This was a wondrous spectacle that could only be witnessed within the Dark Void.
Looking out, the sea of light had taken on an entirely new form. With immeasurable limbs extending in all directions, it stood as a colossal giant.
The world realms became its cells, the Immortal Nexus its heart, and the Dao Lineages shaped by the Investiture of the Gods Method formed its meridians. Towering within the Dark Void, it radiated boundless might. Its light-forged hands slowly lifted, intercepting the descending fire of the sky's collapse.
"Rumble!"
In an instant, the fragments of the first and second tiers of [Paramita]—cast down deliberately by the Dao Lords—emerged within the collapsing fire, only to erupt violently under its searing heat.
The Dark Void itself seemed on the verge of disintegration.
A myriad of lights and colors twisted into a chaotic storm before detonating outward. Within it surged the powers of the Five Elements, Fortune, Destiny, alongside Spiritual Power, Dao Arts, and countless concepts—all converging at once.
However, the giant that the sea of light transformed into stood majestically unmoving. No matter how the storm of concepts boiled, it was firmly blocked on the periphery by those massive light-forged hands. The falling stature, sufficient to crush a Heaven Treading stage Great Perfected Lord, merely grazed a bit of skin when smashing onto those palms, having no other effect.
And this was only secondary.
More importantly, with the formation of the giant, the massive changes occurring within the sea of light caused the various Dao Lords to be unable to resist giving rise to a strong sense of crisis.
"Unbelivable..."
Within the sea of light, Immortal Venerable Taiyin was dumbfounded, unable to believe what she was seeing. What surfaced in her beautiful eyes was genuine fear.
'My Great Dao...'
The previous [Taiyin] Dao Fruit was one thing. The Celestial Court was gone, so the disappearance of the twenty-four Yin-Yang Dao Fruits was also within reason and could be considered acceptable.
The problem was [Gathering the Wealth of All].
This was the very foundation of her cultivation up to now. Every single concept was personally arranged and combined by her, only then finally attaining such a Dao Fruit out of thin air.
Yet now, she couldn't sense the Dao Fruit anymore.
Or rather, the ownership of [Gathering the Wealth of All] was no longer hers. A certain grander power descended out of thin air, replacing her and becoming the master of the Dao Fruit!
Besides that, she also couldn't sense her own spiritual power anymore. The Dao Arts she had learned also suddenly became unfamiliar, as if covered by a thin veil. The heaven and earth spiritual qi had also completely disappeared, and the karma that originally could be deduced suddenly became inaccurate. She felt as if she had instantly fallen to become a mortal!
It wasn't until she subconsciously circulated the Investiture of the Gods Method.
With the return of the false history and the altering of causes and shifting of effects, this cultivation method naturally surfaced in her mind as well. As long as one was a cultivator, they could switch to cultivating this method.
And then she discovered—
With the circulation of the Investiture of the Gods Method, the anomalies from just now seemed as if they had never appeared, instantly returning to normal. She had turned back into a Great Perfected Lord once again.
"Good Heavens..." Immortal Venerable Taiyin widened her beautiful eyes.
If you do not cultivate my Dao Lineage, heaven, earth, man, and spirit will collectively abandon you.
How overbearing!
Although she had already recovered, she could still sense that everything was because she cultivated the Investiture of the Gods Method. If not for this, she would truly have become a mortal!
However, the cultivators within the sea of light were still considered fortunate.
Because in the hundred thousand years of the false history, Lu Yang had long spread the Investiture of the Gods Dao Lineage. Now, under the altered causes and shifted effects, every single cultivator had the foundation of the Investiture of the Gods Method.
But the Dao Lords were different.
Outside the sea of light, residing high up on [Paramita], the Dao Lords felt it a hundred times more profoundly than Immortal Venerable Taiyin. And among them, the one with the most intense reaction was the Spiritual Power Dao Lord.
"No—!"
A furious roar exploded on the third tier of [Paramita], mixed within it a faintest trace of panic. The gaze looking towards the sea of light was filled with killing intent.
"My Dao Lineage... has been severed!"
"Not only that, my connection with the Spiritual Power Dao also seems to be weakening. That bastard is trying to steal my control over the Spiritual Power Dao!"
No wonder the Spiritual Power Dao Lord was furious.
As the one with the greatest hidden danger among the various Dao Lords, Dou Xuan, the Spiritual Power Dao Lord, had a flawed Primordial Spirit. Therefore, to this day, he still had a certain degree of need for his Dao Lineage.
Yet now.
With the sea of light severing the connection between heaven and earth, Lu Yang dismissing all other method and exclusively honoring the Divine Dao, the Star Palace Dao Lineage was severed. His originally stable Dao Lord position wavered!
Not to mention the problem with the Spiritual Power Dao.
After becoming a Dao Lord, apart from a skyrocketing stature, the Primordial Spirit could also reflect the Great Dao, thereby gaining control over it. This was the reason for the title "Dao Lord."
Under such circumstances, a Dao Lord could even carry the Great Dao into [Paramita]. Thus, within the present world's Sea of Bitterness, only a single [Tribulation] remained. All others—save for the elusive and untraceable [Variable]—had been taken away by the Dao Lords.
However, this "taking away" did not mean eradicating them at the root.
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
What the Dao Lords could take away was merely the external manifestation of the Great Dao, while the foundation of the Great Dao still remained in the sea of light. This was something even Dao Lords could not take away.
And so, a problem arose.
With the connection to the sea of light severed, the Spiritual Power Dao Lord clearly felt that a problem had occurred in the connection between the foundation of the Spiritual Power Dao and himself, making him increasingly panicked.
In contrast, the other Dao Lords were still considered calm.
After all, the others' Primordial Spirits had no flaws. And because the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] could not be interfered with, Lu Yang also hadn't been able to completely seal off the entire sea of light.
Therefore, besides the Spiritual Power Dao Lord, the other Dao Lords were not affected.
But there was still another problem.
"The current sea of light is rejecting our entry."
"It's fine for a short while, but if it goes on for a long time, without the sea of light as a shelter, we still run the risk of losing ourselves in the Dark Void... What a massive scheme, what high profound wonder!"
"We cannot let him continue."
"Dou Xuan!"
Cang Hao suddenly stirred his divine sense and locked onto the Spiritual Power Dao Lord: "Your condition is not good. Since that is the case, how about you return to the sea of light first?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Dou Xuan, who was just furious beyond measure, instantly regained his composure, his tone chilling: "What do you mean? You want me to be cannon fodder for you all?"
"It doesn't count as cannon fodder."
Cang Hao's voice carried a smile: "With [Paramita] falling, we will all have to go down sooner or later. It's merely a question of who goes first and who goes later."
"You just leading the vanguard."
"This also benefits you. As long as you are willing to take this trip first, the Sword Lord and I can assist you in temporarily stabilizing the state of your Primordial Spirit, so you won't lose yourself."
"Hmph..."
Dou Xuan frowned deeply upon hearing this, but instead looked towards the Dao Lord of Dao Arts. It wasn't until a voice came from that magnificent rosy light: "Dou Xuan, you should make a trip."
"...Alright then."
Only then did Dou Xuan nod. With the Dao Lord of Dao Arts' approval, he finally felt reassured. At least, both being from the Three Foundations, the other party wouldn't harm him.
Moreover, Cang Hao wasn't actually wrong. He indeed was the most urgent one, and the one who most needed someone to help him temporarily stabilize the state of his Primordial Spirit.
Thinking of this, the killing intent in his eyes grew deeper.
"Rumble!"
At this moment, a firelight ignited in the Dark Void, illuminating the universe. It instantly broke through the light-cast palm and smashed into the glabella of the sea of light giant.
The universe cracked open!
The fiercely burning figure illuminated more than half of the sea of light, carrying incalculable vast spiritual power and the vast power of stature falling from [Paramita].
A Dao Lord descends to the mortal realm!