Chapter 557: Dare You Meet Me in Person!

On the tenth day after the Dao Kings retreated, the sky of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm still had not cleared. The rifts had not healed. Seven tears, like seven blade scars, stretched across the Celestial Vault, cutting the originally intact sky into Broken, shattered fragments.

From within the rifts, the radiance of the ocean of light continued to pour down, shrouding the entire Profound Yellow Origin Realm in an eerie Chaos Color. This was no longer a sky, but a piece of Broken glazed glass that had been crushed by an invisible, giant hand and forcibly pieced back together. Each rift was a wound, and each wound seeped out the Origin Qi of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm.

Inside the Taixu Hall, the light of the Grand Array was even dimmer than ten days ago. The seven-colored pillar of light still shot up into the sky. Dozens of True Monarchs sat cross-legged around it. Many of them wore solemn expressions, a hint of exhaustion revealing itself between their brows.

Qi Yun sat within the Array Hub. The azure sky behind him had recovered to seventy percent. The sun and moon once again radiated brilliance, the stars began to slowly revolve, and the outlines of the mountains and rivers became clear. However, his face remained pale, and the colorful intent in his eyes was much dimmer than before.

“Fellow Daoist Primordial,” Qingyuan True Monarch walked over, his voice low. “The Grand Array won’t hold for much longer. At most, in another month, our fellow Daoists might not be able to sustain it.”

Qi Yun did not answer. He merely raised his head and gazed at the seven rifts above the Celestial Vault. “One month…” he murmured to himself. “That’s enough.”

“Enough?” Qingyuan True Monarch was taken aback.

“Yes,” Qi Yun said calmly. “Next, Qi needs to enter seclusion. The operation of the Grand Array will be left to you and the other fellow Daoists.”

Qingyuan True Monarch fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright. How long will it take?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Qi Yun stood up and brushed the hem of his robe. “Perhaps three to five days, perhaps half a month. But the moment Qi emerges from seclusion will be the day of the final battle.”

Qingyuan True Monarch’s pupils slightly contracted. “The final battle?”

“Yes.” Qi Yun raised his gaze to the golden-yellow rift on the Celestial Vault. “The World Honored One said he would come personally next time. When that time comes, it will not be a projection, nor a probe, but a true, personal descent.

“Therefore, Qi must make preparations before then.” His voice was calm, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

Qingyuan True Monarch looked into Qi Yun’s deep eyes, trying to discern something from them. But all he saw was bottomless gloom. “Alright,” he said slowly. “I will wait for you.”

Qi Yun nodded slightly and said no more. He turned and walked into the depths of the Taixu Hall. There lay a quiet room reinforced by the Dao of the Primordial, his place of seclusion. The hall doors closed, isolating the inside from the outside.

Qi Yun sat cross-legged on the Meditation Mat and slowly closed his eyes. His Heart and Spirit began to sink, plunging into a higher, more fundamental place—the All Marvelous Heaven.

The All Marvelous Heaven, the source of Ten Thousand Laws, the place where Dao Fruits hung on high. Qi Yun’s consciousness, like a wisp of blue smoke, pierced through the dome of the Taixu Hall and ascended straight into this Supreme, transcendent dimension.

Standing amidst the All Marvelous Heaven, the scene before Qi Yun was entirely different from before. The phantom of a Profound Yellow Treasure Tree remained rooted in the boundless, thick earth, its branches extending into the endless void. But at this moment, the Treasure Tree’s branches and leaves were no longer lush; they had become sparse and withered. Many of the realm-heaven leaves had fallen off, floating in the void and gradually dissipating. The Profound Yellow Treasure Tree was withering.

Qi Yun’s gaze contracted slightly. He could feel that the withering of the Treasure Tree was not due to the Great Tide of Time, but because of the Dao Kings’ plundering. Those rifts had not merely torn the Celestial Vault; they were extracting the Origin Qi of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm. Each rift was a straw inserted into the trunk of the Profound Yellow Treasure Tree, continuously siphoning its Life Force.

“You’ve come.” A voice drifted from the nothingness. It was very soft, very faint, like wind blowing through dry leaves, like a drop of water falling into a deep pool. It had no direction and no source, as if sounding simultaneously from every inch of the void within the All Marvelous Heaven.

Qi Yun turned around and looked toward where the voice seemed to originate. There stood a figure. It was very blurry, like a ball of light wrapped in thick fog. Its face and clothing were indistinguishable, and even its gender was impossible to tell. Yet, just by standing there, it became the center of this All Marvelous Heaven. All Dao Fruits, all Laws, and all Origin Qi slowly flowed and revolved around it.

Seeing this figure, Qi Yun’s expression slightly relaxed before he spoke. “When the Great Tide of Time reaches its peak, the Dao Kings will descend in person. At that time, Profound Yellow will be destroyed, and the All Marvelous Heaven will collapse. Neither you nor I can escape.”

“And so?” the figure asked.

“So, we need to cooperate.” Qi Yun looked directly at the blurred light. “You lend me power, and I will hold off the Dao Kings for you.”

The figure fell silent for a moment. “What makes you think I can help you?”

Qi Yun did not answer immediately. He simply raised his right hand, and within his palm, a wisp of Chaos Color intent quietly surfaced. “Based on this,” Qi Yun said calmly.

The figure remained silent for a long time. “It is not enough,” it finally spoke. “There are seven Dao Kings, and you are but one person. Even with heaven-reaching power, it is difficult to rival seven Dao Kings joining forces.”

“That is why I need your power,” Qi Yun said. “The Origin Power of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm, the power of the Dao Fruits in the All Marvelous Heaven, and… your own power.”

The figure fell silent once again. “You are quite direct.” Its voice carried a very faint, almost imperceptible hint of amusement. “But why should I believe you?”

“Believe me?” Qi Yun was stunned.

“Yes,” the figure said slowly. “You say you want to protect Profound Yellow and hold off the Dao Kings. But how do I know you are not just another Dao King? That once you repel them, you won’t swallow Profound Yellow all for yourself?”

Qi Yun fell silent. He hadn’t expected this figure to ask such a question. “I am not a Dao King,” he said slowly.

“But if I help you, you will be,” the figure replied indifferently.

Qi Yun stayed silent for a moment, then smiled. The smile was faint, but it carried an indescribable meaning. “Then what will it take for you to believe?”

The figure did not answer. It merely “looked” at Qi Yun, “looked” at the wisp of Sword Intent in his palm, “looked” at the azure sky behind him, and “looked” at the colorful intent flowing in his eyes. “Lend me your Dao so I may see it,” it finally said.

Qi Yun furrowed his brows slightly. “How?”

“Open your Heart and Spirit,” the figure said evenly. “Let me in.”

Qi Yun narrowed his eyes. Opening his Heart and Spirit meant exposing his Dao, his methods, and everything about himself to the other party. If the other party harbored malicious intentions, at best, his Dao Foundation would be damaged; at worst, he would die and his Dao would vanish.

“You dare not?” the figure asked.

Qi Yun took a deep look at the blurred light, then gave a faint smile. “Please.” His Heart and Spirit completely opened up.

The blurred light flickered slightly. The next moment, Qi Yun felt an invisible will, like a trickling stream, silently seeping into the depths of his Heart and Spirit. That will held no malice and no benevolence. There was only a pure, emotionless “scrutiny.”

Time lost its meaning at this moment. Perhaps it was just an instant, or perhaps it was an eternity. The will finally withdrew from his Heart and Spirit.

Qi Yun opened his eyes and looked at the figure before him again. “How was it?” he asked.

The figure remained silent for a long time—so long that Qi Yun thought it wouldn’t answer.

“Your Dao… is very pure.” It finally spoke, its voice carrying a very faint, almost imperceptible trace of surprise. “It is not for power, nor for transcendence. It is simply… to live.”

“To live?” Qi Yun was momentarily stunned.

“Yes,” the figure said slowly. “The purpose of your cultivation has never been to become some Dao King or True Monarch. You merely want to live, to let the people around you live, and to let this Heaven and Earth… live.

“This is very pure. So pure that I cannot refuse.”

Qi Yun fell silent for a moment. He hadn’t expected this figure to say such words. “So, you’ve agreed?” he asked.

The figure did not answer immediately. It merely raised a blurry hand slowly and gently pointed in Qi Yun’s direction.

HUM.

A gentle, colorless light flowed from its fingertip and sank into the center of Qi Yun’s brow. Within that light was an indescribable power. It was the vitality of the Profound Yellow Origin Realm, the origin of the All Marvelous Heaven, and all the power accumulated by this Heaven and Earth since its creation.

Qi Yun’s body trembled slightly. In that instant, the azure sky behind him suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly resplendent light! The sun and moon shone brightly, the stars revolved wildly, and the mountains and rivers roared as they surged! In just a few breaths, that stretch of azure sky had recovered to its peak, becoming even more vast and majestic than before!

“This is…” Qi Yun’s pupils slightly contracted.

“The power you wanted,” the figure said evenly. “I am lending it to you. But remember, it is only a loan. Once you are done using it, you must return it.”

Qi Yun remained silent for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright.”

As his voice fell, the blurred light began to slowly fade, scattering into the void of the All Marvelous Heaven like a wisp of blue smoke blown away by the wind.

Qi Yun stood alone in the All Marvelous Heaven, gazing in the direction the figure had vanished, the colorful intent swirling in his eyes. From his perspective at this moment, the entire Magic Technique Panel had been thoroughly enveloped by infinite colors. Countless characters were wildly reorganizing upon it, silently nurturing an unprecedented existence.

Deep within the Taixu Hall, inside the quiet room.

Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes. The colorful intent in his gaze was deeper and vastly more boundless than before his seclusion. He stood up and pushed open the hall doors.

Outside the hall, dozens of True Monarchs raised their heads in unison, looking at him. Qingyuan True Monarch looked at him, looked into his deep eyes, and looked at the blazing azure sky behind him, a trace of complex light flashing through his own eyes. “Fellow Daoist Primordial…” he started. “You…”

“I am ready,” Qi Yun said calmly. He raised his head and looked toward the seven rifts above the Celestial Vault. Within those rifts, seven pairs of eyes still hung, cold and indifferent, like seven sharp swords suspended overhead. “Next, all of you may rest.”

As his words fell, he took a step forward, and his figure arrived above the Celestial Vault. Behind him, that azure sky unfurled with a boom, shrouding the entire Celestial Vault within it. The sun and moon underwent Reincarnation, the stars twinkled, and the mountains and rivers surged endlessly.

That was his Dao, his Law, his world. He stood beneath the azure sky, his robes fluttering, the colorful intent flowing in his eyes.

“Everyone.” His voice was not loud, yet it transmitted clearly into every rift. “Do you dare face me in person!”

Above the Celestial Vault, the seven rifts trembled simultaneously.

The next instant!

Those seven gazes lit up at the exact same time.