"No, you arrived exactly at the right time!"
Lu Yang let out a long laugh.
Truth be told, the World Honored One deserved at least a third of the credit for the successful ambush on the Sword Lord. His intervention was so insidious and decisive that it was truly breathtaking.
Even Lu Yang's opinion of him had shifted.
Perhaps the World Honored One wasn't actually "weak"; he was simply being systematically targeted by the Primordial Saint. At the very least, as a second-layer cultivator of the [Paramita], he had basically done the best he could.
Not power, just pure skill.
However, one point left Lu Yang puzzled; why was the World Honored One able to coordinate so perfectly? It seemed this entire conflict had been designed by him.
First, he used Sky-shrouding to lure Lu Yang into the Netherworld; then, he influenced the Sword Lord during their clash; and finally, as Lu Yang used Dao Tianqi to obscure the Primordial Saint's vision, the World Honored One mobilized [Karma] to assist in the cover-up. It could be described as the perfect support.
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist,"
Lu Yang scrutinized the gold-robed monk before him, his tone deepening. "All these actions were interlinked perfectly. How did you achieve this? And why did you help me?"
"A sip and a peck, nothing more."
The World Honored One pressed his palms together, his voice calm. "This poor monk merely reviewed [Karma], saw some interesting [Effects], and thus facilitated their [Causes]."
Lu Yang instantly understood.
As the lowest-ranking Dao Lord, the World Honored One governed [Karma]. In his daily duties, he also balanced the work of checking for gaps, patching leaks, and scanning for variables on behalf of the other Dao Lords.
He had explained this to Lu Yang years ago.
At this thought, Lu Yang's tone grew hollow as he whispered, "What [Effect] did you see, Fellow Daoist?"
The World Honored One replied solemnly:
"A [Variable]."
Before the words had finished falling, the surrounding scenery underwent a subtle change. The blue seas and clear skies began to shatter, and various colors seemed ready to dissipate.
Seeing this, Lu Yang stomped his foot.
"Thud!"
The dull vibration interrupted the shift in the landscape, sounding like a resonant bell or a giant invisible hand gently smoothing over this square of the world.
In an instant, the fragmented colors were smoothed out, all cracks mended, and the scenery regained its previous stability. As a scene born of Karma, the originally fragile [Order] of this place was reinforced countless times, causing even the World Honored One to instinctively reveal a look of surprise.
"A fine divine ability!"
As the World Honored One spoke, the compassionate smile on his face became a bit more genuine. "In that case, there is no need to speak too cryptically."
"But first, allow this poor monk to ask one thing..."
At this point, the World Honored One's expression turned stern, and he spoke almost syllable by syllable: "Beas Taming, Dao Tianqi, the Lord of the Netherworld—has he awakened?"
Lu Yang nodded slightly.
Upon receiving the affirmative answer, the World Honored One's compassionate smile faded slightly. He appeared to briefly take off his mask before quickly returning to normal.
"Amitabha... Ask your questions, Fellow Daoist."
Recalling his previous deductions, Lu Yang immediately asked, "When you attained the Dao and traced back through time, you trampled the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]. Why did you do that?"
The World Honored One froze.
"...The [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]?"
Clearly, he had not expected Lu Yang to ask such an unrelated question. He instinctively fell into thought, pondering Lu Yang's intent.
After a long while, he spoke cautiously:
"The one who wanted to sever the connection between the seven trials of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] was not me, but the Primordial Saint. I was merely following orders at the time."
"Furthermore, I did not trample and shatter the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]. Long before my foot came down, the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] was already incomplete. [Supreme Grandmaster] had been plucked out in advance by the Primordial Saint and its whereabouts became unknown. My foot was actually just cleaning up the mess for him."
Lu Yang was left speechless.
Why is it you again, Primordial Saint? Is every notable bad deed in the Light Sea really part of your 'achievements'? How can one man be this wicked?
"Why did the Primordial Saint... want to destroy the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]?"
"It wasn't destruction."
The World Honored One shook his head. "It was merely severing the connection between them. In truth, the seven trials of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] were never a single entity to begin with."
"That is why they are called [Remnant Consciousness]."
"However, the Gatekeeper combined them. Almost all Dao Lords received the grace of these seven trials before they attained the Dao."
"Especially Beast Taming."
At this point, the World Honored One's tone turned dark. "Back then, among everyone—including the Dao Lords—he was the one who obtained the most coordinates."
"Particularly the most important seventh trial, [Carefree Wander]. The Primordial Saint once tried to trick him out of the coordinates, but I stopped him. However, even if he had succeeded, it would have been useless. Unlike the other trials, [Carefree Wander] is the only one with shifting coordinates; it is a trial in constant motion."
"Only Beast Taming can sense it."
"Except for him, no one can enter [Carefree Wander]. Even the Ancestral Dragon, though he possessed the qualifications, could never find the correct coordinates."
Lu Yang's eyebrows arched.
After hearing the World Honored One's explanation, he immediately realized—the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] was different for Dao Tianqi. Clearly, it favored him far more than anyone else.
This led him to another critical point.
[Responding to Emperors].
Dao Tianqi left a backup within [Responding to Emperors]... but he had already refined a Primordial Spirit. Theoretically, all such traces should have been cleared out.
Like Lu Yang in his previous life.
The moment he achieved the Primordial Spirit, the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] that was once perfectly compliant suddenly became indifferent. Theoretically, Dao Tianqi should have suffered the same fate.
Yet that was not the case. Although Dao Tianqi was also repelled by the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], the traces he left behind were not completely erased.
"He once explained this to me."
The World Honored One's voice was low. "It seems that when he passed the trials of [Carefree Wander] back then, he unexpectedly obtained a certain important qualification."
"According to him, there appears to be a supreme secret realm even beyond the seven trials."
"And at that time, he had the chance to enter it."
Lu Yang frowned. "...He had the chance?"
That meant he didn't go in.
This time, Lu Yang had learned his lesson and said almost without thinking, "Because of the Primordial Saint?"
The World Honored One nodded.
"I speculate that was the case. [Supreme Grandmaster] disappeared after that, and the old bastard also tried to trick the coordinates of [Carefree Wander] away from him afterward."
"But later, the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] shattered, Beast Taming fell into slumber, [Carefree Wander] vanished, and [Supreme Grandmaster] was hidden. Combined with the fact that Dao Lords cannot forcibly interfere with that secret realm, eventually, no Dao Lord paid attention to it anymore. This was likely the outcome the Primordial Saint wanted to achieve."
"After all, not long after that, the Gatekeeper committed suicide."
At the end, the World Honored One couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. "Speaking of which, before he died, he shouted 'Primordial Saint' three times. Quite a few people heard it."
Lu Yang couldn't hold back a laugh.
However, he soon regained his focus, recalling a name that had appeared in his memories before but hadn't taken up much space.
"...The Gatekeeper."
The protectors of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] were once a massive group, but they disintegrated overnight, their remnants scattering across the entire Light Sea.
If he remembered correctly, the remaining lineages today were split: one in the Star Palace, and the other in the Sword Pavilion—belonging to Perfected One Subduing-Spirits's 'grandpa'.
Perhaps he could investigate there.