The Four Dogs of the Immortal Nexus truly lived up to their reputation.
In the Dark Void, Lu Yang let out a deep sigh. He wasn't particularly angry; after cursing them out, he calmed down and began to ponder his future path.
"Although the situation is quite critical, it hasn't reached a dead end. After all, when I initially chose cultivation and recovered my Great Perfected Lord cultivation base, the 'Heavenly Dao' didn't react at all. It was only when I circulated my spiritual power to traverse space that the 'Heavenly Dao' detected the anomaly."
Therefore, [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] was still reliable.
If he had to put it in words, a Great Perfected Lord's presence was simply too high. Like a firefly in the dark night, as long as it existed, it was impossible not to attract attention.
"In the end, what exactly is the 'Heavenly Dao'?"
Lu Yang sat cross-legged in the Dark Void, his brow furrowed tightly as he recalled the sensation from that brief moment, muttering in a low voice: "Heaven and Earth have their fortune, and all things have their destiny..."
Fortune and Destiny.
During his previous conversation with Old Man Star Soul, these two were listed among the Five Heavenly Destinies, and he had explicitly stated that someone among the Four Dogs of the Immortal Nexus cultivated them.
"Looking at it now, it might be the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord. These two—one cultivates fortune, the other cultivates destiny—co-constructed the 'Heavenly Dao'? Using the primordial fortune of all heavens to govern the destiny of all things... No, it still feels somewhat incomplete, like it's not a finished product."
Lu Yang's frown deepened.
"If it were the true 'Heavenly Dao' with such a concept, why would it stop at Great Perfected Lords? Golden Core, Foundation Establishment, and Qi Refining should all be encompassed."
However, that wasn't the case.
The [Heavenly Dao] was undoubtedly powerful, but only a Great Perfected Lord would trigger its detection. He had never encountered it before, which showed he hadn't been influenced by it.
"Something is missing."
"Since it's the 'Heavenly Dao', how can it only have fortune and destiny? Shouldn't there be inevitable fate? Tribulation should also be there, and how could the most important variable not be included?"
At this thought, realization suddenly dawned on Lu Yang: "The gathering of the Five Heavenly Destinies... I understand now. The 'Heavenly Dao' is a creation similar to [Paramita]! The reason it is incomplete is purely because [Paramita] is already pressing down from above, making it difficult to fully form."
"No, it's not just that."
"The 'Heavenly Dao' monitoring the contemporary Great Perfected Lords is also beneficial for eliminating variables, so it definitely received the tacit approval of the Saint Sect's Ancestor."
"No wonder!"
Lu Yang clapped his hands, completely enlightened. "So that's why the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord had that attitude. The Sword Pavilion Dao Lord even intentionally stopped at the fourth layer."
"They don't care about [Paramita]!"
"The 'Heavenly Dao' is their true masterpiece. The reason they ascended [Paramita] was largely just to avoid being completely suppressed by the Saint Sect's Ancestor."
"Furthermore, the design logic behind the 'Heavenly Dao' and [Paramita] is clearly different. The 'Heavenly Dao' requires sufficient control over the mortal realm, while the higher one climbs on [Paramita], the weaker their influence on the mortal realm becomes. That's why the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord stopped at the fourth layer instead of continuing upward."
Excellent. I am gradually understanding everything.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang rubbed his chin again. "Looking at it this way, do the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord actually privately welcome the collapse of [Paramita]?"
"No, that's not right."
"They do want [Paramita] to collapse, but they don't want the mortal realm to be affected by it, otherwise, their 'Heavenly Dao' would lose its foundation."
That's right, the mortal realm.
Not the living beings.
The framework of the mortal realm is the most important thing. It's like a piece of fertile land. As long as the land is there, people are like crops—they will eventually grow out of it.
This was also the reason why the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord sided with the Saint Sect's Ancestor regarding the Netherworld. For the [Heavenly Dao], the Netherworld was likely an excellent, highly nourishing supplement. Once the Netherworld had an owner, they wouldn't be able to incorporate it into their own system.
The same logic applied to another situation.
In the previous lifetime, when he detonated the Foundation Establishment Realm and put the mortal realm at risk of collapse, the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord immediately chose to switch sides.
"This is their lifeline!"
A burst of joyous light suddenly erupted in Lu Yang's eyes: "The mortal realm... the mortal realm... I see now! As long as I grasp this point, everything will be easy to resolve!"
What do Dao Lords want?
For countless low-level cultivators, this was an eternal question. The will of Heaven was certainly hard to fathom, but as long as you guessed right just once, you would receive a bountiful reward.
Nascent Soul Dao Lords were still human.
They still had needs regarding the mortal realm and this light sea—and where there are needs, there is a way to control them, making them act according to your interests.
"Phew..."
Lu Yang let out a long breath, feeling his head grow a bit heavy. "Forbidden knowledge... The 'Heavenly Dao' is undoubtedly one of them as well, it's just that I deduced it myself."
The impact of forbidden knowledge varied depending on the situation. The most severe case was being completely unaware beforehand and suddenly being told the truth; in this scenario, the conflict caused by forbidden knowledge was the most intense. A slightly better scenario was grasping some clues beforehand and then being told the truth, which provided a certain buffer.
"The best scenario is like mine."
"Relying on existing knowledge to deduce the corresponding forbidden knowledge. Having a complete digestion process means suffering almost no adverse effects."
[Please select a restart anchor point]
Seeing the familiar text surface on the interface, Lu Yang immediately said, "The Third Anchor Point!"
In an instant, the world spun.
Primordial chaos parted, and light emerged within the Dark Void, like opening one's eyes. The first ray of sunlight pierced the darkness, illuminating the pupils and entering the field of vision.
He was back again.
I choose treasure.
Lu Yang's expression was calm. Because the Third Anchor Point had already been overwritten, he didn't need to choose cultivation again. Restarting now, he was still a Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lord.
As for talent... he died way too quickly in his last life to settle anything worthwhile.
Might as well pick treasure and bring back another stack of the [City Rampart Earth] concept.
Of course, these were just minor details. Lu Yang reined in his thoughts. His rolling spiritual power condensed, refusing to interact with heaven and earth, and rapidly sketched out a profound wonder.
[Gaining Momentum]!
For [Placer Gold in Sand], the fruit lies in concealment, the form in gestation, the depth in interaction, and the marvel in integration. In an instant, it completely concealed Lu Yang's presence, sealing away both his stature and aura.
A moment later, Lu Yang opened his eyes.
His spiritual power flowed, but he was no longer a Great Perfected Lord. Instead, he was stuck right at the critical threshold of the Middle Stage Golden Core, nor did he trigger another sudden response from the [Heavenly Dao].
Just as I thought!
He already had a solution for how to deal with the [Heavenly Dao]. Come to think of it, didn't the Immortal Nexus have the most perfect reference subject?
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao!
A half-crippled Great Perfected Lord. Although he was called half-crippled, in this era where the "Great Perfected Lord era" wasn't released, he actually held the highest status.
How did he do it?
It's nothing more than using the Dao Fruit profound wonder of [Placer Gold in Sand] to find a way to hide his Great Perfected Lord stature. Put simply, slashing oneself.
This method was one he could use as well.
To put it plainly, it's building a prison for yourself—mobile imprisonment. This way, you can avoid detection by the 'Heavenly Dao' and not be targeted by it.
Lu Yang stood up, knocked the approaching Yu Suzhen—who still wanted to take advantage of him—unconscious, and pushed her aside. In this lifetime, he was going to focus all his energy on cultivation!
Immediately after, he opened [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] once more.
Previously, he had harvested a total of four golds and one colorful—five talents. However, only four had completed their settlement; there was one talent he had never settled.
[Dragon Lord Yu Zhao].
He originally intended to go catch the old Dragon Lord first and settle it on the way, but he ended up dying suddenly before he even got there.
The next second, light surfaced.
[Settling the experiences of 'Dragon Lord Yu Zhao'...]
[You are the most ancient True Dragon, the very first drop of rainwater seen by the Ancestral Dragon. Originally a noble scion of heaven and earth, you suffered banishment. After death, someone contrived to resurrect you...]
(End of Chapter)