Lu Yang was startled by his own conclusion.
Unfortunately, I still lack intelligence. The waters in this hellhole are far too deep. One ruthless scheme follows another; there's truly no end to digging them up.
It took Lu Yang quite a while to calm his emotions.
The Ancestral Dragon's Remnant Bloodline—perhaps in this lifetime, he should pay more attention to intelligence regarding this aspect. Of course, compared to that, proper business was still more important.
The Old Dragon Lord and the supreme [Vast Ocean Water]!
"I should set up the trap according to plan first. Right here in the [Nourishing Life Master], to ensure that once the Old Dragon Lord takes the bait, I can capture him instantly."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately sat down on the spot and formed a hand seal. His spiritual power surged powerfully. Before long, a hazy phantom of light and shadow separated from his body. Aside from its somewhat illusory appearance, the stature and aura it emitted were like raging waves, possessing nearly eighty percent of his full strength.
[Golden Talent: Splitting Light and Transforming Shadows.]
By injecting spiritual power, he could separate an incarnation with up to eighty percent of his combat power. This was on a completely different level from his previous incense incarnations.
Incense incarnations were essentially fragile.
Moreover, after Lu Yang advanced to Great Perfected Lord, the incense incarnations had clearly reached their limit; they could no longer fully replicate his stature and strength in all aspects.
However, the talent from [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] was different.
The incarnation condensed using [Splitting Light and Transforming Shadows] almost completely inherited his abilities. Although it maxed out at eighty percent, it was already incredibly useful.
What's more—
"How could one be enough?"
When it came to things like incarnations, the more the merrier!
Lu Yang adjusted his breathing slightly. Once his spiritual power had fully recovered, he immediately began to separate another one. Surprisingly, the incarnation beside him was doing the exact same thing!
A moment later, including his main body, a full four "Lu Yangs" stood within the [Nourishing Life Master], looking at each other. However, only two of the "Lu Yangs" had relatively lively eyes; the remaining two appeared somewhat stiff and wooden. Rather than incarnations, they were closer to unconscious puppets.
This is normal.
The stronger the incarnation, the more mental effort I need to allocate to control it. One is naturally no problem, but with four, a slight sluggishness is unavoidable.
Nevertheless, Lu Yang still realized the terrifying potential of [Splitting Light and Transforming Shadows].
After all, this talent could even be used by the incarnations.
One splits into two, two splits into four. If this division continued, how many "Lu Yangs" would there be? Could it reach an unimaginable number?
No sooner said than done.
Without another word, Lu Yang began dividing again. The other three incarnations received the command and simultaneously began the operation. Phantoms of light and shadow surfaced one after another.
The number of Lu Yangs multiplied.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two and a half years had passed.
[Nourishing Life Master].
Within the massive library, Lu Yang sat cross-legged, his hands forming seals. His ten fingers strained to cup a sphere of light, as if he were supporting a tremendously heavy object.
Before long, another phantom of light and shadow separated from his body—still an incarnation possessing eighty percent of his combat power. Then, this incarnation began to shrink and was tossed into the sphere of light in his hands. The incarnation rapidly shattered and dissipated into nothingness, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.
Rumble—!
Muffled thunderclaps emanated from Lu Yang's palm. Within the sphere of light he was holding, a boundless silver ocean could faintly be seen.
This was the result of his two and a half years of work.
Countless divisions, an immeasurable number of incarnations had all been condensed into this [Ocean]. Every single drop of water within it was one of his incarnations.
A super weapon of mass destruction!
With this thing, paired with the [Golden Talent: Great Self-Detonation], and bolstered by my stature... it might be even more powerful than a Dao Fruit Secret Method!
After all, a Dao Fruit Secret Method, plainly speaking, was merely a profound combination of Dao Fruits. While powerful, its true strength lay in its method. The [Ocean] in his hands, however, was completely different. It was an unadulterated powder keg. It had no method; just pure, terrifyingly power!
Right at that moment.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, while holding this [Ocean], Lu Yang sensed something. His gaze pierced through the [Sea of Bitterness], and faintly, he seemed to hear two subtle calls.
"Are these... the Dao of Spiritual Power and the Dao of Dao Arts?"
Lu Yang was momentarily stunned.
The next second, he looked at the sphere of light in his hands. "I see. It was creating this thing that triggered the resonance of the Dao of Spiritual Power and the Dao of Dao Arts?"
It made sense. As a form of spiritual power, this [Ocean] was undoubtedly incredibly terrifying, perfectly fitting the definition of the Dao of Spiritual Power. However, from another perspective, the method used to construct this [Ocean] was ingenious to the extreme, which also made it a type of Dao Art.
"Two paths, each with its own pros and cons."
Lu Yang frowned, falling into deep thought:
"If I respond to the Dao of Dao Arts, this [Ocean] will advance further on the level of dao arts, and I can use that to add more profound wonders to it."
"If I respond to the Dao of Spiritual Power, this [Ocean] will expand by at least ten times, and every time an incarnation merges into it, the effect will be massively enhanced."
After some consideration, Lu Yang shook his head:
The Dao of Spiritual Power won't do.
Although it could make the [Ocean] expand tenfold instantly, he could achieve the exact same thing by spending a bit more time. It wasn't very meaningful.
In comparison, the Dao of Dao Arts offered many more variations.
However—
It's still lacking a little something.
Lu Yang looked at the ocean in his hands. If he wanted to respond to the Dao of Spiritual Power, he could do it right now. But to respond to the Dao of Dao Arts, it seemed he was still missing an opportunity.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang willed it and abruptly pulled up an interface—after restarting in this lifetime, he had only settled the rewards from his previous life. However, due to the special nature of the Third Anchor Point, he could also claim an additional settlement reward from the lifetime where [Sky-shrouding] attained the Netherworld.
I originally planned to save it and settle it when needed, but I didn't expect the opportunity to present itself so quickly.
Lu Yang sighed with emotion, then tapped the interface: I choose treasure.
The Qi-Devouring Insect!
In that lifetime, he had relied on the [Qi-Devouring Insect] to display immense divine might. This thing itself was a type of Dao Art, and now was the perfect time to put it to use.
Soon, the radiance of the interface settlement caught Lu Yang's eye. The Qi-Devouring Insect appeared out of thin air, and he subsequently tossed it into the sphere of light in his hands. The two merged into one, allowing him to adjust the [Ocean] according to the pattern of the [Qi-Devouring Insect], bringing it closer to the standard of a Dao Art.
In a flash, the [Ocean] was completely formed!
The call from the Dao of Spiritual Power quietly receded, while the resonance from the Dao of Dao Arts abruptly magnified, reflecting upon the [Ocean] and subsequently presenting streaks of magnificent brilliance.
"Interesting."
Seeing this, Lu Yang observed the changes with keen interest. "It has nothing to do with a Dao Lord. It's purely the natural resonance of the Great Dao upon the birth of a new Dao Art."
Soon, above the ocean, the brilliant light coalesced into words:
[Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art]
Named by the Great Dao!
This can be considered my own original Dao Art. Because it merged with the [Qi-Devouring Insect], it simultaneously possesses all the profound wonders of the [Qi-Devouring Insect].
Not to mention anything else, if I throw this thing out and let it develop freely like the Qi-Devouring Insect, continuously devouring world realm to grow, it will probably become terrifyingly powerful in the end... And then, if I detonate it all at once, how strong would it be? Could it directly blow up the mortal realm?
Lu Yang rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Regardless, using such a Great Immortal Art to ambush the Old Dragon Lord guaranteed that he wouldn't be able to stir up the slightest trouble. Once he entered the [Nourishing Life Master], escape would be impossible.
"The trap is set. Time to find some bait."
Holding the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art], Lu Yang slashed himself once more, concealing all his stature. He then left the [Nourishing Life Master] and returned to the Immortal Nexus.
Shifting his gaze, he looked toward the outer seas.
Target— Mu Changsheng.
Lu Yang's plan was simple: use the [Off-Stage Observer] to observe Mu Changsheng, make him act as a treasure-delivering boy for the Old Dragon Lord, and bait the dragon into the [Nourishing Life Master].
However, he quickly noticed something was wrong.
"This is..."
In an instant, Lu Yang's gaze narrowed. Originally, he felt no pressure about observing Mu Changsheng. After all, the gap in stature between the two sides was simply too vast.
But now, deep within his eyes, shock gradually surfaced:
...I'm not the only one.
This was a secret that could only be detected after activating the [Off-Stage Observer] and entering the [Observation State]—someone else was observing Mu Changsheng!
He wasn't the only one!
Who else was there!?
(End of Chapter)