Chapter 432: The First Move

Cosmic Deep Space.

The Incense-Draped Hall was on the verge of collapse. Dozens of Qi Refining practitioners scrambled to escape, erupting with brilliant light in the pitch-black Cosmos like massive stars.

The qi of heaven and earth surged in response.

The Star Grave Sand Sea, once devoid of stars, was now dotted with them. The surging qi of heaven and earth swept away much of the lifeless twilight that usually plagued the lethal expanse.

It was a frenzy of celebration.

Many Qi Refining practitioners who had failed to secure any benefits inside the Incense-Draped Hall simply began wreaking havoc across the Star Grave Sand Sea, resorting to robbing the ancient cultivators.

As a result, most of the ancient cultivators in the Star Grave Sand Sea could only cower within their dao fields, relying on the prestige of various daoists and dao lords for protection. They no longer dared to step outside. Countless ancient cultivators gritted their teeth, yet they were completely helpless, left with no choice but to endure the bullying from the Qi Refining practitioners.

Of course, there were always exceptions.

In a stretch of deep space far from the Star Grave Sand Sea, a streak of fiery light sprinted frantically among the stars, not daring to relax for even a moment.

It was Mingde.

This fire-qi dao child of the Radiant Clarity Realm had always been high and mighty. Ever since reaching the Qi Refinement Third Layer, his ambitions had pierced the heavens, intent on seeking truth and attaining the Dao.

Now, however, he was haggard and exhausted. His fire-flecked golden eyes swirled with shock and fury as he desperately wished he could multiply his flight speed. Yet, even though he burned his magical power and overloaded his Divine Powers, the boundless, obscure darkness trailing behind him finally caught up.

'Are they really going to hunt me down to the very end!?'

Mingde was left with only this thought. Filled with disbelief but utterly helpless, he was forced to stop, standing defenseless in the midst of the Cosmos.

Immediately after came a soft sound.

"Drip."

A fine spring drizzle pierced the deep space, pattering down around Mingde. Carried by a thin layer of mist, it illuminated a slender, elongated silhouette.

The world abruptly changed.

The boundless, obscure light seemed to manifest into tangible waves, rolling like a tide and washing away the backdrop of the Cosmos. Mountains, rivers, and continents slowly rose from within the surging waters.

"Fellow Daoist Mingde, why the rush to leave?"

It was Yunlong.

This water-qi yin spirit at the Qi Refinement Third Layer had followed the crowd into the Incense-Draped Hall earlier, yet he had never shown his face to fight over anything.

Initially, Mingde assumed this was because Yunlong was a yin spirit whose cultivation was permanently stagnant, making any fight for fortuitous encounters pointless. But at this very moment, he finally understood: Yunlong wasn't devoid of desires. Rather, the prize he was after—the reason he had appeared here—was not some opportunity within the Incense-Draped Hall.

'His target is me!'

Mingde's scalp tingled, the fierce flames within his golden eyes flaring brighter. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why the other party would target him.

It couldn't possibly be that the exalted figures in the Deity Transformation Realm wanted him dead.

Even taking ten thousand steps back, if those high-ranking lords were truly planning a fallout, there was no need to specifically drag a mere errand-running lower cultivator like him into it, right?

"So it is Fellow Daoist Yunlong." After a moment of silence, Mingde finally spoke in a gloomy tone. "I don't hold the fortuitous encounters you desire. Why must you pursue me so relentlessly?"

Yunlong chuckled. "You are too modest, Dao Child! Isn't your very life, personally molded by a True Monarch, the greatest fortuitous encounter? Such an opportunity isn't something one sees every day."

That much was true.

Aside from a very small minority who were favored and recruited by True Monarchs after growing up, the vast majority of immortal realm dao children were personally created by them.

They would take a top-tier true spirit, add various external medicines, supplement it with their own karmic merits, and finally enlighten its mind to give it life. They were born at the Tribulation Transcending First Layer. Reaching the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer was as easy as drinking water, and stepping into Qi Refining was only a matter of time. Even if they solely focused on quiet, bitter cultivation, they were guaranteed to reach the Qi Refinement Third Layer.

Aside from the impossibly high difficulty of seeking truth and becoming a True Person, there were almost no flaws.

Even in terms of lifespan, dao children far surpassed ordinary beings. A standard Qi Refining practitioner could live at most ten thousand years, but a dao child could enjoy a lifespan of twelve thousand.

As for the difficulty in seeking truth, it actually didn't matter to the True Monarchs. After all, the very purpose of dao children was to provide convenience for them to shed the false and cultivate the true.

In fact, it was better that it was difficult for a dao child to achieve the truth.

If they succeeded, the True Monarch would have to waste time molding a brand new one, and the new dao child might not even be as useful as the old.

However, Mingde still didn't understand.

True, the physical vessel and life force of an immortal realm dao child held boundless wondrous uses, but that was only highly beneficial to the living. Yunlong, on the other hand, was a yin spirit.

What use did a dead person have for life?

Thinking of this, Mingde's expression darkened. "Fellow Daoist Yunlong, why brush me off with such words?" he said in a deep voice. "There must be a reason for this."

"A reason?"

Yunlong shook his head. The rain and mist around his body dispersed as a dignified young man wearing a crown and profound-black robes stepped out, gripping a wooden whip in his hand.

Its color was pure white, resembling a pool of spring water or a clear blue sky. A white hornless dragon was coiled around the whip, its lifelike head resting at the handle. It was clearly a top-tier Spiritual Treasure. Held behind Yunlong's back, it emitted no brilliance, save for a faint, cold gleam that flickered in and out of sight.

Mingde stared blankly.

"This is..." As an immortal realm dao child, he was considered highly experienced and knowledgeable. Yet, when he saw the long whip in Yunlong's hand, he still froze for a long time before reacting.

Even so, he remained in disbelief.

"It is three feet, six inches, and five tenths long, with thirty-six joints, symbolizing yin and yang and the six paths of water qi. Each joint is carved with three talisman seals, representing the three talents of heaven, earth, and humanity! The Great Rebellion's Five Thunders Divine Firmament Office had five ultimate treasures overseeing it, all originating from True Monarch Tianlu Sheyou. Among them was an ultimate treasure named the Cloud-Moving Rain-Distributing Whip!?"

Mingde's eyes widened as he nearly shrieked. "One of the Five Divine Firmament Offices, the Water Administration Bureau, went missing—it was actually secretly hidden by you people!"

Yunlong shook his head. "That is a truly unpleasant way to phrase it. It should be the other way around... From the very beginning, the Water Administration Bureau was us. In the end, it was merely falling leaves returning to their roots."

"You all..."

Hearing this, Mingde's pupils trembled as he instantly grasped Yunlong's underlying meaning. 'Just as I thought, this group of fiends secretly collaborated with the Great Rebellion back then!'

This was actually no secret within the Immortal Gate. After all, during the Great Rebellion's Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens, only the water qi faction emerged as the ultimate winner. Even so, the water qi faction had never publicly acknowledged the matter, nor was there any concrete proof, so everyone just let it slide.

But now, the concrete proof had appeared.

'The Water Administration Bureau was a branch of the water qi orthodoxy within the Great Rebellion from the very beginning. This group of yin spirits in the Deity Transformation Realm are the true, orthodox successors of the Great Rebellion...'

Mingde felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss.

After all, for Yunlong to so bluntly reveal such a deep secret, he clearly already viewed him as a dead man. There was absolutely no way he would show leniency now.

What chilled his heart even more was that, up to this point, his own True Monarch had not shown any reaction, seemingly completely unaware that he had fallen into mortal danger.

'This isn't just Yunlong's decision alone.'

'That True Monarch in the Deity Transformation Realm also wants me dead... Is this some kind of exchange? Because that Deity Transformation dao child is doomed to die, they want me buried alongside him?'

The more Mingde thought about it, the deeper his despair grew. After all, if even a True Monarch had abandoned him, then escaping this immediate calamity would not change the final outcome.

"There is no need to panic, Fellow Daoist," Yunlong said, smiling.

He chuckled. "Actually, the secret of the Water Administration Bureau isn't as massive as you think. The exalted figures of every faction are well aware of it in their hearts."

"The only reason I'm using the Cloud-Moving Rain-Distributing Whip is because it is simply the most convenient. It makes killing you much easier, saving me a great deal of effort."

Mingde was left speechless.

By now, this fire-qi dao child could clearly see that Yunlong's killing intent was resolute. There was absolutely no room for negotiation. He could only grit his teeth and ask one final question. "Why kill me?"

Was it an exchange of interests between the two high-ranking lords above? Were they about to fall out? Or had he obtained something crucial in the Incense-Draped Hall?

Hearing this, Yunlong burst into laughter. "Mingyou is troublesome, and Tianxing following him makes things difficult. As for Xiaoling, he is an earth-qi dao child, and earth counters water. If we really came to blows, it would be somewhat inconvenient."

"Hearing this, you should understand now, Fellow Daoist."

Why kill him?

"Because you are the easiest to kill!"

This contemptuous answer finally shattered the defenses of the already despairing Mingde. His face visibly twisted into a hideous and ferocious expression.

In an instant, the fire-qi dao child's body underwent a shocking mutation. His lips split all the way to his ears, and a beast-like mane sprouted among his thick black hair. He no longer possessed the ethereal grace of an immortal cultivator; instead, he exuded a heavy demonic aura, as if he had finally shed his human skin.

Yet, Yunlong remained completely unmoved.

"Appearance is born from the Dao. You demonic practitioners of the fire-qi path have swallowed up other orthodoxies for so long, devouring everything whole without digesting it, that even your very life force has grown close to that of monsters. You truly disgrace the face of humanity," Yunlong sneered.

Mingde gnashed his teeth. "You go too far!"

"And what can you do about it?"

With those words, Yunlong struck. The gentle breeze and fine drizzle—boundless profound manifestations—converged onto the long whip in his hand, transforming into a streak of blazing white lightning.

"Rumble!"

One of the Five Thunders of the Divine Firmament, the dragon thunder that had nearly gone extinct after the Great Rebellion, now swept forth like a tidal wave and galloped like a tempest, echoing throughout the Cosmos.

Wherever it passed, all the fire qi, Spiritual Treasures, dharma robes, Divine Powers, and qi manifestations surrounding Mingde's body—layers upon layers of brilliant light—were reduced to candles in the wind. They were instantly overwhelmed, dissolving into ripples that drowned in the surrounding obscure darkness, without alarming the outside world in the slightest.

The Unchanging Non-Action Dao Field.

Yi Xuangong had just awakened and revived from the void when he saw the dao field already falling apart and descending into chaos. His expression instantly turned gloomy.

"Sect Master, something terrible has happened, Sect Master!"

Qi Sifeng rushed over, his tone frantic. "The dao field is disintegrating, yet a layer of profound mystery has enveloped the outside. Everyone is trapped in here!"

"Did something happen to the Dao Lord?" Yi Xuangong asked.

Qi Sifeng's face filled with bitter hatred. "Those bitch-born immortal sects! We've already fallen this low, yet they still want to slaughter us to the last man! The Dao Lord must be in trouble!"

Qi Sifeng's voice shook with irrepressible agitation. Yet, after hearing his description, Yi Xuangong remained unexpectedly calm, showing no signs of panic.

"I understand," Yi Xuangong said.

He stood up from the profound coffin he had resurrected in and said flatly, "I will go see the Dao Lord. Rest assured, he is fine. Perhaps a minor mishap occurred during his cultivation."

Seeing Yi Xuangong's composed demeanor, Qi Sifeng calmed down slightly. He immediately helped Yi Xuangong step out of the profound coffin and said heavily, "Then we will trouble the Sect Master. No matter what, as long as the Dao Lord is unharmed, we still have a chance. If worst comes to worst... it would be best if the Dao Lord seeks his own path of survival!"

Yi Xuangong did not reply.

Having just resurrected, he was currently in an unprecedentedly weak state. It felt as if all his vigor, energy, and spirit had been drained dry, and his body felt much lighter.

"I've grown old..."

As a qi-ingesting practitioner, his lifespan should have been endless. This time, however, he could feel his own aging with absolute clarity.

It was not the aging of the flesh.

Rather, his spirit no longer possessed the vigor of its past. He possessed only a youthful outer shell; inside remained only a rusted and decaying soul.

'Is the Dao Lord the same?'

Yi Xuangong couldn't help but wonder. Without even summoning a flight light, he simply walked step by step toward the grand hall where the Dao Lord resided.

At first, Qi Sifeng was still frantic, but he quickly noticed that the imminently collapsing dao field seemed to change because of Yi Xuangong's appearance. The speed of the collapse visibly slowed down, as if it were deliberately waiting for something, allowing Yi Xuangong to slowly walk toward the hall.

'Did the Dao Lord intervene?'

Seeing this, Qi Sifeng's face lit up with pleasant surprise, thinking that the Dao Lord had taken action to stabilize the dao field. However, Yi Xuangong's mood sank deeper into the abyss.

He had already guessed the answer.

At this thought, Yi Xuangong's footsteps grew even slower. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the dao field with a mix of nostalgia and lament.

The Profound Immortal Hall, the Dharma Transmission Courtyard, the Ever-Sun Palace...

In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to the past. Many young faces filled with hope for the Dao appeared within the empty, dilapidated halls before his eyes.

And there were his four junior brothers...

Thinking back to those years, before his four junior brothers defected to the Brahma Nation, they too had been full of grand ambitions. Everyone firmly believed that the Dao Lord would establish an unparalleled, supreme orthodoxy.

It was just that at a certain moment, things suddenly changed. The betrayal of his four junior brothers came without any warning. During their last meeting, although everyone harbored doubts about the Great Rebellion's situation, they were still fairly optimistic. As long as the Human Emperor was unharmed, no storm could truly shake the Great Rebellion.

Yet, it all happened too fast.

The Human Emperor suddenly vanished, forcing the Dao Lord to flee to the Star Grave Sand Sea. The four junior brothers also decisively chose betrayal, accepting the recruitment of the Master of Secret Traces.

'Why?'

Even now, Yi Xuangong could still recall his confusion and incomprehension at the time. After countless years of brotherhood, how could they betray them so easily?

To this, the four of them remained noncommittal.

It was only when the Dao Lord personally questioned them that the four junior brothers gave a reply that infuriated him: "It is only for a grander path of the Dao."

With that, they parted ways.

"Sect Master?"

Yi Xuangong stood blankly in place until Qi Sifeng's voice reached his ears. Only then did he awaken as if from a dream, realizing that he had already walked to the entrance of the main hall.

"Sect Master? Are you not going in?" Qi Sifeng proactively opened the doors for him.

Yi Xuangong pursed his lips. The familiar hall before his eyes now seemed like a savage beast, its open doors a gaping maw dripping with blood.

For a moment, he actually felt a hint of fear.

Or rather, he was unwilling to face the truth personally. Thus he hesitated and stopped in his tracks, until a vibrating rumble echoed from beyond the firmament.

"Rumble!"

Yi Xuangong looked back in bewilderment and soon spotted the source of the tremor. A section of the sky had suddenly shattered, crashing down from the dome above!

Instantly, the crowd inside the dao field—who had just calmed down due to the pause in the collapse—burst into uproar once more. This simultaneously forced Yi Xuangong to accept reality: matters would not stop developing simply because he hesitated. Being granted a chance to meet was already the Dao Lord's final mercy.

At this thought, he finally let out a long breath.

"Sifeng, wait outside for a moment."

After saying this, the Sect Master of the dao field directly removed his various tokens of authority, leaving himself in simple cloth robes, as if shedding a heavy burden.

Then, he stepped forward.

"Bang!"

The doors to the hall slammed shut behind him. The Dao Lord's seclusion chamber, which had once been closed to him and refused him entry, had finally opened for him once again.

He slowly walked down a corridor littered with bones and laid eyes upon Torch Mountain. Climbing all the way up, he finally reached the golden throne at the summit and saw the young daoist who stood up from it, his back turned to him. For an instant, he almost believed he had returned to the days of old.

Until the young daoist turned around.

The hope that had just welled up within him was instantly doused with cold water. He saw a wisp of immortal truth upon the Dao Lord—an aura that did not belong to the mortal realm.

"Xuangong, you're here."

The young daoist's expression and gaze were identical to his memories. Looking at him with concern, he let out a sigh. "How have you grown old as well?"

"Dao Lord..."

"How many times have I told you?" The young daoist shook his head, his expression gentle. "There is no one else around right now, so what is wrong with calling me father?"

Yi Xuangong fell silent.

Indeed. This was a secret that, with the passage of time, very few even within the dao field knew: the true relationship between him and the Dao Lord.

He was a dao child whose life and body had been personally shaped and molded by the Divine Powers of Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong. Thus, he was given the name "Xuangong," taken from the Dao Lord's title. As for "Yi," it was the Dao Lord's secular surname. It was precisely because of this relationship that he had chosen death over yielding when the Master of Secret Traces tried to recruit him back then.

"...Father."

Before his voice even settled, Yi Xuangong choked up. Pausing for a long time, he murmured, "Must we truly take this step? Is there no other way?"

"There is none."

The young daoist sighed as well. "Since the destruction of the Great Rebellion, I have divined for tens of thousands of years. But the transition of orthodoxies is a matter of destiny; how can human strength reverse the will of heaven?"

"Therefore, I had no choice but to resort to this inferior plan."

As he spoke, the young daoist's face was full of lament. "That is why I wanted to bid you farewell before leaving, fulfilling the bond between you and me."

Yi Xuangong stared blankly at the young daoist.

Too similar.

He was exactly the same as the Dao Lord from tens of thousands of years ago in his memory. He gazed foolishly, yet his expression gradually shifted to despair, and he even began to sob.

"Why must it be like this?"

Yi Xuangong could not help but quietly question, "Dao Lord, why must it be like this?"

At the sound of his sobbing, the young daoist's expression stiffened slightly, but he still smiled. "What do you mean, Xuangong? Is something wrong?"

Of course there was.

But it had been tens of thousands of years. They had been trapped in the Star Grave Sand Sea for tens of thousands of years. Even with an unthreatened lifespan, he himself had aged into this state; how could the Dao Lord remain completely unchanged?

Yi Xuangong felt profoundly sorrowful.

How proud the Dao Lord once was. Yet now, he had been reduced to this state, forced to put up the clumsiest of facades in front of his closest kin.

"..."

Watching the sobbing Yi Xuangong, the young daoist's expression finally changed completely. The gentle smile on his face faded at a visible speed.

He had long since forgotten how to smile.

Tens of thousands of years of day-and-night torment had long boiled away all the joy in his heart, leaving behind only eternally unmelting ice and an obsession that refused to fade.

"Xuangong, I should be the one asking you that."

"Why must it be like this?"

As his voice fell, it was as if a gust of freezing wind blew past, scattering the young daoist's outer skin and revealing the appearance of a withered old man who resembled a walking corpse.

The True Person cast a chilling gaze at the mortal below the golden throne. "You insisted on seeing me in this form, and insisted on saying these things before the dao field's destruction, leaving no dignity for either of us. Why did you have to push things to this point?"

Yi Xuangong raised his head. "Is it [Earth-Fire Mingyi]?"

To succeed in cultivating truth and becoming a True Person so quickly, and to trigger the destruction of the dao field in the process—it could only be [Earth-Fire Mingyi]. There was no other possibility.

The True Person no longer hid it, nodding calmly. "I know you spoke at length with that water-qi dao child and thought I would choose another path. But how could any of you fathom my true intentions? [Earth-Fire Mingyi] is the fastest path to cultivating truth. Naturally, it was impossible for me not to take it."

After all, the price was too low.

All it required was the deaths of a group of lower cultivators and abandoning the dao field that had dragged him down for countless years. With that, he could easily cultivate truth and gaze upon the extreme positions of heaven and earth. Nothing could be simpler.

Yi Xuangong shook his head. "There is no need to explain the Dao Lord's true intent to a mere lower cultivator like me. I just wanted to come over and see the Dao Lord one last time. I never expected that I would miss the chance."

The person before him was no longer the Dao Lord.

It was a True Person.

As his words fell, the True Person standing before the golden throne grew even more indifferent, his voice calm. "Do you have anything else you wish to say? You still have a little time left."

After a brief silence, Yi Xuangong knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully. He then closed his eyes, leaving behind only a single, resolute phrase: "May the True Person's Great Dao prosper eternally."

Looking at the mortal kneeling on the ground, the True Person's gaze fluctuated slightly before quickly settling back down. Ultimately, it culminated in a silent sweep of his sleeve.

And so, a gust of wind blew past, scattering Yi Xuangong's body. Sweeping outward from Torch Mountain, it instantly engulfed the entire Unchanging Non-Action Dao Field. As for Qi Sifeng and the crowd of qi-ingesting practitioners within the dao field, they all dissipated into smoke in a state of bewilderment, blending into the phantom colors of the surrounding star sand.

The Brahma Nation, the Northern Crimson Net Golden Realm.

Atop a twelfth-grade lotus throne, a towering, ten-thousand-zhang Brahma body pressed its palms together, silently reciting scriptures. Zen chants echoed through deep space, answered by the Cosmos, manifesting a supreme and peerless position.

The Master of Secret Traces.

"Amitabha."

This Bodhisattva first chanted a Buddhist epithet, and then his towering Brahma body slowly stood up from the lotus throne, gazing distantly in the direction of the Star Grave Sand Sea.

A second later, another Zen chant descended from the heavens: "What, are you leaving?"

The Master of Secret Traces turned his head at the sound. His gaze pierced through countless Zen forests and billions of ancient temples, quickly landing on another towering Brahma body in the boundless distance.

The Lord of Salvation.

In the Brahma Nation, this figure, also known as the Great Black Heaven Bodhisattva, was one of the eight great Bodhisattvas corresponding to the [Li Trigram], and was also the Bodhisattva closest to the Master of Secret Traces.

At this moment, as the Master of Secret Traces rose, karma fluctuated and the torrent of destiny resonated. Yet, the many Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation acted as if they didn't see anything, observing coldly from the sidelines. Only the Lord of Salvation spoke a word, but that was all; he had absolutely no intention of intervening.

Seeing this, the Master of Secret Traces couldn't help but sigh. "I didn't want to leave, or at least I wanted to bring a few colleagues with me. Alas, none of them were willing. Every sound transmission I sent out sank into the sea without a trace."

The Lord of Salvation retorted upon hearing this, "I am different. Didn't I reply to you? Out of all the Bodhisattvas, I'm the only one who still answers your transmissions. Tell me, is this friendship true or not?"

"Good brother! Then will you come with me?"

"Have a safe trip."

"Pah, you red-robed trash," the Master of Secret Traces cursed outright. Between people of the same Realm, they naturally wouldn't feign mystery. If they were displeased, they cursed; if their defenses were broken, they would spew obscenities.

Thinking back to those years when the Living Buddha broke away from the fire qi faction and established the Brahma Nation in the Supreme Palace Enclosure, the immortal of the fire qi faction tried to stop him but was ultimately helpless, leading him to directly hurl curses. Upon hearing this, the Living Buddha cursed right back on the spot. As a result, the two sides exchanged non-stop obscenities, cursing so hard that heavenly flowers fell and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.

Consequently, the cultivators below actually thought the two were debating the Dao!

Thinking of this, the Master of Secret Traces hurriedly slapped his own mouth, not daring to think any further. After all, this was improperly discussing the Living Buddha; he couldn't just act recklessly.

"Sinful, how sinful."

After repenting a few sentences in his heart, the Master of Secret Traces spoke no more. His towering Brahma body vanished in an instant, the Zen chants trailing away into the distance, leaving behind only a lingering echo: "I'm off."

As his voice faded, the Lord of Salvation also sighed and immediately withdrew his gaze, unable to bear looking any longer—barring any accidents, a Bodhisattva Position would soon be vacant.

On the other hand, many arhats who had received messages from the Bodhisattvas above and knew the inside story were utterly thrilled, almost unable to resist roaring toward the sky. If they weren't worried about affecting unity, some even wanted to throw a banquet. After all, they would only have a chance to rise if the Master of Secret Traces died.

Amitabha, well done, well done.

It wasn't a bad thing at all!

The Star Grave Sand Sea.

Endless radiance slowly rose from this cosmic death zone, yet it manifested as an extreme dimness, freezing all things in a singular moment.

Just like amber.

At this moment, the ancient cultivators in the Star Grave Sand Sea, the Qi Refining practitioners who had not yet left, and even the qi of heaven and earth that had been drawn over all fell into a state of standstill.

Following closely behind, a trigram image—as vast and boundless as the continuous earth—unfurled across the Cosmic Deep Space. It was the purity of yin, the pinnacle of compliance. The three talents of heaven, earth, and humanity were all Nether Earth qi. The three yins held authority, resulting in the profound mystery of nurturing all things and the virtues of supremacy, success, potential, and perseverance. As a result, the Cosmos thrived.

The [Kun Trigram]!

Perfect is the Kun origin, its virtue matches the boundless; it was the pure yin trigram among the Eight Trigrams, entirely unique, transforming into visible darkness that plunged into the present Cosmos.

However, this was not the end.

Below the [Kun Trigram], a ball of raging fire quietly lit up. Heaven and earth were the two yangs, while humanity occupied the single yin. It similarly formed a trigram pattern, merging together with that darkness.

The [Li Trigram]!

[Kun] above, [Li] below, jointly propping up a supreme position of heaven and earth.

The profound manifestations reflected within it were the sun sinking into the earth, where light suffered damage, leading to disasters and hardships. It was also a dark ruler above and a bright minister below, resulting in the deliberate obscuring of one's own light.

It was precisely [Earth-Fire Mingyi]!

Directly beneath this supreme position stood Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong with his hands clasped behind his back, exuding ethereal immortal truth. His entire body's karmic imagery echoed it flawlessly.

He had once established his own orthodoxy and flourished for a time. Afterward, he suffered heavy losses, was trapped for tens of thousands of years, and ultimately faced the destruction of his dao field. This perfectly aligned with the true meaning of [Earth-Fire Mingyi]. Resonating with the supreme position in this manner yielded phenomenal results. At this moment, profound mysteries descended upon him, adding a few more hints of immortal truth to his presence.

Yet, there was not a shred of joy on his face.

Even though the supreme position of heaven and earth was right before his eyes, his expression was solemn. He no longer maintained the disguise of a young daoist, his head full of white hair dancing wildly amidst the howling mysteries.

He simply stared blankly into the distance.

Until Zen chants echoed, resounding across the ten directions of the grand universe. All mortal beings responded with sincere devotion, heralding that a certain Bodhisattva had walked out from the ultimate secret.

"Well done, well done."

Outside the Star Grave Sand Sea, a towering Brahma body could be seen pacing forward. Step by step, he trod upon the Cosmic Deep Space as if walking on flat ground, sending ripples cascading outward.

The Master of Secret Traces.

This Bodhisattva of the Brahma Nation appeared incredibly composed at this moment. He actually stepped alone into this killing trap prepared specifically for him, still bearing a smile on his Buddha face.

Almost simultaneously.

"Clang!"

A sword chime interrupted the cosmic-resonating Zen chants around the Master of Secret Traces. Immediately following that, a star dotting a corner of the Cosmos emerged.

It was a highly peculiar star. When it did not appear, no one could see it. Yet, when it bloomed with radiance, no matter where one was in the Cosmos, far or near, they would instantly see the dazzling starlight hanging high upon the firmament before it abruptly crashed into the Cosmic Deep Space.

Those of the mortal realm could only perceive its brilliant light.

Only those with profound cultivation who had attained the Dao could perceive the true essence of this star—it was precisely another supreme position of heaven and earth constructed from two trigrams.

[Qian] above, [Dui] below.

It was the absolute first of metal qi, possessing both yin and yang. [Qian] was pure yang, and [Dui] was the truest metal. Only through the harmonious interaction of yin and yang could this position be formed; wherever its sword tip pointed, a plain tread would meet no blame.

[Heaven-Lake Lu]!

A majestic supreme position of heaven and earth was actually grasped in the hand of a boundlessly magnificent, unfathomable profound body, slashing straight toward the Master of Secret Traces.

Thus, the Cosmos shattered.

The star carved through the deep space. Its trajectory was perfectly square and orderly, resembling a sharpened divine sword cleaving downward, landing right before the face of the Master of Secret Traces in the blink of an eye!

Witnessing this, the Master of Secret Traces didn't panic. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Fellow Daoist Fengxian, aren't you being a bit too hasty!"

With that said, the towering Brahma body actually didn't dodge or evade. As if transforming into a Bottomless Abyss, it drew upon profound mysteries and instantly swallowed the bright star into its depths.

Rumble!

An invisible collision—a clash between a True Monarch and a Bodhisattva—unfolded in a higher dimension. Reflected in the present world, the radiance of the stars inexplicably began to flicker erratically.

Seeing this, even Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong couldn't help but freeze for a moment. He hadn't expected that the first to impatiently strike would not be the fire qi faction, which theoretically had the deepest grudge against the Brahma Nation, but rather the metal qi faction—True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng of the Divine Weapon Courtyard. Furthermore, he showed no mercy whatsoever the moment he attacked.

It seemed the animosity was quite profound.

It was only in the next moment that a streak of fiery light ignited between heaven and earth. It was completely opposite to [Earth-Fire Mingyi], resembling a rising sun that illuminated the Cosmos.

It was similarly [Kun] and [Li].

However, this time, the arrangement of the two trigrams was completely reversed. With [Li] above and [Kun] below, it manifested an entirely different supreme position.

It was the sun emerging above the earth, progressing smoothly to brilliant clarity. It was gentle advancement moving upward, virtue manifesting naturally through righteous conduct, thus becoming like the midday sun, shining universally across the earth as all things bathed in its light.

[Fire-Earth Jin]!

The blazing firelight was initially nothing more than a spark in the darkness, yet in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive sun, illuminating the Cosmic Deep Space until it was as transparent as glazed glass.

Many True Persons raised their heads to look at the sky. Through the glazed spectacle, they could even faintly discern the magnificent profound body behind the supreme position of heaven and earth. They could see infinite profound mysteries colliding within it, where every slight shift descending into reality would directly reflect upon the qi of heaven and earth and every corner of the Cosmic Deep Space.

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming.

Looking at that midday-sun-like supreme position, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's expression shifted slightly. Even though he had been prepared, the True Monarch's mighty power still made him cast a sidelong glance.

Immediately afterward, he turned to look at [Earth-Fire Mingyi], which seemed to be drawing closer to him. As if thinking of something, a deep yearning surfaced in his eyes.

He further accelerated his speed in resonating with this supreme position.

Meanwhile, the Master of Secret Traces was completely blocked at the edge of the Star Grave Sand Sea by the two True Monarchs of the fire and metal qi, unable to get any closer.

Oddly enough, however, the two sides actually maintained a delicate balance. With two True Monarchs dealing with one Bodhisattva, the latter surprisingly showed no signs of defeat.

Of course, this wasn't because the Master of Secret Traces possessed outstanding combat prowess and could fight one against two. Rather, it was because all three of them were secretly on guard against a certain entity. It was also due to this entity's persistent silence that the three of them unanimously held back a trump card, ready to deal with any sudden variables.

Primordial Sovereign Mingxing Xuanyi.

In the Cosmic Deep Space, the supreme and immense Brahma body of the Master of Secret Traces swayed slightly. On the ever-smiling Buddha face, eyes as large as stars gazed up at the sky.

'Master...'

'Are you still not going to strike?'

Billowing Zen chants carried the profound intent of guarding secrets and hiding, allowing the figure of the Master of Secret Traces to plunge into the deepest darkness, turning into a swaying streak of ink.

Back when the Living Buddha broke away from the sect and severed the authority of the Eight Trigrams, the Master of Secret Traces corresponded precisely to the [Kan Trigram], echoing the water qi—the "concealment" of the water qi. At this moment, it roared into motion and then expanded outward, enveloping the surrounding midday sun and the star sword in the blink of an eye, plunging them into the inky hue.

They vanished completely!

In the end, the Master of Secret Traces, who was in a passive position, was the first to lose patience. He couldn't drag it out forever, so he was the first to move his piece.

"Amitabha..."

The Bodhisattva Position corresponding to the [Kan Trigram] condensed into an inky abyss—the most treacherous place in the world—successfully dragging the two True Monarchs, who hadn't used their full strength, into it.

In this split second of offense and defense, the Master of Secret Traces seized the initiative. He took the first step, walking toward the direction of Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong.

In an instant, the figure of the Master of Secret Traces began to collapse inward. The supreme and immense Brahma body squeezed into the present world bit by bit, transforming into the appearance of a young monk that Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong had seen before. He stood smiling before him, then extended two fingers and lightly tapped them against his glabella.

"Rumble!"

Almost simultaneously, the inky luster behind the Master of Secret Traces rapidly dimmed. The star sword and the midday sun leaped out from within, casting their gazes over simultaneously.

"...Hmm?"

A soft sound of surprise.

The metal qi and the fire qi, two majestic gazes, locked onto Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, having never expected that he would actually be defeated just like that.

True Monarchs and True Persons were both strictly truth cultivators. Even though there was a massive gap between the two due to the supreme positions of heaven and earth, it was absolutely not to the point of an instant kill. Let alone an instant kill, even if one spent a long time, killing a True Person was extremely difficult.

In most cases, it ended in sealing.

Moreover, even if they were killed, as long as an opportunity arose, a True Person could return from the river of time. Up until now, only immortals could thoroughly obliterate a True Person.

Therefore, in their view, as long as Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, who had abandoned the Dao to cultivate truth, showed even the slightest hint of resistance, he would not have been instantly suppressed.

Unless he simply hadn't resisted at all.

The next second, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong pressed his palms together. His head of white hair—the three thousand strands of worldly desires—fell off strand by strand.

Afterward, he chuckled softly. "Amitabha!"

As he spoke, dazzling Brahma light shockingly surfaced on his body. It was a baptism of Brahma dharma from the Master of Secret Traces, meant to wash away his entire foundation of the Immortal Dao!

Abandoning the immortals and defecting to the Brahma Nation!

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, who had expressed disdain for the Brahma Nation countless times before, who had repeatedly rejected the Master of Secret Traces' recruitment, and who had been unwilling to submit beneath a Bodhisattva, now accepted the Master of Secret Traces' enlightenment directly without a shred of hesitation. And the Master of Secret Traces was not the least bit surprised.

It seemed they had schemed this long ago!

"[Earth-Fire Mingyi] is the reverse trigram of [Fire-Earth Jin]. If it had been cultivated normally, it would have been fine, but it just had to be cultivated with the help of Fellow Daoist Jinming."

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong raised his head and laughed coldly. "Did you think that since I didn't understand the supreme positions of heaven and earth before, I could be fooled so easily? If I borrowed your hand to cultivate [Earth-Fire Mingyi], I would only be reduced to a piece of your karmic merit."

"The result would be pouring my lifelong cultivation into the supreme position, only to have it extracted and swallowed by you to propel the advancement of [Fire-Earth Jin]—a typical demonic method of the fire qi faction."

How could he not know that [Earth-Fire Mingyi] carried hidden dangers?

But he still chose it precisely because he had plotted with the Master of Secret Traces in advance, using his defection to the Brahma Nation to wash away all the hidden dangers of [Earth-Fire Mingyi]!

Weighing two evils, he chose the lesser one. Compared to being devoured by the demonic path of fire qi, submitting beneath a Bodhisattva at least left him a path to survival. Furthermore, all of his previous conversations with the Master of Secret Traces seemed to have been a deliberate act put on for the True Monarchs. It was only at this very moment that the two revealed their true colors.

In the next second, the situation changed drastically.

The Master of Secret Traces stepped into the Star Grave Sand Sea, bypassing Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, leaving him in place to block the two True Monarchs of metal and fire.

This created a delicate time gap.

It wasn't necessary for Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong to truly hold off the two True Monarchs. As long as he delayed them for a split second, the Bodhisattva could find Wang Ping and instantly kill him.

Everything was going smoothly.

"..."

However, the smile on the Buddha face of the towering Brahma body gradually faded. There was no joy in those star-like eyes, but rather an even deeper layer of contemplation.

Of course, he harbored no illusions of luck.

The current smoothness had been bought by him making the first move and throwing away the initiative. He appeared to hold the upper hand, but in reality, he had been forced to play one of his trump cards.

The one in a passive position was actually him.

Thus, no matter how smoothly things went, he remained vigilant. He was even on guard against Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, whom he had privately struck a deal with.

A partnership wasn't necessarily trustworthy.

After all, he had partnered with many people; Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong was not the only one. As for promises, whether they were betrayed or kept depended on a single thought.

Regardless, he had already played his first move.

The Master of Secret Traces looked at the midday sun and the star sword behind him. His gaze finally landed on the unchanging dark light submerged within the Cosmos.

'Who will be the next to play against me?'