Chapter 589: Yang Jian of the Celestial Realm

Chapter 589: Chapter 589: Yang Jian of the Celestial Realm

The Star Spirit Banner unfurled again and again, its ghostly light flickering erratically.

Xu Yunfan zipped around the Celestial Realm with the Star Spirit Banner in tow.

A Celestial Realm Fairy Xuepo, who wielded the Nine Nether Cold Soul, tried to hide by freezing a hundred-li cliff face. A single Thunder Finger shattered her protective icy aura, and she was sucked into the banner, screaming.

An old Poisonous Immortal monster was riding a Ten-Thousand-Poison Golden Toad and spewing a Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma, attempting to kill every living thing in his path. The Purple Gold Thunder Gang shattered the miasma at its source. The golden toad, along with the immortal’s Divine Soul, was absorbed into the Star Banner to become the Poison Toad Star Monarch.

Then there were the Barefoot Immortals hiding deep within the ruins of Jasper Pool, which had turned into a lake of lava. They were trying to refine the remaining Immortal Spirit Water to heal their wounds, but Xu Yunfan tracked them down by their faint Spiritual Power fluctuations. With a sweep of his Star Banner, he devoured them all, along with the murky pool of water.

The more Xu Yunfan zipped around, the more delighted he became. The Celestial Realm was on the verge of being devoured, and the Celestial Dao itself was beginning to shatter and disintegrate. Many of the profound Dao Principles were now laid bare before his very eyes.

It was an incredibly rare opportunity.

As time passed, Xu Yunfan’s gains were substantial. The points of light within the Star Spirit Banner grew brighter, and the trajectories of their starlight began to resemble the nascent form of a Grand Array.

Xu Yunfan was like a diligent miner, silently extracting riches from the very edge of the chaotic battlefield.

「Until one day.」

Near the ruins of an Observatory, where the fluctuations of a Breaking Boundary Array still lingered, Xu Yunfan had just suppressed a Celestial Realm Star Official with lightning speed. The Star Official had been holding a Star Compass, attempting to activate the remnant array to fight back.

Just as he was putting away the Star Spirit Banner and preparing to slip into the next shadow...

"Outer Realm Evil Demon! How dare you harm an Immortal Official of my Celestial Realm!"

A sharp roar, like a sudden clap of thunder, tore through the air, carrying with it an unparalleled, piercing intent.

A chill ran through Xu Yunfan’s Heart and Spirit, and he spun around abruptly.

A hundred zhang away, atop a pile of rubble formed from collapsed glazed Jade Pillars, stood a towering figure.

The man wore a Three Mountains Flying Phoenix Crown, was clad in Silver Silk Chain Armor under a Profound Battle Robe, and wielded a uniquely shaped Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber that emanated a frosty light.

His features were resolute, his eyes like lightning. Most strikingly, there was a faintly closed vertical mark on his forehead, between his brows. It contained a divine light and emanated a heart-pounding power of insight and illusion-breaking.

A formidable battle intent, equivalent to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, mixed with an extremely pure Martial Dao Will and Immortal Spirit Power, locked firmly onto Xu Yunfan.

This battle intent was exceptionally pure and condensed, far beyond that of any True Immortal from the Celestial Realm he had encountered before. It felt as if it had been tempered through countless trials of blood and fire—a completely sublimated version of the Martial Dao.

’Interesting.’

Xu Yunfan’s eyes gleamed as they swept over the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber and the vertical eye on the man’s forehead. A name from the myths of his past life, one that thundered in his ears, instantly surfaced in his mind.

"Yang Jian?"

He wasn’t surprised by the appearance of a character like Yang Jian. After all, this Celestial Realm had a Jade Emperor and a Celestial Empress; a few more legendary figures wouldn’t be strange. Hadn’t the young Divine General he’d met earlier been called Nezha?

Still, to see such distinct features correspond so directly to the name caused a strange ripple in his heart.

’Why are there so many things that are so similar, yet not quite right?’

Upon hearing this, the Divine General holding the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber’s pupils contracted sharply. The vertical mark on his forehead seemed to throb violently as he demanded in a harsh voice,

"Who are you? How do you know my name?!"

Xu Yunfan’s thoughts raced, but his face revealed a subtle smirk. His tone was placid and unhurried, as if he were stating a trivial matter.

"When I first broke into the Celestial Realm, I casually dealt with some arrogant brat who didn’t know his place. He was riding on two flaming wheels and using a spear that shot fire.

Before he died, he said something about Immortal Master Erlang, Yang Jian of the Celestial Realm, being his elder brother who would surely avenge him, and so on.

Hmph. He was so noisy. I crushed his Divine Soul without a second thought."

His words were half-truth, half-lie. The name Nezha came from his past life’s memories, which he’d casually used as bait to infuriate his opponent.

The effect was immediate.

"You killed Nezha?!"

"You’ll pay with your life!"

Yang Jian’s eyes blazed with fury.

The end of this world had already tainted the hearts of its inhabitants with a touch of despair. Xu Yunfan’s words instantly ignited all the grief, indignation, and killing intent within him.

The vertical eye on his forehead, which had been tightly shut, snapped open.

BUZZ!

A beam of golden-red light, condensed to its absolute limit and as brilliant as the scorching sun, instantly tore through space. It carried a terrifying power that could incinerate everything and perceive Origin itself as it shot straight for Xu Yunfan’s forehead.

This was the Heavenly Eye Breaking Illusion Golden Light!

At the same time, the ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered. His entire being transformed into a silver dragon of fury, ripping through the void. The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber sliced through the sky. Before the blade even arrived, its terrifyingly sharp and domineering saber intent—an intent seemingly capable of cleaving a ten-thousand-zhang Divine Mountain in two—had already locked onto Xu Yunfan.

"DIE!!!"

His roar shook the cosmos. The golden-red beam was as fast as an aurora, striking before the attack that launched it. The saber’s aura was like a bolt of silk, powerful enough to split heaven and earth.

Xu Yunfan snorted coldly, a hint of gravity mixed with excitement flashing in his eyes.

Peak Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment combat power, and his opponent followed a pure path of martial combat. This was the perfect opportunity to test his own Late-Stage Foundation Establishment strength.

’If I can absorb Yang Jian into the Star Spirit Banner, he would definitely be a powerful Banner Spirit.’

Facing the golden-red beam that tore through the air, seemingly capable of piercing his very Divine Soul, the stable, ceaselessly rotating Grotto Heaven Embryo in his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly. A heavy, barrier-like sensation, originating from the world’s very foundation, instantly reinforced his Divine Soul.

His Divine Thought was like a monolith, unshakable.

The Breaking Illusion Golden Light shot onto it, like the scorching sun on solid ice. Although it caused a violent fluctuation in his Divine Soul, it failed to truly harm Xu Yunfan’s core.

In almost the same instant that he resisted the golden light, Xu Yunfan moved.

He didn’t choose to clash head-on with the incomparably sharp Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber. With a slight flicker of his body, arcs of electricity flared into existence. As if merging with the chaotic energy flowing beneath his feet, he vanished in the nick of time, leaving only a faint purple afterimage to be shredded by the saber’s aura.

"BOOM!!"

Yang Jian’s strike missed, landing where Xu Yunfan had just stood. The violent power was unleashed, completely pulverizing the already dilapidated ruins of the Observatory and leaving behind a massive, bottomless gash. Even space itself twisted violently for a moment.

"Hmph?"

Yang Jian’s heart tightened. His opponent had dodged his killing blow so easily.

His combat experience was incredibly vast. Without hesitation, his Celestial Eye’s golden light swept out again, scanning the void like a searchlight. At the same time, with a flick of his wrist, his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber created a net of countless silver saber slashes, both real and illusory, sealing off the space in all directions.

"Do all you powerful Immortals from the Celestial Realm enjoy close-quarters combat this much? Your Martial Arts are indeed exquisite, but it’s a pity..."

Xu Yunfan’s voice, carrying a hint of inquiry, echoed like a phantom’s from a broken wall ten zhang to Yang Jian’s left.

"When facing Magical Techniques and Divine Techniques, it seems your path falls short. ’One force to break the Ten Thousand Laws’ and achieving sainthood through the physical body is a fine path, but ultimately difficult to master."

Yang Jian spun around, glaring furiously. His saber’s momentum shifted again, sweeping forward like a tempest. "You heretical demon, you don’t dare face me head-on, only scurrying and hiding like a rat! How dare you presume to comment on the combat methods of my Celestial Realm?!"