The divine will moved at extreme speed, crashing through and passing on, great swathes of purple blood scattering down — one could see just how formidable that force had been. The physique of the Heavenly Overlord Blood lineage was so tremendously sturdy, yet still it could not withstand a single blow from the Demon Lord!
The assembled heroes were all stunned, dumbstruck at this outcome. The Overlord was matchlessly valiant, yet upon meeting the divine will, even his supposedly indestructible body had been split apart.
Drops of purple blood glimmered with divine radiance. The divine will lunged once, the river of stars reversing, heaven and earth transformed, arriving at some boundless distance away. Wary at heart, it looked back — that ghostly lamp had already returned to Ye Fan’s side, burning with flames of utmost yang.
“Ah…” The Overlord roared, circulating the mantra of the character “者” (zhe), reassembling his body, his expression at its worst, having nearly perished at the hands of the very divine will he himself had summoned.
He was naturally unwilling to accept this. From beginning to end, it was not that his strength was lacking — yet he had suffered repeated wounds, his heart stifled to the utmost, wishing he could shatter the very starry cosmos.
“Sacred Body, do you dare fight me? I’ll bind one of my own arms to kill you!” The Overlord roared loudly, his black hair flying wildly, pupils cold and gloomy. He needed a bloody battle, to bathe in the Sacred Body’s golden blood to wash away his humiliation.
This stretch of starry sky lay within the yang fish region, naturally suffused with pure yang energy, utmost hard and strong, dazzling and brilliant. Ye Fan stood above the river of stars, bathed in divine radiance, and spoke calmly: “Isn’t this enough? This battle has already made everything clear.”
The young supreme being of the Heavenly Overlord Blood lineage was drenched in blood all over, his hair standing on end, both eyes wide open, purple light piercing through the void, naturally unwilling to the utmost extreme — yet he had no way to draw close to Ye Fan, blocked by the boundless formation array.
“Great Yin Sovereign, awaken!” He offered up an ancient sacrificial altar, upon which strand after strand of great Dao markings coiled, suffused with the power of Great Yin, carrying the aura of a peerless supreme being.
Everyone was greatly startled, their bodies turning cold all over, hair standing on end, as if countless steel needles were piercing into their bodies, painfully unbearable — that was the invasion of utmost yin energy, capable of freezing and cracking a person’s very soul.
“It’s really him, the divine will of the Ancient Sovereign of Great Yin…” The two elders deep within the starry sky went pale with shock, staring at each other, both utterly stunned.
“Wasn’t his divine will already released into the world long ago? It should have already worn away over the ages — how could it possibly still exist now, and still be so powerful?!” Neither of them could quite believe it.
Such a powerful divine will as this should have been born in the near-ancient era — who would have thought it was actually the ancient Human Sovereign from countless ages past.
One of them stared at that sacrificial platform built from Blood Soul Stone, his expression changing, and said: “Perhaps it’s related to this Blood Soul Stone. It resembles an ancient pagoda, a Buddhist stupa — it must have gathered together that wisp of the Great Yin divine will!”
The other one also changed color, having thought of some possibility, and said in a trembling voice: “Was it the result of an attempt by one of those few supreme beings!?”
Whether in the age of myth or in the present, there have always been people pursuing eternal life, hoping to ascend to immortality. In the middle-ancient era, the Amitabha Sovereign, the Ascension Sovereign, and others had all made terrifying attempts — they were masters of this path.
For this purpose, they had conducted numerous experiments, seeking immortality, seeking to endure eternally in this world. These few supreme beings had paid an unimaginable price.
Not to mention the experiments conducted upon others — even more inconceivable. It was said the Amitabha Sovereign had once created a Blood Stupa specifically to study ancient demons and gods.
“This Blood Sacrificial Platform is a stupa built by the Amitabha Sovereign, using secret methods to preserve the Great Yin Sovereign’s divine will, observing the eternal malevolence of a Human Sovereign, peering into the mysteries of immortality,” one elder spoke of a secret from years past.
The other nodded, his expression grave, and said: “That’s right. The Amitabha Sovereign was unfathomable, having walked this path to a degree that makes one’s blood run cold. Just what attempts he made is difficult to know in full. But this Blood Stupa is absolutely real, beyond doubt.”
At this point, they could confirm that the figure that had lost all color, resembling an ancient corpse, was indeed the phantom of the ancient Human Sovereign of Great Yin, his divine will.
Because they had seen, on stone walls left over from primordial antiquity, that very figure of the Human Sovereign who had gazed down upon the six directions and eight wildernesses, sole supreme ruler of the universe.
Of course, that stone carving was far more magnificent than the divine will — a truly commanding presence over heaven and earth, spirit swallowing mountains and rivers, eyes capable of shattering time and space, eternally supreme, something no mere malevolent thought could compare to.
That was a transcendent confidence, possessing a posture unrivaled through all ages — though only an engraved image, it had expressed his true form to the fullest, worthy of being called supreme through ancient and modern times alike.
Unfortunately, even the greatest Human Sovereign has his day of decay and death; the divine will he had given birth to should, by all reasonable logic, have already worn away over the ages, given how far in the past it was.
The Blood Stupa flew up, letting out a low humming sound. It was built from rare Blood Soul Stone, releasing wisp after wisp of soul power, blanketing everything, as if an ancient Sovereign slept within, letting down ribbons of immortal light that could crush the very universe.
The divine will transformed into a beam of light and charged forward, gray mist billowing to the heavens, giving off an astonishing might, a wisp of supreme aura spreading forth, making people feel a chill of terror.
Its eyes grew even colder, glaring directly at Ye Fan, commanding the Blood Stupa forward, no longer so wary of the human-bodied, ghost-faced lamp.
The black cloak flew up, revealing a snow-white face, like an ancient corpse dug up after years buried underground, coldly surveying everything in the mortal world.
Ye Fan felt tremendous pressure; the formation array beneath his feet rumbled and roared, on the verge of collapse — not only that, even he himself was about to be reduced to fragments.
He could not allow this to happen. All ten fingers spread wide, blood dripping from each one, falling onto the golden formation array beneath his feet, protecting himself.
The forbidden formation array pioneered by Wu Yi, the fourth-generation Patriarch of Origin Heaven, burned with sacred blood, allowing the ancient array’s might to multiply several times over, the golden Dao-markings spreading, growing ever more brilliant.
At the same time, Ye Fan’s blood also flowed toward the human-faced, ghost-visaged lamp, aiding its flame to burn even more fiercely — what burned there was the life essence of an ancient sage, even his very fat and oil. Watering it with golden blood proved equally effective.
However, once the Blood Stupa emerged, the divine will of the Great Yin Sovereign truly seemed to fear nothing anymore — though scorched by the bronze lamp, though clouds of yin mist burst open on its body, it still advanced steadily and resolutely.
The situation grew critical in the extreme. Ye Fan’s body cracked open, great swathes of gray mist invading, his flesh and blood falling away, ghastly white bone exposed.
If this continued, he would become a blood-stained skeleton, even his primordial spirit would dissolve away — certain death!
“The gap in strength is too great. Even though he holds what appears to be an ancient artifact left behind by the Numinous Treasure Celestial Venerable, it’s still difficult for him to suppress such a powerful divine will.”
“Just what did the Amitabha Sovereign do — it truly makes later generations afraid, that he actually let the divine will of the Great Yin Human Sovereign persist all the way to the present!”
The two elders deep within the starry sky murmured to each other; they could not simply sit back and watch. They made preparations for the worst outcome, ready to intervene.
Ye Fan let out a shout. He would naturally not simply await death with folded hands. The Cauldron above his head floated and sank, giving off a great roar; the traces left by every heavenly tribulation he had experienced since his birth all lit up at once, the heavenly tribulation seeming to manifest anew in truth.
Moreover, from within the Cauldron’s mouth, streams of divine rivers poured out, cascading down like waterfalls, magnificently vast, shielding Ye Fan below.
What was this? The assembled heroes’ expressions changed.
People heard the wailing cry of all living beings, as if hundreds of millions were praying devoutly, resounding throughout the cosmic starry sky — this was a vast, boundless power of faith.
Ye Fan had established the Celestial Court back on Earth, and his disciple of record, Zhang Qingyang, carried the Cauldron across the world in his stead, gathering the faith-power of his believers, converging it into the purest power of belief.
At this moment it cascaded down like a divine waterfall, overflowing from the various markings on the inner walls of the Cauldron, vast and unending, existing together with all living beings.
Over all these years, Ye Fan had never made use of it, because he felt this was not his own power, and would bring no benefit to his future development — it would become a shackle upon him.
He had never expected it would come in useful now. As he chanted the scripture, he drew upon this pure power of faith, and all living beings seemed to chant the Sutra of Deliverance together with him, his divine power surging upward by who knew how many times over.
At the same time, the sky above became densely packed with figures, as if endless gods and demons all let out a shout together, shaking the divine will back in retreat.
“Recite ten times over, all heavens sing from afar, ten thousand Sovereigns arrange the rites, rivers and seas fall silent, mountains and peaks conceal the clouds…” Ye Fan chanted the scripture.
The assembled heroes were astonished — the flawless Sutra of Deliverance truly captured the marvelous workings of heaven and earth’s creation; all heavens singing from afar, ten thousand Sovereigns arranging the rites, this seemed to align with what was unfolding before their eyes.
Behind Ye Fan, densely packed everywhere, were the phantom images of gods and demons, and the dharma forms of all living beings also manifested together, following him in chant, shaking the starry sky.
The gray mist was dispelled; golden flesh and blood regenerated upon his skeletal frame, and the formation array beneath his feet grew solid once more. The suspended human-bodied, ghost-faced lamp blazed with intensifying light, its divine power surging.
Moreover, the people beneath the starry sky discovered in astonishment that they had actually fallen into a certain rhythm; many couldn’t help but chant scripture themselves, joining in the recitation.
As time passed, more and more people joined in, chanting together, and across this entire expanse of heaven and earth, some inexplicable power seemed to be stirred into motion.
This was an unimaginable, sacred, tremendous power — among this crowd were no lack of Sages. With such a vast crowd chanting scripture together, what could not be delivered from suffering?
The Cauldron of the Mother Qi of All Things roared; ten thousand divine waterfalls cascaded down. Ye Fan sat cross-legged below, chanting the Celestial Venerable’s scripture. Gods and demons endless, all living beings resonating, the assembled heroes moved — the Sutra of Deliverance resounded throughout the star-domain, capable of dissolving all yin spirits.
The divine will of the Great Yin Sovereign had already come to a halt, leaving the Blood Sacrificial Platform, wisp after wisp of black light overflowing from its entire body, the gray mist being steamed away completely.
It grew ever more indistinct, on the verge of vanishing entirely.
Then, an utterly vast supreme aura pierced through past, present, and future, erupting forth in an instant!
At the very moment the blurred figure was on the verge of total collapse, a heroic, magnificent form appeared, looking down disdainfully upon the world, taking its place, radiating power that flowed with the ages of eternity.
Throughout the entire starry sky, all the Sages trembled, all kneeling down at once, including the Guardians of the Ancient Path — the peerless Great Sages — who all bowed their heads as well.
This was something entirely beyond their own control — a submission and worship originating from the very soul.
The Human Sovereign had reappeared!
Time had passed for the Great Yin Sovereign across countless ages; his malevolent thoughts had been dissolved by Ye Fan with the aid of the ancient formation, the Celestial Venerable’s Dao-artifact, the Sages of the starry sky, and the faith-power of all living beings. Unexpectedly, his true spirit’s will had suddenly revived, manifesting in the mortal world.
He could not persist for long, but even this invincible bearing, even for the space of a single breath, was enough to shake past, present, and future alike.
This was merely his phantom shadow, not his true body, possessing only a fragment of his true spirit’s will — yet even so, it was enough to shock people to the utmost extreme.
“On the path to immortality I met misfortune, and my heart holds regret, unable to let go of my fixation…” Though it was only a soft sigh, it instantly spread throughout the entire starry sky, making everyone tremble, their souls resonating, prostrating themselves in worship.