The Golden Seven Cities—an ancient city gleaming with golden light, dazzlingly brilliant, truly appearing as though cast from pure gold, blooming with resplendent radiance amid the starry sky.
Seen from afar, rosy light and mist flowed there, life essence overflowing in abundance, filling the entire ancient realm with powerful vitality.
Ten thousand paths of the starry river flowed beneath it; the entire city seemed built atop a glowing divine waterfall and great river, magnificent and grand, its atmosphere boundless in majesty.
Ye Fan and his companions had searched far and wide and finally arrived here, beholding the legendary Golden Seven Cities—like a dazzling, resplendent divine pearl set into the heavens.
Drawing closer, they felt a vast, boundless aura, like a magnificent lake or sea surging with waves, heavenly essence and earthly energy permeating everything, nourishing their entire bodies.
“I thought it was truly cast from some divine metal. I didn’t expect it to be a special kind of rock,” Pang Bo said.
This stone appeared golden and translucent, like gold yet like jade, and carried a lingering spiritual energy—naturally precious in value. It was said to be extremely hard, nearly comparable to material used for forging treasures.
“Country bumpkin, you really haven’t seen the world.” Just then, a rather discordant voice rang out.
Ye Fan’s group turned around and saw a child, appearing no more than seven or eight years old, yet built sturdily, currently eyeing Pang Bo sideways with a trace of mockery.
“Where’d this little brat come from, daring to spout such arrogant words,” said Pang Bo, who stood nearly ten feet tall. He lowered his head to look at the child, truly as if looking at a toy.
“Who are you talking about?” The child’s eyes flared, extremely forceful, and actually took the initiative to attack Pang Bo—that small hand was very rough, as if it had done heavy labor for years.
With a boom, deafening, the two palms—one large, one small—collided, producing a sky-shaking sound that made even the city gate tremble. One could well imagine the strength of these two.
Long Ma and the others gasped in astonishment. A mere child of seven or eight, yet able to contend with Pang Bo, their divine strength not inferior at all—this was simply unbelievable.
“Where did this beansprout come from, possessing such formidable strength…” Pang Bo found it incredible.
“Don’t underestimate him. This isn’t a child—his cultivation is at least a century old.” Ye Fan opened his Origin Heavenly Eye and, from the child’s bone structure, discerned his true age.
“Eh, could you be a descendant of Tu Xingsun, crossing over from the other shore of the starry expanse, from ancient China?” Pang Bo’s gossip-fire burned fiercely.
Long Ma, Tianxie, and the others were left speechless, unsure whether he was deliberately provoking the boy or genuinely curious.
The “child’s” expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t expected Pang Bo to possess such enormous strength, simply exceeding all common sense—like a demon god, stronger than any creature of the same rank he had encountered.
“What nonsense is this. Big fellow, if you’ve got guts, take another axe strike from me. If you can’t withstand it, apologize to me.” The “child” put away his contempt, his expression turning solemn.
Pang Bo laughed heartily and said, “If you lose, will you apologize to your uncle too?”
“Hmm!”
Without another word, a massive bronze axe appeared in the child’s hand, transforming into a bolt of thunder-light that cleaved downward. At the same time, bronze light flowed through his physique, splitting heaven and earth.
“Annihilate Form!” Pang Bo bellowed, his eyes shooting out two beams of dragon-shaped light that collided with the bronze axe, erupting into a blazing ball of light.
The city gate rumbled and shook violently. Runic inscriptions surfaced across the Golden Seven Cities one after another, ancient Dao-marks reviving to protect the city and prevent it from being caught in the crossfire.
“Eh, this is the young paramount of the Dwarf Race—he’s come too!” someone exclaimed in shock, revealing the “child’s” identity, named Xigu.
At the city gate entrance, many people had arrived with the same purpose as Ye Fan’s group—to enter the Golden Seven Cities—and upon witnessing this scene, they revealed the child’s race.
This was a powerful ethnic group; though small in stature, each one possessed innate divine strength and remarkable talent in cultivation. It was said that the Golden Seven Cities had been built by their ancestors to help humanity.
This exchange ended in a draw—clearly it would take hundreds of blows to determine a victor. Both retreated and did not continue.
“Big fellow, your strength isn’t weak. Be careful once you’re inside the city.” Xigu said this much, a flash of light in his palm, and the giant axe vanished as he walked toward the city.
“Hey, you still haven’t apologized to your uncle.” Pang Bo laughed heartily.
The Dwarf Race’s young paramount Xigu glared at him fiercely, then flickered out of sight, entering the city.
“Who is this group—it seems every one of them is powerful, their origins extraordinary.” Someone stared at the retreating figures of Ye Fan’s group, an unusual look flashing across their face.
“The Human Race has truly produced some formidable talents. Great Demon God and Diyi Tian are both remarkable figures, certainly great rivals on the mythic ancient road. And now this group is also extraordinary.”
“This might be the Human Race’s Sacred Body and his companions!”
“What—it’s them? They’ve come to the Golden Seven Cities too. Now it’s getting lively. I said Xigu had been keeping a low profile—why would he suddenly provoke someone? He must have noticed something, wanting to gauge the strength of his competitors.”
…
Outside the city gate, some people murmured, then filed into the city one after another, arriving at this gathering place where great forces converged.
This was one of the few ancient cities remaining on the Golden Ancient Road. After such a long span of years, this road had long since fallen into ruin, and the corresponding cities had all been destroyed by various powerful beings.
What was rare was that the Golden Seven Cities remained not only well-preserved but still had residents—though pitifully few, only a few hundred households.
The city’s lord was a small old man with hair and beard entirely white. Once inside the city, no one dared provoke him; everyone behaved with strict propriety, which alone spoke to his unfathomable depth.
“Roarrrr…”
A great roar sounded as a colossal creature flew in from the depths of the cosmos—a massive black bull the size of a mountain range, yet possessing a pair of enormous demonic wings that blotted out the sun and covered the sky.
It tried to charge the ancient city, but under a single soft snort from the city lord, it was struck as if by lightning and instantly became docile, obediently transforming into human form to enter the city.
A great number of cultivators had come to the ancient city, even more than the residents. For cultivators, nothing in this world was more attractive than eternal life, and the Tree of Life held a fatal allure for every race.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In the cosmos, four golden bolts of lightning flew in, their speed reaching the extreme, descending from the starry river—actually four golden serpents. Not particularly long, each only about ten zhang, yet radiating an aura that made all the heroes present tremble.
“The four young lords of the Golden Serpent Clan have arrived!”
“It’s really them—one family, four sons, each defying heaven, hailed as invincible. The Four Golden Serpent Lords are the young paramounts of their own ancient road.”
The four golden serpents transformed into human form, each cold and proud, their pupils a pale gold. Their entrance into the city stirred up a great sensation.
“I still remember—ten years ago, the Second Golden Serpent Lord single-handedly killed his way into another ancient road and wiped out the entire Divine Ape lineage, bathing an entire realm in blood, shaking that stretch of starry sky!”
“And now, all four lords of the Golden Serpent lineage have arrived—they’ll turn the world upside down. Who could possibly be their match?!”
People murmured to one another, all quite wary. Even those who had emerged from powerful clans kept a respectful distance from them.
Within the city, Ye Fan’s group walked along the ancient streets. This city was truly vast, easily capable of housing several hundred thousand resident cultivators without issue.
Houses, towers, and pavilions all stood empty—now only a few hundred original households remained, utterly desolate and forlorn.
Deep within the golden city, Ye Fan sensed the aura of an old acquaintance, looked up, and saw Immortal Maiden Qingshi standing atop a palace tower, her robes fluttering, her skin crystalline, as if about to ascend to immortality, ethereal and transcendent.
“Brother Ye, it’s been a while—ten years apart and you’ve grown even more unfathomable.” Immortal Maiden Qingshi greeted him.
Ye Fan smiled and said, “Immortal Maiden, your bearing has only grown more magnificent than before. We mere mortals have nothing so unfathomable to speak of.”
Immortal Maiden Qingshi smiled radiantly, bright eyes and white teeth—truly a beauty that could topple nations, ethereal and transcendent, beautiful beyond compare.
Pang Bo laughed heartily, looking up, and said, “Might I ask, Immortal Maiden, could you be promised to someone yet? I wonder if we brothers might catch your eye?”
Immortal Maiden Qingshi was speechless. Though she had encountered many suitors before, this was the first time she’d met someone so direct and thick-skinned. She couldn’t help but let out a huff and ignored him.
“I’ve only now realized that Lord Pang truly is a model for us all—a man of genuine character,” Long Ma remarked.
In the distance, a figure approached, his entire body radiating light, as if he were a deity incarnate, carrying an air of dominating the world, supreme and unrivaled.
Diyi Tian had appeared. He walked forward step by step, his true form indistinct, his body seemingly fused with heaven and earth—a genuine embodiment of the unity of man and Heaven, bearing the majestic weight of the Heavenly Dao.
Ten years without meeting, and his presence had grown even more overwhelming—like an indestructible cosmic furnace of the heavens and earth, its brilliance illuminating eternity, smelting all things in creation, its pressure weighing upon rivers and mountains.
He truly looked like a young emperor striding forward. Diyi Tian spoke: “Ten years. I have created a boxing manual. When there’s opportunity, I’d like to seek your guidance.”
Ye Fan said nothing, but Pang Bo laughed first and said, “What a coincidence—Ye Zi has also been forging his own Dao, tempering a hundred techniques in his furnace, researching his own secret arts, named the Heavenly Emperor Fist. He could truly give you pointers.”
Diyi Tian’s talk of “seeking guidance” was naturally a modest turn of phrase. For Pang Bo to accept it so casually and even claim Ye Fan could “give pointers” made the followers behind Diyi Tian grit their teeth in fury, unable to speak.
Diyi Tian’s expression also changed. To dare name something the “Heavenly Emperor Fist”—such a name that would make one’s bones and blood shudder—surely meant something unimaginably terrifying, and a warning sign rose within him.
In another direction, yet another figure appeared. Though somewhat gaunt, he seemed to walk atop the bones of countless beings, his ocean-like aura of blood and death startling many powerful figures throughout the city.
It was none other than the Great Demon God. Ten years, meeting again, and he too had grown even more terrifying—as if he had just clawed his way back from hell, a demon god who had broken free of his shackles, incomparably powerful.
On a jade tower in the distance, a woman gazed out—her beauty beyond compare, cold and aloof, like a sculpture of ice, carrying an inviolable dignity. This was none other than the Human King.
Ye Fan smiled, quite calmly, his eyes holding a serene composure, without the slightest ripple in his heart. Ten years later, meeting again, he too now stood among the ranks of the young paramounts, fearing no one.
“I look forward to meeting every old friend!” These were his words as he strode forward, revealing no overpowering presence, no unusual phenomena—calm and composed, leaving everyone with only the sight of his retreating figure.
Farther away, the four lords of the Golden Serpent lineage’s eyes shot out divine light like golden lightning-serpents, dazzling beyond compare, fixed upon that retreating figure.
Suddenly, a figure descended, blocking Ye Fan’s path—a powerful being whose entire body radiated light, beautiful as a god, flesh gleaming without a single flaw.
At this moment, the golden blood within Ye Fan’s body began to boil, roaring like a river breaking its dam, actually resonating, stirred into reaction, his entire body radiating boundless light.
“The Divine Race!”
Many people cried out in shock. Toward this race, comparable to gods and demons themselves, said to have divine blood flowing within them, the strongest of all races—everyone’s hearts filled with boundless apprehension.