Chapter 694: Hibernation

Chapter 694: Chapter 694: Hibernation

True Monarch Dong Ming said, "So, if you want It to be truly satisfied, you must reach the Nascent Soul Realm and become a Daoist Lord—a true pillar supporting heaven and earth. At that point, no matter how many Dao Fruits you devour, It might even be happy to see it, as long as you don’t harm the foundation of this realm. It would see you as a Cleaner Fish.

"Alternatively, you could find an endless supply of substitutes that don’t involve this realm’s Golden Core Dao Fruits to satisfy the Celestial Dao’s thirst for the growth of the world’s Origin."

She gave Xu Yunfan a meaningful look, obviously thinking of what had happened in the Aitira Realm, but that was by no means a normal occurrence.

Xu Yunfan fell silent for a moment, digesting these secrets that touched upon the world’s fundamental Rules.

He asked, "You said attribute compatibility is key for the Great and Small Circulation. How does one determine things like Yin and Yang Complementing Each Other, or the Five Elements of Mutual Generation and Inhibition? What are the consequences of forcibly devouring a Dao Fruit with clashing attributes?"

"Consequences? At best, your Dao Foundation will be damaged, your Golden Core will be tarnished, and your Realm will stagnate forever.

"At worst, the Dao Fruits will conflict. Your core will shatter and you will die, your Grotto Heaven will collapse and transform into a Golden Core Secret Realm. With your body dead and your Dao annihilated, even your True Spirit won’t be able to reincarnate and cultivate again."

True Monarch Dong Ming’s tone was nonchalant, yet every word was chilling.

"The way of compatibility is profound and mysterious.

Your own insights, the nature of your Cultivation Technique, and the aura of the Dao Fruit’s Origin must all be taken into account.

Take your Divine Sky Yuqing Nine Heavens Profound Vault Myriad Transformations Undying Dao Fruit, for example. It is of the Supreme Yang and Firm, containing the thunderous intent of both destruction and creation.

The Light-Departing Flame Burning Red Sun Dao Fruit is a Pure Yang Fire, overbearing and scorching. It has a synergistic relationship with your Thunderbolt, making the path of the ’Thunder and Fire Heroes’ viable.

If you were to devour an Extreme Yin Cold Ice Dao Fruit right now, the clash of Yin and Yang would mean almost certain death, unless you possess some special harmonizing technique or an unparalleled foundation.

As for the flow of the Five Elements, that requires an even more exquisite balance."

She paused. Seeing Xu Yunfan’s thoughtful expression, she suddenly let out a soft laugh. The smile was captivating, yet it held a trace of cold, playful amusement.

"Junior Brother Xu, I wonder what such knowledge is worth. Have I, perhaps, been a little too kind today?"

A chill ran through Xu Yunfan’s heart, but his face remained impassive. He cupped his hands in a salute. "I will not forget the grace of Senior Sister Dongming’s guidance. I am, however, rather surprised. Why was Senior Sister willing to share these crucial details with me?"

"Why?"

True Monarch Dong Ming chuckled, covering her mouth as her Profound Evil Qi rippled around her.

"Dao Fruits aren’t so easy to obtain. Junior Brother Xu, you went from being a mere mortal to attaining the rank of Divine Sky True Monarch in just a few hundred years, all within a single lifetime. Such speed is unprecedented in history, so dazzling it’s almost blinding."

Her tone suddenly shifted, now laced with undisguised greed and anticipation.

"The tree that stands tallest is the first to be broken by the wind.

You’ve promoted too quickly. No matter how deep your foundation or how many tricks you have up your sleeve, how many overt attacks and hidden schemes can you possibly fend off?

I truly look forward to seeing how you develop. I want to see when this seemingly indestructible juggernaut of yours finally hits a real iceberg, or when it’s utterly torn to shreds by a greater storm."

Her words were blatant and cruel. She was waiting to see Xu Yunfan’s meteoric rise end in a fall from grace. She was waiting for him to reveal a weakness, to encounter an insurmountable foe or bottleneck. Then, she could bide her time and strike when he was exhausted, kicking him while he was down and seizing all of his opportunities and Dao Fruits.

The friendship between True Monarchs is as thin as paper. Only interests are eternal.

Xu Yunfan’s rapid rise was, in itself, both a great threat and a tempting treasure.

’To have risen so quickly, he must have some incredible treasures.’

A cold glint flashed deep in Xu Yunfan’s eyes and was gone in an instant, his gaze becoming as calm as a deep pool.

He didn’t get angry. Instead, he nodded. "Senior Sister, you don’t mince words. I appreciate the candor. On the path of Cultivation, the law of the jungle—the strong preying on the weak—is the natural order of things.

"I have learned much from your words today. If a day truly comes when I find myself at the end of my rope, then by all means, Senior Sister, make your move. We will each rely on our own abilities."

This calm demeanor in the face of such a blatant threat, however, caused a flicker of genuine surprise in True Monarch Dong Ming’s eyes.

"What audacity! In that case, I shall eagerly wait and see."

After a pause, True Monarch Dong Ming added, "Do you want to engage in Dual Cultivation with me?"

Xu Yunfan gave a dry cough. "Not right now. The other day, my Dual Cultivation was witnessed by some powerful being from who-knows-what dimension. I’m going to lay low for a while."

True Monarch Dong Ming gave him a deep, searching look before her figure transformed into a streak of Profound Evil Qi, melting into the void and vanishing without a trace.

Silence returned to the mountain peak, with only the biting Gang Wind left to howl.

True Monarch Dong Ming’s words echoed like a chilling alarm in Xu Yunfan’s Divine Soul.

He clearly recognized that his rocket-like rise had become a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, attracting far too many malicious gazes.

The dissatisfaction of the Celestial Dao, the covetous glares of his peers, the perils of the path ahead.

’Time waits for no one...’

Xu Yunfan whispered to himself, and with a flash, his figure vanished into the core Thunder Pool of the Earth Vein Fire Eye, deep within Divine Sky Mountain, an area shrouded by layers of restrictive formations.

But sometimes, pausing to consolidate one’s Cultivation and Daoist Cultivation was indispensable.

The moment he entered the Earth Vein Fire Eye’s Thunder Pool, a scorching, violent aura washed over him.

Below him was a roiling, boiling ocean of golden-red lava. The searing heat waves distorted the very air, powerful enough to vaporize divine steel in an instant.

Yet, the power of this subterranean furnace—a power capable of incinerating mountains and boiling seas—seemed like a mere campfire compared to the blazing sun when set against the scene currently unfolding within Xu Yunfan’s Dantian.

His Dantian Qi Sea had transformed into a Purgatory ruled by thunder and flame.

At its core, the crimson ball of light he had obtained from Red Sun True Monarch—the very Origin of the Light-Leaving Flame Burning Red Sun Dao Fruit—was thrashing about like an imprisoned, molten sun.

Though it was bound and shackled by layers of violet-gold Divine Sky Thunderbolt chains, its every tremor still caused the void around Xu Yunfan to distort violently. It leaked waves of Pure Yang heat hot enough to incinerate all creation, searing faint, black scorch marks into the very fabric of space.

This was precisely why Xu Yunfan wasn’t afraid of the Dao Fruit escaping at the slightest misstep.

Xu Yunfan sat cross-legged in the void, thirty feet above the roiling lava, his aura as deep and placid as the abyss.

Behind him, the spectral image of his Divine Sky Dharma Aspect—three-headed, six-armed, and boundlessly majestic—silently materialized. It stood tall enough to touch the heavens, suppressing the entire area.

The face on the central head, his own, was solemn, its eyes shut tight.

His ocean-vast Divine Thought transformed into countless invisible threads, locking down the restless core of the Red Sun Dao Fruit’s Origin.

At the same time, the supreme technique from the *True Scripture of Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying* flowed through his consciousness, drawing upon the power of his own Divine Sky Dao Fruit.

In an instant, the violet-gold Thunderbolt Origin within his Dantian began to boil. It transformed into innumerable, incredibly heavy Thunder Hammers imbued with the True Intent of both destruction and creation, which then began to pound violently upon the crimson ball of light.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Within his Inner Realm, every strike from the colossal Thunder Hammers was accompanied by a deafening roar. The crimson ball of light trembled violently, erupting with an even more blinding radiance and a furious counterattack of Pure Yang Fire Power.

Tidal waves of golden-red flame and violet-gold bolts of destructive lightning clashed violently within his Dantian Qi Sea, annihilating each other only to be instantly reborn.

The turbulent, chaotic energy was enough to rip apart the Dantian of an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator.

But the Dao Rhyme of the Profound Vault Undying spread out, forcibly containing this destructive energy. It confined the chaos within a controllable Melting Furnace while guiding the scattered wisps of the Red Sun Origin that had been stripped away.

Under the tempering of the Thunderbolt, these wisps began the preliminary process of fusing with and permeating the Thunder Power of his Divine Sky Dao Fruit.