Chapter 199: Grotto Heaven Collapses, Fruit Position Vacant!
Chapter 199: Grotto Heaven Collapses, Fruit Position Vacant!
At this moment, not only Lv Yang sensed the disturbance—it rippled across the entire world. Common folk, Qi Refiners, even Foundation Building cultivators all felt their hearts tremble as they gazed skyward.
Then, an overwhelming sorrow surged through every being.
Ordinaries burst into uncontrollable wails, Qi Refiners wept openly, while Foundation Building sages merely felt a sting in their eyes.
The heavens turned crimson, pouring rain that shimmered like crystal. Each drop fell as torrential downpour, but upon touching earth, it transformed into rolling crimson jade, merging into the land’s veins, the ambient spiritual energy, and every facet of existence.
Heaven wept blood, and all creation mourned!
Yanluo Patriarch sighed, “The Golden Core Sovereign has perished. The Fruit Position resonates, and even the cosmos grieves for a True Monarch’s fall.”
But Lv Yang, ever the skeptic, frowned.
“This isn’t right.”
As a Holy Sect sage, he always considered the worst possibilities.
Surveying his surroundings, he noted the blood rain enriching the world rather than harming it. The heavens hadn’t been scarred—they’d been blessed.
So why was Heaven crying for the Golden Core Sovereign’s death?
Was it… faking?
Yet he dared not voice this suspicion. After all, calamity often came from careless words.
Suddenly, a deafening roar split the air—not in the mundane world, but in the Foundation Building realm. Only sages at this stage sensed it. Lv Yang immediately projected his consciousness skyward, where a vast section of the Foundation Building realm was collapsing.
“What in the—?”
He gaped as a region above the Foundation Building realm crumbled. The realm’s structure was distinct: below, a murky sea shrouded in eternal Dragon-Binding Winds; above, an endless expanse veiled in mystery.
But now, that “endless” expanse had a boundary.
At its edge, radiant torrents of auspicious mist cascaded downward, stirring a sense of déjà vu in Lv Yang.
It felt eerily familiar.
“Sky Collapse?” Yanluo Patriarch’s voice echoed his thoughts, jolting him. “Exactly! This sensation is identical to Sky Collapse!”
Sky Collapse—once taught to him by Yanluo during his Qi Refinement days—was a technique where a cultivator ascended to the Foundation Building realm, then deliberately plummeted, unleashing cataclysmic force. The descending brilliance mirrored that very power now.
Something was falling.
Straining his vision, Lv Yang glimpsed jade palaces, mountains and rivers, and—horrifically—vast fields of corpses. The scene reminded him of shattered small worlds torn down during the Dao Contention War.
“What is that?” he murmured.
“A grotto heaven,” a voice answered.
Chongguang True Man’s tone was measured. “True Monarch Tianzheng Demetrios has perished. His soul enters reincarnation, and Jade Hall Bao Gui Paradise falls. The Fruit Position stands vacant.”
Chills ran through Lv Yang’s limbs—until he recognized his elder’s voice, relaxing with a sigh. “Was that deliberate, Master-uncle?”
Chongguang laughed. “Scared you, didn’t I?”
“Not at all,” Lv Yang lied, watching the collapsing radiance. “So the Sword Pavilion True Monarch is truly dead?”
“Not so easily,” Chongguang countered. “Golden Core Sovereigns refine their golden essence to ascend to blessed realms, transforming grotto heavens to attain fruition. Losing one’s grotto heaven is merely the first step toward demise.”
“Like Fortunes, a sliver of golden essence preserves their reincarnation. Though their soul endures, unclouded by prenatal amnesia, they lose their True Monarch power. They can’t reclaim their Fruit Position immediately, forced to wander, waiting for destiny’s call.”
“Truthfully, his time was nearly up anyway.”
Lv Yang mused, “He chose to leave his pavilion, fighting Feixue to the death rather than die in bed?”
“You still underestimate these southern sword-wielding madmen,” Chongguang chided, glancing at Yanluo. “Tianzheng’s talent was mediocre—a Golden Core Initiate for a millennium. Whether he hid or fought, his paradise would’ve collapsed at death. No difference.”
“He sought karmic debt,” Chongguang continued. “By self-destructing his grotto heaven, crippling Feixue, he earned the Sword Pavilion’s favor. They’ll aid his return, restoring his Fruit Position. That’s his true gambit.”
His critique was blunt. “Sword Pavilion thrives on karmic bonds. Ten disciples, nine reincarnate. Wait a few years—they’ll birth a prodigy.”
Suddenly, a silvery laugh rang out: “He thinks that scratch could harm me?”
Lv Yang turned, meeting Feixue’s autumn-water gaze, her pupils still smoldering crimson.
“A mere grotto explosion let him flee into rebirth. I bit off a third of his golden essence before he fled. Three decades at least before he reincarnates. Ah, the flavor of a sitting True Monarch’s essence is exquisite!”
She licked her lips, momentarily feral.
True Monarch Qingcheng Feixue—called “Madwoman” beyond her sect—now seemed serene, a gentle lady.
“Disciple,” Lv Yang offered a trove of treasures, including the Imperial Decree of Golden Inscription.
She waved it off. “Keep them. You needn’t consult me for such trifles. I’ve assumed your karmic debts. Until you reach Late Foundation Building, no Pure Land or Dao Court will trouble you.”
“Gratitude, True Monarch.”
He pocketed the bag, knowing her generosity was tactical. He’d offered first; she could return it as patronage. Refusing would’ve been treason.
Feixue turned to Chongguang. “Fortune’s dead. He didn’t expect my Golden Core Mid-Stage breakthrough, nor my severing his grotto heaven. No golden essence saved him from my grasp.”
“All is prepared. Let’s ascend the Fruit Position.”
She vanished.
Chongguang’s normally stoic face flushed with exhilaration. “Yuan Tu, return to Cloud Sea. Rally Yinshan Mountains to Holy Flame Cliff. I’ve a momentous task.”
(End of Chapter)
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