Chapter 590: Are You Serious, Jian?

Chapter 590: Chapter 590: Are You Serious, Jian?

Xu Yunfan wasn’t particularly bothered. He hadn’t exerted much effort, not even fully stirring the Magical Power within him.

The brief exchange had given him a clear sense of the characteristics of the Celestial Realm’s Cultivation System.

Those who focused on Magical Techniques and Divine Techniques, like the captured Star Officials and Fairy Xuepo, possessed pure and vast Magical Power and a wide array of methods.

Those who focused on fundamental Cultivation Methods, like the Celestial Emperor and Celestial Empress, had profound Daoist Cultivation and an enduring aura, able to contend with Celestial Beings and the Celestial Dao for their very existence.

And those like Yang Jian who specialized in Martial Arts had vitality like a dragon and god-like Combat Techniques. Every strike carried their personal will and Magical Power, and their physical bodies were honed to perfection.

As for which of the three paths was superior, against the backdrop of this realm’s destruction, there was no hierarchy—it all came down to the depth of one’s personal Cultivation.

This Immortal Master Erlang, Yang Jian, had clearly taken the path of physical Martial Arts to its absolute peak.

No wonder he could unleash such terrifying combat power despite only being at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.

Still, it was lacking something. At the very least, the fundamental tier of this Celestial Realm couldn’t compare to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

The Magic derived from it would also be of a lower tier.

From the sticks, so to speak.

Xu Yunfan stopped dodging.

Facing the myriad glints of Yang Jian’s blade as it came cleaving down again, a purple-gold thunderous light erupted from all around him.

The Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture was no longer held in check and began to circulate at full power. His Sea of Consciousness’s Grotto Heaven Embryo hummed and vibrated, granting him a majestic and vast reserve of Magical Power, as if from an Inner Cosmos.

There was no flashy Magic, only a burst of the most primal power. His two Talent Divine Techniques, the Dou Character Technique and the Arctic Purple Star Suppressing Evil Qi, activated in an instant, causing his strength to multiply.

The Divine Technique for his Late-Stage Foundation Establishment had yet to be conceived. He only needed to wait for his Grotto Heaven Embryo to reach a certain stage, and it would manifest in his mind naturally.

However, Xu Yunfan was fairly certain it would be related to the Divine Sky Thunderbolt.

Xu Yunfan made a grasping motion with his right hand, as if seizing an invisible bolt of lightning.

His entire right arm was instantly covered in a layer of purple-gold, crystalline scales etched with flowing Thunder Runes!

The Divine Sky Thunder Armor.

He took a single step, and the very earth trembled.

He threw a punch toward the silver sea of blades that tore through the void.

"Break!"

Wherever his fist passed, space was brutally compressed and began to vibrate, groaning as if unable to bear the strain.

An immense, tyrannical force of pure thunder, infused with Destruction True Intent, brutally tore through the layers of blade light before him.

BOOM!

CRACK!

The Purple Gold Thunder Fist clashed head-on with the blade of the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber.

A terrifying boom, far louder than the clash of metal—like a giant god beating a celestial drum—reverberated throughout the cosmos.

A violent, ring-shaped shockwave erupted outward, completely leveling all the ruins and debris within a radius of several hundred yards.

Dust, mixed with tiny streams of turbulent energy, shot skyward in a multicolored plume.

Yang Jian’s entire body trembled violently. He felt an unimaginably immense force, mixed with rampaging thunder, crash into him through the blade like a colossal, furious tide.

His divine body, a source of great pride and honed to perfection, was instantly thrown into chaos. His vitality roiled, his bones and sinews screamed in protest, and the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber was nearly wrenched from his grasp.

He let out a muffled grunt as a trickle of pale gold blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were filled with utter disbelief and horror.

His opponent’s raw power was far greater than his own.

Worse, it contained a destructive power originating from a higher plane, one capable of shaking the very Laws themselves.

Xu Yunfan also felt a strong recoil in his fist, but his body only swayed slightly. The glowing runes on the Purple Gold Thunder Armor covering his arm flowed, easily neutralizing the force.

At that moment, the full extent of his power was on display: the immense Magical Power of a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, amplified by his Grotto Heaven Embryo, and his Divine Sky Thunder Body, refined to its absolute limit.

"The peak of the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment... is this your limit? If this is all you have..."

A glint of coldness flashed in Xu Yunfan’s eyes. "...what a waste of such fine Martial Arts."

He stopped toying with him. His left hand, hidden within his sleeve, formed a hand seal.

HUMMMM!

The All Heaven Star Spirit Banner appeared silently above Yang Jian’s head, its profound surface instantly enveloping the newly cleared area.

A Sucking and Restraining Power, ten times more potent than the one used against Daoist Master Zi Mo, descended with a roar.

Simultaneously, countless phantoms of Star Monarchs materialized within the banner. Motes of starlight rained down, weaving into a vast, invisible net that instantly suppressed Yang Jian’s Magical Power, which was already sluggish from his injuries.

"Suppress!"

Xu Yunfan performed a ritual step, formed a hand seal, and uttered the low command.

Yang Jian roared and struggled furiously. A pillar of golden-red light shot from his Celestial Eye in an attempt to pierce the banner’s veil, while his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber unleashed one final, brilliant slash.

However, the Star Spirit Banner was an artifact bordering on the level of a Spiritual Treasure. When fully activated by Xu Yunfan’s Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, how could its might possibly be resisted by someone merely at the Mid-Stage?

Especially not when Yang Jian was already suffering from internal injuries.

The golden-red pillar of light was devoured by the phantom of a swirling galaxy within the banner. The silver blade aura struck the banner’s surface, only to cause a few ripples before vanishing without a trace.

The invisible net of Star Power tightened, and Yang Jian felt like a bird caught in a spider’s web. His Divine Soul and physical body were being forcefully suppressed and pulled apart by a cold, magnificent will.

"No!"

Filled with endless reluctance and despair, Yang Jian’s figure twisted violently amidst the starlight before he was finally pulled completely into the deep, boundless space within the banner.

The ethereal light receded, and the Star Spirit Banner transformed into a streak of light, returning to Xu Yunfan’s sleeve.

He sent his Divine Thought into the banner. ℯℯ𝑙.

Unlike Daoist Master Zi Mo, who was processed quickly, Yang Jian’s Star Spirit was far more resilient. His residual combat will and personal memories were abnormally stubborn, struggling fiercely against the suppression of the banner’s cosmos. The vertical eye mark on his brow shone with a brilliant light, attempting to resist the banner’s power of assimilation.

The Star Spirit Banner vibrated in Xu Yunfan’s hand, its Starlight swirling around Yang Jian’s spirit, slowly grinding away his will to resist like a millstone.

’His strength is impressive. As expected of a figure who once shook the Celestial Realm. Refining you will take a bit of extra effort.’

Xu Yunfan felt a sense of satisfaction. Yang Jian’s potential clearly surpassed that of the previous True Immortals. Once refined into a Banner Spirit, he would become a commanding Star Monarch, at least at the level of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

Three days and nights later, the Star Spirit Banner trembled slightly.

Xu Yunfan, who had been sitting cross-legged in midair, rose and took hold of the banner pole before him.

"It’s done!"

Xu Yunfan watched as Yang Jian emerged from the Star Spirit Banner.

With a resigned expression, Yang Jian gave Xu Yunfan a deep bow.

Having been absorbed into the Ten Thousand Souls—no, the Star Spirit Banner—he naturally understood that his life and death were no longer his own. His new master hadn’t even erased his consciousness. Although this was partly to enhance the Star Spirit Banner’s power, it meant his mind had been preserved.

"Your Eminence, if it is convenient, could you perhaps travel a thousand miles north to Dragon-Subduing Cliff, find Pengyuan Divine General Nezha, and guide his remnant soul into this banner as well?"

’Such a good deal?’

Hearing this, Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

’Yang Jian was just refined into a Banner Spirit, and *this* is his first thought?’

’He’s asking me to capture Nezha’s remnant soul?’

Xu Yunfan was somewhat surprised. "Are you serious?" he asked.

Yang Jian replied, "There is no hope left in this place. If he can enter the banner, he might still have a chance to survive."

After a moment’s thought, Xu Yunfan understood the reasoning behind it.

The Celestial Realm was on the verge of collapse. Whether it was Yang Jian or Nezha’s potential remnant soul, remaining in this doomed world—a world destined to be devoured by the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm—was a death sentence. Their final fate would be to either be crushed by the aftershocks from the True Monarch Dao Realm or to perish completely with the World Heaven itself. Neither end was much better than the complete obliteration of body and soul.