The matters that Lu Yang and Dao Tianqi could deduce, the various Dao Lords could naturally deduce as well.
"What an apt description."
"Back then, Perfected Lords were just Perfected Lords. There was no such term as Golden Core. Who knows when it rose to popularity. It seems you were prepared back then, Primordial Saint."
"Then let's make a move."
The Dao Lords gradually separated. Even Sword Lord no longer attacked the Primordial Saint, because doing so was meaningless and would even benefit the other Dao Lords.
"This is an arms race."
In the Netherworld, Lu Yang gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "As long as Golden Core Perfected Lords' seas of consciousness are used to fill it, the Ancestral Dragon's damaged sea of consciousness can be quickly repaired."
"If the Primordial Saint can do this, the other Dao Lords naturally can too. There's more than one fragment of the [Paramita]; they only need to grab one."
Under these circumstances, all the Dao Lords had to join the race—to slaughter, to harvest Perfected Lords' seas of consciousness. Because if you didn't do it and the other Dao Lords did, you would fall behind. When the time came and the other Dao Lords elevated their stature while you remained stagnant, you would be the food on their plate!
Falling behind meant elimination.
Even killing too few could lead to falling behind. As long as the Dao Lords understood this point, they would no longer waste their limited energy on fighting their peers.
They would only go kill Perfected Lords first!
After all, the more they killed, the further ahead they would be. Clashing with other Dao Lords would only be a fight between the snipe and the clam, where the fisherman catches both—completely meaningless.
An open and aboveboard overt scheme!
Under these circumstances, it was almost impossible for the Primordial Saint to be besieged. Because besieging him might not necessarily kill him, and instead might cause oneself to fall behind.
And once you fall behind, you really will die!
Because they had now already fallen to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, no longer possessing the immortal bodies of Dao Lords!
"You all don't really think I would pin all my hopes of transcending the Light Sea on a transforming as a deity and ascension that I don't even know will succeed or not, do you?"
The Primordial Saint's laughter faintly echoed.
Transforming as a deity and ascending was merely one of his plans.
It didn't matter if it failed. Such an unprecedented grand endeavor encompassing all Dao Lords, as long as it happened, was a manifestation of [Variable].
Coupled with the subsequent collapse of the [Paramita], signifying the complete collapse of the [Inevitable Fate] representing himself, and massive damage to his concept, his ruling position being overturned would allow [Variable] to reach its peak state over the countless years of the Light Sea. The [Variable] he had suppressed for a long time would inevitably backlash madly.
Exactly as he wished.
"With such a [Variable], as long as I can suppress it with absolute strength, the situation will reverse again, using [Inevitable Fate] to control [Variable]!"
"That's why I said earlier, the Variable is already within my palm."
If transforming as a deity and ascending succeeded, he transcended, his long-cherished wish fulfilled. If it failed, he would settle for the next best thing—using [Inevitable Fate] to control [Variable] and thoroughly commanding the Light Sea.
From then on, his strength would inevitably experience an explosive elevation. After [Variable] fell under his control, only variables beneficial to him would exist in the Light Sea, while variables detrimental to him would disappear. In this way, a second transforming as a deity and ascension would merely be a matter of time for him.
In other words——
"The Primordial Saint has a fallback!"
In the Netherworld, Lu Yang gritted his teeth, finally sorting out the Primordial Saint's entire plan. He only felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, chill seeping into his bones.
"Dragging the situation into this kind of arms race forces the Dao Lords to help him reconstruct the [Paramita]. When the time comes, he will still be the one standing at the apex!"
"The only way to break the situation is to kill him in a short time. But his stature already rivals Sisui's from back then; it's almost impossible to kill him. Therefore, the Dao Lords are left with only one path to walk: slaughtering Perfected Lords and reconstructing the [Paramita] to elevate their stature, thereby avoiding being eliminated themselves."
An artificial [Inevitable Fate].
What was even more terrifying was that building upon all this, the Primordial Saint's fallback wasn't a conspiracy, nor a scheme, but his strength that domineered over the Dao Lords!
Without this, everything was a castle in the air.
"A strength ranking first in Dao Lord battle, comparable to Sisui's stature back then. He himself is his greatest trump card, and also the foundation of all his layouts!"
Speaking up to here, a sentence naturally welled up in his heart.
Almost simultaneously, that figure standing above the Light Sea, still tiny and untouchable, also chuckled lightly: "A person, ultimately, must rely on themselves!"
"Boom!"
The Spiritual Power Dao Lord was the first to make a move. His figure was obscured by a vast, boundless ocean of spiritual power. When he took a step, the entire Light Sea buzzed.
He arrived at the Star Palace in a single step.
In the boiling ocean of spiritual power, two beams of light instantly locked onto the center of this super world realm, inside which were the stone statues of thirty-six Perfected Lord of the Spiritual Power Dao.
All of them were top-quality "Golden Cores."
"Boom!"
Almost the instant the Spiritual Power Dao Lord looked over, the stone statue located on the lowest level shattered. Its sea of consciousness was entirely extracted by the ocean of spiritual power.
"You actually really did it... Bastard!"
In a billionth of an instant, accompanied by an angry rebuke, the Netherworld opened wide. Billowing Netherworld Qi poured out in full force, protecting the remaining Perfected Lords stone statues.
Dao Tianqi made a move.
With Lu Yang's tip-off, his reaction was incredibly swift, immediately blocking the Spiritual Power Dao Lord at the first instance. However, a portion of the stone statues still exploded as a result.
Besides that, there were also the Star Lords of the Star Palace!
Although the quality was a bit lacking, they still possessed the stature of Perfected Lords. The Spiritual Power Dao Lord refused nobody, crazily capturing the scattering and fleeing Star Lords like swallowing dates whole.
Because compared to the other Dao Lords, he was more urgent.
He needed the [Paramita]!
His breakthrough back then was imperfect. Now having fallen to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, the risk of getting lost had drastically increased. He needed the [Paramita] to illuminate the dark void.
Therefore, he was the first to act.
And after him, the Dao Arts Dao Lord also made a move. Rosy light converged from millions of Dao Arts brilliance stretched across the celestial dome, landing within the Mysterious Wall in the blink of an eye.
The next second, a figure strolled out.
"Master..."
The head disciple of the Dao Arts, Miao Le frowned tightly and said in a low voice: "Why come here first? Wouldn't it be better to kill those devils of the Grotto-Heaven Method first?"
"Step down."
The Dao Arts Dao Lord's voice transmitted from the rosy light, carrying an eternal coldness: "Time is tight. I need to elevate my stature at the fastest speed."
Why make a move on the Mysterious Wall?
Because the Mysterious Wall was his fundamental base, of course! The easiest to kill! The fastest to kill! Only after killing off everyone in the Mysterious Wall could he go vie for the [Golden Cores] of the Grotto-Heaven Method.
Before his voice faded, over a dozen streaks of light immediately fled rapidly from within the Mysterious Wall, rushing into the Light Sea. However, half were swallowed by the light of Dao Arts hanging high in the sky, turning into nothingness in the blink of an eye. Although the remaining half escaped far away, it was meaningless; death was only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Sword Lord and Cang Hao also left.
"Fellow Daoists, no need to be in such a hurry."
In the center of the Light Sea, only the Primordial Saint remained leisurely, his laughter composed: "In the Golden Age of antiquity, with one hundred thousand years of the Grotto-Heaven Method, how could the number of Perfected Lords be limited to the present amount?"
"The true spirits of those who died in battle back then weren't all sent to the Netherworld, you know."
"Today, most of them have melted into all things in heaven and earth, into the lives of all living beings... Finding them again, killing lives to extract spirits, the effect is the same."
"[Destiny] and [Fortune] are best at finding this, aren't they?"
"And Myriad Treasures, don't you know how to alter cause and change effect? Using this to bring back some dead Perfected Lords from the past shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"As long as you are willing to think, there are still many methods."
At this moment, the Light Sea was burning!
In the Netherworld, Lu Yang, who witnessed this scene with his own eyes, let out a long breath, falling into deep shock and terror: "So this is the true Thousand-Year Great Tribulation..."
The true Thousand-Year Great Tribulation!