At this moment, an indescribable radiance erupted like a sun in the deeper reaches of the Dark Void, at a higher point unreachable to those at Golden Core Perfection!
Almost all the Dao Lords raised their heads.
Once upon a time, this was a realm not even worth mentioning to them. Yet now, it was so impossibly high, bringing looks of yearning to their faces.
However...
Something isn't right.
Among the Dao Lords, Sword Lord was the foremost, and thus only her perception was the most profound.
These two individuals are different. Why are they different?
She could understand why Sisui was different. After all, he was a Dao Lord who had cultivated entirely on his own. Although she completely failed to understand the underlying principles, it didn't prevent her from admiring him... But what about the Primordial Saint? The Primordial Saint was no different from her; both utilized [Paramita], he just went further.
Why was he also different?
On the other side, Lu Yang was also comprehending his own gains. At this moment, he only felt his own state was simply perfect, powerful beyond imagination.
Three whole Great Daos.
Dharma Body, Yin-Yang, and the [Dao Heart] that Sisui had just attained. Sent into the Light Sea under his control, all three Great Daos could be utilized by him!
Such a transformation even gave him the illusion of being overly full. Although in his hands, these three Great Daos certainly couldn't exert the same effect as they did in Sisui's, at the very least, [Dao Heart] could be used in conjunction with the Heaven's Bane Sword. If he were to duel Sword Lord again this time...
Lu Yang thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
Winning is probably unlikely, but I should be able to injure her more severely. If it really comes to a fight to the death, she won't fare much better.
After all, he was different from the other Dao Lords.
His entire cultivation was entrusted to the [Celestial Court], to the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning], not to the foundation of the Light Sea. Relatively speaking, he was much easier to kill.
Just like the World Honored One from two lifetimes ago.
[Karma] sounded impressive, and its mighty power was on par with the other Dao Lords. But it was ultimately an unorthodox path, and its immortal trait was simply too far behind.
The next second, he also raised his head.
Looking up at [Paramita].
And there, two already majestic auras were sublimating explosively, forced to outwardly manifest the essence of their Great Daos because of their respective opponents.
The first was naturally Sisui. Within that aura that transcended everything and feared no loss in the Dark Void, a Yin-Yang Taiji diagram seemed to slowly unfurl.
Taiji generated the Two Polarities, the Two Polarities evolved into the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols generated the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams generated myriad phenomena. Finally, it reflected a boundless world completely distinct from the Light Sea.
This was Sisui's essence.
Is that... a Light Sea?
Some Dao Lords were incredulous. Looking at that lofty, majestic figure, they seemingly saw sentient beings and myriad things and saw endless concepts from his back.
This was the current Sisui.
He had already detached from the Light Sea, his essence having transformed into the second Light Sea in the Dark Void. And he himself was the Innate Dao God of this second Light Sea.
"Such mighty power..."
Beside Lu Yang, the World Honored One had already moved closer, his expression grave. "I have also ascended to [Paramita]. This is not the mighty power the first layer should possess."
"Oh?"
Lu Yang looked over upon hearing this, and the World Honored One continued, "The Sisui of right now... even at my peak, I would have to go all out to suppress him."
As soon as the World Honored One said this, Lu Yang's mind immediately became active. To put it more plainly, even though they were both situated on the first layer of [Paramita], Sisui's combat power was at the absolute top, and only a higher stature could suppress him? Could it be that Sisui actually had hope of winning this time?
Then the question arose: what about the Primordial Saint?
In the next instant, as if responding to Lu Yang's question, on the other side of the majestic figure manifested by Sisui, another figure gradually materialized.
"That is..."
The instant he saw the figure manifested by the Primordial Saint, a comprehension naturally surfaced in Lu Yang's mind. Observing it was like witnessing the Great Dao with his own eyes.
What is a Nascent Soul?
Why did the term Nascent Soul Dao Lord spread only after Dao Lords ascended to [Paramita], while before that, the strongest was merely Golden Core Perfection?
The answer was already abundantly clear.
Regarding the Nascent Soul, 'Nascent' (Yuan) referred to the Primordial Spirit, while 'Soul/Infant' (Ying) symbolized treating the Dark Void as the mother's body, using oneself as the infant fetus, and the Light Sea as the nourishment for growth.
[Paramita] was built within the Dark Void, oppressing the Light Sea. The Dao Lords squeezed the Light Sea, using sentient beings as materials to continuously climb higher in [Paramita]. Was this essence not simply the process of an infant continuously growing within the mother's body? The higher they climbed, the more the Nascent Soul took shape, until finally breaking through the Dark Void mother body—
[Birth]
This was the true meaning of the words 'Nascent Soul' among the Nascent Soul Dao Lords. It was also the fourth path of transcendence pioneered by the Primordial Saint, belonging uniquely to him!
The path of birth!
When the Nascent Soul reached Great Completion, birth meant transcendence!
At this moment, Sword Lord finally understood why Sisui had previously felt disappointed in her and the other Dao Lords, even stating bluntly that they hadn't amounted to anything.
Because all of them had only comprehended the 'Nascent' (Yuan) of the [Nascent Soul], forged the Primordial Spirit, ascended to [Paramita], and gained a higher stature, yet never understood the essence of the 'Soul/Infant' (Ying). As a result, now that [Paramita] had crashed and they fell overnight, they were still the same as before.
They were merely using [Paramita].
However, the Primordial Saint was different. He was creating [Paramita]; using it was merely the result.
Therefore, only he reached the seventh layer of [Paramita].
The other Dao Lords were stopped at the [Fourth Layer] at their strongest. Sword Lord, relying on the blessing of the [Heavenly Dao] and breaking skill with pure force, could only remain on the [Fifth Layer].
Why was this so?
Clearly, everyone started at the same point back then. Why was there such a huge gap in the end? This was the feedback of the difference in essence on their realms.
Sisui called him a true Nascent Soul precisely because only he had achieved a transformation in essence. This essence would not change because of a drop in realm.
Compared to him, the other Dao Lords were nothing but stillborns.
"Taiyitian... No wonder he was always so confident."
At this moment, although a beat slow, Cang Hao also finally realized. "This bastard... even if [Paramita] falls, he is fucking unkillable!"
Because other Dao Lords entrusted their Primordial Spirits to the Dao-Attaining Land of [Paramita], but the Primordial Saint was different. He was a true Nascent Soul, using the Dark Void as the mother body. Naturally, his Primordial Spirit was entrusted to the Dark Void. As long as the Dark Void wasn't extinguished, he wouldn't die, unless someone could rip his Primordial Spirit out alive!
This point alone made him innately invincible!
Therefore, from beginning to end, he handled things with ease, even demonstrating a strong resolve to reshape the Light Sea and recreate [Paramita] if necessary.
He would be angry at the World Honored One's actions and shocked by the failure of his plans, but ultimately, these were just pebbles thrown into a calm lake.
Perhaps they would stir up a few ripples.
But in the end, the ripples would eventually settle. Mere pebbles could not truly shake his will; the essence of the two sides had long since been starkly different.
Also achieving a sublimation of essence was Sisui.
Transcending the Light Sea and advancing to a True Dao Lord, his essence was already the second Light Sea. Naturally, he would exist eternally alongside the Light Sea, free from the peril of death forevermore.
This is the Nascent Soul.
This is a Dao Lord!