Wang Chong was brimming with confidence, with an air of having Ye Fan completely in hand. Though young in years, he was extraordinarily arrogant. He pointed a single finger at Ye Fan, his gaze malicious and treacherous: “Today — ten lives wouldn’t be enough to spare you!”
Behind him stood a row of old men, every one of them vigorous and energetic, divine light rising from their crown. All of them were Supreme Elders of the first heaven of the Immortal Platform or above — a lineup of extraordinary power.
“You little brat — instead of staying home drinking your milk properly, you’ve got nothing better to do than jump around out here.” Ye Fan said mockingly, without the least bit of courtesy.
“Enjoy yourself for now. In a moment you’ll be crying and unable to.” Wang Chong was no more than eleven or twelve years old, yet he clasped his hands behind his back and showed a grim smile entirely at odds with his age.
“Very well. I’ll stand right here. Come hit your uncle.” Ye Fan was unmoved, standing before the ancient city, sweeping his gaze over these people.
At this moment, many figures in the city took to the sky — dense and numerous, watching everything outside the city. All were astonished. Ye Fan daring to come like this had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“Not running — then I’ll grant your wish. Elders — kill him!” Wang Chong waved his hand coldly. His cruelty showed through his gaze in a way entirely unbefitting of a child.
Behind him, eight powerful cultivators of the first heaven of the Immortal Platform stepped forward, slowly advancing. In addition, two ancient life forms closed in step by step, their appearance ferocious.
In the current age, only the Northern Emperor had this kind of standing — subduing ancient life forms as servants, now left behind to guard his younger brother.
“Have you two forgotten about the Sacred Prince? You have no memory at all. Have you become addicted to serving as Wang Teng’s lackeys?!” Ye Fan rebuked them without mercy.
“The Sacred Prince’s status is noble, but he cannot manage my race’s affairs. The master has gone to meet my race’s king — others cannot interfere!” The life form — over one zhang in height, its entire body covered in golden scales — spoke.
Ye Fan’s heart stirred. The information he had acquired was indeed accurate. Wang Teng had gone far to the Eastern Wilderness — was he entering the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest, or the Purple Mountain where the Great Emperor Wushi had passed into nirvana, or yet another ancient land?
What was the Northern Emperor trying to do — to form ties with an ancient royal race? If conflict arose in the future, it would most likely involve terrifying ancient kings. Not a good thing!
“Out of respect for the Sacred Prince, I’ll give you a way out. Clear off immediately — every last one of you — or not a single one will leave alive!” Ye Fan commanded.
“Looking for death. You’re no more than a cultivator of the ninth transformation of the Dragon Transformation. Did you truly think you were the Sacred Prince? I could slap you to death with one paw.” One of the ancient life forms said menacingly, baring a mouthful of gleaming white, razor-sharp teeth.
“If it were your royal clan speaking like this, it would be understandable. Someone of your low standing dares speak so insolently?” Ye Fan said flatly.
“They all say the Holy Physique’s physical body is unmatched, but in the ancient age I never heard such a claim — I did eat quite a few powerful human cultivators though.” This ancient life form strode forward step by step, its white teeth bared: “Golden divine blood should taste quite sweet. I hear that even a small amount, once it reaches a certain stage, is already a divine medicine. Let me have a taste!”
This was an extremely powerful ancient life form. One foot had already crossed into the Holy Master realm — it was a half-step great master, nearly capable of fighting a great master.
For the bodies of ancient races were especially robust — far surpassing those of humans, nearly indestructible — heaven’s gift of a treasure physique. And this particular race exceeded even the norm.
“HUM!”
It extended one great golden claw and slapped downward — as large as a wagon wheel. The blast of power struck the face like a whip. Sand and stones flew in all directions.
Ye Fan faced it with a cold smile. This ancient life form truly dared match physical bodies with him — not believing in the Holy Physique of the human race, it intended to slap him to death with a single paw.
“Human race’s Holy Physique — kneel before me!” This ancient life form was far too confident, believing that apart from the Fighting Victorious Ape lineage, their race had the strongest physical bodies.
“Slap!”
Ye Fan stepped forward. His right hand — like a great golden grinding wheel — struck out to meet it. The two hands met, producing a thunderous boom.
Then the sound of shattering bone rang out. The ancient life form’s right hand spasmed and nearly twisted apart, with bone cracking sounds continuing without stop. Bone fragments flew, blood splattered.
“BANG!”
Ye Fan pressed in. Another slap struck out. The ancient life form’s soul nearly departed its body in terror. Its voice trembled: “How can a human’s physical body possibly be this powerful?!”
“Spit!”
This time it was more complete. Ye Fan’s great handprint pressed down, removing the ancient life form’s entire arm. Half its body was shattered — like a watermelon dropped to the ground, vivid red, ruined.
The ancient life form screamed and flew sideways like a rotting wooden stake, landing with a crash several hundred zhang away. Half its body had simply been beaten off.
“Not even a peak Holy Master’s physical body is as powerful as my race’s. How can its physique be this strong — no weaker than the Fighting Victorious Ape lineage!” The ancient life form groaned in pain, its bloody lesson forcing it to take the Holy Physique of the human race seriously.
“Hehehe…” Beside them, Wang Chong clasped his hands behind his back and laughed coldly: “What does it matter if you’re strong enough to uproot mountains? You still can’t withstand the overwhelming spiritual power of a great master!”
At this moment, the eight Supreme Elders had closed to near range. The other silver-scaled ancient life form had also flown forward ferociously, its pair of divine wings gleaming like blades of heaven.
“Just this many people — hardly worth watching.” Ye Fan shook his head.
“Young man surnamed Ye — you’re too presumptuous. By now, you cannot leave even if you want to!” From behind, a ringing voice came. A well-built middle-aged man with knife-blade eyes approached, cutting off his retreat.
This was a peak great master. At his side were five more people, all half-step great masters — an extraordinarily powerful lineup, sufficient to destroy any cultivator of Ye Fan’s level.
“Uncle!” Wang Chong called out.
The newcomer was Wang Teng’s and Wang Chong’s paternal uncle — an extremely famous great master of the Northern Plains, capable of contending with Holy Masters. A powerful figure of a generation, he held enormous authority within the Wang Family.
Among the eight Supreme Elders there was also one great master. With this many people surrounding Ye Fan, two peak experts presiding over them all — he had no wings left to escape with, no path to survive.
“Ye, kneel now — I’ll spare you some suffering. Otherwise you’ll wish you were dead!” Wang Chong said through gritted teeth. His eyes were venomous. He had come to hate Ye Fan to the bone — twice now he had nearly been killed.
“Two great masters, over ten Supreme Elders — you truly take me seriously.” Ye Fan was completely composed, without the slightest trace of fear or alarm.
“Ye, stop talking tough. In a moment I’m going to stomp your face into the ground until you have no face left. I’ll see then how you keep showing off!” Wang Chong said in a sinister voice.
“Little brat — you’re dreaming again. The first two times I let you run. Three times is too many — today I’ll send you on your way!” Ye Fan said with a smile.
“Young man, too much arrogance is unbecoming. You have injured Chong on two separate occasions. There is nothing more to discuss. Will you end yourself, or wait for me to kill you?!” Wang Teng’s paternal uncle, Wang Chengfeng, said in a deep, cold voice.
“Actually, those are the very words I was going to say to all of you. Will you end yourselves, or wait for me to send each one of you on your way?” Ye Fan was entirely calm.
Everyone stiffened. They could not understand what gave him such certainty. Faced with two great masters and over ten Supreme Elders — and yet he had not run, showing no fear whatsoever. Something was wrong.
“I refuse to believe — how can a cultivator of the ninth transformation of the Dragon Transformation contend with us? Today he will be executed!” One of the half-step great masters stepped forward, about to strike.
“Be careful — or you may be reduced to ash in an instant.” Ye Fan said unhurriedly.
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Even those watching from afar were astonished, unable to understand what he still had up his sleeve.
“Ye — stop mystifying things. There is no way you leave here alive today.” Wang Chong shouted: “Uncle — strike! Take off half his life. Leave the rest for me to deal with properly.”
Wang Chengfeng nodded. He did not press closer, but instead his two hands began tracing the laws of heaven and earth, preparing to suppress Ye Fan. In that moment, sand flew and stones rolled, the wind rose and the clouds surged, heaven and earth lost their color.
One demon head after another descended from above, charging toward Ye Fan’s position — a force woven from interlocking laws, drowning this place.
Ye Fan issued a cold command. His two hands also moved, producing seal after seal stamped into the void. Countless patterns manifested — mysterious and esoteric.
“Ye — why don’t you just come here and submit to death? Nothing you do will change the outcome.” Wang Chong taunted.
“Young man, if you won’t end yourself, don’t blame me for refining your soul in a moment!” Wang Chengfeng said coldly. Then his two hands shook with force, and a sky-blanketing spiritual power descended — boundless and without end.
Ye Fan snorted coldly, pressed both hands down with force, and infinite characters floated up to the surface, covering him, concealing him within.
Simultaneously, a divine source block the size of a human head flashed into existence in the void — covered densely with a million talismanic inscriptions, emanating a world-annihilating energy. A divine phoenix just over one chi in length flew out.
The source-god formation carved by Ouyang Ye — composed of four divine source blocks in total. One had been used on that day, and its power was extraordinary: capable of destroying everything within a hundred li.
“Ye, you really are ruthless!” Wang Chong’s color changed.
“Is this enough to send all of you on your way?” Ye Fan smiled.
“Young man, you’re still too green. We prepared for this long ago. Not even a god could stop me from killing you today — you don’t know what’s good for you!” Wang Chengfeng’s face darkened, murderous intent fully exposed.
“Swish-swish-swish!”
With a flick of his hand, an ancient scroll flew out and suspended itself in midair. The divine source block — densely covered with source-heaven inscription patterns — fell silent in an instant. The one-chi-long divine phoenix disappeared into the inscription patterns and no longer appeared.
“In this world, source arts are not invincible. In ages past, martial path sages carved out source-suppressing divine diagrams. Those source inscriptions are useless!” Wang Chengfeng sneered coldly.
“Is that so? It seems you were well prepared.” Ye Fan said.
“My older brother long since anticipated all of this. You obtained the inheritance of a Source Heaven Master — it had to be guarded against.” Wang Chong laughed coldly again, commanding: “Ye, kneel now and I’ll spare you a bit of suffering. Otherwise you’ll have no life worth living.”
“No need for that. I am about to refine a cauldron of precious pills. The Holy Physique is the finest ingredient — not a single inch of blood or flesh can be wasted.” Wang Chengfeng said with a faint smile.
“Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!”…
Ye Fan flicked his fingers. In the void, one ancient character after another appeared — as though each had a soul, dancing about. All of them transformed into seals and imprints. The divine source block revived in an instant, and a divine phoenix charged out.
“What — how is this possible?!” The Wang Family people went pale with shock.
“You’ve all underestimated the Source Heaven Master too much. What you can seal is nothing more than one corner of the void — that works against members of other source art families, but the inheritor of the Source Heaven Master is not in that category. He can reshape heaven and earth. Did you think one diagram could seal me?” Ye Fan laughed coldly.
“Retreat!”
Wang Chengfeng seized his young nephew with one hand and was the first to fly back — wanting to escape that terrifying area.
Yet it was already too late. Ye Fan activated the divine source block. A million talismanic inscriptions erupted simultaneously. A terrifying divine power detonated.
In an instant, divine light filled every corner of heaven and earth. Even the sun above was swallowed up — as though countless stars had fallen, crashing toward the great earth.
“Ah…” A chorus of screams rang out. The Wang Family’s people were all swallowed within — not a single one escaped.
Inside Xiba City, everyone felt chills from their very bones. This kind of force was too terrifying — it could not be resisted. Even a Holy Master who entered would be riddled with holes by the divine light.
The ancient city walls, their inscription patterns floating to the surface, transformed into a shimmering light to block the savage force from encroaching — otherwise the damage to the city would have been catastrophic.
In the instant of that explosion, the power was like a great ocean, refining every living thing with a body. The ten or so Supreme Elders were instantly reduced to light — body and soul both destroyed.
When everything dissipated, only the two great masters and Wang Chong remained, their bodies ragged and nearly torn apart.
The two great masters had survived through their own power. Wang Chong survived only because various secret treasures had blocked for him — after every divine object on his body was destroyed, he barely retained a single life.
“You…” Wang Chengfeng was so furious he kept coughing blood. Everything had been completely within his grasp, yet at the very last moment he had been injured this severely.
The other great master staggered, trying to charge skyward and flee the area. But with a “bang,” Ye Fan slapped him down — pressing him flat into paste, alive.
“Every last bit of spiritual power is gone, and you still want to run?” Ye Fan’s lips carried a thin, cold smile as he walked forward.
On the ground, silver scales flashed. One ancient life form had not died either, struggling up from the dust and ashes.
“Spit!”
Ye Fan extended a single finger and pointed — piercing straight through its brow. Then the golden palm pressed down, beating it until only a pool of blood remained.
“Don’t come closer!” Wang Chong’s entire body bristled with cold, his heart filled with despair at this sudden turn of events.
“Didn’t you say you were going to stomp me to death? Come then.” Ye Fan beckoned to him.
“Ye Fan…” Wang Teng’s paternal uncle Wang Chengfeng gritted his teeth, swaying as he rose, then with a great roar, burned his life force to forcibly elevate his combat power.
“BANG!”
Ye Fan unleashed the Dharma Form divine art. In an instant he became enormous, lifted one great golden foot, and stamped it down with force.
“Spit!”
Wang Chengfeng coughed blood, pinned to the ground by one foot, unable to struggle. His entire body was shattered — bones broken, tendons snapped.
“You wanted to refine me into pills. Today I’ll refine you instead!”
Ye Fan put his foot down hard and ground it in, like crushing a bedbug — pressing Wang Teng’s uncle into the earth, destroying every last trace of his spiritual power.
“My nephew Wang Teng will come and kill you!” Wang Chengfeng was at his wit’s end, coughing blood without stop.
“I’ll be waiting for him!” Ye Fan ground down with force. This once-powerful figure was torn asunder, meeting a violent death.
“Uncle…” Wang Chong cried out, retreating rapidly, leaping skyward.
Ye Fan’s body shrank to its normal form and descended from the sky. One kick pinned Wang Chong to the ground with a bang.
“At your age you’re already this vicious — you’ve provoked me again and again. If I don’t kill you, even heaven won’t forgive it.” Ye Fan kicked out. Wang Chong instantly rolled and tumbled away.
“Don’t kill me!” Wang Chong cried out. His entire body trembled, shaking like chaff, and in an instant he knelt to the ground, kowtowing again and again.
“Your older brother calls himself the Northern Emperor, yet here you are kneeling. What a humiliation for him — his face is completely gone. I may as well send you on your way.” Ye Fan extended a finger. Between Wang Chong’s brows, a blood flower bloomed. With a great cry, he fell backward.
This time no unexpected change occurred. The various life-saving treasures the Northern Emperor had given him had all been destroyed in the explosion of light a moment ago — ground away without a trace.
“Wang Teng’s younger brother has been killed!”
“The Northern Emperor’s paternal uncle has been executed by Ye Fan!”
The news sprouted wings and flew in all directions — sweeping through the Central Prefecture, alarming many great powers.
“This time, the Northern Emperor and the Holy Physique will not cease until one is dead. This enmity is great!”
“These two must have one great decisive battle — only one of them can live!”
Far away in the Eastern Wilderness, within a stretch of forbidden ground that, in human eyes, reeked of great ill omen — in cave dwelling after cave dwelling, divine source blocks flashed, imprisoning many ancient life forms.
In one vast, ancient cave dwelling, the Northern Emperor sat face to face with a young man of an ancient royal race. The place was saturated with an ancient energy — everything steeped in mystery.
“BANG!”
Suddenly, Wang Teng shot to his feet in alarm. A jade pendant on his body had shattered. He knew his younger brother was dead.
“What has happened?” The young member of the ancient royal race asked.
“Someone has killed my younger brother.” Wang Teng’s knuckles had gone white from clenching, his expression terrifying. From his twin eyes, beams of divine light several meters long shot out — like blades, they pierced straight through the stone wall.
“Who is so bold? I’ll dispatch a few people to kill him. Even the head of a great sect couldn’t protect itself.” The young member of the ancient royal race said casually.
“It was him — it must be him. Holy Physique Ye Fan — I will have your head!” Wang Teng’s words were low but iron-hard, resonating like a great bronze bell.
“The Holy Physique of the human race is no weaker than the constitution of the Fighting Victorious Ape lineage. Once such a person is fully grown, even the kings of ancient races would be wary.” The young member of the ancient royal race said.
“Regardless of what constitution one possesses, it is nothing more than the difference between a living man and a dead one. In my eyes, he is only a whetstone — he won’t live long!” Wang Teng’s eyes blazed with terrifying light, yet he quickly calmed himself — until not the slightest trace of anger remained. He said: “When will your ancestral king awaken? That is the most crucial matter.”
“Hard to say — perhaps soon, perhaps still years away.” The young member of the ancient royal race took a slow sip of wine. “Let us wait patiently.”
Suddenly, the sound of jade tinkling came. A willowy silhouette entered the cave dwelling — blue hair reaching the waist, her figure impossibly beautiful, her skin like soft white jade, extraordinarily lovely.
“Brother, the Ancestral King has awakened. He asks you to bring this human cultivator to meet him.” The woman was strikingly beautiful — indistinguishable from the human race in appearance, without any of the features of an ancient creature.
“Oh — our ancestor has revived.” The young member of the ancient royal race’s expression grew solemn. He no longer allowed himself to be casual.
The Northern Emperor rose to his feet in an instant, his eyes turning toward the deepest part of the ancient cave. There lay an expanse of darkness — profound beyond measure. Faintly, an energy that made one tremble permeated from within. Strong as he was, his entire body bristled with cold.
“Let’s go.” The young member of the ancient royal race led the way forward.
“This is most welcome. I wish to meet your Ancestral King — and to enter the Ancient Emperor’s Mountain where the Great Emperor Wushi passed into nirvana.” Wang Teng said in a deep, firm voice.