Celestial Refining Divine Scripture

About an hour passed.

Xu Yang arrived at the edge of the Ancient Shadow Gold Mine’s territory—an expanse of barren mountains stretching endlessly, with sparse vegetation and jagged rocks; yet seen from without, these hills did not stand high, but emanated an overwhelming, thick heaviness.

"What an astonishing power of origin."

Xu Yang lifted his eyes, shaken to the core.

The invisible origin energy flowing and spilling here, as he perceived it, surpassed even the Four Spirits Immortal Mountain by a clear margin.

All along the way, this place was the one where the power of origin gathered most densely among all the treasured lands he’d witnessed.

"The Ancient Shadow Gold Mine—this is the right place."

Xu Yang licked his lips and shot forward like lightning.

As he entered the wilderness, he was shocked to find vibrant vitality everywhere.

Even among the bare, crooked rocks, countless tender shoots had sprouted, lush and green.

This place’s rebirth was no mere illusion.

Dozens of breaths later, Xu Yang discovered a mining region.

In the middle of the wilds, a massive pit had nearly been carved out by force—mountains closed in on both sides.

At the mountain’s base yawned a gaping hole dozens of zhang in diameter, vast and obscure, waiting to devour all who approached.

He clearly sensed numerous streams of origin power slowly drifting into that enormous cave.

"This one place will suffice."

Xu Yang’s spirits lifted, but he didn’t go down directly—he swept a vigilant gaze about his surroundings.

"As expected, there are people here."

As he adjusted his direction, the other side was completely exposed; several cultivators came into view.

At a glance, Xu Yang couldn’t help but be startled.

The situation before his eyes was nothing like what he’d imagined.

Two cultivators stood on the high edge on guard.

Below, six more surrounded a few others.

The ones being surrounded looked especially miserable, as though defeated and captured in some conflict.

"Is it the three main families?"

Xu Yang couldn’t be sure either. He glanced at the two guards above, then flickered away, silently circling around.

A moment later, he crept close enough to see everything clearly.

"Yang Zhenyuan’s here too—all those who won are Yang Family cultivators."

Xu Yang’s heart gave a jolt.

The injured ones, in all likelihood, belonged to the Ye Family and the Ming Family.

Because these people’s cultivation wasn’t weak.

"Did the Ye Family and Ming Family join forces, only to still lose to the Yang Family?"

Xu Yang’s gaze slowly shifted onto a Yang Family cultivator, right next to Yang Zhenyuan.

Yang Zhenyuan was at the Late Stage of Celestial Immortal, yet showed distinct respect for this man.

This man, too, was of the Late Stage of Celestial Immortal.

But he was much stronger than Yang Zhenyuan.

"Ye Yunbei, Minghe Peak, you two wastes still wish to compete with my Yang Family for the Ancient Shadow Gold Mine? Hah! Delusional!"

"Rest assured, I won’t kill you—for now. If I killed you at this moment, the Ye and Ming families would surely become suspicious and might even free up people to come here. That’d be troublesome."

"Once Starry Extreme Night begins, your death knell sounds! And my Yang Family will enjoy, alone, the revived Ancient Shadow Gold Mine."

"Seven days—more than enough to empty this place!"

"Yang Tong, you bastard—you dog spawn!"

Bam!

Yang Tong slapped Ye Yunbei hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Minghe Peak, standing beside him, said nothing, but his eyes brimmed with utter despair.

Upon arriving and seeing the Yang Family’s strength, he’d instantly chosen to ally with the Ye Family and confront the Yangs together.

Who could have known? With Yang Tong’s breakthrough to Peak of Celestial Immortal, even teamed up, they were defeated.

No hope of survival remained.

The Yang Family would never let them leave alive.

Minghe Peak was deeply unwilling, yet utterly helpless.

Listening from the shadows, Xu Yang had heard enough to piece things together.

"Yang Zhenyuan, Yang Tong—the former doesn’t threaten me much, but this Yang Tong is no weakling."

A glint of cold light flashed in Xu Yang’s eyes. He instantly stilled, motionless and silent.

At some point—

Yang Tong walked alone toward the ancient mine, leaving Yang Zhenyuan and the others to watch over Ye Yunbei and the rest.

Xu Yang’s eyes lit up: now was his chance.

He vanished silently from his spot.

On the heights, the two guards noticed nothing.

Suddenly—

Phantasmal chains manifested from thin air, enshrouding both men.

Their eyes rounded with shock; before they could utter a sound, their bodies were firmly bound.

Next, a tremendous cauldron flickered into view.

Within, the small Immortal Realm inside the cauldron opened its giant maw and swallowed both men whole.

From start to finish, not a ripple was left.

Of course, this was because the two men’s cultivation was too feeble—only Early Stage Celestial Immortal—far too weak, unable to muster the slightest resistance against Xu Yang’s methods.

After finishing, Xu Yang flashed to the lower edge and crept closer.

Yang Zhenyuan sat cross-legged, feigning sleep with closed eyes.

All at once, chains appeared again.

Yang Zhenyuan’s whole body shuddered, his eyes bulged in horror, his aura grew violently turbulent as he struggled madly.

"Who’s there?"

He barked in a harsh, low voice.

A gleaming saber-light, cold as frost and swift as lightning, shot from the shadows with uncatchable speed.

In an instant, Yang Zhenyuan’s body chilled to the bone, his hair stood on end, and he fought desperately to break free.

Yet to his terror, he found himself unable to escape.

In a split second, his eyes were about to burst; with all his might, he opened his mouth and spat a ray of immortal light at the incoming saber arc.

Bam!

The blade light cleaved through, shattering the immortal glow and enveloping Yang Zhenyuan.

"Mr. Yang, we meet again."

A chilling laugh swept forth; Yang Zhenyuan’s pupils shrank in panic, and he howled, "It’s you, Xu—!"

Splat!

A head rolled to the earth—but Yang Zhenyuan’s primordial spirit was sealed by Xu Yang and not utterly destroyed.

Hot blood sprayed across Ye Yunbei and Minghe Peak, leaving both men stupefied with shock.

Shua, shua, shua!!

The saber arcs twisted through the air like lightning serpents, covering the remaining Yang Family cultivators in an instant.

Even Late Celestial Immortal Yang Zhenyuan was one-shotted; what chance did the others have?

In the blink of an eye, only one remained.

A saber hovered overhead, life-and-death pressure left him trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring.

Bang!

The saber dropped, revealing the flat of the Daluo Saber; with one blow, the last man was knocked unconscious.

None died, yet all were utterly comatose, their primordial spirits sealed, their powers gone.

"Who is it?"

"Such terrifying power!"

"Xu, Xu Yang?"

The instant they recognized Xu Yang, Ye Yunbei and Minghe Peak’s eyes widened in shock—they never expected to cross paths with Xu Yang here.

Wasn’t he supposed to be guarding the Four Spirits Immortal Mountain?

Of course—on the eve of Starry Extreme Night’s supreme fortune, how could Xu Yang dutifully remain at Four Spirits Immortal Mountain?

"Mr. Xu!"

The two were ecstatic.

Xu Yang’s arrival was a shaft of light blooming in endless darkness.

Xu Yang glanced at the mine entrance; with no movement within, he finally relaxed.

"You two..." He looked over at Ye Yunbei and the rest, frowning slightly.

Minghe Peak forced a wry smile: "We were forced to take Sealing Elixirs—our immortal foundations are sealed off."

Sealing Elixir: it seals one’s immortal yuan and foundation.

Xu Yang stepped forward, his hand curling around Minghe Peak’s wrist.

A few breaths later, he spoke rapidly: "I’ll break the seal for you—do not resist."

The two were gravely wounded; Sealing Elixirs did not resist correction, but after ingestion, breaking them later was nigh impossible.

Yet—by his strength, it was enough.

"Alright."

Minghe Peak’s heart leapt; although anxious, he still nodded assent.

Boom!

A terrifying force surged in; Minghe Peak’s entire face flushed and twisted, his body shook violently, enduring excruciating agony.

Splurt!

He spat a jet of blood, collapsed weakly to the ground, gasping in huge, ragged breaths, his heart racing with fear.

"Done."

Xu Yang turned his gaze to Ye Yunbei.

Ye Yunbei swallowed reflexively.

To break a Sealing Elixir’s lock—Xu Yang’s strength was far beyond their own.

Late True Immortal, with combat power at the Late Celestial Immortal stage.

A monster indeed!

Why did the Ye Family have no such prodigy?

As Ye Yunbei’s mind raced, Xu Yang was already in motion.

Boom!

"Aaahhhh~~"

With no warning, Ye Yunbei let out a shrill, miserable scream.