Chapter 495 - 437: Tremendous Opportunity

BUZZ...

The last few crumbling fragments of the Buddha Light, like candles flickering in the wind, quietly dissipated into the void.

Above the West Sea, the anomalies vanished.

Under the self-healing power of Heaven and Earth’s origin, the broken space struggled to mend its hideous rifts, letting out faint creaks akin to the movement of a glacier.

In the vast void, scoured "clean" for tens of thousands of miles by the Sword Qi and Buddha Light, thin Spiritual Qi began to gather once more from all directions.

Below, the waters of the West Sea, previously crushed into an abyssal crater, paused briefly before letting out a muffled roar. The ocean surged back in from all sides, violently kicking up pale waterspouts that connected heaven and earth.

Heaven and Earth gradually grew quiet. However, this "quietness" contained a suffocating oppression far more stifling than the earth-shattering battle from before.

In the distance, over a dozen Profound Yellow Great Masters stood frozen in the void like clay statues and wooden carvings.

Their unblinking gazes were entirely focused on the figure standing quietly at the center of the battlefield—Qi Yun.

His deep blue Daoist Robe was torn in many places, stained with pale gold and dark red blood, clinging tightly to his slender yet visibly exhausted body.

He simply stood in silence with his head slightly bowed. His ink-black hair cascaded down, obscuring part of his face.

Yet, this seemingly frail figure—one that looked as if a mere gust of wind could blow it over—appeared in the eyes of the Great Masters as an ancient divine blade. Though bloodstained and sheathed, its concealed edge could still pierce the azure sky!

Standing there, he had become the sole anchor of this broken Heaven and Earth.

Although his formless aura was no longer domineeringly unleashed, it had gained an indescribable, settled weight and majesty.

"Did he... kill the World Honored One?"

After a long time, the deathly silence was broken by a dry, hoarse voice that sounded like coarse sandpaper rubbing together.

The Reincarnation Great Master of the Yellow Springs Netherworld stared fixatedly at Qi Yun. The gray mist around him was so thin it was almost transparent, and his ghost-fire-like eyes throbbed violently. It was as if he were asking himself, questioning this absurd reality.

Hearing this, the surrounding Great Masters all shuddered slightly.

They opened their mouths several times, their lips trembling as they tried to speak, only to find that any words felt utterly pale and powerless in this moment.

Having witnessed the entire process with their own eyes—the piercing of the Buddha’s palm, the manifestation of the sword array, and finally the flash of gray light that obliterated the World Honored One—any sense of wishful thinking or doubt had become a joke.

"It should... just be an avatar of the World Honored One descending using an Arhat’s body," Black Mountain Master took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his voice steady as he sought a "reasonable" explanation for this unbelievable reality. This was meant to reassure the others as much as it was for his own Dao Heart, which was on the verge of collapse. "It wasn’t the true body of the World Honored One arriving in person."

Hearing Black Mountain Master’s words, the almost frozen blood of the Great Masters seemed to warm a fraction, and their ghastly pale faces eased slightly.

Indeed, it was merely an avatar, albeit an equally terrifying one. But surely that was a bit... easier to accept than him having genuinely slaughtered the true body of the World Honored One?

However, this faint sense of "comfort" that had just arisen was ruthlessly shattered in the next second by the Crown Prince of the South Sea Dragon Palace’s voice, which was laced with lingering dread and bitterness.

"Even if it is an avatar..." the Crown Prince of the South Sea Dragon Palace’s voice carried an imperceptible tremble. His massive dragon eyes gazed at Qi Yun, then looked toward the void where the World Honored One had dissipated, his dragon whiskers swaying unconsciously. "That was still an avatar that solidly possessed the status and methods of a True Monarch, right?"

"..."

The moment these words were spoken, the entire scene plunged into a deathly silence once again.

A True Monarch!

That was the supreme realm they had pursued their entire lives, yet might never have the hope of touching!

It was a supreme being that had truly transcended mortality, wielding a portion of the authority over the universe, capable of determining the life and death of billions of living beings with a single thought!

Even if it was only an avatar, the level, power, and understanding and application of the Dao it represented were absolutely not something a Great Master could fathom, let alone rival, or even... slay!

Yet, Qi Yun had done it.

While at the Realm of the Great Master, with a single sword strike, he had slashed the True Monarch-level avatar of the World Honored One into ashes!

This process was inconceivable, yet it had happened right before their eyes without a sliver of falsehood.

Silence pressed down on the hearts of every Great Master like the heaviest block of lead, eventually transforming into a deep chill and an urge to retreat.

Opportunities? The Celestial Court? The hope of achieving the Dao? In the face of simply staying alive, these things suddenly seemed far less important.

That jinx opposite them had slain the avatar of the World Honored One just like that. To him, how were they—the "ants" who had previously besieged him, coveted the Celestial Court, and even intervened to obstruct him—any different from pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered?

"Let’s go..."

Someone said softly, their voice barely audible, as if terrified of disturbing something.

This sentence was like a decree of pardon, instantly resonating with everyone.

Run! They had to leave immediately! They needed to escape while he still seemed weak, before he started to "settle scores"!

The Great Masters exchanged highly tacit glances upon hearing this, their eyes brimming with unspoken terror.

With no words and no farewells, not even daring to circulate their Magical Power too intensely, they began to slowly and silently back away, one by one, like the most cautious of thieves.

However—

Just as the crowd had retreated less than a hundred miles, their hearts and spirits settling slightly as they believed they had managed to escape with their lives...

"Wait."

A calm, indifferent voice rang out abruptly like invisible shackles. It was incredibly clear, reaching everyone’s ears and striking deep into their Divine Souls!

GASPS echoed.

The movements of all the silently retreating Great Masters froze in unison!

Their scalps turned numb, their Divine Souls quaked violently, and their hearts nearly leapt out of their throats!

This was bad! This kid hailed from the Holy Sect! He was about to... settle the scores! He was going to slaughter them all!

In an instant, these bloody thoughts flashed through the minds of every Great Master.

Having called out to the crowd, Qi Yun did not make a move immediately.

He still kept his head slightly bowed, as if adapting to the overwhelming agony and emptiness churning inside his body.

After pausing for a few breaths, he slowly and somewhat strenuously turned around.

A heavy, lingering exhaustion seeped from his brows.

His earth-shattering act of "slaying a Buddha with a sword" might have seemed limitlessly glorious and capable of shocking the ages, but only he knew the perils and the price behind it.

Forcibly "wielding" the True Monarch-level power originating from the "Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit" with the body of a Great Master...

Every step was a dance on the tip of a blade, a stroll along the edge of a cliff. The severity of the backlash far exceeded imagination.

"For at least a hundred years... I cannot recklessly use this power again. Otherwise, there is a danger of my Dao Foundation collapsing..." Qi Yun thought, his mind as clear as a bright mirror. He lowered his eyes, looking down at his open, slightly trembling right palm.

There, a slender, hideous crack with faint gray light along its edges extended from the webbing between his thumb and index finger down to his wrist, looking as though he had been slashed by an invisible sharp sword.

Deep within the crack, faint gray Sword Qi slithered like tiny snakes, bringing about a continuous stinging pain and a sense of weakness.

He exhaled deeply.

Expelling a deep breath of Muddy Qi, Qi Yun forcibly suppressed the exhaustion filling his heart and the feeling of weakness that threatened to drown his consciousness. He raised his head once more, his eyes—still profound but unable to conceal their fatigue—slowly sweeping over the ghastly pale Great Masters in the distance who looked as if they were facing a mortal enemy.

His gaze did not linger on any of them, as if they were merely an insignificant backdrop.

His line of sight pierced through the broken void, passing over the surging tsunamis, and reached straight into the endlessly distant Celestial Vault above—

There, the blurry phantom of the All Marvelous Heaven remained suspended on high.

Although the previous seal had been pierced with a small hole by the gray light of the "Absolute Immortal" Dao Fruit, the overall isolation still existed.

Qi Yun could clearly sense that streaks of grand, detached gazes—filled with inquiry and complex emotions—were casting down from the All Marvelous Heaven. Like invisible tentacles, they shrouded the entire West Sea battlefield, scrutinizing him and everything that had just occurred.

Those were the gazes of the True Monarchs.

With the Celestial Court’s emergence stirring up the winds and clouds of the Profound Yellow Realm and drawing in the aura of a great calamity, the True Monarchs were bound to be watching closely, even if they were unable to intervene directly due to certain restrictions or agreements.

"Though the emergence of the Celestial Court this time has triggered a great calamity, causing upheaval in the Profound Yellow Realm and the fall of Cultivators like rain..." Qi Yun’s thoughts raced like lightning. "However, disaster and fortune go hand in hand. A great calamity also harbors great opportunities. The Cultivators of the world—regardless of Righteous Dao or Demon Dao, regardless of race, regardless of whether their Cultivation is high-tier or low-tier—have all been attracted by this ’opportunity’ of the Celestial Court. They have swarmed here, gathering at the West Sea.

"Such a massive and thorough gathering is rare across all of history. Aside from today, I am afraid it will be difficult to find a second chance to gather all the Cultivators of the Profound Yellow Realm in a single place."

With that, he hesitated no longer.

Despite the absolute emptiness within his body and the hidden pain of his Dao injuries, he still forced himself to gather his spirits. He activated the depths of the already dim sword mark between his brows, borrowing the last trace of True Monarch’s Power.

Aiming at the All Marvelous Heaven high above, Qi Yun swept his large hand.

HUM!

A mass of seemingly thin but impenetrable fog materialized out of thin air. It spread abruptly, firmly obstructing the All Marvelous Heaven.

The fog churned, severing all prying eyes and completely isolating the entire All Marvelous Heaven.

Inside the All Marvelous Heaven, the screens of light in front of the True Monarchs suddenly blurred, transforming into a sea of roiling gray fog. They could no longer see a single thing happening in the West Sea of the lower realm.

"Hmm?"

"What is this child planning?"

"To think he can actually mask our senses?"

The True Monarchs frowned one after another, their gazes involuntarily drifting toward the direction of the Holy Sect’s camp.

This method had clearly borrowed the power of that Dao Fruit, and the intention was obvious—he did not want the True Monarchs to keep watching.

"Desolate Halberd, Wu Dao!" Saint Wang of the Vast Sacred Land, with a gentle countenance yet eyes that blazed like torches, was the first to speak. His voice was calm but carried an unquestionable majesty. "What is the meaning of this disciple of yours? The matter of the Celestial Court is not over, and the storm in the West Sea has not quelled. What is his intention in blocking the sight of the All Marvelous Heaven?"

Desolate Halberd True Monarch had been grinning broadly, relishing the heroic image of Qi Yun slaying the World Honored One’s avatar with great interest. He was plotting how he would properly show off in front of his old rivals from the Sword Pavilion and the Cyan Sect once he returned.

Being questioned by Saint Wang at this moment, he arched his rugged eyebrows and turned his head. He flashed an even more "honest and simple" smile, scratching his head with his large, fan-like hand. "You’re asking me? How about I go down to the lower realm and ask him for you?"

"Hmph, glib-tongued," Vast Sea Dust True Monarch snorted coldly, but he didn’t bother saying anything more.

They were well aware of the temperaments of these True Monarchs from the Holy Sect: fiercely protective of their own, overbearing, and entirely unreasonable. If they actually started an argument, they themselves would be the only ones getting so angry that their livers ached.

Seeing this, the other True Monarchs wisely chose to remain silent.

Since the Holy Sect had made it clear they were going to be protective, rather than tearing up all pretenses right now, it was better to wait and see what would happen.

However, as they gazed at the dense chaos fog that masked the secrets of heaven, a shadow fell over the hearts of all the True Monarchs, plunging them into deep thought.

This child had slain the avatar of the World Honored One, and now he was masking the secrets of heaven... What exactly did he still want to do?

Above the West Sea, amidst the void.

With one hand covering the sky, he shielded the sight of the True Monarchs of the All Marvelous Heaven.

With a light shout, he suppressed the more than a dozen panicking Great Masters below who had been trying to flee.

Having finished all this, Qi Yun stood with his hands clasped behind his back in front of the Celestial Court’s massive South Celestial Gate, which was covered in sword marks and scorch marks.

His figure still appeared somewhat frail, and his aura remained weak.

However, set against the backdrop of the magnificent Celestial Court behind him, veiled by the chaotic fog overhead, and elevated by the rippling waves of the vast West Sea below, he emanated an indescribable air of aloofness and absolute control.

He was waiting.

His profound gaze seemed to pierce through the boundless void, looking out in all directions across the Profound Yellow Realm. He looked toward the countless Cultivators who, drawn by the emergence of the Celestial Court and the shockwaves of the great battle, were rushing over from everywhere—whether riding on Escape Lights, taking flying ships, or tearing through space.

Low-tier and high-tier Cultivators, Loose Cultivators and those from Sects, members of the Righteous Dao and the Demon Dao, the Human Race and the Demon Race...

The Cultivators of the world mobilized at the first sign of news, all converging upon this place.

"Come... come, all of you..." Qi Yun silently murmured in his heart. The glint of divine light deep within his eyes grew brighter and brighter, like a star igniting in the darkness. "If it weren’t for using the Celestial Court as bait, if it weren’t for the momentum of this great calamity sweeping through the Profound Yellow Realm, how could I have possibly gathered all the Cultivators in the world here? And how could I, Qi Yun, have obtained such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to, within a single day...

"Seek out those scattered amidst the vast sea of people—the Nine Great Venerables!"