The fourth layer of the [Paramita].
Almost right when the evil consciousness of the Great Sword Ancestor perished, endless sword light lingered, reflecting deep within the long river of destiny of all heavens, and a graceful figure opened her eyes.
The graceful figure sat cross-legged, her temperament cold and glamorous. Coupled with being in the [Paramita], every movement she made exuded an aura that was aloof from worldly affairs and transcended the mortal world.
Concealed beneath layers of sword light, her figure was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry. Only a small, fair, and tender hand that was constantly calculating remained unchanged.
However, right at this moment.
Pop!
Only a soft sound was heard as a colorful illusion burst, abruptly forcing open the jade fingers of the fair and tender hand that was tightly pinching to calculate, also bringing its originally continuous calculating motion to a grinding halt.
"Hm."
Seeing this scene, a look of surprise instantly flashed through the beautiful eyes hidden behind layers of sword light. Then, when she calculated again, she could no longer see any changes.
[Destiny] has been stirred. Who is placing a chess piece?
As soon as this thought arose, the endlessly surging long river of destiny instantly surfaced in the depths of the Sword Lord's eyes. The destinies of the myriad living beings and the operation of all things were contained within.
However, the result was that she found nothing.
Because she could only see the future.
From the current point in time extending forward toward the infinitely distant future, the long river of destiny had always surged toward the future, leaving the past behind.
Therefore, even though she could see scenes of the future, she could not clarify what happened in the "present". There is a specialization for every profession. Among the Dao Lords, this was originally the domain the World Honored One was responsible for monitoring. After all, only [Karma] could intervene in the "past" and even interfere with the "present".
Just at this moment, a profound sound suddenly drifted over.
"Nian Yao."
Before the words fell, the graceful figure raised her head in response, a look of doubt surfacing in the depths of her eyes: "Cang Hao, you said before that there were unusual movements in [Fortune]. What's going on?"
"It's Myriad Treasures."
Soon, the profound sound continued to drift over: "He placed a chess piece in the mortal world. It's very interesting. I would like you to take a look; this chess piece might be of use to us."
At the same time, intelligence concerning the Overseas Immortal Alliance, [Divine Offering], [Heaven of Nothingness], and Mu Changsheng was presented one after another before the Sword Lord's eyes. This intelligence transformed into densely packed [Fortune], all of which the Sword Lord guided into the long river of destiny to begin deducing the most likely future.
This was their customary method.
Cang Hao collected [Fortune] as the influencing factor, and the Sword Lord, who governed [Destiny], used it as a foundation to deduce the future, thereby controlling the direction of the future.
Before long, the long river of destiny provided feedback.
That was the most likely path to appear among all futures. The Sword Lord took it all in, and her originally somewhat careless gaze instantly focused.
"...How is it?"
Cang Hao's voice came again: "Myriad Treasures proposed cooperation. If this chess piece can be utilized, I think we might perhaps agree to his request."
The next second, the Sword Lord spoke: "Agree to it. Interesting... very interesting. This future might be even better than what we originally planned."
The Dark Aspect of the Light Sea.
Just as Lu Yang expected, as long as one put their heart into it, Bu Tianque's consciousness body in the Dark Aspect was not hard to find. Not to mention, he also possessed the [Great Dao of Yang].
Yin and Yang naturally attracted each other.
Relying on this unseen resonance, Lu Yang quickly locked onto a direction. What entered his sight was a ray of light where black and white intersected, occupying the gloom.
The Dark Aspect was the shadow of the Light Sea. The two were closely connected, yet entirely separate. And more importantly, this was the exclusive domain of [Yin and Yang]. Without this Great Dao, even a Dao Lord could not travel freely, let alone interfere. This was also the manifestation of the [Variable] in the Light Sea.
Whoosh...
Lu Yang silently approached it, then split off a thought to draw near. Instantly, resistance was transmitted from that black-and-white consciousness body.
However, Lu Yang paid it no mind and forcefully pushed the thought inside.
Almost simultaneously, within the [Five Elements] seal.
"Hm!?"
Bu Tianque, who was originally sitting steadily within the seal, ceaselessly plucking the power of the [Five Elements] and then transmitting it to the [Heavenly Dao], suddenly opened his eyes.
What's going on?
It feels like some foreign object has thrust its way in, yet it's not in the mortal world but the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea? Someone went to the [Equality of All Things] and even gained Tianhun's recognition?
Thinking of this, Bu Tianque's beautiful brows instantly furrowed. His plan was being implemented smoothly. He thought he would wait all the way until the future the Sword Lord had revealed to him. But now, a mysterious person who hadn't appeared in the future transmitted his thoughts through the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea.
The [Variable]?
After pondering, Bu Tianque carefully took out a ball of light from his embrace. It was precisely the [Great Dao of Yin] that he had plucked from Tianhun back then.
The next second, his mind sank into it.
Yin and Yang reversed. In the blink of an eye, he had already appeared in the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea. Seeing the young man standing before him, the shock in the depths of his eyes grew even stronger.
Heaven Treading...
He saw it clearly. The person before him was definitely a Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lord. But how did he do it? How could the mortal world possibly still allow such a cultivator to exist?
Thinking of this, Bu Tianque shook his body and transformed. He instantly manifested the appearance of a dignified and elegant woman. Her long dress trailed on the ground, her hair was pitch black, and every glance she cast exuded nobility. She curtsied sideways to Lu Yang, her red lips parting as she exhaled a beautifully sweet aura of amiability, making people involuntarily feel goodwill toward her.
"This Fellow Daoist, I pay my respects."
This was his most commonly used trick.
Don't be fooled by it being a simple transformation. In reality, the level of influence was conceptual. It could forcibly make people drop their guard against him and foster feelings of care and intimacy.
Then he saw Lu Yang subconsciously take a step back.
...Hm?
With just this one step, Bu Tianque realized something was wrong: He knows me? Not only does he know me, he even knows my methods and style of doing things.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to step back.
Thinking of this, Bu Tianque instantly put away that soft and charming pretense just now. With another shake of his body, he transformed into a heroic and martial man wearing a Daoist robe.
"This Fellow Daoist is?"
"You can call me Virtuous." Lu Yang said cleanly and efficiently: "Even if the [Paramita] collapses, it's useless. Do not trust the Sword Lord and Cang Hao too much."
"..."
Bu Tianque fell silent.
Lu Yang's directness made him feel exactly the same as the World Honored One had before—bewilderment, and even a certain degree of fear and shock.
Who is this person?
How does he know!?
Despite this, Bu Tianque's expression control was still very much on point. Looking at him, he remained as unrippled as an ancient well. After a moment of silence, he nodded slightly and said:
"Why do you say that?"
"Because of the Primordial Saint."
Lu Yang didn't hesitate to reveal the Primordial Saint's scheme from the lifetime before the last, recounting the future where the Dao Lords hunted down all the Perfected Lords of the Light Sea after the [Paramita] collapsed.
And Bu Tianque remained silent from beginning to end, his mind racing as he pondered.
This future... is not among the future scenes the Sword Lord revealed to me. However, there is indeed a possibility of it coming true. No matter who he is, to be able to gain Tianhun's recognition, at least his character should be somewhat guaranteed...
Only after a long time did he say in a deep voice:
"So, what do you need me to do?"
"Stop following the [Heavenly Dao]."
Speaking of this, Lu Yang finally revealed his true intentions: "Follow me. Give the mighty power of the Great Dao of [Five Elements] to me as well. I can satisfy your needs better than they can."
That's right, he wanted to cuckold the Sword Lord and Cang Hao's faction and steal Bu Tianque away!
(End of chapter)