The child exploded into a sky full of fragments on the spot.
Not only that, but hundreds and thousands of Lu Yangs surrounded him, constructing a silver ocean that suppressed his fragments one by one.
As for the nine resplendent Dharma Bodies, without exception, they were all smashed to pieces like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves. They then scattered and were similarly suppressed by the silver ocean. Subsequently, the ocean collapsed inward, transforming into a thumb-sized silver pill that hovered quietly in the air.
Until a hand plucked it out of the void.
At some unknown point, Lu Yang's main body had already left the [Nourishing Life Master] and silently arrived here. Faint traces of the Netherworld's death qi still lingered on his body.
It was precisely because his main body took action just now that the child's Netherworld stature was suppressed.
"So weak."
Lu Yang scrutinized the silver pill in his hand, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the child, who was a Great Perfected Lord, to be taken down with almost no resistance.
Was it because the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art] was too strong?
No, although with my innate, peerless talent, this dao art is indeed extraordinary, it's still far from being invincible.
At the very least, to his knowledge, there were quite a few methods capable of affecting the main body while destroying an incarnation. If he encountered such methods, having too many [Incarnations Outside the Body] would actually make him a bigger target. Besides that, the mobility of the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art] was very poor; certain indirect, flanking maneuvers could also break it.
So it wasn't that he was too strong.
"It's that this child is a bit lacking in skill."
Lu Yang rubbed his chin. The child's tactic was extremely singular, mutually detonate their Netherworld statures, and then have the [Incarnations Outside the Body] attack. There was absolutely zero variation.
"No wonder he cultivated the Dharma Body Dao previously."
If this tactic were used against someone else, they might have fallen for it if caught off guard. But unfortunately for him, he encountered Lu Yang, who could perfectly counter it. He could only blame his bad luck.
And this was just the disparity in combat skills.
Setting that aside, looking solely at their cultivation realms, the child was still inferior to him. Although both had the stature of a Great Perfected Lord, the child was faintly a tier lower.
"He's probably only at the Entering the Dao stage, right?"
Lu Yang recalled Su Sui's fourfold division of Great Perfected Lords: Entering the Dao, Dao Integration, Immortal Bridge, and Heaven Treading. The child should be at the Entering the Dao level.
"As for me, I should be at Dao Integration."
Merging the Five Elements into a Dharma Body, executing various Dao Fruit Secret Methods with ease. If converted to the Grotto-Heaven method, only a Great Perfected Lord like [Sky-shrouding], who possessed all five elements, would be stronger than him.
"[Sky-shrouding] should be at the Heaven Treading step."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang shook his head again. The higher his cultivation grew, the more he could appreciate the terrifying nature of [Sky-shrouding]. He was truly a peerless genius.
It was a pity. Even such a genius died just like that.
Born at the wrong time—it was nothing more than this.
After his lament, Lu Yang reigned in his thoughts and focused on the [Heaven and Earth Precious Cauldron] that the child had been guarding. Suddenly, the precious cauldron began to tremble.
In the next second, the pill qi and mist lingering above the cauldron suddenly converged. They then divided and manifested, sketching out a line of clear text:
"Those who can see this message are either the inheritors of my fellow martial brothers, Beast Taming, or my Daoist child."
"If you are the first, you have come to the wrong place."
Realization instantly dawned on Lu Yang. This was clearly left behind by the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak.
"You might have obtained the true inheritance of my fellow martial brothers and discovered the clues to this place. But unfortunately, I have nothing to leave you."
"This alchemy room was abandoned by me long ago."
"I expended a great deal of effort back then, originally intending to refine a celestial pill for the Light Sea to consume. Perhaps it could achieve an effect similar to the Netherworld or the Foundation Establishment Realm."
"But as a result, that old bastard... Hmph! Even if I destroy this pill, I absolutely refuse to let him reap the benefits of my labor."
"However, since it had already been refined to the final step, I couldn't bear to completely destroy it. So I simply left it here and had my child guard the pill furnace."
—Wait, this isn't right.
Lu Yang's face looked strange. I originally thought the First-generation Beast Taming Peak Master was the only one who have a conscience in the Light Sea. How did another one who seems like a good person pop up?
The next second, the text continued to change:
"If you are the inheritor of my fellow martial brothers, you have presumably already subdued my child. Throw him into the pill furnace; he is the medicinal catalyst for this celestial pill."
"If you are my child, it means your luck is quite good, having encountered a piece of trash. To have obtained the inheritance of my fellow brothers and still be unable to defeat you—his death is not worthy of pity. Hurry up and throw him into the pill furnace to be refined. Let this celestial pill reach complete perfection and help you rise from the dead. This can be considered making the best use of a person."
Seeing these words, Lu Yang finally felt relieved.
Look at how he talks! "Making the best use of a person"—whoever loses goes into the pill furnace as the medicinal catalyst. This reassuringly familiar style... as expected, he's a disciple of the Saint Sect!
At this moment, the text formed by the pill qi mist changed once more.
"As for the final possibility... honestly, I don't believe such a possibility exists. But you are the variable, after all, so who knows? Beast Taming, you foolish thing."
"If it's you, you probably wouldn't throw my child into the pill furnace either."
"If that's the case, just take the pill directly. Although it hasn't reached perfection, it should still be able to extend your life and let you live for a few more decades."
"Don't die."
"Your Senior Brother here has prepared a good show, and I'd like to invite you to watch it."
The next second, the mist shattered.
Almost simultaneously, the precious cauldron below emitted a violent, turbulent sound. The dense white vapor surging from within grew even thicker, churning wildly.
Seeing this, Lu Yang immediately tossed out his hand.
The sealed child fell into the pill furnace. Not long after, the sound of clashing gold and jade rang out from within the furnace, and a rich, intense fragrance began to spread.
The pill was formed!
Lu Yang beckoned with his hand, and the cauldron lid flipped open. A longan-sized pill, pure white as if draped in frost and snow, flew out of the cauldron.
Immediately after, under karmic resonance, the name of this pill was reflected in Lu Yang's mind.
[Cycle of Life and Death Pill]!
This pill was not medicine to be ingested, but a pill for external application. One first had to send it into the sea of consciousness, allowing it to sense the profound and respond to destiny, engraving one's own life into the pill.
After that, a strand of divine sense had to be left on the pill.
In the future, if one died and their Dao dissipated, the divine sense on the pill would autonomously revive. It could immediately extract the life within the pill, reincarnate anew, and return to the mortal realm in the body of a Death Spirit.
Similarly, it could also transform a Death Spirit back into a living being.
That was why it was called the pill that rotates life and death!
Furthermore, after transforming into a Death Spirit, all the karma from when one was alive would be completely reforged. No influences would be dragged over, ensuring absolutely no future troubles.
"This..."
Lu Yang instantly narrowed his eyes. For a Great Perfected Lord, this was equivalent to a second life. But for him, it was even more so—a free pass into the Netherworld!
"I can already open a path to the Netherworld using the [Well Dragon King] coupled with a profound wonder. However, on one hand, [Sky-shrouding] is blocking the door. On the other hand, the Netherworld's downward-pulling special stature will also offset my own cultivation. The deeper I go, the harder it becomes to move even a single inch."
But with this [Cycle of Life and Death Pill], things were different.
He could completely enter the Netherworld in the state of a Death Spirit to search for clues regarding the Ancestral Dragon's Remnant Bloodline and the Nascent Soul Pill, without having to worry about any conflict in stature.
Will there be a trap?
Out of caution, Lu Yang scanned it with his talent. The result remained: [No Trap].
That makes sense. In the message, this thing was left for the First-generation Beast Taming Peak Master. Looking at it this way, the relationship between the four First-generation Peak Masters is actually much better than I imagined.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
But he quickly regained his composure: "If my guess is correct, the Nascent Soul Pill is truly in the Netherworld... Perhaps this is my fortuitous encounter for the Nascent Soul!"
(End of Chapter)