Excitement washed over all the Dao Lords in that instant.
They had wounded him.
The World Honored One, standing close at hand, sensed the distant and unreachable Dao Tianqi in the future. His compassionate Buddha face had already morphed into the furious glare of a Vajra.
Endless calamitous and malevolent qi surged from the Buddha palm that pierced the Primordial Saint's body, attempting to completely disintegrate his true body. If this succeeded, the other Dao Lords would immediately swarm him, beating the drowning dog, and never give the Primordial Saint a chance to recover!
However, the next second, the Primordial Saint took a step forward.
With this step, he threw his chest-pierced, grievously weakened self into the [Past]. His present self remained completely unharmed, with only his aura dropping slightly.
He then looked at the World Honored One.
He spoke no words, projecting only coldness and killing intent. The Primordial Saint exhaled, gathering endless, vast might into brilliance within this single breath.
Rumble!
The World Honored One bore the full force of the blow and exploded on the spot. The Primordial Saint's breath engulfed him, its denser radiance drowning out his Buddha light—leaving him seemingly dead.
Then, a speck of light flickered into being.
What began as a mere spark surged in an instant into a blazing expanse. From within that radiance, the World Honored One tumbled forth—blood-soaked, his body half-shattered, yet unmistakably alive.
[Tribulation]!
Escaping the great tribulation, the calamity did not touch him. If this were the previous World Honored One who cultivated [Karma], the Primordial Saint would have definitely killed him. However, [Tribulation] allowed him to preserve his life!
Cough, cough, cough...
The Primordial Saint's gaze remained unchanged upon seeing this. He simply coughed again, but this time, he actually coughed up a mouthful of blood!
The instant this mouthful of blood appeared, the entire Dark Void seemed to ignite, inexplicably rising in temperature. That piercing red deeply invigorated the present Dao Lords. After all, if a person could bleed, it meant he wasn't invincible; he could be killed!
"Continue! Kill him!"
Lu Yang spoke first. The Heaven's Bane Sword reappeared, unleashing a specialized attack against the Primordial Spirit. A sword light capable of severing the Dao Heart slashed fiercely at the Primordial Saint, sounding the horn for the charge.
In a flash, all the Dao Lords struck!
Rumble!
The long river of destiny surged forward. Characters of Fortune diminished the Primordial Saint. The Heavenly Heart Seal, the annihilation of myriad laws, and tribulation qi clouding the mind instantly swallowed the Primordial Saint's figure!
Exhale...
At this moment, heavy breathing echoed through the Dark Void. It was exhausted yet steady, completely unmoved by the combined momentum of the seven Dao Lords.
Next, within the endless majestic light, the Primordial Saint held a streak of brilliance. Pure white and immaculate, untainted by external colors, it acted like a dam in a flood.
No matter how they battered it, he remained imposing and unmoving. All profundities shattered upon hitting him, leaving behind only a swirling mist.
[Inevitable Fate]!
Only at this moment did the Primordial Saint finally utilize his own Great Dao. The halo behind his head, symbolizing the perfection of life and nature, finally rippled.
At first glance, the Dao Lords fell short of success.
However, everyone smiled upon seeing this. Conversely, a trace of gloom surfaced in the indifferent eyes of the unmoving Primordial Saint.
Reaching this point, the tide of battle had already shifted.
Because he had to use [Inevitable Fate], paying a heavier price to deal with the Dao Lords, his originally perfect state had finally slipped.
In a pure battle, he did not fear the combined forces of the Dao Lords. It didn't matter even if there were seven of them. After all, he could now rival the former Sisui, standing a head taller than Golden Core Perfection. He inherently held the realm advantage, so why would he worry? However, in his eyes, they were not his true opponents.
Therefore, he had held back in this battle from the very beginning.
From start to finish, even when dealing with Dao Tianqi, he only used [Time] and did not activate [Inevitable Fate]. Naturally, he had his reasons.
He needed to save his strength to deal with Sisui.
He knew very well that, right now, Sisui was definitely observing the battle between him and the Dao Lords, searching for his flaws. These were immense hidden dangers.
That was why he held back.
Lu Yang and the other Dao Lords understood this clearly too. Therefore, killing the Primordial Saint was never their goal from the start; that was unrealistic.
Their goal was to probe and exhaust him.
They aimed to force the Primordial Saint to use [Inevitable Fate], break his perfect state, and test his limits. This would pave the way for Sisui's decisive strike upon emerging.
In conclusion, they succeeded.
They seemed to have dragged the Primordial Saint into a quagmire bit by bit. The previously unstoppable [Inevitable Fate] finally grew sluggish in its operation.
A fatal trap steadily took shape.
However, Lu Yang gradually frowned as he watched this scene.
Is this it? Where is the Primordial Saint's backup plan? Why hasn't he used it yet?
Did he really not foresee this?
He was the number one in the world. Theoretically, it was possible for all the Dao Lords to besiege him. Lu Yang thought to himself that if he were in that position, he would never ignore this possibility.
It was even more impossible for the Primordial Saint to ignore it.
If so, where is his hidden trump card?
Has the right time not arrived yet?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang grew even more vigilant. But no matter how on guard he stood, the Primordial Saint seemed truly at his wit's end, remaining inactive.
Beneath layers of brilliance, the Dao Lords pressured the Primordial Saint into a disadvantage. He used [Inevitable Fate] increasingly often, and the impact worsened. Initially, he remained immune to myriad laws, but he gradually began taking minor injuries. The wonder of [Inevitable Fate] had been drastically compromised!
At this moment, the Primordial Saint let go.
The Long River of Time roared. His figure shuttled simultaneously through the three time periods of past, present, and future. Sometimes he divided the Dao Lords; other times he shed his injuries.
This ferocity completely changed his initial immortal demeanor.
Naturally, the Dao Lords could not avoid spilling blood during this process. Heavy blows struck almost everyone. They coughed up blood, feeling a chill in their hearts.
Is he putting his life on the line? Impossible, right?
Can we really win?
Thinking of this, even the World Honored One found it somewhat unbelievable. He never expected to actually see the dawn of victory in this siege against the Primordial Saint.
However, Lu Yang noticed something wrong at this moment.
In his hand, the crimson brilliance formed by the [Fate Revolution] suddenly trembled violently. As if sensing something, it pointed toward the Primordial Saint from afar.
Over there, the Primordial Saint looked wretched. Only those indifferent eyes remained bright. The light symbolizing [Inevitable Fate] in his hand also mutated after repeated damage. Faintly, Lu Yang actually sensed a concept extremely similar to the [Fate Revolution]!
That was—[Variable]!
"[Inevitable Fate] has flaws, thus yielding changes!"
In a flash, Lu Yang finally understood:
"He did it on purpose! He is using this life-and-death battle to temper his Great Dao. Thrusting himself into deadly peril to survive, he is seizing the opportunity to comprehend [Variable] and assimilate it into himself!"
Wrong. We were all wrong.
The Primordial Saint was not unprepared. He merely placed his preparations on things other than external objects, as those fell outside his control and could malfunction.
Though the probability was low, he would not gamble on that tiny chance.
He only believed in himself!
This Dao Lord, who single-handedly founded the Primordial Saint Sect and established the Saint Sect's style, remained consistent. At this critical moment, he would only rely on himself!