Chapter 197: True Monarch Dueling, Hundreds of Thousands Slain
Chapter 197: True Monarch Dueling, Hundreds of Thousands Slain
The voice of True Monarch Qingcheng Feixue rode the surging waves of the Infinite Celestial River, echoing across the world. In an instant, the entire realm fell into silence.
Who dares challenge her?
Countless True Monarchs felt her call. One by one, they opened their eyes toward the Overseas Dominion, gazes brimming with curiosity.
Will it truly come to battle?
Some provocateurs among the True Monarchs even felt a flicker of anticipation. Peace had reigned for too long—the last great calamity, the Millennium Cataclysm, had been five thousand years ago!
Back then, the catastrophe claimed the lives of multiple True Monarchs, including the final victim, the 【Heaven-Bearing Virtue True Monarch】, whose divine domain, the 【Everglow Treasure Light Heaven】, shattered violently, raining blood from the skies and plunging all creation into mourning. Such grandeur had not been seen in millennia.
Could this be the day?
“Amitabha!”
A Buddhist chant rang out. The Precious Vase Moonlight Bodhisattva of Pure Land was the first to dissipate their aura, ignoring Qingcheng Feixue’s provocation entirely.
The other True Monarchs were unsurprised.
Pure Land’s Bodhisattvas were known to wield power only within their sanctuary; beyond it, they were weak. Retreating was expected.
Likewise, the Dao Court Celestial Sovereign withdrew next.
All eyes now turned to Jiangnan—to the youth seated on the Sword Pavilion’s Extreme Heaven Cliff, his lips rosy, teeth white, hands resting on his sword. A young True Monarch, silent as stone.
He lowered his gaze to the blade across his knees. This was his Inherent Flying Sword, the weapon that had carved his path to the Foundation-Breaking Peak.
Yet since achieving Golden Core cultivation, the sword had remained sheathed. Even when annihilating the Wugui Sect, he had merely unleashed a streak of sword qi—no need to draw steel. A thousand years had passed. Would the blade still sing? Would his sword-heart endure?
“Hmph,” the youth suddenly chuckled, lifting his gaze as if meeting Qingcheng Feixue’s across the Overseas Dominion. “You stir my resolve?”
“Xue Feihong, do you truly dare face me?”
Qingcheng Feixue’s reply was blunt: “You’re no true swordsman—too hesitant. Will you share Fortune’s fate?”
“Step forward and fight. Perhaps there’s still time.”
As her voice faded, the young True Monarch fell silent again, glancing at the Foundation-Breaking True Man behind him before closing his eyes in contemplation.
Yet now, he thought of another.
“Listen to Shadow.”
Indeed, he had never been a true swordsman. A true swordsman would have confronted Listen to Shadow head-on for the Golden Core, not shirked from the duel.
“Enough. This life or the next—we must decide.”
The youth’s eyes snapped open. Resolve crystallized.
In a flash, the Heaven-Bearing Virtue True Monarch vanished from the Extreme Heaven Cliff, where he’d sat motionless for a century. Simultaneously, a celestial star blazed above the heavens!
Seeing this, Qingcheng Feixue roared with laughter.
“Well met!”
Her voice echoed, and she too vanished. The two now abandoned their towering Dharma Bodies, manifesting only their Fruit Positions.
Instantly, the sun and moon dimmed, all stars paling except two luminous Fruit Positions blazing in the sky.
Meanwhile, Jiangbei and Jiangnan trembled with unnatural phenomena—blizzards raged, mountains eroded into floods, and homes, fortresses crumbled under the onslaught.
Some structures collapsed; others stood firm.
This was no natural disaster but a calamity wrought by the True Monarchs’ clash. The heavens themselves reacted, birthing phenomena defying logic.
This chaos gripped only the mortal world. Across the realm, all Dao Foundations cultivating the 【Wall Earth】 and 【Valleystream】 techniques experienced the same reaction. Practitioners felt an intense revulsion toward each other—and a bizarre hunger.
Kill him! Devour it!
Instinct whispered that slaying their counterpart would catapult their cultivation. This was Fruit Position Empowerment—a chance to seize destiny!
In moments, the earth ran red.
Except for the Holy Sect’s Sky-Connecting Sea of Clouds, the Sword Pavilion’s Heaven-Ascenting Abyss, and other great sects guarded by True Monarchs, the world erupted into chaos!
Cultivators of 【Valleystream】 and 【Wall Earth】 could no longer suppress their bloodlust. Even kin, lovers, and friends turned upon one another, fighting to the death. Only Foundation-Breaking True Men retained a sliver of clarity.
When True Monarchs duel, a hundred thousand corpses fall—creation mourns!
In the Overseas Dominion, Lv Yang stared blankly upward.
When Qingcheng Feixue had slain the others, he’d barely tracked her movements. Now, he could not see her at all.
A voice jolted him from his trance.
Lv Yang turned, dazed, to find the Yanluo Patriarch beside him, smiling faintly.
“Heaven-Bearing Virtue of Sword Pavilion is faltering.”
Lv Yang asked, “Can you see their battle?”
“I cannot.” The Patriarch shook his head. “But I cultivated the 【Wall Earth】 Dao in life. Even in death, I sense its resonance.”
“I feel my power waning—not from my state, but because the 【Wall Earth】 True Monarch loses ground. The Fruit Position shifts its pressure onto the lower Foundation-Breaking True Men, weakening our Dao Foundations and Divine Abilities.”
“But it’s far from over.” The Yanluo Patriarch glanced at Lv Yang.
“Unfortunately, you don’t cultivate 【Wall Earth】.”
“Otherwise, now would be the time to kill a few 【Valleystream】 Foundation-Breaking True Men. A breakthrough into Fruit Position Favor might follow—a chance to seize fortune.”
“Such a shift could tip the scales, giving 【Wall Earth】 an edge over 【Valleystream】. To True Monarchs, even a sliver of advantage might become the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
“I see.” Lv Yang’s eyes widened. Foundation-Breaking True Men truly influenced their superiors’ battles! No wonder they were cultivated.
This answered a long-held question.
With only thirty Fruit Positions in the world, why didn’t Golden Core Sovereigns simply exterminate all Foundation-Breaking True Men aligned with rival Fruit Positions? Eliminate the competition entirely?
Fortune’s humiliation at the hands of Chongguang True Man after losing his Fruit Position was infamous—a disgrace to all Golden Core Sovereigns.
Now the truth emerged.
They say one becomes truly human upon breaking Foundation, for even a True Monarch’s fate could hinge on these cultivators.
Yet this alone seemed insufficient.
“While they influence battles, the True Monarchs must have deeper reasons to risk conflict—reasons tied to their very cultivation.”
Lv Yang dared not probe further. Compared to mysteries, the spoils of battle delighted him more.
His storage bag bulged with Treasure Light. A sweep of his Divine Consciousness revealed four superior Spirit Treasures!
“Truly, bloodshed fills one’s pockets!”
Superior Spirit Treasures were rare—Divine Essence-formed artifacts that granted Foundation-Breaking True Men unique Divine Abilities, dominating duels.
Before today, he’d owned only the 【Ultimate Heaven Instrument】 and 【Avici Sword】.
Now, four more joined his collection!
The richest prize came from Ye Xingfeng—besides his Inherent Flying Sword 【Stellar River Sword Core】, he carried two superior Spirit Treasures.
Ying Tongshou offered one, though fewer.
All of these spoils now belonged to Lv Yang, including the half-true treasure known as the 【Imperial Decree of Golden Inscription】, which had been left behind by the demise of the Innate Dao Aberration.
This battle’s spoils were a true harvest!
(End of Chapter)
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