Celestial Refining Divine Scripture

Swoosh!

Hundreds of doppelgangers suddenly surged forth between heaven and earth, their reality impossible to discern.

In an instant, hundreds of Yang Yuan formed obscure seals together, lunging at Xu Yang with lightning speed.

Xu Yang's expression remained unchanged, his voice calm: "The warm-up is over!"

Clang!

The blade howled to the heavens, immortal light weaving in wild patterns.

Xu Yang spun and swept his saber in a frenzy, his surroundings engulfed by terrifying waves of blade force; even overflowing celestial runes were shattered to pieces under his saber intent, spreading in crisscrossing streams—viewed from afar, it was like a world birthed by ancient saber will.

Every strike he unleashed was at full strength, leaving nothing in reserve.

Relying on the vast foundation of his Twelfth-Grade Immortal Core, he vented his power wantonly.

Bam! Bam! Bam!!

Boom!

Explosions roared on, shrill whistles splitting the air.

Their figures intertwined, colliding with a force a hundred times greater than the clash of Divine Weapons.

It was as if an army of a thousand troops battled here, the ferocity unimaginable.

Within a breath, even a blink, who could count how many blows they'd exchanged?

But after only ten breaths—

The scene became as if mountains moved and seas overturned; energies soared to the sky, boundless waves of fury surging, transforming into layer after layer of wild, terrifying shockwaves spreading outward.

The region embroiled in their slaughter expanded from a few hundred zhang in an instant to encompass a thousand zhang all around.

Wherever the turbulence reached, all was left pockmarked with wounds, not a single patch unscathed.

Bang!

Xu Yang's whole body trembled, his bones crackling as he bore unprecedented pressure.

As for Yang Yuan, his eyes were filled with shock.

In this brief moment, they had exchanged thousands, even tens of thousands of blows.

Yet Xu Yang showed not the slightest hint of fatigue.

He could feel the strength behind every one of Xu Yang's strikes. Though somewhat at a disadvantage, Xu Yang blocked every attack.

Such consumption—it was downright terrifying.

Yet at this moment, Xu Yang's momentum remained unbroken—if anything, it grew only wilder.

This was simply unimaginable.

Just how much immortal essence did he possess?

Is the Ninth-Grade Immortal Core truly this formidable?

Ninth-Grade Immortal Core!

He was certain of it now.

At this moment, Yang Yuan could already conclude—Xu Yang possessed the Ninth-Grade Immortal Core.

Within his heart, his battle spirit multiplied.

"Even if you are Ninth-Grade Immortal Core, today you must lose!"

"An Eighth-Grade defeating a Ninth-Grade—I am the strongest!"

Yang Yuan's pride soared, his aura becoming even more domineering and sharp, increasing by threefold.

Whoosh!

Hundreds of doppelgangers suddenly merged as one.

In a flash, Yang Yuan gave Xu Yang not a moment to breathe. Behind him surged earth, water, wind, and fire—elemental energy interwoven, sealing all directions, locking down the field.

He shot toward Xu Yang like lightning, raising a palm that commanded the mysteries of earth, water, wind, and fire; with a booming crash, the distant mountain was shattered to pieces.

Beneath the palm, space itself crackled with a web of spreading fractures.

The terror of this might altered even the colors of heaven and earth.

Beneath the dark and somber sky, it was as if a vast world woven from the mysteries of earth, water, wind, and fire manifested forth.

Xu Yang's whole body shook, his bones humming under the mounting pressure.

The force of this palm, to his eyes, could have killed two Ji Mengshan at once.

"To gain the ancient star's fortune—the transformation is indeed dreadful."

Xu Yang licked his lips, neither dodging nor retreating. Facing this palm, he decisively unleashed Windfall Immortal Wilds.

In the distance, cultivators attracted by the commotion arrived.

They watched from afar, hearts pounding in fear.

"Hss, not even typical peak Celestial Immortal duels make such havoc."

"Who could they be? Such formidable might."

"Feels almost on par with a Golden Immortal already."

...

Rumble!

Clang!

The palm's shadow swept like a hot knife, shredding the endless saber storm.

Countless fragments of saber light flickered and fell, the world ablaze in dazzling splendor.

Yang Yuan stood tall and proud, a faint look of satisfaction surfacing on his face.

Pu!

A strange sound suddenly rang out amidst the chaos.

Yang Yuan's pupils contracted, his lips parted, eyes full of terror.

"Impossible?"

From within the swirling chaos, a blade light flashed, tearing abruptly through the void, manifesting above the turmoil.

Xu Yang, gripping his saber, was left with tattered robes and bloodstained flesh.

Yet his aura had not waned, but instead swelled even fiercer; in his eyes, battle intent blazed like wildfire—like a rampaging beast.

"You—"

"Lock!"

Yang Yuan's body shivered, his gaze trembling with shock.

Whoosh!

At the very instant Xu Yang unleashed the full force of Heaven Locking, he soared straight into the heavens. His saber became a golden bolt of lightning, cleaving the sky as a meteor.

As the blade fell near, Yang Yuan bellowed in fury, breaking free from his shackles.

In haste, he struck his fist upon the Daluo Saber.

Bang!

Yang Yuan grunted and stumbled back.

Xu Yang's hand trembled, swallowing the tang of blood that rose in his throat, then lunged forth.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!

A dense multitude of saber lights engulfed half the heavens.

Still wild, still fierce, the might was unparalleled.

It seemed as though even after all this, he had hardly depleted his immortal essence at all.

Yang Yuan regained himself, eyes icily grim, face darkening as his Primordial Spirit suddenly erupted.

Swish, swish!

In the void appeared the image of a colossal ancient star.

Though blazing bright, it radiated an unfathomable, profound depth.

Beneath the ancient star, Xu Yang felt as if sunk into mire.

Yang Yuan pointed a finger, drawing the ancient star, and immediately a thousand beams of finger shadows manifested, all striking toward Xu Yang.

Xu Yang's expression changed dramatically, frantically wielding his blade in defense.

Bam! Bam! Bam!!

Beset by the finger shadows, he was beaten back in disarray, growing gradually weary.

Then, suddenly—

A flash of crimson darted past, gone in a blink.

Xu Yang's heart and spirit both shuddered. Without hesitation, he unleashed his Primordial Spirit, summoning layer upon layer of dense barriers.

Pu!

Bang!

The crimson shadow, carrying searing and razor-sharp intent, pierced through a hundred barriers as if breaking rotting wood, unleashing violent waves that exploded at the edge of Xu Yang's Primordial Spirit with a deafening crash.

Pu!

Xu Yang spat out blood, his face deathly pale. Reeling, he dropped from the sky.

"A treasure bestowed by the Supreme Sect."

"He grew even stronger."

Xu Yang licked his bloodied lips, staring at Yang Yuan: "Mr. Yang, with the fortune of the ancient star, your strength's increase is indeed terrifying."

Yang Yuan's expression was chilly: "Mr. Xu, do you have any fight left?"

"Of course I do."

Xu Yang grinned, soaring straight into the sky.

Summoning every ounce of his remaining immortal essence, he condensed it all into a single, world-shaking slash.

Slash!

A rift split heaven and earth, cleaving the sky in two.

Immortal light blossomed into lotuses, saber force intertwined, crowning the fourfold Daluo Saber as divine brilliance filled the skies, swelling like mountains, shaking the very stars above.

"To think you still have such strength left at this point."

Yang Yuan drew a cold breath.

If not for the ancient star's fortune, he would not have been a match for Xu Yang.

Even so, he was filled with dread.

"But today, you must lose."

Yang Yuan's gaze turned icy as he lifted his hand to the heavens, grasped the illusory ancient star, summoned all his power, and hurled the star down upon the saber light. In that instant, the heavens rained with five-colored, dazzling immortal rain.

The ancient star thundered as it fell, crushing swaths of blade energies, until it met the fourfold Daluo Saber.

The saber light quivered, splintering apart.

The fourfold Daluo Saber rang with a quaking clang—not a scratch upon them, but their light dimmed.

Blood spilled from Xu Yang's lips. At last, he could not withstand the ancient star's might, lost balance, and fell.

The ancient star hovered, vast and unyielding.

Yang Yuan stood atop the star, slowly collecting his power.

"Mr. Yang, truly formidable."

"I concede."

Xu Yang spat out a mouthful of blood, raised his head with difficulty and rough breath, and frankly admitted defeat.

Though he could still stand, any further fighting would be meaningless.

Surely, this was not all of Yang Yuan's trump cards.

Nor had he revealed all of his own.

Yet he had to admit, defeating Yang Yuan would be extremely hard.

After gaining the ancient star's fortune, a gap had opened between them.

In Yang Yuan's mind, Xu Yang might have more cards to play, but the chasm—was not small at all.

Even so, Xu Yang felt the gap was but a sliver—hardly any distance at all.

When life and death are on the line, the full might of the Twelfth-Grade Immortal Core is unimaginable when unleashed.

And there were still the four Daluo Sabers.

A flash of pride passed over Yang Yuan's face. He spoke coolly: "Mr. Xu, with such power, your talent is second to none."

"But, from now on, you must strive even harder, or you may find it hard to catch up."