Upon the sea, golden feathers filled the sky in every direction — each one stained with blood — shattered corpses sinking into the water, the surface dyed entirely red.
It was a scene painted in blood. After the battle, this place fell into deep silence — even the sea beasts within the waters dared not surface to feast upon this bounty of flesh carrying the bloodline of great demons.
For standing on the surface of the sea was a single person, and many of the spirits within the depths had witnessed everything that had just occurred — toward this blood-soaked youth whose very strands of hair were beaded with blood, they were terrified to the very limits of their being.
Ye Fan stood alone in the void, gazing down at the dark expanse of the ocean, looking out toward the distant sky. His eyes were deep and fathomless, his thick dark hair hanging loose — utterly composed.
Shortly after, he soared skyward and vanished from the ink-black ocean in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace of himself behind.
In the wake of his departure, this place became a great feast for the spirits of the sea. The blood and shattered remains of the Golden Crow Clan became a great bounty for them, and sea demons swarmed in droves.
A number of human cultivators and some demonic clan members from the mainland also arrived upon hearing the news, wanting to investigate what had happened here.
For not long ago this place had been filled with furious dark winds, the wailing of ghosts and sobbing of gods, overcast with mournful clouds — corpses and bones had filled the air while blood stained the heavens — a scene like the twilight of all gods. No one had dared to approach.
On this day, the Northern Sea was shaken to its core. Every last powerful cultivator of the Golden Crow Clan who had ventured out to sea in pursuit of the Sacred Emperor’s final descendant had been slain — every one of them buried beneath the waves.
Not a single one had survived.
The sea in this area had been dyed crimson by blood, becoming a great feast for the sea demons. The Golden Crow Clan’s forces that had ventured out to sea had been annihilated in their entirety!
When this news broke, it sent shockwaves through the entire dark ocean. Every last cultivator — whether of the human clan or the demonic clan — was left utterly stunned and speechless.
Over a hundred elite warriors — among them a living fossil capable of roaming unrivaled throughout the world like Xuanyi, senior elders of the Golden Crow Clan, terrifying great masters, and five princes of the clan. Not a single one had survived — all slain and buried in this dark expanse of ocean — and most critically of all, this had been the work of a single person.
When the true circumstances spread, the clamorous Northern Sea fell into momentary dead silence. A single person, alone, fighting more than a hundred elite warriors and slaying every last one — dyeing the sea surface red — the mere thought of it was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
Through the accounts of various sea demons, people reconstructed the course of the battle, and also learned the appearance of that person — leaving countless cultivators throughout the Northern Sea thunderstruck.
“It’s him — it’s the one who fell into the Eye of the Northern Sea four years ago!”
“How can this be possible? That is a prison built by ancient sages. Never once has anyone trapped within it been able to escape — how has he reappeared in the world?”
This was a tremendous upheaval. Ye Fan had appeared once more — alone against over a hundred powerful members of the Golden Crow Clan, wiping them out entirely in a single engagement — the news left people paralyzed with shock.
Word spread throughout the Northern Sea, and every cultivator moving through this stretch of ocean was left stunned and speechless.
A person who should not exist in this world had come back alive — this was a miracle, a living legend, whose presence instilled awe in all four directions.
“It truly is him. Not long ago, someone witnessed strange movements at the Eye of the Northern Sea — a bolt of golden lightning shooting outward — and now it is understood that this was him breaking free.”
“Even the ancient sages could not emerge alive — every last one of them became bones, sitting in death within the eye of the sea. How has he defied heaven itself in such a manner?”
“He protected the final descendant of the Human Clan’s Sacred Emperor alone — and in a single burst of fury, consecutively slew over a hundred elite warriors of the Golden Crow Clan — such cultivation is truly terrifying!”
Throughout the Northern Sea, people discussed the matter in shock and amazement, each voice layered with a different sentiment.
Some applauded and cheered, deeming Ye Fan’s actions a righteous act — the Ancient Solar Emperor had passed beyond counting eons ago, and this final trace of his bloodline should not have been extinguished.
Of course, there were also many who were hostile toward Ye Fan — those close to the Golden Crow Clan naturally cursed him venomously.
The Northern Sea battle shook the world. As cultivators from the sea made their return to land, the news reached the mainland.
The Golden Crow Clan — from the highest to the lowest — initially refused to believe it. Yet when iron-clad reality and evidence as vivid and visceral as blood appeared before them, they descended into madness.
This was a weight they could not bear. So many powerful cultivators dead — even for a clan as formidable as the Golden Crow Clan, this was a devastating blow.
The blow to their reputation, their prestige, and their spirit surpassed even the loss of these warriors in battle. This was the humiliation of being stamped upon from the heights of the nine heavens and driven down into hell.
In the Northern Sea, a graceful and elegant youth had drawn the bow and shot down the suns — striking down five princes of the Golden Crow Clan within a single day — and this legend spread throughout the entire world.
This was a supreme and incomparable glory — the achievement of a single person who looked down upon all under heaven — a sight that drew the gaze of everyone in the world, gathering every halo upon himself alone.
In this age, who dared to provoke the Golden Crow Clan? For within their ranks there was still a living King — one who communed with creation itself, whose power and authority intimidated the entire world!
Yet there was one who dared to do so. This Ye-surnamed young powerhouse — drawing the bow to shoot the golden crows — had single-handedly slain five princes in a single day. What manner of extraordinary feat was this?
Every Golden Crow Prince had been a brilliant and dazzling talent, said to grow stronger one after another — each capable of killing a Cult Master on their own — yet he had slain them all single-handedly!
Treading forward upon the bones of the Golden Crow Clan’s heirs and successors — an endless river of blood paved the road of a powerhouse — beneath the flowers and halos lay blood and bone.
“The Ye-surnamed youth is without equal — among the young generation of this age, aside from Yi Tiande, Yi Qingwu, Lu Ya, the Three-Deficient Daoren, the Taiyin Divine Son, and a handful of others — who else could contend with him?”
“Let us not speak only of the young generation — among the older generation as well, how many could battle him to the death?”
“I believe the only ones who could suppress him are legendary figures who have entered the third level of the Immortal Platform — yet how many such cultivators exist in this world?”
Ye Fan was still far out in the Northern Sea and had not yet returned to land — yet he had already ignited a storm of heated discussion, with everyone speaking of him.
Yi Qingwu — over these four years she had dazzled the world, hailed as the Divine Maiden — many were willing to kneel and bow at her feet, and by now she had become the very embodiment of beauty and sacred purity.
When she learned of all this, she was profoundly astonished. She had not imagined that Ye Fan had truly escaped the Eye of the Sea, reappearing in this world — and with a single battle shaking the stars of the northern sky!
Li Tian, when he heard the news, was first left slack-jawed — and then burst into great laughter, thoroughly and unbridledly elated.
Yan Yixi too was greatly surprised — this news carried too much of an impact, stunning beyond measure.
Lu Ya — flew into a towering rage. Seizing his golden-inlaid iron crow-wing staff, he stormed out, bearing upon his back the nine great golden crow ancestral divine forms, and roared toward the heavens — consumed with hatred.
When the Taiyin Divine Son received the news, he merely sneered repeatedly, looking in the direction of the great sea — his entire body swallowed by dark mist, only a pair of terrifying eyes visible.
The Three-Deficient Daoren stood upon the Solitary Ridge, before the ancient Eternal Life Temple, pacing nine steps in succession — the half-page of an ancient divine scripture in hand, brow furrowed as he studied it carefully.
…
The Hall of the Human King, the Guanghan Palace, the Purple Subtlety Divine Dynasty, the Eternal Life Temple, and every other great power — all were closely observing the situation. All under heaven was in motion!
While the world was in discussion of Ye Fan, he remained out in the Northern Sea and had not yet returned. One could only imagine what immense, heaven-shaking waves his appearance would stir the moment he did!
Upon a sea island fragrant with flowers and lively with birdsong, the final trace of bloodline of the Human Clan’s Sacred Emperor — a five-year-old child — stood among a pine grove, speaking with a small squirrel in a tree above him.
“I miss Father. I miss Mother. I miss Elder Brother and Elder Sister — yet none of them are here anymore. Do you miss your family?”
The little squirrel could not possibly understand his words. Clutching a pine cone, it darted away with a quick swish.
The sole surviving descendant of the Sacred Emperor — this tender and fragile child — walked on to the next place and addressed a small bird perched in a tree above: “How far is forever? Father said he would forever silently watch over me. When is ‘in the future’? Elder Sister said the future would come, and she would come to see me.”
As he spoke, the child’s large eyes grew red, and he lowered his head. “I know. They won’t appear again. Just like Uncle Jiang — all of them were protecting me…”
The little bird in the tree flew away as well. The poor child walked further into the pine grove, and when he spotted a wounded butterfly resting on a wildflower, he said softly: “Why are you hurt too? I miss Uncle Jiang…”
Outside the pine grove, Ye Fan watched all of this in silence. He had not hurried to leave the Northern Sea — instead he had been taking the child around to various sea islands, letting him wander and breathe, hoping to help him come to terms with things a little sooner.
In recent days, the child had been mired in sorrow and silence. He only ever spoke when he believed no one was around, conversing with the small animals — and each time he would return with red-rimmed eyes.
“Your father and mother, your sister — all of them wished for you to be happy. Your Uncle Jiang wished for you to grow up safely, and then to shine with the brilliance befitting the descendant of the Human Clan’s Sacred Emperor.”
“But… I miss them.” The child lowered his head and spoke with Ye Fan for the first time.
Ye Fan said nothing. He could not take this emotion away from the child. Longing was longing — it could not be avoided, could not be severed the way an adult might forcibly cut away a painful memory they wished to forget. This was the purest, most unalloyed feeling in the heart of a young child.
“I know what I should do. I will get better little by little, and I won’t cry anymore.” Tong Tong said, his large eyes red as he spoke.
Six days later, the child proactively approached Ye Fan and asked to be taught cultivation. Though he still retreated to places where no one could see him, eyes red, talking to the small animals — he no longer shed tears now.
Ye Fan examined the child’s body. He had once sustained very severe injuries — the Golden Crow Clan had nearly beaten him to death — yet he had stubbornly clung to life and survived, though the old wounds still lingered.
Within his body it was as though a sun resided — incomparably radiant — illuminating his every drop of blood and every bone. In the night, a flow of light would emanate from him.
“The Solar Physique!” Ye Fan was now certain — this was absolutely the mysterious constitution of legend.
Possessing the divine sun within one’s body was exceedingly rare. Throughout all of history, only a handful of people had possessed it, and the vast majority had met an early death for one reason or another. It was said that only the Solar Sacred Emperor of the most ancient era had survived, standing without rival across all ages.
Though Tong Tong harbored a divine sun within him, he had been gravely wounded by the Golden Crow Clan, and his current condition was extremely poor. Ye Fan produced several drops of the True Dragon Divine Medicine and spent a full month helping to regulate and restore him — finally stabilizing his vitality.
“The Solar Physique — the natural first choice would of course be the Ancient Solar Scripture. Unfortunately, what I obtained were the final two volumes. I never received the opening volume on establishing the Foundation — the Wheel Sea chapter.”
Ye Fan felt this regret keenly. For a physique like Tong Tong’s, establishing one’s Foundation with the Ancient Solar Scripture was the most perfect possible choice.
He thought it over carefully, then stroke by stroke carved the nine ancient characters the Ancient Solar Emperor had gifted him into the space between Tong Tong’s brows — transmitting them into his Immortal Platform, just as the old man in cyan had once transmitted them to him on that day.
This was the foundation of all foundations — the quintessential divine words of the Ancient Solar Scripture. Ye Fan wished to brand them into his sea of consciousness, letting the nine characters accompany him for life, so that he might begin comprehending them from earliest childhood.
A child with such a physique — perhaps one day he would awaken something from this that no other person could ever obtain.
Yet after Ye Fan carved the nine ancient characters into Tong Tong’s Immortal Platform, a wondrous change suddenly occurred — the infant’s body became as though a divine sun had risen overhead, radiant with ten thousand zhang of light.
The little one fainted directly. Ye Fan hastily came to his aid, using supreme Dao power to suppress and contain it — and at last the light was quelled.
“What happened to you? Where does it hurt? What occurred?” When the child woke, Ye Fan asked with deep concern, fearful that something had gone wrong.
“Nothing hurts.” The little one blinked his large eyes and said: “It’s just that a small golden person suddenly appeared inside my body, and he taught me how to open what I think was called a Wheel Sea.”
“What?!” Ye Fan was greatly startled. He now finally understood why the Golden Crow Clan had gone to such tremendous lengths and refused to let this child go — the child truly might carry the Ancient Solar Scripture within himself!
From that day forward, each time the child fell into deep sleep, there would be half an hour of particular strangeness — his entire body radiating ten thousand zhang of golden light, rising and falling like a living sun.
When Tong Tong woke the following day, he would clearly remember that a small golden person had taught him something — a method of cultivation.
Ye Fan inquired carefully and found that it was an ancient and profoundly mysterious cultivation method — one he was almost entirely certain was the Ancient Solar Scripture!
“This little one has quite a few secrets hidden within him…” Ye Fan probed many times yet found no foreign object. The small golden person appeared to originate from deep within the child’s divine soul.
“Let’s go. It’s time for us to return to land.” Half a month later, Ye Fan decided to take the child and leave the Northern Sea.
“Why go back? There are only bad people there.” Tong Tong’s large eyes were clear and bright as he spoke, utterly earnest.
Ye Fan ruffled his hair. “There are still more good people in this world. I’ll take you to meet the good ones — and along the way, see about stealing an ancient sacred weapon from the bad ones. Once we have it, we’ll kill one bad person if one comes, and kill two if a pair arrives.”
The Northern Sea — pitch-black and fathomless — was unlike any other great ocean; the color of its waters was peculiar, as though dyed with ink.
Vast and boundless without end, it was many times larger than the mainland. A person could spend an entire lifetime and still not cross it to reach the far shore.
Fortunately, the sea contained many ancient islands, upon which ancient sages of old had carved primordial teleportation formations — turning what would otherwise be insurmountable obstacles into passable roads.
In such an endless sea domain, it was unknown how many powerful beings had been born within those waters — including primordial exotic species, among them no shortage of world-shaking great demons.
People even suspected that somewhere within those sea waters existed a being comparable to the ancient sages — for the sea was simply too vast, with no one having ever explored to its end, making it impossible to know how terrifying a powerhouse might dwell within.
Since ancient times, countless human cultivators had ventured out to sea in search of immortal realms, ancient sages, and the traces left behind by great emperors.
The Northern Sea, though unlike the Eastern Sea with its boundless legends of immortal islands like Penglai — the chosen place of final return for ancient human sages of old — still harbored many ancient cave-dwellings and inheritances from ages past.
As Ye Fan was traveling through the Northern Sea with little Tong Tong, he suddenly saw an expanse of auspicious radiance ahead, and faint strains of celestial music drifted toward him at irregular intervals.
His expression shifted. He walked across the waves, advancing forward — step by step disappearing and reappearing — moving at tremendous speed.
In the distance, he spotted an immortal island. Five-colored light surged into the heavens, enveloped in billowing rosy mists — a scene of peace and tranquility — as someone opened an ancient cave-dwelling and welcomed guests.
Approaching the island, one could see stream after stream of flowing light descending — powerful cultivators riding their sacred weapons through the air, all landing one after another on the ancient island ahead.
Among them were powerful human cultivators, as well as mighty figures from the demonic clans — all manner of beings, men and women alike — their one common characteristic being that every last one of them was exceptionally powerful.
Ye Fan spotted a sea dragon patrolling the waters — a powerful great demon — and stepped forward to inquire: “What is happening up ahead?”
“The Venerable Xuangui of the Northern Sea is approaching his three thousand six hundredth year of age. He has extended invitations to old friends from all directions and opened his cave-dwelling to receive guests.”
The sea dragon finished answering and went back to patrolling the sea — evidently a commanding officer guarding the island — riding the waves and shouting commands to the lesser demons scattered about.
Ye Fan was genuinely taken aback. He muttered: “Three thousand six hundred years old… he really does live up to his own species.”
Ye Fan took Tong Tong by the hand and stepped onto the island. The island was dotted with cinnabar cliffs and peculiar stones, aged medicinal herbs perfumed the air, and auspicious energy drifted in waves.
“His Highness the Palace Master of the Hall of Human King sends congratulatory gifts — the Deputy Palace Master arrives!”
“His Highness the Black Dragon King of the Northern Sea arrives!”
“The Guardian of the Dao of the Eternal Life Temple arrives!”
“The Guanghan Palace…”
Having just arrived on the ancient island, Ye Fan heard these announcements one after another — and was inwardly astonished. The Venerable Xuangui truly possessed great divine power — so many major forces had come to offer their congratulations.
“State your name upon arrival. Those entering the island are either Cult Masters or their direct disciples — children may not be brought onto the island.” A great demon called out sternly.
Beside him, an elderly demon quickly stepped forward and pulled the other demon away, whispering into his ear: “Are you tired of living? Do you not know who he is?”
“Who is he?”
“Today, he will most likely draw even more attention than the Venerable Xuangui himself!”