The gray-haired man smiled. A mouthful of snow-white teeth gleamed with a soft luster. His eyes were deep and unfathomable as he said: “I am still alive.”

“You’re trying to fool a ghost, are you? One hundred twenty-five thousand years have passed — and you’re still alive? Could it be that an emperor’s corpse has gained sentience? Or were you never the real thing to begin with?” The fat man cried out, stumbling backward hastily.

Yet his spiritual senses were keen, and very quickly he caught the scent of a familiar aura. Eyes wide in blank disbelief, his voice trembling, he said: “You… you couldn’t actually be Ye Fan, could you?”

“It’s me.” The Heavenly Emperor gave a nod, still seated right there at the exit of the great tomb, watching him quietly.

“You nearly scared a man to death — do you know that? What kind of way is this to do things?! Oh, and — how in the world have you managed to stay alive?” Of course this was Duan De, and at this moment he looked like a man caught in the wind, completely off-balance, his mouth dry, struggling to accept the reality before him.

“Just lived from one lifetime to the next, in that way. This is already the latter years of my fourth lifetime.” Ye Fan replied calmly.

Duan De’s eyeballs nearly popped out of his head. He stared at him as though staring at a monster, and said: “What the devil — you really went and defied the heavens like this? This poor Daoist has cultivated diligently to this day and has only accumulated five cycles of reincarnation seals. Though the speed has begun to increase in this lifetime, I’m still far from the nine cycles of reincarnation seals merging together in theory to ascend to immortality — and yet you’ve already reached this point.”

Upon hearing these words, Ye Fan was deeply moved. He fixed his gaze upon Duan De, watching the five pure white seal marks that had formed within his body, and felt in that instant as though an ocean of profundity had opened before him.

Duan De felt a guilty conscience and hastily stepped back. But Ye Fan was the Heavenly Emperor — he could naturally see through any great secret. A brief moment of focused observation yielded enormous gains!

“Alas — in this lifetime I won’t be able to dig up your Heavenly Emperor’s grave. Let me make a prediction for you instead. Though you yourself say you’re already in your latter years, I somehow feel as though you could still live another ten-thousand-plus years — which means this lifetime you’ll very likely still outlive me and be there to see me buried first. This poor Daoist is very unhappy about it!”

Duan De rolled his eyes and glared at him with unconcealed resentment. In this lifetime Ye Fan looked likely again to be the one to send him off, watching him enter the ground before him. It truly struck him as a bizarre and uncanny thing.

So many years had passed. Duan De had grown accustomed to life and death — generation after generation of close friends and companions had gone before him, and it was always he who saw them off. He had never imagined he would eventually encounter such a freak, someone who kept outliving him and watching him die first.

“I don’t have much time. Within one hour, I’ll have to sever all of this — leaving only a single profound technique to protect myself.” Duan De said. This was truly a new life for him. When they met again it would be like strangers — he would no longer know who Ye Fan was.

“Wait until your nine reincarnation seals are complete.” Ye Fan nodded, then smiled again and said: “Or wait until the latter years of this lifetime of yours — I’ll come to see you off, and inject into your divine crystal all the memories of the previous life.”

“You are absolutely deranged. I don’t believe that the next time I open my eyes I’ll see you again!” Duan De turned and walked away, as free and easy as ever, direct and swift. Just like that, he disappeared into the mortal world.

Ye Fan watched him go until he had vanished from sight, and could not help but let out a long sigh. Throughout all of history, how many extraordinary figures had set foot on the path to heaven, seeking eternal life — going forward one after another, without regret, without complaint — yet by now not a single one had succeeded. Most had fallen along the way.

Powerful as he was, even now he was merely feeling out the path, had not truly attained deathlessness. He had simply walked a little further than others along this road.

But it was precisely this company of unyielding souls that had made the path of eternal life so brilliantly colorful. The Emperor Venerate had led the mythological era. The Heavenly Sovereign stood supreme over the countless ancient clans of primordial times. The Ruthless One had dazzled all of ancient and modern history. The Great Emperor Wushi had swept through the nine heavens and ten earths. And then there was Duan De — one of immense willpower — living through one life after another in a physical body enduring its tribulations, seeking to live nine distinctly different lives and forge a true path of reincarnation.

Some had fallen in death. Some had drawn to a sorrowful close. Some still persisted without yielding. Some were yet upon the road. They had bloomed with the most brilliant light, and upon this path had composed a resounding and stirring battle hymn of iron and steel.

Ye Fan returned to the Heavenly Court and sealed Ye Tong, Little Song, and Jiang Tingting once more. Only the chaos girl-infant was left unsealed — he intended to personally teach and guide her for a few years.

And so four years passed. Even the Heavenly Emperor himself could not help but marvel — this constitution was truly unrivaled and transcendent, born perfectly suited for cultivation. Any technique or method placed in her hands could be carried forward and elevated to new heights.

“Great-grandmaster, will I one day be as powerful as you?” Little Ye Xian blinked her big eyes and asked.

“You may become an emperor, and should be unrivaled for an entire lifetime — but you must know that there is always someone greater beyond the mountains, a sky above the sky. To this day, even great-grandmaster would not dare claim to be the foremost in combat power throughout all of ancient and modern history. Your bloodline can give you an advantage, but it cannot determine the final limit of your achievement.” Ye Fan admonished her.

The little girl nodded and applied herself to her cultivation with great earnestness.

Another half-year passed, and Ye Fan sealed her once more. This age was not yet the moment for her to radiate her brilliance and splendor. Her glory was destined to belong to some future lifetime — for the Heavenly Emperor had already felt a premonition stirring within him.

Through these few years of companionship, Ye Fan had not only taught the little girl the methods of the Dao — he himself had also gained enormously, having truly come to understand the secret mysteries of the Chaos Physique.

“Is it truly as the people of the world say? That only the Innate Saint Body and the Dao Embryo can be spoken of in the same breath as this?” He murmured quietly, gazing toward the far horizon.

Beyond that — perhaps there was also the stone egg beneath the Deathless Heavenly Blade, which was profoundly mysterious and had yet to appear in the world. And if the Emperor Venerate had descendants, they too were destined to be immeasurable.

Thinking of this, Ye Fan smiled again. That little Divine Child — that absolute rascal — was certainly also a completely heaven-defying anomaly!

“Hmm!” Suddenly, Ye Fan’s mind and spirit were powerfully shaken. He then stilled himself and contemplated deeply, before sighing: “A flower that resembles another has finally appeared. Is this meant to disturb my Dao-heart, to deny the path I have walked?”

He had already deduced as much — but to truly find her would still require some time.

On the ancient Gouchen Star, an elder with thin, sparse hair — barely a few strands remaining on his head — was walking through the mortal world when he laid eyes on Duan De. He looked at him as though he had seen a ghost, then gave chase, calling out: “Fellow Daoist, please stop.”

Duan De stumbled and fell face-first, biting the earth as he climbed back up and muttered: “What rotten luck — I tripped just walking along the road.”

By now he had long since forgotten his past, knowing only this present life — yet there was always a single notion stirring at the back of his mind, urging him to go and find something.

“You are truly… Daoist Duan?” The elder’s eyes went wide, utterly astonished.

“Did you just trip me just now?” Duan De bristled.

“Fellow Daoist, please calm your temper — harmony is to be prized above all things.” The elder smiled pleasantly, bobbing his large bald head as he edged closer, hoping Duan De might recognize him.

“Why does this sound so familiar? As though I’ve heard it in more than one lifetime.” A chill ran suddenly down Duan De’s spine, and then with a tearing sound he ripped open the void and vanished from the spot.

“An emperor-level physical body, but his memories are lost. Has he succeeded in yet another lifetime? It seems this undying body of his will soon be severed by his own hand as well.” The elder murmured to himself. It was none other than the Calamity Divinity Hun Tuo the Great Sage from those earlier days — back then he had sealed himself while his life energy had not yet been exhausted.

Not long after, the Great Sage Hun Tuo ascended to the Heavenly Court to seek audience with the Heavenly Emperor. When his name was announced, it was more than he had expected — despite the passage of so many lifetimes, there were still those who recognized him.

“You are… the legendary Calamity Divinity?!”

“Fellow Daoist flatters me. But how do you happen to know of this old one?”

“I’m not flattering you — I’m terrified. I read through the ancient records of the Heavenly Emperor’s great battles in the grand age, and your portrait was inside — it’s a perfect likeness. You… you can’t actually be the real person, can you?”

“I am.”

The moment those words fell, the area before the Southern Heavenly Gate immediately emptied out, people scrambling backward in all directions. Then someone shouted: “Stay there — wait. We’ll go and report to the Heavenly Emperor for you.”

When Ye Fan saw Hun Tuo again, he was at something of a loss for words. This Calamity Divinity had also managed to survive — though in truth he had aged to an almost unrecognizable degree.

“Many thanks to my fellow Daoist for the river eel you gave me in those earlier days — it allowed me to live another eight hundred years.” Hun Tuo said.

Ye Fan gave a nod and invited him to sit, thinking of how the river eel had been merely an item from an exchange in a stone workshop with one of the other man’s descendants, back in the days when he had been young and weak.

“Fellow Daoist, I have come to bring you word. I have seen two people — both acquaintances from the former age — yet neither of them recognized me anymore, their memories having been lost.”

Hun Tuo spoke of Duan De, then went on to mention another person — and it turned out to be An Miaoyi.

“It is truly her — the similar flower has appeared.” Ye Fan sighed. At last he used the Heavenly Emperor’s forbidden techniques to clear and reinvigorate old Hun Tuo’s meridians, extending his life by two thousand years, and then saw him to the door.

“Might I stay here? Even guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate would suit me.” Hun Tuo expressed his hope that one day Ye Fan might seal him within the Heavenly Court — and in this way showed his loyalty.

In the end, an elder with thin and sparse hair took up his post before the Southern Heavenly Gate as a new divine general, causing every celestial soldier in the vicinity to feel an inexplicable unease.

Still in the Northern Dipper. Still within that Divine City. A young woman dressed in white as snow was strolling through its streets. No sooner had she entered the city than she drew the attention of several ancient great sects.

“This young woman looks strikingly like someone on the Prodigies Chart!”

“It’s… An Miaoyi! But that can’t be right — she has long since passed away.”

The young woman was lively and bright-eyed, smiling cheerfully as she said: “I come from the Western Desert.”

When Ye Fan descended and found her, a wave of sorrow rose in his heart. The same face — only younger, softer — and yet the divine soul within was entirely different.

“The Heavenly Emperor!”

“The Heavenly Emperor has come!”

In that moment, the Divine City erupted. People came surging from every direction in a frenzied wave, causing a tremendous commotion.

“Oh! You’re the Heavenly Emperor — will you take me as a disciple?” The young woman asked with an innocent, guileless expression. She was far more naïve than the An Miaoyi of former times had ever been, very simple and pure, and appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

“Yes.” Ye Fan gave a single nod, and nothing more. He understood — the true An Miaoyi would never be seen again, could never appear in this world again.

More than ten thousand years had passed before this similar flower appeared — and yet the divine soul within was not the same in the least. It seemed the An Miaoyi of the past had only been comforting him, telling him not to grieve.

Thinking of this, a wave of deep pain rose within the Heavenly Emperor’s heart. Though his combat power now defied all of time, though he could look down with contempt upon every powerful figure from ancient and modern history, still he felt in that moment an overwhelming helplessness.

“Why is it that being around the Heavenly Emperor makes me feel so familiar — as though something just like this happened only yesterday?” The young woman mumbled to herself in a low murmur.

Ye Fan was briefly startled. He said nothing more, but brought her back to the Heavenly Court. After carefully studying her divine soul, from that very day he began personally teaching her the great Dao methods.

The young woman’s name was Kou Xiaoxiao. Her personality was lively and outgoing, simple and without guile. Compared to the An Miaoyi of the past, her personality was vastly different — completely unlike.

Ye Fan taught her the great Dao methods earnestly, fulfilling the promise he had once made to another person — to protect her on her path, allowing her strength to soar forward in leaps and bounds.

As for feelings — he saw Kou Xiaoxiao only as a disciple, as a daughter. For she was truly nothing like the person from before. Watching her bright and radiant smile, Ye Fan felt a moment of trance come over him, and tears welled at the corners of his eyes. In the end, all he could do was sigh.

This was the moment of deepest despondence the Heavenly Emperor had experienced in one hundred thousand years. After this, his gaze became ever deeper and more unfathomable, and no other expression of emotion ever crossed his face again.

Looking back, the white-clad woman in the Divine City seemed still to be there — yet she was no longer the one standing before him now. Only a dim and quiet sorrow flowed on, silently, through the river of time.

In the end, Ye Fan gave Kou Xiaoxiao a rare and wondrous treasure — the strange object he had once cut from the Divine City of the Northern Region. It was called the Immortal Spirit Jade Bell, capable of emitting waves of divine sound and flowing with five-colored sacred light.

According to legend, once one entered the Immortal Realm, the Immortal Spirit Jade Bell would transform into an immortal scripture. Long ago he had given it to An Miaoyi. Now he gave it again, to this similar flower.

“I have read of this rare treasure in ancient records. Across ten thousand ages only one or two have ever appeared. It is said that if brought into the Immortal Realm, the immortal sound it produces can awaken memories of past lives and present.” Kou Xiaoxiao was very fond of it.

This was a Golden Grand Age. A flower that resembled another had disturbed the serenity of Ye Fan’s heart — yet his Dao grew only more resolute because of it. His gaze deepened beyond measure, as though striving to see through the road to immortality itself.

Ye Fan’s acceptance of this final disciple shook the entire cosmos.

To be taken as the Heavenly Emperor’s disciple — what an honor, what extraordinary fortune that would be. In one hundred-plus thousand years, who could say how many people had yearned to pass through that threshold, and in the end could only let out a regretful sigh.

Five hundred years later, Kou Xiaoxiao became a quasi-emperor. One thousand years later, she attained the Dao through an unconventional path. The white-clad immortal woman became unrivaled beneath the heavens, her brilliance illuminating the world!

When people quieted their hearts and pondered it carefully, she was the Heavenly Emperor’s disciple — with achievements like this, it was still within the range that people could accept.

The Heavenly Emperor was truly formidable — unrivaled across ancient and modern times. That was the heartfelt sentiment of all.

Ye Fan looked back over his shoulder. In a trance, he seemed to see once more across the long river of time — An Miaoyi, with her incomparably graceful bearing, smiling at him from a great distance. It left him in silence.

“The path to immortality must be opened!” This was a fierce cry from the Heavenly Emperor.

“Indeed — the immortal path must ultimately be pried open!” In that moment, a voice from somewhere in the cosmos answered him.

In the Northern Dipper, the Eastern Wastelands.

An ancient tower shot up into the sky, wreathed in immortal mist, shaking the eternal blue heavens. A great emperor rose — reemerging in the mortal world. It was the Azure Emperor. His true form had returned!

The entire world was shaken. The Azure Emperor still lived — he too had not died?!

Ye Fan took his steps forward to welcome him, meeting the Demon Emperor again in the sea of stars.

The Azure Emperor had now emerged in the state of his absolute peak. His bearing was imposing and heroic, black hair cascading freely, eyes gleaming like lightning. He was the eternal azure heaven’s single solitary lotus — once again revealing the peerless and matchless style of his former days.

“My path was wrong. I walked it to its very end and yet saw no hope. This day will be the final battle of my entire life.” The Azure Emperor spoke with calm and serenity. Above his head, the Desolate Tower rumbled and reverberated.

The tower body was ancient and simple in its craftsmanship, divided into nine tiers, radiating the force of flowing time — as though it had run through the entire history of cultivation from the very beginning.

“I will guard your Dao for you, my fellow Daoist — lend you a measure of strength.” Ye Fan said.

“Good!” The Azure Emperor gave a nod. With the lift of his hand, a lotus-shaped weapon flew in from the Northern Dipper, appearing in his palm. As it began to move, the cosmic thunder roared, and primal chaos surged and swelled — as though the heavens and earth were being torn asunder and remade from the beginning.

And so it was that he stood beneath the Desolate Tower balanced on his head, wielding the Azure Lotus Weapon in his hand, and made the final battle of his life — striving to forcibly pierce through into the Immortal Domain!

This was not the correct time. Nor was it the correct place. For the right moment had already passed. There were only two of the most powerful figures from all of ancient history, and they stood together side by side.

Boom!

The most powerful heaven-defying strike in one hundred thousand years erupted. The Azure Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor joined forces, shaking the vast and boundless cosmos.

Endless immortal light erupted. The Desolate Tower slammed forward. The lotus weapon rang out in resonance. The Azure Emperor let out a long, fierce howl — and threw himself into a passage forged of blazing light. Ye Fan’s Emperor’s Fist also pierced through that place!

When everything fell still, and the auspicious light had faded away, the vast cracks in the void that had spread across countless star systems slowly closed. The Desolate Tower remained in place. And Ye Fan stood there — alone, solitary.

“A canvas of desolation spanning one lifetime — so many heroes have buried their bones in foreign lands, so much brilliance will never again be seen…”

After a long silence, Ye Fan murmured softly. He did not know whether the Azure Emperor had succeeded. In the spot where it had all taken place, a few shattered fragments of azure lotus petals withered and drifted downward.

The cosmos was vast and boundless — and yet it could not hold the ten-thousand-year lament of those upon the path to immortality. Looking back across the long ages, one generation after another of dazzling figures had fallen on this road. The Battle-Sovereign Saint Emperor who had vowed to ascend to immortality through combat. The hauntingly brilliant Demon Sovereign Xue Yue Qing. And the eternal azure heaven’s single solitary lotus… The path to immortality is filled with grief and lament!