The great Dao resounded in harmony. True dragons and phoenix birds wrought of immortal radiance cried out to the heavens. Countless threads of auspicious light and the blazing brilliance of the Dao platform surrounded a middle-aged man who was encircled by divine rings as he slowly rose.

His black hair was thick and dense, his gaze clear and bright. There was nothing conventionally impressive about his appearance — yet he carried a singular, unsettling quality, like a demonic embryo reincarnated, inspiring involuntary awe.

“Honored guests have arrived, and I have failed to welcome you properly.”

To the astonishment of all present, the celestial lord of Penglai made no move to attack. Instead, composed and affable, he descended from the five-colored Dao platform in a single step and appeared before them in an instant.

Long Ma’s heart gave a jolt. This was a great art — a single step spanning dozens of li. Ordinary people could never pull it off. The power of this middle-aged man inspired wariness.

He was unquestionably a Dao-severance cultivator, and unless the guess was wrong, he was a great master who had reached full completion — the most powerful individual Ye Fan had encountered on Earth up to this point.

Though the celestial lord of Penglai had suppressed his presence, his inherent imposing quality transmitted itself through a certain aura. At Ye Fan’s level of cultivation, he could naturally sense it — and perceive its true nature.

This was a person from the age of high antiquity!

Only that could account for cultivation at this level. A great master of full completion, wherever they appeared, could be called a supreme expert of the human race — and in the present age on Earth, he was if not the absolute first, then very nearly so.

This man’s eyes were like stars, holding within them a mysterious power — clearly the result of cultivating that Heavenly Book to a terrifying degree. His black hair hung loose, and without a trace of anger, his authority was self-evident.

“Penglai has long kept apart from the world, and for many years our disciples have not ventured out. Some of them have grown undisciplined in temperament — please forgive us, fellow Dao companions.” The celestial lord was courteous and approachable, and showed no intention of coming to blows.

He had only just emerged from closed cultivation, and his very first act was to reprove his own disciples — having them sheathe their weapons and receive the guests with courtesy. It was completely contrary to what Ye Fan’s group had anticipated.

Since the other party was conducting themselves with such courtesy, there was no room to press charges. Even Long Ma withdrew its behavior somewhat sheepishly, and returned the five-colored precious tree to Penglai’s sect master.

If the truth were told, it was utterly and completely unwilling — this was a sage’s dharmic weapon. Ye Fan had struck it down with the black arrow, and it had fallen right into Long Ma’s possession. Long Ma simply couldn’t bear to part with it.

The great battle dissolved into nothing. The tension dissipated. Ye Fan’s group entered the immortal gate. Inside, towering cliff inscriptions lined the way, beautiful mountain peaks rose one after another, divine vines wound around everything, auspicious radiance lay in swaths, ancient medicines filled the air with fragrance — and beyond that, cranes danced in flight, spirit springs burbled and flowed, light played in all colors. It was truly a pristine and sacred land.

The disciples of Penglai were more than a little indignant. In all these many years, this was the first time anyone had ever dared to come and attack directly — trampling Penglai’s gates, a single Dragon Horse leveling the mountain entrance to flat ground, dozens of great mountains stomped into ruin. They were deeply resentful.

“The immortal path is steep, filled with hardship, and one’s character is above all else. I have been negligent — these many years spent in closed seclusion refining the Dao self, and I failed to notice that several worthless disciples had grown this arrogant and self-important.”

The celestial lord of Penglai was merciless in his reproof of his several great master-level disciples, until they were red-faced and unable to utter a single word in their own defense.

“Why did you offend Ye, my Dao companion?”

“Linghao went to the central lands and reported that a certain sect was siphoning the Resolve of all living beings, calling itself the Heavenly Court. So action was taken to deal with it…” Penglai’s sect master said.

This so-called Linghao was the lesser celestial lord — also the direct descendant of the great master standing before them, and possessed of considerable status, which explained why he had been so thoroughly protected.

The celestial lord listened and then nodded. “Dao companion Ye, please don’t take it out on a child. They go out to the world once every several decades or hundred years, and understand nothing of the central lands — they hear the wind and mistake it for rain. Youth and hot-bloodedness always leads to rash action.”

What could Ye Fan say? The other man had already spoken to this point — and Long Ma had already acted, stamping a whole crowd into grievous injury, the lesser celestial lord especially having nearly been split in two. There was no pressing the matter further.

After that, the conversation between them was most congenial. They discussed the art of the Dao, and the celestial lord shared considerable insight from his own cultivation — every word drawn from experience.

To have reached this level of cultivation would have made one a remarkable figure even in the age of high antiquity. During that era, though there were sages and wise men present in the world, many had come from beyond the domain and were not native to this land.

Ye Fan felt sincere admiration. This man’s mastery of the Dao was extraordinary; the methods he cultivated contained something uniquely his own. To have traveled this far, to have become a great master of full completion — he was unquestionably a figure of exceptional brilliance.

The celestial lord of Penglai spoke plainly: establishing a sect was permitted, but the name “Heavenly Court” was genuinely one to be avoided. Even the sages of high antiquity had gone to great lengths to steer clear of it, unwilling to be associated with those two words for fear of inviting calamity.

He offered this as a friendly reminder — there truly was such a rule in the unwritten celestial laws of high antiquity. Better to avoid it if at all possible; otherwise, considerable trouble might arise in the future.

“Oh? Is that so — has the very name of the ancient Heavenly Court become taboo? Does that mean there are those from beyond the domain watching?” Ye Fan asked.

“It is best left unspoken and unsaid. As for certain things, it is better to hold them in reverence.” The celestial lord said in this manner.

Ye Fan nodded, and then raised the matter of the five-colored altars — this was what concerned him most. He wished to find an ancient path leading deep into the starry expanse.

In the distance, that five-colored Dao platform shimmered with flowing radiance, great Dao presence drifting from it. That material could not be mistaken — it was the special stone used to construct the ritual altars of the stellar domains.

The celestial lord sighed. When the sages of high antiquity departed, they left behind no stellar coordinates. Though certain hidden lands contained five-colored altars, none of those who came after knew how to open them.

“Has no one ever attempted to explore them?” Ye Fan was unwilling to let it go.

The celestial lord’s expression shifted, and he looked toward the five-colored Dao platform in the distance. Then he said, “Those hidden lands are all very dangerous. To tell you frankly, Dao companion, there is one place I do know of — this very Dao platform was retrieved from there. Regrettably, my power was insufficient to go deeper.”

“Oh — such a place actually exists. Celestial lord, would you be willing to tell me of it? I’d like to go and take a look.”

The celestial lord of Penglai nodded. Naturally it wouldn’t do to set out immediately — proper courtesy had to be observed, and he invited them to remain and drink spirit tea.

Ye Fan’s arrival on Long Ma’s back had greatly shaken the celestial lord. After much inquiry, he learned the beast had come from Kunlun — and his eyes lit up with wonder, full of admiration.

“What sort of people live on the other two immortal mountains beyond the sea?” Ye Fan asked.

Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou — the three immortal mountains beyond the sea — were of immense renown and had been spoken of since ancient times. Among common people, Kunlun was rarely mentioned; Penglai was the name most widely known.

“Both Fangzhang and Yingzhou have powerful figures presiding over them. As for their ancestors — I imagine, Dao companion Ye, that you may have heard of them.” The celestial lord smiled.

“Oh? Please, do tell.” Ye Fan asked.

“On the immortal mountain Fangzhang live the descendants of Pengzu, and on the immortal mountain Yingzhou live the descendants of Xu Fu.”

Ye Fan was immediately startled, a look of surprise crossing his face. Both of these were famous practitioners of Qi cultivation, recorded in ancient texts.

Xu Fu himself had not been of particularly profound cultivation, yet he had once searched for the elixir of immortality at the First Emperor’s behest, leading a company of young boys and girls out to sea — an event recorded in the historical annals.

According to the celestial lord of Penglai, Xu Fu had ultimately reached Yingzhou, having failed to find the elixir of immortality, and so did not return. One of his descendants had shown remarkable talent and received the inheritance of the immortal mountain Yingzhou; that person was still alive today, holding a position of considerable authority on the island.

Pengzu was a famous practitioner of Qi cultivation from the pre-Qin era — whenever longevity was discussed, his name was invoked first. Various ancient Daoist texts all made mention of him, and there was speculation that he might have obtained a fragment of the “He” character secret among the Nine Secrets, which would explain why his life-cultivation arts were without peer in the world. His descendants had gone out to sea and ultimately reached the immortal mountain Fangzhang, where they were one of the island’s several great lineages, wielding considerable influence.

“They say the three immortal mountains beyond the sea have elixirs of immortality — is that true?” Long Ma spoke up, reining in its violent temper and actually presenting something of an auspicious beast’s bearing.

“The story has circulated since ancient times, yet no one has ever actually seen one. I believe that even if any existed, they would long since have been taken away by the sage-emperors of high antiquity as they entered the boundless star sea.” The celestial lord shook his head.

Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou — these three immortal mountains beyond the sea — had been of immense renown in the age of high antiquity, frequented by sages and wise men and bearing a great wealth of Dao lineages. However, after heaven and earth underwent their great change, many lineages withdrew, and though the spiritual energy of the three immortal mountains had diminished little, they had declined from their former heights — the surviving Dao lineages amounting to less than a tenth of what they had once been.

In the end, the celestial lord led the way personally, guiding Ye Fan to a stretch of ocean, descending into the underwater world to arrive before an ocean palace — the surrounding area utterly desolate, fish and shrimp not daring to approach.

“Is this an ancient Dragon Palace from high antiquity?” Zhang Qingyang and the others cried out in shock.

The palace complex was of incomparable magnificence. Though now reduced to crumbled walls and broken ruins, its former glory could be imagined — all jade stone giant pillars, like a heavenly palace in form.

This place extended over an immense area, continuous and unbroken. After long ages, many of the ancient palaces remained intact, their grandeur imposing, their crystalline surfaces shimmering with treasure light.

The celestial lord came to a halt at the deepest part of the ocean palace. “What lies ahead is too dangerous — I cannot proceed further. I can only guide you this far.”

Ahead, a crystal-like palace complex shone brilliantly in the depths of the sea, radiating dazzling light — like a divine palace, with massive pillars, vast and magnificent treasure halls, blazing with radiance that made it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

And at the center of this continuous expanse of glittering halls, there was a mountain made of five-colored stone, shaped like a burial mound, standing at the center, encircled by all the ancient palaces.

The celestial lord said that his five-colored Dao platform had been retrieved from this very place — an undertaking that had demanded tremendous effort and a great deal of time to accomplish. He urged Ye Fan to proceed with great caution before turning and departing.

The Cauldron of All Things breathed out strands of divine power. Ye Fan took all his disciples inside it and handed it over to Long Ma, and at the same time retrieved a black arrow to accompany it for protection.

“Don’t return to Penglai. Be careful, and guard them well. Wait for me to come out.” Ye Fan instructed.

Long Ma was naturally unwilling. This place surely held secret treasures — however dangerous it might be, it was worth the risk, and the rewards would likely be great. But in the end it did not go in, and charged away with a kick of its heels.

Ye Fan entered the crystal palace and immediately sensed wave after wave of killing intent. Ancient formation arrays were unquestionably guarding this place, warning all who approached not to draw near.

All around, crystal radiance flowed in every direction, like a world of dreams and illusions. This place was truly as vast and magnificent as an ancient Dragon Palace — the only dissonant note being the five-colored stone mound at its center, from which emanated a demonic power.

Ye Fan had come precisely for this five-colored burial mound — to seek the coordinates of an ancient stellar path, one had to first find this kind of thing. Perhaps it held clues.

“This is no burial mound — it is an ancient sealed ground from high antiquity!”

When he drew near and walked several circles around the five-colored divine altar, a look of shock crossed his face. A seal laid down with this five-colored stone was truly no trifling matter!

A warning premonition surged in Ye Fan’s heart. He activated the Step Word Art and swiftly retreated — but a terrifying force erupted within the sealed ground with extreme speed. A massive tearing power wrenched toward him, seeking to drag him in.

His heart shook violently. This was the power of a sage! A presence that filled the sky and reached all the way to the farthest horizon — overwhelming and astonishing in its strength.

It was not that Ye Fan had been unprepared — but he had not anticipated that a living ancient sage could be sealed in the depths of an ancient Dragon Palace on the ocean floor. This was a crisis of staggering proportions.

He activated the Step Word Art, his body transforming into a lightning bolt that charged toward the crystal palace’s exit, seeking to escape in the shortest possible time and flee this most terrifying of absolute grounds.

Once one attained sainthood, they would stand high and supreme over all! Speaking in terms of combat power alone — they had nearly transcended the category of humanity. To a Dao-severance cultivator, a sage looked down upon them as upon ants, able to oversee all living beings.

Rumble!

Every crystal palace shifted out of position, blocking Ye Fan’s path and forming an ancient killing formation — fully reawakened, many times more terrifying than before. This was an ancient formation laid down by the ancient sage themselves.

In the distance, the celestial lord of Penglai’s expression had turned cold. His hands moved through gestures — it had been he who had activated this ancient great formation. His gaze was like ice, bearing not a trace of emotion.

“The five-colored Dao platform I obtained and the ancient Heavenly Book both came from this place — I just forgot to mention one thing: an ancient demonic embryo is also sealed here. Wait for your death in this place. I will first go and cut down Long Ma and your disciples, then come back and watch you slowly wither away!”

The celestial lord seemed to become an entirely different person. His gaze was dark and cold — distant and emotionless. He turned and left.

A thread of cold, indifferent smile appeared at the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth. He called to the departing figure’s back: “Do you think I didn’t know you were setting a trap? Since I dared to come, naturally I am without fear. In a little while, I’ll go and collect your corpse.”

“First survive the trial of the ancient demonic sage — no one has ever lived within a sealed ground. Ha ha…” The celestial lord gave a cruel laugh, then said coldly, “I’ll go cut down Long Ma and the rest first and clean up every last one!” He vanished.