The Barefoot Fear Not Those Who Wear Shoes
As that Golden Nature returned, Qi Yun's thoughts shifted, keeping his promise, and he withdrew that blazing Great Sun, no longer aiming at the Fruition Status of the Wrathful Wisdom King Bodhisattva.
All that remained were the faint echoes of the Dao cracks left behind after the clash between the two Dao- Fruition Status, and the lingering, chilling power of their impact.
As he retreated to the Spirit Mountain, among the bodhisattvas, all the emotions on the three faces of the Wrathful Wisdom King Bodhisattva seemed to have been drained away, leaving only a cold, ashen white.
The once blazing and magnificent blue flames of the Dharma Protector King surrounding him were now flickering and dim, like a dying ember.
Having lost a trace of his original Golden Nature, coupled with the fundamental upheaval caused by the violent fluctuations in Fruition Status cultivation level, his spiritual progress has been reduced by more than three hundred years!
In addition, he felt disheartened by the fact that his fellow disciples, who were once close to him, were now standing idly by.
Therefore, no matter how the Dragon Elephant Bodhisattva uttered the Buddha's name or how the Jeweled Tree Bodhisattva showed compassion in his eyes.
The Wrathful Wisdom King Bodhisattva simply shuts off his six senses, turning a deaf ear to all concern, like a clay statue that has lost its incense offerings and is left with only a mottled shell.
Qi Yun took in the bleak and dejected scene within the Bodhisattva Formation, a faint smile playing on his lips. Without lingering, he flicked his spotless white sleeves and turned to vanish in a flash of light.
"Wait a minute."
A hoarse, low voice, as if echoing from the deepest depths of the Nine Nethers, coiled around Qi Yun's back like an invisible, cold spider silk.
Qi Yun paused, turned halfway to the side, and looked at the person who had spoken.
This person was clad in a wide black robe, his face hidden behind the shifting gray mist.
It was none other than the Lord of the Yellow Springs Netherworld, the Nine Nethers Sun-Devouring True Lord.
Qi Yun raised an eyebrow, showing no fear whatsoever. Instead, a light smile spread across his face, and his voice was clear and melodious, like a spring striking jade. "Oh? Fellow Daoist, you've asked me to stay. Perhaps you also wish to exchange blows with this humble Daoist?"
The two words "exchange and learn" were uttered by him in a light and casual manner, yet they were like two invisible, cold blades that suddenly cleaved through the stagnant atmosphere in the void.
The gray mist swirling around the Nine Nethers Sun-Devouring True Lord paused, and his eyes, like vortexes of the Nine Nethers Netherworlds, suddenly contracted, the soul shadows floating within them seemingly emitting a silent shriek at the same time.
The frenzied scene of the blazing white Great Sun crashing into the heavens just All Wonders Heaven is still vivid in my mind.
Faced with such a madman who dared to risk his life Dao Fruit achieving the first stage of enlightenment, even a seasoned Old Devil as powerful as him couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Seeing that the fierce and imposing Yellow Springs True Lord's aura was churning and the gray mist was billowing, yet he ultimately did not take another step forward or utter another word, Qi Yun's smile grew even brighter, like starlight twinkling.
He leisurely swept his light across Spirit Mountain, and the majestic figures—some radiating Buddhist light, some exuding Daoist charm, and some emanating a chilling demonic aura—were all reflected in his clear eyes.
Immediately, a long laugh burst from his throat.
At first clear and melodious, then stirring and exhilarating, it finally transformed into a hearty, unrestrained laugh that pierced through the clouds and shattered rocks, echoing thunderously beneath the sky, which was exceptionally silent and broken after the initial cessation of an epic battle. "Ho ho ho---- Ha ha ha ha!"
Before the laughter had even subsided, he had already casually taken a step forward.
Against the backdrop of the lingering fragments of Buddhist light, the misty Daoist aura, and the drifting dust, his figure appeared exceptionally tall and solitary, exuding a carefree and detached air.
He raised his head and recited aloud, his voice resounding across the land, conveying a sense of liberation from constraints and a feeling of unbridled freedom. "In the furnace of release, the true form is tempered; the mysterious lock is broken to reveal the emptiness and clarity."
Beyond a thousand layers of fleeting life's trials and tribulations, I alone ride a blue phoenix into the profound darkness!
After reciting the poem, he didn't glance at the crowd again. With a casual flick of his sleeve, his clear laughter still echoing in the vast sky, he transformed into a faint, clear light and disappeared into the boundless blue depths of the south.
Only the joyful poetic sentiment and carefree echoes lingered in the air above this devastated Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, refusing to dissipate.
Gazing at the spot where the figure disappeared, the Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord, who had remained silent as eternal ice, slowly lowered his hands from behind his back and clicked his tongue lightly, "So this is... the barefoot aren't afraid of those wearing shoes?"
These words, though spoken lightly, resonated deeply within the hearts of every True Lord and Bodhisattva present, stirring profound and complex ripples of empathy.
To ascend to this realm and attain the venerable position of True Lord or Bodhisattva, who among them has not fought their way out of mountains of corpses Blood Sea, and overcome countless calamities, traversing countless death trials and perilous passes?
Because they deeply understand how difficult and hard-won this achievement is, they cherish all the more this immortal Dao Fruit and transcendent position.
You encounter someone like this, a tough nut to Fruition Status Collision, willing to risk their life for someone who has just established a foothold, and ready to clash at the slightest disagreement.
Unless someone is a complete madman, who would willingly invite trouble?
Above the ruins of Spirit Mountain, an indescribable atmosphere of stagnation permeated the air. Fear, caution, helplessness, regret, and even a hint of awe intertwined in the hearts of those who stood at the pinnacle of this world.
That's enough.
The voice of Qingyuan True Lord Wendao, clear and cold like an icy spring, broke the silence. He fluttered his green robe slightly, his gaze as deep as an ancient well, sweeping over the collapsed Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm below and the crowd with their various expressions.
"One side plans, a hundred years of strategy are laid, but in the end—"
His tone was calm and even, yet it carried a definitive and final tone.
"The play is over, and all the scheming has come to nothing."
Are you still lingering here, perhaps to mourn this scene of utter devastation and share in the devastation of defeat?
Upon hearing this, the other True Lord remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Today's events have taken many unexpected turns, and the outcome has far exceeded expectations; staying any longer would be pointless.
In an instant, figures symbolizing the highest authority in this world began to fade away, slowly departing from this place of trouble.
Just as his figure was about to completely disappear into the void, Qingyuan True Lord Wendao suddenly stopped, turned back to his eyes, which were as clear and cold as a thousand-year-old blade, and his gaze seemed to have substance as it fell heavily on the group of Buddhist monks and bodhisattvas.
"One year in length."
His tone was flat, yet it made the surrounding temperature drop sharply.
"All of you Buddhist monks, return overseas."
He paused slightly, a fleeting, invisible sword shadow seeming to cleave the void in his eyes. "Those who remain in the Central Land beyond their due date—"
"Kill."
"None."
"Amnesty."
The three words, each carrying immense weight, were like three invisible sword marks that severed heaven and earth, drawing upon the Sword Dao intent of this world and emitting a deep, chilling hum.
Having said that, without lingering for a moment, the imposing figures of Qingyuan True Lord Wendao, along with the other True Lord, completely vanished into nothingness.
Only that chilling, final ultimatum-like echo remained, lingering long after the collapse of the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, amidst the swirling dust and shattered Buddhist light.
Beneath the vast sky, on the enormous battlefield, only a shocking ruin remained, along with a group of Buddhist monks whose faces were solemn and iron-like, whose eyes were dark and intertwined, and who stood silently facing each other.
The howling mountain wind swept up the remaining incense ashes and gilded broken tiles, which dissipated in the setting sun.
Leaving the dilapidated chessboard at Spirit Mountain, where many eyes had been drawn, the world suddenly opened up before us.
Qi Yun did not rush to flee, but simply strolled through the void, his pure white robe sleeves fluttering in the wind.
He looked up, and the light seemed to pierce through layers of spatial curtains and the mists of time, falling upon a solitary spot deep within his memory.
"West Sea ----"
As he murmured to himself, he raised his hand and gently waved it towards the empty space in front of him.
The movements are freehand, like wiping away dust or parting the fog.
splash-
Suddenly, a towering sea cliff appeared in the void before him, the very place where he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in the West Sea.
He casually reached into the Unseen Sea of Karma, plucked out a wisp of cause and effect, Qi Yun.
Cause and effect are integrated into the scene before our eyes.
In an instant, the scene of the sea cliffs before my eyes transformed from a static "landscape" into a "vivid" one!
He could "hear" the ceaseless roar of the tide, "smell" the sea breeze carrying salty tang and the dust of time, and "feel" the roughness and coldness of the rocks beneath his feet. He took a step forward, his body lightly touching the vivid sea cliff scene, like a drop of water merging into the surface, creating ripples in the space.
So close, yet worlds apart.
The next moment, a damp and fierce sea breeze rushed in, and the deafening roar of the waves filled the air.
Beneath my feet are solid and familiar jagged black rocks; before me lies the vast and boundless deep blue West Sea, its waves surging; and above me stretches the boundless and distant azure sky, where clouds drift and swirl.
Arrival at the solitary cliff in the West Sea.
This place is hundreds of millions of miles away from Spirit Mountain, yet it's only a step away.
Stepping back into this desolate land that had witnessed his early cultivation and his Dao Path in spiritual progress, Qi Yun felt little emotion.
The True Lord's State of Mind has long transcended the ordinary lament of the transience of things.
He stood quietly for a moment, sensing the subtle resonance between the faint, lingering aura of his past and his current, revitalized body, imbued with the Great Sun True Intention.
Immediately, he bent down slightly, his gaze falling on a tiny speck of dust at his feet, ordinary and unremarkable, that had endured millions of years of wind and waves.
Those tiny dust particles, mixed in with the sand and gravel in the rock crevices, were no different from their billions of counterparts.
With a casual wave of his hand, Qi Yun sent the speck of dust detaching from the rock, floating lightly into the air and hovering a few inches above his palm, slowly rotating.
He stared at the speck of dust, and suddenly his eyes burst forth with an indescribable brilliance!
A divine light, blending blazing white and revered purple, suddenly shone upon that slowly rotating speck of dust!
"A speck of dust in a celestial cave, the Lunzhuan of two realms continues."
A deep, profound discourse, imbued with the principles of Tao, gently resounded.
That tiny speck of dust was surrounded by a hazy, dreamlike glow.
It then expanded rapidly!
It's not a simple enlargement of volume, but a fundamental leap, an expansion of dimensions!
The distinction between Clarity and Turbidity and impure arises from the interplay of Yin and Yang!
The concept of space extends endlessly in all directions, and the flow of time begins to subtly differ from the external world.
A speck of dust is evolving into a world!
In just a few breaths, the speck of dust had vanished.
In its place lies a vast, boundless world of light, its four corners unknown.
This is precisely the supreme Divine Ability that Qi Yun naturally mastered after achieving the status of True Lord with this body—the [Grotto-Heaven Mote Two-Worlds Dharma]!
It can contain Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed, and the entire universe within a speck of dust.
In the palm of your hand, you can hold a real, tangible world that operates at your will!
Qi Yun lowered his eyes, gazing at the bright world he had personally created from a speck of dust.
Originating from Buddhist Order and using the superficial appearance and titles of Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time Outer Dao, these have long since faded and changed under the erosion of time and the choices made by their own beliefs and convictions.
At this moment, I hold the celestial realm in my palm, my body embraces the purple aura, and I am the only one worthy of respect.
He raised his head, gazing at the Great Sun slowly sinking below the horizon at the edge of the West Sea, and calmly and clearly declared his name in this world, on this path of the True Lord that belonged only to him. "From this day forward, I shall be called..."
"[The Great Sun Purple Ultimate True Lord]"