In the primordial age before antiquity, the Northern Domain had teemed with life — verdant and lush throughout, its spiritual energy so dense it could barely dissipate, crystallizing into source stones, with endless spiritual herbs and divine medicines to be found.
Yet now, the flowers and trees had withered away, and the great earth lay desolate — reddish soil, reddish-brown rock, a landscape utterly bleak and forsaken.
Though oases dotted this land, they were wholly insignificant compared to the vast red earth — like scattered islands in an endless ocean.
This, too, spoke to the boundless scale of the Northern Domain, for countless of those oases each spanned thousands of miles across, some even tens of thousands.
Between Kunzhou and Anzhou stretched an endless great Gobi Desert — a vast expanse of red, as far as the eye could see.
Ye Fan walked alone across this reddish-brown land, the God-Punishing Whip strapped to his back. He had already learned that some of Yao Guang’s ten great young experts might pass through this region.
Tu Fei had gone to Anzhou, and the Great Black Dog remained in Kunzhou, helping him track down the ten great experts of Yao Guang.
Across this boundless crimson earth, the air was especially stern and desolate. At a glance, there was almost nothing to be seen — an open, dead expanse of silence. The only features, if they could be called that, were a few jutting red rock formations, which could hardly draw the eye amid the infinite red terrain.
It was a monotonous emptiness — no other colors, no other features — only ancient, barren ground.
Ye Fan walked at no great pace, but each step was firm and resolute, one footprint at a time, the God-Punishing Whip on his back, as he pressed deeper into the heart of the crimson land.
Suddenly, he halted and stood still, gazing toward the far end of the earth. On the horizon, a small black dot was approaching rapidly.
“Here we go.” A cold smile tugged at the corner of Ye Fan’s lips. His first battle was about to begin — and this time, he had made up his mind to fight it all out.
At the horizon’s edge, the black dot moved with tremendous speed. Gradually it became discernible: a solidly built silhouette, feet not touching the ground, shoulders perfectly still, hovering three inches above the earth, treading through the void as he came.
In mere moments, the approaching figure was nearly upon him — his build and features now clearly visible. His strides were not hurried, yet he possessed extraordinary speed.
With each step he took, he seemed to vanish from one spot and reappear further ahead — as though he had mastered the art of compressing distances. The newcomer was no ordinary individual.
He was a young man of around twenty-one or twenty-two, not especially tall, but powerfully built, his skin a bronze tone that gave off an impression of immense physical strength. His long hair was jet black, his eyes sharp and keen, radiating a sense of intimidating pressure — even a certain aggressiveness — the kind of person who clearly wanted everything in his grasp.
This bronze-skinned, martial-looking young man had a physique as though cast from molten copper. His every movement and gesture conveyed courage, dominance, and unmatched power.
With a sudden flash, the newcomer halted in place, hovering three feet above the ground before Ye Fan, studying him — two beams of terrifying light shooting from his eyes, like a pair of sharp swords.
“It’s you… Ye Fan!”
He spat out those four words — forceful and resonant, as though a great bronze bell were reverberating, making eardrums tremble and the red earth shudder.
“That’s right — it is me.” Ye Fan stood upon the ground, eyes fixed on the martial-looking young man ahead. This person was truly extraordinary — even Ye Fan felt a faint sense of pressure.
The young man held Ye Fan with a piercing gaze and said: “I was just looking for you, and here you show up yourself. Were you waiting for me?”
“That’s right. I have been waiting here for you for some time. Today, you will be the first one I send off!” Ye Fan’s reply was direct and blunt.
“Ha ha ha!” The powerful young man burst into loud laughter, his black hair wild and windswept, a cold gleam appearing on his bronze skin. “Right now, everyone in the Northern Domain is hunting you — and yet you still dare to act like this. Truly, where one searches far and wide in vain, the answer presents itself without effort. You’ve spared me the trouble of searching all over.”
“State your name. After all, you are the first opponent I’ve met today.” Ye Fan spoke calmly.
“Gu Li Tian!” the martial-looking young man announced.
“One of the ten great experts trained by the reclusive elders — let me see what makes you so exceptional. Do be careful not to get blown to dust by a single punch.” Ye Fan began walking forward.
“You know quite a bit, and your arrogance is no small thing. A pity that this is no longer the ancient era — a physique like yours was born in the wrong age.” Gu Li Tian descended to the ground and walked forward step by step, pressing in. “Ten great experts have mobilized — all for you alone. And now I’ve found you first. This is the will of heaven!”
“The will of heaven — you think I’m a lamb to the slaughter?” Ye Fan laughed.
“You are the Desolate Holy Body, acclaimed as peerless among peers — everyone knows it. But do you truly think all ten great experts have come out just to meet their deaths?” Gu Li Tian taunted with a cold sneer. “This world never lacks those of exceptional gifts. The Desolate Holy Body is no longer favored by heaven. There will always be other physiques that emerge — and even in raw physical might, you may not necessarily reign supreme!”
“So you intend to suppress my physique — let me see how you manage that!” Ye Fan strode forward in great steps.
And Gu Li Tian did the same, showing no fear of Ye Fan’s physique far surpassing the ordinary — clearly intending to engage in close combat.
Yet as he closed in, the space between his brows blazed with an immortal radiance, and a piece of purple star-metal divine iron appeared, shielding his forehead and brows.
Seeing this, Ye Fan gave a wry smile. His immensely powerful spiritual sense — capable of slaying strong enemies — seemed to have no opening here.
Indeed, his divine consciousness was vast as an ocean, powerful enough to kill powerful foes with a thought. Word of this had long spread throughout the Northern Domain, and any member of the younger generation who faced him knew to first protect their sea of consciousness.
Gu Li Tian transformed into a bolt of bronze-red lightning and closed the distance in five strides — confident enough to engage the Desolate Holy Body in close combat, betting on raw physical might.
“I’ll borrow that fine head of yours to bring back to my holy land as an offering to my master.” He gave a light shout. His bronze skin gleamed with crystalline brilliance, and strands of draconic energy began swirling around him.
With a resonant hum, Gu Li Tian threw a punch that seemed to trigger an earthquake — the earth beneath them shook violently. His arm moved like a dragon or serpent — forceful and mighty.
With a thunderous crack, Ye Fan swung his golden fist to meet it, their fists and fingers colliding with a massive shockwave, like a lightning bolt crashing down from the heavens.
Fifth Level of the Dao Palace!
Gu Li Tian had reached the pinnacle of the Dao Palace, with a combat power formidable enough to destroy a cultivator at the first level of the Four Extremes Secret Realm — exactly as Weiwei had said.
With another great boom, Gu Li Tian was sent flying backward. Shock spread across his face. “You’ve advanced again — to the Fourth Heaven. How did you obtain a hundred thousand catties of source?”
His disbelief was plain. And understandably so — thirty square meters of source stones was an astonishing number — how could a wandering cultivator possibly gather all of it?
Ye Fan had not moved an inch. His physical body could absolutely look down on the Dao Palace and hold its own against the Four Extremes. In terms of pure physical strength, few among his peers could match him.
Even so, he did not grow complacent. Gu Li Tian was far from ordinary — he radiated a faint sense of danger that was not unlike facing a Four Extremes cultivator.
Suddenly, a long draconic roar rang out. This entire stretch of red earth shuddered. Light blazed forth from all around Gu Li Tian, and his physical form underwent a dramatic transformation — purple scales emerged across his body, purple light flashing across every inch of his skin, even his face.
“A demon clan?!” Ye Fan was startled.
Gu Li Tian said nothing, transforming into a bolt of purple light that launched forward, emanating a dangerous aura. His physical body had become extraordinarily powerful, flowing with explosive energy.
He surged forward, and in that instant he and Ye Fan exchanged a rapid succession of blows — a clanging resonance ringing out as two pairs of fists clashed like four divine hammers, striking again and again.
Ye Fan was genuinely surprised. Gu Li Tian’s physical strength had surged dramatically all at once — enough to actually withstand his golden fists.
Even so, Ye Fan was not worried. He let out a single sharp battle cry, unleashing his combat power to its fullest. His entire body blazed with golden light, as though he had become an ancient war god of primordial times.
With a thunderous crash, he threw another punch — and Gu Li Tian, dragon scales and all, fell to the losing side once more, completely suppressed, and was sent flying backward as a bolt of purple lightning.
“The Desolate Holy Body is truly extraordinary. Since childhood, I have tempered my body with dragon-serpent blood day after day for twenty years — and still I cannot match your physique.” Gu Li Tian said in a grave voice.
His master was immensely powerful, having subjugated eight dragon-serpents to use as holy mountain guardians. From the time Gu Li Tian was young, he would spend three full hours each day tempering his body in dragon-serpent blood.
Beyond that, he spent another two hours sitting within a medicine furnace, being refined in medicinal liquid preparations chosen by his master to strengthen his physical body — and so his physique had reached a terrifying level.
Yet even so, it still fell short of the Desolate Holy Body. In genuine close combat, it paled in comparison.
“No wonder he can fight those of the Four Extremes from the fifth level of the Dao Palace — now I understand!” Even Ye Fan was somewhat impressed. Such physical tempering demanded an almost unimaginable expenditure of medicinal herbs and dragon-serpent blood — only a holy land could sustain such costs.
“Show me Yao Guang’s divine techniques. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t have the chance to use them.” Ye Fan said.
“Disciples trained by the reclusive elders rarely cultivate the orthodox secret arts of Yao Guang.” Gu Li Tian’s physical form transformed once more. “You have already advanced to the fourth level of the Dao Palace — that is beyond my expectations. But it matters little. All I need to do is take your head.”
“Anyone can talk big. But as far as raw physical might goes, you are still nowhere near my level!” Ye Fan retorted coldly.
Gu Li Tian shook his head and roared: “I have devoted my entire cultivation to the body — do you think this is all I am capable of? Come — let me take your head!”
He threw a purple inner elixir into his mouth and swallowed it. In an instant, his entire form became nearly monstrous — bones cracking and popping like beans in a hot pan, a terrifyingly savage aura pouring from him.
Ye Fan was startled. He raised his hand and struck out with the Void Great Hand Seal, driven by the Sacred Battle Technique — the giant hand shifting from black to gold.
With a resonant hum, the hand spread across the sky like a vast golden cloud, its oppressive weight suffocating, the red earth cracking apart beneath it.
But in that same moment, the aura emanating from Gu Li Tian intensified even further — his entire body erupted in purple light, dragon scales flickering, as he nearly transformed into a purple dragon.
He became a bolt of purple lightning, shifting away in an instant. His physical body seemed to have purple flames burning within it, his physical strength and combat power surging multiple times over.
What Gu Li Tian had consumed was a dragon-serpent inner elixir — not a whole one, only a fragment — but even that was enough to inspire dread.
At this moment, aside from not having grown a tail or horns, he was truly no different from a dragon-serpent. The scales covering his body were heavier and thicker, the purple light blinding. His hands had nearly transformed into dragon-serpent claws — fingernails curved into hooks, each half a foot long, gleaming with cold light.
This was, in every sense, a human-shaped purple dragon-serpent.