The bright and razor-sharp spear tip flickered with a dark gold sheen. A startling trail of blood dripped from it, and a skull was pinned upon it, black hair matted and clumped by the blood into strand upon strand.

Wang Teng’s expression was ferocious. His eyes held an endless cold menace and blood-crimson fury, filled with resentment. He emitted divine consciousness fluctuations and screamed, “You will never obtain the Disorder Ancient Scripture, nor the Ancient Emperor Scripture. I would rather die than leave them for you. As for the ‘Qian’ character secret among the Nine Secret Arts — in this present age, only I know it. Let it be lost to the world forever!”

He screamed and roared, his mind in chaos. The demonic markings on his forehead grew ever clearer, making him look as though he had lost all semblance of humanity. From the crown of his skull, dark light surged skyward — and then, inexplicably, a mysterious living being began to materialize and take form.

Ye Fan flicked his finger. Golden immortal light sparkled and shattered the dark light. Rolling thunder rumbled in his palm, as he attempted to forcibly extract Wang Teng’s primordial spirit and examine his memories. This was an inestimable immortal inheritance technique using a Great Emperor’s legacy — and among the Nine Secret Arts, a wondrous art.

“You are no longer purely Wang Teng. You are the fusion of what remains of his original resentful thoughts and the shattered imprint of the Undying Mountain. To live on like this in such agony is worse than death — it would be better to seek release sooner.”

Ye Fan recited a true scripture, hoping to convert Wang Teng’s soul — or at the very least to dissolve that mysterious imprint, which unsettled even him.

“I am undying… Void Great Emperor — I am not done with you!” A beast-like roar burst forth from the depths of Wang Teng’s skull, and his entire cranium cracked.

Ye Fan showed no fear. He recited the Scripture of Universal Salvation. He was not worried about any Ancient Emperor rebirth — if such a thing were truly happening, Wang Teng would have been completely taken over long ago, and would not have ended up like this.

From this it was clear: it was nothing more than a strand of wicked thought — a fragment of a shattered spiritual imprint. However fearsome it might be, it could not stir up much of a storm.

“Kill, kill, kill…” Wang Teng’s mouth emitted a ceaseless barrage of screams, releasing a cold and ruthless demonic sound, and a secret technique of indescribable nature began to unfold.

Dark light surged from the crown of his skull, condensing into a Demon Fetus — black throughout, with wings of wind and thunder growing from its back, ancestral dragon horns sprouting from its head, and chaotic light swirling at its feet. It possessed a considerable aura of power.

“You were already killed ten-some hundred thousand years ago by the Void Great Emperor. You are nothing but a remnant thought. You no longer even know who you truly are. Perish sooner!”

Ye Fan spoke coldly. He recited the Scripture of Universal Salvation, and boundless radiance emanated from his entire body, growing ever more sacred and tranquil. The dark clouds instantly collapsed and began to dissolve continuously.

“Ahh…” Wang Teng and the phantom cried out together.

Bang.

Ye Fan struck with stunning force. The skull cracked, and he extracted the primordial spirit in one move, intending to read through its memories — this was the inestimable immortal inheritance, employing a Great Emperor’s legacy and the wondrous arts among the Nine Secrets.

“I will not let you have what you want!” Wang Teng screamed. His entire primordial spirit exploded, burning with fierce flames.

Ye Fan seized it and held nothing back — even suppressing it with a sacred artifact. But it was peculiarly resistant; his primordial spirit was impossible to control. It burned ever more intensely. Even severing and cutting it apart was to no avail.

“You will not obtain it. The ‘Qian’ character secret cultivates the primordial spirit — you cannot control me. Hahaha! Let the Nine Secrets be lost forever — a resounding silence for ten thousand ages!”

Ye Fan exerted every effort to prevent the destruction of his spirit. The “Qian” character secret was of immense importance — it was the supreme wondrous art for cultivating the primordial spirit, capable of sensing crises in advance.

Had it not been for the green immortal cauldron within his body obscuring the workings of heaven so that his affairs could not be divined — Wang Teng might have been able to use the Qian character secret to foresee the danger, and would never have come here to intercept and kill him.

“Hahaha! You will never obtain the Qian character secret. Come with me to the end!” The primordial spirit of Wang Teng dissolved into a sheet of flame, vanishing piece by piece.

When a person is determined to die, no one can stop them — especially a being of the primordial spirit. It could not be confined. Having cultivated the thousand-character secrets, his primordial spirit was utterly unique, and Ye Fan could not seal it shut. Several times it nearly broke free and fled.

At the same time, the Demon Fetus that had taken form — bearing wings of wind and thunder and treading in chaotic light, all in black — was struggling wildly, trying to escape.

Ye Fan unleashed all Nine Secret Arts, bringing every wondrous technique to bear, and suppressed it on the spot. Then once more he attempted to examine Wang Teng’s primordial spirit.

“End this!”

Wang Teng screamed. The Demon Fetus moved in tandem with him — struggling, convulsing violently — and then with a bang it exploded into pieces.

“It’s over!” Ye Fan’s heart went cold by half. Their primordial spirits had contained hidden treasures, and both had exploded. Even the sacred artifact had failed to contain them, and he was nearly caught in the explosion and severely wounded.

The black arrows radiated a dark light, blocking the storm of energy. He managed to sever and retain only a few fragments of the primordial spirit. All that light was then extinguished and wiped away.

“What a pity!”

Wang Teng had perished in both body and soul. In Ye Fan’s palms and fingertips, there remained only a dozen or so fragments of imprints — careful searching revealed nothing of value among them. They were all stray thoughts.

“Ancient Reversal Art — reassemble the sea of consciousness!” Ye Fan opened both hands and activated the only secret technique within the Veda Sutra.

Fragments of divine consciousness scattered throughout heaven and earth converged together. Yet still there was nothing to be discovered, and Ye Fan let out a long sigh. There was truly nothing to be done.

“Wait — let me try.” An Miaoyi approached with graceful steps. The ancient blue lamp on her shoulder scattered a dim Buddhist radiance, illuminating the area and manifesting a world of consciousness.

“The Northern Plains — in a vast expanse of the Gobi Desert, there is a divine lake. This is the most deeply rooted memory. Beyond this, nothing more.” An Miaoyi said.

She had used Buddhist methods to reconstruct what she could and obtained only this much — further tracing was impossible. The ancient blue lamp’s radiance swayed and shimmered.

“Never mind. One cannot force what is not meant to be. Perhaps the Nine Secret Arts are destined to remain scattered — gathering them all will require more time.” Ye Fan refused to believe that the Qian character secret would truly have its lineage severed.

“Take care of yourself!” An Miaoyi departed. It was time, in the end, to part ways.

Ye Fan nodded and watched her disappear into the sky.

The golden ancient war chariot and that golden battle sword were both rare secret artifacts — nearly indestructible. Ye Fan could not even estimate their rank. These were sealed objects that Wang Teng had never unlocked from beginning to end.

“I happen to be in need of a chariot for travel. This is quite fitting indeed.” Ye Fan tossed the golden battle sword onto the chariot, collected them both, and put them away. This war chariot and battle sword were most suited for battlefield combat and mass warfare.

Ye Fan traveled through the Western Desert for half a month, observing dozens of ancient temples. At last he arrived at the vicinity of Mount Sumeru, though he did not approach — he only observed from afar.

It was a mysterious and sacred great mountain, as though cast from gold. Seen from a distance, it blazed with brilliance, and vast immortal radiance steamed from it.

One could not know how much faith-power flowed toward that place — pure and sacred, forming one stream of light after another, converging together at last into countless rivers that cascaded downward, inundating that entire region.

Mount Sumeru was immense and boundless, yet the faith-power was even more abundant, covering every mountain range, like a vast ocean blotting out the sky — an endless expanse that made the mountain ranges seem like scattered islands within it.

From where he stood, it was impossible to make out the Great Thunder Sound Monastery in the distance. All he could see were the towering, majestic mountains — how many tens of thousands of zhang in height, he could not say — soaring into the clouds, golden and sacred, with all manner of spiritual birds circling in flight, like a divine realm.

In the end, Ye Fan withdrew and did not ascend the mountain. In this place his spirit and mind grew unsettled — he did not follow the Buddhist faith, and entering the mountain would cause great harm to his body.

Amitabha the Great Emperor — stunning across all ages past and present. To call him one of the most mysterious Great Emperors would not be far wrong. His methods defied heaven’s will. Who could say what he had left behind? Ye Fan did not wish to involve himself.

“Farewell, Western Desert!”

Ye Fan departed, stepped through a domain gate, crossed the void, and went directly to the Northern Plains. He was still not resigned when it came to the Qian character secret and the ancient scripture of the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor.

The Luotian Plains were covered in dense wild grass — a vast and desolate great steppe located in the northeastern part of the Northern Plains. Human presence was rarely seen there, and for tens of thousands of years, few people had ever ventured deep within.

In this place, wolves roamed in packs. On every moonlit night, the sound of their mournful howls could be heard.

The bright moon hung high. In the distance, a sky wolf howled at the moon — a massive silver wolf, several dozen zhang in height, swallowing moonlight and crying out again and again.

Ye Fan traveled alone, carrying a black spear. Along the way he had slain no small number of demon beasts and evil spirits, and at last arrived at this vast plains.

He was searching for a place — the Disorder Ancient Gobi Desert, within which there was said to be a divine lake.

“At last… it should be just ahead.”

The silver wolf was startled by him. It dissolved into a mass of silver flame and fled. Ye Fan pressed on and saw a stretch of Gobi Desert, concealed at the edge of the steppe.

In the early morning, wisps of mist coiled through the air. Deep within the Gobi Desert, he found the divine lake — five-colored clouds billowing above it, dazzling and crystalline.

A crane let out a long cry, spread its wings, and cleaved through the sky. It shot up from the face of a cliff wall, transformed into a beam of immortal radiance, and flew forward, descending to the ground. Its depths were impossible to fathom.

“It’s you… the mighty human Holy Physique.” The crane spoke in a human tongue, standing at the edge of the divine lake. Its feathers were white as jade, shimmering with a gentle glow.

“I have killed Wang Teng!” Ye Fan had long since heard that a crane had sheltered Wang Teng — that it had rescued him from the hands of Yao Guang’s Holy Son back in those days.

“I already know. His soul lamp has gone out. I sensed the aura of his death upon you as well — all of this was decided long ago.” The crane gave a long sigh, showing no intention of making a move.

Ye Fan gazed at the divine lake, rolling with spiritual energy, and studied it carefully.

The crane spoke again: “In his childhood, I brought him to this place. He obtained the inheritance of the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor — what a pity. A jade seedling wasted. After his defeat at your hands, the imprint of the Undying Mountain tainted the very source of his soul. Even had he not been defeated by you, he was destined to achieve nothing.”

The old crane lamented. Wang Teng had, after all, been cultivated and raised by it. Now that it learned of his death, a stretch of sighing and lamenting was only natural.

“I wish to know — was the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor truly another life of the Ruthless Great Emperor?” Ye Fan asked.

There was a rumor in the world that the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor was one of the reincarnations of the Ruthless One — for certain arts such as the “Slash My Fate Enlightenment Formula” bore an extreme resemblance to the techniques of the Ruthless Great Emperor.

“No.” The old crane shook its head and denied this directly.

The Disorder Ancient Great Emperor had lived a turbulent life, suffering many great defeats. Many times he had grown disheartened and despondent, his will sinking low. Yet he had possessed great fortune — first obtaining part of the Ruthless One’s techniques, then acquiring part of the Void Great Emperor’s methods. Later, after a hundred defeats, he had forged a Demon Fetus, and his achievement had reached the level of creation itself.

“All other Great Emperors lived without a single defeat. Only the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor suffered one defeat after another throughout his entire life — nearly beaten to the point of losing his Dao heart, until his very spirit was on the verge of collapse.” The crane said.

The Disorder Ancient broke from his chrysalis and was reborn. His Demon Fetus reached full completion. Only then did he reverse everything — defeating every opponent he had faced before, and ascending alone to the absolute pinnacle.

The Northern Domain was vast and sparsely populated. Throughout all of history, only this one Emperor had emerged from it.

The Disorder Ancient Great Emperor’s path to attaining the Dao was fraught with hardship. To say he suffered one defeat after another sounds unremarkable — yet the process was in truth exceedingly cruel. Separation by life and death, the passing of lovers, the brutal deaths of family, the slaying of his master, the complete annihilation of his friends — calamity upon calamity, which outsiders could never fully understand. And it was precisely for this reason that he could still struggle on after a hundred defeats, refusing to submit — because his heart was filled with unwillingness, because he had no choice but to rise.

“I understand why you have come here.” Ye Fan said.

“If you’ve come for the inheritance of the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. The underground palace has been sealed — no one can open it within a thousand years, unless the Great Emperor himself comes in person.” The old crane said.

Ye Fan furrowed his brow. He was not resigned.

“I never found a worthy successor for the Disorder Ancient Great Emperor — and for that I carry guilt. In a thousand years, I will certainly find the most exceptional successor and make amends for this failing.” Having said this, the crane spread its wings and produced an ancient piece of wood — half a foot in length — presenting it to Ye Fan. “This may contain within it the secret of the ‘Qian’ character formula. I leave it for you to study and comprehend. It was brought back from the Eastern Desolation by Wang Teng in his youth. I have no wish for the inheritance of the Nine Secret Arts to be severed.”

Ye Fan received it and performed a solemn and respectful bow. Though the old crane had cultivated Wang Teng, it was fair-minded — it had not protected him out of partiality, but had considered the broader picture in all things.

“This piece of azure gold that fell from the Ji Family’s ancestral hall bears the blood of the Void Great Emperor — it is something extraordinary…” The crane spread its wings, and a piece of bizarre and terrifying azure gold appeared in a rift in the void!