The two gaunt-boned, corpse-ghost-like existences faded away together with the immortal gate, vanishing completely. The endless killing intent they had radiated was also entirely withdrawn.

A layer of goosebumps rose across Ye Fan’s skin. Qi Luo’s words just now had explained everything — the Mortal World and the Underworld harbored Ancestor-Slayers: two existences of extreme, terrifying power.

“And just like that, they entered the immortal gate…” Qi Luo stood there in a daze. The two supreme enemies had departed — and they had actually walked the immortal path!

Not only ordinary cultivators — even the assembled sages and Ancient Saints from beyond the domain felt their hair stand on end. Only slowly did they recover from that bone-deep chill, gradually letting out a long breath.

To prove one’s Dao through slaughter — the ancient Ancestor-Slayers! Only beings such as these could silently erase a saint-king. The terror of it was beyond comprehension.

Ye Fan let out a sigh. Existences this horrifying could most likely threaten even Great Saints — they were merely one step away from crossing that threshold.

“What grievances, what grudges, what deep hatreds — in the face of the immortal path, it all becomes nothing. Everything can be set aside — and just like that, they left.”

The ancient clans had emerged into the world and wreaked havoc upon humanity. These two Ancestor-Slayers had regarded it all with cold indifference — taking no interest, asking no questions. The Heavenly Court was reestablished, and they had watched with frigid detachment — perhaps ready to deliver a decisive blow at a critical moment.

And now, the instant the immortal path opened, every grievance and grudge ceased to matter. All of it was cast aside, and they departed directly for the immortal realm.

On the twelfth day, another saint-king, drenched in blood and covered in wounds all over his body, was spitting out mouthfuls of blood — and yet laughing, his face alight with excitement as he forced his way through the immortal gate.

This was a saint-king of the Fallen Feather Clan — a being deeply hostile toward the human race, who had once advocated exterminating all life in the Northern Dipper Star Domain, seeking to restore the glory of the ancient royal clans.

And yet, it was precisely such an extreme ancient saint who, the instant the immortal gate appeared, abandoned his own clan without a second thought — no longer concerned with opposing the human race — and charged directly into the immortal gate.

Only at a moment like this could all manner of obsessions be let go. Compared to the immortal path, everything could be discarded — nothing mattered anymore.

“Father, have you abandoned me without a second thought!?” A female member of the Fallen Feather Clan — though she had recently risen to the level of Ancestor-King — had tear marks streaking her face. The immortal path had even made someone willing to abandon their closest kin, severing the bond between father and daughter.

The Northern Dipper Star Domain was in upheaval. This was a once-in-an-era immortal opportunity — a dream that even ancient Great Emperors had failed to achieve, now laid out before their eyes — driving people completely and utterly mad.

In recent days, blood had flowed freely, dyeing the starry sky red. All this — simply for the hope of ascending to immortality in a single step!

Saints were falling. To date, only a handful of saint-kings had charged through successfully — managing to actually set foot upon the immortal path.

Every clan erupted in madness. Some even brought out their extreme-path weapons and launched several devastating strikes at the heavens to seal and lock down the immortal gate — but none succeeded. Each time, the gate retreated in advance.

“That’s strange — we have ancient emperor weapons, far superior to a saint-king. So why have we failed to gain entry while others claimed it first?”

“Is the immortal gate unable to bear the weight of an ancient Great Emperor’s weapon?”

With immortality right before their eyes, everyone had gone mad — but a problem had also come to light. The ancient imperial clans had all joined the fray, and yet none of them had succeeded.

“If a crisis arises, an ancient imperial weapon would come back to life — equivalent to an ancient Great Emperor striking against heaven with an earth-defying blow. It would take a weapon of equal rank to suppress it. The immortal gate is afraid!”

Many people’s hair stood on end right then and there. The immortal gate had dodged around ancient imperial weapons — there was clearly a serious problem with it. Not a few people, once they had calmed down, turned pale in the face!

If this was a deception — how terrifying would that be? And the ones being targeted were all saints, with those who had already entered being saint-kings!

“Could this possibly be… some kind of scheme!?”

This thought sent chills running through every saint — from their tailbone straight up to the crown of their heads. A cold shiver swept through their bodies. This was too horrifying — a trap laid to kill ancient saints!

But what exactly was this immortal gate? Was it not the path leading to the immortal domain?

This was not people’s judgment being clouded by hot-headedness and failing to think it through — the timing was simply too sensitive. With the path of immortalization on the verge of opening, who could see through such a gate at first glance?

Moreover, those who had entered were all saint-kings — and they had all observed with their all-seeing heavenly eyes before entering, confirming that it was indeed an immortal domain!

Furthermore, some saint-kings had personally experienced it: the immortal energy had caused their physiques to transform, to shed the old and be reborn. Where else but the immortal domain could such a thing occur?

It was far too convincing — impossible to guard against!

To deceive the spiritual perception of a saint-king — just how terrifyingly powerful would one need to be? At the thought of this question, many felt a chill seeping into their very bones — their entire bodies going ice-cold.

“Far too terrifying. The immortal path is truly built upon a mountain of bones. Not even ancient Great Emperors could step upon it — what virtue and ability do we possess? This must certainly be a scheme!”

People began to reflect. Fortunately, only a handful of people had entered in total. Had they all swarmed in together as one, swallowed whole — that would have been a blood calamity of ten thousand ages!

“It’s not necessarily a deception — this is all speculation. I don’t believe it. A saint-king who stands at the threshold of the immortal gate — would they still see wrong? The heavenly eye can illuminate even the underworld — how could it be deceived?”

Naturally, there were those who held firm in their belief: with the path of immortalization on the verge of opening, these early-appearing cracks — immortal gates — should be genuine and not false.

“We only need to wait a few more days, and we can determine the truth,” the elder patriarch of an ancient imperial clan said with a grim expression.

Ye Fan and Qi Luo exchanged a glance. Neither wanted to get entangled in this and risk falling into a killing trap. The people of the Village of Heaven came without a sound, and departed without a trace.

“If one calms their heart, distinguishing truth from falsehood is not particularly difficult. It is a pity that the immortal path has been spoken of across countless ages — people have waited ten thousand generations for it, and it has been said that it would open in this era. Even saints, initially, had the greatest obsession of their hearts blind their eyes.”

“Exactly. We only need to wait a few days and watch whether the seven great life forbidden zones show any unusual movement. That will tell us everything. Remember — the supreme existences are the ones waiting for the immortal path. They, of all people, would know.”

The people of the Village of Heaven discussed this among themselves as they withdrew.

Over the following days, not a single saint entered the immortal gate. As calmness settled in, doubts multiplied, and everyone felt their bones going cold — a wave after wave of chill rising from within their hearts.

The immortal gate appeared several times. People sent in battle mounts, exotic beasts, and other creatures to scout the way — and once again witnessed the spectacular and glorious landscapes within the immortal domain: immortal phoenixes, azure dragons, radiating the breath of divine beings.

“Wait — is it truly real?”

People were doubtful once more. Everything that was being detected seemed to hold not a trace of illusion — and what was perceived appeared to genuinely be a vast, grand immortal realm!

“Good heavens, I saw an ancient herb that can run around by itself!”

The brief calm was broken. The outer domain surged with excitement once more. What the eyes saw was real, and what was truly sensed was no illusion — all the assembled sages had their hearts moved.

In the end, a group of people whose lifespans were nearly exhausted and who had not yet attained sainthood gritted their teeth and charged in together.

“Either way, we’re going to pass on soon — at worst, we lose the last few months of our lives. It’s not a bad trade!”

People holding this mindset naturally had nothing to fear. After charging in, they transmitted messages back to the outside — and some were shocked while others became overjoyed.

“Truly… I can feel that aging has stopped. Life energy has returned to this withered body — it seems like I can live for a very long time.”

Their voices were almost trembling — but soon after, the immortal gate vanished again, once more sealing off the two realms.

At this point, people were left in deep uncertainty. The truth had become hard to predict — no one could make an accurate determination.

“Why have those of the life forbidden zones not come?”

“Why are those bearing ancient imperial weapons unable to enter?”

These were the two most critical points of doubt — and they prevented the now-calmed saints from daring to make rash moves.

“Who knows whether the supreme beings of the life forbidden zones are even still there? Perhaps half a month ago they had already walked the immortal path — and we simply don’t know it yet.”

“It must be the ancient imperial weapons themselves that are unwilling to take the path. They are waiting for their masters of old, lost in solitary sorrow…”

Some put forward explanations for the two points of doubt, leaving people even more uncertain. During this stretch of time the forbidden zones had been very quiet, and people had no knowledge of what was happening inside them.

At last, several elder saints whose lifespans were nearly exhausted also chose to take the road, charging into the immortal gate.

“Fellow Daoist, your methods defy heaven’s harmony — they are too cruel.” On the twenty-fourth day, an ailing, sickly-looking old man appeared in the outer starry sky, supported by a young woman of crimson lips, white teeth, and bright clear eyes.

“Gai… Jiuyou!” Some among the ancient clans changed color immediately. Every one of them felt their hearts clutch in their chests before this human supreme sovereign. Two years prior, this old man had gone on a great killing spree, slaying even Great Saints and executing ten entire clans to the root — ancestors included — shaking the entire Northern Dipper Star Domain to its core!

A weary, aged voice drifted out from within the immortal gate — as though a specter that had lived since ancient times, causing the souls of all who heard it to tremble at that ancient resonance.

“You were once… a Quasi-Emperor?! This junior pays respects to you, Senior.”

Everyone who heard him address Gai Jiuyou in that way had their scalps go numb. A Quasi-Emperor — truly a Quasi-Emperor! Knowing it was one thing; having it confirmed was quite another.

“This old one has been in seclusion for over a year. On a whim, I wished to take my disciple for a journey into the depths of the star domain — yet I had barely emerged from seclusion when I came upon this calamity,” Gai Jiuyou said.

“I harbor no cruelty in my heart. This gate leads to a realm of primordial chaos divine earth — its pathways are countless. I have only recently come into possession of it myself, and I have been using these individuals to explore it. If any survive, they shall inherit a world-shaking fortune.”

“Fellow Daoist, your divine power is boundless and your authority supreme within this domain. Yet if you slay all the powerful beings of this place, it will surely violate the harmony of heaven — there is no need for me to say more. I take my leave.” Gai Jiuyou finished speaking, then led his disciple into the depths of the starry sky, disappearing from sight.

At this point, everyone was unnerved. What kind of fearsome figure was this? No matter how one listened, this was a being of supreme, world-dominating existence!

The ruthlessness of the immortal path had been given its first concrete demonstration. This individual seemed intent on killing off a batch of saints to clear the field!

Thinking carefully, many felt a cold sweat break out across their bodies. The immortal path had not even begun, and already a peerless powerhouse from another ancient star domain had made his move — intending to kill saints. What would it be like in the future?

Without question: far more brutal!

At this juncture, the ancient clans and certain sages from beyond the domain all changed color. A great calamity was rising!

“Fellow Daoist, do you truly think you can cover the sky with one hand?” At that moment, the Great Sage of the Heavenly Scale Clan, the Great Sage of the Boundless Expanse, the old patriarch of the Scarlet Phoenix Mountain, and others stepped forward together, each wielding an ancient imperial weapon.

The Great Sages of the ancient clans had at last appeared, with a look of people arriving to demand an account.

From within the immortal gate came a languid, aged chuckle — somewhat detached. The gateway gradually became indistinct, and then it was gone.

“In the Northern Dipper Star Domain, no one can cover the sky with one hand. Ancient wisdom once said: even true dragons must coil up here, and immortal phoenixes that descend to this world must bow in submission.”

People of the ancient clans stirred with excitement upon hearing this. Several Great Sages stood with such confidence and conviction, ready to fight without hesitation — and that made them feel deeply reassured.

Could it be that there were truly still one or two “elder predecessors” alive in the world?

“Is that so? I shall watch and wait, and observe the changing winds of the Northern Dipper Star Domain. We shall meet upon the immortal path!” With those final words, the world-dominating powerhouse who had arrived bearing a realm of primordial chaos divine earth vanished, and appeared no more.

“Hmm — it is finally no longer desolate. Growing lively at last. I trust the future will hold even more to look forward to.” From within a golden ancient vessel barely a zhang in length floating in the star domain, such a ripple of thought emanated — like the ringing of a golden bell.

If Ye Fan had been present, he would certainly have changed color — for this was the very same metal divine vessel he and Li Tian, along with Yan Yixi, had seen at the outer battlefield after returning from the Ziwei Ancient Star Domain years ago.

In those days, it was likewise the existence within this mysterious ancient vessel that had planted an imprint upon him — one that the supreme ancient Buddha of the Western Wastelands had expended an enormous effort to burn away on the verge of his own passage.

“Moo…”

Suddenly, the lowing of an old ox resonated outward through spiritual consciousness, causing many people to involuntarily glance toward the source.

From deep within the starry sky, a green ox came wandering over at an unhurried pace, with an elderly man seated upon its back.