The sword light illuminated the [Paramita] in an instant.
Before unsheathing, it hid in the deepest darkness, not uttering a word. After unsheathing, its sword cry almost allowed the entire Light Sea to hear its lingering echoes.
However, these were all superficial phenomena.
Merely because that unparalleled sword edge had already arrived at the fifth tier of the [Paramita] long before the sword cry sounded, infinitely approaching the Primordial Saint's figure.
In an instant, the Primordial Saint's pupils shrank abruptly. The birth and destruction of stars in the depths of his eyes suddenly accelerated hundreds of millions of times. Only then did he finally capture that sword edge that followed like a shadow, like a poisonous snake. A point of sharpness, clear light like a waterfall, already less than three feet away from his brow, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent!
"Zheng——."
In a flash of lightning, the Primordial Saint had already extended a finger. Like a needle tip against an awl awn, it collided squarely with that sword edge just inches away.
Sword and finger collided. Time seemed to abruptly stop at this moment.
The sword light that should have been able to cleave open anything, seemed to have hit a copper wall and iron bastion before that fair finger, unable to cross over no matter what.
Immediately following that, a speck of spiritual light diffused from the tip of the Primordial Saint's finger, then transformed into talismanic characters. Like chains, they rapidly spread towards the colliding sword edge. Every characters was as large as a mountain, the brilliance carrying endless profound wonders. Words spoken became law, intending to suppress the sword edge right here and now.
"Clang clang!"
In an instant, the sword edge trembled violently. The sword cry became several times louder as a result. In the blink of an eye, it shattered the characters spreading upon it, then rapidly withdrew and returned.
"What a pity."
The Primordial Saint retracted his finger and sighed: "Sword Lord, Cang Hao, do you really not want to experience the supreme scenery above Dao Lords at all?"
Answering this sigh was an even louder sword light, yet still no figure was seen. Only that chilling killing intent permeating around the [Paramita], endlessly continuing. Countless future scenes surfaced, then shattered, flashing thousands of times in succession with the exact same outcome as just now.
Sword Lord answered with actions.
I'll believe you when ghosts walk in broad daylight!You decrepit bastard—you're rotten to the core. Back then, you schemed the Ancestral Dragon to his death; not long after, you did the same to Sisui.
And now you think you can scheme me to death as well?
Boom!
The next second, the Dao Arts Dao Lord and Spiritual Power Dao Lord made their moves. A mighty ocean of spiritual power and resplendent rosy light of Dao Arts boldly crashed towards Sword Lord at this moment.
They chose to help the Primordial Saint!
The reason was very simple. Neither the Dao Arts Dao Lord nor the Spiritual Power Dao Lord wished to see the [Paramita] collapse, and Sword Lord was clearly doing exactly this.
However, the next second, a golden Buddha and a vast, chaotic sky blocked the two. It was none other than the Dao Court Dao Lord Cang Hao and the World Honored One. Because of different interests, the camps of the four Dao Lords instantly shifted again. The Dao Lord battle restarted, making the [Paramita] increasingly turbulent.
Meanwhile, the Netherworld opened wide, connecting with the Mortal World.
"Senior Brother Heaven-Mending!"
Dao Tianqi's face was full of pleasant surprise. Looking at the figure breaking away from the [Five Elements] seal and swaying down into the Mortal World, excitement surfaced in his voice.
"Cough cough cough..."
Crashing into the Mortal World caused that black-and-white figure to instantly explode with a sky full of bloody light. Only after a good while did he recover and reveal his true form.
It was none other than the First-generation Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, Bu Tianque.
"unbelievable..."
Lu Yang had a look of surprise on his face. Because in his perception, Bu Tianque was a Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lord at this moment. Yet the [Five Elements] was already in that state.
It could still elevate someone to the Heaven Treading Realm?
However, very quickly, with the help of Dao Tianqi's Light of Wisdom, Lu Yang quickly saw the truth clearly: "It's the [Heavenly Dao]. You received elevation from the [Heavenly Dao]?"
"Strictly speaking, not quite right."
Hearing this, Bu Tianque smiled leisurely: "I merely found a way to fill the part of the [Five Elements] that elevated me into the system of the [Heavenly Dao]."
"You were the one who actively sought out Sword Lord and Cang Hao back then, right?" Lu Yang continued: "You discovered there was a problem with Pill Cauldron's Nascent Soul Pill plan, used the Dao Lords to make up for the information gap, and so you beat them at their own game. You deliberately set this trap just to scam a big one at the critical moment?"
"That's not quite right either... but explaining it is too troublesome."
Hearing this, Bu Tianque gave a charming smile:
"Ah, you are the previous [Pill Cauldron]? Although you look a bit ugly, Big Sister doesn't mind. Want to try Dual Cultivation with me?"
Before his voice faded, Bu Tianque, who was just a valiant youth, turned into a graceful woman.
Seeing this, Dao Tianqi instantly widened his eyes: "Senior Brother!?"
Lu Yang, on the other hand, remained calm upon seeing this: "Senior misunderstands. He just wants to use Dual Cultivation to transmit information and save useless explanations."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Seeing this, Bu Tianque smiled even more happily, even licking his lips: "To be able to keep up with my train of thought, are you from the Saint Sect? From my Heaven-Mending Peak?"
"I don't know you, and don't associate with me."
Lu Yang chose to deny it without hesitation: "There's no need to discuss Dual Cultivation further. We don't mind listening a bit longer. You'd better explain it."
"Tch, boring."
Bu Tianque shook his head, turning back into a valiant man in the blink of an eye: "Actually, there's nothing much to it when laid bare. But there's one point you didn't guess right earlier."
"It was Sword Lord and Cang Hao who approached me first. I exchanged intelligence with them, and only then did I discover the Primordial Saint's handiwork hidden within Pill Cauldron's Nascent Soul Pill plan."
"Regarding the [Five Elements] seal, Sword Lord and Cang Hao actually had doubts long ago. Because they discovered something wasn't quite right with the Ancestral Dragon's [Destiny] and [Fortune]. Clearly suppressed and sealed, his fortune should have been exhausted, yet he found a way out of a desperate situation. The concept of a dragon entering the vast ocean also appeared in his destiny."
"So they guessed there was a problem with the Ancestral Dragon."
"But it was only a suspicion at the time. True confirmation was because the Ancestral Dragon used the identity of that [Perfected Lord Azure Firmament Radiance] to transform into a death spirit and flee into the Netherworld."
"Don't forget, the [Yellow Springs Road] was controlled by Cang Hao at that time."
"The [Yellow Springs Road] guides death spirits. Every death spirit will have its fortune inspected by [Cang Hao]. Only after confirming the other party's identity will he choose to let them pass."
"That's where the Ancestral Dragon was discovered."
"Although the Ancestral Dragon at that time was merely a Primordial Spirit thought and had made an almost perfect disguise, he ultimately still revealed a flaw under Cang Hao's eyes."
"Things after that were simple."
"With the result that the Ancestral Dragon secretly escaped, although reverse-deducing couldn't uncover the Primordial Saint's complete plan, they could know the crucial point of his plan."
"The [Paramita]."
"So that led to me cooperating with them, sneaking into the [Five Elements] seal, stealing its mighty power, and feeding it back to the [Heavenly Dao], thereby disintegrating the [Paramita]."
"During this time, the [Heavenly Dao] had become increasingly close to perfection. It was just that to avoid the Primordial Saint discovering clues, Sword Lord and Cang Hao chose to use the [Heavenly Dao] to replace the hollowed-out [Five Elements] to continue supporting the [Paramita]. Therefore, what appeared on the surface was still that defective product."
"This way, they grabbed hold of the Primordial Saint's lifeline."
"No matter what plan the Primordial Saint has, as long as they directly withdraw the [Heavenly Dao] in necessary situations, causing the [Paramita] to fall, they can reverse the grand scheme."
"At the same time, with the [Heavenly Dao] bearing the weight, even if the [Paramita] falls, the Mortal World won't collapse."
"And after all the Dao Lords reshuffle the deck and fall to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, Sword Lord and Cang Hao can rely on the [Heavenly Dao] to occupy absolute initiative."
—It could be called perfect.
After listening to Bu Tianque's explanation, Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh inwardly: 'Sword Lord and Cang Hao... I underestimated these two. They really were holding back a big move!'
'It's just...'
However, the next second, Lu Yang raised his head.
Looking at that figure still standing on the [Paramita], high up and tiny, solemnity surfaced in the depths of his eyes: '...Why is the Primordial Saint still so calm?'
Transforming as a deity and ascending had failed.
Sword Lord's fatal move brought the [Paramita] to the brink of collapse. The Primordial Saint's original advantage was almost entirely lost overnight. Why could he still be so calm?
Meanwhile, on the [Paramita].
The clash on the fifth tier still continued. Visible light of destiny landed on the tiny figure, then shattered and scattered, repeating this countless times.
Like surging waves continuously crashing against a reef.
"Not bad methods."
The Primordial Saint's voice faintly echoed on the [Paramita], carrying a smile: "Since you have all gone this far, then I will grant your wish."