[Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram].
Inside the gloomy hall, Tianhun, dressed as a young military general, stared dumbfounded at the young man before him, as if witnessing something utterly absurd.
"Instant success... ah."
He had indeed exaggerated a bit earlier. The so-called Fasting of the Mind could not be cultivated by just any Great Perfected Lord; it had to be the absolute best among them.
The reason he said that was mainly to give Lu Yang a bit of confidence, hinting that it was very simple. You're already a Great Perfected Lord, so cultivating it will definitely be no problem. This way, on the final step of pouring in his obsession and finding his "true self," Lu Yang could have more confidence and an easier time.
"But isn't this way too easy?"
He saw it clearly.
From the time Lu Yang condensed the one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred mental thoughts and built the embryonic Fasting of the Mind, to reaching major completion, it took less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn!
Are you kidding me?
The obsessions and dreams sufficient to build the Fasting of the Mind—which one of them didn't require enduring severe tests and sufficiently intense experiences to catalyze?
In the ancient era, many cultivators sealed their cultivation, traveled the mortal world, and went through countless hardships just to have a sliver of hope of achieving this step. But Lu Yang? He basically just thought about it and did it. Had he already been struggling in the mortal world for a long time?
Did he suffer a lot?
That shouldn't be, Tianhun couldn't figure it out.
If it was the kind of suffering that bred immense obsession, it would basically crush a person completely, preventing them from ever getting back up and ultimately leading to sudden death.
After all, people die when they are killed.
Because of this, ancient cultivators chose a different approach.
They tempered themselves as mortals in the mundane world so they could experience hardship without truly being driven to a dead end; at worst, they just restored their cultivation.
Of course, this also had a downside.
They always had a way out, knowing they wouldn't truly be left with no options. As a result, the obsessions born from this often had slight flaws.
So some ancient cultivators were even more ruthless, directly sealing their memories as well. They tempered themselves as mortals, dying and changing places to continue tempering. They wouldn't awaken until they forged an obsession capable of building the Fasting of the Mind through the myriad states of the mortal world and the fickleness of human nature.
But that was the ancient era.
Now, with the Master defeated and his dharma body destroyed, there wasn't that much lifespan for cultivators to squander, let alone the fact that Dao heart cultivation methods had been completely severed.
Too strange.
Tianhun scratched his head. According to his deduction, for Lu Yang to gain an obsession sufficient to build the Fasting of the Mind, he had to meet at least three conditions:
First, endure fatal suffering.
Second, have no way out, or a very limited one.
Third, he must be alive.
But how could he still be alive if he met the first two? Since he's alive, there must be something lacking in the first two conditions.
But in that case, it's unlikely he could completely condense the Fasting of the Mind. At least not this fast. Less than an incense stick's time meant his obsession was exaggeratedly massive!
It was bordering on "madness."
Thinking of this, Tianhun even felt a bit of apprehension. His gaze toward Lu Yang shifted slightly, no longer daring to treat him as a junior from a later generation.
At the same time, Lu Yang also let out a long breath.
[Detected a qualitative change in your Dao heart.]
[A new privilege has been unlocked for you. You can now add extra conditions to your harvest selection after a restart, allowing you to select desired items more precisely.]
He didn't expect an unexpected harvest.
Lu Yang's gaze was calm, but he was quite joyful inside because this option from the [Book of Hundred Lifetimes] perfectly solved a hidden worry he had up until now.
Namely, the [Arctic Exorcism Court].
Barring any accidents, I'll be choosing a treasure in this lifetime. After all, once I smuggle out of the Light Sea, the [Arctic Exorcism Court] outside the Light Sea will be my foundation.
But what if I choose the treasure after the restart, and it directly sends the [Arctic Exorcism Court] back to my side instead of leaving it outside the Light Sea? Wouldn't that be completely meaningless? There's no way I can smuggle myself out a second time; the operation is too troublesome and carries too many hidden risks.
But I don't need to worry now.
With this new privilege, as long as I add an extra condition when choosing the treasure, specifically selecting [Treasure still outside the Light Sea], it'll be fine.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang was instantly satisfied.
The [Book of Hundred Lifetimes] truly understood him!
With this new privilege, his trip to [Equality of Things] was a massive profit. It was just a pity he could only choose one treasure and not a second...
Lu Yang couldn't help but glance at Tianhun.
"Hiss!"
Feeling Lu Yang's fervent gaze, Tianhun subconsciously took a step back. His apprehension grew deeper, and his tone gained a bit more respect:
"Congratulations on your achievement, Fellow Daoist."
"With such a Dao heart, under Master's command back then, only Pan Huang, Di Ku, and Tai Zun could rival it, and they spent tens of thousands of years..."
Lu Yang froze upon hearing this.
That long?
For a moment, he suddenly became somewhat happy. Looking at it this way, was his talent in Dao heart cultivation actually quite good? At least stronger than his comprehension?
"Hehehe..."
Seeing Lu Yang suddenly laugh, Tianhun felt even more apprehensive. He only felt the person before him was temperamental, clearly an existence that shouldn't be provoked.
"Fellow Daoist, you must stay calm."
Tianhun couldn't help but whisper. "Fasting of the Mind cultivation requires not only strengthening the obsession but also binding it. You cannot let restless desires ruin your Dao heart..."
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I understand." Lu Yang smiled faintly, appearing very gentle. "I am not the kind of animal who would wantonly indulge his obsessions."
Tianhun seriously sized him up. Seeing that Lu Yang was indeed very composed, he breathed a sigh of relief:
"It's good that Fellow Daoist understands."
Despite saying so, his apprehension deepened. Because if Lu Yang truly could suppress the obsession of the Fasting of the Mind, it only meant one thing:
His obsession is incredibly massive!
So massive that he currently doesn't even have the hope of fulfilling it, which is why he can remain calm and composed. But once he gets the chance, he will definitely be crazier than anyone else!
But that makes sense. Among all the cultivators who forged the Fasting of the Mind, which one didn't possess immense perseverance, determination, and obsession? For this kind of person, paranoia is normal, and madness is even more common. Especially since forging the Fasting of the Mind amplifies this obsession, anyone who can suppress it is without exception a ruthless character...
Tianhun reluctantly convinced himself.
Not long after, he also figured it out: "Since Fellow Daoist has forged the Fasting of the Mind, heading to the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea now will inevitably awaken all the Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords."
This was more important!
After all, this way, he could acknowledge him as his master and leave this place. Having sat withered in one place for over a hundred thousand years, he had long since lost his patience.
On the other side, Lu Yang also nodded:
"Leave it to me."
As his voice fell, he arrived before the portrait of the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram] again. With a thought, he re-entered that vast and boundless Dark Aspect of the Light Sea.
This time was different.
Among the twelve Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords, only three have forged the Fasting of the Mind like me. Although winning against them is impossible, beating them awake won't be a problem.
With this thought, the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea shone brilliantly!
Boom!
Boundless light surged like a river, directly submerging the twelve Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords. This time, their crazed emotions finally underwent a change.
"Where am I...?"
"What happened..."
"Ugh! I didn't expect I..."
Lu Yang's rationality began to heavily infect those Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords who hadn't forged the Fasting of the Mind, gradually awakening their consciousnesses from when they were alive.
Everything went smoothly, until—
"Clang! Clang!"
Right at the bottom of the place where the consciousnesses of the twelve Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords converged, a resonant sword cry suddenly rang out, echoing explosively through the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea.
Lu Yang instantly froze.
This obviously wasn't the sword cry of the Sword Pavilion Dao Lord, otherwise he would have died long ago. Yet it was still incomparably sharp, carrying an abundant sword intent capable of severing everything.
"This is... a thirteenth consciousness?"
The reason the consciousnesses of the twelve Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords were concentrated together was to suppress this consciousness?
Who is he?
In the next second, the newly awakened Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lords provided the answer: "I remember now, this is the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea, we have been awakened..."
"Not good!"
The first to fully clear his head was their leader, Pan Huang. With a tense expression, he looked at Lu Yang and shouted loudly: "This person is the Sword Lord's head disciple!"
"Vanquishing-Demon, Warding-Evil, and Subduing-Spirit—the three Sword Gods have also been awakened sequentially. Such a lingering ghost... Fellow Daoist, quickly join us to suppress them!"
(End of Chapter)