Mount Bozhong, Ruins of Youdu.
When Lu Yang bid farewell to the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak and returned, this was the scene he saw. Basically, not a single building was intact.
"Fellow Daoist [Pill Cauldron], finished talking?"
Before his voice faded, a figure walked over. Lu Yang focused his gaze, and a look of surprise instantly flashed through his eyes: "Fellow Daoist has actually recovered already?"
It was none other than Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin.
However, unlike before, the face of this Spiritual Power Dao Great Perfected Lord was currently full of gratification, and his aura had surprisingly returned to its peak state.
Yet just moments ago, in order to heavily injure Emperor Cang, he had self-detonated his [Supreme Law Body]. Although it wasn't a complete explosion, but rather a half-crippling one, normally speaking, it would still require a very long time to recover. But now, he had actually recovered to about seventy or eighty percent!
"It's nothing strange."
Facing Lu Yang's astonishment, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin seemed quite calm: "The power of the [Supreme Law Body] doesn't come from external objects, it lies solely in my Dao heart."
"As long as my Dao heart doesn't fall."
"Then the [Supreme Law Body] will never extinguish. Even if it turns to ashes, it will reignite again... So I am considered the hardest Great Perfected Lord to kill."
Back when he forged this Supreme Treasure, he received guidance from Lord Sisui. If he didn't have this kind of ability—which in terms of taking a beating was comparable to, or even surpassed, the Dharma Body Dao—why would so many Ancient Method Great Perfected Lords die back then, yet he managed to survive until the end?
"Amazing," Lu Yang praised sincerely.
Conversely, Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin waved his hand upon seeing this: "It's not that formidable. The prerequisite for reigniting even after turning to ashes is that there must still be ashes."
"If I am killed to the point where not even ashes remain."
"Or if I am interrupted during the process of reigniting and killed again, then in the end I wouldn't be able to hold on either. Ultimately, they are just some minor tricks."
The two conversed like this for a moment before Lu Yang finally got to the main topic:
"The Spiritual Power Dao Lord's side... haven't they contacted you?"
"This..."
At this point, the originally high-spirited Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin instantly lowered his eyelids, a flash of gloom crossing his face: "Yes, there hasn't been any contact to this day."
Lu Yang wasn't surprised upon hearing this, merely sighing in his heart:
'This Spiritual Power Dao Lord truly is a bastard. What a pity. It seems there's no way to contact the Spiritual Power Dao Lord through the Spiritual Power Dao cultivators in the Netherworld.'
Although he had previously agreed on a plan with the First-generation Master of Beast Taming Peak, Lu Yang also knew that this relay-race-like plan of the First-generation Four Peak Masters was too complex. During implementation, practically not a single step could afford to go wrong. A slight misstep would result in a complete collapse. In truth, it wasn't a good plan.
A truly good plan should be as simple as possible.
'Unfortunately, my strength is lacking.'
Lu Yang sighed. If his strength was great, why bother with all these flashy things? He would just charge straight up to the [Paramita] and blow up that old Primordial Saint.
'Therefore, the support of the Spiritual Power Dao Lord and Dao Arts Dao Lord is crucial. Without them, our already stretched strength would undoubtedly be even more insufficient.'
But Dao Lords weren't so easily fooled.
After all, the heaven-and-earth difference in realm brought about a massive gap in intelligence. Rashly negotiating with a Dao Lord under these circumstances was no different from seeking death.
'Perhaps I should give the World Honored One a heads-up first.'
As he pondered, a figure astonishingly appeared right in front of Lu Yang. With a solemn and dignified appearance, it was precisely the Precious Shimmering Radiance Bodhisattva who had decisively switched sides.
Fortunately, this wasn't the first time he had done something similar.
"...Fellow Daoist Supreme Law."
The next second, Lu Yang abruptly stood firm and smiled: "I wonder if you could wait here for a moment? I have a matter I need to handle first."
"Very well."
Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin nodded slightly: "The changes here at Mount Bozhong cannot be hidden from others. The Dao Arts Dao side will rush over very soon; I will hold them off for Fellow Daoist first."
Lu Yang nodded slightly: "Many thanks."
Watching Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin leave, Lu Yang then turned to look at Precious Shimmering Radiance Bodhisattva. The latter's gaze flickered slightly, and his eyes gradually glowed with golden light.
At this moment, a massive will once again passed through the unseen void, descending with inconceivable profoundness. It wiped away all thoughts from the face of this Pure Land Great Bodhisattva, making him silent for a moment. Following that, the corners of his mouth curled up, and pressing his palms together, he revealed a compassionate smile that Lu Yang couldn't be more familiar with:
"Fellow Daoist has something to say to me?"
The [Vajradhatu Tathagata] had descended once again.
However, seeing this, Lu Yang didn't speak. Instead, he shook his head: "This time I am not talking to Fellow Daoist. I need to converse with the true Lord."
"...The true one?"
Hearing this, the [Vajradhatu Tathagata] frowned slightly: "Fellow Daoist and I do not have sufficient karma. I have no way to bring Fellow Daoist into the great karmic net."
"It's fine, I won't trouble Fellow Daoist with this matter." Lu Yang smiled faintly: "I will do it myself."
Before his voice faded, a flash of lightning appeared in his palm. It merged with purple qi, golden snakes dancing wildly, and countless talismanic characters fiercely colliding within the light.
[Divine Firmament Thunder].
The next second, under Lu Yang's will, this Dao Fruit rapidly transformed its concept. The boiling lightning instantly converted into a vast, melodious expanse of earth.
The purple-gold thunder split apart, transforming into five-colored karmic light. Like ripples spreading from a stone cast into a lake, they rippled outward circle by circle with Lu Yang at the center. Every ripple was like a spiderweb, delving deep into the Mortal World and then frantically churning, causing the surrounding scenery of heaven and earth to distort.
[City Rampart Earth]!
After modifying the concept and switching to this Dao Fruit, Lu Yang's movements didn't stop. He held the [City Rampart Earth] in one hand and formed a hand seal with the other.
The [City Rampart Earth] transformed from the [Divine Firmament Thunder] still remained at the level of an Orthodox Dao Fruit, not entering the Supreme tier. Therefore, it still needed a little help.
[Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]!
"The [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] now rests upon you; hold fast to the center with sincerity."
Lu Yang spat Dao chant from his mouth. And under the empowerment of this Dao Fruit, the originally insufficiently statured [City Rampart Earth] actually began to show a tendency to climb!
The five-colored karmic light gradually coalesced, revealing a speck of blazing white.
Such a scene left the [Vajradhatu Tathagata] dumbfounded, almost in disbelief:
'A Supreme [City Rampart Earth]? A second one!?'
However, the next second, the upward trend of the [City Rampart Earth] abruptly ceased. It ultimately fell one step short, not truly reaching the level of a Supreme Dao Fruit.
Only then did the [Vajradhatu Tathagata] breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Lu Yang wore a calm expression. In his heart, he was precisely controlling it, restraining the profound wonders of the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] by a full thirty percent, not revealing it entirely.
'Wealth shouldn't be exposed. This is enough.'
'Truly producing a second Supreme [City Rampart Earth] brings me absolutely no benefit; it would only make the World Honored One wary. A half-finished product fits my needs better.'
The next second, Lu Yang disappeared from his spot.
The magnificent and vast great karmic net once again entered his eyes. He also quickly locked onto his target. With a flash of his figure, he arrived within a karmic scene.
It was exactly the point in time where he had previously used Immaculate Precious Wheel Bodhisattva as a stand-in, secretly talking with Precious Shimmering Radiance Bodhisattva, persuading him to switch sides and betray Emperor Cang.
At that time, the [Vajradhatu Tathagata] had possessed Immaculate Precious Wheel Bodhisattva.
The same applied this time. A vast will descended once again. However, the difference was that this time it was within a karmic scene, the World Honored One's private territory.
Therefore, the one who came was no longer the [Vajradhatu Tathagata].
"Amitabha."
Before his voice faded, Immaculate Precious Wheel Bodhisattva within the karmic scene pressed his palms together, his face full of compassion. Then, he cast an astonished look at Lu Yang.
Ordinary people wouldn't think of using this method to contact his true body.
Even if they thought of it, they wouldn't have the means to execute it.
However, the person before him not only had the idea, but also the means. What was most outrageous was that even up to this moment, he still actually didn't know the other party's true identity.
"Fellow Daoist... who exactly are you?"