Chapter 984: 979: Battle of Nascent Souls
Chapter 984: Chapter 979: Battle of Nascent Souls
It was merely a matter of an instant. In the previous second, Lü Yang was still astonished by the Saint Sect Ancestral Master’s uncompromising stance; in the next, boundless radiance completely eclipsed and overturned his vision.
The entire Void Sea of Light, all Outer Realms, Fruits, and even the Duality of Life and Death Profound Light vanished without a trace in this moment. Lü Yang’s vision plunged into darkness. He lost all sense of Heaven and Earth. Daoist Skills collapsed, profound mysteries became imperceptible, and only the deepest despair settled in his heart.
“What is this…”
In the boundless darkness, Lü Yang could not even recall what he had just seen. Even a Great Perfected Lord would find it difficult to endure the taboos within those memories.
A Master of Dao’s true body! Only a Master of Dao’s true body could achieve such an effect. Were the Masters of Dao about to destroy the world again? Was he going to be forced to restart before he even saw any results?
However, Lü Yang quickly realized something was wrong. Although a sharp pain shot through his eyes and severe dizziness washed over him, he was not dead. His Divine Sense simply couldn’t probe outward. He felt like a lone boat in a vast ocean amidst a violent storm—in danger, but not yet capsized.
“It’s not a Master of Dao’s true body.”
“I understand now. Unlike my previous lives, the Masters of Dao have not descended to the mortal realm this time. Instead, they are fighting on the Other Shore, so there is still a thin membrane separating us.”
The Other Shore mitigated the harm that a Master of Dao’s true body inflicted on Lower Cultivators.
Even so, perhaps only a Great Perfected Lord like him could barely survive. Below the Great Perfected Lords, a massive number of Perfected Lords were likely going to die.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, only Perfected Lords were qualified to behold a Master of Dao’s true body. The rest—the Qi Refiners and the Foundation-Stage Cultivators falling from the collapsing Foundation Establishment Realm—likely couldn’t see anything at all, let alone mortals devoid of any supernatural traits. Dying suddenly like this would actually be a blessing for Lower Cultivators!
“This won’t do!”
Lü Yang grew somewhat anxious. He had gone through untold hardships to create this situation just so he could clearly see the methods of the Masters of Dao on the Other Shore. How could he remain blind?
With this thought, he immediately formed a Daoist Hand Seal.
In an instant, the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire brightened. A brilliant bright light gathered at his glabella and transformed into a clear mirror, piercing through the boundless darkness before him—Yin Yang Divine Mirror Dao Fruit!
Then, he saw a bright light soaring into the sky from another direction. It was also the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, yet its mighty power and profound mysteries were superior to his Dao Fruit.
“It’s Ang Xiao…”
Lü Yang realized in his heart that Ang Xiao could also activate the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. Furthermore, the Fruit Arcana he utilized was clearly a combination of the Five Elements, making it stronger than his own Three Elements.
Although he had previously fed all his Fruits to his self-derived Void Certificate of Curved and Straight in order to validate the Netherworld, this didn’t mean that the profound mysteries of the Fruits had vanished completely. Just like the Dao of Arcane Body, Curved and Straight had evidently preserved the profound mysteries of the Fruits through some method rather than devouring them outright.
After all, who would complain about having more methods at their disposal?
At the same time, Ang Xiao—now Lingxiao True Monarch Donghuang—also noticed Lü Yang from the other side. Their gazes met in the air for a brief moment.
However, they quickly and tacitly averted their eyes. Compared to each other’s little secrets, the battle between the Masters of Dao on the Other Shore was the top priority.
“What exactly is going on?”
Lü Yang strained his eyes into the distance. He had pushed the Yin Yang Divine Mirror Dao Fruit at his glabella to the extreme, and finally, he could faintly make out the scene inside the Other Shore. The first thing that caught his eye was a streak of sword light.
ZING!!!
At the exact moment he saw the sword light, the hum of a sword reached his ears, instantly causing his Dharma Body to crack and explode, leaving him bleeding profusely in a flash!
“It’s the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord!”
At this moment, Lü Yang’s eyes were veiled by sword light. They almost turned into white jade before fracturing inch by inch, shattering to the ground like broken colored glass.
CLATTER…
In the blink of an eye, the shattered eyeballs rolled out of his sockets like tears and fell to the ground, making a THUDDING sound that would send chills down anyone’s spine.
What was even more terrifying was that this injury was clearly not temporary. When Lü Yang attempted to restore his damaged Dharma Body and shattered eyes, it felt like he was filling a bottomless pit. No matter how much mana or profound mysteries he threw into it, his injuries showed no sign of improvement.
This forced Lü Yang to lower his head. However, he had already achieved his goal. The sword light may have permanently destroyed his eyes, but it also illuminated the Other Shore for him, even if only for a split second.
There were no Masters of Dao’s true bodies. Concealed by the Other Shore, there were only the manifestations of each Master of Dao’s imagery.
What kind of scene was it? Simply put, it was like looking up at the starry sky from the bottom of a well, seeing the stars, the bright moon, and the vast Cyan Heaven.
Sword light, boundless vastness, the illusionary colors of magic, a vast ocean of mana, and a Golden Buddha—five manifestations of imagery ascended simultaneously, surrounding that tiny, high-and-mighty figure.
Even the Great Net of Karma Links fell into chaos at this moment. The past history of the Current World and endless epochs emerged one after another amidst the clash of the Masters of Dao. Myriad scenes of the future of this great battle also flickered; some were on the verge of becoming reality, only to shatter instantly and revert to phantoms.
It was abstract and incomprehensible. And this was merely a visual diluted by the Other Shore. If he hadn’t seen this, but rather a Master of Dao’s true body, he would likely have died instantly.
Even so, Lü Yang still managed to deduce quite a few things:
“The heaven-piercing sword light symbolizing the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord has suddenly leaped from the fourth layer to the fifth, making him the first person to stand in the way of the Saint Sect Ancestral Master.
“The Dao of Arcane Power and the Dao of Arcane Arts are also ascending. It seems that because I revived the Dao of Arcane Body, a missing piece of imagery has been filled. The Daoist Lord of Magical Power has risen from the third layer to the fourth. Meanwhile, although the Daoist Lord of Magic hasn’t jumped from the fourth layer to the fifth, his aura has grown significantly stronger as well.
“The Bhagavat, however, hasn’t changed much.
“Is he slacking off? Or is this the limit of his level?”
Lü Yang desperately tried to recall the split-second scene that had just entered his mind, because the details related to it were fading rapidly from his memory.
Knowledge of the Other Shore was not something a Great Perfected Lord could pry into!
“I must be quick. I have to draw corresponding conclusions based on the scene I glimpsed and preserve those conclusions in my memory…”
The imagery of the Other Shore could be forgotten. But conclusions regarding who was stronger or weaker among the Masters of Dao, what methods they possessed, who was allied with whom, and everyone’s attitude toward the First Saint… these deductions would not be erased. And all of these would serve as his bargaining chips in his next life!
“Furthermore…” Recalling the final scene of that fleeting glance, a gloom couldn’t help but surface in Lü Yang’s eyes. “…It seems the other Masters of Dao are unable to shake the Saint Sect Ancestral Master.”
This was because, in the glimpse of the Other Shore he had witnessed, the imagery presented by the other Masters of Dao was incredibly abstract and difficult to comprehend. The Saint Sect Ancestral Master was the sole exception. He remained unchanged—just as tiny, just as high and mighty, and still looking down upon everything beneath his feet. Just like a Constant.
“Hmm?”
Right at this moment, Lü Yang suddenly stumbled. Without his eyes, he could only rely on his spiritual perception to sense his surroundings, and he felt the oppression from above grow significantly heavier.
The Other Shore was still descending! Clearly, with the Foundation Establishment Realm shattered and the Current World missing one of its pillars, the combat between the Masters of Dao further accelerated the descent of the Other Shore!