Chapter 871 - 866: If We Swapped Roles
The Profound Spirit Realm.
After sending the Spirit Light Sect to the Immortal Pivot, with a shift of his Heart Thought, Lü Yang arrived inside the [Beiji Exorcism Institute]. What met his eyes were the hard-working Banner Spirits.
"Not bad, not bad." Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction, resembling an old farmer looking at his thriving seedlings in a vegetable patch. To be honest, at this point, he didn’t really care much about the Banner Spirits anymore. His state of mind was completely different from when he first proved the [Fruit of Celestial Fire].
"Compared to before, my moral standards have improved quite a bit," he thought. "This time, I didn’t even turn the Righteous Banner into the Righteous Qi Dao’s mountain gate, nor did I force all disciples joining the Sect to voluntarily become Banner Spirits..."
Of course, this only applied to the disciples of the Righteous Qi Dao. As for the [Beiji Exorcism Institute], one could only enter by voluntarily becoming a Banner Spirit. After all, the [Beiji Exorcism Institute] was of utmost importance, and only his brothers were worthy of trust. If someone wasn’t even willing to be a Banner Spirit, it would be very difficult for him to treat them as a brother.
"Progenitor, how is the design of the Dao Weapon?"
"Not yet." Facing Lü Yang’s inquiry, Progenitor Tingyou, who was commanding a group of Banner Spirits, shook his head. "At most, we can imitate something at the level of the [Sun-Shooting Bow]. If we want to go a step further, the difficulty is immense."
"It can go a step further?" Lü Yang was stunned. The [Sun-Shooting Bow], as a Strategic Level Dao Soldier, under his full power, could even unleash an attack at the Great Perfected Lord level. How could it possibly improve further?
"The Star Palace actually held back," Progenitor Tingyou said with a bitter smile. "At least from my perspective, Strategic Level Dao Soldiers also have different grades of superiority. And the [Sun-Shooting Bow] is undoubtedly in the lowest tier. I found parts that can be spliced together on the design blueprints of the [Sun-Shooting Bow]. The blueprints for this Strategic Level Dao Soldier have obvious traces of being incomplete. Simply put, it should just be the firing mechanism for a much larger-scale Dao Weapon. According to my estimations, it should be an existence resembling a city, containing a complete assembly line inside. It could ensure that after the [Sun-Shooting Bow] is scrapped, it can be quickly repaired and reassembled."
Speaking up to this point, Progenitor Tingyou also felt a bit helpless. It was true that he possessed astonishing wisdom, but as the saying goes, different fields of expertise are worlds apart. If there were ready-made technology right in front of him, he could quickly master it. However, asking him to master something he had absolutely no prior contact with was making things a bit too difficult.
Lü Yang wasn’t surprised by this, and he immediately said casually, "Forget it then, it’s not a big problem. When the time comes, we will just find a way to demand it from the Star Palace."
The current status of the Profound Spirit Realm was very delicate. Although it was captured by the Immortal Pivot, because of his own existence, it hadn’t been completely divided up by the Immortal Pivot True Monarchs. Instead, it had formed a certain state of stalemate. This was highly advantageous for the Star Palace. At least from the Star Palace’s perspective, the current Profound Spirit Realm could completely serve as their bridgehead to attack the Immortal Pivot when they launched the millennium cataclysm in the future. And to maintain the existence of this bridgehead, as well as to befriend a powerhouse like him, the Star Palace had to increase their investment in him.
"They haven’t come looking for me yet. In all likelihood, it is because they still haven’t figured out how to cooperate with me. Once they make a decision, they will naturally take the initiative to come over. The good days are still ahead!"
At this point, Lü Yang chuckled lightly. Right after, he arrived at the main hall of the [Beiji Exorcism Institute]. Inside the hall, a bright mirror hung high, and seven massive cauldrons stood tall.
Lü Yang lowered his eyelids. Immediately, he saw a stretch of golden brilliance in those seven [Yingyuan Cauldrons], accompanied by a thick Sandalwood Incense permeating the air. It was impressively the Power of Incense. Aside from this, through these seven [Yingyuan Cauldrons], he could also sense the Heart Thoughts of all the Righteous Qi Dao disciples.
"The Bhagavat relies on this to control the Pure Land," he thought, stroking his chin. Of course, he didn’t possess Abilities to alter Dao Hearts, so at most he could only sense the Heart Thoughts of his subordinate disciples; he had no way to make them directly blurt them out.
"...Progenitor." After pondering for a long time, Lü Yang spoke again. "Tell me, why do all the Masters of Dao establish their own Dao Lineages instead of being lone wolves?"
This was a very delicate phenomenon. Sects, Dynasties, Religions—every Master of Dao had a massive Dao Lineage as their support. But to a Master of Dao, did a Dao Lineage truly have meaning? He wouldn’t forget that in his Previous Life, all the Masters of Dao descended to the Lower Realm with their true bodies to fight over the Netherworld. This subsequently triggered the instant deaths of all Cultivators in the entire Void Sea of Light who witnessed their true bodies, resulting in a near-apocalyptic ending. Since the Masters of Dao acted so decisively, it was hard to imagine that they actually cared about a group of Lower Cultivators.
"My previous guess was that a Dao Lineage is useful to a Master of Dao. That is why I created the Righteous Qi Dao, wanting to explore the secrets within... But after doing this twice in a row, I actually haven’t discovered any meaning to it."
Thinking of this, Lü Yang felt his scalp itch a little. Back when he was still in Foundation Establishment, he learned that a Sect could concentrate Fortune to assist in raising one’s Cultivation Realm, so he thought this was the purpose of a Sect’s existence. Looking back on it now, it was simply laughable.
"Foundation Establishment is one thing, but once at the True Monarch Level, it is very difficult for Fortune to have any major impact. Not to mention a Master of Dao, how could they possibly care about Fortune? Other than this, I previously guessed that the existence of a Dao Lineage might elevate the Position of a Master of Dao, which was why the Dao Lineage was so important to them... But in reality, since I established the Righteous Qi Dao until now, let alone elevating my Position, to put it bluntly, these Lower Cultivator disciples are all nothing but a burden to me." Finishing his words, Lü Yang let out another sigh.
Seeing this scene, Progenitor Tingyou fell into deep thought for a long time before frowning. "Perhaps the direction of our guesses was wrong from the very beginning."
Hearing this, Lü Yang’s eyes lit up. "What do you mean, Progenitor?"
"The burden itself might be the objective," Progenitor Tingyou continued. "Perhaps the reason why the Masters of Dao leave behind Dao Lineages is precisely to have such a group of Lower Cultivators drag them down?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Lü Yang blankly blinked his eyes. "...Huh?"
The Masters of Dao left behind Dao Lineages not to elevate themselves, but to conversely burden themselves? Was Cultivation too easy, so they wanted to increase the difficulty a little?
"I don’t know either," Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. "I am only guessing. After all, with your current Cultivation, you can’t even perceive the function of a Dao Lineage, so perhaps that is the truth... Forget it, it’s best not to aim too high. It is normal that we cannot guess it. After all, our horizons are limited."
"Progenitor is right... Hmm?" Lü Yang nodded and was about to say something else when his heart suddenly stirred. It seemed he sensed something, and his expression became peculiar.
"What’s wrong?" Progenitor Tingyou asked with concern.
"Nothing, just a bit surprised." Lü Yang shook his head and immediately let out an emotional sigh. "A sinful affinity. It truly is a sinful affinity. I didn’t expect that the person Martial Uncle chose this time would actually be me."
Immediately after, he suddenly narrowed his eyes. "The previous Heart Demon Tribulation still has quite a few flaws as an Ascension Ceremony. It requires me to constantly utilize the Profound Mysterious of the [Cataclysm Launcher] to sustain it. Perhaps this is an opportunity. Master Chong Guang... back then, you nurtured me to help you in Seeking Gold. Now that our roles are reversed, let’s have you contribute to my Cultivation as well!"
Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately began to cackle, "HEH HEH HEH."
...
To Minor Metal, this was merely a matter of a split second. After being enveloped by the flowing light, his vision blurred, and then he entered an indescribable sea of imagery, losing himself in a daze for a moment. By the time he recovered his senses, a ground intertwined with black and gold had already surfaced beneath his feet. Looking back, he had unexpectedly landed within a towering, expansive palace hall.
"Where is this!?" he thought in shock. "Could that Boundless ocean just now have been the [Sea of Suffering]? The legendary Secret Realm that only a Perfected Lord can roam... I didn’t expect that I would actually have the fortune to witness it..."
Minor Metal was terrified in his heart, but he didn’t dare to overthink it. After all, taking the initiative to accept the recruitment of that Immortal Monarch of Tribulation this time, to put it nicely, was seeking another path, but to put it bluntly, it was actually gambling with his life. It was just that since his Dao path was now severed, he had nothing left to lose. Only then did he decide to throw caution to the wind and take a gamble. Furthermore, the other party was, after all, an outsider.
No matter how deceitful they were, how bad could it possibly get? It definitely couldn’t be worse than the Immortal Pivot, right?