Across the boundless starry sky, a divine bridge stretched onward, spanning two domains, reaching the far shore of the gods.
It was an unbelievable sight! The magnificent divine bridge crossed the ancient domain; even great stars seemed like specks of dust before it, astonishing to behold — anyone who saw it would be struck with awe and shock.
Countless cultivators had struggled to cross, only to find that the end of the Bitter Sea was not the “far shore” they sought after all — one had to leap into the void to glimpse the world beyond.
Ye Fan and the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye. He met the Tengshe Evil Sword head-on with his bare hands, the clash ringing out like iron striking stone upon the divine bridge.
This sword was strange — though brilliant with golden light, every swing of it let out a low, mournful hum, and behind it lay a sea of blood reaching to the heavens, mountains of bones rising and falling, a terrifying sight.
Ye Fan met the blade bare-handed without so much as a scratch on his palm, which shook the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord — his opponent’s body had grown even more terrifying, more powerful than in their last encounter.
In the past, this Tengshe Sword had slain the six brothers of the divine ape lineage, absorbing several jars of great sage blood the clan had stored — it was truly a supreme instrument of evil.
Yet now Ye Fan could withstand it bare-handed, which left the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord in disbelief — this body of his was terrifying enough to make one’s hair stand on end; close combat with him was absolutely to be avoided.
The two clashed atop the vast divine bridge. Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others were not worried at all, having full confidence in Ye Fan — they believed that after comprehending the Dao beneath the Bodhi tree, he should have grown even stronger.
Boom!
The starry sky trembled as the massive divine bridge, a beam of light, carried the group toward an ancient land, where chaotic energy surged and roiled.
Looking out into the distance, five great continents came into view, radiating a hazy glow — the far shore of the gods!
One continent blazed with heat beyond even the sun, radiating scorching light. Another was an endless ocean where no one could set foot, a boundless watery realm. A third rang with the clang of metal, filled with a metallic aura reaching the heavens. A fourth pulsed with green vitality, brimming with life. The fifth was a stretch of earthen yellow, heavy and dense.
These were the Five Elemental Continents. Everyone was struck with awe, and upon closer inspection realized these continents bore a striking resemblance to the five internal organs of the human body — only vast beyond measure, immense without limit.
So this was the dwelling place of the gods!
Many began to understand — the so-called gods might well be the deities born within the Palace of the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerate, and the five organs of the human body held five spirits, which surely referred to these very beings.
The energy of the five elements spilled out, merging and blending together into chaos, giving rise to swirling primordial mist, hazy and indistinct.
“Above the five continents hangs a great star, brimming with the aura of life!”
As the divine bridge drew near, the travelers saw the scene laid out before them, understanding its structure — a great star hung suspended amid the qi of the five elements, nourished by their essence, teeming with vitality.
It was truly an ancient star of life, and an immense one at that. Judging by the sense they got even from a great distance, there had to be formidable beings dwelling upon it, for they could feel a supreme presence of the Dao.
Perhaps a Quasi-Emperor had emerged from there — perhaps even a true Emperor. Who could say for certain?
And at this, doubts stirred anew — perhaps the gods truly did exist, and perhaps this was where they dwelled. Everyone was filled with excitement and anticipation.
The far shore of the gods — its final destination, an ancient star. How could anyone’s heart remain calm at such a sight?
“Puh!”
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord coughed up a mouthful of blood. After a long battle, Ye Fan had struck him with a palm like a great golden millstone, sending convulsions through his entire body, nearly severing him in two.
His opponent’s true form had grown even stronger than before; he could no longer withstand it.
Ye Fan’s heart was solemn as well. The Golden Serpent clan was truly blessed by heaven, descendants of the divine beast Tengshe — indeed worthy of its reputation. How many of his own generation could possibly withstand such a fierce, overpowering blow?
Whether in the past or now, the Tengshe Second Young Lord had always been a formidable enemy not to be underestimated, truly powerful.
But unfortunately for him, Ye Fan was even more terrifying. After barely a hundred exchanges, he had already gained the upper hand, nearly suppressing his opponent entirely.
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord’s face darkened, feeling this to be a great humiliation. In barely a hundred rounds he had already fallen behind — something he would never have dared imagine in the past. It had always been they who suppressed and slew their enemies; never before had anyone attacked them with such overwhelming force. Now everything had been reversed, and he found it difficult to accept.
“Clang!”
Ye Fan’s golden palms, like a spinning millstone, closed together and clamped down on the Tengshe Evil Sword, drawing a mournful wail from the blade, nearly snapping it in two.
Boom!
The divine bridge shook heaven and earth, sending everyone tumbling down, scattering the group in all directions, falling upon this ancient star, landing in different locations.
This was a vast, boundless land. Fortunately, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Long Ma had not been separated, all landing together deep within an ancient forest of towering trees, amid a majestic mountain range.
“Long worm, let’s see where you run to this time!” Pang Bo shouted, while Long Ma and the others gathered around, cutting off any avenue of escape.
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord’s expression turned cold as he surveyed his surroundings, facing down a group of powerful enemies. To say his heart did not weigh heavy would be a lie, yet he had not entirely given up hope.
“My Golden Serpent clan is blessed by heaven. If I lag behind others, today I shall suppress you with ancient arts and secret techniques!” Though he had just fallen behind, in his heart he still refused to concede defeat.
His golden serpent body, over ten feet long, its tail planted firmly on the ground, gleamed with golden light like a pillar of gold driven into the earth, radiant and resplendent, releasing an aura of supreme power.
The Tengshe Evil Sword hung suspended above his head, dripping threads of chaotic energy, while behind him spread an ocean of blood, mountains of bone, terrifying beyond words.
“You keep saying you’ll suppress me — today I’ll make you submit wholeheartedly, and crush you here!” Ye Fan spoke, golden blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Ye Fan, are you alright?” Pang Bo was startled.
“Just a bit of ‘Dao injury’ — nothing to worry about.” Ye Fan activated the Character Mantra, steam-like blood mist rising, stabilizing the wound and keeping it in check.
“So you were suffering from a Dao injury,” the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord finally understood why Ye Fan’s blood had turned golden after his tribulation.
Hiss!
The ten-foot-long serpent body transformed into a golden divine spear, stretched taut and straight, faster even than golden lightning, tearing through the void as it drove straight toward Ye Fan’s forehead.
He was astonishingly fast — this was the innate divine technique of the Tengshe lineage, capable of soaring through the sky and burrowing through the earth, leaving no trace across a hundred thousand miles, possessing the world’s supreme speed!
Ye Fan’s body remained utterly still. Only when the golden divine spear came within half a foot of his forehead did he raise his right hand, blocking its path, and slash down fiercely.
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord was startled and retreated several dozen feet in an instant, the golden divine spear halting its assault. From then on, he moved even faster, transforming into golden lightning, circling around Ye Fan in attack, unleashing his terrifying speed to its fullest.
From a distance, one could see golden figures striking at Ye Fan from every direction, as though thousands upon thousands of golden divine spears were converging on the human Sage Body at the center.
The mountain range rumbled and shook, peaks turning to dust, entirely from the force of the wind their movements generated — in truth, neither of them had actually touched the mountains at all.
“Too slow.”
Just as the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord was growing more confident with every exchange, a cold, indifferent voice suddenly sounded in his ear. In the next instant, his body shook with agonizing pain — he had been struck by one of Ye Fan’s golden fists, golden scales flying, blood spraying, nearly cleaving him in two!
“You…” He was shocked, his body shifting sideways — yet a golden figure beside him moved even faster, arriving before he did, as though it had been waiting there all along.
“Slap!”
The great golden millstone-like palm swung down, striking the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord until his bones cracked and rattled within his body, sending him flying once again, golden blood spurting from his mouth.
From this, one could see just how powerful the Tengshe lineage’s body truly was — even after two of Ye Fan’s strikes, it had not shattered, still retaining formidable combat power.
Yet the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord did not see it that way. His whole body had turned ice cold — this was his fastest speed, and it had proven insufficient against his opponent. If he could not defeat him, even fleeing would be impossible.
“Is this really your fastest speed?” Ye Fan asked calmly, radiance blooming beneath his feet, a divine diagram emerging, transforming into a bolt of light, flickering left and right as he struck at the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord from all sides.
In this brief span, the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord took nine consecutive palm strikes, his whole body splitting apart, bones rattling, white bone showing through torn flesh, blood spraying everywhere.
Puh!
Golden blood sprayed as the golden serpent body was finally shattered by Ye Fan, breaking into a dozen sections scattered in every direction.
“Even a severed worm won’t die easily — be careful, the Tengshe’s vitality may be extraordinarily strong,” Pang Bo warned, though he was not truly worried, having complete faith in Ye Fan’s combat strength.
Puh!
Golden blood sprayed as his golden serpent body was shattered, breaking apart into over a dozen sections scattered across the ground.
“You’ve made me furious!” The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord roared. His dozen or so severed golden segments surged together, merging the Tengshe Sword back into his body, reforming a single serpent form. He was beyond furious — for the first time in his life, his serpent body had been severed by another.
“And what of it?” Ye Fan asked calmly.
“Serpent Stirs the Nine Heavens!” the Golden Serpent shouted, and the sky rumbled and shook as nine layers of heaven pressed downward, as though the end of the world had come.
This was an ancient technique — the Tengshe transformed into a god, standing above the nine heavens, suppressing all beneath, with all nine layers of heaven under its command, capable of grinding any enemy to nothing.
“Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist!” Ye Fan shouted. Mountains and rivers shook in unison, sun and moon trembled together. With a single punch, the heavens quaked, a torrent of overbearing golden power surging upward, shattering the descending “Nine-layered Heavenly Dome” outright.
“Puh!”
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord was sent flying, coughing up a great mouthful of blood, his face full of shock, brimming with resentment.
“Tengshe World!” he roared again. Behind him unfurled a golden world, an ancient divine Tengshe manifesting — a whole realm, endless mountains and rivers, golden divine serpents everywhere.
Most striking of all was the massive ancient serpent at its center, turning its body as sun, moon, and stars were all destroyed, vast beyond measure — the ancient Tengshe ancestor that had ascended to godhood!
Boom!
Ye Fan unleashed his own vision, the Immortal King, the Golden Bitter Sea, the Chaos Green Lotus — all merging together as one, like a chaotic world, hazy yet distinctly visible.
Looking closer still, it resembled a human figure, every vision merely a component part of a single body.
Ye Fan’s myriad Laws could not be breached. The Tengshe World unleashed by the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord’s attack was dissolved, collapsing entirely. His unified vision, divine might vast and boundless, shattered the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord into pieces, scattering blood in every direction.
“How could this be?” The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord muttered to himself after reforming his body, suppressed once more, having failed yet again.
“What other secret techniques, ancient arts do you have that you believe could defeat me? Feel free to display them all,” Ye Fan said, dispelling his vision, staring at him calmly.
The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord fell into despair. Those secret techniques he had just unleashed — how many equals in the world could break them? Yet before the human Sage Body, they had proven utterly useless.
Was it truly the case that he could only withstand a few hundred rounds against this Sage Body? Was there really no way to contend? Was he truly destined to fall along the Emperor’s Road, becoming nothing more than a brilliant scene along another man’s journey?
“Tengshe Becomes God!” the Golden Serpent Second Young Lord roared. The four characters shook the heavens as his entire body cracked open, dazzling and resplendent — he intended to shed his serpent skin entirely and transform into an even more powerful divine body.
“Useless,” Ye Fan said, taking a single step forward like a bolt of golden lightning, his golden palms spreading open, seizing both severed ends of the serpent’s tail. With a forceful pull, the serpent body snapped apart, blood spraying in all directions.
“Ahh…” The Golden Serpent Second Young Lord fell into utter despair. His opponent had simply waited for him to unleash each technique, breaking every single one — and all in his opponent’s own domain of mastery. There could be no crueler blow than this.