In the present age, only a Supreme Dao Imperial Weapon could threaten the Green Cauldron — even Sacred Artifacts were useless, incapable of awakening it.
At this moment, it rose and fell within Ye Fan’s body, immortal light flowing, auspicious radiance blazing brilliantly. Across the surface of his body, it wove a curtain of light that blocked out that terrifying killing intent.
Huo Qizi’s head of blue hair whipped wildly in the wind, as though a true blue qilin had been resurrected — howling with dominion over heaven and earth, it let out a great roar that sent all six directions and eight wastelands trembling.
“Open up!”
Huo Qizi bellowed, hurling a fist forward that carried with it a vast imprint of the Great Dao — like the nine heavenly layers being cleaved away — enveloping Ye Fan from above.
The blue blood within his body boiled. His ancient imperial weapon had merged with him, becoming one, and as his fist thundered forward, it drove straight for Ye Fan’s skull. This assault was beyond imagination.
Boom!
Ye Fan swung his fist. Between his palm and fingers, brilliance bloomed, and an extraordinarily hard and powerful fist aura came howling out, wrapped in a layer of radiance. The Green Cauldron defended of its own accord, resisting the might of the Ancient Sovereign!
Between the fists and fingers of the two combatants, lightning crackled and snapped. Thread after thread of blue electricity and immortal radiance tore open the void together. That place became terrifyingly boundless — transformed into a vast black hole.
The entire sky vanished, becoming a black abyss. Destroyed beyond recognition, it exploded inch by inch into a realm of nothingness where dimensional space devoured everything.
Both Ye Fan and Huo Qizi were driven back. They stared at each other in disbelief, both sensing that something was wrong with the other’s imperial weapon — that perhaps neither was genuine.
Boom!
Huo Lin’er struck. Fearful that her elder brother might meet with an accident, she had drawn upon the “hidden reserves” brought along for this southward journey — yet even that could not finish off this great enemy, which was enough to fill her with anxiety.
Water-blue light annihilated heaven and earth, and sweeping swaths of primordial chaos qi spread outward. The power behind a single wave of Huo Lin’er’s hand was actually this formidable — enough to make one’s very bones tremble!
Boom!
Ye Fan clashed head-on against her slender jade hand. Countless Great Dao markings spread out in all directions, causing his body to shake violently. Were it not for the immortal light spilling from the Green Cauldron and covering his entire body’s surface, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
“Another ancient imperial weapon!” His expression became one of utter disbelief. How could this be? Could it be that the Fire Qilin Cave possessed two ancient imperial weapons? That seemed rather unrealistic!
Huo Lin’er also showed a change of expression. Her head of water-blue long hair lay loose and scattered, her bright eyes and white teeth luminous, her gaze flowing. She too had noticed — the thing inside this person was not a true imperial weapon. Something was off.
“Could it be the same as ours?” Huo Qizi’s expression was indifferent. He turned his head and exchanged a look with his sister, and a general answer formed in his mind.
Boom!
The two of them launched another assault, attacking together. The heavens of that place shattered completely, becoming a realm of primordial chaos, sealed off from the outside world.
Ye Fan’s fists clashed ceaselessly against their palms and fingers. Tens of thousands of Great Dao traces appeared as he met this unrivaled pair of siblings head-on. The ancient sovereign’s might was stifling — almost suffocating.
“It’s not a true ancient imperial weapon — it’s a forbidden weapon fashioned in imitation!”
In the end, Ye Fan finally understood. This was a heaven-defying technique requiring rare divine materials to forge, yet it could only be used a few times before self-destructing.
Swish!
After their final exchange they separated. Huo Lin’er and Huo Qizi were both uncertain and wary — they were sure that Ye Fan did not truly possess an imperial weapon, yet could not tell what it actually was.
Pop!
Suddenly, a light sound came from a distance. Ye Fan’s Dao Clone had reached the end of its duration. It dissolved into a wisp of clear qi that scattered into the blue sky, and was seen no more.
Huang Xu Dao immediately lost his opponent. His expression froze for a moment, then his gaze grew profound. His form vanished into the Dao traces, difficult to make out.
Heaven and earth returned to stillness. The primordial chaos qi dispersed. The cosmos stabilized. The few combatants faced each other, reappearing in the sky — not one of them speaking.
Just moments ago, each of them had drawn upon the might of a Supreme Dao. Yet it had all been channeled through fists and fingers — none of them had truly awakened their immortal artifacts, so the power unleashed had been barely a ten-thousandth of a wisp of true output. It had not radiated outward in all directions; otherwise, that immense shockwave would have been unbearable even for their own arms.
Moreover, they had fought within the chaos. Even a keen observer with sharp spiritual senses would have had difficulty perceiving what transpired — which was why, though some people had felt a momentary palpitation of the heart, none of them truly understood that ancient imperial weapons had been brought to bear.
“The Dao Clone has faded… is the true body’s fall far off?” Some veteran recluses of the ancient clans murmured from a distance, believing the tide of battle was about to turn.
Ye Fan knitted his brows. The situation was not good. After the Dao Clone’s disappearance, it could not be manifested again immediately — he would need to wait a very long time.
“Do you truly wish to compete and determine who is stronger, who is weaker? From beginning to end, we did not come for a life-or-death battle.” Huo Lin’er’s gaze drifted.
The three of them had all obtained tremendous benefits, which was the reason they had agreed to journey southward together. They could not possibly stake their lives for the Heavenly Imperial Son — they had been going through the motions all along.
Ye Fan naturally understood. The other battlefield was the one being fought to the death. Both the Sacred Imperial Son and the Heavenly Imperial Son had already been heavily wounded early on. Every clash was a confrontation of the Great Dao, and one of them would surely fall.
Yet on this battlefield, not a single person had been injured. What manner of situation that was — he understood clearly in his heart.
“It has come to this. Stand aside now, or don’t force me to kill you!” Huo Qizi said grimly.
“Come and try. If you cannot get past me, I won’t mind cutting you down either!” Ye Fan met him point for point, his killing intent fully exposed.
On the other battlefield, the critical moment had already arrived. He absolutely could not allow anyone to interfere or interrupt — after all they had invested, if the Heavenly Imperial Son still could not be finished off, that would be far too stifling.
Roar…
Huo Qizi let out a great howl. His blue hair stood on end. He was completely furious. In an instant, mountains collapsed and the earth split — he charged forward alone!
“They’re fighting to the death — this ancient imperial son on this side is also going all out!” The veteran recluses of the ancient clans and great human sects all felt their hearts lurch.
Boom!
Ye Fan was fearless. With a powerful shake of his right hand, he secretly harmonized the intent of his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist and thrust his palm forward. The vast blue sky exploded open. He left behind a scattering of black hair as he met Huo Qizi face-to-face, intent on pulverizing him into a paste with a single blow.
“Not good!”
Huo Lin’er’s expression shifted. Fearful that her elder brother might meet with an accident, she struck laterally as well — her snow-white jade fingers shattered the long sky as they drove toward Ye Fan’s temple.
On the other side, Huang Xu Dao wheeled around and made straight for the Sacred Imperial Son. He could not stand by and watch the Heavenly Imperial Son be beaten to death — at this point, not a moment could be wasted.
“Not one of you is getting away. Fail to get past me, and everything comes to nothing!” Ye Fan drew upon his true fighting spirit, pushing his speed to the limit. He collided continuously with Huo Lin’er and Huo Qizi, his physical body tearing open the void. He blocked Huang Xu Dao, then clashed with him head-on for dozens upon dozens of blows.
Everyone drew in a sharp breath. This person was truly formidable. Fast to the point of impossibility — and now three ancient imperial sons had grown furious, yet he still dared to hold his ground like this and actually succeeded. He was unfathomably deep.
“Since you seek death, allow me to grant your wish!” Huo Qizi said coldly. He raised one hand and executed the Nine Styles of the Qilin — a secret art that combined with body techniques to produce boundless power. This was the first time he had displayed it since the battle began.
“As if I’m afraid of you!” Ye Fan was fearless. He opened his mouth and let out a cry that could swallow mountains and rivers. He was not only holding off Huo Qizi — he was simultaneously sweeping against Huo Lin’er and Huang Xu Dao.
“Fighting someone like you all together — that would be disrespectful to both of us. I truly wish to spar with you alone, to test my Dao against yours, but not today. The Heavenly Imperial Son cannot be allowed to die.” Huang Xu Dao’s words were calm.
“Then let us fight. Perhaps if I’m not careful, I’ll slaughter one or two of you.” Ye Fan replied.
“Arrogant!” Even the beautiful cheeks of Huo Lin’er, smooth as cream, showed a flash of killing intent.
Boom!
A life-or-death struggle — the great battle erupted!
Yet at that very moment, a startling upheaval unfolded. The Black Emperor and the others had been trapping the Half-Sage and the Eight Divisions of Divine Generals within a great formation — the two sides had been evenly matched. But now an outside force intervened.
It was a powerful human cultivator who came charging in — riding a golden ancient war chariot, battle-qi surging to the heavens, rumbling and thundering as it ground across the sky, driving straight forward, cleaving a path through the great formation.
Standing on that war chariot was a magnificent figure. Black hair hung loose, eyes like cold lightning, his body surging with boundless blood-energy — pressing upward against the heavens, like a sovereign of the sky standing firm.
Around him, nine true dragons coiled; nine immortal phoenixes stretched their wings and soared skyward; nine white tigers howled at the moon — their brilliance eclipsing the sun, setting him in the very center, as though a heavenly emperor had descended upon the world.
“Wang Teng! It’s actually him! All these years, he was defeated again and again — he has not appeared in the world for ten years now. To think that today he would come charging out!”
Once a peerless young prodigy of his generation, known as the Northern Emperor, he had been revered as one of the strongest among the younger generation of the human race — yet ever since he was defeated at Ye Fan’s hands, he had never recovered.
No one had expected that today he would emerge with such force. He immediately used the Heavenly Emperor’s War Chariot to break the formation, tearing open a corner and reversing the tide of battle.
“Of all people, it’s this bastard who comes to ruin everything!” The Black Emperor was furious. In the Zhengxian City incident, every last formation platform had been exhausted, and the divine materials accumulated over many years had been consumed completely.
Here, he had only been able to carve formations with ordinary materials — barely enough to hold off the Eight Divisions of Divine Generals. It had been expected to hold for just a little longer. But he had not anticipated that the Northern Emperor would arrive. The final crack in the dam had appeared, and the great formation burst like a broken dike.
In the eyes of onlookers, the Northern Emperor’s advance was unstoppable. With a single stroke he tore open a corner of the killing formation and charged into the battlefield. The Eight Divisions of Divine Generals poured out like a flood.
“Kill!” The battle cry shook the heavens. Though the Eight Divisions of Divine Generals had suffered devastating casualties — many cut down within the Black Emperor’s formation — not one of the several Half-Sages had died. They all came charging out.
“Infuriating — the Sacred Imperial Son was just a hair’s breadth from cutting down the Heavenly Imperial Son!” Ye Tong’s eyes had gone red. She clenched her fists tight.
In that moment, battle cries shook the sky. The Eight Divisions of Divine Generals had all broken free — this was a great calamity. They drove toward where the Heavenly Imperial Son was, and a good number broke away to intercept and kill Ye Fan as well.
“Get the Divine Lady Furnace and suppress them! Absolutely no one can be allowed near the Sacred Imperial Son!” The Black Emperor shouted.
Li Tian and Yan Yixi activated the Divine Lady Furnace. It enveloped heaven and earth, sending boundless sacred might surging — yet among the several Half-Sages, there were those who also possessed one, having used it to resist within the formation just moments before.
Boom!
Blood-light swept to the heavens. That place boiled. The battle had reached white-hot intensity — complete chaos everywhere, killing intent in every direction, flesh and blood flying.
Wang Teng laughed coldly. He was not much weaker than an ancient imperial son, though none knew how much bitter hardship he had endured over all these years. Today it erupted completely. After striking against the Black Emperor and the others, he drove the golden ancient war chariot and made straight for the Sacred Imperial Son.
“How dare you!”
Ye Fan was furious. In that instant, he fired two black arrows one after another, splitting the sky. They cut down Half-Sages and soldiers of the Eight Divisions alike, and they also moved to block the unstoppable Wang Teng.
“You’re not the only one with a Sacred Artifact!”
Huo Qizi laughed coldly. Now there was no urgency — they had no need to go and save the Heavenly Imperial Son. The Eight Divisions of Divine Generals were absolutely an irresistible flood.
He drew out a Fangtian Painted Halberd — also a Sacred Artifact — blocking Ye Fan’s path. A terrifying aura shook heaven and earth.
Ye Fan had no choice but to call back one of the black arrows to protect himself, and then summoned the stone embryo, his true body entering within and using it as battle armor, slaughtering in all four directions.
That place shattered completely — like boiling water. Several Sacred Artifacts appeared at once, all awakening. This was a cataclysmic disaster: mountains collapsed, seas dried up, the earth cracked, the sky exploded — almost nothing could exist here.
The Eight Divisions of Divine Generals suffered devastating losses. In the chaotic battle, three-tenths of them were annihilated. But those several Half-Sages were far too formidable. In the midst of the chaos they had already slaughtered their way to the Heavenly Imperial Son’s side, dealing a severe blow to the Sacred Imperial Son.
Roar… Ye Fan let out a howl that shook mountains and rivers. Heedless of the three ancient imperial sons’ attempts to block and kill him, he flew into a rage and pressed forward with everything he had. Blood of all kinds splashed and flew. The ancient clan fell in rows. He was drenched head to toe in red.
“No matter who comes, the Heavenly Imperial Son must die today! Those who stand in my way die!” Ye Fan bellowed, broadcasting his unbreakable will — his hatred for Wang Teng’s assistance of the ancient clan ground into him to the very marrow.