The coalition force of ancient royal lineages had set out on their distant expedition, entrusted with great hopes. Though its nature was exploratory, once the situation had been assessed, it would very likely bring an enormous opportunity to all of them.

The most powerful evolution fluid had become an obsession for the multitudes. Every clan waited anxiously for news — once specific intelligence was sent back, they would dispatch a massive army that would blot out the sky.

Heaven’s Village had grown tranquil. Even the Great Black Dog had gone into closed-door cultivation, drooling all the while, tempering his physical body and working toward his breakthrough.

With the successful successive extraction of the first, second, and third-stage evolution fluids, the important figures of the Heavenly Court had all entered closed-door cultivation — few people remained.

The Slaughter Saint remained unmoved, still as a stone idol, seated cross-legged beneath an ancient tree, guarding the primordial-energy-of-ten-thousand-things cauldron.

Beyond these two, Ye Fan remained free. He was waiting for the fourth-stage evolution fluid — the first three stages held no benefit for him and could not assist him in advancing.

During these days, he had been continuously reading through the Natural Great Dao. Studying the principles recorded in this ancient scripture, he had come to deeply appreciate the extraordinary difficulty of achieving Sainthood — it was a heavenly barrier.

Cross it — and the moth breaks from its cocoon, becoming a butterfly!

Yet to transform from a worm into a vibrant and brilliant butterfly — how easily said. Since antiquity, none could say how many outstanding figures had been blocked at this gateway.

Since ancient times, of the countless multitudes of cultivators, most did not become butterflies — they died within their cocoons, unable to break through.

Ye Fan read at length, then closed the ancient scroll. He waited for the fourth-stage evolution fluid. Once it was successfully refined, he would be able to advance to a higher level — capable of doing battle with saints!

There was still one person in Heaven’s Village who had not used the evolution fluid: Ye Tong. He was on the verge of severing the Dao, and everything depended on himself alone.

“Master, I intend to go out and travel for a while, to seek a chance that will break through my shackles.” Ye Tong wished to journey across the land, making a final charge toward Dao-severing.

“Go.” Ye Fan nodded.

“Martial brother, I’ll go with you — the two of us unmatched in our generation going out together, and all four seas shall submit.” Little bald Hua Hua spoke up, sharp-witted for his age. He was naturally a free spirit — prone to running off here and there.

“Go practice your cultivation properly.” Ye Fan shooed him away.

The primordial-energy-of-ten-thousand-things cauldron radiated a peaceful and auspicious energy. After months of enveloping immortal mist, it had grown ever more extraordinary — refining medicines while resonating with the Great Dao brought benefits to the cauldron itself as well.

Immortal light burst forth, various order divine chains shooting in all directions. Mortal dust could not come near it. Its entire surface was inscribed with runes — complex and unfathomable traces of the Dao, born alongside the various tribulations it had endured over the years.

Ye Fan cast a glance at his cauldron, his mind calm and clear. He closed his eyes and once again began to contemplate the Natural Great Dao.

In the outside world, the ten thousand ancient races were all eagerly anticipating and hoping for good news from the Eternal Main Star. The evolution fluid was enormously important, filling their hearts with longing.

These days, the turbulence had settled somewhat. The competition for divine mineral materials had reached its conclusion — there was simply nothing more to trade.

Ye Tong transformed himself into an ordinary youth and set out on a difficult journey, entering Central Province. He was searching his heart — what exactly was he lacking? He was asking the Dao — how could he sever through?

Along the way, he forgot everything else. Filled with nothing, empty of self, his heart held only two words: sever the Dao.

As time passed, he thought of the suffering of his earliest years. The declining Sun God Clan had been exterminated in its entirety. He thought of that old servant who had given his life to save him. He thought of his solitude then, talking to small creatures all by himself…

Finally, he thought of Ye Fan — this master had saved him, transmitted techniques to him, opened his Immortal Platform, and allowed the profound meaning of his distant ancestor’s Solar True Scripture to emerge of its own accord within his heart.

He possessed a complete Solar True Scripture!

This was the secret his distant ancestors had stored in the bloodline of their entire clan. Even though the text had long since been lost, so long as a person appeared whose bloodline was perfectly identical to that of the Solar Holy Emperor, it could be obtained.

“Severing the Dao — severing the endless obsessions, breaking the endless illusions.”

Ye Tong wandered with no destination in mind, alone and solitary. On the eve of this Dao-severing, he thought of the scene when the Jin Crow clan had pursued and massacred the Sun God Clan on the Purple Tenuity Star.

“Father… mother…” His heart ached. The experiences of his earliest years surfaced one by one. He had sealed them away all these years, unwilling to face them. But now, on the cusp of Dao-severing, the most painful and most unwanted scars would all be mercilessly stripped away.

“Sister, I miss you…” The past returned, and Ye Tong’s eyes filled with tears. He could not hold back a cry.

He had a little elder sister. In that time of crisis, she had acted without a moment’s hesitation to save him, her body drenched in blood, yet still smiling brilliantly at him — telling him to live on and live well.

She had only been a little girl — extraordinarily gifted, a rare prodigy beneath heaven. But she was far too young, and had never had the chance to grow up.

“Be good, little brother.”

The voice of that little elder sister still echoed with crystal clarity in Ye Tong’s ears. That beautiful little girl, in the moment before death, had whispered these words to him with gentleness — bleeding, crying, and smiling, urging him to live, to grow up and become an adult.

“Elder sister… I have lived on…”

Ye Tong’s tears rolled down. He stretched his hands forward, reaching out, wanting to touch that young face, that face that had looked upon him with such care. She was smiling, yet she had tears — amidst the destruction of their home and family, she had comforted him, told him to be strong.

The Jin Crows had screamed and screeched, golden lights streaking across the sky, the palace crumbling, the clan in decline — and then the flight toward the sea, the endless pursuit.

Dead. All of them dead.

The blood was vivid and heart-wrenching, lives withering away one by one, loved ones departing one after another — grasped at but never held, fighting to the death before him, carving out a path of survival for him.

Ye Tong wept. Though many years had passed, everything that had happened remained vividly before his eyes, piercing him to the bone.

Severing the Dao — the most brutal of all paths. Everything would resurface, everything would be experienced once more.

Sealed away for years — Ye Fan had saved him, but could not fully save his young heart. That small child had been sealed away by himself in the depths of his heart.

Now, the scar was torn open — raw and bloody. The child of those years had appeared.

A pitiful little child walking forward alone, trusting no one, full of fearful trembling, only daring to speak to the birds in the woods — large eyes filled with tears, lifting his face to ask a small bird:

How far away is forever? His father had said — he would always silently watch over him. When would the future come? His elder sister had said — she would appear in the future, she would come to see him again.

“I know now. They will not come. Like Elder Jiang, all of them… died forever to protect me.”

These were the memories of a child of five or six years. At this moment, they tore Ye Tong’s heart apart. He could not hold back — he cried out.

Ye Tong suffered greatly. He walked upon the path of Dao-severing, and the sorrowful memories of family — that was only one part of Dao-severing — yet already he found it almost unbearable.

For this was the wound of his childhood, and it had caused him deep damage.

He was a person of deep sentiment and loyalty. He could neither suppress it nor forget it. Facing it once more brought nothing but raw, bleeding pain.

“How did Master sever the Dao? When he returned, he received the terrible news of the passing of both his parents, and faced many more painful ordeals. Yet he never spoke of any of it…”

“I must persist. Master once said: pain, sorrow — bleeding and weeping are things only you yourself know. There is no need to shout, no need to let the whole world know. The path of a cultivator is bitter and lonely. Chewing on solitude in silence, tasting the bitterness alone, is what allows one to climb ever higher. This is nothing.”

“Even the Great Dao itself was reversed and severed by Master. What is this, then? I must face it, I must look at it directly. Someday I will return to the Purple Tenuity Star, and I will go to little sister’s desolate grave and press a handful of yellow earth upon it.”

The light in Ye Tong’s eyes grew ever more resolute. He emerged from the sorrowful world of his own making. He let that child who had been sealed away for so many years move forward together with the rest of him — sealed away no longer.

His body began to radiate light, like a great divine sun hanging in the sky. One step — one phantom-flash of dissolution. His entire form was submerged in blazing, resplendent light, transforming into a Solar Divinity.

“My Dao, my path — does not trace the footsteps of my Master, does not exceed the confines of my distant ancestor’s scripture, is not bound by the paths of those who came before. Beginning from the Solar True Scripture, ending at the Solar Origin Source.”

The light in Ye Tong’s eyes grew ever more brilliant and unwavering. He stepped forward with determination, ascending into the sky above the great wilderness, one step at a time moving toward the sun in the heavens.

“I cultivate the Solar True Scripture. Since ancient times, no two people have ever proven the Dao upon the same path. To free myself from it, I can only approach it from its very source.”

Ye Tong brought forth his chessboard formation platform, stepped through a domain gate, and charged toward the sun — seeking to sever a Dao entirely his own, ascending to the absolute pinnacle.

When he appeared again, endless fire spirits danced around him, blazing flames burning in surges. This was a kingdom of fire.

Ye Tong drew near to the sun. The blazing light, the terrifying heat, was sufficient to incinerate all things in the world. Yet he cultivated the Solar True Scripture, bathed in fire from head to toe — undying and imperishable.

He sought to enter the sun and sever his own path. Had anyone outside known of this, they would have thought him insane — even many ancient saints would not have dared!

“Remarkable — the sun in this Northern Dipper Star Domain bears the imprint of an ancient great emperor.” An ancient Jin Crow was beating its wings, assaulting the area near the sun.

“Look — there are several golden leaves within the sun, resembling the sacred leaves of the Fusang Divine Tree. Imprinted with the markings of an emperor, preserved since ancient times, impossible to erase.” Another ancient Jin Crow spoke in surprise.

After his return, Ye Fan had inquired with the Slaughter Saint about the situation and learned that two ancient Jin Crows had come to the Northern Dipper. He had been quite startled at the time.

For these were two ancient saints, come from a star called Huosang — a world of Jin Crows. It was there that the hero Da Yi had been killed by a quasi-emperor from that star. These two Jin Crows had come from Huosang Star, exploring the way for a stronger ancient Jin Crow, having appeared on the land of Central Province before charging toward the sun to explore the ancient relics.

“Hmm — who is that young one who has come? He is… a naturally born supreme Yang constitution — even more terrifying than the fire constitution of our Jin Crow clan!”

“The solar ultimate essence flows through his body in a cleansing torrent, unable to harm him in the slightest — only expanding and strengthening his vitality. He is comparable to what our clan’s great emperor looked like in youth!”

The two ancient Jin Crows had discovered Ye Tong, both of them revealing expressions of astonishment.

They then discovered that Ye Tong was on the verge of Dao-severing — setting out on the solitary path, and seemingly intending to enter the sun, heading toward those few golden leaves.

With a flash, the two ancient Jin Crows appeared, blocking his path. Their expressions were unusual — this was without question a once-in-ten-thousand-generations human immortal-seed.

“Young friend, I see that your divine resources are heaven-formed. Would you be willing to join our Jin Crow clan as a disciple? We would transmit to you a supreme secret scripture.”

Ye Tong’s eyes instantly cleared and returned to full sharpness. Upon seeing the two ancient Jin Crows, his eyes narrowed and hardened at once — he thought of his father, his mother… and his young elder sister, all of them destroyed by the Jin Crow clan.

“I would not.” He refused without a moment’s hesitation.

“Why? We are saints — is that Dao not worthy of being your teachers?” One of the ancient Jin Crows spoke.

“I already have a master. I will not enter another’s sect.” Ye Tong answered.

“Is that so? Let me take a look at how powerful your master is.” One of the Jin Crows reached out and extracted an obsession from deep within Ye Tong’s brow.

He had no intention of letting this supreme Yang constitution go. In the future, it would be of great use when he sought to break through his own realm. A once-in-ten-thousand-generations immortal seed — whether taken as a disciple or used as a furnace cauldron, the value would be immeasurable.

The other Jin Crow also acted, seeking to extract the profound arts Ye Tong had learned. Yet the Solar True Scripture had fused into Ye Tong’s bloodstream, transforming into mysterious runes — unable to take solid form. Only golden symbols appeared and disappeared, dimly visible.

“What — this could possibly be… the Great Emperor Script!” Both Jin Crows were instantly stunned, then revealed expressions of delight.

“Good, good, good — we have a destined master-and-disciple connection!” Both ancient Jin Crows radiated brilliant golden light. This young man must be kept in their possession — they could not let him go.

“I already have a master. I will not take another.” Ye Tong said.

However, beneath the saint level, all were as insects. No matter how astonishing he was, he was still only someone on the verge of severing the Dao. The gap in realm was too vast — he simply had no way to resist.

One Jin Crow placed a finger upon him and extracted his obsession, seeing within it his master — Ye Fan — and learning a great deal.

“So it is the human race’s Holy Body. I had barely arrived in this star domain when I heard of this person — and yet he turns out to be your master. However, what does he amount to? He is merely a small Dao-severing practitioner. How could he compare to us saints?”

“A mere insignificant insect. I could extinguish him with a raise of my hand. Come now, good disciple — come with us. How could that Holy Body compare to us? If you do not believe it, I will go and suppress him with a single flip of my palm this very moment!”

The two of them were resolved not to let him go. The Great Emperor Script flowing in Ye Tong’s bloodstream had to be extracted, and the person himself was to be taken away. For them, both were priceless!

Ye Tong was furious but could not break free — powerless to contend against saints.

Heaven’s Village — the siblings Gu Lin and Gu Fei quickly sought out Ye Fan, anxiously reporting to him that Ye Tong might have encountered trouble.

“Upon the sun!”

This sibling pair were inheritors of the Divine Reckoner’s tradition, possessing extraordinary divination arts. They had divined Ye Tong’s location.

Ye Fan said nothing more. He immediately brought forth his formation platform, entered the void, and charged toward the sun!