Mount Luofu, inside the towering palace hall.
Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin had already left. Lu Yang was the only one remaining in the hall, sitting upright and quietly comprehending the memories regarding the Dao of Dao Arts he got from Qing Kui.
He had never had much of a concept regarding the Dao of Dao Arts.
As one of the Three Foundations, the birth of the Dao of Dao Arts was extremely unique. It was born upon the foundation of the Dharma Body Dao and the Spiritual Power Dao, and subsequently grew from there.
The so-called Dao Arts were actually a technique to maximize the utilization of either the Dharma Body or Spiritual Power. As the saying goes, technique approaches the Dao. Once this technique developed to its absolute peak, it would naturally form a resonance with the unseen Dao of Dao Arts. That was how the very first Dao Arts cultivator was born.
Therefore, the cultivation of the Dao of Dao Arts followed the same logic.
During the mortal stage, one selects a innate Dao Art and uses it to enter the Dao. Through continuous refinement, one enhances the Dao Art's power step by step, elevating its essential stature.
As for the grades of Dao Arts, I already had some understanding of them.
The Inital Truth Precept, the Middle Zenith Precept, and the Heavenly Immortal Great Precept. These three levels actually correspond to Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core, which is also the orthodox cultivation path of the Dao Arts.
Going a step further leads to Great Immortal Arts.
A Dao Arts cultivator who masters a [Great Immortal Art] will generally obtain the stature of the Late Stage Golden Core—a Great Perfected Lord—and become completely bound to the Dao of Dao Arts.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly looked beside him.
Floating there was a cluster of profound, gloomy qi. It circulated and breathed, containing mighty power capable of shaking the divine soul and making the sea of consciousness tremble.
The [Great Might Kui-Gang Righteous Qi]!
Aside from the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art], this was the only Dao Art Lu Yang had mastered. Back then, he had only refined it to the level of the Inital Truth Precept before stopping.
The next second, Lu Yang suddenly restrained his aura and withdrew the empowerment of his own stature. The previously mighty and surging [Great Might Kui-Gang Righteous Qi] instantly experienced a catastrophic drop in its aura, completely losing its former might. It was like a candle in the wind; a casual wave of a hand would be enough to easily erase this Dao Art.
"I see."
Lu Yang shook his head and stowed the Dao Art away. He thought to himself, The main reason I could display such power with this Dao Art previously was that my own stature was high enough.
This is the advantage of concurrently cultivating Dao Arts.
Even if the refinement of the Dao Art is insufficient, one can still unleash its power. However, compared to an orthodox Dao Arts cultivator, it definitely lacks a lot of variations.
Besides that...
Lu Yang's train of thought shifted, recalling the [Eternal Sword] of the Sword Pavilion, which could anchor time. As far as he knew, it also seemed to have been formed from a Dao Art.
But it obviously hasn't reached the level of a [Great Immortal Art]; it's only at the Heavenly Immortal Great Precept level... But that's normal. The birth of a [Great Immortal Art] must be directly related to the Dao of Dao Arts. The Dao Lord of the Sword Pavilion commands the excellent Dao path of [Destiny], so how could they possibly form a resonance with the Dao of Dao Arts?
Lu Yang's brow relaxed.
With the help of the memories from Qing Kui, an orthodox Dao Arts Perfected Lord, the once-unfamiliar Dao Arts cultivation was now incredibly clear to him.
Based on this, the [Floating Light Realm Sea Great Immortal Art] should be able to be further optimized—accelerating the accumulation of incarnations and increasing the power of their self-detonation.
Lu Yang pondered for a long time, calculating on his fingers.
The next second, he suddenly sensed something and looked up. He temporarily reined in his thoughts and watched as a streak of flowing fire plummeted into the hall from outside, manifesting into a figure.
It was Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin.
Without a second word, Lu Yang hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, My Lord."
"How many times do I have to tell you, there's no need for such formalities."
Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin wore a smile on his face. "Come with me to see the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy."
As his voice faded, the world spun once more. Lu Yang again saw the man and woman that Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin had called "Pill Cauldron's disciples."
"Two young friends, we have an answer."
The moment he appeared, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin smiled and said, "I have finished discussing this with the Great Celestial Master, and the Great Celestial Master has also communicated with the Mysterious Wall in the Mortal World."
"As long as the Mysterious Wall invests resources at all costs, [Mount Longhu] can be completed within three years."
Hearing this, the Pill Maiden, who had been frowning deeply, finally breathed a sigh of relief. A heartfelt smile immediately surfaced on her pretty face.
"That's wonderful."
However, right at this moment, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin changed the subject. "But regarding the [Fifth Ghost Domain], we also need a guarantee from Pill Cauldron."
"...A guarantee." The Pill Maiden paused.
"Correct." Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin continued, "The forging of the [Fifth Ghost Domain] is no trivial matter. The Mysterious Wall must see hope before they will consider investing."
"In short, we need to see Origin Jade."
"After all, without Origin Jade, the [Fifth Ghost Domain] is nothing but a castle in the air."
Hearing this, the Pill Maiden frowned again. "We have already discussed this point before. Master's Dao ashram absolutely forbids any Great Perfected Lord from setting foot in it."
"We understand that."
Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin nodded. "Therefore, after discussing it with the Great Celestial Master, we decided to send a messenger below the level of a Great Perfected Lord to go and verify."
"Great Perfected Lords can't go, but surely a Perfected Lord isn't a problem?"
This time, the Pill Maiden didn't object. After pondering for a long time, she nodded slightly.
"...Acceptable."
Seeing this, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin chuckled lightly. "That is good. As for the candidate... since the Mysterious Wall is the one investing the resources, it must be a cultivator from the Mysterious Wall."
"Therefore, the Great Celestial Master and I have decided to entrust this task to someone loyal, reliable, and exceptionally capable."
With that, he patted Lu Yang on the shoulder, his eyes filled with encouragement.
"Qing Kui, I leave this to you."
Lu Yang: "..."
This... this isn't very good, is it?
Lu Yang looked troubled. Although he didn't mind meeting the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak to figure out the truth behind the [Nascent Soul Pill], now was not the time.
Mainly because this wasn't a fight against some weaklings.
If his guess was right, the First-generation Master of Cauldron and Pill Peak was highly likely a Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lord. He'd be completely helpless in front of him; his safety would be very hard to guarantee.
So, compared to meeting the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak personally, Lu Yang was much more willing to be a transparent background character and silently observe the cooperation between the Three Foundations and the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak.
However, right at this moment, a voice drifted into his mind.
"Regarding the Origin Jade, it is actually related to the primeval myth I told you about earlier."
"In the ancient era, this was an extremely precious resource. Dao Lords of all factions collected it. Even the Netherworld and the [Paramita] were built upon it."
"There was even a rumor back then that the Origin Jade was actually the fragments of that divine mountain that nurtured the Ancestral Dragon, which shattered upon the Ancestral Dragon's birth and scattered across the Light Sea. If one could gather them all, they could advance to become a Dao Lord... As for its aura, it's roughly like this."
Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin quickly sent over a wisp of spiritual power.
Looking at the aura presented within it, Lu Yang fell silent.
What Origin Jade? This is clearly a [Void Stone]! The exact thing I named not long ago!
The second tier on the Long Stairway to Divinity.
A precious material essentially almost indistinguishable from a Dao Lord. The material of the Netherworld and the [Paramita]. If he could get his hands on it and use it to forge his plane...
"Rest assured, My Lord!"
With this thought, a look of unhesitating duty surfaced on Lu Yang's face. "My loyalty to the Dao of Dao Arts is absolute! I am duty-bound to accept this mission!"
Seeing this, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin nodded in satisfaction.
Good! Very energetic!