Fan Xian’s brilliant crimson hair blazed and billowed like living flame. She was graceful and poised — like a fire spirit — yet at that moment her knuckles had gone white from the force of her grip.

She was facing Ye Fan once more. He had deployed her clan’s five-colored divine radiance, and the divine power was enormous beyond measure — every one of the dozen-plus beams of light launched by the mothership had been scattered and dispersed.

Her feelings toward this person were complicated. She had been the one to bring him back to the clan, originally with the intention of putting him to good use. She had never imagined it would come to this.

Hiss!

A streak of blood-red light flew out from the mothership. This was a divine art infused with ancient-saint rune reinforcement — an attack of the Dao method variety — aimed directly at Ye Fan.

This was a blow comparable to an ancient saint’s absolute strike, capable of pulverizing an entire small planet. In the dark heavens, it was as though a river of blood had traced a path across the sky — hundreds of millions of ancient characters arrayed one after another, dense and tightly packed, each one blood-red.

“This is the Blood Devil Immolation Sacrifice. We hope it can ignite his golden blood and cause him to temporarily lose control!” Fan Xian said, her expression unchanged.

To deal with Ye Fan, Heaven’s Pure Land had made extensive preparations — even excavating ancient techniques designed specifically to counter those of exceptional bloodlines.

Indeed, even inside the mechanized armor, Ye Fan felt a surge of heat. The golden blood within his body began to boil, as though it had caught fire.

His heart stirred: “Remarkable. Did something happen in the Eternal Kingdom long ago — could certain special methods have been developed specifically to counter the Immortal Golden Body?”

He kept his expression still and activated his Movement-word secret. The blood in his body rapidly cooled. The blood energy did not diminish, but transformed entirely into motive power.

He was certain this forbidden art could not prevail against him.

Clang!

Behind Ye Fan, the five-colored divine radiance surged skyward and transformed into five treasure swords — one cyan, one yellow, one red, one black, one white — arrayed in a row. Primordial energy billowed around them, and each sword seemed capable of crushing an ancient star, supremely heavy and powerful.

Crack!

The five-colored divine radiance swept outward. The five swords slashed horizontally, releasing a gentle, auspicious mist. That blood-river beam of light, along with its thousands upon thousands of accompanying symbols, dimmed and dissolved completely.

And beyond that — the sword cries rang brilliantly. Five streams of sword energy swept across ten thousand troops, slicing outward for over a hundred miles, striking toward the great mothership as though intent on sinking it.

“Such greed — he wants to destroy our clan’s mothership too?” An elder powerhouse of the Brahma clan spoke in furious indignation.

Others also wore deeply unhappy expressions. The five-colored divine radiance had originally belonged to them, and now it had fallen into Ye Fan’s hands to be used against them. It left everyone in a poor mood.

Boom!

Five streams of sword energy sliced down, their divine power boundless. The faces of everyone aboard the mothership changed. The mothership’s shield flickered, its runes cracking in places — it nearly had a breach.

“This man’s power is terrifying. Is he truly only a Dao Severing cultivator? He can fully unleash the ancient-saint mechanized armor’s power — he’s on par with a Saint.”

The group of young people on Qi Meng’s side were all shaken. Several showed unusual expressions, feeling that this person was too ferocious.

“It seems the rumors were no exaggeration. A great power like Heaven’s Brahma clan was really thrown into total disarray and suffered heavy losses — and it was a single ascetic cultivator who caused it.”

Inside the hundred-zhang-long spacecraft, all these young people wore complex expressions. They were all outstanding talents themselves, yet none could demonstrate combat power like this. Ye Fan’s performance was astonishing.

The sword cries were unceasing. Behind Ye Fan, five swords pierced the sky, blazing with dazzling light, and he was actually taking the initiative to attack the great mothership. Sword energy vast as ocean waves swallowed the heavens.

“Infuriating — this person is extremely powerful. He concealed his true cultivation before!” The Brahma clan people were helpless, frustrated and resentful. To have let such a powerful young man become their adversary — the feeling was complex.

Rumble!

The mothership shook — it had actually come under threat.

“Open the energy light screen — protect the hull!” Fan Xian gave the order, her expression grave.

An enormous light screen unfurled, shielding the entire great warship within it. Countless ancient symbols lit up across the hull, ancient divine remnant-runes, serving as protection.

Ye Fan was surprised. Breaking through it would be very difficult. The mothership’s strength lay precisely in its all-around superior capabilities. Unless one commanded the king’s seat among mechanized armors, an ordinary ancient-saint war instrument had no hope of breaching it.

“Relying on only one mechanized armor, he can actually push Heaven’s people to this level of caution — truly beyond belief!” The people on the Immortal Feather Star side marveled.

Even Qi Meng’s beautiful eyes blinked with a look of astonishment.

Ye Fan didn’t dare be reckless. He was very careful, each step of his Movement Seal shifting him several dozen to a hundred miles at a time, choosing his strikes selectively.

“Damn him — he’s goading us. Crush him!” A cold voice rang out from inside the mothership.

Ye Fan sensed danger. He moved even more cautiously. Now that the enemy’s energy light screen was extended, attacking through it would be very difficult. Yet the mothership could launch attacks outward without impediment.

“Blow him apart! He’s insufferable — he’s mocking us. He cannot be allowed to live.” Someone from the Brahma clan called out in fury.

In the distance, Ye Fan twisted and turned, piloting the pale blue mechanized armor with nimble agility, and directed all manner of gestures toward the ancient ship — enough to make everyone aboard struggle to keep their composure.

“Let me go out there and tear him apart!” A powerhouse whose long red hair blazed like flame — clearly someone of an explosive temperament — moved to drive a mechanized armor out.

“Don’t lose your temper. He can’t hold out for long. The mothership’s power is without equal, and all he can do is delay for a while.” Fan Xian said.

“I cannot abide his mockery — he keeps writing words with the five-colored divine radiance to taunt us. I want to join the battle!” The powerhouse with the fire-like temper said.

An elder stepped forward: “I admit you are very powerful. But even the five-element armors were defeated — do you really think you can surpass them combined? Our clan’s ancient-saint mechanized armors are nearly exhausted. We cannot afford to lose another one.”

“I only want to try. You can carve divine runes onto the mechanized armor — if I lose, you can call it back immediately. It won’t be lost.” The middle-aged man insisted on going out to fight. He simply could not swallow this humiliation.

Within Heaven, many people fumed and submitted petitions, one after another. In the end, one of the senior figures gave a nod, allowing the fiery-tempered powerhouse to pilot the ancient-saint mechanized armor into battle.

Whoosh!

A streak of purple light shot forward — speed at its absolute limit. This was a supremely powerful war instrument. The mechanized armor was crystalline and transparent, its lines fluid and near-perfect.

In its grip was a dragon lance, as though carved from violet diamond, razor-sharp and blinding. It thrust directly at Ye Fan without a word — nothing but a fight.

Boom!

That was merely the shockwave from a single thrust of the lance. In the distance, a vast asteroid field shattered. Divine light swept across the cosmos and finally settled into dust.

Clang!

Ye Fan drew a pale blue longsword from behind his back, several zhang in length. Like a ghost he surged forward — speed at the extreme — leaving trail after trail of blue light.

Clang!

A single sword strike flung the dragon lance high into the air, and behind him the five-colored radiance flashed. Five streams of sky-piercing sword energy slashed down and severed one of the mechanized armor’s arms at the joint.

The movement was clean, swift, vicious, and powerful.

Everyone was stunned. It was not that they didn’t know this domain-foreign ascetic cultivator was powerful — but no one had imagined he would be this devastating from the very first strike.

“Quickly — activate the runes and pull him back!” Aboard the mothership, Fan Xian urgently gave the order.

A beam of light appeared, forming a brilliant divine gateway that physically dragged the purple ancient-saint mechanized armor back inside. Seeing this, Ye Fan’s eyes flashed. Behind him, five swords united into one stream of five-colored divine radiance, tearing at this war instrument.

Everyone was startled. He was relying on a single mechanized armor — yet he was contending with a mothership thousands of zhang in length over a prize, pulling back and forth without yielding.

“The five-colored divine radiance is truly extraordinary — no wonder it’s called the secret-power seed of an ancient divine civilization. In his hands it has truly blazed with breathtaking brilliance!” Fan Xian could not help but acknowledge this fact.

With a violent shudder, the mothership channeled its rune power and surged with energy. Ye Fan had no choice but to release his grip — he could not compete with the great ship. But he did not let it end there. He struck out recklessly, stepping half of his body into the divine gateway, and swung a single fist — six-path fist intent shattered one leg of the purple mechanized armor, and then he reached in and ripped off the other leg as well.

“Too extraordinary for words!” The people on Qi Meng’s side cried out in admiration.

“Damn it all — kill him! This scoundrel is too infuriating!” Even Fan Xian couldn’t help but erupt in anger. Since the moment Ye Fan appeared, Heaven’s luck had gone from bad to worse.

The one saving grace was that the purple mechanized armor had been pulled back — its core was intact, and repair would be easy.

“Truly worthy of a powerful domain-foreign ascetic cultivator — valor without equal!” Qi Meng couldn’t help but join in the cheering with her own people.

Fan Xian’s mood, already poor, darkened further at this sight. She and Qi Meng were equals in fame throughout this star sea. There was natural rivalry between beauties, and Ye Fan had been “with” the Brahma clan before, but now he was helping Qi Meng — it left her complexion unsettled.

“Capture them all — give me the full power of our attack!” Fan Xian issued the order in fury, her mood deeply soured.

“Go!”

Qi Meng gave the command, and simultaneously transmitted a voice to Ye Fan — telling him not to linger in battle. No matter how individually powerful someone was, it was very difficult to destroy a mothership like this. If he was not careful, he would find himself in irreversible catastrophe.

“Ha — the ascetic cultivator’s reputation is well earned! This is indeed the kind of man who dared to kill Cao Qing!”

“Truly powerful — to casually destroy the Brahma clan’s divine armors. Among rising talents, only those few exceptional figures of the Eternal Main Star could match you!”

The people on the Immortal Feather Star side shouted, deliberately transmitting it through the ship’s signal to the enemy mothership, leaving the faces of Fan Xian’s people one by one turning iron-gray.

Even so, Ye Fan and the small spacecraft were still fleeing. In reality, there was no matching a great mothership of that scale — all he could do was fight while retreating.

“Trouble — reinforcements from the Immortal Feather Star Sea are coming to intercept them!” Before long, Fan Xian’s expression changed. She detected movement in the distance.

“This scoundrel!” She glared at Ye Fan on the main screen, watching him charging and striking in all directions. She was seething — but could only order a spatial jump, and departed.

Aboard the hundred-zhang spacecraft, people cheered. The enemy had withdrawn, and at last they were safe. They felt warmth toward Ye Fan and invited him back aboard.

Of course, a portion of them were frowning with expressions that were not entirely pleased. After all, Ye Fan had performed too brilliantly, shining with distinction before Qi Meng — which made them feel a sense of crisis.

But then, contrary to everyone’s expectations, from the distance Ye Fan raised his hand in a wave — bidding them farewell — and did not return.

“Why did he leave?”

“He rendered such great service. Why depart like that? Even Qi Meng showed him some admiration — with his combat power, the Qi Family would certainly make every effort to recruit him.”

People were all surprised and began to speculate.

Qi Meng was first surprised, then changed color. The smile on her face vanished in an instant. She ground her teeth, tightening her elegant fist. “This scoundrel… he stole my ancient-saint mechanized armor!”

The group was first baffled, and then their expressions all shifted into something varied and spectacular. Not a single person had anticipated this move — they had been prepared to welcome a returning hero, only for the next moment to see him transform into a brigand and make off with an ancient-saint war instrument.

“Everyone — I saved your lives. Consider the mechanized armor payment. I’m off. Until we meet again.” Ye Fan waved from the distance, and then with a swoosh he was gone.

“This scoundrel is truly merciless. Losing one ancient-saint mechanized armor can cripple even a tremendously powerful family to its foundations. His payment is far too generous to himself.”

The group didn’t know whether to thank him for saving their lives, or curse him thoroughly.

“This person is a complete… scoundrel!” Even the usually refined and gentle-mannered Qi Meng couldn’t hold it in — she ground her teeth as though she were a small demon casting a curse.

Ye Fan activated his chess-board array formation, crossed the star sea, and flew straight for the Immortal Feather Star — the very home star of Qi Meng and her companions.

In the past, the star gates on this ancient star had exploded multiple times, causing massive casualties. Afterward, star gates were no longer permitted on the surface — they were built in deep space instead.

As a result, when Qi Meng and the others’ spacecraft returned, they appeared in outer space.

Ye Fan’s chess-board array formation was not subject to such restrictions. Before long, he had appeared on this life-sustaining star.

“What a beautiful planet.” He couldn’t help but exclaim.

Mountains wreathed in immortal mist, vast lakes like precious stones, plains like jade — the entire planet was fresh and beautiful, spiritual energy dense and gentle, lovely beyond description.

Most striking of all, he saw many modern cities — skyscrapers, row upon row, dense and gleaming, hitting the eyes with tremendous visual force.

And there were also many enormous divine islands floating in the sky, with grand mountains and rivers, springs flowing with spiritual energy, pavilions and halls suspended in the air, and divine birds and mythical beasts — golden crows, qilin, great rocs — appearing and vanishing among them.

It was a planet that was simultaneously modern and imbued with the ancient atmosphere of mythology — giving an extremely unusual feeling.

Ye Fan didn’t know how many people inhabited this planet. From mid-air he could see many enormous cities as he flew on and on, and he saw vast wildernesses as well.

“Interesting — beyond modern cities and ancient divine islands, there are also wild and ancient barbarian cities, and what look like ancient ruins.”

Ye Fan was surprised. He discovered that within the primordial wilderness, there were ancient cities, fortresses, and strongholds — these were likely the last remaining ascetic cultivators.

It was not as though this stellar domain had no one who cultivated the body’s treasures. There were simply very few, thoroughly fallen into obscurity. In truth, most had made artifact refinement their primary focus as well — they were no longer what one could call pure ancient cultivators.

Ye Fan was very careful and cautious. He knew that the people of this stellar domain had always been on guard against those who came from other domains. The slightest carelessness might result in being scanned out.

After retracting his mechanized armor and altering his appearance, he spent a few days carefully learning about the planet, and then assumed a lawful new identity, even obtaining the crystal soul-seal used in this stellar domain to verify one’s identity.

“It’s like a dream — this modern… I almost thought I was back on Earth.” Walking through a city more modern, more fantastical than anything on Earth, Ye Fan felt a wave of emotion.

“Before heading to the Eternal Main Star, I should relax a little.” Ye Fan wandered freely.

A blazing sun, white sandy beaches, blue ocean water — it was all so beautiful and pleasant.

“Sunlight, beaches, the ocean — how many years has it been since I experienced any of this.” Ye Fan lay on the sand with a coconut in his hands, feeling as though none of it was quite real.

In the distance there were many people — mostly ordinary mortals, enjoying the sunlight, the beach, and the sea to their hearts’ content.

On this ancient cosmic path, there was still a place like this — as though he had returned to Earth. It gave Ye Fan a surreal feeling.

He stretched his limbs and lay on the white sand, facing an ocean blue as sapphire, relaxing completely. He treated himself as an ordinary person — as though he had gone back to the past.

“Brigand, thief — give me back my mechanized armor!” Not far away, a young woman walked toward him, cheeks puffed in indignation — so pure, so beautiful, so exquisitely figured that one couldn’t help but want to pinch that flawless snow-white cheek.

“How did you find me?” Ye Fan’s face was utterly deflated.

Qi Meng had actually tracked him down. She was dressed in cool, beach-appropriate clothes, her slender, delicate figure gleaming white as ivory. Those clear, bright eyes were fixed on him.