Chapter 454: True Lord Hard to Achieve, Try Again!
Chapter 454: The Difficult Path to True Lord, Try Again!
The time of falsely holding the Golden Seat had finally come to an end.
However, before it ended, Lü Yang still managed to use his True Lord-level status to encircle the area where the Earth Fire Heart Furnace was located with a third-grade formation—borrowed from Hong Yun's arsenal.
[Seven Luminaries Stabilizing the World Grand Formation]
'With this formation in place and the Founding Ancestor guarding me, unless a True Lord descends, I at least won't have to worry about being disturbed while pursuing the Golden Seat.'
This was the best Lü Yang could do.
And if a True Lord were to descend by burning their Dongtian, or if a Dao Lord intervened just to stop him from attaining the Golden Seat... well, that would just be his bad luck. Worst case, he'd have to restart this life.
With this thought in mind, Lü Yang wasted no time. He immediately sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state. Yet, as he stood on the threshold of his breakthrough, an overwhelming sense of fear and unease surged uncontrollably within him. Countless scenes flashed before his eyes—Chongguang, Suo Huan, Xiang Ye...
'Failing to attain the Golden Seat means certain death... Uncle Chongguang was relatively fortunate, but Xiang Ye was truly unlucky—his failure didn't even make a splash.'
Oh, and Suo Huan too.
With the power of [Flowing Water] secured, his mission for this lifetime was already complete. He was currently resting inside the Myriad Spirits Banner, waiting for his next life's opportunity.
'...Right, what do I have to fear?'
This is just trial and error!
Others have only one chance to pursue the Golden Seat, but I have dozens. If even this isn't enough, then no one in the world could ever achieve True Lordhood!
Lü Yang steadied his mind and heart. With a single stroke of his Wisdom Sword, he severed all distracting thoughts. Then, with a determined frown, a palm-sized stone radiating golden brilliance appeared before him—the Blessed Land condensed by the Immortal Spirit Shang Zhang in his lifetime, [Heaven's Grace Earth's Favor Geng Metal Blessed Land]!
After all, this time he was pursuing [Pomegranate Wood].
His other Blessed Land, [Xuan Capital Blessed Land], was the foundation of his Great Dao and couldn't be damaged. As for Shang Zhang's Blessed Land—no need to feel heartache over it.
"Begin!"
In an instant, Lü Yang activated the Mending Heaven True Classic and began absorbing energy from heaven and earth, using "transcending heaven and earth" as the ritual to draw the attention of the Fruit Position.
"Boom!"
At this moment, Lü Yang felt his consciousness rapidly ascending, soon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm and continuing to climb higher.
Blessed Land ascension!
His vision blurred slightly, revealing two scenes—like two sides of the same coin, opposing yet complementary.
One scene was what he had glimpsed before with [Xuan Capital Blessed Land]: a world resembling a honeycomb, where each Fruit Position was like a hole, riddling the world like a sieve. The other scene was from Chongguang's memories—an endless Sea of Suffering encompassing heaven and earth.
'The Sea of Suffering has no bounds; Fruit Positions are its boats.'
Which of these two scenes was real? Or... were both real, merely presenting different perspectives?
Lü Yang pondered inwardly, but his actions to elevate the Blessed Land never faltered.
'Being an Immortal Spirit... has its advantages.'
According to Chongguang's memories, elevating a Blessed Land was immensely taxing—he had to burn the entire [Kingdom of Qing] to complete the process.
Yet for Lü Yang, it was far simpler.
'Because I'm now an Immortal Spirit?'
'It feels as though heaven and earth aren't resisting me but actively pushing me forward... greatly conserving my magic power. This is much easier than Chongguang's experience.'
This puzzled Lü Yang. After all, he wasn't the Immortal Spirit Shang Zhang cultivated by Tian Gong—logically, he should be Tian Gong's enemy. Yet heaven and earth still supported him. Could it be that Tian Gong didn't care who the Immortal Spirit was, so long as one attained the Fruit Position?
'No... impossible!'
If that were the case, Tian Gong wouldn't have targeted him in the first place—just cultivated another Immortal Spirit Shang Zhang. Clearly, Tian Gong valued the identity of the Immortal Spirit.
'Unless...'
Lü Yang glanced around and suddenly felt a chill: '...Unless what's pushing me forward isn't Tian Gong, but a Dao Lord!'
He hadn't forgotten.
Just like the myriad tribulations faced by Foundation Establishment True Persons, their underlying logic was contradictory. What Tian Gong could do, a Dao Lord could achieve just as easily!
'Who could it be?'
The World-Honored One of the Pure Land? Unlikely—his interventions were always grand and conspicuous. This subtle, imperceptible influence felt more like the Founding Ancestor of the Saint Sect.
'Best not overthink it...'
Lü Yang shook his head inwardly. Regardless, since "heaven and earth" were supporting him now and he couldn't change it, he might as well relax and go with the flow.
With the path unobstructed, Lü Yang soon arrived before [Pomegranate Wood], observing this heavenly Fruit Position up close. At first glance, it appeared as a hazy glow, but upon closer inspection, it resembled a vast, boundless ocean.
'Attaining a Fruit Position means merging oneself with it.'
By integrating the Blessed Land into the Fruit Position and aligning their energies, it transforms into a Dongtian... Yet this alignment, seemingly simple, was harder than ascending to heaven.
Because the Fruit Position's energy was ever-changing.
Just like the turbulent Sea of Suffering before him—waves rising and falling endlessly. Alignment required catching the energy at its peak—the crest of the wave.
Otherwise, one would be immediately dashed down.
'Uncle Chongguang reached this step but failed because of the [Chen Earth] issue—his energy couldn't align with the Fruit Position, leading to his demise...'
At this moment, scenes flashed once more in Lü Yang's mind.
Each depicted his actions while merging with the Fruit Position—attempts to synchronize with its energy. Some seemed successful.
Two visions stood out as particularly smooth. Lü Yang knew these were paths inspired by [Hong Yun] and [Zheng De]'s memories. Thanks to their pioneering efforts, he could follow their footsteps—every obstacle already mapped out, seemingly risk-free.
'No... wrong!'
Lü Yang jolted awake inwardly, retracting his nearly taken step: 'They weren't pursuing [Pomegranate Wood]—how could I blindly follow their methods?'
As this thought arose, the two visions vanished instantly.
"Hiss!"
Lü Yang gasped sharply, suddenly realizing: 'These aren't illusions conjured by Heart Demons... but genuine glimpses of possible futures!'
Reviewing these futures was part of aligning with the Fruit Position's energy. The future he chose would become reality—yet only one led to success. The rest were deceptions. Choosing wrong meant instant failure and death!
'This is testing my Cultivation Depth...'
If his depth was insufficient—if he couldn't discern the correct path among countless futures—then no matter how capable he was, he would never attain the Dao Fruit!
Lü Yang took a deep breath and pressed forward.
Soon, he settled on one future—its imagery perfectly matched his understanding of [Pomegranate Wood], flawless in every way.
Yet the moment he made his choice...
His divine sense plunged uncontrollably into visions of failure—attempts to deter him from advancing further.
'Retreat? Reconsider?'
The thought flickered briefly in Lü Yang's mind before he swiftly erased it. The time for elevating the Blessed Land was limited—he couldn't afford to test each possibility one by one.
'These failure scenes are just demonic obstacles meant to unsettle me.'
'No... not all are obstacles. Some might be genuine—intended to sow doubt and make me hesitate.'
Lü Yang sighed inwardly.
The next instant, his gaze sharpened with resolve. Ignoring the demonic distractions, he merged his energy with the chosen future and took a decisive step forward!
"Boom!"
With a deafening crash, everything before Lü Yang shattered—including the [Heaven's Grace Earth's Favor Geng Metal Blessed Land] he had seized from Immortal Spirit Shang Zhang.
'...Failed?' Lü Yang remained calm, unsurprised.
'My Cultivation Depth was insufficient... No, Shang Zhang's depth was lacking. Of course—what depth could there be in abilities directly bestowed by heaven and earth?'
The realization struck him like lightning.
'The final step in pursuing the Golden Seat requires profound Cultivation Depth—likely a trap set by a Dao Lord specifically to eliminate matured Immortal Spirits.'
No wonder no Immortal Spirit had ever succeeded!
Some schemer had tampered with the very source of the Golden Seat pursuit... Who could it be? Don't tell me it's the Saint Sect's Founding Ancestor again? That's just too devious...
Lü Yang's consciousness rapidly scattered.
Failure in pursuing the Golden Seat meant soul annihilation—no chance of reincarnation. Thankfully, he had cheats.
'Book of a Hundred Lifetimes!!!'