At this moment, the shadow of death rapidly climbed onto Lu Yang's face. As far as his eyes could see, a palm encompassing the universe was gradually occupying his field of vision.
The Final Tribulation Dao God!
This palm struck down without any technique; it was simply the purest, immeasurable Qi of the Final Tribulation gathered together—simple, yet impossible to block.
Facing this palm, Lu Yang's Primordial Spirit instantly felt an intense crisis. His intuition told him this was a strike capable of grinding away his immortality. Even though his essence had metamorphosed twice, this palm was enough to forcefully direct him toward death. To block this palm, there were only two methods.
The first was a third qualitative metamorphosis of essence.
Relying on a sufficiently powerful essence, one could resist the Final Tribulation to a certain extent. Much like Shi Weixiong and Zhi Tianming, there would at least be some power to fight back.
The second was [False Transcendence].
Sisui's uniquely created method of metamorphosis. Although not Deity Transformation, it already transcended the secular world. Its extreme immortality could not be shaken even by the Final Tribulation.
'Hold on...'
In an instant, Lu Yang sorted out his thoughts because he had already noticed Sisui's movements beside him. As long as he held on for an instant, it would be enough.
An instant of time was enough for Sisui to strike and block this palm for him.
At the same time, he also understood the reason why the Final Tribulation Dao God attacked him: 'It must be the Primordial Saint. He wants to borrow the hand of the Final Tribulation to force me to restart.'
'No, it should mostly be just a probe.'
'He is probing to see if I can truly still restart.'
At this thought, Lu Yang gritted his teeth tightly, knowing clearly in his heart: 'Looking at it this way, if he doesn't probe out a result, he won't stop.'
Lu Yang was certain that the Primordial Saint still had a decisive means he hadn't used yet. But he was too cautious. Given the current situation, if he didn't probe whether Lu Yang's restart power was still effective, he absolutely wouldn't continue advancing his plan; he would only probe again and again.
'Even if I escape death this time.'
'He won't get the result he wants and will definitely strike at me again.'
And the results the Primordial Saint wanted were merely two: either Lu Yang restarts, and everything starts over; or Lu Yang dies, completely resolving the hidden danger of the restart.
'Two results, and he wins either way.'
Therefore—
'I don't want either of them!'
Time seemed to stop at this moment. Lu Yang's thoughts raced, pondering a way to break the deadlock, wanting to forge a third path outside the Primordial Saint's expectations.
However, during this process, the palm of the Final Tribulation Dao God did not stop, still slowly pushing toward Lu Yang. Wherever it passed, circle after circle of ripples undulated, causing the void to shatter and time to become erratic. All things in heaven and earth turned a deathly still grayish-dark color because of it, and then disintegrated like rotten wood!
But right at this moment.
Lu Yang raised his head. After deep consideration, his eyes suddenly lit up: 'There is a way. Right, how could I almost forget this thing...'
Soon, a profound method leaped up from deep within his sea of consciousness. It was the [Fate] reincarnation method Luxian had given him earlier in the Heaven Beyond Heaven!
'I will use this method to feign death!'
The [Fate] reincarnation method inherently required dying once first. Reincarnating after death would not cause the slightest weakening, but instead allow one to become stronger.
In an instant, Lu Yang had made up his mind.
Almost simultaneously, the Final Tribulation Dao God's palm had already covered his face. But before it could land, another palm abruptly intercepted it from the side.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this scene, the Final Tribulation Dao God raised an eyebrow, and the Primordial Saint, who was constantly watching, twitched the corner of his eye as he looked at the only person who dared to step in and stop it.
"Sisui..."
Surveying the Pre-Ancient Era and the Light Sea, only Sisui had the confidence to clash head-on with the Final Tribulation Dao God. The two palms violently collided at this moment.
In terms of pure strength, Sisui was undoubtedly far inferior to the Final Tribulation Dao God. However, his essence was like a crystal-clear, flawless piece of jade. Even amidst terrifying waves and a vast ocean, where he could only drift with the current, he still maintained his complete integrity, unmarred in the slightest.
This collision also played a crucial role.
In the instant Lu Yang was about to be struck by the Final Tribulation Dao God's palm, he suddenly raised his head. Then, with a loud boom, he actively crashed into the Final Tribulation's palm.
After that, rupture!
Exploding blood light, shattering profound wonders—all scenes blurred in the blink of an eye. Layered brilliance mixed into a chaotic mass, making it impossible to see clearly whether Lu Yang lived or died.
Almost simultaneously.
The Primordial Saint abruptly stood up straight, his eye burning like a torch, determined to capture Lu Yang's Primordial Spirit within that chaotic light and witness its annihilation and dissipation with his own eyes.
At this moment, all other external matters were thrown to the back of his mind. He paid them no attention; he only wanted to see Lu Yang die with his own eyes—this was an extremely correct decision.
However, because of this.
He overlooked someone who had always stood beside Lu Yang—someone he had never paid attention to from the very beginning, considering him merely a pawn.
[Sky-Shrouding].
Prior to this, Lu Yang had no communication with him whatsoever. After all, the Final Tribulation Dao God's attack was very sudden, and Lu Yang couldn't have anticipated it beforehand. But when things evolved to this stage, many things needed no communication. [Sky-Shrouding] guessed Lu Yang's thoughts purely on instinct.
Therefore, he knew.
'I have to act... I cannot let the Primordial Saint see through Senior's true state. I must deceive him—deceive everyone—and make them all believe Senior is dead.'
This was almost an impossible task.
After all, the ones monitoring Lu Yang's situation right now were not just the Primordial Saint, but also the Final Tribulation Dao God at close quarters, along with the gazes of many attained Daoists.
Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea—easier said than done?
However—
'I am very good at this.'
In the spark of a flint, [Sky-Shrouding] had already formulated a plan. Without another word, he drew out the fragment of the Ancestral Dragon's Primordial Spirit from deep within his sea of consciousness.
This fragment was something Lu Yang and he had specifically cut out when handing over the Ancestral Dragon's Primordial Spirit earlier, so he could remain in the Heaven Beyond Heaven.
But now, [Sky-Shrouding] used it without hesitation.
Hazy mist covered this fragment, erasing the Ancestral Dragon's aura upon it. He then decisively threw it into the chaotic brilliance generated by Lu Yang's incarnation.
At the same time, [Tribulation] was also pushed to its absolute limit by him.
In the next second, Lu Yang, within the chaotic brilliance, also noticed [Sky-Shrouding]'s actions close at hand. He immediately understood and detonated everything.
"RUMBLE!"
The exploding brilliance annihilated all traces. Seizing this opportunity, Lu Yang placed the Primordial Spirit fragment sent by [Sky-Shrouding] directly in front of himself.
Subsequently, Lu Yang looked back.
He happened to meet [Sky-Shrouding]'s eyes. After completely losing the Ancestral Dragon's Primordial Spirit, the latter's silhouette had already begun to blur, yet his expression was exceedingly calm.
'I really am...'
At this moment, [Sky-Shrouding] even found it somewhat absurd.
When did he become this kind of person?
Look at this self-sacrificing appearance; where is the demeanor of a veteran Saint Sect Perfected Lord... Fine, at the end of the day, it's something that causes trouble for the Primordial Saint.
In any case, as it stands, he had no hope of transcendence either.
Since that was the case, I couldn't transcend, so that old thing the Primordial Saint shouldn't even think about transcending either! I have to find a way to drag him down with me, otherwise, I'll feel unbalanced in my heart!
After all, this was also taught by the Primordial Saint—the style of the Saint Sect, you see.
Soon, the [Tribulation]-transformed, dense white mist enveloped his silhouette. Like a stone sinking into the sea, [Sky-Shrouding]'s silhouette completely dissipated into nothingness.
'...Time to go.'
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yang operated the [Fate] reincarnation method. His Primordial Spirit instantly escaped into the void, leaving only the dissipating and disintegrating Primordial Spirit fragment in place.
Almost simultaneously, the gaze of the Primordial Saint, the gaze of the Final Tribulation Dao God, and the gazes of all the Dao Ancestors paying attention to this scene arrived consecutively, accurately capturing that dissipating Primordial Spirit fragment. Subsequently, everyone fell into silence. And then, chaotic thoughts erupted violently.
"Little Junior Brother Xuande died?"
"No way, he is the personal disciple of the Dao Venerable; he died just like that?"
"What's impossible about it? The one who struck was the Final Tribulation Dao God. That palm was even stronger than the current Shi Weixiong. Surviving it would be the real surprise, right?"
"Indeed..."
Inside the Zixiao Palace, the Primordial Saint stood rooted to the spot like a clay statue, unmoving. His eyes were full of contemplation, madly deducing Lu Yang's life, death, and whereabouts.
Did he really die?
It all seemed a bit too easy. In truth, he didn't feel that this probe was certain to slay his opponent; after all, Sisui was still around, and there was a possibility of failure.
Of course, the odds of success weren't low either.
However, now that it had truly succeeded, the Primordial Saint conversely fell into subconscious doubt. He could hardly resist the urge to "shoot the arrow first and draw the target later," becoming convinced that Lu Yang had merely feigned death.
Because of that, he observed even more meticulously, yet he couldnt's find a flaws. The physical body had indeed been destroyed, the spiritual power dissipated, and even the Primordial Spirit was shattered, leaving only fragments behind. Other things could be faked, but a Primordial Spirit could not; if it were said to be annihilated, then it was truly annihilated.
At this thought, the Primordial Saint abruptly lifted his head.
If an attained Daoist dies, the Primordial Spirit fire they used to illuminate the dome would also extinguish. This was the best evidence to judge whether Lu Yang was truly dead.
And then he saw it.
Above the dome, there was indeed an unknown Primordial Spirit fire that had extinguished with a loud boom, corresponding perfectly to the time Lu Yang "died," without the slightest error.
Lu Yang opened his eyes.
The [Fate] reincarnation method allowed one to freely set reincarnation conditions. Basically, the higher your cultivation in [Fate] cultivation, the more conditions you could set.
Of course, Lu Yang had no attainments in [Fate] cultivation; he only knew the reincarnation method. Therefore, he couldn't set any conditions, but he didn't care about that. After all, reincarnating was primarily to feign death and avoid the Primordial Saint's line of sight; what he reincarnated into wasn't very important to him.
'It's not over yet.'
Lu Yang didn't stop his actions. What the Primordial Saint could think of, he could naturally think of as well. He immediately intended to restrain his Primordial Spirit fire to create the illusion of his demise.
Normally speaking, a Primordial Spirit cannot be concealed.
However, [Sky-Shrouding] had perfectly finished the task for him. At the cost of his own exit, he allowed Lu Yang to take his place, playing a game of "substituting a plum tree for a peach tree."
Of course, the fragment of the Primordial Spirit that [Sky-Shrouding] possessed was relatively weak, far less powerful than Lu Yang's. That was why, Lu Yang needed to do his utmost to restrain his aura, to disguise himself and strive to reveal no flaws. If this step wasn't done well and the Primordial Saint discovered the truth, then this play would have been for nothing.
However, in the next second, Lu Yang discovered something was wrong.
"This place is..."
What met his eyes was a paradise-like environment. Peach trees were everywhere, peach blossoms filled the sky like falling rain, and a gentle breeze blew past.
Immediately after, a voice sounded:
"Fellow Daoist need not worry. This place has been managed by the three of us for many years. Any karma deduction techniques cannot penetrate here; it is temporarily safe."
Lu Yang was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, then leaped up.
At this moment, he was not a human.
It couldn't be helped. He wasn't a [Fate] cultivator at all. Forcibly utilizing the reincarnation method meant he couldn't even be a human; he could only barely manage to reincarnate as a giant paramecium.
But at his level of cultivation, what he reincarnated into simply didn't matter. With a thought, his physical body instantly disintegrated and reorganized. He didn't even need to extract external spiritual opportunities; the essence of his own [Infinite Law] operated immediately, surging with infinite majesty, allowing him to quickly return to his peak.
Then he clearly saw the person speaking.
It was a middle-aged man, holding a Ruyi scepter in his hand, a smile on his face. Layered illusions floated around him, reflecting myriad brilliant colors.
Looking closely, within the illusions were Dao Lords competing, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, the sun, moon, and stars—it was as if the scenery of the entire Divine Land had coalesced together.
Lu Yang lifted his eyes to look, and the other party also looked straight back.
Immediately after, Lu Yang saw two more figures step out from behind the middle-aged man; they were a male and a female attendant boy and girl.
However, what shocked him was that although the auras of these two attendants were inferior to his own, they were undoubtedly also Dao Ancestors who had undergone essence metamorphosis!
In the next second, the middle-aged man cupped his hands and smiled:
"Da Yunlai, greets Little Junior Brother."
Hearing this, Lu Yang finally understood the true identity of this Daoist and the two attendants—they were the three Dao Ancestors of the [Fortune] lineage!
After a moment of silence, Lu Yang said sincerely:
"That the two attendants under Fellow Daoist's tutelage have also become Dao Ancestors suggests your attainments in the [Education] lineage are also extremely extraordinary. Truly, a famous teacher produces outstanding disciples."
Da Yunlai shook his head upon hearing this:
"Little Junior Brother praises me too highly."
"My [Fortune] lineage emphasizes the luck of the times. My two child attendants were able to achieve this purely by relying on the luck of the times during the clash between the Dao Venerable and Taiyuan Xian back then."
"Now, if you asked me to teach another one, it would be impossible."
The luck of the times?
Lu Yang's expression shifted slightly, seemingly catching onto something. He looked at Da Yunlai: "It seems Fellow Daoist has been prepared for a long time, having known early on that I would reincarnate here?"
Da Yunlai did not deny it, but nodded straightforwardly: "You could say that. I observed the changes in the luck of the times in the Divine Land and calculated this place in advance, which is why I came here first to wait. Fellow Daoist need not worry. Throughout the ten Daos of the Divine Land, my [Fortune] lineage is likely the least adept at combat."
"We observe the luck of the times, but we do not enter the luck of the times."
"To a [Fortune] cultivator, pushing the changes in the luck of the times is our cultivation. The more the luck of the times is altered, the greater the feedback we receive."
"For example, the three of us."
"Back then, it was by assisting the Dao Venerable and helping him reverse his own luck of the times—surpassing Taiyuan Xian, who was originally superior—that we attained our current cultivation."
Lu Yang blinked upon hearing this.
"This sounds a bit like [Noble Connection]."
"Wrong."
Da Yunlai shook his head slightly: "It's [Noble Connection] that's a bit like me. Or rather, that Dao lineage originally evolved out of my [Fortune] lineage."
"Unfortunately, it is specious. Therefore, [Noble Connection] lacks my [Fortune] lineage's ability to observe the luck of the times, so it often fails to accurately identify the 'Noble Person.' Were it not so, that fellow Jiao Guiren wouldn't have failed to latch onto the Dao Venerable back then, allowing Luxian, a mere junior, to become the first person of the Dao lineage instead."
Lu Yang heard the underlying meaning in Da Yunlai's words.
"Does Fellow Daoist mean to say that you are very good at finding a 'Noble Person'?"
At these words, Da Yunlai laughed: "Naturally. Otherwise, why would my [Fortune] lineage travel a thousand miles to wait here for you, Little Junior Brother?"
"I am a Noble Person?" Lu Yang asked, knowing the answer.
"Of course." Da Yunlai nodded: "Looking at the current Divine Land, with the Dao Venerable personally laying out the pieces, the only ones who can be called the centers of the luck of the times are you and the Primordial Saint."
"You two are the centers of the luck of the times brought about by this Dao struggle."
Lu Yang accurately caught the keyword in Da Yunlai's speech:
"...Dao struggle?"
"Correct."
Da Yunlai continued: "Aside from my [Fortune] lineage, the others generally cannot see it clearly. Of course, even if they can't see it clearly, it doesn't really matter."
"After all, seeing it clearly has no meaning."
Lu Yang frowned: "Why?"
"Because we are too insignificant." Reaching this point, a hint of gloom finally surfaced on Da Yunlai's face: "So insignificant that we simply have no way to interfere."
"Because—this is a struggle of Deity Transformation!"
Before Da Yunlai's words had even faded, this paradise isolated from the world suddenly began to tremble slightly, as if an earth dragon were turning over, and rolling thunder echoed from the distant horizon.
However, Da Yunlai's voice did not stop; instead, it grew increasingly intense: "In the very instant before the Final Tribulation perishes, its realm is identical to that of the Dao Venerable. Although it lasts only for an instant, to the higher realm of Deity Transformation, there is no difference between an instant and eternity. Hence, this Dao struggle was born."
"The Dao Venerable and the Final Tribulation."
"Do not mistake the Final Tribulation for that Dao God outside wanting to invade the present. They are not the same thing. The one the Dao Venerable is contending against is even more indescribable."
Da Yunlai's tone was rushed, and the thunder in the sky and the tremors beneath their feet grew increasingly violent:
"The true Final Tribulation possesses no consciousness; its essence is simply destruction. The Innate Dao God that separated from it is merely its agent."
"And according to the changes in the luck of the times I have observed, whether it is the Divine Land or your later ages, both are pawns used by the Dao Venerable to play against the other Deity Transformation in this Dao struggle. Each shoulders immense luck of the times... However, among these, Little Junior Brother, your luck of the times is the most massive."
"Therefore, I am certain you are the Dao Venerable's most important pawn."
Hearing these words, Lu Yang gradually frowned.
'Luck of the times... Is it the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]?'
In the next second, he abruptly spoke: "You just said that besides me, the Primordial Saint is also a center of the luck of the times. According to your logic, could the Primordial Saint be..."
"Correct."
Da Yunlai said straightforwardly: "From my perspective, he is a pawn of the Final Tribulation; that is why the luck of the times upon him can rival yours, Little Junior Brother."
Lu Yang fell into deep thought again upon hearing this.
After a moment, he continued:
"What is being struggled for in this Dao struggle?"
Da Yunlai smiled: "A Dao struggle, a Dao struggle, what else could be struggled for? Naturally, it is their respective [Daos]. That Final Tribulation symbolizes the destined arrival of destruction."
"And the Dao Venerable intends to negate it."
"This is why there was the Dao Venerable's rule over the world for 129,600 years, why this Dao struggle exists, and why the various Dao Ancestors have plans to save the Divine Land."
"Everything is to struggle for the Dao."
"If the Dao Venerable wins, the Divine Land can continue. And if the Final Tribulation wins, everything will fall into eternal silence, with not a shred of vitality left to speak of."
At this point, Da Yunlai finally stopped speaking.
Almost simultaneously, the shocking tremors of the earth and the thunder on the horizon came to an abrupt halt. Even so, a sense of apocalyptic crisis still lingered in their surroundings.
This was the limit.
Looking at Da Yunlai, Lu Yang understood intuitively. Da Yunlai could only say this much; to say any more, an indescribable great terror would likely descend.
Yet he still had to ask.
Because if all of Da Yunlai's words were true, an unavoidable question would arise, one sufficient to completely overturn his common sense.
That is—
"I come from later ages."
Lu Yang spoke word by word: "According to your logic, if the Dao Venerable loses, the Divine Land falls into eternal silence, so where did the Light Sea come from?"
"And since I exist and was able to come from later ages, doesn't that exactly prove the Dao Venerable's inevitable victory?"
As the words fell, Da Yunlai did not answer immediately. He merely looked at Lu Yang calmly, offering his answer in a hushed, almost ethereal tone:
"Little Junior Brother, didn't you already know?"
"Or rather, even today, do you still think that we people of the Pre-Ancient Era are illusory objects, an illusion capable of affecting the past, and that you are the reality?"
Lu Yang's pupils shrank rapidly.
Finally, the terrifying speculation he had faintly sensed surfaced in his mind.
Wrong, it was all wrong.
"The true time has never changed from the very beginning. The so-called [Present], from beginning to end, has always been what you call the Pre-Ancient Era."
People from later ages traveling through space-time to the Pre-Ancient Era via the Deity Transformation Secret Realm?
"Completely wrong. You are the future scenes the Dao Venerable observed in a single thought, brought from the future into our world by the Dao Venerable!"
"Of course, you are not illusory objects, because what a Deity Transformation sees must be real."
"Theoretically, the instant the Dao Venerable observed you, the continuation of the Divine Land should have been predetermined... However, the Dao Venerable is not the only Deity Transformation in the present world."
"The Final Tribulation interfered with the future observed by the Dao Venerable, intending to negate your existence."
"Thus, the present moment was born."
"In this Dao struggle, whichever side's pawn emerges victorious in the end, the future selected by that side will be permanently anchored as reality, never to be altered again."
If one must describe it—
"Your world, your Light Sea, the eras you experienced—every blade of grass, every tree, every flower—all of it is what the Dao Venerable saw in the future..."
"The [Variable]."
Da Yunlai's words plunged Lu Yang into complete silence.
In a daze, he felt as if he had finally caught a glimpse of the operational mechanism and truth of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. Was it really so? Everything was merely created by a thought of a Deity Transformation?
Since it wasn't a determined future to begin with, one could naturally "start over from the beginning."
"W-wait..."
Lu Yang pressed his brow, quickly finding the point of doubt.
If the operational mechanism of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] is based on the observation of [Jun], then what about the restart power of the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record]?
What exactly is the origin of that book?
There must definitely be an even greater secret hidden within!