Now this is more like it!
To be honest, after Tianhun said that a simple beating would do, Lu Yang immediately perked up. This was exactly how the Dharma Body Dao was supposed to operate!
What Sisui? He was a heretic.
If you're so smart, why cultivate the Dharma Body Dao? You're ruining the reputation of the Dharma Body Dao! The pure Dharma Body Dao fundamentally doesn't need those flashy, complicated operations!
Seeing Lu Yang's confident face, Tianhun hurriedly reminded him: "Fellow Daoist, do not think it is simple. To tell you the truth, Master was nearing death back then and could only seal the minds of the twelve Dharma Body Great Perfected Lords together. Therefore, if Fellow Daoist wishes to challenge them, you will need to fight one against twelve..."
As soon as these words came out, Lu Yang's expression instantly froze.
Me? Fight twelve Great Perfected Lords?
In the next second, Lu Yang, who was just gearing up to go all out, retreated again. His expression was solemn: "I think outsmarting them is more appropriate."
Fuck, no wonder Bu Tianque chose to forge a new path back then.
This simply isn't meant for a human to clear!
After a moment of silence, Lu Yang recovered his calm. He looked at Tianhun and said in a low voice: "These seniors, exactly how strong are they? It can't be that they are all at the Heaven Treading stage, right?"
"That's not quite the case."
Tianhun explained: "The Dark Aspect of the Light Sea is an ocean of consciousness. Therefore, it does not emphasize cultivation base; it is more of a contest of whether a cultivator's Dao heart is firm."
"Oh?" Lu Yang straightened his back.
"May I ask Fellow Daoist, this humble one's Dao heart is already perfect. Do I have a chance of winning?"
"Perfect Dao heart?" Tianhun froze upon hearing this. "Isn't that the basic requirement for a Perfected Lord? With Fellow Daoist's cultivation, shouldn't it be higher?"
Lu Yang: "..."
There are levels above a perfect Dao heart?
Helpless, Lu Yang had no choice but to recount how Dao heart cultivation methods had gone extinct in the mortal world. After hearing this, Tianhun instantly fell into a long silence.
"...What a bastard."
After the silence, Tianhun's first sentence was a familiar angry curse. Then he sighed: "It wasn't like this back then. The Dao heart is the true foundation of cultivation."
"Basically, as long as a cultivator can become a Perfected Lord, their Dao heart is perfect. As for late-stage Golden Core cultivators, they can basically all endow their Dao heart with their own will, which we call [Fasting of the Mind]. Cultivating the Fasting of the Mind internally to reach emptiness and tranquility... if one can take another step forward on this foundation, they would be a Dao Lord."
"...Hmm?"
Lu Yang suddenly raised his head, catching the key information in Tianhun's words: "Dao heart cultivation is also related to Dao Lords? Can you explain in detail?"
"Of course."
Tianhun nodded, making Lu Yang feel greatly gratified, so much so that he couldn't help but glance at Sisui's remnant thought, which had fallen silent again, revealing a look of disdain in his eyes.
Look at you, and look at him!
Both are legacies left by Sisui, so why is the gap so big?
Asking you is like asking a brick wall, while asking Tianhun yields one piece of crucial intelligence after another. Someone who didn't know better would think Tianhun was Sisui's remnant thought!
"Oh, right."
Right at this moment, as if suddenly thinking of something, Tianhun hurriedly explained: "Fellow Daoist, please do not misunderstand. The Dao Lords I speak of are different from those of later generations."
"Specifically, they are the Dao Lords before [Paramita] was built."
Tianhun said quite patiently: "Since Fellow Daoist cultivated the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture], you should be clear about what a special realm Golden Core perfection is, right?"
Lu Yang nodded.
Golden Core perfection was not so much a realm as it was a transition. It was a transitional stage for a late-stage Golden Core Great Perfected Lord to transform into a Dao Lord.
Admittedly, this stage would also pull open a massive gap with the late-stage Golden Core, a difference as vast as heaven and earth. However, firstly, it still couldn't compare to the Nascent Soul Dao Lords of [Paramita]; secondly, it couldn't be maintained permanently. If one couldn't ascend to [Paramita], once their spiritual power was exhausted, their stature would inevitably plummet, and they might even explode and die.
However, a sliver of hope existed for all things.
"If a cultivator's Dao heart can reach the third stage, then it is different... At that time, the cultivator can jump out of the restrictions and permanently reside in Golden Core perfection."
"We generally call this a Dao Sovereign."
Hearing this, Lu Yang nodded: "A Perfected Lord close to the Dao is called a Dao Sovereign. I also have some understanding of this. Could it be that the Dao Lords before [Paramita] were like this?"
"No." Tianhun shook his head. "This is only the prerequisite."
"Aside from the third-stage Dao heart, one must also establish a sufficiently powerful Dao lineage to allow a Dao Sovereign to further sublimate at the level of Golden Core perfection."
"That is the true Dao Lord before [Paramita]."
Hearing this, Lu Yang fell into silence.
A Dao lineage can strengthen a Dao Lord?
No, it's not like that. It's the exact opposite... If the deductions Patriarch and I made previously have no errors or omissions, a Dao lineage should be used to drag down a Dao Lord.
This was a counter-intuitive secret.
Lu Yang recalled the conversations between the various Dao Lords he had heard through the old Dragon Lord previously, pondering in his heart: Before [Paramita], as long as Dao Lords were willing to risk getting lost in the Dark Void, they could infinitely elevate their stature. This is the secret to a Dao Lord's strength. It's like a kite attached to a string.
On the other end of the string, the heavier the Dao lineage, the more it drags them down.
The higher the stature the Dao Lord can elevate to, the further they can fly.
However, once they misjudge and the drag of the Dao lineage is insufficient, the string breaks... then the Dao Lord will be lost, driven into eternal silence by the infinite Dark Void.
Of course, this was before [Paramita].
After [Paramita] appeared, the Dark Void was illuminated. The Dao Lords gained a more stable method of ascending in stature, so their reliance on their Dao lineages should have drastically decreased.
But it only decreased, not completely vanished.
After all, although [Paramita] is very useful, it's not entirely without hidden dangers.
That's why the various Dao Lords still keep their Dao lineages, ensuring that even if [Paramita] collapses one day, they can still maintain an overwhelming advantage over lower cultivators.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang let out a long breath and asked the most crucial question: "Perfection, Fasting of the Mind... What is the name of the third stage of the Dao heart? Is there a method of cultivation? If not, regarding the matter of reviving the seniors of the Dharma Body Dao, I am afraid this humble one has the will but lacks the strength."
"This..."
Hearing this, Tianhun scratched his head, feeling that something was a bit off.
Strange, I'm here to test people, right?
Why does it feel like I haven't even started the test, yet I've already leaked quite a few good things? Am I actually going to hand over the Dao heart cultivation method now too?
But...
Tianhun glanced at Lu Yang and finally sighed. "With the Dharma Body Dao broken, Fellow Daoist must have suffered through many hardships to reach this stage. Forget it, forget it."
As his voice fell, writing immediately surfaced on the walls of the palace.
[Heart-Cleansing Chapter]!
He saw the writing flow like dragons and snakes, with vigorous and forceful strokes. Countless scriptures ultimately outlined a massive talisman, directly reflecting into Lu Yang's mind and sea of consciousness.
"The third stage of the Dao heart is named [Primordial Spirit]."
"This [Heart-Cleansing Chapter] was specially created by Master for Dharma Body Dao cultivators back then. Like other Dharma Body Dao cultivation techniques, its main point is that it's easy to understand."
"Fellow Daoist doesn't need to cultivate it much either, just getting beaten up will do. Find someone to test your Dao heart. The longer you endure, the faster your Dao heart cultivation will be. However, this method can only lay a foundation for Fellow Daoist. The final construction of the Fasting of the Mind still requires Fellow Daoist to inject your own will into it."
"By the way..."
Speaking up to here, Tianhun's true intentions were finally revealed. "Using this method to cultivate the Dao heart, the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea, as an ocean of consciousness, is the best choice."
(End of Chapter)