Who was observing Mu Changsheng?
Lu Yang furrowed his brow. Drawing on the experiences of his past few lifetimes, his first reaction was the Heavenly Lord. However, he quickly shook his head inwardly, dismissing this conclusion.
No, the Heavenly Lord is impossible.
Heaven and Earth are ruthless and treat all things as straw dogs. No matter how much favor is bestowed upon Mu Changsheng, it shouldn't warrant this level of focused attention. This isn't the HeavenlyLord observing him.
Someone is borrowing the eyes of the HeavenlyLord to observe Mu Changsheng!
At this thought, curiosity gradually surfaced on Lu Yang's face. He rubbed his chin in thought: I knew Mu Changsheng still had secrets hidden on him.
Otherwise, the Saint Sect's Ancestor wouldn't have targeted him so specifically. He threw his soul directly into the Refining Arts Secret Realm for custody, clearly intending to leave him no way out. For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to provoke the Saint Sect's Ancestor to such an extent, even forcing him to act personally—he received the exact same treatment as me.
What gave Mu Changsheng the right?
Carrying this doubt, Lu Yang slowly concentrated his mind, casting his gaze toward the Overseas Immortal Alliance and locking onto Mu Changsheng's consciousness, which was currently still slumbering within the Dao Sin.
[Colorful Talent: Off-Stage Observer].
In an instant, the world in Lu Yang's eyes transformed.
Centered around Mu Changsheng, he saw boundless "Qi" flashing. There was black, azure, purple, white, red... Endless, brilliant colors swirled and overlapped.
Is this Fortune?
Realization dawned on Lu Yang. Black Qi represented death, azure Qi represented wealth and nobility, purple Qi represented authority and status, white Qi was ordinary, and red Qi represented murderous intent...
Countless "Qis" of different colors intertwined, surrounding Mu Changsheng in the middle. A single tug would affect the whole. In the state of the [Off-Stage Observer], Lu Yang could faintly sense that he could slightly alter Mu Changsheng's "Qi"—for better or worse!
However, this was strictly limited to Mu Changsheng, the "character in the play."
Besides that, he could also set a "script" for Mu Changsheng. Once the "script" was finalized, Mu Changsheng would follow his expectations under various influences.
It's a bit like Inevitable Fate.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang had a weird expression on his face. Makes sense. This colorful talent was settled from the lifetime where [Sky-shrouding] attempted to attain the Netherworld, after all.
[Sky-shrouding] had been killed by Inevitable Fate.
And as a Perfected Lord of the Saint Sect, that evil old ghost was famous for the philosophy of "if it rains on me, no one else gets to use an umbrella." He was wicked to the core.
He was killed by Inevitable Fate.
So it was perfectly normal that the talent associated with him produced something similar to Inevitable Fate.
For Lu Yang, this was actually a good thing. Because through the "script," he could faintly glimpse the flaws of the true Inevitable Fate.
Inevitable Fate isn't omnipotent. Under the influence of variables, all things within the Light Sea have a sliver of hope for survival. The "script" is the same. The "character in the play" also has a chance to break free from the script's restrictions. And once they do, the [Off-Stage Observer] will immediately suffer a severe backlash.
It won't be usable for at least a century.
If the [Off-Stage Observer] has such a massive flaw, the flaw of Inevitable Fate is probably no small matter either. No wonder the Saint Sect's Ancestor absolutely refused to compromise in my previous life...
There was no such thing as an invincible profound wonder in this world; the person using it was the key.
Any divine ability, any profound wonder, inevitably had flaws and ways to counter it. This was also the influence of [Variable]; the difference lay solely in the user.
The concept of Inevitable Fate itself might not necessarily be stronger than Fortune or Destiny. But the Saint Sect's Ancestor is clearly a tier above the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord and the Dao Court Dao Lord, which is why he had the last laugh. Perfected Lord Feixue, whom he cultivated, is a prime example of this. It's always the person that is strong.
Reigning in his thoughts, Lu Yang focused his gaze back on Mu Changsheng.
Come on, let me see just what secrets you're hiding.
Setting the [Script]— [Waking up unexpectedly, Mu Changsheng will encounter the Old Dragon Lord and tell him the secret of the "Nourishing Life Master" in exchange for a chance to escape.]
Boom!
In an instant, under Lu Yang's gaze, the "Qi" surrounding Mu Changsheng changed. The red and black Qi symbolizing crisis and death receded.
The azure Qi symbolizing wealth and nobility abruptly surged.
Most importantly, the purple Qi symbolizing authority and status swelled from a single thread to a thick strand, subsequently beginning to ripple the surrounding karma and fortune...
"Huh?"
Mu Changsheng woke up.
Originally, he needed the stimulation of the Myriad Spirits Banner to awaken, but this time, perhaps due to fluctuations in spiritual qi, or perhaps due to the Dao Sin, he simply woke up.
Within the Dao Sin, Mu Changsheng's consciousness recovered from its haze, feeling somewhat uneasy. This is bad. The Myriad Spirits Banner hasn't arrived yet, but I've woken up early and broken out of my slumber. As time passes, I'll likely be slowly ground away into nothingness. Once I perish, the [Heaven of Nothingness] will completely fail!
This was a crisis.
However, in reality, there was neither black nor red Qi on Mu Changsheng. If he could see it, he would understand that he was definitely going to experience a scare without any actual danger.
What should I do?
From the observation perspective, Mu Changsheng was still racking his brains for a solution. However, the thick strand of purple Qi on him had already automatically brought him a solution.
This was Fortune.
With purple Qi overhead, he was not fated to die; instead, he would turn calamity into blessing. Destiny changed because of it, variables were born because of it, and karma responded to its changes.
The relationship between the Five Heavenly Destinies is actually this profound.
Especially Fortune and Destiny; they are practically inseparable. No wonder the Sword Pavilion and the Dao Court have such a close relationship, and the [Heavenly Dao] is built upon the foundation of these two...
Lu Yang's gaze grew increasingly curious.
Immediately after, he saw that under the fluctuation of the purple Qi, above Mu Changsheng—the [Eternal Flowing Water] suddenly exhibited an anomaly, fluctuating between bright and dim.
The [Eternal Flowing Water]...
Lu Yang lowered his eyelids. This was also a very peculiar Dao Fruit… the Old Dragon Lord was proficient in almost the entire Water element, yet he hadn't mastered this specific Water-element Dao Fruit.
Not only that, the True Dragon clan once had five Dragon Lords, yet there were six Water-element Dao Fruits—back then, the [Eternal Flowing Water] did not have a Dragon Lord!
Although True Dragons cultivated the [Eternal Flowing Water] back then, and it was under the control of the True Dragons, there was no corresponding Dragon Lord who completely mastered the Dao Fruit.
It is special.
Lu Yang stared intently at the [Eternal Flowing Water], even activating the [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] to pierce through the veil of secrecy. Finally, he glimpsed the truth.
It was a ritual array.
A ritual array located in the deepest depths of the [Eternal Flowing Water], which remained intact to this day but had ultimately stopped operating due to a missing critical component!
"I understand now!"
In an instant, realization dawned on Lu Yang. "This is a gestation ritual array! A gestation ritual array capable of birthing a True Dragon from within the [Eternal Flowing Water]!"
The Sixth Dragon Lord!
The Dragon clan back then was supposed to have a sixth Dragon Lord. However, before the sixth Dragon Lord could be born, the Ancestral Dragon suffered a calamity and was suppressed by the Saint Sect's Ancestor...
Then what about Mu Changsheng?
Mu Changsheng was meant to fill this vacancy. If this ritual array had operated normally, Mu Changsheng should have become the newborn Sixth Dragon Lord.
But he failed.
Why?
Lu Yang's eyes grew brighter as he completely figured out the method of the ritual array. Because he didn't have a soul! Mu Changsheng's soul was taken by the Saint Sect's Ancestor!
(End of Chapter)