Chapter 392 - 360: I Am the Fruit Position

In the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, the dust was beginning to settle.

The figures representing the supreme authority of this world had already vanished. All that remained was this once-sacred land—its Buddha Light dim, its palaces toppled, and its grounds in shambles—silently recounting the tale of fallen grandeur amidst the vast twilight.

From deep within the ruins, amid the shadows of rubble and broken statues, a figure emerged, walking slowly with heavy steps.

It was the Crown Prince of Nanyin, who had long lain dormant after pledging his allegiance to Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch.

He stepped over cracked, jeweled tiles and trod upon the broken limbs of gilded Buddha statues. His gaze swept past the devastation, settling on the southern sky where the blazing white sun had finally vanished.

There was nothing there.

Only drifting clouds remained, as if all the heart-pounding events had been but a dream.

Yet the heart of the Nanyin Crown Prince was heavy, as if weighed down by Profound Iron.

’He... he actually did it.’

A nearly inaudible whisper escaped his throat, dry with disbelief and steeped in an indescribable mix of complex emotions.

True Monarch.

Two simple words, yet for the countless Cultivators of the Profound Yellow world, they represented a supreme peak, a celestial chasm that lay insurmountably above their heads.

Decades ago, from his high perch in the Nanyin Palace, he had borne the weight of an empire. He possessed the Venerable Dao Foundation and had regarded Qi Yun as a hidden dragon in the abyss—extraordinary, yes, but still someone he was confident remained beneath him.

Who could have known that in a single day, the world would be turned upside down?

Not only had the hidden dragon taken flight, but he had shattered his countless shackles in a single stroke, soaring straight into the ninth heaven. There, under the watchful gaze of all, he had audaciously proven his Dao and ascended to the revered status of a True Monarch!

The rival, the enemy on the Daoist path whom he once saw as an equal—or even looked down upon—had in the blink of an eye become a ’lord’ he could only look up to in awe, even reverence.

The sheer gap between them was like a fall from the heavens to the dust, like watching a carp in a pond transform into a sky-devouring Celestial Dragon. For this proud, ambitious former Crown Prince who once dreamed of ruling the world, his chest was filled with a suffocating, unbearable bitterness.

’However...’ The Nanyin Crown Prince’s eyes flickered as he forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

’He may have seized the legacy of the [World Honored One’s Handwriting] and used its power to rise, which looked like a single step to heaven, but his path from here is not necessarily smooth.

’That forceful Refinement, as magnificent as it appeared, means he has already abandoned the path of the [Venerable].’

He took a deep breath of the air, thick with the scent of scorched earth and dust.

’I, on the other hand, possess a true Venerable Dao Foundation, inheriting the thousand-year legacy of Nanyin’s National Fortune. The purity of my foundation and the depth of my potential are incomparable to some unorthodox path.

’As long as I can find the right opportunity to knock on the gates of the True Monarch realm with my Venerable status...

’When that time comes, who is stronger and who is weaker will still be an open question!’

’He who laughs first doesn’t necessarily laugh last.’

’On this long path of the Dao, only the one who can stand eternally at the peak shows their true mettle.’

This bout of self-consolation was like a stone tossed into his Heart Lake, sending out ripples of what he called "hope," which managed to wash away some of his gloom.

’If I were to discreetly reveal this secret to Qingyuan True Monarch...’ A sharp glint flashed in the Nanyin Crown Prince’s eyes as he weighed the pros and cons.

’The True Monarch is sharp and perceptive; perhaps he could see an opportunity to keep this person in check.’

’And I, in turn, could use this meritorious deed to earn more trust and resources...’

As he considered this, a faint glimmer—a mixture of calculation and expectation—rose in the depths of his eyes.

However, the very instant this thought arose—

Something unexpected happened!

The Crown Prince of Nanyin suddenly felt the light around him dim, only to be followed by a blinding, incandescent white!

The broken ruins of Spirit Mountain beneath his feet, the dim twilight sky, the mournful whistling of the lingering wind...

Every sight and sound was instantly erased as if by an invisible hand, vanishing without a trace.

In its place was a boundless, infinitely pure expanse of Infinite Light!

There was no up or down, no past or future. There was only light—a gentle light that filled every inch of his perception, yet contained a will of boundless majesty.

And in the center of that world of light, a figure of indescribable magnificence and grandeur stood silently.

The figure was a silhouette coalesced from Infinite Light, so vast it seemed to prop up the heavens and the earth, supporting the very firmament of this world of light.

Merely being "watched" by that figure, the Crown Prince of Nanyin felt a vast pressure descend upon him with a CRASH—a pressure like a hundred thousand Divine Mountains stacked together, like the entire sky collapsing on top of him!

CRACK...

Faint, gut-wrenching cracks echoed from within his body as his bones groaned.

Before he could even react, his knees buckled uncontrollably. With a THUD, he fell heavily to his knees in this land of pure light.

A boundless sense of terror and insignificance instantly devoured all his schemes and calculations.

A voice—calm, gentle, yet as absolute as a Law of the Celestial Dao—resounded directly in the deepest corners of the Nanyin Crown Prince’s Heart and Spirit, slowly echoing:

"Crown Prince, it has been a long time. I trust you’ve been well?"

It was Qi Yun’s voice!

Yet it was also incomparably vast and detached, carrying the unique majesty of a True Monarch that transcended all living beings.

"You and I, Your Highness, could be considered old acquaintances."

"It is... inconvenient for my humble past identities to be widely known at this time," the voice continued, its tone still serene. But every word landed with the weight of a mountain, pressing down on the Nanyin Crown Prince’s Heart and Spirit.

"I hope that Your Highness... for the sake of old times, will keep this matter to yourself for now."

The Crown Prince of Nanyin trembled, not just from the terrifying pressure, but from the bone-deep chill of being utterly seen through, of knowing his life and death rested in another’s hands.

He had no doubt that with a single thought, his opponent could annihilate him completely within this Infinite Light, leaving not even a trace behind.

"T-True... True Monarch... rest... assured..." He squeezed the words from between his teeth, each syllable accompanied by the faint cracking of his overburdened bones.

"I... will... keep my lips... sealed... I will not... reveal a single... thing..."