Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold — a supreme divine substance, encountered perhaps once in a hundred thousand generations. From the ancient era down to the present, spanning over ten-odd hundred thousand years, only Great Emperor Hengyu had ever obtained it.

Its rarity was beyond the limits of imagination.

It was a sacred substance belonging exclusively to Great Emperors. Ordinary people could not hope to obtain it — not even a glimpse was possible in ten thousand years. Through countless generations it had been like a dream.

Its value was impossible to estimate. Throughout history there had been several Great Emperors — yet only one had ever been fortunate enough to obtain Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold.

This was something that the Great Emperors of antiquity had longed for in their dreams, a treasure that countless sages and worthy men had yearned to possess yet could never reach.

To hold something so supremely rare in his hands — Ye Fan was first overwhelmed with excitement, then immediately felt as though he were clutching a burning coal. This black stone was too precious; the incomparable treasure within it was beyond price. But whether he could keep it was a serious problem.

Why does it have to be so heavy?! He complained inwardly. Had he not accidentally dropped it, he would have put it away immediately — there would have been none of this trouble now.

Around him, five pairs of eyes were all fixed on the black stone in his hand, their intensity enough to melt tempered steel.

Yao Guang Sage Son’s head was encircled by a halo of light, sacred radiance bathing his body, auspicious light cascading down in stream after stream. Heaven-gifted talent since birth, with the ambition to become a Great Emperor set in him from youth — how could he not be moved by a sacred object like this? This was the equivalent of a rough blank for an extreme Dao weapon — something enough to drive anyone to madness, the exclusive sacred substance of Great Emperors.

His usual smile was mild and warm, yet in this moment he could not maintain his composure. Flame was stirring in his eyes.

Of those present, Old Blade Handle was the most direct. He stepped forward several paces before stopping. An imposing pressure radiated from him that made the heart tremble — utterly unlike his usual appearance as a haggard old man.

Right now he was many times more formidable than in ordinary times — like a coiled dragon leaping free of the water, radiating extreme danger and terror.

Yao Xi — her peerless beauty unable to conceal the turbulence rising within her — had light shimmering in her eyes. Her slender jade hand formed a seal impression, and she too could not remain calm before the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold.

Though she had not stepped forward, she was standing in the most advantageous position on the field. Should anyone make a move to seize it, she could make the best choice in an instant — whether to fight or to withdraw, all dependent on a single thought.

The least threatening on the scene was Li Desheng. Though his eyes burned with desire, he wisely stepped back several paces — quickly making his decision clear.

His Yin-Nether Eye was born with him, extraordinarily rare in the world, a truly exceptional gift with power unlike any other — yet it did not manifest in combat. He was the weakest person present and had no choice but to step back.

In relative terms, the Yaochi Saintess among all of them remained the most composed. A shimmer of extraordinary light did appear in her beautiful eyes, and her emotions stirred — but she had no intention of making a move.

She stood quietly, her sleeves drifting in the gentle air, her bearing flawless as jade. Yaochi’s disciples were known for their detached, unworldly temperament — they rarely contended with others over anything.

Ye Fan took all of this in, his heart crying out inwardly at the predicament. With these people watching him like tigers eyeing their prey, keeping the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold would be extraordinarily difficult.

“My friends — what is the meaning of this?” He had no choice but to speak. This standoff was no solution.

“Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold is something not even Great Emperors of antiquity were necessarily able to obtain. Our hearts have been moved — we simply wish to take a look.” Yao Guang Sage Son stepped forward, his form enveloped in radiance, invisibly bringing to bear an incomparable pressure.

A captivating expression played across Yao Xi’s flawless face. She smiled a shallow smile, her grace enchanting. “Is there nothing else you would like to say, Daoren?”

“I want to say… why is this stone so heavy!” Ye Fan’s irritation at that matter hadn’t left him even now.

A black, unremarkable stone — no larger than a fist — yet weighing ten thousand jin. It was precisely because of this that its contents had been exposed as a world-rare treasure.

Old Blade Handle also stepped forward a few paces, his imposing presence growing even more oppressive. “Rare divine materials go to those fated for them. Since it has already entered your hands, we will not seize it by force — but we truly wish to examine it closely.”

Earlier, the one Ye Fan had sensed the most killing intent from had been this haggard old man. To hear him speak like this now came as a genuine surprise.

“Daoren, please set your mind at ease. Though our hearts are moved, we would not stoop to killing for treasure. If you are willing to part with it, I am willing to offer any price to obtain it in exchange.” Yao Guang Sage Son’s face shone with warm light.

Ye Fan had no intention of exchanging it. He wished to use it to cast a cauldron — this was the sacred substance that Great Emperors of antiquity had longed for. Nothing could move him to trade it away.

Yao Xi’s eyes glittered as she smiled in a way that filled the air with alluring grace, her lips and teeth luminous and full of life. “Daoren, there is no need for concern. Bring out the rare treasure — let us all take a look.”

At this point, Li Desheng, seeing that no one had broken into fighting, edged back in closer.

The Yaochi Saintess took a step forward with graceful composure: “Daoren may rest completely at ease. No one here will make a move.”

Ye Fan turned the matter over in his mind. Most likely no one would try to seize it just yet — after all, they were still inside the Primordial Forbidden Zone. He was versed in source arts, and if a falling-out occurred, both sides would suffer for it. These people still needed him to show the way out.

But once they left the Primordial Forbidden Zone, everything would become very hard to say.

“Please have a look, everyone.” Ye Fan held the black stone in his palm and relaxed his concealment of it.

The outer skin had already flaked away in an area the size of a copper coin, revealing the divine substance within. Thousands of auspicious rays, ten thousand divine rainbows — crimson as a red gemstone, with radiance pouring out in blinding beams. It shimmered with an intoxicating beauty, gorgeous to the point of making the heart drunk, the clarity within it streaming with divine light — impossible to look at directly. Faintly, the veins of a divine phoenix could be seen, branded upon its surface — mysterious and transcendent.

“So this is Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold!”

Everyone gasped in admiration, the fire in their eyes burning even hotter.

“Only a thin layer of outer skin remains. It seems this piece of Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold is not much smaller than a fist — weighing over ten thousand jin. Sufficient to forge a weapon.” Old Blade Handle spoke up.

A piece the size of a fist could indeed be used to forge a weapon — but no one except a Great Emperor could say just how much divine material was needed for an extreme Dao weapon, so it was difficult for outsiders to judge.

Ye Fan did not strip away the outer skin; instead he sealed the flaked portion back in place. Doing so prevented the sacred substance’s essence from dissipating. Without the stone skin to act as a seal, if it were not going to be immediately refined into an extreme Dao weapon, it would gradually lose its vital properties.

The resplendent radiance was shut away. The great hall returned to darkness. Ye Fan put away the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold. For this divine substance, unless one offered an ancient scripture in exchange, nothing else could move his heart.

“To forge an extreme Dao weapon with this alone is likely far from enough — this is probably material left over after Great Emperor Hengyu finished forging his weapon.” Yao Guang Sage Son made this inference.

“Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold is a sacred substance that rivals a divine phoenix — there are very few things in the world that can compare with it.” Old Blade Handle sighed. “The great sacred substances of the Eastern Desolation have almost all been exhausted by the several Great Emperors.”

“If one day another Great Emperor who commands all under heaven were to appear, I fear it would truly be difficult to find divine materials again.” Yao Xi said the same.

The group searched through the great hall and found several lines of writing left behind by Great Emperor Hengyu — the general meaning being that the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold was left for whoever was destined to find it.

Great Emperor Hengyu — heaven-gifted talent, cultivation that shook the past and illuminated the present. He was also a man of great fortune — yet he never took everything for himself, always leaving one thread of fortune and opportunity behind for those who came after.

The six searched carefully. There was nothing else in the great hall — no secret techniques or anything of the sort. There were only the ashes remaining from forging the extreme Dao weapon, bearing witness to the Great Emperor’s bearing of days gone by.

After the group walked out of the ancient structure, they all turned to look back — fixing their gaze on that plaque. The two characters Hengyu were inscribed in a bold and vigorous hand, carrying a momentum as though they could cleave through the sky and ascend beyond it.

Each of them stood in place, silently contemplating, hoping for some insight. This was not a direct transmission of technique or method — this was the artistic conception of the Great Dao itself, and it could at times trigger sudden enlightenment.

Ye Fan felt something stir within him. His mind became clear and open, moved by those two characters. He wanted to strike out with the Battle Saint technique — but could only suppress the impulse, forming the seals in his heart and fighting a battle against himself.

It had to be said — Yao Guang Sage Son was truly no ordinary figure. Immersed in a state of clear and empty openness, sacred light pouring down like heaven itself, he actually drew forth a trace of a Great Emperor’s divine might, which spilled outward from the ancient structure. Beneath the sweeping artistic conception of the great Dao, he extended both arms, his dharma body like an abyss, tracing out arc after arc of mysterious trajectory. He had gained some insight.

The Yaochi Saintess and Yao Xi were also extraordinary figures, and both had gained something. They were quietly absorbing what they had experienced. As for Old Blade Handle, he was utterly still — motionless, like a withered tree.

Li Desheng could not settle his mind. His Yin-Nether Eye flickered. “I feel it again — something in the darkness watching us.”

Before long, everyone emerged from their state of clear openness, extending their divine sense in all directions — but detecting nothing.

The Fallen Sun Ridge was completely still. Aside from the hazy black sun imprinted on the ground, there was nothing.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He produced the Lihuo Divine Furnace — its body still dented and pocked, though it had recovered considerably. He opened the furnace lid, then offered the inch-tall, translucent divine furnace up in sacrifice.

Swish!

With a flash of light, the Lihuo Divine Furnace sank into the black sun on the ground. Immediately, tongues of black flame began to leap and dance.

“Daoren, what are you doing?!” Li Desheng cried out in shock.

“The Great Emperor of antiquity chose to forge his weapons here — which is sufficient to prove that the Yang energy of the Fallen Sun Ridge is the most flourishing in all under heaven. I too will take some of it — in the future, I shall also forge an extreme Dao weapon.”

Li Desheng was struck speechless, at a complete loss. Aside from the Great Emperors of antiquity, who could forge an extreme Dao weapon? This was clearly nonsense.

The others understood — the Fallen Sun Ridge concealed within it the supreme Yang fire of heaven, extreme in Yang and extreme in strength. The divine fire buried below was itself a kind of spiritual entity. Were one able to obtain it, it would have tremendous uses.

The Lihuo Divine Furnace sank into the black sun and entered the ground, drawing in the black flames.

“Don’t do anything rash!” Old Blade Handle frowned with concern. He worried about rousing something down below.

“Don’t worry — I know my limits.” Ye Fan nodded. He had cultivated source arts; he understood how far he could push.

“Daoren, your broken furnace is about to melt.” Li Desheng’s Yin-Nether Eye flickered, seeing through the void. He wanted badly to burst out laughing.

Ye Fan knitted his brows — the furnace really was beginning to deform from the heat. He withdrew it quickly. The deeper underground one went, the higher the temperature, and the more extraordinary the flames.

He could only draw from the surface level. He filled the furnace with a full load of black flames, sealed the furnace lid, and drew it back within his body.

Yao Guang Sage Son, Old Blade Handle, Yao Xi, and the Yaochi Saintess all felt a stirring of thought. They too took action, offering up their own mysterious weapons to gather some of the black flames. Yet every one of them withdrew almost immediately — the heat had been too scorching to bear.

“Since these flames are so extraordinary, I’ll gather a little as well.” Li Desheng offered up his silver gourd.

Crackle!

Something astonishing happened. The silver gourd was melted in an instant — destroyed in the hazy black sun.

“This… a weapon of the Dao Palace Secret Realm gone just like that. My treasure!” He cried out in heartbroken anguish.

Ye Fan made a quiet mental estimate. The flames concealed within this black sun on the ground were extraordinarily terrifying — even the black fire on its very surface was close to rivaling the purple fire of the sixth layer of the Fire Domain.

Let alone what lay underground. The terrifying heat of that fire was beyond imagination. That Great Emperor Hengyu had chosen to forge his weapon here was precisely because this place was the land of supreme Yang under heaven.

He reckoned the portion of flames he had gathered from underground were barely, if at all, weaker than the flames that had burned the Ji Family’s Supreme Elder to death.

This was good stuff.

Ye Fan remained outwardly composed. Once they left the Primordial Forbidden Zone, if anyone made a move against him, he thought he’d start by unleashing a great inferno first.

From there, the group moved forward with great care. Under Ye Fan’s guidance, they navigated without incident, slowly leaving that terrible place behind.

The distant terrain lay open and unobstructed. They were nearly free of the Primordial Forbidden Zone.

“We’re really out!”

“Two things are behind us!” Li Desheng’s expression suddenly changed.

“Go!”

At this moment the group no longer had any fear or anxiety — all of them shot into the sky and flew toward the distance.

The six emerged from beyond the Primordial Forbidden Zone. Every last restraint was gone — they had at last broken free of the cursed land.

By now it was already deep in the night. All under heaven was still; the moonlight was like water — cold and tranquil.

“Daoren — please stay.” Yao Guang Sage Son smiled warmly and stepped into Ye Fan’s path.

Yao Xi also smiled, looking captivating, and took up position on the other side. Old Blade Handle and the Yaochi Saintess were not far away. A killing intent had begun to permeate the air — impossible to trace to any one person.

Ye Fan understood. The Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold stirred people’s hearts — it was the exclusive substance of Great Emperors. To walk away with it, how could there possibly be no storm?