Changing heaven and earth has never been something achieved overnight.
It wasn't as if the moment the cultivators and demon race of Jiangxi and the overseas region switched to the Investiture of the Gods Method today, the act of changing heaven and earth in these two places was successfully completed. Lu Yang wouldn't be that naive.
'Switching cultivation methods is merely the beginning.'
'The cultivators switching methods merely severs the territory from the Immortal Nexus. This level of control is about the same as the original [Heavenly Dao].'
It remained on the surface, without penetrating deep into every inch of land.
Therefore, it needed to be sorted out.
Thus, after forcibly withstanding heaven's punishment and severing Jiangxi and the overseas region, Lu Yang didn't seek quick success and instant benefits. Instead, he spent three years slowly sorting out these two lands.
The results were astonishing.
Sitting upright on Spirit Mountain, Lu Yang's divine sense seemed to drift to an infinitely high and distant place, looking down at Jiangxi and the overseas region, his gaze carrying an otherworldly profound wonder.
At this moment, he could see every inch of land in Jiangxi, see the cities, see the countryside. Every single cultivator, and even every single mortal, from infants to the elderly—the thoughts of all living beings could not escape his perception. He seemed to have merged into one with them, yet in reality, they were distinctly separated.
To speak bluntly.
In this instant, the entirety of Jiangxi and the overseas region were carried on his shoulders, and his heart held the universe and all directions, making him unable to resist letting out a long breath.
"Hoo..."
This breath, falling upon Jiangxi and the overseas region, was a gust of strong wind, the surging spiritual qi. An unprecedented sense of "omnipotence" filled Lu Yang's heart.
'...Incredible.'
The mighty power from the Immortal Nexus continuously elevated his stature, while the fetters from all living beings bound him tightly, preventing him from getting lost in the Dark Void.
Fantastic!
'If it were the current me facing that heaven's punishment from three years ago again, I probably wouldn't need to use the method of severing communication between heaven and earth to resist it indirectly. Instead, I could meet it head-on and shatter it from the front... And this is only the single region of Jiangxi. If the other three regions were also incorporated under my control...'
Golden Core Great Perfection, there wouldn't be any suspense.
And before that, Jiangdong, Jiangnan, Jiangbei—as long as he controlled just one more region, even against the Great Sword Ancestor, who claimed to be a Half-Step Dao Lord, he would dare to fight!
'However, that Great Sword Ancestor's thoughts are unfathomable...'
Lu Yang's face revealed a look of pondering. The Great Sword Ancestor's strength was undeniable. But the problem was that no one knew exactly what this number one person in the false history was thinking.
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, Lu Yang frowned. His perception of heaven and earth had already reached its absolute limit at this moment. Right now, a subtle sensation had astonishingly arisen.
'There is something.'
A foreign object, completely different from the false history, had been sent in.
Jiangbei, [Kanyang Lake]
Chong Guang slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness also breaking free from the vast historical memories and forbidden knowledge, barely recovering a clear state of mind.
'I am...'
The moment he sobered up, Chong Guang was stunned. [Kanyang Lake], a region he had almost forgotten in the depths of his memories, the place of his birth.
'...Immortal Spirit!?'
Yes, he had changed back.
With a slight stir of his thoughts, Chong Guang could clearly sense his condition. His five great divine abilities and the grand aura of Foundation Establishment Great Perfection were bound within a piece of stone.
This was him.
To be precise, it was him over a hundred thousand years ago in the false history. At this time, he hadn't yet reincarnated. As an Immortal Spirit, he only had a stone embryo, and hadn't even finished gestating into shape, merely possessing a bit of spirituality... However, with the arrival of him from the true history, everything was changed.
"Rumble!"
The original stone embryo rapidly began to transform. The Xin Metal qi dispersed, replaced by Chong Guang's main body, with his five [Overtuned Lamp Fire] divine abilities perfected.
The true history and the false history were completing their unification.
'The me in the false history, the me in the true history, are both the same person. It's like the inside and outside of a mirror; what changes is karma and memories, not the person.'
Only after a long time did Chong Guang exhale deeply.
Raising his head, a look of excitement surfaced in the depths of his eyes, but even more so was caution: "A Dao Lord made a move, and I became a piece in a Dao Lord's layout?"
"Which Dao Lord made a move against me?"
"What do they want me to do?"
Just as Chong Guang was pondering, suddenly, an unimaginable, irresistibly grand will abruptly fell, locking onto him.
"Hm!?"
In an instant, Chong Guang's pupils contracted sharply, yet he rapidly found the other party's identity in his memories: 'The Heavenly Lord... the Heavenly Lord with a clear consciousness within the false history!'
'Not good...'
Chong Guang instantly realized something was wrong. If it were someone else, perhaps they wouldn't have been discovered by the Heavenly Lord so quickly. However, he was an Immortal Spirit now!
Practically right under the Heavenly Lord's nose.
In the next second, Chong Guang saw that grand consciousness brutally barge into his sea of consciousness. Without even speaking a word, it directly began to search his soul.
Up to this moment, he remained calm:
'I can't escape, meaningless.'
'This is destined. The reason the Dao Lord chose me as a chess piece should be precisely because of my origin as an Immortal Spirit, calculating perfectly that I would be discovered the moment I came in!'
Chong Guang instantly realized his "usefulness."
'I am... a messenger.'
'How could the Dao Lord be so kind? The forbidden knowledge and historical changes poured into my sea of consciousness weren't meant for me at all, but as a gift for the false history Heavenly Lord!'
That being said, the Heavenly Lord's heavy-handed methods still somewhat surprised Chong Guang. How should he put it? It felt a bit like throwing stones at a rat but fearing to break the vase; or more accurately, the feeling of being bitten by a snake once and fearing well ropes for ten years... Was there another Immortal Spirit similar to him that had caused it to suffer a loss before him?
Soon, the soul search ended.
Somewhere unseen, that grand will belonging to the Heavenly Lord seemed to fall into a long period of thought. And looking at it, a hint of pity surfaced in the depths of Chong Guang's eyes.
'Although he's awake, he's still very stupid.'
Chong Guang's perception was distinct. This Heavenly Lord was incredibly thirsty for the knowledge in his sea of consciousness, not sparing a single bit of it... However, these were all sent by a Dao Lord.
You dare to swallow all of this whole? What's the difference between this and eating shit?
"...Courting death!"
Chong Guang was one hundred percent certain that the knowledge the Dao Lord sent into his sea of consciousness definitely concealed hidden methods. Whoever dared to accept it would fall for the trick!
Sure enough, it didn't take long before the consciousness belonging to the Heavenly Lord began to violently fluctuate. Faintly, Chong Guang seemed to hear a shrill roar, yet it quickly returned to calm... An unknown amount of time passed before that grand consciousness finally rippled again, continuing to look towards Chong Guang.
Soon, light and shadow manifested.
Chong Guang's eyes widened, but he only heard a melodious tolling of a bell, seeming to drift over from an infinitely distant place, causing his expression to instantly freeze on his face.
'Bitter indeed...'
He knew which Dao Lord had placed the piece.
After all, among the four Dao Lords, only this one had the most resounding reputation among the lower-level cultivators. It could be said that everyone knew him, his shameless style renowned throughout the Immortal Nexus...
In the next second, the "Heavenly Lord" finally spoke.
His voice mixed into the melodious tolling of the bell. Radiantly golden Buddha light scattered as a result, manifesting concept of temples, monks, scripture expounding, and the like.
However, soon enough, heaven and earth returned to tranquility.
The myriad concept and thunderous sounds of expounding the dharma ultimately turned into a single sound—
"Alas!"