Chapter 461: Chapter 461: Fake Holding the Outer Dao Fruit

Within a Quiet Chamber of the Dragon Palace at Dongting Lake.

Lü Yang sat cross-legged, his entire body bathed in a brilliance like that of the Sun. The light slowly wove together behind him, coalescing into an illusory silhouette.

The Profound City Blessed Land!

This Blessed Land, which the Dragon Palace had spent a fortune helping Lü Yang forge, had now grown to an unbelievable size, and was even on the verge of reaching a Critical Point.

’Once I reach Foundation Establishment Perfection in this lifetime, I just need to integrate my Bright Spirit Mutual Light Dao Foundation into it. Then I can immediately use this Blessed Land to seek the Fruit of Celestial Fire. The only things holding me back now are the deficiencies in my Cultivation and the "Ruling the World" Ritual required to draw the attention of the Fruit of Celestial Fire.’

As this thought crossed his mind, a writing brush suddenly appeared in Lü Yang’s hand.

This was one of the Four Treasures of the Study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—that he had taken when he plundered the Dragon Palace. Each of the four corresponded to one of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches required to cultivate the Fruit of Celestial Fire.

The brush corresponded to the Earth of Wu.

’I’ll start by refining one...’

Holding it in his hand, Lü Yang didn’t hesitate. He sent the Earth of Wu directly into his Dao Foundation to begin Refining it. He had a profound mastery of this particular one of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

After all, when he had previously cultivated the Fruit of Rampart Earth, he had also started with the Earth of Wu.

But this time was different. The Innate Divine Technique he had refined from the Earth of Wu before, Embracing Mountain, corresponded in essence to the Fruit of Rampart Earth.

Now, however, he needed to use a different concept.

’The Earth of Wu is the evening glow, which appears only with the Sun; it is the Sun’s remnant, and thus it corresponds to the Fruit of Celestial Fire.’

’In spring and summer, its energies stir and spread, bringing forth life. In autumn and winter, its energies quiet and contract, bringing about dormancy. Thus, the Earth of Wu is the arbiter of the fate of all things... This Innate Divine Technique...’

’It shall be called Emperor’s Fate!’

The moment this thought arose, a speck of golden light burst forth from Lü Yang’s Bright Spirit Mutual Light Dao Foundation within his Foundation Establishment Realm, instantly flooding his Divine Sense and Soul!

A long time passed before Lü Yang formed a Daoist Hand Seal and slowly opened his eyes. His previously plain pupils now shimmered with a dazzling golden glow. This Ability was named Emperor’s Fate, and it was no empty boast—it could genuinely command Fate, compelling the very lives of others to answer its call!

’If I combine this with the profound power of my Innate Ability, The People are Without Evil...’

’I could use The People are Without Evil to establish the rules, then use Emperor’s Fate to decree a person’s Fate. I could probably push the binding power of those rules to their absolute limit!’

If the power gap between them was large enough, he could even make someone commit suicide with a single sentence.

If the emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die!

"Incredible..."

Lü Yang exhaled deeply, retracting his Abilities. He turned to Progenitor Tingyou, who stood guard beside him, and asked with a smile, "Progenitor, how goes your enlightenment?"

Before restarting this life, he had asked Progenitor Tingyou to help him figure out a method for fusing the Seven Luminaries Heaven with the Fruit of Sword Dao. He had even temporarily lent the Progenitor the Position of Yama Hall’s Fake Golden Position. Given Progenitor Tingyou’s talent for Enlightenment, he should have some results by now.

Sure enough.

"I have a few leads."

Progenitor Tingyou’s expression was grave as he said in a low voice, "But it’s only a first draft. To truly complete it as a Second-Grade Cultivation Skill will likely take more time."

"However, I came up with something on the side that will be more useful to you right now."

As soon as he spoke, Progenitor Tingyou extracted a thread of Divine Sense. Lü Yang took it and swept his own Divine Sense across it, his expression faltering for a moment.

"This is..."

The method of Yama Hall.

However, its contents had been massively modified. While it still required nine cultivators at Foundation Establishment Perfection, the requirement for the Gold Attribute had been removed, and the standard for the Fake Holding had been lowered.

The modified Yama Hall could no longer create a Fake Holding of a local Fruit.

In exchange, however, it could create a Fake Holding of an Outer Dao Fruit Position!

"I remember you mentioned the idea of a Fake Holding of an Outer Dao once, so I did some deductions for you. An Outer Dao Fruit Position is much simpler to handle than a local one."

As he finished speaking, Lü Yang felt a surge of emotion.

He had indeed mentioned it, but he never expected Progenitor Tingyou to have secretly taken it to heart. The Progenitor had taken the initiative to deduce the method for him before he even had to ask.

’Worthy of my world-shaking wisdom indeed!’

"The new method for Yama Hall will allow you to perform a Fake Holding of the Seven Luminaries Heaven. Now that the Seven Luminaries Heaven is complete, it is strong enough to support a True Monarch Position."

Progenitor Tingyou explained with ease, "Since the Seven Luminaries Heaven is an Outer Dao Fruit Position, and the Gold Attribute is a requirement for local Fruits, the Outer Dao Fruit Position is not nearly as demanding. Thus, the new Yama Hall Fake Holding no longer requires the consumption of the Gold Attribute. In exchange, however, it will place a great burden on you."

At this point, Progenitor Tingyou’s expression suddenly turned grave.

He then held up one finger. "Once. With the current strength of your Dao Foundation, you can only perform the Fake Holding a single time. The aftereffects can be repaired, with effort."

"A second time, and at best your Dao Foundation will shatter and your path of cultivation will be severed. At worst, you will die on the spot."

"A third time, and death is absolutely certain!"

Progenitor Tingyou’s tone was severe, and Lü Yang nodded solemnly. "I understand. One time is more than enough. It’s sure to have a miraculous effect at a critical moment!"

Lü Yang instantly felt a great sense of relief.

After restarting, his Cultivation had returned to its starting point. The loss of that feeling of omnipotence he’d had with the Fake Golden Position, in particular, had left Lü Yang feeling more than a little insecure.

Now, however, that confidence was back.

After dismissing Progenitor Tingyou, Lü Yang straightened his clothes and walked out of the Quiet Chamber. He pondered for a moment, then quickly formulated a plan for his next move.

’That’s one good thing about the Dao Court.’

’If you have no backing, you’ll never get anywhere. But if you have support, you can be promoted three times in a single day. A meteoric rise is nothing special. It all comes down to what the higher-ups want.’

That made things easy.

Lü Yang planned to give the Dao Court a grand gift—a gift that would earn him immense merit and allow him to ascend to a high position within the Dao Court in one fell swoop!

But before that, he needed an introduction.

......

「The Dao Court, the Southern King’s Mansion.」

Wu Taian was meditating in his Quiet Chamber when a servant came to report some unexpected news. ’The Dongting Dragon King is here to visit?’

As the Dao Court’s Southern King, the younger brother of the Daoist Court Emperor, and a First-Grade Prince, he was of course aware of the cooperation between the True Dragon Race and the Dao Court. What he didn’t understand was why this person, with whom he had absolutely no connection, would suddenly come to visit. ’He’s not here to ask for favors, is he?’

At this thought, Wu Taian’s expression immediately soured.

’It wasn’t that I’m unhappy about the Dragon Race trying to use back channels. It’s just... you’re supposed to do this sort of thing secretly! How am I supposed to accept any gifts if you come calling so openly?’

’What about my pristine reputation?’

’These Overseas barbarians really don’t understand propriety...’

Though Wu Taian grumbled internally, his outward expression was impeccable. He had the visitor shown to the reception hall, deciding to see what game the Dragon Race was playing.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

"Hm?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

In an instant, the previously nonchalant Wu Taian’s eyebrows shot up. A sudden premonition struck him, and his Spiritual Sense, at the peak of Foundation Establishment Perfection, actually detected a trace of crisis.

This immediately caused his expression to turn serious.

Following that, a heroic-looking young man strode in. His features held a hint of draconic fierceness, yet his face was adorned with a gentle smile.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Your Highness."

Before Wu Taian could speak, Lü Yang took the initiative to bow deeply. His display of etiquette was perfect, completely devoid of the arrogance expected from a noble of Heaven and Earth and a member of the True Dragon Race.

Faced with such a gesture, Wu Taian could hardly maintain his stern expression and quickly rose to return the courtesy.

After all, while the young man could afford to be humble, there was a Dragon Monarch at the Middle Stage of Golden Core standing behind him. For someone to offer respect and for him not to accept it—that would be truly shameless...

"May I ask for what reason the Dragon King has sought out this humble prince?"

"Your Highness."

Lü Yang’s voice was low. He directly produced the Incense and Candle Divine Dao Cultivation Method for the Seven Luminaries Heaven and said solemnly, "I have found a cultivation method that will be of great benefit to the Dao Court."

"And I wish to present it to the Daoist Court Emperor!"