Chapter 577: One Close-Range Punch Is Enough

Chapter 577: Chapter 577: One Close-Range Punch Is Enough

With these three measures in place, Xu Yunfan was confident that as long as he wasn’t specifically targeted by a True Monarch, he could move about the Celestial Realm without issue.

BUZZ!

His figure flickered and turned into a phantom, almost completely blending into the chaotic energy and the interplay of light and shadow among the ruins of the shattered Celestial Court.

He moved with extreme speed, ignoring the collapsed palace ruins and the burning Immortal Tree Spirit Roots in the distance.

These things had been hit by the aftershocks of a True Monarch’s Dao Fruit’s power and were basically worthless now.

He sped single-mindedly toward the direction where the Spiritual Qi fluctuations were richest and purest.

Crossing a square littered with sword marks and the charred traces of Magic, Xu Yunfan even came across a few Qi Cultivation Stage disciples from the Primordial Sect, their eyes bloodshot as they fought a small squad of surviving Celestial Soldiers.

Sword Qi and the light of magic crisscrossed the area, and the stench of blood was overpowering.

’These Demon Sect disciples are truly bold, daring to venture this deep.’

As if he hadn’t seen or heard a thing, Xu Yunfan was like an invisible gust of wind, instantly sweeping past the battlefield and heading straight for the massive palace complex in the rear, whose magnificent silhouette couldn’t be hidden even amidst the ruins.

There, the Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost tangible, even overpowering the residual Evil Qi from the battlefield.

"The Alchemy Hall!"

As he drew closer, the scent of medicinal herbs wafted into his nostrils, and Xu Yunfan’s heart stirred.

Looking at it up close, although the grand hall was severely damaged—large sections of its glazed tiles shattered and several of its vermilion-lacquered Coiling Dragon Pillars broken—its main structure was still relatively intact.

The massive white jade gate at the front, carved with the sun, moon, stars, auspicious beasts, and spiritual mushrooms, had a corner blasted open. Through the opening, one could vaguely see the silhouettes of giant Pill Furnaces standing like a forest deep within the hall, as well as the swirling, rising Elixir Qi, mixed with a burnt smell and a strange medicinal fragrance.

His figure flashed, and he slipped directly through the broken opening into the hall.

The space inside the hall was exceedingly vast, far larger than it appeared from the outside.

Over a thousand Coiling Dragon Pillars supported a high, vaulted ceiling, on which a diagram of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere had been damaged and dimmed by the fires of battle.

Thousands of Pill Furnaces of various sizes and materials were arranged in some kind of profound Array Formation. Most of their fires had been extinguished, but a few still glowed red-hot, emitting searing waves of heat.

The Warm Jade paving the floor was shattered everywhere, and pools of strangely colored medicinal liquids had collected in some places.

The air was filled with a strange mixture of scents that was too thick to dissipate: the rich aroma of medicine, a burnt smell, the stench of blood, and many other unknown medicinal vapors.

Clearly, this place had also recently experienced a fierce battle and rampant looting.

Shattered Jade Bottles and overturned shelves that once held Spirit Grass and Spiritual Materials were scattered on the ground. There were even a few bodies clad in Elixir Robes, their auras faint as they lingered on the verge of death. They were clearly non-combatants. Xu Yunfan glanced at them once and paid them no further mind.

The sounds of sporadic fighting could still be heard in the distance; those were fellow sect members or enemies who had rushed in earlier, still fighting over spoils.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze was like lightning, and his Divine Sense swept across the area in an instant.

He locked onto several areas where Spiritual Light still flickered or where the protective measures were relatively intact.

One area was near the back wall, composed of dozens of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade shelves covered in complex Runes. Scattered upon them were Jade Boxes that hadn’t been completely taken.

It was protected by an Array that others hadn’t had time to break. But for Xu Yunfan, Arrays were a matter of communicating with the principles of heaven and earth—once you understood one, you understood them all.

’This works out perfectly for me.’

’I’m not too late.’

In the center of the hall stood a purple-gold, Three-legged Giant Cauldron ten zhang tall. Although the furnace was extremely hot, a seven-colored mist swirled at its mouth, from which a unique fragrance continuously overflowed.

There was also a corner where an Array had been forcefully broken, revealing a hidden compartment in the wall. It seemed someone had hastily taken most of the items inside, but a few things emitting a powerful Spiritual Pressure were left behind.

A Yellow Gourd, a Cyan Jade Pot, and a fist-sized, ever-shifting Seven-Colored Crystal Stone.

’All good stuff. These are Heavenly and Earthly Treasures condensed within a World Heaven.’

The World Heaven Format of this Celestial Realm was far higher than that of the Divine Martial Realm. It could nurture Dao Fruits and even had True Monarchs who had attained the Dao. The Heavenly and Earthly Treasures born here would be of immense benefit to Xu Yunfan.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Xu Yunfan’s Body Technique was pushed to its absolute limit. He became a series of afterimages, ignoring the corners where people were still fighting as he shot straight toward his targets.

With a wave of his hand, his powerful Magical Power formed a suction force. The untaken Jade Boxes, Jade Bottles, the Yellow Gourd, the Cyan Jade Pot, the Seven-Colored Crystal Stone, and several other scattered Magical Artifact fragments and Spiritual Materials were all swept up as if by a giant invisible hand, flying into his Sleeve Qiankun.

Just as he reached out to grab the purple-gold giant cauldron in the center of the hall...

TCH!

A beam of Sword Qi, incredibly condensed and imbued with an intent sharp enough to pierce the void, suddenly shot out from behind a massive Coiling Dragon Pillar.

The Sword Qi was as thin as a hair and had the color of an autumn Cold Pool. It shot straight for the center of Xu Yunfan’s back, its speed far surpassing that of sound.

The Sword Intent was chillingly sharp, instantly locking down the space in the narrow area of the hall. An annihilating will, like a celestial bane, rushed toward him, causing the very air to stagnate.

’The Wansheng Sword Sect!’

’A Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator who has mastered the Celestial Sword Seat.’

A chill went down Xu Yunfan’s spine, but he didn’t panic.

The Sword Qi was fast, but not so fast that he couldn’t react. Besides, he hadn’t let his guard down for a second.

The environment here was cramped, with all sorts of Pill Furnaces and Spiritual Materials creating obstructions. Casting Magic could easily backfire on oneself or attract even more attention.

The opponent’s attack was ruthless and precise, and their timing was perfect, launching it the very moment his Heart and Spirit were slightly distracted by collecting the treasures.

Xu Yunfan immediately channeled his Magical Power, activating the Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture.

This True Scripture was the direct Dharma Protector True Inheritance of the Primordial Sect’s Yuqing Dao Lineage, and in reality, it was a Supreme Fighting and Killing Technique.

The cultivation of this scripture was incredibly demanding. It required drawing upon the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang Thunder Fire to refine the five viscera and six bowels, and channeling the Circulation of Geng Metal Killing Qi to forge bones, cast meridians, and temper marrow. Ultimately, it would hammer the physical body into a state of translucent purity, like a naturally formed piece of Divine Iron.

Furthermore, it refines the skin to be like Golden Crystals, forges the bones to be like divine jade, transforms the organs into a Thunder Pool, and imbues the blood with Star Flame.

With a raise of the hand, one could shatter the Divine Sky Thunderbolt; a divine eye between the brows could split a thousand mountains and ten thousand peaks.

At such close quarters, a tyrannical body like this, refined to the absolute extreme until it was practically a physical Divine Technique, was the most terrifying weapon of all.

It far surpassed the Daoist Techniques and Divine Techniques he usually used to defeat his enemies.

The Sword Intent of the Celestial Sword Seat had just risen, intending to lock him down for a killing blow.

Xu Yunfan moved.

He didn’t form any hand seals or chant any incantations, nor did he channel Magical Power to cast a high-powered spell.

He simply stomped his foot hard on the Warm Jade slab.

KRA-CHA!

The solid Warm Jade slab beneath his foot exploded into powder as if it were tofu.

His figure blurred on the spot.

It wasn’t teleportation, but an explosion of pure physical strength so immense it was unimaginable. His speed surpassed the limits of the naked eye, and he forcibly shattered the lock of the Sword Intent that contained that annihilating will.

The point of the sword was aimed at the center of his back.

But Xu Yunfan’s body had already vanished, reappearing in front of the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Sword Cultivator who had just darted out from behind the pillar.

To a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master, with their Divine Thought and speed, the distance between the two was smaller than a hair’s breadth to a mortal’s eye.

"Hmm?!"

The Sword Cultivator’s pupils shrank abruptly. He had never imagined that his opponent would break his famed Celestial Sword Seat’s Sword Intent lock in such a manner, much less close in for melee combat so ferociously and swiftly.

The cyan, Cloud Pattern Sword Robe he wore instantly billowed out, and his Body-Protecting Sword Gang flared to life in response.