Chapter 399 - 363: Still Not Coming to Pay Homage to This Seat?

This was a more primal, purer light. One that could banish all darkness, still all chaos, and reign supreme over the present—the Light of the Great Sun!

The source of all light, the progenitor of all brilliance!

Myriad rays of light surged toward the heavens like a celestial river in reverse!

In an instant, it enveloped, suffused, and dissolved the crushing, gray-black torrent of annihilation!

It was like scorching sunlight piercing through eons of glacial ice, or a pure flame incinerating a foul swamp!

The torrent of annihilation, which represented a sliver of Wu Dao True Monarch’s power, trembled ceaselessly within the Infinite Light. The Dao Principle of Gui Wu it contained was forcibly reversed, suffused with energy, and set ablaze!

The gray-black color rapidly faded away, disintegrating and dissipating into the endless light.

Even the dark Magic Talisman in Black Mountain Master’s palm, bathed in this universal light, saw the Dao Patterns on its surface rapidly dim and shatter. Finally, with a soft PUFF, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and was utterly annihilated.

The light receded slightly.

Behind Qi Yun, a figure began to slowly emerge from the void.

The man wore a starkly simple white Daoist Robe and was barefoot. With each step he took, a pure, flawless White Lotus, shimmering with a faint, crystalline luster, bloomed in the void.

His face was gentle, radiating Compassion. His brow held a settled wisdom that had seen through the ways of the world, and a serene tranquility that was beyond it.

He wore no topknot; his ink-black hair simply hung loose. There was no oppressive pressure emanating from him.

There was only a gentle Dao Rhyme—one of Perfection and Freedom, as if he breathed in unison with the light of Heaven and Earth, sharing its very destiny.

It was none other than—the Great Sun Purple Extreme True Monarch!

All of Heaven and Earth fell into a deathly silence.

Only the warm, yet Supreme, light flowed on in silence, illuminating the crumbling wasteland and the figure atop the Demon Mountain who had suddenly frozen, rigid as stone.

WHOOSH—!!!

A violent, chaotic gale swept past. It whipped Black Mountain Master’s black, mountain-patterned Daoist Robe into a frenzy, making it look like a thousand struggling black flags!

His ink-black hair, already dancing wildly, was now a tangled mess, lashing against his face and body and leaving him in a wretched state.

He involuntarily sank to one knee.

But he paid no mind to any of this.

His eyes were fixed, absolutely fixed, on the gentle figure behind Qi Yun—the one who walked barefoot on lotuses, bathed in Infinite Light.

Black Mountain Master’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

For the first time, his lifeless eyes were utterly consumed by boundless horror, sheer disbelief, and a chill that pierced him to the marrow.

’That was no Dharma Aspect, no projection of a Divine Technique.’

’That Dao Rhyme flowing around him, so perfectly merged with the Great Dao of Light between Heaven and Earth that it made my own hard-won Dao tremble and feel suppressed... that absolute control, annihilating the power of a True Monarch’s Magic Talisman with a mere wave of his hand...’

A thought that made his very soul tremble exploded in his nearly blank Heart and Spirit like a billion bolts of lightning.

’This... This is...’

His dry lips twitched. A hoarse, trembling whisper, one he could barely hear himself, escaped his throat. As if mustering every ounce of his strength, he uttered the title—a title heavier than the Star Sea:

"A True Monarch... in the flesh?!"

Black Mountain Master forced his head up. His body, caught between the radiance of the Great Sun and a formless pressure, trembled uncontrollably.

In his line of sight, Qi Yun’s deep-blue-robed figure stood tall beneath the Infinite Light.

Framed by the presence of the True Monarch’s true self—a barefoot figure treading on lotuses, a being of both Compassion and majesty—Qi Yun seemed to tower infinitely.

Those placid, unwavering eyes looked down upon him, holding nothing but a bottomless abyss. It was the gaze one would give a speck of dust, or an ancient hill about to be swallowed by the river of time.

This gaze, more than any sharp killing intent, chilled Black Mountain Master’s heart and sent a cold shiver through his entire body.

「The next moment.」

In the dead silence, where only light seemed to flow, Qi Yun moved.

He walked forward slowly, one step at a time, until he stood before Black Mountain Master, whose rigid body was pinned beneath the phantom of the Demon Mountain.

He was so close that Black Mountain Master could see every minute expression on his face.

There was no victor’s arrogance on Qi Yun’s face, no avenger’s glee—only a serene, almost placid, indifference.

Qi Yun slowly extended his right hand toward Black Mountain Master, as if to help him rise from his kneeling posture.

At the same time, a gentle, clear voice flowed into Black Mountain Master’s ears like a babbling brook:

"Uncle Black Mountain,"

"In the past, within our Sect, there have indeed been some misunderstandings and conflicts—between you and I, and even between this junior and Senior Brother Black Fiend. Perhaps due to our different positions, or our differing ideals."

"However, we all hail from the same Sect, all of us seekers of the Dao. The path is long and arduous; why must we cling to old grievances, cultivating Heart Demons that only hinder our progress?"

"Why not... let us shake hands and bury the hatchet.

You would still be my Uncle, and I still your junior. We could contemplate the Great Dao together and work to strengthen the Holy Sect. Would that not be a fine thing?"

The voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a strangely soothing and sincere cadence. Every word, every sentence, seemed to strike at the very core of Black Mountain Master’s bewildered and aching heart.

Black Mountain Master shuddered violently!

The ferocity, malice, and resentment on his face began to melt away like snow under a warm sun.

Qi Yun’s serene face, his sincere words, his outstretched hand...

At this moment, he seemed so magnanimous, so deeply moving!

In that instant, all their past conflicts began to blur.

An inexplicable sense of guilt grew wild in his heart, like weeds.

"Nephew Qi... I..."

Black Mountain Master’s lips trembled. His gaze flickered wildly, betraying a genuine struggle and a hint of softening shame.

Subconsciously, he tried to lift his arm, heavy as lead, to grasp the gentle hand offered to him.