That being said, Lu Yang did not rush to set out.
'Not now.'
'The commotion this time was a bit large; the Primordial Saint is likely staring right at me. If I head toward the complete [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] like this, he will ten to one flip the table.'
Lu Yang suppressed his impulse.
Beyond that, the danger of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] itself made him somewhat wary; after all, a portion of Dao Tianqi's memories had yet to be recovered even now.
And what he feared most were similar methods.
Especially since Dao Tianqi had already refined a Primordial Spirit yet still lost his memories; if Lu Yang encountered such a thing, even a restart might not necessarily erase the influence.
'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Now that I've rescued Pill Cauldron, I should first see if he has a way to let Dao Tianqi recover his lost memories. It would be safer to find a way in only after gaining some understanding of the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness] and the eighth secret realm above the seven trials.'
With this thought, Lu Yang immediately turned around.
Karma retreated beneath his feet, and in a flash, he exited that dark universe. Before leaving, he looked back one last time.
There, a pair of eyes was also watching him.
'...Something is wrong.'
Lu Yang's brow furrowed slightly. He keenly discovered a change in the Primordial Saint; he could no longer feel the previously inexplicable, subtle emotion of the Saint being restrained by the fear of breaking his own "pots and pans."
One must realize that by suddenly tracing back to the Ancient Era, Lu Yang had broken the information disparity set up by the Saint. Under such circumstances, even if the Saint was unwilling to fight him, he should have made some other moves. Yet now, the Primordial Saint truly did nothing, simply watching him openly.
In the past, the Primordial Saint often showed a sense of "getting anxious."
Now, it had vanished.
Carrying his doubts, Lu Yang returned to the current world. At a glance, he saw Dao Tianqi and the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master conversing, though the latter's appearance was a bit strange.
"Fellow Daoist, this is..."
Lu Yang blinked. The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master instinctively raised his hand to cover his face, but quickly realized it was a futile gesture.
"Sigh, I've made a fool of myself before Senior."
Lowering his hand, the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master spoke helplessly, revealing a face covered in blue and red bruises, slightly swollen—clearly the result of a thrashing.
With Lu Yang's level of power, one look was enough to understand the cause and effect: this was the World Honored One's work. He immediately smiled and waved his hand; a strand of clear qi landed on the first Pill Cauldron Peak Master's face, removing the swelling and color while neutralizing the residual majesty of the World Honored One. His appearance was restored in the blink of an eye.
"Many thanks, Senior!"
The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master hurriedly cupped his hands, then shot a somewhat smug glance at the World Honored One behind Lu Yang, causing several veins to pop on the latter's bald head.
"Amitabha."
The World Honored One pressed his palms together, both annoyed and amused, yet not surprised. After all, among the first four peak masters, Pill Cauldron was the boldest and had always enjoyed provoking him.
Thus, after silently chanting "compassion" a few times, he shifted the topic: "Let's talk business. Fellow Daoist Xuande changed cause to alter effect to bring you back because he has a major matter to ask you."
"I understand."
The first Pill Cauldron Peak Master, Lian Tiandou, nodded: "Tianqi has already told me. Regarding his memories... I did indeed think of a way back then."
"Unfortunately, because someone bragged about being able to protect us yet failed to do so, Tianqi fell victim to that old bastard's schemes before the method could be tried, and Heaven-Mending also mysteriously disappeared. Of course, I don't think he can be blamed; he simply lacked the strength. We were all the same—nothing to be ashamed of."
World Honored One: "..."
Who are you talking about?You brat, are you being sarcastic with me?
That being said, the World Honored One did not lash out this time. After all, he could not deny this fact; as the Eldest Senior Brother, he had failed to protect his three juniors.
Instead, after finishing his words, Lian Tiandou cast a cautious glance at the World Honored One.
He then coughed and continued somewhat stiffly: "But regardless, the result is good in the end. Tianqi has awakened, and I have survived."
"As for Heaven-Mending..."
Lu Yang interjected at the appropriate time: "Regarding Fellow Daoist Heaven-Mending, he is in no life-threatening danger. If I find an opportunity in the future, I will bring him back as well."
Lian Tiandou became even more solemn:
"I shall keep Senior's kindness firmly in my heart."
Being of a decisive nature, he spoke no more filler and went straight to the point: "Regarding Tianqi's memory issue, I speculated back then that the problem should lie with the True Spirit."
"...The True Spirit?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
Lian Tiandou nodded: "Within the Light Sea, among all living beings, if you set aside the physical shell, existence is based on nothing more than the Soul, the True Spirit, and the Consciousness."
"The three are a trinity from the outside in."
"The connection between the three is roughly like this." At this point, Lian Tiandou operated his spiritual power to describe a three-layered sphere as a model.
"The outermost layer is the Soul, which is the foundation in the eyes of most lower cultivators. The Soul creates the sea of consciousness, and the vast majority of cultivators stop there for their entire lives, unable to glimpse deeper mysteries. Only a very few secret techniques allow one to shed the Soul and walk the world in the state of a True Spirit."
Lu Yang listened very intently because he had actually experienced this.
Back when he was still in the Foundation Establishment stage and restarted as an immortal spirit, he had encountered an attempted possession by the Heavenly Lord. In the end, he had abandoned his soul and escaped as pure consciousness.
Thinking of this, he immediately asked:
"Are the True Spirit and Consciousness one entity?"
"Yes and no."
Lian Tiandou explained: "In my view, the True Spirit is actually a container that carries memories. And with memories, consciousness follows like a shadow."
"So, even if someone's soul is shattered, as long as the True Spirit remains and is gathered by Tianqi's Netherworld, they can still possess their memories and consciousness from life after being converted into a wraith. But if the True Spirit is shattered and memories dissipate, even if it is reshaped, only a brand-new consciousness will be born."
At this point, Lian Tiandou suddenly gave a relaxed smile:
"Take Ling Xiao, for example. Tianqi told me about him. Isn't Senior curious why I have been revived, yet he remains unaffected?"
"Even though it's the same True Spirit."
"That is the difference in memory. The so-called 'same True Spirit' is actually just the same container. However, with different memories, the consciousnesses are naturally distinct."
Hearing this, Lu Yang understood Lian Tiandou's meaning.
"So, Fellow Daoist Beast Taming's memory issue is because a piece is missing from the True Spirit acting as the container? No, that's not right. This explanation isn't logical."
If Dao Tianqi's True Spirit was incomplete, it was impossible for the Primordial Saint not to know.
On the other side, Lian Tiandou also nodded:
"Indeed, it is illogical."
"If the True Spirit were incomplete, it would be impossible for Tianqi to cultivate a Primordial Spirit... For example, the Great Sword Ancestor Sanhe; he is a very typical case of an incomplete True Spirit."
"After all, if the True Spirit has no flaws and the memory is a single whole, there would inevitably be only one consciousness. How could three consciousnesses be born out of thin air in one person?"
"So, according to my deduction, Tianqi's situation is not an incomplete True Spirit, but rather some external object hidden within his True Spirit that obscured a portion of his memories. This caused his consciousness to be clear, yet unable to call upon that part of his memory, resulting in amnesia."
"An external object, a compression?"
Lu Yang's brow furrowed: "That makes no sense. One can sense an incomplete True Spirit, but cannot sense an external object that entered it? What kind of external object can hide from the perception of a Primordial Spirit?"
"There is one, Senior."
Lian Tiandou's tone was certain: "I heard Senior comes from beyond the Light Sea. Since that is the case, Senior should be the one who best understands what that external object is."
"..."
Upon hearing these words, Lu Yang reacted instantly.
Indeed, there was one thing that did not exist outside the Light Sea, which only the natives of the Light Sea possessed—and it was something that only appeared after the Pre-Ancient Era.
A textbook "external object."
Light of Wisdom!
(End of Chapter)