"If even a mere Nascent Soul Realm cultivator like you can escape from my grasp, wouldn't that make me a laughingstock?" Zhang Fan strode forward, releasing his Great Dao Domain to suppress space.
Now that the rules of the Lightning Sword Dao had perfectly fused with his Nascent Soul, the might of the Great Dao Domain was vastly superior to what it was before. Even peak Nascent Soul Realm experts like Grand Immortal Yu Jian found their strength greatly restricted, their speed plummeting.
With a single step, Zhang Fan caught up to him and unleashed another sword strike. Having witnessed its power, Grand Immortal Yu Jian dared not confront it head-on. He narrowly dodged, and before he could even stabilize himself, the second sword, the third sword...
Sword after sword rained down. At this moment, Grand Immortal Yu Jian was utterly desperate. Space was suppressed, making it impossible to tear through. Trapped within the Great Dao Domain, his strength was weakened, and he could not possibly withstand Zhang Fan's sword, relying solely on his movement techniques to evade.
But how could Zhang Fan's sword be so easily dodged? As the sword light continued to fall, Grand Immortal Yu Jian, whose body was relatively intact before, became crippled. His limbs were severed, and he was reduced to a mere stump, a truly tragic sight.
"I am a disciple of the Boundless Dynasty. If you dare to kill me, you will face endless pursuit from the Boundless Dynasty." Grand Immortal Yu Jian, a person of immense pride, was cornered. With no other recourse, he invoked the name of the Boundless Dynasty, hoping to intimidate Zhang Fan.
To his surprise, Zhang Fan showed no fear upon hearing this. Instead, he displayed a hint of anticipation.
"I was just worrying about lacking sufficient cultivation resources after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. If someone from your Boundless Dynasty dares to come, I'll have the main ingredients for refining Nascent Soul Pills," Zhang Fan said with a cold laugh.
"What a lunatic," Grand Immortal Yu Jian despaired.
"I wish to break through to the Divine Refining Realm and borrow your Nascent Soul for a use." Zhang Fan took out the Myriad Beast Cauldron and, with a flip of his hand, suppressed Grand Immortal Yu Jian into it.
The group led by Grand Immortal Dong Ji flew out from the Myriad Mountain Sect and approached Zhang Fan. Once again, their gazes upon him held a trace of reverence. To so easily suppress a peak Nascent Soul Realm expert clearly indicated strength at the Divine Refining Realm.
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist Zhang Fan, on advancing to the Divine Transformation. Now that you have suppressed Grand Immortal Yu Jian, breaking through to the Divine Refining Realm is just around the corner," Grand Immortal Dong Ji said.
Zhang Fan nodded. His Lightning Sword Dao rules were already perfected, and there were almost no bottlenecks in his advance to the Divine Refining Realm. With the aid of Nascent Soul Pills, he could achieve it in a short period.
"It's a pity that Qin Yun and Grand Immortal Juque managed to escape," Grand Immortal Dong Ji sighed, a look of worry on his face.
After Qin Yun's escape, he would surely return to the Boundless Dynasty. Once Grand Immortal Yu Jian's soul lamp extinguished, it was likely that experts from the Divine Refining Realm would be dispatched by the Boundless Dynasty.
Although Zhang Fan was the one who killed them, the Myriad Mountain Sect would undoubtedly be implicated. Who wouldn't fear provoking such a formidable enemy?
However, having boarded this ship, Grand Immortal Dong Ji could only sail to the end.
"Haha," Zhang Fan chuckled at this. "If I wanted to kill them, how could they possibly escape with their strength?"
Grand Immortal Dong Ji was stunned. After a long moment, he finally understood, and a look of shock appeared on his wizened face.
"You intend to..." Grand Immortal Dong Ji dared not finish his sentence, as it seemed utterly insane to him.
"If I kill them all, how long will it take for the Boundless Dynasty to learn of this news? I can't wait that long."
"It's better to let Qin Yun deliver the message back. Someone from the Boundless Dynasty should act soon. I have a group of people I need to support, what else can I do?" Zhang Fan said with a hint of helplessness.
Immortals such as Wuchen Sword Immortal and Tianhua True Monarch were still only at the Eighth Tribulation Realm. With the assistance of Nascent Soul Pills, their talent coupled with Zhang Fan's guidance would allow them to reach the Nascent Soul Realm in a short time.
But Nascent Soul Pills were incredibly rare, requiring the Nascent Soul of a Divine Transformation stage cultivator as the main ingredient, along with numerous immortal herbs. They greatly aided Nascent Soul cultivation.
Grand Immortal Dong Ji was somewhat speechless, and at the same time, incredibly envious. To be able to cultivate under Zhang Fan was a true celestial opportunity.
After suppressing Grand Immortal Yu Jian's Nascent Soul, Zhang Fan prepared another list and asked Grand Immortal Dong Ji to gather the medicinal herbs according to it.
This time, the list contained fewer medicinal herbs, but each one was an immortal herb, its rarity far exceeding that of the Immortal Grade Blood Spirit Pill refined previously.
However, Grand Immortal Dong Ji was more than willing, for he knew that once the Nascent Soul Pills were refined, Zhang Fan would surely not forget his share.
Although immortal herbs were precious, they were far more common than the Nascent Souls of Divine Transformation cultivators. After all, he, Grand Immortal Dong Ji, could obtain immortal herbs, but he could not kill Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and obtain their Nascent Souls.
Upon returning to the Myriad Mountain Sect, Zhang Fan personally took action and spent over ten days re-arranging the sect's protective formation.
With his current strength, the formations he laid out would not be easily broken, even by a Divine Refining Realm expert.
"With this formation guarding us, there will be no worries below the Divine Refining Realm," Zhang Fan stated.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist Zhang Fan." Grand Immortal Dong Ji was truly amazed. Not only was Zhang Fan's cultivation talent extraordinary, but he was also outstanding in alchemy and formation array mastery. He truly wondered if Zhang Fan hailed from a celestial sect or sacred ground in the Central Star Domain, otherwise, what other force could nurture such a prodigious individual?
"These are the immortal herbs I've collected these past few days. It was truly not easy to gather them all," Grand Immortal Dong Ji handed a storage ring to Zhang Fan, sighing.
Over these past ten-plus days, he had practically scoured every continent in the Shattered Star Domain, a testament to his diligence.
Zhang Fan understood Grand Immortal Dong Ji's meaning. After accepting the storage ring, he smiled and said, "Rest assured, fellow Daoist Dong Ji. Once the Nascent Soul Pills are refined, you will surely get your share."
In the following days, Zhang Fan began the process of refining the Nascent Soul Pills.
Meanwhile, Qin Yun was rushing towards the Boundless Star Domain without pause, fearing that if he returned even a step later, the Giant Spirit Hall might be reduced to ruins.
Qin Yun flew rapidly through the dark space. After nearly a month of travel, he finally arrived at the Boundless Star Domain.
His first visit was to Grand Immortal Kuang Wu, who was closest to Grand Immortal Yu Jian. He was an extremely powerful body cultivator who practiced a top-tier Imperial Body Technique, capable of fighting against mid-stage Divine Refining Realm cultivators with his physical body alone.
"Senior Brother Kuang Wu, Senior Brother Yu Jian has fallen."
"Hmm? What happened? With Junior Brother Yu Jian's strength, who below the Divine Refining Realm could kill him? Could it be that an expert at the Divine Refining Realm acted?" Grand Immortal Kuang Wu was extremely thin, resembling an ape. However, the natural field generated by his powerful physique exerted immense pressure on Qin Yun.
"It wasn't a Divine Refining Realm expert, but he does possess the strength of a Divine Refining Realm expert. Senior Brother Yu Jian was suppressed by him without any ability to resist," Qin Yun True Immortal recalled the scene of Grand Immortal Yu Jian being suppressed by Zhang Fan that day, still feeling a lingering fear.