Xiao Nannan had ascended to immortality!
The moment this news broke, not only did Ye Fan stumble in shock, but everyone else froze as well, unable to speak for a long while.
“Who are you trying to fool? Tell me where she really went — did you lose her?” Ye Fan grabbed hold of the Black Emperor’s lion-mane-like glossy black fur.
“It’s true, I swear there isn’t a single false word. I witnessed it with my own eyes — flowers raining down from the sky, celestial music ringing out, and then she flew up toward the heavens. No matter how hard I chased, I couldn’t catch up.” The Great Black Dog swore to the heavens.
Back then, Wu Zhongtian, Li Heishui, and the others had come under attack. Liu Kou had been blown directly into a pulp of blood and flesh, and if the Great Black Dog hadn’t arrived in time, everyone would have been wiped out.
“That time was far too dangerous. First there were the inheritors of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Arts — the Yin-Yang Twin Fiends — then there was that servant of the Heaven Prince with divine wings growing from his back — the Mountain Eagle. And finally, that mysterious, incomplete nine-orifice creature of unknown origin — the Great Stone — appeared. It was truly terrifying.”
The Black Emperor had used formation patterns to save everyone, but was struck in the process — a divine beam of light entered through the domain gate and cut it down out of the void. Even with its iron bones and steel muscles, it was still shattered into pieces.
Xiao Nannan had tumbled from its body and wept bitterly, shaking it with her small hands as hard as she could, calling for it to wake up, collapsing against it and crying as though her heart would break.
Ye Fan could picture that scene clearly. Xiao Nannan had treated him and the Black Emperor as the people closest to her in the world. He had not been there at the time, and only a great dog had been by her side — the little one must have been utterly heartbroken.
“After that, the pursuing soldiers drew close…” The Great Black Dog recounted the events of that year, its voice carrying a trace of sorrow.
Xiao Nannan, weeping and grief-stricken, had tried to hoist it onto her back and run, staggering and stumbling, falling down again and again.
“I will definitely kill those people!” Ye Fan clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
In the end, the girl and the dog were surrounded.
But at that very moment, a brilliant radiance bloomed from Nannan’s tiny body. Auspicious signs descended from heaven, celestial music rang out on all sides, and as though ascending to immortality, she carried the Black Emperor with her and soared up into the sky — no one else could follow.
“Once we were beyond the domain, the tears she shed restored me instantly. That feeling… was utterly mysterious.” Even now, the Black Emperor found it difficult to believe.
Afterward, it was swept down from the heavens by a beam of Dao light and plummeted into a vast wilderness, surviving the fall.
In that moment, the Black Emperor had carved the remnant patterns of the Great Emperor in what felt like a frenzy — with rare and perfect precision — and went straight beyond the sky, returning to that place. Yet it never found Nannan again.
From that day forward, her trail vanished completely. For more than half of the many years since, the Black Emperor had spent its time drifting above this ancient star, yet it never managed to see Xiao Nannan again.
“Why would something like this happen?” Ye Fan stared blankly ahead.
“Poor Xiao Nannan…” Ji Ziyue murmured softly. She had been very fond of that tiny girl and always wanted to tease her — and yet she had disappeared just like this.
The others also furrowed their brows. Many of them had met the little girl — well-behaved and adorable, always seeming as though she would never grow up — and now she was simply gone. Everyone felt deeply worried.
Ascended to immortality? Who could believe that.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think there is anyone in this world who could kill her. She carries a quality within her that, in all my life, I have sensed in only one other person.” The Black Emperor said.
Ye Fan finally understood why the Great Black Dog — always so greedy and arrogant — had been willing to serve as Xiao Nannan’s mount. It was a pity that the little girl seemed so difficult to find now.
Everyone gathered together, speaking of their various experiences, and the Black Emperor also disclosed a number of secrets.
Gu Tianshu was still alive!
This was the earth-shattering revelation the Black Emperor let slip after admitting it had once followed in the footsteps of the Wushi Great Emperor — a piece of news that shook everything.
And this time, the ability to enter the Sacred Cliff had depended on the Black Emperor knowing the killing formations there, as well as its disclosure of the many mysteries of the Divine Ranking Tablet. It was only because of this that Gai Jiuyou and Gu Tianshu were able to tear it down.
Of course, those two had also borrowed an extreme path imperial weapon to temporarily suppress the Sacred Cliff, and now that the Divine Ranking Tablet had been returned, they should have retrieved it as well.
“The sages gave so much and did so many things, yet never spoke of it — these are not matters that outsiders could ever understand.”
Everyone felt deep respect, yet also a sharper awareness of their own inadequacies. They would need to rapidly strengthen themselves during this rare period of peace.
“I can sense the aura of the Grand Emperor Sword.” The Prince of Great Xia said, and the little nun nodded in earnest agreement — that power was connected to their bloodline.
Everyone was startled. There was still an extreme path imperial weapon at Jade Pool. If a true war broke out, the entire Northern Region would be swept clean. The human race had made extensive preparations.
“One cannot deny that in this world there are factions that think only of themselves and care nothing for the flood that comes after their death. But the major sects are largely responsible — they see far ahead.” Ji Haoyue said.
“If it truly comes to a great slaughter, the Ancient Tribes will suffer catastrophic losses. Unfortunately, they have more than one Great Sage. Even killing the Huntuo Great Sage and the ancient kings present here would accomplish nothing.” Yao Yuekong said.
In the end, the music faded and the guests departed. The Jade Pool Grand Assembly came to a close, and the various factions began to leave in succession.
Of course, many people had not yet gone, still lingering here — old acquaintances who had reunited raised their cups and drank freely together. After all, a rare period of peace had arrived.
A person of considerable status sought out Ye Fan — it was Lin Daochun, the deputy head of the Bureau of Extraordinary Persons, who brought him a piece of news: within the next few years, a road leading beyond the domain would be opened.
After so many years, the Bureau of Extraordinary Persons had finally made its decision. Once again, they extended an invitation to Ye Fan, informing him that if he was willing, he could make a trip to Central Region.
“Nine individuals who cultivated the Holy Physique to great completion — several of them once walked this road, and some returned alive.”
“In the era after the Desolate Antiquity, the reason the Azure Emperor was able to attain the Dao is also connected to this road.”
“The shortest journey consumes one year and allows for survival. The longest lasts a lifetime, and ends in being lost beyond the domain forever.”
Lin Daochun said no more — he left behind only these three sentences and departed.
Ye Fan stood in place for a time, deep in thought. When he finally raised his head, he discovered that Lin Daochun had also sought out the Yao Guang Holy Son, the Southern Demon, and the Central Emperor!
“Has the final selection not yet been made — or will those who go this time surpass all previous travelers?”
Ye Fan was astonished to find that even that scoundrel Duan De had been approached. And even the Ji Family’s little moon was among the candidates. She seemed quite at ease with it, smiling brilliantly, the picture of eager anticipation.
Pang Bo had once told him that the journey beyond the domain was a blood-soaked road — throughout all of history, very few had returned alive.
“I say, Black Emperor, look over there — there’s a creature that would make quite a match for you.” Li Tian pointed into the distance.
There was an ancient being with the head of a dog, the body of a person, and a pair of pure white divine wings growing from its back. A divine ring hovered above its head, radiating an aura of extraordinary sanctity.
“Too ugly…” The Black Emperor said, sticking out its tongue.
Instantly, a hair-raising pressure of authority rolled outward in great waves. The divine ring above that dog-headed, angel-like being blazed even more brilliantly, and it fixed a cold gaze in their direction.
“Actually, there’s something to it — damn it, what a shame it’s male!” The Black Emperor muttered drunkenly.
Boom!
The entire group was sent flying. The spot where they had been drinking exploded outward, and the ancient being departed Jade Pool.
“That is a powerful member of the Heavenly Hound Tribe.” The Jade Pool Saintess warned them, telling them to watch their words.
At last, the time for parting came. Ye Fan and the others were to set out on a long journey, departing together from this land of peace.
In the period ahead, the ten thousand tribes would multiply and recuperate — no great war would erupt. Yet not a single person could afford to relax.
The Black Emperor had drunk itself into a stupor, thick of tongue, walking upright on two legs. It somehow ended up side by side with Duan De, the two of them draping arms over each other’s shoulders — a thoroughly discordant sight.
Two individuals of thoroughly questionable character thrown together like this struck everyone as deeply unsettling — no matter how you looked at it, it was a pairing of greed and shamelessness.
“I am lightning, I am light, I am the one and only legend…” The Black Emperor began howling tunelessly, sending flocks of wild ducks scattering in fright.
“Break to rebuild, rebuild to break — the great form is formless, the great man leaves no trace — I am the one and only Sacred Emperor before you all…” Duan De joined in with his own drunken howling.
And then, inevitably, the two scoundrels dropped all pretense and fell upon each other, going for each other’s throats, each trying to snatch the other’s treasures and divine weapons.
“Damn tomb robber — did you think I didn’t know? You’ve been eyeing Purple Mountain for years. How dare you covet this Emperor’s ancestral den! I’ll bite you to death — tremble before me, man and beast! Woof!”
“Dead dog — did you think I don’t know your dirty secrets? Your supposed great ability peak is a lie — the truth is you break and rebuild, over and over again, all to keep trying to steal my Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid! Boundless Heavenly Venerable, your great-uncle — how dare you bite me!”
Neither of them was the decent sort, and when thrown together they were bound to fight to the death. Yet no one else tried to intervene — on the contrary, they clapped and cheered, doing everything they could to fan the flames.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!” After so many years apart, the Great Black Dog had become a supreme apex expert — it was even close to severing the Dao.
Duan De too was strange and unfathomable, his true strength impossible to gauge. He and the Great Black Dog fought to an exact stalemate. Both of their core doctrines were the acquisition of treasures, and the secret techniques they employed were things no one had ever heard of — they could even extract ancient weapons directly from within another person’s body.
In the end, the Great Black Dog was the first to stop. It solemnly declared a ceasefire, then scampered eagerly off into the distance.
Ahead, the forces of the various sacred grounds were setting out in groups, carving formation patterns in preparation for departure.
Among them were no small number of young disciples. One in particular — a young woman in purple robes — was without question the most captivating. She was born in perfect harmony with the Dao; were she not deliberately suppressing it, a curtain of Dao light would cascade down to earth from the heavens. Even as it was, she was wreathed in countless threads of Dao radiance, radiating an indescribable sanctity and otherworldliness. Combined with her peerless beauty, she seemed like the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven descended to earth — she was none other than the Saintess of the Purple Mansion.
The Great Black Dog, wearing a pair of floral shorts, came sprinting over on two legs with unbridled eagerness and said: “For the sake of quelling chaos, for the peace of this entire ancient star, for the future of the human race — please give birth to an Innate Holy Physique Dao Fetus.”
Outside Jade Pool, every faction present turned to stone. Even the people of Purple Mansion were struck dumb, and for a moment all of heaven and earth fell perfectly still.
It did not last long, however. The members of the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground erupted in outrage, unleashing a barrage of light that sent the Black Emperor fleeing with its head in its paws.
Of course, no one actually moved to kill it — by now everyone knew it was the divine hound that had followed the Wushi Great Emperor. Truly finishing it off might bring some terrible calamity down on their heads.
“I am completely serious. The Wushi Great Emperor ordered me to come out and find a successor — it must be an Innate Holy Physique Dao Fetus and no one else.” The Great Black Dog refused to back down, shouting passionately from a safe distance, its mouth running before its brain.
“Is this no idle boasting? If that is truly the case, then let the supreme Great Emperor issue a divine decree.” To everyone’s complete surprise, a living fossil within Purple Mansion Sacred Ground spoke these words.
“Of course it’s true! I’ll tell you plainly — the Wushi Great Emperor himself was an Innate Holy Physique Dao Fetus. How else could he have swept through all nine heavens and ten earths without equal, drifting through the long river of time with no opponent to match him? He needs someone of the same physique to inherit his Dao lineage!”
The Great Black Dog declared this with absolute conviction, stopping just short of invoking a curse upon itself, its face burning with fervent zeal, pressing close to the crowd from Purple Mansion and spraying spittle in all directions.
Boom!
The Ji Family’s little moon acted, unusually violent for once — she borrowed an oversized divine hammer from Duan De, larger than a house, and brought it crashing down on the back of the Black Emperor’s head, knocking it into unconsciousness.
“Brother, bring our family’s dog home and lock it in the woodshed.” Ji Ziyue tossed down the great hammer, dusted off her hands, and called for Ji Haoyue.
“Leave it to me. Duan-brother is also a brother, and I’m a man of no particular skill except for excavating residual value — approaching the world with the eyes of an archaeologist to identify truth, goodness, and beauty.” The unscrupulous Daoist stepped forward, clearly intending to strip the Great Black Dog clean.
Ye Fan quickly blocked him. If he didn’t, when the black dog woke up it would go absolutely berserk — the entire Northern Region would be kept up every night by the sound of howling.
“Let us go — farewell, everyone. Until we meet again!” The Prince of Great Xia, the little white-robed nun, Yao Yuekong, and the others departed one by one.
“We’re off as well. Ye Fan, what are your plans going forward?” Li Heishui asked.
“To found a great sect for the ages.” Ye Fan said.
“Let’s found it together — pick two neighboring mountain peaks. These days, if you’re not the sect master, you haven’t got the nerve to try courting an ancient divine woman.” Li Tian said, lamenting that the ancient divine women were far too powerful and quite overwhelming.
They had not gone far — Jade Pool was still faintly visible behind them — when all at once a blinding brilliance tore open the void.
A single sword strike aimed at the crown of the head!
It was a killing blow. A blood-dripping demon sword flashed forward with the speed of lightning, thrusting toward the crown of Ye Fan’s skull with terrifying precision, slipping past his spiritual senses entirely.
For anyone else, death would have been certain — there was simply no way to dodge something so transcendently sharp and swift. This was the thunderous strike of a master assassin king!
In that instant, Ye Fan became extraordinarily still. His mind turned clear and empty, his body flowed like a green rainbow, and his feet enacted the Movement Word Art. In the hairsbreadth between life and death, he evaded the blow, shifting laterally by several hundred zhang.
Pfft!
Yet blood still sprayed outward like a flower in bloom. As though having long anticipated exactly where he would retreat, another assassin king who had been lying in wait emerged from the void and drove a blood-dripping demon sword through his body.
“Ye Fan!” Ji Ziyue cried out in alarm, rushing toward him in an instant. The others acted as well.
“Don’t come over — all of you, fall back!” Ye Fan roared, his voice cracking like a thunderclap, sending the surrounding mountains into trembling.
Against anyone else, body and soul would already have been utterly destroyed. For though the two attackers were ancient and decrepit in appearance, both had successfully cut the Dao three times at the Immortal level, making them boundlessly terrifying!
Such figures striking a cultivator at the second tier of the Immortal Platform — it could be called an absolute execution. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to survive.
Only the Holy Physique was exceptional in this regard. Its physical shell was without equal, and it absorbed the impact of the king-level strike without letting the laws scatter — shattering the demon sword by sheer force.
Even so, Ye Fan’s golden sacred blood flowed freely. He had sustained wounds, his blood energy rumbling and boiling with the sound of thunder.
“Hell, human world — I am irreconcilably at war with you!” Ye Fan swore with savage fury, pointing to the heavens.
The others erupted in rage as well. At a moment like this, for the ancient assassin divine dynasties to attempt to cut down the human Holy Physique — it turned everyone’s eyes bloodshot with fury.
“Truly, there is every kind of person in this world!” Even Duan De’s expression changed.
Some major sects were willing to fight to the death for humanity’s sake, sparing no effort to resolve crisis after crisis — deploying even extreme path imperial weapons without a second thought.
And then there were major sects that cared nothing for the flood that would come after their death, thinking only of their own interests from beginning to end, terrified that a Holy Physique might grow strong enough to uproot them entirely.
When the Prince of Great Xia said the Grand Emperor Sword was also at Jade Pool, everyone had marveled at the brilliance of human nature — yet in the very next moment, this had happened.
“Damn it all. Ye Fan walked through nine deaths to enter Purple Mountain, did everything that needed doing — and these inhuman bastards, where were they then? They stayed silent through all of it, and now that everything has calmed down, they move against him. They deserve to be put to death!” Li Heishui was beside himself with rage.
“The rise of a supreme sect for the ages always comes soaked in blood and wind. Let us build Ye Fan’s world-shaking great sect upon the ruins of the human world and hell — over the next hundred years!” Li Tian declared.