That was a desolate, withered road, leading no one knew where, as though no one had ever walked it before — was this the answer heaven had given to Qing Huang Daoren?

No beginning could be discerned, no end — desolate and silent, without a single footstep upon it. What did this signify? Was it some kind of omen, or merely a fleeting fragment of vision?

Unfortunately, Qing Huang Daoren would never see it. He had turned to ash and dispersed within this golden great age, his rain of light and burnt remains scattering into the universe, becoming dust.

It was not quite an answer, and yet not quite nothing either — it gave nothing definitive. The fragmented vision vanished, but the Bitter Sea above it grew ever clearer, to the point one could even hear the sound of crashing tides.

“Quick, record this, trace every Dao-imprint down — this is a clue!” someone cried out loudly, for this concerned whether they could ever reach the dwelling place of the gods, a matter of success or failure entirely.

“Eh, it feels both real and illusory — as though one could actually rush right into it,” someone exclaimed in shock, having nearly fallen in while drawing close to that stretch of Bitter Sea.

The assembled Grand Sages revealed expressions of astonishment, rapidly drawing close, discovering that this was a void-heaven domain, forcibly opened by the power of transcendence, connected to an ancient domain.

“We cannot truly enter it, but we can deduce the coordinates of this place!” The assembled heroes joined forces, recording every last detail, calculating silently in their minds, to determine exactly where the Bitter Sea lay.

Rumble!

The light flashed one final time, and the vast Bitter Sea vanished, the universe returning to normal, the thunderous sound of crashing waves fading back into nothingness.

“Quickly, go request the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Masters to deduce it — the Bitter Sea should now be findable. This divine sea, hidden for a thousand ages, may no longer remain a secret,” one group said, before departing.

The starry expanse grew clamorous, countless powerhouses rushing skyward, flying off toward the distance — some to seek out master diviners, others to search based on the clues currently in hand.

The far shore, the dwelling place of the gods, home to the Ancient Tree of Life, home to the Nine-Layered Coffin of the Mythic Era — all of these seemed like a fatal temptation, drawing people forward like moths to a flame, unable to free themselves.

Soon, the great crowds dispersed, most of the assembled heroes departing.

“Fare well, Senior…” Ye Fan and Pang Bo stepped forward, scattering white flower petals one after another across this dark universe, sending Qing Huang Daoren off on his final journey.

The old Daoist had been a kind and gentle man, having looked after them with great care, and now his story had come to this end. Watching him transcend into the Dao, unable to save him, left them feeling a bitter ache in their hearts.

A Grand Sage’s final ending — plain, and simple.

“In the end, it all amounts to nothing but ash!” The four serpentine bodies of the Golden Snakes, each a zhang or so in length, stood with their tails touching the ground, their bodies erect, golden scales gleaming, their forked tongues flicking, hissing coldly, sending chills down the spine.

The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake passed through this place, their expressions cold and indifferent, heads held high, moving through the drifting ash with a dominance that made even the many cultivators present tremble.

People hurriedly cleared a path for the four golden serpents — this was the dominance born of slaughter. Even the Golden Giant, a young supreme talent, had been slain by the Golden Snake Second Young Lord within a hundred moves — who would dare contend with them?

“What did you just say!?” Pang Bo exploded in fury. He had long since found these four golden serpents unbearable, and wished to settle the matter of who was truly superior between them.

Now that Qing Huang Daoren had passed away, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake walked right past, their words carrying neither warmth nor respect — how could Pang Bo not be filled with righteous indignation?

“Are you speaking to me?” The Golden Snake Second Young Lord stopped, his forked tongue hissing, making one’s hair stand on end, his eyes deeply intimidating, threads of sharp light glinting, a chilling aura pressing in.

“Long worm, don’t think too highly of yourself. Old Pang here is talking about you. You can act however arrogantly you like in front of others, but in front of me, you’d best coil yourself up!” Pang Bo bellowed.

He had once been on good terms with the Golden Giant, who had been slain in the starry expanse, and Qing Huang Daoren, a man of great virtue and standing whom he deeply respected, had just been shown disrespect and contempt — how could this not leave him unable to remain calm?

“Hiss, hiss…”

The forked tongue flicked lightly, and a beam of golden light shot forth, like a bolt of silk cutting straight toward Pang Bo’s head. The Golden Snake Second Young Lord, without a further word, moved directly to kill — even if you were one of the younger generation’s supreme talents.

“Whoosh!”

Divine radiance blazed brilliantly within Pang Bo’s eyes, shooting forth two beams of dragon-shaped light, striking directly against that bolt of silk, colliding in the void, bursting forth with brilliant, dazzling light.

“Long worm, you dare assault me? Today I’ll break your bones and strip your skin!” Pang Bo charged forward, taking the initiative to attack.

The Golden Snake Second Young Lord’s body, in serpentine form, gave a light sway, tearing through the void — this was true instantaneous movement, covering several hundred to a thousand zhang in an instant, the Tengshe Technique.

Their ancestor was the ancient god Tengshe, and flight was their most primal, innate mystic ability — a form of extreme speed, one rarely matched by anyone since ancient times.

The Golden Snake Second Young Lord said coldly: “You’re no match for me. I once wiped out the entire Divine Ape Clan on the ancient road, leaving nothing behind. Given your extraordinary bone-structure, would you be willing to follow me into the Golden Snake Clan? I’ll grant you tremendous fortune in the future.”

“Delusional fool!” Pang Bo roared loudly, forming seals with both hands, charging forward — his left hand seizing the dragon, his right hand summoning the phoenix, appearing like a demonic god descending into the mortal world.

A green true dragon coiled around his left hand, a crimson immortal phoenix spread its wings upon his right, both radiating a peerless killing intent. The two seals merged, their might unparalleled, pressing down toward the Golden Snake Second Young Lord.

The Golden Second Young Lord swung his tail — a golden serpentine body, like a golden immortal sword, pressing down, tearing through the void. Though merely a zhang long, it proved even more terrifying than a falling star.

This was a sound like metal piercing through stone, tearing the vast heavens apart. The invincible golden serpent-tail collided with the green dragon and immortal phoenix Pang Bo had summoned.

This place split apart, heaven and earth shattering. The two immortal spirit-forms were both shattered instantly, unable to withstand this world-ending blow.

“Roar…”

The Golden Second Young Lord roared, a sound even more piercing than a dragon’s cry through the nine heavens, its penetrating force extreme, the golden serpentine body sweeping directly across.

Pang Bo’s expression grew resolute. He unleashed the Transformation Slash from the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes, meeting the attack head-on, locked in combat with this peerless divine serpent.

Among the other three golden serpents, aside from the eldest, the Third and Fourth Young Lords also moved, intending to besiege Ye Fan and Long Ma along with the other twelve Saints — arrogant to the very extreme, to say the least.

“Dare to contend with this lord — brothers, everyone gang up on them together, attack!” Long Ma shouted. Everyone was left dumbfounded — was this really what one called a fair one-on-one duel?

Of course, this could hardly be blamed on Long Ma — the twelve Saints stood several minor realms below the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake. In a true one-on-one fight, they would face certain death; the opponents were simply too powerful, and fighting across such a gap in realm was simply unrealistic.

Rumble!

Ye Fan struck out, his entire body radiating golden light for ten thousand zhang, like a hundred thousand volcanoes erupting simultaneously all at once, waves of fire-essence surging skyward, engulfing heaven and earth.

He was like a divine furnace that had once split open heaven and earth, radiating eternal light. His golden fist-force shook the heavens — he first clashed head-on with the Golden Snake Third Young Lord, then swept his right leg across to strike the Golden Snake Fourth Young Lord, before finally charging into the fray to join Pang Bo’s battle.

Boom!

This was a terrifying, colossal collision — Ye Fan’s golden fist struck against the Golden Snake Second Young Lord’s golden tail, the clashing sound ringing out like immortal iron striking together, shattering the universe.

In that single instant, Ye Fan had clashed once each with all three of the Golden Snake Young Lords in succession, and the entire heaven and earth trembled, terrifying, colossal cracks appearing throughout the darkened universe.

The divine power raged violently, like a vast ocean surging!

Ye Fan’s expression changed — these golden serpents truly possessed invincible potential; perhaps they were the most terrifying figures among the young supreme talents, truly extraordinarily powerful.

Not to mention anything else — the bodies of these four golden serpents alone were solid beyond all reason, their serpentine bodies capable of cleaving through weapons of Saint King grade, able to clash head-on with him.

The Golden Snake Second Young Lord abandoned Pang Bo, fixing his gaze upon Ye Fan, threads of divine radiance glinting in his eyes, saying: “I like to defeat others in the very field where they excel most. Everyone says the human race’s Sage Body possesses an indestructible physique — today I’ll tear you apart!”

He shot forward like lightning, truly arrogant and domineering, launching straight into a sweeping assault, his serpentine body coiling like a golden immortal chain around Ye Fan, seeking to strangle and sever him.

Ye Fan spread both hands wide, forming what resembled Golden Flood-Dragon Scissors, cutting upward through the heavens, meeting the Golden Snake Second Young Lord head-on. Beam after beam of blazing light burst forth, heaven and earth resounding like the clanging of a forge, the sound so intense it seemed to split people’s very eardrums.

This was a peerless battle to the death — the collision between the golden fist and the golden serpentine body sounded like the divine drums of the Heavenly Court resounding, shaking souls to the point of near-shattering.

On the other side, Pang Bo too advanced toward the Golden Snake Third Young Lord, while the Golden Snake Fourth Young Lord, ever arrogant, wore a cold smile as he pressed forward toward Long Ma and the others.

The only truly peerless battle taking place was between Ye Fan and the Golden Snake Second Young Lord; the other two pairs had not yet fully engaged when a terrifying fluctuation suddenly swept in.

“Retreat!” the Golden Eldest Young Lord bellowed to his three younger brothers, summoning forth a corner of the Tengshe array formation, his golden serpentine body tearing through the universe, taking the lead in departing.

Rumble!

Vast Grand Sage-level fluctuations came sweeping in from two separate directions, seeking to annihilate the several young supreme talents present, enveloping them all within.

The first to appear was the grey flood-dragon — not particularly thick or long, but radiating the divine might of a Grand Sage, in the very prime of his years, his blood-energy surging, terrifying beyond measure.

This was precisely the beast lord who had once clashed with the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake before — now striking out once more, aiming directly at the several young supreme talents of the Golden Snake Clan.

At the same moment, in another direction, golden light surged like a heavenly river cascading down from the sky, sweeping toward Ye Fan and the others, magnificent beyond compare, pouring down from the ninth heaven.

Ye Fan’s reaction was likewise lightning-fast. The Word of Movement mystic technique blazed forth brilliantly, transforming into a sheet of golden light bursting outward, carrying Pang Bo and the others with him in flight, shifting position in the first instant, narrowly evading that certain-kill blow.

That heavenly river turned out to be merely a single tongue, tens of thousands of zhang long, falling from that vast sky, boundless and endless, chaotic energy and golden light surging together.

This was an ancient god-demon mutant species from before the primordial era — the Golden Toad. It stood towering in the heavens, its body like a colossal demonic peak, its entire form radiating precious light, the scene before them terrifying beyond measure.

Unfortunately, this single strike came to nothing — the Golden Toad’s heavenly tongue failed to catch Ye Fan, who possessed the Word of Movement mystic technique, and they broke free from the battlefield.

Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Long Ma transformed into several beams of light, vanishing into a golden formation array, disappearing from this place, departing at their leisure.

As for the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, relying on their mysterious Dao-artifact — the Tengshe Array Formation — they too escaped safely, breaking free one after another, without so much as a scratch upon them.

Rumble!

The grey flood-dragon and Golden Toad’s attacks landed on empty air, crashing into the universe, obliterating vast stretches of starry sky. Many unrelated cultivators suffered a bloody calamity, dying in vain in this place, blood-blossoms bursting everywhere.

“We turned back too hastily, and failed to catch even a single one of them!” The grey flood-dragon’s eyes turned cold and grim, filled with unwillingness.

Beneath another stretch of starry sky, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake reconvened, all unharmed. Looking closely, only the tail-tip of the Golden Snake Second Young Lord twitched, trembling faintly.

“Second Brother, what’s wrong?” the Golden Snake Fourth Young Lord asked.

“The human race’s Sage Body truly lives up to its reputation. That golden physical body really is terrifying. Next time I absolutely mustn’t be so overconfident — I must use my most proficient techniques, Dao cultivation, speed, and the like to kill him, and never give him the slightest chance.”

“Second Brother, are you injured?” The Golden Fourth Young Lord was shocked. Since making his debut, no peer had ever managed to injure them — it had always been others who were slain, even the young supreme talents from the ancient roads of every race included.

“I’m not injured — merely in intense pain. My physical body is my weak point; I shouldn’t have clashed head-on with him like that. Next time I’ll go straight in with ancient techniques and kill him outright!” the Golden Snake Second Young Lord said coldly.