The parched chaotic divine soil split apart in all directions, unable to withstand the impact of the thunder tribulation and the remnants of the ancient deities’ broken formations, starlight scattering down into the cracks.
The people from all the Sacred Grounds stared in shock — the battle had developed far faster than anyone had anticipated. Both Killing Saints of the Mortal Realm and Hell had died, and the skeletal frame had also turned to tribulation ash.
Ye Fan’s combat strength had proven far more formidable than imagined — he had personally slain two Sages, and would surely become renowned throughout the world!
People realized that once this battle concluded, the entire ancient star would shake with the news — the human race’s Sacred Body had proclaimed his return to the world with a brilliant record of victory!
“The destruction of Hell and the Mortal Realm is imminent. What are you all still standing around for? Join hands and clean up what remains.”
The battle was not yet over, for the ancient Divine Dynasty still had surviving assassins, all direct-line elites. If they were allowed to escape, they would surely become a hidden threat in years to come.
Qi Luo crushed the skull in his hand and charged toward the Bone Palace.
“Let none escape — avenge our ancestors!”
“Reclaim the head of our ancient forebear, wash away this shame and humiliation, destroy both Divine Dynasties!”
Battle cries shook the heavens. The true Killing Saints had all perished — what more waves could they possibly stir? Everyone charged forward.
The people from all the Sacred Grounds were roused, fighting bravely, storming toward the Bone Palace, for that was the foundation and ancestral ground of the two great Divine Dynasties — the accumulated wealth of endless ages, surely holding boundless treasures.
Within the bone palace, a gaunt, withered figure stood, eyes glowing a deep jade-green, fingers like blackened iron hooks. With a raised hand, he turned a group of intruders into mist of blood.
A Killing Saint!
Yet another Killing Saint remained, radiating monstrous killing intent, coldly staring at everyone, like an ancient corpse, icy to the bone.
The two great Divine Dynasties had dug up their ancestral grounds and found only part of the accumulated foundation — they had unearthed a King of Killing Saints, who had been subdued by Wei Yi and taken along into the depths of the universe.
There remained one more Killing Saint — this very man, who wished to flee, or perhaps to hide and strike from the shadows, but had no chance, for Qi Luo had already locked onto him.
Ye Fan, Ji Zi, and the Sage Emperor’s Son had just advanced in cultivation, and together they closed in and surrounded him.
“Aoooh…” The Black Emperor let out a long howl — his earlier battle had not gone smoothly, but now he roared and charged in as well, for he was certainly capable of threatening a Sage.
On the other side, the old crone of the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground, her eyes gleaming deeply, also looked over, ready to strike at any moment.
“Kill!”
This person was decisive enough, taking the initiative to attack Qi Luo, his natural-born rival, hoping to crush through and carve out a bloody path to escape.
Being a Killing Saint himself, he knew that only by killing Qi Luo did he have any hope of survival — otherwise he was doomed to be entangled with no chance to escape alive.
Above Qi Luo’s head, a crystalline ancient pagoda appeared, forged from sacred bone, warding off the attack. In his hand, the Blood-Transmuting Blade split open heaven and earth, drawing forth the radiance of stars and moon in a sweeping arc, cascading down like a river of heaven, its momentum vast as an abyssal sea.
He had lost seven of his own sons, and now his entire being existed in a special state, his life essence and spirit rising to the extreme, his fighting spirit soaring, possessing an air of invincibility.
This Killing Saint was struck on the spot, staggering backward. That radiance of stars and moon smashed entirely into his body, his bones cracking and rattling, dozens of them shattered.
His great techniques of killing proved useless — surrounded on all sides, he could only fight like a cornered beast.
The Sage Ape’s Son swung his massive iron club as though beating a heavenly drum, wind and thunder forming a great formation, the sound deep and heavy, making even the void emit explosive cracking sounds.
The Killing Saint was squeezed in the middle, unable to dodge, unable to retreat, forced to receive the blows passively, coughing blood from the sheer force of the impact.
In this present age, how many people could match physical bodies with the offspring of an Ancient Emperor?
Ji Zi pressed his hands together, palms joined, forming the shape of a full moon, suspended above his head, emitting dazzling light like a divine moon.
An ancient mirror took shape, materializing between his hands, an aura of serenity emanating above his head, swiftly firing out a terrifying beam of immortal radiance!
“Puff!”
The Killing Saint’s chest was pierced clean through, front to back, a terrifying hole of blood blown open, several ribs shattered, half his body dyed red with blood.
The Killing Saint’s eyes flickered erratically — surrounded by several top experts, the terrifying aura pressing down on him nearly suffocated him, as though sinking into a mire, making resistance extremely difficult.
“Aoooh…” The Black Emperor let out a great roar, its bronze head and iron arms lunging forward directly, that massive claw pressing down like a small mountain.
At the same moment, Ye Fan stepped forward, his Undying Golden Body radiant and brilliant, his body wrapped in strange phenomena, intending to strike down this great enemy with his bare hands.
Blood blossomed — how could a single Killing Saint withstand the pouncing assault of a pack of tigers? The Black Emperor nearly ripped out his heart, while Ye Fan directly tore off his right arm, sacred blood dripping, bloody and brutal.
Slaying a Sage!
There was absolutely no suspense possible — with these several top experts moving together, this man’s hope of escaping alive was harder than reaching the heavens.
The final blow landed, and they beat the Killing Saint into a mist of blood, leaving only the primordial spirit, torn into four pieces, for Qi Luo to investigate.
“Four World Stones — these will be the foundation for us to open up our own divine small world!” the Killing Saint said, setting aside his sorrow, a hint of joy showing on his face.
Both Hell and the Mortal Realm had been destroyed, but each of their ancestral realms had given birth to a precious World Stone, kept safely here.
And the parched chaotic divine soil was even more precious — a treasure among small worlds, having given birth to two World Stones, now kept within the bone palace, of incalculable value.
“Charge — the ancient hall contains many sacred treasures that can make up for our losses in this battle!” the Killing Saint Qi Luo said.
The Black Emperor and Long Ma said nothing more, dashing off at full speed, charging toward the palace, beginning the most frenzied looting spree in history, taking whatever they saw.
In the end, even a few beautiful female assassins were accidentally swept up into their storage-artifact spaces.
“Kill…”
At this moment, all the various sects went mad with killing — those who had earlier held back now charged forward like fierce tigers descending from the mountains, ferociously unrestrained.
The people from all the Sacred Grounds all charged toward the ancient palace, none willing to fall even half a step behind.
War chariots rumbled forward, crushing over the broken traces of Dao, endless armies advancing, destroying palace after palace, marking the utter destruction of the ancient Divine Dynasty from this point forward.
Shouts of men and neighing of horses rang out — the reinforcements from all the Sacred Grounds had arrived, beast mounts trampling through the sky, crushing the heavens beneath their hooves, sweeping in like a steel torrent.
Among them there was actually a Sage!
At this final juncture, as they scrambled to divide the treasures, some Sacred Grounds had deployed their full strength, causing the people of the Village of Heaven to complain bitterly and feel indignant.
The Sacred Grounds of the Ji family, Yao Pond, Wind Clan, Dao Yi, Purple Mansion, Jiang family, and others also felt a certain coldness, dissatisfied in the face of these opportunistic ancient sects.
“This bone palace has a share belonging to our Four Symbols Sacred Ground.” An elder, riding atop a golden-eyed scaled beast, shouted loudly, leading a group of powerful warriors as they approached.
During the great battle, no trace of them had been seen; they had hidden at the very back, but now, at the moment of truly dividing up the ancient Divine Dynasty’s treasures, they rushed to the very front, blocking the path of the Heavenly Court’s people.
“Who are you? Did you exert any effort during the great battle? Why were you nowhere to be seen?” the old blade-wielder asked.
“Our lineage has an ancient heritage stretching back a long time; we are called the Four Symbols Sacred Ground. This bone palace contains the skulls of our forebears, and we have come now to reclaim them,” the elder said.
“And naturally, our Nine Heavens Sacred Ground cannot be absent either.” On another side, a row of ancient war chariots rolled forward, each one rusted and weathered, yet each surrounded by a terrifying battle aura, all of them sacred weapons.
Yet another great Sacred Ground had arrived to claim a share of the treasure. Just moments earlier during the great battle, no one knew where they had been hiding — they certainly had not been at the front of the fighting.
“What a joke — nowhere to be seen when effort was needed, yet the moment it comes to this critical juncture, each of you rushes to the very front. Have you no shame?” an elder from the Village of Heaven said.
“We have come with all our heart and effort. Setting aside everything else, the very fact that our ancestors’ bare bones lie scattered here gives us the right to enter — how is it your place, remnants of the Heavenly Court, to lecture us? If we were to reckon things properly, you ought to be subjected to judgment and punishment yourselves — you deserve to be executed!” one crone from the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground said venomously.
The two ancient Divine Dynasties had passed down their legacy through endless ages, having struck even Sages without hesitation. The accumulated divine treasury was simply incalculable, beyond anyone’s imagination.
Perhaps in an instant, two great Sacred Grounds could be reconstituted from this alone, enough to make anyone’s eyes turn red with envy — they had rushed here to divide the spoils, driven purely by human greed.
But to place such a terrifying accusation on the people of the Village of Heaven at this moment was going too far — such intentions deserved condemnation!
Ye Fan stepped forward, brows raised, standing tall, glaring at them, and spoke only a single word: “Scram!”
A person’s reputation is like the shadow of a tree — Ye Fan had traversed the world for so many years, having killed Ancient Emperor’s Sons, having challenged every Ancestral King under heaven, fighting his way through blood to this very day, his reputation formidable. These people’s expressions immediately stiffened; though extremely furious, they dared not openly turn hostile.
“Ye Fan, your fame moves the world, and you may indeed intimidate one region. But there is still the matter of reason and principle — on what grounds do you deny us access to the bone palace? Are they not remnants of the Heavenly Court?” the people of the Four Symbols Sacred Ground questioned.
“They too belong to the Killing Hand Divine Dynasty — remnants deserving death. Are we wrong to say so?” a crone from the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground sneered coldly.
Boom!
Ye Fan’s body emitted boundless light, golden blood energy flooding the entire area, spreading outward like a vast ocean.
“Puff!”
Those in front spat mouthfuls of blood and were sent flying backward; several elders also went pale, retreating step by step.
“Do you all wish to court death?” Ye Fan’s expression was cold, his words direct, sparing no consideration for anyone’s dignity.
“You… do you wish to defy the world’s greatest taboo?!” they cried out, their bravado hollow.
Ye Fan’s voice turned stern, shouting loudly: “The Heavenly Court of the past has long since turned to smoke, broken apart and utterly destroyed by all the Sacred Grounds. The Heavenly Court that I have founded is no longer any Killing Hand Divine Dynasty. To pour filth upon my sect is a malicious intent deserving condemnation!”
His voice was like a blade, cutting into the heart of every person present. Wherever his gaze swept, these people retreated, not daring to meet his eyes directly.
Ye Fan, as the Undying Golden Body, possessed blood energy so overwhelmingly abundant that none in the world could match it. He strode forward, shaking these people until they coughed blood and stumbled backward, nearly collapsing on the spot.
“You…”
“Even if the Heavenly Court is not remnants of killing hands, what right do you have to stop us from entering the Bone Palace? The treasures of Hell and the Mortal Realm belong to the whole world — we too have our share.”
Though these people’s faces had turned pale as snow, involuntarily retreating, their mouths still refused to yield.
“What a joke — where were you during the battle, why were you nowhere to be seen, all of you hiding at the very back, yet when it comes time to divide the spoils, you’re more eager than anyone!” Ye Fan swept his gaze over these several Sacred Grounds, his expression cold and frosty.
Behind him, the Black Emperor, Long Ma, Dongfang Ye, and even the Sage Emperor’s Son, among others, all glared coldly, pressing forward.
Ye Fan continued: “Even now, the battle has not yet ended. Great Sage Wei Yi and the others have gone to the depths of the star domain to face great enemies, and my own disciples are still fighting and struggling against enemies. What have you people done, yet you cannot wait to rush here to divide the spoils!?”
He shouted loudly, his expression cold to the extreme.
In the distance, Ye Tong was engaged in a great battle, facing off against Hell’s Divine Son, just as he had said in years past — fighting in his master’s stead against an old sworn enemy!
Having only just recently cut off from the Dao path, in terms of pure strength he was not truly a match for Hell’s Divine Son, for this was a peerless genius cultivated by an entire Divine Dynasty, one who had cut off from the Dao many years prior.
But Ye Tong did not shrink back, even though covered in blood and gravely wounded, still fighting fiercely, honing himself.
Of course, Ji Zi and the others were all paying close attention, guarding against any real danger occurring.
Elsewhere, Little Sparrow, Gu Lin, and Gu Fei were also fighting, the people of the Village of Heaven locked in combat with the assassins.
And the warriors of the Ji family, Purple Mansion, Wind Clan, Yao Pond, Jiang family, and Dao Yi Sacred Ground had also not stopped, still engaged with the remaining assassins, cleaning up what was left.
“You all — have you fought at all, exerted any effort, shed a single drop of blood? What face do you have to come divide the spoils? And to harbor such malicious intent, pouring filth on my Heavenly Court… all of you, scram!” Ye Fan said domineeringly, blocking everyone’s path.
These people’s faces turned pale as snow, unable to speak, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, retreating into the distance.
“Young man, that’s enough. Do not press others too hard…” an ancient voice came, resonating through heaven and earth, sacred might spreading everywhere.
“There is a principle of reason in this world. If it cannot be argued with certain people, then there is still the word ‘kill’!” Ye Fan retorted sharply, standing firm against the heavens.