Dark clouds filled the sky, accompanied by a mournful, piercing wind.
In this land of the netherworld, atop a majestic peak that scaled the heavens, a palace stood tall. From within the palace, the melodious sounds of string and bamboo instruments drifted out, lingering endlessly in the air.
Inside the palace sat a wide desk, upon which rested plates of plump vermilion fruits. Each fruit was the size of a fist, as bright and red as blood. A single bite would immediately fill one's nose with a rich spiritual aroma. Surprisingly, they contained not a trace of the ghostly death qi of the Netherworld; instead, they were brimming with the vitality only found in the Mortal World.
"What a fine spiritual fruit."
Before the desk, a man wearing a dragon robe picked up a vermilion fruit from the plate and devoured it in a few large bites, a look of nostalgia and profound satisfaction surfacing in his eyes.
"It truly is," smiled a middle-aged man in an official's uniform sitting across from him. "These spiritual fruits, picked directly from the Mortal World and meticulously preserved, are priceless and practically impossible to buy here in the Netherworld nowadays."
"We went through a lot of trouble to get them."
"And this wine. It's a spiritual wine that can only be found in the Mortal World. This rich vitality is truly irresistible. It almost makes me feel like I'm alive again."
Amidst their laughter, cups and goblets were exchanged.
At the same time, the palace doors opened, and rows of dancers trailing cloud-like sleeves glided into the hall, dancing gracefully amidst the swirling purple qi.
Surrounding them, servants played various instruments. This wasn't some mortal music, but immortal melodies. Wherever the sound passed, layers of illusionary colors and magnificent concepts bloomed, giving one the illusion of "comprehending the Great Dao." An ordinary Perfected Lord might even become completely entranced by it.
The atmosphere in the hall grew even more relaxed.
"Speaking of which, something seems to have happened over at Mount Beifeng. Not only did the entire mountain vanish, but they were also lured away from their base, resulting in His Majesty's incarnation being slain."
"Haha, what a bunch of incompetents."
"Now that you mention it, Shangxuan was stationed at Mount Beifeng, wasn't he? He's only been dead for a few millennia and ran into this mess before he could even enjoy a few days of peace. What an unlucky ghost."
"Unlucky? I'd say he just lacks capability."
"When he confessed back then, I thought I misheard him. A dignified Mid-Stage Golden Core expert actually lost to a Mortal World Perfected Lord who had just attained his Dao Fruit."
"What a disgrace!"
"To actually lose to someone a realm below you... If it were me, I would have taken them down within three moves."
"When we mocked him for it, he even tried to defend himself by saying that the opponent was a Perfected Lord of the Saint Sect, so they couldn't be compared. So what if it's a Saint Sect Perfected Lord? I wasn't afraid of them even when I was alive."
The laughter grew increasingly cheerful.
"But then again, if the situation at Mount Beifeng falls into a stalemate and His Majesty asks us for reinforcements, which of you two Fellow Daoist has the time to make a trip?"
"Reinforcements? Forget it!"
"If you want to go, you go. I'm certainly not going."
The dragon-robed man waved his large hand dismissively. "Let them fight their own battles at Mount Beifeng. What does it have to do with us at Mount Baodu? We'll just enjoy ourselves."
"Anyway, even if the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up. It won't crush us here. We worked so hard when we were alive; what's wrong with enjoying ourselves a bit after death?" With that, the dragon-robed man slammed the desk and urged the dancers below, "Keep moving! Keep the music playing and keep dancing..."
"Report—!"
Right at this moment, a drawn-out shout suddenly echoed from outside the doors. Someone barged into the hall, instantly shattering the joyful atmosphere and causing the three men at the desk to frown.
Immediately after, a young man hurried inside.
He looked anxious and was clutching a rolled-up painting scroll. Before the three men could even speak, he dropped to his knees with a loud thud.
"My Lords! Disaster strikes, My Lords!"
"...What happened?"
Hearing this, the leading dragon-robed man stood up and said coldly, "What are you panicking for? Don't tell me the remnants of the Three Foundations are attacking us?"
"Uh, no, not that..."
The young man blinked and whispered, "It's about Mount Beifeng! The mysterious person who killed His Majesty's incarnation seems to have colluded with the people from the [Celestial Master's Mansion]!"
Hearing this, the dragon-robed man froze. The so-called [Celestial Master's Mansion] was, naturally, the faction established by the Dao Arts cultivators from the Mortal World. They were currently the leaders of the Three Foundations cultivators in the Netherworld, stubbornly resisting at Mount Luofu and even threatening to create a fifth Great Ghost Domain.
"...Hmm?"
Suddenly, the dragon-robed man felt something was a bit strange. His gaze fell upon the young man kneeling before him. He blinked, and then it suddenly seemed like there was nothing strange at all.
An illusion?
Before he could think deeper, the young man's voice rang out again: "Their target seems to be His Majesty's main body! They want to surround and kill His Majesty's main body!"
"What?!"
This sentence instantly dragged all of the dragon-robed man's attention away. "Those remnants of the Three Foundations actually have the strength and the guts to do such a thing?"
"Where did you get this intelligence?"
"Right here!"
Lu Yang immediately raised the tightly rolled painting scroll in his hands. "It's all in here. I only found out after capturing a spy from the [Celestial Master's Mansion]."
—Everything he said was the truth.
He did negotiate a deal with the Great Perfected Lord of the [Celestial Master's Mansion], and he did formulate this plan after capturing Qing Kui, their spy.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the originally brilliantly lit palace seemed to have fallen into a bizarre darkness. The dancers and servants all faded into the shadows behind the lights, leaving only the flickering candlelight that cast the faces of the four people present in half-light and half-shadow, concealing all the illogical anomalies.
Even the karmic heavenly mysteries were simultaneously shielded.
From start to finish, Lu Yang had simply found a random Dao Court Death Spirit Perfected Lord, swapped his face, and brazenly walked right into the main hall.
No one noticed anything amiss.
The three Great Perfected Lords of the Dao Court simply accepted his presence, listened to his report, and had even patted him on the shoulder encouragingly in their minds.
And Lu Yang was incredibly dedicated to his role. His very first action upon entering the door was to drop to his knees like a falling tiger, decisively prostrating himself. He used this opportunity to solidify his image in their eyes. As for the matter of honor, face, or kneeling to an enemy, he couldn't care less. It didn't cause even the slightest ripple in his state of mind.
After all, this was the simplest method he could come up with.
As long as he could achieve his goal, the methods didn't matter.
Back in the false history, the World Honored One could kneel to a Foundation Establishment cultivator without the slightest hesitation.
So what does it matter if I kneel and bow to a few Great Perfected Lords now? To put it nicely, it's the lingering style of a Dao Lord—a fine tradition of the Immortal Nexus!
Lu Yang remained kneeling on the ground, holding up the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram], and said respectfully:
"Please review this, My Lords."
Since things had reached this point, and Lu Yang's words indeed constituted "vital intelligence," the dragon-robed man reached out to take the painting scroll.
And then, he froze.
Even though Lu Yang's cultivation was higher, no matter how one looked at it, allowing an supreme treasure to get this close was already a lethal, life-and-death crisis.
He finally realized something was wrong.
However, at that exact moment, Lu Yang abruptly raised his head. The profound wonders of the [Overturned Lamp Flame] were pushed to their absolute limit, even activating his Dao Fruit's secret method!
The [Yin-Yang Insight Dao Fruit]!
A dark, obscure light rapidly crawled across the faces of the three Dao Court Great Perfected Lords, forcing a thought to abruptly pop into their minds: No problem, it was just my imagination.
I am not in danger! I am very safe!
I won't pass away! I can't die!
Such overwhelming thoughts forcibly shifted their attention, making them ignore the illogical situation unfolding right in front of them, allowing the painting scroll to continue floating gently toward their hands.
Simultaneously, Lu Yang spoke, his voice low and eerie like a whisper:
"Rest assured, My Lord, this is just an ordinary painting scroll. It contains vital intelligence. You must look at it carefully; it wouldn't be good if you missed any details..."
He's right.
A sense of agreement surfaced in the dragon-robed man's heart. Yet, a moment later, he twitched violently. His pupils trembled, and he finally managed to squeeze out an indescribable look of sheer terror from his eyes.
Wrong! This is completely wrong!
Even if he was delivering intelligence, he should have used divine sense, or a jade slip at the very least! Who the fuck uses a painting scroll? What the hell is this painting scroll?!
He knew there was a problem; he had to find a way to—
The next second, Lu Yang suddenly raised his voice, and along with it, his boiling profound wonders surged: "I don't care what you think, I only care what I think!"
"This is intelligence!"
"Open it!"
Inside the grand hall, the candlelight explosively flared.
Finally, the dragon-robed man's hand firmly grasped the incoming painting scroll. Then, he and the two Dao Court Great Perfected Lords beside him saw a burst of light.
Despair flooded their pupils like a bursting dam.
The [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram]... detonated!
BOOM!!!