In the latter half of the night, starlight fell cold and pale. The silver moon slanted westward. All fell still in a silence of ten thousand voices. Thin mist curled around the mountain peaks, a scene of pale, quiet solitude.

Ye Fan and the Sacred Imperial Prince both sat cross-legged upon slabs of blue stone, their expressions serene — without joy, without sorrow. Tens of li away, a great army bore down upon them, yet the two showed not the slightest reaction.

This was to wear down the Celestial Imperial Prince’s morale. Let him rant and bluster — the two remained steady as a mountain, immovable. Still as a maiden at rest, yet once moving, like a divine lion tearing apart an elephant — ten thousand streaks of blood-light, awaiting a strike of thunderous force.

“After all these years, what cultivation level has the Celestial Imperial Prince actually reached?” Ye Fan asked. Before a great battle began, it was only natural to understand one’s opponent thoroughly.

The Sacred Imperial Prince had originally been in closed cultivation and had not expected Ye Fan to suddenly launch an offensive and travel through the night to the Southern Region to match his swift, decisive strike. He answered: “The same realm as you — standing at the sixth minor step of the Dao Severance stage.”

Ye Fan’s eyes flickered. This Celestial Imperial Prince was truly formidable — his cultivation had advanced at a breathtaking speed. Even after all these years of bitter cultivation, Ye Fan had not managed to pull ahead by even a single step.

The Sacred Imperial Prince saw his expression and said, “You can be proud of yourself. He entered Dao Severance before you — you are the one who caught up to him. If he knew this, he would certainly be furious.”

Dao Severance was an arduous path. Otherwise, those heirs of ancient divine courts and holy lands — Gu Hua, Jiu Li, Dao Yi, Zi Fu — would not have fallen one after another. The former Holy Sons and Holy Daughters had almost none left among them, long since replaced by a new generation, reduced to a handful of yellow earth.

When Ye Fan had returned to this side of the starry sky, he had spent three years in deep cultivation — accumulating great strength before erupting — then severed the Dao, advancing directly to the third minor step. But every step after that had been filled with hardship.

At first, he had still been able to advance one minor step per year. But later, he spent a full eight years before successfully advancing a single step — from the fifth minor step to the sixth.

“How powerful is his actual combat strength?” Ye Fan asked. This was the question that concerned him most.

“Extremely powerful. Immeasurable.” The Sacred Imperial Prince said, his tone solemn. If it were otherwise, he would have slain this great enemy long ago — why allow him to survive to this day?

Huangxu Dao and Huo Qizi lending occasional assistance was one reason. But the primary reason was that the Celestial Imperial Prince himself was sufficiently strong — far surpassing the ordinary — with bloodline power unmatched across all antiquity.

The Sacred Imperial Prince’s fur gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight, as though cast from gold. His expression grew grave as he revealed a secret that was enough to astonish the world.

“He has had a great battle almost every month — a life-and-death duel with an unimaginable existence. Do you know who that is?”

Ye Fan looked at him with suspicion — at the Sacred Imperial Prince’s solemn, grave face — and listened carefully.

“In a single year, he has no fewer than ten opportunities to duel the Undying Celestial Emperor as he was in his youth.” The Sacred Imperial Prince’s voice was very low.

“What?!” Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with sudden intensity, two flashes of lightning-like light shooting out. An extraordinary expression crossed his face.

This news was earth-shattering. To do battle with the Undying Celestial Emperor in his youth — it was like something out of a dream. That was a being regarded as transcending even divinity, revered by ten thousand clans.

“How is this possible?”

“The Undying Celestial Emperor was extremely strict with his only offspring, and left behind many methods to temper him.”

It was said that the Undying Celestial Emperor’s mastery touched the very mechanism of creation. He had left behind an indestructible imprint of himself from his youth — one that only those of his bloodline could activate, awakening the imprint to carry out duels.

Ye Fan frowned after hearing this. What a terrifying method of instruction — something ordinary people could never come close to. To battle the being whom ten thousand clans revered as supreme — this was something every person who had proven the Dao would dream of.

“He’s taken quite a beating over all these years.” The Sacred Imperial Prince said with a mocking smile, a trace of a grin at the corner of his mouth.

Ye Fan nodded. “That does make sense. The Undying Celestial Emperor was very likely the greatest being across ten thousand ages. Even inheriting his bloodline and supreme arts doesn’t mean one can be his equal.”

“I’d very much like to see the young version of the Undying Celestial Emperor batter that young man into a cripple — though I suppose a father couldn’t possibly do that.” The Sacred Imperial Prince laughed.

Ye Fan rolled his eyes. The monkey was truly heartless — actually hoping a father would cripple his own son. That wasn’t realistic.

Mountain mists had condensed into winding bands, coiling around the slopes, drifting through the woodland, mingling with the moonlight into a vast silver-white wrapping. The two conversed with seriousness, analyzing a powerful opponent.

“Before the Celestial Imperial Prince was born, he dwelt inside a celestial egg of stone, positioned atop a source of the Origin of Creation — enough to make the root of his life a hundred, a thousand times stronger than anyone else.”

Ye Fan had entered the Purple Mountain before and witnessed that terrain. Even now, recalling it still moved him deeply. Generations of Source Heaven Masters had been unable to locate a single Origin of Creation spring — it was a true heaven-defying celestial eye that plundered the creative forces of heaven and earth.

The Undying Celestial Emperor had left the finest possible environment to make his bloodline the most powerful in all the world, cultivating him step by step. This Celestial Imperial Prince could not help but be powerful. Who could guess what other heaven-defying preparations had been made?

“Hmm — don’t you think their morale isn’t quite as fierce as before?” The Sacred Imperial Prince smiled.

By now it was the darkest period before dawn. Before long, the stars across the heavens would fade. The night was almost over.

“They came with great fanfare and tremendous momentum. Let time grind down their peak spirit, then strike when they’re diminished.” Ye Fan also smiled.

Suddenly, a golden-edged portal appeared atop their main peak. A gateway opened. The great black dog strolled out, followed by Long Ma and the unscrupulous Daoist, Duan De.

When Ye Fan saw these three assembled together, he felt something was distinctly off. These three were truly without a shred of virtue — three schemers gathered in one place. Particularly Duan De’s sly, lecherous grin, which always left one feeling deeply uneasy.

Behind them, Ye Tong, Dongfang Ye, and several others also emerged, each cracking their knuckles and rolling their necks, appearing extremely excited.

Ye Fan swept a hand outward, and a web of Source Heaven patterns appeared, condensing into a dense mass of Dao traces that locked down the entire mountain, concealing their aura, preventing anyone dozens of li away from divining what lay here — the distance was simply too close for comfort.

“That look on your face tells me you’re up to no good.” Ye Fan stared at the great black dog.

“To hell with you — I, the Emperor, shall spit a mouthful of immortal essence right in your face.” The great black dog cursed, immediately dropping its expression into one of deep displeasure.

“It was this poor Daoist’s idea — a sudden flash of inspiration. I want to pull off something big.” Duan De said with a sly smile.

He had a ruddy complexion and jet-black hair, wearing a purple-gold royal Daoist crown with a true dragon wooden hairpin through it. He wore sun-and-moon Daoist robes with the Yin-Yang diagram on his back. Everything on him was a priceless treasure. Yet strip away those external trappings, and no matter how one looked at him, he appeared to be no upstanding person — one instinctively wanted to give him a good thrashing.

“You shameless swindler — what crooked scheme are you cooking up?” Ye Fan eyed Duan De warily. This fellow was truly no good.

“The Celestial Imperial Prince has raised a great army and come all this way — which means his northern home base must be completely empty. We might as well go raid his lair.” Duan De smiled with shameless glee.

“You truly are something else!” The Sacred Imperial Prince laughed out loud. He said it as an insult, yet his expression clearly betrayed delight and admiration.

“This idea is outstanding. I, the Dragon Lord, already gave my approval just now. If we’re going to do it, let’s make it a big score!” Long Ma shook his head and swished his tail, exhaling white breath, a portrait of excessive excitement.

“You three…” Ye Fan rolled his eyes. He had known it — whenever these three scoundrels gathered together, nothing good would come of it.

“This is a once-in-ten-thousand-year opportunity. Miss this village and there won’t be another inn.” The Black Emperor said imperiously, deeply dissatisfied with Ye Fan’s attitude.

Ye Fan’s expression turned serious. “Setting aside whether we could even find the Celestial Imperial Prince’s base, could we actually raid it even if we found it? Most likely there are primordial ancestor kings standing guard.”

“I know where the Undying Celestial Emperor’s Palace is.” The Sacred Imperial Prince spoke up, confirming at the same time that the area indeed had primordial ancestor kings standing guard — though those figures were stationed a considerable distance away from the primordial Dao sanctuary itself.

“Exactly how far away? That’s the question I came here to ask — it’s what concerns me most.” The Black Emperor’s copper-bell eyes gleamed. Clearly this was no joke.

“Besides the Son of God himself and the servants who attend to him, no outsider is permitted within the Undying Celestial Emperor’s Palace. The several primordial ancestor kings are all in closed cultivation on the main peaks somewhat further out from that primordial Dao sanctuary…”

The Sacred Imperial Prince explained in detail, even sketching out a terrain map on the ground, precisely estimating distances.

“No problem — I can lay down the greatest Heaven-Deceiving Secret Formation in all the world. This is the very formation that the Wushi Great Emperor once used to blind the heavens. With this much distance separating us, deceiving a few ancestor kings will be absolutely no problem. We can pull off something huge!” The Black Emperor said with full confidence.

“Ha ha… let’s go raid the Celestial Imperial Prince’s home base while he bounces around the Southern Region!” Dongfang Ye, Li Heishui, and the others were all fired with excitement — brimming with exhilaration.

The Celestial Imperial Prince had led the Eight Divine General Legions southward with tremendous fanfare, drawing the eyes of all the world. He had even enlisted Huangxu Dao, Huo Qizi, and Huo Lin’er, with half-Saints holding the rear — if his back base could be swept clean at a moment like this, it would absolutely make him cough up blood in rage.

In the end, both Ye Fan and the Sacred Imperial Prince nodded their agreement. If the northern territory fell into instability, the Celestial Imperial Prince would certainly be frantic with fury — and when he turned back to save it, they could cut him down halfway.

“At that moment, the Ancient Imperial Prince Alliance and the Eight Divine General army will both fall into chaos. We ride the momentum to bring them crashing down and cut out their vital artery!” Ye Fan said.

The Sacred Imperial Prince narrowed his eyes, divine light flashing in their depths as they opened and closed. “We need to put on a good enough show. Right now we naturally have to pin him down in the Southern Region first — we should limber up our muscles and spar with them a few rounds. Then we head north to reap the spoils of war. I’ve heard the Undying Celestial Emperor left behind several world-shaking celestial treasures.”

Duan De, the Black Emperor, and Long Ma — the three scoundrels — took the lead, opening a dimension gate straight for the Northern Region. Ye Tong, Dongfang Ye, Li Tian, Li Heishui, and the rest let out whooping cries, each with excitement written across their face as they charged in after them.

At dawn, outside Bluesky City, the Ancient Tribe troops stood with cold expressions, still as primordial stone idols. They had marched a great army south, only to come up empty — no one had answered their challenge. It left them with the helpless feeling of throwing a powerful punch into empty air, unable to vent their fury.

“Weren’t you going to challenge the Celestial Imperial Prince? He’s here in the flesh — why won’t you fight? Useless things. Come however many of you there are, and we’ll kill however many come!”

“From this day forward, wherever the Celestial Imperial Prince passes, you’d best tuck your tails and hide forever. Otherwise you’ll have no grave to be buried in!”

“Nothing but a clown who oversteps himself. What makes you think you can contend with the Celestial Imperial Prince? You’re just worthless ants — never his match, not across an eternity.”

Many descendants of the Eight Divine General Legions were shouting and bellowing. The sound reverberated, sending distant mountain ranges rumbling and shaking.

“Who can contend with the Celestial Imperial Prince? From this day forward, you can only kneel and prostrate yourselves — you aren’t even worthy to be his opponents.”

“Do any of you dare come out now? If you appear, I’ll grind you into dust with one toe — what are you supposed to be?”

A streak of dawn glowed from the east. A brand-new day began. Outside Bluesky City, thin wisps of smoke drifted, mist and haze spread across the land.

“Slash!”

Suddenly, a surge of blazing immortal light burst forth. The Sacred Imperial Prince tore open the void and plunged into the midst of the crowd. The large staff in his hand swept sideways. Those who had been doing the shouting a moment before had their bones shattered, their tendons broken, their brains bursting forth — a great swath of them died on the spot.

“What?! The Sacred Imperial Prince has come!”

“Stop him! Kill without mercy!”

Yet the monkey came as fast as he left — supremely courageous, his blood energy surging like a great flood. One sweep of the large staff and shattered bones and mangled flesh exploded outward. He bludgeoned himself a path of blood and cut straight through, leaving more than a hundred corpses in his wake before vanishing into the horizon.

“A duel outside the Ancient Forbidden Grounds!” These were the words the Sacred Imperial Prince left behind — words that made many people’s ears bleed from the shockwave.

Outside Bluesky City erupted into tumult. People had waited an entire night; they had finally witnessed a result. Someone had made their move and named the site of the great battle.

Upon the ancient war chariot, the Celestial Imperial Prince’s expression darkened. He had been too late to intervene — he had watched helplessly as the monkey cut down a portion of his subordinates and strode away. The heavenly blade in his hand blazed with a blinding, snow-bright light, slicing across the sky.

“Cursed wretch!” Several Ancient Tribe warriors cursed bitterly.

But before the chaos and wails could settle, another surge of blazing immortal light appeared. A dark-gold spear tore through heaven and earth as though carving open a passage through primordial chaos.

Incomparably sharp spear energy shot out, stretching more than ten li in length, sweeping downward. Ancient Tribe warriors screamed. Blood and flesh flew in all directions. Ye Fan held the spear and fought, slaughtering everything in his path!

“Spurt!”

A flash of blood-light, followed by a piercing shriek. A Peak King realm warrior had his forehead skull punctured, exploding apart in the void.

“Don’t even think of going anywhere!”

The Celestial Imperial Prince erupted with fury. For someone to openly slaughter his people right before his eyes — this was a savage blow to his prestige. How could he show his face?

The Undying Heavenly Blade in his hand transformed into a wildly blazing streak of snow-bright light — like the silver river of nine heavens falling vertically down, pouring out a blinding torrent of blade light, slashing straight toward Ye Fan.

“Clang!”

Ye Fan used the black dark-gold spear as a great staff and swung it in a sweeping arc, directly shattering the sky. Several Ancient Tribe warriors in the surrounding area were all torn apart, blood and flesh flying everywhere. The jet-black light of the spear shaft blazed brilliantly. It crashed against the Undying Heavenly Blade with a heaven-shaking boom that made everyone present scream and cover their ears.

“Extremely powerful!”

Ye Fan could not help but make this assessment. This Celestial Imperial Prince truly possessed bloodline power without equal across all antiquity. He was worthy of being the Undying Celestial Emperor’s heir — divinely brave, unrivaled under heaven.

And in that moment, the Celestial Imperial Prince’s expression was cold and ruthless. That one slash had shattered even the traces of the Dao itself, filling the air with primordial chaos energy — yet it had been blocked by a single counter-strike.

Ye Fan had no intention of becoming drawn into a prolonged fight. This was a formidable enemy who had been dueling the young Undying Celestial Emperor for years. His cultivation was immeasurably deep.

“A battle outside the Ancient Forbidden Grounds!”

He left those words behind, then merged his body with the dark-gold spear into a single streak of rainbow light, piercing through the body of a Peak King realm warrior and blasting him into four fragments, vanishing into the distant sky.

In the place where he disappeared, four terrifying Dao traces appeared and obliterated everything at that location — but unfortunately, they struck nothing.

Outside Bluesky City, the scene erupted into clamor. People’s hearts surged with intense excitement. The long-anticipated battle had finally begun. A great uproar arose.

Thousands of li away, Ye Fan and the Sacred Imperial Prince exchanged a glance and smiled. They could well imagine: given the Celestial Imperial Prince’s personality, when he came to the Ancient Forbidden Grounds, he would certainly first probe the situation carefully. This would leave them ample time.

“Let’s go — raid his home base!” The two opened a dimension gate and traversed across, heading for the Northern Region.