Lu Yang could largely guess the Nameless Dao Lord's thoughts.
After all, in the situation he meticulously set up, every scene was designed to guide the other party toward this very thought, fully taking into account a Dao Lord's vigilance and suspicion.
To him, this was something he was quite adept at.
More importantly, he knew his own limits very well.
'A Dao Lord is ultimately a Dao Lord; one cannot overestimate them. Fighting is impossible. I can only guide him and make him willingly choose to cooperate with me from the bottom of his heart.'
In this aspect, Lu Yang decided to learn from the Primordial Saint.
Using open schemes and luring with benefits was the most effective method against a Dao Lord.
'That Nameless Dao Lord having Ling Xiao attain the unorthodox path of [Yin and Yang] definitely isn't without reason. It's highly likely he also has ulterior motives regarding Sisui.'
Since that was the case, there was room for negotiation.
'If there has to be a flaw, it's that the Ancestral Dragon doesn't actually exist here, and I don't have any remnant thought of the Ancestral Dragon in my hands... But this problem is also easy to solve.'
It was nothing more than putting on a charade.
If such an Ancestral Dragon remnant thought truly existed, how could it openly show itself to meet the Nameless Dao Lord? It should naturally be extremely cautious and try its best not to be exposed.
Being easily exposed would actually arouse suspicion.
Therefore, there was no need for him to disguise himself as the Ancestral Dragon. He only needed to create a proxy who "appeared to be manipulated by the Ancestral Dragon's consciousness."
Coincidentally, he had an innate talent perfectly suited for this operation.
[Marionette]!
He hadn't smelted this talent. Instead, along with [Unorthodox Prodigy] and [A Few Tricks Up Your Sleeve], he had kept it on his status panel as a kind of strategic reserve.
He originally thought that as his cultivation grew higher, this talent—which could at most control someone at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment—would no longer be of much use. He didn't expect it would get a chance to make a comeback today. Just like [Off-Stage Observer], [Marionette] couldn't be traced back.
Simply put, it was perfect for pretending to be an expert.
'I'll use it to control a Foundation Establishment cultivator.'
'Then I'll use this Foundation Establishment cultivator to communicate with the Nameless Dao Lord. On one hand, I won't expose myself, and on the other hand, it will demonstrate the Ancestral Dragon's profound methods.'
At this thought, Lu Yang immediately took action.
He didn't approach the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace]. Instead, he directly found a Foundation Establishment cultivator from afar, then controlled him to head towards the palace.
Then he repeated the process.
After all, when it came to the number of people controlled, [Marionette] had virtually no limit. It was much more useful than [Off-Stage Observer], which only had two slots.
'Only by casting a wide net can you catch more fish.'
After doing all this, Lu Yang himself quickly left, putting distance between himself and the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace], staying out of the affair to avoid exposing his identity.
'Everything is ready!'
Next, he just had to wait for the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace] to fully manifest in the world, wait for the Perfected Lords and Foundation Establishment cultivators outside to enter one after another, and then wait for an opportunity to contact the Nameless Dao Lord.
"Rumble!"
The resonant sound of heaven surged across the four wilds. The originally perfect arc of light fully manifested in the world, shattering as a result and transforming into a visible cyan storm.
Within the storm, the towering palace revealed its traces.
At the same time, the Dao Fruit star formed by the [Great Forest Wood] brightened accordingly, seemingly lamenting the fall of the palace, shedding immeasurable profound wonder.
"It's out!"
The first to react was the Old Dragon Mother, simply because in the unseen world, the Heavenly Lord's voice had reached its peak the moment the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace] manifested.
[Stop entangling with him, go in!]
[Find... the City Rampart Earth!]
Facing the Heavenly Lord's urging, the Old Dragon Mother didn't dare to neglect it. She immediately took a step back, and simultaneously, a Dao Fruit star high in the firmament was suddenly lit up by him.
[Heavenly River Water]
At this moment, the Overseas Six Dragon Lords were closely united, jointly manifesting a towering True Dragon. Their Immortal Bridge realm cultivation, under the Heavenly Lord's elevation, reached straight to Heaven Treading.
With such a high stature, the profound wonder of the Dao Fruit pushed by it was naturally also at the absolute pinnacle:
[Star River Immortal]!
In an instant, billowing clouds and mist gathered between the True Dragon's claws. It poured down the silver river and flew finely up to the azure firmament, engulfing the True Dragon's figure within.
Then, the clouds and mist soared into the sky on rosy clouds.
And vanished without a trace.
The Old Dragon Lord astonishingly flew up out of thin air, riding the clouds away right under Bu Tianque's nose. None of the Perfected Lords present could detect its true body!
Seeing this scene, Bu Tianque was also slightly taken aback.
But soon, he reacted and chuckled softly:
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
As his voice fell, the [Heaven-Mending Dao] behind him immediately responded. This Great Dao pierced through the [Vast Ocean Water] and could sense the position of the Dao Fruit's master out of thin air.
As it circulated at this moment, with just a single vibration, ripples were instantly raised within the [Vast Ocean Water], concurrently affecting the master of the Dao Fruit. A dragon shadow was immediately jolted out right at the entrance of the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace]. It was precisely the Old Dragon Lord who had just disappeared. Seeing this, the latter only felt his scalp go numb:
'How bitter!'
Not daring to delay, the Old Dragon Lord continued riding the cloud light. Still using the [Star River Immortal], he slipped into the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace] before anyone else.
"Where are you going!"
Bu Tianque followed closely behind. A streak of the [Heaven-Mending Dao] pierced the void, directly punching a hole in the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace], and then drove straight in.
"They got ahead..."
Seeing this, the others frowned one after another. "Although this place has manifested in the world, the profound wonder within is dissipating and its mighty power is at its peak. It's not that easy to enter."
"The [Heavenly River Water] is profound and wonderful, and the [Star River Immortal] possesses the wonder of soaring into the sky on rosy clouds and remaining untainted by mortal dust. It's one thing that he could enter, but on what grounds could that demon Bu Tianque?"
"It's because his Great Dao is special; it seems very suitable for punching holes..."
Right at this moment, another figure walked out. He had a rugged appearance and was dressed like a savage. The axe in his hand gleamed with cold light, and a heroic smile graced his face.
It was exactly Pan Huang.
"Everyone, I will be taking my leave first as well."
As his voice fell, Pan Huang charged directly into the cyan storm. He didn't use any profound wonder to evade it at all; he simply relied on his unparalleled dharma body to endure it forcefully.
"These guys who cultivate the dharma body..."
"To think such a brute could get in, there's no justice!"
Many Perfected Lords grew somewhat red-eyed seeing this. Unfortunately, while Pan Huang could endure it forcefully, they couldn't. They could only wait until the profound wonder had largely dissipated before trying to enter.
Thus, another fifteen minutes or so passed.
As the radiance of the cyan storm gradually dimmed, Perfected Lords finally made their move. And when the storm completely dissipated, the Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones couldn't hold back either.
For a time, the sky was filled with streaks of light, making one's eyes blur.
To this, Lu Yang, observing from the shadows, could only sigh:
'This era is still too principled.'
'After the Perfected Lords eat the meat, they actually leave some soup for the lower-realm Foundation Establishment cultivators... If this were the present world, let alone drinking soup, the lower-realm cultivators would have been eaten right along with the meat.'
And while everyone was gathering their strength and charging into the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace], one figure remained completely unmoved, quietly watching this scene.
The Great Sword Ancestor.
This peerless sword cultivator, currently the number one figure in the false history, swept his gaze over one Perfected Lord after another, yet couldn't find the person he was looking for.
'The [Mountain Peak Fire] didn't come?'
After a moment of silence, the main body of the Great Sword Ancestor in the Jiangnan Sword Pavilion opened his eyes and gently tapped the Extreme Heaven Cliff below him: "Fellow Daoist, back then when you left behind the grotto-heaven…"
"What were you seeking?"
Soon, a voice came from below the Extreme Heaven Cliff: "What, the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace] has emerged? Hahaha, let me out, and I'll tell you."
Hearing this, the Great Sword Ancestor frowned slightly: "It's not time for Fellow Daoist to come out yet."
"Then I have no comment."
The conversation once again ended on a sour note.
But beneath the Extreme Heaven Cliff, in the deep darkness, heavy thoughts echoed faintly: 'The grotto-heaven has emerged. Does this mean Fellow Daoist is preparing to fish?'
'Who does he want to catch?'
Although suppressed, he still had a connection to the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace]. At this moment, he astonishingly perceived a strand of aura; it was the jade slip the Nameless Dao Lord had given him.
This aura originally did not exist.
'He intentionally put it inside. He wants to fish for that Nameless Dao Lord!?'
After a brief moment of shock, a burst of loud laughter abruptly erupted in the darkness:
"Good, good, good, I truly didn't misjudge you, Fellow Daoist."
The heroes of the world are only you and I!