At this moment, Lu Yang didn't dare make the slightest movement.
The Netherworld, in his view, should have escaped the control and sight of the Dao Lords. Yet this unique Netherworld now presented a completely different appearance.
At first glance, the Netherworld seemed like a boundless, gloomy world, but in reality, it had long been partitioned out of thin air. Endless radiance filled both the inside and outside of the Netherworld, splitting into four colors. It illuminated the [Yellow Springs Road], the [Bridge of Helplessness], the [Home-Viewing Terrace], and the [Three Lives Stone], slicing the Netherworld apart like a cake.
Each color of light corresponded to a figure.
They were either sitting cross-legged, lying on their sides, standing with their hands behind their backs, or holding their palms together. Their figures were either vast or microscopic, hovering in the sky.
I guessed wrong...
Lu Yang felt as if he had plunged into an icehouse. The Four Dogs of the Immortal Nexus were absolutely not helpless against the Netherworld; on the contrary, their corrosion of the Netherworld was actually already very deep!
The four components of the Netherworld had long been under their control.
No, not just four. Before [Sky-shrouding] left the Netherworld, the [Ghost Gate] was also indirectly controlled. Strictly speaking, it should be five components!
Only the [Four Great Ghost Domains] where the Death Spirits resided and the [Netherworld Lord's Palace] where the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak slumbered had not been affected. However, the components that created Death Spirits were all under control! If the Netherworld was a door, then right now, the keys to the door were already firmly held in the hands of the Four Dogs of the Immortal Nexus!
What did this mean?
It means that after the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak fell asleep, all existences converted into Death Spirits were screened, and even vetted, by the four Dao Lords!
In other words—
The method [Sky-shrouding] spoke of, smuggling outside the Light Sea through the Netherworld... this path has also been blocked. The Four Dogs of the Immortal Nexus blocked this damn path as well!
And [Sky-shrouding] clearly hadn't noticed this. This was normal, because only Death Spirits could sense the Great Dao of the Netherworld, and only by sensing the Great Dao of the Netherworld could one peek at a corner of the truth. Yet [Sky-shrouding] was a living person, possessing absolutely no resonance with the Netherworld, so naturally, he couldn't see the truth.
Lu Yang didn't dare to look, nor did he dare to think too much.
All thoughts were slain and buried in the deepest part of his heart. His outward soul and consciousness were as cold as all the other true spirits on the [Bridge of Helplessness].
Fortunately, my Dao heart advanced a step further...
If he still only had a perfect Dao heart, he would have already been exposed by now. Because even if he could hide his soul, he couldn't hide the fluctuations in his consciousness.
However, after building the Fasting of the Mind, he could hide his most essential true self inside it, allowing his outward consciousness to disguise itself according to his own thoughts.
Right at this moment.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by a deafeningly loud explosion, the [Bridge of Helplessness] abruptly rose. Endless colorful light supported him, slowly lifting him into the air.
This time, Lu Yang had to look even if he didn't want to.
What met his eyes was impressively a towering Buddha statue. One hand was held vertically in front of its chest, while the other was held out flat, just like that, lifting the Bridge of Helplessness right before its eyes.
Its eyes were like true, tangible stars, reflecting light. As they flickered, there were endless illusory and colorful concepts, circulating between birth and destruction, intertwining into one.
He's looking at me...
A sliver of Lu Yang's mind rigidly guarded the Fasting of the Mind, not revealing the slightest bit outwardly. At the same time, he made preparations to call upon the [Book of Hundred Lifetimes] to restart, his mind condensed to the extreme.
At the same time, colorful light also looked over from other directions, presenting a myriad of concepts. There were sharp sword cries and intricate inscriptions. They landed on the Bridge of Helplessness together with that towering Buddha statue, causing the tens of thousands of true spirits currently on the bridge, including Lu Yang, to simultaneously raise their heads, uncontrollably reflecting the concepts in their eyes.
"Boom!"
In an instant, out of the tens of thousands of true spirits, several thousand exploded on the spot because they couldn't withstand the oppression of the concepts. They were completely eradicated, no longer existing in this world.
The remaining true spirits also had their soul bodies crack one by one.
Lu Yang was naturally among them.
At the same time, a voice boomed over, resonant and forceful like clashing metal. Every word was a gem, as if declaring a predestined fate—
"Myriad Treasures?"
The towering Buddha statue didn't respond, only its compassionate smile deepened slightly. "It's nothing. I just saw a few true spirit fragments with complex karma."
"The [Heavenly Dao] is incomplete; similar situations always occur."
The voice like clashing metal seemed very calm: "Since that's the case, let's kill this entire batch. Don't let any more remnants of the Three Foundations slip in."
"Last time, a batch of Dao of Dao Arts cultivators slipped into the [Four Great Ghost Domains], causing the progress of our encirclement and suppression to be delayed significantly. We cannot make the same mistake again."
The towering Buddha statue nodded slightly.
"Good."
Before the voice faded, a massive storm emerged within the Netherworld, instantly sweeping up the true spirits on the [Bridge of Helplessness], including Lu Yang.
[One Mind]!
Lu Yang guarded his Fasting of the Mind even more tightly, allowing the World Honored One's [One Mind] to sweep over him. The second stage of the Dao heart possessed much stronger resistance against this kind of pollution.
Compared to a perfect Dao heart, which can only endure the World Honored One's pollution head-on and will eventually be enlightened over a long period, after building the Fasting of the Mind, I can already expel the pollution. As long as the Fasting of the Mind doesn't fall, it doesn't matter how much pollution there is. Not only is it of little use, but it will instead become resources to temper my Dao heart.
Despite saying this, Lu Yang was still tense to the extreme.
After all, the prerequisite for everything was that the Fasting of the Mind didn't fall. And if the World Honored One discovered his Fasting of the Mind and ruthlessly forced an attack, he would still have no choice but to restart to save his life.
However, surprisingly—
The World Honored One stopped.
Although he completely twisted all of his outward consciousness, he didn't search any deeper, but instead stopped "just right" at the most superficial area.
Lu Yang was somewhat surprised. Although the second stage of the Dao heart was formidable, it absolutely couldn't hide from a consciousness search at the level of a Dao Lord. Yet, the World Honored One didn't discover it.
No, it wasn't that he didn't discover it; it was that he didn't investigate closely.
Why?
Lu Yang was full of astonishment, until his gaze landed on the [Cycle of Life and Death Pill], only then did he finally understand: This pill... actually has such efficacy!
That's right! Would the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak not know the news that the Netherworld was controlled by the Dao Lords?
If the Nascent Soul Pills and the remaining descendants of the Ancestral Dragon were truly in the Netherworld, then the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak must have also experienced the obstacle currently before him, and found a way to slip past it!
It's the World Honored One...
This former first-generation Master of Myriad Treasures Peak, the current World Honored One of the Pure Land, must inevitably be the accomplice of the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a lower cultivator to hide it from the Dao Lords!
Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out in Lu Yang's mind lake:
"Pill Cauldron, behave yourself."
The World Honored One's voice was full of icy coldness, yet it perfectly verified Lu Yang's thoughts: As expected! He misunderstood and thought I was the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak!
The [Cycle of Life and Death Pill] is the credential. It was because of this pill that the World Honored One discovered me, but it was also because of this pill that he chose to cover for me. Now that he has veiled me with [One Mind], I don't have to worry about being discovered by the other Dao Lords when I go to the [Home-Viewing Terrace] and the [Three Lives Stone].
Undoubtedly, this was a beautiful misunderstanding.
But why would the World Honored One misunderstand?
Lu Yang's mind raced, quickly forming a guess: Because of... the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak? Could he think I'm here to save the first-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak?
(End of Chapter)