Flames spread like an ocean in every direction — everywhere, as if the world itself had been set alight. Nothing else could be seen, only nine-colored mist threads swirling throughout.

The heat was unbearable. From a great distance, many halls cast in finest gold began to melt, evaporating completely — nothing left behind.

Within the arena, it was a scene from the depths of Asura’s hell. Screams and wails rose one after another. Most of the Wang Family’s middle-aged and younger generation had been swallowed by the conflagration, struggling within a sea of fire.

Moments earlier, Wang Teng had been triumphant, and many within the clan had come forward to offer congratulations — gathered together. Now, those celebrations had become a tragedy.

“Ahh…”

The Three Heroes of the Wang Family — said to be the three strongest young figures below Wang Teng himself — were reduced to ash and cinders in an instant. They let out only a single hurried cry before vanishing from this world forever.

Wang Chengkun’s vision went black. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Those were the future pillars of the Wang Family — and they had died just like that.

“Ahh…”

Another ferocious roar cut off abruptly, leaving not a sound. The great expert of one generation, Wang Chengyun, held out for a moment as a human torch — but in the end became dust as well. Not a single bone remained.

Wang Chengkun was so grief-stricken he nearly lost consciousness. This was his own blood brother — a renowned warrior within the clan, his power immeasurably deep, no less than Wang Chengkun himself, in the prime of his years — and his life had ended just like this.

“No!” He cried out, yet was powerless to stop it. The flames spread, devouring heaven and earth. Even his son, the Northern Emperor, was on the verge of death.

“How can this be?!” A Wang Family elder’s eyes cracked open with fury. He wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear Ye Fan’s flesh apart with his bare teeth. This was a pain beyond endurance.

The screams and wails came wave upon wave. Before the golden ancient war chariot, most of the Wang Family had gathered — predominantly their middle-aged and younger generation — and not a single one survived. They were annihilated entirely.

These had been the hopes of the family — its future pillars. Yet in a single morning, they had become smoke and vapor. All the years of nurturing, all the effort and resources poured in — turned to nothing.

“Ahh…”

Finally, two more screams rang out. Two more comparatively “young” great experts met their end, erased from this world.

This fire was devastatingly savage. Three great experts of the Ji Family had been burned to death within it. Had Wang Chengkun not been smashed by the bronze coffin and sent flying out with half his body pulverized, he too would have perished in the divine flames.

“How vicious. How utterly vicious!”

Wang Family members — the Mysterious Ancestor and the mere seven or eight survivors — shook in their bodies, too enraged to form words. Every single person who had come to the Ji Family was an elite. And now they had been wiped out. The losses were incalculable.

Three great experts dead, the middle-aged and younger generation of outstanding talents virtually entirely annihilated — the grief was too devastating. Without decades, there was no replenishing the fresh blood, and a generational gap would open.

But what frightened them most was this: the family’s emperor-son, Wang Teng, was on the verge of death — about to be extinguished. The flames had charred his body to scorched cinders, and recovery seemed beyond hope.

The Northern Emperor was indeed tremendously powerful. Even a sect master, once enveloped by the nine-colored fire, would surely die. Yet he had held on until now, fighting off death itself.

Although the nine-colored mist threads had already submerged his head, he still had not been extinguished. His roar rang out as he resisted the divine flames alone.

This was a formidable physical body — possessing a sliver of immortal divinity. Many Holy Masters would feel shame by comparison. Amid the catastrophic fire, he refused to die!

Ye Fan also felt a chill of dread. The Northern Emperor was his mortal enemy, yet he was truly far too powerful. Ye Fan had not merely unleashed a single burst of divine flames. This time he had inverted the black gourd entirely — nine-colored sacred fire drowning out this entire place. And even so, Wang Teng had not been burned to death.

Even if a Living Fossil came, they would have to die as well. No physical body was so mighty as to withstand this. The force of undying divinity transcended the mortal body entirely!

“No wonder he could go toe-to-toe with the Battle-Saint Ape.” Some people murmured inwardly.

The Battle-Saint Ape was the most powerfully built royal clan among the Great Antiquity’s living beings. Yet the Northern Emperor had engaged the monkey in a great battle in the Qinling Mountains — though his physical body had been at a disadvantage, he had almost reached parity nonetheless.

Yet Wang Teng was, after all, unable to hold on any longer. More than half his physical body had become charcoal, without a trace of vitality remaining. Flames of this nature were impossible for him to truly block — annihilation was only a matter of time.

“Teng!” The Wang Family members called out. All the arrogance had drained from them entirely. Every face was ashen white. If the Northern Emperor died, all that the family had schemed for would become nothing.

“Sever the Heavens!”

“Sever the Dao!”

“Sever the Self!”

The Northern Emperor suddenly bellowed. From within his skull, a golden primordial spirit rushed out, manifesting as a divine form, then transforming into a Dao sword that split downward.

Splat!

He had severed himself. His physical body dissolved into dust, and a stream of pure and clean energy rushed upward — sheltered by the Dao sword, it soared in reverse through the air, reconvening into a complete form. His bearing was serene and majestic, as if a deity had descended into the mortal realm.

What kind of mysterious technique was this? Everyone was astonished. From a situation of certain death, he had again escaped — giving birth to a body that resembled an immortal king.

Setting aside ordinary cultivators — even the sect masters present, even several Living Fossils, felt their hearts lurch violently, nearly crying out in shock.

“The Art of Severing the Self to Illuminate the Dao!” At last, the Scarlet Dragon Daoren’s gaze froze, and he spoke those words — his mood seeming deeply heavy.

Every cultivator present was shaken. This was a mysterious and terrifying ancient technique: sever the past self, illuminate the Dao through the heart, transcend the present self, prove the Dao of the future, and behold the true nature of one’s own heart.

“This ancient art has appeared in the world again!” Not a single person was not astonished. This was a technique that dazzled across all of antiquity — seizing the fortune of heaven and earth, unbound by past and present, the most terrifying kind of art in existence.

“Can the legend truly be real — that the ruthless one had four lifetimes, and the Chaotic Ancient Emperor was one of them?!” The Scarlet Dragon Daoren’s expression was gravely serious.

The Art of Severing the Self to Illuminate the Dao was said to be connected to the Ruthless One — who shed a demonic body to give birth to a new divine embryo, igniting yet another lifetime.

In the sky above, Wang Teng suddenly gave a great cry. His entire body oozed blood — every inch of skin splitting and shattering, nearly becoming a mass of pulped flesh.

“Good — this is not a complete and flawless Art of Severing the Self to Illuminate the Dao.” The Scarlet Dragon Daoren seemed to let out a long breath. That he — a Living Fossil — was showing such an expression was enough to convey the pressure this technique placed on all the others.

“The Art of Severing the Self to Illuminate the Dao is recorded within the Indestructible Heavenly Scripture. Neither in the present age nor the past has anyone ever obtained it.” The Fifth of the Great Bandits, Wu Dao, spoke.

In the present age, both the Undying Scripture and the Wushi Scripture were extraordinarily mysterious. Apart from the two Great Emperors themselves, neither had ever appeared in the world. No outsider could practice them.

Boom!

Ye Fan had no intention of giving him any opportunity. At this moment he made no effort whatsoever to conceal his killing intent. Whoever tried to stop him would be killed. He surged forward. The small black gourd between his brows poured out nine-colored sacred flames — blotting out the sky in an instant.

“Teng!”

The Wang Family cried out in alarm. Some made a move against Ye Fan — yet they were blocked by the bronze coffin.

“Chaotic Sky Secret Art — exile the self!”

Wang Teng gritted his teeth. Endless dimensional abysses appeared and swallowed him within — using this technique to escape the devastating strike and evade certain death.

Eternal darkness, infinite desolation — they swallowed the Northern Emperor entirely. He vanished from where he stood. Previously, he had used the Chaotic Sky Secret Art to exile Ye Fan. Now, in reverse, he had buried himself within it.

“Teng!”

Wang Teng’s father lunged forward in a killing charge. Two elders accompanied him — they intended to slay Ye Fan by force. The combined might of three such figures was beyond compare, impossible to resist.

Yet Ye Fan showed no fear. As the saying went — overwhelming force breaks all technique. Now, with this fire in hand, the world was his. Unless someone found a treasure capable of countering this flame, the only outcome was death.

Boom!

Divine flames danced across the sky in all directions. Nine-colored clouds blazed in glorious succession, like an unbroken stellar region collapsing downward — it was a fire-burial for three great experts.

All three were figures who could command one side, their methods superb. They retreated in the first instant, just barely dodging this strike.

“Stop!” The Eight Ancestor of the Ji Family bellowed.

“Fall back!” The Wang Family Old Ancestor also commanded, stepping forward himself.

Hum!

At the same time, a Ji Family Living Fossil made his move. He had no wish to see several key figures of the Northern Plains’ foremost ancient clan all meet with calamity — the trouble it would cause afterward would be immense. He and the Ji Family’s Holy Master acted in unison.

A great void-cleaving slash was unleashed, instantly partitioning the two sides. Between the sacred flames and the group of figures, a dimensional barrier was carved open in an instant, separating both parties.

This was the Ji Family’s secret art. In matters of spatial knowledge, none surpassed them. The Chaotic Sky Secret Art had some overlap with it — but it was by no means the foundational divine technique of the Chaotic Ancient Emperor.

The Void Emperor had mastered the extremity of spatial control — matchless in all the world. He possessed heaven-defying methods and in battle against any foe was almost undefeatable from the outset, with no technique able to break through.

As for the Void Scripture — its final pages contained true forbidden emperor-techniques. To this day, every person who had seen those pages was either dead or lost within the cosmos.

Ye Fan did not pursue. He stood still, composed. He had no wish to make things difficult for the Ji Family. To open battle with them would accomplish nothing worth the cost.

“My Teng!” Wang Chengkun cried out, his eyes turning red — his expression ferocious beyond recognition.

“Northern Emperor — I will wait for you to come out, and truly kill you then!” Ye Fan gave a cold snort. A sheet of firelight descended from between his brows, enveloping him — guarding his own body.

From a distance, everyone was horrified. Flames of this nature could burn even Living Fossils to death — yet he bathed within them without fear. People were stunned.

“The Sacred Physique has grown to this degree of power!”

At this moment, every single person had doubts stirring within. These were the very flames that had driven Wang Teng to sever himself as his only option, yet here he stood bathing in them calmly.

“The True Scripture of the Sun — truly worthy of being called the human race’s Mother Scripture. It can govern the ten thousand fires of this world!”

What people did not know was that the sacred flames of the ninth layer of the fire domain were terrifyingly powerful. Even with the True Scripture of the Sun, Ye Fan at his current level could not withstand them — only the Bodhi Seed could counter them.

“Has the Northern Emperor truly died — lost within the dimensional space he himself unleashed…?”

People remained in unsettled astonishment. Half an hour had already passed, and still he had not appeared. To enter such a boundless nothingness and come back alive — that was almost beyond hope.

Boom!

Chaotic clouds scattered. The void cracked open. The Northern Emperor burst through — his entire body soaked in blood, yet he had stabilized his physical form, bringing himself to a state of peak condition.

“That he refined the incomplete Art of Severing the Self to Illuminate the Dao to this level — it is truly beyond belief!” People marveled.

Wang Teng could not use this technique to shed his body and give birth to a divine embryo — across all of history, only a single person had ever achieved that. Yet the Northern Emperor had used it to save his own life. That alone was enough to astound the world.

Ye Fan had no further words. Without a moment’s hesitation, he called upon the black gourd — holding it in hand, he drove it with all his might. Nine-colored flames blazed without end, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

Wang Teng was the most powerful enemy he had ever faced — surpassing every foe before him. Even most sect masters would fear him. Yet he had not made Ye Fan feel any true urgency.

“Do you truly think the title of Northern Emperor was shouted into existence?!” Wang Teng was genuinely furious. Since his debut in the world, he had swept all before him, advancing in triumph — no one was his match. And now, his physical body had been destroyed at someone else’s hands.

“Nine Secrets of the…” He gave a great shout, on the verge of unleashing the Nine Secrets. At this moment, he was almost an incarnate deity — his left eye a true dragon, his right eye a divine phoenix.

“Treasure, please turn!” Ye Fan said — carelessly, almost offhandedly. His primary intention was still to drive the flames, to burn the heavens into collapse and destroy the Northern Emperor. Yet astonishingly, something truly extraordinary happened. From within the black gourd burst an expanse of densely concentrated ancient cosmos — countless stars compressed together, a stellar region flickering with light. The cosmic stellar region condensed into an immortal sword that flew outward.

Splat!

It was impossibly fast. The immortal sword thrust through in a single instant, severing the Northern Emperor’s head — and then struck again and again in rapid succession, until it was completely hacked to pieces!

Everyone was dumbstruck. How had this happened? How had the reversal been so sudden? Wang Teng had been on the verge of launching his attack — yet before he could make a move, he had been decapitated.

“It’s that thing — it still exists in this world. In the age of the Great Antiquity, it severed an ancient king!” Zi Tian Du leapt to his feet in a single bound, twin violet pupils shooting out two beams of stunning, intimidating light.