He Kun was torn into four pieces, becoming a meal divided among the golden lion, the Celestial Scorpion, the Crocodile Dragon, and the others. All that remained were wisps of drifting blood mist.

The twelve Saints’ savage flames raged skyward, leaving the powerful figures of the Wang Family and the Lin Clan wide-eyed and slack-jawed — and somewhat unsettled. These ancient beasts and foreign-race cultivators could sweep through an entire domain.

Wang Xi clenched her small fists and hollered loudly — very excited and agitated. She was a lively and romantic young woman, but she showed clear signs of tending toward the extreme. Regardless of what one might say about it, this great calamity of this night had been resolved. The powerful figures of the Wang Family and the Lin Clan were all enormously stirred, and broke into cheers.

Wang Ziwen let out a long breath. He had not imagined Ye Fan would have a group of followers like this. It was truly shocking. They could match any great power on equal footing, dominating an entire ancient star.

“Between us, I won’t bother with courteous words. If you had not come this time, my family and I would have been in genuine danger.” Wang Ziwen said.

“Many thanks, Uncle Ye.” Wang Chen stepped forward as well, offering a deep bow of gratitude.

Lin Ling brought many of her clan’s people to express their thanks. Everyone was very agitated at that moment — having beaten back the He Family and cut down several Saints was absolutely a powerful deterrent.

Only Wang Xi was bouncing about, completely at ease, shouting that she wanted to join the twelve Saints, that in the future she would go with them to be “savage” — wanting to transform into a little demon herself.

This gave Wang Ziwen and Lin Ling a great headache, unsure how to “subdue” this precious daughter of theirs.

“Some opposing forces harbored ill intentions, but they will now stop and weigh things first.” An elder said.

“Let them come whenever they like. This seat has not yet eaten its fill.” The black bear Saint said, standing there like a small black mountain, holy might permeating the air.

Ye Fan shot it a glare, and the great bear instantly shrank to a foot in length. Its fur became smooth as silk, its large eyes like two black gemstones, blinking slowly, liquid and gentle — not a trace of its savage beast manner remained.

Aside from Wang Xi crying out that it was adorable and wanting to run over and scoop it up, everyone else stepped back. These ancient beasts were one more savage than the last — they could not be deceived by appearances.

All twelve Saints had changed their forms. One by one they became either miniature-sized, or wore the faces of harmless, gentle creatures — projecting as much kindness as it was possible to project.

Come morning, a red sun leapt above the horizon. Birds sang, their trilling melodious and lovely. Mist wreathed the earth, touched by the rosy dawn light and dusted with scattered golden gleam.

The one night battle had left the He Family utterly annihilated — not a single one escaped. It caused a stir in this region.

People did not know what had happened, did not know of the twelve Saints, did not know of Ye Fan’s arrival. Everyone was talking, and word sent a chill through all those who had designs against the Lin Clan.

“The He Family had mustered a great force and summoned four ancient demons — how did they fail to make even a single ripple? Were all their people actually slain?”

It spread like a ripple expanding outward into the distance, putting many great powers on guard. People had every reason to believe that Saint King Lin Han had recovered — otherwise, how could they have been so forceful?

The battle had caused no small impact, striking terror into all and sundry. No one dared to act rashly. For the Lin Clan, this was good news.

At Lin Han’s place of closed-door cultivation, many people watched anxiously, hearts tense and unsettled — hoping the old man would surmount this barrier and safely pass through this ordeal.

Several days later, word leaked: Lin Han had not recovered. Someone had come to the clan’s aid and had struck down Saint King He Kun and the others.

The opposing powers immediately began to stir once more. Upon learning that no Saint King had been deployed in the previous battle — only a terrifying group of savage beasts acting in concert — they became eager.

“Cultivators from beyond our domain have come to our ‘Celestial Soldier’ ancient star to slaughter wantonly, washing a region in blood. This is utterly lawless! We should rise together and attack them!”

“Foreign demons have broken into our Celestial Soldier Star, showing contempt for all, killing our kind! We must join hands and surround and suppress these vicious brigands together!”

One after another, people jumped out and spoke in strident tones, calling on the ancient star’s powerful figures to jointly act — categorizing Ye Fan and his group as a band of extremely dangerous invaders.

Without question, those who jumped out were all powers that had intended to act against the Wang Family and the Lin Clan. Now they were making an uproar, trying to draw in more people to act alongside them.

For they were genuinely quite intimidated. Even without a Saint King among those savage beasts, their combat power was extreme — they had actually divided and consumed someone of He Kun’s caliber. How could that not unsettle the heart?

“Too outrageous. It was clearly they who wanted to slaughter our clan in blood, who attacked and failed and were defeated by us — and now they’re spreading lies and slander against us.”

“Uncle Ye came from afar to help us through a mortal crisis, yet they call him an invader and want to rise en masse to suppress him. It is truly hateful.”

Wang Xi and Wang Chen were both deeply indignant.

Outside, a wave of commotion spread. But those who truly took action were exceedingly few — almost no one responded. Most kept to the sidelines, watching developments.

Before a rocky mountain, immortal mist drifted in gauzy veils. In an ancient cave on the main peak, Lin Han was in closed-door cultivation, heavily guarded.

Over these past months, several waves of people had already forced their way to this place, trying to probe the situation. Two separate groups of assassins had even come, stirring up blood and carnage.

Ye Fan climbed the stone steps to the main peak and entered through the formation array to stand before the ancient cave. An old man with white hair and white beard, his body gaunt and withered, sat cross-legged on a stone bed without moving — as though he had turned to stone in death.

This was Lin Han. He had reached the absolute peak of the Saint King realm, only the narrowest margin short of becoming a Great Sage. But his current state was very poor. Chaotic laws had wound themselves around him like the shackles of hell.

Ye Fan stood before the stone cave and looked at him again and again, coming to understand his condition: this person’s divine sense was scattered and disordered. He might dissolve into the Dao itself.

Clearly, Wang Ziwen, Lin Ling, and the others also understood the old man’s condition and were deeply worried about him. He had originally been of Great Sage caliber — yet now he could become dust at any moment.

“It is not entirely without solution.” Ye Fan looked, and said these words.

“What… is there really a way to save my father?” Lin Ling’s voice trembled. She pulled her two children with her and was about to kneel, asking Ye Fan to lend his aid.

“Please don’t — Ziwen and I are old friends. What are you doing? There is a chance. Naturally I will not stand by and do nothing.” Ye Fan hurried to stop her.

“If my father-in-law can truly be saved, all problems can be resolved at once.” Wang Ziwen was equally moved.

Ye Fan left the stone cliff, found a quiet place, and entered closed-door cultivation. He took out the Source of the Dao, shaved off a small piece, and then began to refine and consecrate it.

This was an arduous process. The Source of the Dao did not recognize him — it was extremely repellent toward him. Ye Fan expended tremendous mental and physical effort, his entire body radiating divine brilliance as he worked to temper it.

Perhaps the Source of the Dao alone was capable of saving Lin Han, whose cultivation had gone awry. But Ye Fan feared the Source of the Dao might also repel Lin Han — which would directly cause him to turn to ash.

Ye Fan felt that the only way was to shock apart the Source of the Dao, dispersing the many primal laws contained within it, reconstituting them and smelting them continuously — transforming it into a crucible of precious medicine.

Of course, doing so would also deal massive damage to the Source of the Dao itself — it would lose more than half of its divine efficacy. But there was no other choice. So long as a portion of its Dao nature was preserved, it would be enough to allow Lin Han to break through his death-crisis and recover.

Two days passed before Ye Fan came out of seclusion. He had to proceed with the utmost care — one wrong step might cause the future supreme being of this star to have his body and soul both destroyed.

In the end, it was a lump of light roughly the size of an infant’s fist, sealed and bound by Ye Fan. He gave it to Wang Ziwen and told him to inject it directly into Lin Han’s body.

“Was that cut from the lump you use to wash your feet?” Long Ma’s large round eyes spun incessantly.

“Shut your mouth.” Ye Fan absolutely could not let it keep talking. Otherwise it would be truly embarrassing — if Lin Han recovered and heard about this, he would surely be at a loss for words.

A mass of radiant light entered Lin Han’s body. In an instant, the sound of the Dao resonated throughout him. His disordered immortal platform bloomed with precious light, and his whole being was immediately filled with vitality.

“It’s working — the divine sense of my father-in-law is awakening. Perhaps in just a few days he will have fully recovered!” Wang Ziwen was astonished.

Lin Ling wept tears of joy. The clan’s people were all stirred with excitement. They barely suppressed their cheers as they withdrew from the cave, profoundly grateful to Ye Fan, so moved they did not know what words to say.

So long as Lin Han did not die, safely passing through this ordeal, there was a very strong possibility he would become a Great Sage, able to look down upon this entire ancient star. When that time came, there would be nothing left to fear.

“Drive out the invaders! We must unite, cut down those savage beasts clean, and not let them do as they please on our ancient star!”

“Slay the foreign demons! It is every person’s responsibility! We must do everything in our power to exterminate these sources of catastrophe!”

Outside, a clamor filled the air. Several great powers joined hands, making an uproar continuously, trying to draw in those with no involvement in this matter to join them in washing Ye Fan, the Lin Clan, and the others in blood.

These people dared to do this because they had obtained the tacit approval of supreme powerhouses. It was said that several Saint Kings — old adversaries of Lin Han — intended to block his path to becoming a Great Sage and uproot the Lin Clan entirely.

Wang Xi’s small face was flushed with anger. “They’re too hateful! They are clearly a pack of bandits, who had their eyes on our family’s immortal pill fragments, and seized this moment to try to eliminate Grandfather — and yet they speak in such high-sounding terms.”

“Uncle Ye said not to mind them for now. They can’t make out the situation clearly and won’t act immediately.” Wang Chen said.

“The Celestial Soldier Star is extraordinary…” Ye Fan murmured quietly. He was earnestly perceiving the great Dao, and found this ancient star truly remarkable.

Long Ma, the golden lion, the Celestial Scorpion, and the others were in their element here. Their Dao comprehension was going extremely smoothly. Over time, with each passing day, they would accumulate tremendous benefit. Their Dao cultivation would certainly surge greatly.

Over these past days, Ye Fan had discovered many mysterious aspects of this place. Imprints of the great Dao, carved by human hands, existed throughout heaven and earth — as though they had been there for ten thousand ages, some already blurred.

This shocked him profoundly. What manner of supreme powerhouse could have done this? The more he explored, the more awed he became. This was the work of a supreme existence from before history — it bore the signs of an Emperor’s mark!

Heaven and earth nurture people, and people can in turn give birth to the Dao — the two are mutually reinforcing. This star called Celestial Soldier had flourished from ancient times to the present, never declining, and its connection to these Dao marks carved by human hands was profound.

Ye Fan sat cross-legged in the heavens, his entire being as though it had dissolved into the Dao — his form blurred, shrouded in a haze, merging with the primordial chaos energy, capturing those ancient and venerable traces.

“Profound and vast — this does not seem to be the work of a single person. There are several distinct patterns of fluctuation, branded into this expanse of heaven and earth, becoming imperishable imprints.” Ye Fan marveled.

He felt that in choosing to come to this ancient star, he had truly made the right choice. There seemed to be secrets here unknown to the world — secrets worth exploring.

“Ye Fan, all the historical records you needed — I’ve gathered them for you.” Wang Ziwen appeared, parting the primordial chaos mist, walking up to him.

The Celestial Soldier Star was very mysterious. Ye Fan wanted to understand its past. Wang Ziwen had taken this very much to heart, delivering all manner of ancient texts in the shortest possible time.

“About this ancient star there are dozens upon hundreds of legends. What the truth is, outsiders have difficulty discerning. I myself studied it seriously in the past — this is for your reference.” Wang Ziwen said.

Ye Fan turned the pages carefully. These were the fruits of Wang Ziwen’s labor — some from records in ancient texts, some obtained through inquiry among certain ancient tribes, and some from clues excavated from underground ruins.

“The Celestial Soldier Star is connected to surrounding stars. Its shape resembles a weapon, and so it takes its name from this.”

“This star is the skull of an ancient corpse, which transformed into a great star.”

“In the Primordial Mountain Range, an Emperor’s weapon gestates — it has slept for ten thousand ages, and one day it will awaken.”

…

The ages were too distant. The origins of the Celestial Soldier Star had long since been forgotten by all. All manner of ancient legends remained. Ye Fan read carefully and was deeply shaken.

For every single legend was astounding — each containing certain convincing reasoning, making this place ever more shrouded in mystery.

Soon, another ancient anecdote captured his attention. An ancient person had speculated that this place might once have been an ancient ground used by the ancient Celestial Court to train and raise its celestial soldiers.