“Kneel before me — if you do not show yourselves, I will slaughter the entire city of Zhuxian!”
The Crown Prince of Heaven was extraordinarily handsome, yet his expression at this moment was fearsome and intimidating. He held his demon blade aloft, poised to cleave through the city below.
Roar!
Zhuxian City seemed to erupt — cultivators scattered in all directions like startled birds, desperately afraid of dying in this place, while ordinary mortals panicked, crying and screaming as they surged toward the city gates.
“He has cornered himself and is now tearing off all pretense to force us out. Perhaps he believes that because you are human, you cannot bring yourself to abandon them,” the Holy Prince said to Ye Fan.
“You dare!”
Suddenly, from within Zhuxian City, a torrent of overwhelming presence surged skyward — a powerful aura of a Demon Saint billowed outward, shaking everything for miles around, as though an entire star domain had come crashing down.
“What?! The aura of a Saint — is there a Demon Saint in seclusion here?” Everyone was stunned.
“It is the Black Tortoise Saint,” Dongfang Ye said with a wild laugh, his hair disheveled like a savage, revealing a mouth full of brilliant white teeth.
The reason they had chosen this city was precisely because they had heard that the Black Tortoise — guardian deity of the Southern Ridge Barbarian Tribes — had come here to reminisce and explore antiquities. So they had made this place the final stop of their journey.
“On the strength of your paltry Dao-Severing cultivation, you dare speak such arrogant words — dreaming of destroying a great human city? Move against it even once, and I will flay you alive!” A cold, indifferent voice rang out from within Zhuxian City.
No one had anticipated that a Demon Saint was presiding over Zhuxian City. Those who had been fleeing all quieted down and were no longer afraid.
Even with the Crown Prince of Heaven’s overwhelming power, he would not dare provoke the wrath of a Saint. A single finger from a Saint could crush him to dust. A “Saint” had transcended the boundaries of ordinary existence — that chasm was utterly unbridgeable.
Although Saints were said to be forbidden from taking action directly, this restriction came with conditions. The premise was that one must not provoke them. If someone dared to slaughter a city where a Demon Saint resided, killing that person ten times over would raise not a single voice of objection.
Hiss!
The Crown Prince of Heaven ground his teeth, his face darkening to an extreme. He slashed his blade through the heavens, carving out a rift hundreds of miles long, which transformed into a vast black void that devoured everything.
Fury smoldered in his chest, yet he did not dare truly destroy this city. If he did, not even the Ancient Ancestor Kings could save him — he would be annihilated on the spot.
“Move out!”
The Crown Prince of Heaven’s thick locks of hair flew wild as he turned and departed, his Immortal War Chariot cleaving through the sky with a rumbling roar, the Eight Divine Generals following close behind.
As for Huang Xudao, Huo Qizi, and Huo Lin’er — they all vanished into the vault of heaven. Their cultivation was so far beyond the norm that no one could stop them; they came and went as they pleased, disappearing to unknown locations.
“Since this city cannot be slaughtered, I shall go and destroy ten other cities instead — let the earth run with rivers of blood, let mountains of bones and corpses pile high — and we shall see whether you emerge!” The merciless words resounded through the sky.
Everyone had anticipated that the Crown Prince of Heaven would come in force and march southward, that bloodshed would flow in his wake — tens of thousands of bodies. No one had imagined it would be even worse than they feared.
The ancient war chariot rumbled forward. The Crown Prince of Heaven stood atop it, the Immortal Blade of Heaven strapped to his back, his eyes sharp as lightning. Black hair covered half his face, and his murderous intent shook the nine heavens.
Exotic beasts charged forward, and the Eight Divine Generals transformed into a torrent of iron. Thundering across the heavens, their hooves made even the void tremble.
Battle banners snapped and crackled in the wind. This army radiated killing intent — cold light gleamed on iron armor, saturated with an aura of ruthless slaughter. They were determined to sweep through dozens of cities in a single stroke. They had endured long enough!
“Come then! The grand trap I carefully laid outside Zhuxian City has long been open and waiting — let us see where you can run this time!” the Black Emperor said with a cold laugh.
In the distance, the Crown Prince of Heaven wore an icy expression. “The only being besides a Saint capable of entering my Immortal Palace without a sound is that dog!”
“This old servant is ashamed — I have been unable to divine that dog’s movements,” said an elderly figure from an Ancient Clan nearby, bowing humbly. He was versed in the arts of divination and could read the secrets of heaven.
Over the years, others might not have dared to challenge the Crown Prince of Heaven, but that dog was not among them. It had once laid a grand formation to ambush the Son of God — though it had ended in failure, the event had shaken the entire world.
“I hope it does not appear. If it does, I will make sure it bites off more than it can chew,” the Crown Prince of Heaven said, his gaze sweeping coldly across the distant sky.
Far from Zhuxian City, the Eight Divine Generals had only just entered the airspace above a mountain range when, in an instant, world-shaking killing intent erupted. On the hundreds upon hundreds of peaks below, towering sword energies slashed across the heavens.
“What?! Someone dares to ambush the Crown Prince of Heaven!”
Hundreds of mountain peaks awakened, transforming into traces of the Dao — crisscrossing in every direction, forming a vast sea of stars. One could clearly see ancient stars appearing there, slowly revolving. This place had become something like a star domain.
“Ahhh—!”
Members of the Ancient Clan cried out as entire groups of people exploded on the spot, dissolving into clouds of bloody mist. Gleaming white bones shot outward, trailing threads of red — no one had expected the killing formation to activate so suddenly.
“We have fallen into a trap, Crown Prince of Heaven — we are caught within a formation! This is a vast and boundless grand array, clearly prepared long in advance!”
The Eight Divine Generals were greatly alarmed. Each of the ancient beasts let out long, anguished cries. Chaos erupted in all directions — within the sea of stars, ancient planets rotated, and with each turn, a world-grinding force surged outward.
Spit!
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen powerful members of the Ancient Clan burst into sprays of blood, as though crushed by an enormous millstone. They became slurries of gore and shattered bone, utterly unable to resist.
“Do not panic. I knew it would leap out — give me the formation banners! Strike back and break the formation!” The Crown Prince of Heaven flicked his wrist, and a full one hundred and eight large banners flew out, each bearing intricate and enigmatic patterns.
“Formation banners of the Ancient Era.” In the distance, the Black Emperor’s heart lurched. These array markings were tremendously powerful — they were intended to shatter ancient stars.
Boom!
All one hundred and eight banners shook simultaneously. The sea of stars collapsed — countless ancient stars exploded, like an entire universe being destroyed, reduced to a terrifying expanse of black voids and nothingness.
“Rise!”
The Black Emperor bellowed, and forty-nine formation platforms shot into the air, each one radiating gentle radiance and moving along the trajectories of the Dao, suppressing the killing formation in this place.
“A trifling trick. I have been waiting for this day for a long time — I intended to exterminate all of you together,” the Crown Prince of Heaven said in an eerie, sinister tone. He opened his mouth and exhaled, releasing three special ancient banners — Heaven, Earth, and Human — to suppress this place.
“This is bad — years ago, when I launched a surprise attack on him, I nearly made him swallow a bitter defeat. These formation banners are aimed specifically at me,” the Black Emperor said in a grave voice.
“Could they actually turn and restrain us?” Li Tian asked.
The Great Black Dog said, “These were refined for him by several Ancient Ancestor Kings. Fortunately, I made multiple preparations. Quickly go to the other three directions of Zhuxian City and bring the remaining formation platforms here — we will encircle and attack together!”
They had laid this trap, drawing the Crown Prince of Heaven down to the Southern Region and luring him into Zhuxian City. Killing formations had been set up in all four directions — what had just been activated was only one of them.
“I will go move the formation platforms,” Yao Yue Kong, Yan Yixi, and the others went together. They had long since learned the layout of the grand array and knew what to do.
It did not take long. As the formations overlapped and all four platforms activated simultaneously, the shattered sea of stars reappeared — the world-grinding aura became clearly more pronounced. The Black Emperor had truly given everything he had this time; years of accumulated effort were all being brought to bear, all in the hope of completely destroying the Crown Prince of Heaven and his Eight Divine Generals.
Boom!
However, a thunderous crash shook heaven and earth. Every single banner the Crown Prince of Heaven had deployed exploded and ignited, forcibly tearing open a path as he carved his way out.
The Eight Divine Generals followed close behind. War banners unfurled in the wind — a thousand-strong army pressing forward, surging and majestic — they had broken through and charged out, iron cavalry shattering the heavens.
“Infuriating. Several Ancient Ancestor Kings referenced the formation arrays left behind by the Immortal Emperor and laid them out specifically to counter me, leaving even me without a solution,” the Great Black Dog sighed.
All of the Crown Prince of Heaven’s formation banners had been destroyed, but all of the Black Emperor’s formation platforms had likewise been reduced to powder. The main army broke through unscathed, its core strength unaffected.
“Move out — march into the Southern Region! Flatten everything connected to Ye Fan!”
The Crown Prince of Heaven issued an order to kill without mercy. Even opening his Heavenly Eye, he could not detect the Black Emperor and the others. Cold and merciless, he intended to sweep through the place where Ye Fan had started out — since the Southern Region was where it had all begun, he wanted to erase every last trace.
“Although this was clearly aimed at me, it seems from all appearances that he suspects you have returned,” the Great Black Dog said to Ye Fan.
“It is hard to say. The Black Emperor and Ye Fan have a deep and long-standing connection. He has been cornered and is prepared to spare nothing to eliminate us — and so he has gone mad,” Li Tian said.
“This is troublesome. We had laid a killing formation, yet he possessed formation banners capable of breaking it,” the Black Emperor said.
“Then we fight,” the Holy Prince said gravely, opening a domain gate to travel to the Southern Region.
“Let us go.” Ye Fan nodded as well.
The Southern Region erupted once more. The Crown Prince of Heaven had left only to return. Now he had thrown all caution to the wind. He had already lost every shred of dignity — even his golden undergarments had been auctioned off publicly. This time, he would not hesitate to vent his rage on countless innocents.
“I once heard that Ye Fan trained at a small sect called the Spiritual Void Cave Heaven in the region surrounding an Ancient Forbidden Land. Today, I will reduce it to ash — and leave no one alive.”
The Crown Prince of Heaven’s face was cold and emotionless, without the slightest ripple of feeling. His eyes were like blocks of ice, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
“In the past, these insects never merited a second glance from me. But today, I am furious — I will see to it that every last human in that place has no grave to be buried in!”
That region was known as the Yan Territory — a small nation, with the Ancient Forbidden Land at its center and six minor sects encircling the mountain ranges at its periphery, including the Spiritual Void Cave Heaven.
Boom!
The Southern Region plunged into chaos. The Crown Prince of Heaven led his iron cavalry southward without restraint, trampling several human sects flat beneath them. Blood flowed freely; severed limbs went flying. The Dao Mountains were leveled to the ground.
They charged into the heart of the Southern Region without fear of provoking the wrath of the human race. They slaughtered without mercy, consecutively destroying more than a dozen sects in a campaign of iron and blood.
And all of it was simply because those sects had blocked his path. Whenever this was the case, the Crown Prince of Heaven and the Eight Divine Generals would simply raise their blades and cleave through the mountains ahead.
Blood flowed in rivers. Those sects were to be mourned — they were only massacred because they had the misfortune of lying in the path of the southward march. Masses of cultivators were cut down, their bodies and blood carpeting the ground.
Resentment and grief surged to the heavens throughout the Southern Region, yet many dared to be angry but not to speak. The army was far too powerful. Though more than a dozen sects had been destroyed, not a single person dared to stand up.
“Ahhh — Master!”
A cry of anguish rang out. Along the path of the southward march, a mid-sized sect was annihilated. A young man let out a mournful howl, his body covered in blood. He stood atop a broken mountain, swinging a long halberd in fury as he charged toward the Eight Divine Generals.
Spit!
But the Eight Divine Generals swept past like a howling gale. One of them, carrying a battle spear, pierced through the young man with negligent ease. Blood poured down freely — he was impaled on the spear tip and carried along as they galloped for dozens of miles.
No matter how he struggled, it was useless. Blood gushed ceaselessly from his chest, and in the end, he died with his eyes still open.
“You animals!”
From behind the mountain, an elderly man emerged from his seclusion and looked up toward the sky — only to be slapped down by an Ancient Clan warrior riding an exotic beast. His chest caved in. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and his snow-white hair was stained crimson. The faint light in his clouded eyes gradually dimmed.
“Grandfather!” A young woman in white cried out in despair. She stumbled forward and ran to him, embracing the old man’s body as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“You are monsters — heaven will not let you go unpunished!” Clear tears streamed down the young woman’s face as she clutched the old man’s body and wept helplessly.
Cold laughter echoed. A rider came galloping over. The Ancient Clan warrior raised his long blade, and a flash of cold light swept through the air. The young woman in white was powerless to resist. Her still somewhat youthful head, trailing a great arc of blood, flew off to the side. Her headless body collapsed beside the old man’s corpse.
“Today, no matter who — those who block the path will die,” the Crown Prince of Heaven said coldly, standing atop his ancient war chariot as he watched it all unfold.
The Eight Divine Generals grew even more unrestrained, charging straight into the Southern Region to vent the Crown Prince of Heaven’s fury — to destroy the Spiritual Void Cave Heaven. What happened along the way was merely incidental. That place was their true final destination.
Resentment surged to the heavens throughout the Southern Region. More than a dozen sects had been razed. Many human cultivators had been slaughtered. Blood flowed in rivers, and mountains of bones and bodies had piled up, sending tremors through all of the Eastern Wasteland.
At last, the Yan Territory drew near. The Crown Prince of Heaven glanced ahead — and then suddenly struck himself. A brilliant divine spear materialized in his palm, which he hurled forward.
Boom!
No one had anticipated that the Crown Prince of Heaven would be so cold-blooded. With a single spear throw, he pierced clean through a city inhabited by ordinary mortals. The capital of the Yan Kingdom collapsed in an instant.
“Ahhh—!”
As though the end of days had come, the bodies of countless terrified ordinary people split open, blood spraying everywhere. Every last inhabitant of the city was reduced to corpses. The entire ancient city was pulverized, mixed with blood and reduced to a field of ruins.
“My target is the Spiritual Void Cave Heaven, but anything that obstructs my line of sight along the way must also be leveled,” the Crown Prince of Heaven said coldly.
“Wash it clean with blood!” The Eight Divine Generals raised a clamor of voices and whinnying horses, shouting wildly. Each of them was already stained with human blood — splattered on them when they destroyed the sects during their southward march.
“You animals!”
Ye Fan and the others gave chase, descending into the scene. The Black Emperor’s grand formation had failed — it had not managed to destroy the Crown Prince of Heaven and the Eight Divine Generals. They had broken through and now Ye Fan’s group had followed, witnessing far too much blood along the way.
Ye Fan struck first. His dark-gold spear swept through a thousand soldiers, its razor-sharp tip slicing through a swath of Ancient Clan cavalry, spraying blood across three thousand feet.
Hum!
The Holy Prince struck. He swung his massive black iron staff down toward the top of the Crown Prince of Heaven’s skull — brave beyond all measure. The black staff made the sky crack apart, letting out a deep, resonant hum.
The Crown Prince of Heaven met him head-on. His Immortal Blade of Heaven blazed with blinding light, unleashing wave upon wave of blade energy. The Dao itself was suppressed beneath it — his attack power was unmatched in all the world.
Clang!
Blade and staff clashed. The boom was deafening — like two celestial bodies colliding. Mountain ranges for ten directions collapsed. The ground sank hundreds of feet. The destructive power was beyond all comparison.
A phoenix cry shook the nine heavens. On another side, a towering figure appeared. Like an immortal phoenix descending from the nine heavens, he crossed the distance in a single step. Huang Xudao manifested — his entire form was wreathed in Dao traces, appearing blurred and indistinct, seeming somehow unreal.
Boom!
Ye Fan charged to meet him, throwing a punch that blocked his path.
However, on the other side, Huo Lin’er and Huo Qizi both revealed themselves and drove straight for the Holy Prince, prepared to strike.
These two were terrifyingly powerful. Their blue hair flew wild, their bodies seemed sculpted by divine hands, and a single drop of their blood, if unleashed, could pierce through this world. The supreme blood power of an Ancient Emperor was on full display.
“Come at me then!” Pure energy rose from the top of Ye Fan’s head, coalescing into another self — his Dao-body — which cut off their advance and blocked the path of the two.