[The Mortal World].
The endless smoky haze had now been completely reined in, converging instead around the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace], oscillating continuously like billowing waves.
Next, the main gates of the palace crashed open. Accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps, a young Daoist strolled out. He was still enveloped in smoke, and his long, narrow eyes still carried a hint of contemplation as he looked at Lu Yang. Condensed five-colored light swirled deep within his pupils.
In a flash, heaven and earth brightened.
Five Dao Fruit stars surfaced one after another. Vast, ocean-like spiritual power fluctuations centered on [Sky-shrouding] and spread out toward the infinite void like a spiderweb.
—The strongest.
Up until now, this was the strongest aura Lu Yang had ever intuitively felt. It wasn't abstract and vague like the mighty power of a Dao Lord, but an unquestionable, absolute power.
"Fellow Daoist, you recognize me."
Right at this moment, [Sky-shrouding] spoke. His calm voice carried a hint of confusion. As it reached Lu Yang's ears, it only made him feel a boundless drowsiness.
At some unknown point, a layer of hazy mist had already permeated his sea of consciousness, obscuring his thoughts and plunging his mind into a stupor. In less than a split second, this mist would completely seal his sea of consciousness, causing him to faint and lose all ability to resist.
Almost simultaneously, [Sky-shrouding] flew over.
The proactive question was just a diversion; he wasn't curious about it at all. He merely wanted to freeze Lu Yang for a split second, and then, as per his usual routine, rip his heart out.
However, in the next second, a blazing bright light erupted deep within Lu Yang's eyes.
"Heaven and earth are radiant; the sun and moon shine for eternity."
The [Overturned Lamp Flame]!
The scorching firelight instantly burned through the mist in his sea of consciousness, restoring clarity to his thoughts. Lu Yang's gaze locked directly onto [Sky-shrouding].
"Hmm?"
Seeing this scene, [Sky-shrouding] slightly raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised that Lu Yang could execute the profound wonder of the [Overturned Lamp Flame], and quite proficiently at that.
But even so, his movements didn't change in the slightest. He merely flicked his sleeve, and boundless smoke immediately converged, collapsed, and shattered. Then, an extremely bright, dazzlingly brilliant light burst forth from it.
As it erupted, it blotted out the sky and covered the earth, carrying the rumble of thunderous booms.
This was the pure light of destruction.
Endless spiritual power poured out from the light. Anything it touched, whether World Realms or spiritual qi, was reduced to nothingness.
Such spiritual power was practically comparable to a Great Perfected Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao.
Unable to dodge in time, Lu Yang was instantly submerged by this endless light. He could clearly feel his peerless Dharma Body being continuously weakened and sliced apart.
Very strong... extremely strong!
But this doesn't seem like [Sky-shrouding]'s own spiritual power. It's more like some kind of accumulation. Has he been using the Knowledge-Perception Barrier to continuously store his own spiritual power over countless years?
[Sky-shrouding] had used similar methods before.
Lu Yang remembered that in the lifetime where he attained the [Heavenly Fire], [Sky-shrouding] had used the Knowledge-Perception Barrier to store the sword light of Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao out of thin air.
If external objects could be stored like this, what about [Sky-shrouding]'s own spiritual power?
He has truly used the [Great Forest Wood] to the absolute limit!
Lu Yang marveled inwardly, but his movements were not slow in the slightest. A speck of silver light lit up at his glabella, then, accompanied by the sound of billowing waves, it abruptly expanded in all directions.
The [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art]!
In an instant, countless phantoms trailed behind Lu Yang. Every single phantom was identical to him, exuding terrifying spiritual power.
At this moment, there was no flashy clash of profound wonders; it was simply a pure collision of spiritual power. At the moment of impact, the entire [The Mortal World] fell into a bizarre silence. An invisible hurricane swept through the surrounding World Realms, and Lu Yang's main body jolted violently before abruptly soaring upward and flying backward.
On the other side, [Sky-shrouding] also threw his head back and retreated.
The two clashed—one relying on the accumulation of vast ages, the other relying on innate, peerless talent. The result of their single clash was mutual destruction.
"Huu..."
Above the Light Sea, Lu Yang forcefully steadied his figure while rousing his essence, qi, and spirit. Thousands upon thousands of Incarnations Outside the Body converged behind his head into a chaotic sea.
Next, he firmly held a hand seal.
[Overturned Lamp Flame], [Placer Gold in Sand], [Pine and Cypress Wood], [Wellspring Water], [Great Relay Earth]. The brilliance of the Five Elements merged and converged within the chaotic sea behind him.
At the same time, the [Divine Firmament Thunder] also leaped out.
In the blink of an eye, using the profound wonders of the Five Elements Dao Fruits as fingers and the [Divine Firmament Thunder] as the palm, a heaven-filling, earth-spanning massive hand reached out from the chaotic sea!
At first glance, this hand was no more than a hundred zhang in size. However, bolstered by the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art], its scale surged and growing wildly. By the time it stretched all the way to where [Sky-shrouding] was, it had already attained a heaven-obscuring momentum, smashing down toward him with a loud sound.
Facing such an imposing momentum, even [Sky-shrouding] raised an eyebrow.
He reached out and pointed a finger. Billowing smoke immediately covered it, but it struggled to envelop the entire hand, and naturally failed to erase it out of thin air.
Seeing this method fail, he switched to another.
His long, narrow eyes closed. Just as he had erased Hong Yun earlier, he attempted to erase this hand from his field of vision, thereby negating its very existence.
Yet, it was still useless.
On that massive hand, a bright lamp flame burned upon the thumb. It illuminated and broke through the influence of the [Knowledge-Perception Barrier], and the hand continued to smash downward with unstoppable momentum.
Seeing this, [Sky-shrouding] finally frowned.
Next, from within the eternally lingering smoke, a pale hand emerged. Its slender five fingers intertwined, forming a seal.
Following that, a sound emanated from the palm of that hand.
Rumble—!
Like a landslide, like a tsunami. In a trance, Lu Yang seemed to see an endlessly flowing, surging torrent of a mighty river rushing toward him!
Facing the smashing hand, [Sky-shrouding] simply raised his hand to meet it. One was large enough to cover the sky and earth, the other was merely the size of an ordinary person's hand. Yet, in an instant, they clashed with evenly matched might. The surrounding light sea collapsed like sand and dust, and billowing spiritual qi scattered like the ebb and flow of the tide.
It's a Five Elements Dao Fruit Secret Method!
He finally changed his tactics. He's no longer using the [Great Forest Wood] to clash with me head-on, but has switched to the [Eternal Flowing Water], borrowing its boundless concept to collide with me!
In a flash, Lu Yang's head throbbed as if it were splitting apart.
The heaven-obscuring massive hand exploded on the spot. Connected to it by mind and spirit, his soul also churned violently. Every strand of divine sense felt as if it had transformed into a detonated powder keg.
"Suppress!"
In an instant, Lu Yang took a deep breath. His hands changed hand seals, and the radiant lights of the [Pine and Cypress Wood], [Wellspring Water], and [Future Life Form] surfaced in sequence.
Triple damage reduction!
Like being washed by clear water, the three radiant lights immediately pared away the severe backlash Lu Yang suffered. His extremely pale face rapidly regained its rosy color.
What a pity... my Dao Fruit Secret Method is still not perfect.
Lu Yang sighed inwardly. This [All-Heaven Great Hand Seal] was the culmination of his entire cultivation base, and also his attempt at a Five Elements Dao Fruit Secret Method.
Or more accurately, Six Elements.
Because besides the profound wonders of the Five Elements Dao Fruits, he had also added the [Divine Firmament Thunder], attempting to use lightning as the pivot to realize a Great Divine Power that integrated the Five Elements.
But in the end, it fell short at the final hurdle.
However, Lu Yang could understand this result: Dao Fruit profoundwonders aren't just about quantity; what's more important is the coordination and proportion among them.
Therefore, although his [All-Heaven Great Hand Seal] was stronger than a normal three-element Dao Fruit Secret Method, when it encountered [Sky-shrouding]'s perfectly proportioned Five Elements Dao Fruit Secret Method—even though he had added one more profound wonder—it was actually beaten into a total rout. This was a lack of Dao comprehension.
Fortunately... I came prepared this time too.
The familiar Knowledge-Perception Barrier and Perception once again clouded his sea of consciousness. The familiar sense of crisis rapidly closed in. Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yang's eyes abruptly burst with light.
[Supreme Dao Transformation], open!
(End of Chapter)