The Divine Register of the Gods flew out, transforming into an eternal divine radiance. It successively eliminated the masters of the two ancient imperial weapons—this was truly too astonishing.
Every person who could sense what was happening here was staggered without exception. A vast, sweeping divine might blanketed the heavens and earth, causing people to prostrate themselves in worship involuntarily.
“This… is the aura of a human Great Emperor!”
“Truly… an ancient Great Emperor is manifesting!”
At the far end of the towering mountain ranges, the imperial clans who had deployed the Extreme Dao ancient weapons turned pale with shock, as though struck by a bolt of lightning, frozen in place—and then came deep, penetrating terror.
Just now, the ancient imperial weapons had not even had time to reawaken. That sacred light had already erased their wielders. It had all happened too quickly—utterly staggering to the heart.
“Quickly! Retrieve the imperial weapons at once—do not let any mishap occur!” Someone cried out in anxious urgency, so frightened they were nearly beside themselves. The consequences of a mistake here would be gravely severe.
What manner of terrifying force was this—the ancient imperial weapons had not even had time to reawaken, had been unable to prevent it, and the wielders had been eliminated. Such a thing was all but impossible.
Everything pointed to the same conclusion: a Great Emperor of antiquity had not died, and still lived. Otherwise, who could have done all of this?
“Ancient imperial weapons are spiritually connected. Even if they fall into the hands of others, they will fly back on their own…” An ancestor-king of incomprehensibly ancient age manifested, issuing this statement from the depths of the towering mountain ranges.
“What?! The other party has paid them no heed. They did not even spare them a second glance—the two soon-to-reawaken ancient imperial weapons are of no concern to them at all!”
The faces of the two great imperial clans grew even paler. The fear in their hearts deepened several degrees. Was it truly an ancient Great Emperor manifesting—so unconcerned that two imperial weapons fell, not caring in the slightest?
BOOM!
A blinding beam of light erupted, reaching upward to the nine heavens and downward into the nine depths, as the ancient Great Emperor’s divine radiance spread to cover all of heaven and earth.
The Divine Register of the Gods blazed with boundless light, releasing a divine power without equal in the world. The brilliance of a single instant illuminated the entire northern domain—radiantly glorious to the utmost.
Then came darkness. It flickered once—and shot into the clouds above, entering the nine heavens and disappearing from sight. The Divine Register of the Gods was gone.
“This power—this aura—this is truly the might of an ancient emperor!” Deep within the mountain ranges, a venerable elder of an ancient clan had an expression of utmost gravity.
Many people surged up and disappeared into the distance, retrieving the ancient imperial weapons. No one dared act rashly any longer.
In the distance, above the Jade Pool’s firmament, the Eternal Universe Furnace, the Void Mirror, the Eternal Universe Furnace—they shuddered in turn, then slowly faded from view. The world-creating, world-splitting power dissipated, leaving only some strands of primordial energy lingering and drifting.
No one knew how much time passed before people came back to their senses. Every single one of them let out a long breath as though by instinct.
Yet the ancient kings kneeling on the Heaven-Reaching Platform did not slowly rise until much later. Every one of them had a face like gold paper, shaking unsteadily as they stood.
After surviving such a trial, they were exhausted in body and spirit, drenched in sweat from head to toe. The terror they had just felt was something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Heaven and earth were silent. No one spoke. Everyone stood quietly in their places. Cultivators of every clan were wordless.
Today, no small number of ancient kings had come—but most had died. Very few remained. The losses were of a magnitude that would shock the world. If word were to spread, no one across all of heaven and earth would believe it.
The appearance of the Divine Register of the Gods had been world-overturning—killing ancient kings like cutting grass, turning them to ash in moments. The terror of it had been branded upon them, something no one would ever forget for a lifetime.
Those ancient kings who had survived were merely living witnesses, able to go back to their respective clans and personally recount that Wushi still lived. All of the most aggressive had been wiped out.
“What exactly happened?” At last, some people arrived at the Jade Pool, asking about the strange events here.
After a while longer, powerful cultivators of various clans appeared, all of them urgently wanting to know the truth. What had just occurred had shaken all the great powers throughout the northern domain.
Then the Jade Pool erupted into clamor.
People could no longer remain calm. The news flew off in all four directions, spreading to the other great domains. What had happened today was a shattering upheaval of heaven-shaking magnitude!
Flying across ten thousand mountains and rivers, crossing great rivers and open plains—the five domains of the Eastern Wilderness, Central Continent, Southern Ranges, Northern Plain, and Western Desert all shook simultaneously. All under heaven was stunned.
When the primordial ten thousand clans learned of all this, they all fell silent at once, unable to utter a single word. For them, it was a tremendous calamity.
Within the Jade Pool, Ye Fan came to understand. Everything that had occurred was a carefully crafted scheme, led jointly by the Divine King and others, in alignment with an idea he himself had once conceived.
Only he himself had been unable to do it, for he had lacked the necessary power. But the Divine King and the others could—they had the ability to take the crucial final step. This was a grand scheme.
That said, all of this had been set in motion by him in the first place. It had all begun because of him. Ever since he rang the Wushi Bell, everything had found its trajectory. The human race’s sages had all acted because of it, refining his original intentions into something complete.
He and Zhang Lin eliminating the Divine Spirit Valley had been nothing more than killing the small fry—still somewhat far from the goal of killing one to warn a hundred. But the White-Robed Divine King had done something far greater.
How many ancient kings had fallen on the Heaven-Reaching Platform? A meeting soaked in blood—the killing in this battle had been bone-chilling.
The human race certainly had more than one Sage in the White-Robed Divine King. They had simply sent him forward alone, so that he might withstand all the kings by himself, establishing his invincible image here, making a declaration of might.
Send forward only one Divine King—draw out the primordial ancestor-kings to come forth—kill until blood flowed like rivers—bring the Fallen Heavenly King to appear—then use that to draw out the Divine Register of the Gods in suppression—cutting down the most aggressive.
This was the true killing of one to warn a hundred. Killing such a group of people was more of a deterrent than anything else. Then let the Divine Register of the Gods appear, filling everyone with dread that the Wushi Great Emperor yet lived—and use that to bring matters to a close.
This gambit carried enormous risk. It had come close to losing control. The two ancient imperial weapons had arrived—truly, it had been extremely dangerous!
From this, one could also see the aggressive nature of the ancient clans. They had truly reached the point of reckless abandon, daring to move against a sacred ground of the ages like the Jade Pool.
“The one controlling the Divine Register of the Gods must be extraordinarily powerful—at the very least a legendary Great Sage.” Ye Fan pondered to himself, furrowing his brow at the same time.
Even though the Divine Register of the Gods had already reawakened, carrying boundless divine power, and even if it could release power on that scale, creating the aura of a Great Emperor must have been incomparably difficult. The one who had cast the technique had most likely paid a tremendous price.
Most notably, the Divine Register of the Gods had flown away to suppress and kill the wielders of the ancient imperial weapons—that kind of extreme speed breaking free of the constraints of space and time would be extremely difficult for even a Great Sage. One could not know how much cultivation it must have consumed.
“The Divine Register of the Gods has suppressed all and killed. The ancient clans will likely remain quiet for a long while—and next should come a relatively peaceful round of negotiations.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
“If, at this moment, a succession of human sages were to step forth—that would undoubtedly be earth-shaking.” Ye Fan wondered: which ones exactly would appear?
One White-Robed Divine King had already caused a battle where heaven went dark and spirits wailed and gods cried. If several more sages who had proven the Dao in the post-desolate ancient era were to appear as well, the deterrent effect would rise sharply.
Setting aside for now whether the Wushi Great Emperor’s manifestation was real or not—just the appearance of several Sages together would be enough to make the ancient clans exercise extreme wariness and caution.
For the White-Robed Divine King had demonstrated on the Heaven-Reaching Platform just how supremely matchless a Sage who appeared when the laws of heaven and earth did not permit proving the Dao could be.
If Ye Fan had stirred up a breeze, then the Divine King and the others had whipped up a world-shaking tempest, amplifying what he had set out to do by countless times and bringing it to full, comprehensive realization.
While he was pondering the causes and details of this battle, the ancient clans were all doing the same. The appearance of the Divine Register of the Gods had overawed and intimidated many great clans, including the royal clans.
At this moment, every clan felt a cold grip like the dead of winter—ice-cold and bone-piercing. If a human Great Emperor were alive, then even calling upon several Great Sages or near-emperors would be utterly useless.
“The Divine Register of the Gods has appeared. Is Wushi truly still alive?”
This was a hidden ground that only supreme figures of the imperial clans could enter. Several individuals sat cross-legged within it, their bodies indistinct, almost merged into the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
“If it were not Wushi himself—even if one knew every secret of the Divine Register of the Gods, understood every subtlety of it, and had sufficient time to allow it to reawaken—it would still be difficult to release that kind of divine power.” A shadowy figure wreathed in primordial mist issued a voice of incomparable age and profound depth.
“It is not absolutely impossible, either. Two Great Sages acting together, or a near-emperor deploying it at the cost of a bloody price—there would be some chance of success.” Another voice came, as though crossing through the celestial heavens to arrive here.
“Whether it is the true Wushi or not, it still demonstrates the terrifying nature of the human race—that supreme experts yet survive.”
With that, this mysterious hidden ground fell silent, without another sound. Every indistinct shadow disappeared.
Everything was just as Ye Fan had expected. Two days later, some powerful ancient kings came themselves, no longer pressing aggressively. They came in a completely different posture, entirely prepared to sit down for a negotiation.
The original representatives of the various clans had not yet departed. When they saw their clan’s own ancestor-kings arrive personally—their sage aura restrained, their manner quite mild—every one of them was shaken.
Everyone knew: a relatively peaceful era had arrived. For the foreseeable future, conflict would be difficult to come by. Only no one knew how long it would last.
Within the Jade Pool’s sacred land, there was true serenity. The tense atmosphere had been swept away completely. Human cultivators who had come to the gathering all had smiles on their faces, and everything settled at last.
“The Nine Phoenix Ancestor-King has arrived.” Many ancient clans were surprised, recognizing one of the attendees.
This was a terrifying existence from the Blood Phoenix Mountain imperial clan, placed in the same tier as the Fallen Heavenly King—revered as the Nine Phoenix King. In the primordial age, he had rarely met a match.
His arrival caused a wave of commotion. Those who knew his reputation understood how terrifying he was. His fame had shaken the primordial age. In former days, the supreme Battle Sage Emperor had once remarked that he had decent aptitude.
Though it was an offhand comment, being evaluated by an ancient emperor was an honor without equal—one that naturally became known to all under heaven. Everyone regarded him with reverence and awe.
Then, an even greater commotion broke out, setting off a wave of chaos. The human race’s second Sage had appeared, causing a great shockwave across all the clans.
The northern domain’s greatest rogue—the Old Immortal—appeared, clad in a wide black robe that even the Heavenly Eye could not see through. One could not even tell if he was male or female.
“The human race has a second Sage?!” All clans were stunned. One White-Robed Divine King had already killed until bones blanketed the ground and kings shook with dread—and now a second had appeared. This was undeniably earth-shaking.
The waves did not stop there. Not long after, the human race’s third Sage appeared, triggering another uproar. The ancient clans were filled with fear; the human race erupted into excitement.
The appearance of this person even Ye Fan had not anticipated. It had exceeded his expectations—and this was no stranger, but an elder he had once seen before.
The man was hunched and withered with age, and was the gatekeeper of the ruined stone archway at Tianxuan Holy Land in the Northern Domain’s Divine City. No one could have imagined.
“They say he is a descendant of Tianxuan. I think he is more likely to be one of the surviving members from that age.” Ye Fan was somewhat dazed.
He still remembered the scene of entering that desolate stone archway together with the Crimson Dragon Daoist to select stones. At the time, the old Crimson Dragon Daoist had inexplicably been frightened away—and now, in an instant, everything became clear.
Three Sages of the human race had appeared in succession, which naturally shocked all the ancient clans to the extreme, filling many ancient kings with deep wariness and caution. At this point, the effect of the White-Robed Divine King’s battle had revealed itself in full.
It did not stop there, for not long after, the human race’s fourth Sage appeared, triggering a wave of jubilant cheers. It was an unexpected happiness—while the ancient clans all stared blankly, wondering how yet another one had appeared.
This Sage came from the Extraordinary Scholar’s House of the Central Continent, a former old house-master who had long since retired. His successor had already died several generations ago.
Four Sages appearing together caused a great shockwave among the ancient clans. When news spread, ancestor-kings began arriving in person once more, for it had far exceeded their expectations.
Moreover, it was said that a Great Sage would come. This was an existence who had stood unrivaled under both heaven and earth in the current age. He had only ever lost once in his life—defeated by a hand pressed down upon him by an existence impossible to overcome: the Battle Sage Emperor.
There were many cultivators within the Jade Pool, and with the great gathering underway, people came and went. Ye Fan caught sight of a familiar silhouette—an exceptionally beautiful youth, lips red and teeth white, eyes bright and clear, more lovely than any woman.
“It is her… Xia Jiuyou.” Ye Fan was momentarily stunned. He still remembered this peerlessly talented genius. At twelve or thirteen years old, she had already been stronger than the various holy sons, and now, so many years later, he had no idea what level she had grown to.
The two had once crossed blows. At the time, he had even slapped this girl who dressed as a boy on her backside, infuriating this world-stunning genius to the point where she had wanted to flay him alive.
“Is it really him? An old acquaintance from those years…” Not far away, the Central Emperor gazed toward another direction, standing there in a daze.
Ye Fan turned around and happened to see him with this expression. Surprised, he followed his gaze—and was immediately taken aback. The genius girl Xia Jiuyou had already walked in that direction and was supporting an old man as they walked.
“It is him… the Ailing Elder!” Ye Fan was shocked. And then, a window in his heart was flung open all at once—the mist of many mysteries cleared.
He immediately thought of many things. The Central Emperor was someone who had died young nine thousand years ago, preserved in suspension by the Extraordinary Scholar’s House, and had been able to come back to life.
Such a prodigious talent who had died young—the people he knew would naturally be the heroes of nine thousand years past. Tracing back through the long river of time, who was the most suspicious?
There was only one person: that supremely matchless figure of former days, Gai Jiuyou, whose name had shaken the world above and below. He was someone who had come close to proving the Dao.
When the genius girl Xia Jiuyou had chosen her name, she must have been influenced by him—deliberately incorporating those two characters.
The Ailing Elder was Gai Jiuyou, who had walked all the way from that ancient stretch of time to the present age. This was truly terrifying.
Thinking back to everything at the Qinling Immortal Pool, the sage who had aided him there must certainly have been Gai Jiuyou as well. Only he, using the Script of the Soldier, could have interfered with the Extreme Dao imperial weapons under those circumstances at that time—saving his life.
And moreover, the Divine Register of the Gods leaving Sacred Cliff to manifest here could now be explained as well. Only an expert of the human race like this, deploying the Script of the Soldier, could have wielded it.
Cause and effect—everything that had happened was now connected, giving Ye Fan a feeling of sudden, complete understanding.
“Senior!” Ye Fan quickly went after them, overcome with excitement. The two figures ahead came to a stop.
The genius girl Xia Jiuyou was fine-featured and clear-eyed, dazzlingly beautiful—still dressed in men’s clothing as before. Yet her former arrogance was gone. Time had worn away her sharp edges, and on seeing Ye Fan again, she was very calm.
The Ailing Elder, meanwhile, appeared just as he always had—his face a picture of illness. Upon seeing him, he smiled slightly, plain and ordinary.
“Senior’s great kindness from those years is something I have always wished to repay, yet I could never find any trace of you. Here I have the True Dragon’s Deathless Medicine Fluid—it may extend your years and life force.” Ye Fan said.
In those years, when Gai Jiuyou had acted at the Qinling Mountains, he had said that his lifespan was exhausted and his body near death—and that for a long stretch of time he would only be able to deploy his divine authority once. Now that he had wielded the Divine Register of the Gods, Ye Fan did not know whether he had injured himself.
Ye Fan was deeply concerned and wished to extend his life. This Great Sage absolutely must not die.
“Rest assured—I am fine. Wielding the Divine Register of the Gods was done together with another person. Moreover, I have obtained several Medicine Kings—I can still live a few more years.” The Ailing Elder smiled, mild and easygoing.
Ye Fan’s heart settled. With such a figure presiding over matters, there was nothing left to worry about. It would likely shock even the Great Sages of the ancient clans into coming themselves.
“This upheaval ends here—no more waves can be stirred up. For a period ahead, there will be relative peace. You young people, seize hold of it well.”