One month later.
On the main peak of the Myriad Mountains Sect, Zhang Fan, Nan Zun, Dongji True Immortal, and Liu Mu stood on the edge of a cliff, chatting and discussing their next plans.
"After this battle, I will personally destroy the Giant Spirit Hall, and then I will head to the Purple霄 Star Domain to temper myself in the Starry Sky Battlefield," Zhang Fan said.
"Starry Sky Battlefield?" Dongji True Immortal was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhang Fan to be so bold. The Starry Sky Battlefield was no ordinary fight. Even mighty cultivators at the Void Returning stage risked falling there.
"In this star cluster, the Nine Cliffs Star Domain and the Purple霄 Star Domain erupted in a great war hundreds of thousands of years ago, which has yet to truly end. Although the scale of the current conflict is much smaller and Void Returning stage cultivators rarely appear on the Starry Sky Battlefield, there are still many Nascent Soul realm powerhouses. Daoist Friend Zhang Fan, you must be extremely careful," Dongji True Immortal solemnly advised.
"In the Starry Sky Battlefield, the more dazzling one is, the more easily they are targeted. Daoist Friend Zhang Fan, you must conceal your trump cards as much as possible. Otherwise, if you attract the covetous gaze of a Nascent Soul stage expert, it will be troublesome."
Although Dongji True Immortal did not explicitly state it, everyone understood he was referring to Zhang Fan's Great Dao Secret Treasure. If Zhang Fan were to use this treasure on the Starry Sky Battlefield, it might provoke attacks from many Nascent Soul stage experts.
Zhang Fan nodded. He understood Dongji True Immortal's words. He had never considered himself invincible. In his previous life, even after cultivating to the Grand Ascension Immortal Emperor realm, he was still ambushed and ultimately perished.
In this life, the Lord of the Great Luo Realm, a Dao Source stage existence, stood at the pinnacle of the Void Returning realm. He could sweep through many Void Returning powerhouses on the Starry Sky Battlefield, shining brilliantly, yet he still met his end.
Therefore, in Zhang Fan's heart, no matter what realm he cultivated to, he always held a sense of reverence for the universe. Throughout history, every era had its invincible figures, but they all eventually faded into the river of time.
"They're here!"
A divine light flickered in Zhang Fan's eyes, making them incredibly profound, like two dark planets revolving in the boundless cosmos.
This was precisely Zhang Fan's divine-grade innate ability, the Candle Dragon's Eye.
Building upon the foundation laid by the Thunder Fire Divine Eye, Zhang Fan had managed to cultivate this innate ability to the Minor Accomplishment stage in just over a month.
With the Candle Dragon's Eye, his eyes were now comparable to magical treasures. They could bewilder the mind, destroy spirits, see through illusions, and even penetrate the void. The range visible through his Candle Dragon's Eye far surpassed the sensing range of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator's divine consciousness.
"They're here?" Nan Zun, Dongji True Immortal, and Liu Mu were all slightly startled, as they hadn't sensed anything.
After a few breaths, they finally detected a subtle spatial fluctuation. They were secretly shocked by Zhang Fan's perceptive abilities, being able to sense disturbances in the dark space even in the vast Myriad Domain star cluster.
A massive spatial rift appeared a thousand miles away from the Myriad Mountains Sect. Three tall figures emerged from the rift. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a purple robe, and flanking him were Han Fei True Immortal and Qin Yun.
"Senior Brother Ziyue, although that Zhang Fan's strength is only in the early stage of the Spirit Refining realm, his Great Dao Secret Treasure is truly formidable. Senior Brother Kuangwu was suppressed without any resistance. You must be careful." Even as True Immortal Ziyue was about to take action, Qin Yun's rational mind told him Zhang Fan had no chance of turning the tide. However, he still harbored a shadow of fear.
"No matter how powerful a Great Dao Secret Treasure is, it requires a cultivator to activate it to unleash its might. The more powerful the treasure, the more profound the Great Dao it contains. He is merely in the early stage of the Spirit Refining realm; how much Dao power can he comprehend? With the Great Dao Secret Treasure, he could suppress Kuangwu, which was likely his limit," True Immortal Ziyue said calmly, not taking Qin Yun's words to heart.
"They've finally come. You've kept me waiting," Zhang Fan flew out of the Myriad Mountains Sect and looked at the three figures before him with a smile.
As he had predicted, Qin Yun had invited a cultivator at the peak of the Spirit Refining realm. Furthermore, Zhang Fan could sense that this was a dual cultivator of both body and qi, reaching the peak of the Spirit Refining realm in both aspects.
"You are very confident. Do you believe that with your early Spirit Refining realm strength and a Great Dao Secret Treasure, you can suppress a peak Spirit Refining realm expert?" True Immortal Ziyue stared at Zhang Fan with curiosity, wondering where his confidence stemmed from. He had suppressed two Void Returning stage cultivators of the Wuya Dynasty and yet dared to remain here instead of fleeing.
"Let's find out," Zhang Fan said. He cupped the Myriad Beast Cauldron in one hand and tossed it gently. Instantly, the palm-sized Myriad Beast Cauldron transformed into a colossal cauldron tens of kilometers in diameter, hovering above True Immortal Ziyue and the others.
Qin Yun immediately felt a powerful suppressing force descend upon him. This force was pervasive, filling the entire space, making it extremely difficult to even move.
Qin Yun's expression changed, and he inwardly lamented his carelessness.
"Senior Brother Ziyue should be able to withstand it, right?" Qin Yun's gaze fell upon the man in the purple robe. The reason he dared to confront Zhang Fan at the entrance of the Myriad Mountains Sect was precisely the confidence True Immortal Ziyue had given him.
However, faced with this power that made it difficult for him to move, True Immortal Ziyue appeared remarkably calm. He looked at Zhang Fan with a serene gaze and said, "Is this all you have? With this power alone, you cannot suppress Junior Brother Kuangwu. Unleash your strongest technique."
"My strongest technique?" Zhang Fan chuckled. "Since you wish to witness it, so be it. However, I, Zhang Fan, do not kill the unknown. State your name before you die."
"Wuya Dynasty, True Immortal Ziyue!"
"Good!" Zhang Fan shouted, forming seals with his hands rapidly. As he activated his hand seals, the lifelike beast carvings on the Myriad Beast Cauldron seemed to awaken. Illusory projections of over a thousand fierce beasts emerged from the cauldron, forming a massive battle formation.
The space was suppressed, and the three of True Immortal Ziyue were completely trapped within the formation. As for Qin Yun, with his mid-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivation, Zhang Fan could easily suppress him with the Myriad Beast Cauldron alone, without needing to activate the battle formation.
When Han Fei True Immortal faced the Myriad Beast Formation, ripples appeared in his icy, lake-like eyes. He finally understood why True Immortal Kuangwu had been so easily suppressed.
The over a thousand illusory beast projections were not entirely illusory; they were manipulated by a strand of pure primordial spirit energy. This deeply shocked Han Fei True Immortal because he could clearly sense the profound Dao rhymes contained within that strand of primordial spirit energy. It was the spirit of a demonic beast at the Nascent Soul realm.
"To fuse the primordial spirits of tens of thousands of Nascent Soul stage fierce beasts into one cauldron, is this truly just a Great Dao Secret Treasure?" Han Fei True Immortal murmured. Although he had never owned a Great Dao Secret Treasure, he had been fortunate enough to witness their power. The might of the Myriad Beast Cauldron seemed to transcend the level of a Great Dao Secret Treasure.