The insufferably arrogant Son of the Celestial Emperor, whose bloodline constitution was said to be the finest under heaven, had lorded over all with contempt — yet now he had been utterly destroyed in both body and soul, leaving onlookers with nothing but sighs of resignation.
“What bloodline? What constitution? Without the corresponding heart to match, in the end you’re nothing but a weed.”
This was no time for standing around in a daze. The holy might surged forth in vast, sweeping waves, spreading across the entire mountain range — the situation had reached a point of extreme peril.
“Rumble—!”
From within Zhenxian City, another surge of holy might erupted skyward, transforming into a massive black sun that blazed across the heavens, blocking the path of that powerful ancient clan saint and cutting off his advance.
“The Black Tortoise Demon Saint has made his move,” Ye Fan said.
The reason he had crossed over to this place to slay the Son of the Celestial Emperor was precisely because he feared something unexpected might occur. With the Black Tortoise Demon Saint stationed here, at a critical moment he would be able to hold back the ancient clan’s Ancestral King.
“Clang—!”
The Holy Imperial Prince received the Immortal Celestial Blade and then swiftly activated a secret technique, channeling all residual auras onto himself alone, fabricating the impression that he had acted entirely on his own.
“There’s no need for that. The Ancestral Kings among the Eight Divine Generals are not the kind to listen to reason,” Ye Fan said, shaking his head.
“They won’t listen to reason — but someone will reason with them, slowly,” the Holy Imperial Prince said in a low, measured voice.
“All of you, go.” Ye Fan turned to Li Tian, Ye Tong, and the others, telling them to retreat into the Village of Heaven and not come out.
“Master, come with us,” Ye Tong said, her face full of urgency as she grabbed the hem of his robe. To remain here was certain death — even if Ye Fan possessed heaven-defying talent, he could not stand against a saint.
“As long as the green mountains remain, there’s no shortage of firewood. Endure for five hundred years, return after becoming a saint, and slaughter every last one of those old turtles — wipe them all out clean.” Long Ma said ferociously, wearing an ugly expression.
“I’ve already pierced the heavens — someone has to face the consequences, don’t they?” Ye Fan said softly with a sigh.
“No! Leave now — without becoming a saint, you cannot face them in battle. Let’s see who dares enter Purple Mountain!” the Black Emperor said, fixing his gaze on the divine light of Transcendence gleaming in the distance.
Ye Fan shook his head. Having killed the Son of the Celestial Emperor, there would inevitably be enormous waves stirred up. The Ancestral Kings stationed in the Northern Region among the Eight Divine Generals were certainly not the kind to listen to reason — the next step would most likely be an all-out battle between saints.
“The heavens were pierced by my hand. I’ll be the one to face what comes,” he said, his resolve set.
“Master!” Ye Tong clenched her fists tight, eyes reddened, tears brimming in them — she felt as though Ye Fan was walking toward his death.
“It’s fine. I’ve already prepared a grand gift for them. If they truly dare to push me…” Ye Fan’s eyes deepened as he gazed toward the eternal edge of the horizon.
“To be safe, let us leave this place first. The truly supreme existence is almost here,” the Holy Imperial Prince said.
“Agreed.” Ye Fan nodded.
Under Ye Fan’s unyielding insistence, Ye Tong, Li Tian, and all the others departed, retreating into the Village of Heaven. With a saint-slayer stationed there and its location utterly concealed, their safety was assured.
The Black Emperor remained. He was a master of the Great Dao formation patterns — should something unexpected occur, he could help them escape. Years ago, in the Immortal Mountain, he had obtained the chessboard formation pattern; even the life restricted zones had been unable to stop it, and they had successfully crossed through — which said everything that needed to be said.
Ye Fan, Ji Zi, the Holy Imperial Prince, and the Black Emperor crossed over to the Northern Region, entering the divine city of Tianxuan Stone Workshop, where they found the saint Wei Yi. They gathered together around a fire, brewing tea of enlightenment — a fragrant, immortal-scented brew suffused with the radiance of the Dao, so pure it seemed as though one might transcend the mortal world and soar into the heavens, the bones feeling light and nimble.
After Ye Fan and the others departed, the Southern and Central Regions erupted into chaos. The heavens had been pierced, and the outside world descended into pandemonium, nearly boiling over.
The Son of the Celestial Emperor was dead. This news shook the world. The entire Eastern Desolation trembled three times and shuddered three times — the world was stunned, and almost no one could bring themselves to believe it.
The Eight Divine Generals wailed in grief, draped in white mourning cloth, consumed by boundless sorrow. The son of a god had died — it was as though the sky itself had collapsed.
“How could this be? The god’s only bloodline has been extinguished. We failed to protect him — we are sinners of a thousand ages!” The Eight Divine Generals’ great army wept bitterly, the air heavy with sorrow, as though ten thousand mountains had crumbled.
Among the ten thousand clans, countless people gasped in shock, finding it utterly inconceivable — it was a bolt from the blue, something that had happened far too suddenly.
The Immortal Celestial Emperor — supreme through all ages, unrivaled across the nine heavens and ten earths — had left behind only one bloodline. And now that sole bloodline had been destroyed? Many people were left in a daze.
The Phoenix Blood Mountain, the Fire Unicorn Cave, the Primordial Lake, the Shencan Ridge, and the other great ancient imperial clans all stood frozen in disbelief. The Son of the Celestial Emperor had led so many forces southward, yet had been killed — truly a heaven-shaking development.
On that day, the Northern Region trembled. On several great peaks surrounding an ancient palace, four ancient saints unleashed long roars that could swallow the sun and moon. Their ancestral forms tore through the sky, traveling south all the way toward Zheixian City.
“There must be an account given. If the true culprit does not come forward, we will wash the world in blood!”
Those merciless words shook every mountain and valley, reverberating across the land — and soon every cultivator came to know them, spreading throughout the Eastern Desolation.
The fall of the Son of the Celestial Emperor, killed outside Zheixian City, sent the whole world into upheaval. The consequences that unfolded were far more terrifying than anyone had imagined, and the reactions of the various factions diverged wildly.
The storm was gathering. A crushing oppression blanketed the entire Great Desolation — an unbearable, suffocating atmosphere. It was the stillness before the tempest.
“He’s actually dead… The Immortal Celestial Emperor was unrivaled through all ages. He inherited that very constitution and bloodline — how could he have been killed by someone?” Many of the ancient clans refused to believe it.
“Ha — so much for the son of a god. In the end, wasn’t he just cut down like anyone else? What a disgrace to his forebears’ legacy.”
“What a powerful human race — first they waged great battles against the Void of the Phoenix Path and Fire Unicorn, and now they’ve killed the Son of the Celestial Emperor. Even the children of ancient emperors have met their match!”
In this age when ten thousand clans coexisted, some factions were well-disposed toward humanity, some remained neutral, and others were deeply hostile — so their reactions to this event were entirely different.
“This is a peerless talent of his generation, capable of opposing the true children of ancient emperors, and in the end even slaying the Son of the Celestial Emperor. Truly breathtaking. Yet he has invited such calamity upon himself — he has pierced the heavens. How will this end?”
Some people vaguely guessed that the Holy Body of the human race had perhaps returned, but not a single one of them said it aloud.
The world was shocked. All under heaven was in upheaval. Every cultivator was paying attention — the implications of this event were simply too vast.
The Son of the Celestial Emperor’s identity was far too exceptional. Several Primordial Ancestral Kings had moved south in fury that broke through the nine heavens, declaring they would wash the world in blood and sweep the Southern Region clean.
“It was I who slew the Son of the Celestial Emperor!” In the midst of this swirling undercurrent and turbulent atmosphere, the Holy Imperial Prince stepped forward in the Northern Region, making a public declaration to the world — taking all of it upon himself.
Yet all clans knew full well that the fall of the Son of the Celestial Emperor must have had everything to do with that powerful human cultivator — it was he who had swept him away and struck him down outside Zheixian City.
“Holy Imperial Prince, you must die!” The Eight Divine Generals roared in fury, their clamor nearly splitting the Central Region apart, as though the waters of the four seas might drown the blue sky.
“Since you’ve stepped forward and confessed, then atone with your death!” one Ancestral King bellowed, heading straight for the Northern Region, intending to kill the Holy Imperial Prince at the earliest possible moment.
“You needn’t bother — I’ll go to Zheixian City myself!” On that same day, a golden battle-ape, his entire body of fur shimmering like crystal, threw his head back and roared to the heavens — then vanished in an instant.
Ye Fan, the Holy Imperial Prince, Ji Zi, and the Black Emperor left the divine city. Not wanting to be cornered there by that ancient saint, they began traveling south.
“Black Emperor, the formation platform — nothing wrong with it, right? We don’t want to get cut off by a saint halfway through.”
“Even the Immortal Mountain couldn’t stop the chessboard formation platform, and we still crossed through just fine. Trying to cut off my path of escape — heh, heh, heh…” The great black dog sneered with magnificent contempt.
“Slow down. Let us wait until the bell of Mount Sumeru rings, and then we’ll set out,” the Holy Imperial Prince said.
At that moment, the Eastern Desolation was in an uproar, nearly turning the heavens upside down. The Ancestral Kings among the Eight Divine Generals had proclaimed their intent to kill the Holy Imperial Prince — this was a move that would tear the heavens completely open.
The Son of the Celestial Emperor’s death could be said to have already pierced the heavens. But if the Holy Imperial Prince were to die as well, the consequences might be even more severe.
He was a prince without a guardian — ignored in ordinary times. Yet if someone of a saint’s caliber were to truly kill him, there was one who would likely go berserk, burning the Eastern Desolation in a war of blood and overturning the heavens and earth.
Not just the human race — even the ancient clans felt their flesh crawl. One ancient saint had gone to the Northern Region to kill the Holy Imperial Prince. If successful, that would mean an earth-shattering wave was about to rise.
“Dong—!”
On that day, the distant toll of a bell rang out across Mount Sumeru, spreading across countless tens of thousands of miles. The entire Thunder Sound Temple blazed with brilliant radiance as the light of the Buddha illuminated all directions, every living creature in the ten regions prostrating in worship, all ailments and diseases wiped clean.
“The bell has finally rung,” the Holy Imperial Prince said upon receiving word, his thoughts drifting into a momentary daze.
“That grand gift of yours won’t be needed — tuck it away quickly, or people will lose their nerve.” The Black Emperor said to Ye Fan, letting out a long breath of relief.
Deep within the mountain ranges outside Zheixian City, silhouettes crowded the area — cultivators everywhere. The ten thousand clans had all arrived.
Such a momentous event had occurred today — one could truly say the heavens had been pierced. Not a single clan was without concern. Those who had come were all great masters; the situation was extremely grave.
The storm was about to break. This was the brief stillness before the collapse of the sky. What would happen next — no one knew.
“What?! The Holy Imperial Prince has come. That mysterious human powerhouse has also arrived. They… truly dare to appear?!”
“Uproar—!”
The Central Region erupted into clamor. The crowd was shaken to the core, a great din rising to the heavens — no one had anticipated that Ye Fan and the others would truly dare to come here.
The Great Desolation where Zheixian City stood was filled with a roar of voices, all clans stunned, with a vague sense among many that this matter was deeply complicated — far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.
“I fear… this touches upon the ancient grudges between the great powers of the Primordial Age!” Some ancient clan mountain masters were keenly perceptive.
The Holy Imperial Prince, Ji Zi, and the others arrived together, appearing outside Zheixian City, their expressions calm and untroubled, not the slightest ripple of emotion on their faces.
“You truly dare to appear?!” A fearsome voice rang out, tearing across the sky. The entire firmament exploded, primordial chaos qi billowing and swirling as heaven and earth split apart.
All living creatures trembled. Even those who had retreated to the farthest distances could not suppress the urge to kneel down and kowtow in reverence — this was true “holy might,” transcending the bounds of what was “human.”
“Why would I not dare? A true man walks through this world with a clear conscience — where in all of heaven and earth is there any place I cannot go?” The Holy Imperial Prince raised his head high. His body was like something cast from divine gold — still without fear, standing tall with his great iron staff in hand.
“You caused the death of the god’s only descendant. You are a sinner of a thousand ages — not even dying ten thousand times would atone for your crime!” That was only a single voice, yet it made the void collapse and the sky explode, pressing upon heaven and earth until all fell into silence, the ten thousand things trembling.
The Holy Imperial Prince laughed loudly to the heavens and said: “Nothing but a worthless Son of the Celestial Emperor — skill falling short of another’s, cut down right here. What is there to say about any of that?”
A stern, authoritative voice thundered: “Insolence! He was the god’s descendant, revered by ten thousand clans — he was your sovereign, and you owe him prostration. Why have you not knelt and begged forgiveness?!”
“Gods’ descendant? Rubbish — nothing more than that. He couldn’t even beat me in single combat, so I killed him. What of it?” The Holy Imperial Prince would not yield in the slightest — he actually shouted back at the Ancestral King in a booming voice.
From a distance, people didn’t even dare breathe. Even the great ancient clans were the same — watching all of this with tense anxiety.
“An ignorant thing that knows not death, daring to blaspheme against the divine — today, killing you is heaven’s own justice!” A great hand reached down from the depths of the sky. With a thunderous boom, the ten thousand things were annihilated, primordial chaos surging violently as though the world itself were being destroyed. It slapped directly toward the Holy Imperial Prince, intending to turn him into pulp.
He truly dared to strike? Every single person felt their scalp go numb. Even the great Primordial Royal Clans were seized by successive waves of shock. One ancient clan patriarch, with keen perception, drew a conclusion — today’s matter was absolutely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.