Chapter 459: Chapter 459: Immortal Dao Law

Late at night, inside Xu An’s Cave Mansion.

Xu An was still in seated Meditation, but he was completely unaware of a distinct and foreign presence that had appeared within his Spiritual Space.

"The Immortal Dao Law..."

Lü Yang looked up, gazing at the sky with great interest, his mind still reviewing the memories he had extracted from the Dao Court’s Southern King, Wu Taian.

Of the four domains in the world, the Dao Court was the most unique.

The Immortal Dao Law connected everyone, yet it didn’t enforce control through a forced Unity like the Pure Land did. Instead, it had deliberately constructed the current Order.

The Ninth-Grade Official Position formed the foundational logic of this Immortal Dao Law. From it, the Six Ministries were born, directly participating in the lives of the common people in the East. The Six Ministries, in turn, spawned countless other official positions, which all clustered together, revolving around the four Heaven and Earth Fruit Positions.

The Fruit of Level-Ground Wood, the Fruit of Roadside Earth,

The Fruit of Gold-Foil Metal, the Fruit of Post-Road Earth.

These four Dao Fruit Positions were divided among the Daoist Court Emperor and the Three Ministers. The Celestial Wu Royal Family’s position was passed down through generations, while the positions of the Three Ministers were circulated among three different factions.

’It’s just like the Fruit of Rampart Earth...’

Lü Yang had a sudden realization. This method of binding a Fruit was similar to the Pure Land’s Unity. The only difference was that the Pure Land used people, while the Dao Court used official positions.

Did the Dao Court learn from the Bhagavat?

No, it must be the Bhagavat who imitated the Dao Court!

’And the Dao Court has two Earth Fruit positions. If you count the Fruit of Rampart Earth from the previous dynasty, that would be a total of three Earth Fruits.’

Not to mention, the Fruit of Rampart Earth was an Earth Element Supreme Venerable!

’Unbelievable...’ The implications sent a chill down Lü Yang’s spine.

Comparatively, the Dao Court must have been incredibly strong before. The appearance of the Pure Land and the rise of the Bhagavat had, to a certain extent, weakened the Dao Court’s power.

"...Hiss!"

At this thought, Lü Yang suddenly sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. Could this be related to the Bhagavat’s past, how he defied Heaven to achieve his Attainment as a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord?

Was the Daoist Court Daoist Lord schemed against?

As an outstanding Saint Sect Zhenren, Lü Yang never shied away from a good conspiracy theory:

’There’s only so much to go around in this world. When someone rises, someone else has to give something up... The Bhagavat’s rise back then was probably at the Dao Court’s expense!’

But the Daoist Court Daoist Lord would certainly not have been willing to be carved up.

If that’s the case, then the Saint Sect Ancestral Master and the Sword Pavilion’s Ancestral Master must have had a hand in it. Perhaps one of them was the one who propped up the Bhagavat!

Who could it have been?

’...The Saint Sect Ancestral Master?’

It was a reasonable suspicion for Lü Yang. After all, the Pure Land was once called an Evil Sect. As they both belonged to the Demon Dao, it wasn’t impossible that the Saint Sect Ancestral Master had given the Bhagavat a helping hand.

But Lü Yang quickly realized something was off. After the Bhagavat established himself, he decisively cleaned up his image. Not only did the Pure Land fail to join the ranks of the Demon Dao, but it transformed into a part of the Righteous Dao, joining forces with the Sword Pavilion and the Dao Court against the Saint Sect... Considering this, could the Saint Sect Ancestral Master have miscalculated?

’No, that’s not it either.’

’The Bhagavat caused the Daoist Court Daoist Lord to suffer such a huge loss. How could the two sides ever truly bury the hatchet? A rift must have always existed between them.’

’Besides, the Bhagavat is a fence-sitter.’

’The original state of the world was likely the Sword Pavilion’s Ancestral Master and the Daoist Court Daoist Lord teaming up against the Saint Sect Ancestral Master. But things changed after the Bhagavat’s ascension.’

’At first glance, it seemed the Righteous Dao had gained the Pure Land. But in reality, everyone knew the Bhagavat played both sides. Coupled with the rift with the Dao Court, neither side could truly cooperate with him. On the contrary... the Bhagavat probably wanted the two opposing forces to remain in a state of balance more than anyone else.’

Yes, balance!

The more Lü Yang thought about it, the more he felt that the Bhagavat must have been secretly supported by the Saint Sect Ancestral Master back then. He had used the Bhagavat to turn his own disadvantageous situation around in one fell swoop!

It went from a one-on-two situation to a four-way standoff!

By carving a piece out of the Dao Court, the Saint Sect Ancestral Master not only propped up the Pure Land but also weakened the Righteous Dao’s strength, all while he sat back and reaped the benefits.

’This couldn’t have been just the Saint Sect Ancestral Master’s plan.’

’It’s even possible that the Bhagavat himself proposed it to the Saint Sect Ancestral Master. It aligned with the Saint Sect’s interests, and it carved out a path to Nascent Soul for himself from between the cracks!’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang couldn’t help but sigh.

’Back then... the Bhagavat’s Attainment must have shaken the world!’

What a glorious era that must have been. Just imagining it—the intricate schemes from multiple parties, culminating in his Attainment under the watchful eyes of all—made Lü Yang’s heart surge.

Then, Lü Yang couldn’t help but rub his chin.

Were his speculations correct? The general direction was probably right, but the details might not be. After all, he still had too little information.

’But... if my theory is correct, then it explains why the Bhagavat was the last Nascent Soul Daoist Lord of this era, and why Ang Xiao didn’t try to copy the Bhagavat’s path but instead sought out the Netherworld. The Bhagavat’s rise to power had already blocked the path for everyone who came after!’

A four-way standoff was the most stable configuration.

If a fifth Daoist Lord were to emerge, the situation would inevitably collapse again, and interests would be re-divided... a prospect that none of the existing Daoist Lords would want to see.

That was why Ang Xiao had gone to the Netherworld.

’His move was actually similar to when I fled to the Seven Luminaries Heaven. We both stepped off the existing chessboard, making a temporary retreat to seek a future.’

However, from Lü Yang’s perspective, Ang Xiao’s escape didn’t seem very thorough.

If you were really going to flee, you should have gone far, far away and vanished from this broken place completely. But Ang Xiao had remained, and the Netherworld was far too conspicuous.

’Perhaps he has other plans. Or perhaps he knows something I don’t...’

Lü Yang took a deep breath and stopped overthinking it.

’The most urgent matter right now is still the Cultivation needed for the Attainment of the Fruit of Celestial Fire... and on that front, the Dao Court has given me a rather excellent idea.’

The Immortal Dao Law!

’This great net covering the East can directly bestow Knowledge upon a Cultivator through their official position. Once a Cultivator digests this Knowledge, it transforms into Cultivation.’

It was a shortcut!

Normally, Cultivation required a long time of comprehension to improve, but the existence of the Immortal Dao Law presented the possibility of a fast track.

’The prerequisite is to reach a high position in the Dao Court!’

The higher the official position, the greater the authority within the Immortal Dao Law. The more Knowledge the Immortal Dao Law grants you, the higher your Cultivation will become!

「One month later, at Dongting Lake.」

This place was located inland in the East. As its name suggested, it was a massive inland lake. Though called a lake, it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a ’Mediterranean’ sea.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves."

The leading Households Commander Liu said in a low voice, "In a moment, we will go see the Dragon King of Dongting Lake to proclaim His Majesty’s decree. Don’t disgrace the Court!"

"Yes, sir!"

Xu An swallowed hard, suppressing his nervousness, and cautiously followed by Households Commander Liu’s side. The group flew toward the depths of Dongting Lake.

Before long, a majestic island appeared before them.

The sight that greeted them was of skulls piled like mountains and skeletons standing like a forest. Rotted flesh had turned to mud and dust, while sinews and bones hung from the trees. As far as the eye could see, a bloody aura surged to the heavens!

The True Dragon Race might sound exceptionally noble, but in the end, they were still part of the Demon Race. Their bestial nature was untamable. Consuming blood and flesh was only natural to them—it was the law of the jungle. Inland Human Cultivators at least cared about keeping up appearances, but why would the overseas Demon Race care about such things?

They were only in the East, so they didn’t dare eat humans and settled for eating their own kind.

Otherwise, back Overseas, Lü Yang had seen in the Celestial Python’s memories that the major demon clans of the Four Seas Sect, to some extent, all maintained a few ranches for humans and livestock.

’A pity. They won’t be able to integrate into the Dao Court like this...’

Seeing this scene, Lü Yang smiled indifferently. Clearly, this True Dragon Branch, sent to the East by the Dragon Monarch, still didn’t quite grasp its current situation.

It seems I’ll have to make my move!