As Dao Tianqi's voice fell, Lu Yang's first reaction was: 'To what extent has he recovered?'
Although the Netherworld could sustain Dao Lords, there were also gaps between Dao Lords, and massive ones at that. A newly ascended Dao Lord might not even match the World Honored One!
Thinking of this, Lu Yang asked cautiously: "Senior... wants to engage in combat with that person?"
The youth smiled.
"Combat? How am I fit to fight Master? Not to mention, among the four of us martial brothers back then, I was the one least skilled at combat."
Hearing this almost made Lu Yang roll his eyes. Moreover, he found it inexplicably familiar. Hadn't Patriarch Nether Whisper said something similar back then? It really highlighted how inhuman they were.
On the other side, Dao Tianqi seemed to see through Lu Yang's thoughts and shook his head. "Don't think I'm speaking nonsense. I'm truly not good at combat... At least compared to Master, I'm far from it. Among the four of us martial brothers, not a single one managed to inherit his combat proficiency."
Lu Yang was taken aback upon hearing this. "What?"
"Oh? You didn't know?"
Dao Tianqi blinked. "Back then in the Light Sea, although Master was the youngest among the Dao Lords, he was universally recognized as the number one in combat across the Light Sea."
"Even Lord Sisui admitted this point."
"Although Lord Sisui was also formidable, one has to admit that the Dharma Body Dao held him back a bit, making him somewhat lacking in variations."
"The only reason he could suppress Master was due to his deep foundation and solid Dao comprehension. His stature was faintly half a head higher than Master's. It wasn't until after the battle with the Ancestral Dragon that Master carefully laid out plans, dragging him down to the same level, and only then killed him with Senior Brother Myriad Treasures' help."
At this point, the youth shook his head: "But now the situation is reversed. Master stands at the very top of the [Paramita]. Relying on myself alone to fight him yields absolutely no chance of winning; at most, I can hold out a bit longer."
"However, in struggles between Dao Lords, sometimes victory or defeat doesn't rely on combat."
Lu Yang deeply agreed with this. Dao Lords had far more tricks up their sleeves than Perfected Lords. For example, in his past life's past life, the World Honored One's combo of karmic moves was a prime example.
"Let's continue talking about Senior Brother Pill Cauldron."
The youth's tone was flat. "This portrait is still missing a little something. How about this, I'll introduce you to the items Senior Brother left here; they'll be useful to you too."
After saying that, he slowly stepped forward.
Inside the secret room, a complete set of gear was laid out, including a crown, Daoist robe, horsetail whisk, spiritual sword, seal, and a miniature bronze cauldron.
Dao Tianqi first picked up the crown.
"This item is called the [Mystic Heaven Orthodox Crown]. Senior Brother Myriad Treasures forged it for him. With just a gentle push, it can manifest a stream of [Heavenly Orthodox Mystic Light] that descends."
"This light can cover a radius of up to ten thousand miles at its maximum, possessing the profound wonders of securing targets and protecting the body."
"Wherever the light shines, cultivators find it hard to move, and external objects find it hard to invade."
At this point, Dao Tianqi suddenly couldn't help but chuckle:
"As for why it has such profound wonders... it's actually quite funny. Back then, Senior Brother Pill Cauldron liked to refine pills publicly on Pill Cauldron Peak, teaching his disciples through practice."
"But he was always blowing up his furnace. And with his cultivation, a furnace explosion was often an earth-shattering event. Therefore, many of his disciples didn't dare get too close to the pill cauldron. The moment there was a sign of trouble, they would run away, which infuriated him half to death. That's why he specifically asked Senior Brother Myriad Treasures to forge such an artifact."
Securing targets was to prevent his disciples from running away.
Protecting the body was to prevent his disciples from actually getting blown to death.
As his voice fell, Dao Tianqi reminisced for a moment before putting down the crown and picking up the Daoist robe. "This item is called the [Dust-Repelling Robe]. Its profound wonder lies in the word 'escape'."
"This was used to escape me."
"Because Senior Brother Pill Cauldron found me annoying back then, I was indignant and purposely sought him out. So he got this artifact specifically to hide from me."
"There's also this [Jade Horsetail Whisk]. It's specifically used to brush away artifacts. Back then, Senior Brother Pill Cauldron fought with Senior Brother Myriad Treasures and suffered a crushing defeat. Upon returning, he forged this item, wanting to wipe away his previous humiliation. On the day the treasure was completed, he excitedly went to fight again, and then came back with a bruised and swollen face..."
"Oh right, and this sword."
Putting down the whisk, Dao Tianqi picked up a spiritual sword from the table. The sword had twelve chapter patterns and eight engravings. Even though it was a sword, it lacked any fierce or bloody aura.
"This is the [Eight Negations Wisdom Sword]."
"Back then, Senior Brother Heaven-Mending hit a bottleneck in the Dao of Dual Cultivation and suffered a bit of qi deviation. He wanted to try the feeling of being dual cultivated by someone else, hoping to break through the bottleneck this way."
"After thinking it over, Senior Brother Heaven-Mending felt that no matter what, it was his first time. Rather than letting some unpleasing outsider take advantage, he might as well let a brother do it... And Senior Brother Pill Cauldron was the closest to him. So, Senior Brother Heaven-Mending sought him out. That was the first time Senior Brother Pill Cauldron fled in a panic..."
Dao Tianqi smiled even more happily.
Towards the end, his voice became intermittent, and he was laughing so hard he was bent over. Tears flickered in his eyes. Only after a good while did he calm down.
"And so, this sword came to be."
"The so-called Eight Negations Wisdom are— neither coming, nor going, neither defiled, nor pure, neither increasing, nor decreasing, neither arising, nor ceasing. This is exactly the profound wonder of this sword."
"As long as someone is struck by this sword, they will immediately fall into the state of the Eight Negations Wisdom, causing all dharmas to be empty of characteristics, and those messy thoughts in their head will be completely swept away. Therefore, afterwards, whenever Senior Brother Heaven-Mending came looking for Senior Brother Pill Cauldron, Senior Brother Pill Cauldron would always give him a stab first just to ensure his safety..."
Dao Tianqi spoke more and more.
During this process, Lu Yang clearly saw the portrait of the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak becoming increasingly brighter, and the young Daoist in the painting becoming increasingly lifelike.
"This is the [Pill Cauldron Seal], Senior Brother's identity seal."
"This is the [Dutian Azure Cauldron]. It is used to contain and manipulate the [Purple-Azure Doushuai Fire] outside. At the same time, it also has the effect of collecting all the fires in the world..."
Dao Tianqi chatted away incessantly, as if no one else was present.
As if he were crossing through time, conversing with a familiar acquaintance.
The past memories and amusing anecdotes were recounted by him one after another, causing the young Daoist in the portrait to slightly curl his lips, seemingly smiling.
Who knew how much time had passed before Dao Tianqi finally ceased speaking.
It wasn't because there was nothing left to talk about, but because the painting's spirituality was already completely full. The missing eyes of the person in the painting had been thoroughly dotted in.
"...Alright."
Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, this First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak finally turned his head to look at Lu Yang: "Everything is ready, except for Fellow Daoist."
"I have already understood Fellow Daoist's intentions."
"However, although Fellow Daoist's intentions lie outside the Light Sea, in my view, your preparations are still extremely insufficient. There should still be many things that haven't been thoroughly perfected."
"Perhaps I can lend Fellow Daoist a helping hand."
The youth reached out and incredibly seriously took down the portrait from the wall. Then, he rolled it up and handed it over to Lu Yang with a solemn face.
Hearing this, Lu Yang fell silent for a moment before saying—
"Senior wants me to act as [Pill Cauldron]?"
"More than that."
Dao Tianqi's tone was heavy. He, who was usually peaceful, carefree, and seemed like he would never get angry, unexpectedly revealed a rare murderous intent on his face at this moment.
"A great tribulation is approaching. I hope Fellow Daoist can take on Senior Brother Pill Cauldron's identity, refine the [Nascent Soul Pill], and incidentally help me properly clean up the Netherworld."
"You did a very good job previously at Mount Beifeng and Mount Baodu."
"If nothing unexpected happens, this trip to the Mortal World will be my first time inviting Master to be a guest in the Netherworld. When the time comes, the commotion will be a bit large."
His heavy voice, filled with resolution, echoed eerily within the secret room: "Before then, the Netherworld must be made a little cleaner."