Pill Cauldron Secret Realm.
Lu Yang sat cross-legged high up in the cloudy sky. A sliver of silver light flickered within his Niwan Palace. As he abruptly opened his eyes, the silver light tumbled upward into the void, subsequently transforming into a vast, boundless expanse.
Immediately after, he formed a hand seal and spoke with a voice like thunder: "Utmost sincerity in a single thought, intent lies in the True Self."
"Floating light, myriad bodies, the spirit resides in the center of the fist!"
The dao art incantation that left Lu Yang's mouth possessed a subtle overlapping echo, as if hundreds and thousands of Lu Yangs were speaking simultaneously, their voices converging into one.
Next, the vast silver light above his head began to split, dividing into countless identical figures of Lu Yang. Some were walking, sitting, or lying down; some were composing poetry and matching couplets; some were meditating and regulating their breath; some were practicing dao arts and cultivating the true Dao. However, in the end, all these figures of Lu Yang vanished, melting back into that boundless expanse.
Subsequently, the boundless expanse took form.
Unbiased, perfectly square, looking up from below, it was shockingly a fist as towering as a mountain, large enough to encompass an entire world, hovering above the cloudy sky.
The next second, the fist plummeted.
Boom.
Peerless spiritual power condensed on that heaven-filling fist. Before it even truly crashed down, the [Heaven and Earth Precious Cauldron] and the volcano below were already emitting explosive sounds, unable to bear the heavy burden.
Seeing this, Lu Yang willed it, and the light shadow of the fist instantly dimmed, dissipating into formlessness. It was then pulled back up to the sky, re-condensed, and smashed downward again. He repeated this process several times, going from rough and tyrannical at the very beginning to precise and meticulously controlled at the very end. Only then did he satisfactorily retract his spiritual power completely.
This was the result of his two and a half years of cultivation.
Although he hadn't cultivated the [True Self Fundamental Vow Scripture], he had referenced its method of condensing a completely sincere True Self, successfully integrating all his [Incarnations Outside the Body].
That heaven-filling fist just now was his "True Self."
But to be precise, it wasn't just a fist; it was that massive hand. The clenched fist was merely its state when used for attacking; it could equally change from a fist into an open palm.
"Five fingers, each bolstered by the profound wonder of a Dao Fruit."
"Bending the fingers into a fist unleashing a heaven-toppling giant force."
"Straightening the fingers into a palm unleashes the profound wonder of protecting the Dao, capable of capturing external objects and locking down profound wonders. I can consider it completely transformed into a commonly used method now."
Don't be fooled by it just being a massive hand that alternated between a fist and a palm. In reality, Lu Yang had invested his entire comprehension of the Dharma Body Dao, the profound wonders of the five great Dao Fruits he had devoured, and even the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art] into it. It was the culmination of his entire cultivation base. Taking one step further would mean creating his own cultivation method.
In fact, Lu Yang had long possessed the ability to create his own cultivation method.
It was just that the things he learned were far too diverse, and he was quite ambitious. Unwilling to settle for mediocrity, he intended to create a complete cultivation method that thoroughly fused everything he had learned.
That was why he had never attempted it.
At most, he just stitched things together, like he did previously with the [Sovereign Heart-Demon Scripture].
It was only now that he had finally taken the first step. However, after finishing this step, he fell into bewilderment again—how should he take the next step?
A cultivation method symbolized the Dao of its creator.
Yet, from the start of his cultivation journey until now, Lu Yang had always been "learning." The most he ever did was stitch cultivation methods together. Asking him to truly go from zero to one was still too difficult of a task.
Fortunately, he was quite open-minded about it.
"...Forget it."
Since he didn't have any clues for the time being, he wouldn't let his imagination run wild. Worst comes to worst, he could just leave it to his invincible [Supreme Dao Transformation] to figure out a solution later.
Reining in his thoughts, Lu Yang looked around again.
"The Pill Cauldron Secret Realm was much like his [Arctic Exorcism Court] from the life before his previous one. Moreover, the material of the [Heaven and Earth Precious Cauldron] also belonged to the absolute highest tier in the mortal realm.
'To simply leave it here would be a waste.'
Lu Yang shook his head and re-condensed that heaven-filling massive hand. Five-colored light could be seen flowing across the palm. He reached down and made a grabbing motion toward the volcano and the precious cauldron below.
In a flash, the earth shook and the mountains swayed. The massive volcano, the precious cauldron, and even the countless streams of magma and earth fire were all grabbed into the air by Lu Yang's massive hand. They then began to shrink, falling one by one into his palm. Before long, Lu Yang had completely emptied out the entire secret realm.
"Senior Pill Cauldron, I am doing this for your own good."
"In a while, the Mystic Spirit World Realm will be captured by the Immortal Nexus. When that time comes, this alchemy room of yours will likely be destroyed in an instant. I am changing its storage location for you."
Lu Yang formed a hand seal and pointed with a finger.
The next second, the [Nascent Light Sea] obtained from [Responding to Emperors] flew out. Like a bloody, gaping maw, it swallowed the Pill Cauldron Secret Realm directly.
"Oh, right. There's also the soil inside the secret realm."
"Including the spiritual qi, spirit veins, and whatnot... Don't worry, Senior Pill Cauldron. I will absolutely implement a scorched-earth policy and leave not a single speck for the Immortal Nexus!"
Lu Yang's thoughts raced intensely. A moment later, the originally majestic Pill Cauldron Secret Realm was left completely bare. Even the dirt was gone. Every single item had been extracted by Lu Yang and stuffed into the [Nascent Light Sea]. Yet, seeing this, Lu Yang was still not entirely satisfied.
"It's too much of a pity to just leave this space here."
"As the old saying goes: out with the old, in with the new. Since it's going to shatter sooner or later anyway, I might as well shatter it first and then integrate it into the [Nascent Light Sea]."
No sooner thought than done.
Lu Yang immediately circulated his spiritual power. The heaven-filling massive hand clenched tightly into a fist and smashed down with all its might. In an instant, it shattered the entire Pill Cauldron Secret Realm, turning it into countless fragments of the void.
Subsequently, under Lu Yang's direction, these fragments were also absorbed by the [Nascent Light Sea].
Next, Lu Yang executed a method to manipulate the void fragments, much like erecting a building on a foundation. A moment later, an outline emerged.
[Heavenly Pivot Dao-Spreading Diagram]!
The method passed down by the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak was an artifact refinement method based on the [Nascent Light Sea]. With Lu Yang's skill level, he actually hadn't fully learned it yet.
But it wasn't a big problem.
Meanwhile, inside the Righteous Dao Banner, Patriarch Nether Whisper was using Lu Yang's perspective to observe the outside world, continuously giving reminders: "This side needs to be rebuilt..."
"Yes, yes, yes. Raise that side a little higher."
"Well done. Lower it a bit more..."
Under the direction of Patriarch Nether Whisper, Lu Yang fully utilized his peerless talent. Very quickly, a palace as towering as a mountain gradually took shape.
The [Arctic Exorcism Court]!
Out of nostalgia, Lu Yang kept this name. However, compared to the life before his previous one, the [Arctic Exorcism Court] in this lifetime had already advanced a step further.
"It might not be enough right now."
"But the advantage of the [Nascent Light Sea] lies right here: it can endlessly accommodate external objects to upgrade itself. As long as I integrate more precious materials, it will become stronger and stronger."
"Given time, it will inevitably reach the level of a Supreme Treasure!"
The dao of artifacts was divided into Spiritual Artifacts, Spirit Treasures, and True Treasures. However, above these three treasures, there were also Supreme Treasures. Just as the name implied, they were treasures that had reached the absolute pinnacle of perfection.
"Back in the Golden Age, Supreme Treasures were extremely helpful to a cultivator's cultivation."
"The four realms of a Great Perfected Lord: Entering the Dao, Dao Integration, Immortal Bridge, and Heaven Treading... Among them, the Immortal Bridge hurdle is extremely dangerous. One misstep leads to death; it is the natural moat of Great Perfected Lords."
"As the name implies, for a Great Perfected Lord to pass this hurdle, they must find a way to build a bridge at the end of their own Great Dao and cross over it. The slightest instability means the bridge is destroyed and the person dies... Things are different now. With the Grotto-Heaven method reigning supreme, as long as one can become a Five Elements Dao Fruit Great Perfected Lord, they can naturally build the Immortal Bridge."
"But in ancient times, the building of the Immortal Bridge mostly relied on Supreme Treasures."
"After all, only by using a Supreme Treasure as the foundation could the constructed Immortal Bridge not easily collapse... So for me, this is also a fortuitous encounter to advance further!"
Right as Lu Yang was refining the [Arctic Exorcism Court]...
The Immortal Nexus, the overseas Dragon Palace. The Old Dragon Lord finally walked out of the hall where he was secluded. He was in high spirits, actually sweeping away the gloomy haze that had plagued him for countless years.
And walking out behind him was Tian Qiu.
This Crown Prince of the Dragon Palace had also undergone considerable changes. The aura around his entire body grew increasingly surging. Faintly, it even showed a trend of resonating with the [Heavenly River Water]!
Not bad, not bad.
Seeing this, the Old Dragon Lord was satisfied inwardly: The [Supreme Dragon King] also has the ability to buff True Dragons. With my guidance on top of that, Tian Qiu finally has some certainty in Seeking the Golden Core now.
The opportunity had arrived!
According to what Dad said, [Sky-shrouding] is currently holed up in the Netherworld. As long as I help Hong Yun Seek the Golden Core and attain the [Overturned Lamp Flame], he will have to flee in a panic.
Lu Yang had already informed the Old Dragon Lord of all the relevant details in advance.
During this process, I will mess up the situation further, and finally, amidst the chaos, let Tian Qiu Seek the Golden Core and attain the [Heavenly River Water]. Then everything will be successfully completed!
(End of Chapter)