The spirit within the Cauldron sat cross-legged, its entire body crystalline and translucent. Reborn through fire, though it had been shattered into four pieces during the recent battle against the Emperor’s weapons, it had now recovered.

It chanted scripture continuously, one ancient character after another imprinting itself upon the Cauldron’s walls, making the Cauldron ever more mysterious and unfathomable. Unclear chains of order intertwined within it, giving rise to an immortal Dao aura, the Cauldron growing ever more grand and magnificent.

Ye Fan had obtained this scripture from the bronze coffin pulled by the Nine Dragons. To this day he still could not fully comprehend it—it didn’t resemble the scriptures of this world at all, disjointed and incoherent, not quite qualifying as a true technique.

Now, the scripture’s greatest use was in forging the Cauldron. All the ancient characters were melted into it, the Cauldron forged ten thousand times over, the spirit within chanting day after day, radiant light nourishing the Cauldron like flowing water.

Now, with the Heavenly Tribulation serving as fire, tempering the Cauldron’s walls, image after image was carved upon it—immortal birds and auspicious beasts, flowers, birds, fish, insects, the eternal starry river, primordial deities—everything imaginable, encompassing all things.

Lightning flashed brilliantly, light stretching for miles, the marks carved upon the Cauldron clear and deep. All manner of spirits seemed as though they might burst through the walls, carrying a pulse of life, imbued with soul.

Ye Fan used the chaos as water, cooling and nourishing it, pouring it into the Cauldron again and again, tempering it repeatedly, forging a supremely hard Cauldron, rising and sinking, ancient and natural.

Bang!

In the end, Ye Fan expended his entire cultivation, joining forces with the spirit within the Cauldron. Together they shattered the Cauldron and reforged it anew. This was truly forging through a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings, without the slightest shortcut, carving down Dao laws and various images—if even the smallest flaw remained, it would not pass.

He sought to forge the strongest Cauldron possible, melting it within the chaotic sea, tempering it within the Heavenly Tribulation, fusing chaos itself, drawing upon primordial Dao fire, casting it all into a single furnace, forging it into a Dao weapon.

This was Ye Fan’s only weapon, one that would accompany him throughout his entire life of battle—there could be no carelessness. In the future, whether or not he attained the Dao, this Cauldron would advance step by step alongside him, never falling behind others.

Dragon and tiger in harmony, chaos poured as casting material, lightning as the hammer—the great Cauldron grew ever more ancient and simple, emitting a rumbling sound of its own accord. This was the great chanting of the Dao, resonating with the heavens throughout the world.

Threads of Dao imprint surfaced upon it, and then, with a dragon’s cry, a true dragon burst forth, leaping from the Cauldron’s mouth into the heavens, shaking the nine heavens.

Next came a phoenix’s cry, a divine bird with brilliant feathers and vivid five-colored plumage appearing, spreading its wings and crying out, soaring skyward from within the Cauldron, tearing through the high heavens.

Following this, an ancient primordial ancestor stepped forth, merging with the Dao, returning to simplicity, astonishingly powerful, ascending step by step toward the heavens, stepping into the cosmos.

Next came a Kunpeng soaring into the skies, its entire body forged as if from gold, dazzling and brilliant, rising ninety thousand miles into the air, making the universe itself rumble with thunder, shocking everyone outside.

Nine beings in total emerged in succession, bursting forth, manifesting their dharma bodies, their might overwhelming, setting the entire chaotic sea to boiling.

Ye Fan’s Cauldron was complete. Upon its walls were all living beings without number—what had just burst forth were merely a few representatives, far from the complete whole.

Outside, everyone sensed wave after wave of powerful auras, witnessing immortal beasts bursting forth, ancient primordial ancestors radiating overwhelming might, looking down disdainfully upon all directions.

But no one knew what it truly was—they assumed it was part of the Heavenly Tribulation, all left dumbstruck, feeling this was beyond comprehension, even more confused than before.

Within the chaotic sea, lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Ye Fan’s Cauldron had reached true completion, achieving the Sage King Realm alongside him, the two synchronized, sharing a sensation as though flesh and blood were connected.

“Boom!”

Finally, the ancient, simple Cauldron began to swallow the heavens—the true dragon, primordial ancestor, Kunpeng, immortal phoenix, and all the rest were drawn back within, imprinted upon the Cauldron’s walls, coiling there in vivid, lifelike form, a spectacle of endless phenomena.

Moreover, at this moment, it began to swallow and exhale the essence of heaven and earth, drawing in the light of sun, moon, and stars from across the cosmos, replenishing its own divine energy.

Outside the Thunder Sea, heaven and earth suddenly dimmed, as if the world were ending—all manner of radiance and essence sank into the tribulation, swallowed completely.

At the same time, Ye Fan’s flesh crackled and popped, every joint trembling, his blood and flesh pulsing rhythmically, his entire body humming as it repaired the damage.

The essence of heaven and earth, the radiance of sun and moon, poured down—some falling into the Cauldron’s mouth, some pouring onto his body, cleansing every inch of his flesh, restoring his vitality.

Ye Fan had suffered extremely severe injuries in this battle—the various Emperors formed from tribulation lightning had nearly shattered his very origin. Now he finally let out a long breath, beginning to heal.

Once the humanoid lightning-formed Emperor vanished, everything else became a non-issue. Later, from within his forehead bone, a golden figure the size of a fist stepped forth, opening its mouth to inhale, nearly swallowing the entire Thunder Sea whole.

The lightning filling the sky poured entirely into the Cauldron, into Ye Fan’s body, and into the golden figure, becoming a form of primordial essence, transforming into divine energy to replenish them.

Ye Fan’s flesh pulsed rhythmically, his bones trembling faintly, like an immortal melody, crackling and popping without pause, transmuting blood into divinity, reshaping his Sage Body, making him even more powerful.

His primordial energy replenished rapidly, his origin growing ever more abundant, the Cauldron above his head now naturally grand, fused as one with him. Eventually, the chaotic energy too was swallowed by Ye Fan and the Cauldron together, continuously absorbed, his entire body glowing, releasing an aura of immortal, undying power.

At the Sage King Realm, one could refine all origin power, never needing to worry about running out of divine energy anywhere within the cosmic void, for one could draw upon the void, chaos, stars, and countless other sources of divine energy.

Ye Fan’s entire body glowed, strand after strand of immortal radiance shooting forth, his form becoming a source of light itself, while the Cauldron, no longer simple and plain, burst forth with a blazing mass of immortal light, an astonishing phenomenon.

Outside, people had no idea what was happening, only sensing something extraordinary—all manner of divine energy gathering toward that place, as if a cosmic black hole were swallowing everything, sinking into the Thunder Sea.

“What’s happening? It’s as if a mythical sky-swallowing beast is devouring heaven and earth!” the Sages thought, their hearts turning cold.

All manner of starlight poured down, vast and boundless, becoming a silver ocean, gathering toward the Thunder Sea. And at this moment, the Heavenly Tribulation began to vanish, the chaos itself shrinking.

Ye Fan’s entire body turned crystalline, free of even the faintest speck of dust, his wounds fully healed. Now his vital energy surged with vigor, a brilliant golden light shooting from the crown of his head, piercing through the cosmos, the Cauldron rising and falling within that golden light.

He suddenly opened his eyes—his gaze as brilliant as the starry river itself, containing star realms within, containing all phenomena of the world, awe-inspiring to behold. His bronze-colored flesh was long and powerfully built, radiating the distinctive glow of his Immortal Golden Body, his thick black hair hanging loose down his chest and back. He rose to his full height in one motion.

Hah!

Before his forehead, the golden figure embraced the shrunken Cauldron and stepped back into the Immortal Platform within him. He alone stood as the sole presence between heaven and earth, resembling a true deity.

Wherever his gaze passed, the void collapsed, chaos dispersed, the Heavenly Tribulation shattered—in this moment he had reached the very pinnacle of power, truly ascending into the Sage King Realm, his aura vast enough to swallow mountains and rivers.

“Ye Zi, you’ve finally succeeded!” Pang Bo let out a long breath, his eyes gleaming, having stood guard nearby the entire time, tense with worry. His frame was broad and powerful, standing nearly ten feet tall, like an iron tower, his muscles like coiled dragons.

In his hands were two halves of an Immortal Ruler, blue-gold light flowing across their surface, no longer restless, having settled into calm tranquility. Beside him in the void floated a broken Cauldron, streaked with green rust.

Pang Bo had found great fortune within the Demon Emperor’s Hall—fragments of the Great Dao obtained from the Emperor’s blood, containing portions of the true meaning of the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Scripture, worth an immeasurable fortune.

Of course, his greatest gain remained the Immortal Ruler—two-fifths of a supreme Dao weapon. If it could be repaired, it would drive the entire human race’s Ancient Road into a frenzy.

“Now that we brothers are joining forces, let’s see who dares cause trouble—anyone who tries to bully us, we’ll suppress them all!” Pang Bo was never one to fear trouble, his heroic spirit soaring.

Ye Fan withdrew the green bronze Cauldron, a smile spreading across his face. Having now reached the Sage King Realm, there was nowhere on the Ancient Road he couldn’t go—nothing left to worry about.

Pang Bo said, “Whatever Di Tian, whatever Great Demon God—once we brothers advance a few more minor realms, we’ll suppress them all, capture them as servants. And that Green Poetry Immortal Maiden, the Human King too, not bad at all—let’s just capture them as maidservants, pleasing to the eye.”

He spoke without restraint, utterly unguarded, his voice resonating across the universe. Everyone outside heard every word clearly, all left dumbstruck.

Di Tian and the Great Demon God both wore cold, indifferent expressions upon hearing this, their bodies not moving an inch. They said nothing, but it was clear they wouldn’t think highly of Pang Bo after this.

The Green Poetry Immortal Maiden and the Human King remained equally composed, showing remarkable calm, paying it no mind. But the two young maidens at their side stumbled upon hearing it, nearly falling over, grinding their teeth in embarrassment.

The Heavenly Tribulation was about to vanish, yet in this final critical moment it suddenly flared violently once more, like a dying flame’s last blaze. Ye Fan conferred with Pang Bo, then sent word to Qing Huang Daoren, intending to carry the boundless Thunder Sea’s power toward the Demon Emperor’s Great Tomb, to destroy the yin spirits residing there.

Boom!

Without question, this sudden turn of events startled everyone present. The Heavenly Tribulation moved, swift as lightning, surging toward the depths of the cosmos.

Along the way, an army of yin spirits had followed the Sages to this location, having watched Ye Fan’s tribulation the entire time. Now, terrified out of their wits, their souls nearly leaving their bodies, they turned and fled.

These were creatures born of yin energy, and they feared this kind of supremely yang lightning more than anything—being struck by it meant certain death.

“The Emperor’s blood vanished in the direction of the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Mausoleum. I didn’t dare collect it. If we go over there like this, will we end up cutting open the Demon Emperor’s corpse?” Pang Bo muttered quietly.

Ye Fan said, “I suspect something has happened within the Great Tomb—why else would Emperor’s blood be flowing out? This time, we’ll use the power of the tribulation to drive off the yin spirits and get to the bottom of what’s really happening in the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Mausoleum.”

The yin spirits fled in chaos, even the several great yin gods retreating in a panic. They were extraordinarily powerful, capable of rivaling Great Sages in combat, each one resembling a thunder deity with a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks, covered in golden fur—yet they feared lightning above all else.

“Everyone, what are we waiting for? Let’s seize this opportunity to enter the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Mausoleum and behold the Emperor’s corpse.” The human race’s road guardian spoke up, leading the great army forward, charging into that magnificent expanse of mountains and rivers.

The ancient mausoleum resembled an entire world unto itself, with mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, vast and boundless.

The true location of the Emperor’s burial chamber had already been detected. The reason the Great Sages had retreated earlier was that the yin gods had led their army out to block the path forward.

Boom!

In the final moment before the Heavenly Tribulation vanished entirely, it flared once more in a dying blaze, striking Ye Fan’s body until it shook violently. Pang Bo’s face changed color—had it not been for Emperor Wushi’s Heaven-Deceiving Array pattern, Ye Fan’s flesh and blood would surely have been scattered.

With a low hum, overwhelming Emperor’s energy surged ahead—a pitch-black dragon cave trembled violently, and a dragon burst forth from within. It was a pure white true dragon, possessing a supremely noble bearing!

Everyone present trembled in terror. The Great Sages shook where they stood, the Sage leading the charge at the very front immediately fell to his knees, his face turning pale—this dragon carried the majesty of an ancient Emperor.

“This is… the Demon Emperor. He attained the Dao as a Snow Rabbit, continuously refining his essence and blood, evolving into a silver true dragon!”

Ye Fan’s eyes had already shifted his position far away, retreating several dozen miles. By this point the Heavenly Tribulation had vanished, and he stood at a distance, opening his Heavenly Eye to observe closely.

This was a silver dragon, truly bearing the presence of an Emperor, and it was flesh and blood, not some illusory shadow—utterly astonishing!

“To behold an Emperor’s corpse!”

Ye Fan was shocked. Barring any surprises, this might well be the true body of the Demon Emperor himself. And now it had burst forth, radiating a life force that made all living beings tremble.

“Puff!”

Several Sages who had drawn too close, originally hoping to seize the advantage and rush into the burial chamber, exploded instantly under the Emperor’s aura, their bones and blood scattering everywhere.

“To behold the Emperor’s corpse—what fortune beyond ages. No, wait… the Demon Emperor… he might still be alive!” The ancient demon cultivator Baijie Daoren babbled incoherently, overwhelmed with excitement to the extreme.

Was the Demon Emperor not dead? Everyone stood frozen, then felt an icy chill spread through their bodies.

A generation’s Demon Emperor had fallen on the road to immortality, leaving behind far too many mysteries. Today, at last, they would behold the truth—was this truly his corpse, or was this him transforming into a true dragon on the verge of entering the Immortal Realm, still alive?