Ye Fan was momentarily stunned. The Sacred Body line had left certain things behind — what could they be? They clearly were not ordinary objects.
“We have long lost the ability to protect them. If we kept them in our own hands, they would certainly attract the attention of others. We had no choice but to ask the escort guide line to safeguard them on our behalf.” Yang Yunteng said.
“What exactly are they?” Ye Fan’s expression shifted with curiosity.
“Things left behind by the ancestor. Only someone with dormant golden blood within them can open it.” Yang Yunteng said, and then he began to speak of certain events from the past.
Before the Sacred Body ancestor stepped onto the ancient starry road, he had a premonition that the heavens and earth would change in the future — that the Sacred Body would grow increasingly desolate and burdened — and so he had left certain things behind.
“One who carries golden sacred blood flowing within them — if they obtain those things in the future, they will be able to shatter the shackles of the heavens and earth and achieve a breakthrough.” Yang Yunteng said.
However, before departing, the Sacred Body ancestor had left a solemn instruction: this could be used to forge a supreme champion and allow the fallen Sacred Body to shine with glory once more. For that reason, it must not be used lightly. It was not to be touched unless dark chaos descended, or the human race faced a great calamity.
Only when the human race needed a Sacred Body to quell chaos and suppress a catastrophe threatening to destroy heaven and earth was this legacy to be retrieved — so that the edge of the human race’s Sacred Body, sealed away in the long ages, could finally be unsheathed.
Ye Fan let out a quiet sigh. The ancestor of Yang Yunteng’s line truly had the world in his heart — a spirit that swallowed mountains and rivers — a breadth of vision that commanded reverence. Few could compare.
“If the dark chaos has not yet arrived, would using it now be premature?” Ye Fan said.
“I have heard that the road to immortality is about to open. The ancestor once said that there will be a great catastrophe without fail — and that in this great age, the Sacred Body line should make its return.” Yang Yunteng said.
The ancestor of the Sacred Body line had thought far ahead and long ago sensed it: the most glorious golden age of all would inevitably be accompanied by the most terrible dark chaos. When that radiant prosperity finally came to an end, perhaps the most brutal and devastating events would unfold.
The sacred blood within the Yang Family was growing thinner with each generation — it would eventually vanish into the sea of humanity. And now, having heard Ye Fan say that his grandson’s body contained dormant stores of golden blood in abundance, Yang Yunteng thought of all of this.
Perhaps this was the last Sacred Body this branch would ever produce. After this, such a constitution might never appear again, and before long it might vanish altogether. Therefore, this might be the last opportunity for the ancestor’s final wish to be fulfilled — to use it in the great catastrophe of the coming immortal road, to suppress the most terrible chaos to befall the human race.
Hearing this, Ye Fan fell into silence for a long moment. He felt sorrow for the ancestor of this line — heart set on the world, will fixed on protecting the human race, yet ending up spilling blood beyond the boundary and dying in a foreign land. It was truly and deeply sorrowful.
Yang Yunteng’s brow furrowed and then smoothed, furrowed and smoothed, as though his heart was wrestling with some decision. After a very long time, he finally spoke: “The immortal road is about to open — the most terrible chaos in all of history is about to descend. My grandson is still too young. There is no way he can grow to that level in time. The Sacred Body line can only rely on you. Old as I am, I wish to hand all those things over to you — to help you reach the true Great Perfection state, and stand invincible under heaven.”
Ye Fan shook his head. “These were left behind by your ancestors and should be inherited by Yang Xi. Besides, I have already broken through on my own — I have no need of anything.”
“Ahh—” The Cang children cried out and cursed, unable to accept what was happening. The weakest among them began to weep.
The small wretch had been a pitiable little figure these past years — beaten by these same people again and again, full of grievances, particularly when it came to arguing to protect his ancestors’ honor. Yet every time, he came away covered in bruises and welts, his body a mass of dark discoloration. Had it not been for his exceptional constitution, he would never have survived to the age of six or seven.
Now everything had reversed itself. Yang Xi swung his fists and unleashed his pent-up fury, beating the Cang children until they wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves, blood streaming from their noses and mouths.
The other children one by one went pale as sheets and scattered in all directions, fleeing entirely. A few ran off to deliver news to the Cang Family.
“All right — let them go. When you’re powerful in the future, you can go and fight all of the Cang Family.” Ye Fan said. He paid no attention to the Cang clan, whose bloodline had grown thin. The true nemesis was the one with the Heaven-Dominating Tyrant Blood flowing through their veins — not these descendants drifting back toward ordinariness.
Yang Xi panted heavily and stopped. He gave each of them a kick to send them off and stopped paying them any mind.
“Leave this place. Go to the human race’s fiftieth pass — you’ll live there from now on.” Ye Fan said. To prevent any unexpected incidents, staying here was no longer an option.
“So the fallen Sacred Body line truly has some remarkable person in it — let me see who it is that put my few worthless grandchildren down until blood spilled from their noses and mouths!”
From a distance came a sharp, clear shout. A figure approached rapidly — with a level of power not to be underestimated, far exceeding anything this ancient star could produce at its peak.
From some point in the past — no one knew how many years ago — the Cang Clan had begun sending their children out to be tempered. All of them were required to spend a few years on this barren star where cultivation was nearly impossible, experiencing the shifts of the Dao and being tested through hardship. On ordinary days, a powerful cultivator stood guard here.
This was an elder, his hair white as snow — every strand crystalline — his skin pale as jade, and his gaze like two bolts of lightning shooting forward.
Ye Fan’s expression was cold. “Take a look and be on your way. Don’t invite trouble upon yourself.”
“Who are you?” The elder asked. Behind him had come more than a dozen people, including several of the still-weeping and still-sniffling children.
“I intend to visit the other ancient star — to walk through your family’s grounds.” Ye Fan said. It was a decision already made — he wished to see the burial site of the one with the Heaven-Dominating Tyrant Blood, that supreme being who stood at the absolute pinnacle of the human path and whose body was shattered to pieces.
“Bold words — who do you think you are, to speak like this? What does this have to do with the Sacred Body line?” Several of the people behind pressed forward, like a pack of divine lions, radiating a terrifying domineering pressure.
This was the unique aura of that clan. Even with a bloodline thinned to this degree, it still surged forward like a wild tide, shaking the cultivators of the entire city.
“The Sacred Body ancestor was defeated and annihilated — killed by our clan’s forebearer. What standing do you have to speak like that? The ancient burial grounds of the Heaven-Dominating Tyrant Body — what makes you think you can set foot there?” one of them shouted.
Ye Fan swept a cold gaze over them. Golden light erupted from his eyes. Though this person had reached the King Realm, in that instant he felt a chill run through his bones. His body shuddered involuntarily — he could not stop himself from trembling.
Thud, thud, thud…
Every single one of them retreated involuntarily. The ones who had been most aggressive — the leading figures at the front — went weak in the knees, barely able to breathe under the crushing weight of that pressure.
“A Sacred Body — a fully cultivated Sacred Body!” One of them cried out, blood spraying from his mouth, his face the color of gold foil.
Ye Fan had not deliberately released his aura — only the faintest traces of it leaked out — yet it had already shattered them. Between these two bloodlines, which were natural nemeses, the sensitivity was at its most extreme.
“I have no wish to trouble you. Unless a true Heaven-Dominating Tyrant Blood appears, you are not worth my effort. All of you — go.” Ye Fan spoke very calmly, yet to their ears, each word crashed down like a thunderbolt.
These people had come to deliver a stern reprimand — yet now every one of them was pallid-faced and wordless, turning on their heels and leaving.
Every other faction in the city felt their scalps prickling. Not one of them dared to say a word, not a single person stepped forward. In an instant, a silence so complete it was almost absolute descended.
The domain gate opened. Yang Yunteng, leading the small wretch, turned for one last look at that crumbling courtyard — then followed Ye Fan across the void, making their way toward the human race’s fiftieth pass.
The flourishing fiftieth pass, compared to the city on that barren star, was like a celestial capital in contrast. It sat nestled within the starry expanse — when you raised your head, the cosmos stretched vast and boundless — and this place was at the height of its prosperity.
The escort guide had a face covered in a full, curling beard, his build powerfully built and robust. His name was Zhao Gongyi. He had the look of a rough-edged man. At this moment, he was sitting alone in a donkey-meat restaurant, pouring his own drinks — a jar of aged wine, a few small dishes of cooked meat — taking his leisure with obvious pleasure.
“Uncle with the big beard!” Yang Xi called out. He had met the escort guide once before.
Ye Fan smiled. Calling this man uncle? Only a small wretch who knew nothing of the world could call him that so naturally. Who knew how many years old the escort guide truly was — only that four thousand years ago, he had been cheated by a divine donkey.
Yang Yunteng stepped forward and bowed deeply. He was well aware that the escort guide had sheltered and protected their line — without that protection, the clan most likely would have ceased to exist long ago.
Escort guide Zhao Gongyi, learning the reason for their visit, gave a small nod. “You say you want to retrieve those things? Very well. I have no idea how many generations they’ve been sitting there — nearly buried in dust by now.”
They made their way to the city lord’s manor and entered that sealed area once more.
Yang Xi found everything astonishing. In the past, he had been a pitiable little wretch — bullied and mistreated, never once having stepped outside that city. Now he stared at the sight of sun and moon and stars appearing simultaneously, pressing against the vault of the sky, and could not begin to comprehend it.
His old tattered clothes had been removed and replaced with clean garments. He looked clear-featured and delicately young.
Yang Yunteng was somewhat anxious. The ancestral objects were about to emerge — his heart could not be calm.
Escort guide Zhao Gongyi opened a sealed treasury, pushed open a pair of massive stone doors, and inside, flowing brilliance and radiance gleamed — a considerable number of spiritual treasures lay stacked within. Without any hesitation, he retrieved from deep in the back a stone casket and solemnly handed it to Yang Yunteng.
“Ahh.” Zhao Gongyi let out a quiet sigh.
The stone casket was thick with dust. Yet even a Sacred Realm cultivator could not open it by force. All these years it had never seen the light of day — the legacy sealed within.
“Only those of the human race’s Sacred Body line — pouring in their golden sacred blood — can open it. If a supremely powerful being were to force it open, it would shatter, and nothing would remain.”
Ye Fan accepted it. It felt heavier in his hand than mountains. He held deep reverence for the ancestor of the Sacred Body line. He would naturally not have Yang Xi shed his golden blood for this — he drew a line across his own wrist himself. Thread after thread of golden light trickled down and seeped into the stone casket.
Crack.
A soft sound — the stone casket sprung open. A force of ancient ages permeated the air, suffused with a vast and weathered grandeur that shook all of them to the core.
“Ancestor!” Yang Yunteng gave a great cry.
Yang Xi, too, felt a sensation of bloodline connection — the pulse of shared lineage — and softly began to weep, wiping away tears again and again.
“The human race’s Sacred Body — when you are needed, you will always step forward. These things were not left behind to make the descendants powerful. They were left solely to quell the dark chaos.” Escort guide Zhao Gongyi said with a sigh.
Three small jade vials, none of them larger than a thumb — crystalline and translucent, holding liquid clearly visible within.
These were three supremely sacred medicinal treasures of the human race.
Inside the first small jade vial was golden blood. Even after more than a hundred thousand years had passed, it still shone with a dazzling brilliance — like divine gold melted into liquid, blazing so brilliantly that one could barely open their eyes to look at it.
Facing it, Ye Fan felt a rolling thunder surge within his body. His own golden blood rushed and surged — resonating with the small jade vial in perfect communion.