Chapter 496 - Separating the Sun and Moon!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Under the assault of the violet dragon patterns, the entire surface of the Celestial Sourcecore was swiftly shrouded in a violet mist, transforming it into a colossal violet sphere!

The gleam of gold and silver was devoured whole!

The Primordial Ruins were plunged into a violet night, every face eerily masked in an unnatural shade of violet, giving off a chilling and bizarre air.

Millions of steadfast cultivators, who had endured relentless training, suddenly felt a tremor. With shocked eyes, they stared at the heavens, their gazes clouded with confusion.

"Who dares to play tricks!" A cold, commanding voice of a woman erupted from the direction of the Human Zenith Ruins, her voice sweeping across the land, causing countless buildings in the ruins to tremble and collapse.

Undoubtedly, the Heavenly Immortal was on her way—swiftly.

"Yun Xiao, hurry!" Lian Xi, caught in the dense crowd, gazed up at the violet sky, her breath catching in alarm.

At the brightest point of the violet light, Yun Xiao was drenched in sweat!

Despite having a body merged from three beings, the overwhelming drain nearly sucked him dry through the compass.

"Fortunate that I broke through seven stages. Had I attempted this earlier, it would've been my doom!" Yun Xiao's face was engulfed in the violet light.

With the imminent threat of the Heavenly Immortal on his heels, and the scenes resembling hell from the millions of cultivators below and the Nine Hells, everything was vividly clear!

Why practice cultivation? It was for this very moment!

With a roar that seemed to shake the heavens, Yun Xiao's belief was fervent as he bellowed mightily.

"Break forth!" His roar echoed through the cosmos, striking like a thunderclap in the ears of the cultivators, igniting a glint of humanity in their frenzied, vacant eyes.

BOOM!

The previously silent sun and moon now erupted in an even more deafening roar, their numerous violet lights surged like dragons, forcibly pulling at the Celestial Sourcecore!

"The Yang rises to the heavens! The Yin sinks below! As they part, calamity disperses!" Yun Xiao didn't grasp the mechanics behind the merging of the sun and moon unleashing the Heavenly Decay, but he knew it all started with their convergence. Perhaps their separation could fend off the imminent doom threatening their world!

Others spent centuries on this research; Yun Xiao accomplished it in less than a quarter of an hour.

"It's possible!" Yun Xiao understood the structure of the formation intimately; separating the celestial bodies was several times easier than their merging!

The first step was to control the transformation of the array with the compass key, shifting from a single sphere into two.

The next step was crucial! It involved separating the Yin and Yang energies, akin to pulling apart two lovers—ironically, a simpler task than uniting them.

"Separate now!" Yun Xiao roared, committing fully, unafraid of exhaustion.

Above in the sky, the Celestial Sourcecore was first stretched into an ellipse, then indented in the middle, gradually forming a horizontal gourd.

Of course, its sides were nearly equal!

Then, with a swift twist, Yun Xiao erected the gourd upright, activating the formation through a tremor that caused the golden Yang energy to rise and the silver Yin energy to sink.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The entire process was thunderous, shaking the very foundation of the heavens!

Yun Xiao’s manipulation was incredibly precise and flawless.

The gold and silver colors separated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"We're close to success!" Lian Xi clenched her small hands, her heart pounding with excitement. She saw firsthand—the locals in the Primordial Ruins, no longer feeling the Heavenly Decay, suffered less. They no longer needed the Ascension Technique as much, and clarity returned to their eyes.

All signs pointed to Yun Xiao’s actions being correct!

If even they could recover, then the beings of the Nine Hells could undoubtedly do the same.

BOOM!

Just then, a pink peach blossom storm erupted on the left, charging towards Yun Xiao like a monstrous beast, its killing intent fierce and deafening.

"Yun Xiao, be careful!" Lian Xi almost cried out, but she covered her mouth just in time to avoid detection.

The Heavenly Immortal had arrived!

Lian Xi saw her, and naturally, Yun Xiao sensed the newcomer behind him!

Yet, Yun Xiao couldn't afford to ponder over much at that terrifying moment; he gritted his teeth and completed the final step.

"Separate!"

With a clear shout, the sun and moon trembled.

The essence of Yin and Yang finally concluded their convergence, splitting decisively into two orbs of gold and silver.

After the split, they even began to repel each other, one heading east and the other west. According to this trajectory, they would inevitably return to the natural order of sunrise and moonset, forever at their farthest, forever in chase, never to meet again.

"We've succeeded!"

At that moment, both Yun Xiao and Lian Xi could distinctly feel that the debilitating force that once swept across humanity was no more!

At least for now, the chaos among mortals had paused.

Before the Mystic Earth Immortal had manipulated the convergence of the sun and moon, the people of the Primordial Ruins only practiced the Ascension Technique briefly each day. Most times, aside from their allegiance to the Three Immortals, their minds remained clear.

At that level, even the Three Immortals found it hard to drastically drain the lifespan of the masses.

Now, the sun and moon reverted to that state. As the two separated, voices of confusion swept through the Primordial Ruins.

In the streets, each cultivator looked utterly bewildered.

"Why am I here?"

"Father, father, how did you age again?"

"I'm so tired, why do I feel a decade older..."

Their ability to voice confusion was proof that the All Life Devouring Gu alone couldn't dominate everything.

After a brief period of perplexity, the Primordial Ruins quickly became noisy and chaotic.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That was because at least a third of the populace remembered the death of the Mystic Earth Immortal!

They had been liberated then. And they had no idea why they had fallen victim once again.

Among these people, there were those who knew the truth about the Ascension Technique. Now that the populace had regained some of their senses, the truth spread like wildfire.

"A Heavenly Immortal? Who is that?"

"I've always heard her voice. She must be the mother of the Three Immortals, the creator of the Primordial Ruins..."

"Nonsense! Don’t let the parasites in your brain deceive you. She's just like the other three, stealing our lifespans!"

Despite the influence of the All Life Devouring Gu, debates and disputes broke out among the people.

But their arguments were soon interrupted by the spectacle in the sky—the storm of peach blossoms.

"Look! That's the Heavenly Immortal!"

"The Heavenly Immortal descends from above, should we not kneel?"

"Kneel for what? She’s enraged and out to kill Yun Xiao! He’s the one who slew the Mystic Earth Immortal; he's trying to save us!"

Even as they could reason, the chaos stirred by the parasites made clarity elusive.

For a moment, despite staring intently at the sky, the people continued their relentless arguing, each determined to discern the truth.

"Sigh..."

Above them, Yun Xiao felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

"I've overextended myself!"

He took a deep breath, so weary he could barely stand, barely able to wield his Sovereign Sword, let alone make a quick escape.

Behind him, a cold gleam had already fixed him in its sights.

Yun Xiao pursed his lips and turned around.

Before his eyes, amidst the countless fluttering peach blossoms, tens of thousands of pink petals swirled towards him, coalescing into the breathtakingly beautiful Heavenly Immortal...