Chapter 595: Innate Spirits Are Indeed Extraordinary

Chapter 595: Chapter 595: Innate Spirits Are Indeed Extraordinary

The movements that sought to tear everything apart gradually grew stiff.

That defiant, heaven-storming will, under the relentless assault of the Circulation Star Power, the continuous corrosion of the Eight Treasures Radiance, and the fundamental refinement of the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, was like stubborn iron repeatedly beaten by a Heavy Hammer. Its internal structure finally began to loosen and change before gradually yielding.

One day, two days...

Until the fifth day.

When the Fierce Soul of the Demon Monkey again tried to gather its power for an assault, the entire space within the Star Spirit Banner shook violently.

The phantoms of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere stationed throughout the banner’s interior simultaneously bloomed with light. All the scattered Starlight was instantly devoured as if by a colossal, invisible mouth, completely absorbed in an instant.

The momentum of the golden Fierce Soul’s charge visibly slowed. The edges of its golden flames, ignited solely by a blazing, unyielding will, became tinged with the indelible color of cold stardust.

Ten days later, the stiffness in the Demon Monkey’s movements grew more pronounced, like a marionette. Each struggle was accompanied by the grating friction of energy, as an endless stream of Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi seemed to pour into the Star Spirit Banner, causing the Starlight on its surface to flourish.

Watching the Demon Monkey inside the banner, who was endlessly screaming curses in agony, Xu Yunfan remained impassive. He was simply treating the Star Spirit Banner as an Artifact Refining Furnace to continuously refine the Demon Monkey.

He was not Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, and the Star Spirit Banner was not that legendary Alchemy Furnace.

Xu Yunfan certainly wouldn’t let a Demon Monkey that had fallen into his hands escape.

Twenty days later...

The inside of the Star Spirit Banner shook violently.

The world within the banner was no longer in chaotic turmoil, but instead possessed a daunting, heavy suction force.

The phantoms of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere stationed throughout the banner, regardless of size, erupted with an unparalleled, intense radiance at the same instant.

Like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, all the volatile energy that had scattered from the impacts was instantly devoured by this immense and irresistible suction.

The corner of the star-filled river formed by the Star Spirits of Yang Jian, Nezha, and the Taiyi Daoist Master instantly became clear and bright. For the three hundred and sixty-five stars that had been thrown into disarray by the Demon Monkey’s assaults, a faint sense of order began to replace the chaos.

And the Divine Soul of the Demon Monkey, which had been struggling frantically, abruptly froze after this moment of absolute stillness.

That final, flickering ember of its attempt to struggle was completely doused as if by ruthless, icy water, leaving only a solitary golden soul frozen in the void.

Sunx Wukong’s golden light dimmed. Though it still possessed a molten-gold texture, the soaring brutality and unyielding will within had been brutally snapped and crushed under the ceaseless, day-and-night tempering of the Starlight and the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, like Forged Iron under a Heavy Hammer.

A palpable dejection spread out, replacing its once indomitable, heaven-defying presence.

The violent tremors of the Star Spirit Banner finally subsided completely.

’An Innate Spirit, born from the convergence of the world’s Destiny, is truly difficult to refine.’

Xu Yunfan let out a long breath of Dirt Qi. The seven-colored Treasure Lotus that had been suspended above his Dantian transformed into eight streams of ethereal light, which then dispersed and returned, sinking back into his Dantian Qi Sea to become the purest form of Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi.

The vast Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi surging around his body gradually receded, revealing his handsome face, which was tinged with a lingering pallor.

’Continuously channeling the Cloud Qi at high intensity to draw the Taiyi Divine Sky Thunder Talisman and suppress this world-shaking Fierce Soul... even for someone with a foundation as profound as mine, it has left my Dantian feeling somewhat empty and depleted.’

’Even my vast Magical Power, aided by the Attribute Panel, feels nearly depleted.’

"It’s finally done."

Xu Yunfan’s gaze fell upon the Star Spirit Banner in his palm, which had now become docile and heavy.

With a slight stir of his will, a wisp of his Divine Thought entered the space within the banner.

The scene within had stabilized. The Stars of the Celestial Sphere were once again in formation, moving slowly along their profound orbits. Occasionally, streaks of light like shooting stars darted between them—a manifestation of the All Heaven Star Formation cycle he had deliberately arranged inside the Star Spirit Banner.

’Unfortunately, the Array is still incomplete; the complete version is still back at the Primordial Sect.’

’After I get back this time, the Contribution Points I earned for my pioneering achievements should be enough to redeem it.’

Inside the banner, the Divine Souls of Yang Jian, Nezha, and the Taiyi Daoist Master were each linked to the stars, guarding their respective corners. Their auras were calm and steady. Though a trace of the fear and fatigue from the Fierce Soul’s earlier rampage remained, they had stabilized.

Only at the core, a lone golden light floated by itself beneath a far corner of the starry sky.

Now that it had been thoroughly refined into a Banner Spirit, the Demon Monkey no longer maintained its roaring, heaven-defying posture. Instead, it was crouched down, hugging its knees, its dark-gold head buried deep between its arms.

He had officially entered his emo phase.

’He had managed to escape even after smashing open Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad’s Alchemy Furnace back in the day. Yet now, he’d been forcibly refined into a Banner Spirit by a Ten Thousand Souls Banner. It was truly more than the monkey could bear, wasn’t it?’

His Golden Eyes, which once radiated divine light and could see through all things, were now half-closed, leaving only two silent slits.

That ultimate defiance—unique to an Innate Holy Spirit and granted by this world’s Celestial Lord—had had its very bones and sinews shattered. All that was left was a hollow silence, which mutely vented an unbearable frustration and resentment.

He seethed with hatred!

But now that he had been refined into the banner’s monkey spirit, the edifying power of the Star Spirit Banner had naturally cleansed the Demon Monkey.

A ripple of will, one of admitting defeat and acknowledging Xu Yunfan’s control, emanated from the huddled ball of light. It was extremely faint, yet unmistakably clear.

Xu Yunfan didn’t even need to consciously perceive it to know for certain.

This monkey now recognized him as its master.

"Heh..."

A wry smile curled Xu Yunfan’s lips.

His Divine Thought casually swept over the huddled golden figure with no intention of offering comfort or consolation. ’This monkey would only get more agitated if I tried to console it. It’s more practical to let time wear away its resentment.’

He then withdrew his Divine Thought without hesitation.

’After all, once it entered the world within this banner, its life and death were no longer its own to decide.’

’It had struggled and failed. Its current sullenness was merely the useless posturing of a loser, not even worthy of a sneer.’

’As for erasing its consciousness... to take a unique creature so favored by creation, erase its supreme gifts, and turn it into a mindless fighting puppet—that, to me, would be the true pity.’

’I’m still hoping to refine this Star Spirit Banner into a Spiritual Treasure.’

The Star Spirit Banner flashed once and was stored away deep within his sleeve.

Xu Yunfan looked up at the core of the Celestial Realm, once a solemn and sacred place, but now a scene of apocalyptic collapse.

Vast, boundless palaces in the sea of clouds were collapsing in huge sections, plummeting endlessly downward.

The Rainbow Bridges and jade steps, once flowing with auspicious, rosy light, were now as fractured as brittle bones, scattered amongst shattered Immortal Gold Jade Tiles.

Deep within the sundered sea of clouds, the very Rules of space were visibly beginning to crack. Massive fissures tore across the sky like ghastly, unhealable scars.

And within this dying World Heaven, several colossal figures moved like greedy vultures or feasting Taotie, carrying out a most thorough and brutal plunder.

The most conspicuous among them was, of course, True Monarch Pu Du. He sat enthroned upon the very dome of the sky with his Dharma Aspect fully unfurled.

His body blazed with Magical Power, unleashing streams of light even denser than molten mercury.

The light transformed into countless writhing threads that bored deep into the very heart of the Celestial Realm’s foundation, siphoning its World Heaven Root Qi.