Ye Fan was coming — he would enter the Emperor Pass. This drew the attention of everyone. Three hundred years ago, he had fought a Supreme Being to the death; all had assumed he was dead. That he could appear here alive was in itself the greatest of miracles!
Setting aside the gains and hidden afflictions from his battle against an ancient Supreme Being, even the mystery of how he had survived was alone worth investigating. There had to be some earth-shattering secret, and people were eager to learn the truth.
Now he was coming, and even some who had previously had nothing to do with him began to scrutinize the situation carefully. This might touch upon secrets that stirred their hearts — worthy of careful study.
A gate of light expanded, and four silhouettes walked through.
Before them, the city walls towered with might — like a range of blood-red mountains standing erect in the cosmos of starry space, truly stained by the blood of the strong, a color that had never faded to this day!
This was the Emperor Pass. Though not the main gate, the desolation of those blood-flowers that had bloomed and swiftly cooled and fallen upon it was even more concentrated than at the main gate — a killing aura permeated it all.
Even the vital energy of ancient Great Emperors lingered there!
This was astonishing. Even Ye Fan could not help but furrow his brow. That was the blood spilled by young Great Emperors who had once clashed here and suffered grievous wounds — and later, when some of them had achieved the Dao, heaven and earth had injected a certain kind of order into the blood they had shed in their youth, searing it into the city walls, inextinguishable to this day.
This had also made the Emperor Pass ever more indestructible — enduring through the ages, never having crumbled.
It was unquestionably not the blood of one emperor alone. The sight was formidable beyond words — the longer one observed and pondered it, the more awe-inspiring it became.
Ye Fan had come. Accompanied by his three disciples, he was about to enter the blood-stained Emperor Pass. Here, he sensed the majesty and desolation that had accumulated across the river of time — a feeling beyond words. How many heroes of ages past had been swallowed by the passing years? They had left their names here, had shone brilliantly in battle, and were now buried in the past.
“The Emperor Pass itself is an unparalleled historical record, inscribed with the imprints of the mightiest heroes of antiquity. The greatest sages of every generation from every race across the ten thousand realms of all the heavens have come here. Their glory, their blood, their battles — all of it once shook this city to its foundations.” Ye Tong said.
Ye Fan had come. Standing before the Emperor Pass, the ancient gates creaked open. At that moment, countless people became restless. Figures stood atop every magnificent structure, upon every blood-stained natural stone platform, all of them gazing toward the city gate.
Within the city, one did not know how many people there were — there was the foremost of the divine race, the minor Supreme from the insect race, the bloodline of true spirits from the sacred spirit race, descendants of ancient emperors, offspring of divine demons…
They came from different star domains, all of them the most supreme figures of this era!
Boom!
Iron hooves shook the starry sky as though a torrent of steel had suddenly surged forth. A killing aura of iron and blood instantly swept across the boundless heavens. A troop of armored cavalry came charging forward, their warhorses and battle-beasts crying out, their momentum ferocious.
They were savage, their killing aura immense. Every ancient beast was clad in iron armor, its metallic sheen cold and sharp. One could roughly discern what manner of fearsome creature each was — all ancient exotic breeds.
The riders atop them were, one and all, fierce and overbearing, each wearing a ghost-face mask, each one carrying a dense aura of death upon them.
It was clear they were making for Ye Fan — blocking his entry, intent on visiting upon him the greatest humiliation possible.
If Ye Fan could not even pass through the city gate, he had no reason to walk this, the sole true path. Even with all his great accomplishments, if he had once been blocked outside the gates in such a manner, it would surely become the regret of a lifetime — an indelible mark of shame impossible to wash away.
The contest for supremacy on the emperor’s road was decided by strength.
One could say, however, that this conduct was utterly without integrity. Three hundred years ago, Ye Fan had done so much — fighting until the last drop of his blood ran dry — yet now, having arrived before the Emperor Pass, someone dared make such a move against him, seeking to drive him away in humiliation.
This went far beyond ordinary insult. It was plainly a hatred driven to its extremity — an attempt to force him into a dead end.
Who were these people? Everyone was puzzled. Even those who were believed to be fated to fight Ye Fan — figures like Yao Guang and Yin Tiande — surely would not be so callous as to make their move at this moment.
Regardless of anything else, given that Ye Fan had only now, three hundred years after that battle, barely survived and dragged himself back to the world of the living, everyone ought to have shown him sufficient respect — at the very least on the surface, allowing him to enter the city.
These people had gone too far — utterly without consideration, this direct and decisive, intent on making Ye Fan lose face. It was a naked humiliation, dismissing everything he had done and trampling upon his dignity.
Yang Xi erupted in rage. His blood boiled throughout his body; the vital energy from the crown of his head pierced the sky; golden light pervaded his entire being — his whole person seemed about to burst into flames, furious on behalf of his master.
By now his master’s identity had been confirmed and acknowledged by all, yet they still acted this way. Fighting on the emperor’s road — if they were to clash on the battlefield someday, that was normal and unavoidable. But to refuse even entry through the city gate, to send people to intercept and kill — that went beyond any tolerable limit.
“You have gone too far! Do you truly think my master can be bullied?!” Yang Xi’s voice was cold enough to freeze three thousand miles, chilling people to their very bones.
At that moment, the entire city fell silent. Every person watched the city gate, fixed on what was unfolding, all of them wanting to see exactly who was using such drastic methods — who was blocking the Sacred Physique, Ye Fan, from entering the city in this fashion.
Before the city gate stood seven riders. Each was formidable beyond measure, their bodies carrying an aura of blood and bone. They were people who had crawled out from mountains of corpses — the aura of death upon them was astonishing.
One could not even sense the fluctuations of life from them. It was as though they had come from the underworld itself, dead for untold eons, now summoned back to return to this world.
“The one who has come to take your master’s life!” One among the seven riders spoke. His voice was like two iron plates grinding together — shrill and ear-piercing, raising goosebumps on the skin and filling all who heard it with discomfort.
From within his immortal platform came fluctuations of spiritual will, making clear to all that these were not empty husks — they carried the imprint of life.
“Your Buddha grandfather is angered today! You block my master’s entry into the city — that is tantamount to digging up the ancestors of this Buddha himself. None of you will leave — I will send every last one of you to salvation!” For the first time, Hua Hua set aside his usual grinning face, crying out in furious anger.
“Hum!”
What answered him was a trembling of the heavens. The lead rider raised the great black sword in his hand and slashed downward, severing the firmament. Ancient runes flew out one after another — the supreme power of the great Dao — aimed directly at Hua Hua’s head.
And so the battle began, with such suddenness!
“Ten Thousand Buddhas of All Existence!”
Hua Hua roared in fury. Endless Buddha-light illuminated all, and above the sky there appeared great Buddhas one after another, all chanting sutras. Countless ancient incantations transformed into tangible runes that came crashing downward to suppress.
That place was instantly engulfed. The lead rider’s great black sword cut across the sky, cleaving through the countless runes, splitting open the Buddha-light, and blocking this tremendous Buddhist divine ability.
The seven great beasts surged forward, shattering the void, all of them rearing up on their hind legs, stomping toward Ye Tong, Hua Hua, and Yang Xi without restraint. Meanwhile, the powerful figures atop the riders each unleashed their strongest laws, brandishing the weapons in their hands, intent on reaping their lives.
Boom!
Ye Tong’s body blazed with light — like countless suns bursting into radiance, illuminating this place in brilliant splendor. He swung his fists, sending enormous spheres of light, each like a sun, flying outward, detonating among the seven great fearsome beasts.
Something astonishing occurred: the lead rider’s great black sword swept once through the air and cleaved all the solar orbs apart — crushing everything in its path, supremely overbearing to the extreme.
The seven riders charged forward in formation. Enormous weapons — great swords, heavy halberds, iron spears — all came crashing down. The fierce flames of slaughter soared to the heavens, striking terror throughout the land.
They were far too powerful. Even the proudest figures in the Emperor Pass felt their nerves go taut — however self-assured they might be, they understood clearly how terrifyingly extraordinary these seven were. With the seven of them acting in concert, they were virtually unstoppable beneath the heavens.
“Boom!”
In that moment, Yang Xi not only unleashed his Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, but also displayed the Sacred Physique’s invincible phenomenon — his entire body erupting with a radiance that cleaved through eternity — blocking the seven riders. Meanwhile, Hua Hua chanted sutras with his lips, his body covered in incantations from head to toe, standing erect in the starry sky like the Future Buddha himself. Blessed by the great Buddhas of past and present, sacred and solemn, without a trace of his usual levity, his entire being blazed with light as boundless sutra-text transformed into Buddha hand-seals pressing forward to suppress.
And Ye Tong, too, unleashed his most powerful assault: with his left hand, he manifested the nine imperial characters from the Supreme Yin Mother Sutra; with his right hand, he conjured the nine ancient characters from the Supreme Yang Immortal Sutra. Both erupted simultaneously — heaven and earth collapsed, ghosts wept and gods howled — pressing forward to oppose the seven demonic riders.
Everyone in the Emperor Pass was moved to their very core. These were all supreme and absolute arts — any single one of them could stand supreme across the heavens and reign unchallenged in one’s domain. That all of them could appear together now moved every person there to their depths.
Ye Fan’s three disciples were truly defiant of the heavens — all of them had already risen to prominence, their brilliance unmatched throughout the world, inspiring awe in all who beheld them!
Boom!
Within the most terrifying radiance, a fearsome great confrontation erupted. Fragments of laws filled the sky; chains of order pierced through every obstacle, clashing in this place and forming a tremendous storm.
In that space, blood splattered, iron armor shattered and flew in all directions, figures were sent tumbling — chaos reigned, as the most violent collision of all collided in that single instant.
When the radiance faded and the laws dissipated, Ye Tong, Hua Hua, and Yang Xi were all drenched in blood, forced back many paces, their bodies bearing terrible wounds streaming with dark light — they had suffered grievous injuries.
They activated the Word Secret, then decisively sliced away portions of their own flesh to halt the worsening of their wounds, rapidly regenerating.
This was shocking. Who were they? Not long ago, they had fought on par with the Tyrant and slain the Fire Spirit — yet now they had suffered heavy injuries. This was truly something to shake the soul.
How could this be? Vaguely, people had already come to feel that the three disciples of Ye Fan, acting together, were beyond the reach of anyone — yet the result had turned out to be this astounding and terrifying.
On the other side, the seven demonic riders came to a stop — not without paying a price. Three of them had sustained wounds on their bodies, with several gashes, and what flowed from them was black blood.
“Black blood… they are actually flowing with this kind of blood!” Someone trembled, feeling a wave of dizziness, a trace of fear appearing in their eyes. They now knew where these figures had come from.
“This is the work of the Lord of the Underworld, personally summoning legendary powerful figures from antiquity and bringing them back to life — the black blood proves it!”
On those bodies, peculiar ancient runes appeared within the wounds and then repaired the injured flesh, restoring them until they no longer bled.
Someone on the city walls had fixed their gaze on those ancient runes and finally recognized their origin. They let out a startled cry: “It is actually them — the Seven Champions of Chaos!”
The moment that name was spoken, the Emperor Pass could no longer remain calm. Many people were thoroughly startled, deeply shaken within. These were figures from the primordial ancient age — extraordinarily powerful, sweeping across star domains without equal.
In that era, they too had come to this very place. They were among the most legendary figures of their time, causing every hero of the age to tremble before them.
All seven had left a heavy mark in ancient history — illustrious and renowned, their brilliance so blinding it eclipsed the deeds of countless others. For they had once had a most glorious stretch of battles: in his youth, the Chaos Great Emperor had been utterly defeated at their hands — not once, but many times — driven to madness, plunged into despair.