[Responding to Emperors].
Lu Yang paced with his hands behind his back, surveying this secret realm he had not visited in a long time with great interest; seeing it now, he only felt the place was completely refreshed.
'Is it because I have refined a Primordial Spirit?'
Once a Primordial Spirit is achieved and the Golden Core reached perfection, one is repelled by the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] and can no longer enter; even the Primordial Saint cannot escape this restriction.
Yet correspondingly, viewing the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] from the perspective of a Primordial Spirit revealed a scene entirely different from before. In a daze, he seemed to see a shattered staircase and a footprint atop it that caused all the steps to decompose.
"It is the footprint of the World Honored One..."
He remembered it was the World Honored One's great foot after attaining the Dao that trampled the originally unified [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], causing it to scatter and be held separately.
There was clearly a problem here.
Even with the honor of a Dao Lord, it was impossible to damage the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] from the outside; at most, one could perform minor adjustments from within.
Much less so for the World Honored One.
'The World Honored One could trample and shatter the originally complete [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] definitely not because he himself was so strong, but because the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] was meant to be shattered... some external force combined the seven fragments, and what the World Honored One shattered was actually that external force!'
So the question arose.
Who integrated all the fragments of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]? And why did the World Honored One trample them? Merely to prevent someone from becoming a Dao Lord?
'At the time, that reason seemed fine.'
'Looking at it now, the World Honored One's motive doesn't actually hold up. Unlike other Dao Lords, he who stands at the lowest actually hopes for another Dao Lord to emerge.'
Lu Yang pondered.
From the perspective of a Primordial Spirit, the seven [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] were like seven steps, vaguely appearing to lead to a deeply hidden place within the Light Sea.
However, as the World Honored One's foot came down, the steps shattered and scattered, and the passage that originally led to that place naturally collapsed.
"There is a secret here."
Lu Yang withdrew his gaze, not probing to the bottom, but burying this doubt in his heart, intending to ask the World Honored One later; the business at hand was more urgent.
With this thought, he immediately walked into the chaos of [Responding to Emperors]; once, this required sufficient Light of Wisdom and exquisite means to pass, but now he needed to do nothing. With a sweep of his gaze, the chaos instantly split open, and a figure slowly emerged from within.
"You are..."
It was still the familiar black-robed man, the backup left by Dao Tianqi within [Responding to Emperors]. At this moment, he was startled awake, and the consciousness belonging to Dao Tianqi rapidly revived.
In the next second, Lu Yang did not hesitate and waved his hand.
"This is the [Method of Traversing the Mortal Dust]."
"This is the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture]."
The former was created by Sisui, and the latter was a secret legacy of the dharma body; Lu Yang wrote out the contents in full and said: "Fellow Daoist, Lord Sisui needs your rescue."
Two cultivation methods confirmed his identity, and the rescue of Sisui clarified his goal.
In short, I am a good person.
As the words fell, the newly awakened Dao Tianqi was clearly stunned until he saw the contents of the cultivation methods provided by Lu Yang; only then did the Light of Wisdom manifest in his eyes.
Immediately, he reached a conclusion.
'The cultivation methods are real.'
'Setting aside the [Method of Traversing the Mortal Dust] for now, at least very few people know about the [Precious Life Perfect Form Scripture]. Since this person woke me up, he should be trustworthy.'
Therefore, after a moment of silence, Dao Tianqi nodded slightly: "...I understand."
"You have a request of me?"
It was the same saying— Sisui was trustworthy.
Even sharing a negligible fraction with Lu Yang was enough for Dao Tianqi to hold a certain level of goodwill toward him, solving many of his troubles.
Lu Yang immediately said: "I need you to stay steady for now and not rush to take control of the Netherworld. Just wait for my signal; at the critical moment, vibrate the Netherworld once to block the vision from the outside. Afterward, it is best to remain silent and not expose that you have regained consciousness."
"Why?" Dao Tianqi was somewhat curious.
Lu Yang explained: "Because I need to keep the Primordial Saint steady. If he learns that you have awakened, he might take unpredictable actions."
The key was Sky-shrouding.
Whether Dao Tianqi awakened directly determined whether Sky-shrouding would flee the Netherworld, and subsequently determined the success or failure of the Primordial Saint's first Deity Transformation ascension plan.
'Especially since I guaranteed him that I would handle Sky-shrouding's affairs; at this juncture, Sky-shrouding must still ostensibly attain the Netherworld. Otherwise, the Primordial Saint will definitely conclude I have a problem, and at that time, it wouldn't even be impossible for him to turn against me directly. I am not his match yet.'
Soon, Dao Tianqi gave a response:
"Fine, I'll listen to you."
With this guarantee, Lu Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the matter was half-finished. Only then did he shift his thoughts, letting his consciousness fall elsewhere.
"Zheng—!"
Sword chimes were pervasive, but this time it was no longer a dense web of sentiment, but a vast and mighty river manifesting the fate of all living beings surging forth.
[Destiny]!
Within the Netherworld, Lu Yang's mental incarnation looked up at the sky and instantly saw countless images of his own death, seeing one "cause of death" after another rising like waves, while he could only drift with the current, allowing the waves to push him toward a destined fatal end.
This was only one side of the river.
At this moment, under the reinforcement of the [Heavenly Dao], the other side of the river faced the exterior of the Light Sea, simultaneously blocking Lu Yang's main body from entering the Light Sea.
The Sword Lord had clearly become ruthless.
Striking now, she was truly unrestrained and without regard.
Although her essence had not undergone metamorphosis, the majesty of the [Paramita] was real; Lu Yang's current cultivation was far from enough to break through her obstruction.
Yet Lu Yang was not flustered at all.
'The time is right!'
Outside the Light Sea, the light of order ascended rapidly, the circular light rotating, finally condensing into a giant hand made of light, slowly reaching from the Dark Void into the Light Sea!
Almost simultaneously, the Sword Lord and Cang Hao struck to intercept.
The collision of three Dao Lords made it so that the silhouette of the [Paramita] could no longer be hidden, manifesting in the Light Sea; on the second layer, the World Honored One actually stood up abruptly.
"Amitabha!"
The World Honored One smiled while plucking a flower, his [Karma] reflected within the rolling Buddhist light, actually forcing the operation of the Great Karmic Net to a standstill!
In an instant, the heavenly secrets were silent!
No matter who it was, they could no longer deduce the [Karma] of this moment, as if their eyes had been covered; afterward, they would be unable to review what happened at this time.
This moment became a "blind spot" in the Great Karmic Net.
"Great coordination!"
Within [Responding to Emperors], Lu Yang's other mental incarnation laughed heartily, then looked at Dao Tianqi, and Dao Tianqi immediately understood.
Thus, the Netherworld was shaken!
"RUMBLE!"
The full effort of several Dao Lords appeared to have finally invited a strong reaction from the Netherworld; rolling death qi boiled, and gloomy colors surged like a tide.
The silhouettes of the Sword Lord and Lu Yang were instantly submerged.
In the next instant, at the apex of the [Paramita], a hint of gloom surfaced within the Primordial Saint's eyes that were as towering as the sky; Lu Yang's silhouette was strikingly lost from within!
Almost simultaneously.
Lu Yang's movements did not stop, his silhouette appearing as if walking in the cracks of time, arriving in an instant within the ghost domain of the Netherworld before [Perfected Lord Azure Firmament Radiance].
[Off-Stage Observer], activate!
Observe the Ancestral Dragon!