[Da Luo Heaven] Dao platform.
Lu Yang's main body sat properly upon it, unable to help but scratch his head. His mind was full of intelligence regarding the "nameless Dao Lord", feeling for the first time that schemes and intrigues were somewhat insufficient.
"Which one is it exactly?"
Was the nameless Dao Lord exposing his identity a lie or the truth? Was it to misdirect the Primordial Saint, or was he truly scheming for the missing page of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]?
He couldn't figure it out; he couldn't see clearly.
Ultimately, my cultivation is still insufficient. Even though I relied on multiple restart to figure out the layouts of many Dao Lords, I still lack when it comes to specific details.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh. He simply stopped tangling with it and thought to himself:
Regardless, improving myself is always right. No matter what scheme that nameless Dao Lord has, at worst I'll keep an eye on him in this lifetime and ruthlessly expose him in the next!
With this thought, Lu Yang instantly felt much more relaxed.
Following that, he began to handle another, more important matter. With a stir of his mind, his Manifestation Body surfaced anew, this time landing within the [Equality of All Things].
"Painting Master."
Almost simultaneously, the artifact spirit of the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram] had already sensed it and paced out, wearing an excited smile on his face: "Tianhun pays respects to the Painting Master."
"Dispense with the formalities." Lu Yang waved his hand.
Subsequently, Tianhun was seen taking out a cluster of light intertwined with five colors and saying respectfully: "This was brought from the dark side of the Light Sea. It is the item the Painting Master ordered to be retrieved."
Bu Tianque indeed did not go back on his word. The moment Lu Yang saw the cluster of light, realization had already arisen in his heart, and his eyes lit up slightly. It was exactly the mighty power of [Five Elements]. Although it was merely a very faint wisp, it was still a great tonic for the [Heavenly Palace]. Refining more of it could similarly elevate its stature.
"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist."
Lu Yang frankly accepted it, and then asked the question he had long wanted to ask: "Dare I ask Fellow Daoist, did Lord Sisui ever pass down a method for the Primordial Spirit back then?"
In an instant, Tianhun, whose expression was originally lively, abruptly froze, his expression also freezing along with it. A certain speechless tranquility instantly swept through the secret realm.
The [Lock] was breached.
If this place weren't the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], and if there weren't the protection of [Unbound by Heaven and Earth], Lu Yang estimated that he would have already victoriously retreated to the next lifetime by now.
I asked it... Can I get an answer?
Lu Yang looked at Tianhun with hidden anticipation, yet he saw the latter's lips move slightly only after a long while, recovering from that bizarre stiffness.
"Why didn't I remember?"
"The Primordial Spirit method, the Primordial Spirit method... The Primordial Spirit fundamentally has no method; it has always varied from person to person. The crux of it is difficult to elaborate. Up to now, there are only superficial methods."
Tianhun's voice was like he was in a dream. After a long time passed, he sucked in a breath of cold air, like a drowning person who finally struggled out of the deep water surface. At the instant he breathed his first breath of fresh air, his eyes were filled with the feeling of surviving a disaster: "What formidable methods! Did all the Dao Lords participate?"
"Bastard!"
Tianhun had reacted. Based on Lu Yang's prompt, the [Lock] was not omnipotent; he was very clear on this point. The problem lay in what came after the [Lock].
[Kill].
Killing all the secrets of the Primordial Spirit in the world. Up to now, only a single sentence that Sisui used to teach Pan Huang and the others back then survived by a stroke of luck.
What about Tianhun?
Lu Yang waited patiently for a moment. Only when Tianhun recovered from his lingering fear did he smile slightly and say: "Does Fellow Daoist still remember the Primordial Spirit methods of the past?"
"I..."
Tianhun blinked. Only after a long time passed did he say in a low voice: "I once heard Master say that the Primordial Spirit fundamentally has no method, only because what the Primordial Spirit seeks is the [Self]."
"Everyone has a [Self], but the [Self] is different for each person."
"Therefore, Primordial Spirit methods are mostly only suitable for their creators, possessing relatively independent characteristics. Even if spread outward, it is very difficult to rely on them to refine the Primordial Spirit."
"For example, there were three Primordial Spirit methods circulating in the world back then. They were created by Master, that bastard the Primordial Saint, and Lord Beast-Taming, respectively named the [Method of Traversing the Mortal Dust], the [Heaven-Reaching Incantation of Seven Emotions], and the [Scripture of True Nature Seeking Immortality]. They could be said to be the Primordial Spirit methods recognized by everyone in the Light Sea back then."
As soon as these words came out, Lu Yang instantly became serious:
"Do you know them?"
"I knew them back then." Tianhun thought seriously for a while, then shook his head, his face full of helplessness: "But now I completely don't remember them."
They were [Killed].
Hearing this, Lu Yang could only sigh, but then he saw Tianhun suddenly change the topic and say: "However, besides those, I still remember one Primordial Spirit method."
"Oh?" Lu Yang raised an eyebrow.
His first reaction was that this wasn't right. He forgot everything else, but remembers just this one? Could it be some kind of trap? Left behind by the old Primordial Saint to pit people?
"It is Master's method."
Then it seemed very safe.
Lu Yang instantly rubbed his fists and wiped his palms, becoming excited anew: "Please instruct me, Fellow Daoist."
As his words fell, Tianhun was seen with a hesitant face: "Although it is hailed as a Primordial Spirit method, it might be somewhat different from what Fellow Daoist imagines... It is an external object."
An external object? I love external objects!
Seeing Lu Yang insist, Tianhun then shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Dare I ask Fellow Daoist, do you know the Spiritual Power Dao Lord, Du Xuan? He and Master knew each other when they were still humble."
"He could be considered Master's close friend. Back then, the reason he could successfully charge toward the Dao Lord realm from the Immortal Bridge Realm was because, right in front of Master, he received Master's help... However, before that, he had actually already refined the Primordial Spirit. If it weren't so, even with Master helping him, he would have undoubtedly died."
Lu Yang instantly realized what was wrong in this.
Refining the Primordial Spirit in the Immortal Bridge Realm?
Are you kidding me? With his heaven-defying talent, he hadn't even touched the edge of the Primordial Spirit until now. The Spiritual Power Dao Lord, Du Xuan, achieved it in the Immortal Bridge Realm?
With this thought, he had already guessed it.
Sure enough, the next second, Tianhun shook his head and said:
"The reason he could refine the Primordial Spirit was not because his talent was high, but because he participated in one of Master's experiments and stood out from it."
"So among the various Dao Lords, he refined the Primordial Spirit the fastest."
"The fastest?" Lu Yang raised an eyebrow: "How long did it take?"
"Eighty-four thousand years."
Tianhun said indifferently: "The Primordial Spirit has no shortcuts to take; it must be refined using an immense amount of time. This is the conclusion reached by all the Dao Lords after practice."
"...I understand."
Lu Yang took a deep breath and continued: "Then what about the specific item? Fellow Daoist said it was an external object."
As his words fell, Tianhun paused again. Only after a moment did he say: "I have not seen it with my own eyes. I only heard Master mention it once when discussing the Dao with Du Xuan."
"It seems to be, a scritpure."
"A Scripture that can make people sink into it, experience the myriad states of the mortal world, rotate through generations, and cause a person's obsession to manifest physically."
"Fellow Daoist should also know that the difficulty of the Primordial Spirit lies in the struggle between the self and the self, the obsession and the original heart. The clash within is often invisible, existing only in thought."
"But Master's Scripture was different. It could turn the obsession into a real person. In this way, the struggle between obsession and original heart would become tangible, subsequently greatly lowering the difficulty... Du Xuan's success made Master very happy, thinking he could use this to let all people in the world cultivate the Primordial Spirit."
Hearing up to this point, Lu Yang already understood.
[The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]!
Unsurprisingly, that so-called external object in Sisui's hands that could forge a new path and help people refine the Primordial Spirit was precisely the missing page of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]!
Then the question came.
In terms of the result, Sisui didn't seem to spread it in the end. Clearly, he gave up in the end, otherwise the page wouldn't have fallen into the Primordial Saint's hands either.
"...Why did it fail?" Lu Yang couldn't help but say.
Tianhun answered: "The success rate was too low. Du Xuan was the only successful one. The Great Sword Ancestor succeeded halfway. Other than them, all participants died."
Hearing this, Lu Yang pondered slightly, and then realized.
An obsession transforming into a real person had both pros and cons. The pro, naturally, was that it was easier to deal with. The con, however, was that if the obsession won, the main body could truly die.
(End of chapter)