A pain shot through Ye Fan’s heart, and he couldn’t help but cry out, rushing to the edge of the Five-Colored Altar, only to watch black hair turn white and fall away as the person plummeted into the darkness below.

He stood there, dumbstruck. What was good, what was evil, what was real, what was a lie — he was petrified, motionless.

There was no joy in having defeated a great enemy. There was only an unspeakable emptiness and sorrow. He sat weakly on the edge of the Five-Colored Altar, staring blankly below.

If Pang Bo had truly been consumed by evil, how cruel would that be — was there anything left to believe in? If Li Xiaoman had coexisted with the crocodile all along, how tragic must those years have been?

Ye Fan felt a weariness unlike anything he had ever known. He wanted to simply sink into sleep, even felt the urge to throw himself into the abyss. Some of the most important people in his life… it seemed he had never truly known them at all. A nameless grief settled over him.

Chaos.

His thoughts were in complete disarray. What was right, what was wrong — even the people closest to him could undergo such earth-shattering changes. What was beyond transformation?

He was utterly spent, more weak and grief-stricken than he had ever been. He sat at the edge of the Five-Colored Altar, bowing his head to gaze into the dark abyss, his heart hollow and numb.

This exhausted him more than a thousand life-and-death battles ever had. He wanted to roar, he wanted to weep, he wanted to overturn heaven and earth — yet he had no strength. He could not even lift a single finger.

He sat in silence. From the depths of the dark abyss, the power of desolation crept toward him, and his temples turned white. Still, he did not wish to move. His eyes held not a single spark of life.

On the Central Province side, Ji Ziyue could not hold herself back and tried to rush forward, but her brother grabbed her arm, refusing to let her go.

Ji Haoyue, imposing and upright, said in a deep voice: “Not long ago, I would not have stopped you from going to him. But now is different — the path he must walk, he must walk alone.”

“Ye Fan looks so pitiful…” Ji Ziyue’s large eyes were red and swollen as she spoke softly.

The Monkey, Duan De, and the others didn’t know what to say. They could only hope Ye Fan would work through it himself and find the strength to rise again. Anything said now would be useless — no one could help him.

From the various ancient tribes, many winged races were still on the move, descending upon the Five-Colored Altar. But not one of them dared to disturb the figure ahead, who stood like a demon god. Fearing catastrophe, they swiftly beat their wings and flew to the far shore.

Ye Fan’s hair was streaked with white, his bearing disheveled. He sat there, drained of all strength, listening to the sound of beating wings, staring into the abyss, wanting nothing more than to remain there forever and never rise again.

“Ahhh…”

Some of the ancient clans had reached the far shore and ascended the Sacred Mountain, fighting fiercely over the Nine Wondrous Divine Herbs and the divine spring. Many were aging, many were dying in battle, and cries of anguish rose one after another.

Ye Fan took no notice of any of it. He sat vacant and blank, lost in a daze, as if nothing in the outside world could stir the waters of his heart.

Boom!

On the Five-Colored Altar, a figure with long water-blue hair appeared, standing like a divine mountain range stretching across the land. His eyes were like two divine lamps capable of peering into the souls of others.

His physique was powerful and tall, masculine and vigorous, his body radiating an immortal brilliance, his bearing exceptional. He seemed to transcend the masses of common beings, possessing an emperor’s presence, like an undying ancient deity.

Huo Qizi had arrived. The ancient imperial blood within him roared like a tidal wave, deafening and immense. It was an incomparable surge of potent energy, as though a great emperor lay dormant within his body, ready to awaken at any moment.

On the Central Province side, everyone was astounded. This was the second person, after Ye Fan, to step onto the Five-Colored Altar without divine wings — and he did so with complete composure.

Hum!

The void reverberated. Huo Qizi leapt high into the air, like a streak of blue immortal flame illuminating heaven and earth. He seemed capable of true flight, crossing the sky and descending on the far shore, standing tall upon the Sacred Mountain.

“He… he actually leapt across in a single bound! What a terrifying physical body — as fearsome as that of the human race’s Holy Physique!”

“Worthy of being the direct son of the Ancient Emperor. His pure physical strength alone is this overwhelming — it surpasses the limits of constitution. With a single leap he crossed the Primordial Abyss!”

The crowd was struck speechless, finding it incomprehensible. One Ye Fan was already extraordinary, but now there was a Huo Qizi as well, crossing the gap on the power of his body alone. What a magnificent physical form this was.

The bloodline of the Ancient Emperor inspired awe!

When one truly considered it, Yuangu — the eighth-generation descendant of the Primordial Emperor — truly could not compare to the direct son of the Ancient Emperor. This was what true Primordial Emperor bloodline looked like. Anyone who grew up with such lineage could become a terrifying existence, a half-step toward the Dao.

Huo Qizi stood upon the Sacred Mountain, his eyes flickering with deep blue light, and began a great slaughter. All those who had come to claim the divine spring or dig up the Nine Wondrous Divine Herbs were cut down one by one. Blood flowed like rivers, and bones littered the earth.

The crowd drew cold breaths. Even those who had severed the Dao were no match, unable to resist. In this place, a powerful bloodline and an invincible physical body were the most terrifying things of all — capable of shattering every strong enemy.

Everyone was horrified. A bloodline and innate skeletal constitution this powerful had reached the absolute pinnacle. Sending any elite to challenge him would be futile. For now, only the Holy Prince could face him as an equal.

Of course, there was also Ye Fan — but he sat slumped on the altar, clearly without the heart or mind to pay any attention, not even sparing a single glance.

Ye Fan let out a long sigh and finally stood. The road of the heart could only be walked by oneself. He wanted to leave this place and never return.

Many were startled, especially the people of Huo Lin Cave. Even Huo Lin’er revealed a trace of worry, fearing that Ye Fan would strike at her brother. Within this primordial forbidden land, the human race’s Holy Physique was absolutely terrifying.

Both the human race and the various ancient tribes held their breath. Ye Fan’s every movement drew the eyes of thousands. If he were to act, it would surely shake the heavens.

“In truth, there were things I had already guessed long ago, yet I was unable to change any of it. Ahhh…” Ye Fan let out a great cry, his black hair thrashing wildly. He wanted to leave this world, never to return.

This was a place of heartbreak.

If there had been no gathering, if he had never climbed Mount Tai, if there had been no Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin — he would never have come here, none of this would have happened, and his life would have been comfortable and peaceful.

What is gone can never return…

For the first time in his life he felt this exhausted. Ye Fan felt weak, struggling to rise to his feet. He staggered to the center of the altar, took out the water-blue star, and summoned a series of ancient symbols one after another, burning them into the great stones.

“I am leaving, and I will not return!” He wanted to escape, to journey far away. If he could return to what once was, he would rather be an ordinary mortal.

“Ye Fan…” On the Central Province side, Ji Ziyue, Dongfang Ye, and the others called out to him.

The Five-Colored Altar erupted with immortal light. One by one, ancient and mysterious symbols gathered and coalesced into a Bagua diagram, dense and weighty with the solidness of metal, as though forged from a hundred refinements of pure gold essence.

“Home!” That was the only thought in Ye Fan’s mind — to leave this world where right and wrong could not be untangled. In this moment, he missed his parents more than words could say.

“Ye Fan…” Ji Ziyue cried out, and could no longer hold herself back. She charged toward the golden gate, intending to descend upon the Five-Colored Altar.

Ji Haoyue moved, seizing her wrist. “You cannot go. He is in a very bad state. I cannot entrust you to travel alongside him now.”

Ji Ziyue wept openly, yet could not break free at all, for the Divine King Ji Haoyue had the Void Mirror suspended above his head, and a sliver of imperial might pressed down upon her.

Above the Five-Colored Altar, a Taiji diagram materialized at the center of the Bagua, two yin-yang fish cradling each other within it, like a pair of tightly sealed metal doors.

The Taiji Bagua was connected to time and space. The space warped, light grew hazy, and the symbols corresponding to Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan blazed one after another in blinding light.

Like a set of mysterious and ancient codes, they flickered in perfect accordance with the series of symbols contained within the water-blue star, locking in coordinates and opening the gate of time and space.

The symbols flashed and darkened in a specific sequence, and finally a deep, muffled vibration rang out. The yin-yang gate slowly swung open, and a surge of stellar energy poured forth, leaving all onlookers utterly shaken.

The crowd stood frozen. Within the passage, starlight shimmered — it clearly connected to the depths of the universe, and one could glimpse an ancient path beneath a canopy of stars.

Everyone was filled with shock and awe. Even from distant Central Province, separated by a gate of time and space, one could sense a mysterious power radiating through it. This was the path leading beyond the celestial domain.

Even Huo Qizi was astonished, staring in a daze at the altar in the abyss and the ancient path beneath the stars, feeling even he was seized by the urge to leap forward.

Boom!

A vast aura surged up from below the abyss, and several figures flew upward through the air — each one overwhelmingly powerful, beyond measure.

“Those are the great figures of past ages, transformed into Wilderness Slaves!” the crowd cried out.

And at that moment, Ye Fan turned around and took one final look at the golden gate. He could not see the familiar faces on the Central Province side — this was a one-way transport formation, allowing only a silent farewell. He leapt high, and disappeared into the ancient path beneath the stars.

The Wilderness Slaves surrounded the Taiji Bagua gate. It was slowly closing now, about to vanish from this world. They stood still, watching, making no move.

“Ye Fan…” Ji Ziyue wept openly.

“Ye Fan!” The Black Emperor, the Monkey, Dongfang Ye, and the others shouted with full voices, every one of them clenching their fists tight.

This parting might be a parting forever — never to meet again in this lifetime.

Ye Fan could not see through the one-way golden gate, but he knew that on the other side, people were watching him, seeing him off. He waved silently, bidding farewell to this world.

Boom!

The ancient path beneath the stars closed completely. The mysterious star gate upon the Five-Colored Altar vanished and did not appear again. The altar returned to stillness.

“Brother — run!” On the Central Province side, Huo Lin’er cried out.

Within the primordial forbidden land, several Wilderness Slaves moved through the air toward the Sacred Mountain. Huo Qizi let out a long sigh. He knew the Nine Wondrous Divine Herbs could not be taken away — there was no harvesting them now. He summoned his clan’s Ancient Imperial weapon, transformed into a streak of sacred light, and charged toward the outside of the forbidden land.

The few Wilderness Slaves did not pursue. They sensed the aura of a Primordial Emperor. They stood silently upon the Sacred Mountain, gazing into the distance, watching the mortal world.

“That woman among the Wilderness Slaves is the Celestial Pivot Saintess from six thousand years ago — once said to be the most beautiful woman in the Eastern Desolation. Her face has not aged a single day!” someone cried out in shock. They could not have seen her in person, of course — they had matched her against an ancient portrait.

“That white-haired elder is the Ancient Sage Xia Feng from over ten thousand years ago, who had audience with the Demon Tribe’s Great Emperor — the Azure Emperor — on several occasions. To think… he disappeared in his late years and ended up here.” The one speaking was an aged royal uncle of the Great Xia dynasty. That ancient sage was a venerated figure in their clan, and even now a statue of him was preserved by Great Xia.

Without a sound, the several Wilderness Slaves vanished. But then an even more terrifying aura appeared, accompanied by the clanking of iron chains.

Mist and cloud enveloped the altar, and a figure of indeterminate gender materialized, bound in iron chains, standing upon the Five-Colored Altar. Not a single person could make out its appearance.

“Ye Fan…” Ji Ziyue’s slender arm was locked tight in her brother’s grip.

Boom!

Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted — and reversed itself into the one-way transport formation, passing from the forbidden land of the Eastern Desolation through the golden gate all the way to Central Province!

Everyone was shaken to their core. The unknown entity standing upon the Five-Colored Altar had eyes that shattered eternity. With a single glance through the golden gate, the ancient transport formation far away in Central Province was reduced to powder.

Everything fell dark. The golden gate was gone.

“This Emperor had not yet fully memorized the immortal formation!” The Black Emperor let out a heartbroken, agonized wail.

The ancient formation — the only means of entering the primordial forbidden land — had been destroyed just like that. Many mourned its loss bitterly.