Lu Yang did not witness the details of the Dao Lords' clash—he simply did not possess the capacity to perceive them. He only knew that his ability to think had returned.
The frozen flow of time resumed.
Without the slightest hesitation, he once again urged the [Purple-Azure Doushuai Fire] into motion. Within the pill cauldron, countless scattered concepts were forcibly drawn together, condensed into the blazing radiance of the flames.
Meanwhile, the battle of the Dao Lords raged on.
The tiny figure at the apex and the golden Buddha below—at this moment, constrained by the limits of their manifested power—were unable to determine a victor within the vast Mortal World.
"Primordial Saint…!"
The resounding zen chant drowned out heaven and earth. Boundless karmic visions surged forth, weaving together into a colossal footprint—one that seemed capable of trampling even the Light Sea beneath it.
That foot stepped directly into the Light Sea.
In an instant, wherever it descended, karma was unraveled, time itself segmented—forming, impossibly, an insurmountable wall like a towering city barrier.
By contrast, the opposing palm appeared far simpler.
Only a single strand of radiant light clung to it—yet within that simplicity lay an immovable, majestic force. It allowed the World Honored One's massive foot to strike against it; its karmic structure remained as unyielding as bedrock, utterly impervious to dissolution. At most, it could only hold the attack at bay outside the Netherworld.
The overwhelming majority of that power was halted.
Yet even so, a fragment of it—seemingly guided by an already-determined trajectory—pierced through countless obstructions, broke into the Netherworld, and surged straight toward Lu Yang.
At this sight, Lu Yang's brows knit tightly.
Almost by instinct, he opened the panel of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. His otherwise fluid pill refinement faltered for a brief instant.
Then, a voice sounded:
"Don't worry. I'm here."
At nearly the same moment, shadows gathered beside him. From within them, a youth clad in a crane-feather cloak stepped forward at an unhurried pace. Yet no overwhelming phenomena accompanied his arrival—no grand spectacle, no visible distortion of the world.
He simply stood at Lu Yang's side.
And in that instant, all incoming force was erased.
What had been sufficient to overturn an entire World Realm dissolved into a passing breeze, leaving not even the faintest ripple behind.
In the youth's hand rested a miniature, resplendent palace hall. Having blocked the aftermath of the clash between the Primordial Saint and the World Honored One, he did not hesitate. Before Lu Yang's eyes, he casually tossed it outward—sending it flying beyond the Netherworld and into the boundless void.
[Arctic Exorcism Court]!
Lu Yang watched as his Supreme Treasure, empowered without reservation by the youth, broke free of the Netherworld—astonishingly leaping beyond the suffocating constraints of the [Heavenly Dao].
It worked!
An uncontrollable surge of elation flooded his heart.
The most crucial objective of this life—had finally been achieved.
Unlike previous lifetimes, where countless twists and obstructions had plagued his efforts, this time the entire process unfolded with remarkable ease under the youth's assistance.
Not a single Dao Lord moved to obstruct it.
The Primordial Saint was locked in direct confrontation with the World Honored One. The Dao Arts Dao Lord and the Spiritual Power Dao Lord were assaulting the First History. Sword Lord, Cang Hao—and even the [Heavenly Dao] itself—had long since exhausted their capacity to intervene.
As expected… when the moment arrives, heaven and earth themselves lend their strength…
A sudden clarity arose within Lu Yang's mind. Inspiration surged like a bursting spring. Beneath his feet, the Concept of [Dragon Tiger Mountain] began to boil, as though ignited by this realization.
Then—
A subtle tremor stirred within his heart.
Looking up, he saw that within the surrounding darkness, a figure had appeared at some unknown moment, standing silently not far away. A pair of molten-gold pupils shone from the shadows.
Those eyes were extraordinary.
Gold was merely their base hue—around them spread countless fracture-like patterns, like shattered glass, refracting prismatic light. Within their depths lurked a coiled ferocity, like a beast poised to strike at any moment. At the same time, they carried a vast and ancient majesty.
[Perfected Lord Azure Firmament Radiance].
No—
The [Ancestral Dragon].
In the next instant, the youth in the crane cloak, having also sensed this presence, stepped forward. With that single motion, he severed Lu Yang's line of sight, leaving only his slender back in view.
"Beast Taming…"
A low, somber voice echoed faintly through the Netherworld. The [Ancestral Dragon] fixed his gaze upon the youth, then slowly curled his lips into a chilling smile.
In that instant—
The Netherworld trembled violently.
The [Yellow Springs Road], the [Home-Viewing Terrace], the [Three Lives Stone]—three fundamental components of the Netherworld—responded in unison to the presence and summons of the [Ancestral Dragon].
With this single shift, the youth—who had intended to join the battlefield and assist the World Honored One against the Primordial Saint—abruptly halted. His brows furrowed as his gaze turned toward the source.
"Senior Ancestral Dragon…"
He was never one for eloquent argument. After a brief pause, he spoke with quiet sincerity:
"By acting this way, you are bargaining with a tiger for its skin. Master will never truly let you go."
The [Ancestral Dragon]'s smile deepened, growing colder still.
"Beast Taming… you understand nothing."
"The outcome of this grand design was decided one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago. Everything you do now is merely the echo of a corpse."
With that, the [Ancestral Dragon] directly mobilized the authority of the Netherworld. Without the slightest hesitation, it contested control against the youth, anchoring him firmly in place.
Seeing this, the youth could only sigh softly.
Then, the sky of the Netherworld darkened further. Black clouds surged and gathered, swallowing all brilliance that belonged to the [Ancestral Dragon] in an instant.
The suppression came with surprising ease—far beyond what the youth had anticipated. He had expected a bitter struggle. Perhaps it was because what remained was only a Primordial Spirit consciousness?
Yet regardless, he had no time to dwell on it.
Suppressing the [Ancestral Dragon] had already consumed a significant portion of his mental strength. To eliminate it in a short span was all but impossible. Moreover, he still had to safeguard the refinement of the Nascent Soul Pill. There was no surplus power left for him to aid the World Honored One, who remained locked in stalemate against the Primordial Saint.
Meanwhile—
Lu Yang had entered a state of Dao comprehension, one exceedingly rare even across his many lifetimes.
The manifestation of the [Ancestral Dragon] had further intensified the Concept of [Dragon Tiger Mountain] beneath him.
Like a key turning within a sealed lock.
A myth long buried beneath the dust of ages was opened before him. It felt as though he were witnessing it firsthand—perceiving a forbidden truth that time itself had once concealed.
In that hazy clarity, Lu Yang recalled the myth once recounted by Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin:
At the dawn of the Light Sea's birth, an extraterrestrial divine mountain collided with it, giving rise to a heaven-and-earth wondrous treasure. Within that mountain, a dragon and a tiger contended for its possession. The dragon seized it, earning the title of the [Ancestral Dragon].
But then, where was the tiger?
At the time, Lu Yang had judged it through ordinary logic, assuming the tiger must have perished. As a vanquished rival, it would have been eradicated by the [Ancestral Dragon].
Only now did he realize—
No. That conclusion was entirely mistaken.
This myth is far deeper than a mere struggle over territory or opportunity… I misunderstood its very nature.
What was [Dragon Tiger Mountain], truly?
The collision between the extraterrestrial divine mountain and the nascent Light Sea, the birth of a wondrous treasure—it seemed simple on the surface, yet concealed an immeasurable profundity.
Because at the moment of the Light Sea's birth, time itself was in an extraordinary state. Past, present, and future were compressed into a single instant. Beginning and end were indistinguishable.
This was the true meaning of "Dragon and Tiger."
Not opposition—But complementarity.
It was precisely through the intersection of dragon and tiger that the wondrous treasure came into being. There had never been a true contest between them. Both were, in essence, co-sovereigns of that treasure.
In other words, The Ancestral Tiger had never died.
It exists in the future.
The Light Sea did not possess a single Innate Dao God—
But two.
The [Ancestral Dragon], embodying the origin of the Light Sea.
And the [Ancestral Tiger], embodying its end.
The former resided at the moment of creation.
The latter awaited at the moment of annihilation.
This was the true essence of [Dragon Tiger Mountain].
Only when Birth and Annihilation—two states that should never intersect—collide through an impossible convergence…
…can a peerless wondrous treasure be born.
Lu Yang's pupils trembled violently.
This unprecedented Forbidden Knowledge became the final catalyst within the furnace of the [Nascent Soul Pill]—the crucial core that unified all disparate Concepts.
"Boom—!"
In the next instant, a world-shaking golden radiance burst through the cauldron lid, illuminating half of the Netherworld. Its brilliance even spilled into the Mortal World, like a spark igniting the firmament.
The [Nascent Soul Pill] was complete.