Chapter 489: Zhang Fan

Spiritual terrace, square inch, rises dark smoke; heart monkey escapes armor, wondrous beyond words.

Do not say heavenly secrets are unfathomable; the nascent soul is originally the Primordial Monkey.

In Daoist cultivation, the foremost secret is to tether the will-horse and subdue the heart-monkey; otherwise, if the heart-monkey breaks loose and the will-horse runs wild, the conscious spirit stirs in turmoil—this is the great calamity of the nascent soul.

Song Shi Yun’s heavenly-gifted divine art is the calamity of the nascent soul.

As soon as the divine art manifests, the heart-monkey cannot be restrained, just as within the Armor-Escaping Ultimate Array.

“Heart Monkey Armor-Escaping!?”

An Wuyang’s nascent soul surged violently, his expression turning grave.

Before their eyes, external scenes erupted—countless tracks crisscrossed like heaven’s meridians and earth’s parallels, resembling Daoist ultimate arrays; clouds and mist boiled, obscuring the sun and moon’s light, concealing the stars’ radiance.

Zhang Fan, An Wuyang, and Meng Qiwu’s nascent souls had been unknowingly dragged into this eerie external scene.

Simultaneously, chains bound each of their nascent souls, inscribed with thunder talismans and etched with fire patterns; thunder and fire clashed, wielding power to seize souls.

“Our nascent souls…” Meng Qiwu’s face paled.

Though all three possessed formidable abilities and vast cultivation, their nascent souls had been forcibly seized and dragged into the external scene without a sound.

This method surpassed the Jushen technique of the Wuwei Sect by countless times in subtlety and terror.

The unique aspect of Heart Monkey Armor-Escaping lies in its power being directed specifically at the nascent soul.

A divine art specifically targeting the nascent soul—Zhang Fan had never encountered one before.

“Heavenly-gifted divine art… this is an irrevocable force. Moreover, the true terror of this divine art lies not in capturing the nascent soul,” An Wuyang said gravely.

“If the heart-monkey is not bound, wisdom-life is damaged; only when unyielding do you realize impermanence…”

Suddenly, Song Shi Yun’s voice echoed softly, vast and nameless, seeming to come from nowhere, yet also from every direction.

In a daze, all saw an ethereal figure materialize—supreme nascent soul, commanding this external scene, pulling the three chains.

“An Wuyang, I intended to spare you, but you failed to recognize the times—so you must face this calamity.”

Boom…

No sooner had the words ended than heaven and earth trembled, boundless mist surged, and eight gates slowly rose from different directions, aligning with the Nine Stars below and the Eight Directions above!!

The eight gates slowly converged, sealing shut, trapping the three nascent souls at the center.

Within each gate, strange phenomena appeared—bizarre and dazzling, revealing the Seven Emotions and Six Desires.

“His heart is the armor; my soul is the array. Eight gates rotate, the secret of escape and slaughter!” An Wuyang said grimly.

He had long heard the name of this [Heart Monkey Armor-Escaping], but never imagined it was this terrifying.

As the phenomenon first formed, the oppressive force immobilized his nascent soul, rendering it motionless.

When the eight gates erupted, all phenomena surged—no matter how great your heavenly abilities, your heart-monkey must be bound, your nascent soul silenced.

Boom…

The eight gates violently shook; terrifying energy surged through the chains, thunder talismans flickered, fire patterns glowed, firmly imprisoning all nascent souls, dragging them toward the gates.

“Shen Gate opens—northern Kan water gathers.”

Suddenly, one gate glowed with murky black radiance, like an ocean boiling, as if rivers and seas churned—any nascent soul entering would dissolve into black flow.

“Shang Gate activates—eastern Zhen thunder appears.”

At the same moment, another gate erupted with boundless thunder, lightning flashing, surging ceaselessly—like green snakes slithering, great dragons roaring, wielding slaughter, annihilating nascent souls.

…

The eight gates rotated, each displaying strange phenomena—like great earthly calamities, like great nascent soul disasters.

Boom…

At this moment, Meng Qiwu’s nascent soul could no longer endure; though she possessed Great Master cultivation, how could she resist this Heart Monkey Armor-Escaping divine art?

The chain trembled, dragging her into the Sheng Gate.

The Sheng Gate rotated; the Si Gate opened wide.

Earth can give life, yet also bury it.

Northeast Gen Earth instantly transformed into southwest Kun Earth; all creation and transformation rapidly became a hundred deaths and burial.

Hum…

Meng Qiwu’s face darkened; she felt her nascent soul petrify—a crack suddenly appeared. The closer she drew to the gate, the weaker her nascent soul became, as if spring ended and winter came, all things buried and returned to earth.

“A person’s choice is their own fortune.”

“If fortune fails, calamity arrives!”

Song Shi Yun’s voice echoed again—he stood like a supreme law, coldly observing all before him.

“Divine art, divine art—it can reach the divine. See whether your divine art is vast, or my Dao is boundless.”

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out sharply, echoing through heaven and earth, vibrating through the chaos.

At that moment, Zhang Fan’s nascent soul stepped forward, standing squarely before Meng Qiwu.

Within heaven and earth, before the eight gates, Zhang Fan’s nascent soul suddenly blazed like a bright lamp—radiant light pierced the endless dark night, shattered the clouds and mist of heaven and earth.

“Hm!?”

This terrifying disturbance finally caught Song Shi Yun’s attention.

Yet the next moment, an even more astonishing sight appeared.

Boom…

Zhang Fan’s nascent soul erupted violently—black and white qi surged like tides, as if day and night stood apart, gods and demons rose together, sun and moon hung inverted.

“This is…” Song Shi Yun’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Boom…

Zhang Fan’s nascent soul fully unleashed its terrifying aura; black and white qi exploded wildly, as if filling heaven and earth, severing all eight directions.

Bang… bang… bang…

Under this pressure, the eight mysterious gates violently trembled—thunder shattered, flames extinguished… all strange phenomena went berserk.

A sharp crack rang out—cracks suddenly appeared across the eight gates.

“The ultimate calamity—the Divine Demon Sacred Embryo!?”

Suddenly, Song Shi Yun’s voice rang again, each word bursting from between clenched teeth, thick with shock and gravity.

In this vast heaven and earth, only the supreme elixir method could use nascent soul power to break his heavenly-gifted divine art.

“This is his nascent soul…”

Meng Qiwu’s beautiful eyes trembled, her delicate face filled with profound shock.

At this moment, she truly saw the face of Zhang Fan’s nascent soul—if ordinary Zhang Fan was a quiet spring, now his nascent soul was a raging ocean, boundless and vast, waves rolling in furious tides.

Bang… bang… bang…

The chaotic heaven and earth were utterly filled with black and white qi; in a daze, heaven and earth split into yin and yang, as if two ancient, mysterious figures held them apart—gods, demons, just as at the Primordial Beginning, the source of the Elixir Scripture.

Bang… bang… bang…

The chains binding all nascent souls shattered completely; even the eight gates were crushed under the violent pressure.

Heaven and earth were vast; the external scene dispersed—everything before them returned to normal.

Looking again, all remained before the Hidden Immortal Nest; looking up, Song Shi Yun stood atop the high stone.

But now, his gaze, cold and deep, no longer fixed on An Wuyang—it locked onto Zhang Fan.

“Divine Demon Sacred Embryo… the only two beings in the world to cultivate this method… are you a remnant of the Southern Zhang clan!?” Song Shi Yun said sharply.

“I’m your dad.” Zhang Fan replied coldly, his tone sincere.

“The son of the Great Spirit Sect’s king… I never expected you to appear here.”

Song Shi Yun’s expression returned to normal, yet cold light flickered in his eyes.

“An Wuyang, do you know his father is the number-one wanted criminal named by the Dao Alliance?”

Suddenly, Song Shi Yun turned his gaze to An Wuyang and asked with weighty force.

“You are a scion of Zhongnan Mountain—how dare you conspire with demons and evils?”

An Wuyang fell silent briefly, then shook his head: “The North-South feud of the Zhang family is an internal matter of Longhu Mountain; it has never been settled, and the Dao Alliance has never officially named any wanted criminal.”

“Song Shi Yun, by saying this, you admit Baihe Guan is abusing public authority, turning the Dao Alliance into your personal tool to suppress other Dao lineages?”

At these words, Song Shi Yun’s face darkened instantly.