The dim universe, a stretch of reef floating within it, hazy and indistinct, existing since ancient times, difficult to approach — was this truly the far shore of the mythic ancient domain?

Only the faint glimmer of scattered starlight fell, unable to illuminate the whole of it. Upon the reef, that hazy silhouette remained indistinct, nearly formless — who was he, and why was he here?

Facing him, everyone’s heart filled with awe, as though before an immortal ancient god, their very bones trembling, wanting to kneel and prostrate themselves. Upon the reef, around the blurred figure, the various Daos resonated together, heavenly music thundering in the ears, as though a Dao Ancestor were expounding the Dao of heaven and earth, elucidating the secret of eternal, undying life.

This person’s rank was beyond estimation, causing souls to tremble. Even one as formidable as the Golden Snake Second Young Lord said not a word, watching quietly from a distance.

The Divine Race, the Heaven-Devouring Beast, the Saint Spirits, the Gold-Devouring Beasts, the Earth Corpse, and others likewise fell silent, standing off to one side, observing calmly — just who was this person? Far too mysterious!

The fragrance of medicine filled the air, the sky glittering and brilliant, ancient medicines falling from time to time. Ye Fan opened his palm, and a Purple Cloud Vine, two thousand years in age, came flying toward him, purple mist rising, appearing in his palm.

“This is somewhat unbelievable, truly bizarre — where do these medicinal herbs come from, why do they keep falling from the sky without end, where is the source?” Pang Bo searched with his powerful spiritual perception, but found no answer.

The most brilliant of the medicinal herbs were, of course, the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life — each leaf translucent, brimming with vital essence, causing even the dark universe to grow gradually brighter.

They transformed into a rain of light, falling within the void, sparking a great commotion. The overlords, leaders, and kings among the ancient beasts all fought over them, risking their very lives, blood splattering everywhere.

Not to mention them — even Long Ma joined in the fray. Altogether several dozen leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life appeared, each one a treasure beyond price, the radiance they cast shocking to behold.

Pang Bo struck out, repelling an ancient beast overlord charging toward him, on the verge of obtaining a resplendent leaf. Suddenly, a great blood-red hand reached out, a bloody stench pungent in the air, a sea of blood surging.

“How dare you!” Pang Bo snapped lightly, having encountered an assault from the Blood Beast, one of the young supreme talents, contending with him for this immortal leaf.

Boom!

The two collided in a single strike, bursting forth with brilliant radiance, this place instantly torn apart, utterly shattered.

The Blood Beast had no wish to prolong the fight, for he understood well that aside from Pang Bo, Ye Fan might prove even more dangerous. He surged past in a rush. Pang Bo reached out to seize the leaf, intent on claiming it for himself.

Though the Blood Beast had flown clear, his body seemed like a bottomless pit, absorbing the essence of the world from all directions, intent on sweeping away every ancient medicine and immortal leaf.

In the Blood Beast’s palm sat a tiny ancient basin — though only three inches tall, it was capable of swallowing all things, extremely terrifying. It appeared deliberately aged, with two characters inscribed upon it in ancient divine script: Treasure-Gathering.

This was the Treasure-Gathering Ancient Basin. Though not an Emperor-grade artifact, it too was extremely mysterious, capable of plundering the weapons and treasures of any foe, leaving people utterly unable to guard against it.

“Damn it!” Pang Bo roared in fury — that leaf had been right in his grasp, only to fly away again, drawn toward the Treasure-Gathering Basin. It wasn’t that his combat strength was insufficient; it was simply that this treasure left him helpless.

Ye Fan let out a soft cry, striking out swiftly, circulating the Word of Soldier mystic technique. His entire body radiated threads of divine brilliance, as though an invisible hand were pulling at the Treasure-Gathering Basin.

The immortal leaf flew backward, retreating from the edge of the treasure basin, and moreover, a soft ring sounded from within the basin — two extremely powerful Saint-grade artifacts trembled, forcibly seized and pulled free.

The Blood Beast let out a roar, murderous light blazing fiercely in his eyes — this was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait, and the first time anyone had ever dared reclaim treasure from within his own basin.

Clang!

Even the Treasure-Gathering Ancient Basin trembled, nearly seized away by Ye Fan, but the Blood Beast was, after all, a being who had transcended into Sainthood, extremely powerful — his palm flashed with light, forcibly retrieving the ancient basin.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the reef radiated an aura of ancient, time-worn profundity, shaking the entire starry expanse. Aside from a few remaining leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life’s divine leaves, most transformed into a rain of light, encircling that blurred silhouette — none of the assembled powerhouses dared act rashly any longer.

The Dao-voice continued without cease, that blurred figure reciting a true scripture, thundering through heaven and earth, elucidating the unchanging mysteries of all the heavens, moving all who heard it, gradually falling into rapture.

“He understands the Green Emperor’s ancient scripture?” Pang Bo’s heart lurched violently, immensely shaken. He heard the wondrous methods of the Green Emperor, the true meaning of the Demon Emperor’s ancient scripture, and he listened intently with his whole heart.

At the same moment, Shen Lan of the Divine Race, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake Clan, Sang Gu — descendant of the primordial gods and demons — and others also revealed expressions of astonishment upon their faces. They too had heard the essential meaning of the scriptures each of them cultivated, pondering it with their whole hearts.

In truth, it was not only them — everyone present was the same, including the many ancient beast overlords, and even the densely packed ancient creatures without the qualification to approach — all heard the Dao-voice from afar, comprehending their own paths.

“He’s reciting my scripture?” Ye Fan revealed an expression of astonishment. This made no sense — it should be impossible. His scripture was self-created, not yet circulated in the world — how could this person possibly know of it?

Through the reactions of Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others, he immediately understood: this person recited a general, all-encompassing truth of the Great Dao, one that let each and every listener sense something within themselves, comprehending their own respective paths.

This was truly an extraordinary feat, one that could rightly be called defiant of natural law — undoubtedly the manifestation of Dao cultivation reaching the very pinnacle. Otherwise how could such a thing be possible?

At this moment, even the grey flood-dragon, the Grand Sage in his prime, showed himself, standing not far off, listening with his whole heart, his entire body glowing with light, comprehending his own Dao.

Sang Gu, the Earth Corpse, the Bronze Ant King, the Heaven-Devouring Ancient Beast, and others awakened one after another, likewise perceiving this mystery as Ye Fan had, all thoroughly shaken.

Beneath this stretch of starry sky, the gathering of so many ancient beasts was no accident — not only did ancient medicine fall periodically, but someone also expounded the Great Dao, allowing them to comprehend their own paths.

“The Divine Far Shore — once reached, one may behold the gods. After an endless span of ages, undying immortal medicine has once more begun to fall periodically — does this prove the gods are awakening, wishing to meet us!”

An overlord among the ancient beasts murmured to himself, staring at the blurred silhouette upon the reef, savoring with his whole heart that sense of the Great Dao.

“This place truly is mysterious, existing since ancient times, holding many riddles,” Pang Bo, having also long since regained his composure, remained comprehending the Dao, though no longer so shaken as before, speaking now with Ye Fan.

The dozen or so young supreme talents all harbored doubts in their hearts, sensing this place was shrouded in mystery. Everyone had extended their spiritual perception fully, yet none could discover where, exactly, the ancient medicine fell from.

No one knew how much time passed before the silhouette upon the reef vanished, the recitation of scripture ceasing, heaven and earth returning to tranquility. The several dozen immortal leaves scattered in all directions, sparking a bloody battle.

This was a fierce, great battle. Whether overlords, or even a Grand Sage such as the grey flood-dragon, or the invincible heaven’s chosen such as the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake — all fought over them.

Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others seized a portion of the medicinal herbs and retreated, unwilling to participate further, unwilling to shed blood for this — that was not their true purpose in coming here.

Ye Fan held a leaf between his fingers, sensing it carefully, confirming without doubt that this was indeed a leaf of the Ancient Tree of Life, for he had once obtained one in the Eternal Ancient Star Region.

Of course, that one had been a branch severed from the mother tree many years prior, whereas this one had just freshly fallen from the tree — he could clearly sense the difference between the two.

Ye Fan murmured to himself: “We’re drawing close to our goal. The so-called ancient tree should be at the ‘Far Shore.'”

Blood rain fell, corpses piled like mountains, the ancient beasts raging violently. Numerous overlords descended, joining this great battle of plunder. Aside from the grey flood-dragon, the ancient hunting ground held several more beast lords of this same rank, forcing even the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, Sang Gu, the Earth Corpse, and Shen Lan of the Divine Race to retreat.

This place was a sacred ground that had existed since ancient times, a place where the endless army of ancient beasts gained tremendous benefit — how could they tolerate outsiders encroaching upon it? They united against the outsiders, hunting them down without mercy.

In the course of this, the young supreme talents were repeatedly forced to join forces, slaying several overlords, and finally uncovered no small number of secrets.

The beasts followed ancient teachings, guarding the Mythic Far Shore, gaining tremendous benefit at regular intervals.

The ancient hunting ground, the practice of raising livestock, the Divine Far Shore — these were all interdependent, not separate matters. This was an important sacred site, and it was the existence of the Mythic Far Shore that drew so many ancient beast lords to come and pay homage.

The reef was a bridge connecting to the dwelling place of the gods. Legend held that a Sea of the Gods lay here — once crossed, it signified receiving the recognition of heaven and earth, and one could behold the gods, the Great Emperors. The opposite shore of that sea was a place all living beings longed for!

“Why haven’t I seen any sea?” Pang Bo wondered.

Because, according to the memories retrieved from the overlord’s head, all the ancient medicine and immortal leaves drifted over from the other shore of the sea — gifts bestowed by the gods.

“The Bitter Sea does not manifest itself — only those recognized by the gods can behold it. And to cross the sea successfully, reaching the other shore, requires an even greater fortune. The grey flood-dragon Grand Sage, the ancient beast overlords — they are all waiting for such an opportunity,” Ye Fan said, having gained further understanding, his expression turning thoughtful.

In truth, let alone the grey flood-dragon and the others — even their ancestors, the many beast lords who had appeared within the ancient hunting ground across endless ages, few indeed had ever reached the far shore of the sea.

Moreover, Ye Fan had obtained a startling piece of information from this overlord’s sea of consciousness. Within the ancient hunting ground, certain ancient beasts had witnessed a divine ancient coffin cross the Bitter Sea, reaching the other shore.

“The Ancient Tree of Life is on the far shore, and that ancient coffin made it across as well — it seems crossing the sea is truly necessary. But how can the sea even be seen?” Ye Fan pondered.

This was clearly the starry void of the universe — how could there be a vast, divine sea here? It defied common sense. How could it be seen, how could one cross it?

“Not long ago, from the far shore where the gods dwell, a maddened creature broke free, clutching a severed branch of the Ancient Tree of Life in its grasp. Unfortunately, it could not be stopped, and it vanished.”

Ye Fan and the others obtained this piece of information as well, once again confirming the rumors from the Golden City and the like — that such a thing had truly occurred. And now the grey flood-dragon and the other beast lords were using this as a basis to search for a breakthrough, seeking to cross the sea to the other shore.

The great battle raged on, lasting fully two days and two nights, before the ancient medicine and immortal leaves were finally divided up, bringing the curtain down on the conflict.

Ye Fan and the others waited for the storm to pass before returning once more to the reef, carefully studying everything about this place, seeking to understand the far shore, searching for the Bitter Sea, and speculating on the true identity of that blurred silhouette.

“It resembled very much an avatar of an ancient Great Emperor. That kind of power and presence is beyond what an ordinary person could possibly compare to,” Pang Bo said.

“You’re right about that. That was a Heavenly Venerate from the Mythic Era. This reef is his Dao platform, the place where he comprehended the Dao, leaving behind traces of his indelible Dao-imprint,” said Shen Lan, the Heavenly Maiden of the Divine Race, appearing before them — she too had returned.

The Divine Race possessed no shortage of records concerning the gods, and naturally included accounts of the Heavenly Venerates of the Mythic Era. Based on everything present here, she had surmised the identity of that blurred Dao-silhouette.

“If I’m not mistaken, there truly is a Bitter Sea here, laid down by the gods, extremely difficult to cross. And on the other shore of the sea should lie a living, ancient star,” Shen Lan proposed this theory.

According to what she said, that ancient star belonged to the Mythic Era, cut off from the outside world, possibly containing some tremendous secret — one that, from ancient times to the present, had never been perceived by the outside world!

That place was, in all likelihood, extremely important — otherwise, the reef where a Heavenly Venerate had once comprehended the Dao would not have been used as a bridge, serving as one shore of the crossing.

The fog in Ye Fan and the others’ minds was partly dispelled, but even more questions arose. Could it be that gods truly dwelled on the opposite shore, still living in this world?

Based on this, they speculated much further — that the Mythic Hunting Ground had been established by the gods of the far shore, used to guard this place. And the ancient medicine and divine leaves that fell from the heavens were meant to feed these ancient beasts, ensuring they would never leave.

“With such grand design at work, might we actually get to meet the gods?!” Pang Bo’s heart trembled with shock.