Chapter 554: The Great Tide of Time!

On the seventh day after the Array was formed, the sky changed.

In the space of a single breath, the Celestial Vault of the entire Profound Yellow Origin Realm suddenly plunged into darkness.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had seized all the light in this Heaven and Earth and crushed it to pieces.

Within the Cyan Mountain Daoist Temple, Qi Yun suddenly opened his eyes.

The colorful light in his eyes surged like two giant suns of Chaos Color, illuminating the entire Wuji Holy Sect.

The Mountain and River Cauldron hovered beside him. Nine divine dragons raised their heads in unison, their roars tearing through the sky and causing the tiles of the Daoist Temple to rattle.

“It’s here,” Qi Yun uttered in a low voice.

He stood up and took a single step, his figure instantly arriving above the Taixu Hall.

There, dozens of True Monarchs had long since gathered.

Every True Monarch was in position, occupying a cardinal point and infusing their Power of the Dao into the Array.

Seeing Qi Yun appear, everyone’s gaze converged on him.

“Fellow Daoist Primordial,” Qingyuan True Monarch spoke, his voice clear but laced with tension. “The Great Tide of Time… is here.”

Qi Yun gave a slight nod.

Without another word, he descended into the Taixu Hall and sat cross-legged upon the Array Hub.

“Fellow Daoists,” his voice was not loud, but it reached every True Monarch’s ears with absolute clarity. “Proceed according to the plan.”

“Agreed!”

Dozens of voices rang out simultaneously, merging into an earth-shaking sonic wave.

Meanwhile, in the Outer Realm void, the Great Tide of Time had arrived.

The first thing to appear was light.

It was not a single beam, but billions of them. They erupted from the deepest depths of the River of Heaven and Earth Years, surging and spreading in all directions like billions of celestial rivers bursting their banks at once.

They converged into a vast, boundless, and constantly churning ocean of light.

This was the tide of the River of Heaven and Earth Years.

It was here.

There was no sound, for sound lost its meaning before it. There was no trajectory, for space lost its direction before it. There was no time, for it was the very source of time itself.

With an unstoppable and irresistible momentum, it surged from the deepest parts of the River of Heaven and Earth Years, sweeping toward the Profound Yellow Origin Realm!

Wherever this ocean of light passed, the dead, silent stars floating in the void were swallowed, crushed, and reduced to nothingness in an instant, like grains of sand thrown into a torrent.

The fragmented remains of broken worlds, the fallen corpses of True Monarchs, the ruins of civilizations forgotten in the corners of time.

Everything crumbled, dissipated, and returned to chaos under the scouring of the ocean of light, like sandcastles in the surf.

This was not destruction; it was a “return.”

A return to the years, a return to time, a return to the eternal and irreversible River of Heaven and Earth Years!

The realm barrier of the entire Profound Yellow Outer Realm began to tremble violently before this terrifying Power of Time.

Countless fine cracks spread across the barrier.

It quivered.

It resisted and struggled, trying with all its might to maintain its integrity.

But the power of the Great Tide of Time was simply too vast, too majestic, too unstoppable.

CRACK!

A crisp sound, like shattering glass, exploded in the silent void.

Large chunks of the realm barrier peeled off from the main body and plummeted into the ocean of light, instantly swallowed, crushed, and reduced to nothingness.

The barrier was broken.

It had not completely collapsed, but the Great Tide of Time had torn a rift in it.

A massive, bottomless rift that stretched for tens of thousands of miles.

And in the deepest part of this ocean of light, at the source of the River of Heaven and Earth Years, at the beginning and end of time and space!

Gazes lit up.

Not just one, but multiple.

They hovered silently in the depths of the ocean of light, at the source of the River of Heaven and Earth Years, in that Supreme dimension completely out of reach even for True Monarchs.

These were the gazes of the Dao Kings.

They made no movements and spoke no words; they merely “watched” in silence.

They watched the torn realm barrier, the ocean of light flooding into the Profound Yellow realm, and the Profound Yellow Treasure Tree faintly visible within that light, rooted in the boundless earth.

That fruit had already ripened.

“The Great Tide of Time… has finally arrived.”

A voice rang out from the golden light.

It was neither loud nor soft, neither rushed nor slow.

It held no excitement, no greed, only a faint sigh of emotion, like reuniting with an old friend.

“What a nostalgic place…”

Back in the Profound Yellow Origin Realm, within the Taixu Hall of the Wuji Holy Sect.

Qi Yun sat cross-legged within the Array Hub, colorful light flowing in his eyes.

“They are all here.”

The next moment, Qi Yun raised his hand and pressed down lightly on the Array Hub beneath him.

BUZZ!!!

A ray of colorful Chaos Color erupted from his palm like a torrential flood, instantly pouring into the entire Grand Array. Array Patterns lit up one after another, like awakening giant dragons. They snaked across the floor of the Taixu Hall, intertwined in the void, and unfurled across the sky above the entire Wuji Holy Sect.

Wherever the Array Patterns passed, the void solidified and the Laws submitted.

The Sword Intent of the Sword Pavilion transformed into a soaring azure light. The flames of Fengduo turned into a sky full of red gold. The cycle of the Yellow Springs Netherworld became a gloomy gray mist. The dragon might of the Dragon Race shifted into a churning sea of clouds…

Dozens of Daos and dozens of colors, under the command of the Primordial Dao, converged into a seven-colored pillar of light that spanned Heaven and Earth, piercing straight into the Celestial Vault!

Within the pillar of light, countless Dao Patterns lived, died, and circulated.

There was the Reincarnation of the sun and moon shedding clear radiance. There was a Star River hanging upside down, cascading silver gleams. There were blooming lotuses, each petal engraved with a complete Heaven and Earth Law. There was an ancient bell tolling constantly, every reverberation cleansing the filth and impurities from the void.

This was the manifestation of the Primordial Daluo Golden Heaven Grand Array. It was a Supreme Array forged by Qi Yun, using his own Dao as the foundation, the All Marvelous Heaven Dao Fruit as the source, and the Daos of dozens of True Monarchs as the pillars.

The pillar of light soared into the sky, penetrating the Grand Array of the Wuji Holy Sect, piercing the clouds above the Central Earth, breaking through the realm barrier of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm, and stabbing straight into the deepest depths of the Outer Realm void!

Above the Celestial Vault, the barrier that had been eroded by the Great Tide of Time until it was riddled with holes let out an overwhelmed groan under the impact of this pillar of light.

Countless fine cracks spread like a spider’s web. Light of Chaos Color seeped through the cracks. It was the aura of the Outer Realm void, the aura of the Dao Kings, the aura of the Great Tide of Time.

RUMBLE!!!

An extremely muffled and thunderous boom exploded above the Celestial Vault.

Something even more profound, ancient, and terrifying was closing in on the Profound Yellow Origin Realm!

The will of the Dao Kings.

“Guard your Heart and Spirit!” Qingyuan True Monarch shouted sternly. His Sword Intent pierced the sky, severing the invading will.

But many more were unable to resist.

Those Masters in the Foundation Establishment Realm, those disciples in the Qi Refining Realm, those mortals—under the impact of this will, they either lost their Heart and Spirit, fainted on the spot, or howled in madness.

At this moment, the entire Profound Yellow Origin Realm descended into unprecedented chaos.

Qi Yun ignored all of this.

His entire Heart and Spirit was wholly poured into the Primordial Daluo Golden Heaven Grand Array.

Because this was the true key to the war.

HUM…

Within the Array Hub, Qi Yun’s Primordial Dao was pushed to its absolute limit.

The colorful light in his eyes was like two burning suns. Colorful light of Chaos Color surged around his body, merging him seamlessly with the entire Grand Array.

He could feel the Powers of the Dao lent to him by the True Monarchs flowing, intertwining, and fusing within the Array, transforming into a terrifying mighty force capable of shaking the Celestial Vault and Heaven and Earth.

BOOM!!!

Above the Celestial Vault, through the largest rift, a golden Buddha’s Hand ruthlessly reached in.

The Buddha’s Hand was so massive it blotted out the sky and the sun. Its five fingers were like mountains.

Each finger was like a giant pillar supporting the sky. Golden Buddha Light flowed at the fingertips, and within the light, the faint phantoms of countless Buddhas could be seen sitting cross-legged and chanting scriptures. The sound of Brahma Chanting reverberated throughout the universe.

In the palm of the Buddha’s Hand, a giant “Swastika” Buddha Seal slowly rotated. With every revolution, countless golden Sanskrit characters poured out of the seal. Like living creatures, they spread and intertwined in the void, attempting to encompass the entire Profound Yellow Origin Realm into their sphere of salvation.

The moment the Buddha’s Hand reached in, the entire Celestial Vault froze.

The coercion flowing over the Buddha’s Hand was not merely physical suppression, but something far more fundamental—the Dao!

All the True Monarchs felt their Daos trembling slightly, like ministers meeting their monarch.

Yet, Qi Yun’s expression remained as calm as ever.

He raised his hand and lightly pointed at the golden Buddha’s Hand.

HUM…

From within the Array Hub, a Sword Qi of Chaos shot into the sky!

As soon as this sword strike appeared, Heaven and Earth changed color.

The Sword Qi collided fiercely with the Buddha’s Hand!

CLANG!!!

An incredibly sharp sound of clashing metal exploded, causing the entire Taixu Hall to tremble!

The Buddha’s Hand stalled slightly, and the rotation speed of the “Swastika” Buddha Seal in its palm plummeted.

Under the crushing weight of the Buddha’s Hand, the sword light also shattered inch by inch, turning into a sky full of chaotic light fragments drifting away.

“This Array… has quite some structure to it.”

Before the voice faded, the five fingers of the Buddha’s Hand bent slightly, and the “Swastika” Buddha Seal in its palm suddenly burst with brilliant light!

The light did not diffuse outward; rather, it collapsed inward, condensing into a single point of extreme radiance.

Qi Yun furrowed his brows slightly but did not panic. The Seal Technique in his hands changed once more.

Within the Grand Array, all the powers converged at exactly the same moment, forming a torrent that violently slammed into the Buddha’s Hand!

RUMBLE!!!

An indescribably terrifying boom detonated!

High in the Celestial Vault, countless fine cracks surfaced on the golden Buddha’s Hand!

Golden Buddha Light leaked from the cracks like flowing magma, exuding a horrifying aura capable of incinerating all creation!

The Buddha’s Hand slowly retracted.

It had not been repelled, but rather consciously withdrawn.

Its movements were neither hurried nor slow, completely unhurried, as if the world-destroying attack just now had been nothing more than a passing Clear Wind brushing against its face.

“The Great Tide of Time has only just begun. I am in no rush,” the World Honored One’s voice echoed from above the Celestial Vault, peaceful and detached.

“Your Array is quite interesting, little friend.

“When the tide reaches its peak, I shall return to experience it once more.”

As the voice faded, the Buddha’s Hand completely retreated into the rift.

The golden gaze lingered in the void for a moment, taking a deep look at Qi Yun before slowly fading away.

The other gazes also vanished one after another following the World Honored One’s retreat.

Above the Celestial Vault, the rift remained, but the suffocating oppressive feeling had lessened significantly.

“Phew…” Qingyuan True Monarch let out a long sigh of relief, his sword-gripping hand trembling slightly.

The other True Monarchs also reined in their auras, their faces pale. Though they had not directly participated in the battle just now, supplying the entire Grand Array had drained them immensely.

Qi Yun remained seated cross-legged, colorful light flowing in his eyes and his expression calm.

A few more tears had appeared on his robes, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

However, his eyes were even brighter than before.

“Fellow Daoist Primordial,” Qingyuan True Monarch slowly spoke, “Did the World Honored One… retreat?”

“He retreated,” Qi Yun said calmly. “But only temporarily.

“He will return before long.” Qi Yun raised his gaze to look at the rifts above the Celestial Vault that had yet to fully heal. “And it won’t just be him.”

Silence blanketed the hall.

The Great Tide of Time had only just begun. The true test still lay ahead.

“But at the very least, we have blocked the first wave.” Qi Yun’s voice was calm, yet it carried a reassuring strength. “You have all done very well, Fellow Daoists.

He paused, sweeping his gaze across every True Monarch in the hall.

“In the coming days, the Grand Array must remain constantly operational. I, Qi, will personally hold down the Array Hub and not leave for even a single step.

“You may all take turns resting, Fellow Daoists, but you cannot all leave at once. The Grand Array requires the support of your Daos.”

“We strictly obey Fellow Daoist Primordial’s edict!” the dozens of True Monarchs replied in unison.

Qi Yun gave a slight nod, saying no more.

He closed his eyes and sank his Heart and Spirit into the Grand Array.

The days ahead would be even more difficult.

The World Honored One would return, and the other Dao Kings would come as well.

When the Great Tide of Time reached its peak, the power they could project would be even stronger than it was now.

They might even… descend in person!

It would definitely be him.

Within the Taixu Hall, the Grand Array operated slowly.

The seven-colored pillar of light continued to soar into the sky, illuminating the entire Celestial Vault brightly.

In the Array Hub, Qi Yun sat cross-legged. The boundless colorful light around him flickered in and out of existence. Behind him, a Supreme and profoundly mysterious azure heaven of the Dao was constantly becoming more solid and clear…