The heavenly light was devastating; mountain fire burned the plains.
Within the jade stone in the temple, Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back. As the small mountain where the [Laojun Temple] was located was separated by him, a feeling of commanding it as easily as moving one's own arms spontaneously arose.
At this moment, every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every leaf on this mountain.
They were all extensions of his will.
With this thought, he slowly opened his mouth. The melodious Dao sound instantly echoed in the ears of everyone within the [Laojun Temple]. His words were heavenly law, and the law followed his commands: "Come!"
Instantly, all things within the mountain lit up with light. The myriad things of heaven and earth impressively presented an appearance completely different from the mortal world at this moment. Endless concepts manifested thousands of magnificent lights and colors, successively gathering around Lu Yang, approaching intimately, allowing him to choose.
These were all Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—everything needed was there. As long as he wished, within this small heaven and earth controlled by him, he could casually pick up any Heavenly Spirit or Earthly Fiend.
Which one to choose.
Lu Yang fell into a brief contemplation. After solving the trouble of the Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends, the Dao Fruit was also in his bag, solely depending on his intention to decide.
The Ancestral Dragon's Innate Dao God method is merely a cover, used to conceal my karma, lest the commotion of my resonating with the [Heavenly Palace] be too large and discovered by the Dao Lords. Since that's the case, considering that [Divine Offering] needs to be spread, in order to cover up the karma of this action, the chosen Dao Fruit is very important...
Thinking of this, a name leaped into his heart: [Heavenly Fire]
Establishing the dominion of the world, setting the rules for the universe. Using it to provide cover for me can be called perfect... The only flaw is, the current me doesn't seem to be able to attain it.
Because this body, as an Immortal Spirit, had Jia Wood as its foundation.
And the Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends corresponding to [Heavenly Fire] were Wu Earth, Wu Fire, Ji Earth, and Wei Earth. Not a single one was Jia Wood... This was a bit awkward.
However, Lu Yang quickly thought of a method.
Dao Fruit transposition.
After refining Lingxiao's Golden Nature, he naturally also grasped the corresponding intelligence. Back then, Lingxiao jumped from [Pine and Cypress Wood] to [Great Forest Wood]!
This was a classic case of getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later.
Using this method to change Dao Fruits, the advantage was that one could ignore the Dao comprehension corresponding to the Dao Fruit. Back then, Lingxiao didn't have the slightest bit of Dao comprehension knowledge regarding [Great Forest Wood].
Yet he still succeeded.
Of course, the flaw is just as evident: if one continually lacks the necessary comprehension, then even after a successful transposition, they will, over time, be rejected by the very Dao Fruit they forced themselves into.
Of course, this drawback was negligible in Lingxiao's case. Though he had made the leap, he swiftly mastered Great Forest Wood, and even went further—casting off the old and bringing forth the new.
Seizing upon the shifting boundary between true and false history, his unique trait of "nonexistence within history" ultimately completed the Dao Fruit's Sublimation Ritual.
Compared to him, I don't need to be so troublesome.
Lu Yang pondered in his heart:
I already possess the relevant Dao comprehension for [Heavenly Fire]. Transposition will only be more convenient for me than it was for him... The problem lies in which Dao Fruit is easier to jump from.
With this thought, endless wonders instantly surfaced in the depths of Lu Yang's eyes. The myriad Dao comprehension knowledge settled previously agitated heart:
[Overturned Lamp Flame] is the fire that illuminates the night in the mortal world; it's hard for it to bear that position. False holding is barely acceptable; but transposition is a dead end.
[Thunderbolt Flame] is the fire of the Dragon God's transformation, clearing the path for the king. How can it usurp authority? Equally unfeasible.
[Furnace Crucible Fire] is trapped by metal and iron; how can it hang in the sky?
[Mountain Base Fire] is weak in power and frail in body; its brightness doesn't reach far. Its tendency is to conceal its brilliance. It is the most incompatible with [Heavenly Fire]... The World Honored One forcefully took it using his stature back then.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but shake his head.
When the World Honored One attained the Dao, he incarnated as [Perfected Lord Brilliant World Joyous Light], falsely borrowing heavenly radiance with [Mountain Base Fire] to hold [Heavenly Fire], and used this to attain [Karma].
Looking at it now, this kind of false holding was fundamentally not borrowing [Heavenly Fire]. It was even exactly the opposite; it was damaging [Heavenly Fire]. To be exact, it was damaging the Inevitable Fate concept within [Heavenly Fire]... That's right, the World Honored One's original intention back then was to attain [Variable]. Damaging Inevitable Fate was exactly what he wanted!
This was the World Honored One for you.
After all, his foundation was not the Grotto-Heaven Method. He merely used the Grotto-Heaven Method to attain the Dao. Had someone else messed around like this, they would have been toyed to death by [Heavenly Fire] long ago.
After thinking it over, only one path was feasible.
[Mountain Peak Fire].
Regarding this Dao Fruit, Lu Yang only had Dao comprehension at the Foundation Establishment level, obtained after settling the Golden Nature of the Dao Court's King Zhen Nan, Wu Taian, back then.
However, this didn't prevent him from attaining it. After all, what he was cultivating now wasn't the Grotto-Heaven Method, but the Ancestral Dragon's Innate Dao God method. It fundamentally didn't require Dao comprehension; handing the operation to heaven and earth was sufficient. The only thing he needed to do was to make this small heaven and earth currently controlled by him speed up its own nurturing process.
"It's you then!"
With this thought, Lu Yang immediately selected the remaining three Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends corresponding to [Mountain Peak Fire], and then completely integrated them into the jade stone he inhabited.
Soon, four divine abilities successively surfaced.
Jia Wood, [Bu Nan Ben].
Xu Earth, [Sun-Rising Earth].
Yi Wood, [Fallen Dust].
Hai Water, [Arched Thunder Gate].
"Jia Wood is of a yang nature—fire depends on wood to be born. Yi Wood is wind; though wind arises from wood, it can in turn destroy it, thereby further fueling the fire's momentum. Xu Earth is the fire's treasury, where its power is gathered and stored.
Hai is the suspended river—the Heavenly Gate.
Thus, fire rises from the earth, taking wood as its fuel and earth as its storehouse. Its momentum surges through the Heavenly Gate and charges toward the sun, before spreading in a wild blaze across the plains—stretching as far as the eye can see, resplendent like the setting sun upon a mountain peak.
This is known as Mountain Peak Fire."
In an instant, Lu Yang had already gone from the initial Jia Wood Immortal Spirit, unified the Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends, and become Late Stage Foundation Establishment. He was only short one life-bound ability to reach perfection! Tens of millions of years of nurturing time, transformed into an instant.
Only then did Lu Yang raise his head. The four divine abilities jointly lifted high, and the boiling divine ability light presented a thin curtain amidst karma.
Under its concealment, Lu Yang's intention climbed up to the heavens, finally resonating for an instant with the [Heavenly Palace] located outside the false history, outside the Light Sea.
Following that, a divine ability fell from the sky.
It was exactly [Fate Revolution]! To avoid the Dao Lords detecting it, no mighty power whatsoever was retained within the divine ability. However, this was enough. Lu Yang swiftly absorbed it, transforming it into his own life-bound ability.
Five divine abilities perfected! Above the heavenly dome, a brilliant Dao Fruit surfaced along with it, like the setting sun over a river. It was exactly [Mountain Peak Fire], reflecting his continuously climbing aura.
Instantly, Lu Yang's figure disappeared.
The jade stone shattered. The hoary-faced, white-haired old man paced out, his gaze indifferent. Riding the long stairway transformed by the five divine abilities, he walked into the stars in the sky in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, everywhere in the world saw that plain-burning firelight.
A Perfected Lord in a single day!
"Ah!"
The next second, an angry roar transmitted from within the body of the young Qi Refining cultivator in the temple. Following that, a light-shadow in the shape of an infant dragon was forcefully extracted.
"You..."
The dragon seed was startled awake. The collision between wonders immediately drew the Dragon Lord's attention. A hideous ferocity abruptly surfaced within those tiny dragon pupils.
However, Lu Yang didn't give him any opportunity to react. Above the heavenly dome, [Mountain Peak Fire] shone brightly. The setting sun, like blood, splattered down.
"[Sun-Chasing Chariot]."
[Mountain Peak Fire] Dao Fruit wonder! A lone smoke in the desert rises straight; the setting sun over the long river is round. The boundless burning plains simply incorporated that dragon seed within. Only an angry voice echoed between heaven and earth:
"Fellow Daoist, you have already disobeyed the Lord of Heaven. If you eradicate my dragon seed again, there truly will be no room for maneuver!"
"A pack of stray dogs..."
Lu Yang's expression was indifferent. Bringing his five fingers together, the burning plains instantly collapsed, instantly refining that dragon seed, along with a sliver of [Vast Ocean Water] wonder, entirely into ashes.
"What can you possibly do to me?"
(Author's Note: End of chapter)