Hundreds of thousands of massive boulders pierced the sky. At first they spread like a dark storm cloud — an oppressive black expanse filling the heavens. Then they became like meteors crossing the world, all of them melting away, fire dancing and light cascading, a river of stars pouring down — brilliant and blinding.
This was a great, crushing force. The sky cracked apart. The earth became a sea of magma surging upward, scorching all vegetation to ash and cinders, collapsing mountains into dust.
Not a natural disaster — but the aftermath of a human force. Ji Haoyue was reborn, transformed from the inside out. After so many years of shedding and renewal, he had erupted from deep within the earth’s veins.
The great cocoon rose and fell, covered in countless fractures — thousands upon thousands of interlacing cracks. Its shape was strangely unusual: faintly, it resembled the character for “Dao,” with three thousand six hundred streams of auspicious radiance cascading down from it.
“He’s truly reached this point…” Ji Ziyue murmured to herself.
She and Ji Haoyue had deduced it together — fully comprehending the mysteries of the divine demon liquid and estimating the height he might reach after his transformation. Now it had come true.
“Our next transformation will get us there too.” The Little One was elated, deeply inspired by the mysterious quality of Ji Haoyue’s cocoon — its fusion with the Dao — and full of excitement.
Roar…
Around the great cocoon, one ghostly figure after another took form — ancient divine beings and demons screaming and howling, all of them manifesting in full, surrounding it. The sight was awe-inspiring and terrifying.
This was an expression of inheritance. The Divine King’s constitution had a blood connection to those ancient divine beings and demons, and now that their sigil-imbued sacred liquid had been refined within him, all manner of strange phenomena were appearing naturally.
Crack!
The great cocoon split open. The outer shell and chunks of cocoon began falling away together, and from within, a blazing torrent of radiance burst forth — illuminating the entire sky in magnificent brilliance, an astonishing sight.
Rumble!
Suddenly, from the distance, vast lightning and thunder came rolling in from every direction like a flood, sweeping across the vast sky — dazzling and thunderous, howling forward.
An enemy had arrived.
Ji Haoyue’s final breakthrough surge had generated too great a disturbance, drawing the powerful beings of the surrounding region. Someone had already struck lethally — driving a pair of silver dragon shears straight toward the cocoon.
Two serpent-dragons, their bodies blazing white and fierce, radiating a ten-thousand-foot brilliance, crossed and combined into a massive pair of shears, cutting sideways toward Ji Haoyue’s great cocoon.
This was not a single individual — it was a group of powerful figures, led by the Heaven-Swallowing Beast, possessor of an ancient supreme bloodline. The great shears were his attack, their thunder deafening.
Ji Haoyue could not be interrupted at this critical moment. To do so risked his transformation failing with nothing to show for it. Ye Fan acted at once. From his brow, a tiny cauldron just one inch tall erupted — shattering the heavens.
It transformed into a streak of immortal light and shot straight forward, striking the silver dragon shears with an explosion of boundless lightning radiance. With a sharp crack, it punched a small hole into the precious cocoon and nearly snapped both dragons in two.
“Who dares?!” The Heaven-Swallowing Beast erupted in fury. His weapon, forged from divine materials rarely seen in the world, had just been pierced — the two silver dragons now dim and faded.
Ye Fan rose into the air. His black hair reached his waist. His eyes blazed like twin torches. From head to toe he radiated the aura of one who had fought across three thousand worlds and stood supreme beneath the heavens — a presence that shook the soul.
“It’s… the Human Race’s Holy Body!”
“Trouble — the Human Race’s Holy Body is here, standing guard!”
Seeing Ye Fan appear out of nowhere, every face in the group changed. The battle not long ago had already spread across this entire region. The young generation had come to fear him to the very core.
He had killed the Sacred Spirit and slain the Serpent-Dragon — sweeping across one young supreme after another without equal, his momentum unrivaled. There was no one who dared underestimate him. Every single one of them was tense, as if facing a deadly enemy.
“We came for the divine demon liquid — we have no desire to fight you,” someone shouted.
“Nonsense. The divine demon liquid you want is with Ye Fan’s big brother-in-law. As the brother-in-law’s brother-in-law, how could he just stand by while you lot run wild here? You should see yourselves out,” Long Ma yelled from behind.
It was currently trotting along at Ji Ziyue’s side — obviously positioning itself for the divine demon liquid — and was clearly trying to make a good show of itself. It had every intention of stepping forward and joining the fight.
Everyone’s expression turned cold. Ye Fan pressed forward, and that tiny cauldron suddenly expanded, suspended above his head, merging with him — causing the sky to rumble deeply.
From behind, Long Ma was making its flashiest entrance, splitting into three using its secret technique of multiplying itself, with two additional bodies pressing forward imposingly. Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, and the others were blazing with light, each manifesting their own phenomenon and divine form, advancing together.
The Little One let out a phoenix cry, streaking forward as a brilliant rainbow — charging in, ready to fight. The full power of a high-level Saint King unfolded without restraint.
“Fall back!”
The Heaven-Swallowing Beast quietly assessed the balance of strength. He had no intention of taking a head-on collision. He had already heard — Ye Fan was a master of source arts. Fighting him here, in a burial ground of ancient divine beings and demons, meant fighting on his home ground. Why else had the Golden Serpent Elder, the Gold-Devouring Beast, and the Sacred Spirit all suffered such crushing defeats? It had everything to do with that.
“The day will come for a true reckoning — to determine who stands first among us all!” The Heaven-Swallowing Beast burned with ambition. This place was a burial ground of ancient divine beings and demons. He intended to devour all the blood and bone within those mountain depths and forge an invincible body.
For now, having only arrived a month ago, he had no desire to engage in a bitter battle with powerful enemies. Once he had reached his full power, sweeping away all opposition would not be too late.
The group was reluctant, but ultimately they withdrew. With the Human Race’s Holy Body standing guard, the pressure on them was enormous. His combat power combined with his source arts — in an ancient land saturated with divine and demonic energy — meant very few dared to challenge him.
In the half hour that followed, several more waves of powerful presences appeared one after another. Each one, upon sensing Ye Fan, withdrew — frustrated and resigned.
Among them was the Golden Serpent Elder and his companions. The Gold-Devouring Beast said coldly, “Right now he can only defend — he can’t run. We have endless opportunities to kill him.”
“His combat power and source arts are secondary concerns. What I truly fear is a weapon in his hands — something even beyond our clan’s ancestral treasure, the Serpent-Dragon Formation Map.” The Golden Serpent Elder’s eyes were like ice, fixed on what lay ahead.
“Let us draw in a Great Saint and use their blade to kill them all,” the Fourth Golden Serpent Prince said, his eyes blood-red. Two of his brothers had died at Ye Fan’s hands. That debt could never be repaid. If it were possible, he would have consumed Ye Fan’s flesh piece by piece.
“There’s no time. The Divine Body’s transformation is nearly complete. Going to draw in a Great Saint now would be too late — and now there is one more powerful enemy to deal with.” The Golden Serpent Elder’s eyes were a deep, pitiless cold.
Cursing under their breath, full of resentment, they departed as well — without having made a single move.
Pang Bo and the others felt relieved. No Great Saint had appeared throughout the entire ordeal. Everything had passed safely, without anyone attacking — a bloody battle had been avoided.
Crack crack…
The sound of fracturing continued. The great cocoon shattered completely, large fragments falling away — and from within, a powerful silhouette shot out like lightning, swiftly wrapping itself in fresh clothing.
A misty figure stood there, scanning in all directions. His eyes were like two flames leaping and blazing — an absolute, supreme power.
Ji Haoyue had emerged from seclusion. His transformation was complete. His true body was extraordinarily powerful. He quickly spotted Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others, his expression momentarily stunned. Then he saw Ye Fan — and both his brows snapped downward like swords crossed in anger.
“He actually held back at the last moment — otherwise he might have broken through to the seventh level of the Saint King realm. As it stands, he is at the same sixth level as Ye Fan,” Long Ma said, inwardly shocked.
The path of a cultivator grew harder and harder with each step, filled with obstacles and hardships, advancement ever more difficult. No one had anticipated that Ji Haoyue’s transformation would be so staggering. Clearly he had deliberately sealed himself back — reserving the advance for a future breakthrough, unwilling to move too fast.
Boom!
The mist surrounding Ji Haoyue erupted. Light blazed from his entire body. He looked as if a divine sovereign had descended into the world — tall and magnificent, black hair loose and flowing, sword-like brows sweeping into his temples, eyes like stars. He charged forward without a single word.
He said nothing — he simply attacked Ye Fan immediately. His hands moved and the wind and thunder erupted, lightning flashing and thunder booming, truly like a divine king descending from the heavens — terrifying beyond measure.
“Brother, what are you doing?!” Ji Ziyue cried out.
“Trouble — the big brother-in-law has gone berserk, trying to kill the brother-in-law to prove his Dao. Whose side should I be on?” Long Ma fanned the flames, cheering from the sidelines.
Ye Fan had no choice. He could not go all out — but he couldn’t just stand there either. He assumed a defensive stance and raised his golden fists to meet Ji Haoyue head on.
This was a true Divine Body. Light blazed from every inch of it. Every palm strike resonated with the Great Dao, sending the heavens rumbling. By now, Ji Haoyue had reached the pinnacle of his divine techniques.
Ye Fan’s fists were calm — no overwhelming dominance, no killing intent. What he carried was simply an invincible conviction as he met this old acquaintance in battle.
Fist met palm. The explosions were ceaseless, shockwaves rippling outward in all directions. The mountain ranges below were sent flying into the air like paper and shattered in the high sky.
Ji Haoyue’s fingertips shuddered. He stepped sideways three thousand feet, unfolding a profound technique. The void froze solid. He moved to bind Ye Fan in place — and the bone of his forehead blazed with light, like an ancient mirror, radiating a brilliant luminance.
This was not a weapon. It was a Void Divine Technique. His immortal platform blazed with clarity, melting the void itself.
Ye Fan’s divine form appeared. He shattered the void and broke free from the sealed state. From between his brows, a small golden figure manifested a divine technique — a golden fist that crashed forward and shattered the divine light Ji Haoyue had projected from his brow.
Suddenly, ocean waves surged and the endless roar of the tide filled the air. A vast azure sea billowed, and a brilliant full moon rose — appearing behind Ji Haoyue’s back.
The Moon Rising Over the Sea!
This was Ji Haoyue’s supreme phenomenon — one of the most powerful innate treasure phenomena of the most ancient era. In that moment it surged into full motion. The sea rose to swallow the heavens, and the bright moon descended with crushing force, sending a terrifying shockwave outward.
Ye Fan gave a soft smile. Was Ji Haoyue testing him — or was this his version of holding back? To meet him with a phenomenon alone was telling. Behind Ye Fan’s back, all manner of phenomena manifested at once, merging into a vast, indistinct tableau — like a whole cosmos, or a humanoid being gestating within primordial chaos.
Boom!
The Moon Rising Over the Sea phenomenon broke apart and was nearly annihilated. But at that moment, divine beings and ancient demons roared and screamed — the divine and demonic beings of countless heavens appeared, lunging at Ye Fan.
It resembled a divine form, and yet also a phenomenon — locking the Moon Rising Over the Sea in place. The two intertwined. Beneath the clear moonlit sky, ancient divine beings and demons aligned in a vast array, their divine might surging like a flood.
Ye Fan’s expression grew serious. He treated this with full attention, no longer daring to be casual. His own phenomenon unfolded, sweeping across all heavens to contend with the army of divine beings and demons.
Rumble, rumble!
A tremendous collision erupted. Two great powerhouses clashed. The phenomena were staggering, the divine might surging like a tide, and arcane techniques flowed without end — at times, the Nine Secrets and the forbidden techniques of the Void Great Emperor’s scripture clashed against each other directly.
“Ye boy, stop holding back — are you afraid of hurting your big brother-in-law?” Long Ma stoked the fire.
“Little One, go suppress that horse for me!” Ji Ziyue shot it a withering glare and ordered the Lightning Phoenix Bird into action. A bolt of lightning streaked out, straight toward Long Ma.
“I misspoke! Divine King, how about putting in some real effort and suppressing that Ye fellow instead?” Long Ma laughed.
Divine radiance blotted out the sun. Two great powerhouses clashed. Streaks of light flew in all directions. Both were holding back — this was not a fight to the death — but even so, the intensity was extreme.
Half an hour later, a tremendous crash rang out. Long Ma was sent flying by a shockwave, and the two great powerhouses came to stand before each other. The battle was over.
Ye Fan’s long sleeve was destroyed, exposing his arms. A single dim finger-mark was branded on the outside of one arm. Beyond that, his body flowed with light, as if forged from divine luminescent gold, radiating a supremely powerful aura.
Ji Haoyue’s clothing was completely undamaged — but there was something rather disharmonious about his otherwise handsome face: around his left eye, a bruise had blossomed, clearly the result of taking a solid hit.
“Young man, look at you — first time meeting and you already gave the big brother-in-law a black eye. This debt is going to be collected slowly,” Long Ma roared with laughter.