The Ji Family mobilized with great fanfare. Iron cavalry swept across the heavens, great banners snapping in the wind, men shouting and beasts howling, murderous intent soaring to the skies, cold light gleaming on iron armor.

This was nothing like the power of the mortal world. It was as though divine soldiers and heavenly generals had descended to slay. The great beasts trod the void, galloping across the cloud peaks, making all of heaven tremble.

The Ji Family’s Holy Lord — this time he had not merged with the void. He stood upright in the high heavens, enshrouded in boundless rings of radiance, like the divine king of the Eastern Wasteland reborn.

From him as the center, wave after wave of power billowed forth like an endless ocean — supreme divine power sweeping up to the nine heavens above and rolling down to the nine depths below. In this moment, the Ji Family’s Holy Lord had become the center of heaven and earth.

For dozens of li, the divine wind surged as the Ji Family’s Holy Lord crossed the sky, descending directly into the sixth layer of the fire domain. Purple qi surged skyward, yet it could not approach his body. Wherever he passed, the blazing fire was silently extinguished.

To say it plainly: in this moment he was not a divine king — yet he was comparable to one. His presence was awe-inspiring across the heavens. Behind him, six or seven elderly figures followed and descended.

On the ground, the blood had long since dried. The head and torso lay separate. No trace of spirit remained. The killing had been thorough to the extreme — even if they could defy the heavens with their power, there was nothing to be done.

More than a dozen black-gleaming feathers were planted in no particular pattern in the ground around the body, which was the reason the remains had not been burned by the purple flames.

“This is…” An extremely aged old man — his white longevity eyebrows fully half a foot long — immediately furrowed his brow. “Fire Crow divine feathers — hard as fine iron, resistant to flame. These are feathers shed by an old crow that has cultivated for over a thousand years.”

The few elders present exchanged glances. One of them thought for a moment, then said: “One thousand five hundred years ago, there was a Crow Daoist in the Southern Region — his power was unfathomably deep. He later vanished without explanation and has not appeared since.”

The Ji Family’s Holy Lord pinched one of the black feathers between his fingers and flicked it. It rang out with a clear metallic sound, as though a piece of fine iron were vibrating.

One of the Supreme Elders immediately changed expression. “This old demon’s life force is nearing its end — yet his cultivation has grown even more terrifying.”

“No matter who he is, no matter how powerful he may be — once found, he is to be slain!” The Ji Family’s Holy Lord’s voice was ice-cold. Killing intent saturated the air all around him. His eyes opened and closed, and two beams of light shot out — dazzling and brilliant, sweeping across the fire domain like supreme divine blades.

In less than a year, the Ji Family had lost two Supreme Elders in succession. For an ancient family of primordial heritage, this was a humiliation of the highest order. They should have been ruling the world in sovereign supremacy — yet now they were being challenged and provoked again and again.

Even now the Peacock King roamed the world at leisure, yet to be slain. And now this situation had arisen. If they could not assert their dominance, how was the Ji Family to face the world?

That day, the Southern Region was shaken. The Ji Family proclaimed throughout all under heaven: on the list of those who must be killed, the name “Crow Daoist” had been added.

Throughout the Eastern Wasteland’s Southern Region, every cultivator was alarmed. For more than half a year, turmoil had been unceasing, never truly settling. Now the winds of strife rose again.

For many people, the name “Crow Daoist” had never even been heard before — yet when the various sects’ Supreme Elders learned of it, every one of them changed expression.

A tremendous storm swept across the Southern Region. The Ji Family had roused their true fury and were resolved to assert their dominance, causing many sects to tremble with fear of being swept up into the conflict.

The raging waves surged — the Southern Region erupted into upheaval greater than the last.

After leaving the fire domain, Ye Fan heard many pieces of news during this period.

Half a year ago, the Bronze Immortal Palace had sunk into the earth of the Eastern Wasteland and vanished without trace. Along with it vanished dozens of elderly cultivators — all of them powerful figures whose life force was nearly exhausted, with no way to extend it further.

This signaled that another era had come to a close. In an instant the Eastern Wasteland had lost dozens of supreme figures. The Bronze Immortal Palace was a veritable graveyard for the powerful.

Yet this did not mean the Eastern Wasteland had suffered a catastrophe. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order. Otherwise, these people would have passed away one by one in the years ahead regardless.

The Eastern Wasteland was far too vast — the number of its kingdoms too great even to count. The loss of a few dozen people had essentially no great impact.

Another important piece of news: the Peacock King’s power had flooded the heavens. The day that Yao Guang’s Holy Lord and the Ji Family’s Holy Lord joined forces, they still could not keep him and the Azure Dragon King behind. He had taken the demon emperor’s descendants and headed to the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.

Beyond this, in the past half year, the Ji Family, Yao Guang Holy Land, and others had also been dispatching powerful cultivators in batches to the Northern Region. The divine source there was extraordinary — every great power that had been inherited from the primordial age wanted a share of that bounty.

The Northern Region’s Primordial Ancient Mine had once been a desolate and still land — yet in the past year or so it had grown increasingly unsettled. It was said that humanoid entities had been sighted there, and a celestial music so beautiful it left listeners entranced.

Half a month later, Ye Fan returned to the fire domain. The outside world was in great turmoil — and only here was the safest.

After the Ji Family’s people had withdrawn, this place had once again become a land of quiet. Unless Yao Guang’s Holy Lord came in person, he believed there were very few who could force their way into the seventh layer of the fire domain.

In this half-month, he had browsed through a great many historical texts in the ancient records hall of a great kingdom, learning everything he could about the fire domain.

Concerning the fire domain, there were many legends — and numerous accounts that were nearly fantastical.

Yes — impossible to confirm as historical fact, only to be classified as legend, because the records were too extraordinary to believe.

For instance: one ancient text recorded that in the deepest reaches of the fire domain, an immortal had once been burned to death. Another text recorded that the Desolate Pagoda had appeared here, drifting and floating for thousands of years.

There were also records stating that the fire domain’s nine layers contained ten varieties of flame — yet the tenth had no root and no source, and throughout antiquity had appeared only a handful of times in total.

This filled Ye Fan with excitement. The fire domain was actually connected to immortals — and to the Desolate Pagoda. Though there were only a few sparse lines, the words vague and obscure, he could not compose himself.

Ye Fan returned to the seventh layer of the fire domain, intending to find a way to temper his cauldron.

The five-colored cloud-flames burned with fierce heat and could reduce great figures to ash — truly terrifying. In the ancient texts, these colored mist-flames were described as a rare treasure within fire, rarely seen in the world. In all the Southern Region, only this place still had them, making it a supreme fire source for weapon refinement.

Through careful experiment, Ye Fan used the cauldron to collect the five-colored cloud-flames and send them into the Wheel Sea, using the golden ocean as a barrier. Initial success.

Yet in just an instant he changed expression.

These flames were too frightful. Even the golden ocean could not fully isolate that heat, putting his form in danger of withering.

In general, his cultivation was still far too insufficient. Even with his special physique, he could not sustain it — after all, his Sacred Body had not yet been fully cultivated.

Even the Ji Family’s great figure had chosen the sixth layer to refine weapons and did not dare lightly enter the seventh. One could well imagine just how terrifying the five-colored cloud-flames were.

At the critical moment, the cyan lotus within the Bitter Sea swayed gently, its mist drifting and spreading, drowning the Wheel Sea in an instant. A cool sensation permeated his entire body.

Ye Fan let out a long breath, feeling he had been far too reckless. Without this mysterious cyan lotus, he would truly have been in some danger.

“Since I’ve already begun, I should do it as well as possible.” He continuously drew the five-colored cloud-flames into his body, using the cyan lotus to protect the Wheel Sea. In the end, when the five-colored cloud-flames churned and blazed, sufficient to temper the cauldron, he finally stopped.

And so, for a full month, Ye Fan spent his time tempering his cauldron.

The five-colored cloud-flames were extinguished many times. He could not count how much fire essence he had drawn in. It was not until another two months had passed that he finally stopped.

The cauldron had grown more refined — ever more ancient and unadorned. Having been tempered by the five-colored cloud-flames, the interior of the cauldron was suffused with a misty haze, and the primal energy of all things stirred and flowed, unceasing, reappearing.

This was the source root of the primal energy of all things — it would never be exhausted, flowing without end. After a round of tempering, the primal energy once more overflowed. The cauldron was no longer inert and still — it was as though it had come to life.

At this, the weapon refinement came to a conclusion for now. He had no intention of entering the eighth layer of the fire domain. Drawing on the five-colored cloud-flames was already his limit. He could only wait until his cultivation had advanced further before returning to this place.

After this, he cultivated quietly in that place, waiting for the outside world to completely calm down before leaving the Southern Region.

Another month passed — and then, on this day, Ye Fan suddenly heard the howling of beasts from outside the fire domain.

“Has another great figure come to refine weapons here?” He moved stealthily outward to look into the distance.

Outside the fire domain was a barren wasteland — the earth cracked, not a single blade of grass growing.

At this moment, several dozen savage beasts stood suspended in the void, their scales fierce and menacing, exuding a chilling murderous aura. Every rider was incomparably powerful, iron armor gleaming, cold energy permeating the air.

Ye Fan was somewhat surprised — he saw Ji Ziyue. Eyes like pooled poetry and clarity, natural and ethereal, robes of purple flowing around her, she descended from the sky like a water-treading immortal, gazing silently into the fire domain.

In the sky, a blue-robed young man of jade-like bearing descended alongside her, his robes fluttering in the wind — like a deity holding flowers. It was Hua Yunfei of the Great Mystery Sect.

“Little Brother Ye Fan, we’ve come to see you. If your spirit knows of this beneath the spring waters, then rest in peace.” Hua Yunfei’s voice carried a magnetic quality.

Ye Fan was truly speechless. Here he was, clearly alive, and yet people were saying things like this to him.

“Brother Hua, would you go elsewhere for a little while? I’d like some time alone.” Ji Ziyue spoke calmly.

“Of course.” Hua Yunfei nodded without saying more, and began to circle around the fire domain.

Ji Ziyue stood still for a moment, then set to work, using the long sword in her hand to dig into the earth. The riders behind her, seeing this, moved to help — and were stopped by her. She dug the pit herself, placed inside it the clothing Ye Fan had left behind on Clumsiness Peak, then filled in the soil to form a burial mound. Before it she erected a tablet, and with jade fingers carved a line of characters into it.

Ye Fan smiled with helpless bitterness. Clearly alive, and yet he even had a grave now.

Ji Ziyue stood before the cenotaph, silent and still — completely unlike her ordinarily lively nature. She was very quiet, not moving for a long while.

Then Ye Fan noticed that Hua Yunfei had entered the fire domain — like a wisp of blue cloud, light and soundless.

“What is this fellow trying to do?” Ye Fan was far from him, observing in silence.

Suddenly his expression stiffened. His eyes sharpened in an instant. He saw a familiar figure — a tall, slender elder — appear within the fire domain and bow in salute to Hua Yunfei.

Once upon a time, a linen-robed man had held a five-tiered silver pagoda and hunted him and Ji Ziyue, nearly costing him his life.

Months ago, the linen-robed man had been slain by him in the fire domain. He had seen this tall elderly man come to investigate afterwards.

“Hua Yunfei!”

Ye Fan could never have expected it — the true mastermind behind everything was actually Hua Yunfei. This was entirely beyond his expectations.

In his impression, Hua Yunfei was transcendent and aloof — his immortal music approaching the realm of the Dao, naturally inspired, even causing the hundred birds to gather and the hundred flowers to bloom around him, as though an immortal exile had descended to the mortal world.

That a man of such jade-like bearing — possessing an otherworldly quality and a spiritually luminous air — could harbor such deeply concealed machinations and such ruthless methods — truly filled Ye Fan’s heart with a chill.

Because the distance was too great, and the two spoke through divine sense transmission, there was no way to know what was being said. Ye Fan could only observe in silence.

Not long after, the tall, slender elder departed.

Hua Yunfei stood still for a long while, then murmured to himself: “A wondrous divine physique, bearing extraordinary and mighty power — if I were to obtain it, I would extract its source…” He slowly walked back toward the outside of the fire domain.

“This person has concealed himself too deeply. Even if I were to speak out, no one would believe me.” Ye Fan thought briefly, then said to himself: “No — I need to warn Ji Ziyue. Hua Yunfei clearly harbors wicked intentions.”

At the same time, he made his decision to leave the fire domain — to leave the Southern Region. Even if he had to fly the entire way, he could not remain in this territory any longer.