The astral projections of two Yang Gods had turned into the character for "woman" (女).
How utterly astonishing and incomprehensible this was.
Even experts at the Great Ultimate Principle Realm had no idea what had just occurred.
"This..."
"Why on earth did this happen?"
Countless Yang Gods murmured, their minds trembling with an edge of dread.
This occurrence was too bizarre, too abstract—it truly exceeded their cognition and understanding.
Meanwhile, within the curious land.
Qi Yuan looked at the two figures before him with a complex expression.
"Expelling him from manhood... why did he turn into a woman?"
This wasn't ideal.
Granted, what the Eastern Depot couldn't do, the Western Depot would; but if male status was revoked, did female status have to take it?
What about other genders?
Heavenly Venerable Shenxue looked terrified, his voice shrill and carrying a distinctly feminine lilt. "What did you do to me?"
He was a dignified Yang God of the Ultimate Principle Realm, powerful enough to awe the Sixth Heaven, yet never before had he felt so completely at someone else's mercy.
As for Heavenly Venerable Da Le, he had long since turned into Heavenly Venerable Da Ku—crying bitterly rather than laughing.
"You slandered me and dragged down humanity's moral baseline, so I expelled you from manhood. Don't you get it?" Qi Yuan looked at Heavenly Venerable Shenxue, deep in thought. "And don't raise your voice at me. You're just a biological female now."
Qi Yuan felt the ethics here were exceedingly complicated and difficult to untangle.
Then again, biological males weren't allowed to raise their voices at him either.
Qi Yuan looked at Shenxue and hesitated no longer.
"You'd better... just die!"
In this curious land, Heavenly Venerable Shenxue possessed only the combat power of the Great Heavenly Position.
With Qi Yuan's strength, even without bringing forth the Supreme Ultimate Principles, he could easily slaughter him relying solely on his prowess as the Myriad Dao Martial God.
After all, with the Myriad Dao Martial God, curious lands were his home turf.
What was more, after cultivating the Ancestral Blood Art, the Myriad Dao Martial God's might had surged wildly; Qi Yuan was no longer the man he had been in the past.
His formidable body charged forward. Space trembled and collapsed as an overbearing punch was unleashed without an ounce of mercy.
"Turn into fertilizer for my Netherworld!"
A single punch struck.
Qi Yuan's giant hand abruptly transformed into a sci-fi grinder, its colossal maw swallowing Heavenly Venerable Shenxue, who was bound tight by chains.
"Ah!"
Heavenly Venerable Shenxue let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
Massive millstones and spinning blades relentlessly shredded her body and divine soul.
Finally, amidst a rumble of roaring machinery, a batch of feed was freshly produced.
Watching from the side, Heavenly Venerable Da Le swallowed hard, thoroughly frightened out of his wits.
Having lived for so many years, what hadn't he seen?
Yet today's spectacle... he truly had never seen anything like it!
Looking at Heavenly Venerable Shenxue, who had been reduced to fertilizer, Qi Yuan was also a bit taken aback. "It seems I can't go about using this Supreme Ultimate Principle recklessly, especially during the bridal chamber."
Qi Yuan felt a lingering sense of apprehension.
At present, the effects of using the Supreme Ultimate Principle exceeded his predictions.
If he used it while consummating a marriage and ended up turning someone into something eldritch and indescribable, that would be truly terrifying.
Still, Qi Yuan knew this was merely because he had only just grasped the Supreme Ultimate Principle and could not yet exert total control over it.
Once he reached the realm of Moon Goddess Yuanjun, he would be able to wield it at will.
Having slain Heavenly Venerable Shenxue and swept the fertilizer into the Netherworld, Qi Yuan turned his gaze to Heavenly Venerable Da Le. "You... commit suicide!"
"No!"
Holding the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner, Heavenly Venerable Da Le glared with eyes wide enough to split.
The Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner trembled violently, and countless wronged souls surged out, clamping their hands around Heavenly Venerable Da Le's arms.
She had already been immobilized by the jury and judges, and was further constrained by Qi Yuan's Supreme Ultimate Principle, leaving her entirely unable to resist.
Her body was dragged directly into the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner and torn into countless pieces.
Within the banner, the eyes of the ghostly spirit emissaries glowed fiercely, swirling with chaos and soaring malevolence.
These ghosts had been amassed by Guiyu Heaven's cultivators, who had destroyed world after world, extracting and condensing the divine souls of countless cultivators.
It was fair to say that the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner harbored the peak of baleful energy and monstrous evil.
The innocent souls trapped in a single Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner outnumbered the entire population of the Blue Star.
"What a pity. Devoured by the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner instead of becoming feed for the Netherworld."
Qi Yuan looked at the banner and couldn't help sighing in regret.
Then, he thrust his hand forward with a sudden grab.
"Come here, my family's soul banner!"
This banner was an avatar of the true Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner.
Though its power was less than a tenth of the original, it could still barely qualify as an offensive Creation Treasure.
The Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner thrashed continuously.
Plumes of black smoke billowed outward.
Heart-stopping, grotesque spirit emissaries and boundless hordes of soul emissaries stared at Qi Yuan, stretching out grim, ghastly arms amidst howls like ten thousand weeping ghosts.
Such a sight was enough to scare even the boldest person to death.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan thought that if he ever returned to the Blue Star, using this Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner to open an escape room would surely be a blast.
The appearance of these ghosts was exceptionally gruesome—far more horrifying than any ghosts in television dramas. They twisted together in an unspeakable heap; looking closely, one might see a mass of arms, or perhaps a cluster of heads.
Gazing upon these soul emissaries, Qi Yuan recalled his plan.
Clearing his throat, he said softly, "Perhaps everyone else fears and dreads you, but I personally think you look quite handsome."
Qi Yuan embarked upon his grand enterprise of brainwashing, intent on remodeling the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner into the banner of his dreams.
The first step was to reform the soul emissaries and spirit emissaries within, reshaping them into ghosts of the people.
Thus, from the start, Qi Yuan deployed the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture and Absolute Adaptation to correct the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner.
Although the ghosts within had committed heinous deeds, their original selves were guiltless and innocent.
Therefore, Qi Yuan planned to give them all a thorough brainwashing and remodeling.
This kind of remodeling was a reversal.
It was like how the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner hunted living beings, extracted their divine souls, and refined them into vicious soul and spirit emissaries.
That viciousness was pure and mindless.
Now, Qi Yuan was going to remake them into righteous soul emissaries and spirit emissaries.
Sure enough, hearing Qi Yuan's words, the ghosts within the banner froze slightly in confusion. Their furious roars and ghostly wails died down by more than half.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan hurriedly pressed on. "Do not blame yourselves, do not fear, and do not dread. No one is born evil. In truth, you are also very beautiful!"
Looking at the terrifying specters piled together before him, assembled into a monstrous, bloated corpse of a titan, Qi Yuan spoke soothingly.
He also slowly walked toward the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner.
"This world is full of wickedness and filth. It needs righteous individuals like you to step forward and save it, restoring clarity and peace to this world.
You have all witnessed darkness, which is why you cherish the light even more.
If you have any thoughts, you can share them with me.
If they are bad thoughts, I will delete them."
Qi Yuan continued to draw closer.
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture activated.
Absolute Adaptation activated.
Qi Yuan's figure also became twisted.
In the eyes of those ghosts, he appeared as a contorted, shapeless crimson silhouette of blood.
He looked like the king of ten thousand ghosts, the ancestor of ten thousand specters, enough to fill them with terror and compel them to prostrate in worship.
Yet this contorted, unspeakable phantom of blood actually radiated holy light.
This filled the black-smoke-spewing ghosts with a mix of fear and utter bafflement.
"Children, stretch out your hands and build a better world together with me!" Qi Yuan took the lead, extending his arm with an amiable expression, resembling a benevolent heavenly father.
Within the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner, the infinite ghosts trembled in fear at this sight.
Yet, perhaps moved by Qi Yuan's presence, their black smoke slowly began to shift at this moment, transforming toward holy light.
Qi Yuan had plenty of experience with such things.
Back then, the Resplendent Sword had billowed furiously with bloody mist, yet he had reworked it into holy light.
Now, turning black smoke into white smoke... shouldn't be too hard, right?
Just then, the terrifying ghosts within the banner grew apprehensive. As though infected by Qi Yuan's demeanor, they reached out their ghastly palms one after another.
In an instant, thousands of pale, tender arms reached toward Qi Yuan.
The chief spirit emissary was a horrifying monstrosity, seemingly on the verge of developing a wisp of sapience.
At this moment, it lurked within, its face devoid of expression.
Wary, fearful, tyrannical, bloodthirsty.
Ultimately, apprehensive, it also extended a hairy, ghastly hand.
Qi Yuan wore a gentle expression as he looked at these outstretched palms.
"Good children, all of you..."
Yet, right at that moment, black smoke abruptly surged from the chief spirit emissary's arm, and it swung violently toward Qi Yuan's face.
Smack!
The palm struck the face of Qi Yuan's phantom image with a crisp, loud crack.
Indeed, a phantom image.
A projection shaped by Absolute Adaptation.
The resounding slap echoed through the curious land.
All the ghosts froze, halting their movements.
The weeping and howling vanished entirely.
Then, a gentle and secretly pleased voice suddenly rang out.
"Oh my, you're touching my little cheek!"
The phantom chuckled, sounding almost a little coy.
Seeing this, all the ghosts seemed to settle down, perhaps truly moved by Qi Yuan.
The black smoke across their bodies rapidly shifted, turning into radiant white light.
Meanwhile, Qi Yuan approached the chief spirit emissary, looking utterly benevolent.
"You're quite nice, touching my little cheek like that. I want to touch yours too."
For some reason, the chief spirit emissary sensed a terrifying aura and let out a bloodcurdling roar.
"Shouting so happily—are you welcoming me?"
Qi Yuan's voice was exceedingly gentle as he pushed the chief spirit emissary flat to the ground.
"Lie down nicely, I'll give you a massage!"
"Oh my, your spine is poisoned, let me take it out for you!"
"Don't shout so loud from joy, I know you're happy!"
"Come, let me touch your little cheek too, and give you a pretty face!"
Sitting atop the chief spirit emissary, Qi Yuan tore its face to shreds.
Its spine and bones were ground entirely to powder.
"Your bones are far too dark. That's not fitting for a champion of justice. Today, I'll swap them out for white bones free of charge!"
Qi Yuan began a thorough remodeling.
All the while, he never stopped lecturing.
The other ghosts hid far away, sneaking peeks at Qi Yuan.
Minutes and seconds ticked by.
Under the influence of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, these ghosts transformed from eerie and horrifying into glowing figures of pure white.
The original skeletons and bare bones were dressed in festive red clothes.
The jumbled arms and kneecaps were pieced back together into proper human shapes.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yuan looked at the group of ghosts before him and said with immense pride, "Look at that! Doesn't this look like a Human Sovereign Banner? Not a single withered bone inside!"
Heavenly Venerable Motong swept his gaze over them.
He saw a skeleton covered in little red flowers, with a red scarf tied around its neck.
A shivering specter was snow-white like jade, its eyes shooting beams of blinding white light as if fitted with laser lenses.
To describe it:
The ghosts previously inside the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner resembled Western horror—grotesque, ferocious, covered in densely packed mouthparts.
Now, they were neatly dressed and, at first glance, looked like ordinary human beings.
Yet upon closer inspection, their expressions were numb, their eyes blank, and they made no sound.
It was exceptionally unsettling, reminiscent of ghosts from Chinese horror.
"Though they look human, for some reason, they're creepy as hell," Heavenly Venerable Motong replied seriously.
"Really?"
Qi Yuan took another look.
It truly did feel rather frightening.
"That's easy. Just put a big-eye filter on them!"
Qi Yuan took action immediately, channeling boundless magical power.
He slapped a cute, big-eye filter onto every single ghost.
The originally ghastly spirits instantly turned adorable and endearingly silly.
"How about now? Don't they look like righteous heroic spirits from a Human Sovereign Banner?" Qi Yuan asked.
Heavenly Venerable Motong blinked, staring at a cute female ghost. "Can I carry one home to be my wife?"
"Get lost!"
Qi Yuan kicked Heavenly Venerable Motong, thoroughly satisfied with his handiwork.
As the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner was now, even its true owner wouldn't recognize it if they showed up.
"From now on, this is my Human Sovereign Banner.
Once my divine arts reach fruition, I'll take down Guiyu Heaven, flip the heavens upside down, devour the main banner, and achieve grand completion!"
Holding the Human Sovereign Banner, Qi Yuan was exceptionally pleased with himself.
This ambush had yielded a bountiful harvest.
In particular, this Human Sovereign Banner helped Qi Yuan understand the path ahead: forging his own offensive Creation Treasure.
After all, he currently lacked an offensive Creation Treasure. If he wanted to become invincible across the Sixth Heaven, he would have to cultivate inside the Gate of Ultimate Principle for tens of thousands or even millions of years.
That was simply too long.
Besides, with a million years to spare, who would bother cultivating? One could just go to the Blue Star and work in an electronics factory for three thousand a month, earning 36 billion in no time, achieving instant financial freedom, and squeezing into the nation's top one hundred richest people!
Therefore, so as not to delay becoming a top-hundred billionaire, wasting that time on cultivation was too much of a loss; he definitely had to forge an offensive Creation Treasure.
"Time to head back."
***
Within the Black Demon Abyss.
Killing intent permeated the air.
Hei Jian's refined white robes were stained with blood, yet his aura remained profound as the ocean.
"Guiyu Heaven is audacious beyond measure, daring to ambush and attempt to slay Hei Jian! They truly deserve death!" a Great Ultimate Principle expert declared, his voice thick with murderous intent.
"Fortunately, the Old Ancestor depleted his own vitality to rescue Hei Jian!"
When Hei Jian had encountered danger, he had fled into a curious land; in the end, the Old Ancestor had utilized a Creation Treasure to divine his location and personally helped him out of the predicament.
Hei Jian wore an elegant, unreadable expression. "I am deeply grateful to the Old Ancestor for this matter!"
He bowed toward the distant Black Demon Mountain.
"If not for the Old Ancestor, facing an ambush by two Great Ultimate Principles, my fate would likely have been miserable."
Though ambushed by two Great Ultimate Principles, Hei Jian spoke of it breezily, without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.
It was as though nothing had happened at all.
Yet the Yang Gods present understood just how perilous it had been.
As experts of the Great Ultimate Principle Realm, they naturally knew the vast gulf between a Great Ultimate Principle and an ordinary Yang God.
Although Hei Jian had comprehended a Supreme Ultimate Principle, he had not yet stepped into the Ultimate Principle Realm. Facing a Great Ultimate Principle, holding out for even a single breath was extraordinary, let alone enduring two.
"I heard Junior Brother Blood Robe was also ambushed by Guiyu Heaven. How is he?" Hei Jian mentioned, his tone carrying a trace of sorrow.
Evidently, he did not hold high hopes for Blood Robe's survival.
Powerful as Blood Robe was, facing an ambush from Guiyu Heaven left little chance of coming out alive.
Hearing this, the expressions of the Great Ultimate Principle experts present shifted slightly.
Finally, Old Fifth spoke slowly. "Regarding this matter... we are actually quite curious as well."
"Curious?"
"According to the information we received, the ones who ambushed Blood Robe should have been Heavenly Venerable Da Le and Heavenly Venerable Shenxue."
"Shenxue? An Ultimate Principle?" Hei Jian looked slightly surprised.
He felt even more pessimistic about Blood Robe's fate.
That was a Yang God of the Ultimate Principle Realm.
"Their astral projections turned into... the character for 'woman' (女), and finally... exploded."
"What?" Hei Jian blinked, completely baffled.
Old Fifth waved his hand. Within the vast Astral Realm, two stellar projections shone brightly, twisting violently before abruptly morphing into the character for "woman" (女).
In the end, they shattered with a resounding crash.
Every part of this spectacle left one utterly perplexed and thoroughly unsettled.
Hei Jian stared at the scene with a complicated expression. "Could it be that behind Junior Brother Blood Robe, there is also a Supreme Venerable?"
The other Great Ultimate Principle experts sank into deep contemplation.
Something incomprehensible even to them had to be related to a Supreme Venerable.
Chapter 451