Chapter 427 - 383: Fishing for the Dao Foundation

The Grand Emperor Profound Vault Dao Foundation.

Among the Twelve Venerable Dao Foundations, it ranked first in offense.

Legend has it that before Heaven and Earth took form, in the vast and profound emptiness, there was the Great Change, the Great Beginning, the Great Origin, the Great Prime, the Great Ultimate, and the other Nine Greats from which all things evolved.

The Grand Emperor was the head of the Nine Greats, a state where qi, form, and substance existed but had not yet separated.

Its root was the Ancient Killing Origin, its soul the will of Heaven and Earth’s eternal struggle.

Those who obtained this Dao Foundation did not cultivate defense, nor did they focus on transformations.

They pursued singular focus and ultimate refinement, specializing in annihilation.

A single sword strike could sever a Star River. A single punch could shatter the cosmos. A single thought could sunder causality.

Before the Grand Emperor Dao Foundation,

the Ten Thousand Laws were void, all artifacts would crumble, and all Daos could be destroyed.

Every time this Dao Foundation appeared in the world, it was accompanied by a cataclysm of immense slaughter.

In the last ten thousand years, a total of seven people have possessed the Grand Emperor Dao Foundation.

Four of them died before attaining the True Monarch Level, two perished with their enemies after ascending to the throne of a Monarch, and the last one...

sank into the Blood Sea, their Dao Foundation gathering dust, never to be seen for millennia.

The Grand Emperor Dao Foundation, first in offense.

However—

with Nether Spring’s current power, even with the enhancement of the Nether Spring Array, trying to forcibly seize this Venerable Dao Foundation—which had been submerged for millennia—from the grasp of the Blood Sea’s origin was nothing but a fool’s dream.

The Blood Sea was not a person, yet it possessed "instincts."

It was greedy, domineering, and bloodthirsty, devouring everything that fell into it.

Since that Grand Emperor Dao Foundation had been submerged for ages, it was the Blood Sea’s private, untouchable prize.

Though unable to digest it, the Blood Sea would absolutely not allow anyone else to lay a finger on it.

Nether Spring’s act of drawing out its aura was like snatching food from the Blood Sea’s mouth.

The Blood Sea would surely retaliate.

Qi Yun did not hesitate.

He slowly closed his eyes, his Heart and Spirit sinking into the deepest part of his Purple Mansion, toward the primordial imprint from his Primordial True Body that connected him to Nether Spring’s Dharma Body.

...

「Inside the Celestial Demon Well, within the Nether Spring Array.」

Nether Spring’s blood-red eyes were locked onto the faint yet incomparably sharp and pure qi mechanism deep within the Blood Sea’s ancient sedimentary layers, his mind taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

He could feel its presence.

Submerged beneath eons of filth, enveloped by the residue of countless evil thoughts, it still maintained a sliver of its own untainted purity.

The core of the Array Hub was already seventy percent lit, transforming into countless light patterns as fine as spider silk, cautiously spreading and approaching that wisp of qi mechanism.

’Almost there... just a little more...’

Just then—

deep within Nether Spring’s Purple Mansion, the spiritual imprint connecting him to Qi Yun’s true self suddenly erupted with a golden-white light as scorching as a great sun!

From within the light, a gentle yet supremely majestic voice resounded directly in the depths of his Divine Soul:

"I am here to help you."

Nether Spring’s blood-red eyes flashed brightly!

The next instant—

"BUZZZ—!!!"

A strand of divine golden-white light—resplendent as a Great Sun, pure and flawless, and containing the supreme Dao Rhyme of sovereignty over the present—erupted from the spiritual imprint!

It crossed endless spatial barriers, ignoring the Dragon Race’s seal, the filth of the Celestial Demon Well, and even the corrosion of the Blood Sea’s origin, descending across the void with an absolute will of "light" and "sovereignty"!

The power of the Great Sun Purple Extreme True Monarch!

Although only a single strand, this divine light was True Monarch Level power that Qi Yun had forcibly "borrowed," using the connection between his true self’s Primordial True Body and his Dharma Body’s origin as a bridge!

The moment it entered Nether Spring’s Purple Mansion, it was like a miniature Great Sun hanging above his Blood Sea. Wherever its light reached, even the rampaging Supreme Yang Evil Force and Supreme Yin Filth Blood calmed slightly!

A long, low howl escaped Nether Spring’s throat. The golden-red light in his blood-red eyes briefly merged with the descending, incandescent white sunlight, then transformed into an even deeper and more condensed Chaos Color!

He hesitated no longer, his hands abruptly forming a seal!

The voice of Qi Yun’s true self, transmitted through that ray of sunlight, rang out in unison with his own, each word like a decree of the Great Dao.

Mastering All Skills!

As those three words were spoken, the sovereign Law of Daluo Heaven descended from across the void to grant its blessing!

Nether Spring’s ten fingers danced like a blooming lotus, weaving the blood-colored light and sunlight into a Seal Technique of the utmost profundity.

He thrust out his right hand, his five fingers clenching into a fist as if grasping some kind of invisible "rope."

"—Rise for me!!!"

Nether Spring roared!

The space where his right hand was clenched suddenly went taut!

At the other end of the net of light, the Grand Emperor Dao Foundation Qi Mechanism, which had lain dormant for countless ages deep within the Blood Sea’s ancient sediments, was hooked by this sovereign power that surpassed the Blood Sea’s instinct. It trembled slightly!

Just a slight tremble.

But it was like pulling a nail, rusted for eons, a single millimeter out of solidified flesh and blood!

"BOOM—!!!"

In that instant!

The entire Blood Sea flew into a rage!

This was not Nether Spring’s own Blood Sea.

It was the true body of the Blood Sea, an entity formed from eons of filth and the instinct to devour!

It had sensed it.

It sensed that the prey sleeping in its "belly" for ages was being forcibly dragged away, stripped from it!

The Blood Sea’s origin had no intelligence, only instinct.

Its instinct was to devour, to possess, and to never let go.

"ROAR—!!!"

A roar of Laws, like that of a primordial beast awakening, boomed from the deepest part of the Blood Sea!

Countless phantom existences—older, fouler, and more violent than any Celestial Demon’s malevolence—swarmed out of the rift.

They had no form, no will. They were merely the personification of the Blood Sea’s instincts: greed, consumption, and selfish possession.

Each phantom exuded a terrifying suction force, seeking to drag anything that "escaped" back into the abyss.

Moreover, an endless torrent of filth surged back along the net of light, pouring toward Nether Spring!

This was the backlash from the Blood Sea’s origin.

It wanted this "thief," who dared to snatch food from its mouth, to sink into oblivion along with it!

Nether Spring’s blood-red robes exploded, and countless bizarre, dark-red patterns instantly appeared on his exposed skin.

It was the corrosion of the Blood Sea’s origin, attempting to "assimilate" him and make him a part of the filth!

The excruciating pain was like ten thousand ants gnawing on his bones, madly consuming his Divine Soul!

However—

a smile stretched across Nether Spring’s lips—a smile that was utterly savage, utterly crazed, and utterly euphoric.

The golden-red light in his blood-red eyes blazed like two bloody suns, fixed on the strand of the Grand Emperor Dao Foundation Qi Mechanism that was hooked by the net of light and being dragged upward inch by inch.

He ignored his own corrosion, the furious counterattack of the Blood Sea’s origin, and even the violent tremors shaking the Grand Array, which had caused nearly a thousand Blood God Child imprints to dim in an instant!

He just smiled.

Then, he spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unprecedented and absolute majesty that surpassed even the Blood Sea:

"I..."

He paused, enunciating each word as if an emperor issuing a decree, or a Dao Ancestor laying down the law:

"...am your master."

As his voice fell—

the sea of blood behind him, which had been on the verge of collapse from the furious assault of the Blood Sea’s origin, suddenly froze solid!

It was not suppressed, nor was it pacified.

It was... submission.

In that instant, an unprecedented, vast pressure erupted from Nether Spring’s blood-red eyes—a pressure that held dominion over all blood!

This pressure was different from the greedy devouring of the Blood Sea’s origin—it was that of a sovereign.

At this declaration, the furious phantoms of the Blood Sea’s origin that were trying to tear at the net of light all froze in unison!

Nether Spring slowly raised his left hand, his five fingers spread wide. Facing the origin of the Blood Sea, which was still churning but had lost its edge, he gently—pressed down through the air.

"Settle."

With that single word, ten thousand waves were calmed!

The rift connecting to the endless origin of the Blood Sea was forcibly suppressed by an undeniable will and slowly closed!

The origin phantoms that had swarmed out let out silent wails and receded back into the depths of the rift like an ebbing tide!

The torrent of filth that had been surging back along the net of light, corroding everything in its path, came to an abrupt halt just three inches from Nether Spring’s brow.

Then, like a submissive serpent, it disintegrated and dissolved on its own!

The entire Blood Sea had bowed its head before Nether Spring.

This was the Lord of the Blood Sea.

Not just any Cultivator, not just any Demon.

Nether Spring looked down at his blood-stained right hand, at the net of light pulled taut like a string, and at the wisp of the Grand Emperor Dao Foundation Qi Mechanism at its end. It had been mostly pulled out now and was beginning to emit the faint, profound light of an emperor.

He grinned, blood seeping from between his teeth, but his smile was as radiant as that of a triumphant king.

"I’ve caught it."

...

「Wuji Holy Sect, in the quiet room of Cyan Mountain Daoist Temple.」

Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes.

His face was momentarily pale, and the cyan-gold light in his eyes had dimmed by thirty percent.

Using Mastering All Skills across the void, lending Nether Spring the support of a True Monarch’s power, and then forcibly resisting the backlash from the Blood Sea’s origin—even for him, the expenditure was immense.

But a faint smile slowly appeared on his lips, one that reached deep into his eyes.

He had seen that entire scene just now through the imprint of his Dharma Body.

"It seems my efforts weren’t wasted after all..."

Qi Yun murmured to himself, his voice holding a mix of gratification and wistfulness.

He raised his gaze, looking out the window of the quiet room at the Celestial Vault, now steeped in the colors of twilight.

...