“Mmm, this is so wonderful — I’m going to be cooked alive…” Ye Fan’s entire body radiated light. In the pool built of silver-grey stone, the evolution fluid bubbled and flowed around him, and the sounds he made were almost enough to set the imagination wandering.

The mysterious ores within the pool held astounding divine power, and they granted his fetal bones a thorough cleansing. His golden blood surged like rolling thunder, and rosy mist spilled out across the pool.

The violet-eyed girl was beautiful as a spirit beyond this world, yet at this moment she clenched her slender fists in fury. As for the violet-haired young man, he looked as though he were attending a funeral, his heart and liver in pieces — Ye Fan had already absorbed half the medicinal potency of the evolution fluid.

In the Village of Heaven, the commotion drew a crowd. A green-gold disc flew in — a behemoth that could not help but attract attention.

Ye Fan rose to his full height and stepped out of the pool. To linger any longer would have tested his limits — a heavenly tribulation was drawing near. He emerged into the village, his two prisoners in tow.

“Good Lord, Buddha have mercy…” Hua Hua — the child who had come along from Earth — rubbed his temples and muttered to himself in wide-eyed disbelief. “Master has robbed a flying disc and kidnapped some aliens. He’s pulled off a really big one!”

Having spent so long under the influence of figures like the Black Emperor and Long Ma, this little fellow who was supposedly devoted to the Buddha had developed something of a roguish streak. Surrounded by such a “smoke-and-haze” environment, it was only natural that his speech had picked up some rather colorful expressions.

“What manner of magical artifact is this? So enormous. And the materials are quite fine — could be used to forge a great formation.” The Black Emperor gave the metallic, cold-gleaming disc a knock with one of its large paws, speaking in a tone of genuine appreciation.

“Don’t get any ideas. This is a saint-level spacecraft. I’ve already named it Flying Immortal No. 12580. It’s going to serve a great purpose in the days ahead.” Ye Fan said.

The Sacred Emperor’s Son stepped forward and told him the situation was dire — ancient saints were looking to eliminate him in secret. A great calamity might be coming, and he must not go out for the time being.

“I was just looking for the Black Emperor. I wanted it to help me track down some degenerate ancient saints. I hadn’t expected there would be this many of them with no sense of self-preservation. I’m about to undergo my tribulation — and I intend to do it right on their doorstep.” Ye Fan said.

He asked the Black Emperor to carve the most complex and intricate chess-board formation possible, and required that it be usable even in the most terrifying of heavenly tribulations, with no one capable of tracking its source. This presented a genuinely formidable challenge for the Great Black Dog.

The Blood Moon Ridge — a stretch of mysterious mountain ranges. Every night, mist rose and drifted upward, and the full moon suspended in the sky would be reflected in a deep blood-red hue. No one dared draw near.

This was the ancestral land of a race notorious for its savagery — one that, in the primordial era, was said to be enough to make a three-year-old child stop crying at the mere mention of its name. The place was perpetually suffused with an oppressive aura that made the heart tremble.

The Blood Moon Tribe — they had never produced an ancient emperor, yet their name was celebrated with a dark renown. The tribe was too ferocious, and the number of smaller clans they had wiped out was beyond counting. It was said that the entire mountain range had taken on its blood-red color over countless generations, soaked through with the blood of the slaughtered.

Though it was already midday, this place remained thick with a deathly yin aura, blanketed in a gloomy, bone-chilling cold that even the noon sun could not dispel.

Deep within the mountain ranges lay a cluster of ancient and magnificent structures built beside a pool of blood. In the grandest of its great palaces — with carved beams and painted rafters, golden and resplendent — the Blood Moon King sat upon the throne above the hall. His body was wizened and dried, his hair like withered yellow weeds, sparse and few. Yet in terms of power, he had long since reached the realm of saintly king, and his name resounded with great authority among the ancient saints.

“People say our Blood Moon Tribe is bloodthirsty and cruel by nature. What they do not understand is that we cultivate through this — drawing upon the essence contained within the blood of the ten thousand beings to strengthen ourselves.”

The Blood Moon King spoke in a raspy voice, his words reverberating through the vast and empty hall. He sounded like a malevolent ghost that had escaped from the depths of the underworld — cold and merciless. In the hollows of his eyes, two golden lamp-like lights burned with an ancient saintly aura of staggering intensity.

The Blood Moon Tribe was obsessed with blood, capable of extracting divine power from the blood of others. Those with special constitutions, or saints — to them, such individuals were nothing short of a precious medicine of the mortal world!

“I am very much looking forward to the Human Race’s Sacred Body. I wonder whether he could help me ascend to an even greater level.” Nearby, a saint-level ancestral king licked his lips. He did not look particularly ancient in years. He was the Blood Moon King’s grandson — his name was Xuan Tuo.

In his hand he held a white, crystalline skull brimming with wine. The fragrance of the wine and the scent of blood mingled together into an enchanting, blood-tinged aura.

This was the skull of a saint, refined into a drinking cup. The terror and depravity of the Blood Moon Tribe were plain to see.

“Grandfather, I’ve heard that this cup in my hand is made from the skull of a human saint — and that our clan has other such collections as well, is that right?” Xuan Tuo asked with a smile.

The Blood Moon King swirled the plain-looking white cup in his hand. His voice was like that of a night owl. “This one too is made from a skull — a human one. In those days they were very weak, forced to attach themselves to the great royal tribes just to survive. They were nothing but blood food. The cup I hold is the skull of a female saintly king. It was a rare occurrence to have one appear… the taste of her blood was sweet and pleasant. It was my grandfather who personally cut her down. In those times, a branch of the human race served as our slaves — life and death decided at our whim. It was an era worth reminiscing about. Yet after all these years, who could have imagined they would grow this formidable?”

“The Sacred Body of the human race has a very special constitution. His golden sacred blood is a rare and precious medicine. I am genuinely looking forward to it — yet I still cannot locate any trace of his whereabouts.” Xuan Tuo spoke, a strange, sinister light flickering in his eyes.

“You must work diligently. My lifespan is nearly spent — within a few years I may well pass into a sitting death. Fortunately, you have achieved sainthood. Your father died early. If you cannot achieve a breakthrough within the next few years, you will likely be unable to inherit the leadership of our clan — you are not the only ancient saint.” The Blood Moon King said.

“I understand. As long as I can find the Human Race’s Sacred Body, I will certainly ascend another level. What a pity that this is no longer the primordial era — we can no longer keep them in captivity.” Xuan Tuo’s eyes held a dark and cunning gleam.

RUMBLE!

All at once, the grand palace shook, and the entire mountain range began to tremble as though it were about to be overturned. Distant mountain peaks exploded, and boulders shattered into clouds of debris.

“What’s happening? Who dares disturb the ancestral land of our Blood Moon Tribe?” Xuan Tuo shot to his feet.

The aged Blood Moon King’s eye sockets blazed as the two golden lamp-like divine lights flared in intensity, and he said without a trace of emotion, “Go take a look. Perhaps the time has come for you to establish your authority.”

Outside the mountain gate, Ye Fan had punched two mountain peaks into rubble. Not content with that, he unceremoniously hoisted an entire mountain and hurled it into the Blood Moon Ridge, crushing a swathe of ancient clan members beneath it.

“Where does this ignorant fool come from, daring to provoke our Blood Moon Royal Tribe? Looking to die? We’ll make you wish you were dead instead.”

Ranked among the ten most bloodthirsty royal tribes of the primordial era, every member of the clan fed on blood. There was no anger or fear in their eyes — only excitement, as they came surging forward.

To them, this provocateur was nothing but blood food!

BOOM!

Ye Fan raised his hand and tore an entire mountain range from the earth — more than twenty mountain peaks — and brought it crashing down with full force.

“Ahhhh…” Screams erupted all at once. Not every ancient clan member was tremendously powerful.

“Who are you?” A powerful figure from the ancient clan bellowed, beginning to sense that this visitor was far from ordinary.

“Ye Fan of the Human Race, Sacred Body. Tell your clan leader the Blood Moon King — and tell that grandson, Xuan Tuo — to come out and meet their deaths!” Ye Fan’s thunderous shout carried for dozens, perhaps a hundred miles.

The surrounding crowd turned a shade of green. Xuan Tuo was the clan leader’s grandson — that much was true — but that didn’t make him everyone’s grandson. This person had clearly come here deliberately to make trouble and stir up chaos.

“Ye Fan… the Human Race’s Sacred Body has actually come!” When word spread, no small number of powerful figures within the Blood Moon Tribe grew overexcited and came rushing over, all but salivating.

Because the Blood Moon King had declared: the moment the Human Race’s Sacred Body was found, he would personally slay him on the spot and let them taste the flavor of his golden sacred blood.

“To think you’ve delivered yourself to our door…” Xuan Tuo let out a long howl. His face was lit with elation as he closed in rapidly.

The Blood Moon King’s brow furrowed slightly. For the Human Race’s Sacred Body to dare come knocking on their door himself — this did not follow normal logic. He feared some unexpected development. He moved quickly to follow.

“Blood Moon King — your people sent out a bounty order to have me killed. Today I have come. You two blockheads, get out here and meet your deaths!” Ye Fan roared.

Arrogance — beyond all bounds. To dare speak to two ancient saints this way, one of whom was a saintly king who rarely met his match. Who but a Great Saint would dare shout such words?

“In the primordial era, the human race was nothing more than livestock our tribe kept for blood. Life and death rested in our hands, to be decided as we pleased. Nothing but blood food.” Xuan Tuo said coldly.

Then, as though entirely at his leisure, he stepped forward and raised a single finger. “Let me think about how to consume you. Do I start from the head, or the heart?”

Xuan Tuo swirled the white-as-jade cup in his hand, sipped a mouthful of the vivid red blood within, and said, “This cup was made from the skull of a female saintly king of your human race. It originally belonged to my grandfather, who gifted it to me. Now, I find myself thinking your skull would be even more perfect — I could refine an even finer wine vessel.”

CRACK!

The lightning came with no warning — sweeping across the mountains and valleys, cascading from the sky like a boundless ocean pouring down, filling every inch of space with nowhere to escape. Crackling light permeated every corner.

Silver serpents danced. Golden dragons leaped into the sky. Primordial chaos qi spread in every direction. Every arc of electricity was tinged with traces of chaotic light — terrifyingly so.

Even saints, at the sight of this, felt uneasy. Such a colossal display — it rivaled their own great heavenly tribulations. How could a Severing Dao cultivator survive this?

“Has he achieved sainthood? Such enormous chaos lightning arcs…” Xuan Tuo was dumbfounded. Even during the most fearsome tribulation he had faced upon becoming a saint, he had never witnessed a scene like this.

“Get back!” The Blood Moon King shouted. At last he understood — he finally knew why Ye Fan had dared to come here with such brazen confidence. He had come bearing malicious intent, biding his time.

Ye Fan’s heavenly tribulations grew more terrifying with each passing one. Though it was not as incomprehensible as that first Severing Dao tribulation — no ancient great emperors appearing — it had still summoned a chaos tribulation that had enveloped him completely, and it was even more frightening than the tribulations of saints.

And that was precisely why his physical body now stood shoulder to shoulder with saints!

He stepped upon the Word Technique of Xing and gave chase after Xuan Tuo. This was the Blood Moon King’s most precious person — targeting one might well be enough to wound two!

In the sky, various celestial palaces manifested — chaos lightning shaped in the likeness of an ancient heavenly court, with the shadowy silhouette of an imperious figure appearing and disappearing, carrying out the work of suppression!

This kind of heavenly punishment could absolutely wound Xuan Tuo’s physical body. One bolt was not enough — but what if ten thousand came? A hundred thousand? A million?

“You are still too green, boy! A saint transcends this mortal world, far beyond comparison with an ant like you. Killing you is no different from crushing a pest!” The Blood Moon King charged back in, rushing to rescue his grandson.

Yet before his words could fully leave his lips, a divine radiance seemed to slash in from some eternal, unknown place. With a muffled sound, it sliced diagonally through his right arm and shoulder, severing them — missing splitting him clean in half by the narrowest of margins.

Sacred blood rained down and was vaporized by the heavenly tribulation, dissolving into a blood mist that slowly dissipated within the chaos light. He was stunned and furious — he knew disaster had struck. An ancient saint who excelled in assassination arts had concealed himself here.

From the shadows, Kill-Saint Qi Luo, wielding the Deception Formation Altar carved from the ancient Dao-Comprehension Tea Tree wood, appeared for an instant and then vanished — as though he had never existed.

“Blood Moon King — you tried to use your influence to suppress me, offering sacred artifacts as bounties to mobilize the ancient clans to kill me. Today I will make you reap what you have sown.” Ye Fan closed in, trailing lightning in his wake.

“Your assassination arts are unrivaled under heaven — yet he is still only a saint. He remains far from my realm. I’d like to see what he can do to me!” The Blood Moon King spoke with lofty arrogance. His severed arm regrew, and he raised a gleaming white saint’s bone skull cup and drank down a mouthful of blood.

Xuan Tuo steadied himself at his grandfather’s side, composing himself. He held the white skull of the female saintly king and tilted it back to pour a mouthful of fine bloody wine into his mouth. “You think you can make trouble for our Blood Moon Tribe? You’re not up to it!”

“Is that so?” An aged voice drifted over.

BOOM!

Within the lightning tribulation, an enormous fist came driving in — extending for dozens of miles in length, primordial chaos qi rolling in its wake. In a single blow, its power was enough to stagger immortals and move ghosts to tears!

The elder saint of the Tianxuan Holy Land, Wei Yi, made his appearance. For the very first time, he struck — dominating heaven and the earth. With a single punch, even the Blood Moon King could not withstand it. The arm bones shattered on the spot, and then the body tore apart, the entire frame detonating!

From the outside, nothing could be seen. All of it was concealed within the tribulation’s blazing light.

“You people… do you want to start a war between the human race and the royal tribes of the primordial era? Ancient saints have actually moved against us — how dare they?!” The Blood Moon King cried out in shock and fury, yet felt a terror beyond anything he had known.

“You dare say that? As an ancient saint, you placed a bounty on my head — me, a Severing Dao cultivator. The ten great royal tribes united to kill me. Did you really think I, Ye Fan, was a pushover who could be crushed at will? You thought I was completely at your mercy?” Ye Fan responded with a cold laugh. “Using power to oppress others — I know how to do that too. I also know a few ancient saints. Not many, but enough to destroy you. Since you refuse to play by the rules, let’s all break the rules together. I’ll deal with you first!”

“You—”

The Blood Moon King erupted in fury. He wanted to say something — but was given no opportunity. For Kill-Saint Qi Luo moved. Without waiting for the king’s body to reassemble, a cold blade descended without a whisper of sound, splitting his skull into two halves.

“The Divine Transformation Blade…” The Blood Moon King cried out in terror. Even his primordial spirit could not escape. Beneath that jet-black sword in the Kill-Saint’s hand, his primordial spirit turned to ash and was absorbed completely.

Xuan Tuo was struck dumb with fear, his face draining of all color. He had only recently achieved sainthood — how was he to contend with a veteran ancient saint? Now that his grandfather, a saintly king in full power, had been blasted apart by a single punch, one could imagine just how terrifying the ones who had come were.

“Do you people want to ignite a war among the ten thousand clans?! When that time comes, all the clans will join forces to wipe out the human race!” He shouted threats over his shoulder as he fled, grasping at empty air.

But the thunderclap swallowed everything. His voice could not carry.

“You were the ones who broke the rules first. You reached too far. You wanted to kill me and drink my golden sacred blood — come and try it!” Ye Fan’s voice rose in a cold and resonant roar. “I undergo my tribulation today, and not even your Great Saints can divine it. Killing you leaves no trace whatsoever!”

Pff!

Ahead, Xuan Tuo was hurtling through the lightning-filled air — and then the upper half of his body and the lower half abruptly parted. A black demonic blade appeared without warning, slashing him through the waist — Kill-Saint Qi Luo had struck again.

Xuan Tuo cried out in agony. He flung away the white female saintly king’s skull cup in his hand, letting out a heartrending wail. Though the Divine Transformation Blade had struck only his body, the blade energy carried lethal damage to his primordial spirit as well. His brow cracked open and black blood began to flow.

“And you have brought this upon yourself. You said your tribe kept our human ancestors in captivity, treated them as livestock, used them as blood food. Today I will wash away that shame for them — beginning with the female saintly king who died in sorrow and dishonor!”

Ye Fan roared, swinging his golden fist forward. He brought ten thousand zhang of tribulation lightning with him, and with a single punch he drove it through Xuan Tuo’s chest — sending blood and sacred bones flying in every direction, scattered across a span of several dozen jin of ground!