At the vault of the new world, Lu Yang sat high in the sea of clouds. With a slight thought, he instantly transformed into a divine court, like the sun at midday, embedding himself into the operation of heaven and earth.
Entering his sight, he saw jade pavilions and celestial palaces within the divine court opening one by one. They reflected streaks of pure light that washed across the firmament and swept up spiritual qi. Within each streak of pure light was a deity. At this moment, they divided into trillions, falling like a torrential downpour toward all parts of the new world.
They were all extensions of Lu Yang's hands and feet.
And as they gained a firm foothold in the new world, the Dao lineage of the Investiture of the Gods Method spread with them. Lu Yang also sensed this; heaven and earth and myriad things were as clear as the lines on his palm.
Up to the deities and various cultivators.
Down to the mountains, rivers, grass, and trees.
Even the mortals, birds, and beasts—everything was clear and distinct to Lu Yang at this moment, as if the vast new world was merely a plaything in his palm.
Exhale...
Lu Yang exhaled slightly. Right at this moment, among the trillions of pure lights, four were the brightest. They arrived in succession and landed beside him.
When the light dissipated, four people stepped out. Some had fluttering large sleeves and wisdom light filling the sky. Some stood holding swords, solemn and dignified. Some stood with hands on their hips, smiling beautifully. Some stood with their hands tucked in their sleeves, their figures ethereal. Looking at them, they were surprisingly all Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lords.
"Patriarch, Master, two Fellow Daoists."
Lu Yang bowed to Patriarch Nether Whisper, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, Perfected Lord Feixue, and Ling Xiao before him, putting on no airs of superiority.
He even didn't forget to turn his head and blink at Suo Huan and Empress Xiao behind them.
On the other side, Ling Xiao was sizing up the scenery around the new world with a face full of emotion. "Such a vast heaven and earth; the mighty power of a Dao Lord is truly unfathomable."
Seeing this, Perfected Lord Feixue also smiled.
"And unlike the Light Sea, this realm has a round heaven and a square earth, with no division of World Realms. If the World Realms of the Light Sea from the past were placed inside, they would probably only take up the space of one province."
Following that, Patriarch Nether Whisper and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon also joined the conversation.
"Speaking of which, does this realm have a name?"
"Presumably not."
At this point, Ling Xiao became enthusiastic and actively proposed, "I see this realm has just been born, and it has a round heaven and a square earth. How about we call it the Newborn Continent..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Before Ling Xiao could finish, Lu Yang interrupted him. "Fellow Daoist, forget it. Your naming skills are really bad; it's simply too vulgar."
Ling Xiao's naming style highlighted intuition.
What First, Second, Third, and Fourth-tier Great Perfected Lords; low-tier, high-tier, peak, extreme... Although the hierarchy was clear at a glance, it ultimately lacked a bit of conceptual imagery.
Although Ling Xiao seemed somewhat unconvinced, Lu Yang decisively ignored him.
Next, he looked at Patriarch Nether Whisper.
"Patriarch, why don't you do it."
Patriarch Nether Whisper thought for a moment and smiled.
"It is ultimately no longer the Light Sea. I see this realm is newly opened, primitive yet as vast as the Light Sea, majestic as heaven. How about calling it [Tianhuang] (Heavenly Desolation)?"
After some casual chat, Lu Yang took the initiative to bring out Sisui's [Method of Traversing the Mortal Dust] and hand it to the four people present. After all, all four were already Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lords. They were only a Primordial Spirit away from advancing to Golden Core Perfection. With this Primordial Spirit method, they had hope of reaching Golden Core Perfection in the future.
And the stronger they were, the higher the [Heavenly Palace] would rise.
This was the so-called—rising tide lifts all boats.
Therefore, unlike the Primordial Saint's restrictions on the slots for [Paramita], he welcomed the progress of the deities in the [Heavenly Palace]. The more progress, the better.
Dao Tianqi's Netherworld operated on the same principle.
Or rather, the [Heavenly Palace] he built was designed referencing the Netherworld's design philosophy, intended precisely to provide cultivators, and even all living beings, with a path upward.
After settling everyone down, Lu Yang then rode a streak of pure light, flew into the sea of clouds, and arrived at the great sun of [Tianhuang]. Then, he brushed his sleeves and sat down quietly.
His bright gaze pierced straight through the vast golden light on the periphery of the great sun and landed on its core. Hovering there was a single talisman page. It was the supreme treasure Sisui used to open up [Tianhuang] earlier—the missing page of the [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], engraved with a talismanic script.
Unfortunately, Lu Yang couldn't read it.
That is the current foundation of [Tianhuang]. If I take it away now, I'm afraid [Tianhuang] will collapse immediately, and the myriad phenomena of the new world will turn to nothingness.
Lu Yang thought for a moment and smiled mockingly.
If he only considered pure benefit, he would naturally strike decisively, grab the missing page, and restart without the slightest hesitation.
However—
Let it be, let it be.
It was the result of everyone's hard work and struggle, so why bother? Since this lifetime could still continue, he should properly see it through to the end.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly felt much more relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. The thoughts of his Primordial Spirit became lively, increasingly agile.
Right at this moment, several more streaks of pure light pierced the sky and arrived.
Next, the three Dao Sovereigns at Golden Core Perfection in the present world stepped out successively, displaying phenomena. It was exactly the World Honored One, Dao Tianqi, and Xiu Zhen.
"...Huh?"
Seeing this, Lu Yang blinked and looked at Xiu Zhen, who was walking at the back. His face suddenly revealed genuine surprise. "You didn't die?"
I thought you were casually swatted to death by the Primordial Saint.
Xiu Zhen: "..."
Although he wanted to get angry, remembering that the person in front of him could very likely beat him up, Xiu Zhen calmed down, feeling it wasn't worth getting angry.
Thinking of this, he asked straightforwardly,
"Where is Master?"
By now, he had actually realized that he seemed to have become an extremely crucial pawn, helping Sisui ruthlessly scheme against the Primordial Saint.
Without him, the Primordial Saint would most likely have killed Lu Yang and snatched the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]. The situation then would probably be different. But because of his sudden intervention, not only did the Primordial Saint fail, he even added injury to injury, winning a better opening for Sisui.
A huge merit!
At this thought, Xiu Zhen looked at Lu Yang again, his eyes clear and evident: With such a huge merit, I should at least be given some generous treatment, right?
Lu Yang grinned when he saw this.
Generous treatment? Forget it! I already gave you a position inthe [Heavenly Palace], and you want a raise? You want all the good things for yourself, huh?
Thinking for a moment, Lu Yang smiled.
"This new world is vast and boundless, and very different from the Light Sea. I just did a rough calculation; relying on the current number of deities alone might not be enough."
After speaking, he took out the jade slip recording the Investiture of the Gods Method and handed it to the World Honored One, Dao Tianqi, and Xiu Zhen, saying, "If you gentlemen are unwilling to join the [Heavenly Palace], you are completely welcome to take the method and modify it for your own use. In the current new world, there are probably only vacancies in the West."
Lu Yang didn't care about this at all.
After all, no matter how they modified it, it was essentially still the Investiture of the Gods Method and still had the profound wonder of elevating the [Heavenly Palace]. At most, they would just obey orders but not summons.
"Let it be so." The World Honored One nodded slightly.
"Good." Xiu Zhen also gladly agreed.
After all, as a pieced-together deity, his Primordial Spirit contained half of the World Honored One's. Naturally, he felt closer to the World Honored One, and the World Honored One was also happy to have an extra Fellow Daoist.
Thus, the two hit it off perfectly.
On the other hand, Dao Tianqi had no demands. His Netherworld was based on dead spirits, and it was heavily damaged right now. He only thought about how to repair it.
However, Lu Yang was also quite helpless about this.
The Netherworld wasn't completely destroyed in this great battle, retaining a sliver of vitality. The [Ghost Gate] survived and could still help people reincarnate.
Given the extent of the damage, the only viable path was to refine it over tens of thousands of years, allowing time itself to wear away the scars. Any attempt at rapid restoration would demand an immense supply of Origin Jade or Void Stones as foundational materials. Otherwise, against the Netherworld's vast scale, any other precious resources would amount to little more than a drop in the ocean.
Unfortunately, Origin Jade was too scarce.
Of all the Origin Jade in the present world, at least sixty percent was taken by the Primordial Saint to build [Paramita], and Dao Tianqi used twenty percent when he built the Netherworld.
The remaining twenty percent was the Ancestral Dragon Manor.
Other than that, there were only some scraps. Compared to the Netherworld, they were like a drop in the ocean. Let alone crucial, they were simply useless.
After several delineations, the layout of the new world finally took shape.
The [Heavenly Palace] sat above, overseeing heaven and earth. Only the West was divided by the World Honored One and Xiu Zhen, obeying orders but not summons. The Netherworld, meanwhile, was hidden away in the lower realm once again.
—A hundred things wait to be rebuilt.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly felt a bit of interest in the Light Sea outside of [Tianhuang]. What about the Primordial Saint? What kind of situation was he facing right now?