Ji Ziyue’s long lashes fluttered. Her large eyes blinked, luminous and deep. The hint of a smile brought out small dimples — she was like a sprite: clever, lively, with an air of transcendence.
Her pupils were still as water. Her black hair lay like dark clouds. Violet robes floated softly as though she might be carried off by the wind — like a banished immortal, pure and radiant. Ink-dark brows held a poetic grace, untouched by the dust of mortal life.
Li Xiaoman looked at Ji Ziyue — that clear and striking beauty — then at Ye Fan. Her expression stilled. Something flickered in her eyes, like a distant memory surfacing. Her bearing shifted slightly. Within her snow-white sleeve, her fingers clenched — but very quickly she returned to composure. She fixed her gaze on Ji Ziyue. On her flawless white form, three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices appeared one after another — within each, the phantom of a divine being sat in meditation.
The two women stood in opposition, forming a powerful field between them. Space twisted rapidly. Light could barely penetrate. The void between them looked slightly blurred. The few surviving Dao-Severers backed away further.
“Ziyue, you don’t need to act — I alone can suppress both of them.” Ye Fan said, stepping in front of her, shielding her. He looked directly at Li Xiaoman. His surging golden blood energy pressed down on everyone present, making hearts tremble.
Many years had passed, yet time had left no trace on Li Xiaoman’s face. She was as she had always been. Yet she was no longer what she once was. So much had changed.
Li Xiaoman looked back at him, her eyes clear. Her skin was white as snow. Her entire person was cold — like a snow lotus growing on a mountain of ice, her presence carrying a chill that hit one in the face.
Neither said anything. The atmosphere was taut. Ye Fan slowly raised his hand — beginning with the Mountain-Embrace Seal — and was about to deliver a crushing blow to suppress and destroy.
“Don’t you want to ask why?” Li Xiaoman finally spoke. Her tone was measured and natural. She looked quietly into Ye Fan’s eyes.
“Is there still any need? From the moment you attacked Pang Bo and the others — not even willing to spare Xiao Nannan, determined to kill her — the outcome of this day was sealed. Whatever thousand reasons you might have, they cannot wash clean the blood on your hands.” Ye Fan’s words carried weight. Even in the face of the half-sage before him, he showed no fear. He kept walking forward, step by step.
“Li Xiaoman, how could you do it — we came from the same place. Why are you so ruthless?” Pang Bo demanded angrily, voice raised.
Li Xiaoman smiled. The light in her eyes was unreadable. She said something cryptic: “I have already seen it — the destined duel, drawing to its close.”
“A destined conclusion?” Ye Fan laughed — but killing intent was seeping outward, cold enough to pierce the bone. “I despise the word ‘destiny’ most of all. I believe only in this life. Let one’s own self be invincible in this age. Shatter every obstruction. Then all things can be grasped. What is destiny? What is heaven’s decree? All of that is nothing but empty mist.”
“You haven’t changed at all — always that arrogant.” Li Xiaoman’s smile was brilliant, but within her eyes lay a faint trace of melancholy.
“I have only one question left to ask. Are you still the true Li Xiaoman?” Ye Fan’s eyes shot out two sharp beams that solidified into physical shafts of light — blindingly intense and overwhelming.
“What do you think?” Li Xiaoman smiled. All traces of strangeness vanished. Calm and composure returned completely.
“Li Xiaoman — what exactly has happened to you? Tell us plainly. We can bring you back.” Pang Bo spoke seriously.
“There’s no need to say more — she changed long ago.” In Ye Fan’s voice was a thread of sorrow, and yet also a cold clarity. His gaze grew ever more frigid.
Recalling all that had once been between them invited only a long sigh. They had once been lovers. Now they faced each other in a battle of life and death. Even setting aside that bond — having come together from across the sea, two people deciding things this way was its own kind of tragedy.
“A single sentence erases everything between us — you mean to cut me down as a mortal enemy. How deeply this chills my heart.” Li Xiaoman said.
“What difference does it make? You came here to settle things with me, didn’t you? A duel to the death — do we still need to perform this false show of sentiment?” Ye Fan completed the Mountain-Embrace Seal.
“This is the destined duel. It must come to its conclusion. There will be an outcome today.” Li Xiaoman’s voice too grew ice-cold.
“Then let us fight!” Ye Fan threw out the Mountain-Embrace Seal with a thunderous impact — engulfing both Li Xiaoman and Hua Yunfei beneath it. A black mountain peak filled the entire palace hall, as though carving out its own world, pressing into every inch of space.
“BOOM—”
Li Xiaoman uttered a light shout. All three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices on her body began spinning at once, releasing waves of sacrificial sound — as though a divine being was about to be resurrected and descend to rule the earth.
Strands of golden light cut outward, slashing at the black mountain — formidable and awe-inspiring, brimming with killing intent. In an instant they decided life and death, without a shred of mercy.
Hua Yunfei was no soft opponent either. In this present generation, virtually no peer could rival him. All these years he had ventured in and out of ancient tombs and mausoleums, not only excavating all manner of royal physiques but even entering one great burial mound and obtaining the original source of a sage’s remains.
The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Technique shook the ages. In his time, the Ruthless One — possessed of no natural aptitude for cultivation — had been invincible beneath heaven with this single technique. Regardless of one’s heaven-spanning talent or heroic brilliance, all were defeated. All were felled.
One could say the Ruthless One, though born unsuited for cultivation, had created through sheer brilliance the most terrifying technique that ever was or would be — that was the truest source of awe.
All the more so for a genius like Hua Yunfei, who had cultivated from youth. By now, even without this technique, he could cut down all manner of kings without question.
A black sacred vessel formed — materializing above his head into a tangible shape, shedding cascades of black divine chains. “Hum—” The void shuddered deeply.
“BOOM—”
The Dao Sacred Vessel blazed with a hundred million strands of light. Like a black demonic star streaking across the sky, it slammed into Ye Fan — its black tidal force on the verge of shattering the entire ancestral temple complex. Were it not for the array patterns left by ancient sages acting as a ward, nothing would remain.
Black mountain peak, strands of golden light, and the Dao Sacred Vessel — all collided. Brilliant light erupted. Ripples spread outward in waves, shaking every person within this ancestral temple complex.
Qi Luo stepped forward to confront the half-sage — their battle, too, about to ignite. The Black Emperor bared its teeth, readying itself to act. Ji Ziyue stopped it — and herself faced Li Xiaoman directly. Her graceful form overflowed with threads of immortal light, holding all three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices in check.
“Ziyue — you don’t need to act. I alone can handle even both of them attacking together.” Ye Fan’s killing intent condensed into a divine flame that leapt and pulsed before his brow.
“This may be your last great battle before you leave. I want to fight alongside you, shoulder to shoulder. I won’t retreat a single step — let me face her.” Ji Ziyue’s eyes held the faintest mist, stubborn and earnest as she said it.
Ye Fan urged her no further. A quiet sigh passed through him. His eyes blazed suddenly with fierce fire, fixing on Hua Yunfei. He attacked at full force — a fist-strike to shake the world, carrying the air of one who acknowledges no equal.
“Exactly what I wanted — this time I intend to have a fair battle with you. Now at last we can fight with nothing held back!” Hua Yunfei called out.
“Om!”
Ye Fan let out a great roar. The Buddhist true word shook heaven and earth — and this time, fought at full power, the might was immeasurably greater than moments ago.
Because part of his mind was on Ji Ziyue. This roar engulfed not only Hua Yunfei, but converged into a beam of light that rushed toward Li Xiaoman as well — endless pattern-veins interwoven.
Ye Fan had brought this true word to the ultimate extreme of its profound mystery. Within the radiance, countless ancient sounds rose — as if three thousand great beings sat in chant, or three thousand ancient demons erupted in fury.
Within the boundless light, one figure after another emerged — like ancient Buddhas of old, or primordial great demons. Some with solemn, dignified bearing; some with demonic might surging as a tide. Three thousand figures raised their hands as one — all pressing down to suppress the two before them.
When the three thousand figures became clear, those watching realized they were all Ye Fan. The sight was breathtaking. Buddhas have always guided others to liberation — yet here, Ye Fan had turned the teaching against itself, using the Nine Secrets of the Dao School to transform all things into instruments of his own will.
The sound of “Om” resonated through heaven and earth. Three thousand forms of Ye Fan — divine and demonic — pressed down together to suppress Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman. The various roars and cries caused the entire small world to shudder, on the verge of collapse.
Li Xiaoman went flying backward. Ji Ziyue rose into the air like an immortal, giving chase. “Little Ye Fan — no need to watch over me. Let me show you what I can do.”
Almost no one had ever seen Ji Ziyue act, yet her strength was startling — when she had once spoken of suppressing her own brother, she had not been joking. Pang Bo, not far away, broke out in a cold sweat.
On the other side, Ye Fan’s world-shaking roar had driven the fiercely charging Hua Yunfei to bleed from his nose and mouth — even the corners of his eyes and the roots of his ears wept blood. Yet his eyes only burned brighter.
“CRASH—” A thunderous sound rang out. His vital energy surged rapidly, stabilizing the damage. Like an ancient immortal reborn — though untouched by worldly dust, supremely powerful.
In his right hand the Feathering Immortal Technique; in his left the Ten Thousand Transformations Holy Technique — one attack, one defense, near dreamlike in their interplay. These were the supreme arts of an ancient great emperor, created specifically to counter the Nine Secrets. Their terror defied description.
The two erupted into battle. Ye Fan stepped forward — Source Heaven pattern-veins covering the ground beneath his feet, weaving into a vast Dao net, transforming into wings that carried him in a slashing advance.
Hua Yunfei turned and left. He called out: “I’ll wait for you ahead. A true duel — somewhere free of dragon energy. We’ll decide life and death, see whether the inheritance of the Ruthless One astonishes the ages and stands alone beneath heaven, or whether you surpass even that!”
“Don’t even think of leaving!” On the other side, Ji Ziyue had actually gained the upper hand — ethereal as a Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens descended to the world, pursuing Li Xiaoman. Pang Bo wiped away his cold sweat watching.
“BOOM—”
In the distance, a peak Emperor’s divine might pressed down on the mortal world. This entire small world seemed on the verge of destruction. An ancient diagram stretched across the sky, rippling and roaring, sending out a thunderous sound — like the long river of time flowing through ten thousand ages.
The Nine Li Chart!
Amid the fierce fighting on all sides, an Emperor’s weapon appeared. The patterns upon it were mysterious, submerged in chaos — imperial might without compare spreading outward, holding everyone in check. No one could say how many powerful figures involuntarily fell to their knees — not of their own will, but overwhelmed by the aura of an ancient great emperor.
“Human race — if you dare use your peak Emperor weapons, don’t blame us for showing no mercy and destroying this place entirely!” The voices of several great primordial imperial clans rang out, cold as iron. The aura of a primordial emperor spread rapidly — clearly an ancient imperial weapon was in their possession.
This was a catastrophic prospect. If peak Emperor weapons were to clash, nearly everyone here would perish — for it was not just one or two weapons at stake. Once it erupted, no one could predict the outcome. Not just this small world — the Central Province itself might sink and shatter across vast stretches, too heavy a burden for the living beings of the world to bear.
“Each claims by their own ability. Whoever relies on peak Emperor weapons and ancient imperial weapons — whoever gets there first, it belongs to them.” A mysterious old Daoist roared out, his innate steel-forged voice making every ear ring.
A half-sage!
A half-sage had appeared — equal in depth to Qi Luo, unfathomable. Everyone turned to look, all deeply shocked.
His innate voice was highly effective. The various sects were not afraid of him personally — rather, they truly feared destroying this place. If that happened, nothing could be obtained, and they would all be balancing on the edge between life and death.
The Emperor’s power slowly receded. All manner of battles erupted intensely again. Every ancient temple had blood flowing, bones shattering.
“Hua Yunfei — didn’t you want a duel to the death with me? Right here, right now!” Ye Fan’s roar shook all eighty-one ancient temples simultaneously, every one vibrating with a ringing hum.
“Flash—”
Hua Yunfei moved with transcendent ease, blue robes streaming. Like an ancient immortal, he flew atop one of the ancient gate towers. On the other side, Li Xiaoman did the same.
Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue rose together, descending on the opposite side. Both forces confronted each other. A powerful force surged between them. This battle was destined to be remembered throughout all of cultivation. The Ruthless One’s inheritance had resurfaced — and was about to do battle with the human Sacred Physique. A clash of destiny? A tragic elegy? The answer would be found between life and death.