"I'll follow you."
As soon as these words came out, Bu Tianque instantly smiled. He admitted that he had indeed developed doubts because of the future scene Lu Yang described, but that was all.
"But right now, I still need them."
"Even if, as you say, the collapse of the [Paramita] was within that old thing's expectations, at the very least, his strength fell as a result."
Lu Yang nodded and smiled: "I didn't ask Fellow Daoist to openly change allegiances either. You can feign compliance with them on the surface, Fellow Daoist, and secretly hook up with me."
Hearing this, Bu Tianque also smiled: "But why should I take this risk?"
"It's true that Fellow Daoist's Heaven Treading Realm cultivation is the highest in the mortal world, but compared to the Dao Lords, the difference is still like clouds and mud. On what basis can Fellow Daoist persuade me?"
"On the basis that I also have two Dao Lords on my side."
Lu Yang said in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist's two martial brothers, Myriad Treasures and Beast Taming, also stand with me. Likewise two Dao Lords, what do you think?"
As soon as these words came out, Bu Tianque, who had just been sitting steadily and unbothered, instantly shrank his pupils: Beast Taming has awakened? Since that's the case, there's finally someone keeping an eye on the Netherworld. The [Nascent Soul Pill] plan left behind by Pill Cauldron should also be initiated. Speaking of which, the time for my side to launch the plan isn't far off either.
A sense of urgency arose within him.
Perhaps I really do need a [Variable].
After a long silence, Bu Tianque finally said faintly: "I can't give you too much, I can only extract a little. If it's too much, the Sword Lord and the others will notice something is wrong."
"That works."
Lu Yang immediately nodded: "Consider it at your own discretion, Fellow Daoist. As long as you send the intercepted mighty power into the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea, I will naturally arrange for someone to transport it."
"Is it Pan Huang and the others?"
Bu Tianque's eyes flickered, clearly not unfamiliar with them either: "So to speak, the three Fasting of the Mind Sword Spirits left behind by the Great Sword Ancestor were also suppressed by you?"
Lu Yang smiled but did not answer.
Following that, the two conversed for another moment. After agreeing on the handover details of the [Five Elements] mighty power, they dispersed, withdrawing the thoughts they had circulated.
Then, the two of them frowned simultaneously.
"Oh no, I forgot to tell him just now."
Inside the [Five Elements] seal, Bu Tianque clapped his hands: "With his cultivation, he should have already started seeking the Primordial Spirit by now, right? I must tell him next time."
"...What's going on?"
In the Dark Aspect of the Light Sea, Lu Yang similarly had a look of annoyance: "I originally wanted to ask Bu Tianque if he knew anything about the Primordial Spirit Dao Heart. How did I forget again?"
"Wait, that's not right. Yes, that's right, that's right..."
Not long after, doubts, astonishment, realization, and many other emotions dissipated from their faces. The content regarding the Primordial Spirit was once again tossed to the back of their minds.
Just like that, Lu Yang found Pan Huang and the others again. After handing over the task of transporting the [Five Elements] mighty power, he chose one person to be the first to resurrect.
[Equality of All Things].
Inside the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram], accompanied by the radiance of the [Great Dao of Yang], Lu Yang and a burly, savage-looking man slowly walked out of the painting.
"Things remain, but the people have changed..."
Pan Huang looked up and took a deep breath. With just this simple action, he couldn't help but reveal an emotion of nostalgia on his face.
This was his first breath in 129,600 years.
After all, in the Dark Aspect, as a consciousness body, he had no right to breathe. In fact, most of the time he was in a state of muddle-headedness; it was already a blessing from heaven that he hadn't died.
On the other side, Lu Yang looked at Pan Huang with curiosity. As he expected, with Sisui dead now, Pan Huang's stature had also fallen, no longer possessing the cultivation of the Heaven Treading Realm. It could be seen that although relying on a Dao Lord's elevation was an easy path, it was ultimately a castle in the air without much value.
He could only say, worthy of someone who cultivated the Dharma Body.
While Lu Yang ruthlessly severed ties with his past self who cultivated the Dharma Body in his heart, he looked at Pan Huang and smiled: "I will have to rely heavily on Fellow Daoist from now on."
"Dont worry."
Pan Huang shook his head. Don't be fooled by his rough appearance; in reality, he was as meticulous as a hair, and his stance was actually quite flexible. He wasn't that kind of stubborn old fool.
Therefore, when Lu Yang proposed that "the condition for resurrection is switching Dao Lineages," he agreed very straightforwardly. Especially after Lu Yang stated that he would rescue Sisui, he had even fewer complaints. Since Pan Huang was so aware of current affairs, Lu Yang was naturally very satisfied too. It could be considered a happy outcome for both host and guest.
Lu Yang left the [Equality of All Things] fully satisfied.
More accurately, he withdrew the consciousness imposed on the Manifestation Body. After all, his main body had stayed inside the [Heavenly Palace] outside the Light Sea from beginning to end.
Then he froze.
In an instant, all the various anomalies he experienced previously within the Light Sea swarmed into his heart, scaring him so much he almost tumbled backward off the Dao platform of [Da Luo Heaven].
"[Sky-shrouding]!"
Is this damn Knowledge-Perception Barrier still chasing me?
—This was Lu Yang's first reaction. But he quickly realized that at this point, he and [Sky-shrouding] were at most fifty-fifty.
Times have changed.
"It's not the Knowledge-Percaption Barrier... Then what is it? Cognitive manipulation? Common sense modification? Neither feels quite right. It's not [Concealment]; this method is obviously more violent."
Even with the Knowledge-Percaption Barrier, it was impossible to achieve complete erasure. A cultivator hit by the move would eventually start noticing something was wrong themselves. However, what he encountered this time was different. Its effect was far more overbearing, even disallowing one to perceive that something was wrong. This kind of method was more like a [Seal].
"More importantly, I'm fine again now."
Lu Yang examined himself. When his consciousness returned to the outside of the Light Sea, the seal related to the Primordial Spirit had no effect on him. Why was that?
At this moment, Lu Yang even recalled his experiences from his past life. Speaking of which, he had met Dao Tianqi, and Dao Tianqi had clearly forged a Primordial Spirit.
Why didn't he ask back then?
No, not only did he not ask, even Dao Tianqi didn't take the initiative to tell him!
"In other words, this [Seal] didn't just seal the Light Sea, it locked the Netherworld along with it! This is absolutely not something a single Dao Lord could accomplish."
Even the Primordial Saint couldn't do it!
It wasn't that the Primordial Saint lacked the ability, but rather the Primordial Saint pursued transcendence, whereas this [Seal] was obviously filled with control over the myriad living beings of the Light Sea.
"Having said that, the Primordial Saint definitely participated in it too."
"Is it the [Heavenly Dao]?"
"Did the World Honored One participate? He didn't tell me about the Primordial Spirit either. Was it because he participated in constructing the [Seal], or was he also [Sealed]?"
In an instant, countless thoughts surfaced in Lu Yang's heart.
Following that, he sighed with emotion:
"This bunch of bastard, truly not a single one of them is human. Did they completely eradicate the concept of the Primordial Spirit—the third stage of the Dao Heart—from the entire Light Sea?"
This wasn't even chopping down the tree to enjoy the shade anymore.
This was uprooting it entirely!
"Don't be fooled by my clear-headedness right now. Once I re-enter the Light Sea, I'll fall right back into the [Seal], sinking into a meaningless infinite loop."
What to do?
The method to break the deadlock that Lu Yang could think of was to have someone who understood the Primordial Spirit well enough switch to cultivating the Investiture of the Gods Method, using this to receive them into the [Heavenly Palace].
This way, they could break free from the influence of the [Seal].
But the question was, who?
Forget about Pan Huang. He cultivated the Dharma Body, and his Heaven Treading realm was elevated by Sisui. It was already not easy for him to figure out the Dharma Body Dao; there was no hope for the Primordial Spirit.
Tianhun? Artifact spirits can't cultivate the Investiture of the Gods Method.
Dao Tianqi? He has the Netherworld; it's impossible for him to switch cultivations.
The World Honored One? Give it a rest. If he really did that, the [Heavenly Palace] would have to be renamed [Spirit Mountain] tomorrow.
A dead end? Impossible, how could there be no variables in the Light Sea!
Just as Lu Yang was pondering, suddenly, the panel popped up, and the [Off-Stage Observer] lit up. Lu Yang immediately focused his mind and looked over.
What entered his sight was Guangming, who was once again possessed by the World Honored One.
He was seen with his palms pressed together, looking at Mu Changsheng, yet his gaze seemed to pierce through Mu Changsheng to meet Lu Yang's eyes behind him. He slowly spat out a sentence:
"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in making a trip to the false history?"
(End of chapter)