Chapter 440 - 391: Pinnacle of the Great Master

Before the magnificent golden light, all was silent.

The hand, wreathed in the Demon Dao aura of this realm, slowly lifted from the top of the Crown Prince of Nanyin’s skull.

Within its palm, a shade of Profound Yellow, noble to the extreme, swirled, ebbed, and condensed.

This was the root of a Venerable Dao Foundation, the life’s essence of a cultivator blessed by destiny, a supreme Resource that would move any Cultivator in this realm.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of Nanyin’s body, like a weathered sandcastle, disintegrated inch by inch from head to toe, dissolving into motes of faint golden light that scattered into the void.

Until the very last mote of light vanished, his face, calmly meeting its demise, still bore a relieved smile, forever seared like a brand into the depths of every witness’s Heart and Spirit.

"We’ll fight again in the next life..."

Qi Yun repeated the seven words in a low voice, a faint ripple passing through the depths of his Chaos-Colored eyes.

Then, he slowly closed his fingers into a fist.

He drew the Profound Yellow light from his palm into his Purple Mansion, handing it over to the [Magic Technique Panel] for Refinement.

At that very instant—

HUMMM—!!!

A gaze.

A gaze so sharp, so cold, that it seemed capable of severing all worldly karma and piercing through all illusion, descended abruptly from the great unknown without any warning!

The gaze was not corporeal, yet it was more terrifying than any physical blade!

It pierced through the barrier of magnificent golden light, ignored the overwhelming presence of a million gathered Demon Cultivators, and even disregarded the shroud of this realm’s Demon Dao aura, landing directly and precisely upon Qi Yun!

Qi Yun’s brow twitched, almost imperceptibly.

In that instant, he felt as if an invisible sword were pressed against the point between his eyebrows.

The sword had not yet struck, but its Sword Intent had already pierced his Purple Mansion, stabbed deep into his Dao Foundation, and even touched upon his most fundamental [Daluo Heaven]!

Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch.

The great personage behind the Crown Prince of Nanyin.

At this moment, his gaze crossed the endless void, pierced through layers of karma, and tracked its target here!

Within that gaze, there was no anger, no killing intent.

There was only a pure, cold, and emotionless scrutiny.

Like a Swordsmith examining a newly forged sword blank, judging if it was worthy of his attention, if it was fit to meet his blade.

A faint smile slowly curled at the corners of Qi Yun’s lips.

"I expected this..."

He whispered to himself, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Immediately, he flipped over his right hand—the one that had just completed the Refinement of the Venerable Dao Foundation.

His five fingers splayed open.

An incredibly simple movement.

Yet, in the instant his palm turned over—

BOOM—!!!

The chaotic torrent swirling around him, a condensation of this realm’s eons of Demon Dao aura, suddenly began to seethe!

Countless strands of aura, each as fine as a hair yet containing its own unique Demon Daoist Intent, separated from the torrent. Like a colossal, sky-covering net, they spread out in every direction!

Every strand of aura corresponded to a Demon Cultivator!

That aura carried the karma from the recent Refinement of the Crown Prince of Nanyin!

They were like invisible threads, one end connected to Qi Yun, the other plunging into the top of the skulls of the million Demon Cultivators!

The piercing gaze of Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch had been locked tightly onto Qi Yun.

But in the instant the karma was dispersed—

The gaze faltered for a moment.

It was like a Swordsman, sword in hand and about to deliver a fatal strike, who suddenly discovered his single target had become a million.

Every Demon Cultivator was now stained with a trace of the karma for killing the Crown Prince of Nanyin.

Every wisp of karma was identical to the trace on Qi Yun.

The gaze swept across the million Demon Cultivators, hesitating for just an instant.

That instant was exceedingly brief.

So brief that an ordinary Cultivator would never have noticed.

But for Qi Yun, that one instant was enough.

He slowly retracted his right hand, clasping it behind his back.

The sharp gaze lingered in the void for a moment before finally, slowly, dissipating.

No blade fell.

No True Monarch made a move.

There was only an almost inaudible humph, as if from a distant time and space, that flashed through the depths of Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit before fading into silence.

’Even a True Monarch cannot strike against a million Demon Cultivators.’

’Otherwise... the Northwest True Monarchs would do something even more outrageous!’

The smile on Qi Yun’s lips slowly widened.

He lowered his gaze to his palm.

There, the Venerable Dao Foundation belonging to the Crown Prince of Nanyin had been completely Refined by the [Magic Technique Panel], transformed into the purest essence, and merged into his own great Dao.

The [Magic Technique Panel] silently materialized before his eyes.

As light flowed across it, a new line of text slowly appeared:

[Magic auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Magic effects adjusted as follows:]

Qi Yun’s gaze fell upon that line of text.

Then, his eyes suddenly froze.

[Daluo Heaven 3.0: New Mechanism Added—Heaven-Reaching Immortal Appearance]

"Heaven-Reaching... Immortal Appearance..."

He murmured the three words, his voice soft, yet it carried a strange rhythm that seemed to resonate with the great Dao.

The moment he uttered those three words—

BOOM—!!!

Behind Qi Yun, the void abruptly shattered!

A vast and boundless Chaos Dao Map, which seemed to contain the Cycle of Life and Death of all the heavens and myriad realms, unfurled with a thunderous roar!

[Daluo Heaven]!

But at this moment, [Daluo Heaven] was completely different from before!

The Chaos Dao Map, once just a phantom image, was now solidifying at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the center of the Dao map, the speed of the chaotic vortex suddenly accelerated!

Ten times faster!

A hundred times faster!

Faster to the absolute limit!

RUMBLE—!!!

A deafening and majestic roar, both muffled and immense, echoed between Heaven and Earth!

It was not the sound of thunder, nor the sound of mountains crumbling and the earth splitting, but rather—

The Laws were restructuring!

The great Dao was evolving!

A Realm was condensing!

As the chaotic vortex spun madly, an earth-shattering transformation occurred within [Daluo Heaven]!

The first to surge forth was earth!

A turbid, heavy, and solid earthen energy, as if capable of supporting all creation, poured down from the depths of chaos. It spread out in the void, forming an endless land of Profound Yellow!

The earth was so dense it was suffocating, every inch seeming to bear the weight of countless ages!

Next to surge forth was water!

A profound and vast Water Essence energy, as if able to devour all things, erupted from the depths of the earth, converging into a great river that spanned Heaven and Earth!

The river surged ceaselessly, its waves churning. Every splash of foam contained a terrifying power sufficient to wash away karma and grind away the ages!

Then came fire!

A searing and violent fire energy, as if capable of incinerating all things, poured down from the Celestial Vault, transforming into a vast sea of fire!

The sea of fire burned without end, every flicker of flame pulsing with the power to incinerate mountains and boil seas. Yet, it did not encroach upon the river below, forming a strange sort of balance!

Last to surge forth was wind!

A sharp, howling astral wind energy, seeming to tear all things apart, swept in from all directions, raging across Heaven and Earth!

Wherever the astral wind passed, the void let out a sharp wail, yet it could not shake the Profound Yellow earth in the slightest!

Earth, water, fire, and wind!

The four great essences surged forth in unison!

They intertwined, collided, merged, and evolved within [Daluo Heaven].

The earth supported all things, the great river scoured the ages, the sea of fire burned away illusion, and the astral wind tore through all barriers.

Four completely different powers achieved a profoundly mysterious balance within this newly opened Realm Heaven.

Within that balance, one could faintly perceive the separation of purity and turbidity, the birth of Yin and Yang, the rotation of the five elements, the interplay of the eight trigrams...

At the culmination of this evolution—

a truly independent world, with its own Dao and its own order—

The embryonic form of a world!

And in the center of this embryonic world, the chaotic vortex continued to spin, though its speed gradually slowed.

As its rotation slowed, the four great essences of earth, water, fire, and wind also began to slowly converge and condense.

They were no longer scattered, warring forces, but were like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, gathering toward the center of the chaotic vortex!

A mysterious light rose from the center of the vortex.

At first, the mysterious light was a chaotic mass, but it soon began to differentiate, condense, and take form.

Finally—

It became a cyan lotus.

The cyan lotus was the color of pale cyan jade. Its petals were unfurled, its heart holding a bud, and upon every petal flowed an indescribable Dao Rhyme.

The petals swayed gently, each movement triggering a resonance with Heaven and Earth.

The cyan lotus slowly rotated, rising from within [Daluo Heaven].

Then—

It slowly drifted down.

Its speed was slow, so slow that every witness could clearly see each of its petals, every wisp of Dao Rhyme, every rotation.

But the instant it touched Qi Yun’s body—

HUMMM...

A soft chime.

The cyan lotus simply and naturally merged into Qi Yun’s body.

Like rain into the earth, like a stream into the sea, like—they were originally one.

Qi Yun’s body shuddered slightly.

And then—

BOOM—!!!

An indescribably vast aura erupted from within him!

It was the Realm of the Great Master—with his Immortal Appearance formed, the Two Profound States gathered, and only a single step away from the rank of True Monarch!

High in the Celestial Vault, the ethereal [Foundation Establishment Heaven] suddenly lit up!

Countless gazes, no matter their origin, all turned towards that supreme dimension that only Cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above could perceive!

There, Qi Yun’s Dao Foundation was—

Ascending!

His Dao Foundation, which had originally hovered in the middle layer of the Foundation Establishment Heaven, was now climbing upward at a slow but unstoppable pace!

It swept past the Dao Foundations of countless Masters, which glittered like a field of stars, yet all dimmed and retreated before its light.

It continued upward, passing the Dao Foundations of Great Masters. Those Dao Foundations were more brilliant than those of ordinary Masters, yet they too were eclipsed by its light.

Finally—

It stopped at the very peak of the Foundation Establishment Heaven.

There, it was but a single step away from the higher, more distant [All Marvelous Heaven].

That was the absolute pinnacle achievable beneath the rank of True Monarch!

Within the Foundation Establishment Heaven, the Dao Foundations of countless Masters trembled in unison!

The owners of those Dao Foundations, no matter where they were, all felt a tremor originating from the depths of their Divine Souls!

Because it meant that this realm had given birth to another true—Great Master!

And one who was right on the threshold of the True Monarch realm, a Peak Great Master to whom any Master would be forced to submit!

To break through was to reach the peak!

...

Before the magnificent golden light.

San Si Master’s knuckles had turned white where he gripped his sword hilt.

His downcast eyes were now wide open, staring fixedly at the deep blue figure.

Sword Intent surged in the depths of his eyes, but his sword remained sheathed.

Lady Jiu Li had already risen to her feet, flames dancing violently in her phoenix eyes.

Behind her, the Nine-headed Red Gold Golden Simurghs were all prostrated in the void, their heads lowered and feathers drawn tight, as if worshiping a monarch.

The Dark Yellow Bamboo Scroll in Master Revolving Wheel’s hand had completely shattered.

The gray mist around him churned violently, and his eerie green eyes flickered intensely, but in the end, he did not utter a single word.

...

In the void.

Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes.

They were no longer their previous Chaos Color, but had returned to their original, vast Cyan Gold.

But this Cyan Gold was deeper and more vast than before, as if it held the sediment of countless ages and contained all the stars in the heavens.

He looked down at his own hands.

They were still long and fair, with well-defined knuckles, no different from a moment ago.

But he knew that the him of this moment was not the him of a moment ago.

’My Dharma Body is formed, my Immortal Appearance is gathered.’

’The Two Profound States are complete. All that’s missing is—’

’a Fruit Position that suits me, and a leap to question the great river.’

He raised his head and looked at the magnificent golden light that still lay before him.

The faintest of curves slowly formed on his lips.

In that curve, there was no enlightened calm, no certainty of control.

There was only an eager anticipation.

’The Realm of the Great Master is achieved.’

’Next up—’

’it’s time for Seeking Gold!’

...