Chapter 615: Enough to Kill You
Xu Yunfan moved swiftly, unhesitatingly refining the Taiyin Immortal Golden Nature coiled around his fingertip and absorbing it into his body.
This wisp of Golden Nature originated from the Celestial Empress of the Celestial Realm and contained profound Dao Principles.
Since he possessed the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit, the Golden Nature shared the same origin. As he had long been prepared, the refining process was perfectly smooth.
The Golden Nature was only a medium for a temporary boost, not an essential item.
Thus, it was no great loss for Xu Yunfan to absorb it.
This was just one of his lesser trump cards. Besides, the Celestial Empress had already become a Banner Spirit within his banner, so he could probably squeeze another wisp or two out of her in the future.
The refined Golden Nature instantly flowed into his meridians, triggering a resonance with the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit within the banner. In that instant, the Power of Taiyin surged throughout his body.
His aura soared, and in a moment, he crossed the threshold of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment to reach the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm.
The mark of Foundation Establishment Perfection is using one’s own Essence, Qi, and Spirit, along with the Dao they cultivate, to condense a wisp of Immortal Golden Nature. Once the Golden Nature has accumulated to a certain point, one develops their own Imagery. Through this, they can begin to earn the favor of a Fruit Position.
Refining the Golden Nature now had only granted him a temporary boost, not a true breakthrough.
The Golden Nature burned like firewood, borrowing the power of the Dao Fruit to grant him combat strength capable of matching Ye Yuan.
Without the foundation of the Dao Fruit, forcefully refining the Golden Nature would have undoubtedly resulted in a backlash.
’Thankfully, the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit is in my hands.’
Just as the refinement was complete, Xu Yunfan felt waves of Magical Power surging within him. The Divine Sky Magical Power roiled around his body, creating a roar like a dragon’s cry that sent the sea of clouds churning for ten miles in every direction.
The roar contained the ultimate Destruction Dao Rhyme of the Divine Sky Thunderbolt, the sharp aura of the Fury Killing Sword Intent, and the profound transformations of the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi.
Even Ye Yuan’s expression couldn’t help but change.
He watched as Xu Yunfan committed such a reckless waste, trading a wisp of Immortal Golden Nature for a brief moment at Foundation Establishment Perfection.
He snorted coldly. "You haven’t even comprehended an Imagery. So what if your Magical Power and Daoist Cultivation have reached Foundation Establishment Perfection? It’s all just an empty shell!"
Xu Yunfan’s eyes were indifferent.
"It’s enough to kill you."
As his voice fell, Xu Yunfan shook the All Heaven Star Spirit Banner once more.
This banner was the vessel for the All Heaven Star Formation. He had reforged it by combining it with the Dharma Gate of the Eight Scenes Refining Sky Array, investing the majority of his resources into the process. All sorts of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures he had obtained from Chu Chengnan and even the Celestial Realm had been burned as fuel for it.
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was originally a Growth-type Magical Treasure, to say nothing of the All Heaven Star Spirit Banner which was born from it. With so many resources poured into it, the banner naturally ranked among top-tier Magical Treasures. If he could use it to ascend to the Golden Core Fruit Position, its promotion to a Spiritual Treasure would be a matter of course.
The moment the banner unfurled, a vast, starry sky manifested, with three hundred sixty-five main stars arrayed across the firmament.
At that moment, Xu Yunfan formed a hand seal and activated the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture.
The immense Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, long accumulated within his Dantian, gushed forth. The Eight-Colored Clouds swirled ceaselessly above the Star Banner.
The Li fire blazed, the Kan water was deep and profound, the Gen mountain was solid and heavy, and the Zhen thunder was violent and wild. The eight phenomena of Cloud Qi intertwined to form a torrent of Creation.
The Cloud Qi wrapped around the flagpole of the Star Spirit Banner, causing its body to tremble violently.
Infused with this power, the illusory stars on the banner’s surface began to rotate ten times faster. The silvery-white Star Rockets transformed into incandescent pillars of light that seemed to burn the very heavens, their power skyrocketing.
At the same time, Xu Yunfan’s Divine Thought pierced into the space within the banner.
The Star Spirit Banner’s innate Power of Enlightenment activated, forcibly issuing a command to the Banner Spirit Consciousness to take its place upon the All Heaven Star Position.
Thus, the starlight of the All Heaven Star Formation began to boil. Lured in by the array, the starlight in the sky above the East Sea bloomed to its absolute peak.
He no longer had any mind for verbal sparring, nor did he need to further provoke his opponent with words.
His time in the Foundation Establishment Perfection state was short; he needed to end this battle quickly.
The Star Spirit Banner in Xu Yunfan’s hand trembled violently as the three hundred sixty-five main stars on its surface suddenly flared. Boundless starlight poured down like a celestial river, carrying with it the Supreme Yin and Cold Kui Water Yin Thunder condensed from the East Sea’s Kui Water Essence Qi. It all formed a torrent of destruction that crashed down upon Ye Yuan.
Under the onslaught of the Thunderbolt ignited by his Divine Sky Magical Power, the once-calm sea below instantly transformed into a boiling marsh of lightning. The pressure it emanated was enough to crush any Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Ye Yuan’s long hair whipped about wildly in the glow of the starlight and lightning, and an ugly expression appeared on his face, which was usually as hard as iron.
’This man has too many trump cards. Judging by his relaxed expression, heaven knows what else he can pull out.’
Whether it was the Star Spirit Banner’s All Heaven Star Formation or the Fury Killing Sword Intent, both shook him to the core.
At this very moment, Ye Yuan was already thinking of retreat.
He glanced at Ye Xuan, who had been tossed aside by Xu Yunfan and was still floating in mid-air.
’I’ll just have to make another plan later.’
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Ye Yuan took a deep breath and cut away the distracting thoughts in his mind.
’If I want to escape, fleeing blindly will only lead to a swift death. I can only fight my way out by unleashing my ultimate power.’
’If only I had pursued Lu Chuan or Zhang Qiaoluo instead.’
For no particular reason, this thought surfaced in Ye Yuan’s mind.
’At least those two wouldn’t pull out one unexpected trump card after another like Xu Yunfan.’
Even while suppressed by the grand array, Ye Yuan’s aura remained as deep and still as an abyss. Yet, an unprecedentedly fierce and desperate will erupted from his entire being.
"HRAAAGH!"
Ye Yuan roared at the sky, raising his crack-covered Returning Steel Sword high with both hands.
This Lifebound Sword Artifact—which had accompanied him since he first set foot on the path of the Dao, been nourished for hundreds of years, and survived countless bloody battles—let out a tragic hum that surpassed its limits, urged on by its master as he burned his own Dao Foundation and will.
His ferocious Sword Intent, already at the very limit of the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm, surged wildly, suddenly unfurling into a colossal Anomaly in the void.
Pure White Forbidden Domain: Return to the Other Shore!
This was the ultimate manifestation of Ye Yuan’s lifelong, unyielding will of the Sword Dao, his most powerful challenge for the Majestic Sword Dao Fruit Position.
Within the Forbidden Realm, all color was stripped away, leaving only light and ferocity, both pure to the absolute extreme.
It was as if his entire being, along with the sword in his hand, had transformed into the sole source of light in the world, bearing all the power of this Pure White Forbidden Domain.
The annihilating starlight descending from the Star Array was actually forced to a standstill by the Anomaly, unable to advance even an inch.
"SEVER!!"
What erupted from Ye Yuan’s mouth was not a sound, but a shriek of will, like a soul being torn asunder.
The Returning Steel Sword fell silently. There was no earth-shattering roar, only a platinum-white line, fine as a hair. It was condensed to the absolute limit, seemingly capable of slicing through all of creation.
This was the ultimate secret of his Sword Dao, a strike of no return, an absolute kill bought by burning everything he had. Its speed surpassed the limits of what a Divine Thought could capture.
It targeted Xu Yunfan at the core of the array, ignoring the layers of the star curtain and closing the distance in an instant.
「At that moment.」
A roar that pierced straight to the Divine Soul exploded from Xu Yunfan’s chest.
The calmness deep within his eyes was replaced by a frenzied rage sufficient to incinerate the heavens.
His Martial Arts Celestial Eye instantly opened to its limit, and a golden light shot from its vertical pupil, blazing like two suns.
The Eight-Colored Clouds surged madly into the flagpole of the Star Spirit Banner.
The rotation speed of the illusory stars on the banner’s surface instantly increased by more than tenfold! At the same time, his Divine Thought pierced into the banner’s inner space, and its innate Power of Enlightenment activated.
"Yang Jian, Nezha, Sunx Wukong, Ye Kai, Ferren, Sunx Yue, Wang Qi... All Star Monarchs, take your posts! Help me suppress and kill this beast!"
In a flash of ethereal light, figures with wildly different auras instantly appeared in the main star positions of the All Heaven Star Formation.