As the words fell, the Primal Daoist’s voice echoed through the clouds like rolling thunder.
Lü Yang let out a deep breath. The mont the Primal Daoist finished speaking, a flood of mories surfaced in his mind.
These mories were not his own.
They had simply appeared ’out of thin air.’ He could even feel the bizarre sensation of the mories erging from his mind, piece by piece, as he recalled them.
These mories were the rules of [No Heaven].
’There are five scenes within [No Heaven]. Each one corresponds to a Tribulation the Primal Daoist encountered five thousand years ago.’
’It’s because of these five Tribulations that the Primal Daoist was ultimately stuck at the Foundation Establishnt stage.’
’This "Breaking the Tribulation" ans I must enter [No Heaven] and, assuming the identity of the Primal Daoist, overco the challenges represented by those five Tribulations.’
’Overco one Tribulation, and I’ll gain one of his Abilities.’
’Overco all five, and I’ll be able to take control of [No Heaven]!’
A sudden realization dawned on Lü Yang. Breaking the Tribulation, taking control of the Fruit—those were secondary. The real key was that this was a Cultivation thod corresponding to the [No Heaven] Fruit!
’A Fruit is held high in the heavens, propped up by the many Cultivators below!’
Lü Yang imdiately recalled the characteristics of a Fruit. ’Without Cultivators to prop it up, although the Fruit’s Mighty Power remains unchanged, it will retreat from the world, making it difficult to attain.’
’Just like [No Heaven] is now. With no one practicing its thod, it has yet to truly reach Perfection!’
At this thought, Lü Yang couldn’t help but look toward the Primal Daoist, his heart filled with an indescribable shock. In the past, World Purger Fei Xue herself had said that attaining a Void Certificate was an illusory dream.
But from the looks of it, [No Heaven] possessed nearly all the characteristics of a Fruit!
’How did he do it?’
’Just with a [Fruit of Long-Flow Water]? Or by channeling a fraction of Mighty Power with a Daoist Remnant... If it were that simple to create a Void Certificate, how could it be that no one has ever succeeded?’
Moreover, the Primal Daoist’s Void Certificate was different. Lü Yang had heard World Purger Fei Xue say in his past life that even a Void Certificate from a First-Grade True Skill was, in essence, plundered from an external source, not created from thin air. But the [No Heaven] that the Primal Daoist had manifested was truly, in every sense of the word, created from nothing!
"Daoist, your reputation is well-deserved."
Thinking this, Lü Yang cupped his hands in admiration and offered, a bit tentatively, "You are truly worthy of being called the incarnation of the Millennial Tribulation."
"...Oh?"
At these words, the Primal Daoist, who had been quite calm, suddenly raised his eyebrows. "The incarnation of the tribulation... Is that truly what you think of , Daoist?"
"It is what a Perfected Lord from my sect told ."
"Oh, then that’s not surprising."
At this, the Primal Daoist gave a cold sneer. "A swarm of vermin. Selfish parasites who contribute nothing to Heaven and Earth. It’s only natural they would slander ."
Lü Yang’s eyebrow twitched at his words.
’Slander? Does that an the part about him being an incarnation of the tribulation is a lie?’
The next mont, the Primal Daoist looked at him and continued, "Do you know what the Millennial Tribulation truly is?"
"I have a guess," Lü Yang said, cupping his hands. "I suspect the Millennial Tribulation is a period of war between our world and the various Outer Realms beyond the heavens."
"...Hah!"
The Primal Daoist nodded. "To have guessed that much... it seems the faction backing you truly has a Perfected Lord at its helm."
Hearing this, Lü Yang cursed inwardly.
’No wonder he suddenly asked that. He was testing , trying to confirm whether I really have a Perfected Lord backing .’
"This talk of war... you’re not far from the truth."
The Primal Daoist continued.
"The Millennial Tribulation is indeed a ti of war between realms. It is a grand campaign waged by all the Perfected Lords of our world, an effort to conquer and shatter other realms to devour their Fruits."
"This should have been a good thing."
"After all, by absorbing the Fruits of other Outer Realms, the Fruits of our own Heaven and Earth would constantly improve, and the power of the Perfected Lords would rise like a tide lifting all boats."
"However... the Perfected Lords are all selfish creatures!"
As he spoke, a hint of resentnt colored the Primal Daoist’s tone. "They discovered that the spoils from conquering the Outer Realms didn’t have to be integrated into our Heaven and Earth."
"They didn’t integrate the resources they seized from the Outer Realms into Heaven and Earth. Instead, they chose to absorb them into their own Grotto Heavens, allowing those personal domains to beco eternal and unfalling. This, in turn, allowed them to completely monopolize the Fruits... The end result is that the spoils from every war against the Outer Realms have been hoarded by these Perfected Lords!"
"If they had just integrated those spoils into Heaven and Earth, the Fruits would have grown stronger, and they would have grown stronger along with them."
"They’re nothing but a swarm of vermin!" The Primal Daoist flicked his sleeve. "How can one properly manage Heaven and Earth when surrounded by such creatures?"
"..." Lü Yang said nothing.
Although the Primal Daoist spoke with righteous indignation, and his words sounded reasonable at first blush, Lü Yang found himself agreeing more with the Perfected Lords’ actions after a mont’s thought.
The reason was simple.
A Perfected Lord of the Golden Core realm only lives for a thousand years. While they retain their mories through reincarnation, a form of immortality, they are not the eternal masters of their Fruit.
’So, for a Perfected Lord, what’s the point of pouring resources into the Fruit? So what if they beco stronger? It doesn’t increase their lifespan. Even if I fatten up the Fruit, once my ti is up and I fall from my Position, what if soone else swoops in and takes it? Wouldn’t that be a catastrophic loss?’
’A lifeti of cultivation, all for soone else’s benefit.’
’Who could accept that?’
’Compared to that, integrating the spoils of war into one’s own Grotto Heaven might be a loss for the Heaven and Earth Fruit Position, but for the Perfected Lord, it’s a massive gain!’
’No wonder... I misunderstood before!’
’I used to think a Second-Grade Cultivation Skill was about rging the Fruits from other Outer Realms into one’s own Fruit. But now it seems they’re rged into one’s Grotto Heaven!’
’That must be why the defining characteristic of the Middle Stage of Golden Core is an unfalling Grotto Heaven!’
Lü Yang instantly understood and ford a new theory about the cultivation of Perfected Lords. For them, the Fruit was perhaps an important tool for maintaining their Position.
But it wasn’t their foundation!
A Perfected Lord’s true foundation was, and always had been, their own Grotto Heaven!
With this in mind, Lü Yang looked back to the Primal Daoist. "Forgive my ignorance, but if this is a secret among the Perfected Lords, what does it have to do with you, Senior?"
"Because I am not like them."
The Primal Daoist stated plainly, "Since the Perfected Lords hoard the spoils of war, Heaven and Earth naturally needed soone else to help it. I am that soone."
"The talk of being an ’incarnation of the tribulation’ is plausible but not quite right. However, I do possess a asure of Heaven and Earth’s blessing, and I have rit... that is why the Perfected Lords made their move!"
"After all, they had already monopolized the spoils from the other realms. Why would they allow another mouth to feed?"
"So they conspired against , halting my progress at the Foundation Establishnt stage. This way, even if I participated in the wars, I could only take away resources on par with my cultivation level."
"As for the Fruits from the other realms, those would remain theirs to monopolize."
Lü Yang finally understood.
’Damn, that’s insidious!’
At this point, the Primal Daoist suddenly slamd a fist into his palm. "There was one Perfected Lord, from one sect in particular, who was the most disgusting of all! That damn Stain Sect..."
As the words left his mouth, he glanced at Lü Yang again. "You’re not from the Stain Sect, are you, Daoist?"
"Of course not."
Lü Yang didn’t hesitate for a second, imdiately distancing himself. With a frank expression, he declared, "I am a disciple of the Sword Pavilion! We are the current Leader of the Righteous Path. How could I associate with Demons?"
"Is that so..."
The Primal Daoist nodded, then glanced in other directions. He hadn’t just asked Lü Yang; he had posed the sa question to everyone who had entered.
The answers he received varied.
Like Lü Yang, [Ang Xiao] chose to distance himself. "Though I was once a mber of a Demon Sect, I realized its wickedness and have long since defected."
World Purger Fei Xue, however, planted her hands on her hips and laughed aloud.
"That’s right! I’m a Perfected Lord of the Stain Sect!"
"What are you gonna do about it?"
Withdrawing his gaze, the Primal Daoist’s expression was serene. "...Whether you are or not, it matters little. This is the first ti we’ve t, and perhaps it will be the last."
’After all, our next eting will have to wait until you have broken through the five Tribulations, Daoist.’
’At that ti, we shall discuss the Dao together.’
As the words faded, his figure quietly dissipated. The clouds and mist parted, and Lü Yang felt his body, which had been floating as if he were an immortal, suddenly plumt.
BOOM!
The next mont, Lü Yang lost consciousness.
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