The internal world of the Kunlun Mirror was now filled with malevolent energy. However, all of it was blocked by Ye Yun's protective shield. Even more of the malevolent energy was directly swallowed by Ye Yun's black hole into his dantian, then suppressed in a corner of his dantian.
"You even dare to devour malevolent energy? I wonder how your cultivation even reached this stage!" the spirit of the artifact spoke, its voice seemingly weaker than before.
Malevolent energy could not only obliterate a cultivator's consciousness but was also fatal to the spirit of an artifact. However, compared to self-destruction, this level of malevolent energy was still something it could barely withstand.
"Just malevolent energy," Ye Yun chuckled coldly, his flames flaring up. Instantly, the malevolent energy within several zhang around him was completely devoured and eliminated by Ye Yun's Nine Flavors True Fire.
Ye Yun's True Fire was an exotic flame. After several mutations, it had become incredibly powerful and was the bane of all impure energies. Coupled with its mastery of the True Fire Law, this level of malevolent energy, let alone touching Ye Yun's True Fire, wouldn't even get within a meter of Ye Yun if he made no defenses.
"This is the end of it. I never expected you to hide the Kunlun Mirror within your spiritual sea."
Up to this point, Ye Yun hadn't even unleashed one percent of his strength. Now that the true form of the Kunlun Mirror had appeared, there was no need to waste any more time in this internal world.
The Kunlun Mirror was the foremost spiritual artifact of these ten directions and also a spiritual artifact of the human race. Now that he had encountered it, Ye Yun would naturally not let this spiritual artifact fall into the hands of others.
"Hah, want to leave? Can you even leave?" The artifact spirit burst into laughter upon hearing Ye Yun's words. After entering this world, no one could leave without its permission. Even the Grand Elders of the Heavenly Dao Sect, who had mastered spatial laws, needed its consent.
Idiot...
Ye Yun could only scorn him thus.
Spatial power surged, and a narrow, winding path less than a hundred meters long abruptly appeared in the void. At the end of the path was a vortex, and within the vortex was nothingness. At the same time, in the first star domain, a similar vortex appeared next to the sun-like golden light.
This is...
"Impossible! Even if you comprehended spatial laws to perfection, you couldn't possibly leave the Kunlun world!"
The artifact spirit's voice was filled with disbelief. As the spirit of an artifact, it could perceive both the inner and outer worlds.
It was certain that perfect spatial laws could not break through the spatial barriers of the Kunlun Mirror, unless... unless this power had surpassed the laws themselves!
A thought, so unbelievable that it dared not believe itself, suddenly arose in the artifact spirit's heart. But was this possible? Throughout the countless years of the ten directions, no cultivator had ever been able to escape the restraints of the Heavenly Dao and achieve power beyond the laws.
But what was before its eyes?
"Impossible? That only means your vision is too narrow. The world is vast, and cultivators are endless. Each cultivator walks a different path. Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean others can't achieve it. If it weren't for the fact that the Kunlun Mirror was forged by our human ancestors, it would be a useless relic by now."
Ye Yun said coldly and then stepped onto the path, disappearing from the Kunlun world.
For Ye Yun, with his sword-body path, breaking through this world was a simple matter. However, the consequence of doing so would be that the foremost spiritual artifact of these ten directions would truly be rendered useless, which was not the outcome Ye Yun desired.
In the void of the first star domain, as Ye Yun appeared, all the malevolent energy within a hundred zhang instantly scattered like mice encountering a cat. The malevolent energy emanating from the dazzling golden Kunlun Mirror also ceased to flow outward. The entire space became incredibly oppressive the moment Ye Yun appeared, and even the malevolent energy drifting in the void dissipated under Ye Yun's might.
How could this be...
This is impossible...
Within the Kunlun Mirror, the artifact spirit was still in a daze.
Ye Yun, however, wouldn't humor it. He reached out and grasped, and the golden light of the entire Kunlun Mirror instantly extinguished. Then, it was seized by Ye Yun into his hand.
"Now that it's in my hands, no amount of struggling will help! Now, let me see how powerful this foremost spiritual artifact of the ten directions truly is."
Ye Yun's physical body had long since reached the extreme capacity that the Ten Directions Cosmos could contain. In terms of strength, it was even superior to the Kunlun Mirror. Therefore, even without using his true essence, Ye Yun could completely suppress the Kunlun Mirror, and the artifact spirit wouldn't be able to move it at all.
"Who exactly are you? How can these ten directions contain someone as heaven-defying as you?"
The artifact spirit was now utterly panicked. In the Kunlun world, it was fine; it could hide, and Ye Yun wouldn't be able to find it. But in the external world, especially with Ye Yun holding the Kunlun Mirror, it was too easy for Ye Yun to find it.
"Don't you already know who I am? Alright, stop thinking about controlling the Kunlun Mirror to self-destruct. You no longer have a choice."
From the moment the Heavenly Dao Sect made contact with the demon butterfly, Ye Yun's information had been transmitted to the Heavenly Dao Sect through the Futian Empire. As the master behind the Heavenly Dao Sect, how could this artifact spirit not know of Ye Yun's existence? They had simply underestimated Ye Yun's strength by a wide margin.
Ye Yun's words caused the Kunlun Mirror to suddenly quiet down.
"Is there no possibility for me to remain? I can pledge my allegiance to you, I can sign a master-servant contract with you." The artifact spirit's words were filled with entreaty; clearly, it had sensed its current predicament.
"Hmph, betraying the human race, enslaving the human race, what use is an artifact spirit that devours its master?"
Ye Yun's divine sense surged into the Kunlun Mirror in his hand. In just a moment, he located the artifact spirit. Then, his divine sense turned into a blade, instantly annihilating the Kunlun Mirror's artifact spirit.
It was extremely difficult for a spiritual artifact to produce an artifact spirit, but if the born artifact spirit was one that devoured its master, then it was better to be without it.
As the artifact spirit dissipated, the golden light emanating from the Kunlun Mirror completely vanished. Ye Yun clearly felt that the Kunlun Mirror in his hand had dropped a level in rank, not by just a little.
However, Ye Yun was unconcerned. For Ye Yun, the greatest use of the Kunlun Mirror was to help him conceal his heavenly secrets. Although not much, as long as it helped conceal his heavenly secrets and reduced the tribulation of ascension for him, his strength could still improve significantly in these ten directions.
Moreover, even if he ascended to the upper realm, this Kunlun Mirror could completely be given to his people to use, or even serve as a final refuge for the human race.
"The Kunlun Mirror is in hand, and the Heavenly Dao Sect is also destroyed. It's time to return and go into seclusion." Ye Yun glanced at the rampant malevolent energy around him, then glanced at the domain gate tens of millions of li away. He did not make a move to eliminate the malevolent energy here, but instead flashed back to his sleeping quarters.