The Hundred Lifetimes Place of Reincarnation.
Lu Yang's spirit floated above the abyssal surface, observing with keen interest this place that appeared every time he restarted. The stronger he became, the longer he could linger here.
Truly a wonderful place.
Especially now that he had advanced to Great Perfected Lord, his perception of this reincarnation space had reached unprecedented heights, making his understanding increasingly clear:
Before, I thought this place was very similar to the dark void of the light sea because they're both pitch black. But I was wrong. They aren't just similar... they are the exact same place! Looking at it from this perspective, this place is either a higher tier than the dark void or simply much deeper within it.
It was a simple realization.
Yet, from this realization, a correct conclusion could be drawn—the core of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] was indeed this very light sea.
It was not an object from the outer heavens.
Nor was it some unreasonable, "absolute cheat." The fact that it only offered one hundred restarts was an obvious limitation, which made perfect sense.
Having reached this realm, I finally have some spare capacity to ponder the origins of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. What exactly is it? And who created it? Among the Five Heavenly Destinies, could it be the Great Dao incarnation symbolizing [Variable]? After all, with it in hand, I have undeniably become the greatest variable in the light sea.
Lu Yang thought about it with great interest, but after a moment, he shook his head.
Unlikely.
If it were truly a creation of [Variable], the outcome shouldn't have been like this. After all, he had just been personally killed by the Saint Sect's Ancestor.
Death by [Inevitable Fate].
If [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] was truly manifested by [Variable], Lu Yang found it hard to believe it would possess the power to restart under the overwhelming influence of [Inevitable Fate].
Didn't he see how [Tribulation] couldn't even make a move?
With the manifestation of [Paramita] and the descent of the Dao Lords, a [Tribulation] without a Dao Lord couldn't stir up even the slightest ripple. In the end, it didn't even get a chance to appear on stage.
Considering this, the power of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] clearly surpassed that of [Variable]. The very fact that it allowed him to restart right under the nose of the Saint Sect's Ancestor was ironclad proof. Of course, part of the credit also belonged to him. His stature as a Great Perfected Lord had made the restart significantly easier.
After all, accidents could happen during a restart.
Lu Yang hadn't forgotten the time when his cultivation was still weak—back when he was merely a Foundation Establishment Perfected One—and his restart was almost detected by the World Honored One.
"I thought I was going to experience that again."
"Yeah, my cultivation level was the key."
"If I were still at Foundation Establishment and was personally killed by the Saint Sect's Ancestor, I probably wouldn't even be able to trigger [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. And even if I did, I'd still be dead."
This was also the limit of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
To put it simply:
[The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], you're too weak! Lu Yang shook his head.
As my cheat, you should feel ashamed!
Only a hundred chances, and you can even be interrupted? If you hadn't met a genius like me, you'd probably have been scrapped long ago for running out of pages.
That's right, [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], I'm the one carrying you!
It wasn't easy for me to advance to Great Perfected Lord. Shouldn't you get an upgrade too?
I suggest you just go ahead and upgrade. Give me some face, don't force me to get down on my knees and beg. My demands aren't high—just add another ten or twenty thousand pages, and we'll call it good.
Lu Yang mumbled to himself for quite a while.
[The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] had zero reaction to this and simply remained standing there. Seeing this, Lu Yang gradually trailed off. After pondering for a moment, he let out a loud laugh:
"Forget it, forget it."
Lu Yang quickly tossed aside his impractical speculations. This was as far as a Great Perfected Lord could probe. His current cultivation didn't support any deeper investigation.
Casting aside distracting thoughts, Lu Yang rapidly began his post-mortem analysis.
With a thought, beams of light and shadow instantly surfaced within the dim dark void, projecting scenes of his various experiences from this past lifetime.
Regarding this lifetime, Lu Yang was quite satisfied.
I've more or less met all four of the first-generation Peak Masters, aside from the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak. All I can say is that they're all ruthless figures, each with their own brand of brutality.
The World Honored One went without saying. As the First-generation Master of Myriad Treasures Peak, the number of contingency plans he had laid out in the mortal realm was terrifyingly high. Not only was there a massive Pure Land in the Immortal Nexus, but the Celestial Court simply cultivated the Spiritual Platform method he had created, and the Star Palace inherited his Dao of Formations and Treasures. And that wasn't even mentioning the grand and expansive Foundation Establishment Realm.
Amazing.
In a way, that bald donkey didn't actually lie to me back then. Compared to the other Dao Lords at least, he really is a good friend to low-level cultivators.
Next was the Heaven-Mending Peak Master.
This one wasn't a pushover either. The secret of the [Pomegranate Wood] is likely far greater than I imagined. It's just a pity I had limited energy and no time to investigate it.
A similar situation applied to the Mystic Spirit World Realm. As to why the cultivators of the Mystic Spirit World Realm enjoyed such abnormally long lifespans, Lu Yang hadn't found the answer even at the very end. He could only shelve it for now. If he got the chance in his next life, he could continue investigating it. It might just yield unexpected results.
Then came the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak.
Thinking of him, Lu Yang's expression suddenly turned melancholic: To be honest, I always thought he was an old ghost cut from the same cloth as [Sky-shrouding].
Just listen to his reputation:
Primordial Saint Sect, First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak. Brilliant talent, pure moral character, benevolent, filial, and generous, commanding the deep respect of the masses... How was this any different from [Sky-shrouding]?
Could a Perfected Lord of the Saint Sect really be this kind of person?
Impossible!
Therefore, Lu Yang had always maintained his guard against the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak. He previously suspected that the other party was holing up in the Netherworld, definitely planning to deal him a vicious blow.
As it turned out, his guess was both right and wrong. The First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak did pull a ruthless move—but not against anyone else. He was ruthless to himself, committing a decisive and resolute suicide. This single act introduced endless variables out of thin air to [Sky-shrouding]'s attempt to attain the Netherworld, forcing the Saint Sect's Ancestor to intervene.
Was this revenge?
You could say that. And it was highly effective revenge at that, at least forcing the Saint Sect's Ancestor to step down a layer. He actually harbored resentment as well.
The First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak wasn't some flawlessly pure and benevolent saint. He could also feel anger, suffer grievances, and harbor a desire for revenge.
But even so—
In this hellhole, he still counts as a great philanthropist.
Lu Yang sighed inwardly.
I thought about it for a long time, and his final method of revenge was actually suicide. If it were me, I would've just blown up the fucking Netherworld and taken everyone down with me.
Why didn't the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak do that?
In all likelihood, out of compassion for all living beings.
Blowing up the Netherworld wouldn't just harm [Paramita]; it would cause even greater suffering to the countless beings in the mortal realm. Suicide, on the other hand, targeted only the Saint Sect's Ancestor.
In other words, right up until the very end, the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak restricted his anger, hatred, and the resulting desire for revenge within a specific boundary. Even though choosing to blow up the Netherworld would have definitely caused far more trouble for the Saint Sect's Ancestor, he hadn't done it.
His moral standards were simply too high.
In comparison, [Sky-shrouding] didn't have nearly as many reservations. The reason he didn't blow up the Netherworld in the end was likely because he couldn't, not because he didn't want to.
Either the Netherworld had been locked down by [Inevitable Fate].
Or he was just bluffing earlier. Even though he had one foot in the [Netherworld Lord's Palace], he might not have actually possessed the authority to detonate the Netherworld.
Lu Yang guessed it was the former.
It's [Sky-shrouding], after all. If he really wasn't confident, he wouldn't necessarily use it as an empty threat. If he dared to say it, he must have had some level of control.
Whatever the case—
At the very least, in this lifetime, I've already forced the Saint Sect's Ancestor to personally take the field and kill me. Although it wasn't his true Dao Lord body, he still made a move against me.
This was actually a very absurd achievement.
At the very least, given Lu Yang's current level as a newly ascended Great Perfected Lord, even though he cultivated the Dharma Body Dao, he was still far from reaching a point that warranted the Saint Sect's Ancestor's personal intervention.
But he was simply too good at stirring up trouble.
If the World Honored One left behind so many contingency plans, how could the Saint Sect's Ancestor not have any? The [Refining Arts Secret Realm] is just one of them. There's also that [Heaven-Reaching Hall].
It's just that I pulled off something massive this time. By borrowing the power of the World Honored One and the [Tribulation], I completely bypassed all his contingency plans, flipped the table, and caught him off guard... Fundamentally, the finale of this lifetime escalated into a realm I cannot currently touch. I merely served as the catalyst.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang took a deep breath.
Going forward, I should slow things down a bit.
The incident in this lifetime was huge—extremely huge—but it also made me realize my own shortcomings... At the very least, my foundation is still far from that of a Dao Lord.
Ultimately, it still boiled down to strength.
If he had possessed [Sky-shrouding]'s strength in this lifetime, he definitely would have had far more options, perhaps even genuinely participating in the game between the Dao Lords.
As for the Saint Sect's Ancestor...
More often than not, the unknown is what's most terrifying.
Lu Yang gave a self-deprecating smile: But once the unknown becomes known, then no matter how terrifying or powerful it is, it just becomes a target to be conquered.
[Please select a restart anchor point]
Looking at the text surfacing on [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], Lu Yang didn't hesitate much. "The Third Anchor Point."
The next second, he vanished into the dark void.
(End of Chapter)