The fingernail-sized sprout flowed with immortal radiance in Yan Qi’s palm, bathing his fingers in a translucent green glow, overflowing with immortal energy.

Huo Qizi took it from him. His eyes shot with divine light, he confirmed it without doubt — this was indeed an ungrown divine leaf bud, capable of saving a person’s life.

The various kings were stirred, not one of them unshaken. The immortal medicine mattered enormously. In the Primordial Era, only Ancient Emperors could possess it, and it would accompany them throughout their lives.

Now, hearing that a withered ancient star harbored the Tree of Life — how could their hearts not be moved? This was a divine affinity that could allow a person to live a second life.

“Nine Phoenix King, we should set out first. If we are even a step behind, it will surely be seized by Fire Qilin Cave.”

No clan could remain at ease. For the immortal medicine, they would abandon everything. Once obtained, its impact upon an entire clan would be immense.

Over these past few days they had besieged the Eternal Mother Star but could not break through. Rather than persist, they would be better off going after another great fortune.

“Forward into that star domain — seize the Ancient Tree of Life!”

Some ancestral kings set out at once, joining forces to form a powerful coalition. They understood that only by standing together could they compete against the ancient imperial clans.

“Let us set out as well. Judging from this sprout, there is no doubt it is real — there truly is an immortal medicine there!” Huo Qizi said.

“I once heard that somewhere in the universe there is a Tree of Life — a kind of immortal medicine. I never imagined I would one day face it myself.” A fire blazed in Great Sage Yan Qi’s eyes.

For Fire Qilin Cave, this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, and they had every advantage. A Great Sage had come — and he held the Qilin Scepter. Who could contend with him?

This was a portent that Fire Qilin Cave was about to rise to glory!

“Set sail — advance on the Fifth Divine Star!” Fire Qilin Cave moved out as well. Under Great Sage Yan Qi’s command, a number of ancestral kings followed in his wake, charging into the cosmos.

Prolonged siege of the Eternal Mother Star had yielded nothing. Turning to strike another target might bring greater fortune — everyone understood clearly what the right choice was.

There were enough captives to serve as guides for each clan. In a great sweeping procession, they surged one after another into the Tanmu Star Domain, then leaped onward toward the Fifth Divine Star.

“The seed of our clan’s Qilin divine medicine fell into the hands of the human Sacred Body — we have never been able to find him and reclaim it. But if we can now obtain the Ancient Tree of Life, that would be a kind of compensation.”

Inside their cosmic warship, the people of Fire Qilin Cave were all in high spirits. The ancient saints from the clans following them also turned over calculations in their minds, diplomatically expressing their various wishes.

Great Sage Yan Qi said: “Everyone need not worry. Should you help me obtain the divine tree, I will certainly pluck fresh divine medicine buds to present to the powerhouses gathered here.”

Receiving this definitive reply, the assembled saints were greatly pleased.

Someone also offered a word of caution: “Great Sage, please be wary — the Nine Phoenix King and others have also set out separately. Though they cannot compare to you, if they arrive first, there may be unexpected developments.”

“With the Qilin Divine Scepter in hand, no one can defy heaven. Everyone may set their hearts at ease.” Another saint from Fire Qilin Cave spoke.

They traveled at the greatest possible speed, passing through multiple spatial jumps to arrive at the Fifth Divine Star.

“Mm — be wary of those divine ones. From the memory seas of those captives, it is not difficult to see that this force is very powerful and must not be underestimated.”

The cosmic warship descended upon the Fifth Divine Star, scattering even the grey mist, bringing a faint breath of life to the dim and darkened world.

On the surface below, a fierce battle was already underway. Several high-level fighters from the divine organization were engaged with ancestral kings — and were gaining the upper hand.

Some ancestral kings had arrived first and were already repulsed and obstructed.

“Something is wrong — there is unease in my heart!” Huo Qizi stood upon this withered, exhausted land, a shadow of dread rising in his mind.

“What is it?” Great Sage Yan Qi asked, his brow furrowed.

“Nothing — perhaps I’m mistaken. My heart feels unsettled. Best we be careful.” Huo Qizi said. But they had already come this far, and to turn back now was simply not feasible.

“Great Sage Yan Qi has arrived!” The ancestral kings who had come first, upon seeing them, united in seeking his aid.

Yan Qi strode forward. The pressure of a Great Sage spread outward like a vast ocean, sweeping forth — instantly sending several divine practitioners flying, bloodied and broken.

Whether the major powers of the Eternal Mother Star, the divine organization, or the ancient clan ancestral kings who had arrived first — all of them changed expression. This show of dominance spoke for itself. They had no hope left.

Yan Qi looked down upon all under heaven, the full majesty of a Great Sage on display. The entire ancient star trembled with his every step. Behind him followed more than a dozen ancestral kings from various different clans.

This was an absolutely unparalleled force that no faction could resist!

Deep in the mountain range, all sound ceased. The Ancient Tree of Life blazed with flowing radiance, curled like a dragon in repose, radiating hundreds of millions of strands of light.

No one dared resist. With a Great Sage personally present, bearing an invincible and domineering aura, all people bowed their heads and dared not meet his gaze.

“Ha ha…!” Yan Qi laughed aloud. The sound made people’s ears ring with pain, and some weaker cultivators collapsed outright, dissolving into mists of blood.

This was the might of a Great Sage. Even saints went cold from head to toe. Yan Qi fixed his gaze upon the Ancient Tree of Life, his eyes like two small suns, while streaks of killing intent poured from them.

Just as people stood in trembling terror and fearful apprehension, a cold and indifferent voice descended from the sky: “You are rather too overbearing!”

Someone from the divine organization had come. A strangely masked figure stepped out from an ancient ship, looking down upon Yan Qi from above with eyes equally terrifying and boundless, crushing the mountain peaks below to rubble.

“Get out.”

Yan Qi’s gaze was frigid, utterly domineering. Even knowing well that the divine organization was formidable, he did not care in the slightest at this moment. With his right hand gripping the Qilin Scepter — flashing with blue light — he struck upward toward the heavens.

“You…!”

The Great Sage of the divine organization was shocked and dismayed, tearing through the void to dodge the imperial might of the extreme Dao. Though his reaction was swift, he was still caught in the blast.

The Qilin Scepter shattered the cosmos — its shockwave alone swept ten thousand li, crushing the lower half of this person’s body to a pulp and inflicting devastating injuries.

The divine being no longer dared to remain, turned and fled into the depths of the cosmos, vanishing from sight.

This was an act of intimidation — establishing authority by cutting down a Great Sage. Not a single person was not chilled to the bone. Who now dared to contend with him? All fell back.

Beyond the domain, Ye Fan and old mercenary Huo Bai witnessed this scene. Both their pupils contracted sharply. Imperial Dao divine might — truly unstoppable!

“Alas. My premonition has come true. This place may soon run with rivers of blood. Even the divine beings have been driven back — and if their supreme deity comes, there will likely be a great slaughter!” Huo Bai said.

He was a peculiar man — a legend in the mercenary world. He could not have survived to this day otherwise, possessing a kind of instinct. Like Ye Fan, he had retreated beyond the domain, relinquishing his claim to the Ancient Tree of Life.

“Unable to break through the Eternal Mother Star, yet to have obtained an immortal medicine — the world is unpredictable. Truly a heaven-sent fortune.” Great Sage Yan Qi murmured to himself. His cold gaze swept across the people of the Eternal Mother Star, murderous intent plainly visible.

Every single one of them bowed their head — yet one person wore a fearless smile, brilliant and radiant, meeting Yan Qi’s gaze directly.

“Who are you?” Yan Qi asked.

“The one who will kill you all,” Dao Yi replied, his expression serene, his steps unhurried, utterly composed.

Everyone was startled, revealing expressions of disbelief. Who was this person — who actually dared to speak to a Great Sage like this?

The assembled saints all showed surprise. Some from the ancient clans laughed cruelly. This young man who looked so bright and sunny was simply courting death.

Yan Qi laughed aloud and shook his head. Even the Great Sage of the Eternal Mother Star, clad in the divine robe of Dao Yan, had fallen to his hand — in this expanse of the cosmos, who was left to be his opponent?

No matter what, the Ancient Tree of Life was already his to take. Even the divine organization could not stop him — to say nothing of some brash young man.

“I too was once young and arrogant — but I was never this reckless. This is not hot-blooded bravado. This is stupidity. Are you seeking death?” Great Sage Yan Qi said.

In his hand, the Qilin Divine Scepter flashed with crystalline blue light, dream-like and enchanting. Here, he was the supreme master — no one could defy him!

“Laughable — challenging a Great Sage, truly overestimating yourself. When you are reborn in your next life, remember to know reverence,” some from the ancient clans sneered, jeering one after another.

“Is that so? When you are on your way out shortly, remember what you yourselves just said.” Dao Yi smiled — his teeth brilliantly white, his radiance equally so — a head of golden hair swaying loose and smooth.

The shadow over Huo Qizi’s heart grew even darker. This was an instinctive, visceral foreboding. He stepped forward and, grabbing Yan Qi’s arm, hissed low: “Leave!”

Yan Qi’s heart clenched. He knew this ancient imperial prince of their clan — his primal instincts were exceptionally sharp. In that instant, he swung the divine scepter forward, intending to cut Dao Yi down and simultaneously tear open the heavens to depart.

Dao Yi flickered and vanished, appearing beside the Ancient Tree of Life.

In the spot where he had stood, terrifying light surged upward. A thick golden wall blocked the strike of the Ancient Emperor’s weapon, ringing out with a resounding clang.

“How did he step into the Great Sage formation in a single stride?” Many were horrified.

“What is happening — a golden wall rose up and actually blocked the blow of an imperial weapon of the extreme Dao!”

Many cried out in alarm, sensing that disaster was at hand. In that same moment, the entire ancient star began to shake. Heaven and earth were sealed — the star gates could not be opened, the void could not be torn apart.

“I have been waiting for you for many days,” Dao Yi said with a smile — gentle and warm, easy to feel well-disposed toward.

Everyone was left in a daze, especially the ancient clan members, each of whose hearts lurched with a cold jolt. They rushed about in a frenzy, all wanting first to escape from this star.

Great Sage Yan Qi’s expression turned to its coldest extreme. Holding the Ancient Emperor’s weapon, he chopped forward again and again — yet the golden divine wall stretched across the way, impossible to penetrate.

Everyone had a premonition that disaster had arrived. The ancient clan saints joined together, their hearts going cold. They had fallen into someone else’s trap.

“I have the Qilin Divine Scepter — do you think you can deal with me?”

Dao Yi laughed aloud at that. He placed his hand upon the Tree of Life. The divine radiance dimmed, and at last condensed into a single branch — roughly the length of an arm — which was not the complete ancient tree. It fell into his palm.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at this scene, unable to believe what they were seeing.

At the same time, a flash of light — and another tendril of vivid green appeared, wound around his wrist, crystalline and translucent, life essence overflowing from it.

Everyone was startled. This was the branch from the altar, missing one divine bud, the break fresh and new.

Dao Yi smiled and said: “A divine skin ancient scroll, plus one divine bud of the Ancient Tree of Life to summon you here — the price wasn’t all that high.”

Yan Qi was furious. In his palm he clutched the divine bud, blazing radiance flowing from it. He barely restrained himself from crushing it.

“Be careful not to destroy it — that divine bud may save your life yet,” Dao Yi said with a smile.

“Do you think you can kill me? The Ancient Emperor’s weapon sweeps all under heaven — who can resist it!” A chill had begun to settle in Great Sage Yan Qi’s heart.

“An Ancient Emperor’s weapon must naturally be met with an Ancient Emperor’s formation!”

The moment Dao Yi’s words fell, boundless divine light erupted. With this mountain range as its center, an endless sea of immortal radiance rose upward, sealing the entire ancient star in place.

This planet was small. The curtain of light swept across it, cutting it off entirely from the rest of the cosmos.

“Exactly who are you — how have you come to command an Ancient Emperor’s grand formation?” Yan Qi demanded coldly.

“I have no Ancient Emperor’s formation. I only know that partial remnants of one were preserved here, and having studied it deeply, I turned it to my use — and waited for you to come to me.” Dao Yi spoke.

A chill settled in everyone’s heart. The so-called divine skin ancient scroll, and the Tree of Life — all of it had been bait. This was a killing formation!

“Do you think a broken, ruined formation is enough to hold me? Today I will kill you first, you little upstart!” The Qilin Scepter in Great Sage Yan Qi’s hand blazed with light that blinded the sun itself.

“Is that so? Then why do you not dare to move rashly?” Dao Yi stood firm and unruffled.

“I too have arrived. A broken Ancient Emperor’s killing formation may not be enough — but with me here, it is more than sufficient!” A flash of Dao Tribulation Gold immortal light — the Great Sage of the Eternal Mother Star had arrived.

“A defeated enemy, and you still dare to show off?” Yan Qi said coldly.

“You truly believed I had lost? Everything was simply to seize the Ancient Emperor’s weapon from your hands this very day!” The divine robe of Dao Yan blazed with dazzling brilliance as a figure descended from the heavens, landing before Dao Yi and shielding him further.

“Cut down all those who dare to invade — lift the crisis of Eternal!” Dao Yi spoke in a firm and measured voice.