Chapter 602: True Monarch Pu Du

Chapter 602: Chapter 602: True Monarch Pu Du

It seemed Senior Brother Lu understood that he needed time to digest his gains and increase his strength.

He focused his thoughts back on the Round Crystal Bead that contained the power of the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit, and his gaze grew sharp. ℯ

With his closed-door Artifact Refining session over, the tasks of stabilizing his Realm and condensing his Immortal Golden Nature to achieve Foundation Establishment Perfection were now urgent.

However, the method of condensation required careful consideration.

Xu Yunfan thought for a moment and decided to rest for another month or so before leaving seclusion to find Lu Chuan. As a Great Daoist Master at Foundation Establishment Perfection, he was bound to have experience in this matter.

Although the Attribute Panel allowed him to advance step-by-step without bottlenecks, there were still some aspects he needed to control himself.

The Immortal Golden Nature, condensed upon reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection, not only contained one’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit, but also carried one’s own will.

This was what was known as Imagery.

The Wansheng Sword Sect called it Sword Intent.

The Puchen Pure Land called it a Great Vow.

At that very moment, in a distant corner of the cosmos, deep within the ravaged remains of a Celestial Realm—a realm long since shattered, its Origin frantically plundered.

A figure sat cross-legged upon a golden Dao platform, floating amidst the turbulent void. He was clad in a black imperial robe, his features ancient and dignified, and his body was wreathed in both the boundless Immortal Light of Universal Salvation and the solemn aura of Nirvana.

The vastness of his aura created a tyrannical stalemate with the collapsing Celestial Dao of this World Heaven. This was none other than a Golden Core True Monarch from the Primordial Sect.

True Monarch Pu Du.

At this moment, he was forming a Seal Technique. A projection of his Dao Realm blanketed a region of the void, devouring the last remnants of this world’s Spiritual Mechanism and Dao Rhyme.

Everything had been proceeding smoothly. He had already claimed the greater part of the essence from the Celestial Emperor’s Sun Dao Fruit. He and the True Monarch from the Wansheng Sword Sect had also secretly divided the Nirvana Dao Fruit of the Western Buddha Head, Tathagata, between themselves. The Puchen Pure Land had arrived late and could only gather the scraps, much to their chagrin.

True Monarch Pu Du was quite pleased to see the Puchen Pure Land suffer a setback.

However, as his Divine Thought swept over the core Origin of this shattered World Heaven once more, a nearly imperceptible flicker of shock and doubt passed through his deep eyes, which seemed to contain the storms of ages.

"Hm?"

The low utterance echoed like distant thunder amidst the ruins of the shattered Celestial Palace.

’The Celestial Emperor of this realm achieved the Sun Dao Fruit, an emblem of his rule over this world and a light meant to shine through the ages. This is the principle of Yin and Yang’s rotation. When the Celestial Dao of this World Heaven was complete, there must have been a corresponding Taiyin Dao Fruit to maintain the foundation of its Origin, even in this shattered state. It shouldn’t be on the verge of total collapse this quickly...’

The entire reason he had remained in this realm was to wait for the Celestial Dao’s power to weaken until it could no longer conceal the Hidden Dao Fruit, forcing it to appear.

Yet now, the entire Celestial Realm was on the verge of utter Destruction, and still the Taiyin Dao Fruit had not appeared.

This was strange indeed.

His powerful Divine Thought, like a vast and formless net, once again plunged into every corner of the Celestial Realm, scanning over and over as he tried to divine the threads of causality.

Yet the core of the Taiyin Great Dao, which should have been clearly present, along with the treasure that embodied the Dao Fruit, seemed to have evaporated completely. All that remained were a few exceedingly faint, yet deliberately muddled, traces.

The deeper he delved into his divinations, the more it felt like plunging into a dense fog. The Celestial Secret was in chaos, making it impossible to distinguish fact from fiction.

It wasn’t that there were no clues, but the clues that did exist seemed to have been carefully curated, then deliberately overlaid with another layer of similar fluctuations, creating immense interference.

After all, the Celestial Dao of this realm would hardly allow an Outer Realm Evil Demon to divine its Celestial Secrets.

This was the Celestial Dao’s last shred of dignity; even in death, it refused to be stripped completely bare.

True Monarch Pu Du’s brow furrowed slightly, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes.

’This realm’s Celestial Dao is putting up a final struggle, desperately trying to hide this Dao Fruit... or perhaps...’

His gaze suddenly became as sharp as a physical blade, piercing through endless space and time to stare at the plundered remnant of the World Heaven’s will. The corner of his mouth curved into a cold, derisive sneer.

’Hmph. A petty trick. Do you think this paltry concealment can stop me from finding it?’

He was already eighty to ninety percent certain of what had happened.

The Celestial Realm’s Taiyin Dao Fruit had not simply vanished or been annihilated by the Celestial Dao. Though the birth of a Dao Fruit followed the principles of heaven and earth, being a derivative of the Celestial Dao, it also possessed a degree of independence.

It couldn’t be destroyed so easily.

Someone must have seized the opportunity to take it and spirit it away from this realm.

To pull off something like this—succeeding at the critical moment when the Celestial Realm was collapsing and enveloped by the Dao Realms of True Monarchs, then using the natural fluctuations of the World Heaven’s disintegration to cover their tracks...

...would have required the full cooperation of the World Heaven’s will itself.

Otherwise, it would be utterly impossible for some mere Foundation Establishment Daoist Master, one who had yet to be found.

True Monarch Pu Du surmised that either a remnant of this Celestial Realm had escaped through a spatial fissure to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, or some unbelievably audacious and lucky Foundation Establishment True Cultivator had gotten their hands on it.

As for suspecting Xu Yunfan—who had been at the edge of the battlefield, concealed by his Cause and Effect Secret Technique and the Star Spirit Banner, but whose Cultivation was only at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment...

True Monarch Pu Du had, of course, mentally reviewed all the Foundation Establishment auras on the battlefield at the time, which naturally included the few from his own Primordial Sect.

Xu Yunfan had only exhibited the Magical Power fluctuations of a cultivator at the Mid to Late-Stage of Foundation Establishment. What means could he possibly have to snatch a Dao Fruit from right under the noses of three True Monarchs?

It defied all logic. The possibility was infinitesimal.

The greater possibilities were some lingering contingency of the Celestial Realm, a hidden expert, or, truly, the final struggle and Concealment of this world’s dying Celestial Dao.

Although he was confident in his assessment, some things still had to be done.

’Once business here is concluded, I will simply have to conduct a thorough investigation of every Foundation Establishment Cultivator who entered and exited this realm.’

Convinced that the Taiyin Dao Fruit was no longer in this realm, True Monarch Pu Du withdrew his gaze, his expression impassive, as if piercing through all illusions.

In his eyes, a so-called Foundation Establishment cultivator was just a sliver more resilient than a Qi Cultivation Talent, and nothing more.

Finding one and stripping them of a Dao Fruit would be as easy as flipping his hand.

His finger twitched, and an invisible Buddha Seal vanished into the void, laying a silent trap.

After emerging from seclusion, Xu Yunfan briefly handled affairs on Divine Sky Peak and had a short get-together with Bi Yuan and a few others. Then, without delay, he went to find Lu Chuan, arriving at Purple Heaven Peak and gaining an audience with him in a Quiet Chamber at the summit.

"Senior Brother Lu, I’ve kept you waiting."

Xu Yunfan said, giving a formal bow to the blue-robed Daoist who was sipping tea at a low table.

"I entered seclusion to stabilize the fortuitous gains from the Celestial Realm, but I never imagined it would take three full years. It was impolite of me not to come and receive your guidance sooner. I hope you can forgive my transgression, Senior Brother."

Lu Chuan set down his teacup, his usual warm and approachable smile gracing his features. He waved a hand, his voice calm and steady.

"Junior Brother Xu, you are too formal. On the path of Cultivation, entering seclusion for comprehension is a perfectly normal affair."

"You achieved pioneering merit in the Celestial Realm, and the opportunities you obtained were no small matter. It is only natural that you would need time to digest and stabilize them. Fortifying your foundation is the proper path to take."

"The True Monarch’s Decree also instructed you to seek me out only after your cultivation reached a state of completion. Where is the need to speak of waiting or forgiveness? The fact that you could remain in seclusion for three years shows that your Dao Heart is steady and that you prioritize your foundation. As your senior brother, I have nothing but cause for satisfaction."

He paused briefly. His grand, righteous smile remained unchanged, but his eyes flashed for an instant, and his tone, while still gentle, carried an added weight.

"Besides, the True Monarch has already made his wishes on this matter clear. He is pleased that you had such an opportunity and that you have been diligently absorbing it. Your timing could not be better."