In the isolated paradise, Lu Yang kept his attention on the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], ready to restart at any time, while watching Da Yunlai's increasingly solemn expression.
"How is it?"
"...It worked."
Da Yunlai smiled bitterly. "To tell the truth, the luck of the Primordial Saint and Taiyuan Xian right now is almost comparable to the Dao Venerable's back then."
"Little Junior Brother, are you sure this will work?"
"It's fine."
Lu Yang looked up and said in a deep voice, "Since the Seed of the Great Dao is crucial to breaking through to Deity Transformation, even if he obtains it, he shouldn't be able to refine it instantly, right?"
"Of course not." Da Yunlai shook his head. "When Taiyuan Xian and the Dao Venerable clashed back then, Taiyuan Xian obtained the Seed of the Great Dao first and held the advantage. The Dao Venerable only snatched it back later. From obtaining the Seed of the Great Dao to refining it, it requires a period of time to merge one's body with the Dao."
"Is the commotion large?" Lu Yang continued to ask.
Da Yunlai thought for a moment before answering, "It's not large when merging the body with the Dao, but right before success, all things in the world will resonate with it."
"That's enough."
Lu Yang exhaled a long breath. His biggest worry was that breaking through to Deity Transformation would happen silently. Since there would be a commotion, he wouldn't misjudge the timing.
'My judgment isn't wrong.'
'The Primordial Saint is definitely not someone content with being a pawn. The stronger his luck gets, the less controllable he becomes, and the more likely he is to set grander goals.'
Thinking back to when the Primordial Saint was just a mortal, even after obtaining a massive opportunity, did he immediately aim to become a Dao Lord and the best in the world?
Impossible.
At the very beginning, the Primordial Saint likely just wanted to step onto the path of cultivation. But once he truly stepped onto that path, he naturally sought higher realms.
Reaching Qi Refining, he wanted Foundation Establishment.
Reaching Foundation Establishment, he wanted to be a Perfected Lord.
Becoming a Perfected Lord, he wanted to be a Dao Lord.
Human desire is like a boulder rolling down a high mountain; once it starts, it cannot stop. This "greed" is the very embodiment of a cultivator.
And the Primordial Saint is the ultimate culmination of a cultivator.
'If his luck were poor, perhaps Deity Transformation would be enough. Whether he becomes a prisoner or not wouldn't matter to him; it would be a problem he could figure out later.'
However, with his luck skyrocketing, he gained more opportunities and better choices. He would naturally choose the option with greater benefits and fewer variables. A snake trying to swallow an elephant—at this point, being imprisoned would be somewhat unacceptable to him. He would want more.
This was the Primordial Saint's heart.
[Supreme Forgotten Emotions] did not erase this deep-seated "greed"; instead, it evolved it to the extreme. This was the core of the current Primordial Saint.
Judging others by himself, Lu Yang understood the Primordial Saint perfectly.
'After all, if it were me, I would definitely make the same choice. If you aren't greedy, why cultivate immortality? Cultivating immortality is inherently the greatest greed in this world!'
Future time point.
The visible world was filled with darkness. When the Final Tribulation previously occupied this place, it surged with violent concept that destroyed everything.
However, now it was different.
The silent darkness was like a placid lake, without the slightest ripple. There was no destruction, no sound. Time and space were crushed and blended into the darkness.
Life fundamentally lacked the soil to be born in this darkness. If the Final Tribulation was the present continuous tense of destruction, then the dark scene presented in the future at this moment was a world where the Final Tribulation itself had also perished. Nothing existed anymore; only an empty [Nothingness] remained.
Just witnessing this scene was a great terror.
If one's Dao-heart cultivation was insufficient, their mind would immediately be pulled into this [Nothingness], and their thoughts would be completely melted away until they became a walking corpse.
"This is why a Primordial Spirit is needed."
Rumble.
In the next instant, a fire ignited in the world of [Nothingness]. The dazzling light of a Primordial Spirit illuminated a small patch of airspace, revealing a figure.
It was the Primordial Saint.
With his appearance, the original [Nothingness] generated ripples. It was as if the previously calm surface of an abyss had been parted by a vaster concept, revealing the scene at the bottom of the abyss.
The Primordial Saint concentrated his gaze, seeming to see streaks of light and shadow shuttling through the darkness like swimming dragons. Looking closely, they were actually fragments upon fragments.
Fragments of time.
Some of these fragments came from an untraceable past, some were events happening in the present, and some were the unmanifested future.
In a daze, the Primordial Saint seemed to see a seed appear simultaneously at the instant the world was born. Time was the water that nourished it, and the myriad living beings in the world were its nutrients. In this way, as the world grew more prosperous, it took root, sprouted, and grew continuously.
What is the Seed of the Great Dao?
At this moment, a realization surfaced in the Primordial Saint's heart: 'The Seed of the Great Dao is the symbol of all phenomena, from their birth to their destruction.'
What is Deity Transformation?
"It is obtaining the Seed of the Great Dao, completely occupying all phenomena with one's own mind. Oneself becomes the foundation of this world's birth, continuation, and even destruction."
Therefore, to a Deity Transformation Dao Venerable, the past is not irreversible. A single thought becomes the true future. Their majesty is not limited to one world, but ripples through the entire Dark Void. They are both the beginning and the end, the one and the myriad. Because of this, only one person should rightfully hold this position.
However, this is not the case.
"The Final Tribulation, symbolizing the extreme of annihilation, is the second Deity Transformation existence... No, wait, it's reversed. The Final Tribulation should be this world's first Deity Transformation!"
It originally should have been the only Deity Transformation.
"However... cultivation inherently goes against heaven. In the untraceable past, a cultivator took a crucial step."
"He created an incredible miracle."
"He broke the destined fate of destruction, became this world's second Deity Transformation, and left behind a seed of hope. This is the Seed of the Great Dao!"
The Primordial Saint's eyes were full of contemplation.
By looking directly at the Seed of the Great Dao, the enlightenment it brought allowed him to understand many things. Perhaps this was the inheritance and information contained within the Seed of the Great Dao itself.
"To refine the Seed of the Great Dao, break through to Deity Transformation, and become the foundation of this world, one must shoulder the mission of fighting the Final Tribulation. Only by cultivating the next Deity Transformation can one transcend and leave. Hmph, my previous speculation was indeed correct. [Jun]... this person only wants to use my hands to transcend."
The Primordial Saint withdrew his expression.
The inheritance contained in the Seed of the Great Dao—the confrontation between Deity Transformation and the Final Tribulation—did not shake his mind in the slightest. Instead, it further solidified his current thoughts—
"I cannot achieve Deity Transformation first."
"Become the foundation of this world? Pointless. And it carries a massive risk. After all, this world faces the danger of capsizing under the Final Tribulation. How could a Deity Transformation be spared?"
The inheritance of the Seed of the Great Dao was not eternal.
Among past Deity Transformations, some failed to cultivate a new Deity Transformation and ultimately perished in their fight against the Final Tribulation, becoming the foundation of a newborn world.
There was a very simple example right before him.
The Light Sea.
The Primordial Saint focused his gaze. A massive amount of information flooded his mind, allowing him to know more and more. The secrets belonging to Deity Transformation were laid open to him at this moment.
"The Light Sea is the future of the Divine Land. It is also the future of failure that [Jun] observed. Ultimately, [Jun] died, and his Deity Transformation remains became the foundation for the Light Sea's birth. This is also the origin of the secret of [Mount Longhu]. The so-called collision between the Divine Land and the Light Sea—this is the true reality."
It was not the collision of two worlds, the Divine Land and the Light Sea.
Rather, it was the collision between [Jun], the cause of the Light Sea's birth, and the Final Tribulation, the effect of the Divine Land's destruction. This collision ultimately spurred the birth of the Light Sea.
The Final Tribulation was delayed because of this.
"[Jun]'s physical body transformed into the Dao of Dharma Body, his spiritual power transformed into the Dao of Spiritual Power, and the dao arts he mastered became the Dao of Dao Arts. These are the three foundations of cultivation."
"The Five Elements, Yin and Yang, and the Five Great Destinies are all the same."
"And the wisdom light. These were all pre-designed by [Jun]. After all, when it comes down to it, the Light Sea is nothing more than the future scene he observed."
"It is his petri dish."
"What he wants to do is raise the fiercest Gu King from this petri dish, let it achieve Deity Transformation, and then take over his position."
After a long while, the Primordial Saint exhaled a long breath.
At the same time, the Seed of the Great Dao had already arrived before him. Rolling, flame-like radiance concentrated and blessed his body.
It was as if extending an invitation.
Inviting him to achieve Deity Transformation.
However, the Primordial Saint did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately threw off the profound light on his body, turned, and gripped the Seed of the Great Dao, tucking it into his sleeve.
He certainly wanted Deity Transformation, and he single-mindedly sought transcendence.
But he did not want to bear the responsibility.
'A Deity Transformation is the foundation of this world, requiring effort to maintain this world's existence. What is this? Am I to be a resource for mortal lower cultivators? Utterly absurd.'
Unless he had no other choice, he would not take this path.
Not to mention, he constantly believed [Jun] harbored ill intentions.
At this thought, the Primordial Saint's expression shifted several times. He remained silent. In his hand, text quickly surfaced on the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record]:
[What do you plan to do next?]
[Take the Seed of the Great Dao back? The risk is massive. We will become the target of everyone. Also, what is your specific method for transcending first?]
"Continue the Great Sacrifice of sentient beings," the Primordial Saint said indifferently.
[Continue?]
Taiyuan Xian within the book was puzzled: [Didn't you conclude earlier that the Ancestral Dragon's transcendence method was just a scam used by that guy Jun to attract your attention?]
"A scam doesn't mean it isn't true."
The Primordial Saint shook his head. "Often, it must be true enough to deceive people. Regardless, we will try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll start with Sisui."
As he spoke, the Primordial Saint's aura abruptly began to climb. The Seed of the Great Dao hidden in his sleeve infused him with immeasurable majesty, elevating his stature. In just a few breaths, his aura became ethereal, and his figure gradually became insignificant yet lofty.
He was recovering, even surpassing his peak!
Although he did not intend to use the majesty of the Seed of the Great Dao to break through to Deity Transformation, he was more than happy to extract a portion first, allowing himself to reach the ninth layer of the [Paramita].
"This way, you won't need to act."
With that, the Primordial Saint casually tossed the gleaming Seed of the Great Dao directly into the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record], preserving it!
"This is the most perfect insurance."
The Primordial Saint nodded in satisfaction. "Even if that Xuande is still alive and restarts again, under the book's protection, the Seed of the Great Dao will still be mine."
With the Seed of the Great Dao right in my face, how could I lose?
The advantage is mine!
Da Yunlai couldn't help but wipe his forehead. Although he hadn't sweat, the light of the luck of the times that almost blinded his eyes still gave him palpitations.
"Unstoppable..."
In his eyes, the Primordial Saint's light of luck was in no way inferior to the Dao Venerable's back then. And after the Dao Venerable gained such luck, there was nothing he couldn't accomplish.
At this thought, he looked at Lu Yang again.
Although he didn't speak, his eyes revealed two words:
Can we win?
In response, Lu Yang offered a soft chuckle. "Relax, Fellow Daoist. We will win!"
As the saying goes, things turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme. His plan relied on the Primordial Saint achieving all his heart's desires, having everything go his way, and succeeding in everything he did.
'Just as I expected, the Primordial Saint should be thinking about how to transcend right now. With his current abilities, I fear no one can stop him from doing what he wants.
Even if there are twists and turns, he will definitely be able to transcend. However... choosing to transcend in this place will be the biggest mistake of his life!'
Pre-Ancient Divine Land, Zixiao Palace.
At this moment, the battle between the Final Tribulation Dao God and the Pre-Ancient Dao Ancestors had entered a white-hot stage. The entire dome was dyed a gloomy, chaotic color because of it.
"Still not enough."
At this moment, the one leading the Dao Ancestors was the [Accumulated Merit] Dao Ancestor Shi Weixiong. He held a divine blade in his hand, his expression shifting uncertainly.
Subsequently, he turned to look at those fighting alongside him— Zhu Liuxian, Shan Qiu, Dan Qingjian, Jiao Guiren, as well as Sisui, the World Honored One, and the others.
Only with all of them added together could they barely hold their own against the Final Tribulation Dao God, restricting the Qi of the Final Tribulation within the Zixiao Palace and preventing it from spreading.
However, they were powerless to stop the other side.
The ritual of the Great Sacrifice of sentient beings.
Looking out, ring after ring of ripples expanded in all directions, centered on the Zixiao Palace. The formation of the ritual was already irreversible.
And once the ritual continued to operate.
Across the vast Pre-Ancient Divine Land, the myriad living beings—from the weakest mortals to cultivators, and finally to Dao Ancestors like them—would all be sacrificed alive!
"If this continues, we will definitely lose."
Shi Weixiong's tone was icy. "Everyone, you might as well sacrifice yourselves to my divine blade. With my full effort, I should be able to slay that Final Tribulation Dao God and break this ritual."
"Is that necessary?"
"It hasn't reached that point yet, right?"
"Let us join forces and try again..."
For a moment, everyone showed hesitation. Except for Sisui, who seemed tempted, almost no one had the resolve, prompting Shi Weixiong to sigh.
'It's still too early...'
If he had been given enough time to kill them one by one, there wouldn't be this much trouble.
But right now, the crisis broke out too early. More than half of the Dao Ancestor lineup was still alive. If he forcefully killed people, their own side would collapse first.
What should he do?
'Where is Da Yunlai and his [Fortune] lineage?'
Shi Weixiong's thoughts spun rapidly. 'They are best at finding a [Noble Person]. The fact that they still haven't shown up means they value someone else more than me right now.'
'Who is it?'
While Shi Weixiong was pondering, suddenly, a figure who had been standing at the very back due to his cultivation level stepped forward.
"Amitabha."
The World Honored One spread his five fingers, supporting the Netherworld in his palm. He smiled slightly and said, "Benefactor, perhaps this poor monk has a way to lend you a hand."
Guiming's plan was to take the sentient beings of the Divine Land and reincarnate them into the future—and at this moment, with the Final Tribulation in the present world, the Divine Land about to perish, and the Dao Ancestors at their wits' end, it was the time to launch the undertaking!