Patriarch, You Think Too Highly of Yourself

Qi Yun a step forward, and the void beneath his feet exploded. Chaotic colorful energy, like boiling magma, surged out from his body, creating a gap in the countless silver threads.

He raised his longsword high, its tip pointing directly at the True Lord Contemplating the One.

The pupils of the True Lord Contemplating the One contracted slightly.

Raise your right hand, spread your fingers slightly, and gently press it in the direction of Qi Yun.

With this press, the countless silver threads suddenly tightened, like countless venomous snakes surging towards Qi Yun from all directions, trying to entangle, strangle, and kill him.

Qi Yun snorted coldly and swept his longsword horizontally.

Wherever the sword light passed, the silver threads snapped inch by inch, like spider webs scorched by flames, emitting a hissing wail.

The broken threads twisted and struggled in the void, eventually dissipating into specks of silver light.

The expression on the True Lord Contemplating the One finally changed.

"You've managed to wield the power of the Xuanhuang Origin to such an extent?"

"The patriarch's teachings are excellent," Qi Yun said calmly. "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

What you taught me, I have always remembered.

The corner of True Lord Contemplating the One's eye twitched slightly.

Of course he remembered those words. They were what he said to Qi Yun on Long Ages Immortal Island. At that time, he gave Qi Yun the [Westward Journey Displacement Map], leading him to find the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, leading him to the ancient city of Chang'an, and leading him to inherit the Sword Dao of the Great Tang. He thought he was fishing, thinking that Qi Yun was the fish that would take the bait sooner or later.

But to his utter surprise, the fish not only failed to take the bait, but instead swallowed all the bait he had thrown out, then grew scales and sharp teeth, eventually becoming a giant crocodile capable of devouring its master.

"Good, very good." The voice of True Lord Contemplating the One deepened. "I underestimated you."

"The Ancestor does not underestimate me." Qi Yun stood with his sword in hand, his robes fluttering, the blue sky behind him slowly rotating, illuminating the entire battlefield.

"The patriarch overestimated himself."

These words sent a jolt through the hearts of all the True Lord present.

This is a blatant provocation, a direct insult to a former Dao King and the patriarch of the Holy Sect.

Anyone else saying such a thing would be courting death. But Qi Yun said it, and he said it as if it were a matter of course, as if he were simply stating a fact.

The True Lord Contemplating the One was not angered.

At his level, anger is no longer necessary.

"You think that by possessing the Xuanhuang Origin, you can contend with me?" His voice was calm, yet carried a chilling certainty. "Qi Yun, you are too naive."

The Xuanhuang Origin is powerful, but it is not yours.

You are only borrowing, not owning.

How long can you use it?

A quarter of an hour? Half an hour? A day?

When you are exhausted, that will be your death.

"Then I, Qi, will kill the Patriarch within a quarter of an hour." Qi Yun's answer was concise and direct, without any unnecessary embellishment.

Before he finished speaking, he attacked again.

The illusory image of the Xuanhuang Treasure Tree on the sword shone brightly, its branches and leaves unfurling, its roots spreading out, as if it wanted to break free from the sword's constraints and take root again in the void.

"Cut!"

The word fell, the sword fell.

There was no sword light, no Sword Qi, and no dazzling brilliance.

There is only one line.

A line that is more refined, purer, and more unstoppable than before.

The line extended from the tip of the sword, slashing straight towards True Lord Contemplating the One.

The expression on the face of the True Lord Contemplating the One finally turned serious.

He used both hands simultaneously, his ten fingers flying, countless silver threads surging from his fingertips, weaving into an impenetrable silver barrier in front of him.

Above the barrier, countless Dao runes flowed, each rune radiating a terrifying Dao aura that suppressed all laws and spanned heaven and earth.

The line struck the silver barrier.

True Lord Contemplating the One retreated rapidly, simultaneously drawing countless silver threads in front of him as he did so.

But the line was too fast; it was so fast that the threads hadn't even had time to take shape before they were severed.

The line was about to sever the brow of True Lord Contemplating the One -

A slender, white hand, as white as jade, emerged from the side, its five fingers slightly spread, blocking the line in front of it.

True Lord Feng Xi.

The moment her palm touched that line, the entire sky trembled.

The line, powerful enough to sever the silver barrier and force back the True Lord Contemplating the One, stopped in her palm. It wasn't blocked, but rather "frozen."

Qi Yun's brows furrowed slightly.

"What a fine [Primordial Unity]!" True Lord Feng Xi spoke, his voice as clear and cold as an icy spring. "Unfortunately, you haven't truly mastered it yet."

She clenched her fingers together.

The line she had held in place shattered inch by inch in her palm, turning into countless tiny specks of light that vanished into the void.

Qi Yun's body trembled slightly, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped away the blood, looked at True Lord Feng Xi, and suddenly smiled.

"Your path, senior, is very interesting," he said calmly. "The Dao of Eternity? Or... the Dao of Nirvanic Extinction?"

True Lord Feng Xi's eyes flickered slightly.

"You guess."

She didn't give Qi Yun another chance to speak.

She raised her right hand and gently tapped it in Qi Yun's direction.

There was no wind, no light, and no unusual phenomena at this point.

But Qi Yun felt an unprecedented pressure coming from all directions, firmly imprisoning him in place.

True Lord Feng Xi is forcibly rewriting the rules of this world with her Dao.

Qi Yun froze.

The sword in his hand froze.

The blue sky behind him also stopped spinning.

"Qi boy!" In the distance, the expression of the Desolate Halberd Heaven-Rending True Lord changed drastically. He raised his halberd and was about to charge over.

"Don't move." Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord grabbed him, his voice low and deep, "Going there will only be suicide for you."

"What should we do then? Just watch?"

The Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord did not answer. He simply looked at Qi Yun, at the deep blue figure imprisoned in the void, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

"Qi Yun, admit defeat." True Lord Feng Xi's voice came, still cold, but with a hint of regret, "Your path is strong, but you have chosen the wrong one."

The Dao of Primordial Unity should not be about domination, but about transcendence.

By binding your own Dao with the Xuanhuang, you are tying your own hands and feet.

You can't beat me, and you can't beat Canyi.

"They're no match for those seven Dao King."

"Admit defeat?" Qi Yun's voice came from within the confinement, difficult yet still clear, "These two words do not exist in my dictionary."

True Lord Feng Xi shook his head.

"Stubborn and incorrigible."

She was about to intensify her efforts to completely suppress Qi Yun.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

The sword in Qi Yun's hand suddenly gleamed.

It wasn't the sword itself that shone; rather, it was the illusory image of the Xuanhuang Treasure Tree on the sword that lit up.

It was no longer just a phantom, but began to "come alive". Its branches and leaves stretched out, its roots spread out, protruding from the sword and piercing into the void, into the blue sky behind Qi Yun, and into the world rules that had been rewritten by True Lord Feng Xi.

"What?!" True Lord Feng Xi's expression changed slightly.

She sensed that the rules she had laid out were being torn apart, disintegrated, and devoured inch by inch by the roots of that precious tree.

That's not confrontation, it's a "return".

That precious tree was the very source of this world.

Wherever its roots pass, all external rules are forcibly reduced to the most primordial chaos.

Qi Yun's figure moved.

He slowly raised his hand, slowly raised his sword, and slowly pointed it at True Lord Feng Xi.

The movements were slow, but each step was firm and resolute, like a lone boat sailing against the current, carving its own path through the torrent.

"Your Dao, Senior, is indeed very powerful." His voice emerged from within the confinement, still strained, yet carrying an undeniable certainty. "But Senior has forgotten one thing."

"What's up?"

"This is Xuanhuang."

Qi Yun spoke each word slowly and deliberately.

"This is not your place of practice."

The moment he finished speaking, the sword in his hand slashed out.

This time, it wasn't a line, but a tree.

A complete, real Xuanhuang Treasure Tree, exuding the vicissitudes of eternity and boundless vitality, emerged from the tip of the sword, took root in the void, its branches and leaves unfurled, its roots spreading, tearing apart, disintegrating, and devouring the rules laid down by True Lord Feng Xi layer by layer.

True Lord Feng Xi's expression changed drastically, and he retreated rapidly.

But the roots of that precious tree were too fast; they were so fast that before she could retreat far enough, her ankles were entangled by the roots.

The roots tightened, pinning her firmly to the void.

"You"

As True Lord Feng Xi struggled, he discovered that his Law Power, his Daoist essence, and all his strength were being frantically devoured by those roots.

Return it to the Xuanhuang, return it to this world.

"No!"

She let out a shriek, and a blinding burst of flames erupted from her body, burning the root off, and she retreated again.

This time, she retreated far enough that the roots of that precious tree could no longer reach her.

But her face was as pale as paper.

In that instant, at least 30% of her cultivation was devoured by that precious tree.

"What a magnificent Xuanhuang Origin." True Lord Feng Xi's voice trembled slightly, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

"You actually... were able to do this?"

Qi Yun did not answer.

He stood there, sword in hand, his robes fluttering, and the blue sky behind him began to spin again.

His face was pale and his breathing was weak.

But his eyes were brighter than before.

"Patriarch Canyi," he turned to True Lord Contemplating the One and said calmly, "It's your turn."

The True Lord Contemplating the One remained silent for a moment.

He looked at the sword in Qi Yun's hand, at the illusory image of the Xuanhuang Treasure Tree that was still stretching its branches and leaves in the void, and at Qi Yun's bright, dazzling eyes.

The cold killing intent on his face gradually faded, replaced by a complex expression that was hard to describe.

"Qi Yun," he finally spoke, his voice low and deep, "Are you really going to take this far?"

"It wasn't that I wanted to come to this point," Qi Yun said calmly, "It was the Ancestor who forced me to this point."

The True Lord Contemplating the One remained silent for a long time.

So long that all the True Lord on the battlefield held their breath, so long that the six cracks in the sky began to tremble slightly, so long that the phantom of the Xuanhuang Treasure Tree began to slowly shrink.

"Okay." He finally spoke, uttering only one word.

Then, he turned around, took a step, and disappeared into the void.

True Lord Feng Xi looked in the direction where True Lord Contemplating the One had disappeared, then glanced at Qi Yun, and finally turned and left.

The two former Dao King withdrew from the battlefield, one after the other.

Above the sky, all was deathly silent.

Qi Yun stood with his sword in hand, watching their figures disappear before slowly lowering his sword.

His body swayed slightly, and he almost fell from the void.

"Qi boy!" Desolate Halberd Heaven-Rending True Lord rushed over and supported him. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Qi Yun shook his head, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm just a little tired."

"Take a rest if you're tired." Desolate Halberd Heaven-Rending True Lord patted his shoulder, his rugged face full of emotion.

Qi Yun did not answer.

He raised his head and looked up at the six cracks in the sky.

Within the crack, the six gazes remained suspended, cold and indifferent, like six sharp swords hanging overhead.

Then he looked down at the longsword in his hand.

It seems—it's time!