In the Pre-Ancient Divine Land, above the sea of clouds.
Lu Yang sped along until he reached a corner of the sea of clouds, then suddenly descended. He shifted left and right, appearing at first glance as if he were just spinning in circles.
However, the moment he completed this series of steps—
"RUMBLE!"
With a sound that shook the heavens, the clouds opened and the mist dispersed, revealing a clear sky and sun. A radiant expanse that sprawled over the earth, covering ten thousand miles, came into view.
'...Whoa.'
Lu Yang's eyes shone. He examined the radiance before him, feeling deeply shocked, for this place actually gave him a sense of the [Paramita]!
The earth was continuous, forests covered the wilderness, gold and stone were hidden within, streams murmured, and heavenly fire burned the sky. Under the interplay of the Five Elements, it manifested a dazzlingly beautiful concept, yet harmoniously unified, constructing a supreme immortal land that drifted like an immortal's realm and urged one toward ascension!
'Such a realm...'
Lu Yang felt a sense of awe. It was almost impossible for the mortal world to forge such a precious land; even a Dao Lord would find it difficult to create such a place.
It wasn't that the Dao Lords' methods were insufficient.
It was that the Dao was different.
'Precious lands forged by the Light Sea are mostly like the Foundation Establishment realm, the [Paramita], or the Netherworld; their foundation is stature. The height of the stature determines the quality of the precious land.'
However, this [Nurturing Immortal Land] before him was different.
It elevated the essence!
'Strictly speaking, the essence of this realm is equivalent to a Dao Ancestor that doesn't move and has no consciousness! The [Feng Shui] method can actually achieve such a thing...'
And this was merely the handiwork of the Dao Ancestor of [Health Preservation], Shan Qiu.
Although Shan Qiu was spoken of by Luxian as having profound attainments in [Feng Shui], he hadn't reached the level of blazing a new trail in that Dao. This showed that the means of the [Feng Shui] Dao Ancestor, Zhu Liuxian, were even superior to this. No wonder he dared to boast that he would remold the Divine Land to resist the Final Tribulation.
'Incredible.'
Lu Yang examined it as he descended. Soon, deep within this precious land, he saw a towering palace with an aura faintly shimmering within.
Lu Yang did not drag things out and spoke directly:
"Fellow Daoist Shan, please reveal yourself."
Before his voice had even faded, the palace doors swung open with a roar, and a young man with shifty eyes walked out. He was wringing his hands, his face filled with sorrow.
Immediately, the young man looked at Lu Yang:
"...So, it is Junior Brother Xuande."
His expression grew increasingly sorrowful: "Coming from so far away, why bother specifically coming to find me? I have already made up my mind not to get involved with any side."
"The Seed of the Great Dao? I have no interest in seizing it."
"Saving the Divine Land? I have no interest in doing it."
The young man frowned as if suppressing something:
"My only wish is to guard this small patch of land and live alone until the next era. Why must you, Junior Brother, come here to provoke karma for no reason?"
"Oh?"
Lu Yang was somewhat curious. He knew that some Dao Ancestors had no interest in the Seed of the Great Dao, but he hadn't expected someone to have no interest in saving the Divine Land either.
One had to know, whether it was the Seed of the Great Dao or saving the Divine Land, both were ways for Dao Ancestors to seek the higher realm. As long as they still had a pursuit of the Great Dao, they would inevitably choose one. Yet this Dao Ancestor of [Health Preservation] had absolutely no intention of seeking the Dao. His words boiled down to one sentence:
He just wanted to survive.
He didn't want to save the Divine Land, didn't want to compete for the Seed of the Great Dao, and didn't care about the higher realm of Deity Transformation. He just wanted to live—to survive by any means necessary.
Then came the question.
"Does Fellow Daoist have the certainty to withstand the Final Tribulation?"
"Of course."
The young man wore a bitter face: "I had already planned everything out. But then this matter emerged—the opportunity promised by the Dao Venerable in the past actually appeared."
"I thought he was just saying it casually."
"Who could have guessed he was being serious."
"As a result, now, the past, present, and future are squeezed together. The future scene I had already calculated has now become blurred."
As he spoke, seeing Lu Yang's curious expression, the young man opened up and continued: "In my divination, after the Dao Venerable transcended, his soul would split into seven, evolving into secret realms. The Name and Form schools obtained one, leaving behind their inheritance, successfully passing through the Final Tribulation and heading to the next era."
"Since that is the case, I can simply emulate them."
"All the preparations over the years were for this—waiting for the Dao Venerable to transcend so I could select the largest piece and stuff the entire [Nurturing Immortal Land] inside..."
At first, Lu Yang listened with great interest.
However, his expression changed quickly.
The soul of Deity Transformation splitting into seven and evolving into secret realms... wasn't this the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]? He wanted to stuff this precious land into the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness]?
Did he succeed?
'...He succeeded!'
In an instant, Lu Yang understood everything: 'It's [Carefree Wander]. This precious land... so that's it! The Origin Jade used to create the Netherworld came from here!'
'In other words...'
At this thought, Lu Yang looked around, examining the [Nurturing Immortal Land] before him: 'This precious land is actually the predecessor to the Netherworld!'
'But he also failed. Although he crossed the Final Tribulation, only the Origin Jade remained of this precious land, and he himself perished because of it—at least, when Dao Tianqi entered [Carefree Wander] and obtained the Origin Jade to forge the Netherworld, he didn't discover any Dao Ancestor of [Health Preservation], Shan Qiu.'
"...Hmm?"
Almost simultaneously, the young man noticed the change in Lu Yang's expression: "Right, Junior Brother Xuande, you come from the future."
"It seems you have a clue."
As the words fell, the young man subconsciously pinched his fingers to calculate. A haze appeared in his eyes: "My future self failed to survive?"
"My path didn't work?"
In an instant, Lu Yang saw a bright light illuminating the brow of the Dao Ancestor of [Health Preservation], Shan Qiu, surging like a violent tide.
"Bad..."
Shan Qiu's expression froze, and he tried hard to press down on his brow, but the boiling radiance couldn't be stopped, leaking from between his fingertips.
Lu Yang's gaze shifted: "Is that Bu Changming?"
At these words, Shan Qiu looked over and gave a wry smile: "It is unfair. Luxian, that fellow, really treats you as his 'Noble Person'?"
"He told you even this."
"However, he doesn't have high cultivation and ultimately doesn't have deep understanding... This Fellow Daoist Bu of mine is not to be trifled with. Junior Brother, should you perhaps leave first and come back tomorrow?"
"Otherwise, I fear we might spoil our mutual goodwill."
Lu Yang remained unmoved.
'Interesting. It's a problem with the Primordial Spirit, very similar to the split between the good and evil Primordial Spirits... Come to think of it, only this Primordial Spirit thing is shared between the Divine Land and the Light Sea.'
In the next second, he chuckled:
"Who do you think I am, Fellow Daoist? Let him come out."
"This... sigh."
Shan Qiu let out a long sigh: "Mainly, he's having a good time fighting, but it's me who gets hurt and has to clean up the mess. Truly, this is the tribulation destined for me..."
With that, he closed his eyes.
In an instant, layered radiance gathered within his body and then exploded. A silhouette identical to him stepped out from within.
However, compared to the shifty-eyed Shan Qiu, although the newly emerged young man had a face 80% similar, his brows were heroic and high-spirited. His every glance was filled with sharpness. He turned around, opened his mouth, and inhaled, swallowing Shan Qiu's silhouette, causing his aura to surge further.
After doing all this, he looked at Lu Yang.
"Speak."
His brazen voice resounded: "How did I fail? Tell me everything you know about the future, and I will spare you."
(End of Chapter)