Immortal Nexus, Overseas Immortal Alliance.
As far as the eye could see, there was a vast, mighty ocean with no end in sight. Rolling spiritual qi merged into the waves, revealing a towering sacrificial hall.
A golden talisman was placed within the hall.
Its name was the [Imperial Palace Golden Seal Script Tushita True Edict]. Mu Changsheng's consciousness, Dao Sins, and even the mighty power of [Eternal Flowing Water] accumulated over many years were all hidden within it.
At this moment, the Dao Integration great cultivators of the Immortal Alliance were holding a routine meeting, with opinions differing widely. Yet, no one noticed that an extra person had appeared out of thin air inside the hall. Holding a large banner and with long sleeves fluttering, he was looking with interest at the radiant golden talisman hanging high in the seat of honor.
"How nostalgic."
Lu Yang shook his head, feeling somewhat emotional. Then he threw the large banner in his hand toward the golden talisman, allowing the wonders of the two to merge, surging with monstrous might.
That was the original Myriad Spirits Banner.
He had obtained it from Senior Brother Liu Xin in this lifetime. To avoid unexpected complications, he had specifically modified the other party's memory and erased the karma.
"The Myriad Spirits Banner contains the Embryonic Dao Fruit of [Heaven of Nothingness]. The Dao Sin hides Mu Changsheng's consciousness, along with the boundless concept of [Eternal Flowing Water]. With the two combined, [Heaven of Nothingness] can reach the level of an Unorthodox Dao Fruit and be manipulated by Mu Changsheng to distribute divine abilities to the whole world..."
Looking back now, Mu Changsheng's plan was actually quite good.
Taking a different approach, he didn't try to deal with the Perfected Lord of the world. Instead, he started from the lower-realm cultivators, usurping the foundation of the Dao Fruits by distributing divine abilities.
With the right method, you get twice the result with half the effort.
If it weren't for this, how could [Heaven of Nothingness], a mere Unorthodox Dao Fruit, drag all the Perfected Lords in the world down with it? This was truly grasping the industry's pain points.
More importantly—
This plan is within the Dao Lords' control.
Although [Heaven of Nothingness] distributes divine abilities and usurps the foundation of the Dao Fruits, causing the Dao Fruits and Perfected Lords to go into seclusion together, it is still essentially the Grotto-Heaven Method.
Therefore, no Dao Lord intervened.
But that was before.
Such a thing that could be controlled in the eyes of the Dao Lords was, in Lu Yang's view, simply the best disguise because it could distribute divine abilities to the outside world!
Even now, Lu Yang still remembered the divine abilities related to [Heaven of Nothingness].
[Essence of Myriad Fragrances], [Sea of Sorrow], [Ferry of the Lost], [Song of Everlasting Regret], [Competing for Freedom]. Besides these, there were many other lower-tier divine abilities that could serve as substitutes.
It was too perfect for smuggling in contraband.
Nothing else was needed; he just had to stuff [Divine Offering] in. It would be perfect for sensing the [Heavenly Palace] and switching to cultivating the Investiture of the Gods Method.
Even better, because the [Heavenly Palace] had been cleansed by [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] and was free of cause and effect, as long as it wore the skin of [Heaven off Nothingness], it was impossible to be discovered. Even the Dao Lords wouldn't be able to figure anything out unless they personally descended to the mortal realm to take a look, much less notice any anomalies.
I'll use this to poach the Grotto-Heaven Method's foundation.
With a single thought, Lu Yang immediately rode a streak of light and landed straight into the forming [Heaven of Nothingness], seeing the consciousness awakening within it.
Mu Changsheng.
"You'll do."
Lu Yang's expression was calm. He had no intention of communicating with Mu Changsheng. Instead, he directly formed hand seals and cast arts, beginning to fine-tune his memory and twist his cognition.
"The original [Heaven of Nothingness] plan is abolished."
"Don't seek reincarnation, and don't let anyone attain [Heaven of Nothingness]. Just keep expanding like this, letting [Heaven of Nothingness] move from the Immortal Nexus to the entire Light Sea!"
"Internally, graft the [Heavenly Palace] over."
"Externally, your goal is to nurture [Heaven of Nothingness] from an Unorthodox Dao Fruit into an Orthodox Dao Fruit. Use this to attract those Unorthodox Perfected Lords. It'll work best."
Under Lu Yang's fine-tuning, Mu Changsheng gradually "sobered up". His plan was comprehensively modified by Lu Yang. From the beginning, where [Heaven of Nothingness] was meant to seal the world's Perfected Lords while he waited for a chance to recultivate, it changed to wholeheartedly nurturing [Heaven of Nothingness], wanting to use it to advance to Perfected Lord and prove himself.
"Very good."
Looking at the high-spirited Mu Changsheng, Lu Yang finally nodded in satisfaction. Lastly, he observed him with the [Off-Stage Observer], acting as an insurance policy.
Once an accident occurred, he would decisively cut ties.
After doing all this, Lu Yang's figure vanished from the spot.
On the other side, Mu Changsheng blinked, his consciousness completely revived. "Hmm! I never thought I had such grand ambitions... But it suits me perfectly!"
The subsequent development all went according to Lu Yang's plan.
Because his plan had been changed, the sobered Mu Changsheng no longer let [Heaven of Nothingness] cover the entire Immortal Nexus in a short period of time like before.
Instead, he chose to build up grain widely and delay claiming the throne.
He set his sights on the Overseas Immortal Alliance. The Qi Refining methods of these rogue cultivators were originally experimental products left behind by Mu Changsheng, and they fundamentally lacked the method for Foundation Establishment.
Therefore, when [Heaven of Nothingness] expanded, the Overseas Immortal Alliance—especially those great cultivators comparable to Qi Refining Perfection—immediately went crazy. They scrambled to enter [Heaven of Nothingness] to pass the trials, only seeking to obtain a divine ability and elevate their stature. Naturally, Mu Changsheng accepted all of them.
[Divine Offering] was frantically distributed wholesale as if it cost nothing.
And every cultivator who obtained [Divine Offering] entirely formed a connection with the [Heavenly Palace] as a result. Of course, on the surface, it was with [Heaven pf Nothingness].
As for other cultivators, Mu Changsheng didn't let them off either.
The [Divination Golden Scripture] was completely delegated. As the cultivation method used to connect with [Heaven pf Nothingness], it immediately became the main cultivation method for all Immortal Alliance cultivators.
Lu Yang was incredibly satisfied with this.
"The Overseas Immortal Alliance is simply a treasure land!"
A place he had once looked down upon had now given him a tremendous surprise.
The cultivators of the Immortal Alliance had a full seven realms: Practice Qi, Foundation Casting, Core Formation, Nascent Soul Condensation, Spirit Refining, Void Return, and Dao Integration. They had reached the pinnacle of the Qi Refining path.
Nascent Soul Condensation cultivators were equivalent to Qi Refining Perfection.
In other words, as long as one was a Nascent Soul Condensation cultivator, they possessed the basic conditions to establish their foundation with [Divine Offering]. And Nascent Soul Condensation was only slightly below average in the Immortal Alliance!
Looking at it from this angle: "More than half of the cultivators in the entire Overseas Immortal Alliance can establish their foundation through [Divine Offering] and become the cornerstones of the Investiture of the Gods Method! Elevating the [Heavenly Palace]!"
Time flew by, and the years passed swiftly.
With Mu Changsheng's support, the Qi Refining cultivators accumulated by the Immortal Alliance over countless years finally triggered a qualitative change. Almost every day, there were breakthroughs in Foundation Establishment through the Investiture of the Gods Method.
Invisibly, a behemoth was already rising overseas.
As the originator of the Investiture of the Gods Method, Lu Yang felt this most clearly.
Atop the Dao platform in [Da Luo Heaven].
Lu Yang raised his head, observing the Dark Void. As the Investiture of the Gods Method spread within the Immortal Alliance, he clearly felt his own realm becoming increasingly stable.
In a daze, he seemed to see countless chains extending from the top of the head of every cultivator who practiced the Investiture of the Gods Method, closely connecting with the [Heavenly Palace] and firmly securing it in the Dark Void so it wouldn't get lost. Although it was still very weak now, Lu Yang could see the potential contained within.
He was quite looking forward to this:
"With the current amount, if it multiplies by another ten thousand times, I might be able to maintain a moment of clarity after forcibly elevating my stature into Golden Core Perfection."
"However... it's still not enough."
Foundation Establishment was still too weak; it could only serve as an anchor. If he wanted to elevate his stature with this, he still had to find a way to trick a few Perfected Lords into joining.