Immortal Nexus—the place within the Light Sea where one seeks the Dao, and the seat of its central axis. Though seemingly confined to a single location, its vast authority extends across the entire Light Sea.
This is not a matter of mere geography but a remnant of concept; back then, the Ancestral Dragon performed sacrifices here using all living beings of the Light Sea to seek transcendence; thus, this remnant was born.
Only cultivators with high enough stature can see the fine, dense web originating from the Immortal Nexus and expanding toward the billions of World Realms of the Light Sea.
This was the handiwork of the Ancestral Dragon.
Relying on this web, the Ancestral Dragon could stay within the Immortal Nexus without traveling elsewhere; the living beings within the Light Sea had nowhere to hide and could be refined by him in an instant.
Later, the Ancestral Dragon was suppressed.
This place then became the supreme sacred ground for cultivation in the Light Sea , simply because it was once the Ancestral Dragon's "Place of Seeking Immortality," leaving behind a Supreme Grade cultivation concept.
Combined with the additions of the Grotto-Heaven Method and the Five Elements Dao Fruit along with the legacy of defeating the Three Foundations, a structure was formed where Immortal Nexus cultivators viewed themselves as superior. Furthermore, any method was only considered to have a true future if it proved effective in the Immortal Nexus, potentially influencing all parts of the Light Sea.
The most successful example was the Netherworld.
Back then, Dao Tianqi established the Netherworld in the Immortal Nexus to eventually govern the reincarnation of the Light Sea. Unfortunately, it ended in failure and has since fallen.
The various Dao Lords not only carved up most of its functions but also suppressed it within the Immortal Nexus, shattering the grand blueprint Dao Tianqi had designed.
Netherworld , Ghost Gate.
Endless souls of living beings converged like a long river, guided from across the Immortal Nexus to fall into the Ghost Gate, only to be sent forth into reincarnation.
By the side of this river, a majestic palace of intertwined five-colored light stood silently—the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Palace]. Within the palace, a figure shrouded in hazy smoke, revealing only a pair of narrow eyes, gazed out at the mortal world with alarm and uncertainty.
Perfected Lord Sky-shrouding.
The number one Perfected Lord of the current age, the favorite of the [Great Forest Wood]. Even within the entire history of the cultivation world, he was a mighty cultivator who could be ranked among the top.
However, that was only how outsiders saw him.
Only Sky-shrouding himself knew that in cultivation, as long as you do not reach the very top, then no matter how high you climb, it is far from enough.
After all, the times had changed.
Facing the series of anomalies erupting in the mortal world , he—as the world's foremost Perfected Lord —felt them far more deeply than any other.
"Just... what has happened?"
Sky-shrouding speculated: "It looks like a duel between Dao Lords. One of them feels like the World Honored One, but the other is too blurred to see clearly."
This was a point of helplessness for him; being within the Netherworld , peeking toward the Paramita was difficult.
"If it truly is the World Honored One, then who is he fighting? Sword Lord? Cang Hao? It couldn't possibly be the Primordial Saint... And what is the reason? To make Dao Lords turn against each other."
Within the smoke, Sky-shrouding's narrow eyes squinted.
Suddenly, he pressed his hand to his brow.
"Ugh..."
A memory seal deep within his sea of consciousness suddenly became restless, leaking fragments of memory.
'World Honored One ... Di Muni '.
Back when he attained the [Great Forest Wood], his connection with the World Honored One was deep; the World Honored One was his steadfast supporter.
Perhaps he could ask?
The moment this thought arose, Sky-shrouding realized his memories were resurfacing because a majestic being had suddenly plucked the strings of karma.
In a daze, he recalled the World Honored One's act of altering causes and shifting effects and reversing false history. The scenes in his memory froze, and the World Honored One in his recollection turned to look at him.
"Amitabha...".
The heavy Buddhist invocation startled Sky-shrouding. His Perfected Dao Heart immediately activated, and he looked warily at the World Honored One.
The World Honored One remained unconcerned.
He stood within the recollection, reaching across a hundred thousand years from the distant past to speak to him.
It was only due to the memory seal that Sky-shrouding was hearing it now.
This was Karma.
"Fellow Daoist, a young man has arrived in the Light Sea."
The World Honored One's voice was hollow as he whispered: "His cultivation is no inferior to mine. He calls himself [Xuande], and he walks a path of cultivation entirely different from the Paramita ".
"...What?"
Sky-shrouding was stunned.
A path different from the Paramita , yet with cultivation no inferior to the World Honored One? Did that mean there was a third path to becoming a Dao Lord in this world?
However, soon he realized something.
Wait, what was the World Honored One's purpose in telling him this? A new Dao Lord appearing without any prior omen—did that mean he came from beyond the Light Sea?
Sky-shrouding was still thinking when his spirit shook.
Almost simultaneously, the World Honored One in the memory shifted his expression, looking up at the sky. He shook his head and pressed his palms together, seemingly uttering a helpless sigh:
"Excellent, excellent..."
In the next second, across the vast Light Sea —from Mysterious Wall to the Star Palace , from the Celestial Court to the Immortal Nexus —every Golden Core Perfected One felt a mysterious resonance.
Something was coming.
From an infinitely high place, like a stone dropped into a lake, it crashed thunderously into the Light Sea. Its aura was so magnificent it far exceeded the limits of their perception.
"RUMBLE!"
At the zenith of the Light Sea, a magnificent aurora pierced through the boundary. Like the rising sun, boundless spiritual power surged like a tidal wave toward the various worlds of the Light Sea.
And every cultivator who looked up saw, within that magnificent aurora, a pair of sun and moon silhouettes—like eyes opening and closing, looking down upon the living beings of the mortal world.
All things, manifold concept, and infinite wonders flowed within those sun-and-moon eyes, vanishing in a blink, as insignificant as dust.
The dust of the world is but an illusion; the sun and moon within the realm belong to the immortals.
In a flash, the light of the sun and moon swept across many Great World Realms, finally descending into the Immortal Nexus. It burst through the Netherworld and landed at the Ghost Gate upon Sky-shrouding.
Before Sky-shrouding could even react, that vast vision of the sun and moon disappeared from the Light Sea.
Almost simultaneously.
Sky-shrouding woke up from the memory, stumbling. He instinctively turned around, only to find an extra person within the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace].
He stood there with his hands behind his back.
It was as if he had been waiting there for ten million years. Sky-shrouding strained his vision but could only barely see the back of a figure—it appeared to be a young Daoist.
As for his aura, it was impossible to detect even a shred of it. It was as if the person standing before him was not a human but a bottomless black hole—impossible to fathom, yet also like a book recording all the mysteries of heaven and earth, making it impossible to look away, feeling compelled to immerse oneself within it.
However, what terrified Sky-shrouding was this—
In front of the young Daoist, a vast painting was unfurled, and within it presented the very memory of his conversation with the World Honored One.
When?
How?
Why?
The Dao Lord had arrived too suddenly, and the situation had changed far too fast, such that Sky-shrouding nearly crashed. He finally managed to catch his breath and was about to speak.
The young Daoist before him spoke first, chuckling softly:
"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in becoming my disciple?"
(End of Chapter)