The Sea of Samsara shimmered in silver, like an endless river of stars descending from above, pooling together into a vast ocean.
It was immense — without horizon or boundary. The silver sea stretched without end, larger than the whole of the Eastern Desolation. Yet ordinarily, no trace of it could be seen in the world.
Clearly it existed as its own separate realm, with only its entrance connected to the Northern Dipper region.
Silver waves rose and curled, like a storm of metal sweeping forward.
Ye Fan walked upon the waves. Every crashing surge parted beneath his feet, unable to obstruct his steps — not even the laws of a supreme being could stop him. They were simply broken open.
“Young one, you have grown arrogant beyond all measure. Do you truly think you alone can level the Sea of Samsara?”
The voice spread throughout the Eastern Desolation, shaking heaven and earth. A supreme being’s fury made all men tremble.
The world was stunned. This time it seemed a true battle would break out — not merely a tacit balance of restraint.
“There is only you here, is there not? Do not tell me there is a whole nest of supreme beings.” Ye Fan said with calm composure, his words deeply disrespectful — he had just referred to supreme beings as a “nest.”
“It seems you know quite a bit.” The voice from within the Sea of Samsara grew even colder.
Ye Fan let out a cold laugh and said nothing more. He had made a journey to the underworld and learned a great deal from the Prison-Subduing Emperor. In the Northern Dipper’s Seven Great Forbidden Zones of Life, the Sea of Samsara was now the weakest — only a single person remained.
Thinking back to the height of their power in ages past — yet, regrettably, more than a hundred thousand years ago the Void Emperor had struck down one or two of them, and the Lord of Samsara had met an untimely death some hundreds of years ago. Now only one remained.
“Do you wish to level the Forbidden Zones one by one? To harbor such ambitions — all of heaven and earth will struggle to contain you. You will die without a grave to be buried in.” A thunderous shout came from the depths of the Sea of Samsara.
His shout was naturally also a warning to the other Forbidden Zones, hoping everyone would make their move and kill Ye Fan together. But regrettably, the Seven Great Forbidden Zones were each unto themselves, and even harbored hostility toward one another. No one would mobilize on his behalf — after all, the Holy Body’s momentum had fully taken form, and even if a supreme being emerged, they too might fall. And as for the current moment, the other Forbidden Zones were actually rather hoping to see this one battle Ye Fan, to gauge the ultimate strength of the Great Accomplishment Holy Body — even hoping he would push himself to the absolute limit of self-sublimation and drag Ye Fan down with him into death, so that this potential great threat might be resolved.
“I only want to level this place. I remember that when I underwent my tribulation, you showed no mercy toward me — you swallowed my blood essence. Now I myself have come. Try it again.” Ye Fan shouted back with overwhelming force. He stamped one foot down, and waves instantly surged toward the heavens, shaking the entire Sea of Samsara, causing it to boil and seethe.
The grand palaces and floating islands within the sea all exploded apart, reduced to dust under the pressure of Ye Fan’s surging vital blood. Nothing could resist the vast tide of his aura.
“Young one, you go too far. Do you truly wish to force me out into the world? If it comes to an all-out decisive battle, it will be you who falls.” The supreme being within the Sea of Samsara said with cold indifference.
Ye Fan laughed aloud, yet his eyes were cold as ice. He said: “There is a way to avoid this battle — bring out an immortal medicine, or offer up a Nine-Cycle Immortal Elixir. You owe me an explanation for that day you attacked me.”
He was completely undisguised — openly extorting a supreme being.
His purpose was laid bare without the slightest concealment. Just as he himself had said — during his tribulation he had been surrounded and hunted by a group of supreme beings. He could not simply let that pass without consequence.
If no compensation was offered, he would have no objection to starting a great battle, forcing the supreme being out into the world. At that point, these supreme beings — their vital blood long since withered, no longer in their prime — would be in an extremely passive position, and might not even survive this age.
Unfortunately, the immortal treasures of the Sea of Samsara had been exhausted, and after Ye Fan entered he found nothing worth making a move for.
The attitude of the Sea of Samsara’s supreme being was also extremely unyielding. He had clearly attacked him and impeded his tribulation, yet he still wore this manner — which caused Ye Fan to make the decision to fight a great battle here.
“I have no immortal medicine. As for the Nine-Cycle Immortal Elixir — if I still had any, I would consume it myself. Abandon your wishful thinking.” The supreme being of the Sea of Samsara said with icy coldness.
He let out a silent sigh in his heart, steeling himself. He truly had nothing here worth offering, and the young person before him was being extremely forceful — determined to carve a piece of flesh from him. He had no choice but to meet force with force.
Outside, everyone was astounded.
Ye Fan truly left people both in awe and at a loss for words. He was extorting a supreme being — how could he dare to be so audacious, so utterly fearless? This was clearly a willingness to fight without the slightest hesitation.
“You are seeking death. Do not think that killing two Tyrant Bodies makes you truly invincible beneath heaven. Those who have not yet attained the Dao — what do they count as? If you truly force someone like me to push to the absolute limit of self-sublimation, what are you? You are nothing but an ant.”
The voice from the depths of the Sea of Samsara was immense, shaking the vault of heaven. The supreme existence within was cold and merciless, and the words were deeply cutting — yet this was precisely the kind of force he chose to project.
For by now there was no room left to turn back. He judged that Ye Fan would certainly make his move, intending to force a battle upon him. And if it came to that, it was better to emerge with great presence than to continue crouching in suffering and submission.
In the depths of the Sea of Samsara there stood an enormous ancient tree — towering into the clouds, with one grand and magnificent palace after another built upon its trunk, a dreamlike sight.
Yet the tree had long since withered. Now it bore no leaves — only bare, naked branches.
Ye Fan was astonished. How immense this ancient tree must be — it seemed to extend all the way into the cosmos, with moons orbiting around it up there, and primordial energy overflowing in all directions.
Along the trunk, the ancient structures were grand and magnificent, ascending in tiers. In every building lay only dry bones — the remains of ancient heroes from ages past.
These were the followers of the Sea of Samsara. Once a glorious sacred land, it had now become their burial ground. Many had chosen this place as the final resting place of their lives.
An ancient lord cannot protect every single person from death — that is a cruel and inescapable fact. Life in this world is a struggle against the passage of time, but in the end, death comes for all.
A quiet sigh rose in Ye Fan’s heart. In that moment, something stirred within him — the Heavenly Court was now at the height of its flourishing, yet one day when he grew old, when his followers had all bent under the weight of years, what kind of scene would that be?
Perhaps something like what lay before his eyes: a great inheritance, an invincible era, a glorious Heavenly Court — all eventually drawing to a close, becoming a land of burial.
This was not the time to let his mind wander. Ye Fan gathered himself and pressed forward.
At the very top of the ancient tree, there were no more ancient structures — only a mountain, grand and towering, suspended above the canopy, suppressing the Sea of Samsara with primordial energy cascading down from it.
There, vital blood surged like an ocean. A great figure had long since appeared at the mountain’s summit.
Gazing from afar, mist and fog were thick, and a magnificent black silhouette stood there — full of a demonic quality, the oppressive aura making one’s breath seize.
The supreme being of the Sea of Samsara had emerged into the world. In that instant, the entire expanse of the Eastern Desolation seemed on the verge of tearing apart — many mountain peaks shook with a rumbling roar, and the great wilderness cracked in four directions.
Ye Fan let out a cold snort. Dao laws flew forth, immortal light overflowed in all directions, and the heavens and earth were stabilized. His gaze fixed on the figure at the top of the great tree’s peak.
That black, demonic silhouette was immensely oppressive. The words from his mouth were an ancient tongue, difficult to comprehend — like a terrible demonic curse.
The silver seawater began to boil, then surged upward in reverse toward the sky. In the hands of that figure, a precious vase appeared, and into it he drew the Sea of Samsara — swift and violent.
Throughout this process, the sun, moon, and stars all trembled from the force of these fluctuations — terrifying beyond measure.
His true form was revealed. He was a middle-aged man, with a head of jet-black hair, and eyes of silver — sharp and commanding. Though he took human form, Ye Fan knew this could not possibly be of the human race; this was not the true manifestation of his original form.
In his hand was a precious vase cast from immortal-tear green gold. Into it he drew the silver sea of taboo, not leaving a single drop behind.
And the ancient tree rose from the earth — it had no roots, being nothing but a mass of branches. It shrank rapidly, and at last fell into the vase, standing upright within.
Ye Fan was taken aback. After the branches shrank down, they bore a strange resemblance to the shape of a human body — a bizarre form that caused a sudden stirring in his heart.
“That precious medicine of the Emperor Venerable.”
Yet this immortal tree had long since lost its life essence, having been refined into a weapon. It no longer held the power to restore life.
Ye Fan’s eyes gleamed. The Sea of Samsara was no simple place — in that ancient age, it had actually obtained that human-shaped immortal medicine, cutting away its trunk and branches. And that medicine was not something an ordinary person could possess.
“Let us go. Fight in the outer domain.”
Ye Fan had no desire to destroy the Northern Dipper, and the supreme being of the Sea of Samsara did not linger either — for there were still other Forbidden Zones of Life here. If they fought with total disregard, it might enrage others.
The river of stars shimmered. Ye Fan stood atop it.
The supreme being from the Sea of Samsara was named Yun Heng — unfathomable in depth, murmuring in an ancient tongue, his demonic curse resounding throughout the cosmos.
Without sound or warning, an innumerable number of great stone steles appeared around Ye Fan, soaring into the cosmos, encircling him. The sight was extraordinary.
The stone steles were truly immense — growing ceaselessly, until in the end even the sun, moon, and stars revolved around them. Solemn and majestic, awe-inspiring and staggering — all who beheld them were left in utter shock.
What sort of scene was this?
Ancient steles stretched across the cosmos, one after another — like tombstones of immortals, filling the starry sky. Every star in every heaven paled in comparison, utterly dwarfed.
A tremendous fluctuation radiated outward, seeking to bury Ye Fan within.
“Three realms of rebirth, name carved through every life, proclaiming to all gods — all nine heavens and ten earths shall heed my command.”
The incantation echoed through the cosmos. Every stele was inscribed with the two characters of Yun Heng’s name, illuminating past, present, and future — as though every god in existence had been blood-sacrificed to create them.
It was a strange and eerie scene. Each towering stele was ancient and mysterious. The characters upon them suppressed their own radiance, and a nameless aura spread outward. Then Ye Fan felt as if his soul was beginning to leave his body, being offered up in sacrifice.
“Still!” Ye Fan let out a great shout. Radiance blazed from between his brows as the “All” character secret technique activated, locking his primordial spirit in place. He stared at every ancient stele and at Yun Heng himself: “So it was you.”
This was not the first time he had encountered this technique. Long ago in a great battle on the Ancient Road among the Stars against Emperor Tian, he had encountered it before and been astonished by it. This was a peerless ancient scripture — a terrifyingly ancient inheritance.
And now the source had been found. Unless something was amiss, this must be the person who created it.
“Hum!”
Every stele trembled. Face after face surfaced upon them — still stony, but all the more unnerving. Ye Fan felt his body as though it had been struck by a curse, his movements growing labored.
“Name carved through every life…”
These words were like the most terrible of curses, echoing through the starry sky. Wind and thunder erupted, lightning crackled across the heavens. Across every inch of the cosmos, countless divine spirits crowded together — every god appearing at once, like a vast ocean surging against a shore. The divine might was boundless, shattering the nine heavens.
Divine spirits appeared from nowhere, emerging from within the steles, all charging forward together to kill what lay ahead.
Ye Fan entered into a decisive great battle against a true Imperial Dao powerhouse.