Chapter 581: Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit

Chapter 581: Chapter 581: Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit

Another, even more violent blast of Magical Power erupted.

The Celestial Empress felt her Divine Soul being thrown into a millstone, ground inch by inch into dust, only to be forcibly pieced back together by that bizarre True Intent of Yin Yang Separation and Reunion, repeating a cycle of torment worse than death.

"At the end of the Celestial River."

A faint ripple emanated from her shattered Divine Thought, her voice as hoarse and weak as a gnat’s buzz. "The Celestial River flows backward... into the Inverted Mirror Star Abyss. The Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit manifested this river... you’ll find it at its end."

Hearing the Celestial Empress’s answer, Xu Yunfan was overjoyed.

’It worked.’

’The creator of this Dual Cultivation interrogation method was an absolute genius!’

’I’ll have to make more use of it in the future.’

After all, the Heaven and Earth Interchange Yin Yang Separation and Reunion Scripture didn’t care about gender. Some practitioners could even use it to alter their bodies; it wasn’t uncommon for male disciples on Hundred Desires Peak to become female after making progress in their Qi Cultivation.

As for using it on men, Xu Yunfan still had his limits. He figured he could just cultivate a Banner Spirit to do his bidding for him then.

’Making them suffer a little for my own happiness? What could be better?’

Without a trace of sentimentality, Xu Yunfan abruptly cut off the circulation of the Heaven and Earth Interchange Yin Yang Separation and Reunion Scripture.

The raging Yin and Yang Magical Power receded like a tide. The Celestial Empress abruptly went limp as if all the bones had been ripped from her body. She collapsed onto the cold Star Sand, vomiting mouthfuls of clotted blood flecked with golden light. Her breathing was faint, and her pupils lost all their luster, leaving only hollow, deathly stillness.

An unprecedented sense of emptiness then washed over her, leaving her stunned for a long moment.

Her tattered robes, once befitting the Mother of the Celestial Court, could no longer conceal her ravaged, pitiable form.

"This saves me some effort. The stature of a Celestial Empress is... barely worthy of a position as my Banner Spirit."

Xu Yunfan showed not a shred of pity, nor a moment’s hesitation.

With a flash of light in his hand, the All Heaven Star Spirit Banner appeared.

The banner’s deep, dark surface unfurled, swirling with motes of starlight. An overwhelming, irresistible Power of Capturing Souls and Spirits—a force that specifically targeted spiritual bodies—descended, enveloping the Celestial Empress’s Divine Soul and her Immortal Spirit Dao Foundation, which had been squeezed of its last drop of value.

A True Cultivator at the level of Foundation Establishment Perfection was normally far beyond his reach to capture. Only because she was so grievously wounded did he have this opportunity.

Even if her Dao Foundation was shattered, it was still the shattered Dao Foundation of a Foundation Establishment Perfection expert.

"No—"

The last shred of the Celestial Empress’s unwilling consciousness formed a silent wail before being viciously swallowed by the banner, like a great whale gulping down water.

Under the pull of the banner’s profound Star Power, her physical body’s Essence Blood was rapidly stripped away and devoured, transforming into torrents of pure, dark-golden energy that flowed into the banner’s surface.

Meanwhile, her weakened Immortal Spirit Divine Soul, unique to the Celestial Realm, was swiftly refined by the banner’s Power of Capturing Souls and Spirits and forged into a Banner Spirit.

On the banner’s surface, a new point of starlight condensed and lit up at a visible rate.

This star was far larger and more brilliant than Ferren’s. It glowed with a strange, interwoven light of dark gold and ice blue. Faintly visible within was a numb figure, curled up and clad in tattered palace robes, her exquisite face etched with inconsolable anguish and a trace of personality that had been forcibly erased.

Xu Yunfan was surprised. The Celestial Empress’s status was truly high.

Once inside the Star Spirit Banner, aside from Zhang Ziyang, whom Xu Yunfan treated with special care, the Celestial Empress was now the strongest.

"Greetings, Honored Lord..."

Though the newborn Divine Soul of the Celestial Empress had her mind completely twisted and shackled by the Star Banner, what remained was an absolute reverence and obedience toward Xu Yunfan, the banner’s master, that was etched into the very marrow of her soul.

But because she had retained her consciousness, the Celestial Empress—who had always been second to one and superior to all others—naturally found it strange to be kneeling before another.

Xu Yunfan paid it no mind, merely sizing up the Celestial Empress’s graceful form.

The next moment, the Star Banner trembled slightly. A feedback of power, far stronger and purer than what Ferren had provided, surged into Xu Yunfan’s body, carrying with it a cold and majestic immortal resonance that nourished his Divine Soul and Daoist Cultivation.

The Star Banner shuddered, its Spiritual Light growing noticeably brighter.

Xu Yunfan was overcome with a pleasant surprise.

’This Ten Thousand Souls Banner has such an effect? For it to be able to feed power back to me now, it must be because the Star Spirit Banner has accumulated enough essence.’

’No wonder, no wonder the Primordial Sect lists the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as one of the essential Magical Treasures to be refined.’

If an ordinary person obtained this Ten Thousand Souls Banner, they could simply kill to devour Essence Qi and rapidly increase their strength. As long as their own Daoist Cultivation Realm was high enough to control that power, they could quickly advance to Qi Cultivation Great Perfection and even condense a Dao Foundation.

Its reputation as one of the Demon Path’s Ultimate Treasures was well-deserved.

Even a being like the Mother of the Celestial Court, an expert at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, could only bow her head in submission and contribute her all once she entered this banner.

He put away the Soul Banner, his gaze sharp as lightning as he immediately locked onto the wisp of Golden Light Qi in his hand. It radiated an immortal aura and originated from the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit.

He poured his Divine Thought into it with all his might, and the faint guidance he felt from the beyond suddenly became crystal clear.

Without needing to look back, he could feel the energy fluctuations from the distant main battlefield churning like a pot of boiling oil. The last traces of the Celestial Emperor’s resistance had vanished, which meant the three True Monarchs’ attention would soon be divided.

Time was of the essence, so Xu Yunfan didn’t dare to linger.

’If a True Monarch were to sense that there’s a Hidden Dao Fruit in this Celestial Realm, I, as the one who discovered it first, would likely be in grave trouble.’

’If I’m going to do this, I have to do it perfectly.’

Xu Yunfan hesitated no longer. His figure flickered, melting into the shadows of the void as he followed the guidance from the Golden Light Qi, racing at top speed toward the so-called Inverted Mirror Star Abyss in the depths of the Celestial River.

As he passed, the turbulence in the Celestial River intensified. The flowing Star Sand carried shattered spatial fragments, forming dangerous whirlpools and countercurrents.

The once-magnificent Celestial River, where immortal music drifted and divine light shone, was now nothing but a scene of devastation—a deathly silence heralding utter destruction.

The deeper he went, the more treacherous the spatial turbulence became, as if the entire starry river was on the brink of collapse from the True Monarchs’ battle.

Finally, the scene ahead changed abruptly.

The surging Celestial River formed a massive, spiraling, ultimate vortex. At a glance, it looked like the very end of the starry river.

But Xu Yunfan knew this was an illusion. This Celestial Realm followed the principle of Heaven is Round and Earth is Square; although it was a Great Realm with thousands of smaller realms attached to it, it could never truly contend with the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

And at the very center of this vortex was not a collapsing black hole, but a wondrous sight: an inverted starry sky.

This sky wasn’t an illusion. It was formed from countless, extremely solidified, bizarre grains of Star Sand that flowed with a cold, moon-like radiance, creating an immense, circular crystal wall as smooth as a mirror.

The crystal wall reflected the raging Celestial River below, yet strangely, it absorbed and digested the torrent, gathering and settling the chaotic, violent energy, transforming it into incomparably pure Taiyin Star Power.

Deep within the wall’s surface, a boundless darkness held an unimaginable Power of Supreme Yin Law.

"This truly is a fine place."

Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but marvel.

Seeing this, the Celestial Empress within the banner couldn’t help but stare at the place with a complex expression. It held so much of her life’s work.