It was a plain inquiry, its tone tinged with a hint of curiosity—much like a commoner greeting a neighbor—yet it echoed through the Light Sea like a crack of thunder.
Senior Uncle [Jun].
Who was that?
In an instant, the myriad living beings of the Light Sea experienced a moment of enlightenment. The name Lu Yang uttered felt strangely intimate, and they began to ponder it instinctively.
As they thought, their Light of Wisdom began to grow at a visible rate. Mortals previously severed from the immortal path suddenly grasped the methods of Qi Refining out of thin air; cultivators struggling with Foundation Establishment finally mastered critical great divine abilities. Level by level, from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment to Perfected Lord, everyone was affected!
Until celestial light pierced the clouds.
Above the zenith, the silhouette of the [Paramita] descended with a roar, entering the sight of the Light Sea's trillions of beings like an eye looking down from above.
"..."
An invisible majesty fell from the [Paramita], sweeping across everything. It sealed Lu Yang's previous words, treating them as forbidden knowledge and erasing them entirely.
A moment later, everyone returned to a state of calm. All the fortuitous opportunities gained from hearing Lu Yang's voice acted as if they had never happened—erased from the level of cause and effect, and from history itself. Memories were extracted, and the Light Sea, which had briefly rippled, returned to a dead silence.
Beyond the Light Sea, within the gloomy Dark Void, Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back. He watched as the [Paramita] manifested, and the phantoms of the Dao Lords he had seen before stepped out one by one.
The Great Golden Buddha; the vast ocean of spiritual power.
The magnificent sword light; the boundless gray color; the shimmering rainbow mists.
Beyond these, that tiny figure situated at the very apex also seemed to cast down its gaze at this moment, looking over with a scrutinizing air.
'Heh...'
Though he was facing the Dao Lords upon the [Paramita] once again, this time Lu Yang felt not a shred of fear. He no longer worried about the crisis of gazing directly upon a Dao Lord's true body.
Nascent Soul Dao Lords?
They merely a group of temporary tenants of a high position. Even if their stature was higher than his current state, their essence had not changed; no matter how formidable, they posed no threat to his life.
With that thought, Lu Yang's brow furrowed.
His tone held none of the trepidation one might expect when facing five Dao Lords; instead, he spoke with absolute confidence and proactive authority: "Who are you? Are you disciples of my Senior Uncle?"
The Dao Lords looked at one another, none speaking first.
Who was [Jun]? Just a single name had triggered that upheaval in the vast Light Sea. Its profound majesty was simply immeasurable, yet they did not recognize it.
"Perhaps... a pre-ancient cultivator."
Cang Hao sent a low divine transmission: "A name alone can trigger a resonance from the Light Sea; it sounds very much like a method of the [School of Names]. Perhaps a Nascent Soul Dao Lord from the pre-ancient era?"
"Unlikely."
The Sword Lord's brow knit slightly: "The pre-ancient era perished long ago. Where would a new one pop up from? And 'Senior Uncle'... could a pre-ancient sect have survived until now?"
"Let us ask."
The Dao Lords' thoughts clashed in the spark of a flint. In the next second, Cang Hao—who possessed the deepest understanding of the [School of Names]—proactively stepped forward and cupped his hands:
"This humble Daoist is Cang Hao. I greet you, Fellow Daoist."
Seeing this, Lu Yang returned the salute: "This humble Daoist is Xuande. Greetings, Fellow Daoist."
[Xuande]? Cang Hao was proficient in the methods of the [School of Names], and his attainment was profound. The moment he heard Lu Yang report his Daoist title, he felt a resonance, and his thoughts grew increasingly heavy.
'It is an honorific title established with the [Heart- Weighing Spirit Seal Art], and it is not a version passed down to later generations. It is identical to the orthodox method in my hands. Such a method is unknown even to Myriad Treasures, yet this person understands it... Could he truly be a man of pre-ancient times, or a cultivator born of the [School of Names]?'
Cang Hao was no longer certain.
There was no helping it; the other party's Xuande honorific was too authentic, and his cultivation was high—a solid Dao Lord—yet there was not a single record of him in the history of the Light Sea.
There was truly no room for doubt.
On the other hand, the Sword Lord's gaze fell mostly behind Lu Yang's head. There, a circle of celestial light—flawless and clear like a full moon—was suspended.
[Order].
'Is that... a Great Dao?'
Intuition told her that the other party's Great Dao seemed to fit perfectly with the [Heavenly Dao] she was constructing—even better than Destiny, Fortune, or Inevitable Fate.
More importantly, the other's Great Dao was strong!
'Stronger than [Destiny]? How is that possible? Even for [Inevitable Fate], its strength is because the Primordial Saint stands higher than me, not because its essence is inherently stronger.'
The Daoist Xuande before her was the exact opposite.
Despite standing lower than her and having a far inferior level of majesty, his Great Dao surpassed [Destiny]. This completely contradicted the Dao Lords' understanding of cultivation.
Could it be—
'Is he truly from the heavens beyond?'
'The pre-ancient era did not entirely perish, but a branch escaped into the Dark Void, and now, after countless ages, they have finally returned to the Light Sea?'
—This logical deduction rapidly surfaced in the minds of the various Dao Lords. It was somewhat unbelievable, yet it seemed to be the only explanation that made sense.
At this thought, Cang Hao spoke again: "May I ask, Fellow Daoist... we previously sensed someone pioneering a path within the Dark Void. Was that your doing?"
Lu Yang did not hide it and nodded immediately: "I am traveling the Dark Void by my Master's order to seek my Senior Uncle. I experienced a sudden enlightenment and thus broke through my realm nearby, luckily attaining the honor of a [Dao Ancestor]. By a stroke of fortune, I sensed my Senior Uncle's aura, so I rushed here immediately."
[Dao Ancestor]? What was that?
Throughout the exchange, the Sword Lord's gaze remained fixed on the [Order] Dao behind Lu Yang, and a hint of warmth finally appeared in her cool, beautiful eyes.
She wanted it.
Although she hadn't yet grasped the full details of the [Order] Dao, she was already certain in her heart: if she could subdue it, the power of her [Heavenly Dao] would surely skyrocket!
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what is a 'Dao Ancestor'?"
Just then, the World Honored One finally seized an opportunity and spoke in a low voice: "Your Great Dao seems far superior to ours. How was it nurtured?"
This question was actually quite abrupt and bold.
But the World Honored One asked anyway. After all, among the Dao Lords, though his [Karma] was no less profound than the others, it always felt slightly inferior.
To this day, he had tried many ways to elevate [Karma] but had achieved nothing—as if a pair of shackles were subtly placed upon him. However, in this Daoist Xuande, he saw a different landscape. Since it concerned his path of the Dao, he had to ask despite the breach of etiquette.
To his surprise, Lu Yang answered quite readily:
"What is so difficult about that?"
"One only needs to pass the Dao through the Dark Void and benefit all living beings, calling upon everyone to cultivate so they act as the Tree of the Great Dao. Over time, a corresponding Dao Fruit will naturally form."
"Afterward, one plants the Dao Fruit into the Dark Void, allowing it to have a beginning and an end, forming its own cycle. From then on, it neither increases nor decreases, attaining perfect freedom. Thus, a [Dao Ancestor] is made."
After finishing, Lu Yang looked at the various Dao Lords with considerable surprise.
"Why? Are you Fellow Daoists not cultivating this way?"
"It couldn't be... did Senior Uncle [Jun] not teach you?"
The Dao Lords: "..."
At the same time, atop the [Paramita], that tiny figure who was usually so steady—as if all things were within his control—finally snapped back to his senses.
While the other Dao Lords heard only a blur of concepts, he instantly understood Lu Yang's underlying meaning.
'Metamorphosis of essence!'
'This person is actually a True Dao Lord who has completed the metamorphosis of his essence. And his identity—pre-ancient, Dao Ancestor, Xuande—is it true or false?'
It sounds... very much like the truth!