Chapter 394 - 360: I, Am the Fruit Position

The Dharma Body aged and withered at a rate visible to the naked eye. Wrinkles crept across its once smooth, jade-like skin, and its Treasure Light dimmed, as if ten thousand years of vitality had been drained away in a single instant.

Deep within the Purple Mansion, the newborn Primordial Spirit—which should have been agile and immortal—swiftly dimmed and grew turbid under the corrosion of the Power of Time. Its thoughts slowed to a crawl, and the light of its spiritual nature flickered, on the verge of being extinguished.

Without a Fruit Position to uplift and protect him, he was left utterly exposed to the most fundamental, corrosive power of time itself.

He was like a piece of rootless duckweed struggling in a raging torrent, as if at any moment he would be utterly submerged and assimilated, unable to even leave behind a True Spirit Mark—becoming nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust in the long river of time.

Helpless, insignificant, and on the brink of despair.

Yet, just as time mercilessly stripped away and scoured off all external supports for his physical body and Primordial Spirit...

...something far more fundamental began to stand out, growing ever clearer in the face of annihilation.

It was his Dao Heart.

Though he was stripped of all possessions and left utterly alone, one thing remained: his Dao Heart.

This was the resolute will forged through countless trials and tribulations. A will that vowed to transcend, to prove its Dao, to walk a path uniquely its own. And far from dimming under the scouring of time...

...it was instead like jade washed clean by a rushing torrent, shedding all superficiality and grime to become even more pure, solid, and resplendent!

With no one to depend on, the heart becomes the anchor.

With nothing to uplift him, the will becomes the ladder!

Empowered by a Dao Heart so supremely pure and unbelievably steadfast, a miracle occurred.

An ineffable and profoundly mysterious power surged forth from the very depths of his Dao Heart!

Under the influence of this power, which stemmed from his own fundamental will, the aging Dharma Body and the dimmed Primordial Spirit began their most essential fusion.

Light and spirit intertwined; form and will became one. Shedding its old, restrictive shell, they forged together an unprecedented creation—the Immortal Body!

At the same time, the supremely transcendent will of his Dao Heart, enshrouding the essence of this newborn Immortal Body, performed a defiant "leap" in a profoundly mystical way!

It broke free from the shackles of the scouring river of time, pierced the barrier between the virtual and the real, and bypassed the established hierarchy of attainment, ascending directly to the fount of the Ten Thousand Laws, the place where the Great Dao itself manifests—

—the All Marvelous Heaven!

He needed no external recognition for a Fruit Position, nor did he need to follow the old path of condensing a Golden Nature.

Relying on his unique Dao Heart and newborn Immortal Body, he forcefully carved out a space for himself within the All Marvelous Heaven, coalescing an imprint of his own Great Dao!

In that moment, he was the Dao, and the Dao was him.

The rank of True Monarch was self-attained!

...

Within the Cave Heaven, the ripples of memory slowly subsided.

A profound, enlightened radiance shone in the eyes of the Great Sun Purple Extreme True Monarch.

The last vestiges of his earlier fear had completely vanished, replaced by the calm confidence of one who has perceived the fundamental truth.

He savored the resolute epiphany he’d had while undergoing his tribulation. He then cross-referenced it with the Spiritual Light he had obtained after clashing with the Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s Fruit Position and plundering its Golden Nature. A knowing, enlightened smile slowly spread across his face.

"I do not rely on a Fruit Position, nor do I seek a Golden Nature."

He spoke softly, his words both a summary and a declaration.

"Ascend by the Dao, rule as a self-made Monarch."

The eight-word proclamation captured the very essence of his unprecedented path.

As his voice faded, the resplendent Great Sun behind his head—which had been slightly dimmed by his injuries—seemed to be infused with new life and understanding. It suddenly erupted once more with Infinite Light!

This time, the light was not only scorching and domineering, but now carried an ultimate quality of perfect Freedom, of supreme sovereignty.

The light illuminated the entire Microcosmic Cave Heaven. The world resonated in response: illusory mountains and rivers solidified, Spiritual Springs bubbled with joy, and creatures made of light leaped in celebration.

The entire world grew more vivid and stable, reflecting the Perfection and advancement of his state of mind.

The Great Sun Purple Extreme True Monarch slowly rose to his feet. Standing upon the Golden Flame Lotus Platform, his Immortal Body was flawless, his aura as vast and profound as the sea.

He gazed up at the "firmament" above the Cave Heaven, a sky manifested from his own will. His sight seemed to pierce the Cave Heaven’s barriers, letting him glimpse the distant All Marvelous Heaven and the unique mark that symbolized his own Great Dao.

The smile on his lips widened, finally transforming into a clear, resonant shout of Dao—one filled with confidence and conviction. It thundered and echoed throughout this corner of Heaven and Earth that was his alone:

"My Dao is Truth! My Heart is the Law—"

"I... am the Fruit Position!"

...