Within the [Heavenly Palace].
The newly awakened Suo Huan let out a long breath and looked at Lu Yang with a bit of fatigue, smiling: "Fortunately, I didn't fail my mission. I barely managed to hold on."
"You've worked hard, Fellow Daoist."
Lu Yang decisively stepped forward to help Suo Huan up and said in a deep voice: "No matter what, being able to reconnect your Dao path now is considered a good thing for you, Fellow Daoist."
Moreover, although he had switched to cultivating the Investiture of the Gods Method, his original Grotto-Heaven would not disappear. The [Universe Ruins Realm] that Suo Huan constantly longed for even had the hope of taking a step further, transforming from a Grotto-Heaven into a true World Realm, allowing this former homeland to radiate a brand new splendor. This could be considered the best of both worlds.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang decided to strike while the iron was hot and immediately looked at Empress Xiao.
"Hmm... then I'll try [Divine Offering]."
Empress Xiao made the choice that Lu Yang had expected. After all, [Divine Offering] was a divine ability he had created after referencing the Incense Offering Divine Dao.
It suited Empress Xiao perfectly.
Coupled with the fact that [Divine Offering] currently resonated with [Fortune], which happened to be connected to the Dao Court, this could be considered right up Empress Xiao's alley.
Soon, Empress Xiao entered a state of deep meditation.
Lu Yang also repeated his old trick, following her to sense the location of [Fortune]. However, this time, the place it led to was no longer the [Sea of Bitterness].
What entered his sight was an expanse of chaotic void. Lu Yang almost instantly recognized the location—it was the Dark Void! Looking down was the Light Sea mortal world, and looking up was an endless, heaven-spanning giant net—the [Heavenly Dao]. Such a scene made Lu Yang frown.
As expected, [Fortune] is within the [Heavenly Dao]...
Among the Five Great Heavenly Destinies, apart from the [Variable] whose whereabouts were unknown, only the [Tribulation] had no Dao Lord, which was why it was immersed in the deepest part of the [Sea of Bitterness].
The rest all had masters.
[Fortune] and [Destiny] were both within the [Heavenly Dao], and [Inevitable Fate] was presumably in the [Paramita]. Trying to intercept their concepts would be extremely difficult.
However, it wasn't impossible.
Although I can't touch the main bodies of the Great Daos, as the Dao Lords place their pieces in the mortal world, there will always be residual concepts. Intercepting these concepts will be enough.
If it were anyone else, they might be completely helpless in this regard.
After all, the will of heaven had always been high and difficult to question since ancient times. How could mere lower-realm cultivators see through the pieces placed by Dao Lords? Guessing blindly would only cause them to fall into the Dao Lords' traps in the end.
But Lu Yang was different.
After all, he was far too familiar with these things.
The Sword Lord's piece is Vanquishing-Demon, Cang Hao's piece is Emperor Cang, and the Primordial Saint's pieces are Feixue and the Ancestral Dragon. These people definitely all have corresponding concepts.
No, wait...
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's eyes suddenly lit up slightly: The Sword Lord's piece isn't just Vanquishing-Demon; there's also another person... an abandoned piece whose usefulness has been exhausted.
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde!
The most mediocre Perfected Lord, yet he simultaneously blocked the paths of Patriarch Nether Whisper and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, standing out as incredibly absurd. He must definitely possess the concept of [Destiny]!
This was even admitted by the Sword Lord himself.
In the lifetime before the last, when the Sword Lord harvested the Sword Pavilion, he personally said that Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde was a chess piece. Under those circumstances, he shouldn't have been speaking carelessly.
Besides him, there's also the [Five Elements]!
Lu Yang's thoughts raced, and he soon thought of another crucial point.
In the [Five Elements] seal, the concepts of the Five Great Heavenly Destinies were still reverberating to this day. Not to mention the Five Elements Supreme Dao Fruits of the Immortal Nexus, which were all connected to the Five Great Heavenly Destinies.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Yang brought Empress Xiao back to the [Heavenly Palace]. He didn't act rashly. After all, plotting against these Dao Lords' pieces required time to plan slowly; he couldn't rush it, or he would only alert the snake in the grass. It was best to borrow Mu Changsheng's hands and use the shell of [Heaven of Nothingness] to resolve it.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang fell back to the [Da Luo Heaven].
This time, his palm lifted a crimson radiance. It was the [Fate Revolution]. Only this divine ability did he choose not to delegate.
Simply because it responded to the [Variable].
Whether it was the [Heavenly Palace] or the Investiture of the Gods Method, the ultimate goal was to overthrow the Primordial Saint's [Paramita] and the Grotto-Heaven Method, breaking open the [Inevitable Fate].
Such an important divine ability could not be delegated.
Otherwise, if it were mastered by someone else—especially the Primordial Saint—there would be huge trouble.
But then again, as the recognized number one Great Dao in the Light Sea, where exactly was the [Variable]? Was it in the [Sea of Bitterness] like the [Tribulation]?
Carrying this doubt, Lu Yang gradually circulated [Fate Revolution].
"Let me see..."
Instantly, Lu Yang's eyes were submerged by endless crimson light, his mind immersed within it. Gazing far into the distance, he seemed to see a magnificent giant net.
The Great Karmic Net.
"No, that's not right. The Great Karmic Net is only a subordinate of the [Variable]; it's a product of its decay... It's related to the [Variable], but not that grand."
Lu Yang immediately thought of the World Honored One. Thinking back to when the World Honored One attained the Dao and subsequently traversed 129,600 years, altering the outcome of the Dao Lord battle—no matter how you looked at it, he was a [Variable] that changed heaven and earth. At least initially, what he wanted to attain should have been the [Variable]!
"This should have also been one of the Primordial Saint's schemes at the time."
"Using the hands of the World Honored One to pit Sisui to death, while simultaneously making the [Variable] manifest in the mortal world to catch a glimpse of its appearance... I can only say, worthy of being that old bastard."
As long as a useful talent didn't die from being used, he would use them to death.
But quite clearly, this scheme failed.
The [Variable] might have responded to the World Honored One at the time and shown him some favor, but it did not reveal itself. So in the end, the World Honored One could only use [Karma] to attain the Dao.
This was considered settling for the next best thing.
"Right now, I might also be in the same situation as the World Honored One was."
Clearly able to respond to the [Variable], yet unable to use it to find the [Variable's] location. The other party was like an aloof fairy, not even giving him a single glance.
"Why is it like this?"
Carrying this doubt, Lu Yang withdrew from the resonance of [Fate Revolution]. He then went all the way to the Miluo Palace, deciding to utilize his heaven-shaking wisdom.
"Patriarch, teach me!"
Lu Yang very sincerely recounted the problem he had encountered. After listening to his account, Patriarch Nether Whisper also frowned and fell into deep thought.
Only after a long time did he say somewhat hesitantly:
"Perhaps it's a problem of the goal."
"Goal?" Lu Yang was stunned.
Patriarch Nether Whisper nodded and continued: "Have you noticed that your [Heavenly Palace] and the Investiture of the Gods Method actually lack a clearer goal?"
"The Netherworld is for the reincarnation of all living beings, the [Heavenly Dao] is to control the Light Sea, the [Paramita] is to elevate the Dao Lords, and the Grotto-Heaven Method is to restrict the cultivators of the world. What about your Heavenly Palace and Investiture of the Gods Method? What is the goal? What is the philosophy? Seeking the Dao, seeking the Dao—if there is no Dao, how can you speak of seeking it?"
Lu Yang frowned deeply:
"That's not right. The goal of my Investiture of the Gods Method and the [Heavenly Palace] is very clear, and it hasn't changed from the very beginning. It's to overthrow the Grotto-Heaven Method and the [Paramita]."
"And after that?"
"...Huh?"
Under Lu Yang's surprised gaze, Patriarch Nether Whisper said seriously: "Even if you overthrow the [Paramita] and the Grotto-Heaven Method, what will your Dao Lineage bring?"
"Only overthrowing without building—that is not a [Variable], but a [Tribulation]."
"I think that if you want the [Variable] to reveal itself to you, you must tangibly make changes to the Light Sea. Merely sensing it is of no use."
The [Variable] was never just empty talk.
The principle wasn't hard to understand; the previous Lu Yang had just been blinded by a single leaf.
Once pointed out, he was suddenly enlightened: So that's why the World Honored One failed? Because the variable he triggered only targeted Sisui alone from beginning to end.
What kind of [Variable] was that?
A true [Variable] must cause a sufficiently profound impact and qualitative change on the entire Light Sea. So far, probably only one person had achieved it.
Sisui.
Sisui preached the Dao to the world and created the Dao path of ancient methods, benefiting all living beings in the Light Sea. In his era, he truly influenced and changed everyone in the Light Sea.
Unfortunately, Sisui had his own Dao path and had no interest in the [Variable].
"Apart from him, even the Primordial Saint and Dao Tianqi fell a bit short."
"After all, the Netherworld didn't expand to the entire Light Sea, and the Grotto-Heaven Method didn't become the mainstream of the Light Sea. The Spiritual Power Dao and the Dao Arts Dao still have residual forces."