lurking at the bottom of the [Great Dragon River].
Rumble—!
Even as Lu Yang pondered this, the upheaval of the Immortal Nexus continued. Aside from the ocean swallowing the inland, the [Great Dragon River] dividing the four regions was continuously expanding.
Mountains shifted, and continents flipped. Every natural phenomenon pointed to one simple, terrifying truth—
The Immortal Nexus is disintegrating.
Clearly, under the crushing, ever-growing weight of [Paramita], and with the Foundation Establishment Realm—its main pillar of support—shattered, the Immortal Nexus was the first to give way!
Is this it?
[Paramita] is about to crash down. Is the Ancestor of the Saint Sect really going to just sit back and watch? Does he really have no backup plan? Does he not care about the consequences at all?
Granted, even if [Paramita] collapsed, it was likely impossible to kill a Dao Lord with it. After all, the World Honored One had mentioned to him before that in the distant, ancient eras, there were times when Dao Lords resided in the mortal realm. This proved that even without [Paramita], a Dao Lord was still a Dao Lord.
Even so, the importance of [Paramita] remained unparalleled.
At the very least, this is the upward path for all the Dao Lords! If [Paramita] is destroyed, every Dao Lord will have to start from scratch. It'd be a complete reset of the board!
What Dao Lord would ever agree to that?
After spending countless eras and painstaking effort to claw their way to the top, only to fall back down in an instant and be forced to start over—even having to fight with the younger generation for fortuitous encounters?
What Dao Lord could swallow that bitter pill?
That's how it should be... And this scenario should be the most devastating for the Saint Sect's Ancestor. He, of all people, should be the most unwilling to see this happen.
Yet, he remained entirely indifferent.
Did I guess wrong?
Does the Ancestor actually not give a damn whether [Paramita] falls or not? Is it not his weakness at all? What on earth is he thinking?
Lu Yang felt his head was about to split open. Although he was well aware of the saying "the will of Heaven has always been profound and difficult to question," now that he was actually here, he couldn't grasp the Ancestor's thoughts at all. It was exactly like that tiny, distant silhouette standing in [Paramita]—utterly unreadable, devoid of any discernible features.
And his confusion... was actually shared by the World Honored One.
Why?
On the second layer of [Paramita], the golden Buddha incarnated by the World Honored One looked up at the sky. Within those compassionate Buddhist eyes, infinite karma flowed like swirling galaxies.
Calculating causes, deducing effects.
In this battle between Dao Lords, he was at best a supporting player, doing his utmost to chip away at the mighty power of the [Inevitable Fate]. This afforded him more mental energy to analyze the board.
Something isn't right.
The Primordial Saint... what exactly has he prepared? The capsizing of [Paramita] is undeniably a devastating blow to him. It's absolutely impossible for him to just sit by and let this happen.
With this in mind, he decided to probe him.
The next second, a resonant voice—inaudible to the mortal world and reserved only for those who had ascended to [Paramita]—echoed out, traveling straight up to the lofty sixth layer.
"Master, surely this has gone far enough?"
"If we continue fighting, not only will [Paramita] crash, but the light se and the mortal realm will also collapse. By then, even if the Netherworld is destroyed, what meaning will it have?"
A moment later, a light chuckle drifted down.
The voice originated from the sixth layer, sounding somewhat faint due to its extreme altitude. "Myriad Treasure, do you know why I chose to elevate you all those years ago?"
"Out of the four of you, your talent was actually not the highest. In terms of ingenuity, you couldn't match Heaven-Mending. In terms of comprehension, you fell short of Beast Taming. In sheer audacity, you were inferior to Pill Cauldron. Yet, I ultimately chose you... because you are very much like me. Calculating, adept at scheming, and capable of being utterly ruthless when it matters most."
This was the first time.
Ever since the great war 129,600 years ago, this was the first time the World Honored One had heard the voice of the master who once imparted the Dao to him.
How many years had it been?
Ever since he had become that tiny, untouchable silhouette positioned at the very apex of [Paramita], he had never heard the other party utter a single word.
It was as if the two of them belonged to completely different worlds.
Like a summer insect that cannot comprehend ice, or a frog in a well that cannot conceptualize the ocean.
Only now, when the Primordial Saint took the initiative to descend a step and was subsequently besieged by the Dao Lords, did his voice finally ring out, just as genial as it had been in the past:
"It is a pity that this is all you amount to."
The Primordial Saint's voice continued, relaxed and unhurried:
"You are skilled at plotting, and your methods are indeed highly sophisticated. However, the direction of your efforts is wrong. When your direction is wrong, more often than not, the harder you try, the harder you fail."
"Of course, you cannot be blamed for this."
"After all, I only taught you how to become a Dao Lord, but I never taught you how to climb even higher among the Dao Lords. That is what led to your slight misunderstanding."
"But no matter."
"I shall make up for that missed lesson right now."
The voice abruptly stopped.
The next second, that tiny silhouette standing on the sixth layer moved. He took a step, lightly flicked his sleeves, and calmly descended one more step.
He arrived at the fifth layer.
This time, his outline grew clearer. One could faintly discern that he was a man with hair cascading down to his waist, though his exact facial features remained obscured.
"Come!"
He beckoned with his hand. Instantly, from the direction of Jiangbei, deep within the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea at the Saint Sect's mountain gate, a sphere of light abruptly shot out. It flew straight into [Paramita] and landed right in his palm. Only disciples of the Saint Sect would recognize what this was—it was none other than the [Refining Arts Secret Realm]!
The Primordial Saint... he wants to use this to stabilize the mortal realm? Impossible!
The World Honored One instantly furrowed his brow. How could he have failed to inspect something as crucial as the Refining Arts Secret Realm? He was one hundred percent certain it possessed no such capability!
However, in the very next second, he froze.
Because right there in the Primordial Saint's hand, the Refining Arts Secret Realm began to transform. A stream of [Inevitable Fate] descended upon it, empowering it comprehensively.
[The Refining Arts Secret Realm can stabilize the mortal realm]!
This was the result. This was the inevitable fate. And to accommodate this decree of inevitable fate, the World Honored One immediately sensed the great karmic met being forcibly set into motion, giving rise to new variables.
Back then, after Beast Taming and I parted on bad terms over the issue with the Foundation Establishment Realm, he constantly worried that the collapse of the Foundation Establishment Realm would trigger a cataclysm in the mortal realm. Thus, he secretly found a way to modify the Refining Arts Secret Realm, hoping that it could serve as a temporary substitute if the Foundation Establishment Realm ever crumbled...
A brand-new strand of karma emerged.
Impossible!
The World Honored One pursed his lips, his compassionate smile vanishing. "Beast Taming exhausted his mind and body for the Netherworld. He had absolutely no spare energy to modify any Refining Arts Secret Realm."
"This cause and effect is invalid."
"Starting today, it is valid."
In a flash, the [Refining Arts Secret Realm] erupted with blinding radiance!
Standing upon the fifth layer, the Primordial Saint casually tossed the [Refining Arts Secret Realm] down into the mortal realm. It rapidly dissolved, merging seamlessly into the sea of light.
Rumble—!
Like water flowing into a natural channel, the steadily plummeting [Paramita] actually stabilized! The catastrophic collapse of the mortal realm and the Immortal Nexus was abruptly halted!
This was no longer just altering causes and shifting effects.
This was creating something out of absolutely nothing!
The ability of [Commanding Past and Present] to alter causes and shift effects was, at its core, merely exploiting loopholes. It required the cause and effect to possess the inherent possibility of realization before it could be transformed into reality.
However, the method the Saint Sect's Ancestor displayed right now bypassed that entirely, creating reality out of nothing. By using [Inevitable Fate] to forcefully warp the operation of the great karmic net, he bent it to match the [Inevitable Fate] he himself had authored. This singular move not only stabilized the mortal realm but also forced the besieging Dao Lords to halt their offensive.
The fifth layer... he is getting closer and closer to the mortal realm.
True, descending in [Paramita] makes him weaker when clashing with us here, but correspondingly, his ability to interfere with the mortal realm has grown far stronger.
At that moment, the Primordial Saint's voice echoed out once more:
"Myriad Treasure, do you understand now?"
"Your flaw is... you are still not self-centered enough. You can be ruthless, but that is the extent of it, because you still need to harden your heart to make those decisions."
"If it were me, Beast Taming would never have discovered the secret of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Why? Because I would have already silenced him long before that, permanently eliminating the threat. Had you done so, Beast Taming's karma would have met an abrupt end. Then, even as your master, I would be powerless in the face of the collapsing Foundation Establishment Realm today."
"As for the chain of consequences triggered by Beast Taming's death..."
At this point, the laughter drifting down from the higher reaches of [Paramita] grew even more genial, sounding exactly like an earnest teacher patiently guiding his student:
"...What does that have to do with me?"
"Given your position, the more chaotic and disastrous the situation, the better. Your schemes are quite impressive, but in the end, you still lack the true heart of a Dao-seeker."
"[Paramita] capsizes? Then forge it anew."
"The light sea collapses? Then mold it again."
"Besides myself, all things are false, only I am true! This is the Dao of the Nascent Soul! You've rubbed shoulders with low-level cultivators for far too long. In the end, you've gotten too immersed in the play!"
(End of Chapter)