Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 382
Chapter Title: Lu Yang's Development Plan
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With that thought, Lu Yang had already departed, leaving behind only the sword path avatar seated in meditation on the spot.
His true self's consciousness, under Listening幽 Ancestor's arrangements, had been withdrawn from the avatar and settled into [Lihen Tian], transforming it into his new main body.
No anomalies appeared in heaven and earth.
The entire process had taken place within the Myriad Spirits Banner, which had been cleansed by the [Book of a Hundred Lives], rendering it causeless and effectless, sufficient to hoodwink the heavenly secrets.
At this moment, Lu Yang had already arrived beyond the heavens.
"Strictly speaking, this is still my first time coming to the outer heavens."
His previous trip to the [Myriad Martial Realm] had relied on the Primal Saint Sect's supreme treasure, the [Heaven-Connecting Hall], an official channel that handled everything from pickup to delivery, leaving no sensation throughout.
This time, however, it was smuggling.
He had taken the narrow goat path opened by鸿运, and only upon landing in the outer heavens did Lu Yang truly behold its spectacle.
It was nothing like the "universe" he had imagined.
What met his eyes was a sea of light blazing to the utmost extreme, boundless and endless. Merely being within it caused Lu Yang intense pain.
‘This is the [Two Forms Birth and Death Profound Light].’
According to鸿运's memories, the so-called [Two Forms Birth and Death Profound Light] was unique to the outer heavens, capable of decomposing all things and returning them to their primal state.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator falling into it depended entirely on their Dao foundation's quality: those at third grade or above could persist for a quarter-hour, while those below third grade would turn to ash within that time. Only upon reaching Foundation Establishment perfection and forging a blessed land could one barely traverse it, while only Golden Core True Lords could cross it as if treading flat ground.
"I've forged the minor blessed land [Lihen Tian], so I've taken a shortcut."
That said, [Lihen Tian] was certainly no match for a true blessed land. After merely advancing a short distance, Lu Yang could already sense damage to the blessed land.
"Fortunately, the outer heavens have no concept of distance."
The outer heavens were vast, yet without distinctions of far or near—it all depended on whether one grasped the "coordinates." With coordinates, no distance was too far for a single step.
Without them, even the nearest was as distant as the horizon.
Lu Yang held steady to the coordinates from鸿运's memories in his mind and slowly stepped forward. Under his divine sense's probing, he beheld the scenes within the light sea.
They were one pit after another.
The outer heavens' light sea appeared flawless and complete, yet pits followed one after another, each unfathomably deep, as if leading to separate worlds.
Was this how world heavens manifested in the outer heavens?
Lu Yang glanced back, and his pupils suddenly contracted. He saw the world he had left behind—that broken place—as it appeared in the light sea.
"坑" was too mild a term for it.
It should be called an "abyss"!
Compared to the surrounding pits, that broken place was like something that had torn the light sea apart, unimaginably vast, like a black hole!
Its manifestations even resembled a black hole closely, emanating immense gravitational pull that drew in the surrounding world heaven pits one after another before devouring them. It was as if a colossal beast had opened its bloodied maw, impossible to behold without a chill of dread.
"That broken place..."
Lu Yang dared not look longer. He turned away, took a step, and swiftly vanished from the spot, plummeting toward the coordinates sensed by his divine sense!
The moon and stars were sparse, the night breeze gentle.
Lu Yang opened his eyes, no longer relying on divine sense perception. Instead, he allowed his form to dissolve, reverting from humanoid shape back into [Lihen Tian], suspended at the center of the cloud sea.
"Looking back, the world has changed."
Lu Yang immediately activated [String Puppet], and sure enough, just like back in the Myriad Martial Realm, he could still sense the existence of his sword path avatar.
Even if he willed it, he could have his main body enter the Myriad Spirits Banner, then have the banner follow the [Dry Heaven Total Grasp of Myriad Phenomena Dharma Body] to transfer beside the sword path avatar, returning instantly to that broken place. But before fully developing, he would never make such a decision again.
‘If I even entertain the thought, someone's bound to lure me back!’
Lu Yang surveyed his surroundings. Unlike his time in the Myriad Martial Realm, this time he felt no hostility or pressure from this world heaven.
This was all thanks to鸿运.
Even back when he was still a True Lord,鸿运 had exerted considerable influence on this world heaven, shaping it so it would not reject outsiders.
"Strictly speaking, this world heaven hasn't even coalesced a fruition position yet—it's inferior to the Myriad Martial Realm. In theory, it should be like Suo Huan's native world heaven."
At most, a fruition position embryo.
If it were a grand world heaven like the Myriad Martial Realm with a true fruition position, even a True Lord like鸿运 would struggle to influence it greatly.
But a fruition position embryo was different.
Suo Huan's native world had once formed a fruition position embryo, yet what happened? It was shattered at will by a True Lord, with only Suo Huan escaping.
"Evolving a fruition position embryo into a true fruition position is actually extremely difficult."
With鸿运's memories filling in the gaps, Lu Yang realized many of his prior ideas had flaws.
"For instance, having the Ancestor prove the fruition position embryo in the Myriad Spirits Banner... it's unfeasible, because it's not a true fruition position—it can't support a True Lord."
So why could the Innate True Person succeed?
"Because of the [Long Flowing Water]!"
"The [Long Flowing Water] embodies boundless vastness. The Innate True Person used Dao sins to channel thousands of years of [Long Flowing Water], drawing fully on its vastness to bolster himself."
"In short, he used the fruition power of the [Long Flowing Water] to catalyze the fruition position embryo in the Myriad Spirits Banner, greatly accelerating its coalescence into a fruition position, thereby birthing the [Heaven of Non-existence]. This required long-term machinations that the Ancestor lacked the conditions for, let alone..."
Lu Yang suspected there was also the hand of heaven and earth involved!
After all, the Innate True Person's actions were essentially plundering heaven and earth's surplus to mend his own deficiencies. Without their backing, how could he succeed?
And in the end, heaven and earth profited too.
With the True Lords in seclusion, no longer overseeing the world, heaven and earth gained room to maneuver. The emergence of the [Heaven of Non-existence] was a massive boon for them!
With that thought, Lu Yang couldn't help cursing again:
"What a broken place."
Composing himself, Lu Yang looked to the sky overhead, where fully four moons occupied the southeast, northwest, and beyond, firmly sealing the entire world heaven.
This was a grand array.
Named the [Seven Luminaries World-Fixing True Preservation Grand Array], it ranked at third grade—a True Lord level formation. It was what鸿运 had left behind after discovering this world.
Precisely to prevent him from being drawn back to that broken place.
The array's power manifested outwardly as the current sun and moon: three suns by day crossing the sky, four moons by night hanging high, converging the light of the seven luminaries.
"After all, it's a new world heaven—better safe than sorry."
Lu Yang remained cautious. There was no helping it; after being repeatedly screwed over in that broken place, even now in a new world heaven, his instincts drove him to proceed prudently.
As for how to develop in this world heaven, Lu Yang already had a plan.
‘A fruition position embryo can hardly support a True Lord—that's likely one reason鸿运 never fled here. Once you flee to this place and can't return, unless this world heaven evolves fully on its own, your path upward is cut off; True Lordhood is impossible.’
That said, Lu Yang differed from鸿运.
‘The fruition position is secondary anyway. For me, as long as I reach Foundation Establishment perfection, it's success.’
Because of Listening幽 Ancestor!
Because of the [Hall of Yama]'s false Golden Core position method!
‘Even if I can't become a True Lord, gathering nine at Foundation Establishment perfection and falsely holding Golden Core positions will have nearly the same effect—at least enough to crush small fry back there with ease!’
(End of chapter)