The massive secret suddenly dropped by the World Honored One caused Lu Yang's pupils to contract sharply. However, from another perspective, this secret also made him sigh with relief.
Because it answered a question.
Why did Sisui join forces with the Primordial Saint to suppress the Ancestral Dragon back then, and even to some extent, the Sisui of that time was the main force suppressing the Ancestral Dragon.
Now the case was solved.
'The Ancestral Dragon is the initiator of cultivator civilization!'
'And by relying on this concept, coupled with the stature of an Innate Dao God, he could create cultivator civilization, and naturally he could also destroy it, just like growing vegetables.'
Cultivator civilization was like a carefully tended field cultivated by the Ancestral Dragon. Perfected Lords, Great Perfected Lords, and even Dao Lords were the melons, fruits, and vegetables growing in their varied forms within it. Originally, all of this lay within the Ancestral Dragon's grasp—for the stature of an Innate Dao God, when compared to cultivators, was nothing less than an overwhelming disparity of existence.
However, for all things in the universe, there is always a sliver of vitality.
Thus, [Variables] appeared.
Sisui, the Primordial Saint, the Dao Lords walking at the very forefront of cultivators discovered the Ancestral Dragon's methods. And after experiencing a great war, they killed the Ancestral Dragon!
'That's it.'
'Only this kind of crisis concerning the survival of cultivator civilization could make Sisui, the strongest among the cultivator group at the time and the pinnacle of morality, fall out with the Ancestral Dragon!'
At the same time, Lu Yang also understood the Great Sword Ancestor's actions.
"Looking at it this way, during the Dao Lord War back then, the Ancestral Dragon once tried to use the Heavenly Lord's hands to initiate a wave of harvesting to provide power for his own breakthrough."
"Correct." The World Honored One nodded slightly.
"Sanhe could not stop the Heavenly Lord, and Sisui had no means to resolve it either. So he could only change tactics—slaying all cultivators above the Perfected Lord realm…"
"…and in the end, take his own life."
"Severing it at the root—cutting off the Ancestral Dragon's chance to harvest."
"During this process, he must have also fought several battles with the Heavenly Lord, suffering heavy injuries several times because of it. If not for this, he wouldn't have spent sixty years of time."
Lu Yang was momentarily speechless.
How should he put it? This set of operations indeed had the demeanor of a sword bastard. But in the end, the Great Sword Ancestor's suicide made him different from ordinary sword bastards.
Thinking of this, a thought stirred in Lu Yang's mind.
In the past, these could only remain as guesses. He had no way to verify whether what the World Honored One said was true or false. But things were different now.
"I need to verify this."
Lu Yang didn't shy away from it, saying cleanly and decisively. Hearing this, the World Honored One's gaze also stirred slightly, and an indescribable complex emotion surfaced in the depths of his eyes.
"...You may."
"By the way, please give my regards to that Senior. If we truly return to the real history in the future, there shouldn't be any gratitude or grudges; it's nothing more than an illusion."
"I will pass on the message."
Lu Yang nodded. Immediately after, he circulated his divine sense, splitting off a strand of consciousness. Traversing through time via the [Marionette], he contacted Sisui once again.
The origin of the false history.
Sensing the arrival of Lu Yang's consciousness once again, Sisui announced class dismissed again, sending off the Xiu Zhen, and then invited Lu Yang into the pavilion.
"Fellow Daoist, what doubts do you have this time?"
Sisui grasped his disciplinary ruler, his smile carrying a bit of dissatisfaction. At the same time, he downgraded Lu Yang's "poor student" ranking in his heart by another level.
How long had it been, and he was here again?
A poor student of this level, in the past, would have had to sit beside him and listen to lectures, inseparable like a shadow, being taught at all times. Otherwise, they would fall behind if they weren't careful.
Lu Yang didn't notice Sisui's subtle emotions, but directly said:
"To tell Senior the truth, I just met with the World Honored One. From his mouth, I learned some secrets concerning the Ancestral Dragon, so I specifically came over to verify them."
Immediately after, Lu Yang recounted the contents of his conversation with the World Honored One in detail. After listening to his words, Sisui's expression also gradually became heavy. Only after a long time did he shake his head: "It's mostly correct, but there are some details that child Myriad Treasure probably isn't clear about either."
"I implore Senior to speak plainly." Lu Yang asked curiously.
"If the Ancestral Dragon merely possessed the power to destroy cultivator civilization, but didn't intend to use it, I might have thought of a way to resolve it through conversation."
Sisui thought for a moment and explained:
"After all, I was actually quite confident back then. I felt the so-called destruction of cultivator civilization was nothing more than a profound wonder, entirely capable of finding a way to decipher it."
"But the Ancestral Dragon was not like that."
"When the Primordial Saint told me this intelligence, I discovered the Ancestral Dragon had already planned to destroy cultivator civilization. The Immortal Nexus was his chosen sacrificial altar."
As his voice fell, a haze couldn't help but surface on Sisui's face: "This was my fault. Because of a Dao discussion between me and the Ancestral Dragon, it gave him the idea of integrating the five great Heavenly Destinies using the [Five Elements]. But relying on him alone wasn't enough, so he initiated a harvest upon cultivator civilization..."
"A large number of Perfected Lords died because of this."
"Their lifelong cultivation vanished into nothingness, dying at the Ancestral Dragon's hands. By the time I and the other Dao Lords arrived, the Ancestral Dragon had already preliminarily completed the integration."
"Thus came the current [Five Elements]."
"Subsequently, a great war erupted. I felt guilty at the time, and therefore agreed to the Primordial Saint's plan. Going all out, we used [Paramita] to suppress the Ancestral Dragon."
After speaking, Sisui shook his head wistfully: "I didn't expect that in the original history, after the Dao Lord War, the Ancestral Dragon would have another opportunity to break free... Sanhe's method was indeed very radical, but his cultivation wasn't enough. Doing so was also an act of helplessness. If it were me, I wouldn't have a better method either."
Lu Yang: "..."
After listening to the account from Sisui's perspective, Lu Yang only grasped one key point: 'It was the Primordial Saint who discovered the Ancestral Dragon's conspiracy to harvest cultivator civilization back then?'
'Give me a break!'
A chill spread through Lu Yang's heart as his thoughts turned inward:
'That old bastard must have known all along—merely waiting for the critical moment to lay everything bare. Using the guise of forced abdication, he cornered Sisui into agreeing to the construction of [Paramita]!'
This was not even a conspiracy.
It was an open scheme—one that calculated Sisui's very nature to the utmost. Not only did it compel him to take the vanguard and suffer grievous harm, it also seamlessly brought about the establishment of [Paramita].
And for this, Sisui even had to thank him!
After all, if not for the intelligence delivered by the Primordial Saint at that critical juncture, cultivator civilization would very likely have suffered catastrophic losses. Seizing that moment, the Primordial Saint reaped an enormous surge of credibility.
'Barring any unforeseen turns, the period right after the suppression of the Ancestral Dragon was when Sisui—and even the other Dao Lords—placed their greatest trust in the Primordial Saint. That was why the [Five Elements] seal was constructed in such a manner. The Three Foundations held no defenses at all; their trust was fully leveraged by the Primordial Saint—only to be utterly exploited in the end.'
Lu Yang let out a long breath.
Then he finally raised his head and looked at Sisui again: "Senior, the World Honored One has already forsaken darkness for light. He has decided to assist me in attaining the Dao, and also assist Senior in breaking free."
"Oh?"
Sisui was taken aback upon hearing this. He thought for a moment, then smiled: "So you're saying, the Dao Lord who tested you earlier was him? He indeed had the most motive."
"I'm guessing he had you pass on a message."
Lu Yang nodded: "He said, if Senior returns, and karma returns to the orthodox timeline, all the various events of the past will completely turn into illusion, and there will be no gratitude or grudges anymore."
"He's afraid you might be petty, Senior."
Speaking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but laugh.
But Sisui thought for a moment, his expression turning solemn: "You can reply to him: even if history returns to the orthodox timeline, the things that happened will not just disappear."
"He still has to pay the price."
Sisui said solemnly: "After this matter is over, he must come to my schoolhouse and study for a hundred thousand years, properly washing away all the various bad habits he has been tainted with over the years."
"Only after passing my examination can he leave."
"Otherwise, I will absolutely not spare him."