Ye Fan was transforming. Every part of his body blazed with light — the classical texts rang out like thunder, deafening to the ears.
“Boom!”
Ye Fan’s Sea of Wheels blazed. The entire Bitter Sea and the Wheel of Life rotated against each other, transforming into the yin-yang fish swimming in motion, intertwined together. At the junction of the two, there was no need for the Azure Lotus — it was constructed from two opposing energies of life and death, and was all the more perfect for it.
The classical text of the Sea of Wheels that he had created reached consummate completeness!
At that very moment, within the Dao Palace, the sound of classical texts was unending. Within it stood five immortal halls — magnificent and imposing — and within each hall, five phantom-spirits sat cross-legged, reciting sutras. Runes flashed and flew out of the halls.
This place was the most mysterious of all — believed to contain the latent divine spirits of the hidden treasures of the human body. Once fully opened, it would possess boundless divine might.
In that moment, as Ye Fan transformed, within the palace and its chambers, naturally there was no peace — immortal essence erupted, boiling with fierce intensity.
At last, the Five Spirits manifested, transforming into five-elemental immortal light that built the five most fundamental source elements of heaven and earth — the most unadorned beams of light, the five elements in perfect balance.
Of course, this alone did not constitute completion. The five phantom-spirits rushed toward each other, emitting intense light — they did not take corporeal form and emerge, but truly disintegrated.
Ye Fan’s Dao Palace had always been like this: the phantom-spirits no longer existed. They had only ever possessed that form in outward appearance. What was truly concealed within was the Departed Self, the Dao Self, and the True Self.
Five-elemental divine light diffused outward. The Five Great Sacred Organs were nourished. There were no phantom-spirits now — only the True Body remained forever.
And in that moment, unending divine sounds rang within the Dao Palace. The Departed Self was reciting sutras for this present life, invisible — for it lived in the past. The Dao Self was comprehending the Dao, offering prayers for this life — unseen.
Only the one who could manifest in form and spirit, the one who could appear: only the True Self. In the present world, only “I” am supreme — that was Ye Fan’s conviction. He revered only this life, looked only at this existence. And so only the True Self remained as one body.
Whether the Departed Self of the past, or the Dao Self of the future — both were a form, a method. They were only manifestations of the True Self’s power in this present life.
The five-elemental Dao Palace blazed with light, resonating with the Sea of Wheels — then spreading toward every limb and bone in his body, resonating with a deep, rolling sound. This was the evolution of the Four Poles of heaven and earth and the ten thousand manifestations — the Four Poles as the pillars that hold up the sky.
The universe crumbled — heaven and earth were being opened!
A great dragon rose along Ye Fan’s spine. The joints of his backbone cracked like a string of beans — a golden dragon’s back undulated, rushing upward, reaching toward the heights, seeking to grasp the Immortal Platform.
Yes — the great dragon spanning between his vertebrae drew upon the power of the yin-yang Sea of Wheels, seized the immortal essence of the five-elemental Dao Palace, and from the Four Poles, his four limbs and dragon-claws drew upon supreme vital blood — and it was going to pierce straight into Ye Fan’s skull, which was to say the Immortal Platform.
Ye Fan was breaking through into the Imperial Dao realm — penetrating the Immortal Platform, stepping into the supreme domain. Countless runes appeared, brand-marking the flesh and blood of his body. He was transforming.
Throughout his entire body, the Dao markings were boundless and all manner of Dharma-aspects appeared — and they resonated with one another!
All of this happened in an instant. Ye Fan’s body was like a cocoon, gestating a Dao embryo — only awaiting the integration of the Immortal Platform to be complete.
And throughout this process, he radiated light from head to toe. Extraordinary phenomena appeared. The ten thousand laws could not invade — temporarily, none of the Nine Great Celestial Sovereigns broke through to attack.
“Roaaaar…”
The great dragon bellowed. Ye Fan’s physical body grew ever more brilliant — the Sea of Wheels, the Dao Palace, the Four Poles, and the Dragon Transformation of the Four Great Realms united as one, connected together, jointly rushing toward the Immortal Platform, about to ascend.
The audacity of this was hair-raising. He was about to break into the Imperial Dao domain.
That dragon’s head finally truly pierced through the barrier, probing into Ye Fan’s skull, seeking to merge with the Immortal Platform and become one — to nurture his own Dao embryo.
In that instant, the supreme exalted beings throughout the great Forbidden Zones of Life truly could not remain seated. This was not crossing two tribulations — this was three. He wanted to become Emperor!
A hundred years had passed unseen, and his accumulation had been this deep — surpassing every person’s predictions. Even the supreme exalted beings of the Forbidden Zones changed their expressions.
This was a miracle!
Of course, such a thing could not truly happen all at once. First — the Nine-Layered Immortal Tribulation erupted. The Nine Great Ancient Sovereigns all let out sharp cries, emitting Dao-roars together. They struck simultaneously, to slay Ye Fan.
His physical body was a cocoon, wrapped around his Dao. It resonated and hummed, and the Transcendent Immortal Formula, the Nine Secrets, the Wushi technique, every classical text’s essence — none of these needed him to actively deploy them. They circulated on their own to resist the enemy.
The surface of Ye Fan’s body was crystalline and brilliant, his flesh and blood translucent. His Dao embryo was like a dragon, and like a great Roc — and then transformed again into his own image, becoming a Heavenly Emperor.
This was his Dao embryo, surging forth with everything it had, seeking to merge with the Immortal Platform. Along the great dragon of his spine, it rushed upward, blazing brilliance soaring to the sky.
This time — there truly was the possibility of success. His Dao was evolving. His Primordial Spirit was transforming.
His physical body became crystalline and translucent. The Primordial Spirit shed its shell — a new Primordial Spirit was born. Both sides exerted force together: the great dragon of the spine pressing upward, the Primordial Spirit of the Immortal Platform pressing downward — seeking to smelt together as one!
The Nine-Layered Immortal Tribulation descended — no longer as powerful as before, about to fade. The final strike could no longer form a destructive threat.
Yet at that very moment — the ancient supreme exalted beings could not remain sitting. From the Hegemon Body’s ancestral star, a great roar erupted, and an immense tremor billowed outward — the light of the Grand Dao blanketing the sky, crashing into the divine punishment, compensating for the deficiency of the Nine-Layered Immortal Tribulation!
Ye Fan’s flesh cracked all over, blood-marks appearing one after another. He was forcing his way through — unwilling to miss this chance. He endured the agony of life and death in difficult, painful perseverance.
Boom!
Not only the Hegemon Body’s ancestral star — from the direction of the Northern Dipper, great waves also arrived, violent and limitless, terrifying beyond measure. Endless runes exploded there.
Ye Fan coughed great mouthfuls of blood, unable to hold on any longer. His physical body dissolved — the old and new Primordial Spirits both cracked, suffering grievous damage.
Such a pity. After the Nine-Layered Immortal Tribulation came to an end, the ancient supreme exalted beings had made their move, severing his path. Had they not — there had truly been hope of success just now.
“Roaaar!”
A phantom of a supreme exalted being howled — it was a Dao-wave, seeking to seize this opportunity to destroy Ye Fan. But he blocked it. His physical body re-erected its barriers, his Primordial Spirit transformed once more, and the two merged together — he retreated an infinite distance.
Ye Fan glanced back coldly, fixing his gaze in the direction of the Hegemon Body’s ancestral star, then looking toward the Northern Dipper. He had failed again — yet he held no regrets.
Because for a Holy Body to seek Dao attainment was inherently enormously difficult. Even without anyone obstructing him, truly stepping inside would still be a near-impossible thing.
The reason he had persevered with such doggedness now was to accumulate experience — to better understand where the problems arose, to save it for a future when he could mount a fierce and decisive assault.
And he had to continue. Within this great tribulation unparalleled through all of history, there was still more to explore.
The phantom of the supreme exalted being disappeared — it did not linger. The thunder-light in the sky did not diminish — it intensified further. After the Nine-Layered Immortal Tribulation came to an end, Great Emperors appeared, and a Heavenly Court was revealed.
Ye Fan fought with everything he had for a long time. During this period, he had also attempted to breach the Immortal Platform, trying to attain the Dao — but each time had failed.
It was impossible to say when it began, but the thunder grew muffled and ever more suppressive. A great domain of the immortal realm appeared, enveloping him — boundless immortal beasts and divine birds surged forward in assault. He was submerged in an ocean.
Yet this was not the most critical thing. The most terrifying of all was: an ancient pagoda came pressing down, smelting the entire great domain of the immortal realm into a single unified whole — then suppressing him from above!
“The Desolate Pagoda!”
These two words were not spoken by Ye Fan — they came from the ancient supreme exalted beings, who changed their expressions. Ye Fan’s tribulation was indeed extraordinary — all of it was the rare and exceptional divine punishment of the ages.
The immortal domain world and the Desolate Pagoda smelted together, imprisoning Ye Fan below, locking him within a specific region — impossible to break free.
“Clang!”
A distant, unhurried bell resonated through the void. A massive chaos bell materialized, then instantly shrank down to appear before his brow. Time was immediately thrown into disorder.
This was practically a killing blow — the Desolate Pagoda suppressing his physical body, the Immortal Bell sealing his Primordial Spirit, both attacks working in tandem, sealing this place shut entirely.
Of course, neither the Desolate Pagoda nor the Immortal Bell were physical objects — they were a form woven from laws, truly recreating their might, drawing upon the most terrifying power imaginable.
Ye Fan had long since ceased his attempts to storm the imperial path. He focused entirely on resisting this great tribulation. He knew — only half a dragon-body could probe into the Immortal Platform. Today, he was clearly not destined to charge all the way inside. For now, focusing on allowing the Perfected Holy Body tribulation to reach full completion was the proper course.
Ye Fan bit down on a medicinal king herb, drank some life-spring divine liquid, restored himself to peak condition. His expression was incomparably solemn — he could no longer afford to be distracted. The juncture of life and death had arrived.
“Boom!”
Beneath the Desolate Pagoda, the immortal domain reappeared — thunder-light surged and erupted. The ancient sovereigns, Great Emperors, immortal birds, and wild beasts that had vanished moments ago all reappeared, lunging forward together to kill Ye Fan.
The Immortal Bell resonated unhurriedly, shattering his forehead bone, causing his Primordial Spirit to crack in four directions.
The ultimate moment of transformation had arrived. The heavens had deployed the extreme limits of the power of this great tribulation, blocking his success — seeking to make him perish here.
Throughout all of history, how many geniuses had fallen on the road to Perfected achievement, destroyed at the very last moment. All of them, because the final consummation was far too terrifying — especially someone like Ye Fan. This too was a kind of unconventional Dao attainment.
One day, two days — nine full days in their entirety. Ye Fan had no idea how many times he had been shattered — reduced to powder and shards, his blood nearly dry, an boundless amount of life force burned away.
Impossible to imagine what those days had been like. Ye Fan was shattered many times each day — more tormented than living in the depths of hell. This was a merciless road to Perfection.
The Desolate Pagoda and the Immortal Bell were both destroyed. Every manner of thunder-light and wild beast and emperor-shadow faded and darkened. Nine full days of suppression and killing had transformed this place into a land of deathly stillness.
This was the road that a Perfected Holy Body had to walk. Why was it said they could challenge Great Emperors? Nine days had revealed everything — this road was practically the equal of the Emperor’s tribulation, without the slightest difference.
Moreover — Ye Fan’s spinal dragon had probed into the Immortal Platform for a portion of its length. He had truly come close to a figure of that kind.
Nine full days of bitter endurance — and at last, it was about to end. Ye Fan would achieve full Perfection, opening his own road of invincibility. An era that belonged to him — was beginning!