The golden dragon pupils flickered, a fleeting panic giving way to a deeper layer of bewilderment, followed by a look of profound contemplation.
As an old fossil who had survived all the way from the super-ancient era to the present day, the Old Dragon Lord naturally wouldn't harbor any delusions of luck in this situation. In short: whenever an unexpected event required him to leave the warmth of his home, it meant someone was definitely setting a trap behind the scenes, trying to bait him into biting!
But the Old Dragon Lord didn't understand.
Why scheme against me?
I haven't done any bad deeds lately. I've been perfectly well-behaved. At most, I only planned to have Tian Qiu seek the [Heavenly River Water], and I haven't even started implementing that yet.
Do they want to kill me?
Impossible. No one below a Great Perfected Lord can do anything to me, and the Great Perfected Lords are all sitting in prison. If someone truly wants to kill me, it can only be those Nascent Soul Dao Lords.
But why would a Nascent Soul Dao Lord use such a roundabout way to kill me? A single thought and I'd be dead. If there's something they need me to do, wouldn't it be better to just send word? I'm very obedient. And I've been obedient for so many years, it shouldn't have reached the point of killing this dragon...
The more the Old Dragon Lord thought about it, the more panicked he became.
Based on years of experience, he had learned that surviving in a hellhole like the Immortal Nexus depended above all on one thing: the ability to read the intentions of one's superiors.
What did the Lords in the heavens truly want?
More often than not, if you simply went with the current, you would survive. Live long enough, prove your usefulness to the Lords, and life would gradually become more comfortable.
But the most dangerous situation was precisely the one he faced now—
He could not guess their intentions at all.
Which Lord was setting this up? What was the purpose of the setup? Why target him?
If I'm completely clueless today, the grass on my grave will be three feet high by next year.
No. I have to run!
It's a life-or-death struggle. I'm leaving tonight!
Having made up his mind, the Old Dragon Lord immediately retracted his towering dragon body and transformed into the appearance of an old man.
He then reached into his sleeve, rummaging around for a long time before pulling out a golden ring.
In the next second, the Old Dragon Lord summoned seawater and cast dao art to isolate the inside from the outside. He laid down three layers of concealment and even set up an array to suppress spiritual fluctuations.
Only then did he pinch a ray of light at his fingertips, gently tap the golden ring, and casually toss it away, chanting an incantation at the same time:
"Dharma connects the myriad realms; arts project the Heavenly Gate."
Instantly, bolstered by the light, the palm-sized golden ring swelled in the wind, transforming into a circular portal the height of a person and settling down.
Boundless golden light converged within the ring.
Before long, the golden ring transformed into an object resembling a round mirror. Faintly reflected within it was a realm brimming with the radiant light of Dao Arts from top to bottom.
Hidden currents surged; water gleamed.
A man in a black robe stood right beside the Old Dragon Lord, observing the golden ring with him. After a long moment, he clapped his hands and laughed aloud—
"So it's the Mysterious Wall!"
The man made no attempt to hide, yet the Old Dragon Lord beside him remained completely unaware. He merely stared at the vast realm on the other side of the golden ring, caught in a struggle.
"Once I go, there will be no turning back..."
While he was struggling, Lu Yang on the other side revealed a highly intrigued expression, laughing inwardly:
I was wondering where this old loach ran off to in my previous life. No one in heaven or earth could find him. Turns out he hid in the Mysterious Wall!
The Mysterious Wall. The super world realm opened by the Dao Arts Dao Lord, and also the most secretive of them all. Only in the lifetime where [Sky-shrouding] attempted to attain the Netherworld had a Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord briefly appeared. Other than that, hardly any cultivators of the Dao of Dao Arts had ever been seen outside the Mysterious Wall.
Interesting.
This reminds me. In the lifetime where [Sky-shrouding] attempted to attain the Netherworld, this old loach actually acted as a lobbyist for the Mysterious Wall and came specifically to find me.
I thought they only hooked up because of the special circumstances of that lifetime.
Looking at it now, this old dragon probably started flirting with the Mysterious Wall a long time ago, preparing a way out just in case things went south in the Immortal Nexus. Truly a sharp one!
Lu Yang simply stood beside the Old Dragon Lord.
Between his brows, the [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit] surfaced. The mirror face alternated between bright and dark, with the dark side facing outward, completely cloaking his entire body in darkness.
Despite having slashed himself and lost his Great Perfected Lord stature, with the Dao Fruit Secret Method in play, Lu Yang's strength was still at an overpowered level compared to the Old Dragon Lord. At this moment, his aura, karma, and appearance were all completely restrained. As long as he didn't make a move, it was impossible for the Old Dragon Lord to detect anything amiss.
Pity I can't just attack directly.
Lu Yang sighed inwardly. To be honest, killing the Old Dragon Lord right now would be incredibly easy for him. He could literally rip his heart out right this second.
But it would be useless.
Without elevating his stature, while both of them were at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, no matter how overpowered he was, he had no way to stop the Old Dragon Lord's soul from reincarnating.
If the Old Dragon Lord couldn't win, he could just self-detonate and run away.
I still have to bait him into the [Nourishing Life Master] so I can fully reveal my Great Perfected Lord stature to capture him. Otherwise, I really can't do anything about him.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang glanced at the interface of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] beside him. There, the [Off-Stage Observer] was radiating a dense iridescent light, pulsing as if it were breathing. This made him even more curious:
Old Dragon Lord, you've discovered an anomaly. What will you do next?
In all fairness, the Old Dragon Lord's reaction hadn't exceeded Lu Yang's expectations.
He's an old dragon who has survived for countless years, after all. He's hard to bait. Forget him, even if I were in his situation, I would definitely be suspicious too.
This hook is still too straight.
After his lament, a look of anticipation surfaced in Lu Yang's eyes:
However, since the [Off-Stage Observer] set this hook, there must be a follow-up, right? Surely this isn't its limit, devoid of any contingency plans?
He had already set the [Script], after all.
According to the [Script], the Old Dragon Lord was bound to leave and meet with Mu Changsheng this time. If the Old Dragon Lord escaped to the Mysterious Wall, the [Script] would be broken.
f that were the case, he would be deeply disappointed.
Because it would mean the compulsory force of the [Off-Stage Observer] was extremely weak—nowhere near the level of [Inevitable Fate]—and its value would be greatly diminished.
Yet this was also an opportunity.
A perfect chance to test this talent: when the target was already on guard, just how much compulsory force could the [Off-Stage Observer] exert?
Could it truly be mentioned in the same breath as [Inevitable Fate]?
If it could, then in the future—should he use [Off-Stage Observer] to confront [Inevitable Fate] head-on—might it be possible for the two to destroy each other?
If it could…
At this thought, Lu Yang's eyes shone brilliantly: Then the strategic value of this colorful talent is incredibly high. It might even be my ultimate weapon of mass destruction!
Using a [Script] to clash with the Saint Sect's Ancestor's [Inevitable Fate], resulting in mutual destruction. For him, it would merely mean the talent goes on cooldown for a short period, while his main body remains completely unharmed. But what about the Saint Sect's Ancestor? With the manifestation of his [Inevitable Fate] damaged, no matter how you looked at it, he would be taking a massive loss, right?
"Hmm?"
Just then, the Old Dragon Lord, who had struggled for a moment and was prepared to hole up in the Mysterious Wall, suddenly received a transmission from the Dragon Palace. His movements abruptly halted.
"This is..."
The Old Dragon Lord swept his divine sense over it and immediately let out a soft sound of surprise. His half-extended foot stopped in its tracks, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.
Standing right beside him, Lu Yang naturally saw the contents of the transmission as well.
"Someone from the Dao Court is here?"
Is this also part of the [Script]'s design?
Curiosity flickered in Lu Yang's eyes. As the [Off-Stage Observer], he was only responsible for setting the outcome. As for the process, he naturally left it to the talent to play out freely.
Come on, let me see your limits!
(End of Chapter)