Above the sky vault, dim colors permeated.
To the multitude of cultivators below, they were still unable to clearly see what had happened, only able to perceive that those two lofty and distant auras had not diminished.
Jiangnan, Extreme Heaven Cliff.
Ling Xiao sized up the sky vault with great interest, then looked curiously at the Great Sword Ancestor beside him: "Fellow Daoist, who won and who lost. Are you able to see it?"
The Great Sword Ancestor nodded slightly:
"I cannot see the details clearly, but I can roughly see it."
Despite saying so, his eyes didn't show the slightest composure, but were instead extremely solemn. He pondered inwardly: 'Was that a true Primordial Spirit aura just now?'
With his cultivation, he could naturally easily see the result of the battle. However, that result greatly astonished him, because in the end, the Heavenly Lord's aura astonishingly broke through the limit of Heaven Treading. Yet as far as he knew, the Heavenly Lord, this first Immortal Spirit of the Immortal Nexus, fundamentally had no Dao Heart cultivation to speak of.
How could he possibly have a Primordial Spirit?
Or was it that, that actually wasn't the Heavenly Lord, but someone else wearing the Heavenly Lord's skin? But in this illusory world, besides himself, where was there another Primordial Spirit cultivator?
Unless the person taking the Heavenly Lord's place—
'Came from the real world outside!'
Thinking of this, the usually calm and indifferent Great Sword Ancestor finally stood up. The gaze in his eyes, originally as still as water, also consequently rippled slightly.
'A Dao Lord? Which one could it be?'
Thinking of this, the Great Sword Ancestor abruptly turned his head and looked at Ling Xiao: "In that battle just now... strictly speaking, that fellow Daoist of yours won."
"Oh? Why?"
Hearing this, Ling Xiao was actually somewhat surprised: "Listening to Fellow Daoist's tone, could it be that fellow Daoist of mine won very narrowly? Just against that Heavenly Lord?"
Regarding the Heavenly Lord, Ling Xiao asked himself and felt he was still very familiar with him. Undeniably, he was more clear-headed than in the true history, but that was about it. During the heaven-defying war thirty years ago, the other party had purely relied on the sheer volume of the Immortal Nexus to exhaust him. If not for that, he alone could have beaten the Heavenly Lord into a crushing defeat.
In contrast, Lu Yang was someone who could defeat him head-on.
In Ling Xiao's view, if Lu Yang couldn't win against the Heavenly Lord, then he would inevitably be like himself, engaging in a protracted heaven-defying war where determining the victor would take time.
And since the victor was decided so quickly.
The result should naturally be Lu Yang defeating the Heavenly Lord with an overwhelming advantage... but from the Great Sword Ancestor's tone, it seemed that wasn't the case?
"This Heavenly Lord is different."
The Great Sword Ancestor shook his head. "I suspect he is no longer the original Heavenly Lord, but rather a certain Dao Lord from the outside—the real world—descending into the mortal realm…"
Hearing this, Ling Xiao did not hesitate in the slightest, the answer slipping out almost by instinct:
"Oh, the World Honored One."
"…Myriad Treasure? On what grounds do you say that?" The Great Sword Ancestor blinked, bewildered.
Ling Xiao looked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"As everyone knows, the World Honored One is particularly fond of bullying the weak. Whenever a Dao Lord descends into the mortal world, nine times out of ten, it's him making a move."
At these words, the Great Sword Ancestor could not help but press a hand to his brow, rubbing lightly.
The Myriad Treasure he remembered was nothing like this. Just how had things changed?
What, exactly, had the real world beyond become, for its atmosphere to have deteriorated to such a degree?
Meanwhile, Ling Xiao was intrigued and asked curiously: "So you're saying, that fellow Daoist of mine defeated the World Honored One in a head-on battle?"
"You could say that."
The Great Sword Ancestor nodded, then shook his head again: "However, he merely gained the upper hand; it wasn't a true life-and-death struggle. If they continued fighting, there might be variables."
Killing and defeating are two different matters.
At least from the Great Sword Ancestor's perspective, Lu Yang merely held the upper hand just now. If they fought a war of attrition and continued battling, the odds of winning were about sixty-forty.
Not high, but already very astonishing.
After all, that was a Dao Lord. Having a chance of winning was in itself enough to shock people.
Thinking of this, the Great Sword Ancestor wanted to continue observing, but found his line of sight abruptly becoming blurred. Evidently, someone didn't want him to watch any longer.
...
At the end of the sky vault.
After the World Honored One's voice fell, he fell into silence. Seeing this, Lu Yang also didn't speak first, but instead sized up the surrounding environment with a bit of curiosity.
'The sky vault... the false history is indeed different.'
'Outside the Immortal Nexus, the sea of light does not exist. From this point, it is obvious that the [Heavenly Scripture] that forged the false history is far inferior to the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].'
Outside the Immortal Nexus in the false history, there was nothingness, just this vast and boundless sky vault that could accommodate all cultivators fighting in this domain.
The higher the cultivation, the further away from the mortal world. However, no matter how high one went, it was impossible to fly out of the false history through the sky.
Besides this, there were many other things the false history lacked.
'There is no Foundation Establishment realm, no Sea of Bitterness, no Dark Aspect of the Light Sea, no Netherworld, only some specious, false things shaped by karma.'
It was precisely the lack of these real things that made the false history seem increasingly illusory.
However, looking at it from another angle, as long as the vacancies of these real things could be filled, perhaps the false history could also transform from illusion to true reality.
Right at this moment.
"Fellow Daoist, your methods are extraordinary."
The long-silent World Honored One finally spoke: "That final profound wonder was closer to [Variable] than my [Karma]. How did you attain it?"
"Does Senior wish to know?"
Lu Yang blinked upon hearing this, then formed a seal of [Fate Revolution] and handed over a cultivation method jade slip: "Then do you want to try cultivating it?"
The World Honored One: "..."
'Is it because of the misunderstanding related to Youngest Junior Brother before that makes you feel this Venerable One looks like a fool and is very easy to deceive? What great winds and waves hasn't this Venerable One seen?'
'Do you truly think you won?'
'You merely won a single move. I still have other formidable methods I haven't deployed. If we truly continued fighting, the best result would also be mutually assured destruction!'
Thinking of this, the World Honored One shook his head: "Fellow Daoist, are you very proud of yourself right now?"
"Senior misunderstands."
Lu Yang shook his head. It was merely a battle at the same realm, and the World Honored One hadn't even utilized his Primordial Spirit. This kind of victory held no value in the Immortal Nexus.
Being able to use the weak to overcome the strong, that is true ability.
So what if one is invincible at the same realm? With cultivation a hair higher, a whole heaven higher... back then, the Primordial Saint claimed to be number one in battle, yet wasn't he still suppressed and beaten by Sisui?
Seeing Lu Yang like this, the World Honored One focused his attention and observed for another moment. Confirming that the words and actions of the person before him truly came from the bottom of his heart, he finally nodded slightly: "Since Fellow Daoist is aware of the reality in the sea of light, then that is good, saving this poor monk the trouble of reminding you... However, no matter what, Fellow Daoist indeed has a certain amount of capital."
"May I boldly ask Senior."
Hearing this, Lu Yang also mustered his courage, cupped his hands, and asked: "I see Senior has numerous methods and is good at using external objects. I wonder what kind of methods the other Dao Lords possess?"
This question was asked tactfully.
The World Honored One instantly heard Lu Yang's underlying meaning, which was nothing more than wanting to ask what tier his combat strength in Dao arts was among the six Dao Lords.
"The Spiritual Power Dao Lord is inferior to me."
The World Honored One thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Setting aside the gap in stature, the methods of the Dao Arts Dao Lord are actually about the same as mine. Cang Hao, however, is slightly stronger than me."
"The Primordial Saint naturally goes without saying."
"As for the Sword Lord, although she is inferior to the Primordial Saint, she is only inferior to the Primordial Saint. Her strength is unquestionable, and with the amplification of the [Heavenly Dao], she is even stronger."
Lu Yang understood.
'So you're saying, with my current combat strength, in a battle at the same realm, I have hope killing the Spiritual Power Dao Lord, slightly surpassing the Dao Arts Dao Lord, drawing with Cang Hao, facing a certain risk of death against the Sword Lord, and if the Sword Lord receives the amplification of the [Heavenly Dao], I will definitely die. And against the Primordial Saint, lasting a hundred moves can be considered a success...'
'It's seems okay?'