"Something's wrong!"
Suddenly, the third Perfected Lord who had arrived alongside Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye spoke up. "My Lord, the aura of the Dharma Body Dao lingering here is far too heavy."
He pointed at the scene reconstructed by Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye's immortal art. Amidst the profound wonders of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] and [Great Relay Earth], there was an undeniable presence making the image ripple like water. It was the distinct aura of the Dharma Body Dao.
"What's so strange about that?"
Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye frowned slightly. "Tai Hao is a Perfected Lord of the Dharma Body Dao, after all. It's completely normal for her aura to remain here."
"Yes, but it's too much."
The Perfected Lord shook his head. "I know Tai Hao. Her strength is nothing special. Her aura shouldn't be strong enough to interfere with your immortal art, My Lord."
"Maybe she made a breakthrough?"
"My Lord." The Perfected Lord's tone turned solemn. "I don't think the one who intervened was necessarily one of our own. It could have been a Great Perfected Lord of the Dharma Body Dao!"
"..."
The atmosphere instantly froze.
However, a soft chuckle soon broke the tension. Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye shook his head, looking highly amused.
"Jin Dian, you have quite the imagination. Are you suggesting that the person who killed Yingguang was a Dharma Body Dao Great Perfected Lord who commands the Dao Fruit wonders of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] and [Great Relay Earth]?"
"Is it impossible?" Perfected Lord Jin Dian countered.
"Impossible!"
Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye shook his head decisively. "Jin Dian, I know your Sword Pavilion lost people, and you're anxious, but we need logic to deduce the killer's identity. Let me be clear; the only way for a Dharma Body Dao cultivator to grasp the wonders of a Dao Fruit is to cultivate Lord Sisui's [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture]. Whether in the Mortal World or the Netherworld, His Majesty is the only person who has ever learned this supreme scripture. There is no second person."
"And His Majesty has never passed this scripture to anyone else."
"Therefore, if your guess is correct, the only possibility is that His Majesty rebelled against himself. Don't you think that's laughable? It's absurd."
Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye paused.
"Even if we take ten thousand steps back... while the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture] can devour a Dao Fruit, the devoured fruit instantly becomes a blank slate. Yet the killer displayed the specific wonders of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] and [Great Relay Earth]."
"The [Overturned Lamp Flame] is one thing, but the [Great Relay Earth] has always been under the control of the Mortal World Dao Court. Do you really think someone could successfully snatch a Dao Fruit from them?"
"...Impossible."
Perfected Lord Jin Dian shook his head, realizing he was being too sensitive. Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye's conclusion was indeed backed by meticulous reasoning. He couldn't find a single angle to refute it. After all, stealing the [Great Relay Earth] from the Dao Court was no different from taking a shit on the Dao Lord's head.
So, the possibility of a Dharma Body Dao cultivator committing the crime was ruled out first!
Seeing that he had convinced him, Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye smiled and offered some comfort. "That being said, Jin Dian, your train of thought was in the right place. It's true that the killer might not be one of our own."
With that, he changed his hand seals. The [Mirror of Sin Great Immortal Art] hanging high in the sky flared with light, projecting another subtle, illusionary color.
It was a faint silver glow.
"This is...?"
"It's a Dao Art!"
Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye sneered. "The culprit hid it well. They seemed to have used it only once, but they still couldn't fool my eyes! The wonders of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] and [Great Relay Earth] are indeed profound. However, with the capabilities of the Dao of Dao Arts, it wouldn't be too difficult for a Great Perfected Lord to mimic those effects. For example, I know of a [Departing Heaven Eternal Brightness Great Immortal Art] that produces an effect very similar to the [Overturned Lamp Flame]."
The other two Perfected Lords fell silent.
A moment later, Perfected Lord Jin Dian broke the silence, nodding. "True. If it was a Great Perfected Lord of the Dao Arts, everything makes much more sense. They have already been gathering the scattered remnants of the Three Foundations. The Tai Hao Sect inherited the lineage of Great Perfected Lord Mingluo. Although Perfected Lord Tai Hao herself isn't that strong, her esteemed lineage gives her considerable value in terms of reputation."
"Exactly!"
Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye nodded, the light of wisdom flashing in his eyes. "If my guess is right, that Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord likely did this on purpose. They intentionally let Yingguang and the others besiege Tai Hao, only stepping in when she was in dire peril. By turning the tide at the last moment, they gained her trust. I suspect Great Perfected Lord Mingluo left behind some hidden treasures, and this Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord just found a legitimate excuse to claim them for themselves."
"Would they really go that far?"
Beside them, the third Perfected Lord, Precious Jade Fragrant Slumber Bodhisattva, looked surprised. "These Ancient Method Perfected Lords hold onto outdated customs. Would they really take advantage of someone's peril like that?"
"The Dao of Dao Arts is different!" Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye shook his head. "The person who intervened most likely came from the Mysterious Wall. They descended from the mortal world. Any outdated customs they had would have been discarded long ago."
"Makes sense."
Just then, Perfected Lord Jin Dian frowned again and asked, "But if that's the case, Yingguang is dead, so why are Bodhisattva Immaculate and Shangxuan still alive?"
This time, Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye didn't need to answer. Precious Jade Fragrant Slumber Bodhisattva volunteered, "That's easy to guess. Given Immaculate's temperament, she definitely surrendered immediately. As for Shangxuan... since he came down from the Dao Court and only died within the last few millennia, I bet he surrendered even faster than her."
Perfected Lord Jin Dian was rendered speechless.
After a moment, he shook his head, his face full of bitter disappointment. "How can the Sea of Light ever improve when we are stuck working with such spineless worms?"
"Enough." Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye said calmly. "The reason Immaculate and Shangxuan were allowed to live is simple. That Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord needed guides! The [Four Great Ghost Domains] aren't so easy to navigate. Their foundation is at Mount Luofu. It won't be easy for them to cross over from Mount Beifeng, and half an hour isn't enough time for them to escape. Pass down my order: head to the border immediately. We will make sure they stay in Mount Beifeng forever!"
"Huh? Just us?"
Hearing this, the previously composed Precious Jade Fragrant Slumber Bodhisattva. "That's a Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord! How are we supposed to stop them?"
"Of course not just you." Great Perfected Lord Xin Ye spoke with full confidence. "I will also notify Tian Lu (Heavenly Furnance) and You Hai. The three of us Great Perfected Lords will go together. Even if he grows wings, he won't escape!"
…
Meanwhile, in another area of Mount Beifeng.
"Senior?"
Perfected Lord Tai Hao blinked her beautiful eyes, looking somewhat surprised as Lu Yang suddenly stopped walking. He looked up at the sky, a relaxed smile forming on his face.
The next second, Lu Yang formed a seal with one hand.
His five fingers flicked lightly, and illusory colors burst forth. One after another, Eight Trigrams talismans appeared, surrounded by the shifting phenomena of the Five Elements, emitting a series of crisp, chiming sounds.
At last, two talismans rose into the air.
One was [Qian], and the other [Wood].
"Wood paired with the Qian trigram—unyielding vitality, blooming like a sea of flowers. Yet it is nothing more than gold and jade on the outside, rot within—lacking any true substance. Mount Beifeng should be empty right now."
The next second, another talisman appeared.
This time, it was a [Gen] talisman.
Seeing this, Lu Yang chuckled.
"Originally, it was Qian Metal chopping Wood. But once Gen Mountain entered the hexagram, it became Metal entering the mountain forest, shifting the meaning to concealing one's strength and biding one's time."
"Based on this calculation, Mount Beifeng is currently unguarded. This is the perfect time to sneak over and strike from the shadows. It seems the Dao Art concept I left behind was dug up. They probably think a Dao Arts Great Perfected Lord is making moves in the dark. They've likely mobilized in full force to hunt me down, inadvertently leaving Mount Beifeng completely empty.
"A feint to the east to strike the west. The results are quite good. As expected, the people of the Netherworld are still so easy to fool."
Snap! The hexagram shattered.
Lu Yang lowered his hand and glanced at Perfected Lord Tai Hao. "Let's go. We're heading to the [Myriad Refinements Blood Pool]. If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be anyone left to stop us."
"..."
Perfected Lord Tai Hao was completely dumbfounded.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought she was hallucinating.
Is this really the Dharma Body Dao? Since when did we stop throwing punches and start reading fortunes?!