Tap. Tap.

In the darkness, only Ye Fan’s footsteps echoed—pressing against the cold and hard ground, sending sounds that stretched out into a peculiar, vast distance.

Nothing else. No vitality. No light. This was a vast and desolate land of dead silence. Not a single blade of grass grew. All life had been extinguished. There was only darkness and withered cold.

The place of exile where ancient great emperors had banished the gravely wicked was filled with the unknown and the strange—a sea eye, as deep as an abyss.

There was no water, no influx from the black ocean. There was only silence like death itself. The place was cold and dry.

Ye Fan had walked dozens of li outward and still could not feel any boundary. Along this path, however, he had finally come across a few extraordinary things—several skeletal remains!

“The bones of a sage!”

In the present era, heaven and earth had long since changed. Ancient sages were virtually impossible to encounter in the current world—even if there were some, there could be only one or two. Their bones, blood, and flesh were all imperishable sacred objects, capable of being refined into sacred weapons.

Yet the few bones lying on the ground, though incomparably hard and indestructible, had not a single ripple of sacred power—they had long since lost the divine nature they should have possessed.

“Has too much time passed?”

Before long, he also discovered a piece of human skin—shriveled and without luster, the few drops of blood clinging to it no different from the blood of a mortal.

“Yes—legend has it that this place can devour heaven and earth, refining and dissolving divine beings. That is precisely why ancient great emperors chose to use it to exile criminals. Even the blood essence of sages can be exhausted here!”

Ye Fan pressed on for over a hundred li and discovered a horrifying truth: once imprisoned here, it seemed virtually impossible to escape. Over ten sages before him had apparently self-detonated in attempts to blast their way out—none had succeeded.

The divine fiend thought-will born of the human race’s Sacred Emperor has granted me an opportunity of fortune—yet in the end it has locked me away in the place of exile… He felt deeply uncertain. Could he ever get out?

This place was only about two hundred li in circumference. Ye Fan had already reached its far boundary—everywhere around him, primordial chaos-energy drifted, utterly impossible to approach.

At last, Ye Fan found several intact skeletal remains—two of the human race, and five belonging to alien races he had never seen or heard of, their forms bizarre and strange.

“Great sages—seven great sages, no less. Those are the peerless supreme beings of ten thousand ages, and they were banished here!”

Counting the shattered bones he had seen earlier, this place had imprisoned at minimum close to thirty sages. Truly staggering. If word spread, it would be enough to shake this entire ancient stellar domain.

This was a prison cage for confining sages—inescapable throughout ten thousand ages!

Ye Fan searched for a long time and found no way out. He did sense, however, that the vital energy throughout his body was being evaporated—leaking away at a rapid rate.

Indeed it is so. The eye of the Northern Sea—refining gods and demons, devouring heaven and earth. These sages were all slowly consumed to death here. He thought of his own fate, and knew that if this continued, he too would not escape his doom.

All around, wisps of mist drifted—a primordial chaos, with no way out. This vast, dark, open space was like the interior of a gourd, and shaped much the same.

Ye Fan retraced his steps. The Fusang Divine Tree stood like a lit lantern at the center, a full tree of golden light, become a sun.

Only by returning here did the vital energy throughout his body cease its outward flow. Everything was solely due to the presence of the Undying Divine Tree taking root within.

But Ye Fan could no longer approach it—the stone coffin lay across the path, its aura overpowering. By now, the two chunks of aged bronze had returned to his Wheel and Sea.

With no other option, there was only cultivation. Ye Fan held the one-zhang divine tree branch in his hands, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began meditating in silence.

At the center of his brow, nine ancient characters appeared one by one, each blooming into a divine ring of light. Nine halos of light wound around him—like the divine being at the center of the Limitless Earth.

Ye Fan believed that the divine fiend thought-will born of the human race’s Sacred Emperor could not truly mean to exile him here forever. By carefully studying the nine ancient characters it had left behind, he should be able to find some clue.

Time left no mark. The days slipped by quickly. Ye Fan cultivated alone in the silence. His entire body was submerged in a flood of golden light, and the branch in his hands had grown somewhat shorter—some of its leaves had vanished.

Seven months later, he was visited by a heavenly tribulation. Its appearance was extraordinarily terrifying, and it had not been avoided simply by falling into the eye of the Northern Sea. Human-shaped lightning, divine thunder from celestial palaces, and ancient watchtowers all descended together.

When the divine punishment dissipated and all the world fell silent, only Ye Fan remained, sitting cross-legged within his divine ring, exchanging luminous radiance with the Fusang Tree not far away. His entire body appeared as though carved from jade.

Comprehending the Dao!

Cultivating!

With no stray thoughts, no separation of self from the external world—only wandering and ascending within the realm of the Dao. It was only here that he could understand the meaning of his own existence. Silent contemplation—this was the only thing he could do now.

And so time flowed like water, slowly and steadily. Ye Fan sat as still as a great rock. The divine tree branch in his hands grew ever dimmer—nearly all of the golden leaves had fallen.

Thread by thread, strand by strand, the primordial Solar Sacred Power was absorbed into his body. The tree branch was almost entirely consumed.

Four years passed. The golden divine tree branch slowly shrank and at last disappeared in his hands. His physical body was like divine gold, cast in a single brilliant gleaming.

And throughout this process, Ye Fan passed through heavenly tribulations many times over. He ascended step by step across the nine minor stages of the Second Tier Immortal Terrace—and one had to say, he had extraordinary talent for cultivation. Bottlenecks could not hold him back!

Over two years of time, he cultivated the Solar Sacred Power, then shifted to the Lunar Essence, harmonizing them with the Great Taiji Dao. Though he came close to catastrophe several times, he came through each safely.

Solar and Lunar—which is weaker, which is stronger? When Yin and Yang are in harmony, all under heaven shall bow.

From ancient times to the present, some great sages had attempted this cultivation path, but in the end all had taken the road of no return—their Dao lost along with their lives, leaving only lasting regret.

Ye Fan stood on the Second Tier Immortal Terrace and naturally could not compare to those great sages. The fact that he could harmonize the two now did not mean the path ahead would remain open—and presently he was seeking to unite his Dao through the Great Taiji.

Over these four years, Ye Fan had also been unceasingly studying the Eight Forbidden domain, diligently seeking insight and comprehension. Occasionally he would have a remarkable experience—a moment of instant sublimation, a breakthrough beyond the Eight Forbidden!

Over four years, however, he experienced this only eight times in total. The sensation was extraordinary—when the Peerless Word Secret was applicable, his combat power increased tenfold, surpassing the Eight Forbidden!

In those instants, he felt as though he had soared to transcendence and transformation—every pore in his body thrown wide open, as if receiving the baptism of a divine being. But each time it quickly faded and he fell back into the mortal world, unable to sustain it.

The old stories say that only one who has stood within the Eight Forbidden domain has the chance to experience that one breathtaking instant—to glimpse the boundless mystery of the Ten-Thousand-Ages Divine Forbidden domain. But one can never step inside… He recalled Yi Qingwu’s words.

That was the Divine Forbidden domain!

For any person, it was forever beyond reach—only those in the Eight Forbidden could experience a single fleeting instant of it. Yin Tiande had once had a similar realization.

Quietly reading the southern classic, quietly chanting the yellow canon—this was Ye Fan’s life: alone, imprisoned in the place of exile for sages, with desolate silence as his companion and darkness as his friend.

No joy, no anger, no grief, no pleasure. No attachment to life, no fear of death. Alone, savoring solitude in the silence—here, only cultivation remained. He forgot everything in the world. There was nothing else to be done.

“Heaven-bestowed talent”—is that referring to me?

Ye Fan awoke once more from the realm of Dao comprehension and spoke these words to himself. Not out of vanity, not out of arrogance—but as a calm statement of fact.

Over four years of time, he had started from the first minor stage of the Second Tier Immortal Terrace and ascended one step at a time, arriving now at the eighth minor stage.

All of this had come so naturally. Each time a constraint appeared, his will—like the intent of his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist—pressed forward without pause, shattering it in a single blow!

“The Immortal Third Severs the Dao”—is this saying true?

Ye Fan asked himself this, thinking of the lamentations of certain grandmaster-level figures, of the encounters of one ancient fossil after another.

Some extraordinarily gifted grandmaster-level prodigies had ascended stage by stage through the Second Tier Immortal Terrace, but the vast majority were stopped at the eighth minor stage. A smaller portion were trapped on the ninth and final summit.

Trapped for two thousand years!

In the current era, whether in the Northern Dipper stellar domain or the Purple Subtlety ancient stellar domain, there was no shortage of grandmasters on the Second Tier Immortal Terrace. But figures of the Third Tier Immortal Terrace were almost never seen.

This was the meaning of “The Immortal Third Severs the Dao.”

How else to explain why aging grandmasters on the verge of seated meditation would enter the seven great life-forbidden zones—seeking the divine medicine of undying life to extend their years?

It was because they were far too unwilling. A lifetime of cultivation. Entry into the Second Tier Immortal Terrace at an early age. Trapped at its peak for nearly three thousand years.

Clearly, one foot had already stepped out—yet it could never set down on the other side. They could not enter the Third Tier Immortal Terrace. This was the greatest regret of their lives!

Reading the southern classic in solitude, chanting the Yellow Canon in leisure—after over four years of cultivation, Ye Fan began to change. He made great efforts to recall the ancient texts on the other end of the starry sky and used them to pace the flow of time.

“I have ascended step by step and arrived at the eighth minor stage of the Second Tier Immortal Terrace. And yet I cannot break free of my imprisonment.”

Ye Fan had not given up. He believed that the divine fiend thought-will born of the human race’s Sacred Emperor would not allow him to pass away in seated meditation here. Every day he studied those nine ancient characters with deep concentration.

Buzz!

Then, on a certain day, Ye Fan seared the nine ancient characters into his own body, then carved them into the void, combining them in different arrangements—and this void of nothingness actually cracked open a crevice.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He carved the nine ancient characters again and again, separating them into different combinations.

In the distance, the Undying Tree seemed to sense something as well, swaying out a flood of golden divine light. All the golden leaves on the tree rustled and rang out.

At the same time, the stone coffin also began to flow with an indescribable aura. The eye of the Northern Sea grew unstable, shaking violently. Above the sea, massive waves surged, and some of the great demons patrolling the area were instantly overturned.

Indeed—the nine ancient characters left behind by the Solar Sacred Emperor can break through the seal!

Ye Fan maintained his Dao-heart, concentrated his vital energy and spirit, and with supreme focus carefully carved the nine ancient characters, forming a mysterious pattern of Dao-traces.

Boom!

The sea eye burst wide open. The ocean above seemed on the verge of pouring in. In that instant, Ye Fan moved—without the slightest hesitation, he shot upward toward the sky.

The bottomless abyss below receded into the distance. He plunged into the black sea in a single bound, tore through the waves using the Circulating Qi Word Secret, and escaped.

Ye Fan shot into the high sky like a bolt of golden lightning, standing amid the clouds, his speed pushed to the extreme.

Below, some of the great demons were perplexed. The black waves of the Northern Sea surged to the heavens, like a primordial great beast awakening from the depths—churning and roiling.

But before long, calm was restored. The sea surface returned to normal.

“Did you all see that—just now I seemed to see the sea eye appear?”

“Impossible. The eye of the Northern Sea is the place where ancient great emperors exiled criminals. How could anyone open it? You must have seen wrong.”

“I couldn’t be wrong. I just saw a bolt of golden lightning shoot out. Do you think it could be the person who disappeared along with the Valley of the Rising Sun four years ago?”

These were a group of demon clan members with formidable cultivation—some were great sea demons, others land-dwelling demons. Long ago, when the Valley of the Rising Sun appeared and then vanished, it had shaken this entire stellar domain. Every major power had left people here to keep watch.

“If it truly was that person who burst out, there will likely be great upheaval. He’s a fierce and ruthless figure.”

“That’s not necessarily certain. The master of the Eight Scenery Palace stands unrivaled under heaven. Who can oppose him now?”

“Divine Maiden Yi Qingwu is of unmatched grace and beauty. In these four years, she has made great leaps forward in her cultivation and broken through into the Eight Forbidden domain, astonishing the world. Who can compare?”

“The nine Golden Crow princes are each extraordinarily powerful and brave. By now, Lu Ya likely has few who can match him in a direct confrontation.”

“The Three-Deficiency Daoist and the Sacred Son of the Lunar Yin are both heaven-bestowed prodigies. It is said that the Long Life Monastery and the Hall of the Human King are exchanging Immortal Scriptures…”