A moonlit night — the great river flowed gently, its surface shimmering with rippling light.

Petals drifted across the sky in countless numbers, each one crystalline beneath the moonlight, their delicate fragrance threading into one’s nostrils strand by strand, causing every pore in the body to relax and open.

The Divine Moon Carriage swept across the sky, wreathed in a rain of falling blossoms, radiant with rosy luminance. Beneath this bright moon, it resembled a Guanghan Palace floating through the heavens — transcendent and breathtakingly beautiful.

Yi Qingwu — a woman who seemed to embody the River Goddess herself — was the undisputed first beauty of the ancient Ziwei Star Domain. Even women who prided themselves on possessing unrivaled grace found themselves feeling inadequate in her presence.

Her jade-like skin and immortal bone structure ensured that every appearance she made caused a sensation without exception. All who beheld her features were left speechless, as though they were seeing the incarnation of a celestial maiden descended from the nine heavens, setting hearts trembling — even the ancient fossils among cultivators could not keep their hearts from stirring.

No lavish description had ever been written of this woman, nor had any painting of her been circulated throughout the world. And yet her magnificence outshone all others in the mortal realm — like a divine moon hanging in the heavens, she was the object of fanatical admiration. Among the younger generation, countless men had become utterly besotted with her, and more than a few duels had been fought in her name, setting off no small number of storms.

“She comes from the Guanghan Palace. No matter how many suitors have come seeking her hand, all have been gently refused. For many scions of the divine dynasties, she is something one can gaze upon but never hope to attain.” Yan Yixi sighed softly.

The Guanghan Palace — those words set Ye Fan’s heart leaping with overwhelming astonishment. He asked, “Then why has she become Yin Tiande’s future Dao companion?”

“Brother Ye, you know far too little about that great adversary of yours. You have no idea how truly terrifying he is. Yin Tiande is someone capable of overawing the entire present age.” Yan Yixi said.

“That formidable…”

“Of course. When you truly face him, you’ll find the experience even more harrowing than you imagine.” Yan Yixi offered the warning in earnest.

Ye Fan rubbed his chin. A man who had inherited the legacy of Laozi, who had mastered the art of One Breath Transforming into the Three Pure Ones — he was certainly a peerless master, and clearly one of extraordinary terror.

Yan Yixi continued, “Yin Tiande alone, with the cultivation that looks down upon all others, broke through the Immortal Gate that no one had passed in fifty thousand years — alone and unaided. He passed through one hundred and eight life-and-death heavenly barriers in succession, shocking the Supreme Patriarch of the Guanghan Palace into emerging from seclusion. In the end, the Patriarch agreed to his proposal.”

Beneath the bright moon, the divine carriage flew onward, wreathed in drifting petals, trailing an endless pure fragrance, leaving behind only a stretch of mysterious flowing radiance.

“What a pity. Such divine fragrance and incomparable beauty — the first beauty of the present age is to become Yin Tiande’s Dao companion.” Yan Yixi was filled with regret.

He opened a folding fan, its surface covered entirely with beautiful women — each one with the bearing to make fish sink and geese descend, to make the moon hide and flowers blush, all of them possessing a beauty befitting the nation. All were among the most beautiful women of the present era.

Among them, one woman stood apart — her slender, graceful form was uniquely rendered only as a hazy silhouette, submerged in mist, her features and spirit impossible to make out.

“This is Yi Qingwu. Though I have seen her in person, I cannot capture her likeness. She has become a heart-devil to me — if I cannot paint her, I cannot attain the Dao.”

Hearing this, Ye Fan burst out laughing. “You lecherous thief — if you’re fixated on Yin Tiande’s Dao companion, just say so. Why all this mournful, melancholic poetry?”

“Ah, do not use the eyes of an ordinary person to interpret my flawless Dao heart. The sea of people is boundless, and a true kindred spirit is hard to find.” Yan Yixi replied.

“Caw, caw, caw…” A crow flew past, crying ceaselessly into the night sky.

“Your kindred spirit has arrived.” Ye Fan laughed loudly.

However, Yan Yixi’s expression immediately changed. He said in a low and solemn voice, “The eldest disciple of the Celestial Fiend Grandmother has arrived!”

“The Celestial Fiend Grandmother?” Those four words sent a jolt through Ye Fan’s heart — he was extremely sensitive to that name.

“Indeed. An extraordinarily terrifying fiend lord — a true Celestial Fiend Physique, who goes by the name Celestial Fiend Grandmother. The whole world fears her, and at present, almost no one dares to provoke her.”

The Celestial Fiend Grandmother had four great disciples, each of whom had been renowned for over a thousand years. Every one of them possessed boundless supernatural power, and though they had not established their own sect, all the major orders held them in wary respect.

An ancient bronze chariot bore an old corpse through the sky, inhaling and exhaling the essence of the moonlight. A flock of crows pulled the vehicle, filling the scene with ominous foreboding.

“That is the Celestial Fiend Grandmother’s eldest disciple — the Evil Corpse. It is said to be formed from the spiritual awakening of the shed remnants of an incomparable powerhouse from high antiquity.”

The Celestial Fiend Grandmother possessed the most extreme physique among the fiend clan. Scarcely anyone in the world dared to provoke her, and even her four great disciples had become figures whom all avoided.

Before long, the two of them witnessed several more powerful figures flying past — some emanating monstrous fiend energy, others with supernatural power vast as an ocean. All were patriarch-level figures.

Without question, all had come for a single page of the Divine Spirit Ancient Scripture, every one of them hoping to catch a glimpse of the opportunity it offered, to see if they could peer into heaven’s profound secrets.

The Broken Wood Cliff was a stretch of treacherous shallows through which the Falling Star River passed — reefs dense throughout, the current swift and turbulent, the channel narrow.

Of course, to cultivators this was no obstacle whatsoever. What made the place remarkable was the expanse of wooden cliff face here, formed when a colossal, heaven-reaching ancient tree from high antiquity was cleaved apart.

“A wooden cliff of this scale — just how thick must that ancient tree have been?!” Ye Fan exclaimed in astonishment.

The river rushed furiously past. A stretch of black cliff face extended for several hundred zhang in length and rose to a height of several thousand meters, standing there upright, indistinguishable at a glance from ordinary rock.

“It is said this was the King of Trees, which endured a hundred tribulations yet could never achieve transformation. It was ultimately cleaved to death here. Legend has it that this is connected to the Falling Star River, and that within it gestates a true dragon egg that will emerge into the world after ten thousand tribulations — and during that entire process, no one may attain the Dao in its vicinity.”

At this moment, figures were scattered thickly around the Broken Wood Cliff, and it was impossible to say how many powerful experts lay in concealment — all of them with their eyes fixed upon that sheer precipice.

“The people from the Hall of the Human King and the Ancient Immortal Longevity Temple have truly come. Are they genuinely going to exchange the ancient scripture here?” Yan Yixi was taken aback.

Upon the black broken cliff, an old man stood with silver hair gleaming brightly, vigorous and hale in spirit. Bathed in moonlight, he resembled an ancient immortal elder — he was none other than the Vice Pavilion Master of the Hall of the Human King, an ancient fossil who had lived for over three thousand years, overflowing with vital energy and spirit.

“That is the Daoist Sanque!” Yan Yixi’s expression turned grave as he pointed him out for Ye Fan.

A young Daoist stepped forward upon the moonlight, his moon-white robes billowing as he walked, their surface embroidered with the Eight Trigrams of Yin and Yang like a mirror, occasionally reflecting flashes of light outward.

His complexion was fair, his bearing handsome and distinguished, possessing an air that transcended the mundane world. His temperament exceeded what his years would suggest — he appeared as a venerable master who had cultivated for a very long time.

His Daoist name was Sanque — Three Lacking. His spiritual attainment had reached the heights of creation itself, and at his age he was already able to represent the Longevity Temple in person, bearing with him a supreme and sacred object such as the Divine Spirit Ancient Scripture.

The Vice Pavilion Master of the Hall of the Human King and the Daoist Sanque stood facing one another on the broken cliff, greeting each other as peers — which was sufficient to demonstrate just how formidable the Daoist Sanque truly was.

“Alas, the news has still leaked out. Which link in the chain failed? Who is the one who revealed the secret?” The ancient fossil of the Hall of the Human King furrowed his brow.

Rather than fleeing, the two men each carefully produced a wooden box. Both were ancient in design, carved with dragon and phoenix motifs, and they held them in the palms of their hands as they prepared to make the exchange.

All around was still — nothing but the sound of the Falling Star River rushing onward, and not the slightest other noise. Upon the Broken Wood Cliff, the moonlight was pure and bright. Two peerless masters each held a wooden box, extending them forward simultaneously.

In the shadows, an unknown number of pairs of eyes were fixed upon the scene, all of them holding their breath, patiently waiting for that moment — watching to see if any opportunity might present itself.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive black hand reached out from the void, covering the entire expanse of the Broken Wood Cliff beneath it, attempting to seize both the Daoist Sanque and the ancient fossil of the Hall of the Human King together.

Who would dare make a move simultaneously against two peerless masters? Everyone’s eyes went wide.

Crack!

The Daoist Sanque and the old man from the Hall of the Human King each struck out with a palm, simultaneously withdrawing their wooden boxes, bellowing in warning.

Without a sound, a massive black rift appeared in the void, and then another great purple hand reached down, grasping downward, attempting to snatch away the Divine Spirit Ancient Scripture.

“Caw, caw, caw…” Crows cried out. The bronze chariot, pulled by crows and bearing an old corpse, appeared — but when hands moved to strike, four shadowy figures emerged.

The Celestial Fiend Grandmother’s four great disciples had all come — concealed within the vehicle, they attacked in unison, joining in the fray.

“Even the Celestial Fiend Grandmother herself would barely suffice — the four of you may be comparable to patriarchs, but you still fall short!” A cold and clear voice rang out. A great white hand descended from the sky, reaching toward the Broken Wood Cliff, blasting the four figures in the bronze chariot flying.

“Powerful figures are gathering here. Anyone who makes a move must at the very least be of the ancient fossil tier!” Yan Yixi said quietly.

The black wooden cliff devolved into chaos. The void continued to crack open — first great hands emerged, and then true physical forms descended in person.

“That person is Wu Daoque!” someone cried out in recognition.

One of those present had been identified: it was the most fearsome rogue cultivator in Lu Region, who had once swept across eight thousand li in a single night, completely annihilating two great orders from top to bottom.

“The Celestial Fox Ascendant — did he not already pass into nirvana long ago? How is he appearing again?!”

Another figure was recognized — it was reportedly a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox who had supposedly entered nirvana over a thousand years ago, an ancient supreme fiend lord of the demon clan, whose depth of power defied measurement.

It was widely known throughout the world that the ancient Daoist temple deep in the Underworld Range, together with the oldest of inheritances — the Hall of the Human King — each held half a page of scripture written by a divine spirit, containing within it the secret of undying immortality. And so it was that this day had drawn out the most fearsome cultivators from across the land.

Crash!

The black wooden cliff, subjected to the clashing of so many supreme powerhouses, shattered to thunderous ruin. Debris and splinters flew through the air in every direction — this had been an ancient Tree King, preserved since time immemorial, countless times harder than ordinary rock, impossible even for great powers to crack open — and yet now it was destroyed.

A great purple hand snatched one of the wooden boxes that had been sent flying up into the sky, cracking it open on the spot — only to find it empty within.

“A trap!”

The other wooden box was also seized and pried open, and it too was completely hollow — there was nothing inside whatsoever.

By this point, the Daoist Sanque and the old man from the Hall of the Human King had both faded away into nothingness — they had been nothing more than manifestations formed from a single breath of primordial essence, not their true selves at all.

“Damn it — the information was false! They never came here to make the exchange!”

“Give chase!”

The gathered powerhouses shot up into the sky and vanished into the night. With these legendary supreme experts gone, shadowy figures remained scattered throughout the area, as still more individuals revealed their presence.

“That mysterious powerful figure with the surname Ye has come as well. After slaying the Ninth Prince of the Golden Crow clan and the avatar of Lu Ya, he still dares come to a place like this!” someone recognized him, and quite a few people turned to look toward the Falling Star River.

“Strange — not a single member of the Golden Crow clan came today. Could they have gotten wind of something? Have they learned there is no Divine Spirit Ancient Scripture here?” Ye Fan wondered inwardly.

“It is said the Golden Crow clan recently discovered a world-shaking secret that concerns the very peak of their clan’s prosperity — they likely cannot spare anyone for this.”

“What kind of secret could be more important than the Divine Spirit Ancient Scripture?” Ye Fan was puzzled.

“Word has it that it is the legendary true Undying Fusang Sacred Tree. They are working to verify the authenticity of the information.” Yan Yixi said quietly.

Suddenly, his expression changed. At that very moment, a young man clad in five-colored divine robes descended, laughing as he approached: “Elder brother, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?”

Yan Yixi’s face immediately darkened. He said, “Our master entered nirvana many years ago. You and I have each been tempering our hearts in the mortal world, and the Daos we cultivate are different — we no longer have any connection.”

“I heard that Yi Qingwu has become a heart-devil to you, and as your junior fellow disciple, it is only right that I help you dispel your worries. What do you say — shall we join forces today and capture this first beauty?” The young man in the five-colored divine robes had the look of someone thoroughly steeped in wickedness.

“I cultivate the Dao of Non-Attachment, while you cultivate the Heavenly Skill of Human Desire. You have now fallen into the path of a human demon — those whose Dao differs cannot be allies!” Yan Yixi refused him flatly.

“Ha! Are Non-Attachment and Human Desire not separated by a single thought? You really are dull!” The man in the five-colored divine robes looked toward Ye Fan and said, “Brother Ye, I have long admired you from afar. Today we finally meet — what do you say we join forces to capture Yi Qingwu? Let that bastard Yin Tiande go out of his mind over it!”

Ye Fan was just about to refuse, but at that moment petals filled the sky above, a shower of blossoms drifting down, and a divine carriage came soaring in from the distant sky to descend before them.

“Are you Ye Fan?” A handmaiden flew out from the carriage and addressed him with this question.

“Ha! The first beauty Yi Qingwu is going to make her move against you, Brother Ye! This is perfect — let us two join forces and take her down!” The man in the five-colored divine robes burst out laughing.