“The Celestial Emperor is as overbearing as ever. Do you truly believe that in all the nine heavens and ten lands, you alone stand supreme — and that we should drop to our knees and submit to you right here and now?” Source Deity sneered coldly.
Many years had passed. Ye Fan was now unmistakably deep in his twilight, white hair spilling over his shoulders, the marks of time carved into his face, his vital energy in decline — no longer anything like his former self.
Under these circumstances, naturally none of them were willing to submit. Seeing that Ye Fan still maintained such an overbearing posture, they all broke into cold laughter.
“Over fifty thousand years — that is a long stretch of time. I wonder whether the Celestial Emperor can still lift his own cauldron?” Source Ghost was even more direct, his face ice-cold and merciless.
Ye Fan fixed a cold stare on him and said nothing. Those who fight need no words. He had roamed this world for fifty thousand years, reigning supreme over humanity — who could challenge him? Having reached this point, all he needed to do was kill.
This gaze was one before which even great emperors and ancient supreme rulers trembled. Source Ghost felt it sweep across him and was startled to find a chill rising from the depths of his heart, a wave of dread passing through him.
“What do you have left to fight us with? An empty tiger’s shape with no power to back it — after today, the Celestial Emperor will be no more, nothing left but a pile of blood-soaked shattered bones!” declared one of the figures from the Primordial Ancient Mine.
His body blazed with golden light that shot into the heavens, illuminating hundreds of millions of miles. He was as dazzling as if cast from solid gold, his brilliance piercing the sun and moon. His presence was awe-inspiring and powerful, with golden vital energy rumbling and surging from him in torrents.
Ye Fan fixed his gaze on him and said, “I have heard that before the Golden Ancient Emperor entered nirvana, he created the forbidden secret art known as the Golden Divine Treasury, carrying within it profound insights into life and death. Looking at you now, it seems those accounts were mistaken — you still linger in the world.”
So this was the Golden Ancient Emperor. His weapon, the Golden Mace, now hung at one of the formation gates of the greatest killing formation in all of history, radiating dazzling immortal light that struck terror into all who beheld it.
Not far away, the Golden Mace trembled, its killing intent shocking the world. A beam of stern divine light shot upward, its coldness piercing through the ages, pointing directly at Ye Fan — making his killing intent plain through action alone.
Ye Fan smiled, though it was a cold one. “I killed your daughter.”
The Golden Celestial Lady had been slain over fifty thousand years ago. Now, as this old matter was brought up once more, Ye Fan was calm and undisturbed, simply fixing his gaze on the ancient supreme ruler across from him.
The Golden Ancient Emperor’s brow twitched slightly, then settled back into calm. “She was merely a daughter. Amid the ten thousand forms of the mortal realm, within the vast primordial cosmos, we cultivators sleep for a million years at a stretch — all of heaven and earth is nothing but a small chessboard. What is kinship? What is bloodline?”
“I hope you truly have the heart to match those words.” Ye Fan replied, utterly indifferent.
At this moment, the transcendent dark treasure began to glow. The cosmos quaked, its rolling radiance flowing like water, hundreds of millions of auspicious rays surging upward. It was a treasure wheel — pitch-black and crystalline.
This was the supreme magical artifact of the former Underworld Emperor. Yet by now it had already awakened its own spirit, escaping all control, and had become a master unto itself.
Beneath it, the humanoid entity was shrouded in endless chaotic light. It was the culmination of generations of effort from the underworld — their painstaking research into the path of longevity, gathering the true blood of ten thousand spirits, giving rise to this creature. Its own power was already extraordinary enough to defy heaven, and now it had fused as one with an immortal artifact, its depths becoming truly unfathomable.
“Celestial Emperor, I truly do not know how you intend to pull off another miracle. Will you scheme as you did in the past, setting traps to destroy us?” The humanoid entity looked down on him with contempt, its aura overwhelming, and sneered coldly: “I know you have heaven-defying gifts. Perhaps you could live out a third lifetime — but that can only happen when you are on the very brink of entering nirvana, in that one moment of opportunity. You have not yet reached that step.”
Their appearance had been carefully calculated. They had determined this was the Celestial Emperor’s true final years — no deception involved — and the Primordial Ancient Emperor had spent many years preparing to prevent Ye Fan from using various catastrophic methods against them.
Vengeance was secondary. Seizing the Celestial Emperor’s seal and drawing the living Celestial Emperor’s essence blood — that was the true goal!
And in truth, what he had said was accurate. Ye Fan’s vital energy was spent. In his current state, he was genuinely a hero past his prime — his physical strength and spiritual clarity both far diminished from before.
“In the past, I was still a minor cultivator, fighting and stumbling my way forward. I set all manner of traps because I needed to survive, to deal with more powerful enemies.” Ye Fan spoke quietly, a faint trace of feeling in his voice.
Then his eyes suddenly blazed with intensity. “But now — do I still need to set traps? To deal with the likes of you, there is no need for scheming. That is the small path. Because I am the Celestial Emperor!”
His voice shattered the world, overbearing and absolute. The great cosmos itself resonated and rumbled, carrying his words to every region. Countless cultivators who heard it trembled, their vital energy resonating in response.
A single declaration — I am the Celestial Emperor — was enough.
This was Ye Fan’s confidence: standing above all things, looking down upon the world. Though his hair was already white as snow, he remained like a divine god, gazing down upon the vast earth in unmatched brilliance.
This battle could be held back by no one — it erupted right then and there!
“Shhhk — shhhk—”
Ten thousand beams of killing light, chaotic sword energy fired from four weapons, poured forth like quicksilver spilling across the ground, spreading unstoppably — absolutely lethal, striking dread into all who faced it.
Ye Fan struck from within the formation. He threw a single punch and heaven and earth cracked in four directions. Even the Numinous Treasure formation map trembled, and four ancient emperor artifacts rattled with violent intensity.
With an enormous blast that caused every soul across the cosmos to shudder, the underworld’s transcendent dark treasure moved. It released hundreds of millions of strands of brilliant radiance that swept down in a tide, covering the sky and burying the earth. It arrived beside the formation map and reinforced the formation’s mystical patterns. A ritualistic sound rose — as though every living being across countless eons was weeping and praying — stirring the very souls of all who heard it.
With a resonant hum, a cauldron shot up from above Ye Fan’s head — ancient and worn, yet from its mouth poured surging auspicious energy, a torrent of immortal light, an ocean of chaos. All of it erupted upward.
And in that same instant, sheet after sheet of mystical patterns appeared — like a divine scripture, complex and profound. These were the formation inscriptions the Celestial Emperor had personally carved into the cauldron, equally world-shaking.
With a mighty roar it broke through the encirclement of four primordial supreme artifacts, surging heavenward, smashing directly into the formation map — simple, direct, and overwhelmingly dominant.
This cauldron could attack or defend, holding both offense and defense as one. Now called the Celestial Emperor’s Cauldron, with the marks of the Dao personally engraved by Ye Fan, its offensive power was unrivaled under heaven.
“Dong!”
The Numinous Treasure Celestial Venerable’s killing formation map shook and was struck a blow that nearly displaced it from its original position. This astonished the four ancient supreme rulers outside — what manner of battle strength was this?
It was said that once this greatest killing formation in all of history was deployed, as long as a great emperor-level powerhouse presided over it, even a great emperor trapped within would ultimately be slain over time.
Yet the battle had only just begun, and already Ye Fan was shaking this formation, seeking to break out by sheer absolute strength. How utterly defiant of heaven was this?!
“Boom!”
The transcendent dark treasure shook, sending out ten thousand beams of light — all of it pouring into the formation map as reinforcement, steadying it and allowing it to continue suppressing and killing the Celestial Emperor.
Ye Fan let out a roar and struck with a palm. The form it took was that of a human figure — a form of the Great Dao itself, with none in existence that could stand against it. It surged up into the high heavens and shook the formation map into displacement once more.
“Celestial Emperor!” They cried out in alarm.
The human figure Ye Fan had struck out — it was actually himself, transformed into an invincible seal, shaking all of ancient, present, and future time. This entire universe was on the verge of collapse.
Was this truly someone in his final years? Such overpowering dominance left every observer’s heart jolting with shock, their very souls trembling.
“He is indeed in his twilight years — yet he is alarmingly powerful.” The humanoid entity standing before the underworld’s dark treasure remarked, then let out a howl. Its hands began forming seals in rapid succession, unleashing the most terrifying curse technique it possessed.
Within the formation, a dense mass of fur instantly erupted from across Ye Fan’s body — horrifying to behold, inspiring dread in any who laid eyes on it.
A curse, at its core, is also a form of rule and secret technique — only more mysterious and unconventional, difficult to detect. Much like how the Sacred Physique cannot attain the Dao, because the laws of the cosmos are too powerful, specifically targeting and suppressing them, making it impossible to advance further, preventing one from walking a long road.
“Even the universe itself could not restrain me. What can a mere man-made creature possibly do?” Ye Fan said coldly.
Within his body, the sound of scripture recitation arose. Mystical patterns filled the air, wrapping around him — each character as if forged from divine gold, possessing weight and substance, sacred and brilliant, suppressing all ten directions.
This was the Celestial Emperor Scripture — unrivaled under heaven. The moment it appeared, it severed every last curse entirely. Moreover, it caused those rules to ignite, reversing their flow and surging back toward the chaos-shrouded creature.
Though aged, though having walked into his twilight years and no longer at the full height of his strength, every single strike Ye Fan landed shook all of ancient and modern history. Even the primordial ancient emperors were horrified, feeling a creeping unease within themselves, privately conceding that their opponent was worthy of the title Celestial Emperor.
“Boom!”
The Myriad Beings’ Primal Qi Cauldron struck the formation map, causing it to tremble.
Ye Fan’s body became like a blazing furnace. He absorbed the light being emitted by the four ancient emperor artifacts mounted at the four formation gates, converting it into his own power. His body blazed fiercely, showing no sign of exhaustion at all. He charged upward and slammed his body directly into the formation map.
With a great rumble, this area of the cosmos collapsed. Ye Fan broke through the formation map. He threw one fist into the underworld’s transcendent immortal treasure and sent it flying. He stepped out, one stride at a time.
In this moment, he was immeasurably majestic — white hair streaming, standing alone like a divine god, looking down upon all.
The cosmos cracked in four directions. Heaven and earth rapidly fell still. All seven supreme beings were dumbfounded. What manner of battle strength was this? To break through the greatest killing formation in all of history so swiftly — and to do so while several ancient supreme rulers were personally driving the formation?
“I am the Celestial Emperor. It is my duty to suppress and slay all enemies in the world!”
Still the same declaration, rumbling like thunder across the nine heavens and ten lands. Yet hearing it now, everyone felt something entirely different — an unspeakable terror.
The Celestial Emperor — a title that inspired reverence. In this moment, it was truly embodied for all to see. Unmatched across all of ancient and modern history!
“Kill!”
Someone shouted, rallying the others to charge. Together they surrounded Ye Fan. They refused to believe that, with his vital energy long spent, Ye Fan could hold out much longer.
Source Ghost was covered from head to toe in blood-colored fur — gruesome and terrifying, like a malevolent spirit. He was the first to rush forward, the others not far behind. Seven elite combatants struck together.
“Boom!”
Ye Fan expanded his phenomena. Simultaneously, the Celestial Emperor Scripture manifested, its emperor character stunning the world, encircling him on all sides — like a realm of immortals, within which he stood supreme, untouchable by any technique. Then he threw a fist — a true Celestial Emperor Fist — aimed solely at Source Ghost.
With a thud, a spray of blood burst three thousand feet high. Source Ghost’s hand exploded. Then his entire arm shattered inch by inch, and then half of his body crumbled apart in a torrential downpour of blood.
“Ahh—!” He let out a howl of anguish.
To put a supreme ruler of the emperor’s path through such suffering — one could only imagine the agony he was enduring.
The emperor character flashed, rumbling like waves of heaven-splitting divine thunder, rolling forward. Source Ghost’s mangled body continued to deteriorate — locked down and suppressed by the Celestial Emperor’s Great Dao.
“Boom!”
Finally, with one thunderous blast, he was blown apart. Then he burned intensely — even his primordial spirit was reduced to ash.
This scene stunned everyone into silence. Too overbearing. Too incomparably powerful. The Celestial Emperor could not be resisted!
With a boom, Ye Fan turned and swept his hand into the group, charging into their midst like a tiger among sheep, unstoppable, sending four or five individuals coughing blood from a single impact.
Then his left hand, like a slab of golden immortal stone, dense with mystical patterns and woven through with divine light, smashed downward with a thud — reducing one ancient emperor to a pulp of flesh, his primordial spirit turned to dust.
This was simply legend made real — passing through a gathering of supreme beings as though treading through an empty field!
“Impossible. His vital energy is already spent — yet he broke through the greatest killing formation in all of history and is still fighting with such ferocity. How is he doing it?” The face of one ancient emperor darkened.
“What of it? The Supreme Venerable could do so, so naturally I can as well,” Ye Fan replied calmly.
It is said that the Supreme Venerable was capable of breaking through this peerless killing formation by himself alone. Now, with Ye Fan invoking that old account, everyone changed color. For the first time they sensed, with a foreboding certainty, that they were in danger. This was someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Supreme Venerable — even aged, he could not be provoked, and none could stand against him!