While Lu Yang was pondering, on the other side, Perfected Lord Tai Hao also undid the true spirit seals on the three captive Perfected Lords, allowing them to wake up one by one.
This time it was her turn to be haughty and arrogant.
"Three Fellow Daoists, you didn't expect to see this day, did you?"
As her voice fell, Bodhisattva Immaculate and the former Grand Preceptor immediately smiled obsequiously. Only Perfected Lord Zaoyuan Yingguang, hailing from the Sword Pavilion, maintained an indifferent expression, even shaking his head and sneering:
"Demon, it's not too late to switch sides now."
This Perfected Lord Yingguang said in a deep voice: "Although the appearance of a Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lord is very surprising, what can he alone change?"
"Back then, when the demon of the Dao of Dao Arts smuggled into the Netherworld, a full two Great Perfected Lords came, one of whom had even built an Immortal Bridge. And the result? Wasn't it still one dead and one injured? Now they're holed up in Mount Luofu, relying on geographical advantage to barely repel our attacks a few times. Do you truly think you still have hope?"
"It's better to forsake darkness for light."
"You should know clearly that there is precisely such a group of Three Foundations cultivators on Mount Beifeng who have forsaken darkness for light. We don't necessarily have to exterminate the Three Foundations to the last person..."
"Shut up!"
Before Perfected Lord Yingguang could finish speaking, Perfected Lord Tai Hao cut him off directly, saying coldly: "Demon of the Grotto-Heaven method, do you still want to bewitch me even now?"
"Blaming the victim, how shameless."
Perfected Lord Yingguang was also angered: "If it weren't for you demon, with your backward thinking of constantly obstructing and destroying, we would have made the Light Sea a better place long ago."
Perfected Lord Tai Hao was so angry her hands were trembling.
At the same time, as if Perfected Lord Yingguang thought of something else, he suddenly smiled: "Of course, there are also some demon among you who are willing to abandon evil and return to righteousness."
"For example, that orthodox Dharma Body Dao..."
"Bastard!"
In an instant, Perfected Lord Tai Hao's aura fluctuated. On the spot, she shook Perfected Lord Yingguang, whose mighty power had already been sealed, so hard that his body cracked, making him unable to hold back a muffled groan.
"That traitor is also worthy..."
"What traitor?"
In the next second, Lu Yang's voice came over. Perfected Lord Tai Hao abruptly shut her mouth, then turned to look at Lu Yang. After taking a deep breath, she bowed respectfully:
"This junior lost her composure."
Lu Yang waved his hand and said flatly: "Did you ask anything out of them?"
Perfected Lord Tai Hao's beautiful face instantly flushed red.
After all, she cultivated the Dharma Body Dao, so one couldn't have too high expectations. Being able to swing her fists was already good enough. Lu Yang shook his head, then personally walked over to Perfected Lord Yingguang.
Seeing this, Perfected Lord Yingguang still sneered, but before he could speak, Lu Yang interrupted him first:
"...Do you really want to die?"
Lu Yang stroked his chin, looking at this Sword Pavilion Perfected Lord with curiosity: "I have to admit, this style of the Sword Pavilion makes it very easy to anger others."
"But you're doing it on purpose."
"Why are you doing this? Do you think I won't kill you, or I can't kill you? Do you still have some life-saving trump card hidden on you?"
Perfected Lord Yingguang's expression remained unchanged.
Lu Yang didn't care either, looking towards Perfected Lord Tai Hao: "I want to ask, did Senior Mingluo ever mention where this Divine Wood seed is most suitable to take root?"
"Uh..."
Perfected Lord Tai Hao froze upon hearing this, then seemed to subconsciously think of something, but her delicate eyebrows knitted tightly together, and she didn't speak. Instead, it was Perfected Lord Yingguang who smiled.
"Divine Wood seed? It's Senior Mingluo's Dao lineage, isn't it?"
"Is there even a need to ask? Senior Mingluo is a Dharma Body Dao Death Spirit. The most suitable place for this seed to take root should naturally be the place most suitable for Dharma Body Dao cultivation..."
"Insolent!"
Before his voice faded, Perfected Lord Tai Hao said coldly: "Do you want to die that badly?"
On the other side, Lu Yang's curiosity was piqued instead, and he smiled: "It's fine, let him speak. The most suitable place for Dharma Body Dao cultivation? Does the Netherworld have such a place?"
"Of course there is."
Perfected Lord Yingguang said faintly: "At the peak of Mount Beifeng in the Great Ghost Domain, there is a [Myriad Refinements Blood Pool]. It is said to have been formed from a drop of Lord Sisui's true blood from back then!"
"That drop of true blood is one of the forging materials of the Netherworld. After transforming into the [Myriad Refinements Blood Pool], all Dharma Body Dao Death Spirits can receive great amount of nourishment there. Sometimes, it even manifests illusory scenes of Lord Sisui giving sermons in the past. The blood qi in the pool also has miraculous effects when refining treasures..."
"Senior, you cannot go there!"
Before Perfected Lord Yingguang finished speaking, Perfected Lord Tai Hao hurriedly said: "That place is located at the peak of Mount Beifeng. It is the foundation of the Grotto-Heaven method demon in the Mount Beifeng Great Ghost Domain."
"Moreover..."
Speaking up to here, she paused again, then gritted her teeth and said in a low voice: "...That traitor has an incarnation stationed at Mount Beifeng year-round."
"Traitor?"
Lu Yang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and inquired: "I also heard it just now, a traitor of the orthodox Dharma Body Dao. Could it be Senior Sisui's disciple from back then?"
Although he said that, Lu Yang didn't think it was that surprising. After all, the Three Foundations had fallen to such a sorry state. As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. When the backer falls, finding a new one is beyond reproach. Moreover, with the Grotto-Heaven method in power, if the orthodox Dharma Body Dao didn't surrender, they would definitely die faster.
"It's not like that."
Perfected Lord Tai Hao seemed to also see Lu Yang's disapproval and gritted her silver teeth: "Senior misunderstands. That traitor didn't betray after death."
This time, Lu Yang was truly stunned.
"...What?"
Not betraying after becoming a Death Spirit, but betraying while alive, and even during the Dao Lord war? That entirely changed the nature of the situation!
"His name is Cang."
Perfected Lord Tai Hao seemed to also be emotionally agitated. She took a few deep breaths before regaining her calm and said in a deep voice: "He was Lord Sisui's last disciple."
"Before Master died, he once told me with hatred that in that final great battle, if it weren't for that traitor, it would be impossible for Lord Sisui not to have noticed the changes in the great net of karma, and even less possible for the World Honored One to intervene in the battlefield. It was precisely because of his betrayal that Lord Sisui fell short by one move."
Lu Yang narrowed his eyes.
The great battle from back then indeed holds hidden secrets!
He wasn't surprised by this.
The reason was simple—when the World Honored One attained the Dao, he traced back karma, inverted time, and finally brought his Dao Lord status to one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago.
It sounded very simple.
But what about in reality?
In the lifetime before last, when I traced back karma, the Dao Lords were so sensitive that they immediately began searching. With the World Honored One altering causes and modifyingeffects on a much larger scale, how could Sisui not notice?
You have to know, that Dao Lord war factually severed all tracing back of karma. The closer one gets to that point in time one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago, the easier it is to be discovered by the Dao Lords. This is precisely why history related to the ancient era was buried in the passage of time.
Under these circumstances, altering causes and modifying effects was almost impossible.
But how did the World Honored One back then manage to trace back karma, appear one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago with the body of a Dao Lord, and secure victory?
It was simply unimaginable!
Previously, I only thought it was the Saint Sect's Ancestor helping him.
But looking at it now, aside from the Saint Sect's Ancestor, there was also a problem on Sisui's end... A traitor? How could a lower cultivator's betrayal affect a Dao Lord?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang raised his head:
"That traitor, does he have any other identities?"
For someone to betray Sisui while alive, it must be because there was a greater benefit. And this benefit must have left traces in history.
Perfected Lord Tai Hao nodded slightly:
"His name is Cang, also known as [Emperor Cang]. His main body sits year-round in Youdu, the Dao Court's location in the Netherworld. At the same time, he should also be the first-generation Son of Heaven of the Dao Court!"
(End of Chapter)