Chapter 205 - 197: [Mastering All Skills]
This river was not made of water, but of countless fragments of time, dust of ages, memories of all living beings, the rise and fall of civilizations... all gathered together.
The River of Heaven and Earth Years!
The river’s water was a chaotic gray. It appeared to flow calmly, but in truth, every single "drop" of water contained enough Power of Time to turn a thousand years into a mere instant.
This was the final trial of the Foundation Establishment Three Calamities, and also the most treacherous and bizarre—the Flood Disaster!
"It’s here!"
Qi Yun’s gaze sharpened, his Heart and Spirit stretched to its absolute limit.
The first two trials, the Wind and Fire Tribulation, tested the physical body and the Divine Soul.
This Flood Disaster, however, tested the immortal essence of one’s Dao Foundation and the steadfastness of a Cultivator’s Dao Heart!
If one’s Dao Foundation was not stable enough, it would dim under the scouring of time, or even crumble and dissipate.
If one’s Dao Heart was not firm enough, they would lose themselves amidst the illusions and memories of endless time, their Divine Soul assimilated, and they would sink completely into the river of years, becoming just another unremarkable ripple.
"WHOOSH—!!!"
Without any warning, the phantom of the descending River of Years split off a stream of gray water. Like the celestial river inverting its course, it poured down directly onto Qi Yun’s head!
In that instant, Qi Yun felt as if he had been thrown into an endless labyrinth of time.
The scene before him flickered and twisted madly.
In the blink of an eye, his own flesh and blood went through cycles of decay and rebirth, from vibrant life to decrepit old age, over and over again.
Countless foreign yet vivid memory fragments surfaced in his Sea of Consciousness: the splendor of emperors, the misery of beggars, the valor of heroes, the trifles of common folk...
The memories of innumerable departed beings tried to overwrite his own consciousness.
And his Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation, under the scouring of this terrifyingly fast current of time, let out a faint "CREAK," as if bearing an immense weight.
The scenes of Heaven and Earth’s birth and death evolving within it became sluggish and blurry!
His Dao Foundation was trembling, his Divine Soul wavering!
This was the power of the ages, a force of Heaven and Earth that ignored all defenses and struck directly at one’s very core!
No matter how mighty your Divine Techniques, no matter how boundless your Magical Power.
Before time, you were still as insignificant as dust!
His expression cold and stern, Qi Yun operated his Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation at full power.
With the absolute will of ’My Dao is the Celestial Dao’ at his core, he staunchly guarded the single point of clarity in his mind, refusing to be tainted by external forces.
However, the scouring of the river of time was relentless, as if it had no end.
Under the wash of the gray current, the light of his Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation gradually dimmed, and his Divine Soul felt waves of fatigue, as if it had endured ten thousand years of solitude.
Just as the stalemate wore on and Qi Yun was beginning to falter...
A gatha of supreme wisdom, the final words spoken by the previous Daluo Master before his remnant soul dissipated, suddenly echoed in his mind:
"The Venerable is me...
All living beings, are also me."
Like a flash of lightning in the darkness!
Inspiration struck Qi Yun, and in an instant, he understood!
’I understand...’
’I am already a part of this River of Heaven and Earth Years, one among the myriad beings across the endless ages.’
’Time is like water, and I am a fish within it. To find true Freedom, my only path... is to leap the Dragon Sect!’
In that one moment, a brilliant light flashed in Qi Yun’s eyes!
He no longer passively endured the scouring of time.
Instead, he proactively channeled his Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation, already tempered by wind and fire!
The Dao Foundation roared, erupting with Infinite Light.
Like a hidden dragon unwilling to remain at the bottom of the river, it gathered its strength, lifted Qi Yun, and surged against the current, breaking free from the shackles of the river of time to suspend his Dao Foundation above the river itself.
To leave the ranks of the common masses and achieve the status of a Carefree Master!
The radiance of the Dao Foundation, which contained a Venerable Dao Rhyme, grew brighter and brighter.
It was about to break through the shroud of the River of Heaven and Earth Years and transcend.
Suddenly, a change occurred!
Within the phantom of the vast and majestic River of Heaven and Earth Years, where only Qi Yun should have existed, several blurry figures appeared without any warning.
These people stood upon their own Dao Foundations, but their auras were faint and unstable.
They were all Perfection Qi Refining Cultivators who had just passed the great wind and fire tribulation.
Their faces were indistinct, but their eyes, filled with undisguised malice, were locked firmly on Qi Yun as he was breaking through the final barrier!
They said nothing. Their appearance was utterly abrupt, their purpose perfectly clear!
At the very moment Qi Yun’s Dao Foundation was about to leap forth, this group simultaneously activated their own Dao Foundations. Wielding an unstoppable power, like a guillotine blade set before the Dragon Sect, they ruthlessly slammed towards Qi Yun’s ascending Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation!
They were clearly trying to forcefully interrupt Qi Yun’s tribulation.
To smash his Dao Foundation back down.
To directly destroy his Venerable Dao Foundation!
"What audacious mutts! Do you really think this True Monarch is blind?!"
At almost the same instant, high above the Taixu Mirror Heaven, the Desolate Halberd Shattering Void True Monarch, Guan Si Hai, who had been resting with his eyes closed like a mere spectator, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
In his eyes, a towering fury erupted, hot enough to incinerate the nine heavens!
An incomparably terrifying wave of Evil Qi shot into the sky, shaking the entire territory of the Wuji Holy Sect!
He roared in anger, wasting no time on words, and his right hand shot out to grasp the pitch-black Great Halberd by his side.
Immediately, the muscles in his arm bulged as he swung it forward with the force to shatter stars!
"KRRRAACK—!"
A beam of black halberd light, condensed to the absolute limit and seemingly capable of splitting Heaven and Earth in two, tore through the void. It erupted forth, carrying the boundless fury and domineering, murderous Dao of a True Monarch Level being.
Wherever the halberd light passed, it left behind a rift in the void that would not heal.
The wrath of a True Monarch leaves a million corpses in its wake!
However, just as that domineering halberd light was about to cross the void and strike its target—
"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"
Several auras, just as vast, boundless, and terrifying as the Desolate Halberd Shattering Void True Monarch’s, erupted simultaneously from the depths of the void in different directions!
They joined forces to block the path of the black halberd light!
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A world-shaking collision erupted on an unknowable plane.
A grand, ancient voice, tinged with an unquestionable authority, rang out:
"The Venerable Dao Foundation is not yet meant to appear in this world. I must ask you, fellow Daoist Desolate Halberd, to calm yourself."
"Hmph!"
Hearing this, the Desolate Halberd Shattering Void True Monarch laughed in extreme anger, his Evil Qi almost solidifying.
"Whether it appears or not is not for you to decide!
Anyone who dares to touch someone from my Holy Sect had better be prepared to have their sect’s gates smashed by this True Monarch!"
Before his voice had even faded, he shot to his feet.
His powerful, well-built frame seemed to transform into the very spine supporting Heaven and Earth, his peerless battle intent scattering the clouds!
He took a single step forward!
BOOM!
Ten thousand li of Heaven and Earth trembled violently, and the Spiritual Qi wailed.
The figure of the Desolate Halberd Shattering Void True Monarch had already transformed into a black Flowing Light that tore across the cosmos. Carrying that pitch-black Great Halberd of terrifying might, he streaked at extreme speed toward the sources of the auras that had blocked his attack.
The Foundation Establishment Mirror Heaven was a special place; not even a True Monarch could interfere within it.
So, he would take the fight to their doorstep personally!
’You dare touch my Holy Sect’s Venerable Dao Foundation.’
’Fine. I’ll have half your sect’s disciples buried with it!’
...
Within the Foundation Establishment Realm Heaven, those several malicious Dao Foundations, carrying the force of a mountain, were already smashing viciously into Qi Yun’s Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation at its most critical moment of ascension!
If this strike landed true, his Dao Foundation would plummet back into the River of Heaven and Earth Years.
Even if Qi Yun didn’t die, his Cultivation would be ruined.
Staring at the several solidified Dao Foundations hurtling toward him, Qi Yun’s heart tightened. His brow furrowed as his mind raced, desperately searching for a solution.
However, his opponents had been plotting this for a long time, and their attack was vicious and swift.
They gave him no time to react gracefully!
At this hair’s-breadth moment—
"SPLASH—!!!"
A boundless, viscous, scarlet Blood Sea broke through the barrier of the Foundation Establishment Realm Heaven without warning. It swept in suddenly, taking an irresistibly domineering position, and firmly interposed itself between Qi Yun and the several attacking Dao Foundations.
Blood waves surged as hundreds of millions of Resentful Souls shrieked and howled.
Filth and Evil Qi surged into the sky, dyeing that patch of the void a dark crimson!
Immediately after, a figure shrouded in an aura of twilight, even more withered than he was fifty years ago, stepped out from the center of the roiling Blood Sea and stood firmly in front of Qi Yun.
It was none other than Elder Master Deng Yin!
Slowly turning his head to look at Qi Yun behind him, the Elder Master’s face broke into a rare smile:
"You kid..."
"You’ve really kept this old man waiting."
...