Patriarch Nether Whisper.
He was Lu Yang's greatest source of assistance when he was weak, yet as Lu Yang's cultivation progressed, he gradually retreated behind the scenes. He was a cultivator whose brilliance once amazed an entire era.
Now, he stepped onto the stage once again.
The young man with white hair and white clothes stood in front of the palace gate with his hands tucked in his sleeves, a smile playing in his eyes. Despite his youthful appearance, his demeanor carried a hint of aged weariness.
But more shocking than all this was the profound wonder radiance lingering above his head, and the giant hand extending from that radiance. It firmly pinched the Late Stage Golden Core Cang River Dragon Lord between its fingertips, rendering him completely unable to move. Immeasurable profound wonder mighty power continuously gathered within this palm.
Just sensing that profound wonder was enough to make people keep their distance.
For a time, the divine senses that had landed on Patriarch Nether Whisper retreated one after another. They didn't dare to pry further, afraid of angering him and ending up caught by that giant hand as well.
"Rumble!"
Instantly, heaven and earth abruptly turned white. The condensed profound wonder poured out, and the heaven-obscuring giant hand exerted slight pressure, preparing to completely crush the Cang River Dragon Lord to death like an ant.
"Roar—"
In a moment of dire peril, the Cang River Dragon Lord's reaction was incredibly fast. His profound wonder instantly linked with Dragon Lord Yu Zhao, who wasn't far away, and then he drew the profound wonder onto himself.
[Stars River Immortal]!
Situated at the noble and bright position of Fire, this water only existed in heaven, therefore transcending worldly matters and unconstrained by mortal things. Now unleashed, it instantly caused the wind and clouds to change.
Riding the shifting clouds and mist, the Cang River Dragon Lord's figure dissipated between the fingertips of the heaven-obscuring giant hand, vanishing without a trace. He only reformed his body ten thousand miles away. But before he could fully manifest, he discovered that the heaven-obscuring giant hand had astonishingly expanded synchronously, stretching all the way over ten thousand miles as well!
He was still in its palm!
'How could this be...'
Seeing this, the previously composed expression of the Cang River Dragon Lord wavered slightly. The aura surging from Patriarch Nether Whisper left him without the slightest bit of contempt.
The escape technique of the [Stars River Immortal] was absolutely not limited to distance.
If it were just about distance, what difference did a hundred miles, a thousand miles, or ten thousand miles make to a Great Perfected Lord? In a real fight, it was virtually no different from being right in front of them.
What truly made the [Stars River Immortal] stand out was that while escaping, it also possessed the profound wonder of "shaking off". No matter what kind of seal method or bone-clinging technique it was, he could easily shake it off. It looked like he had only fled a thousand or ten thousand miles, but in reality, all crises had been left behind.
And with his stature as a Great Perfected Lord, executing this profound wonder was even more formidable.
Therefore, logically speaking, as long as the profound wonder was successfully activated, no matter how far the heaven-obscuring giant hand could reach, he should have easily been able to jump out of it.
Yet the result was contrary to this.
'What kind of method is this, that even the [Stars River Immortal] can't shake it off?' The Cang River Dragon Lord's thoughts raced, realizing how thorny Patriarch Nether Whisper was.
'What is... this person's cultivation level?'
Entering the Dao? Dao Integration? Immortal Bridge?
He couldn't tell, but this didn't stop him from making a judgment. This person's methods were extraordinary; it would be best to wait until all six of their Dragon Lords gathered before fighting him.
'Retreat first!'
At this thought, he withdrew and retreated again.
This time, besides Dragon Lord Yu Zhao, the Huai River Dragon Lord also responded to him. The light of a surging mighty river converged, causing his aura to abruptly skyrocket.
The six Dragon Lords were closely united, jointly sharing the [Water of the Five Elements]. Normally, the Old Dragon Lord took the large share, firmly securing a position at the Immortal Bridge realm, while the Cang River Dragon Lord took a smaller portion, making him only an Entering the Dao Great Perfected Lord. However, after integrating the profound wonders of the other Dragon Lords, this realm could be further elevated.
"Rumble!"
In an instant, the soaring rosy clouds expanded countless times. The billowing river currents all poured into these rosy clouds, multiplying its mighty power.
[Inexhaustible Stream]!
A profound wonder symbolizing "infinity." It could be used for offense, or it could assist other profound wonders, pushing any Water Element Dao Fruit profound wonder to its absolute limit!
In the next second, the Cang River Dragon Lord rose again.
He brought Dragon Lord Yu Zhao and the Huai River Dragon Lord along, riding the wind and treading the clouds. This time, he was incredibly confident. The giant hand above his head couldn't possibly stop him again!
Before leaving, he didn't forget to turn his head, intending to firmly engrave the other party in his memory.
'Wait until I find Big Brother first, then I'll come back another day to settle the score...'
Then, he saw the white-clothed man standing in the palace. He met those eyes brimming with the Light of Wisdom and saw the other party reveal a smile.
"Not a bad profound wonder."
The calm laughter carried over through spiritual power, containing the curiosity of a hunter encountering worthy prey. Immediately after, the Cang River Dragon Lord saw the heaven-obscuring giant hand above his head...
actually beginning to float with rosy clouds as well!
At this moment, it wasn't just him transforming with the clouds. That heaven-obscuring giant hand also rode the clouds and flew up, following him as he escaped, arriving tens of thousands of miles away!
"...Ah?"
The overly shocking reality made the Cang River Dragon Lord almost forget how to think. Because of the gap in Dao comprehension, the scene before his eyes was completely incomprehensible to him.
But more importantly, the crisis was right before his eyes!
The Cang River Dragon Lord had no doubt that if he was caught by this giant hand, the best outcome would be suppression. If it dragged on, his life would truly be in danger!
"W-wait!"
By the time he snapped back to his senses, the heaven-obscuring giant hand had already continued to grab downwards. The Cang River Dragon Lord didn't dare to hesitate, much less care about his pride. He hurriedly said in a loud voice:
"Fellow Daoist! You and I have no past grievances and no present enmity, why must we fight to the death like this? I won't hide it from Fellow Daoist, stopping me here is meaningless. My elder brother has already entered through another path. Rather than doing this in vain, Fellow Daoist, why not form a good karmic connection? My six brothers and sisters will definitely not forget your kindness..."
At this moment, the Cang River Dragon Lord was racking his brains.
However, after his voice fell, he found that the white-clothed man in the palace wasn't looking at him at all. His gaze even bypassed him, looking towards a further direction.
What was he looking at?
The Cang River Dragon Lord's judgment was correct. Patriarch Nether Whisper truly didn't care about him. He was merely staring blankly at the [White Jade Capital] before him.
Every palace here represented a divine throne.
A quarter of them were placed under the jurisdiction of his [Divine Throne of Great Tranquility Governing the Order of Myriad Phenomena]. However, the honorable titles Lu Yang gave them were extremely special.
'Ghost Messenger, Rakshasa, Black and White Impermanence, Civil and Military Judges, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Day and Night Wandering Gods...'
They originated from the Shaman Ghost Dao.
"...That brat." Patriarch Nether Whisper suddenly smiled.
In a daze, he seemed to see a future where the deities who had inherited the Shaman Ghost Dao's legacy gathered under his rule, far surpassing the scene at its peak.
The white-clothed, white-haired young man smiled even more happily.
To a Great Perfected Lord, who would care about a mere Foundation Establishment sect? Especially since this was the Immortal Nexus; forgetting one's roots was a basic quality of the people here.
But he remembered.
He had originally thought his sins were too great, so he pinned his hopes on the next generation of disciples. He wholeheartedly assisted them, basically cutting off his own desire to seek the Dao.
"In the end, to think he actually tossed the burden back to me."
"Making decisions for me without permission, he deserves a beating."
But to have such a heart—
It was excellent.
Thinking of this, Patriarch Nether Whisper closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his brows were soaring, and the accumulated aged weariness on his body completely faded away at this moment!
It was as if he had returned to the era when he roamed the world unhindered, high-spirited and vigorous.
In the next second, the shadow of death crawled onto the Cang River Dragon Lord's face, making him struggle in terror. Yet, he couldn't stop the heaven-obscuring giant hand from tightening its grip no matter what.
It was as if everything was already a foregone conclusion, unable to be altered!
[Heaven within Palm].
"Bang!"
A dignified Dragon Lord—an Entering-the-Dao Great Perfected Lord, a being who's enough to stand at the pinnacle thoroughout history—was blasted into a sky-filling burst of blood!