[The Mortal World].
A heroic and spirited Daoist draped in green robes stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze staring straight at the sky. The thin mist that previously enveloped his entire body had disappeared.
At first glance, one could see his appearance was outstandingly handsome and elegant, his figure tall and straight. He possessed a rich bearing and the disciplined demeanor of a noble lineage. No matter how one looked at him, he was a heroic young man. But when one's line of sight landed on those long, narrow eyes of his, it instantly destroyed the overall aesthetic feeling, adding a bit of gloominess to his temperament.
The next second, his figure abruptly blurred.
Although the thin mist had disappeared and the Daoist had revealed his true appearance, it didn't add any sense of reality to him. On the contrary, it made him become increasingly ethereal.
Perfected Lord Lingxiao of Eastern Sovereign.
A person who shouldn't exist had now brazenly appeared. Just as Lu Yang expected, this not only wouldn't weaken his control over the [Great Forest Wood]—
It was even an enhancement!
If previously he still needed an entire body of thick mist to manifest concepts and execute the knowledge-perception barrier, then now, he didn't even need the thin mist anymore.
His wonder had reached its absolute pinnacle.
But even so, the thoughts of [Sky-shrouding], or rather Lingxiao, didn't relax in the slightest. His mind was still reviewing and speculating about his recent experiences.
In the vast realm of death, the boundless Netherworld.
At the [Ghost Gate], having already sensed the awakening of the Lord of the Netherworld and developing a strong sense of crisis, he met a Lord who came to see him secretly.
What did that Lord look like?
What was his aura like?
He had no impression; he didn't remember any of it.
The only things left behind were his conversation with him, and a figure whose gender was indistinguishable, whose emotions couldn't be seen, and who surged with endless wonders.
"The Lord of the Netherworld has awakened. You have no chance of success by seeking the Netherworld."
"Moreover, at this point, you should have seen it too. He is only using you as a chess piece. From the very beginning, you had no hope of success in seeking the Netherworld."
The chilling words announced an irrefutable fact.
The figure in his memory seemed to have gathered the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, with boundless brilliant light. He could only bow down before him and ask with deep reverence—
"I implore the Lord to guide me."
Hearing this, the brilliant light flickered slightly.
"Seek [Yin and Yang]."
The voice sounded slowly, guiding patiently and systematically.
"The Five Great Heavenly Destinies, the Three Great Foundations, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements—of the ten Great Daos between heaven and earth, only four are currently vacant; the rest already have masters."
"[Tribulation], [Yin and Yang], [Dharma Body], [Variable]."
"Among them, [Tribulation] is already controlled by Him. For you to attain it is basically no different from throwing your life away. And [Variable] is even more so not something you can covet."
"So the only ones you can choose are [Yin and Yang] and [Dharma Body]."
"However, these two paths already have their Heaven-Mandated True Lords. In the current mortal world, they are already tantamount to being destroyed. Even if they recover, you have no hope of seeking them."
"Since that's the case, why does the Lord speak to me?"
"If you cannot seek the orthodox path, you can seek a unorthodox path."
That figure seemed to chuckle and continued: "You also saw the World Honored One attain the Dao back then. Didn't he ascend the [Paramita] using [Karma]?"
"What is [Karma]?"
"It is merely a subordinate position to the [Variable]. Although it does not enter the orthodox path, as a unorthodox path, the might it displays is actually not much inferior to walking the orthodox path."
"The same goes for you."
"Although your [Inversion] takes its concept from wood, the wonder of reversing the two poles bears the phenomenon of Yin and Yang. It can completely replicate the World Honored One's Dao attainment from back then."
"Using [Inversion] to attain the unorthodox path of [Yin and Yang], and subsequently ascending the [Paramita]—this is similarly a path. Moreover, it will not touch the interests of any Dao Lord. I trust you have your own judgment on this point, so I won't say more. I'll just say one sentence... today, [Yin and Yang] can only be sought within the false history."
"The Lord speaks clearly, but what about the method?"
"The method is also very simple."
"The Dao of [Yin and Yang] lies within the changes between the two poles. And aren't today's false history and true history the most definitive objects of Yin and Yang concepts within the Light Sea?"
"If you can use your [Inversion] to leverage the false history and allow the false history to return anew, such a ritual is enough to let you successfully walk this unorthodox path."
—The memory ended here.
Lingxiao chewed on this memory carefully, his expression fluctuating. In the end, those long, narrow eyes relaxed, and a smile abruptly surfaced on his handsome face.
The Lord isn't even pretending anymore, huh.
Are you taking me for a fool?
Talking a big plan and all about the benefits to me. Since that's the case, why did that Lord come looking for me? A sudden whim of kindness?
What a joke.
"Indeed, in my deductions, this path does have a certain degree of feasibility. But what is my cultivation? How could I possibly deduce the route pointed out by a Dao Lord!"
Lingxiao couldn't help but shake his head.
He was 100% sure that there was a problem with this path. The problem lay in where the problem was... and the Lord who came up with this idea had considered it very insidiously.
Because he couldn't go and ask the World Honored One.
The World Honored One's Dao attainment is fundamentally based on modifying history. If he knew I planned to go to the false history to attain the Dao, he might just obliterate me directly.
As a result, the Dao Lord backer he originally relied on instantly became a potential crisis. This led to a situation where this plan of attaining the unorthodox path of [Yin and Yang] could only be pondered by him alone; he couldn't ask anyone. And the more he pondered, the more he would feel there was no problem, until eventually taking the risk to try it...
Try it and you die!
Thinking of this, the sneer at the corner of Lingxiao's mouth grew even colder.
This is coercion—making me believe I have only one path, so I'm forced to follow his will.
Which Lord could it be?
There were no clues in the memory. The Primordial Saint, Sword Lord, and Cang Hao were all possible. Even the Dao Arts Dao Lord and Spiritual Power Dao Lord far beyond the heavens weren't impossible.
Right at this moment, Lingxiao suddenly raised his head.
[The Mortal World], which should have only contained him alone, actually suddenly had endless heavenly light cast down at this moment. Following that, a burly figure was seen walking out from within.
"Is this the place?"
The burly, sturdy man looked around and didn't see a single figure, but he didn't panic. He directly said loudly: "Fellow Daoist [Sky-shrouding], I was ordered to come and deliver a gift."
The grand voice was like thunder, instantly spreading throughout the entirety of [The Mortal World].
At the same time, the burly, sturdy man didn't forget to hold a crimson jade slip high up. People of insight would know at a glance that the wonder circulating on it was absolutely not simple.
"...Hm?"
Behind Pan Huang, Lingxiao, who originally intended to have a heart-to-heart "exchange" with him, abruptly stopped his steps, his gaze looking at the crimson jade slip in his hand.
A peak Great Perfected Lord...
Lingxiao carefully sized up Pan Huang, but felt that the other party's aura was incredibly bizarre. Although his stature was at the peak, he had no impression of his Dao Lineage.
But to be able to make a Great Perfected Lord of this level come "under orders".
Another Lord?
With this thought, Lingxiao's eyes suddenly became lively. He wasn't afraid of other Dao Lords having designs on him. On the contrary, he wished for it!
Not a single Dao Lord can be trusted.
However, the more Dao Lords place bets on me, the greater my opportunity to please both sides and profit from it, and the more likely I am to find a feasible path!
(Author's Note: End of chapter)