[Tianhuang].
Lu Yang returned with the Ancestral Dragon Manor. Without wasting words, he disassembled it and sent all the components into the Netherworld for Sisui and Dao Tianqi to use in its repair.
Of course, he had intended to help.
However, after a few attempts, Dao Tianqi and Sisui politely escorted him out. At the same time, Dao Tianqi reclaimed the Light of Wisdom he had lent him.
"Thump, thump, thump."
Back on the Dao platform of the Miluo Palace, Lu Yang tapped his head with dissatisfaction. The sensation of his cognitive speed and comprehension plummeting was truly unpleasant.
More importantly, without the "identity card" that was the Light of Wisdom, the Qi Refining foundation he had recently mended began to crack again. His essence, energy, and spirit could no longer unify, causing his state of [The Great Dao Responds to Me] to decline. To put it bluntly, by returning the Light of Wisdom, his combat strength dropped by at least fifty percent.
"This won't do!"
Lu Yang crossed his arms, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Finally, he ignited the Light of Order, re-entering the dimension-reduced perspective where all things were quantified as data.
"Can I create a Light of Wisdom for myself?"
"Similar to the effect of the [Dragon-Banishment Ruler], though the principle behind how that artifact grants wisdom is likely different from the one I need."
The wisdom granted by the [Dragon-Banishment Ruler] worked by "enlightening" his brain, allowing it to act as a new Light Sea lifeform to think in his stead. The Light of Wisdom came from that process, but essentially, it belonged to his brain, not him. It was, in essence, exploiting a loophole.
"...It doesn't quite work." Lu Yang shook his head.
"What I need is a Light of Wisdom that truly belongs to me. Its strength is secondary; the priority is unifying my essence, energy, and spirit to mend this flaw."
Leaving such a weakness was too risky.
With that thought, Lu Yang's gaze shifted. He began to drive the Light of Order, attempting to use others' Light of Wisdom as a reference to weave a new set of data for his own.
If he could write this data into his own table, he should be able to birthed his own Light of Wisdom.
However, Lu Yang soon discovered the difficulty—simply put, different cultivators and different consciousnesses resulted in different data for their Light of Wisdom.
Every person's Light of Wisdom was fundamentally unique.
Lu Yang looked through them one by one—Patriarch Nether Whisper, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, Feixue, Lingxiao, Suohuan, Empress Xiao—analyzing each of their lights.
In conclusion, the data for a Light of Wisdom was like extracting segments of data from a cultivator's true spirit, soul, sea of consciousness, and Dao Heart, then calculating them with an incredibly complex formula. The only barrier here was that mysterious formula.
"How troublesome."
Lu Yang felt a headache coming, realizing a crucial point: "To weave a Light of Wisdom that belongs to me, I must discover what that formula actually is."
However, if his guess was correct...
The formula for birthing wisdom had likely vanished entirely with the departure of the high-stage Deity Transformation being. Finding it was virtually impossible.
Independent research—using data to reverse-engineer the formula—was an option, but Lu Yang estimated it would take hundreds of thousands of years.
"But if I truly could reverse-engineer the formula, I could probably attain a [Light of Wisdom] Dao fruit through Void Attainment along the way."
At this thought, Lu Yang couldn't help but indulge in a fantasy.
If he truly attained a [Light of Wisdom] Dao fruit, he would immediately max out his own wisdom, keeping [Supreme Dao Transformation] running twenty-four hours a day...
Alas, the fantasy lasted only a moment.
The harsh reality brought Lu Yang back to his senses. He withdrew from the digitized perspective of the Light of Order and rubbed his brow tiredly.
Currently, he sat at the apex of the [Heavenly Palace].
Looking down, the billions of deities and masses of living beings within the system of the Investiture of the Gods Method were like countless roots, collectively nourishing the Great Tree that was the [Heavenly Palace].
The Tree of the Great Dao.
And at the crown of this tree, the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]—cultivated by absorbing the entirety of Tianhuang as nutrients—was its fruit.
The [Dao Fruit].
'If I restart, which one should I take with me?'
One must plan for defeat before victory. Since he had decided to fight a life-and-death battle with the Primordial Saint, he naturally had to consider the situation after a failure, where he would carry his progress into the next life.
'First, Tianhuang likely cannot be taken.'
Lu Yang opened the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] and lightly tapped the panel: 'Taking the [Heavenly Palace] seems appropriate, but the problem is it isn't a single component.'
The reason the current [Heavenly Palace] could become a second [Paramita] was, firstly, because it controlled the Great World of Tianhuang, and secondly, because it was propped up by the [Heavenly Dao]. After a restart, he couldn't possibly bring all three things back at once.
If he only brought back the [Heavenly Palace]?
Without a doubt, it would immediately collapse.
What about bringing back the [Heavenly Dao]?
'That wouldn't collapse, but bringing just that is useless. The commotion of the [Heavenly Dao] propping up a [Heavenly Palace] is simply too loud.'
This was another problem.
A [Heavenly Palace] at the [Paramita] level could not be hidden no matter what. It would illuminate the Dark Void, and the Primordial Saint would surely discover it.
And in his peak state—at the seventh layer of the [Paramita]—the Primordial Saint crushing a first-layer [Heavenly Palace] would be no different from stepping on the World Honored One.
Unless—
At this thought, Lu Yang looked again at the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] in his hand. If he truly had to restart, this Dao fruit might be the most suitable thing to take.
'From a power perspective, the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning]—cultivated by absorbing the entirety of Tianhuang, the masses of living beings, the Great Dao, and numerous wonders like Dao fruits—will absolutely not be inferior to the ten Great Daos of the Light Sea. It might even be stronger... and the [Heavenly Palace] is ultimately an external object.'
The sharp contrast between Sisui and the Primordial Saint made Lu Yang change his initial thought. The [Paramita] was strong, but it progressed perhaps a bit too fast.
'It's precisely because the [Paramita] moved so fast, looting nearly all the resources of the Light Sea, that it's almost impossible for the [Heavenly Palace] to outrun it.'
Stubbornly following that path would not lead to a victory over the Primordial Saint.
However, the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] was different.
"The ten Great Daos of the Light Sea allow a cultivator to reach the peak of Golden Core at most; that is the limit of the Light Sea."
"But if the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] can surpass them, then perhaps I won't need the [Paramita]. Based on the strength of the Dao alone, I could rival a Dao Lord!"
One Dao to defeat ten thousand!
'Unlike the Primordial Saint's reliance on external things, and unlike Sisui's self-transcendence, perhaps this is my path—a brand-new way I can forge for myself.'
More importantly, this route didn't heavily depend on the Light of Wisdom to innovate; it was a single path to be followed step-by-step. It wasn't as mindless or fragile as the [Paramita], yet it didn't rely as much on innate talent as transcendence. It was a middle ground.
It suited him perfectly...
Unknowingly, Lu Yang had become immersed in the cultivation of the [Heavenly Destiny Reckoning] until Sisui's voice roused him.
He opened his eyes.
Before him stood Dao Tianqi in simple robes, along with Sisui, who had refined a new physical body from Tianhuang and restored himself to perfection.
Lu Yang performed a quick calculation and realized the truth.
'Fifty years...'
Time flies. From the opening of Tianhuang to the present, a full seventy years had passed, though it was significantly earlier than Sisui had anticipated.
"Three Dao Lords... it is enough."
Lu Yang rose with a flick of his sleeves. Every scheme in his eyes faded, replaced by cold resolve. In this wretched place, strength is what matters in the end.
Fists are the ultimate logic!
By now, Lu Yang had used every method at his disposal and pushed every aspect to the limit. There was no room for further improvement in the short term.
In that case, there would be no more delays.
While waiting another few decades might allow the World Honored One to progress and return to his Dao Lord rank, the Primordial Saint would also have more time to recover.
The gains would not offset the losses.
So, it was better to do it now.
Three will do. Against the Primordial Saint... the final battle!