Golden blood splattered everywhere, a dazzling sight that set the entire extraterrestrial battlefield ablaze with brilliance — this was a descendant of the Golden Emperor, whose veins carried traces of ancient imperial blood, imbued with an inexplicable divine power.

Dead.

A mighty Great Sage of the ancient clans, standing at the very pinnacle, one who could look down upon an entire ancient star — now crushed to death between someone’s palms, reduced to a pulp of mangled flesh and shattered bone, with only golden blood flowing forth.

“This… how could something like this have happened?!”

Several of the royal clan’s elder patriarchs stood with their mouths hanging open, utterly stunned. There had been no time to intervene, no way to intervene at all — the Golden Great Sage had fallen!

A tremendous shockwave would sweep across the entire ancient star. The Golden Grotto’s sole Great Sage had become a thing of the past, casually slain, sending a chill through every great royal clan.

Gai Jiuyou was simply too powerful.

In a fair duel, the Golden Great Sage would have been no match — not even close — no different from an infant pitted against a giant. The moment he stepped forward, he could only be cut down.

Earth-shattering.

One could well imagine the great storm that had now been set in motion — this was an event destined to be inscribed in the annals of cultivation history, its repercussions reaching far and wide.

Would the ancient clans go to war against the human race? No one knew.

“Kun Zhou is dead, and now the Golden King is dead too — this is an incalculable loss, a catastrophe of the gravest order!” On the extraterrestrial battlefield, one of the royal clan’s elder patriarchs cried out in anguish.

Throughout the Eastern Desolation, everyone was shaken. Through the ancient formation’s observation eye, they had watched every detail of this scene with perfect clarity — the human race’s supreme elder possessed cultivation of unparalleled depth, truly without equal. This was what it meant to be truly invincible.

“Too terrifying — Gai Jiuyou’s power reaches the very heights of creation. He truly cannot be matched. A Great Sage of the age couldn’t withstand a single exchange and was snuffed out with ease.”

“To overturn heaven and earth with the flip of a hand — that saying could not be more fitting. He raised his hand and killed the Golden Great Sage, crushing him alive in his grip!”

Even the most extraordinary among the ancient sages felt fear. With power and combat prowess like this, who would dare again claim that Gai Jiuyou was too old and feeble? The might of a supreme elder was no weaker than it had ever been!

The news spread swiftly to every corner of the land — the Golden Great Sage was dead, struck down and killed by Gai Jiuyou. Like a great flood, it swept through everything: the ancient clans were gripped with deep dread, while the human race was filled with soaring excitement.

“Is he in vigorous old age, or are his years running short and this was a final show of intimidation?” The rulers of several of the most powerful ancient races whispered among themselves, uncertain and uneasy.

The Golden King’s name had shaken the ancient world. He had stood at the absolute peak among the strong, and was by no means one who had earned his reputation falsely. It was not that he lacked strength — on the contrary, he was fearsome to the extreme. Everything came down to one simple fact: Gai Jiuyou was simply too terrifying.

On the extraterrestrial battlefield, the moment the Golden King was blasted apart, the several elder patriarchs of the royal clans, along with the Great Sage Huntuo and the others, could no longer remain calm. One after another, they raised their voices to intervene, urging him to stay his hand and kill no more.

For Gai Jiuyou, holding aloft the crimson and dripping Boundless Universe Furnace, had turned toward the Great Sage Qianlun of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, preparing to strike and reduce him to annihilation of body and soul alike.

“Fellow Dao Brother, it is time to stop!”

“Friend Gai, please show mercy where mercy can be shown. Surely you do not wish to see two of the great ancient imperial clans truly go to war against the human race?”

The Golden King had come from the Golden Grotto; Qianlun had come from the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest — both were ancient imperial clans of tremendous renown. If driven to desperation, these two clans acting together would spell catastrophe for whatever race dared stand against them.

Gai Jiuyou’s expression remained calm. He did not stop walking, continuing to advance. Great Sage Qianlun’s face drained of color; sealed within a purple-gold divine bell tens of thousands of miles long, he could not suppress a shudder.

The Golden King had died right before his eyes. They were both Great Sages, but however strong he was — what difference would it make? If this continued, death was inevitable.

Ding-ling-ling!

The purple-gold divine bells strung together in a chain stretching over ten thousand miles, tearing open the void, attempting to flee.

Clang!

But the Boundless Universe Furnace came flying in, blazing with phoenix blood and crimson gold, shattering the void and smashing directly into the purple-gold divine bell. Great Sage Qianlun let out a miserable cry, his body drenched in blood and falling apart in pieces as he was sent tumbling out — no longer able to remain fused with the ancient imperial weapon.

“Fellow Dao Brother, do you truly intend to slaughter every last one of us?” From a distance, an aura of extreme Dao power appeared — clearly the ancient clans had multiple layers of defense prepared.

Several of the elder patriarchs stepped forward, none of them looking particularly pleased, all on full alert. Great Sage Huntuo also stood in the middle, making it clear that this battle could not continue — otherwise, a war between races would be unavoidable.

Gai Jiuyou had no desire to see the situation escalate further. He did not truly wish to go to war with the ancient clans. Destroying one Golden Great Sage was sufficient — more than enough to strike awe into the ten thousand races.

“Elder Brother Gai, I was wrong — I should never have listened to the Golden King’s instigation…” Great Sage Qianlun forced himself to speak those words, which were harder to say than dying.

The crimson Boundless Universe Furnace came flying back, settling into Gai Jiuyou’s palm, exhaling a boundless crimson radiance that illuminated the entire expanse of stars and made him appear as though his divine might covered all the world.

In the end, Great Sage Qianlun felt as though he had been granted a pardon, and flew back toward the ancient star, vanishing from sight. On this day, he had suffered utter humiliation — his face entirely lost. The Golden King was dead, and he had fled in disgrace; and this was the result only after Great Sage Huntuo and the others had interceded on his behalf. It had truly damaged the dignity befitting a Great Sage.

On the extraterrestrial battlefield, the golden mace drifted quietly in the air. Gai Jiuyou walked toward it, intending to claim it.

The others’ expressions changed at once. One elder patriarch stepped forward and said: “Elder Brother Gai, this is the Golden Grotto’s foremost supreme treasure — you cannot take it away!”

Great Sage Huntuo, along with several other elder patriarchs of the royal clans, also came forward. An extreme Dao ancient imperial weapon of this caliber was of the utmost significance — there was absolutely no possibility of allowing the human race to take it. They would sooner fight to the death.

“I will not take this imperial weapon away — but I will seal it for a period of time,” Gai Jiuyou said.

Clang!

The lid of the Boundless Universe Furnace swung open. Flames surged forth. Solar divine essence spilled out, exhaling radiance so brilliant it seemed capable of swallowing infinite stars whole — and the surrounding stars actually began to tremble and stir.

The golden mace blazed with golden light, surging toward the heavens and struggling fiercely — but it was at too great a disadvantage. The Boundless Universe Furnace, restored to life with the aid of the human race’s supreme elder, engulfed it whole.

Hum!

The extreme Dao ancient imperial weapon sank into the divine furnace, thrashing wildly within. But the lid came crashing down with a heavy clang, sealing it inside.

The several royal clan patriarchs were stunned, wanting to stop it, but they were already too late.

“Gai Jiuyou, what is the meaning of this — are you seizing an ancient imperial weapon?”

“Are you not afraid of a backlash that will cost you your life? Know this — an ancient emperor’s weapon cannot be dishonored, and disaster will surely befall you!”

“Even if you possess an ancient great emperor’s weapon, you cannot seal it indefinitely. In the end, the golden mace may very well shatter the Boundless Universe Furnace and burst free!”

They cried out in unison — this was a grave matter, and all of them moved forward, blocking his path.

“There is no need for everyone to trouble themselves. I am well aware of the difficulty — but sealing it for a hundred years is not beyond me,” Gai Jiuyou said, narrowing his eyes.

He activated the weapon character technique, drawing on the power of the Boundless Universe Furnace to seal the golden mace within. Before long, it quieted and could no longer break free.

“You…”

Their expressions changed, yet they could not act on it. If things truly came to blows, none of them could do anything about Gai Jiuyou — the Golden King was a lesson right before their eyes.

They knew well that Gai Jiuyou’s body had long been failing. The only question now was how much longer he could endure. If they threw everything at him now, the losses would not be worth the gains.

In the end, this battle drew to a close. The Golden King was annihilated in body and soul; Great Sage Qianlun was routed and returned in defeat; the ancient clans trembled with fear.

Gai Jiuyou was as good as his word. Over the following half a month, he hunted down the remaining Great Sages of the several great vicious clans, one by one, killing them all — only one managed to escape.

It was a raging storm: the Great Sages of the ten great royal clans were all put to death, and even the Golden King was beheaded. It swept across all under heaven. The human race’s supreme elder’s divine might razed the eight wastes, and none dared raise a blade against him.

No one had expected Gai Jiuyou to be this dominant. Whoever came forward was useless — he had slaughtered the ancestral kings of ten clans, and even the appearance of the ancient clans’ Great Sages had been of no use.

“A pity — a Golden King who shook the ancient age, whose might none dared challenge in his era, first fell at the hands of the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and now has been slain by the human race’s supreme elder.”

In the ancient age, the human race had depended on the powerful races for survival, and had at times even been reduced to blood food for those races — yet now the humans had grown so formidable that they inspired fear in all.

From this day on, no one dared challenge or suppress the human race again. Following the great event of the ten great royal clans’ Great Sages being wiped out, the ancient clans suddenly fell quiet.

At the Jade Pool Grand Assembly, the human race had played the card of the ancient great emperor still being alive, buying a period of peace for all under heaven — but paper cannot contain fire, and in the end, it had not been enough.

Now, a supreme elder had acted, and once again brought this world to a hush — though how long it could last, no one knew.

All the ancient clans were waiting. Especially several of the Great Sages — all of them were calculating, trying to determine exactly how many more years Gai Jiuyou had left. Otherwise, perhaps only the “old predecessors” who had defied death by chance could possibly stand against him.

“Senior, I have life-prolonging ancient medicines here.” Walking together across the land of the Eastern Desolation, Ye Fan said to Gai Jiuyou.

“There is no need. Something like that works once, works less the second time, and becomes entirely ineffective by the third,” Gai Jiuyou shook his head.

“It is not from the Medicine King — it is liquid from the Undying Divine Medicine. Though there is not much, it will certainly be effective,” Ye Fan said.

“I still have a few more years left in me. I can hold on until the path to immortality opens,” Gai Jiuyou said with composure.

“Senior!” Ye Fan was overjoyed. They walked together through the great wilderness, and Gai Jiuyou did not conceal it — the qi and blood within him surged and boiled, and indeed, faint traces of an ancient great emperor’s aura were leaking out.

Ye Fan had thought Gai Jiuyou had made a breakthrough, and his face was alight with excitement — but the ailing old man shook his head, saying only that he had a little more time to live, nothing more.

“In this world, living long is itself a kind of capital. Rest easy — I certainly will not be the first to die. I will definitely enter parinirvana after those ‘old predecessors’ of the ancient clans!”

As he said this, Gai Jiuyou’s eyes blazed with intense light as he gazed northward, as though his vision pierced through the void itself, fixed upon a powerful adversary.

Ye Fan took out all of the ancestral ginseng liquid he had obtained from Earth, then pressed several drops of the divine phoenix undying medicine liquid that the Black Emperor had given him into Gai Jiuyou’s hand.

“I should set out on my journey…”

No one knew when the path to immortality would open — perhaps it was imminent. And now Ye Fan needed to push outward toward the extraterrestrial domain. Gai Jiuyou fully supported this.

For once the path to immortality opened, this ancient star would inevitably descend into great chaos. The myriad sages would go to war, and the land would become a ground of calamity. How many heroes and talents would be buried in the struggle to enter that immortal path — there was no way to know.

“I hope you succeed in treading the celestial path. If you return early enough, perhaps I will not yet have entered parinirvana — we may still be able to meet again,” Gai Jiuyou said.

In the end, Ye Fan came to the Wondrous Scholar’s Estate in the Central Prefecture, where he would once again set foot upon the ancient road leading to the extraterrestrial domain — all to grow stronger, to stand against the raging storms of the future.

“Master, you must come back alive!” Ye Tong said, her eyes brimming with hot tears.

“Come back alive!” Li Tian, Li Heishui, the Black Emperor, the Holy Prince, and the others saw him off, watching as he ascended the sacrificial altar.

Ye Fan turned to look back. Standing atop the five-colored sacrificial altar, he murmured to himself: “Farewell — it won’t be thousands of years. I believe it — I will walk this path to its very end, complete the greatest trial in history, and return to see you all alive.”

Swoosh!

The five-colored sacrificial altar activated. The trigram symbols flickered and flashed, opening a stargate — and Ye Fan strode through without hesitation, one final wave of his hand, and then he was gone.