Ye Fan emerged from the chaotic mist, covered in wounds all over, golden blood matting his hair into strands stuck to his cheeks.
He was wounded all over, but his spirit had grown even stronger — a brilliant beam of light could be seen shining through his forehead bone, like a torch burning, flickering and dancing.
This was a terrifying anomaly!
It was a manifestation of extraordinarily powerful spiritual force, already divine, condensed to perfection, becoming a formidable substance possessing extraordinary and terrifying combat power.
Flash!
A fist-sized golden figure stepped out from between Ye Fan’s brows, and the condensed beam of light immediately wrapped around it, causing the small golden figure to grow considerably larger.
This was Ye Fan’s Primordial Spirit, merging with his physical body, giving him abundant vigor and blood — the fundamental source of his true strength, the two now perfectly fused.
Outwardly, golden divine flames blazed fiercely. Ye Fan was like a sword tempered through countless trials, finally drawn from its sheath, dazzling and brilliant. Above his head, the Cauldron of the Myriad Mother Qi showed crack after crack, having nearly been destroyed in the tribulation.
One could imagine how terrifying those humanoid lightning forms had been — each one a young Great Emperor — that they had nearly shattered the cauldron forged from the world’s rarest immortal material, the Myriad Mother Qi.
“He actually survived the tribulation…”
No one knew what to say. Such a heaven-defying thunder punishment had seemed to foreshadow the outcome from the start — this was nearly unsolvable, destined to be a tragedy. And yet, Ye Fan had walked out alive.
All the great saints had gathered here — Dao Protectors of humanity, yin spirits from the Great Emperor’s mausoleum, stone-being sacred spirits, demon-race great saints, and ancient evil gods of other races. Even they were shaken.
Such a tribulation, such a scene, such combat power at this age… left them all in silence, each admitting that in their own youth, they had fallen far short.
Indeed, how many in history could compare? Such a tribulation was perhaps unprecedented, never before seen — truly heaven-defying!
All the heroes watched intently, not a sound to be heard. Facing such a powerful sacred body, their hearts churned like a vast, surging ocean.
Among the great saints, Qi Tian’s face flickered between green and white, feeling the worst of anyone present. Ye Fan’s heaven-defying performance was there for all to see, weighing on his heart like a great mountain.
He truly regretted it now — how could anyone provoke a person like this? In the future, Ye Fan would surely achieve greatness, becoming an insurmountable monument that would suppress the world.
First the Nine Emperors appeared, and now nine humanoid lightning sacred bodies as well. Qi Tian had believed Ye Fan was certain to perish, clinging to that hope — but in the end, he sank into deep despair. This sacred body from the Star of Buried Emperors had created a miracle!
Qi Tian sighed softly — trouble lay ahead. At Ye Fan’s current pace of cultivation, within decades or a century he might well surpass him, and he wouldn’t stop there — his realm might one day rival the ancient supreme beings!
Seeing Ye Fan emerge alive, Qi Tian’s mood could well be imagined — utterly wretched. A hidden dread settled in his heart, cold light flickering in his eyes.
Elsewhere, the Great Demon God, Emperor Sky, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King — each one a peerless, breathtaking figure — had all tasted bitterness in the sacred body’s tribulation, deeply unwilling to accept it.
They were powerful, confident in their own strength, each possessing a sense of supreme dominance — otherwise how could they have come so far on the Emperor’s Path?!
Yet today they felt a measure of defeat, their bodies and spirits wounded, having nearly died at the hands of the young ancient Great Emperor, and almost destroyed by the lightning sacred bodies that had triggered the Divine Prohibition.
It was like a thorn lodged in their hearts, truly unbearable.
At this moment, they held only one thought — they needed to break through into the Divine Prohibition Realm; only then could they truly become invincible under heaven.
“Let it end here,” Emperor Sky and the others murmured, unwilling to face any more of this. Today had brought them no confidence — instead, the sky of their lives had dimmed somewhat.
“Boom!”
Heaven and earth cracked apart. The instant his words fell, the vast tribulation surged again, even more ferocious than before, enveloping Ye Fan — magnificent and real, making the hearts of all the great saints leap wildly.
The sacred body’s tribulation had not ended — it continued still, leaving everyone slack-jawed, their mouths and tongues dry. What was Heaven trying to do?
This was truly tormenting a person. Any single tribulation Ye Fan had endured would have been enough to strike down the most brilliant of talents — and now, one after another, they kept appearing, strange and abnormal — a great horror indeed.
Emperor Sky’s expression froze. The moment his words had fallen, the sacred body’s tribulation began again — this was truly astonishing, beyond anything he had anticipated.
Not just him — the Great Demon God, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King were all stunned as well, their faces strange. This was simply too unbelievable to accept.
“Everyone, shall we continue? I invite you all.” Ye Fan spoke up. Though deeply mired in ten thousand feet of lightning, he remained calm, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.
The Great Demon God, Emperor Sky, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King all wore grim expressions. Eighty percent of their combat strength had been spent in the battle against the ancient Great Emperor — how could they possibly continue?
These people had been too stubborn from the start — Emperor Sky, for instance, insisting on fighting the Azure Emperor to the death, nearly losing his own life as a result. The others were much the same, having exhausted their life essence in similar ways.
“Won’t any of you care to watch further? The true tribulation, the true secret, has only just begun.” Ye Fan coaxed gently, his expression kind and amiable.
The Great Demon God, Emperor Sky, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King wore dark, gloomy expressions — no one spoke. Nine Emperors, nine sacred bodies, one after another — heaven only knew what else would emerge. They had no combat strength left to charge in.
“Boom!”
Ten thousand feet of chaotic thunder and lightning crashed down. Ye Fan ascended into the heavens, appearing and disappearing amid the chaotic mist and lightning — and people glimpsed, one after another, magnificent structures rising up.
“What, impossible!” Even the great saints and ancient evil gods lost their composure — those structures were simply too shocking to behold.
“I once saw it on an ancient ruined wall from the primordial age — that is the layout of the ultimate ancient Celestial Court that even Emperor Zun never truly completed!” Daoist Qinghuang exclaimed in shock.
He held the highest seniority, having lived the longest, commanding the greatest respect among humanity’s ancient path — his words naturally caused a great stir. All the saints clamored, every one of them longing to ascend immediately for a closer look.
But not a single one dared move. The tribulation moments ago had been there for all to see — to ascend meant certain death. Even the young supreme beings of humanity’s ancient path could not withstand it, their blood spilled on the spot.
Ye Fan ascended into the heavens, the cracked, broken cauldron above his head rising and falling, fused with him as one — his silhouette appeared unreachably high, as if suppressing all the heroes of the world, a solitary figure treading the immortal path alone.
The Great Demon God, Emperor Sky, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King truly wished to enter and see for themselves. After hearing Daoist Qinghuang’s words, their hearts, too, found it hard to remain calm.
Unfortunately, not one of them could enter. Only Ye Fan himself ascended the heavenly road alone, stepping into the final stage of the punishment.
This sight left everyone stunned. Even Emperor Sky, the Great Demon God, and the others fell silent — that alone spoke volumes.
This was a vast sea of thunder, chaos shattering apart, one magnificent palace after another rising up, suspended high above the ninth heaven, terrifying beyond measure.
When Ye Fan arrived here, he was greatly astonished — it was different from before. Each magnificent hall stood side by side, with no clear sense of hierarchy among them. As he stepped into one of them, a fierce, overpowering aura rushed toward him head-on.
Upon the throne sat a figure, heroic and awe-inspiring, shaking past and present alike. Its eyes were like two blazing torches, fiery golden eyes, sharp beyond compare in this world.
This was, incredibly, a divine ape. Its true appearance could not be discerned, but its physique and the golden fur covering its body left no doubt as to its identity.
“The Fighting Sage Emperor!”
Ye Fan grimaced, his heart filled with both shock and a flicker of fondness — seeing the father of the Monkey gave him an indescribable feeling.
This was the one who had once shaken the late primordial age with his might, contending against the divine being Di Que and ultimately emerging victorious — the Sage Emperor whose fame shook all races, known by the name “Fighting War.” One could tell his combat power must have been heaven-defying.
It was said the Fighting Sage Emperor had wished to transform into a Battle Immortal, defying heaven’s will — and as a result, caused the swift decline of the primordial age, accelerating the great upheaval of heaven and earth. He could truly be called an emperor who shook past and present alike.
Above the hall, the Fighting Sage Emperor’s dignity was beyond measure, his true form seated as if still in the primordial age, yet his eyes gazed through ten thousand ages, transcending time and space to perceive everything happening today.
Ye Fan was truly astonished — to find the Fighting Sage Emperor presiding over this hall was far beyond his expectations. He had never imagined the Monkey’s father had once passed through this star region.
“Boom!”
In the next instant, Ye Fan gritted his teeth, tasting a bitter blow — his admiration and fondness for the Monkey’s father instantly cast aside, as the Sage Emperor struck at him.
Heaven and earth cracked apart, unrivaled in power, fierce and dominant to the utmost extreme, as if it would bring the ninth heaven crashing down.
Ye Fan fought bitterly, losing track of time, before finally battling his way out of this palace hall, his entire body covered in golden blood, even the cauldron on his head punched through with a hole — branded there by the Sage Emperor’s immortal iron staff.
He cursed inwardly, but at the thought of the Monkey, he swallowed the rest of his words.
“There must be more halls — surely they don’t all have an ancient Great Emperor presiding over them?” Ye Fan wondered, stepping into another hall. The moment he entered, his entire body felt as if it would burst apart.
Above the hall was a figure, its divine form heroic and imposing, carrying a sense of eternal, ancient solitude, its back turned to Ye Fan — yet it still radiated an air of invincibility.
But as Ye Fan drew closer, that figure simply faded away, vanishing without a trace, as if it had never appeared at all.
In its place, a great bell appeared, suppressing the eternal blue sky, acting in place of the person who had just vanished. As its resonant toll sounded, the universe trembled, and Ye Fan’s body nearly shattered apart.
This was… the Bell of the Beginningless!
Ye Fan was utterly shocked — he recognized it at once, having personally entered Purple Mountain and seen this bell before. So then, the figure who had turned away from him just now must have been the Beginningless Great Emperor?!
“Why did he disappear?” Ye Fan wondered, unable to puzzle it out — but he had no time to dwell on it, as the Bell of the Beginningless bore down upon him.
“Dong—”
As the bell tolled, the stars and rivers of the universe trembled. Even outside the sea of thunder, all the assembled heroes heard it, staggering backward in pain.
The great saints, too, changed color. One of them, as if recalling something, murmured: “Could this be the bell-wave recorded in the ancient texts? Tens of thousands of years ago, such a toll shattered vast stretches of the ancient starry path, shaking all the heavenly realms…”
Ye Fan fought his way out of that hall, finding yet another hole punched through his cauldron — this one shaped like the bell, branded upon it.
“How strange — this ancient Celestial Court is different from before. Why would ancient Great Emperors preside here?!” He clearly sensed something was off, unlike any tribulation he had faced before.
Ye Fan looked ahead — towering palaces, one ancient structure after another, a magnificent panorama stretching before him.
He opened his Heavenly Eye, chose a particularly strange, distinctly different magnificent celestial palace, and walked toward it.
“Who will I meet this time? Surely they won’t all use weapons to brand a hole into my cauldron?” Ye Fan murmured to himself, dragging his wounded body, dots of golden blood marking his path as he entered this grand, colossal palace.
Flash!
In that instant, Ye Fan’s hair stood on end, his bones crackling all over his body. His form suddenly radiated boundless light, his body instinctively awakening, adjusting itself to its peak combat state.
The Secret of the Zhe Character circulated, cleansing his physical form, restoring his wounded body in an instant, granting him peak combat power!
Above the hall stood a figure clad in white, tall and imposing — though calm and unruffled, it still gave off an eerie, extraordinarily shocking sensation.
Ye Fan was deeply shaken — this was unlike the other humanoid lightning forms. This did not seem to be the phantom body of a Great Emperor; it carried a thread of living pulse, as if it were still alive!
How could this be possible? His head spun — this had never happened before, the first time he had ever encountered such a thing during a tribulation.
This Great Emperor, clad in white as pure as snow, radiant and jade-like, seemed to exist across three timelines — past, present, and future — spanning through ancient times to the present and future alike.
This was… Snow Moon Pure, the Demon Emperor who had shaken all ages!
Golden light burst from Ye Fan’s eyes — he could confirm it: this person possessed essence-blood, a powerful pulse of life.
How could this be possible? Could the Demon Emperor Snow Moon Pure truly have survived into this present age? Ye Fan found it hard to believe.
The Demon Emperor had once set foot upon the immortal path back then — could it be that her final fate had not truly been death, but rather the attainment of some Dao fruit unknown to outsiders, and so she still possessed life even now?!
“Boom!”
As Ye Fan entered the Demon Emperor’s hall within the sea of thunder and beheld Snow Moon Pure, deep within the starry void, that vast, surging mausoleum of the Yellow Springs let out a thunderous roar, shaking the stars and seas of the universe.
Within the boundless sea of thunder, magnificent structures stretched in clusters — and within this most unusual celestial palace, a mysterious aura of an emperor lingered.
“Demon Emperor!” Ye Fan called out.
Snow Moon Pure turned around abruptly, her eyes profound beyond measure, revealing the weathering of ten thousand ages, as if she had stood there for an eternity beyond reckoning.
Ye Fan grew even more certain — the sensation felt increasingly real. His entire body felt as if it would tear apart, his whole form on the verge of exploding, barely able to keep his footing here.
The figure before him, clad in white pure as snow, a man surpassing the gods themselves — this was no simple humanoid lightning form. It clearly had essence-blood flowing through it, peerlessly powerful, unmatched in this world!
Within Ye Fan’s body, the two broken immortal rulers thrashed violently, desperate to break free and fly away, filled with restlessness and urgency.
At this very moment, outside the tribulation, everyone else heard Ye Fan’s voice carried through the thunder’s echo, sending chills down every scalp.
The Demon Emperor, who had once ascended the immortal path, represented supreme invincibility — had she not already been elderly with blood withered by then, this world might truly have produced an immortal!
A single Demon Emperor, who had shaken past, present, and future alike, had nearly forged a true legend, falling just one step short of breaking into the Immortal Realm. Why, then, was Ye Fan calling her name — what had he discovered? At this moment, all the great saints trembled, sensing the aura of an emperor, each of them unable to keep from wanting to kneel.