Ji Ziyue was spinning tall tales, and it left Ye Fan and Pang Bo without words. What they were witnessing overturned everything they had thought they knew of her. Hidden in the shadows, they watched — and couldn’t help but find it funny.

Of course, once they recalled how spirited and clever she had always been, a sense of acceptance settled in. Given her nature, what was happening wasn’t so far beyond what one might expect.

A thin mist drifted around the mountain peaks, curling like immortal breath, reflected across the sprawling cluster of lakes below — pale, hazy, and soft. It was a stretch of pristine land, and it stilled something inside you just to look at it.

“Let’s move! We’re going to find the Divine Demon Fluid, capture the Divine God-King, suppress the Human Sacred Body — knock them all down!” Ji Ziyue pumped her fist with great energy, as though rallying troops before a charge, marching boldly out in front to lead the way.

Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others exchanged glances. Stepping out now really wasn’t a good idea. Letting the girl lead a pack of enemies around to run out the clock was the more appropriate course of action — Ji Haoyue was still in the midst of his transformation and needed time, with no room for disturbance.

“Let her stall for time,” Pang Bo said. “We’ll follow at a distance and keep watch.” Ye Fan nodded in agreement. The group trailed silently behind.

One had to admit — Ji Ziyue and her assembled company were a staggering combination. Wherever they went, they would cause a sensation. Each of these eight or nine individuals possessed extraordinary talent and bloodline.

The Ancient Golden Roc needed no introduction — with both wings spread, it could soar ninety thousand li into the sky, capable of splitting the heavens and shattering the cosmos. It came from a supremely powerful race.

The Celestial Wolf carried endless legend behind it, having produced overwhelmingly powerful figures throughout history. One howl aimed at the moon and the galaxy itself would crack; once it entered battle and fought with blood-soaked fury, few could stand against it.

As for the Nine-Eyed Jade Toad — it was a rare primordial variant, scarcely seen since antiquity, said to be a descendant of the Three-Legged Golden Toad and the Jade Qilin, extinct for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years, now appearing in the world once more. Among this group, its strength was quietly at the very top.

The others — the Mountain-Bearing Turtle, the Green-Blood Man, the Heaven-Splitting Beast — were similarly formidable, their races renowned across the cosmos, each carrying the supreme bloodline of a domain’s ruler.

Their spiritual senses were extraordinarily sharp. Even powerhouses like Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Long Ma, trailing behind, would have been detected at the slightest carelessness — were it not for the Heaven-Deceiving Formation protecting them.

The Ancient Golden Roc, the Celestial Wolf, the Nine-Eyed Jade Toad, the Mountain-Bearing Turtle — one by one, each surged with tremendous divine power and blood energy. Wherever they passed, all living things gave way, like a vast and fathomless ocean bearing down on everything.

“I’ve sensed the aura of the Divine Demon Fluid,” Ji Ziyue said gravely, her expression turning serious as her steps remained light. “The divine body must be just ahead. Everyone prepare for battle.”

It was a mountain valley, broad and open, with a crystal clear spiritual lake at its center, lush treasure trees rising all around, flowers and fallen petals drifting through radiant mist — a place that felt sacred and serene.

“We’ve come a step too late. The divine body has already left,” the Green-Blood Man said with a soft sigh. His skin was jade-green, his limbs resembling tendrils of living vine. “But traces of his enlightenment remain here.”

Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others could see it clearly — they had been to this place before. It was one of Ji Haoyue’s long-abandoned cultivation sites. But it was perfect for leading the group here now, wasting their time while letting them feel as though they had made progress.

There were indeed faint remnants of Divine Demon Fluid here. The life essence had long since been exhausted, the Dao fragments already refined away — nothing of value remained.

“Miss Ziyue truly is remarkable,” the Heaven-Splitting Beast said. “As expected of a Primordial Spirit Body — the most sensitive of all to the fundamental energies of heaven and earth. To have sensed it from such a distance is an excellent start. We will surely find the divine body and take the sacred fluid from him.”

“A pity.” Ji Ziyue waved her hand lightly and turned to lead the way once again.

In the shadows, Long Ma muttered, “That girl is putting on the most innocent face right now. I have a feeling she’s eventually going to walk this whole group straight into a fire pit.”

“Splendid,” Pang Bo said with a broad laugh. “If she does, think of how much trouble it’ll save us.”

Suddenly, the sound of shouting erupted ahead, accompanied by bestial roars. Ji Ziyue’s group had run into another band of powerhouses — a clash looked imminent.

“Everyone,” Ji Ziyue stepped forward, “we’ve all come here for the Divine Demon Fluid. Why waste lives fighting among ourselves now? Let’s join together and strike when the real adversaries present themselves.”

Ahead stood several humanoid figures, every one of them formidable. The leader was a powerhouse with a dragon’s head and a human body, radiating light from every inch of his form. Three more stood behind him, each equally impressive in bearing.

“That race…” Ye Fan was taken aback. This was the same bloodline as the imperial clan of the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest in the Northern Dipper — an undeniably powerful lineage.

He looked more carefully. The Dragon Maiden of the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest was nowhere to be seen. His eyes flickered with wariness. Something about this felt far from simple — it could very well become a headache later.

“Is something wrong, Ye Fan?” Pang Bo asked.

“The Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest was destroyed because of me,” Ye Fan said with a furrowed brow. “Their Dragon Maiden led the survivors — carrying an Ancient Emperor’s weapon — back across the star domains to their ancestral star. Now that members of their clan have appeared here, I’m worried the Dragon Maiden may come seeking vengeance as well.”

When Pang Bo learned that the Old Demon, in the guise of a human elder, had roasted and devoured one of the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Nest’s Great Sages, he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, staring for a moment in wide-eyed disbelief. That was a deeply sworn enmity — especially since Ye Fan had personally led the way.

Ahead, Ji Ziyue was winning over the four newcomers, persuading them to join her group.

It was clear the newcomers were wary — facing eight or nine powerful individuals, none of them keen on a brutal brawl, they nodded their agreement.

That skirmish was averted, and the group grew by a few more.

Pang Bo and the others exchanged glances, at a complete loss for words. She was the very fox she had pledged to hunt — gathering these people around her like this. How would this play out in the end?

“Ziyue is a Primordial Spirit Body,” Ye Fan explained. “She’s in harmony with all natural laws. The fundamental energies of heaven and earth answer to her — she can drive and channel what is most essential in this world. She can replenish the divine power of everyone around her, so naturally they’re willing to stay by her side. In doing so, she can keep their strength at its absolute peak at all times.”

Whether it was the warmth and vitality of her nature, or the very real role she could play for this group — her position among them was central and indispensable. Without anyone quite realizing it, they had all come to look to her as their lead.

A figure flashed into view. A powerful, terrifying silhouette appeared — wreathed in brilliant divine rings, descending like a heavenly emperor, emanating a bone-deep aura of menace that made everyone instinctively wary.

Emperor Heaven had appeared, standing in the distance.

He had just witnessed Ji Ziyue invite those four outsiders to join her group. Seeing how large and formidable the assembled force had become, he decided he wanted the benefit of their numbers. He approached with a gleaming smile. “Greetings, everyone. I am Emperor Heaven of the Human Clan. I would also like to join your group.”

“This person keeps glancing around even as he offers to join us,” Ji Ziyue said bluntly. “He doesn’t look like someone with good intentions. He may be hiding ulterior motives. I suggest we suppress him.”

“Just one person,” the Celestial Wolf powerhouse said with cold menace, silver hair cascading around him. “Kill him and be done with it. One fewer rival for the Divine Demon Fluid.”

“Agreed!” The others nodded. They had no desire to let the group grow any larger.

“Strike!”

A blaze of radiance erupted — like dozens of immortal phoenixes blazing across the sky, brilliant chains of order interlacing like phoenix feathers, slicing through the air. More than ten figures moved simultaneously to suppress Emperor Heaven.

Emperor Heaven was stunned. He had come forward amicably, hoping to be invited in as the others were — and in return, received a tide of killing light crashing down on him from every direction. Rage flooded through him.

This was no time for reason. With this many young Supremes attacking, even a moment’s delay could be fatal. He turned and ran.

“Stop him!”

Among the young Supremes, the Ancient Golden Roc and others with speed as their strength instantly gave chase, striking hard at Emperor Heaven and cutting off his retreat, while those behind pressed the assault from the rear.

It was a sorry sight for Emperor Heaven. He was one of the supreme powerhouses of this generation. Since his rise, the only losses he had ever suffered were at the hands of the Ancient Emperor’s presence, channeled through Ye Fan’s heavenly tribulation — and even that was no true shame, for it had been a Great Emperor of antiquity. But now he was being chased down and beaten, hounded and bloodied, until at last he fled into the distance.

“Boom!”

More than ten figures struck together. Their divine power was overwhelmingly, absolutely destructive — like a forbidden divine sea boiling over, sweeping aside everything in its path.

With a sickening sound, Emperor Heaven coughed up a great mouthful of blood. He had already tried to withdraw, but the Ancient Golden Roc had clung to him, tangling him in the vortex of collective divine power just long enough to nearly shatter him.

Fury roared inside Emperor Heaven as he flew back in full retreat. There was no possibility of fighting back — no matter how powerful he was, he could not overcome a dozen or more young Supremes at once. One moment too slow and he would be torn apart.

And so it was — Emperor Heaven, one of the era’s supreme figures, found himself chased and driven with relentless killing intent, something that had not happened to him in years. Only after a blood-soaked, desperate struggle did he escape with his life, fleeing in ragged retreat into the depths of the mountain range.

He was furious and humiliated. Others had been invited to join; he had stepped forward on his own initiative — and been met with cold rejection. One step slower and he might have died here.

“My guess,” Pang Bo said with gleeful satisfaction, “is that Ziyue gathered information from the people around her about what’s been happening on the ancient paths — and set this up deliberately to get rid of Emperor Heaven on our behalf.”

Emperor Heaven was unquestionably a dangerous individual, one they had to guard against. Had he managed to join Ji Ziyue’s group, no one could say what kind of trouble might have followed.

Ye Fan laughed too. Emperor Heaven — with all his fearsome power — had been hunted down and beaten like this today. He must have been fuming, nearly spitting blood with indignation.

Half a day later, another unfortunate soul crossed Ji Ziyue’s path — none other than the Great Demon God, caught alone and outnumbered, with no choice but to swallow whatever temper he had.

The Great Demon God was seething with barely contained rage, covered in blood from grievous wounds. He was utterly beyond his limit. He had always been the one to raze others to the ground — he had once annihilated an entire life-bearing star, had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. And yet today, he was the one being run down.

Though he was furious enough to burst, he was driven off all the same, beaten and pursued by the assembled group. He departed with silent, festering anger, riddled with horrifying wounds — a random calamity, struck out of nowhere, barely escaping what could have been his death.

He was powerful, but even he could only absorb punishment from this many young Supremes. He withdrew alone, seething, and disappeared.

Two days later, Ji Ziyue’s group finally encountered a true adversary.

“Fate really has a sense of humor,” Long Ma said, eyes widening with interest. “The Golden Serpent Lord, the Gold-Devouring Beast, the Sacred Spirit — they’ve run right into each other.” A grin spread across his face. He was genuinely curious to see whether Ji Ziyue would manage to steer one enemy faction into a collision with another.

The Stone Man had regrown his severed arm, but after abandoning his companions and being the first to flee not long ago, he had no face to return to them. Happening upon the Golden Serpent Lord and the others along the way, he had joined their group instead.

This faction was formidable — roughly ten strong — and they had encountered Ji Ziyue’s group at the edge of a mountain valley. Both sides locked eyes across the distance, cold and wary, the tension wound to its breaking point.

Even Ye Fan’s expression grew grave. He watched carefully, ready to move at any moment — these were all enemies he had long thought of eliminating.

“This is beautiful,” Long Ma muttered with a crooked smile. “I almost want to trade places with that girl — leading this pack of people into a real battle, letting both sides bleed each other dry.”

Ji Ziyue appeared perfectly sincere and gentle — but in truth, this was a clever bit of scheming, quiet and calculating beneath the surface. She had played her hand well. If it worked as intended, the balance of power across this entire mountain region would shift dramatically.

“We get ready,” Ye Fan said, his voice cold and steady. “We wait for the right moment — then we strike, and we leave no one standing.”