[Arctic Exorcism Court].
The towering palace was majestic and solemn. Gentle immortal light fell upon the white jade steps and the dragon and phoenix pillars, as the white jade steps ascended layer by layer straight into the clouds and mist.
Lu Yang was in no rush to move forward. Instead, he quietly comprehended his own condition. The Light of Wisdom condensed at the bottom of his eyes by the [Supreme Dao Transformation] rapidly deduced the subsequent realms. Endless profundities continued to cascade down, pouring into his body, nourishing his life force, and elevating him to a higher realm.
"After advancing to Divine Lord, there will no longer be a main body in the mortal world."
"The only main body will be the divine idol condensed within the [Arctic Exorcism Court], while the physical body in the mortal world will be transformed into an [Manifestation Body]."
Lu Yang lowered his head, looking down at the mortal world.
Soon, he saw his body in the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea. With a single thought, that body shattered on the spot, transforming into dispersing spiritual qi.
Immediately after, he shifted his gaze.
This time, it wasn't in the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, but overseas. As his gaze focused, the spiritual qi responded, and a brand-new physical body was molded in an instant.
"This is the [Manifestation Body]."
"An incarnation that responds to the mind. Even if it is destroyed, it will not affect the true body. As long as it's a place where divine sense can reach, it can be projected there immediately."
"If I must point out a flaw, it's that it's too weak."
Lu Yang made an initial assessment. The [Manifestation Body] was at most at the strength of an Unorthodox Perfected Lord. Although it surpassed Foundation Establishment, it could hardly rival an orthodox Perfected Lord.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang raised his head and resonated with the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]. Immediately, a strand of profundity landed on his [Manifestation Body]. In an instant, the cultivation base of that [Manifestation Body] skyrocketed, directly bypassing the bottleneck that countless Unorthodox Perfected Lords sought but failed to overcome, reaching the level of an orthodox Perfected Lord!
"This is the [Karmic Body]."
Lu Yang nodded slightly. "Unlike the [Manifestation Body], condensing a [Karmic Body] requires more effort. If it is destroyed, it will cause a backlash on the main body."
The strength of the [Karmic Body] could already rival an orthodox Perfected Lord.
However, it was not enough.
"If my Dao Lineage is to defeat the Grotto-Heaven Method, it must be stronger than him at the same realm. Above the [Karmic Body], there should also be a [True Body]."
In short, it was the main body of the divine idol.
"The level of the Grotto-Heaven Method created by that old bastard is frighteningly high. It's impossible for a Divine Lord to surpass a Golden Core Perfected Lord in terms of Dao comprehension and design."
So he could only cheat.
"The reason why a Grotto-Heaven Method Perfected Lord is superior lies in the higher essence of the Grotto-Heaven."
"I have no solution for this, but I have the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]. At worst, I'll just use it to elevate the Divine Lord to a higher stature that shouldn't belong to him!"
To put it plainly, it was delegating the stature downwards.
"From the Early Stage to the Late Stage of Golden Core, the stature is achieved in one fell swoop, because the stature doesn't significantly rise from the Early Stage to the Middle Stage of Golden Core."
"However, in my Investiture of the Gods Method, it can progress step by step. The stature from the Early Stage to the Late Stage of Golden Core can be divided into nine parts—three for Early, three for Middle, and three for Late. This ensures that the stature of every realm will increase to a certain extent. This way, the Early and Middle stages can surpass the Grotto-Heaven Method!"
"In addition, Middle Stage Golden Core cultivators of the Grotto-Heaven Method are immortal and indestructible. My Investiture of the Gods Method must have this too."
At this moment, Lu Yang was like drawing his own blueprint on a blank page. The Light of Wisdom condensed by the [Supreme Dao Transformation] was his ink and brush.
"For a Middle Stage Divine Lord, two criteria are required."
"The first is the Dao Heart; a perfect Dao Heart is a hard requirement. The second is merit; one must do good deeds and accumulate virtue. Only with enough incense offerings can one break through to the Middle Stage."
"This is called 'Merits on the Dao, Deeds in the Mortal World'."
"Only by meeting these two criteria can one be permitted to join the ranks of immortals, thereby leaving their name in the [Arctic Exorcism Court]. After that, even if the divine idol is destroyed, it can be recondensed."
"At the same time, the criteria for merit and incense offerings will be assessed at regular intervals."
"Once a Middle Stage Divine Lord fails the assessment, they will immediately be stripped of their stature and realm, expelled and dismissed, falling back to the Early Stage Divine Lord realm to start all over again."
At first glance, it seemed very harsh.
In reality, the criteria Lu Yang designed were not high. With the capacity of a Divine Lord, casually leaking a bit from their fingertips to lower-realm cultivators would easily accomplish it.
And if there truly was a Divine Lord so stingy that they were unwilling to accumulate even this little bit of merit and incense offerings, then they couldn't blame Lu Yang when his iron fist fell.
"The same goes for the Late Stage Great Divine Lord."
"On the one hand, the Dao Heart must reach the second stage, condensing the Fasting of the Mind. On the other hand, the criteria for merit and incense offerings will be higher. In addition, there is also a credit assessment. Only after passing all of them can one receive approval, advance to Late Stage Divine Lord, and own an exclusive residence within the Arctic Exorcism Court."
It was called a residence, but it was actually a plane.
After that, the cultivation of a Great Divine Lord would consist of continuously strengthening their own residence and perfecting their plane, indirectly contributing to the [Arctic Exorcism Court].
And it will be passed down like this generation after generation.
The incense offerings of every Divine Lord will be my Dao Lineage, providing a stable anchor for the [Arctic Exorcism Court] so that it won't get lost in the Dark Void.
Besides that, the cultivation of the Divine Lords can also lift the [Arctic Exorcism Court] to continue raising its stature. Based on this, everything about them is actually under the control of the [Arctic Exorcism Court], just like the Netherworld. In time, I can also ascend to the position of Dao Lord like Dao Tianqi!
Free of cause and effect, a Dao Lord outside the sight of the Primordial Saint!
Just thinking about it made Lu Yang chuckle coldly.
When the Primordial Saint of this lifetime repeated his old trick, causing the [Paramita] to fall and all Dao Lords' realms to plummet, the Dao Lord Lu Yang would suddenly appear...
"Kekekeke!"
When that time comes, I'll fcking beat the Primordial Saint's head on!
Number one in combat within the Light Sea? What the hell is the use of that? Competing in Dao Arts is nothing compared to competing in Dao comprehension. What I love doing most in my life is challenging those above my level and humiliating lower-realm cultivators!
Lu Yang indulged in his imagination, thoroughly satisfied.
Immediately after, he stepped forward. Within the [Arctic Exorcism Court], the endless profound light actively parted, carving out a path to the summit for him.
Lu Yang thus stepped onto the white jade immortal steps, ascending step by step, elevating his stature. Finally, he arrived completely at the highest point of the [Arctic Exorcism Court]. His cultivation had also completely recovered to the Immortal Bridge realm of his past life, and he even faintly touched the bottleneck of an even higher level.
"Heaven Treading..."
Lu Yang wasn't anxious. "I haven't broken through to Heaven Treading simply because the Dao Lineage hasn't spread yet. This hurdle poses no difficulty to me anymore."
The true hurdle lay in Golden Core Perfection, in the Dao Lord realm.
After all, spreading a Dao Lineage required making it widely known, and building a new [Paramita] would definitely require many anchors, which would easily draw the attention of the Dao Lords.
Moreover, the third stage of the Dao Heart—the Primordial Spirit—was also a major hurdle.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang exhaled a mouthful of stale air deeply. The Light of Wisdom at the bottom of his eyes gradually dimmed as the time limit for the [Supreme Dao Transformation] ended.
However, right at this moment.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Lu Yang raised his head. An inexplicable sensation arose in his heart. He turned to look outside the [Arctic Exorcism Court], towards that boundless expanse of the Dark Void.
Suddenly, a speck of bright light flickered.
Deep within the Dark Void, there's something!?
Lu Yang was astonished in his heart. He immediately focused his gaze. Under his watch, an archaic residence gradually revealed its silhouette and appearance amidst the bright light.
The plaque on the residence made Lu Yang freeze in place instantly.
[Ancestral Dragon's Manor]