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Chapter 343: A Lone Stand
Chapter 343: A Lone Stand
Sky-Connecting Sea of Clouds, Holy Flame Cliff.
Golden light surged from the earth, illuminating countless arcane patterns that converged toward the center where a lone figure stood bathed in radiance.
He wore a crane-feathered robe, a smile playing at his lips as he lazily waved his feather fan, exuding an air of effortless elegance.
Just standing there, he seemed to command all the blessings of heaven and earth - fortune, wealth, and luck itself. The sight of him stirred involuntary resentment in those who beheld him.
Fortune Immortal!
This reincarnation of a True Monarch finally revealed traces of his former glory, his gaze toward the heavens tinged with nostalgia.
"How long has it been?"
- Five thousand years!
For five thousand years he hadn't seen the Lampfire of Restoration. Though a True Monarch reincarnation, he'd been cast aside as if abandoned by fate itself, reduced to the most pitiful of states.
Thinking of this, he clenched his teeth in anger: 'Ang Xiao!'
At this moment, Fortune's hatred for Ang Xiao felt like an endless river, impossible to wash away.
Ever since he reclaimed the Celestial Void Internal Cultivation Manual and Luminous Jade Lamp Scripture, the memories stripped from him long ago had returned.
Both cultivation methods were intact. Fortune had seeded them with secret techniques ensuring only he could wield them, and that no outsider could tamper with their power. Without these safeguards, he wouldn't have dared attempt this golden ascension with just these two manuals.
'Cannot afford carelessness.'
Fortune remained vigilant, well aware how much his golden ascension threatened Ang Xiao. It was certain that Ang Xiao would stop at nothing to prevent it.
Just then.
"Boom!"
Within the Cave Heaven Fragment at Jiangnan Gantang Port, Chongguang activated his ritual apparatus. Fortune immediately sensed the Lampfire of Restoration shifting its gaze.
"Hmph? Chongguang?"
Fortune's brows furrowed at the sight. Though not yet a failure, this interference from Chongguang introduced dangerous variables.
He immediately turned toward someone nearby.
There stood True Monarch Qingcheng Feixue, dressed in elegant scholar's robes, her dignified demeanor unshaken by Chongguang's appearance.
"Why is this happening, Dao companion?" Fortune couldn't help but ask. After all, she had abandoned Chongguang and chosen to back him instead. How could she still allow these petty disruptions?
To Fortune's surprise, Qingcheng Feixue made no effort to explain. Instead, she cast him a disdainful glance before calmly replying, "Rather than asking me, consider how to quickly reclaim the Fruit Position's favor. In the end, one must rely on oneself!"
"I seek Dao companions who can actually be of use."
"Not impotent failures!"
The implication was clear - she had permitted Chongguang's actions!
True, Qingcheng Feixue had already discarded Chongguang, yet she had not prevented him from seeking other paths - she had tacitly approved!
At this moment, Fortune could only take a deep breath, swallowing his retorts:
"This concerns the path of cultivation. To reach Golden Core Late stage, one misstep means total defeat. At such a critical moment... she still insists on meaningless principles!"
"This... madwoman!"
Why had Qingcheng Feixue earned the title "Madwoman" among the True Monarchs?
Was it simply because she enjoyed duels and appeared somewhat unstable? Nonsense. In the Holy Sect, such traits wouldn't even place someone among the notables.
The real reason was: she had her own principles!
She firmly believed "one must rely on oneself", living by this creed from Qi Refining, Foundation Building, all the way to Golden Core formation. She never wavered.
What kind of world was this?
Either you devoured others, or were devoured yourself. Among those who achieved True Monarch, who still held principles? Their only principle was having no principles.
But Qingcheng Feixue was different.
She actually had principles!
For these principles, for her convictions, she would even place her cultivation path aside. To Fortune, this was utterly unreasonable.
If this wasn't madness, what was?
"Fine."
Fortune took a deep breath, quickly regaining composure: "This place is already under the watch of the True Monarchs, but no problem. The advantage still lies with me!"
Just then.
"Crack!"
With a crisp explosion, boundless purple qi suddenly manifested across the vast heavens of Jiangbei, surging toward Fortune like a tidal wave!
In the Underworld, an unnamed place.
This was a palace located within the cycle of rebirth, its construction peculiar. The building materials were Kunshan Jade Fragments, a type of metal-element spiritual material.
Belonging to the Waxen Gold classification.
A palace constructed from this material harmonized sunlight and moonlight, gathered yin and yang energies, and radiated the true golden color, possessing the wondrous properties of form preservation and life nurturing.
Within this palace flowed an endless river, without beginning or end, limitless and boundless.
This was the Everflowing Water.
Looking closer, the surging river formed swirling waves that enclosed a domain where dragons and snakes coiled, supporting the entire palace structure.
This was the Sandy Soil Earth.
Entering the palace, one would see a golden lamp burning with flickering flame, illuminating the chamber while revealing the silhouette of a figure completely shrouded in mist.
The Lampfire of Restoration!
Here in this realm, four Fruit Position powers intertwined - fire generating earth, earth generating metal, metal generating water, water generating wood. Together they formed an unimaginable veil, deceiving the very natural order of the Underworld itself, carving out a modest territory from the cycle of rebirth.
Great Forest Wood!
"What a pity."
Within the palace, Ang Xiao stood with hands behind his back, the mist around him never dispersing. In his hands, he idly toyed with a lifelike puppet.
"All those years ago, I merely prepared this Retribution Incarnation as a precaution, never expecting it would actually be needed. How many heroes exist in this world... Looking back, I was far too hasty back then, my preparations insufficient."
Undeniably, he was now trapped within the Underworld.
But this was self-imposed confinement, a necessary step toward ascension. It didn't mean he was completely powerless.
"With this, I can make one journey."
His true form couldn't leave.
But empowered by him, this Retribution Incarnation could still unleash combat strength far exceeding Golden Core Mid-Rank. More than enough to stop a mere Fortune.
"Though that's true, it's not my true form acting. Under the blockade of the world's True Monarchs, I'll need time to gradually suppress them and find an opportunity to stop Fortune. Without Chongguang buying me time, Fortune might have actually succeeded."
Unfortunately, the Retribution Incarnation could only be used once.
After battling in the Modern Realm, its energy traces would be impossible to conceal, even from the Veil of Cognition. Returning to the Underworld would mean immediate destruction by the cycle of rebirth.
"Fine, I'll make this journey!"
"Boom!"
Purple qi filled the heavens, coalescing into an eye that blotted out sky and earth, gazing downward until its sight settled directly on Fortune.
Though Ang Xiao's focus was on Fortune, even the residual effects of his gaze created immense pressure felt by cultivators across the world.
Even Lv Yang within the Heaven's South Gate felt it.
"As expected!"
Lv Yang looked to the sky, unsurprised by Ang Xiao's intervention. In truth, he had anticipated this as the reason Fortune's golden ascension would fail.
Though unaware of the Retribution Incarnation's existence, he knew from past life experience that Ang Xiao had intervened before because of Chongguang's golden ascension, single-handedly battling multiple True Monarchs to a stalemate. If he could act then, there was no reason he wouldn't act now.
"My opportunity... has come!"
In the next moment, Lv Yang's eyes gleamed with light. Without question, all the True Monarchs' attention would be fixed on Fortune's golden ascension.
No one would notice him anymore.
"Time to reincarnate and deliver the Shenjin to my original body!"
(End of Chapter)
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