The Fighting Sage Emperor had been fierce and dominant, his divine might unrivaled, seeking to transform into a Battle Immortal — but ultimately he failed. He passed away seated in meditation in the Northern Region, accelerating the great upheaval of heaven and earth, bringing the primordial age’s glory to an end, and it had declined ever since.

The Beginningless Great Emperor had shaken past and present alike, seeking to break into the Immortal Realm with his true body, standing proud above ten thousand ages. Eighty thousand years ago, within Purple Mountain, he had released a shockwave that stunned the supreme beings within every forbidden zone of life across the world.

The Demon Emperor, unrivaled in beauty across all ages, had truly ascended the immortal path — a man who transcended the gods, invincible under heaven, a living legend. Unfortunately, by then she had already entered her later years, her blood withered, and she fell upon the road.

Amitabha had never killed a single person in his life, yet he still emerged victorious upon the Emperor’s Path built from blood and bone, forging the Dao to become a Buddha — a feat that could be called unmatched through all ages. His teachings spread far and wide, leaving traces even in some ancient star regions; some believers firmly held that he still lived in this world, while others believed he could reincarnate and reappear at any time. He could be described as utterly unfathomable.

Looking back on these several figures, each had walked exceptionally far along the road to eternal life, each achieving extraordinary feats that shook past and present alike.

Sure enough, just as Ye Fan had predicted, the person he encountered next fit the same pattern — it was the Taiyin Human Emperor!

The Human Emperor had swept across every domain, conquering realm after realm, overlooking the boundless universe, ruling all under heaven with supreme majesty. After his death, across countless ages, a divine consciousness had been born from an accident that occurred on his path to immortality, his obsession never dispersing.

This Great Emperor had walked exceptionally far along the road to eternal life. His appearance here further confirmed that Ye Fan’s guess might well be true.

Within the magnificent Human Emperor’s hall, the nine ancient characters of the Taiyin Immortal Scripture transformed into star after brilliant star, appearing before and behind Ye Fan.

“Boom!”

The scriptures collided, clashing violently.

Though Ye Fan held the Human Emperor in the deepest reverence, he still could not avoid a fierce and brutal battle, fighting until his entire body was wounded, golden blood spraying in every direction, finally breaking his way out of this ancient hall with great difficulty.

Ye Fan wiped away the blood, sighing inwardly — the Human Emperor truly was formidable, having inflicted extremely severe wounds upon him in this battle, and the cauldron was now on the verge of shattering.

He pondered quietly, staring at yet another hole punched into the cauldron, deep in thought. He used the Secret of the Zhe Character to heal himself, his entire body radiating golden treasured light, restoring himself to peak condition once more.

“Shatter it, then forge it anew — without destruction, there is no construction; through rebirth, one grows stronger!”

Ye Fan looked at his cauldron, the Myriad Mother Qi trickling down like cascading waterfalls, the cauldron’s walls covered in countless cracks, with five holes punched through it in total, nearly on the verge of complete collapse.

He had worried about this at first, but now he had let it go entirely — just as he himself fought against nine young Great Emperors during his tribulation, why should his cauldron be any different? Having withstood the assault of young Great Emperors, it now clashed against imperial weapons one after another.

Forge the strongest cauldron!

This was his sole vessel, his path of breaking ten thousand methods with a single vessel.

Next, Ye Fan did not shrink back, seeking out one magnificent celestial palace after another to throw open, determined to clash with whoever resided within, engaging in the fiercest bloody battles imaginable.

He encountered the Azure Emperor, fighting a sky-darkening battle against this supremely powerful man — the only one to have attained the Dao since the ancient wilderness era, said to be rebuilding the ancient Celestial Court and reshaping the order of heaven and earth.

Golden blood rained down, tragically beautiful beyond compare. Ye Fan suffered greatly under the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes, nearly having his head severed, his entire body covered in wounds.

Moreover, the Azure Emperor’s “Spirit Wound” slash nearly extinguished the flame of his Primordial Spirit, splitting open his skull, inflicting an extraordinarily severe and terrifying injury.

The Azure Emperor was formidable, especially in his younger years, at his sharpest and most merciless — a legend who blocked and slew gods and Buddhas alike, never retreating even half a step.

Ye Fan clashed against him, suffering severe wounds, but ultimately he too erupted with full force, swinging his golden fists, fully manifesting the true meaning of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Golden Divine Treasury blazing behind him, all methods meeting death, the cauldron above his head shaking violently, pressing down upon the eternal blue sky.

This was a bloody, brutal clash. In the end, Ye Fan fought his way out of the hall, leaving two trails of golden blood behind him, his body staggering, nearly collapsing.

Of course, Ye Fan had made the Azure Emperor pay in blood as well, and this time his cauldron gained a sixth hole, pierced through by the Azure Emperor’s weapon, taking on the shape of a chaotic blue lotus.

Ye Fan did not retreat — this was a form of tempering, and since the tribulation had manifested itself, if he had the ability to fight on, he was willing to press forward.

After resting sufficiently, he carried the battered, crumbling cauldron atop his head and pushed open the seventh great palace. The moment he entered, his body froze, hair standing on end.

Moreover, the cauldron atop his head trembled, as if it too sensed something, nearly flying forward toward the figure before him.

Fortunately, the cauldron steadied itself — this was the cauldron he himself had forged, long since fused with his flesh and blood, an extension of his very body, inseparable from him, and it had not been lost.

There stood a tall, slender figure — though only a silhouette from behind, it was utterly perfect, as if a true immortal had descended into the mortal world.

Ye Fan’s body stiffened, regarding this boundlessly beautiful figure as though facing a great enemy. This was a woman — one could tell from the curve of her silhouette alone that she possessed unrivaled grace and beauty.

Moreover, unlike all the previous Great Emperors, this figure was so clear, not blurred in the slightest, vivid and lifelike, as if a breathtaking beauty stood before him in the flesh.

Suddenly, this woman turned around, standing in the hall to face Ye Fan directly. Her eyes were so clear, purer even than a child’s.

Her hair danced, shimmering with starlight, her snow-white neck rising toward what should have been a face renowned across the world as the most beautiful — yet it could not be seen, replaced instead by a ghost-face mask.

It seemed to weep even as it smiled, laughing amid sorrow and shedding tears amid joy — an unforgettable bronze mask at first sight, one capable of touching the very soul.

The Ruthless Great Emperor!

Ye Fan’s heart thundered, and he involuntarily stepped backward. His karmic connection to this most breathtaking of Great Emperors ran deep — to say nothing else, even the Cauldron of the Myriad Mother Qi atop his head belonged to this very woman.

This seemed to be a being of flesh and blood — Ye Fan could even make out the warm luster upon that jade-like body. This was too strange — clearly formed of lightning, so how could this be?

“Boom!”

A beam of immortal light flew toward him, unrivaled in majesty, supremely powerful, dimming all other radiance in the world beneath its glow.

It was like an immortal descending from beyond the heavens, light raining down like great sheets of pure white feathers, containing within it an offensive power of the utmost strength, rare through all ages.

This was the Power of Ascension!

This was the Ruthless Great Emperor’s unparalleled divine technique, created specifically to counter the Nine Mysteries — one that could be called unprecedented through all ages, achieved through a single person’s strength against the nine heavenly venerables of the Age of Myth, pioneering countless supreme secret arts.

“Bang!”

Even Ye Fan’s Indestructible Golden Body, powerful as it was, exploded apart, shattering into pieces, golden blood scattering everywhere, the entire hall turning gold, jagged white bone visible throughout.

This was the most severe wound Ye Fan had ever suffered since making his debut, the most tragic blow of the entire tribulation — even his Primordial Spirit nearly scattered apart.

He felt an inexplicable connection to the Ruthless Being — for he had once harvested her True Dragon Divine Medicine fluid, obtained her Myriad Mother Qi, and taken the Immortal Treasure Map from her Chaos Dragon Nest. He always felt there was some lingering connection between them.

Ye Fan had only been distracted for a moment when he was struck by this blow — there had been no way to dodge it, it was simply too fast!

Such an offensive technique, unrivaled through all ages — how many in history could compare? The same technique, yet far more powerful than when performed by Hua Yunfei or Li Xiaoman — this was the true Ascension Technique.

This technique, said to possess the power of ascension into immortality, was a breathtaking, unmatched strike, unrivaled through past and present!

“Boom!”

Ye Fan’s massive golden blood energy surged together, his shattered body reuniting as one, the Secret of the Zhe Character circulating, rapidly repairing his form. His expression turned unusually grave as he stared directly at the peerless woman before him, his face more solemn than ever, as if facing a great enemy.

“A single thought, and the flowers bloom…” the breathtaking beauty in the ghost-face mask spoke these words, remarkably clear, striking straight into the depths of one’s heart.

Ye Fan’s hair stood on end at once — this was unprecedented, never before had a Great Emperor appearing within a tribulation actually spoken words. It was truly without parallel.

This left him utterly chilled — was he facing a tribulation, or had he truly encountered the real Ruthless Being?

Flower petals danced through the air, shimmering with a dreamlike, translucent light, falling like great sheets of luminous rain, each petal crystal-clear, releasing a faint fragrance, unstoppable even by the sea of thunder.

In an instant, every petal transformed into a Ruthless Being, thousands upon thousands of figures descending to strike Ye Fan, her robes fluttering as if she were a true immortal!

Ye Fan’s expression changed. His golden blood energy surged skyward, unfolding all manner of visions — the Immortal King above the nine heavens, the blue lotus within chaos, the golden sea of suffering, the magnificent rivers and mountains — all connecting into a single whole, as if the Immortal Realm itself had emerged.

The visions sealed off all sensory perception, blocking the Ruthless Being’s onslaught.

Ye Fan trembled continuously, blood finally spilling from the corner of his mouth as he staggered backward several steps, holding on until the countless phantom images of the Ruthless Being finally dispersed. Those phantoms did not possess her true combat power, but even so, there were so many that they were terrifying enough to instantly slay someone of equal cultivation.

In this world, the Ruthless Being was without doubt the most gifted of all — otherwise, how could a mere mortal body have attained the Dao? Now Ye Fan had personally experienced just how heaven-defying her combat power truly was.

Physical constitution meant nothing to her — whatever bloodline came at her, she could slay it regardless!

The Ruthless Great Emperor had lived through four lifetimes — some said five, others claimed she had never died at all, still living on in this mortal world. Though not seeking eternal life itself, she had walked further down this path than anyone.

“Kill!”

Ye Fan’s gaze narrowed. Standing on the Emperor’s Path, no matter who he faced — even the most gifted and powerful Ruthless Being — he could not shrink back; he had to advance without hesitation.

He manifested his own Dao, his body transforming into the curve of a dragon’s form, his arms sweeping in unison, transforming into Taiyin and Taiyang, his entire body becoming a true dragon of Dao-marks, charging toward the Ruthless Being.

A connecting great battle erupted, ferociously intense.

Boom!

Their speed was blinding — they clashed like lightning, alternating between extreme hardness and extreme softness, unleashing wisps of immortal radiance that left onlookers awestruck.

Finally, the two separated. The Ruthless Being seemed somewhat surprised, her pure eyes flashing with divine light, both hands sweeping in different directions, manifesting the most powerful great Dao Principles.

In the Ruthless Being’s left palm appeared the character “Life,” and in her right palm, the character “Death,” each radiating wisps of ultimate Dao might, bearing down upon Ye Fan in suppression.

These two characters outweighed everything else, as if capable of crushing eternity itself. Through all ages, countless cultivators had sought to unravel their meaning, yet to this day none had ever truly comprehended them, in pursuit of eternal life beyond death.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, the Indestructible Heaven Technique, and all manner of secret arts used against the nine heavenly venerables…

The Ruthless Great Emperor was extraordinarily gifted, having lived through several lifetimes. Through countless ages, no one knew exactly how many divine techniques she had created — she remained the most mysterious of all.

And now, this marvelous technique had emerged, truly shaking heaven and earth, moving gods and ghosts to tears. Ye Fan’s expression changed instantly — these two characters carried meaning far too profound, condensed into something truly heaven-defying.

Boom!

From within Ye Fan’s body came the sound of chanted scripture, his entire form transforming into a Taiji immortal diagram, preparing to meet the Ruthless Being’s challenge, ready for the ultimate confrontation.

A sigh drifted through the air. The Empress turned away leisurely, her beauty unmatched through the ages, leaving behind great sheets of luminous rain as she walked away step by step, her body shrinking smaller and smaller, until she transformed into a three- or four-year-old little girl, walking alone down the path by herself.

She appeared pitiful and lonely, her small clothes tattered and worn, her hair styled in two little pigtails, her face smudged with dirt. Glancing back inadvertently, she stirred a deep ache in the heart — her large eyes clear and pure, yet brimming with tears.

Ye Fan’s heart shook violently. He wanted to see clearly, to look carefully, to see that childish little face of Qin Chu — but unfortunately, her figure blurred and vanished from sight.

“Heavens, could the Ruthless Great Emperor truly still be alive, still living in this mortal world even now?!” Ye Fan was shocked to his very core.