The purple-bronze warship rose into the air, taking with it the ancient divine formation the young madman had carved, as well as the corpses of one Great Sage and several ancient kings.
They were heading to outer space — leaving the Ziwei Ancient Star Region, entering the cosmic star domain — for the final great decisive battle.
The human cultivators were stunned and shaken, watching the ancient ship rise higher and higher. Every one of them felt ice running through their veins from head to foot. Who could break this situation? Who could lend the human race’s saint a hand?
They felt the smallness of their own existence. They could do nothing to help. The people at that level — from ancient times to the present, how many had there been? Compared to them, these cultivators were like ants.
“What are you standing there for?! Go borrow the paramount imperial weapon from an immortal ancient land at once — do you want to watch a catastrophic disaster descend?!” Ye Fan shouted.
The old madman was strong, unrivaled in his generation — but alone against so many ancient kings, he would certainly perish. It was a road of no return.
Going beyond the outer domain, most likely his sacred blood would stain the heavens and his immortal soul shatter amid the stars. Ye Fan was filled with desperate worry, terrified that the old madman would fall there.
At this moment, the many people stared at him as if they had seen a ghost. Not a single one answered. No one went for a paramount imperial weapon. They all looked at him with incomprehension.
“What’s wrong with all of you? Don’t tell me the magnificent Ziwei Ancient Star Region doesn’t have any imperial weapons!” Ye Fan was urgent — every second counted.
“Are you even a person of this world?” someone finally said, unable to hold back.
“Every imperial weapon vanished along with the ancient Great Emperors! Do you not even know this?!”
“What?!” Ye Fan’s heart shook violently. What was this? He deeply did not understand. What had happened in the Ziwei Ancient Star Region?
This was the birthplace of countless myths — an ancient source of life with far too many secrets, spoken of in legend as the Central Ancient Emperor Star, the greatest in all the realm.
The purple-bronze warship rumbled, splitting the sky, unstoppable now, rising ever higher. The ancient formation sealed the four directions. Corpses floated in the air. It was eerie and terrifying.
The ship was covered in the carved figures of ten thousand primordial races — among them their ancient emperors, their Great Sages, and countless inexplicable patterns: flowers, birds, fish, insects, cauldrons, towers, bells, mirrors — everything imaginable.
Now the purple-bronze warship had not yet left, and already the great battle had erupted again. The young madman moved with overwhelming force, striking first on his own initiative.
Going beyond the outer domain was a road of no return for him — yet not a single trace of fear showed in him. His strikes were vast and mighty, the Six Paths Reincarnation Fist opening six ancient realms.
Two ancient Great Sages and over a dozen saint-level progenitor kings all struck together — what sort of combat power was this?
In this moment, all of it was directed at a single point. Even the greatest of heroes would tremble; there was simply no way to resist.
The young madman was indeed extraordinarily powerful. But facing this many saints, there was absolutely no way to hold them. They were all weakened — yet unleashing a few full-force blows was still within their means.
The Six Paths Reincarnation Fist’s six opened ancient realms were penetrated by over a dozen weapons, then shattered, rapidly collapsing and crumbling.
The human cultivators nearly closed their eyes. How was this to be evaded? How could it be resisted? There was no way to face it. Even a Great Sage would be turned to ash by a blow like this. Over a dozen weapons came to the young madman’s body surface, exhaling and inhaling the divine laws of Heaven, on the verge of reducing him to nothing.
The old madman’s fist power was supreme — he shattered several of the weapons — but could not neutralize all of them. The onlookers almost could not bear to watch. Before even reaching the outer domain, was the human race’s saint going to have his blood stain this very place?
“Senior!” Ye Fan cried out. He truly could not bear to see the terrible sight of the old madman’s blood raining across the heavens. His heart lurched, his eyes aching.
The others too felt chilled to the bone. If the old madman died, what would become of the Ziwei Ancient Star Region? People dared not imagine.
Many closed their eyes, unable to witness the saint’s blood being shed.
Yet at that very moment, the ancient kings let out cries of alarm, and even the two Great Sages emitted sounds of astonishment. An inconceivable thing had occurred at the center of the field.
Time seemed to stop in that instant. Every weapon exhaled divine Dao-laws, nearly touching the old madman’s body — and then became still.
It was extremely brief — no more than an instant. Time and space froze, and the young madman used that single sliver of time to escape certain death.
“This is — what happened?” “What in the world is going on?” …
Even the ancient progenitor kings were shaken inwardly. Both ancient Great Sages were deeply alarmed, expressions of shock crossing their faces.
The young madman broke free from the death trap, evaded every weapon and every thread of law-order — like a fish that existed outside the world, he leaped upward and transformed into a Roc.
“Pft!”
Both fists swung. The Six Paths Reincarnation divine power surged, and in an instant heaven split and earth cracked — one ancient king’s head was beaten into a pulp, its gray blood flying over a dozen meters high. His other hand tore the top of another ancient king’s skull open and seized the primordial spirit within, crushing it into ash.
Many people did not understand it. Only the two ancient Great Sages were shaken — they had clearly perceived what it was. One said in a deep voice: “The power of time!”
“Though it was only a touch — the briefest brush — it was unquestionably time, shifted at extreme velocity!” The other Great Sage agreed.
Far away, waves surged through Ye Fan’s heart. He understood as well: it was the Script of Movement. When taken to its absolute pinnacle, it would elevate and sublimate — offering a glimpse into the mysteries of time.
The Nine Secrets’ Script of Movement was truly formidable. The old madman’s mastery was at its absolute apex — he had already taken the first tentative steps into the borderland of time.
Ye Fan could not calm himself. He and the old madman had obtained the complete Script of Movement together at the Sacred Cliff, so he naturally understood the divine principles within it. Now, seeing this heaven-defying technique manifested before his eyes, he was filled with a deep excitement beyond words.
The Script of Movement originated from a legendary ancient assassin court of the most distant antiquity — the Heavenly Court. In that ancient era, an old saint had an encounter of extraordinary fortune, obtained an immortal divine medicine, and lived two lifetimes — only then cultivating to the domain of time.
As for others — they could never touch that supreme forbidden realm. There was not the slightest hope of cultivating it to completion.
And yet the young madman had now revealed such a facet of himself. He had taken his first steps in perceiving the intricate divine laws within — and that alone was enough to demonstrate his supreme genius.
“You’ve touched the time-order — so what? That doesn’t make you invincible. I can still slay you in the outer domain,” the silver-haired Great Sage said coldly.
The great battle resumed. Even with the Script of Movement, even with the Six Paths Reincarnation Fist — peerless as it was — the old madman still suffered several severe blows. Of course, his enemies also suffered great losses.
“Senior!” Ye Fan watched the old madman’s blood spray across the sky. He wracked his mind for every possible solution and then drove out a large piece of divine source from within the Myriad-Things Mother Qi Cauldron.
This was a large chunk of source that blazed with a blinding divine radiance. Within it was an indescribably emaciated ancient man clad in beast-skin battle-armor, cradling a gleaming white bone cudgel, his hair wild and loose, all four limbs bound in crimson iron divine chains.
He was like an ancient primordial savage beast. The mere aura he radiated threatened to shatter the primordial spirits of those who perceived it — impossible to endure.
Ye Fan transmitted his voice, telling the old madman everything, and pushed the divine source forward, hoping to thread it through the crack in the ancient formation, then detonate it and have it strike outward.
“I don’t know whether this will bring fortune or disaster. This ancient saint cultivated both the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang, and refined himself into a demon — he may strike at the old madman as well.”
Ye Fan was deeply worried. Releasing this ancient human-demon — heaven only knew what would happen.
“What — it’s him… and he’s still in this world? In that year he killed multiple progenitor kings and a Great Sage!”
“It truly is the ancient human-demon — wasn’t he supposed to have been put to death by the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest, the Spirit Divine Valley, and others together? How has he survived into later ages?!”
Several ancient kings whose origins lay in the Northern Dipper star domain all changed expression drastically, having recognized the elder sealed within the divine source — and recalled a terrible event from the past.
“Don’t let him in — do not allow the seal to be broken!” The Great Sage with dragon horns shouted. He had no desire for unexpected developments.
Many ancient kings struck together, joining forces to seal that small crack in the formation — unwilling to let this terrifying human-demon enter.
At that moment, the young madman struck. Brilliant light blazed from his brow as a black moon divine symbol appeared. His Supreme Yin sacred power surged, establishing a connection with the divine source, drawing it into resonance.
“Boom!”
From within the divine source, that withered ancient saint erupted with an overwhelmingly savage aura. Especially from his brow, a blinding radiance shot outward — like a sun, like a divine moon — blasting out light of annihilation.
He was like a beast escaping its cage. A murderous intent condensed and surged directly into one of the ancient king’s bodies.
“Ahh…!”
That ancient king screamed in agony. Its primordial spirit nearly tore free from its body, fissures appearing all across its form, blood seeping outward.
“Quickly — we cannot let him enter. He must not be allowed to awaken at any cost!”
This was a Great Sage!
Now, though sealed, it bore not a single wound, lying dormant within the divine source. Once it escaped its confinement, it would certainly be a great catastrophe of slaughter.
Every ancient king struck together. In their peak condition, they would have had no fear — their side had two Great Sages, after all. But now was different: all were extremely weakened.
Over a dozen beams of light shot out, sealing off the passageway completely — it was sealed shut. The young madman could do nothing about it. He alone could not stop everyone.
The purple-bronze warship rose swiftly into the sky. The divine source containing the ancient saint was struck away — the distance between them growing with every passing moment.
Ye Fan was filled with anxious worry, yet powerless to change anything. He could only watch helplessly as the purple-bronze warship disappeared into the clouds and drove toward the outer battlefield.
“Senior…!” Ye Fan cried out. He racked his mind, and felt that perhaps the Script of All — the last of the Nine Secrets — might work. He transmitted it upward into the high sky.
Among the Nine Secrets, all save this one were enormously complex — requiring contemplation and comprehension, demanding a great deal of time before any progress could be made. Only this one was short, and could be cultivated quickly — capable of triggering several times’ multiplied combat power.
His only concern was that if the old madman had touched the Eight Forbidden realm, this secret might have no effect — unless he broke through his own shackles, only then would this secret’s ultimate divine might be unleashed.
In the very instant Ye Fan transmitted the Script of All, the old madman struck down a spiritual perception as well, delivering it directly into his heart, shaking him to the core.
The Six Paths Reincarnation Fist!
This terrifying fist technique — for Ye Fan, with his peerless physical body, it was the most suitable of all combat techniques. In the days ahead, it would certainly allow him to leap upward like a soaring dragon.
“Do not let it be lost.”
The young madman’s gaze was cold as he confronted the many ancient kings. This was the last spiritual impression he left behind — as though settling his affairs. Then, with the hosts of primordial saints, he vanished into the outer domain.
“Elder Brother Old Madman!” Ye Fan cried out.
Going to the outer domain — it was a death trap, with not a single thread of hope for survival. Everyone knew this. This was perhaps the last time they would ever see the human race’s Great Sage.
That resolute face. That spirit of pressing ever forward without retreat. That departing silhouette that would never return. He left the world with an indelible impression — the old madman, standing alone against all the saints, going to the outer domain by himself.
Even in death, he would slay every saint-level progenitor king on that ship. The old madman’s words — domineering and unyielding — seemed still to echo in everyone’s ears.
This was a saint’s legend. In the mortal world, barely visible — a brief flash, like a flower blooming only once — and then it was gone forever…
Several days later, a fragment of purple-bronze from deep in the outer domain — stained with the sacred blood of the human race — fell upon the earth of the Ziwei Ancient Domain, bearing witness to a world-shaking, devastating great battle.
From that time forward, saints ceased to appear. No ancient Great Sage descended. The progenitor kings all vanished. And the human race’s Great Sage — never appeared again.
“For the Ziwei Ancient Star Region, the human saint’s blood stained the outer domain…” Many people wept.