Ye Fan’s several phenomena merged into one — blue lotus, Immortal King, Yin-Yang diagram, Magnificent Mountains and Rivers, golden bitter sea — connected together, as though manifesting the creation of heaven and earth, transforming into a pure land unto itself.
In the beginning of heaven and earth, at the birth of all things, there was vigorous and surging vitality alongside the power of destruction. Ye Fan stood alone at the center, like a deity of creation, the absolute ruler.
Hua Yunfei’s expression finally changed. Being suppressed within a Sacred Physique’s phenomenon meant near-certain death — the legends had always said so, and very few people had ever broken free.
“Clang, clang, clang…”
He plucked the qin strings with great force. The nine small-world gateways in the sky grew increasingly terrifying, pressing down ceaselessly, attempting to shatter the confinement.
“BOOM!”
The small-world gateways erupted in a great collapse, a vast world-annihilating energy surging downward, crashing toward Ye Fan’s phenomenon, seeking to destroy everything.
Hua Yunfei’s tactics were fierce. He was destroying space itself — willing to suffer mutual devastation, shattering even the Great Dao he himself had branded into the void, just to break out.
“BOOM”… “BOOM”…
One after another, the nine small-world gateways shattered in succession. Every observer was frightened out of their wits. Hua Yunfei was too ruthless — destroying space itself, shattering the Dao diagrams he had branded himself. This was a technique of mutual annihilation with the enemy.
Every single person felt their hair stand on end and fled frantically, wishing they could sprout wings and get as far from this place as possible. Because if drawn into this, one would certainly be obliterated body and soul.
The void was in a great state of collapse, dissolving invisibly into nothing. Such a terrifying technique would make even a Sacred Lord furrow their brow. Not everyone could execute it.
At this moment, even Li Xiaoman had no choice but to fly toward the distant sky. One step slower and she would certainly have turned to ash.
“BOOM…”
Like ten thousand layers of thunder crashing simultaneously, the nine small-world gateways shattered completely. The otherworldly great power they had been drawing upon erupted in full, all surging downward together.
“This Hua Yunfei is truly calm and merciless enough. Daring to dissolve the Sacred Physique’s phenomenon this way — he himself will certainly suffer great damage to his vital energy.”
“Decisive in action — this person is deeply frightening!”
“Sacrificing one’s own Dao diagrams to transform such adversity — that he possesses such a technique is truly astonishing.”
The Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song was a supreme divine art, shaking past and present alike. It could manifest heavenly tribulations to battle cultivators, standing in an innately undefeatable position from the start. Very few people could resist it.
Only someone with Ye Fan’s kind of physique could withstand it — unafraid of heavenly tribulation. Yet at this moment he was deeply furrowing his brow. The nine tribulations had been detonated; the power of the void seethed and boiled, sweeping downward. Even he would be unwise to face it head-on.
“BOOM!”
The boundless power of the void surged violently. Ye Fan gritted his teeth, acting within his own phenomenon, racing against time, trying to strike down Hua Yunfei before the wave hit.
“Whoosh!”
Intangible killing intent, flowing like water, rushed outward. Ye Fan blazed like a golden war god of burning flames, swinging his phenomenon downward, striking Hua Yunfei until fractures covered his entire body.
“Ye Fan, how can you be so merciless? Senior Brother Hua…” Li Xiaoman cried out in alarm.
“What a terrifying phenomenon — the might of the Sacred Physique is bone-chilling!” All the observers were stricken cold.
The combat strength Hua Yunfei had displayed was extraordinarily powerful — absolutely capable of looking down on the young generation. Yet at this moment he was being suppressed until he was on the verge of being shattered.
“Hua Yunfei can kill cultivators at the peak of the Four Extremes Secret Realm in full completion as easily as cutting grass, and killing cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm is no problem for him either — yet right now…”
After witnessing this outcome, everyone’s expressions changed. All were struck with dread.
“Bang!”
Hua Yunfei’s body split apart in four or five pieces, scattering instantly in all directions, leaving behind a large cloud of blood mist that drew a great cry of shock. Such a powerful outstanding talent — dead like this?
Ye Fan carried his phenomenon as he traversed the void, evading the power of the void surging down from above the firmament. This world-annihilating energy filled him with deep wariness.
“BOOM!”
The void collapsed and was utterly destroyed. Fortunately it was up in the air — otherwise this entire region would certainly have been leveled flat. There was no telling how many people would have died needlessly.
“Senior Brother Hua…” Li Xiaoman cried out.
Others sighed as well. An outstandingly powerful hero capable of displaying the Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song, with limitless prospects — gone like this.
“What…” someone suddenly cried out in alarm.
“He didn’t die — reborn through fire! Phoenix Tribulation Rebirth Technique!” Many people were completely stunned.
In the distance, Hua Yunfei’s shattered body transformed into several beams of light that converged together. He was reborn, completely intact.
Many people stared open-mouthed. They had clearly witnessed him being slain, and yet now he had been reborn, his form reconstituted with not the slightest abnormality.
“This person has exceptional fortune — to have actually obtained such a long-lost supreme divine art!”
“The Phoenix Tribulation Rebirth Technique can be called an undying remarkable art, mysterious and abstruse beyond measure. Mastering it is equivalent to having one additional life!”
“The Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song and the Phoenix Tribulation Rebirth Technique share the same origin. Together they are known as the Phoenix Tribulation — a supreme heavenly art unequaled in this world. He truly has the fortune of a nonpareil. To have actually obtained such an inheritance!”
……
Everyone exclaimed in admiration, all filled with undisguised envy. These two ancient wondrous arts — no one knew exactly how many tens of thousands of years they had been lost. And now a single person possessed both.
“You really are difficult to kill!” Ye Fan pressed forward. He naturally would not stand down; he had firmly made up his mind to take Hua Yunfei’s life.
“Brother Ye’s strength is deeply intimidating…” Hua Yunfei said with a quiet sigh — yet was remarkably composed, with neither anger nor dejection.
Though Ye Fan was very forceful, he dared not be careless. This person was extremely powerful and certainly had extraordinarily formidable reserve moves still held back. He was a life-and-death enemy.
“I somehow feel that Hua Yunfei is no weaker than the Divine King Physique — that he’s the kind of existence the Holy Son of Shimmering Light represents…” someone said in a low voice.
“Quite so. The Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song’s killing power shocks the world. Among those of the same generation, aside from someone with the Sacred Physique’s particular constitution, almost no one could withstand it. This person is profoundly unfathomable.”
Everyone was pondering. Only Ye Fan understood clearly — Hua Yunfei was indeed exactly this caliber of person. Otherwise he would not have been so composed.
“Whoosh!”
A canopy of stars materialized, surrounding Hua Yunfei. The night was like water; starlight was boundless. Hua Yunfei stood in the midst of a star field — free and transcendent, rising above the mundane.
This was not a phenomenon, but rather a divine art of Supreme Mystery’s Star Peak, his most expert remarkable art. At this moment and hour, he was like a Star Lord descending into the mortal world.
“BOOM!”
Suddenly, Hua Yunfei blazed with starlight enveloping his body, bursting outward with ten thousand beams of light. The powerful aura made people involuntarily tremble. His entire being was incomparably sacred and terrifying.
“Dragon Transformation… he is actually a Dragon Transformation Secret Realm cultivator!”
“Heavens — this young, and already a powerful figure of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. Utterly inconceivable!”
Everyone was beyond shocked. No one had imagined that Hua Yunfei had reached such a realm, possessing such frightening cultivation.
“It was long rumored that someone in the young generation had entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, but it was never confirmed. Who would have thought the first one found to be so would be Hua Yunfei!”
He kept a low profile and never showed off. Now that he revealed this level of power, he naturally left people stunned and shaken.
Ye Fan’s heart pounded violently. The opponent was indeed terrifying, having long since entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. This was going to be an incomparably difficult and brutal battle.
A single realm of difference was like a barrier between one heaven and the next — the gap in strength was enormous and incalculable. Those of lower standing almost could not defeat those of higher standing. It was only because of his exceptional physique that Ye Fan could “ascend counter to heaven and overcome immortals.”
At present he was at the second tier of the Four Extremes Secret Realm. Yet he could already slay cultivators at the full completion of the Four Extremes Secret Realm’s peak, and slaying powerful figures of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm was also not out of the question.
However, Hua Yunfei was vastly different. He was a peak figure of the young generation. People like him and the Holy Son of Shimmering Light, back when they were in the Four Extremes Secret Realm, could already kill cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
Now that he had broken into the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, one could only imagine how incomparably powerful he had become!
“Brother Ye’s strength is astonishing — it has forced even me to fight you with my Dragon Transformation cultivation.” Hua Yunfei shook his head, ethereal and hazy, as though a deity sighing.
“You have not yet used your demonic art — show me your strongest technique!” Ye Fan said coldly.
“I have only mastered the unshared secrets of Star Peak. The supreme divine art of the Phoenix Tribulation is something I only recently obtained.” Hua Yunfei was thoroughly composed, unmoved.
“BOOM!”
Ye Fan struck. Talking was useless now. Only by genuinely defeating the opponent with true power could he force out the secrets of the ruthless Great Emperor.
He brought out the Void Great Hand Seal. A golden great hand stretched across the sky, like a golden cloud, blotting out the sun, carrying supreme divine authority as it came smashing downward.
All four directions were alarmed. Such wild force — how many people could resist it?
In the crowd, Ji Haoyue’s eyes shot out two sharp beams of light, fixed upon that golden great hand. It was a divine art of their family.
“BOOM!”
Hua Yunfei was composed and fearless, resisting with a surging tide of magical power. Stars materialized across the sky; one great star after another shot from his fingertips, striking toward Ye Fan.
Starlight was like flowing water, ceaselessly streaming from his fingertips. It was a terrifying spectacle — as though an entire Milky Way was under his command, surging and roaring before him.
The ground where he stood was virtually indistinguishable from a true stellar domain — starlight everywhere, divine power everywhere. In the night, it was a scene of brilliant splendor.
“BOOM!”
Nine Stars in a Line — like a ray of life’s light, yet in truth a slaughtering blade of annihilation, striking toward Ye Fan, saturated with a tragic and devastating aura.
Both combatants fought to the full extent of their power. Even the refined Hua Yunfei at this moment blazed with surging momentum, a fierce edge manifesting on him as he battled with everything he had.
This was a fight to the death — not a single trace of carelessness was permitted. One wrong step and one’s form and soul would both be destroyed!
Ye Fan used his various phenomena to overpower the firmament, pressing forward continuously with the initiative, attacking with force that could not be stopped.
“BOOM!”
The void cracked apart. Both their powers were too terrifying; everything was destroyed wherever they passed, with nothing capable of blocking them.
They fought from the sky onto the clouds, then from the clouds back down to the ground — both like dragons and great rocs, divine and valiant, awe-inspiring to the mind.
This was a brutal and devastating great battle. Both were the absolute apex figures of the young generation; the intensity was incomparable, leaving the watching crowd in a state of unsettled turmoil.
“Ten Directions All Kill!” Hua Yunfei called out softly, taking the initiative to attack. He was like an immortal spirit emerging into the world — flawless and pure, his entire body crystalline and radiant.
Yet as his two hands moved, the terrifying pressure made people feel their hearts and gall would burst. His slender fingers traced the trajectory of the Dao, elaborate and abstruse.
“BOOM!”
A boundless star domain enveloped heaven and earth. One great star after another aligned in formation, composing a massive cross, two rows of great stars intersecting, rolling to crush toward Ye Fan.
The void was like a torn painting, easily ripped apart. Ten Directions All Kill, wielding the infinite power of the stellar domain, destroyed every obstruction!
“Pop”… “Pop”…
The void collapsed ceaselessly. The cross formation, with its brilliant starlight, possessed an irresistible and terrifying stellar force. For those of the same generation, it deserved to be called a supreme great killing technique.
At this moment, not only the young generation — even elder-generation figures felt ice running down their spines. Hua Yunfei’s combat power was excessively terrifying.
“BOOM!”
Ye Fan responded calmly, without the slightest panic or disorder. His two hands also moved through the void, leaving behind the trajectory of the Dao — mysterious and difficult to fathom.
“Thud!”
He pressed both hands forward, and an ancient pagoda took form in the void, flying ahead to confront the Ten Directions All Kill, seeking to shatter the countless great stars.
This ancient pagoda materialized in this world as an embodiment of his understanding of the Dao — condensed into a tangible form, suppressing all four directions.
“BOOM!”
The stellar domain dimmed; the Ten Directions All Kill was weakened, no longer as terrifying as before.
“Thud!”
Ye Fan’s two hands continued to move; a great bell materialized — also an embodiment of his understanding of the Dao, branded into a tangible form. With a resonant “clang,” time itself was frozen.
The Ten Directions All Kill was blocked, and then began to collapse. The cross formation of great stars dimmed entirely and was at last extinguished.
Ye Fan’s two hands guided the movements. The ancient pagoda and great bell collided together; time and space surged in a great upheaval, producing a thunderous rumble as the two merged into a single ancient and simple great cauldron.
A cauldron — two ears, three legs. Aligned with “Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to ten thousand things” — this was the tangible manifestation of the Dao.
Space was suppressed; time was frozen. Ye Fan used this great cauldron he had branded into the void to charge and kill toward Hua Yunfei.
“BOOM!”
The great cauldron represented the will of heaven and earth — like the Great Dao descending. Hua Yunfei resisted with the Phoenix Tribulation and the stellar divine arts; at last, blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
The crowd was horrified. Hua Yunfei — who was he? Based on his performance up to this moment, no one would doubt his combat strength. He was absolutely capable of ascending counter to heaven and overcoming immortals!
A person of his caliber, back in the Four Extremes Secret Realm, could slay Dragon Transformation powerhouses. Now that he had entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm himself, he was even more terrifying. And yet at this moment he was wounded.
The might of the Sacred Physique was truly terrifying. No wonder when Ye Fan had killed Ji Hui, the Ji Family’s several Dragon Transformation Secret Realm powerhouses had allowed him to leave without attempting to block him — everyone’s hearts were pounding violently.
One must understand — Ye Fan had only just entered the second tier of the Four Extremes Secret Realm. He was separated from his opponents by several layers of heaven and earth.
However, at this moment Ye Fan felt no joy in his heart. He understood that this was the most terrifying opponent he had encountered since beginning his cultivation. The other party was holding back — there were still formidable reserve moves yet unused.
Hua Yunfei was absolutely a nonpareil great enemy. He had very likely obtained the ruthless man’s inheritance, and had not yet used it!
Once that supreme demonic art emerged, it would surely shake heaven and earth. It was the most terrifying supreme art in all of history — impossible to predict how terrifying it would truly be.
Though Ye Fan also had reserve moves yet unused, he still felt that this was a life-and-death enemy. The most unfavorable aspect was that he was several realms below the opponent and still far from the Dragon Transformation stage.
“You had better use your demonic art now — otherwise there won’t be another opportunity!” Ye Fan’s thoughts raced; his two hands moved in the void, carving out markings, beginning once again to brand his understanding of the Dao.
Without even being aware of it, he carved out nine ancient characters — very naturally, as though compelled by something beyond himself. Before long they were complete. They were exactly the nine Sovereign Characters recorded in the Dao Scripture, and they pressed down toward Hua Yunfei.
The nine ancient characters were mysterious beyond measure — as though penetrating all of past, present, and future!
“You…” Hua Yunfei’s expression changed. He seemed to recognize these as characters that only the ancient Great Emperors could comprehend, and he resisted with every last ounce of his strength.
“BOOM!”
The nine ancient characters surrounded and encircled him. That stretch of void was on the verge of collapse. The nine characters branded themselves in the formless void, forming a small-world cage, seeking to seal and imprison him for eternity.