“Tu Fei, what nonsense are you spouting?” Though the Saintess of Yao Guang was in the midst of slaying enemies, she was like an immortal butterfly dancing — graceful and noble, with a quality of light, transcendent beauty.

“Yao Xi, did you lose a piece of clothing — and one of the very precious kind, at that?” Tu Fei stood suspended in the sky, asking with a look of complete seriousness.

“I have no idea what rubbish you’re talking about.” The Saintess of Yao Guang unleashed an unsurpassed secret technique, sending two elder figures flying in the blink of an eye, then parted her lips and exhaled a translucent green jade bell.

A melodious ringing sound reverberated across the sky. The cultivators attacking her from all sides clasped their ears in agony, crying out miserably one after another.

“You definitely lost something. Just how did you manage to lose it?” Tu Fei persisted, continuing to press the question.

Your grandfather! Ye Fan turned and walked away. He had figured this fellow out completely — this loudmouth would say anything, without the slightest restraint, with a touch of roguish irreverence.

“I’m not bothering with you!” The Saintess of Yao Guang paid him no further attention. The translucent green jade bell she had exhaled from her mouth continued to grow, its diameter now reaching ten meters, its ringing sound filling the sky — melodious and pleasant, yet of terrifying power.

Within a radius of ten meters, every weapon aimed at her trembled, then produced a clear, sharp crack.

Boom!

Seven or eight weapons shattered in the bell’s ringing, falling from the sky. The sound waves were like blades — fearsome to behold.

The Saintess of Yao Guang’s expression was frost-cold, her robes billowing, as she charged toward Tu Fei.

“You want to silence me?” Tu Fei cried out, then seemed to remember something, sweeping his gaze across all directions. “Genius brother, where are you? Lend me that garment for a moment.”

Two dark lines appeared on the Saintess of Yao Guang’s jade-smooth forehead. Killing intent spread from her as her powerful divine sense swept in all directions.

“I say, genius brother — you really are disloyal. How did you just run away? In our trade, we pride ourselves on loyalty. How could you slip away without a word?” Tu Fei shouted from the sky.

You big-mouthed loudmouth! Ye Fan had long since charged to a distant spot, yet he could still hear their voices. Since battles were breaking out on all sides, he was occasionally attacked himself, making it difficult to leave in the short term.

“I’ll kill you!”

The Saintess of Yao Guang was rarely this enraged in daily life — usually bewitchingly graceful. But Ye Fan seemed to carry some strange power, for every time she thought of this young man, she couldn’t help but want to scream.

“Nothing to do with me — I didn’t steal the garment. That was genius brother who did it. If you’re angry, hurry and go find him. This has not a copper coin’s worth of connection to me.” Tu Fei shouted.

The bell rang out with full force. The jade bell’s deep green color was exceedingly wondrous. The sound waves it sent out were like surging tides and waves — clearly visible — rolling in all directions.

In this moment, the Saintess of Yao Guang was peerlessly brilliant, standing upon the enormous jade bell — ice-cold skin and jade-smooth bones — with a killing intent upon her face.

Tu Fei fled, then summoned an earthen clay jar — dull grey, as though dug out of a pile of dirt, battered and ancient-looking.

Yet this clay jar possessed tremendous power. Its mouth was like a black hole with a powerful devouring force, warping the surrounding sky around it — as if it could swallow anything inside.

The Saintess of Yao Guang’s expression changed. “Tu Tian, the Seventh Great Bandit — he passed this thing to you?”

“Rest assured, it’s a replica. My grandfather said that if I can capture a Saintess as my wife, he’ll give me the real clay jar.”

Though the clay jar was ancient, it bore no damage whatsoever, and its power was terrifying — absorbing the tide-like green sound waves and blocking Yao Xi’s assault.

The Saintess of Yao Guang’s expression shifted. “This is merely a replica, yet it already possesses such might. The real clay jar — it truly must be a paramount weapon, exactly as legend has it: refined from the flesh and blood of a Great Emperor of the pre-ancient era.”

The so-called paramount weapons represented the absolute pinnacle that a weapon could reach. In the Eastern Desolation, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Throughout all of history, however many had appeared could be counted on one’s fingers.

Only world-dominating figures who had lorded over an entire era and stood supreme over the Eastern Desolation had ever had a chance of refining one. It required the combined resources of the entire Eastern Desolation to be completed. The number of Great Emperors throughout all of history was countable — and so naturally, weapons of this kind were limited in number.

The Great Emperor of the demon clan’s holy weapon, the Ji Family’s ancient mirror, the Yao Guang Holy Land’s dragon-patterned cauldron, the clay jar that Tu Tian had obtained by chance — all were paramount weapons.

Of course, in the Eastern Desolation there was one artifact that was an exception: the Desolate Tower. Reportedly, it was not refined by human hands.

Paramount weapons were weapons forged by the ancient Great Emperors and Holy Sovereigns — of supreme might. If their true power could ever be fully unleashed, it would be beyond imagining.

The reason Tu Tian had been able to claim a place among the Thirteen Great Bandits was precisely because he possessed a paramount weapon. Almost no one could kill him — with a paramount weapon on his person, no assault could breach his defenses.

Regarding this clay jar, there was one recorded account: a Great Emperor of the pre-ancient era, with his lifespan nearly exhausted and his death approaching, had used his original spirit as the fire, his supreme flesh and blood as the clay, aided by the legendary infinite divine materials of the Eastern Desolation, and had smelted himself into the clay jar — leaving a paramount weapon for his descendants.

It could be said that one who wielded this weapon, with sufficient divine power to sustain it, would have absolutely no difficulty roaming freely throughout the Eastern Desolation, standing in an innately undefeatable position.

Unfortunately, no matter how illustrious a clan, it must eventually decline. No matter how great a legacy, it has its moment of extinguishing. After that Great Emperor of the pre-ancient era departed this world, time swept on, and his descendants had long since faded into obscurity.

Three hundred years prior, Tu Tian had discovered the clay jar by chance in a dried-up ancient riverbed in the Northern Domain — half-buried in the sandy soil, covered in dust from who knew how many ages.

Unfortunately, the clay jar was missing its lid and was not complete — as though half of it was absent. Otherwise, Tu Tian could have roamed all of the Eastern Desolation with this jar alone.

The replica clay jar was still terrifying — like a bottomless pit — nearly swallowing the enormous jade bell whole.

The Saintess of Yao Guang was deeply alarmed. She knew that had the real clay jar been present, she would certainly have been obliterated — there would have been no suspense whatsoever.

“Tu Fei, your divine power is insufficient. Even if you possess a replica of an ancient Great Emperor’s holy weapon, what of it!” A brilliant light bloomed at the center of the Saintess of Yao Guang’s brow. A diamond-shaped seal blazed with light as she unleashed a beam of divine light, slashing forward.

“What — your divine sense is this powerful…” Tu Fei was greatly alarmed, completely unable to evade.

However, the clay jar before him saved him — it devoured all things without exception, even divine sense, and that beam of divine light was instantly obliterated.

“This…” The Saintess of Yao Guang’s expression changed.

That Great Emperor of the pre-ancient era had used his original spirit as the fire and cast his flesh and blood into a jar — naturally it could consume divine sense.

“Ha ha…” Tu Fei laughed heartily, then immediately turned and fled. His cultivation was beneath the Saintess of Yao Guang’s — if they continued in prolonged combat, he would inevitably suffer greatly.

“Where do you think you’re going!” The Saintess of Yao Guang had no intention of letting him escape.

“Genius brother, where are you — I’m coming to find you!” Tu Fei’s voice transmission shook across the entire Source area.

Ye Fan cursed inwardly. This loudmouth was absolutely insufferable — he was inviting disaster down upon him.

At this moment, battle cries rang out everywhere, and he was attacked repeatedly, struggling with great difficulty to press forward. If Yao Xi noticed him, things would take a terrible turn.

“Genius brother, what are you afraid of? You already stole Yao Xi’s chest garment — with such skill, extraordinary talent, and a true hero of our generation, if you and I join forces, we can certainly capture this woman.” Tu Fei was like a great blaring horn, shouting across the entire sky.

These words brought a momentary silence to the entire Source area. This news was too shocking — simply beyond imagining.

Ye Fan truly wanted to curse aloud. This fellow’s mouth absolutely needed to be sealed shut.

But on reflection, the other party probably genuinely believed him to be a powerful figure. After all, his constitution was special, and outsiders had a difficult time discerning the depth of his cultivation.

“Can this actually be real?”

“Ice-pure and jade-clean Saintess of Yao Guang — had her chest garment stolen? That’s impossible.”

…

Even in the midst of the battle, some cultivators could not help but comment.

The Saintess of Yao Guang’s laughter — like a silver bell — rang across the sky. “Tu Fei, sharp words will not change your defeat. I’ll see where you run!”

With just that single statement, all the cultivators were set at ease and stopped believing Tu Fei’s words entirely.

“What I said is no lie — a genius brother truly did steal Yao Xi’s chest garment. Brother, come out quickly…” Tu Fei cried out as he fled, howling. “In our trade, we value loyalty.”

“We’ll see how long you can keep up this nonsense!” The Saintess of Yao Guang was grinding her teeth in secret. She desperately wanted to seal this big mouth shut — and even more desperately wanted to find Ye Fan. Her divine sense swept in all directions, searching carefully.

In this process, many raiders rushed toward Yao Xi, and quite a few Yao Guang Holy Land cultivators charged at Tu Fei. In the brutal melee, the two of them shouting like this naturally drew even more attention.

“Genius brother, don’t make me resort to my ultimate move!” Tu Fei fought while retreating. “You look about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a refined and handsome appearance…”

Your mother! Ye Fan couldn’t hold back those three words. On the spot, he tore a bloodied garment from a corpse and wrapped it around his head and face, as though he had been wounded and was bandaging himself.

Yet at this moment, figures were everywhere, and people had naturally taken notice of him.

“Impossible — there really is a young man. I just saw him.”

“Over there — right over there!”

Ye Fan planted his feet in the old madman’s footwork and bolted away at full speed.

The Fourth Great Bandit, the Seventh Great Bandit, and the Peacock King had arrived with paramount weapons to do battle against the Holy Lord of Yao Guang and his forces — the fighting was especially fierce. Heaven and earth seemed on the verge of shattering. Sword light and blade light blazed everywhere, figures flashed in every direction, and blood splattered and flew.

“Genius brother — I finally see you! Don’t run — the one with the bloody garment wrapped around his face, that’s you. In our trade, we have perfect recall. Even if you put on the Saintess of Yao Guang’s battle garment, I could still recognize you.” Tu Fei was truly like a great blaring horn, his voice shaking the sky, howling without end.

Whoosh! A sound, and many people looked toward Ye Fan. Several Yao Guang disciples gave chase.

A number of raiders nearby were also nearby, giving Ye Fan a thumbs-up. “Genius brother, well done! In our trade, it’s rare to see a talent like you — actually stealing the Saintess’s chest garment.”

“In every age, its outstanding talents emerge, each dominating for a few hundred years. Our trade has never fallen into decline.” A group of big-bearded men were making a clamor.

“My greetings to the grandfathers of every last one of you!” Ye Fan understood clearly that these rascals were making a scene to taunt the Yao Guang Holy Land people — aside from Tu Fei, probably no one actually believed he had gotten his hands on Yao Xi’s chest garment.

At this moment, the Saintess of Yao Guang’s teeth were nearly ground to powder. She had spotted Ye Fan as well. Thinking back to that day’s events, she desperately wanted to cry out.

A month prior, face to face with not a stitch of covering between them, her immortal jade body had held almost no secrets from Ye Fan — just thinking of it now made her cheeks burn and her entire skin feel feverish.

Yao Xi desperately wanted to charge over and cut Ye Fan down directly, but she feared letting people “misunderstand” — that would be as good as confirming Tu Fei’s “ravings.”

Nevertheless, she drove Tu Fei in that direction, steadily closing the distance on Ye Fan, preparing to strike and eliminate him at the right moment.

“Tu Fei, you scoundrel — stop framing me.” Ye Fan shouted loudly. He had to use words to hold the Saintess of Yao Guang in check — otherwise his situation would be dire. “Immortal Yao Xi is ice-pure and jade-clean. The whole world knows it. How can you desecrate her so?!”

The Saintess of Yao Guang clenched her teeth. She desperately wanted to fly over and stamp Ye Fan beneath her foot. These words were truly grating to hear.

That day, face to face with not a stitch of covering between them, his devilish hands had traced across her skin, moving about recklessly. Just thinking of it now still made her skin crawl.

And now, he was actually saying this — trying to block her path. It was absolutely infuriating beyond all measure.

The Saintess of Yao Guang was no ordinary person. Her reactions were swift. In an instant, she gave a cold smile. “Tu Fei slanders me, and now you come to smear me as well. The two of you are in cahoots together — today I will cut down both of you.”

She attributed all of this to the two of them putting on a performance — one making the accusation, the other appearing to deny it — and coldly condemned them for playing a coordinated act.

“Genius brother, you see? Yao Xi wants to kill you too. Hurry and come over — with us brothers united, our edge can cut through metal. Once we take her down, it won’t just be a matter of a single chest garment.” Tu Fei’s big mouth was running again.

Many bearded raiders cried out in various strange voices, joining in to stir up the commotion.

Ye Fan cursed them inwardly. These rascals were truly worthless. He immediately shouted aloud, “Tu Fei, you bandit — stop talking nonsense! Immortal Yao Xi, I have long admired you deeply. I have never harbored any improper thought toward you. In my heart, you are like the bright moon hanging high — the most pure and sacred existence in this world.”

Upon hearing these words, the Saintess of Yao Guang truly wanted to slice him apart piece by piece. But on her face she still wore a smile. “I hardly deserve such admiration from you.”

Before she could say another word, Ye Fan shouted loudly again, “Tu Fei, you scoundrel — if you frame me again, watch out or I’ll summon my treasured artifact to cut you down.”

He bit down heavily on the words treasured artifact, and cast a naked, undisguised glance at the Saintess of Yao Guang. This was a bare-faced threat: press any further, and the chest garment would be summoned into the open — if they were going down, they were going down together.

The Saintess of Yao Guang was extraordinarily sharp-witted. She naturally understood what he was implying. She bit down on her silver teeth, hating Ye Fan to the core — yet her smile was dazzling. “In that case, why don’t the two of us join forces and cut down Tu Fei?”

“My apologies — my strength is meager. I wouldn’t be of much help.” Ye Fan had finally charged to the edge of the Source area.

Of course, once people had taken notice of him, it was fortunate that the group of rough-bearded raiders had helped obstruct the way — otherwise he would probably have already been seized by the Yao Guang Holy Land cultivators.

“Genius brother — in our trade, we value loyalty…” Tu Fei saw that Ye Fan was only focused on fleeing and had no intention of coming to help, and he was quite displeased. “You might as well just summon that chest garment outright!”

Having fled this far, with the battlefield almost behind him now, nothing in the world could make Ye Fan involve himself further.

Right ahead, the Peacock King and the Holy Lord of Yao Guang were locked in a great duel — heaven and earth crumbling, sun and moon losing their light. That stretch of sky was filled everywhere with terrifying waves of energy like vast oceans.

A hundred and eight worlds rose and sank. Halos filled the sky. The Holy Lord of Yao Guang seemed on the verge of merging with the heavenly way itself.

The Peacock King was like a divine being, moving through the worlds of all heaven. Though he appeared as a graceful young man, his dominance was absolute beneath the heavens.

The Fourth Great Bandit and the Seventh Great Bandit joined forces to unleash the clay jar, pinning down all of Yao Guang Holy Land’s elder figures, intending to swallow them all inside.

“Peacock King, Azure Dragon King, Tu Tian — they’re going for something big!” Ye Fan was shaken inwardly. These people had audacity beyond imagining, striking ruthlessly at such a powerful Holy Land.

“Genius brother, in our trade…” The great horn Tu Fei was at it again.