That being said, the daze only lasted for a fleeting moment.
Immediately following this, the Primordial Saint realigned his mindset and let out a long, hollow sigh: "The Deity Transformation ascension... it seems it must be temporarily shelved for now."
He had to admit it.
With the mysterious disappearance of the portion of the Ancestral Dragon's Primordial Spirit he had enslaved, the plan for Deity Transformation ascension had effectively gone bankrupt; there was no hope for success.
Simultaneously, this also meant that his previous plan to use the River of Time to set a trap and kill the Dao Ancestor Xuande had no possibility of realization. The opponent had even guessed his thoughts in advance and countered him ruthlessly. What was most infuriating was that this wasn't due to strength.
It was pure information disparity.
At this thought, the Primordial Saint was now convinced that the Dao Ancestor Xuande was a regressor; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to seize the Saint's vitals so precisely.
"I cannot continue this fight."
The Primordial Saint shook his head, analyzing his situation from a purely rational perspective: "As long as the opponent can start over from scratch, I have no chance of winning."
He didn't even know how many times the opponent had restarted so far.
It must be more than once.
After all, given his own layouts, it should be impossible to completely dismantle them with only a single restart... At this thought, the Primordial Saint reached a decision.
'Retreat for now.'
'Before re-entering [Supreme Grandmaster], finding the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record], and reviewing the records within, any actions are meaningless.'
In a daze, the Primordial Saint seemed to see his own situation. He was undoubtedly standing on the edge of a cliff; the more he plotted and the more tricks he used, the harder it would be to escape danger. They might even have the opposite effect, pushing him closer to the edge where he could fall at any moment.
'Fortunately, my strength remains.'
On the sixth layer of the [Paramita], he still stood above the other Dao Lords, and he was far beyond what that Xuande could compare to. The opponent was not yet strong enough to overthrow him.
As long as that was the case, there was still hope.
With this thought, the Primordial Saint looked out toward the heavens again, his gaze narrowing as it lingered on Lu Yang and the ring of the Great Dao behind him that symbolized his essence metamorphosis.
'This person's Primordial Spirit and essence... both have great hidden dangers.'
'The [Dead Cycle], neither increasing nor decreasing. Although he cannot die, it is also difficult for him to seek the Great Dao. To go a step further, he must temporarily exit this state.'
That was the opportunity.
As long as the opponent exited the immortal state of essence metamorphosis, the Saint could seize the weakness in his Primordial Spirit to suppress him and even seal his thoughts.
'No matter how strong that supreme power is, it still needs consciousness to activate. If the consciousness is sealed, then no matter how strong the power, it is meaningless. At that time, I can slowly process him and find a way to extract that supreme power... Until then, I must endure.'
Beyond the nine heavens, a profound voice drifted in:
"Senior Uncle, are you alright?"
The voice of concern carried an inexplicable mockery. The Primordial Saint no longer bothered with a performative response and turned to look at the Ancestral Dragon on the other side.
In the next second, the Ancestral Dragon let out a miserable shriek. Strikingly, another small portion of his Primordial Spirit thought was extracted by the Primordial Saint, prompting him to break into curses on the spot.
"Primordial Saint—"
Before the words finished, the Primordial Saint flicked his sleeve, isolating all sound within a seal. He then carried the Ancestral Dragon's thought back to the [Paramita].
Immediately following this, the [Paramita] was violently agitated. An additional layer of hazy illusion appeared around the Primordial Saint's already tiny figure, making him increasingly blurred. It became difficult for the outside world to investigate and for the heavenly secrets to reach him; all his aura seemed to have retreated from the Dark Void and the Light Sea.
Such a change left the various Dao Lords deeply surprised.
"To think such a thing would happen?"
On the fourth layer of the [Paramita], the Sword Lord knit her beautiful brows and immediately pinched her jade-like fingers. The brilliance of [Destiny] flowed between her palms and fingers like rippling blue waves.
The river of destiny revealed the future.
Yet this time, among all the various future images, every single one strikingly lacked the shadow of the Primordial Saint, as if this person had never existed.
"Everything has been hidden away."
"Withdrawing from the current world and ceasing interference, in exchange for the blinding of heavenly secrets and the concealment of the future."
The Sword Lord seemed to have an insight: "The Primordial Saint... he and that Dao Ancestor from beyond the heavens appeared to have clashed once. In a place I could not see, the result was that he lost..."
The Primordial Saint lost?
When the Sword Lord spoke these words, even she found it somewhat unbelievable. But if he hadn't lost, why would the Primordial Saint make such a retreat?
"He had no choice but to retreat!"
Outside the Dark Void, Lu Yang was not at all surprised by the Primordial Saint's choice. The Sword Lord's thinking was still stuck on cultivation, believing the outcome of a battle depended only on one's realm.
It could only be said that she had never used a "cheat," so she didn't understand.
Those who have "cheated" all understand— at this stage, the realm is no longer important; the information each side possesses is the key that decides the outcome of this struggle.
From this perspective, the Primordial Saint's decision was undoubtedly correct.
Sealing one's aura and hiding from the world emphasized the idea that "as long as I do nothing, I can never be wrong." This was a good thing, but also a bad thing.
The good part was that the Primordial Saint's actions showed he was at his wit's end, pushed to the limit by Lu Yang, no longer possessing the composure of previous lives. The bad part was that his willingness to go to such lengths showed that the Primordial Saint truly viewed him as an equal opponent.
"...This is actually for the best."
Lu Yang rubbed his chin. He wasn't afraid of failure or the methods the Primordial Saint might produce; he was afraid the Primordial Saint would blow up the world along with him, just like in the previous life.
This was why he had changed his approach in this lifetime.
Leading the [Paramita] to fall was no longer meaningful; the Primordial Saint had made too many preparations in that regard, making it impossible for Lu Yang to shake it currently.
One could see this from the experiences of the previous life.
Between the [Variable in the Inevitable Fate], the [Paramita] fragments, and finally the emergence of the Light Sea's final tribulation, the Primordial Saint truly possessed the ability to "flip the table."
'To deal with the Primordial Saint, one must boil the frog in lukewarm water.'
'Pushing him to the extreme in one go without leaving a single way out will only make him use the Final Tribulation to choose mutual destruction; that would be meaningless.'
So he had to take it slowly.
Dismantling his trump cards one by one until he didn't even have the qualification to flip the table.
"The current situation is excellent. The Primordial Saint has hidden himself and handed the Light Sea over to me. I can take this opportunity to find a way to increase my stature and realm."
However, Lu Yang understood in his heart that this was also exactly what the Primordial Saint wanted to see. The Saint was likely waiting for the moment Lu Yang disconnected his [Dead Cycle] to increase his stature... but in all things, there are gains and losses. To play against the Primordial Saint and still want to profit, this level of risk was considered small.
At this thought, he cast his gaze down once more.
The Primordial Spirit thought and clear celestial light instantly broke through the obstructions of the Light Sea. Under the silent gaze of the various Dao Lords, it fell into the Netherworld, letting out a deafening Daoist chime.
"BOOM."
Immediately following this, as the celestial light fell, the [Three Lives Stone]—previously occupied by the Primordial Saint—immediately reacted. The profound wonder attached to it retreated in an instant.
Within the celestial light, Lu Yang's silhouette emerged.
He appeared with a solemn and majestic visage, the light-ring behind his head rotating slowly, manifesting a towering Heavenly Palace and infinite colors. A rumbling Daoist chime echoed throughout the heavens of the Light Sea, announcing—
"Fellow Daoist [Taiyitian]."
"From this day forward, you shall retreat ten thousand miles upon seeing me!"
(End of Chapter)