While executing the "Hidden Star Grand Refinement Technique," each of the three items—Talisman Sword, Scripture Mastery Path Treasure Seal, and Divine Mirror—had their distinct roles. The Talisman Sword served as the guide, the Scripture Mastery Path Treasure Seal channeled power in resonance with the stars, and the Divine Mirror reflected and projected the starlight. Everything worked in perfect coordination.
Because of this, any movement of the Talisman Sword meant a shift in the target.
The Pure Yang Talisman Sword did not slash at the “Tu Du” Yin Spirit. Instead, with a sharp whoosh, it shot off the edge of the cliff.
Even someone as seasoned as Tu Du was momentarily confused. “What’s this cunning brat up to now?”
Then he realized he had once again been pulled along by this junior’s unpredictable tactics. He was letting himself follow the younger man’s rhythm. How ridiculous—against an insect , he should’ve just crushed him from the start!
Roaring in frustration, he bellowed, “To hell with your tricks!”
His voice shattered stones. A surge of shadow lashed out at the ground beneath his feet, pulverizing the area within a dozen feet. The intricate patterns etched into the cliff to help absorb Yu Ci’s energy were destroyed in an instant. The spiritual light flowing through the lines scattered into chaos.
The surge of unstable power burst outward, most of it rebounding through the connected formations directly into Yu Ci. Just as Tu Du had claimed, Yu Ci was struck hard by the backlash. With a muffled grunt, he was blasted off his feet and sent flying.
His body lost balance, and the mirror he held shifted, causing the projected starlight to misalign. In that moment, Tu Du broke free from the suppression. He let out a weird shriek as the shadow around him expanded violently.
The impact had passed through his entire body with tremendous force. The cliff’s flat top wasn’t very big, and Yu Ci was instantly hurled onto the snowy slope on the shadowed side of the mountain.
At the summit of this towering peak, layers of ice and rock covered the terrain. Though winter was almost over, nothing had melted. The slippery slope offered no resistance, and Yu Ci tumbled down, sliding over ten yards in seconds. The peak was now out of sight, blocked by jagged ice, but he could sense the massive shadow on the mountain’s shaded side stirring ominously—ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
‘Is the power to control shadows called ‘Shadow Void’?'
The thought flickered across his mind and vanished. Even as he tumbled uncontrollably, his body battering against rocks and ice spikes despite the protection of his “Innate Qi,” the pain was intense.
And yet, his mind remained crystal clear.
Just as important, the vital Qi circulating through his body was perfectly stable.
He had long become accustomed to this—close-combat, life-and-death scenarios where even a flicker of doubt or confusion could be fatal. From those hard-won experiences, he had developed a skill: no matter how violently his body was tossed around, the structure of the spell he controlled remained intact. The Hidden Star Grand Refinement Technique still flowed smoothly.
So, Yu Ci's connection with the implements hadn’t been broken. The Scripture Mastery Path Treasure Seal and Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror were still in his grasp. As for the Pure Yang Talisman Sword—even though he had sent it flying earlier—he still maintained a faint spiritual link with it. He knew that the sword had now reached its highest point in the air, right at the peak before it would begin to fall.
It was the perfect moment.
Despite his battered body, the swirling shadowy threats around him, Yu Ci closed his eyes.
At that moment, a vast image emerged in his mind—
Or rather, the full panorama of Cliff City as seen through the Divine Map.
Of course, the Divine Map had not yet been restored. What he saw was purely a mental reconstruction—an image burned into memory from his days in the city when he had exchanged Shrimp Whisker Grass for the Three Yang Talisman Sword. During his stay, he had repeatedly activated the Divine Map, scanning the entire city countless times. Every street, every corner, was seared into his mind.
Now, that image reformed clearly in his consciousness. It was as though he were once again gazing upon the city through divine eyes, missing nothing.
Simultaneously, the Talisman Sword that was beginning to descend appeared vividly in his mind’s eye. Its tilted tip was pointing toward a corner of the city.
His spatial sense was precise and unwavering.
After months of cultivation, Yu Ci had gained deeper insights into the path of talismanic arts: the operation of talismans was the process of interacting with the heavens, nature, all living things, and even monsters and spirits. In this system, the human practitioner was the core, talismans were the tools and conduits, and the vast world was the source of power.
According to the principles of the Primordial Origin Qi Method, once a talisman was formed, the person, the talisman, and the heavens should become a seamless whole. The target of the spell—depending on whether it was friend or foe—would either be welcomed into that unity or forcefully rejected.
As the tip of the Pure Yang Talisman Sword marked its destination, Yu Ci felt himself enter that state of unity—man, talisman, and world fused together. Through the structure of the talisman, he merged with the world around him—at least within the range of Cliff City. There was no longer a boundary between self and surroundings. This deep connection stretched all the way into the skies, reaching out to the stars.
He wasn’t sure if this sensation was real or an illusion—but at that moment, he could clearly distinguish between what was part of him and what was not.
He could encompass the entire city—except for one particular point.
And it wasn’t the rampaging shadow form of Tu Du.
It was a certain spot deep beneath the rocky soil atop Dan Cliff.
That place alone, he could not tolerate.
With that recognition, a powerful force of rejection erupted from within him.
In that instant, the world around him trembled ever so slightly. The feeling of perfect unity shattered.
And Yu Ci’s strength was instantly drained to nothing.
With a loud bang, Yu Ci crashed into a massive boulder. His entire body felt like it was falling apart, bones threatening to shatter. But at last, his momentum stopped. And in that moment, the shadows driven by the Tu Du demonic technique finally surged toward him, ready to devour him whole.
Yu Ci didn’t move. He just stared blankly at the sky.
At that instant, in the pitch-black canopy above, a faint starlight flickered—barely visible, yet it seized all of Yu Ci’s attention.
A thin, almost imperceptible beam of light shot down from the heavens.
Inside the Sun Light Sect's mansion, despair had spread through every corner—so deep even the underground chambers weren’t spared.
Huang Tai sprinted through the dark tunnel, a chilling presence constantly at his back, pressing in so hard he could barely breathe. After a whole night of battle, he had long lost the will to fight. All he could do now was run, placing all hope on the chamber at the end of the tunnel—behind that iron door.
Ever since returning from Sky Rift Valley, Huang Tai had been avoiding that person in the stone chamber like the plague. The thought of seeking him out, especially in his secluded cultivation space, was unthinkable.
But now? With his life on the line?
With a deafening crash, he slammed open the heavy iron door and threw himself into the room, screaming—
The words had just left his mouth when he froze.
Because right then, he saw it—a faint, delicate beam of light piercing through the thick layers of rock and soil from above, falling directly onto the chest of the black-robed figure lying silently on the bed. A tiny glowing point appeared where the light touched.
Then, the black-robed man's body began to disintegrate.
Starting from that glowing point on his chest, cracks spread rapidly outward. Within two breaths, the disintegration had reached every corner of his body. A jade token on the table beside the bed suddenly exploded with a loud crack, the noise making Huang Tai flinch. A moment later, gray ash filled the room, shrouding the already cramped space in an even thicker gloom.
Not that Huang Tai had time to process any of it—because the next instant, a cold finger pierced the back of his skull, breaking through bone and destroying his soul with a chilling spell. He died on the spot.
Standing next to the collapsed body, Ming Lan looked slightly puzzled. She glanced at the remaining ashes on the bed and the shattered jade on the table, then looked up at the ceiling—no visible hole in the rock.
Thinking it over, her figure flickered and sank into the ground. Using earth escape, she quickly moved through the soil and emerged on the surface.
As soon as her head broke through, golden flames burst from the sky, blasting intense heat at her face. It was so hot her hair nearly curled.
Ming Lan frowned slightly and instantly blinked several meters away. Then came a boom—someone crashed down where she had just stood, smashing a huge crater into the ground. But the figure immediately sprang up again, looking energized and completely unhurt.
Ming Lan gave a soft “eh?” and asked, “Mister Mingyue, are you alright?”
The man let out a hearty laugh. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just borrowed the force to redirect myself. Jin Huan is running on fumes—he’s not worth worrying about.”
It was none other than Lu Mingyue.
Ming Lan noticed that despite being in the middle of a heated battle, his mood was surprisingly upbeat. He looked completely at ease.
But just then, Jin Huan took advantage of the opening Lu Mingyue had created, unleashing a sharp howl and wrapping himself in a thousand layers of radiant light to break through their encirclement.
He fled in the direction of the new city.
High in the air, Shi Song and Hu Dan shouted and gave chase, closely following behind. Ming Lan tracked them with her gaze for a while before looking back. By then, someone else had joined Lu Mingyue—it was Monk Yixin.
The monk’s square face was calm, almost expressionless, but he bowed respectfully to greet her.
Ming Lan returned the gesture.
Then Yixin asked, “Was it Master Ming who just channeled the power of the stars to destroy Tu Du’s physical body?”
“I wouldn’t dare take credit,” Ming Lan replied with a light smile, though she did look a bit curious. “How did you know Tu Du was dead?”
“Jin Huan created a pair of life-linked talismans for Tu Du—one was kept in Tu Du’s chamber, the other hung on Jin Huan’s waist. Just now, the one on his waist shattered with a violent reaction. Naturally, that means Tu Du’s dead.”
Ming Lan couldn’t help but quietly praise Yixin’s intelligence, then turned her gaze toward the mountains behind the new city and muttered, “Something’s changed with Heavenly Wings Pavilion?”
The monk and the daoist exchanged a subtle glance.
In the shadow of the mountain cliff, the ominous, man-eating darkness shivered—then scattered like mist.
Farther up the slope, the restless shadows also suddenly stilled.
Yu Ci held his breath and waited for a while. Then, leaning against the boulder, he slowly got to his feet. The shadows’ strange calm suggested that his earlier desperate move had worked.
Still, he needed to be sure.
Taking a few deep breaths to restore some strength, he was just about to climb to the top of the cliff when a voice drifted into his ear—
“That was a clever move. What’s that talisman called?”
It sounded like praise, but the next line took a sharp turn:
“So you’re not entirely some punk who hides behind others…”
The voice was smooth and musical, with a metallic resonance like gold and iron. But the meaning of the words cut sharper than blades.
Yu Ci’s body trembled ever so slightly. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
And just then, a second wave of blinding light burst forth from the sky.