Beneath the sky, primordial chaos mist swirled and drifted. A hazy figure stood alone between heaven and earth, facing everyone present. His true face could not be seen clearly — only a pair of eyes, sharp and awe-inspiring, shooting out from behind the mist like twin beams, making every person feel as though they might suffocate.

A single person. Alone against all heroes. Standing there in cold indifference, holding every one of them in check. The area was silent as a grave. Every heart was filled with fear and dread; people could not stop themselves from retreating.

Ye Fan had emerged from seclusion. The Emperor Fist he had created was now fully accomplished — a feat that would shake ancient times and the present. Standing within the Forbidden Domain, no one on the field could resist his edge, and there was no one capable of opposing him!

Many who tried to flee could not — they were shattered by golden fists that shot across the open sky, cut down on their path of escape. Blood mist drifted and scattered. No matter how fast one’s speed, there was no avoiding it. There was only senseless death.

He alone. Looking down over the vast and desolate battlefield, his aura devouring mountains and rivers, making every single person wary, afraid to act recklessly. This was a true grand aura of absolute, singular dominance!

“Supreme Demon Sovereign — this seat will have you!” The Corpse Sovereign stepped forward, walking toward him — he was finally about to make his move.

In truth, Ye Fan had already locked onto them. His expression was cool, and he had been watching the Corpse Sovereign, the Sky-Devouring Beast, and a few other key figures all along, killing intent permeating ten thousand li.

It was said that the Corpse Sovereign had been a disciple of Amitabha Buddha, dead for three hundred-something thousand years. Within his body, a reincarnation seal had formed, and his physical body had given rise to spiritual consciousness, emerging from an underground cave — equivalent to another lifetime, another existence.

Naturally, he was no longer the person he had once been. His primordial spirit had transformed into something new — a new individual — yet his appearance had not changed in any way.

Now, he was still bald, bearing a row of ritual scars on his head. His entire body was jet black, with a peculiar sheen flowing across his skin, and wisp after wisp of black mist drifted from him — that was corpse-fog.

For thirty years, he had absorbed the death energy of countless skeletal remains in the burial grounds of the divine and demonic beings, all belonging to gods and demons of the ancient age, which had made him fearsome to a terrifying degree.

Now he walked forward step by step, his wide sleeves billowing, his entire body seemingly cast from black gold, corpse-fog wreathing him — an utterly terrifying sight.

Everyone was speculating: was the Corpse Sovereign truly powerful enough — and brave enough — to fight Ye Fan? Or had he simply been backed into a corner with no choice but to come forward and fight?

By now, perhaps there was no other way. So many had besieged Ye Fan, interfering with his Dao comprehension and killing his friends and family — and now they would inevitably face reckoning!

“Boom! Rumble!”

Heaven and earth shook violently. The Corpse Sovereign made his move. A great, ancient alms bowl flew out — entirely plain and unadorned, seemingly cast from purple gold, swelling to the size of a mountain peak as it suppressed and bore down from above.

The sky swayed and shattered. If not for the skeletal remains of gods and demons anchoring the earth below, this place would surely have sunk, threatening the very ancient star itself.

No one had expected a plain alms bowl to hold such tremendous power. Several of the younger supreme figures were caught by the aftershock, spitting large mouthfuls of blood, their bodies sent flying horizontally.

This was a calamity they had done nothing to invite — simply because the bowl’s power was too overwhelming!

“Clang!”

Ye Fan made his move. Like a heavenly god, he swung out a palm, striking the purple-gold alms bowl as it descended from above — like a celestial deity hammering immortal iron, the sound ringing out loud and clear.

Between the bowl and his palm, the most brilliant radiance erupted — like a hundred thousand volcanoes shattering at once, molten rock hurled into chaos, like dozens of suns pulverized and running rampant through the cosmos. A powerful surge of energy swept through the ten directions, shaking every soul present, sweeping through all directions in all places!

Everyone trembled, all falling back. Two of them were grazed by the force, their bones snapping and sinews tearing, blood streaming freely, their bodies severed into several pieces.

This power was too savagely overwhelming — exceeding every person’s expectations!

Ye Fan frowned. This alms bowl was no ordinary thing. Powerful as he was, with palm and fingers that could shatter anything — he had not managed to destroy it. On the contrary, his palm was stinging somewhat.

The Corpse Sovereign was even more shaken — he could not stop himself from retreating. For this vessel had an extraordinary origin: cast from a mixture of ancient metals, with a small piece of immortal material contributed by Amitabha Buddha the great emperor himself.

That piece of purple gold — a scrap from the edge of Buddhism’s supreme divine artifact, the Demon-Subduing Pestle — had been nurtured by Amitabha Buddha’s own thought-force, making it a spiritually awakened divine treasure beyond all price in the world.

Materials exclusive to a great emperor, further nurtured by the Buddha’s thought-force — who could possibly obtain such a thing?

The ancient scriptures of Buddhism recorded it: the Corpse Sovereign had mixed this immortal material with other metals to forge a vessel of supreme alms-bowl weaponry, unsurpassed among his generation.

And yet today, not only had someone bare-handedly intercepted this vessel, they had clearly pressed a full palm print into it — every line of the fingerprints distinct and visible!

“How is it possible — to leave a palm print on an artifact made with material from Amitabha Buddha’s weapon… truly defying heaven…” The Corpse Sovereign could not help but be shaken.

Ye Fan made his move. Fierce and dominantly powerful, brave beyond all the world. His true body vanished from where he stood — abandoning the alms bowl, going directly for the one wielding it.

The Corpse Sovereign’s heart filled with alarm. Demonic runes appeared across the surface of his body, black light flowing. His intention reached out to all eight directions, and the purple-gold alms bowl wheeled around in an instant and came pressing back down.

“Clang!” “Clang!”…

Ye Fan’s expression was cold. He threw his fists forward, striking without fear toward the Buddhist treasure. Even though it had been forged with the special immortal material left by Amitabha Buddha, fist after fist rang out against the bowl’s surface — resonant and deafening.

And furthermore, with each fist that landed, a fist print was pressed into the bowl’s body — terrifying beyond description. Continuing like this, punching through it entirely would be no problem.

“Kill!”

The Corpse Sovereign was furious beyond measure. The alms bowl was his very life. Since awakening from oblivion, even though he had cut off his past self — having already resolved: I am who I am — the alms bowl that had emerged into this world alongside him remained a spiritual anchor, something he could not bear to see destroyed.

With a thunderous boom, boundless corpse energy erupted from the earth below, surging up into the sky like an ocean, drowning the entire battlefield — dreadful without limit.

At the same time, the alms bowl inverted, its opening facing downward, continuously expanding until it covered the entire sky above, devouring all things!

This was an extremely terrifying scene. The boundless corpse energy served as flame; the alms bowl served as the bronze furnace of heaven and earth — its purpose to smelt all things in the world, to destroy every living being within.

On the bowl’s surface were depicted various scenes from Buddhist legend — Siddhartha sitting cross-legged beneath the Bodhi tree in Dao comprehension, cutting his own flesh to feed a hawk, slicing his arm to feed a tiger, practicing great compassion and mercy, walking through the human world, transmitting the Dao across ten thousand realms.

This alms bowl had long since become spiritually aware. Though it was not quite an ancestral artifact, the corner of immortal material within it had been nurtured by Amitabha Buddha’s thought-force, and now its terrifying qualities were manifesting fully.

Indestructible. Suppressing all ages. Devouring ten thousand souls. Forever undying — intent on smelting Ye Fan down to nothing.

Many watching felt their spirits rise. This weapon was too fierce and mighty, as if the spiritual nature of the Buddha himself were imbued within it — suppressing ten thousand demons. And yet Ye Fan’s Heavenly Emperor Fist — fearsome as it was — could not seem to shake it.

“Everyone — what are we waiting for? There is no way back for any of us now. Rise together, and let us kill him as one!” someone shouted out, making the dire situation plain.

“Kill!” A group roared in response, charging forward to strike, all manner of weapons flying — copper towers, heaven-ensnaring umbrellas, sky-measuring rulers, purple-gold swords, sky-devouring jade gourds — treasured light filling the air, shooting in every direction, all of it falling on Ye Fan’s position.

Ye Fan glanced back coldly. Boundless divine light burst from between his brows. An ancient, unadorned small cauldron flew out, transforming into a beam of undying immortal light that shot directly forward.

Pfft! With a soft sound, the first person to have spoken — the one between his brows was blasted open, a hole in the shape of a cauldron punched clear through. Crimson blood shot up four or five meters into the air, and he fell stiffly backward.

Silence fell. The killing shouts died down. Many recoiled instinctively.

Yet Ye Fan’s assault did not stop. The cauldron swelled rapidly, suppressing heaven and earth, and the primal chaos energy of ten thousand things descended in cascades — like torrent after torrent of waterfall, or hanging river after hanging river of the celestial stream.

Rumble! The several people at the very front had their bones broken and sinews snapped, their bodies torn in four directions, their forms shattered, their primordial spirits turned to ash — dying instantly.

Ye Fan’s killing intent was aimed at the heavens. He killed his enemies with the most powerful means at his disposal. Having sat in seclusion and comprehended the Heavenly Emperor Fist, this cauldron too had been inscribed with his Dao — it was like his own true body made manifest, and more fearsome than ever.

Many people scattered and fled — but at this moment, another powerful surge of energy erupted in an instant, closing from behind, striking directly toward Ye Fan’s back.

The Sky-Devouring Beast had made its move. It had spat out a mouthful of blood essence, transforming it into an enormous beast king that roared and shook heaven and earth, causing mountains to collapse and seas to surge — and it came from behind, a vicious, death-dealing sneak attack!

Ye Fan was engaging the purple-gold alms bowl. He wheeled around abruptly. From between his brows, a golden sword beam shot out — capable of ruining mountains and rivers and ten thousand living things, of extinguishing sun, moon, and stars — slashing toward the great beast.

But immediately after, a great sense of alarm arose in his heart. He felt a threatening crisis. The divine eye in his forehead blazed with brilliant light, and he perceived clearly: within the mouth of this beast king formed from blood essence, an array diagram was hidden — concealed within its body.

This was a forbidden weapon — one that might be capable of dealing a severe wound even to a Great Sage!

Thread after thread of divine might spread outward. Although it was being suppressed, sealed within the body of the beast king — Ye Fan’s spiritual perception had now reached an inconceivable level, and it could not be hidden from him.

The Sky-Devouring Beast was extremely vicious. It had manifested a form using blood essence, its mouth containing a forbidden weapon as it came in to kill. If Ye Fan had punched the beast form apart, the forbidden weapon would inevitably have detonated, unleashing its most powerful force.

Ye Fan was courageous, but there was no need for him to take that hit head-on. He sensed the danger and evaded, activating the “Weapons” word secret. The alms bowl rang out with a deep, resonant boom — a resounding clang — and interposed itself before him.

“Boom! Rumble!”

The sky shattered, chaos surged. This place was reduced to chaos. The blood-essence ancient beast was torn apart in four directions. The forbidden weapon did indeed detonate, crashing against the alms bowl, which rang out in anguish and went flying dozens of li away.

The Sky-Devouring Beast had intended to use the malicious tactic of destroying a rare and precious divine artifact of the world — to leave Ye Fan drenched in blood, grievously wounded. Unfortunately, it had miscalculated.

“Kill!”

Ye Fan gave a cold shout. From his eyes, materialized golden light beams hundreds of zhang long shot out. He took one step across dozens of li and came directly before the Sky-Devouring Beast, raising his fist to strike!

Upright and aboveboard. No tricks. No scheming. Ye Fan was like the Heavenly Emperor descending to the mortal world, his might peerless, engulfed in ten thousand zhang of immortal radiance. He threw out a punch — heaven and earth trembled, ten directions extinguished.

“Pfft!”

The Sky-Devouring Beast suffered a tremendous blow. It could not withstand Ye Fan’s fist. Its enormous mountain-like body shuddered, and from its mouth it spewed a great spray of blood that fell toward the earth below — like a river of blood raining down.

Yet even this was enough to shake the other cultivators. Ye Fan had just been smashing enemies one punch at a time — only Sang Gu and the Corpse Sovereign had been able to withstand him directly. Now, at last, there was a third.

The Sky-Devouring Beast had not perished. Its physical form was intact.

Ye Fan’s expression was cool. He pressed forward to move in for the killing.

The Sky-Devouring Beast — said to possess one of the most terrifying bloodlines since ancient times. At the peak of its growth, it could swallow the galaxies of ten thousand things, smelt entire star domains, its might shaking through all ages.

Now, from between its brows, a burst of runes erupted, evolving into an ancient cosmos — with sun, moon, and stars in rotation, with primordial chaos surging — concrete yet minute, indistinguishable from the real world.

This was a cage, meant to trap and imprison Ye Fan. Ye Fan moved quickly, blocking it from far away.

At the same moment, the Corpse Sovereign charged in again, wielding the Buddha-related alms bowl, suppressing Ye Fan. Ten thousand strands of Great Dao traces spread out in all directions.

Two people besieging Ye Fan gave the others hope, and more joined the attack, surging forward.

The Cauldron of All Things Mother Qi roared and rumbled. Inside, the vast waterfall-like cascades of primordial chaos and mother energy poured out together, raining downward. It flew back and hovered over Ye Fan’s head, invincible to ten thousand methods!

“This has gone on long enough — I will send you all on your way!” Ye Fan declared. He unfurled the Heavenly Emperor Fist, like a battle immortal come to the world, his divine might unmatched under heaven.

This one person and one cauldron in unity — no one could withstand it. Though many charged up together, all were like clay chickens and earthen dogs before him, blown apart one by one by Ye Fan’s fists, turned to blood mist.

Even the Corpse Sovereign and the Sky-Devouring Beast could endure no more. The two of them spat up blood repeatedly, their arms breaking one after another, dissolving into blood mist, then cracks appearing across their bodies — they were on the verge of destruction.

“Clang!” “Clang!”…

Ye Fan swung the Emperor Fist in continuous strikes. Every blow landed on the alms bowl. Thirty-six punches in all came crashing down, and the purple-gold Buddhist vessel finally could bear no more — it shattered into four pieces. A great sound rang out. Most of the alms bowl was destroyed, reduced to dust. Only a small portion remained — brilliant purple-gold, gleaming. That was the part nurtured by Amitabha Buddha’s thought-force — impossible to decay or destroy.

A roc’s cry echoed through the sky!

On Ye Fan’s shoulder, the Golden-Winged Celestial Roc — now reduced to a foot in length — had eyes of incomparable brilliance, its body like poured gold. At this moment it spread its wings, shot skyward, and swallowed the purple-gold immortal material into its beak to be used in forging its own weapon.

Then it descended once more, returning to Ye Fan’s shoulder. Its gaze was brilliant — intimidating as golden lamps.

This was the Ancient Golden Roc in all its majesty, its strength at the eighth level of the Sacred King realm — and yet it bore itself in this manner now. People could only be stunned. It had been subdued by Ye Fan through a supreme martial will, and was willing to serve as a guardian bird-king.

“You—!”

The Corpse Sovereign was furious and stunned. The alms bowl had been buried underground for over three hundred thousand years, and had emerged into the world together with him — they shared the same fate. Even though he had long since cut off his past self and made his resolution — I am who I am — the alms bowl that had come into this world together with him remained a spiritual anchor, and he could not bear to have it taken away.

Yet what followed was worse still. Ye Fan came killing forward. The Heavenly Emperor Fist was unmatched under all the heavens. He stood within the Forbidden Domain — supreme and self-sovereign, no one a match for him.

Ye Fan threw out a punch. The Corpse Sovereign was sent flying horizontally, his whole body drenched in blood, engulfed and overwhelmed by boundless divine radiance, unable to struggle free.

Chaos energy spread. Ye Fan stepped closer and closer. The Corpse Sovereign’s voice was bitter. They had only exchanged a few dozen rounds — and already he had no capacity to fight back at all. What path to the Emperor’s Road was there left to speak of?

Compared with Ye Fan as he was now, the gap between them was no ordinary gap. His voice trembled as he spoke: “The Forbidden Domain… is it truly this fearsome?!”

“Boom! Rumble!”

The answer was a golden fist that pulverized all the weapons he had offered up, then drove straight through his chest in a single blow, shattering him on the spot. No secret art, no divine treasure could withstand that singular, peerless strike. Nothing was left in place but a cloud of blood mist.

The Sky-Devouring Beast’s heart went cold with terror. It turned to flee — but where could it go? The moment it moved, Ye Fan cut off its path. From beginning to end, not a single person had managed to escape.

“This seat will fight you to the death!”

Ten thousand runes erupted from between its brows, weaving together into a miniature cosmos, bearing down once more in suppression — sun, moon, and stars revolving, primordial chaos misty and diffuse, a true miniature world-cage.

This time, Ye Fan did not evade. His true body entered it. Radiance blazed without limit as he shattered heaven and earth directly, destroying the true miniature cosmos entirely.

“Pfft!”

The Sky-Devouring Beast spat up a great mouthful of blood, and the space between its brows cracked open — a horrifying wound appeared, blood and brain matter both spilling out.

Ye Fan’s expression was cold. Killing intent in layers piled ten thousand deep, piercing straight through the nine heavens. He pressed forward without mercy.

In the end, all sound ceased. All life extinguished. Within the primordial chaos mist, nothing remained but a golden fist — suppressing the vault of heaven. The Sky-Devouring Beast became a pool of blood, departing this world in terror!

Ye Fan stood between heaven and earth, his eyes cold and clear. Above his head, the Cauldron of All Things Mother Qi rose and sank, cascading silken threads downward, wrapping him within — impervious to ten thousand methods.

This was an invincible true body! And with this artifact as guardian, no one could contend with him.