Yang Yan squinted his eyes, striving to calm the foul energy swirling inside and outside his body.

His original plan was to forge Star Night into a soul artifact, with the gathering of foul energy being merely a subsidiary endeavor.

However, after quite some time, Star Night showed no change, yet many condensed spheres of compressed foul energy were formed.

It was somewhat a case of putting the cart before the horse.

At least it allowed him to see some results of his efforts, preventing such frustration!

What were all these condensed spheres of foul energy?!

Moreover, Yang Yan could tell that the foul energy spheres he condensed weren’t particularly lethal, only enough to interfere with the enemy.

Everyone has foul energy, but refining it into a weapon is far from sufficient.

If foul energy could be used to kill, then everyone might as well cultivate foul energy.

Perhaps it could even spur the creation of a cultivation technique specifically for foul energy.

Dwelling on such nonsensical thoughts was undoubtedly a waste of time, so Yang Yan quickly settled his mind and began to think from another angle.

If he could release foul energy in large quantities, forcing the enemy to defend while continually weakening them, wouldn’t it offer a unique way to win?

And here, foul energy abounded, seemingly meeting this requirement.

Hence, what was regarded as a major nuisance by all Primordial Spirits became something Yang Yan needed, which he continuously separated, devoured, and condensed from residual souls.

Actively drawing foul energy into oneself is seen as suicidal by normal people.

Regardless of the final outcome, the high risk during the process would deter most people from trying.

If he were to fail unexpectedly, it could truly be deadly!

Yang Yan wouldn’t dwell on how shocking his actions appeared to others.

He only knew the principle of seeking wealth within danger.

Since he didn’t want to miss this opportunity, he had to be prepared to play with fire.

Besides, as the saying goes, entrusted by someone, remain loyal to their tasks. He originally took on the task from the three brothers to clear out residual souls, so he must fulfill his promise.

Since these residual souls needed to be destroyed anyway, why not utilize them well, considering it his interest for exertion.

Just that collecting this interest was quite overwhelming...

But if he gave up this opportunity, he thought it rare to encounter such an abundance of soul and foul energy resources again in the future.

Yang Yan gritted his teeth, a trace of determination flashed across his eyes, deciding to persist.

Yang Yan didn’t reach the position of the Four Emperors in the Hidden World at this young age merely on talent.

Especially now, with so many people possibly eyeing him with envy and grudges, he couldn’t slacken the least bit.

Therefore, he wouldn’t miss any opportunity to enhance his strength!

Thus, relying on the innate talent of his Flawless Divine Body and timely pill supplements, Yang Yan pulled through.

His efforts finally bore fruit.

The Star Night, which previously required him to continually infuse soul power, began to actively absorb some residual souls on its own.

At the same time, Yang Yan felt his connection with Star Night was much tighter than before, with compatibility significantly improved.

Vaguely, there was even a sense of man and sword as one.

Yang Yan, the first to notice such change, also realized that this soul artifact refining method was truly extraordinary.

Though he hadn’t cultivated a Star Night Sword Spirit, it had begun to develop a rudimentary intelligence.

Even more delightful was that Star Night could now actively absorb residual souls.

He only needed to infuse the devouring power into the Star Night sword, then control the sword to slay those residual souls, allowing it to absorb on its own.

No longer did he need to exhaust himself by devouring residual souls and operate spiritual power according to the secret technique, injecting the separated soul power into Star Night.

Moreover, when Star Night absorbed these residual souls, it would automatically strip away the foul energy, not absorbing it.

This relieved Yang Yan considerably.

This way, although he still needed to split his attention to control Star Night, it was relatively easier compared to before.

And the foul energy stripped away by Star Night was utilized fully by Yang Yan, forming spheres.

With such coordination, Yang Yan could allocate more effort to condense foul energy, and his efficiency increased significantly.

Although the work intensity hadn’t decreased much, seeing tangible results significantly motivated Yang Yan.

Additionally, the more souls Star Night absorbed, the higher its intelligence became, and the stronger its connection with Yang Yan.

Even when they were far apart, Yang Yan could sense and control Star Night.

After some time, Yang Yan found he didn’t have to deliberately control Star Night; simply giving a command, it would fight autonomously, changing moves and attacking as if someone was controlling it.

Thus, as Yang Yan concentrated on gathering foul energy spheres, with a thought, Star Night at a hundred meters away would take initiative, annihilating residual souls in waves and absorbing them.

Honestly, the intelligence Star Night currently displayed greatly exceeded Yang Yan’s expectations, leaving him in awe.

If it cooperated like this in battle, it would undoubtedly serve as an independent yet most reliable ally.

At this moment, Yang Yan’s plan finally came on track, easing him both physically and mentally.

Hence, he summoned all his energy and continued condensing the foul energy stripped by Star Night.

Losing himself in diligent work, he didn’t know how much time had passed.

After all, as a cultivator, whether in cultivation or fully concentrating on refining something, one can almost block out the sense of time passing.

Like Yang Yan at this moment, it wasn’t until he noticed his Divine Sense’s perception range quieted down significantly that he awoke from this state.

At this point, Yang Yan had unknowingly condensed nearly a hundred foul energy spheres, and the concentration of foul energy in the space had also decreased considerably.

With a careful search using Divine Sense, he realized he couldn’t find a single residual soul around...

No wonder the place suddenly felt more desolate.

It seemed these residual souls were indeed all absorbed by Star Night.

"How long have I been at this?"

Yang Yan chuckled to himself, then with a thought, saw Star Night swiftly dart back from afar, returning to the void where he stored his belongings.

Seeing the task at hand was nearly complete, Yang Yan was about to get up and return to the barrier but found himself utterly clear-minded yet continuously experiencing fatigue throughout his body.

It wasn’t until he quickly consumed two Qi Replenishing Pills that this strange sensation somewhat improved.

Logically, if the excessive consumption of spiritual power exceeded the body’s load, it should result in weariness and drowsiness.

Yet, after the initial fatigue, he maintained clarity through condensing foul energy.

At this moment, Yang Yan saw a group of Primordial Spirits, equivalent to the Golden Core stage, flying swiftly towards him, congratulating upon meeting:

"This is truly wonderful. As expected from the prophesied one, you didn’t disappoint us. Now that you’ve completed your task, it’s time for us to fulfill our promise!"

It seemed the three brothers who set up the barrier noticed the foul energy and residual souls outside the barrier had vanished, realizing Yang Yan succeeded, and it was their turn to help him leave.