“First, destroy these wretched bastards who dared to come a third time to massacre our people — use their blood to consecrate our war banner! Then march into the Northern Plains and sweep the Wang Family from existence!” the barbarian Elder Patriarch bellowed from the stone cliff.
“Kill these butchers who destroyed our homeland — go slaughter them!”
“Leave not a single one alive! Make sure these damned wretches have no road back — crush every last one of them to pieces!”
The crowd’s fury blazed. On the very eve of their march to war, enemies had dared to enter the primal mountains searching for them, hunting down the people of the ancient village and declaring their intent to annihilate them entirely. This was an insult and a provocation against the barbarian tribe.
Ye Fan and Yan Yixi both sighed inwardly. These people were truly looking for death. They had absolutely no understanding of just how fearsome the barbarian tribe was. Judging by what lay before their eyes right now, this tribe would dare to go and overturn any great power — they feared no one they might encounter.
Wuu… wuu… The ancient ox-horn sounded like muffled thunder rolling across the land, shaking every mountain range and ravine.
Roarrrr! Beast cry after beast cry tore through the clouds, flooding the vast sky. One great primal beast after another surged into the air — scales and armor bristling in dense rows, a terrifying sight.
“Kill! Leave not a single one!”
The scene was breathtaking. As these great beasts took to the sky, they massed together like dark clouds layered upon dark clouds, blotting out the very heavens — causing the entire primal wilderness to tremble.
The Wang Family was an ancient hereditary family of the Northern Plains — one of the mightiest forces in the world, with deployments across every region. The Southern Mountain Range was naturally no exception, especially now that they were poised to make their move there.
On this occasion, Wang Chengtian had come wielding a holy weapon’s might to slay Ye Fan — and simultaneously, the forces positioned in the Southern Mountain Range had set into motion to sweep out that portion of the barbarian tribe there.
These forces, joining together and entering the mountains, had indeed managed to kill several young barbarian tribespeople who had gone out hunting. And they had declared their intent to massacre the ancient settlement.
But what they could never have imagined — not in their most fevered dreams — was just how vast this tribe was, and just how terrifying.
Now, war cries shook the heavens. As though a hundred thousand divine soldiers descended from the skies, dark clouds churned and black mist blotted out the sun. It was as if an uncountable host of demon gods came riding primal beasts, charging forward — filling the sky to overflowing.
“How in all the hells are there so many of them — and how is every single one so powerful? This is nothing like anything we knew about them!”
“Too terrifying. These are primal barbarian warriors. I’m remembering certain legends — could it be that such a fearsome tribe truly exists?”
“It is said that in the ancient past, the entire Southern Mountain Range lay under the rule of a barbarian people — but their lineage was cut off for no apparent reason and vanished. Could it be… them? Hidden away here in seclusion?”
When those surrounded by the barbarian forces arrived at these thoughts, every scalp went numb, every body turned to ice. They felt as though cold shards were pouring into every pore — their very souls seemed frozen solid.
If this were truly the case, then not only would all of them die here — the Wang Family of the Northern Plains would face catastrophic ruin as well.
“And yet — those were only legends, never recorded in any historical text. How can this be real?!”
Filled with terror and resentment, these people faced the endless wave of barbarian warriors and began to flee — but one by one, bright blossoms of blood burst open, and they were smashed continuously into pulp.
“Ahh…!”
“Mercy!”
“Let us go!”
This was a slaughter. The barbarian people were straightforward by nature — to friends, they could be loyal unto death, but to those who had come bloodying their homeland, they were utterly merciless.
Crack!
A wolf-fang club swung, and a skull cracked open instantly — the top of a head sent flying, white brain matter splashing high into the air.
Whoosh!
A stone axe swept through the air, cutting a path across the battlefield. Several powerful fighters were cleaved in two at the waist. Blood sprayed upward like a fountain — steaming red, its metallic tang piercing the nose.
It was a bloody scene — enough to turn any stomach, too gruesome for ordinary eyes. Without any suspense whatsoever, every single person who had come to massacre the ancient village a third time was killed. Not one escaped. All were annihilated.
Wuu… wuu…
The ancient war horn rang out. The barbarian warriors returned. The weapons of many were stained with blood — each one overflowing with excitement and fervor.
This was a bloodline passed down from their ancestors — growing stronger with every battle. Dormant within each of them ran a thread of primal war god blood, making them the most powerful warriors of the Southern Mountain Range.
Within the tribe, there was a vast open clearing. In that clearing stood an ancient formation platform — carved all over with the marks of ages long past, left behind from the ancient era.
Each massive stone used to construct the teleportation formation had been placed with meticulous care. Countless ages had passed, yet not a single stone showed even the faintest trace of damage.
Now, a barbarian elder was setting the coordinates. The ancient platform began to reawaken — pulsing with eerie, mysterious light.
“A six-pointed star formation, resonating with the stars of the heavens — this can not only cross to any place in the world, but likely to realms beyond, into the starry void itself.” Yan Yixi spoke with great surprise.
The barbarian warriors numbered in the tens of thousands — enough to blot out even the sky. Every single one stood in perfect formation, orderly and disciplined, crossing one after another onto the ancient formation platform and passing through an enormous domain gate.
“Children — the strength bestowed upon us by our ancestors now has a place to be used. For the safety of our people, for the dignity of our tribe — today we march into the Northern Plains to fight a battle in blood! Bring forth your courage, and let the entire Northern Plains tremble before the edge of our war front!”
The elders of the barbarian tribe continued to rally their people even as they marched to war — kindling the fighting spirit in every heart.
In truth, after the small battle just fought, every last person’s blood was already boiling. This was the perfect moment to march into the Northern Plains.
To the outside world, no one knew that hidden deep within this endless primal expanse of wild mountains dwelt such a fearsome tribe. No one would know that on this day, they intended to march to war.
Even though this place resounded with the clamor of the heavens, the worlds of the human race and the demon race would feel nothing of it. A fearsome army — one capable of making the five great territories tremble — had set out!
One contingent after another stepped onto the ancient formation platform and vanished from the barbarian tribe’s settlement, departing into the distance. Not a single person spoke, and yet every one of them had blood surging through every vein — incomparably stirred, prepared for a world-shaking battle.
This was the barbarian people — born warriors. Raised in mountain and forest, facing every manner of fierce bird and savage beast, long since accustomed to blood and life-and-death — not one of them was afraid as they marched to war.
Ye Fan could not help but be filled with admiration. This kind of fierce spirit was something that could never be possessed, never cultivated, in a prosperous great city or amid peaceful countryside fields. Perhaps this was one reason why the barbarian ancestors had led their people into the great wilderness to hide.
“Is no one staying to guard the tribe?” Ye Fan asked. It was better to be safe than sorry — if someone truly managed to find their way here during this time, that would be a serious problem.
“Rest assured. There is sufficient strength to handle anything that arises.” One of the barbarian tribe’s elder warriors said this, and in passing casually glanced toward the dark tortoise resting motionless near a pond not far away. It sat utterly still — barely distinguishable from a black rock.
The vast Northern Plains. Boundless and immeasurable.
It was a great grassland without end, utterly desolate. The land was sparse and people few — sometimes one could walk for a decade or more without glimpsing a single human figure.
In this land, the population was concentrated in a few areas. Fully eighty percent of the territory was wasteland — roamed by wolves and jackals, prowled by savage beasts.
Wuuu… Deep in the grassland, a lone wolf howled — a sound of solitary desolation. Too barren, too forsaken.
The fearsome great army — contingent after contingent — emerged from a black domain gate. Every one of them was silent, exuding an aura of blood and battle, gripping their weapons.
No one knew — a battle that would shake the five great territories was about to begin. Since the end of the Dark Age, for the first time, someone was launching a campaign against an immortal lineage — attacking a fearsome ancient hereditary family.
Roarrrr! The guardian deity Azure Dragon appeared, bearing the nine living fossils upon its back. When it spread its wings, they blotted out the sky and covered the sun, swallowing the entire grassland in shadow. It spiraled up into the air above.
Roarrr! The guardian deity White Tiger leaped out — vast as a mountain peak. Its footfalls cracked the earth open. Bearing more than thirty barbarian elders upon its back, it set out on the march.
The sky was dense with figures. Everywhere one looked — golden divine fiends, violet qilins, and more great beasts carried one powerful barbarian warrior after another, battle energy surging and roiling.
Lead-gray clouds hung heavy and low, utterly oppressive.
It was a gray world — the entire vast grassland bleak and desolate. The sky dark and overcast, gloomy and dim. The thick clouds made it feel as though one could not breathe.
“In this battle, rivers of blood are destined to flow and mountains of bones to rise. Across this boundless land, the myriad living beings will all tremble. We can only win — we cannot lose!”
“In battle, we shall be victorious! In assault, we shall conquer!” This was a spirit powerful enough to shatter mountains and rivers, overturn the heavens, and send the sun and moon crashing down.
In this battle today, perhaps one immortal lineage would be erased forever from the face of the earth — an event without precedent since the dark age of chaos!
Of course — it was also possible this might become a tragic song. The ancient tribe of the Southern Mountain Range might itself be destroyed here, ceasing to exist forevermore.
A world-shaking transformation was about to begin!
This battle was destined to be far-reaching in its consequences — it would send waves across all under heaven, affecting every sect and school of power in the ten thousand traditions.
A silent army. A fearsome and oppressive weight. Marching forward without sound, weapons held in hand — in the stillness of this quietest of moments, they were gathering the force of a heaven-shattering strike!
All the great powers of the Eastern Desolation, the Central Region, and the Western Desert had their eyes fixed on the Southern Mountain Range. Some fearsome enemies had already set out, positioning themselves in the Southern Mountain Range to deal with Ye Fan — unaware that the true battlefield that would shake the human world had already shifted elsewhere.
“The Holy Physique stands alone. No matter how powerful he may be — can he really stand against a great sect?”
“If a great sect were to mobilize its entire force to hunt and kill the Holy Physique, could he avoid a bitter end?”
While people were harboring doubts in the Southern Mountain Range, Ye Fan had already led the barbarian army to the very threshold of the Wang Family of the Northern Plains!
The dark clouds grew heavier, covering the entire sky. Across the grassland, there was not a sound — like a land of the dead, suffocating in its oppressiveness.
On the ground, a dark mass of figures stretched without end. In the sky above, figures were densely packed. A silent army — every one of them with blood and energy at their peak — and a terrifying killing intent surging through the air.
No armor. No battle garb. Every one of them clad in beast hide, one arm left bare, bronzed bodies powerful and strong, muscles rising like coiling flood dragons. Some held great wolf-fang clubs. Others bore stone axes on their backs.
Now, still more than a thousand li from the Wang Family, the assault was about to begin.
The Elder Patriarch gave a powerful wave of his hand. The great army divided into four streams, moving without sound, beginning to encircle.
That azure dragon — its wings vast enough to blot out the sky, a single wing sufficient to cover an entire mountain — bore the nine living fossils upon its back and led a great host of barbarian warriors to attack the main southern gate. It was a guardian deity that had lived three thousand nine hundred years — its power enough to make one’s soul go cold.
The guardian deity White Tiger — vast as a mountain — bore more than thirty fearsome elders aged over two thousand years upon its back, and led a sweeping wave of barbarian warriors in an assault on the northern gate from behind.
The barbarian Elder Patriarch stood atop a great roc wrought in shimmering gold, and together with a terrifying force of warriors riding primal beasts that covered the sky, advanced from the east.
In the Elder Patriarch’s hand, he carried a fearsome stone axe — plain and ancient in appearance, but one glance was enough to make hearts tremble. This was a world-spanning holy weapon left behind by the great sage of the barbarian people — flawless and without blemish!
Its attacking power was incomparable. One strike of that axe could shatter the myriad worlds. The aura of obliteration it emanated caused the entire vast grassland to sink and tremble.
Ye Fan had also been entrusted with an important role. Wielding the incomparably terrifying Goddess Furnace, he led an enormous wave of barbarian warriors in an attack from the west.
“The Azure Dragon and White Tiger — even those two guardian deities carry the aura of ancient holy weapons.” After Ye Fan gripped the Goddess Furnace, he sensed this in a subtle moment of connection.
“With four holy weapons from four directions tearing through the Wang Family’s ancient protective formation — and an army of heavenly soldiers descending suddenly, with tens of thousands of barbarian warriors driving straight for the heart of their domain without giving them time to react — I hope we achieve victory in a single campaign!”
Whether an ancient hereditary family would be erased from the world forever, or whether the barbarian army would meet a bitter end in the Northern Plains — it would all be revealed in this world-shaking battle.
Crack!
A blood-red bolt of lightning split the pitch-black sky — and it was in that very moment that the barbarian army began its charge, surging toward the Wang Family of the Northern Plains!