Gradually, under Xu Yunfan’s excruciatingly precise control and the powerful dominion of the Divine Sky Dao Fruit, the seemingly irreconcilable conflict began to show a subtle turn.
After its initial violent rejection, the aura of Supreme Yin and Cold from the Taiyin seemed to sense the supreme presence within the Divine Sky Golden Core at the heart of this Grotto Heaven—a presence that commanded ten thousand thunderbolts and embodied both destruction and creation. It also sensed the accommodating and supportive nature of the Profound Vault Dao Rhyme.
It no longer charged about in chaotic fury, but instead began to attempt a deeper form of communication with the ubiquitous thunderbolts and flames.
Or rather, it was a tentative contact on the level of Law.
The scorching Power of Thunder and Fire, though still seething and churning as the Taiyin Cold Stream washed over it, was no longer as frenzied as before, when it seemed on the verge of burning itself out.
A strange sense of docility began to emerge.
It was like a red-hot branding iron being plunged into cold water to be quenched. Although it would erupt in a violent reaction for a moment, the final result was a tougher, more contained piece of iron.
Right now, Xu Yunfan’s Dantian Cave Heaven was in this very state of quenching.
Searing heat.
But the intense heat was slowly receding.
In its place, an indescribable warmth began to grow—the nascent form of Yin and Yang flowing in harmony, a balance of firm and gentle, quietly sprouting in this world built of thunder.
The violet-gold light emanating from the Divine Sky Golden Core seemed less glaring and domineering, gaining a hint of mellow, reserved charm.
The flowing fire erupting from the Red Sun Dao Fruit was still terrifyingly hot, but it had lost some of its world-incinerating hostility, replaced by the light of Endless Life.
And the Origin aura of the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit, though still chilly and aloof, no longer felt like an out-of-place invader.
Like a ghostly blue Nether River, it began to find its own path within this world of intertwining thunder and fire, flowing slowly.
Wherever it passed, it did not bring utter silence. Instead, within the Supreme Yin, it nurtured the sprout of an extremely faint yet incredibly pure vitality.
This was the profound manifestation of Life and Death Reincarnation.
WHOOSH...
Xu Yunfan let out a long, deep breath of Dirt Qi.
The breath, carrying scorching sparks and a wisp of icy white mist, shot out several feet before slowly dissipating. The pallor on his face was finally replaced by a hint of healthy color, and his furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
The most dangerous moment had passed.
Although there was still a long way to go to completely refine the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit and form a stable Three Talents Minor Celestial Cycle of Divine Sky, Red Sun, and Taiyin, at the very least, he had succeeded. He had guided this crucial Taiyin Dao Fruit into his Grotto Heaven and initially pacified its violent Origin, avoiding catastrophic consequences like the Grotto Heaven’s collapse or the Dao Fruit’s self-destruction from rejection.
More importantly, all of this was accomplished in complete silence.
The great power of the Attribute Panel, which transcended the Laws of this realm, had perfectly shielded all the celestial Anomalies and ripples in the Law that the initial violent conflict should have triggered when the Taiyin Dao Fruit was taken into Xu Yunfan’s Grotto Heaven.
There was no earth-shattering Manifestation of Dao Rhyme, no pillar of energy tearing through the sky, and not a single covetous Divine Thought was drawn to investigate.
The aftershocks of the shocking battle deep within the Sea of Suffering, along with the immense energy disturbances and karmic entanglements from the fall of three Golden Core Level beings, had perfectly concealed everything.
This was especially true in the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation. Three Golden Core Level beings had died there. Although the Qiu Long had re-formed into the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit, the Dao Fruits of the White-haired True Daoist and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had returned to the Celestial Dao.
The Celestial Dao naturally bestowed boundless Merit, and with the cover of the uniquely advantageous terrain, the matter had truly gone unnoticed.
’I did it...’
Xu Yunfan murmured in his heart. An indescribable ecstasy, mixed with the exhaustion of surviving a calamity, washed over him like a tide.
Even with his Dao Heart as firm as a rock, he couldn’t stop his fingers from trembling slightly.
Almost a hundred years! Almost a hundred years of planning!
Ever since his main body had achieved the rank of Divine Sky True Monarch, he had lain dormant on Divine Sky Mountain, teaching Ye Yan and Xiao Fan, while secretly pouring most of his Heart and Spirit into this scheme to seize the Dao Fruit in the Sea of Suffering.
Splitting off a Divine Thought to control Han Shi, expending countless rare materials to refine the Destiny-Defying Profound Mirror and the Array Banners, plotting against the White-haired True Daoist, the Qiu Long, and even accounting for other potential variables...
Every step was like walking on thin ice, every move draining his mental energy.
And now, the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit—a fruit crucial for the next step of his Dao path, capable of harmonizing the Supreme Yang and Firm Power of Thunder and Fire in his body and laying the foundation for the Mid-Stage Golden Core—was finally, truly in his grasp.
Silently, without anyone knowing!
Xu Yunfan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and sank his Divine Thought back into his Dantian Cave Heaven. He watched the three torrents of Origin—thunder, fire, and yin. Although still distinct and probing one another, they were no longer in fierce opposition. Instead, they were faintly forming the beginnings of a dynamic equilibrium.
He just needed time. Once he completely refined this Taiyin Dao Fruit and allowed the three to blend perfectly into a stable Minor Circulation...
...then, supported by three Dao Fruits, his Grotto Heaven would be completely stabilized, suspended high above his Purple Mansion, never to fall, never to be extinguished!
His Dharma Lineage would form its own self-sustaining cycle of Endless Life.
He would truly step into the Mid-Stage Golden Core realm and become one of the absolute top existences in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.
He would no longer fear the ordinary suffering of Reincarnation. He could suspend his Grotto Heaven, entrusting it to the void, and immediately reclaim his position after rebirth.
More importantly, this leap in strength would give him a true foundation to stand on—the confidence to transcend his cage and roam free and unfettered.
However, just as this grand blueprint was about to unfold, a thought stirred in Xu Yunfan’s mind, and he remembered something else.
His Divine Thought swept over to the Star Spirit Banner floating beside him.
The banner’s surface was profound and dark, the Stars of the Celestial Sphere slowly revolving. Deep within the banner’s inner space, a dim True Spirit seal—so faint it seemed it could be extinguished at any moment—was being carefully enveloped by the banner’s pure Power of Stars.
On that seal, one could still vaguely sense the residual fluctuations of Han Shi’s final despair, venomous resentment, and unwillingness.
"Tsk."
Xu Yunfan’s eyes held no pity, only a sense of satisfaction at having made the most of his resources.
’My planning is truly divine, my execution godlike,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to create two more Divine Fragments in the future.’
’Let the Divine Fragments handle any trouble first, while I reap the benefits. That’s the Righteous Dao.’
’I suppose this is your last bit of value. A True Spirit formed from a wisp of a Divine Fragment, containing a seed of the Fury Killing Sword Intent. If I nurture it for a few decades, it might recover. It’ll make a promising Banner Spirit for the Star Spirit Banner.’
To him, that was all it was.
Withdrawing his Heart and Spirit, Xu Yunfan’s gaze grew deep and distant, as if it could pierce the dome of the Divine Sky Palace and see the even more vast and unpredictable path of the Immortal Dao.
Mid-Stage Golden Core and the completion of the Minor Circulation were just the beginning.
The road to Longevity was fraught with tribulations.
But at least for now, a crucial Dao Fruit was in his hands. The path ahead was finally a little clearer.
Within the Divine Sky Palace, Thunderbolts rumbled softly, and a violet-gold radiance flowed.
Xu Yunfan slowly closed his eyes. The aura around him settled completely as he began to focus all his effort on regulating his breath and repairing the minor damage his Grotto Heaven had sustained from the earlier tremors.