The fire meridians collapsed and exploded piece by piece, the crow’s nest splintered apart, and every Golden Crow in this place was annihilated—not a single one escaped.

There were many people in the distance, yet the heavens and earth fell utterly silent, without even the sound of a crow’s cry. They had witnessed this battle with their own eyes, their hearts filled with dread.

Bloody mist swirled through the air, and the glaring white fragments of bone were a sight too harrowing to behold, testament to the devastating losses suffered by the Golden Crow clan—the contingent that had descended upon the Northern Dipper was nearly wiped out entirely.

Silence. Not a single person spoke. Cowed by Ye Fan’s imposing power, every last one of them stood at a distance, not daring to approach.

Ye Fan turned and strode away with great steps, disappearing over the horizon. Long Ma, the Golden-Winged Great Roc, and the others followed in his wake as he departed from this stretch of land.

No one could say how much time passed before the place erupted in noise—a cacophony of clamor!

The news seemed to have grown wings, spreading rapidly in all four directions, shaking all five great continents. The Eastern Wasteland, the Central Region, the Southern Ridge—every territory burst into an uproar.

Ye Fan had returned!

The news spread swiftly. He had first made his move beyond the heavens, then come directly to the Northern Region to begin a great slaughter. The interval between the two had been brief, and only when everything was finished did the truth truly get out.

Lightning struck from a clear sky. Thunder crashed through level ground.

Without question, the news was staggering, far beyond what anyone had anticipated. Previously it had only circulated in a small circle, but now a hurricane had swept through the Central Region, the Southern Ridge, and the Eastern Wasteland.

More than a hundred years had passed, yet Ye Fan had appeared again. Many people were left in a daze—someone who walked the ancient path could actually return? Such a thing had been exceedingly rare since ancient times.

Just how powerful had he become? A single punch had shattered the entire Golden Crow clan, and a single shout of the Dao had slain their elder Sacred King outright. It was absolutely terrifying.

The news of Ye Fan’s return became a storm, sweeping across the land in an instant, shaking the hearts of every person in the world.

More than a hundred years had passed. In the mortal world, one or two generations had turned over. Yet the cultivators of former days still remained—whether they knew him or not, all of them were shaken to the core.

The news became a surging tide that, through the domain gates, spread to every corner of the world in the shortest possible time. Everywhere there were cultivators, the word was known—the world was in an uproar.

“The vast majority of people from that era are gone now…” Ye Fan sighed softly, walking upon the familiar land of the Eastern Wasteland. Time had turned; the mortals of Ye Fan’s generation could not still be alive.

“In a sense, your mortal heart should be severed by now,” said the Black Bear Sage.

“What divides a heart into ‘mortal’ and ‘transcendent’? It is all still a human heart.” Ye Fan gazed out over the land. The mountains and rivers remained as they were, yet an entire era had already passed.

His return had produced an enormous impact, throwing all five domains into a commotion. The world was filled with discussion and debate, and people could scarcely believe any of it.

Had the human Holy Physique truly reached the level of a Great Sage? It was utterly astonishing—in only a little over a hundred years!

Ye Fan made no effort to conceal his whereabouts. He traveled on foot across the land, gazing toward the Primordial Ancient Mine and into the distance toward the Jade Pool, though he visited neither—there was no time for that now.

He then appeared in the Central Region, leading the twelve sages on foot. Certain cultivators were left dumbstruck, watching from afar, pointing and whispering in hushed voices.

The Heavenly Village lay beyond the domain, and he had no way of locating it. His only option was to make himself known to the world, so that old friends might learn of his presence and come to find him.

The Jade Pool, the Jiang Family, the Wind Clan, the Great Yan, the Primordial Beginning—all of the great holy lands learned of it, and their respective leaders were shaken without exception.

The contemporaries who had known Ye Fan in their generation were left staring blankly, stupefied. Had a transcendent supreme being truly risen? A chasm had opened between him and the rest of their generation, an insurmountable divide.

“He should come to visit us at the Jade Pool. Yiyi and the Sacred Fetus are both people he worries about—it is simply that he has no time at the moment.”

“Our Wind Clan has shared a past with him. Will he appear for us?”

……

Wherever Ye Fan appeared, he lingered for a long time, walking slowly. He feared that if his pace was too quick, he might miss the old friends he sought.

Waning Moon City was located in the central region of the Eastern Wasteland, one of the ten great ancient cities of the Central Domain. Ye Fan strolled through it—the ancient streets remained just as they had always been, no different from before—only the people had long since changed.

The moment Ye Fan entered the city, the entire street fell quiet. Long Ma, the Golden Lion, the Azure Luan, and the other eleven sages followed behind him, each possessing strange and remarkable appearances that drew every eye.

“Divine Son… is it truly you?” A timid voice called out from a distance.

“Little Que’er.” Ye Fan fixed his gaze on a certain point in the void. The space there cracked open at once, and a dirty, disheveled young girl appeared. Her clothes were careless and unkempt, yet her large, bright eyes sparkled with excited light.

This was the heaven’s chosen daughter of the Heavenly Village—extraordinary in her root bones, painstakingly cultivated by Qi Luo, and regarded as a future Grand Venerable of the Slaughter Realm, capable of matching numerous royal physiques with ease.

Clearly, Little Que’er had not been living well of late. Otherwise she would never have dressed herself in such a state of neglect—what young girl has no love of beauty?

“It is me.” Ye Fan had not expected Little Que’er to be the first to appear.

The scenes of former days were vivid before his eyes, as though everything had happened only yesterday. Back then, Little Que’er had been only two years old—toddling about with endearing clumsiness, a pacifier in her mouth, humming and gurgling as she practiced her cultivation in the morning glow.

“You… are not an impostor?” Little Que’er, as a successor of the Heavenly Court who primarily cultivated the Sacred Scripture of the Slaughterer, could naturally sense all things. She asked only because her excitement had gotten the better of her.

She rushed toward him, tears in her eyes, like a child who has been wronged and finally sees the person closest to her heart—unable to hold back the urge to weep.

“Don’t cry. It is nothing so terrible. Whatever grievances you have suffered, I will help you settle the score.” Ye Fan’s own emotions surged powerfully. He had not expected to meet one of his own people so quickly.

“Divine Son, the Black Emperor is lost! Ye Tong has been hunted to the point where his fate is unknown! Hua Hua has been taken away by someone! Patriarch Grandfather Qi Luo was gravely wounded! The Silver-Blooded Twin Kings are being pressured by the ancient clans, who want them to acknowledge their ancestry…” Little Que’er spoke in a voice choked with tears, deeply agitated, as though she had endless grievances to pour out.

Reuniting in Waning Moon City—it was not only Little Que’er who was overcome. Ye Fan’s own heart surged with turbulent emotions, and his eyes grew sore.

Little Que’er had no way of returning to the Heavenly Village, for it lay far away in the star river beyond the domain. The Black Emperor had gotten itself lost, which naturally meant it had also abandoned them, leaving them with a home they could not return to and a place they could not find.

“It is as unreliable as ever!” That was Ye Fan’s assessment—which caused Little Que’er to break into laughter through her tears, unable to help herself.

That dog truly was unreliable. After pitting everyone else to the very end, it had finally managed to pit itself as well—researching formation arrays, it had somehow transported itself to the other side of the starry sky and could no longer find its way back.

Little Que’er’s natural gifts were extraordinary. Though she had not walked the ancient path through the starry sky to temper herself, she had by now reached the pinnacle of the Sage realm. Combined with her cultivation of the Heavenly Court’s great killing arts, she had become the most outstanding Slaughter Sage in all this heaven and earth.

She had once gravely wounded one of the Golden Crow elder Sacred Kings, coming close to finishing him off. She had also ventured to the Western Desert to rescue Hua Hua, but in the end she could not ascend Mount Sumeru, and nearly got captured herself.

“Uncle Li Heishui and Uncle Dongfang Ye almost got converted by the Buddhist sect. Yan Yixi and Li Tian were both struck by a group of arhats and ancient Buddhas, nearly losing their lives.” Little Que’er recounted the ordeal in the Western Desert, so furious that her very back teeth itched.

Old friends had not fallen—they were all still alive. This was the best possible news. As long as people were alive, nothing else was an insurmountable problem.

Hearing it all to the end, Ye Fan’s heart relaxed somewhat. The others had no major issues—only Ye Tong and Hua Hua had run into trouble, and of the two, it was Ye Tong he worried about most.

“On that last day, we fought side by side and killed many Golden Crows, but in the end we could not overcome those four elder Sacred Kings, and could only flee in separate directions.” Little Que’er recounted it—in that final battle fought together, both of them had suffered grievous wounds.

“Ye Tong may have been taken away and saved by Jiang Ting,” Little Que’er speculated.

“Little Tingting—could she have brought him into the Jiang Family?” Ye Fan was momentarily taken aback.

“No, she did not return to the Jiang Family.” Little Que’er shook her head.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He suddenly raised his head and looked up toward the Sun Star. Could they have gone there?

“Don’t be anxious. It is nothing so terrible—none of this amounts to much.” Ye Fan comforted Little Que’er. He had the confidence to say this, for he believed he could resolve every one of these problems.

“Are all of these people at the Sage King realm?” Little Que’er wiped away her tears and looked toward the Golden-Winged Great Roc and the others, greatly astonished.

Ye Fan nodded. The other sages also offered her friendly smiles. Long Ma, of course, was an old friend, and there was a particular joy in their reunion.

“Come. We go to the Sun Star.” This time, Ye Fan took Little Que’er along with the Ancient Golden Roc and the others, leaving everyone else behind as they flew directly into the Sun Star.

The temperature here was blazing and scorching, as though countless fire phoenixes danced in the air, incinerating all things. Ordinary sages found it difficult to approach the core.

Ye Fan and his group pressed straight forward, eventually arriving before an ancient palace hall. Even from a considerable distance, they could already sense a terrifying aura.

“A Golden Crow!” Little Que’er showed an expression of horror. This aura was even more terrifying than that of a Sacred King.

The stone palace radiated a sacred and holy radiance, as though it were a blazing divine sun. It was an ancient temple dedicated to the worship of the Sun Deity, said to be connected to the Sun Sacred Emperor.

Within the hall stood a teleportation formation, beside which an elder Golden Crow sat cross-legged in silent vigil. Its aura was terrifying, its entire body wreathed in solar fire essences, like an ancient deity.

Ye Fan naturally knew that the teleportation formation led to the most mysterious location within the Sun Star—a place where chaos and fire essences intertwined, inaccessible to outsiders. That place was where Duan De lay in slumber, protected by an unrivaled formation array of Imperial-grade remnant patterns, with the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Seal as its guardian. Even the Man-Demon had ultimately stopped short, unable to approach.

This elder Golden Crow had discovered this location. Unable to get anywhere near Duan De, it could only stand guard here.

“Who goes there?” The elder Golden Crow’s eyes snapped open in an instant. It swept a cold gaze over Ye Fan, its blood energy surging like a vast ocean.

“Is my disciple inside? Did you trap him here?” Ye Fan answered a question with a question.

“It is you—the human Holy Physique of former days. To think you actually returned. How convenient.” The elder Golden Crow’s name was Jin Yu. It was one of the oldest patriarchs of the clan and a Great Sage of boundless magical power. Though it had never met Ye Fan in person, it had seen his statues and the like.

Jin Yu immediately made its move. In its current form of a golden-haired elder Daoist, it extended one hand, which transformed into a massive claw and swiped toward Ye Fan and all those with him.

Boom!

Ye Fan’s fist came crashing down and collided with the golden claw. In an instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared, wind and thunder erupted with terrifying force, and even the Sun Star itself trembled.

“You…” The Great Sage Golden Crow rose to its full height. Its right hand was drenched in blood—nearly shattered and obliterated by Ye Fan’s fist.

This shocked it to its core. As a Great Sage, it had suffered a severe disadvantage at the hands of a young upstart at the Sage King realm. There was something deeply unnatural and sinister about this.

“Great Sage of the Golden Crow clan—you wished to kill my disciple? Why not go and lie in eternal slumber alongside your own descendants?” Ye Fan said calmly.

“What do you mean? What has happened to my clan?” Jin Yu’s voice and expression turned stern, and it cried out in fury.

“I mean that your descendants and disciples were killed by me—and your turn is coming up next.” Ye Fan said calmly.

“What—you…!” Jin Yu was consumed by rage. His vision went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.