Under Dao Venerable Baoyun's gaze, Xuanming's body abruptly tensed. Yet in an instant, he regained his composure and lowered his head. "Your disciple never intended to conceal anything from you, Venerable One. I merely thought it would be safer to report it once the time was ripe."
"Oh? Truly?"
Baoyun's gaze was unfathomable. "As This Venerable sees it, you seem to think otherwise."
Xuanming remained silent, offering no defense. He had indeed intended to use that object to cast off his shackles. But now that the Life and Death Sources had fallen into someone else's hands, that object could only serve as another escape route.
Thus, after hearing those words, he felt no fear.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Baoyun stopped pressing him and instead asked:
"So now you intend to settle for the next best thing, using [Netherworld] as your core to devour that object in the Outer Sea, establish a secluded Netherworld Court, and reach Dao Integration before anyone else?"
"Yes." Xuanming nodded. Since Baoyun had already seen through the whole affair, he simply admitted it.
That object was one of Dragonkind's few surviving sacred relics, a Remnant Husk left by the Elder Dragon King. A trace of boundless Dao resonance still lingered upon it, encompassing all things and all principles.
With it as his foundation, he could establish the Netherworld Court through his own power even without the Life and Death Sources. Though it would fall short of the complete Netherworld Great Dao, he would still cross the threshold of Dao Integration.
To integrate with the Dao was to become a Venerable. Even burdened with immense karmic debts, he would no longer be left at Upper Mound's mercy as he was now.
As for enduring calamities, passing tribulations, and nurturing a Dao fruit... those were matters for another