The youth was dressed in black robes with a crane-feather cloak draped over his shoulders. He had a slender figure, and his ink-black hair was tied up with a golden thread. His hands were clasped together, hidden somewhat shyly beneath his sleeves.
However, more eye-catching than any of this were his eyes. Those eyes, which seemed to contain all things in heaven and earth, were profound and mysterious. Merely making eye contact with him felt like gazing upon the Great Dao of heaven and earth, so much so that Lu Yang didn't even dare to look directly at the Light of Wisdom radiating from him at first.
He had seen the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak before.
But that was within the great karmic net. His perception then was far less intimate than it was now, and the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak in the karmic scene was completely different from reality.
Underestimated...
Although it sounded absurd, Lu Yang was one hundred percent certain: the intensity of the Light of Wisdom belonging to the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak in the karmic scene had been underestimated by the great karmic net!
In reality, he was even stronger.
Forbidden Knowledge. This is a living piece of super Forbidden Knowledge. Just making eye contact, the impact of his Light of Wisdom is enough to stall my thoughts...
How long has he been following me?
Could it be that ever since I entered the Netherworld, he has been following me all along, watching me do all those things? When I was slaughtering the weak, was he treating me like the weak one?
In a flash of lightning, Lu Yang thought of many things. The panel of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] beside him was already open, ready to retreat into his next life at a moment's notice. However, the youth in front of him was very patient and made no moves, as if quietly waiting for a startled pet to calm down.
"...Greetings, Senior."
After a long silence, Lu Yang finally cupped his hands and said respectfully, "This lowly one has no intention of offending. This time, I merely wish to borrow a path through the Netherworld to travel to Outer Heaven."
Hearing this, the youth finally raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Accompanied by a soft hum of surprise, Lu Yang watched as clouds and mist seemed to gather in the youth's eyes. Talismanic characters suddenly appeared and began circulating at an unimaginable speed—
"I see. You want to create another plane outside the Dark Void, escape the Dao Lords' sight, and then, just like my Netherworld, use cultivators of your Dao Lineage to continuously elevate it, breaking through to the [Paramita] without anyone noticing? A very good concept, but your move to head to Outer Heaven will definitely be discovered, you know."
Lu Yang: "..."
No, I haven't even said anything yet, how did you completely see through my plan? Is having high comprehension that amazing? Are you going to let others cultivate immortality or not?
Despite this, he quickly calmed down.
After all, no matter what, he had no ulterior motives towards the Netherworld, nor was he getting in anyone else's way. He was single-mindedly trying to smuggle himself out, and the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak was a good person.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang became much calmer. He said respectfully, "Senior has sharp eyes. Since Senior has already arrived here, this junior will not overstay his welcome."
Hearing this, the youth shook his head. He then gave Lu Yang a look with complex eyes that Lu Yang couldn't understand. Yet, his gaze seemed not to fall on Lu Yang, but rather on a certain figure who wasn't physically present. The two exchanged a glance, and in the end, it was the youth who took the initiative to withdraw his gaze.
"There's no need."
"The [Ancestral Dragon's Remnant Bloodline] was right about one thing. From the moment Fellow Daoist entered the Netherworld, this place was prepared solely for you."
Speaking up to this point, the youth turned around. His gaze lingered for a long time on the three characters [Lian Tiandou] in the corner of the portrait, before he said with a nostalgic face:
"Senior Brother Pill Cauldron was a very bold person."
"He really liked the Dao of Alchemy that Master gave him, because studying the changes in the properties of things was inherently his hobby. Plus, it was exciting enough to keep him highly interested."
"It's actually quite funny. Even though he was the Master of Pill Cauldron Peak, he was the one who blew up his furnace the most out of the entire peak. It made people doubt his alchemy skills for a time. Only us martial brothers knew that it wasn't a lack of ability; he simply liked to mess around and wanted to try everything."
The youth seemed to have thought of something amusing and suddenly chuckled softly.
This time was different from before; it was a genuine smile. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, gentle and nostalgic, yet as hazy as the morning mist.
"What he loved doing the most on normal days was modifying pill recipes."
"And he wouldn't modify the harmless auxiliary ingredients; he specifically altered the main ingredients, using materials with inferior or even opposite properties to refine better pills."
"Doing things like that, how could his furnace not explode?"
"That's why he had a very good relationship with Senior Brother Myriad Treasures. After all, artifact forging and alchemy are closely related."
"But on the other hand, he also frequently discussed things with Senior Brother Heaven-Mending, because Senior Brother Heaven-Mending was ingenious and could often help inspire him with more ideas."
"As for me, on the contrary..."
As his voice faded, the youth lowered his eyelids, a touch of melancholy seeping into his tone: "Senior Brother Pill Cauldron didn't like communicating with me, and he often found me annoying."
Lu Yang even saw a hint of grievance on the youth's face: "He found me annoying because I was too smart. He said talking to me was boring. Often, he would only say one sentence, and I could guess his entire plan, even casually patching up the flaws and omissions in it. It made him feel like he had no face in front of me."
The youth's smile grew even brighter.
In a daze, he seemed to have returned to that distant era, seeing a young Daoist complaining in annoyance, his face full of disdain.
The next second, the memory was torn apart by reality.
The empty secret room, the displayed cenotaph, and the cold portrait made the smile on the youth's face stiffen slightly before visibly dissipating into nothingness.
"..."
Lu Yang still stood respectfully by his side, committing everything Dao Tianqi said to heart, while also noticing the changes that had occurred during this time.
The portrait hanging in the secret room originally lacked ink in the position of the eyes, thus losing its spirituality and vitality. However, as Dao Tianqi recounted the past, a dot of bright ink surprisingly surfaced on the portrait. Although it wasn't much, it acted as the finishing touch, gradually making the portrait come vividly to life.
"It's quite peculiar, isn't it?"
Dao Tianqi's voice rang out again: "The spirituality of this portrait was damaged. This should be the result of Senior Brother Pill Cauldron's death and the severing of his karmic threads."
"However, using my memories and my spirituality, it can be replenished."
"When I woke up and saw this secret room, I understood immediately—from the very beginning, Senior Brother Pill Cauldron never had the certainty of absolute victory."
"He was gambling." Dao Tianqi smiled again, but in Lu Yang's eyes, it was as if he saw a youth crying loudly, extremely sorrowful.
"He gambled that I would wake up, gambled that I would discover everything here."
"He gambled that, just like before, the moment I saw this secret room, I would understand his entire plan and then patch up the omissions in it for him."
Having said this, the youth finally fell silent.
"I have disappointed Senior Brother Pill Cauldron."
Following that, he looked at Lu Yang once again: "If it weren't for Fellow Daoist, I definitely would have missed all of this. I might not even have been able to discover this place."
As his voice faded, he seemed to recall some distant past.
"I also disappointed Senior Brother Myriad Treasures."
The youth closed his eyes, and a terrifying silence shrouded the inside and outside of the secret room. It wasn't until a long time had passed that he reopened those eyes that contained heaven and earth.
"I cannot disappoint them anymore."
Finally, the youth's brows rose. His old, weathered demeanor gradually withdrew, replaced by an intense sharpness. Pill Cauldron's legacy seemed to have made him change his mind.
"Not long ago, Master cast a glance at the Netherworld, and I blocked him... Truly a grand display. Cang Hao occupied the Yellow Springs Road, Sword Lord took the Home-Viewing Terrace, Master seized the Three Lives Stone, and even the Four Great Ghost Domains are left with nothing but demons and monsters. They've stirred up the entire Netherworld into a foul, chaotic mess. I dislike it very much."
His voice grew calmer and calmer, revealing a rare indifference.
In Lu Yang's eyes, all the karma related to him was locked dead within this small secret room, blinding the heavenly mysteries so that they could not be probed.
"Therefore, I plan to go to the Mortal World to seek justice."
As his voice fell, it was like a thunderclap piercing the ear.
Even though he had long had his guesses, when it was actually spoken out loud, Lu Yang still felt a wave of speechless shock surging endlessly in his heart:
The First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak, Dao Tianqi... he is going to engage in a Dao struggle against the Primordial Saint Ancestor?!