Take it back?
Reclaim the power of a Dao King?
This is not merely a provocation, but a fundamental denial of the very foundation upon which the World-Honored One has existed for all eternity!
"Absurd!"
Before the World-Honored One could speak, the Dao King, representing "the final Ruins of Return " from the dark crack in the sky, let out a deep, stern shout.
The voice was like a chilling wind blowing from an ancient, Cold Abyss, carrying a soul-freezing rage and a hint of unbelievable trepidation.
Those scarlet eyes were fixed on Qi Yun, the darkness surging as if it wanted to swallow him up along with the void.
" The Dao Fruit has been achieved, thus creating its own heaven and earth!"
The power of the Dao returning to oneself is clear proof of transcending the Xuanhuang!
On what grounds do you have to take it back?
With this stolen and still unstable " Xuanhuang Master " position?
"With my power, I am the very Xuanhuang."
Qi Yun didn't even look at the Dark Dao King; his gaze remained calmly fixed on the World-Honored One, and he simply replied with five words.
The moment he finished speaking, his right hand, which was facing the World-Honored One with its five fingers slightly bent in a "drawing" gesture, gently clenched.
There was only a soft "pop" sound, as if something was being "stripped" from the deepest part of the universe, originating from the very source of the Tao.
"Well--!"
The phantom of the World-Honored One, seated cross-legged on a golden lotus with a golden crack and twelve petals, showed a violent fluctuation for the first time in his eternally unchanging, compassionate golden face!
A blindingly dark gold, completely out of place with the peaceful golden light surrounding him, quickly spread across his face like a tide, even reaching his golden body formed from pure Buddhist power!
The twelve-petaled golden lotus beneath him trembled violently, emitting a "crackling" sound as it struggled to bear the weight. Fine cracks began to spread from the edge of the lotus platform toward the center!
The peaceful Buddhist light emanating from the lotus platform, powerful enough to transform and transform a vast world, flickered and quickly dimmed.
An even more terrifying change occurred deep within that enormous golden rift that stretched across the sky.
Deep within that rift, one can vaguely see the phantom of a vast and boundless Buddhist Pure Land, in which countless phantoms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Infinite Light light and immeasurable life, chant in meditation, there is the Eight Treasures Merit Pool and the Seven Treasures Bodhi Forest, and the faith and vows of countless devout believers transformed into golden specks of light, swirling like a galaxy.
At the heart of this Buddhist Pure Land, high in the void, hangs a perfectly round Dao Fruit of Great Cessation Nirvana Buddha Fruit —which is entirely golden, as large as a mountain, with countless swastikas flowing across its surface and seemingly endless scriptures and characters arising and ceasing within!
This is the very foundation of the World-Honored One Dao Foundation, the core of his transcendence from True Lord, his Pure Land of a Pure Land of Buddha, and his ascension to the position of Dao King. At this moment, this eternally brilliant and indestructible Great Cessation Nirvana Buddha Fruit trembled violently under Qi Yun's gentle grasp!
"Buzz buzz--!"
The Buddha fruit hummed, and the light of the billions of swastikas on its surface dimmed and extinguished at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Fine, crack-like marks appeared at the top of the Buddha fruit and spread downwards!
Inside the Buddha's fruit, the endless scriptures began to disintegrate and collapse, turning into specks of gold-like light that drifted out from the cracks!
These scattered golden fragments did not dissipate into the void, but were summoned by some irresistible force, transforming into fine golden streams that pierced through the barrier of the golden crack, flowing like rivers into the sea, and converging towards Qi Yun's clenched right palm!
No, it's not just this core Dao Fruit!
The illusory image of that Buddhist Pure Land also shook violently. The Infinite Light within it dimmed, the Eight Treasures Merit Pool dried up, the Seven Treasures Bodhi Forest withered, and the illusory images of countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas emitted silent lamentations, becoming blurred and transparent!
The vast and powerful primordial power of the Buddhist kingdom, along with the fundamental Principle and Spiritual Qi energy contained within it that originated from the Xuanhuang Home Realm, was also forcibly extracted and stripped away strand by strand, transforming into an even stronger golden torrent that surged towards Qi Yun!
Even the golden body of the World-Honored One, formed from pure Buddha power and Fruition Status, was rapidly losing its radiance, and the gold color was becoming dull.
The body, which was originally as solid as immortal divine metal, now faintly exuded a sense of illusion!
"You--!!!"
The World-Honored One could no longer remain silent and calm.
His eyes, which had been lowered for eternity and seemed indifferent to everything, suddenly opened!
He attempted to solidify his own Dao Fruit and sever the invisible force of extraction.
The immense power of Buddha surged forth from his golden body, repairing the cracks in the Buddha's fruit and stabilizing the Pure Land of Buddha.
The golden crack that stretched across the sky erupted with intense Buddhist light, like a real golden sun burning in the mid-sky, illuminating the entire Xuanhuang in gold. The terrifying Buddhist power attempted to shake off and burn away Qi Yun's invisible "hand"!
However, it was useless!
Qi Yun simply stood there quietly, his right hand loosely clenched.
There were no powerful spiritual energy fluctuations or dazzling Daoist radiance around him. Instead, he was completely integrated with the earth beneath his feet, the sky above his head, and every inch of space, every wisp of Spiritual Qi, and every Daoist Principle in this world.
He is Xuanhuang, Xuanhuang is him.
What he grasped was neither the World-Honored One's Dao Fruit nor the World-Honored One Land.
Rather, it is the "nutrients" and "source" that the World-Honored One has drawn, transformed, and claimed as his own from the "mother tree" of Xuanhuang throughout countless ages!
This is absolute dominance in terms of status!
It's a complete and utter deprivation at the root!
No matter how powerful the Buddha's World-Honored One and how unparalleled his spiritual attainments are, as long as the source of his power remains connected to the Xuanhuang, and as long as his Dao Fruit has not truly and completely transcended to become a completely independent "New Xuanhuang," he will remain unaffected.
So, at this very moment, before Qi Yun, who has merged with the Xuanhuang Origin, wielded the All Wonders Heaven Qi Yun, united with Xuanhuang, and ascended to the position of [ Xuanhuang Master ], no matter how robust he is or how vast his domain, he is nothing.
With a single thought, the mother tree can sever its roots and relinquish its sustenance!
"Open!"
The World-Honored One let out his first outburst of rage since the start of the war, and the dark gold color on his golden face had spread to more than half of it.
He could clearly feel that the Buddhist power he had accumulated through countless years of arduous cultivation, his understanding of the Principle of the Great Dao, and even the origin of his Dao Fruit were all irreversibly being lost!
That was the collapse of the Dao Path, the dissolution of existence!
"Stop him! Attack together! This boy has just taken control of Xuanhuang; his position is not yet secure. We must not let him complete the stripping!"
From within the pitch-black rift, the final roar of the Terminus Dao King resounded once more.
He could see that although Qi Yun's position as the [ Xuanhuang Master ] was terrifying, it seemed to have just been achieved, and his integration with the Xuanhuang Home Realm was not necessarily perfect. His use of the "reclaim" power was also somewhat unfamiliar. This was the only chance!
"He wants to defeat us one by one! We must not let him succeed!" In the dark red Blood Sea, the blood-red demon god that had been scattered and then reassembled roared, its three heads turning towards Qi Yun, and its six eyes shooting out filthy blood light.
However, it did not rashly attack Qi Yun again, as the invisible pressure domain of the " Xuanhuang Master " still existed, making it wary.
And at that very moment!
"Boom--!!!"
An indescribable roar came from the endless, distant, yet seemingly close-up, void!
That's not the sound of space, it's the sound of time!
The sky above the entire Xuanhuang Home Realm, which was already shattered by the arrival of the Dao King and the great battle, suddenly became "blurred".
It was as if there was a flowing, transparent "water curtain" that carried endless light and shadow.
Within the water curtain, one can vaguely see the birth and annihilation of stars, the creation and Ruins of Return of celestial realms, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the growth and decay of all things.
Immediately afterwards, a point of "light" shone from the depths of the blurry "water curtain".
The "source of light" rapidly expanded and spread, transforming into a long river whose vastness, grandeur, and magnificence defy description!
It is composed of endless, ever-changing fragments of time, historical scenes, tributaries of fate, and threads of cause and effect!
The river water presents a chaotic color, sometimes crystal clear, reflecting the scene of an ancient world that has long been lost; sometimes turbid, churning with unknown mists and uncertainties of the future; sometimes rising with brilliant waves, a snapshot of a glorious civilization; and sometimes swirling with deep eddies, foreshadowing the fall of a powerful being.
The long river is silent, yet it contains all the sounds since the beginning of time.
It is formless and intangible, yet it seems heavier than any divine metal or immortal iron. The mere appearance of its phantom caused the flow of time in the entire Xuanhuang Home Realm to become disordered and distorted!
In some areas, vegetation grows wildly only to wither instantly; in others, cultivators age suddenly only to rejuvenate. The space itself groans under the relentless erosion of time!
The Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time!
"Time----River----" In the distance, the Desolate Halberd Heaven-Rending True Lord looked up at the chaotic river that stretched across the heavens and earth. Even with his unruly nature, he felt a tremor from the depths of his soul at this moment.
Before that long river, the power of an individual, even as strong as True Lord, seems so insignificant.
That is the ultimate power that can wash away and bury everything.
"They've gone mad—by stirring up this river, even if they can suppress Qi Yun, they themselves will suffer the backlash of time, Dao Fruit will be flawed—" Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord murmured, his eyes pulsating with Daoist energy, as if he were deducing something.
"No, they're not crazy. This is the only, and last, chance." Qingyuan True Lord Wendao gripped the ancient sword in his hand tightly, his knuckles turning white.
He could feel that his Sword Dao, which he had painstakingly cultivated for countless ages, was exposed as fragile and could be washed away and forgotten at any moment in the face of the illusory image of the Long River of Time.
His gaze was fixed on the figure in the black robe.
Now, all hope rests on Qi Yun alone.
"These lunatics—" The Nine Revolutions Undying True Lord grinned, but found it difficult to even move the corners of his mouth.
The oppressive force of the Long River of Time caused his proud, indestructible golden body to creak and groan, as if it had undergone countless ages of corrosion.
"Not enough!"
Just as the seven Dao King disregarded everything and drew upon the Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time, the terrifying power of time began to flow towards Qi Yun, towards the pillar of chaotic light, and towards the entire Xuanhuang Home Realm.
A clear, cold, and resolute female voice suddenly rang out!
It is True Lord Feng Xi!
She had somehow broken free from the heavy shackles of the " Xuanhuang Master," and although the flames around her were still dim and her face was pale, her eyes still shone with a starlike light.
That was a desperate, mad gamble!
" Canyi to your rightful place now! What are you waiting for?! If not now, when?!"
"Are we supposed to wait until he completely consolidates his position and wipes out all our plans and waiting?!" True Lord Feng Xi shouted at True Lord Contemplating the One, his voice piercing.
The True Lord Contemplating the One, who had been silent and whose expression was constantly changing, trembled violently upon hearing this.
He glanced at the World-Honored One, whose power was being forcibly drained and whose golden body was growing increasingly faint, then looked at the figure in the black robe, locking onto the golden primordial power belonging to the World-Honored One that was constantly gathering in the other's hand.
The last trace of hesitation in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by a resolute determination to give up everything.
" Qi Yun —my good grand-disciple—you have truly given your grandmaster a tremendous surprise!" True Lord Contemplating the One sighed to the heavens!
Before the words were even finished, True Lord Contemplating the One and True Lord Feng Xi simultaneously made a move that caught the attention of all the True Lord, and even those Dao King who were guiding the Long River of Time!
The two of them held nothing back, simultaneously unleashing their full potential!
"Splash--!"
As if sensing the special connection and call between these two streams, the Long River of Time, which carries the weight of countless ages, suddenly surged with two enormous waves!
Amidst the waves, two illusory "tributaries," seemingly detached from the main stream yet exuding a unique Daoist charm, could be vaguely seen. Drawn by the blood-red rainbow, they trembled violently!
A tributary, displaying a pure and mysterious silver hue, seems to have countless crystalline threads weaving and weaving within, forming an extremely complex tapestry of destiny, unfolding infinite possibilities.
The other tributary displays a dazzling hue of crimson and gold, as if formed by the convergence of eternally burning flames and the everlasting starlight, fiery and brilliant, exuding a contradictory aura of burning everything yet giving birth to new life.
These two "tributaries" are precisely the Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time that Canyi and Feng Xi once possessed when they severed their Dao Fruit and fell in realm. In order to leave a way out and to avoid being completely discovered and rejected by Xuanhuang, they used Secret Method to forcibly separate themselves from their own Dao King status and entrust it to the long river of time and drift away with time to hide it!
"Return!!!"
Canyi and Feng Xi shouted again, but their eyes flashed with a terrifying light!
"Boom! Boom!"
Those two silent, hidden "tributaries" that had been dormant for countless ages finally broke free from the constraints of the Long River of Time under the madness of the main body, transforming into two dazzling pillars of light that were too bright to look at directly, one silver and one crimson gold, which crashed down from the chaotic river and poured into the heads of True Lord Contemplating the One and True Lord Feng Xi respectively!
boom!!!
An indescribable, terrifying aura erupted from the two of them, like a volcano dormant for millennia, shooting skyward!
True Lord Contemplating the One Canyi, the silver threads of the Great Dao that were originally just wisps of hair suddenly surged and condensed wildly, instantly transforming into a long, silver river of destiny that stretched across the void, with no beginning and no end in sight!
The long river reflects countless living beings, countless worlds, and countless possible destinies; every drop of water is a microcosm of a human life.
His aura surged, instantly breaking through the shackles of the True Lord level, returning to a state of profound mystery, surpassing even the True Lord.
Yet, his realm is slightly different from that of the World-Honored One and other Dao King!
His once gray hair turned silver-white in an instant, fluttering even without wind. In his eyes, there were endless shadows of fate, rising and falling, cold and ruthless.
True Lord Feng Xi was completely engulfed by the crimson-gold Nirvana Flame!
Amidst the flames, a clear and majestic phoenix cry rang out. Her figure blurred and elongated in the firelight, eventually transforming into an ancient divine phoenix with wingspans that blotted out the sky, its entire body burning with crimson-gold flames, and its tail feathers flowing with starlight!
The Divine Phoenix's eyes opened and closed, like two burning Great Sun; wherever its gaze fell, the void was scorched, distorted, and collapsed.
She has also recovered to her former Dao King level, her aura intense and domineering, carrying the destruction of burning everything and the vitality of rebirth!
The two former Dao King have returned to their thrones at this moment!
" Canyi! Feng Xi!" From within the dark crack, the voice of the Terminus Dao King carried a hint of surprise and understanding, "You indeed left a contingency plan! Entrusting the Dao Fruit to the Long River of Time, hiding it downstream, what a scheme! What audacity!"
"Enough with the nonsense!" The voice of True Lord Contemplating the One Canyi, who had transformed into a silver river of destiny, was icy cold and devoid of any emotion, a stark contrast to his previous profound tone.
"Only nine Dao King can truly unleash a portion of the power of the Long River of Time to cleanse the present world!"
Nine!
Nine beings who stand at the pinnacle of this realm and wield the supreme Dao!
The illusory image of the Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time that stretched across the Xuanhuang sky finally underwent a qualitative change!
"Whoosh!!!!!"
No longer a blurry water curtain, no longer a vague phantom!
A vast, chaotic river, truly formed by the waters of time, stretching for billions of miles and extending to an unknown past and future, descended with a thunderous roar, like a primordial beast awakening from an eternal slumber!
Its enormous size almost obscured the entire Xuanhuang!
In the long river, waves surge and churn, each wave a microcosm of an era; the river flows on, its sound like the weeping of millions of Gods and Devils, like the first sounds of creation, like the lament of the end of all things!
The terrifying power of time, like a tangible tide, swept down upon the Xuanhuang Home Realm below, towards the pillar of chaotic light, and towards the figure in black robes beneath it, an overwhelming and unstoppable force!
This is the true power of heaven and earth! The crushing force of countless ages!
This is something no single individual can withstand!
" Qi Yun! No matter how you seize Xuanhuang and temporarily gain the throne, before such great power of heaven and earth, you are but a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"
Today, let the Long River of Time wash away your presumptuous behavior and restore peace to the Xuanhuang!
Canyi's icy voice resounded as he, Dao King Feng Xi, and the other seven Dao King merged their nine supreme powers into one, jointly wielding the Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time that had been brought to them, concentrating most of its scouring power toward Qi Yun!
Faced with this torrent of time, powerful enough to annihilate the entire world and wash away countless Dao Fruit, Qi Yun finally withdrew his right hand, which was clenched and drawing power from the World-Honored One.
As the pressure on the World-Honored One eased, the terrifying feeling of being stripped away temporarily disappeared. However, the dimness of his golden body and the cracks in his Buddha fruit did not recover. Instead, due to the forced interruption, he suffered a significant backlash, letting out a muffled groan as his aura weakened considerably.
Qi Yun slowly turned around, finally looking directly at the chaotic river that stretched across the heavens and earth and rushed down.
He remained calm.
The dark robe fluttered in the winds of time, and strands of hair flew in the air.
He raised his head, gazing at the chaotic river of water sweeping in, formed from countless fragments of time. In his eyes, the annihilation of stars, the cycle of heaven and earth, the rise and fall of civilizations were reflected—
Then, in the instant before that destructive torrent of time was about to engulf him.
He raised his hand again.
This time, it was neither a downward pressure nor a mere grasp.
Instead, he pointed his fingers like a sword at the ground beneath his feet, at the desolate and Xuanhuang earth that had endured countless battles yet still stubbornly persisted.
Facing this mother land that gave him birth, nurtured him, gave birth to countless lives, and carried on the ancient traditions.
A light swipe.
From his mouth uttered four words, not loud, yet instantly overwhelming the roar of the Long River of Time, clearly resounding in the hearts of every living being, echoing in every inch of land and every patch of sky of the Xuanhuang Home Realm: " Xuanhuang."
"At your command."