Laozi’s mount — a massive green bull transformed into an ox-headed human form: imposingly built, its voice like a great drum, booming and thunderous.
“Exiting Hangu Pass westward, this old bull has slept for many years. What age is this now?” The green bull’s voice was like rolling thunder as it swept its gaze across the surroundings beneath the moonlit night.
Everyone on the scene was dumbfounded. This bull-demon-like existence was undeniably a Perfected King — but how could it be so strange? And who had sealed it?
Even Yin Tiande was in a daze. Clearly he had some knowledge regarding the clay jar, but the release of such an enormous creature was beyond his expectations.
The Dao tablet in his hand must have recorded some relevant information — otherwise he would not be turning it over and over at a time like this. This made him desperately want to grab the bull and interrogate it thoroughly.
The Human King and the Gold Crow King both stopped. This powerful bull-demon had appeared among them — a considerable new threat — and neither had any desire to continue fighting.
Far away, “Brother Ox…” Ye Fan very much wanted to call out something like that. After all, this was the first time he had met someone from the other end of the star domain — or rather, a bull.
Yet in the end he restrained himself. Several Perfected Kings were present, after all. Although this bull was also at the king realm, it was most likely unable to stand alone against all the assembled kings.
Moreover, it had been released by Yin Tiande — perhaps it was under his control. There might well be some development ahead. Ye Fan could only watch from afar. Though his blood was boiling, he had no choice but to wait in stillness.
“Who are you?” The Gold Crow King asked indifferently. Though a powerful existence had appeared, his face remained cold and merciless — like a demon god reborn.
“The Ox God King — never heard of it. What region do you come from? A scattered cultivator from offshore, perhaps?” The Human King stood radiant in silver-white from head to toe, his feet treading divine boots, stepping on auspicious clouds, commanding and imposing.
The bull finally grew calm. Those enormous bull-eyes rolled this way and that as he said: “Who summoned this king out? Ah — it was you.” He fixed his gaze on Yin Tiande, hands clasped behind his back as he took a long, thorough look at the clay jar.
“Speak then — what would you have me do? This old bull is not his true body — only an hour of time remains. But rest assured, this king’s power is boundless. Your wishes can be fulfilled.”
This bull-demon was entirely in earnest, supremely dignified — as if he had become a completely different being. His body hair trembled all over, yet with poor effect — hair fell away in scattered clumps with a pattering sound.
“I ask that the Ox King act to seize that half-page of precious scripture.” Yin Tiande’s voice was low and hoarse. He had already composed himself. Although this bull was a bit strange, it was not enough to unsettle him.
“Good! This old bull was left with an hour’s worth of battle power — precisely to prevent the inheritor of the legacy from dying young or encountering peril. It seems you have no need of such protection. Then use it to fulfill the mission.” The green bull said. Then with a mighty bellow, the Eastern Sea split apart — waves like blue surges threatening to engulf the silver moon, the entire sea heaving in a great upheaval.
“Brazen boasting.” The Gold Crow King said coldly, expression unchanging.
“What audacious claims.” The Human King also snorted coldly.
“You look down on this bull. After so many years out of the world — in the era after Hangu Pass — has no one remembered me?” The bull’s nostrils flared in displeasure; then it unleashed a wild bull sound wave.
“Moo…“
One mighty bellow — and it seemed as though every star in the sky threatened to shake loose. Its divine might was terrifying, undeniably that of a supreme Perfected King.
Even a physical manifestation left behind by a green bull possessed such power — truly astonishing beyond belief. Two thousand years ago, the Perfected King of this bull, were it still alive today, would surely be even more terrifying.
The Gold Crow King shook his right arm. A massive golden wing blazed like immortal gold and fanned out — whipping up a storm of wind and rain that suppressed the sound wave.
“It’s just a half-page of ancient scripture? Hmm — cast from phoenix blood and crimson gold. What grandeur. Back then we searched all under heaven and couldn’t obtain even a single grain of it.” The green bull’s copper-bell eyes went wide. It reached out a massive, hair-covered hand, grasping forward.
Far away, Ye Fan’s heart was deeply unsettled. The mount of an ancient Chinese man of great wisdom — Laozi himself — manifested here on this side of the star domain more than two thousand years later. It was truly enough to leave one in a daze.
Clang!
The Gold Crow King moved decisively and without mercy. He opened his mouth and exhaled — the solar essence transforming into a golden Fusang Divine Tree, shaking loose a sky full of radiance, shooting toward the green bull’s great hand.
The Ox God King let out a strange cry. It expelled a breath of wild bull energy — white breath like fire, transforming into traces of divine Dao patterns — shooting forward to press down upon the golden Fusang Divine Tree.
Whether tree or Dao trace, both were expressions of the Dao itself. This was a Perfected King’s understanding of the Dao — a collision and confrontation at the most fundamental source.
“Primordial Unity Qi, Great Strength Ox King Technique!” The green bull bellowed. Ox-headed and human-bodied, its body grew larger — rising like a mountain range towering in the sky. Every hair on its body was as thick as a barrel, and fallen hairs resembled towering ancient trees. Dark clouds coiled around its entire form; black energy churned; demonic Qi raged like a flood.
From this alone one could glimpse the bull’s imposing power. Even the Gold Crow King — who resembled a demon god — found it a strenuous effort; he had never encountered a king of such raw physical strength. In terms of sheer power alone, it was more than he could bear.
Hum!
The Gold Crow King swung the Black-Wing Gold-Flowing Halberd, bringing out the primordial holy weapon directly. Such power was immeasurable — enough to topple ten thousand ancient heavens.
The green bull let out a startled cry, revealing a shocked expression. The holy weapon forced it to dodge its edge as well — it somersaulted eighteen times in a row, evading in a thoroughly embarrassing fashion, shouting: “Young one — give me the holy weapon! This bull is not yet a sage, and needs a proper tool to work with.”
Yin Tiande transmitted his voice in secret, apparently saying something to the green bull. The bull immediately expressed the utmost contempt.
“From the looks of you, you don’t seem like a good person. Forget it — duty calls. In an hour this bull will disperse like the wind — out of sight, out of mind.”
It swiftly came to stand before Yin Tiande, apparently drawing out a sacred weapon and absorbing it into its body — but without bringing it out openly — so as to counter the Black-Wing Gold-Flowing Halberd.
Yin Tiande apparently said something further to the green bull — and then vanished from where he stood.
“Rest easy — leave it to me. With this sacred weapon in hand, all under heaven is mine. This half-page of ancient scripture — I will seize it without fail.” The green bull unleashed its divine might in full force.
“That bastard Yin Tiande is too much of an operator — how did he conjure up a bull-headed king? This is downright unreasonable!” Li Tian fumed with indignation.
Yan Yixi and the others were also speechless. This green bull, true to its species, looked like the most insufferable troublemaker imaginable no matter how you looked at it — and was extraordinarily difficult to provoke.
“Laozi, Shakyamuni — where on earth did you go? What kind of footprints did you leave behind?” Ye Fan pondered. The events of today had struck him with a great impact.
“What origin does the original master of the Eight Scenery Palace have? Is this actually his bull?” Li Tian asked. He had heard Ye Fan muttering to himself and had pieced together a rough understanding.
“He came from the other end of the star domain — from an ancient man of my homeland. Too much has happened, and it has overturned my understanding.” Ye Fan sighed lightly — then suddenly changed expression and said: “No — we need to act now.”
At the same time, Yi Qingwu also said: “Yin Tiande has likely gone to seize the other half of the immortal scripture himself.”
“Regardless — we must act now. Otherwise the other half of the divine scripture will most likely be taken by Yin Tiande.” Yan Yixi fixed his gaze upon the sea above. At that moment, Qinggu Daoren and the Light King had slowed their movements — both were exhausted after thousands of exchanges.
Suddenly, a transformation occurred. The half-page of ancient scripture in the Light King’s possession surged with a sky full of crimson radiance — dazzlingly brilliant — and in an instant burst free of his grasp.
The half-page of phoenix blood crimson gold rang with the cry of a phoenix. An auspicious cloud rose from within it, transforming into a human silhouette that gripped it and flew away in flight.
“Three Purities from One Breath!” Ye Fan said in a low, firm voice.
The Light King let out a long cry. The cooked duck had flown away — he was furious, unleashing divine techniques of light that with a single streak dried up the jade-blue sea. Tens of thousands of streaks shot out together — nearly throwing the ages into chaos.
The half-page of phoenix blood crimson gold scripture had originally been seized by Yin Tiande after he killed Zhengde. Then the Light King had struck him grievously and taken it — only for it to be seized back now. Clearly a breath of transformed Qi had been hidden within it, reclaiming it at the critical moment.
Qinggu Daoren gave a light shout and joined the Light King in pursuit. Yet at this moment two more figures flew in: an elderly, frail figure — a white-haired elder gripping a walking staff — and a man with a bushy, stiff beard, a large and imposing fellow, full of surging vitality.
These were two more kings who struck without warning, giving both Qinggu Daoren and the Light King a great shock — they had not anticipated that anyone else would appear.
Bang!
The white-haired elder gripping the staff took a direct hit — coughing up blood as he was sent flying. The bearded large man was nearly shattered as well, unable to withstand the two kings. Yet they succeeded in slowing the pursuers’ speed, and neither gave any further thought to anything else, pressing the attack again in relentless entanglement.
“As expected — Three Purities from One Breath. Even if these two transformed Qi manifestations are shattered, the true body is unaffected. Yin Tiande sacrifices them without hesitation.” The expressions of Yan Yixi and the others all changed.
“No matter — chase it down now. When that transformed manifestation of his dissipates, it will be exactly the right moment to seize the scripture — making all his effort work in our favor.” Ye Fan finally moved. He told his companions to fly into the primordial holy weapon, and then he deployed the Word of Passage technique, giving swift pursuit.
In the current world, unless a sage emerged, no one could match Ye Fan in speed. His power had grown enormously, his understanding of the Dao had deepened, and the Word of Passage technique was dreamlike and illusory — giving him the most extreme velocity under heaven.
Moonlight was pure and bright. Across the great sea, a figure raced forward at tremendous speed. Yin Tiande’s transformed manifestation clearly had some forbidden technique in use, its speed nearly beyond any rival — burning away every last drop of essence in its desperate flight. As it was the king’s own power, as long as it moved far enough away from the other Perfected Kings, the half-page of ancient scripture would be his at once.
The Three Purities from One Breath had a time limit. Before long the manifestation finally faded and grew translucent — but it arrived before an ancient formation platform, successfully entering it, intending to cross through and flee.
At this very moment, Ye Fan had no choice but to act. He appeared abruptly from within the void. A brilliant golden circle blazed dazzlingly, with the Sacred Maiden’s Furnace and the Guanghan Palace as its yin and yang poles — supreme yang and supreme yin sacred weapons both.
Boom!
The instant the golden Taiji circle pressed down, the ancient formation platform was shattered to pieces. Yin Tiande, who had just entered the void, was immediately jolted back out.
Yin Tiande’s eyes shot forth two beams of divine radiance — incomparably sharp. That someone had come to intercept him at this critical juncture — making all his efforts come to nothing — filled him with blazing fury.
At this point, let alone fighting — even maintaining his physical form was difficult. He would soon fade away, ceasing to exist entirely.
Ye Fan descended from above. One golden hand reached down, grasping toward the half-page scripture — unanswerable, irresistible.
Yin Tiande’s eyes were utterly cold. He could only watch helplessly, powerless to stop it. This was an anguish that drove him beyond fury!
He had schemed and maneuvered at every turn to seize this divine scripture — success had been within sight — yet at the final moment it had all come apart. This was a profound and insoluble hatred of fate itself.
Bang!
Ye Fan seized the phoenix blood crimson gold paper in one hand. It was scorching to the touch. The cry of a phoenix rang out, and crimson light dyed half the sky — brilliant and dazzling.
Yin Tiande let out a great roar. His unwillingness had reached its absolute limit — yet he was powerless to do anything. His body was on the verge of ceasing to exist.
Bang!
In the end, Ye Fan’s eyes flashed with divine light. One slap — and he shattered the manifestation utterly, making it disappear from this place entirely.