Yuangu’s aura had grown even more overwhelming, suffocating to behold. His bronze-colored skin flickered with fading Dao patterns, his thick black hair merging with the void itself, an aura of the great Dao permeating the air around him.

“Yuangu!” Ye Fan had not yet responded, but the Monkey nearly swung his massive club at him outright — they had crossed blows years before.

“It’s you all!” Yuangu’s eyes also narrowed, dark energy rippling like an inverted waterfall, his towering figure pressing down on people like a demon mountain, making it hard to breathe.

Ye Fan stopped the Monkey and stepped forward alone, facing off against the great enemy before him. Between the two of them, dense, crisscrossing Dao patterns began to appear, forming into a field.

“Clang!”

Suddenly, a Dao sword appeared out of the void, slashing downward, cleaving apart the field that had begun to form between the two, dissolving a confrontation on the verge of erupting.

The Heavenly Bazaar had a forbidding formation that did not permit fighting to break out — initially it would intervene to stop it, but if it continued, divine punishment would descend, and both spirit and body could be instantly destroyed.

Ye Fan and Yuangu each retreated, not continuing their confrontation, for here neither side could fight — but the battle intent within their hearts had already risen to a fever pitch.

“Yuangu, how much longer do you plan to hide?” the Monkey asked.

“So it’s the Battle-Winning Sacred Sovereign’s Son. I’ve already completed my Dao Cut. Once I finish killing the Human Sacred Body, I’ll come face you, suppressing my ancestor’s legacy over your father!” Yuangu declared with overwhelming dominance — not merely arrogance, but genuine confidence. Having entered the Third Immortal Cut, his entire aura had transformed, radiating an unshakeable belief in his own invincibility, utterly certain he could sweep aside every enemy.

Ye Fan spoke: “I’ve been waiting for you a long time. Cowering off to the side to consolidate your realm all this while — have you finally found the courage to come out?”

“All psychological tactics are useless against me. Right now, I am invincible — nothing you say matters. This time, the timing is yours to decide; I’ll accompany you whenever you wish!” Yuangu’s words rang out firm and resolute.

The two sides’ encounter at the Heavenly Bazaar instantly drew attention from all directions — countless eyes turned their way, sensing the strongest confrontation was about to begin.

“Half a month from now — a decisive battle, life or death!” Ye Fan declared.

“Good. Let it be at that ancient battlefield on the Qixia Plain,” Yuangu responded.

Once both sides had spoken, chaos erupted throughout the Heavenly Bazaar. People discussed animatedly, all filled with anticipation — the great age had arrived, and the first battle on the blood-soaked Path of Emperors was about to begin.

That very day, the news spread to every corner like it had grown wings, drawing the attention of every major power — the Human Sacred Body would face off against the bloodline of an ancient sovereign, a battle of profound significance.

“I want this Undying Immortal Blossom. What must be given in exchange?” Yuangu said to the stall owner, clearly intending to gift it to the royal daughter of the Fire Qilin Cave.

By now, the stone table was already surrounded by a dense crowd, all kinds of people paying close attention, the flower’s owner feeling quite uneasy.

Figures like Huo Lin’er and Yuangu were not to be offended — and those standing behind them were all members of royal clans as well, their presence enough to make the stall owner’s entire body tremble.

“First come, first served — we arrived first. This extraordinary blossom is mine,” Ye Fan said.

“Brother Ye, long time no see. Let’s compete fairly for this divine flower,” Huo Lin’er said with a smile, her water-blue hair gleaming like silk, her smile stunning enough to captivate all directions.

“Fine, fair competition,” Ji Ziyue said with a smile, stepping forward with light, graceful steps, her large eyes curving into crescent moons, a bright, radiant smile gracing her jade-white, melon-seed face.

“This flower…” the stall owner grew timid; both the Fire Qilin Cave and the Primordial Lake had set their sights on this extraordinary blossom, and fear crept into his heart.

“Don’t be afraid, no one will force you to buy or sell against your will. What exactly do you wish to trade for it?” From behind, an elder from the Fire Qilin Cave spoke up — this was the powerhouse responsible for guarding the royal daughter.

“He just said publicly that he wants a Jade King from the Nine Heavens Divine Jade series in exchange, or Great Silver Essence, among other things,” someone nearby spoke up.

“What — that appetite is a bit too large, isn’t it.” Yuangu murmured to himself, and even the elderly royal guardians behind him raised their eyebrows sharply.

The Nine Heavens Divine Jade King series were all treasures capable of forging heirloom sacred weapons, priceless in this world; Great Silver Essence was likewise something to be encountered but never sought — even ancestral kings rarely obtained it.

“This is somewhat outrageous!” said the elder behind Huo Lin’er. Even someone of his status had no hope of possessing such a thing, and yet the stall owner wanted to trade it for a rather useless extraordinary blossom — truly excessive.

Though the asking price was outrageous, many female cultivators still lingered nearby, all wishing to obtain this extraordinary blossom.

Ye Fan sighed softly. Obtaining this flower would be somewhat difficult — he had the Mother Essence of All Things and Phoenix Blood Vermilion Gold on him, but not Great Silver Essence or similar treasures.

He did not want to disappoint Ji Ziyue, and said: “Let’s go look elsewhere first. I will definitely help you obtain an extraordinary blossom.”

Years ago, he had once cut out a pair of twin divine flowers at Jasper Pool, hoping he might find something along the extraordinary stone street ahead — perhaps with good luck he might encounter another.

Clearly, Yuangu, Huo Lin’er, and their guardians could not possibly possess such divine material either, and they had no choice but to turn and leave.

“Hold onto it well — I will definitely bring you a piece of Divine Jade King later!” Yuangu said as he departed.

The Heavenly Bazaar was a place where dragons and tigers lay coiled and crouched; they intended to leverage their connections to borrow a small piece of divine material in exchange for the flower.

Naturally, Yuangu felt it wasn’t worth the trouble, and the guardians were a full hundred and twenty percent opposed as well — but Huo Lin’er was single-mindedly set on having it.

Now, the Primordial Lake was seeking marriage alliance with the Fire Qilin Cave, wanting to form a matrimonial bond — no matter how precious this flower was, they would have to obtain it immediately.

“Nostalgic — those years of dominating Divine City really are something to reminisce about,” Li Heishui sighed.

Back then, he and Ye Fan had wreaked havoc across the Sacred Land’s Stone Workshop, cutting out who knows how many precious materials, causing sensation after sensation.

“Speaking of which, the day I become an Origin Celestial Master, I absolutely must go capture that Stone King in Divine City and see exactly what its origins are,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

They entered this street of extraordinary stones — everywhere they looked was nothing but stone, piled up like small mountains, occupying a full fifth of the entire Heavenly Bazaar’s territory.

Clearly, this too was a place of great importance, with many people coming and going, no shortage of a generation’s heroes, clan leaders of various factions, all with impressive backgrounds.

“During the primeval era, the earth contained even more varieties of precious materials — many were raw ore, extracted and auctioned off directly…” the Monkey explained.

Ye Fan and the others felt their hearts stir. These stones had been sealed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, far more valuable than those in Divine City, because this wasn’t just about gambling on origin essence — it involved all kinds of divine materials as well.

Those who had cultivated the Heavenly Eye were not few, but currently Ye Fan was the only one in the world to have achieved the Origin Celestial Eye. Coming here, his heart was not at peace.

“This is quite a rip-off, isn’t it.” After walking several hundred meters, Ye Fan discovered that everything here was waste stone, and even when precious materials were contained within, the amount was pitifully small — buying it outright would be a losing proposition.

“As long as there’s even a sliver of hope, no one would bring the stone here to sell — these have all been screened through multiple rounds already,” the Monkey said.

Moreover, these sellers rarely wanted origin essence — they only accepted trades for whatever specific materials they each needed, because they truly did not lack for origin essence.

After walking half a street’s length, Ye Fan finally found some good items — but unfortunately, either the trade items the owners required were nearly impossible to find, or the asking prices were absurdly high, far exceeding actual value.

Finally, they discovered a place where extraordinary stones could be traded for origin essence — but the amount of divine origin required left people utterly stunned, routinely demanding chunks the size of a human head.

Arriving here, Ye Fan grew composed. He selected a bluish-brown stone material about a meter square, and after some haggling, paid half a head-sized chunk of divine origin, and began cutting the stone.

First, once the stone’s outer shell was scraped away, dazzling divine light immediately burst forth — the interior contained divine origin essence. No matter how one looked at it, this was definitely not a loss.

Then Ye Fan continued wielding his blade, the stone shell falling away, the divine origin cut open — the interior held no even more dazzling light, but instead a sacred, gentle radiance that calmed even one’s heart.

“Heaven-defying! Such a massive chunk of Great Silver Essence — how much would this be worth in peerless rarities?!” Once the stone was cut open, it instantly triggered a wave of astonished cries, the entire area nearly boiling over with excitement.

Many rushed toward the spot, the crowd stirred with emotion, wishing they could seize it on the spot. Within a thin layer of divine origin essence lay concealed more than half a cubic meter’s worth of silver-colored metal, flowing with Dao patterns, mysteriously unfathomable.

The owner of this pile of stone material stood there dumbstruck, then began wailing to the heavens, crying out: “Damned divine origin essence…”

Divine origin essence was a mysterious substance that could suspend in air, take flight, and alter the weight of stone material — making it nearly impossible to judge the true weight of what was sealed within.

A full half-cubic-meter of Great Silver Essence — without this layer of divine origin essence, it would have been heavy enough to collapse the ground itself. The owner of the stone beat his chest and stamped his feet, cursing the divine origin essence for having deceived him and cost him a peerless treasure.

“Brother Heishui, this time you have the material for forging your weapon,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

Most people possessed a primary weapon, something they had personally consecrated and refined themselves, growing alongside their own cultivation — the sovereign weapon that governed all their other weapons.

Of course, some chose not to walk this path, such as Duan De, who focused solely on assimilating others’ weapons. Having obtained half an imperial weapon, if he then went on to forge a primary weapon too, that would be truly foolish — no primary weapon could ever hope to control the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid anyway.

Previously, in the primeval Purgatory, everyone had been consecrating weapons, and Li Heishui’s weapon, due to poor material quality, had been shattered to powder.

Ye Fan had wanted to give him the Vajra Zhuo, but Li Heishui found it unwieldy to use, feeling it would be better to forge his own primary weapon.

“This Sovereign also lacks materials for a primary weapon!” the Great Black Dog barked.

“This humble Daoist is in the same situation!” Duan De rubbed his hands together as well.

Everyone looked at them with disdain — one had once followed Great Emperor Wushi himself, how could it possibly lack for divine materials to forge a weapon? The other already possessed half an imperial weapon and still cried poverty — he too deserved to be struck by lightning.

“Speaking of which, over half a cubic meter of Great Silver Essence could forge several weapons — even a Sage would turn green with envy!” the Monkey sighed.

“Brother Heishui, whatever divine material you can’t use, you could bring back for Little Sparrow, Tongtong, and the others to forge a few pieces of divine clothing,” Ye Fan said.

“Goddamn — such extravagance!” Duan De was practically green with jealousy and envy.

“This Sovereign feels it’s lacking a set of royal battle robes too,” the Great Black Dog said, its shamelessness thicker than pig hide.

“Let’s hurry and go trade for the Undying Immortal Blossom.” Ye Fan gathered up the sizeable chunk of Great Silver Essence and walked off.

Ji Ziyue’s face was full of joyful smiles, the dimples that had vanished for many days reappearing once more, running ahead like a cheerful little spirit.

“Did my eyes deceive me just now? Over half a cubic meter of Great Silver Essence? Goddamn it, there’s no justice in this world!”

Before the pile of stone material, a crowd stood in shock, unable to recover their senses for a long while — this street of extraordinary stones had sparked a massive sensation, drawing many more people to flood in.

By the time Ye Fan and the others returned, the Undying Immortal Blossom was still there, growing in its clay pot, crystalline and dewy, wreathed in strands of radiant light, its bud on the verge of blooming.

As required, Ye Fan produced a piece of silver essence the size of a baby’s fist to trade for the flower.

“This…” the stall owner was stunned, not expecting someone to bring a piece of divine material so quickly. It put him in a difficult position — though he wished to trade, he was quite wary of the primeval royal clans.

“According to the Heavenly Bazaar’s rules, once I set down this Great Silver Essence, I can carry away this potted flower — your regret means nothing now.” Ye Fan tossed down the Great Silver Essence and directly picked up the extraordinary blossom, presenting it to Ji Ziyue.

“So fragrant, as if it’s about to ascend and become immortal.” Ji Ziyue cradled the flower pot, overjoyed beyond measure, inhaling the flower’s fragrance with an intoxicated expression, her long eyelashes trembling gently, beautiful and captivating.

“Wait!” Yuangu and his group had returned.

“Unfortunately, you’re too late — we’ve already completed the trade,” Ye Fan said.

“It’s not over yet. According to the rules, as long as the Great Silver Essence we bring exceeds yours in amount, this flower belongs to us instead,” Yuangu declared proudly.

He produced a piece of Great Silver Essence, larger than Ye Fan’s by a fair margin, ribbon after ribbon of Dao patterns rippling and flowing from it, serene and resplendent, captivating the mind.

“This is truly a headache,” Ye Fan said.

“Put down the flower pot and leave immediately. In half a month I’ll come collect your life,” Yuangu said with a cold sneer.

“What I mean is, why are you making this so complicated.” Ye Fan casually opened a spatial artifact and pulled out another piece of Great Silver Essence, setting it down on the ground.

“What?! This is…” Not to mention Yuangu, even the elders behind him had their eyes bulging wide, filled with shock.

At a mere glance, they saw that enormous chunk of Great Silver Essence, their breathing quickening, feeling almost dizzy.

Not to mention those present, even an ancestral king arriving on the scene would have been stunned speechless — how much could a treasure of this size possibly be worth? Absolutely heaven-defying!

One must understand — the vast majority of Sages, upon death, could not leave behind heirloom sacred weapons. Difficulty in consecration was one reason, but the most crucial factor was the lack of divine material.

A chunk this large was not cabbage, not scrap copper and iron, but Great Silver Essence — comparable in quantity to what even their royal clan’s treasury of silver essence reserves held.

No one would casually bring out such a thing for use — those below the rank of Sage-King had no right even to attempt refining it; it was a weapon-forging treasure reserved for peerless masters alone.

“Take back your silver essence and leave immediately. In half a month, I’ll come collect your life,” Ye Fan said with a smile, throwing the exact words right back at him.

“You…” This was the first time Yuangu’s expression had changed since completing his Dao Cut — this was truly humiliating, especially in front of Huo Lin’er.

Just moments ago he had been looking down upon his opponent condescendingly, and now the Human Sacred Body had produced over half a cubic meter of Great Silver Essence, making his own small piece look utterly shabby by comparison.

“Is there no justice left in this world? Carrying this much around on him — does he want to crush people to death?!” he cursed inwardly, furious beyond measure, feeling he had lost all face in front of Huo Lin’er.

“Brother Ye…” The royal daughter of the Fire Qilin Cave looked utterly pitiable, staring fixedly at the extraordinary flower, wanting him to give it up, appearing as though she wanted to speak but held back.

No woman is indifferent to her own appearance, and even the daughter of an ancient sovereign was no exception — the Undying Immortal Blossom was priceless to them.

“I’ve already given it to someone,” Ye Fan said.

“Sister, if you truly wish for eternal youth, you can come visit my home sometime in the future — this Undying Immortal Blossom might bloom again,” Ji Ziyue said with a smile, cradling the flower pot and refusing to let go no matter what.

“Really?” Huo Lin’er asked, her large eyes turning this way and that.

“Of course it’s true. Naturally, you shouldn’t try to compete with me for this particular flower though,” Ji Ziyue said with a cleverly mischievous look.

“Little sister, where does your family live?” Huo Lin’er also smiled slyly, stepping forward to ask.

Those nearby stood dazed for a moment — the two women had somehow struck up a rapport, inviting each other over. The most infuriated among them was none other than Yuangu, staring coldly at Ye Fan.

“This battle — decides life and death, only one shall survive!”

“Indeed, that’s exactly what I was thinking as well!”

Yuangu and Ye Fan spoke one after another, sharp and confrontational, a chilling killing intent spreading outward, casting an icy pall over the entire Heavenly Bazaar.