Within the temple swirling with incense.
Lu Yang sat cross-legged, his gaze like torches, quietly sizing up the young man lying on the ground. The other party was around twenty years old, with a cultivation base at the Late Stage of Qi Refining.
And beside him, Perfected One Yu Hua wore a look of heartache.
After all, Late Stage of Qi Refining was only one step away from Perfection. As long as he reached Perfection, he could receive the Immortal's bestowed method and use [Divine Offering] to establish his foundation.
However, this was only a secondary reason.
The primary reason was still that the [Divination Golden Scripture] was difficult to use in this place, so much so that the young man had no way to deduce karma and predict good or ill luck for himself.
And the reason the [Divination Golden Scripture] failed was exactly because of the Lord of Heaven. Compared to that foolish and ignorant Lord of Heaven in the true history, the Lord of Heaven in the false history was incredibly shrewd. It almost severed all connections between the [Laojun Temple] and the outside heaven and earth. Let alone Qi Refining, even a Foundation Establishment Perfected One similarly had no way to deduce karma.
Interesting...
Lu Yang murmured in his heart, carefully sizing up the abnormal changes on the young man's body. Very clearly, the other party was being forcefully transformed towards a demon bit by bit.
This was the [Demonic Miasama].
It was smelted into the monstrous waves set off by the six Dragon Lords. Wherever it passed, it wasn't just humans; mountains, forests, grass, trees, flowers, birds, fish, and insects were all the same.
All produced abnormal changes.
I didn't expect the Dragon Lords, who were so submissive in the true history, to be so ferocious in the false history. These stinky overseas fellows actually dared to counterattack the inland.
Who gave them the courage?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang raised his head and looked towards the heavenly dome. And there, a full six Dao Fruit stars aligned in a row, shuttling through the canopy of heaven like swimming dragons.
It was the [Water of the Five Elements].
Although they govern Dao Fruits, they do not cultivate the Grotto-Heaven Method.
With Lu Yang's current eyesight, understanding one thing meant understanding everything. As long as he took a glance, there was fundamentally nothing in the world that could be hidden from him.
In his eyes, the Dao Fruits governed by the six Dragon Lords could be said to share the same breath and branches, resonating with each other and jointly propping up the grand circulation of the [Water of the Five Elements]. And as the scale of the counterattack on the inland expanded and the regions infected by the [Demonic Miasama] increased, the concepts of the six Dragon Lords were also continuously climbing.
This is not a simple seizing of territory, but cultivation.
A look of realization abruptly surfaced deep in Lu Yang's eyes: On the surface, it is the Dragon Lords attacking the land to snatch living space. In reality, this is a battle for the heaven and earth's fortune!
The [Demonic Miasama] was the method of the six Dragon Lords.
First use the [Demonic Miasama] to replace the [Human Qi], and then use this to seize the [Fortune] originally belonging to the Dao Court, augmenting the concept of fortune within the [Water of the Five Elements].
It's not just the dragon race.
The six Dragon Lords alone could never accomplish something of this magnitude. Even if among them stood beings at the level of Great Perfected Lords, it would still be insufficient to command any real presence within the Immortal Nexus as it now stands.
After all, the Great Sword Ancestor, Pan Huang, the first-generation Four Peak Masters—which of them wasn't a ruthless character?
It's the Lord of Heaven.
Lu Yang quickly locked onto the mastermind behind the scenes: The Lord of Heaven is the true mastermind behind this matter. It and the Dragon Lords were all enlightened by the Ancestral Dragon; they were in the same group to begin with!
Why would the Lord of Heaven do this?
The answer was also very simple, because in the current Immortal Nexus, the Grotto-Heaven Method had already begun to spread. And the Grotto-Heaven Method governing Dao Fruits was essentially undermining the foundation of the Immortal Nexus.
The Lord of Heaven... also wants to take back control over the Dao Fruits.
Because of the Dragon Lords, the [Water of the Five Elements] is already within its control. But it wants more, and that is why this grand play of the Dragon Lords attacking the land came to be.
This was a truth that could only be peeked at under Lu Yang's current strategically advantageous perspective. Switching to Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, they could only be like the previous Perfected One Yu Hua, blankly seeking survival. Even Perfected Lords, even while resisting the Dragon Lords, would find it difficult to understand the fundamental reason and confidence behind the Dragon Lords attacking the land.
Those with insufficient Dao comprehension might perhaps scoff at this.
Thinking this was nothing more than some hidden knowledge, nothing to make a fuss about. However, in the Immortal Nexus, and even the entire Light Sea, knowledge was often power.
Only by knowing where the illness lies can one prescribe the right medicine.
Only after understanding the truth behind the [Demonic Miasama] could one understand how to survive this attack on the land by the Dragon Lords, and even take advantage of the situation to seek profit by leveraging their momentum.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang looked at the young man again, his profound sound ethereal:
"This is what it means to be bearing a dragon seed."
"Under the seed's influence, your disciple has begun to exhibit these abnormalities. It will continue until his very essence, energy, and spirit are completely devoured—at which point he will be reborn in the identity of a demon."
In simpler terms, he has already been claimed by a Dragon Lord.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the [Vast Ocean Water]."
Perfected One Yu Hua wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world. Hearing Lu Yang's explanation, he immediately reacted: "You mean the Vast Ocean Dragon Lord?"
Instantly, his face drooped.
"How could it be? [Vast Ocean Water], that's the Supreme position of the Water Element! Feng'er is only at Qi Refining; how could he encounter such a thing?"
The more he spoke, the more desperate this old Perfected One became.
In the end, he even directly plopped down on his butt on the ground and sighed mournfully:
"How wretched!"
Seeing this, Lu Yang wasn't anxious. Instead, he listened to Perfected One Yu Hua's words with great interest, pondering: The Vast Ocean Dragon Lord, that should be the old Dragon Lord.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "This Vast Ocean Dragon Lord, is he very formidable?"
Perfected One Yu Hua froze upon hearing this.
However, he quickly realized that his own "Immortal" was actually an Immortal Spirit, and definitely knew nothing about the Dragon Lords. Only then did he explain in a low voice:
"Of course he's formidable!"
"The six overseas Dragon Lords are headed exactly by this one. That is a solid Great Perfected Lord, a resounding, illustrious big shot even looking at the whole world."
Speaking up to here, a hint of fear even surfaced in the depths of his eyes: "A few years ago, when the water disaster had just begun, His Majesty once sent an incarnation to head overseas. The result was that he was beaten back by the Vast Ocean Dragon Lord. It is also precisely because His Majesty was defeated in battle that the water disaster has become so difficult to contain..."
"Oh?" Lu Yang raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.
At this point in time, the Dao Court's Son of Heaven should be Emperor Cang, right? For the old Dragon Lord to be able to beat back one of his incarnation, he should at least have the cultivation base of the Immortal Bridge Realm!
He actually had such a highlight period?
That's right, this is the false history where the Dao Lords do not appear in the world. How could there be any counterattack on the inland in the true history? It's nothing but an illusion before being toyed to death by the Dao Lords.
After all, the Dragon Lords in the orthodox history had all switched to cultivating the Grotto-Heaven Method.
And judging from the situation in the false history, switching to cultivate the Grotto-Heaven Method was a massive weakening for the Dragon Lords. The Immortal Bridge old Dragon Lord was even weakened down to the Mid Stage of Golden Core.
On the other side, Perfected One Yu Hua was still sighing mournfully.
However, as he sighed and sighed, he discovered that the "Immortal" in the stone completely had no intention of responding, his face was bearing a look of 'I'll just watch you perform'.
Perfected One Yu Hua's expression instantly stiffened.
Thump!
The next second, this old Perfected One simply stopped pretending. He directly knelt prostrate on the ground, kowtowing and saying: "Virtuous Immortal above, I beg you a thousand times to save my disciple's life!"
"Rise."
Lu Yang's expression was calm. Actually, even if Perfected One Yu Hua didn't say it, he still planned to save the person. It wasn't that he was feeling charitable; mainly, he was interested in the dragon seed.
How do the Dragon Lords cultivate and uphold Dao Fruits?
It can't possibly be the same as the unorthodox paths, right?
This might be an ancient method specifically for cultivating Dao Fruits. It perfectly suits the current me, and can serve as cover, helping me rapidly recover a portion of my cultivation base.
(Author's Note: End of chapter)