Unlike the Light Sea, the environment of the Four Great Ghost Domains was unique.
In terms of sheer size, the Four Great Ghost Domains were similar to the Immortal Nexus, which logically should have severely restricted Late Stage Golden Core Great Perfected Lords.
In reality, however, it was different.
Simply put, the Four Great Ghost Domains severely suppressed cultivator at or above the Perfected Lord realm, restricting their mighty power to a massive extent.
In the Light Sea, a Great Perfected Lord could obliterate a World Realm with a casual wave of their hand. But here in the Four Great Ghost Domains, they could only trigger changes in heaven and earth, possessing merely the power to topple mountains. Their essence hadn't weakened, but they simply couldn't do whatever they pleased. Furthermore, no one could clearly explain the source of this suppression.
"This is a classic lack of Dao comprehension."
Inside Mount Beifeng, Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back and commented casually. "Why are Great Perfected Lords suppressed? Because this is the fundamental principle of the long stairway to divinity."
The Dark Void, the Void, the Plane, the Grotto-Heaven.
The Four Great Ghost Domains were forged from condensed Void Concepts—what Lu Yang had named [Void Stones]. Naturally, they carried the distinct properties of the Void.
A Great Perfected Lord's peak was only at the level of a Plane.
Let alone a regular Perfected Lord.
Therefore, wasn't it only natural for the Void to suppress a Plane and everything below it? The strong are meant to ruthlessly humiliate the weak!
By the same logic, Great Perfected Lords who could move freely and reach anywhere with a single thought in the Light Sea were now crawling like turtles in the Netherworld. Even going all out, their streak of light's speed was highly limited. This created massive time discrepancies and corresponding vulnerabilities.
A streak of light flashed across the sky.
Relying on the [Great Relay Earth] and [Overturned Lamp Flame], Lu Yang traveled unimpeded. Not only was he fast, but almost no one could detect his presence.
Soon, a towering divine mountain similar to Mount Beifeng appeared before him.
Mount Baodu.
Upon spotting the target, Lu Yang immediately halted his streak of light from ten thousand miles away. Taking Perfected Lord Tai Hao with him, they proceeded to the foot of the mountain on foot.
As usual, Patriarch Nether Whisper opened a tunnel.
They entered the interior of Mount Baodu, bypassing all formation scans and probes, and sneaked straight toward the summit.
"Just like Mount Beifeng, Mount Baodu is guarded by three Great Perfected Lords. Moreover, all three belong to the Dao Court. Their individual strengths are roughly at the Dao Integration stage. However, with the empowerment of the [Heavenly Laws and Earthly Rules], the three of them share the same breath and branch. Even an Immortal Bridge realm Great Perfected Lord would find them troublesome."
By this point, Lu Yang had already let the Former Grand Preceptor out.
As a newcomer who had only died a few millennia ago, the Former Grand Preceptor understood the circumstances very well. At Lu Yang's single inquiry, he spilled all the intelligence he knew:
"The three Dao Court Great Perfected Lords consist of one sovereign and two officials."
"The sovereign is the [Imperial Lord Manifesting Honor to the World], who cultivates the [Wayside Earth]."
"The officials are the [Grand Tutor All-Recording Good Guidance] and the [Grand Protector Holding Metal Protecting the Profound], cultivating the [Great Relay Earth] and [Gilded Gold Leaf] respectively. They all possess unique methods."
Hearing this, Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. "All of them are Great Perfected Lords? Can Dao Court officials become Great Perfected Lords too? Don't they even lack their own Grotto-Heavens?"
"Uh..."
The Former Grand Preceptor looked slightly embarrassed. "It is possible. Where there is a Son of Heaven, there will naturally be powerful officials. The Dao Lord left a variable in this regard as well."
"As long as we officials of the Three Excellencies can completely dominate the royal court and oppress the imperial family, we can borrow the authority of the Son of Heaven to seize the Grotto-Heaven that originally belonged to the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws]. Then, we would naturally have a chance to become Great Perfected Lords. This lowly cultivator also tried to walk this path back then."
"Unfortunately, I fell short at the final hurdle."
As his voice faded, the Former Grand Preceptor seemingly recalled his past—losing to Perfected Lord Feixue, being ousted by Emperor Jiayou, and finally having his soul scattered.
"Oh, right."
"Additionally, with the [Heavenly Laws and Earthly Rules] present, as long as they call for backup, His Majesty... I mean, that old dog Emperor Cang, can arrive in a very short time."
Hearing this, Perfected Lord Tai Hao frowned deeply.
"Senior, shouldn't we plan this out more carefully?"
"Mount Baodu isn't Mount Beifeng. It has been managed by the Dao Court for years. With three demons of the Grotto-Heaven Method here, I'm afraid we can't take them down casually."
Lu Yang agreed with this point.
Great Perfected Lords weren't cabbages you could just pick up. Even if their cultivation was lower than his, they weren't easy to handle. Winning would inevitably cost time.
Back when [Sky-shrouding] used his Immortal Bridge cultivation to fight Lu Yang at the Dao Integration stage, he had to use quite a few methods. Now, Lu Yang was facing three opponents with external empowerment and backup. Killing them would be far too difficult. The main reason he managed to kill Emperor Cang's Blue Heaven Incarnation earlier was that the guy practically courted his own death.
If it had happened anywhere else other than inside Mount Beifeng...
The result would likely be the Blue Heaven Incarnation getting heavily injured, easily escaping, resting for a few weeks, and bouncing back as good as new.
"But the harder it is, the more we need to find a way to kill them all."
Lu Yang sneered. "My background can't be kept secret forever. Since that's the case, I have to wipe out at least one ghost domain to make exposing myself worthwhile."
Otherwise, it's a loss!
Perfected Lord Tai Hao gasped, her chest heaving. "Kill them all... I believe you can do it, Senior, but..."
The gap between Immortal Bridge and Dao Integration was hard to cross.
However, people wouldn't just stand there and let themselves be slaughtered. They would run, call for help, and stall for time. Once the fight started, there were simply too many variables.
Just then, a brilliant light suddenly materialized.
"There are no 'buts'!"
The light unfurled, revealing a towering twenty-four-story palace with six hexagonal gates. Tianhun, dressed as a young military general, strode out.
"Dharma Body Dao cultivators these days are far too timid."
"With Master's strength, instantly slaying three mere Dao Integration Great Perfected Lords is no problem, provided he's willing to make a small sacrifice!"
Tianhun spoke with utmost confidence.
He knew Lu Yang's abilities. Putting everything else aside, just that ridiculous sea of incarnations, accumulated over more than a decade, was enough to blow a Dao Integration expert to pieces.
With this thought, he hurriedly looked at Lu Yang.
"Master, you cannot hesitate now!"
Ever since learning that Emperor Cang was the one who betrayed Lord Sisui, Tianhun had fallen into a frenzied state. His hatred for the Dao Court had peaked to a maximum.
Therefore, Lu Yang's plan suited him perfectly.
Make that shameless traitor pay!
Watching the indignant Tianhun, Lu Yang stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded slightly. "You're right. I do have a way."
"Slaying three Dao Integration experts isn't impossible, it just requires a small sacrifice."
Tianhun nodded eagerly. "Yes, exactly..."
"Like detonating an supreme treasure."
Lu Yang stared blankly at Tianhun, his tone eerie.
"When Emperor Cang's incarnation detonated the [Myriad Refinements Blood Pool] earlier, the instantaneous explosive power was quite impressive. I think I should follow his example."
Tianhun: "...Ah?"