"Someone from the Dao Court is here. Someone from the Dao Court..."
The Old Dragon Lord read the Dragon Palace transmission and immediately put away the golden ring, his face full of sudden realization. "I understand now! This must be the doing of a Lord from the Dao Court scheming against me."
Beside him, Lu Yang watched with a face full of smiles.
He misunderstood.
As expected, how could the [Script]'s response to karma and manipulation of Fortune be so easily broken? Not to mention, as the caster, I am stronger than the Old Dragon Lord.
He followed the Old Dragon Lord, swiftly leaving the dim seabed and heading all the way into the resplendent Dragon Palace. Finally, they arrived before a palace as towering as a mountain. Standing outside the door was a respectful-looking Tian Qiu. Seeing the Old Dragon Lord, he immediately stepped forward and bowed. "Father, the person from the Dao Court is inside the hall..."
Hearing this, the Old Dragon Lord nodded and pushed the door open to enter.
Next, Lu Yang saw a figure standing prominently in the great hall, radiating a bright heavenly light. The visitor wore a dragon robe, his profound wonders entirely restrained within the light.
It was Emperor Jiayou of the Dao Court!
Seeing him, a look of 'just as expected' surfaced on the Old Dragon Lord's face. He stepped forward, cupped his hands in a bow, and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Jiayou, what brings you from so far away?"
Emperor Jiayou turned around and smiled back. "Naturally, it is for the matter of the True Dragon Traversing the Water."
As soon as these words were spoken, although the Old Dragon Lord's smile remained unchanged on the surface—even becoming more attentive and respectful—a hint of gloom surfaced deep in his eyes.
In ancient times, there were Jiao dragons that traversed the waterways to enter the sea and become True Dragons, a tale widely praised as a beautiful legend.
However, times had changed. The inland had long since been devoid of dragon species, rendering the Jiao dragons' traversal of the waterways a mere illusion. Now, it had become the "True Dragon Traversing the Water" that Emperor Jiayou spoke of.
The so-called True Dragon Traversing the Water was the exact opposite of the Jiao dragon's journey. It was not about entering the sea to shed one's form and become a True Dragon. Instead, it was about willingly degrading one's stature, moving from the sea into the rivers, downgrading from a True Dragon to the level of a Jiao dragon of the past. From then on, they would be reduced to a member of the Dao Court, exchanging their status for the space to survive.
The nobles of heaven and earth from the past had actually fallen to such a state today.
Forcing down the sorrow in his heart, the Old Dragon Lord smiled. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I have already selected the first batch of dragon descendants to be sent to Jiangdong. I will definitely cooperate fully."
"That's good."
Emperor Jiayou nodded, then pointed to the sky above his head. "This matter is very important. Even the Lord is paying attention to it."
Hearing this, the Old Dragon Lord's expression changed slightly.
Just as I thought! That was the Dao Court Dao Lord warning me earlier... Is he telling me to cooperate well with Jiayou? Could my secret collusion with the Sword Pavilion have been discovered?
For a time, panic filled the Old Dragon Lord's heart.
Seeing him in this state, Emperor Jiayou was quite satisfied—only Lu Yang, standing beside them, watched this unfold between tears and laughter. He could only clap his hands, chuckle lightly, and sigh:
"What a beautiful misunderstanding. Brilliant!"
He understood everything now.
The unknown is the most terrifying thing. A scheme with no discernable origin and an unclear target would undoubtedly scare the Old Dragon Lord into fleeing immediately.
However, under the design of the [Script], the Old Dragon Lord now sees the "truth" of the layout: the origin is the Dao Court Dao Lord, and the target is the True Dragon Traversing the Water. Everything is crystal clear. This way, the Old Dragon Lord feels assured in his heart and naturally won't run away. The entire process leaves no trace, flawlessly natural.
It actually does have a bit of the flair of [Inevitable Fate]!
As for Emperor Jiayou claiming that the Dao Court Dao Lord is also paying attention to this matter... I don't even need to think about it. He's definitely using the tiger's skin as a banner, intentionally bragging!
Lu Yang was entirely certain of this.
Because in the lifetime where he attained the [Heavenly Fire], he had stayed in the Dao Court with the identity of a True Dragon. At that time, the Dao Court Dao Lord hadn't paid any attention to him at all.
At least, not in the early stages.
The Dao Court Dao Lord's attention only appeared after his [Heavenly Fire] Foundation Establishment reached perfection, the Golden Core Perfected Lords went into seclusion, and he genuinely had a sliver of hope in seeking the Golden Core.
However, Emperor Jiayou's bluffing actually further fueled the misunderstanding, making the Old Dragon Lord certain that it was the Dao Court Dao Lord warning him earlier. But given the Old Dragon Lord's caution, even if he believed most of it, he would definitely leave room for doubt and try to get himself some insurance.
The result did not exceed Lu Yang's expectations.
The next second, the Old Dragon Lord spoke up, "Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Jiayou, there happens to be a True Dragon about to be born in the outer seas. Would you be interested in taking a look?"
"Oh? Such a thing is happening?"
Emperor Jiayou froze for a moment before smiling. "A True Dragon is being born? Could it be that the Old Dragon Lord intends to send this newly born True Dragon to my Jiangdong?"
The Old Dragon Lord nodded solemnly. "Why not."
The birth of the Sixth Dragon Lord was a curse, not a blessing, for the True Dragon clan and the entire overseas. If the Dao Court was willing to take over, he would naturally be happy to toss away this trouble.
But would the Dao Court be willing to take it?
If they were, it would mean the matter of the Sixth Dragon Lord was highly likely caused by the Dao Court Dao Lord!
Thinking of this, the Old Dragon Lord's eyes grew increasingly serious. However, Emperor Jiayou on the other side knew nothing of this and nodded quite nonchalantly:
"Since that's the case, let's go take a look."
Hearing this, the Old Dragon Lord was instantly overjoyed. In his eyes, this was clearly the Dao Court taking the initiative to admit it. All his previous doubts were easily resolved.
Looking at it this way, the birth of the Sixth Dragon Lord is nine times out of ten related to that Lord from the Dao Court... Of course, it can't be ruled out that it's someone else. But regardless, since Emperor Jiayou is willing to go with me, if there really is a trap, worst comes to worst, I'll just use him as a meat shield...
—This old loach, he's definitely thinking exactly that right now.
Standing beside the Old Dragon Lord, Lu Yang had a playful look on his face. He couldn't deny that the Old Dragon Lord was already very cautious, even going out of his way to find himself a scapegoat.
It's a pity... the trap isn't on Mu Changsheng.
Mu Changsheng is merely the bait. There won't be any danger for the Old Dragon Lord when he goes to meet him; on the contrary, it will make him even more certain of his previous judgment.
It was a very simple logic, much like solving a math problem. When you feel your train of thought is correct, the formulas used are right, and the calculation process has no errors, how could you doubt the answer is wrong? The more you check, the more you firmly believe you are right, until you stubbornly stick to your course to the very end.
Therefore, in the end, the Old Dragon Lord still planned to go and meet Mu Changsheng.
He took the bait!
Lu Yang's eyes lit up. He looked at the [Off-Stage Observer] and found that as the Old Dragon Lord acted according to the [Script], this talent seemed to be responding as well.
Interesting. It actually has this kind of effect?
Lu Yang speculated inwardly: If the [Script] is successfully completed, it actually strengthens the talent. What about [Inevitable Fate]? Could it have the same effect?
If it could, that would explain one issue.
Among the Five Heavenly Destinies,[Variable] ranking first was one thing, but [Inevitable Fate] clearly exceeded the other destinies by a whole tier. It was simply overpowered.
Why was it like this?
Perhaps it's precisely because of [Paramita]!
Lu Yang recalled the meeting he had previously seen in the Old Dragon Lord's memory, suddenly coming to a realization.
Once [Paramita] is established, the Dao Lords can never be shaken by anyone from then on.
Isn't this the greatest Inevitable Fate?
Before [Paramita], the Saint Sect's Ancestor probably wasn't considered outstanding. However, the moment [Paramita] was established, [Inevitable Fate] became nearly impossible to defy!
This was the main reason why the Saint Sect's Ancestor pushed for [Paramita] with all his might back then.
And after the establishment of [Paramita], the group of Dao Lords probably triggered the great war exactly because they realized they had been played by the Saint Sect's Ancestor.
No wonder the Saint Sect's Ancestor was actually known as a "good person" in the super-ancient era. He intentionally cultivated that reputation and image over countless years, just waiting to pull off a massive scam in one breath with the [Paramita] project. The key is that he actually succeeded, which is how he overtook the others on the curve and stood at the absolute pinnacle!
(End of Chapter)