Ten inches of distance, nine traveled, with only the last inch remaining... Success being so close at hand caused the Sword Lord to feel that something was wrong, yet she did not overthink it.
It was nothing more than putting in a bit more effort.
With this thought, the Sword Lord directly utilized the [Heavenly Dao], further strengthening the profound mystery of the Threads of Sentiment, prepared to completely fill the gap of that final inch.
"Qiang—qiang—!"
The Threads of Sentiment transformed into a sword. The sword-chime echoed from the [Paramita], carrying peerless majesty and a vast stature; this time, the Sword Lord truly held nothing back.
Then she discovered that one inch had become nine-tenths of an inch.
Sword Lord: "..."
'Hmph.'
The feeling that something was amiss surged in her heart, but she had already managed to reduce the distance from ten inches to one, and then laboriously from one inch to nine-tenths.
She couldn't exactly give up now, could she?
"BOOM."
Just as the Sword Lord was hesitating, a disturbance suddenly came from beyond the Light Sea. Terrifying majesty agitated the Dark Void, appearing as if it wanted to force its way into the Light Sea.
"Fellow Daoists, what are you doing?"
It was Lu Yang's main body.
Seeing this, the Sword Lord's brow knit tightly: "He has noticed something is wrong... No, the Threads of Sentiment must be completely planted before then, or all will be for naught."
With this thought, the Sword Lord immediately cast aside her concerns and turned toward Cang Hao, who was also on the fourth layer. She said in a deep voice: "Use [Fortune] to augment me. There is only a distance of nine-tenths of an inch left. This concerns the grand plan of the [Heavenly Dao] and cannot be allowed to fail. You give him a push to help me strike this final sword."
Cang Hao: "..."
Letting you go to meet that Primordial Ancestor Xuande was one thing, but now you actually want me to help you? This is the height of shamelessness. Do you think I have no temper?
He really didn't have one.
Looking at the [Threads of Sentiment] wrapped around his Primordial Spirit, which were nearly worn smooth, he ultimately let out a sigh and mobilized his majesty to augment the Sword Lord.
"BOOM!"
With Cang Hao's help, the Sword Lord's state instantly climbed to its peak. The Threads of Sentiment condensed into a sword and struck directly at the brow of Lu Yang's thought-incarnation.
The nine-tenths of an inch was pushed in a single breath to...
One-tenth of an inch.
Yes, this time it was truly just a hair's breadth away—a mere one-tenth, a tenth of an inch. The glow of the Threads of Sentiment could almost touch Lu Yang's brow.
Facing this sight, Lu Yang was seen coughing blood, the fire of his Primordial Spirit weakened to the extreme like a candle in the wind. Yet, it still burst forth with a final light before death, forcibly holding back the Sword Lord's sword of sentiment. He was pale, appearing as if he would faint in the next second.
However, this time, the Sword Lord finally realized.
"Bastard!"
Atop the [Paramita], her voice was no longer cool. Her profound wonder surged as if the Sword Lord's blood pressure had suddenly spiked, nearly drowning her reason.
But as she neared the point of going berserk, she still maintained her clarity.
'Something is wrong... someone is plotting against me!'
Given her vigilance, she should not have suffered until now to realize there was a trick!
Who did it?
In the spark of a flint, the Sword Lord locked onto the perpetrator:
"Myriad Treasure!"
A rumbling thunderous sound fell from the fourth layer of the [Paramita], like the Milky Way descending from the nine heavens, crashing thunderously into the second layer of the [Paramita] to reveal a great golden Buddha.
Within sight, the World Honored One's true body—a towering Buddhist statue—stretched its arms. Pushing open the celestial light, it strikingly manifested 108,000 arms, all making a lifting gesture. In the center of their palms lay a shattered golden treasure-parasol on the verge of collapsing.
It was a dao artifact.
And the divine mystery operating upon the treasure was strikingly the rolling [Tribulation]. The parasol-canopy obscured the heavens, causing any cultivator who beheld its form to feel a sense of grogginess.
Of course, this treasure had nothing to do with [Tribulation].
It was merely an imitation.
In fact, the prototype for the imitation was not [Tribulation] but the [Five Elements: Wood]. Using the [Great Forest Wood] as a reference, the artifact had finally been constructed.
Normally, such a artifact was almost useless, at most slightly influencing a Dao Lord's thoughts, far from enough to shake their Primordial Spirit. It just so happened that this time, the Sword Lord's entire focus was on Lu Yang, and she truly fell for the move, leading her to lose her head and be led around by Lu Yang.
"Amitabha."
Putting away the shattered parasol, the World Honored One withdrew his dharma body and tilted his head with an innocent look: "Senior, please do not be angry; there is something even more infuriating."
What?
In the next second, the Sword Lord suddenly felt a strong sense of weakness. This was not a weakness of stature or majesty, but a depletion originating from the Primordial Spirit.
'Oh no!'
Within sight, Lu Yang, who appeared to have been pushed into a corner just moments ago, suddenly erupted. In a single breath, he swallowed the [Threads of Sentiment]—into which the Sword Lord had poured ten-tenths of her profound wonder—completely clean. The Primordial Spirit thought contained within this incarnation surged instantly, going from a candle in the wind to a sun at high noon.
"My [Threads of Sentiment]!"
The Sword Lord was furious, yet she was shocked to find that after her [Threads of Sentiment] were swallowed by Lu Yang, it was like a fish entering the sea; she could no longer sense them.
"Hahaha!"
Only then did Lu Yang let out a loud laugh. Without another word, his Primordial Spirit light-shadow vanished, intending to flee toward the direction beyond the Light Sea immediately.
This was a massive supplement!
The Sword Lord had sent a massive amount of [Threads of Sentiment] in one go. As long as he could fully refine them, his cultivation of the Primordial Spirit might even take a further step forward.
However, in all things, there are gains and losses. While Lu Yang gained a massive benefit, the Sword Lord naturally suffered a massive loss—one that was unprecedented. After all, her [Threads of Sentiment] had only ever brought her returns; when had they ever been like a meat bun hitting a dog, never to return?
"Outrageous!"
In an instant, the [Heavenly Dao] manifested, sealing the Light Sea and immediately blocking the path of Lu Yang's incarnation, laden with [Threads of Sentiment], from leaving the Light Sea.
However—this fell exactly in line with his intent.
"If the way above is blocked, then I'll take the way below."
Lu Yang's figure flashed as he rapidly returned to the Netherworld, then headed all the way down, appearing to want to jump from the deepest parts of the Netherworld to escape the seal of the [Heavenly Dao].
Thinking back to his previous lifetimes, this was exactly how he had sent the [Heavenly Palace] out of the Light Sea.
Now he was merely repeating an old trick.
Simultaneously, this was the most reasonable course of action given the Light Sea was sealed; even the secretly observing Primordial Saint could not find a single flaw.
Yet it was useless.
In the depths of the Netherworld, the [Home-Viewing Terrace]—one of its components—suddenly lit up. Rolling sword-chimes, like a Great Wall, intercepted Lu Yang's path of escape.
No way up to heaven, no door into the earth!
The Sword Lord absolutely would not allow Lu Yang to leave the Light Sea with her [Threads of Sentiment]. With both the front and back now blocked, she clearly intended to flip the table!
'There is ultimately a gap in stature.'
At the apex of the [Paramita], the Primordial Saint shook his head.
'Even if his essence has changed such that he need not fear the [Threads of Sentiment], thinking he could take them away under the Sword Lord's very nose was too fanciful.'
Yet just then.
Within [Responding to Emperors], a young Daoist wearing a black robe stepped through the void. With a hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth, he walked in with total composure.