Crown Prince Huaizun’s eyes were sinister and sharp as sword-light. Even the golden feathered robe on his body trembled, for within his heart the killing intent was boundless. “Great Sage Jin Yu and all those other powerful warriors — every one of those vibrant, living souls — all died at your hands! Your crimes are monstrous, too numerous to enumerate!”
Ye Fan glanced at him and paid him no mind, letting him shriek and wail, as though he himself were merely an uninvolved bystander.
“As the Holy Body of the Human Race, arrogant in your achievements — do you truly believe there is no one in this world who can deal with you? Know that beyond one person is always another, and beyond one heaven is always another!” Crown Prince Huaizun’s voice grew even colder.
Ye Fan nodded. “Deeply agreed. The universe is boundless — beyond one person there is always another, and beyond one heaven there is always another.”
Long Ma nodded in agreement. “Quite right. We once encountered a woodcutting old man in the starry void whose name we never learned, yet whose realm of cultivation closely rivaled a Great Emperor’s.”
Clearly, they had deliberately ignored the first half of what Huaizun said and interpreted it in an entirely different direction — a twist that left Crown Prince Huaizun with the sensation of having thrown a punch into a bed of cotton.
Especially as he heard the surrounding crowd all break into discussion, every last person talking about how there was always someone greater beyond oneself, as though they had completely forgotten his mention of the Golden Crow Clan’s blood feud — which made the veins in his forehead bulge with rage.
“You slaughtered the heroes of my Golden Crow lineage — countless wronged souls cry out for justice! This feud cannot be resolved!” Crown Prince Huaizun’s killing intent was boundless. So many had died. He wished he could cut down the person before him on the spot.
“Who said anything about resolving it?” Ye Fan asked in apparent puzzlement.
Huaizun’s expression darkened to its absolute worst. He had been impassioned and grief-stricken, standing here condemning and denouncing — and yet the other party was utterly calm and casual about it.
“Let’s settle this between us, you and me.” Huaizun truly couldn’t endure his contemptuous attitude and let out an enraged roar.
This place immediately erupted into noise. People swarmed from every direction. The Holy Body of the Human Race had appeared, and the Golden Crow Clan’s powerful warriors wanted revenge — news this explosive couldn’t help but cause a sensation.
Ye Fan appeared surprised. “Weren’t you waiting for your clan’s quasi-emperor to appear? Do you dare challenge me yourself?”
What kind of expression was that? Combined with that tone — Crown Prince Huaizun nearly choked on a mouthful of blood that almost erupted from his mouth. This was outrageous contempt, far too little regard! He was being looked down on entirely!
And at this moment, Ye Fan had already stood up and was walking rapidly toward him — like a bear that had spotted honey, or a wildcat that had caught the scent of fish. His whole demeanor screamed excitement, as though he had the other man completely in his grasp.
“You’re utterly arrogant!” Crown Prince Huaizun flew into a rage. This was absolutely a deliberate act for his benefit — every word, every movement deliberately frivolous and provocative, intentionally goading and humiliating him.
“But wasn’t this your suggestion? Could it be that you’ve grown afraid and don’t dare fight?” Ye Fan asked with apparent incomprehension.
The surrounding area was a cacophony of noise. Countless eyes watched, and an ever-growing number of people gathered, all clamoring for them to fight to the death.
The world delighted in chaos. People hoped the situation would blow up, watching from the sidelines, eager to witness a clash of dragons and tigers. After all, one was the Holy Body of the Human Race, and the other had a quasi-emperor standing behind him — ultimately, this would inevitably pierce the heavens.
“Fine! Today I will fight you — I will set up a grand formation! Do you dare come and break through it?!” Crown Prince Huaizun shouted.
As he spoke, he dropped down through the clouds and descended toward the land of the Central Region, intent on arranging a killing formation to battle Ye Fan and determine who was superior.
“Accept the challenge!”
The crowd erupted, urging Ye Fan to agree. Many people went straight down after Huaizun, eager to witness this clash of wind and clouds.
“Brother Ye is a dragon among men, nearly unrivaled beneath the heavens. A challenge from those of the same generation — naturally he would not refuse. This younger brother wishes to observe and broaden his horizons.” Shi Zhongxuan said.
Heavy-weight figures like himself rose from their seats one after another and followed below. This place was in the grip of a sudden storm, stirring every powerful warrior present, and even some Great Sages were drawn out — including, naturally, certain important figures from the central palace.
People either rode divine rainbows or stepped upon auspicious clouds as they descended toward the earth below.
It was a wild stretch of land — thick with brambles and thorns, the terrain uneven — far from magnificent. Yet at this moment it was packed with people.
Huaizun’s expression was grim, and he spoke not a word. In his hands, one great flag after another appeared — some apricot-yellow, some blue-violet, some red as blood across their surfaces… blazing light surged thirty thousand zhang into the sky!
Everyone was shocked at once. These formation flags were anything but ordinary — no one could gauge their depth at a glance. They were certainly extraordinary objects, and gathered together like this, they radiated a terrifying oppressive pressure.
“At least on par with a Great Sage, I would say. This formation is truly something — it must be a supreme-tier killing formation of the Great Sage level.”
“Unless the Holy Body of the Human Race uses an Emperor’s weapon, he’ll gain no advantage going in.”
The crowd murmured among themselves. Everyone sensed this grand formation was far from ordinary — most likely a lethal sealing formation that the Golden Crow Clan’s Great Sage had painstakingly devised, crafting the formation flags and entrusting them to Crown Prince Huaizun.
“This formation’s mechanisms are unfathomable — it seems to contain a world-shaking murderous energy.” Ji Ziyue murmured quietly. She possessed a particularly unique constitution, supremely sensitive to all kinds of primal origins in the world, and had immediately felt an ominous premonition.
Ye Fan nodded. He attempted to activate the Green Copper Cauldron, and the cauldron actually gave a light tremble — and he hadn’t even entered the formation yet!
“On the surface it looks like a Great Sage killing formation — but that’s only a disguise. At the heart of the formation is almost certainly a quasi-emperor killing formation, because their clan has a living Golden Crow Great Emperor!”
Ye Fan stared at the grand formation again and again. Their intention was to lull him into complacency and then slaughter him once he entered.
Boom!
Suddenly, a great battle erupted in the sky above. Without a word, Great Sages came to blows — all from beyond the outer domain.
Within the Central Heavenly Palace, with each clan’s interests at stake, people refused to yield to one another. Those with old grudges could easily become directly opposed, and conflict was inevitable. But the intensity of it was still somewhat beyond what people had expected.
Pff!
It wasn’t long before a rain of blood fell. Everyone was greatly alarmed and fled in all directions — for that was a Great Sage’s blood, and ordinary Saints couldn’t withstand it. Anyone truly splattered by it would suffer a terrible fate.
“Fellow Daoist, why must it come to this? In all things, harmony is most precious,” someone stepped forward to intervene.
Everyone looked up in astonishment. It was Huntuo the Great Sage — he had charged into the boundless void above to mediate the fight.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to separate the two parties. And at that very moment, the battle reached its conclusion. The fighting was extraordinarily brutal, and vast sheets of blood rained down from the sky. A great scream rang out from above — one Great Sage had been blasted apart.
His primordial spirit tried to flee, but the one behind him refused to let it escape. Holding a green gourd, he pulled the stopper, and a stream of green energy flew out, coiling around the primordial spirit and grinding it to dust.
“Alas!” Huntuo the Great Sage sighed and shook his head.
Everyone immediately retreated thirty thousand zhang from him. A battle of Great Sages had erupted first and then swiftly concluded.
“Ye Fan — do you dare fight?!” Crown Prince Huaizun had finished arranging his formation flags. The hillside was now howling with fierce winds and churning fog, and countless divine spirits, demons, and phantoms appeared within it.
Furthermore, pillars of flame surged upward one after another, blazing energy shooting straight into the nine heavens. The killing formation, by any measure, was extraordinary — capable of wounding a Great Sage.
Many people looked over, all eyes on Ye Fan. Everyone wanted to witness this clash of dragon and tiger. In this era, truly few people dared to fight Ye Fan alone — who would actually dare provoke him?
Slaying the Heavenly Emperor’s son, launching a campaign against Mount Sumeru… not one of those deeds had been anything less than earth-shaking. And that was without even counting the various reports from the Ancient Star Road that people had yet to fully confirm.
“Are you certain you want to be my enemy?” Ye Fan asked. He looked cold and indifferent.
“Of course. A blood feud deep as the sea — I think of it every moment of every day. The Golden Crow Clan and you are irreconcilable. You must die!” Crown Prince Huaizun shouted fiercely.
“Very well. Since that is the case, there is nothing more to be said.” Ye Fan strode forward.
“Both of you are exceptional talents — why come to this? In all things, harmony is most precious.” Huntuo the Great Sage descended, wearing an expression of sorrowful compassion, hoping to put an end to the matter.
The Golden Crow Clan’s Great Sage sneered coldly. If Ye Fan entered the formation, even with an Emperor’s weapon in hand, he would be stripped of a layer of skin — after all, Ye Fan couldn’t fully awaken the killing sword. But the hidden formation within was different: it could revive on its own and slay gods and Buddhas alike.
Naturally, he would not allow Huntuo to ruin things. “Fellow Daoist, you worry too much,” he said. “This is merely a settling of accounts. No need for outside interference.”
“In all things, harmony is most precious,” Huntuo said earnestly as he tried to advise them.
“Ye Fan, what are you waiting for — are you afraid? Get in here and fight!” Crown Prince Huaizun shouted. He turned and started into the formation, forcing Ye Fan to come in and face him.
Suddenly, a clang rang out — a flash of cold light swept past, and in that instant heaven and earth lost all color. The sun, moon, and stars went dark. Mountains and rivers shuddered, and one great mountain directly exploded.
Before the formation, a streak of blood flew upward. Crown Prince Huaizun had been directly cleaved apart by Ye Fan right on the spot — shattered to pieces, blood and gleaming white bone fragments flying in all directions.
Everyone froze. Had Ye Fan broken the formation? No — he hadn’t entered at all. He had simply struck from the outside and slaughtered Crown Prince Huaizun in a single blow.
“Alas!” Huntuo the Great Sage let out a sigh.
Boom! The whole place erupted. It ended just like that? Before it had even truly begun — without any breaking of the formation — Ye Fan had simply cut down Crown Prince Huaizun!
The Golden Crow Clan’s Great Sage let out a furious roar of grief and madness. His opponent had been far too dishonorable — attacking outright like that. He raged in denunciation. “Holy Body of the Human Race — you are despicable!”
Shi Zhongxuan said with an indifferent, faintly cutting tone: “Brother Ye, how could you act this way? You are the esteemed Holy Body of the Human Race — yet rather than accepting a challenge, you chose to ambush your opponent. Truly, you make us ashamed to stand alongside you.”
“All fellow Daoists present — what are you waiting for?! This person is ruthless and lawless, with no regard for rules. Keeping him alive is a disaster waiting to happen — act now and cut him down! What are the elders of the great imperial clans waiting for? Use your supreme Emperor weapons and suppress him!” someone shouted, calling out to the elders of the great imperial clans and urging them to deploy their peerless weapons to execute Ye Fan.
Ye Fan’s eyes flickered. He had long since activated his Source Arts. Even if the one shouting from the shadows had concealed their aura, standing on this stretch of land, they could not escape his perception.
He had already identified them — it was none other than Feng Nainai, who had earlier urged the various Great Sages in the hall to suppress and execute him.
“What’s happening — the Holy Body of the Human Race opened up a killing spree right outside the formation?” The crowd broke into clamoring discussion. This place was in an uproar.
Ye Fan gave a cold snort. “When did I ever agree to enter his formation? Setting up a quasi-emperor killing formation to lure me in and slaughter me — that was quite the wishful scheme, wasn’t it?”
The crowd erupted in an uproar. A quasi-emperor killing formation!
A formation of that kind, if fully intact, would be terrifyingly powerful — unlike Emperor weapons that could not be truly awakened even when activated. A formation was different: it could revive on its own, the equivalent of a true quasi-emperor reborn.
In the past, when Man Demon had attacked the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, even with the Green Copper Cauldron in hand, he had been blocked by the quasi-emperor formation array and had been unable to achieve complete victory.