The Ayu Sacred Lake was clear and transparent — a jewel upon this plateau. Legend had it that the Great Emperor Amitabha had once bathed his golden body here and planted blue lotuses. Often, people would come prostrating with every step, seeking only to offer worship.
Some elderly herdsmen would walk for years. Some even died along the way. Yet they did not regard this as suffering — rather, they savored and embraced the journey, treating each moment with reverence. A single pilgrimage was like a single elevation of the soul.
These people, even if their bodies were covered in wounds by the time they arrived before the Ayu Lake, would be full of spirit in that very instant — as though they had completed the most important thing in all their lives.
Ye Fan and An Miaoyi walked around the Ayu Sacred Lake. Neither of them spoke a word. They moved in silence, side by side — like an immortal couple — and then stepped deeper into the heart of the plateau.
They saw some pilgrims along the way — boundlessly sincere, paying reverence with their lives. From the crown of each person’s head, a thread of sacred light spilled outward. Their hearts had something to hold onto. This too was a form of cultivation. Only those born with a constitution like Ye Fan’s could see it.
The altitude here was very high. The grass upon the ground was a fresh and vivid green. The sky was extraordinarily blue. The clouds seemed to hang just above their heads — as though one could reach out and touch them.
Ye Fan and An Miaoyi walked on in silence the entire time, treading through the billowing grass, moving side by side across the plateau. Until the sun sank toward the west, casting their shadows long behind them and bathing everything in a flood of crimson light.
Some things needed no words. Everything lay in the space between them — unspoken. They walked on in this way, both understanding the road ahead, both knowing the final outcome.
At last, they returned before the Agama Ancient Monastery. In the fading light of sunset, the entire temple was dyed in a golden radiance — extraordinarily sacred and beautiful.
Beside it, the lake surface glimmered with scattered light, reflecting the deep blue of the sky and the white of the clouds, and also reflecting the two of them — their bearing as exquisite as jade.
“Take care of yourself.” Ye Fan gazed at her with slightly dazed eyes. They were about to part. There was a faint bitterness in his heart. A person is so small — there are so many things that cannot be changed, no matter how much one wishes otherwise.
A chasm lay before them, and within it a road had opened. He had no choice. It was a kind of helplessness.
A river of stars would sever the future — cutting the people on both sides apart — and even spending an entire lifetime, it would be hard to cross. One could only look up at the brilliant stars and watch, from the far shore, the flowers bloom on this side.
“I believe I am ready to sever the Dao,” An Miaoyi said, standing at the edge of the Ayu Sacred Lake, bathed in the evening glow — her face luminous and radiant, her eyes bright with something crystalline that finally became the glimmer of tears.
Ye Fan took out an ancient bronze lamp — obtained from within the ruined Great Thunderclap Monastery on the Fiery Planet. It was the only artifact that had remained perfectly intact, though no flame burned within it.
He gave this green lamp to An Miaoyi. A spark of fire traced across the lamp’s wick, and the two of them walked once more around the Ayu Sacred Lake — one final time. Then An Miaoyi spoke softly, “Watch over yourself on the road ahead.”
When he turned back, the figure by the Ayu Lake was still there — truly matchless in her grace and brilliance — a sight that became a moment of eternity, the entire expanse of evening glow falling upon her.
“I have severed the Dao… yet I have forgotten the past.” An Miaoyi’s beautiful eyes let fall two crystalline streams of tears. She gazed at the retreating figure, momentarily lost.
A light cut out from the luminous white expanse of her brow and merged into the green lamp in her hand. The Dao radiance blazed brilliantly. The lamp’s wick flickered — and then that lamp lit up, burning with a flame that would burn on and on, impossible to extinguish.
“Who am I? Who is he?” An Miaoyi was at perfect peace. She looked toward the retreating figure, then looked at herself. Tears rolled ceaselessly down her face. She stood before the Agama Monastery.
The sunset poured down, dyeing her body crimson. A divine radiance flowed and shimmered, making her look more otherworldly than ever — luminous, untainted, free of every last speck of dust.
“Boom!”
In that instant — upon the Ayu Plateau — heaven sent down auspicious signs. From the earth bloomed divine lotuses. Across the sky, Buddhist radiance soared upward. A mysterious breath filled every inch of space.
Behind her, a female Bodhisattva appeared — pinching a flower and smiling — vast enough to fill the sky. Around her circled the sun, the moon, and the stars. A thousand Dao paths and ten thousand divine principles manifested together.
“Dong…”
Across the Western Desert, the bells of many ancient temples rang out at once. A female Bodhisattva appeared within the Buddhist radiance, present in the sky above every monastery, shaking many people to their core.
The sound of the bells drifted on and on. In the beauty of the evening sunset, An Miaoyi severed the Dao. The most wonderfully extraordinary of phenomena manifested in the world.
Divine radiance of all kinds surrounded her. The sun, the moon, and the stars revolved. Her whole being grew ever more sacred and pure — save for the tears upon her face. She murmured to herself, “Already forgotten — then let everything be severed and cleansed.”
“Dong!”
Within the Agama Ancient Monastery, the sound of the bell reverberated through heaven and earth. The Buddhist radiance grew ever stronger. Again and again, threads of light cut out from her brow, all of them merging into the green lamp. The flame danced — and burned on long thereafter.
“The mind’s awakening has arrived, wondrous at its source — the shell of unknowing splits, the same throughout. In dreams, the six realms of existence are clear and bright. After awakening, the void holds neither saint nor common self.”
An Miaoyi drew back her gaze. Clad in light garments, she sat cross-legged upon a jeweled lotus, hands forming the seal of meditative concentration — clear and beautiful beyond the world, the last two teardrops rolling from her face. No trace of sorrow remained.
At the horizon, Ye Fan had not left. He had stood there the entire time. When he witnessed this final scene, something ached within his heart.
The sunset vanished. The Buddhist radiance across the sky retreated. Every extraordinary phenomenon receded. An Miaoyi was gone. A chant arose.
Ye Fan stood at the horizon, gazing in silence toward the Ayu Sacred Lake — like a stone statue, utterly still — until the stars filled the sky in their multitude, and then until the morning glow began to rise.
One night later, he turned to face the rising sun and walked eastward — step by step, with great strides. He called upon no cultivation methods. He employed no divine techniques. Though he prostrated with every step, like a pilgrim, he walked on — enduring the hardship of the road.
He was not paying reverence to any divine figure — not to Amitabha, not to any Great Emperor. Between his eyebrows, a small golden figure stood unmoving. It was himself.
“In this age, I stand without equal. I can shatter all things, change all things. Even if a Great Emperor of antiquity were to reappear — they could not halt my steps.”
Several days later, his pace grew ever faster. He used no secret arts, summoned no divine power — yet he moved as though driven by the wind. A mysterious Dao circulated within him, one step covering several miles.
At this moment, Ye Fan was immersed in a singular and extraordinary realm. His body merged with heaven and earth. Though he stood at the second layer of the Immortal Platform, it was as though he could look up and see the entirety of the third layer of the Immortal Platform, dimly and from afar.
Ahead of him lay a great chasm — impassable, an obsession blocking the way — the Dao could not be severed.
Two more days passed. He awoke completely. His physical body was light and unencumbered, radiating light throughout, as though he had passed through a death and rebirth. His sea of consciousness was full to the brim.
“Was this my own particular form of pilgrimage?”
Ye Fan murmured this to himself, then delayed no further. He took out the formation platform the Black Emperor had prepared for him, and on that day crossed the void and returned to the land of the Eastern Wastelands.
The Ancestral Temple of the Central Prefecture — a place that had driven the cultivators of the entire world to frenzy. It was filled with temptation: ancient scriptures, immortal materials, the insights of former sages, a green cauldron that had existed since the primordial age — obtain even one of these, and a lifetime of cultivation would be secured.
No matter how great the danger, nothing could hold back the yearning of the people. Like moths drawn to flame, many who had been in seclusion for years — thought by all to have long since passed on — now emerged. They wished to see the inside of it with their own eyes.
In those days, the five domains had fallen into upheaval. Powerful experts from every direction had set out for the Central Prefecture, hoping to unseal this relic that had been sealed away for over two hundred thousand years.
“We must obtain the shattered green cauldron!” This was the sole objective of every primordial ancient clan — especially the great imperial clans. They sought to uncover the secret of achieving immortality. The ancestral kings did not dare emerge, but their descendants had all set out.
The negotiations between the Four Great Divine Dynasties and the Yao Guang Holy Land with every faction had finally reached their conclusion. The seal upon the Ancestral Temple would be opened in the coming days, and those with the qualifications would be permitted to enter.
Ye Fan returned, his heart at peace, every emotion settled and adjusted. No matter how much he was loath to leave the old friends of this world, he had to go. Whether his parents were still alive or not, even if it turned out to be an empty journey, he had to return and see — this was an obsession in his heart that he could not sever.
The Heavenly Village remained as it was. The monkey had returned a few days before Ye Fan. His fears had not come true — his uncle showed no signs of anything being amiss. It seemed no calamity had befallen.
After Ye Fan returned, he found Pang Bo and told him: once they entered the Ancestral Temple, they must not be separated. The two of them would act as one. The ancient Buddha had dissolved into the Dao and had not mentioned Pang Bo returning. This gave him some measure of worry — he feared some misfortune might befall him.
“Are we truly going to leave through this final battle? Is there truly no way to stay?” Within the Heavenly Village, Li Tian and Li Heishui and the others were deeply sorrowful, unwilling to part.
In those days, Ji Ziyue had not come again. She said she would see them off on that final day. The smile she had always worn was gone from her face.
“I say, young man — you’re really leaving, just like that? Can’t you at least father a Sacred Physique Dao Embryo before you go? Or how about this — I’ll go out and catch you one! This emperor is willing to risk everything!” The big black dog spoke — and with a single sentence, it made everyone dissolve into helpless laughter, dispelling quite a bit of the heavy cloud of parting.
The Ancestral Temple of the Feathered Transformation Divine Dynasty would be opened in three days. When that time came, heroes and powerhouses from all directions would converge upon the Central Prefecture, and the winds of fortune beneath heaven would erupt into a storm.
Ye Fan, the monkey, Duan De, and the others set out ahead of time to avoid any unexpected incident that might cause them to miss the moment. Outside, there was still much preparation to be done.
Not everyone could enter the Ancestral Temple. Across the five domains, only a very small number of people qualified to go inside. This was the result of a collective decision among all the great factions. Aside from the immortal great orders, it was exceedingly difficult for others to get a foothold in it. The immortal legacies — representing all of heaven and earth as its spokespeople — could naturally suppress all opposition. Even if the smaller sects wished to object, it was pointless. Of course, if an independent cultivator was powerful enough, entry was possible as well — but it required passing through several arduous trials, fighting one’s way to earn the right of entry.
No sooner had Ye Fan arrived in the Central Prefecture than he drew the attention of the world. The Four Great Divine Dynasties directly sent him an invitation letter, calling on him to explore the Ancestral Temple together — granting him qualification directly.
Thereafter, the monkey, the Heavenly Emperor’s Son, the Phoenix Void Daoist, Huo Lin’er, Huo Qizi, and the Silkworm Daoist — all of them, as sons and daughters of ancient emperors — were announced as holding the right of entry.
Li Tian, Li Heishui, and the others were outraged — they had not even been given qualification. The Black Emperor and Duan De raised an uproar, declaring, “Damn it all — can’t we just kill our way in? The two of us together — we’ll turn the whole place upside down!”
To enter, the conditions were extremely stringent. Naturally this caused widespread dissatisfaction across the world. But the people quickly fell silent again — for in this instance, apart from the Four Great Divine Dynasties and Yao Guang, even the other immortal holy lands received only a handful of places. Many great orders had only their sect master entering alone.
One could imagine just how precious those letters of confirmed qualification were. They represented a form of recognition — an acknowledgment shared by every major power of one’s might and standing in the world.
“I can’t wait. I hope the Heavenly Emperor’s Son enters — so I can settle my score with him once and for all!” the monkey said.
“I hope Wang Teng appears — and even more, I hope the other two divine sons and daughters of the Assassin Divine Dynasty appear, so I can pay back that blood debt!” said Li Heishui and Jiang Huairen.
“I have a feeling that Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman will both appear!” Pang Bo said.
…
The Ancestral Temple — three days until its opening. Outside the ruins of what had once been the foremost ancestral vein of the Central Prefecture, powerful experts had long since gathered like clouds. Champions from every direction had appeared. Even the primordial ancient clans had sent a great contingent of elite warriors.
The dragon vein of the Central Prefecture — a sea of people, all ten directions in motion, converging upon this single place!