The golden desert had been dyed a desolate, vivid crimson. The pungent smell of blood rose in waves. Columns of blood-mist drifted above the earth, mingling with severed limbs and endless pools of blood-soaked mud — a tableau of hell.

When people eventually found their way to this place, what would they feel at the sight? Ten thousand soldiers and warriors, every bone stripped clean. Every one of them cut down to the last.

Ye Fan picked up the Purgatory divine sword — red as sunset, wet with blood. Duan De the Fat stuffed a crumbling ancient pagoda into his robe. The Monkey spent a long time examining a battered folding fan.

Three incomplete sacred weapons became their spoils of war. The divine spirits nurtured within them were already on the verge of death, each suppressed beneath the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid, subjugated to serve. Without lingering, they turned and stepped through a domain gate, vanishing from this place.

The magnificent structure stood intact and undamaged. The auction house elder moved with unhurried composure, unruffled as ever. He wiped a hand across his face, revealing his true appearance — the same elder who regularly played chess with Yan Yixi back in Heavenly Village, now responsible for settling what remained of the aftermath.

The Central Domain — the birthplace of the Eastern Desolation’s civilization — contained many mysterious ruins and not a few prehistoric ancient relics, the origins of which could not be traced.

Scattered across this vast and boundless wilderness were many ancient and towering cities. They stood apart, not connected to one another, yet each radiated a brilliant light of civilization that had never dimmed since ancient times.

The Tianduan Mountain Range lay within a region of the Central Domain that was rarely visited and seldom trodden underfoot — a vast wilderness stretching across tens of millions of li in every direction without end or shore.

The mountain range itself was immense — towering, majestic, surging with wild grandeur, rising ten thousand ren in height. Seen from a distance, it was a great dark mass stretching without end.

Ye Fan and his companions crossed the void from the Southern Domain and entered this sprawling mountain range, monitoring movement in all ten directions.

Every single peak was extraordinarily massive, soaring into the clouds. Most remarkably, every summit had been sheared away flat — as if enormous platforms stood one after another, rising up above the clouds.

This was the Tianduan Mountain Range — so named, as the stories went, because the mountains had once been too tall, and heaven itself had cut them down. Every summit was at the same height, perfectly level, the mountain bodies all black, imposing and boundless against their backdrop of cloud and mist.

“Before the most ancient of ages, this mountain range pierced into the sky. Above it stood magnificent palaces. Even the ancient clans of the most ancient eras did not dare approach.” The Monkey spoke. None of the great royal clans had ever dared come near. This was a forbidden zone — the only ones to have ever visited were the great emperors of the most ancient ages, and legend had it that undying sacred spirits once lived upon its heights.

“No wonder so many stories surround this place. Powerful cultivators believe it was sheared flat by an ancient Great Emperor.” Ye Fan said.

Only an existence of that supreme caliber would be capable of such a feat — a single sword stroke leveling a towering mountain range stretching across tens of millions of li, producing a spectacle that filled the heart with longing and set the imagination running free. If human power could truly accomplish such a thing, then plucking stars from the sky would be nothing remarkable. What manner of being would a true immortal be?

“To be more specific — the Ruthless Man Great Emperor swept this place flat. Though of course that cannot be verified. After all, this particular Great Emperor’s reputation was not the finest. Even great deeds are difficult to spread widely when they are associated with such a name.” Duan De said.

He possessed the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid and consequently knew more about the Ruthless Man than others. According to the stories, this place had once been the sacred territory of the sacred spirits. During a certain period, it posed a great threat to the human race. In his later years, the Ruthless Man had raged and bathed this place in blood. The sacred spirits’ blood stained mountains and rivers across tens of millions of li. The heavenly palaces high above were crushed flat in a single blow.

“If it is true, your human race’s Great Emperor is truly bone-chillingly terrifying — inspiring awe and reverence. Before the most ancient ages, this place was not far from the seven great forbidden zones of life.” The Monkey sighed, his admiration genuine.

“A forebearer Great Emperor, inspiring boundless reverence. If we speak of mystery, the Ruthless Man stands first. To this day, no one even knows whether this emperor was male or female, and their great deeds have not been passed down.” Ye Fan said.

Before long, they arrived at the central zone of the Tianduan Mountain Range. Even among the uniformly towering peaks, those here were especially massive — broader, more imposing. This had once been a place near the divine — a sacred land of the holy spirits — but it had been destroyed in the most ancient of epochs.

Occasionally, someone could still dig up mysterious fragments of tiles and rubble at the base of the mountains, glowing with an undying light — but it was already impossible to reconstruct any image of what had been here before.

The great Dao divine winds swept and howled. They flew up onto one of the sheared-flat peaks, like a celestial platform, and landed on its surface. Endless great Dao divine winds blew ceaselessly. Cultivators without sufficient strength would be reduced to ash — only the most capable could ascend.

“Quite a large number of people have come. Just ahead there are already challenges and shouting, with battles already beginning.” Duan De fixed his gaze on what lay before them.

This region was vast. In many places, figures moved about — some seeking the celestial herb, others lying in wait for Ye Fan’s arrival, ready to ambush and kill.

“Someone just spotted the little girl again. Fragrance fills the sky — it is unmistakably the immortality medicine, not a trick. I can confirm it, because someone has even brought in Master Lin — a true grandmaster of pill-crafting.”

People discussed this and rushed madly toward a certain area. Seventy percent of all the cultivators who had come to the Tianduan Mountain Range were now concentrated there.

Yet many who ventured inside found themselves empty-handed. There was something peculiar about this region — it had always been strange. Once inside, it was impossible to get one’s bearings and easy to lose one’s way.

“It really is the immortality medicine — even the Divine Physician Wang has come. His medical arts are unrivaled in the Eastern Desolation. He has confirmed it is the fragrance of the undying divine medicine.”

The moment this news circulated, another great commotion erupted. Everyone became even more agitated. Those who had come to this place all harbored various intentions. Many were there simply to fish in troubled waters, mingling with those who had come to kill Ye Fan.

“It’s true that to catch the wolf, you must be willing to put the child at risk — but if you go around waving a Qilin divine medicine seed around, you really might get it stolen,” Duan De said.

Ye Fan’s group approached the innermost zone. The area was vast and boundless, suffused with a nameless Dao resonance. The divine wind howled, strong enough to blow most cultivators off their feet and reduce them to ash in an instant.

One sheared-off peak after another stood perfectly flat, each enormous, nearly fused together, barely distinguishable from one another in the drifting cloud and mist. The sound of a small child weeping drifted down — intoxicatingly fragrant.

In a region this immense, the weeping of one small child was a tiny sound. The wind carried it away. Only cultivators with the deepest cultivation could even catch it.

“That dog’s mastery of formation patterns has reached an ever higher level. To breathe life into a maze formation like this — inspired in the truest sense, almost rivaling the techniques of a Saint.” The Monkey praised.

All enemies in the Southern Domain had been annihilated. Those now in the Tianduan Mountain Range had no way of knowing. They had no awareness whatsoever that danger was closing in.

Yet in only a brief moment, Ye Fan and his companions had already spotted no small number of assassins. They also received a transmitted message from Qi Luo: someone had brought a handed-down sacred weapon.

“Now things are serious. They intend to kill me with a single strike. I imagine that the moment I appear, a world-shaking battle will erupt,” Ye Fan murmured to himself.

Half an hour later, they confirmed: three small world masters from the Mortal World had arrived, leading countless elite experts. Four levels of Hell masters had come in person, with every person in the small worlds they controlled pouring out — extraordinary experts gathered like clouds.

The Sacred Sons of the Mortal World and the Sacred Daughters of Hell had both appeared. Their guardians would jointly activate the handed-down sacred weapon, capable at any moment of releasing a thunderous, earth-shattering strike.

Duan De drew a cold breath. “But there’s a handed-down sacred weapon. This kind of thing, when fully revived, would have power immeasurable — a hundred times greater than that incomplete Purgatory Blood Sword!”

He was worried. He truly feared that the handed-down sacred weapon would break through the formation patterns, carve a bloody path out, and lead everyone into a breakout. That would be an enormous problem — it was possible they could be surrounded and killed in reverse.

His Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid, if fully revived, would of course shatter a handed-down sacred weapon with ease. But it was not complete. Without reaching the Saint realm, he could not wield it with flexibility. He feared that in the crucial moment, the enemy might escape.

“Do not worry. The Sacred Spirit Furnace, the Heavenly Court Divine Staff — they are both here. At the critical moment, even your Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid can be placed within the formation. Human hands cannot drive several sacred objects at once, but the Wushi Slaughter Formation can — it can absolutely bring them all to life!” Ye Fan said.

“Exactly how many Great Emperor slaughter formations did you have that dog carve?” Duan De asked.

“Originally six. Afraid of unforeseen circumstances, I accepted its extortion and let it work until it was spitting blood. In total, twelve were carved.” Ye Fan said.

Duan De and the Monkey were both shaken inwardly. Twelve formations, each a single corner of a Great Emperor’s formation pattern. This many combined — even if a Saint came, they could very well be ground to death without recourse. This was a truly sweeping, magnificent deployment.

Of course, carving such divine formations placed extreme demands on the material they were carved into. Otherwise they would not last more than a few days before the path-marks dissolved of their own accord into the void and disappeared entirely.

Not long before, Ye Fan had spent vast sums gathering and bidding on countless spiritual objects and divine materials — more than enough to lavish freely. The great black dog had howled with joy for an entire night.

Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman had appeared — Pang Bo sent this message, and it immediately sent a tremor through Ye Fan’s heart. He clenched his fists.

Unfortunately, before anything could be done, the two vanished in a flash — very cautious, disappearing from sight almost instantly. Yet their coming was what mattered. There would be a chance to kill them.

“The people of the Heavenly Emperor’s son have come.” The Monkey fixed his gaze on two figures ahead — experts beyond all doubt, only a single step away from sainthood.

“The Vicious Ghost — I can sense the power of the Vicious Ghost. His true body has come!” Duan De said. He spent his days wandering in underground ancient tombs, and his sensitivity to the aura of such corpse-ghosts was the sharpest of anyone.

At the same moment, Ye Fan spotted two figures — silver light streaming from their entire bodies, silver helmets concealing even their heads — entering the central zone of the Tianduan Mountain Range and vanishing in a flash.

“It’s them. Liu Yinzhi and Wang Yan have come!”

Wherever Ye Fan appeared, that place would inevitably become the center of the battlefield. Everyone had come for him — because he was about to cross the star domain and depart, and his enemies believed someone was setting a trap to ambush and kill him. All were rushing to take part.

“Who dares harm Xiao Nannan?!” A shout rang out, reverberating through the Tianduan Mountain Range. Ye Fan appeared at the heart of the mountain ridges and entered what had once been the sacred spiritual territory.

“The Human Sacred Physique, Ye Fan, has arrived!”

The Tianduan Mountain Range erupted into chaos. Vast numbers of cultivators appeared and poured into this sprawling territory. The murderous intent surged several times more intensely in an instant.

The fragrance of herbs drifted through the air. Within the central sacred territory, a haze of mist and colored cloud swirled and moved in every direction. Ye Fan stood at its heart, drawing wave after wave of cultivators in behind him.

The first to act was someone unexpected — a blinding flash of light, and hundreds of divine crocodiles surged forth to attack Ye Fan.

Furthermore, at the rear, a golden crocodile silhouette ten thousand zhang in length, taking solid physical form, lunged forward as well — its might without comparison or rival.

“The divine entity living within Li Xiaoman’s body is a manifestation of the Crocodile Ancestor?” Pang Bo murmured to himself, recalling the scene from twelve years prior — a ten thousand zhang golden great crocodile chasing Ye Fan beyond the ancient forbidden zone.

Boom.

In that same instant, a handed-down sacred weapon awakened, releasing streaks of terrifying pressure. It slashed out a light of divine nature, cutting down toward Ye Fan.

Crash.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Lid above Duan De’s head flickered and manifested, sheltering him, the Monkey, and Ye Fan beneath it, blocking those two fatal strikes.

“Are all who should have come present? Enough — revive the Wushi Slaughter Formations. Cut every last one of them down entirely.” Ye Fan transmitted a cold and merciless command to the Black Emperor.