The jet-black universe stretched on in all directions, stars scattered like diamonds set upon black cloth, radiating pinpoints of brilliance amid the cold.

Even knowing the coordinates of Eternal Main Star, one could not arrive in a single step. The star gates had their limitations and could not compare to the Five-Colored Ritual Altar — multiple passages through the universe were required before one could finally descend upon it.

This particular journey was far from lonely. The saints had given chase, intent on delivering a killing blow, and over the past half month as he traversed the cosmos, he had glimpsed several bands of enemy trackers.

He was in no hurry to press toward Eternal. In an unfamiliar star region, he traversed the expanse, leaving behind a trail of clues and leading his enemies on a tour in all directions.

“Whoosh!”

A brilliant golden light flashed past — a saint of the Golden Crow Clan, piercing through the alien heavens, disappearing into the distant darkness.

A few individual saints were truly extraordinary; some carried peculiar secret weapons, capable of traversing the cosmos under their own power.

“A divine artifact forged from the feathers of a Quasi-Emperor can tear open the universe. Once a short-range spatial coordinate is locked, it allows for travel — a truly divine object!”

Over the past several days, Ye Fan had been observing that Golden Crow closely, deeply astonished by a weapon forged from Golden Crow feathers. He speculated that it had likely been refined from the plumes of the Golden Crow Quasi-Emperor from ancient times — the one that had slain the divine archer Hou Yi.

“Roar…”

A thunderous howl, like that of a primordial azure dragon, erupted through divine sense, reverberating across this pitch-dark star region, penetrating to this very location.

It was a black archaic giant creature — a colossal beast — trampling an asteroid into fragments as it passed, with a mountain demon beside it, accompanied further by a cosmic spacecraft.

This was a bizarre combination: the mountain demon of the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground, and the black colossus — tens of thousands of zhang in height — from the Four Symbols Sacred Ground, the latter sealed away since ancient times. They traveled alongside a sacred-grade technological spacecraft, a deeply peculiar pairing.

“A ritual altar!”

Ye Fan’s heart gave a violent lurch. He spotted yet another band of enemies. They materialized out of nowhere in the dark universe, stepping forth from a domain gate.

It was a black stone disc, its surface streaked with fresh blood not yet dried — deeply unsettling in appearance, five meters in diameter, bearing two figures upon it. Both were draped in black robes, and they appeared without a sound.

Then, the stone disc beneath their feet receded, absorbed into the body of one of them, vanishing without a trace.

“What manner of stone disc is this — capable of traversing the universe, and able to follow along with them?” Ye Fan’s eyes burned with intensity. It was the first time he had ever witnessed such a supreme treasure.

He knew of several shortcuts capable of piercing the universe: the Five-Colored Ritual Altar left by an ancient great emperor, the divine platform of an ancient emperor, and the star gates of Eternal Main Star. He had not expected that a fourth such method now presented itself.

Yet that black stone disc, however one looked at it, seemed deeply ominous — its patterns mottled and ancient, dripping with fresh blood that flowed along ancient grooves. It belonged to the sages from beyond the domain.

“This is already the sixth group. It seems the people hunting me are truly numerous — some are after the Verdant Copper Cauldron, some are purely here to take my life.”

Ye Fan’s eyes flickered with brilliant light. Over the past half month, he had carefully observed each band of enemies and proceeded with great caution.

He believed the true main force was still at the rear, not yet arrived — or perhaps they would only be encountered upon reaching Eternal Main Star. For that contingent of ancient clan troops had another objective as well: to mount an expedition against Eternal and seize the evolution fluid.

Having mastered the cosmic mother ship, Ye Fan had long since been able to operate it with precision. He kept circling through the darkness of the cosmos, advancing an unknowable distance.

The distances covered were such that even if a saint were to fly under his own power for hundreds of lifetimes, the journey could not be completed. He passed through one ancient domain after another, hoping to leave certain people permanently stranded in the Desolate universe.

At the same time, he was also exploring. Since gaining full mastery over this sacred-grade mother ship, he had never before traversed the cosmos with such freedom. Even now he could not say how many unfamiliar ancient domains he had crossed.

Suddenly, a terrifying surge of energy emanated from a distant star region — as if an entire star river had shattered, or as if a flood tide had surged skyward, crashing forward.

The sacred-grade ancient ship began to shake, nearly losing control, while a sense of suffocation bore down upon those aboard, wave after wave of unease.

What was that? Ye Fan’s expression turned solemn. Somewhere ahead, in the unfamiliar star region, a powerful energy fluctuation was at work — one that had penetrated even into the sea of the universe.

His mother ship bore the Heaven-Defying Formation patterns left by Wushi the Great Emperor. Without actively revealing itself, it would not betray its presence and could conceal its aura. He pressed forward cautiously to investigate.

“A surging life force — there is a living ancient star ahead!”

Ye Fan surged forward and before long arrived. This was an unfamiliar ancient star region — desolate, immense, and ancient… and a certain emotional resonance washed over as well.

Like a surging great river, like a hurricane sweeping across ten thousand mountains, sweeping through all in its path — sadness suffused with an unmatched, world-shaking dominance!

“It truly is a living ancient domain!”

Ye Fan was certain. There must be a colossal star somewhere in this star region — likely not inferior to the life-bearing domains of the Big Dipper — and it lay just ahead.

At last he reached the epicenter of the fluctuation, and there he beheld an unimaginably breathtaking scene.

A giant stood there!

He towered in the cosmos — how tall, one could not tell; the top vanished into the depths of the universe, the feet treading upon boundless darkness.

At his sides, stars circled and suns and moons revolved. He was a celestial body beyond all imagination, many times larger than any sun, moon, or star.

“ROAR…”

He opened his mouth and let out a great cry — and a cascade of stars poured forth, leaving all observers speechless, unable to believe what they witnessed.

This was a living being, yet it surpassed even stars in size, standing in the star region, looking down upon all creation, gazing over all things in the universe.

What was this? Could this be a god? The sight was too staggering to comprehend.

His ripples of divine sense were so vast that they permeated this entire unfamiliar star region, filling anyone who perceived them with the urge to bow down in reverence. The power was boundless and terrifying.

What manner of dreadful existence was this? What level of cultivation had it reached?

Strands of Dao patterns spread outward from it, making it the very center of this ancient star region — truly a world-birthing, universe-shaping presence — with primordial mist half-concealing its form.

This appeared to be a man — powerful and robust, with black hair cascading down like a river of stars.

Indeed, even the stars were caught up in those tresses — nothing in length or magnitude could surpass them!

Words failed Ye Fan. He had never been so shaken as he was today. Just what manner of being was this?

It had traversed endless Desolate star regions where not a single living star could be found, and yet here, in this place, it had encountered such a being — one who could reduce star regions to rubble beneath its feet.

Ye Fan perceived a supreme and boundless Dao — one that left even him, standing at the threshold of sainthood, breathless. Had the Verdant Cauldron not been radiating its rosy light, the mother ship might have split apart.

The terror was extraordinary. No wonder, even from so far away, he had already felt the life force of this unfamiliar star region — emanating from a single being, and yet so intense.

Ye Fan steered the cosmic spacecraft, circling it from a great distance — moving from the side of this colossal divine figure to its front — not daring to disturb it.

He knew that a being of such overwhelming power had likely already detected him. If so, it was better to be forthright and observe from a respectful distance.

Yet when he arrived at the front, separated from it by an unfathomable distance, and finally saw its face — he froze, unable to accept what he saw.

The body was powerful and magnificent; black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, rivaling the length of a star river in its grandeur and splendor. Yet the face was covered in dried blood. The frontal bone of the forehead was utterly shattered, exposing gleaming white bone drenched in crimson.

Its eyes were closed, filled with boundless sorrow. The whole figure was perfectly still, standing motionless.

“Dead… it is actually dead.” Ye Fan stared blankly.

The Immortal Platform had been shattered. The white bone gleamed; blood stained the face. Its primordial spirit had long since dried up — no trace of life could remain.

“But what was that roar just now — reverberating through every corner of this star region with such tremendous force?” Ye Fan was filled with bewilderment and doubt.

Could it be that what lay before him was no longer the true body — that everything before him was nothing but the impression of Dao patterns — and that what he had just heard and seen were remnants preserved from the past, the echoes of Dao laws and their manifestation?

What an overwhelming existence this must have been. Why had it perished here? How had such a thing come to pass? Dao laws from an unfamiliar star region permeated every corner of the space around it.

Ye Fan observed carefully, growing even more astonished. Above the crown of this colossal corpse, there was an ancient star — one where boundless mysteries played out, as though countless billions of living beings had once been born there, as though many people were now weeping in sorrow.

“How could this be?”

He scanned with the mother ship, observing attentively, and arrived at a conclusion that astonished even himself: what had once been a vast and thriving life-bearing ancient star was now utterly silent and dead.

How many tens of thousands of years ago had this occurred? And what a desolate wasteland it had become now.

Whoosh!

A golden light flashed by. A Golden Crow appeared. It had followed the trail of clues Ye Fan had left along the way and tracked him here. Its body trembled, beyond its own control. Had it not been clutching those golden divine feathers, its body would likely have cracked apart on the spot.

“Heavens… what do I see?” The aged Golden Crow cried out in shock. It was not far from Ye Fan; the terror in its divine sense fluctuations could be perceived even from a distance.

“A Quasi-Emperor!” it said, trembling.

In the age of antiquity, the Golden Crow Clan had produced a supreme being — one who had stepped forth from the divine nest and looked down upon all living things, revered across that entire universe.

At the time, the aged Golden Crow had still been young, and had witnessed the unmatched brilliance of the Golden Crow Quasi-Emperor — those divine feathers in its hand had been bestowed upon it by that sovereign in later years.

“That is right. He is a Quasi-Emperor who sought to defy the heavens. In the end, his attempt to prove his Dao failed, and he fell here.” The aged Golden Crow shuddered, but its eyes blazed with intensity. This was a land of Dao — a supreme sacred ground without equal!

From a distance, Ye Fan was astonished. This was a Quasi-Emperor — not an ancient god, not a great emperor as he had imagined — and even such a being had displayed power capable of reshaping creation. The sight was far too overwhelming.

“These are the Dao law manifestations — though the body has perished, the Dao has not yet been erased. It has preserved the scene from that day. He failed to prove his Dao, and in doing so dragged the ancient star of his birth along with him, both reaching the end of their life journey.”

The Golden Crow trembled — deeply frightened, and yet its eyes held a glimmer of hope. This place was of immense significance to cultivators!

“In the age of antiquity, I was once fortunate enough to witness the scene of my clan’s sovereign attempting to prove his Dao — that same towering presence reaching into the universe, feet treading upon the abyss below, suns and moons and stars circling, creating heaven and earth. I could never forget it for the rest of my life.” The aged Golden Crow murmured to itself, lost in many memories.

Ye Fan was shaken to his core. A Quasi-Emperor was so extraordinarily powerful — and so formidable. Failing to prove his Dao had dragged along an ancient star comparable to the Big Dipper or Purple Subtlety, reducing it to a dead and silent void.

“Too overwhelming. No wonder throughout all of history, great emperors can be counted on one’s fingers. Even a single Quasi-Emperor amounts to this — truly staggering!” Ye Fan’s heart shuddered.

He suddenly thought of Gai Jiuyou. That old figure had once reached this very height — only after his vital energy dried up did he fall back once more.

A Quasi-Emperor in full and unrestrained release of power, elevated to the absolute pinnacle — this was the kind of Dao law manifestation that would result, one before which all living beings could only revere and tremble.

Ye Fan shivered from head to toe. What kind of Dao had this person been seeking to prove? To have dragged an entire ancient star along — letting the very birthplace that had nurtured him perish as well.

“No wonder there is such a sorrowful resonance here. Is he filled with regret? An entire ancient star, countless billions of living beings — all buried alongside him. The mother earth that nurtured him has perished. That is a weight too heavy to bear.” Ye Fan sighed.

At the same time, like the Golden Crow, his eyes blazed with a startling light, fixed upon that dying ancient star. He wanted to descend upon it — perhaps there would be gains that defied the heavens!