Chapter 587: Nothing But the Ant Realm

Chapter 587: Chapter 587: Nothing But the Ant Realm

After taking stock of his gains from this round of cultivation, Xu Yunfan’s gaze once again fell upon the chaotic, collapsing ruins of the World Heaven.

The Celestial Emperor Dao Fruit had already been carved up, but the battle for the Western Buddha Head’s Tathagata Dao Fruit was far from over. Every so often, the shockwaves of earth-shattering collisions would ripple out from the extreme distance.

"Huh?!"

Xu Yunfan sensed it clearly. It seemed the forces of the Puchen Pure Land had joined the fray. The last shockwave from the clash was clearly the ripple of a Dao Fruit from the Puchen Pure Land.

It must be the Great Awakening Bodhisattva from the Western Extreme Demon Suppression Hall, the wielder of the Nirvana Red Lotus Dao Fruit.

’I knew it,’ he thought. ’How could the Puchen Pure Land possibly pass up a Great World Heaven like this?’

’Even though they missed the appetizer, the Western Buddha Head’s Tathagata Dao Fruit is still incredibly valuable.’

Xu Yunfan stroked his chin, not particularly surprised.

’None of the three great sects of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm are willing to be left behind.’

’They’re all in a cutthroat race against each other.’

His gaze shifted.

Within the ruins of the collapsed Celestial Palace and the surviving corners of its Secret Realms, many of this world’s last treasures still remained.

They were being frenziedly snatched up by the Primordial Sect, the Wansheng Sword Sect, and the cultivators of this world who were just barely clinging to life.

A flicker of excitement grew in Xu Yunfan’s eyes.

’Good. The more chaotic, the better. That way, it’ll be easier for me to fish in troubled waters.’

’The Celestial Realm is on its last legs, and with this pandemonium, it’s the perfect opportunity to capture Foundation Establishment-level experts to fill the All Heaven Star Monarch Banner.’

The karma from any killing done in this world wouldn’t follow him back to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, an opportunity Xu Yunfan naturally wouldn’t pass up.

’Now that I’ve reached Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, it’s time to start working towards the Golden Attainment Fruit Position.’

’Although I have the Attribute Panel, which will allow me to smoothly receive the Fruit Position and successfully ascend to the Golden Core realm...’

’...that’s only the simplest part of advancing to Golden Core True Monarch. The Heaven and Earth Tribulation that follows, and even more so the Human Tribulation, are the trickiest parts.’

’A True Monarch launching a sneak attack on you—how terrifying is that?’

’It’s absolutely shameless.’

’My *Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture* has reached the Perfection realm, I’ve broken through to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, my power has soared, and I have the Star Spirit Banner in hand. If not now, when would be a better time to hunt?’

’I’m still a long way from my goal of gathering three hundred and sixty-five Star Monarchs, forming the All Heaven Star Formation, and elevating the Star Spirit Banner to the Spirit Treasure Realm.’

Xu Yunfan hesitated no longer.

Although there were still remnants of the World Heaven Root Qi here, it was a drop in the bucket for stabilizing his Grotto Heaven Embryo.

Furthermore, condensing his Immortal Golden Nature could not be rushed; it required quiet meditation to comprehend that wisp of Innate Golden Nature.

Even with the assistance of the Attribute Panel, it would still take a considerable amount of time, and it wasn’t worth doing that meditation here in this World Heaven.

There was little point in staying any longer.

「Three years.」

He had spent three full years in secluded cultivation within this abyssal fissure, on the very fringes of the area affected by the True Monarch Dao Realm, absorbing the last vestiges of essence scattered by the World Heaven’s collapse, as still and silent as a boulder.

Now that his cultivation was complete, it was time to come out of seclusion and pick up some loot.

With a wave of his sleeve, the several Breath-Concealing Restrictions and Illusion Arrays he had maintained for years flickered once and silently dissipated.

In an instant, his senses were flooded by the clamorous roar of chaotic energy torrents, the bone-chilling killing intent radiating from fierce magical combat in the distance, and the almost tangible aura of decay and calamity that permeated the world.

’There’s a fight nearby?’

An inscrutable look flashed in Xu Yunfan’s eyes. He instantly pushed his Triple Concealment Secret Technique to its absolute limit. The powerful physique forged by his *Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture* activated the Thunderlight Star Flame within, and his entire body transformed into a faint, pale purple phantom, rocketing up from the bottom of the abyssal fissure.

He burst through the roiling magma and thick dust. The moment he emerged from the abyss, his vision widened, revealing an even more shocking sight.

The sky above had long since lost its clarity.

Enormous, web-like cracks stretched across the void, revealing a heart-pounding darkness and chaos within. Rampaging spatial storms, like greedy behemoths, constantly tore at and devoured the remnants of the World Heaven.

The sight shook Xu Yunfan to his core. The Celestial Dao of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm was slowly pulling this World Heaven into itself.

Colorful but utterly destructive energy torrents rampaged across the firmament, mostly the aftereffects of clashing True Monarch-level Magical and Divine Techniques.

The Celestial River, which had once flowed like a Jade Belt above the Immortal Palace, was now just a fragmented, murky band of light. It looked like a dying python, convulsing and struggling, occasionally flickering with a faint glow.

As far as the eye could see, the land was shattered and adrift, Divine Mountains had collapsed into ruin, and ornate halls with carved beams and painted rafters had been reduced to dust. The burning Immortal Wood Spirit Roots were nothing but charcoal.

The air was thick with the lingering stench of blood, mixed with the acrid smells of char, medicinal power, and Resentful Fiend aura, and...

...the heavy scent of the World Heaven itself being devoured, the scent of its Celestial Dao on an irreversible path toward utter death and decay.

’The devouring of a World Heaven... It’s this terrifying.’

Just as he emerged from the abyss and took a moment to survey his surroundings and reflect on the scene...

...a sharp, piercing shriek tore through the air. It carried a bone-chillingly sharp killing intent that clung to him like a shadow, erupting from the ruins of a collapsed palace complex off to the side.

It aimed straight for his heart from behind.

Fast!

Vicious!

Cunning!

The projectile was not Sword Qi or a Magical Treasure, but a Flying Needle, only about an inch long, that shimmered with a cyan-gold luster and was shaped like a hornet’s stinger.

The piercing power concentrated within it was a hundred times greater than that of an ordinary Flying Sword.

Moreover, it carried a strange, sinister aura designed to cunningly erode the Spiritual Light of magical artifacts.

’A needle-type magical artifact refined by the Primordial Sect?’

"A Heart-Piercing Needle?!"

But Xu Yunfan’s Divine Sense was exceptionally keen. The moment he emerged, it had already spread out like flowing mercury, alert to his surroundings. He naturally identified the incoming object in an instant.

It was a sinister Yin Poisonous Magical Artifact from the Demon Sect, designed specifically to shatter Protective Spiritual Light. Tempered with a potent poison, its victims would suffer a paralyzed Divine Soul and the complete collapse of their physical body before death.

The ambusher had clearly timed their attack for the exact moment his focus had wavered.

The timing was perfect.

Had an ordinary Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator been caught off guard by such an attack, they would have been severely injured, if not killed outright.

However, Xu Yunfan was already at Late-Stage Foundation Establishment. His Divine Thought was powerful, and his physical body had been tempered to a degree that was simply unthinkable for his peers.

His eyes turned cold. He didn’t even turn around.

Without pausing his forward momentum in the slightest, and without even bothering to cast a spell, he simply whipped his right arm back behind him.

His fist cut through the air without a sound.

An extremely fine, high-speed layer of rotating Purple Gold Thunder Gang instantly condensed over his fist.

Beneath his skin, the color of Golden Crystal flashed for a moment.

CLANG!!!

A metallic clang, so piercing it could tear one’s Divine Soul, suddenly erupted.

The Cyan Gold Poison Needle, capable of piercing a giant shield of Refined Steel and melting through Protective Spiritual Light, felt as if it had struck the very center of the world’s gravity the instant it made contact with Xu Yunfan’s fist.

The sinister spiritual light, the piercing power, and the corrosive aura condensed upon the needle were all brutally shattered and disintegrated at the point of contact by the absurdly tyrannical force of his fist, combined with the law-shattering power of the Purple Gold Thunder Gang within.

PUFF!

The Poison Needle failed to even leave a white mark on his skin, which glinted with a metallic sheen. It simply dissolved into a puff of blackish-green metallic dust, instantly scattered by the violent force of his punch.

"Hmph!"

At the same time, a stifled grunt of utter, disbelieving horror sounded from the palace ruins.