In the dark expanse of the universe, warship after warship glimmered with silver radiance, their cold metallic sheen chilling to the bone as they advanced in orderly formation toward a vast sea of stars.

Though this fleet appeared magnificent up close, it was insignificant against the boundless cosmos — countless star domains stood eternal and unchanged, with desolation as their everlasting theme.

“Target located!”

A cluster of warships appeared on the large screen, centered around a golden vessel several thousand zhang in length, inscribed with Dao patterns, ancient and magnificent.

“Leave none alive — wipe them out completely!” Fantian shouted. His purple warship blazed with brilliant light as it charged forward first, firing thousands upon thousands of beams in a thunderous barrage.

“Board the flagship. Seize the Primordial Life Stone and we can refine the ultimate evolution fluid. Hope is right before our eyes.” Fanzhou swept his hand mercilessly and issued the final command.

Throughout this star domain, beams of light flew in every direction, warships exploded one after another, and massive fireballs transformed into a dazzling blaze of light that swept across the entire region.

Boom!

A small asteroid exploded, its terrifying radiance engulfing the star domain ahead, followed immediately by an even more violent energy storm raging forth!

Entire fleets were swallowed by flames, reduced to cosmic dust. Vast areas became wastelands of death as both sides fought with savage intensity.

“Fanzhou, you have stretched your reach too far — do you seek a war to the death with our Shimo Star Sea?” A commanding voice rang out from within the golden sacred vessel.

“Spare me the nonsense. How did your people just chase down my niece? You provoked us first — don’t even think about leaving today unless you hand over one divine mineral!” Fanzhou bellowed.

On the Fan clan’s side, two sacred vessels raised enormous curtains of light that blocked every attack. Their enemies were far less fortunate — warship after warship exploded and broke apart in rapid succession.

The normally desolate cosmos was now utterly ablaze. Endless beams of light flew in all directions, and countless asteroids nearby were caught in the devastation, exploding continuously to form a terrifying storm.

Ye Fan watched all of this with calm eyes. Against the assault of sacred warships, only a Saint might endure such an onslaught — to engage in ranged combat would surely spell his doom.

These warships possessed overwhelming power. Unlike other sacred weapons, they were built specifically for long-range warfare — the perfect fusion of the Dao and advanced technology.

This was a massacre, born of the vast disparity in strength. How could a damaged sacred vessel withstand the assault of two sacred instruments?

Boom!

No blood flowed, no bones flew — yet it was all the more brutal, for when a warship was destroyed, nothing remained. Every soul aboard could only dissolve into ashes.

It was a devastating battle. The people of the Shimo Sea suffered tremendous losses. The power gap was simply too great — amid the flames, one life after another was extinguished, one divine soul after another turned to smoke.

Ye Fan remained silent. This star domain was no less savage than the Northern Dipper — perhaps even more so. Various Dao divine laws flickered throughout, various weapons of mass destruction struck and reaped lives without mercy.

Death came without the sight of blood. Accompanied by the explosions and collapse of stars, the battlefield was boundlessly spectacular — each warship that shattered left countless black holes in its wake.

Boom!

The golden sacred vessel on the other side could hold on no longer. Already damaged from before, it now deteriorated further. At that moment, a golden figure burst forth from within.

“Fanzhou — I’ll fight you to the death!”

This was a golden giant, over ten zhang tall, forged from some unknown divine metal, wielding a golden sacred sword that cleaved open the void as it bore down on them.

“Mozhan, did you think I feared you? I have long wanted to cut you down!” Fanzhou also charged into the star domain, inhabiting a purple giant of similar height, wielding a purple-gold war spear.

There was no doubt — these were both sacred instruments, supreme treasures forged through the Dao, embodiments of the divine dwelling within the cosmic sacred vessels, of incomparable power.

The two giants were covered from head to toe in Dao markings, wreathed in brilliant divine radiance. Every beam of light fired at them proved useless — these were the divine spirits of sacred instruments, and between them, a great battle erupted.

Mozhan raised his enormous golden sword and brought it crashing down. The beam of light extended over ten thousand zhang, as though a Saint himself was fighting!

Clang!

Fanzhou parried with his purple war spear, sending a burst of dazzling divine radiance exploding outward, shattering a swath of the starry sky and causing a terrifying collapse across the region!

Two great powers clashed — like ancient Saints locked in fierce combat. Dwelling within the divine spirits of sacred instruments, they elevated their battle prowess to a truly terrifying height.

Boom!

The golden sacred sword swept sideways, cleaving an entire star in two. It shattered into massive fragments flying in all directions, striking seven or eight smaller warships and reducing them instantly to flame.

“I’ve heard that ascetics like you fight relying solely on your physical bodies, without using external instruments — is that true?” The bald man sidled closer, trying to strike up a conversation with Ye Fan.

“That’s right. A truly powerful fighter can receive a sacred weapon barehanded.” Ye Fan nodded.

“Fan clan — you’ve gone mad! Prepare to face the full fury of the Shimo Sea. We will fight you to the death without end!” The fleet’s battle raged on, yet the Mo clan suffered devastating losses as great numbers of their powerful fighters fell.

“Mofeng, you dared to set your sights on my cousin? You’ll pay dearly for this — surrender your life!” Fantian made his move — he was absolutely ruthless and vicious, driving his sacred vessel forward in a rampage, slaughtering more than half of the Shimo Sea’s raiders.

He had now fixed his gaze on Mofeng and had no desire for a prolonged fight. He directly activated the sacred vessel’s systems — vast purple lightning crackled and intertwined, mingled with surging chaos mist.

He deployed the Dao weaponry and directly tore open the thousand-zhang-long massive vessel, causing it to rapidly break apart.

“Fantian, your ancestors gave you that name to match the title of your forebear, meant to display your valor — do you dare fight me in single combat?” Mofeng shouted. At the critical moment, he had charged into open space, surviving even as his warship broke apart.

Fantian was strikingly handsome, but when he smiled, an overwhelming domineering aura rolled off him, tinged with cruelty. “With an advantage this great,” he said, “do you think I’ve been kicked in the head by a donkey — that I’d brawl with you barehanded?”

Hiss!

Purple lightning crackled across the sky in a vast weave. Chaos energy surged and crashed. The Dao assault grew ever more ferocious. Nebula chains pierced through the void and enveloped Mofeng, light blazing, divine radiance streaming out in ten thousand beams.

“Fine — I surrender!” Mofeng was admirably decisive. To resist meant certain death. He clasped his hands behind his back and let the nebula chains fall upon him, wrapping around him completely.

He was not as fortunate as Qi Meng had been, however. Fantian could feel no pity for him. The beams did not lessen and the lightning continued to dance, leaving Mofeng scorched all over his body, with dozens of his bones snapped.

Mofeng showed remarkable fortitude — he did not utter a single groan and let Fantian do as he pleased, allowing himself to be taken prisoner.

“Cripple him for me — leave him with half a life!” Fantian was decisive and issued this command without hesitation.

“Do not act rashly — I will deal with him when the time comes!” From a distance, Fanzhou spoke out. Still inhabiting his purple sacred instrument, spear in hand, he had just pierced through the golden giant and was on the verge of victory.

Boom!

Suddenly, the massive vessel where Fanxian and Ye Fan were stationed came under attack — a powerful fighter tore open the void and broke through.

Fanzhou drove the purple-gold giant outward to fight, leaving this sacred vessel without its divine spirit. The defensive power dropped to its lowest point, and those fighters successfully broke in.

This sacred vessel remained fully intact. Acting on Mozhan’s orders, these infiltrators used a secret treasure to breach the hull — their goal was to seize control of the vessel so that Mozhan, once he entered the golden divine spirit, could immediately execute a spatial jump and allow all of them to escape.

These were skilled fighters. After breaking in, they launched rapid assaults, cutting down a large number of fighters. Ye Fan’s eyes were cold and indifferent. The Eternal Realm was truly beyond even the Northern Dipper in its brutality.

Splat!

Blood splattered everywhere. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Among the attackers was a half-Saint — extraordinarily powerful — who charged toward the main control room and seized it with swift efficiency. Clearly these were core members of the Mo clan.

“Destroy this vessel!” Fanxian issued a decisive command, acting personally to demolish the vital systems.

The hull itself was a sacred instrument — as long as the divine spirit dwelling within remained alive, the vessel could be rebuilt. It could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands now, or the consequences would be catastrophic.

Naturally, many of the attackers also charged at Ye Fan. Everyone who had managed to board was an elite fighter. He shielded the bald man and the others behind him, meeting his attackers with the Mountain-Embracing Seal. He did not reveal his true combat strength, yet it was more than sufficient — fighters fell in droves around him, bones shattered, tendons snapped, blood flying everywhere, many dying where they stood.

“Stop him — kill that brat, or he’ll let them destroy the vessel!” Several middle-aged men bellowed.

All the elite fighters surged toward him at once. Dao markings intertwined, secret treasures flew through the air, all converging on Ye Fan and Fanxian. Battle energy surged and crashed, with three Dao Severance cultivators leading the charge.

Golden light radiated from Ye Fan’s entire body. The moment he unleashed the Mountain-Embracing Seal, flesh and blood were sent flying — bones scattered in all directions. In the blink of an eye, dozens lay dead. One of the Dao Severance cultivators had his skull shattered by a single palm strike, stunning everyone present into shocked silence.

“We retreat — the half-Saint may be coming!” Fanxian said, her eyes clear and cold, betraying no urgency, as though she had already planned for this.

Ye Fan covered the rear, standing like a golden war god. The fighters of the Shimo Sea did not dare approach. Facing him, they were filled with wariness — they simply wanted to drive the two of them off the vessel.

“Fanzhou, I thank you for delivering this undamaged sacred vessel — I will express my gratitude in person next time we meet!” Mozhan’s icy voice rang out. In an instant the tide turned. Tanking yet another spear strike — the golden divine spirit’s chest pierced through with a massive hole — he vanished from his position and surged into the purple sacred vessel.

“Now that we have the golden divine spirit, we can execute a spatial jump — we return to the Shimo Sea!” The half-Saint who had seized the main control room roared, ordering everyone into action.

“Heh heh heh…” Fanzhou’s cold laughter rang out. He did not pursue and made no attempt to stop them, standing spear in hand.

Suddenly, blazing purple light erupted. The entire vessel was submerged in purple radiance, sealed completely shut — transformed into a cage.

“Mozhan, did you think to borrow a road through here? Little did you know, I also wished to lure you into my trap — I prepared this cage for you long ago!” Fanzhou laughed aloud, though his eyes were ice cold.

“You… you laid a trap for me all along — Fanzhou, well done!” Mozhan’s voice was laced with bitter hatred.

“Hand over the Primordial Life Stone and I guarantee your lives will be spared. Otherwise, you know my character — when the time comes, not one of you will survive!” Fanzhou said coldly. He stood in the cosmic void, his gaze sharp and predatory as an eagle surveying its prey, utterly commanding.

The fighting everywhere else had also ended. Numerous warships encircled the area. The Shimo Sea’s raiders were routed, and the remaining core members were all trapped inside the purple sacred vessel.

Mozhan was silent for a long time, then said: “I hope your word is your bond.”

“Rest assured — our two families’ ancestors share a degree of camaraderie. I have no wish to see them fight each other to the death over this matter.” Fanzhou laughed heartily.

In his heart, Mozhan laughed bitterly. The two ancestors had no real camaraderie whatsoever — they simply held each other in check, unwilling to truly fight to the death.

A silver-white stone flew out — no larger than a fist. The moment it appeared in the cosmos, countless threads of chaos energy gathered toward it, filled with overwhelming vitality.