The words of the Ancestors of the Name and Form schools did not stir the slightest ripple in the Primordial Saint's heart, and his reaction caused the two Ancestors' attitudes to shift.
"Supreme Forgotten Emotions... Truly thorough."
Following this, the Ancestor of the Name school said in a deep voice: "Taiyuan Xian, Taiyitian—whichever it is, it makes no difference now. Show us your transcendence method."
"This will determine our stance."
As the words fell, the Primordial Saint narrowed his eyes. He could see that the two Ancestors before him were not much different in cultivation from the Xuande he had encountered earlier.
'Pre-Ancient essence cultivation.'
'They have experienced two qualitative metamorphoses of their essence.'
At this thought, the Primordial Saint immediately extended his hand. The brilliance of the [Paramita] traversed time and space, manifesting entirely before the Ancestors of Name and Form as an external object.
"This is... the [Feng Shui] method?"
"It's somewhat similar, but the foundation isn't quite right. It is purely an external object; is this stature the Dao Venerable's method? Strange, strange. Is this how cultivation is practiced in later ages?"
"The Great Dao is actually a physical entity?"
"Incredible."
In an instant, the two Ancestors of the Name and Form schools were enthralled. It was only after a long while that they came to their senses and nodded slightly: "Indeed, there is an opportunity to attain the Dao."
"With our cultivation, a second qualitative metamorphosis of essence would at most place us between the fourth and sixth layers of the [Paramita]. To reach the seventh or even ninth layer as designed, we would probably need a third metamorphosis. However, the difficulty of walking the [Paramita] path is far simpler than essence metamorphosis."
"This is a feasible method!"
At this, the two Ancestors finally let out a long breath: "Very well. Since there is a method, we will assist you in this battle and find a way to seize the Seed of the Great Dao."
"As the price."
"We will borrow your names and appearances for a while."
As the words fell, the auras of the Ancestor of the Name school and the Ancestor of the Form school changed abruptly. The Primordial Saint felt a wisp of aura descend upon him.
[Do not resist.]
The Primordial Saint frowned deeply, but in the end, he chose to acquiesce. Everything was for the sake of transcendence; other things were trivial details, not worth worrying too much about.
Soon, the appearance of the two Ancestors changed. The originally nameless Ancestor of the Name school, if one were to calculate his Karma now, would reveal his name clearly: [Taiyitian]. And the originally formless Ancestor of the Form school was now overlaid with the Primordial Saint's face; their auras had changed accordingly.
[This is their method.]
[Borrowing our names and forms is equivalent to binding themselves to us. When our cultivation increases, theirs will also increase. When we transcend, they will also transcend.]
It went further than that.
Even more ingenious was that this "anchoring" transcendence did not require Supreme Forgotten Emotions. They retained their sense of self, and should the situation turn dire, they could "jump off the ship."
For instance, back when Taiyuan Xian vied with [Jun] for the position of Deity Transformation, the two Ancestors of Name and Form discovered at the last moment that victory was impossible. They had decisively chosen to jump ship, changing their appearances and severing all ties with Taiyuan Xian, thus avoiding being implicated in Taiyuan Xian's defeat.
And now, they were back.
If it were anyone else, they naturally would not accept such traitors. But Taiyuan Xian and the Primordial Saint were different; they had long since forgotten emotions, and in their eyes, there was only transcendence.
For that, they could accept anything.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, the Ancestors of the Name and Form schools were strong allies. If one wanted to seize the Seed of the Great Dao, their help was indispensable.
'This is why [Supreme Forgotten Emotions] is necessary.'
'Human hearts are hard to fathom. Transcenders don't need human hearts; they only need a single-minded pursuit of transcendence. Looking at it now, designing it this way was indeed correct.'
The Ancestors of the Name and Form schools exchanged a glance, then reined in their emotions.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang was still chatting away with Dao Ancestor Guiming.
"As far as I know, there aren't actually many people disinterested in the Seed of the Great Dao this time. I estimate only seven; the remaining Dao Ancestors will all come to compete."
That's not many?
Lu Yang blinked. Seventeen Dao Ancestors, with seven disinterested—that was nearly half. In his view, this was an incredibly high number.
"Although that is true, it does not mean they are not opponents." Dao Ancestor Guiming reminded him: "Even if they are disinterested in the Seed of the Great Dao, it does not mean they will stand idly by and ignore this Dao struggle. It is even more dangerous, because heaven knows what these Dao Ancestors might do."
Hearing this, Lu Yang's gaze sharpened: "If I am not mistaken, you are also among them, aren't you, Fellow Daoist?"
Dao Ancestor Guiming nodded: "Correct. I am also disinterested in the Seed of the Great Dao. Or rather, our [Fate] lineage has no interest in the Seed of the Great Dao."
"It is only that I have some conflict with [Feng Shui]."
"He should be considered the most conservative type. He only hopes to improve the Feng Shui of the entire Divine Land and erase the concept of the [Final Tribulation] at its root."
Hearing this, Lu Yang's expression became peculiar as he looked at Dao Ancestor Guiming.
[Feng Shui] is considered conservative, yet he still has a conflict with you? Looking at it from this perspective, are you considered the more radical type?
"Cough, cough..."
Dao Ancestor Guiming clearly noticed Lu Yang's gaze and coughed somewhat awkwardly: "Do not misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. I am also considered a conservative."
Lu Yang blinked: "Really?"
"Of course."
Dao Ancestor Guiming said with great solemnity: "Unlike [Feng Shui], we believe that saving the land while losing the people results in the loss of both. Saving the people while losing the land results in gaining both."
"What if the Divine Land perishes? As long as all the mortals and cultivators of the Divine Land survive, that is enough. Therefore, my idea is to find a way to have all the mortals and cultivators of the Divine Land reincarnate, cross through time, and be reborn directly into an era where the Final Tribulation has vanished, the Sea of Light has newly been born, and all things are flourishing with vitality!"
At this point, Dao Ancestor Guiming was incredibly serious.
There was no doubt about it; he was sincere.
Then came the question.
After a moment of silence, Lu Yang said in a low voice: "The threshold for the [Fate] lineage is not low. Fellow Daoist, what do you intend to do to get all the mortals and cultivators to reincarnate?"
"It is very simple."
Dao Ancestor Guiming calmed his emotions and said lightly: "I have already created a secret method. As long as I kill them all, I can then lead them to reincarnate into the future."
Lu Yang: "..."
No wonder Dao Ancestor [Feng Shui] tried to kill you first!
You call this the conservative faction?
What on earth does the radical faction look like?
At this thought, Lu Yang's heart suddenly stirred: "Fellow Daoist said earlier that the [Fate] lineage had no interest in the Seed of the Great Dao, so what about the other Dao Ancestor?"
The [Fate] lineage had two Dao Ancestors.
Dao Ancestor Guiming was the second, and the first—who was also the very first Dao Ancestor of the Divine Land—what were his thoughts? Was he also planning to kill everyone?
"Oh, he is different."
Dao Ancestor Guiming shook his head: "He is far more radical than me. He believes that my essence is not strong enough to lead everyone to reincarnate into the future."
"So he intends to do it himself."
"Back when he attained the status of Dao Ancestor, it was by reincarnating and becoming the initial Innate Dao God of the Divine Land. Now, he intends to repeat the same trick—a great reincarnation once more."
"This time, he wants to become the Innate Dao God who symbolizes the Final Tribulation."
"Once he succeeds, as long as he commits suicide at the first possible moment, he can resolve it once and for all, ending the Final Tribulation before it even begins, thereby changing the ending of destruction."
Lu Yang understood in an instant.
Whether it was [Feng Shui] or Dao Ancestor Guiming, their essence was essentially evasion—finding ways to dodge the impact of the Final Tribulation. However, the Dao Ancestor of [Fate] was different.
This very first Dao Ancestor of the Divine Land intended to defeat the Final Tribulation head-on!
(End of Chapter)