Duan De’s words were shocking — how could such a vast Divine Dynasty possibly abandon its own rule and watch billions of miles of rivers and mountains vanish into smoke? It didn’t fit logic.

“Don’t disbelieve me. What does everything in the mortal world amount to? If their plan succeeds, they might ascend to immortality as an entire sect!” The unscrupulous Daoist would rather die than fail to say something shocking.

According to what he’d seen, the stone carvings in that great tomb were obscure, but the final outcome could still be understood — they foretold that in the end, all would ascend to immortality through metamorphosis!

“I think you’re even less reliable than the Black Emperor. Drawing such a conclusion from a single ancient mausoleum alone is hard to convince anyone.” Ye Fan shook his head.

“How am I not reliable?” The big black dog beside them was thoroughly indignant.

“I never said it’s definitely true, I’m just offering a line of thinking.” Duan De spoke, swiftly packing away his equipment — if it wasn’t a true immortal, then it was certainly a Yin soldier.

They knew the real test was coming. This ancestral temple had thirty-six levels in total. The earlier ones were manageable enough, with no life-threatening crises. But these last six levels were another matter entirely — otherwise the Four Divine Dynasties and Yao Guang wouldn’t have stopped here.

“Look more carefully.” The old blind man was very composed.

Behind that stone gate connected an incomprehensible world. In the pitch-black rainy night, blood-colored lightning periodically split the sky, and on the ground, one column after another of soldiers clad in ancient armor marched down muddy roads, the black iron halberds and battle swords in their hands carrying a demonic quality.

“That’s right, those are the ancient battle robes of the Feathering Divine Dynasty.” The old blind man nodded as well.

When the lightning flashed, its brilliance illuminated those suits of armor and weapons, and the special patterns on the cold battle robes could faintly be seen. Not many could wear this kind of armor — only those who had achieved great merit could be granted it. It was a symbol of honor, status, and strength all at once.

Heavenly Soldier Armor — a very grand name, and it also revealed the ambition of the Feathering Divine Dynasty at that time, wanting to unify heaven and earth above and below, to build an immortal Divine Court.

Even ruling over the Central Prefecture, even unifying the Five Domains, would only be a mortal glory to them. Their highest aspiration was to ascend to immortality through metamorphosis, and they had tirelessly worked toward this goal all along.

“I’m starting to believe it a little. What the tomb robber said might be true.” Qi Luo spoke, staring blankly at those heavenly soldiers in the curtain of rain.

At the same time, Ye Fan and the others also circulated their own methods, sensing that these were beings of flesh and blood, not ghosts or spirits, which sent a chill down their spines.

What did the Feathering Divine Dynasty want to do? Everyone said they had been destroyed, but what they were witnessing now was strange — their heavenly soldiers were still in the world, guarding this supreme sacred temple.

“Let’s go look at other places.”

They left this spot and entered other small worlds within the temple complex. Every level here had many halls, almost all connected to the next level. After passing through several places, what they saw was the same — the thirty-first level indeed had living “heavenly soldiers.”

At the same time, in front of every stone gate, cultivators had stopped, gathering in large numbers, not daring to rashly enter.

No one wanted to stop here, all afraid of being beaten to the punch by others. The records at the very center of the ancestral temple concerned something of enormous significance — perhaps the Feathering Immortal Scripture, perhaps the secret of crossing the star regions, perhaps the Emperor’s exclusive sacred treasure, the Immortal Tears Green Gold.

Finally, one group of ancient clan warriors was the first to take action. They had a natural sense of superiority toward the human race, formed back in the primordial era. However strange the ancestral temple of the Feathering Divine Dynasty was, they weren’t afraid, desperately wanting to obtain the Green Cauldron that had existed since ancient times.

“Boom!”

The rain poured down torrentially, a bolt of lightning splitting across the sky, and people saw that group of ancient clan warriors had been discovered, engaging in battle with a column of heavenly soldiers, curses ringing out continuously.

Everyone was shocked to discover that none of the heavenly soldiers spoke a word — their skills were masterful, their aura like a rainbow. Instead, it was the ancient clan showing signs of being outmatched, shouting and crying out nonstop.

Wherever the heavenly soldiers’ black battle swords pointed, none of this group of ancient beings’ various treasures could block them — all sliced into fragments. The black sword-light crisscrossed, truly like heavenly soldiers descended to earth, and soon members of the ancient clan were being cleaved in half.

Blood-colored lightning danced and slashed, the rain pouring down harder and harder like water from an overturned basin, figures becoming somewhat blurred, but people could still see that this group of ancient beings was finished. Although they had killed a few heavenly soldiers, in the end they were the ones annihilated.

Outside the stone gate, everyone gasped in shock — that group of ancient clan warriors hadn’t been weak at all, yet they’d been wiped out so quickly.

“How can there still be living people? Could the Feathering Divine Dynasty’s soldiers really achieve eternal life without aging, sealed within this divine temple, having lived on all this time?” Many people were uncertain and alarmed, deeply unsettled in their hearts — this ancient temple exceeded their imagination.

The heavenly soldiers, each one had achieved great merit, possessed extraordinary skill and superior methods — otherwise how could they have been granted that title? They were absolutely people born for war.

“This is troublesome, hard to break through.” Some people’s hearts trembled, hesitating to advance.

“These heavenly soldiers are all Grand Masters. Just how powerful was the Feathering Divine Dynasty back then?” Someone was astonished and uncertain.

“I think there shouldn’t be too many heavenly soldiers — probably only a dozen or so columns of them. With so many of us, we can break through.” Most people naturally weren’t willing to give up.

At this point, someone else made a move, pushing open a stone gate and slipping in lightly, then directly using earth escape technique to sink beneath the ground.

“Ah……”

However, not long after, a miserable scream rang out. A soldier clad in armor, holding a black battle spear, thrust it into the ground and hooked someone up — it was exactly that cultivator who had just gone in.

“Splat!”

He shook forcefully, and that person instantly shattered into pieces, dying a violent death.

“Eh!”

Qi Luo’s gaze was sharp as torches, looking toward a nearby stone gate — no one had opened it themselves, clearly someone strong had gone in, so fast that no one saw it happen.

“That’s an old assassin king from the Hell Divine Dynasty!” Qi Luo narrowed his eyes, a killing soldier flashing briefly between his brows before vanishing.

“So that means we can get in, as long as our skills are sufficient, even those heavenly soldiers won’t be able to detect us.”

“Something’s off. This is only the thirty-first level. I think even someone too powerful, even if discovered, would be let through — ahead there should be even more formidable guardians.”

The group whispered among themselves for a while, also beginning to prepare to act, because others were gradually setting off too, each choosing their own stone gate, identifying their direction of breakthrough.

“Ziyue, you’ve escorted me this far, that’s enough. Go back.” Ye Fan turned around, facing Ji Ziyue. If they continued forward, they might really be heading into dangerous territory, and he didn’t want her to risk it.

“No, I want to see with my own eyes as you ascend the Five-Colored Sacrificial Altar.” Ji Ziyue said stubbornly, tears welling in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, with me here, no one can hurt her.” Qi Luo spoke up.

“Indeed, I’ll go along to see you off before the Five-Colored Sacrificial Altar. I can guarantee her safety.” The Monkey also spoke.

Duan De and the Black Emperor clamored even louder, claiming that even a thousand or eight hundred enemies coming at once would be killed without exception, and the wild man voiced his agreement too. Seeing this, Ye Fan said nothing more.

The old blind man spoke up, saying: “Ahead grows increasingly dangerous. Everyone should light a soul lamp with me — in case we get separated, we’ll be able to know if something has happened.”

More and more cultivators rushed into the small world of the thirty-first level, miserable screams ringing out from time to time — clearly many people were perishing. Those heavenly soldiers coordinated seamlessly, mastering an ancient battle formation of terrifying power.

“Go!”

Finally, Ye Fan and the others pushed open the massive stone gate and also entered this mysterious small world. The rain was still heavy, the ground a sea of mud, ancient trees of various kinds ahead, but no buildings were in sight. A column of heavenly soldiers immediately spotted them and charged over to kill them.

Ye Fan and the Monkey cleared the way in front, both incredibly valiant, their bodies blazing with boundless golden blood-energy, dyeing the pitch-black rainy night into a brilliant gold.

“Boom!”

The great battle began immediately. Ye Fan’s fists carried bolt after bolt of massive golden lightning, as if connected to the thunder in the heavens above, his fist-force vast and boundless. He immediately sent one heavenly soldier flying with his first strike, blood spraying out.

“Splat!”

The Monkey was even more decisive, swinging his great iron staff, smashing a heavenly soldier’s right arm into paste, unstoppably brave.

“They’re really alive!” The Black Emperor clamped down on someone’s arm, biting down with all his might, tearing off the armor to inspect it carefully, howling wildly: “Speak! What’s going on? What’s your origin?”

“Boom!”

It had been too careless — every heavenly soldier was a Grand Master. An iron spear thrust in, nearly piercing through its chin. Fortunately its hide was thick and its flesh tough, though it still got punched into a black eye.

This column of heavenly soldiers was very decisive, abandoning a few corpses, retreating quickly, vanishing into the curtain of rain, not entangling with them persistently.

“Let’s get moving, quick!” Qi Luo shouted.

This place couldn’t be lingered in for long — if a few more columns of heavenly soldiers came, it would be troublesome. They didn’t believe there were only a few columns; there were likely even more formidable figures.

Just after they’d left, not long after, a powerful aura erupted in that area. A figure rode blood-colored lightning forward, holding a black broadsword, its divine might shocking the world.

“It’s a Heavenly General!” Ji Ziyue gasped in a low voice, recognizing it from the armor. It was said that those who could receive the title of Heavenly General must have severed the Dao, and had achieved meritorious military service.

“This king is quite extraordinary, close to becoming a Grand Accomplishment King. Don’t provoke him.” Qi Luo murmured to himself.

They didn’t linger, quickly vanishing into the curtain of rain, transforming into a bolt of lightning and rushing into the depths. Clearly this was a vast territory, hills everywhere, covered with forests, with no ancient buildings in sight the whole way.

In the meantime, they saw more heavenly soldiers, avoiding several columns, forcibly killing seven or eight of them, rushing forward the whole way, and in the curtain of rain they saw a glowing palace hall.

However, it was also at this moment that they were all struck with terror — ahead, the smell of blood was pungent, corpses everywhere. Most of the people who’d entered earlier were dead, at least several hundred had lost their lives.

The earth was trembling, ahead a black mass, sweeping across all directions like a torrent of steel, the very earth quaking!

Every hair on the Black Emperor’s body stood on end, hair-raising terror, saying: “Damn it, this is a whole formation, at least five hundred heavenly soldiers! Am I going crazy, or has this world gone crazy? One sect producing five hundred Grand Masters!”

They were all stunned. Indeed there were five hundred of them, all with Grand Master-level strength, wearing ancient armor, holding black battle swords and iron halberds, the aura they emitted making heaven and earth tremble.

“Over there… there’s more!” Duan De’s scalp was crawling too.

On the other side, there was likewise a formation of five hundred, advancing step by step, the momentum they unleashed like mountains crumbling and seas roaring, slaughtering clean the cultivators who had just rushed in!

“This damn well must be an illusion, there’s absolutely no way this is real. Even at the Feathering Divine Dynasty’s peak, there couldn’t have been a thousand Grand Masters!” The old blind man said.

This exceeded all reason, utterly incomprehensible. Over two hundred thousand years had passed — even if the Feathering Divine Dynasty truly existed in the world in some strange form, having merely hidden away in seclusion, how could they possibly have produced so many experts?

“That terrifying aura is over in that mountainous area. Let’s not force our way through — let’s go around from here and take a look.” Qi Luo, most sensitive to killing intent, pointed off into the distance at a patch of pitch-black, gloomy forest land.

When Ye Fan and the others crept over there, they immediately felt a wave of discomfort — ahead of this mountainous land, a world-shattering force surged violently, pressing down on them so that they couldn’t breathe. This world was about to collapse — there was an incomparably powerful aura!

Finally, they stood on a hillside, looking down, and none could remain calm — cold sweat broke out all over their bodies.

Ahead lay a cemetery, most of the stone tablets fallen over, the rain pouring down in torrents. Not a few ancient graves had split open, white bones one after another crawling out, then rapidly growing flesh and blood.

“Heavens, what am I seeing? This should be the cemetery of generations of heavenly soldiers. They… how have they come back to life? Could it be that the Feathering Divine Dynasty really did abandon its own rule voluntarily, undertaking some world-defying great matter, and now they’ve discovered the secret of becoming immortal, of eternal life without death, in… turning the living into flesh, and white bones back to life?!”