[Disciple Becomes the Master's Standard] had three levels of feedback.
The first level fed back spiritual power, and the second level fed back Dao comprehension. The former was basically useless to Lu Yang, and the latter was meaningless if one hadn't become a Perfected Lord.
Ever since obtaining this colorful talent, Lu Yang had never triggered the third level of feedback. This was because this level was the most profound and mysterious, feeding back karma and destiny. For a time, Lu Yang didn't even understand what exactly it was. However, now, he had a tangible concept of it.
It was a fruit of light.
Within Lu Yang's sea of consciousness, his soul brought his hands together, cradling a creation formed entirely from the integration of light, talismans, and karma.
The [Fruit of the Inner Demon].
[After refining it, you will more easily gain the favor of 'Tribulation', more easily be perceived as a demonic fiend, and more easily encounter fortuitous opportunities related to demonic fiends.]
Lu Yang's eyes instantly burned with fervor.
More easily gain the favor of 'Tribulation'! I didn't expect it to have an effect like this... This harvest is greater than all my previous harvests combined.
One had to remember what he went through in his previous lifetime to gain the favor of [Tribulation]. He created inner demons, caused a Middle Stage Golden Core Perfected Lord—who should have been immortal and indestructible—to perish, and finally, directly interfered with the Netherworld and the battle of the Dao Lords... Only by reaching that extent did [Tribulation] cast its gaze upon him.
Conditions like that were something you could only hope for, not seek out.
When doing big things, the bigger the deed, the less room there was to turn back. Lu Yang couldn't possibly repeat the exact same actions, otherwise, he would just die the exact same way again.
So to be honest, he had already stopped hoping for [Tribulation].
However, the existence of the [Fruit of the Inner Demon] reignited the hope in his heart—because, fundamentally, this thing could be farmed through restarts!
As long as I keep cultivating Uncle-Master Chong Guang!
Let Uncle-Master Chong Guang become an inner demon, then take him along to stir up trouble and have him participate. After restarting, I will inevitably receive the feedback again.
Farming it once merely made it easier to gain the favor of [Tribulation].
But what if he farmed it three times? Ten times?
With [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], as long as he farmed it enough times, he would eventually become the true Child of Destiny for [Tribulation], the kind who received its blessing the moment he restarted!
And that wasn't all.
This thing can also be split and gifted away.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang reached out and made a slicing motion with two fingers. The previously whole and flawless sphere of light instantly split, transforming into three smaller spheres.
Lu Yang directly grabbed one of them and instantly refined it. This was the part related to [Tribulation]. The moment he refined it, he immediately sensed a connection. In a trance, he seemed to hear a certain existence deep within the [Sea of Bitterness]—one that had yet to manifest in this lifetime—softly calling out to him.
Excellent...
Lu Yang grinned. He had no doubt that if he sought the favor of [Tribulation] again in this lifetime, the difficulty would be vastly lower than in the last.
At the very least, he wouldn't need to intervene in a battle between Dao Lords.
He estimated that just initiating a Thousand-Year Great Tribulation and killing a bunch of Golden Core Perfected Lords amidst the chaos would be enough... Farm it a few more times, and the difficulty would drop even further!
After indulging in his imagination for a while, Lu Yang reigned in his thoughts and looked at the other two spheres of light.
They symbolized the other two effects of the [Fruit of the Inner Demon]: [More easily be perceived as a demonic fiend] and [More easily encounter fortuitous opportunities related to demonic fiends].
"Heh..."
How should I use these?
Lu Yang quickly formulated a plan: Combined with the newly acquired colorful talent, [Off-Stage Observer], I might be able to use these to create a super demonic fiend.
He had even decided on the candidate.
The Heaven-Mending Peak Master, Chen Taihe!
You killed me with a single finger before. Now is the perfect time to settle the interest for this lifetime. It's decided, I'll have you go attain the [Pomegranate Wood] to scout the way.
The secret of the First-generation Heaven-Mending Peak Master, Bu Tianque, was hidden within the [Pomegranate Wood].
Wasn't this a fortuitous opportunity related to demonic fiends?
Coupled with the [Off-Stage Observer]'s ability to elevate karma and destiny, it would be enough to completely transform the Heaven-Mending Peak Master, who originally had no hope of even reaching the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.
A perfect tool.
Just right. The [Pomegranate Wood] side is too dangerous. I don't want my main body getting involved. I still have two more important targets to deal with on my end.
The [Ancestral Dragon Pit].
The [Vast Ocean Water].
The former was intel he had accidentally learned in his previous life. It concerned the golden age of cultivators and a suspected seventh Dao Lord. It would be a huge pity not to explore it.
As for the latter... Lu Yang grinned.
Old Dragon Lord, I'm a Great Perfected Lord in this lifetime. It's time to settle the score for when you and the others besieged me two lifetimes ago. Be a good boy and let me refine you into a Life Form Body!
Anyway, with a successful case study in hand, he could easily replicate the operation the old Dragon Lord pulled off two lifetimes ago: force [Sky-shrouding] to leave the Netherworld, then have Tian Qiu attain the [Heavenly River Water], thereby restoring the [Vast Ocean Water] to the supreme position, and finally extract its concept to forge his fourth True Treasure!
In the past, this would have been highly difficult.
Even though his strength at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core had reached an overpowered level, it was impossible for him to take down the old Dragon Lord in just a move or two. The other party could have potentially escaped.
But things were different now.
As a Great Perfected Lord, taking down the old Dragon Lord would be as easy as flipping his hand. The only thing he needed to be wary of was whether the old Dragon Lord had any hidden contingencies.
Who cares, take him down first!
Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt truly heroic and high-spirited. He immediately strode out of his cave abode, taking a step forward, intending to step into the overseas and capture the old Dragon Lord first.
And then he saw it—
The sky changed.
Once upon a time, the saying "The Great Perfected Lord era hasn't been released yet" was just a joke from Lu Yang. He had never considered it an actual restriction.
But now, he saw it.
He hadn't revealed his cultivation base. His cultivation had been washed clean by [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], rendering him devoid of karma and consequences, preventing him from triggering any mechanisms—but this was not omnipotent.
When his aura was completely concealed within his body, without the slightest leak or interaction with heaven and earth, he naturally maintained the state washed by [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
However, the moment he revealed his aura and interacted with heaven and earth...
Karma was born.
When he was still a Golden Core Perfected Lord, this was nothing. While a Perfected Lord's karma was massive, in the grand ocean, it was merely the size of a water droplet.
But a Great Perfected Lord was different.
Even though they were both Golden Core cultivators, a Great Perfected Lord versus a regular Perfected Lord, or the Late Stage Golden Core versus the Early and Middle Stages, were completely different tiers of existence. There was a fundamental difference.
Even though Lu Yang hadn't actually revealed the stature of a Great Perfected Lord and had merely leaked some spiritual power for travel, the fundamental difference of a Great Perfected Lord still triggered the Immortal Nexus. It touched a core underlying logic of this sea of light, a system he hadn't discovered before.
"Ah..."
In a flash, Lu Yang understood everything.
It was a mighty power, ostensibly similar to yet different from the Saint Sect's Ancestor's [Inevitable Fate], hanging high above the entire light sea.
Heaven and Earth have their fortune, and all things have their destiny.
Using the primordial fortune of all heavens to govern the destiny of all things... If what the Saint Sect's Ancestor seeks is [Transcendence], then what these two seek is [Domination]...
This was precisely the truth behind the "Great Perfected Lord era".
The so-called "Great Perfected Lord era hasn't been released yet" wasn't a joke; it was a fact: the current light sea did not allow Great Perfected Lords to exist in the world!
If one did exist, they had to sit in prison.
Just like [Sky-shrouding], Immortal Venerable Taiyin, the Star Palace, and the Ancient Method Perfected Lords of the Mysterious Wall. And if there happened to be a Great Perfected Lord who didn't need to sit in prison...
Then there was only one outcome for them.
Clang!
The sound of a sword chiming, seemingly originating from a faraway place, echoed in Lu Yang's ears. In an instant, it pulverized his Dharma body, his sea of consciousness, his soul, and even his karma.
"The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes!?"
The next second, Lu Yang found himself back in the familiar Dark Void. He was stunned for a long while before finally reacting, staring blankly at the interface hovering before him:
[You have alarmed the "Heavenly Dao".]
[You died suddenly.]
[Current remaining pages of The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 86]
(End of Chapter)