Chapter 439 - 390: Winner Is King, Loser Is Outlaw! We Shall Fight Again in the Next Life

Qi Yun slowly lowered his gaze.

His eyes fell upon his outstretched right hand—a long, fair hand with well-defined knuckles, currently entwined with an indescribable wisp of energy.

It coiled around his fingertips like a tamed, ink-black ribbon, its stillness almost eerie.

Yet only Qi Yun himself knew what terrifying, boundless power lay beneath that seemingly docile ribbon.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, forming a very faint arc.

There was no pride in that arc, no arrogance—only the calm of one who perceived the grand tide of destiny.

’The great tide crushes all, destiny is claimed... You have no choice but to follow Qi’s command.’

He raised his eyes, looking toward the countless proud Righteous Cultivators behind the vast golden light, toward the three intertwining draconic mights in the distance, and toward the faint, pulsating Buddha Light even farther away.

All who had entered the game believed they were the ones playing the pieces.

But they did not know that another hand was already on the board.

"Cough..."

A very faint, stifled cough escaped Qi Yun’s throat.

A trickle of blood slowly snaked down from the corner of his mouth, dripping from his jaw and turning into a fine mist of blood in the void, only to be instantly crushed and dissipated by the immensely oppressive aura around him.

Within his body, an impossibly vast torrent of qi was rampaging, churning wildly!

It was the power of a million Demon Cultivators, the will of the ancient Demon Dao, the convergence of all demonic forces in this realm.

Even though he used the Commanding Divine Techniques of Mastering All Skills to forcibly restrain and suppress it.

That power was still too immense, too violent.

With every breath, it lashed back at him.

With every moment, it tore him apart.

Deep within his Purple Mansion, Daluo Heaven trembled violently. Streams of chaos qi surged madly, and faint, fine cracks began to appear on the Primordial True Body that suppressed the Ten Thousand Laws.

Had it been an ordinary Cultivator, even a Great Master, their Heart and Spirit would have been shattered and their Dao Foundation burst apart by this power by now.

Even Qi Yun was merely using his own body as a dam to forcibly hold back the cataclysmic flood.

A dam, after all, will eventually break.

But—

"that won’t be the case for much longer."

He murmured to himself, his voice as calm as if stating some trivial matter.

Deep within his Chaos Color eyes, a more profound light seemed to be slowly igniting.

The next moment.

He moved.

His right hand, coiled with the qi of this realm’s Demon Dao, slowly reached out.

The movement was slow.

So slow that everyone could clearly see his five fingers unfurl, the trajectory of his palm, and how his fingertips extended forward, bit by bit.

And yet, the instant his palm touched the vast golden light—

"HSSSS..."

A faint sound.

It was as faint as a sharp blade slicing through water, like a hot knife through butter.

The Mystic Heart Zhengyi Forbidden Technique, which had left a million Demon Cultivators helpless; the Supreme Restriction laid down by the Vast Sacred Land at the cost of its entire foundation.

Before the eyes of all, this palm—

brazenly pierced right through it!

There was no great boom, no explosion, no earth-shattering phenomenon.

Only that hand, which passed through the golden light barrier with such ease.

As if passing through a thin layer of mist.

The vast golden light trembled violently!

Countless golden characters swirled madly, and the sound of the chant "Heaven and Earth have righteous qi" suddenly swelled, roaring like furious waves!

Yet wherever the hand passed, all the golden light, all the characters, and all the vast righteousness retreated to the sides as if subjects meeting their king!

San Si Master’s pupils contracted sharply!

Lady Jiu Li shot to her feet!

The Dark Yellow Bamboo Scroll in Master Revolving Wheel’s hand split with a loud CRACK!

The three Great Masters’ expressions changed in unison!

"He’s going to break the formation?!"

"The Mystic Heart Zhengyi Forbidden Technique... was it really broken?!"

In that instant, whether they were Demonic Cultivators, the Three Seas Dragon Race, or the Righteous Cultivators behind the golden light, countless gazes all converged on that outstretched palm!

Everyone thought—

that the vast barrier separating the Righteous and Demon Daos, the one that had forced the two great armies into a stalemate, was about to be torn completely asunder by this hand!

A fanatical light ignited in the eyes of the million Demon Cultivators!

Behind the Three Seas Dragon Race, the army of the Sea Race let out a heaven-shaking roar!

Behind the vast golden light, the faces of countless Righteous Cultivators tightened. They clenched their jaws, preparing for the final, bloody battle!

However—

after piercing the golden light, the hand did not tear forward.

Instead... it turned.

As if following some invisible thread in the ether, it turned slightly, and then—

it grasped at a distant point in the void.

"BOOM—!!!"

The void shattered!

That hand, coiled with the qi of this realm’s Demon Dao, ignored the distance of space, ignored the obstruction of causality, and crossed tens of millions of li to plunge straight into another world!

Behind the golden light, deep within the ruins of the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm.

In a hidden Zen Temple, a figure in a dark robe was sitting silently in meditation on a Meditation Mat.

Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open!

In those eyes, a golden Dragon Qi flashed and vanished, illusory mountains and rivers rose and fell, and an almost inaudible sigh, tinged with shock and understanding, was heard:

"It’s here."

Before the words had even faded!

The void above his head tore open without any warning!

A hand wreathed in chaotic energy reached out from the fissure!

The hand’s five fingers unfurled and made a soft grasping motion toward him.

The next instant, the hand withdrew.

Dragging his entire person along with it into the torn void.

The Zen Temple returned to its tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened.

Only the faint, lingering trace of Emperor Dragon Qi remaining on the Meditation Mat was slowly dissipating.

...

In front of the vast golden light.

The void distorted, and a deep fissure split open.

The hand that had reached inside slowly withdrew.

In its grasp was a person.

The man wore a dark robe, had an ordinary face, and a placid aura, no different from any common Cultivator.

But now, the disguise around him was flaking away, piece by piece.

His gray monk’s robes turned to ash, revealing the illusion of a dark gold imperial robe beneath.

Though the illusion was faint, it exuded a majestic aura—one that commanded mountains and rivers, and reigned over the masses.

He lifted his head slightly.

His once-plain face shed all its pretense, revealing his true features.

Sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, a profound demeanor. His brow seemed to carry the weight of mountains and rivers, and his eyes held the sediment of a dynasty’s rise and fall.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of Nanyin—Zhao Qian!

At this moment, he was gripped by that hand, suspended in the void.

Behind him was the still-flowing, vast golden light.

Before him was the deep blue figure, standing with his hands behind his back.

Countless gazes shifted from shock, bewilderment, and confusion to utter, incredulous awe.

The hand San Si Master had on his sword hilt trembled slightly.

Flames danced violently in Lady Jiu Li’s phoenix eyes.

A slow current flowed through Master Revolving Wheel’s ghostly green eyes.

"This... This is..."

"The Crown Prince of Nanyin?! Isn’t he dead?!"

"The Nanyin Dynasty fell thirty years ago! The Crown Prince was..."

"No, wait! His aura... Is that... a Venerable Dao Foundation?!"

...

In the void.

Qi Yun slowly released his grip on the Crown Prince of Nanyin’s neck.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the man before him—a man he once considered a formidable rival, one who had nearly shattered his own Dao Foundation.

Deep within his Chaos Color eyes, there was neither joy nor sorrow, only a bottomless calm.

The Crown Prince of Nanyin raised his head.

He looked at Qi Yun, at those eyes that had turned to chaos, at that face which had become even more steadfast and profound than it was years ago.

There was no fear on his face.

No panic.

Not even the slightest intent to struggle.

Only a trace of clear, frank acceptance.

From the moment he witnessed Qi Yun’s Dharma Body attain the Dao at Spirit Mountain and become the Great Sun Purple Extreme True Monarch, he knew this day would come.

When Venerables clash, the victor is supreme.

This was the destiny fated between him and Qi Yun.

It could not be dodged, could not be fled, could not be avoided.

Qi Yun slowly began to speak, his voice calm, as if stating the most ordinary of facts:

"Friend, it has been a while."

He paused, his gaze falling upon the man’s composed face.

"I wish to achieve the supreme throne, and for that, I must borrow your Great Dao, friend."

"So, I must ask you, friend—"

"to help me."

As his words fell, a dead silence descended.

To borrow a Great Dao.

Said so lightly, as if borrowing a common artifact.

But everyone understood what it truly meant.

Hearing this, the Crown Prince of Nanyin was silent for a moment.

Then, he smiled.

It was a faint smile, almost imperceptible, yet it carried the relief and nonchalance of one who had weathered the vicissitudes of the world.

He raised his head slightly to meet Qi Yun’s chaotic eyes and began to speak slowly, his voice clear, each word like iron:

"The victor is king, the loser a bandit. There is no need for more words, friend."

Qi Yun did not speak, merely watched him quietly.

The smile on the Crown Prince of Nanyin’s face slowly widened.

There was no resentment in that smile, no unwillingness.

Only the frank acceptance of one who had met their match and was thoroughly convinced in their defeat.

He took a deep breath, looking at the man before him—the man who had clashed with him twice and had now completely crushed him underfoot.

He looked at the vast, boundless Celestial Vault, at the churning demonic clouds, at the countless gazes that were shocked, conflicted, or awestruck.

Then, he threw his head back and laughed. The sound was clear and free, carrying a king’s pride and the relief of one at their end.

"In this life, you have won, friend."

He paused, and in his eyes, it was as if mountains and rivers, the common people, the grand enterprise of restoring his dynasty that he had plotted for half his life—all flashed past.

In the end, all of it dissolved into a tranquil smile.

He looked at Qi Yun and, word by word, as if making a vow, said:

"In the next life, I will still rise to challenge you."

"Friend—"

"We shall fight again in the next life!"

As his words fell, he slowly closed his eyes.

On his face, there was no fear, no regret, only a—

sense of finality, of dust having settled.

In the void, the hand wreathed in the qi of this realm’s Demon Dao rose once more.

It slowly descended toward the top of his skull.

And Qi Yun’s Chaos Color eyes quietly watched his opponent, who was facing death with such composure. Deep within them, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of something flickered—

Respect.

Then, the palm fell.

"BOOM—!!!"

Between Heaven and Earth, there was only dead silence.

Only the deep blue figure remained, standing in the void with his hands clasped behind him, the hem of his robes perfectly still in the raging wind.

Behind him, the vast golden light still flowed.

Before him was the Crown Prince of Nanyin, his eyes closed, calmly accepting his destiny.

In the distance, the Three Seas Dragon Race was silent.

Farther still, the faintly pulsing Buddha Light froze for a split second.

The entire network of fortune in the Profound Yellow Origin Realm seemed to tremble slightly at this moment.

...