Chapter 525 - 462: Old Fox! Little Fox!

In the endless, dead silence of the Outer Realm’s void, a deep blue figure sat quietly upon a peculiar Nine-Colored Auspicious Cloud barely ten feet across. Surrounding him were terrifying void astral winds capable of instantly tearing an ordinary Foundation Establishment Master to shreds and grinding their flesh into dust! Invisible and colorless, these winds harbored destructive power that could tear through space and annihilate Spiritual Mechanisms. They were like billions of invisible blades, ceaselessly shrieking and rampaging through the void.

However, to Qi Yun, who sat atop the Auspicious Cloud, these terrifying winds felt like the gentlest breeze on a spring afternoon. Aside from occasionally fluttering the hem of his Deep Blue Daoist Robe and causing faint ripples across the fabric, they had absolutely no effect on him. The chaotic colors naturally swirling around him acted as an invisible yet absolute barrier, effortlessly reducing all external assaults and dangers to nothing.

BUZZ.

A streak of golden light flared from the ancient copper coin pendant hanging at Qi Yun’s waist. It quickly condensed into a phantom figure wearing the brocade robes of the God of Wealth. He had a plump, prosperous face, but a shrewd light glinted in his eyes. This was the Emperor’s Weapon Spirit, Cai Shen.

After manifesting his body, Cai Shen curiously inspected the terrifying astral winds capable of tearing a Master apart. His gaze then fell upon the Nine-Colored Auspicious Cloud beneath Qi Yun, and his mouth unconsciously split into a wide grin, his face filled with irrepressible excitement.

"Qi the Kid... hehe!" He rubbed his hands together, his voice trembling with excitement. "We’ve struck it rich this time! Truly struck it rich!

"Two of them! Those are two genuine Dao Kings!" Cai Shen’s eyes shone brightly. "Even though they severed their own Cultivation and dropped their Status, they are still Supreme Beings who once stood at the very pinnacle! Even during the peak of our Golden Tang Dynasty, such figures would be supremely exalted, elusive absolute powerhouses!"

"Oh?" Hearing this, Qi Yun’s eyes shifted slightly. He slowly opened them to look at the ecstatic Cai Shen and asked flatly, "Are you saying... Dao Kings also appeared during the Golden Tang Dynasty? How many were there?"

The excitement on Cai Shen’s face faltered. He scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly, "Well... I don’t know about that. Dao Kings are incredibly exalted. They possess majesty akin to Your Majesty, and their whereabouts are unpredictable. Although we are Imperial Soldiers, we never had the honor of gazing upon their true faces."

"Is that so..." Qi Yun nodded slowly. His expression was calm, revealing barely a ripple of emotion.

Seeing Qi Yun so calm—even overly indifferent—Cai Shen grew a bit anxious. "Qi the Kid, you... you don’t seem to care about this monumental stroke of luck? We’re talking about the favor and guidance of two Dao Kings! Across all the heavens, how many people could ever stumble upon such a fortuitous encounter?"

"Luck?" Qi Yun’s lips curled into a faint, cryptic smile. "Whether it’s luck... or a tribulation remains to be seen."

"A tribulation?" Cai Shen frowned, looking puzzled. "What do you mean? That True Monarch Shen Yi was open and magnanimous, and he treated you, a junior, exceptionally well. Not only did he clear up your doubts, but he also gifted you a map and treasures..."

"What do you think of Ancestor Shen Yi?" Qi Yun asked, sidestepping the question.

"He’s great!" Cai Shen blurted out. "Frank, upright, and generous! He was impeccable toward a junior like you. He is absolutely a paragon among senior experts!"

"But he..." Qi Yun paused slightly, his gaze turning profound, "...is the grand patriarch of my Holy Sect." He bit down heavily on the words ’Holy Sect.’

"Well..." Cai Shen was taken aback, seemingly realizing something, though he forced a smile. "You can’t exactly say that. There are always exceptions to the rule... Coming from the Holy Sect doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all..."

"Fine, let’s say he’s an exception," Qi Yun said noncommittally. "Let me ask you something else."

His eyes suddenly sharpened into two cold stars, staring directly at Cai Shen. "According to him, the likes of the World Honored One do not want any new Dao Kings to emerge, which is why they want to destroy Profound Yellow.

"But... is he willing?"

The words hit Cai Shen like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, instantly leaving him speechless!

Right! According to True Monarch Shen Yi’s own words, what was his motive for protecting Profound Yellow? His explanation... completely fell apart under scrutiny!

"If he were one of those stuffy old Daoists from the Righteous Dao, always preaching benevolence and morality with the world’s common people in their hearts, I might have believed him a bit," Qi Yun’s voice turned even colder. "But the Holy Sect..."

He trailed off, but Cai Shen already understood completely. As someone who had come from the Holy Sect, Qi Yun was incomparably clear about the sect’s nature, an ideology passed down continuously from top to bottom.

Self-interest came first; scheming was carved into their bones! Every action held a hidden agenda. There was absolutely no such thing as unprovoked "kindness"!

Therefore, from the moment he first met True Monarch Shen Yi and received his assistance, Qi Yun’s guard had been raised to the absolute maximum!

A grand patriarch of the Holy Sect suddenly treating him well? Tsk tsk... just thinking about it sent chills down his spine and made his hair stand on end!

A monumental stroke of luck?

Luck, my foot!

Now that the bizarre nature of True Monarch Shen Yi’s behavior was laid bare, Cai Shen was completely awakened to the truth. His expression turned odd. After pondering for a moment, he couldn’t help but ask, "If... if he’s compromised, why did you still take his things? Aren’t you afraid it’s a trap?"

"If you aren’t willing to risk the bait, you won’t catch the fish." Qi Yun glanced at Cai Shen, his expression returning to the placid calm of an ancient well, taking on a leisurely, self-assured air. "Have you ever seen anyone fish with fake bait?"

Hearing this, Cai Shen shot Qi Yun a complex look, his lips moving silently. He couldn’t help but grumble inwardly, "The Holy Sect really produces some absolute menaces! One old fox, and one little fox!"

"Alright, we’ll know whether it’s true or false once we take a look." Qi Yun said no more. With a flip of his palm, the ancient Westward Journey Error Map appeared in his hand.

He injected a wisp of Primordial Power into the map.

BUZZ.

On the scroll, the ever-shifting mists that constantly emerged and faded suddenly accelerated. The Dao Patterns and starlight spots hidden within flared to life, connecting with one another. In the center of the scroll, they condensed into a faint yet unmistakable phantom arrow of light, pointing toward a specific direction!

"Let’s go!"

Qi Yun flicked his sleeve. The Nine-Colored Auspicious Cloud beneath their feet carried him and Cai Shen, transforming into a streak of Flowing Light. Following the guidance of the light arrow on the map, it tore through layers of void astral winds and chaotic turbulence, speeding toward that mysterious destination!

They did not know how long they traveled through the void, crossing countless barren starfields and Broken worlds. Up ahead, the hue of the void gradually darkened. An indescribable aura—ancient, desolate, sorrowful, yet mixed with supreme majesty—drifted over from the distant frontier.

"We’re here." Qi Yun narrowed his eyes, controlling the Auspicious Cloud to slowly decelerate.

The scene before them gradually became clear. It was neither a paradisiacal immortal mountain, the ruins of an imperial palace, nor some treacherous dead end. What appeared before Qi Yun and Cai Shen was... a stone forest that words couldn’t even begin to describe!

It was a vast, boundless stone forest extending for unknown millions of miles!

Standing tall within this stone forest were about a hundred unfathomably massive steles! Each of these stone monuments towered over ten thousand feet high. Their entire bodies displayed a dark gray hue that had weathered countless epochs. The surfaces were rough and mottled, covered in the marks of weathering and the vicissitudes of time.

Without exception, they all exuded a terrifyingly oppressive aura so extreme it felt as though it could collapse the surrounding void! This oppression wasn’t raw power, but the residual Status of their very existence—proof that they had once lived! Even after weathering the erosion of countless eons, it still made one’s Heart and Spirit tremble and burdened the soul!

Qi Yun piloted the Auspicious Cloud, landing slowly at the outermost edge of this endless stone forest. He stepped down from the cloud and approached the relatively "short" stele on the far edge. Standing beneath this behemoth, they were no more than ants.

Qi Yun looked up, his gaze quietly sweeping over the stele’s rough, mottled surface. At first glance, there was nothing upon it but the marks of time. Suddenly, chaotic colors flashed through his eyes! The Dao Rhyme of Primordial circulated as he used insight to peer into the stele’s true essence!

The next instant, Qi Yun’s expression turned rigid! His brows furrowed tightly.

"Just as I suspected..." he muttered to himself, his voice laced with an icy chill.

Before he even finished speaking, Qi Yun forcefully swung his large sleeves!

BOOM!

An overwhelmingly majestic, terrifying gale laced with the colors of Primordial swept out explosively from his sleeves. Like an apocalyptic hurricane sweeping through Heaven and Earth, it instantly tore across the boundless stone forest!

RUMBLE!

RUSTLE!

Teeth-grinding crashes and friction suddenly echoed through the air! Stirred by this fierce wind infused with the Primordial Daoist Intent, all the massive steles across the entire stone forest violently trembled and roared!

On the surfaces of the steles, the mottled rock fragments frantically peeled and melted away, just like snow beneath a blazing sun! Countless flakes of stone rained down, disintegrating into dust in the void. As the outer layers fell away, the true faces of the steles were finally laid bare before Qi Yun and Cai Shen!

The surfaces of these ten-thousand-foot-tall monoliths were no longer rough and mottled. Instead, they were smooth as mirrors, gleaming with a dull, dark red luster reminiscent of dried blood! And upon these mirror-smooth facades were lines of ancient, ferocious words! Engraved as though cleaved by swords and hewn by axes, these massive characters radiated a heart-palpitating sense of tragic heroism and unyielding will!

Every single character was as large as a mountain. As light flowed over them, it was as if towering figures, capable of holding up the heavens, were roaring and warring within them, only to eventually fall in bitter reluctance!

A terrifying aura—a concoction of endless majesty, monstrous hatred, and an eternal, undying obsession—erupted from the steles like a volcano that had slumbered for billions of years, ruthlessly assaulting Qi Yun and Cai Shen’s Heart and Spirit!

Seeing these ferocious words suddenly materialize on the steles, overflowing with the aura of death and True Monarch Level Dao Rhyme...

Qi Yun’s face grew more solemn than ever before!

Beside him, Cai Shen couldn’t help but gasp, his voice pitching high in sheer shock.

"Are... are these...

"The graves of True Monarchs?!"