“Many of the battle divisions can no longer hold back. They cry out to the heavens in grief, pleading with us to go to war — to have the quasi-emperors lead the charge, strike out against those Hegemon Bloodline fighters, cut down the Forbidden Zone disciples, and avenge our fallen brothers!”

In the old days, how glorious had the Heavenly Court been? Every army it led swept all enemies before it — who had dared stand against it?

Yet now, even after disbanding, they were still being hunted at their doorstep. It was a humiliation, and a suffocation of the deepest kind. Many would rather have fallen gloriously amid the splendor of those former days, cut down in glorious battle, than endure this.

“I know — our brothers are burning with resentment and despair. But the Heavenly Court has long been studied through and through. Those who dare to move against us like this must certainly have formidable backup plans in reserve. Those people come from the Forbidden Zones — they have emperor-grade weapons, divine formations. They’re just waiting for us to leap out so they can catch us all at once in a single net!”

The Black Emperor said this with a somber expression. It had followed a Great Emperor — no one understood better than it just how terrifying such people could be. Now these individuals had joined forces: how could that not be alarming? It was doing everything in its power to prepare its own countermeasures and contingencies.

“If nothing else works, let Xiao Nannan go out!” Yang Xi said fiercely. He was of the war faction and desperately wanted to turn the world upside down.

At the mention of Xiao Nannan, a deeper shadow crossed the Black Emperor’s eyes. It sighed and shook its head in refusal.

Before Ye Fan had departed, he had kept nothing from it, sharing the fragment of the future he had glimpsed — showing it through a deduction, telling it in no uncertain terms to be careful.

Though the future’s trajectory had shifted and changed somewhat, it had not been entirely overturned — otherwise the Old God would not have died when he did.

In that fragment of the future, Xiao Nannan had made her move — but in doing so, she drew out more than one Ancient Supreme who wished to devour her, to refine her as a supreme Dao fruit.

This had triggered a great war unlike any that had ever been seen in ancient times. Its devastation was beyond the power of words to describe. The universe collapsed, the mightiest of experts perished en masse, living star systems and the traces of powerful figures were nearly all obliterated.

In the future Ye Fan had seen… Xiao Nannan was no longer there at the end.

After learning all of this, the Black Emperor had been seized by a bone-deep dread. It no longer dared to truly push the little girl forward. It was afraid the tragedy would come to pass — afraid it would become something impossible to undo.

“Master, you must come back!” Little Song whispered quietly.

One more year, and the deadline would have passed. Yet Ye Fan had not even cleared a single great tribulation — and by now, nearly everyone believed he was in terrible danger, if not already dead. Otherwise, why hadn’t he appeared?

The situation did not improve. Occasionally, Heavenly Court war generals were still being killed. Though the Black Emperor had issued an absolute order for everyone to go into hiding and not to gather, the enemy still managed to track some down, who then perished in the stars.

In the end, the Humanoid Demon could endure no longer. He went out wielding that near-emperor-grade stone artifact, intent on killing — and tasted bitter fruit for it.

The Forbidden Zone people had indeed been prepared. They revealed their true intent and brought out formation patterns of the imperial path in response — some even brought weapons of that grade, to encircle and destroy the old Humanoid Demon.

Had his arcane abilities not been supremely profound, and had his cultivation not made enormous strides in recent years, he would surely have died out there. Even so, he suffered grievous wounds, returning covered in blood.

“Don’t go. I nearly fell into an imperial-path killing formation out there — these people have prepared more than one ace up their sleeve!” the old Humanoid Demon said, his expression dark.

This result silenced everyone.

“Damn it — don’t push me to madness!” the great Black Dog snarled with vicious fury.

“Senior, whatever contingency plans you still have, bring them all out. If they can destroy the enemy, deploy them as soon as possible!” said Hua Hua.

“They can destroy the enemy — but this emperor would vanish in the process, and you’d never see me again. Is that what you hope for?” The Black Emperor bared a mouthful of gleaming white teeth at him.

“No!” Hua Hua shook his head.

While the Heavenly Court was shrouded in gloom and menace, great events were also unfolding in the outside world.

The Three Gods Beyond the World had tracked down the Chaos Body’s trail and given chase — but unfortunately, they had only glimpsed his back, captured in a recording by a sky-reflecting crystal stone.

The Chaos Body’s appearance drew some of the Forbidden Zone disciples’ attention away. They too gave chase, determined to get a clear look.

For this mattered enormously. In the age of mythology, the Chaos Body was the most transcendent bloodline of all — it was said that once such a being appeared, they were destined to eventually stand unrivaled in all under heaven.

In a sense, this figure’s appearance eased some of the pressure on the Heavenly Court.

Many across the world speculated that since the Chaos Body had reached the quasi-emperor realm, it was impossible he had been completely silent for so many years — surely he had come out to temper himself before, and someone must have seen him.

“It’s him — we’ve seen that person before!” the Little Celestial Master Zhang Qingyang said in astonishment.

Inside the Heavenly Court, others were discussing the Chaos Body as well. Even the Black Emperor acknowledged that perhaps the only being in the world who could stand alongside the Chaos Body was the Innate Holy Body Dao Embryo.

“When we came to the Heavenly Court back then, we saw him undergoing his tribulation, chasing down tens of thousands of miles of azure dragons and transformed serpents in pursuit, with his chaos energy surging and roiling — it was terrifying beyond compare.” Long Yuxuan added.

On that day, they had crossed the stellar river alongside Zhang Wenchang, heading toward the Heavenly Court, and along the way they had caught a glimpse of a young man in the midst of his tribulation — a back view as well.

Now, comparing it with the image captured by the sky-reflecting divine crystal, they recognized it. The same person they had seen that day. The young man’s spiritual perception had been frighteningly sharp — he had given chase back then, and had those three not been within a spatial tunnel, all three would surely have perished.

Unfortunately, even they had never seen the person’s face — he had been too far away, and the image was too blurred.

“He should not yet have reached Master’s level of cultivation. The Supremes have not yet sensed him. But if he undergoes another tribulation, perhaps that time draws close.”

The Chaos Body’s emergence into the world, combined with the upheaval surrounding Ye Fan, gave this vast sea of stars the feeling that a great storm was on its way — as though a world-shaking battle was inevitable.

A few days later, the Chaos Body surfaced again. One of the Three Gods Beyond the World gave chase and a tremendous collision occurred — and the result was that the “god” was struck with severe wounds.

When that outcome became known, a tremendous uproar swept through the cosmos.

The universe erupted in excitement everywhere. This person was truly remarkable — even one of the unfathomable Three Gods Beyond the World had been defeated and was no match for him.

Moreover, this battle served as definitive proof: he was the Chaos Body, not mere rumor. It was no longer just hearsay.

Overnight, the Chaos Body shook the universe across all eight directions. His renown skyrocketed, and people felt the power and boundless potential radiating from him. He had clearly become another great figure rising on the path to emperorship in this age.

A hundred years, two people, two entirely different fates. Ye Fan had once shone with dazzling brilliance too — placed by many as the object of boundless hope. But now his life or death was a mystery, he had yet to appear, and his light was growing ever more dim.

While the other was soaring through the chaos of this age, his wings spreading to pierce the vault of heaven — all the universe’s eyes converged upon him.

“Ha. Is this fate? I believed in you — but you never came back. And now another has appeared, radiant and blazing. If the Chaos Body truly achieves the Dao, could he face the Emperor Venerables in battle?”

Outside the Underworld, a youth sat cross-legged, alone before the vast, dark expanse of the underworld earth. His face was boyish, yet age had begun to appear in it — his hair was snow-white. Though years had passed, he had come back here, holding the depths of the Underworld in check, facing alone the most ancient of great powers. In its own way, this too was a supreme and solitary dominance.

But his life was ultimately reaching its end. The flame of his life was about to go out. He felt some regret, some melancholy, as he gazed deep into the starry sky.

“I should be stepping off this stage…”

The Chaos Body’s appearance was brief as a flash — before long he had vanished again, disappearing entirely, slipping free of the Forbidden Zone experts’ pursuit beyond any hope of tracking him. But talk of him never faded, as layer upon layer of mystique accumulated around him.

With his disappearance, the pressure on the Heavenly Court doubled once more. The Forbidden Zone disciples and the Hegemon Bloodline alike were all in pursuit of his trail, intent on wiping him out.

“The Black Bear Saint has fallen!”

“What — old Bear has been killed?! Damn it all, I’ll fight them to the death!” Long Ma flew into a rage. Of the twelve saints from those days, barely any remained now. To be killed like this — its battle blood surged with fury.

“The one blessing is that the battle divisions are no longer restless. They’ve all endured and gone into hiding, scattered in all directions across the cosmos — there shouldn’t be any more major casualties,” said the Killing Saint Qi Luo.

Even so, the forces of the Heavenly Court were heartsick. Too many had died. Every single person harbored a flame in their heart, longing to charge out and unleash a storm of killing.

“If Ye Fan is dead, this emperor will risk everything — I’ll lead the brothers in a great slaughter, tear this universe apart, and avenge our fallen!” In the end, the Black Emperor made its vow, staking its very life on it.

Casualties had diminished, but the turbulence had never ceased.

Those Forbidden Zone disciples swaggered across the universe, openly declaring they would sweep the Heavenly Court away and give it no chance to survive.

“Correct — the Heavenly Court must fall!” These were their words, their decision.

It was simply too much to bear. They slaughtered the Heavenly Court’s forces and still proclaimed it so loudly, rampaging through the sea of stars without the slightest restraint, not placing the Heavenly Court in their eyes at all.

The world sighed. These Life Forbidden Zones were truly the mightiest power in this age — none could stand against them.

The Hegemon Bloodline was even more direct — they had never stopped. Not even celestial soldiers were spared. In these days, they mobilized everything to hunt out and slaughter the Heavenly Court’s people.

Their ferocity, the blood on their hands — even more hateful than several of the Forbidden Zone disciples. In the end, the Heavenly Court’s people became increasingly difficult to find, and only then did their advance slow somewhat.

The world was in turmoil, the scent of blood growing ever thicker. Great chaos was approaching. The catastrophe of achieving the Dao was drawing near — even the Forbidden Zones were no longer at peace. The world felt as though it was suffocating.

At the edge of the universe, atop a chaos stone, that frail and withered figure stirred. He slowly rose to a sitting position. Though his youth and vitality were long gone, the eyes that snapped open shot forth two bolts of cold lightning — sharp and world-shaking.

He had not died. It was as though he had awakened from a state of deep enlightenment. The blade of time had carved marks upon his face that would not easily fade — but his spirit remained undiminished.

“A hundred years have passed… and yet it feels as vast and distant as ten thousand years…” he murmured to himself.

In the next instant, he rose to his feet, stepped off the chaos stone, left the edge of the universe behind, and walked deep into the boundless sea of stars — moving toward one ancient site of life after another.

“Those who carry the Heavenly Hegemon Bloodline in their veins?” He heard some rumors along the way, and his brow furrowed. The light that flashed open and shut within his eyes was breathtaking, outshining sun and moon.

“Hey, old-timer, be careful. You can’t go to that star domain ahead. I’ve heard that some Heavenly Court forces are hiding there, and the Hegemon Bloodline people are sweeping through and hunting them down.”

The white-haired man paid no heed. A single step — and he vanished from this spot, disappearing directly into the stellar river ahead.

“Wait… something’s wrong. That person just now looked familiar. Heavens — could that be him? Am I seeing things? I can’t have mistaken him!”

Below the stellar river, powerful figures from the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star were stationed, their vast armies converging on this location, making for it in full force — hunting down the few battle divisions hiding in this star domain, intent on bathing it in blood.

“Who are you?” someone shouted, and then a swarm of warriors came charging forward.

The white-haired man’s eyes blazed brilliantly, flaring to life in an instant. He turned his gaze forward — and something terrifying happened. These people, as though they had been struck down by an immortal king’s wrathful sword, all shattered apart, turning to blood and bone.

Ahead, the vast army reeled in shock, erupting with battle cries as they charged toward him. But the white-haired man swept his blazing gaze across them, and vast swaths of soldiers simply disintegrated outright, exploding apart in the cosmos, becoming blood mist, turned to fine powder.

This person was like a god descended from the heavens, gazing down upon all living beings. Every move he made, every fluctuation he emitted — even a glance — was enough to make the world collapse.