Lu Yang knew full well that this attempt to deceive the heavens and cross the sea to observe the Ancestral Dragon carried a certain level of risk; it was not entirely impossible for him to be exposed.
After all, his opponent was the Primordial Saint.
Although he seemed to have caught the Saint off guard so far, the latter's foundation was incredibly deep, providing him with enough capital to make mistakes.
Conversely, Lu Yang was the one walking the tightrope. One wrong step, one hint of abnormality discovered by the Primordial Saint, and his entire layout for this lifetime would collapse, forcing him to start over from scratch. Yet, things had reached such a stage that it was impossible to achieve an ultimate turnaround and suppress his superior without taking risks.
'What will you think?'
Lu Yang looked up toward the [Paramita] situated at the infinite heights, attempting to place himself in the Primordial Saint's perspective to deduce the possible developments.
[Paramita].
Deep within the eyes that were as towering as the sky, a bright light suddenly flashed, erasing the momentary gloom and restoring the observation of the Netherworld. Everything appeared unchanged.
However, this was merely a facade.
The Primordial Saint stood with his hands behind his back, gazing deeply at the Light Sea as he pondered: 'A coincidence? The majesty of the Dao Lords triggered a backlash from the Netherworld?'
It sounded reasonable, but it was wrong.
If something happened too coincidentally, it likely wasn't a coincidence at all. The Primordial Saint did not believe such a fluke would happen to him.
'Beast Taming?'
Is it him? Has he awakened? No, it makes no sense. I struck him with a heavy hand; theoretically, it is impossible for him to regain consciousness now—unless he left a backup outside the Netherworld.
But what backup could exist that I wouldn't discover? The [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]?
At this thought, a shadow of gloom surfaced in the Primordial Saint's eyes. This was precisely the reason why he had ultimately decided to eliminate Dao Tianqi.
With a little recollection, the reason became clear.
Dao Tianqi was deeply favored by the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness].
Among the seven shards of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], Sisui entered [Equality of All Things], and he himself obtained [Supreme Grandmaster], while [Mortal World] and [Nurturing Life Master] remained unoccupied.
Yet the remaining three—[Responding to Emperors], [Mark of Fulfilling Virtue], and [Carefree Wander]—were all strikingly within Dao Tianqi's control!
He replaced the trials of [Responding to Emperors], left the Netherworld design blueprints within [Mark of Fulfilling Virtue], and took a vast amount of Origin Jade from [Carefree Wander].
What kind of heavenly grace was this?
It was because he sensed this, combined with the threat posed by the Netherworld, that the Saint had to throttle Dao Tianqi early to prevent him from truly growing.
'If it is him...'
'He likely could leave some traces within the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]. After all, he holds [Carefree Wander], which surely hides more secrets...'
Thinking of this, the Primordial Saint couldn't help but shake his head. Long ago, he had actually tried to trick the coordinates of [Carefree Wander] out of Dao Tianqi.
He almost succeeded.
However, in the end, the World Honored One prevented Dao Tianqi from leaking the secret, severing his hopes of entering [Carefree Wander] and forcing him to choose another strategy.
Then the question was..
'If Beast Taming truly left a backup in the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] that could stimulate his main body to wake up, then who exactly awakened him at this moment?'
The Primordial Saint did not believe in coincidences presented on the surface. He habitually took the worst-case possibilities into account. Thus, he directly attributed the cause of the Netherworld's riot to Dao Tianqi and began to ponder— who awakened him? Who gained the most from this turn of events?
"Xuande..."
A hollow, chilling voice echoed at the top layer of the [Paramita]. There was no shock or fury, only calm; all emotions were converted into a heart-born indifference.
This person gained the most.
Was it his doing?
'But a cultivator who has refined a Primordial Spirit cannot enter the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]... and as a visitor from beyond, where would he get the coordinates and Karma?'
Having reached this point, the Primordial Saint stopped wondering how Lu Yang did it, and instead pondered:—if Lu Yang succeeded, what was his purpose?
'Awakening Dao Tianqi.'
'The rioting Netherworld obscured my vision. Although it was only for an instant... for a Dao Lord, that instant is enough to do many things.'
What could be done in the Netherworld?
'The Ancestral Dragon!'
In an instant, divine light erupted from the Primordial Saint's eyes, piercing through layered obstructions to fall directly onto Perfected Lord Azure Firmament Radiance, searching it inside and out.
'No problem... which means the problem is even bigger!'
The Primordial Saint's expression grew increasingly grave. Although the opponent shouldn't know about the Ancestral Dragon, and it was impossible to tamper with it without being discovered by him.
But he never cared about "impossible."
As long as the developments did not involve the pre-ancient era or the secrets of Deity Transformation and remained within his control, his style had always been to shoot the arrow first and then draw the target!
'Xuande, this person definitely has a problem.' The Primordial Saint's thoughts whirled: 'He is the junior of that Immortal; it is not impossible for him to have a way to enter the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]. Carrying an Immortal's inheritance, he could discover the issue with the Ancestral Dragon and place means upon it that I cannot detect—this is also logical.'
As for how he could awaken Dao Tianqi so precisely?
'...Myriad Treasure!'
The World Honored One's coordination was far too seamless, and they had even battled. Perhaps during the clash, the two parties secretly exchanged certain intelligence.
In other words:
'He was just playing along with me earlier. He knew all along that I am not that Immortal, and he even clearly knows that the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record] is in my hands!'
'[Supreme Grandmaster]! He wants to enter [Supreme Grandmaster] through the Ancestral Dragon?'
Thinking of this, for the first time in a hundred thousand years, the Primordial Saint felt a hint of chill. If his deduction was true, then everything that had happened so far was a setup!
A setup deliberately targeting him!
Of course, this logic was full of "supposedly" and was derived entirely from malice, based on the assumption that Xuande harbored ill intent.
But so what?
In the Primordial Saint's view, the point wasn't whether Lu Yang had malice, but whether he had the means to carry out such malice!
Instantly, all previous judgments were overturned.
"This person... cannot be kept."
The Primordial Saint's gaze turned cold as he rapidly reached a conclusion: "Such a variable, a Dao Lord of essence metamorphosis at that, will only affect the Deity Transformation ascension plan if left alive."
If the ascension succeeded, it would be fine.
But if it failed, a Dao Lord who was not influenced by the [Paramita] would be enough to cause his backup plan to collapse, posing a severe threat to his life.
With this thought, the Primordial Saint's strategy shifted immediately. It changed from [How to use Xuande to find more pre-ancient secrets] to [Eliminate Xuande quickly]. However, what made him helpless was that, unlike the other Dao Lords of the [Paramita], Lu Yang was much more troublesome.
'Essence metamorphosis...'
With a Great Dao that formed its own cycle, he could not be killed, only suppressed. Yet, while the opponent could roam freely in the Dark Void, he himself could not leave the [Paramita].
If he couldn't win the fight, the opponent could just run.
'I must find a way.'
'Set a trap, trap him to death, and suppress him completely just as I dealt with Sisui...'
(End of Chapter)