The great cauldron was like a deep abyss, swallowing heaven and earth. The wisps of hazy light battered against the cauldron walls — yet no matter how they raged, they could not break free. The Source of the Dao was shackled in place.
Under the combined suppression of the Immortal-Sealing Six Bonds and the Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron, it merged back into a single entity, sealed within. Though it was deeply unwilling, it had no means of escape.
“This is…” Many were stunned.
From ancient times to the present, those who had not been granted the recognition of heaven and earth were not unknown — in such cases, the Source of the Dao would shatter and return to the heavens and earth. But no one had ever been able to forcibly seize it.
The person before them was so domineering — shaking the hearts of all present.
“Running contrary to heaven and earth, he forcibly gathered the Source of the Dao back together and sealed it within the cauldron — just what manner of person is this?!”
“No such precedent exists throughout all of history. He will suffer the wrath of heaven for this — the audacity is simply too great.”
Everyone was stunned, scarcely able to believe what they were witnessing. He had reassembled the Source of the Dao and then forcibly sealed it — intending to use it for his own ends.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura spread through the air. In the vault of the sky above, a chain of order appeared — vivid as the plumage of an immortal phoenix — and swept horizontally toward Ye Fan, seeking to cleave him at the waist.
“Heaven’s wrath — the will of the heavens has truly sent down divine punishment.” Many cried out in alarm.
It was a resplendent chain of divinity, its divine power hair-raising — stretching across the space between heaven and earth as it came to encircle and eliminate him, aiming to cut him in two at the waist.
“It has come — since ancient times, very few have dared such disrespect. How can the Source of the Dao be forcibly taken away? Divine punishment is inevitable.”
Yet what left everyone gaping was that Ye Fan showed not a flicker of fear. He raised his fist to strike at the heavens, resisting the divine punishment with brute force — a domineering punch that shattered the sky itself.
Boom!
A heaven-shaking transformation unfolded. That vivid and glittering chain of order was stopped. The scene of his body perishing and his Dao dissolving that many had anticipated did not appear.
“The divine punishment adjusts to each person’s strength, always surpassing the upper limit of whoever it targets — in order to destroy them. And yet he blocked it…”
A cold smile curved the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth. This so-called divine punishment was nothing remarkable — he had faced things far more dangerous than this.
The vivid chain of order shuddered, and in the vault of the sky above, lightning blazed and thunder cracked. Thousands upon tens of thousands of bolts of tribulation light appeared at once — all directed at Ye Fan and the cauldron.
“Heavenly tribulation — the will of the heavens is wrathful!”
No one had achieved a breakthrough in cultivation. No prodigy was crossing a tribulation. This had come solely because Ye Fan had desecrated the Source of the Dao — and in broad daylight, under a clear sky, divine tribulation had descended.
Terrifying light flew and danced, blazing electromagnetic arcs flashing, drowning this place in light — it became a vast sea of electricity, covering an enormous area. Many in the vicinity changed expression.
Endless waves of lightning crashed down, a fearsome heavenly tribulation manifesting — destroying all that stood in its path. It was as though a heavenly god was roaring in fury, seeking to tear every living thing in this world to shreds.
Not one of the onlookers failed to change expression. Each was an outstanding hero from their own domain, their magical power reaching to the heavens and their knowledge vast — many trial participants had come from ancient star domains, and none of them were ordinary; all had passed lightning tribulations.
Some were stricken with fright, and cried out in shaken voices: “This is practically a divine tribulation — the sea of lightning is too vast. There is no withstanding it. How many could survive a heavenly tribulation like this?!”
Rumble!
The lightning sea was terrifying. Every bolt was like a river of stars descending — vast and majestic, its divine might supreme under the heavens. How could flesh and blood resist this?
Whether from the Demon Kingdom, the Divine Kingdom, or the Nine Heavens Kingdom — or those trial participants who had walked the ancient road of the starry sky — every last person retreated, drawing a clear line between themselves and Ye Fan, terrified of being caught up in it.
Many trembled, for such a spectacle signified that Ye Fan was surely one whom the heavens would not tolerate — one who had been cursed. Today, in all likelihood, he would perish in the tribulation.
“What a shame. This person’s strength is so formidable — beyond doubt the preeminent figure among this group, a transcendent talent of the age — and yet he will not survive.”
“The fault is his own lack of restraint. To dare desecrate the heavens, to forcibly seize the Source of the Dao — divine punishment was his inevitable reward. Falling here is what he deserves.”
Some murmured with regret, others with mockery. To one powerful figure perishing, those present found it welcome news. The Demon Kingdom, the Divine Kingdom, and the rest also muttered among themselves — witnessing such a terrifying scene, who could remain unmoved? In this world, heavenly tribulation was one of the most fearsome powers in existence.
“In these past several decades, I have also witnessed some trial participants crossing tribulations. Several groups had individuals who might have withstood this level of lightning tribulation — I do not know whether he can endure it.”
Yet what made everyone’s scalps prickle with cold was that within the sea of ten thousand zhang of lightning, Ye Fan showed not a trace of fear. He sat cross-legged within it, drawing the lightning and electricity into his body. Between his brows, a golden small figure appeared, exhaling and inhaling arcs of lightning.
“Drawing lightning into the body — using the heavenly tribulation to temper his true form. This is truly… defying heaven itself!”
The crowd was shaken with admiration, involuntarily drawing sharp intakes of breath. A person of this caliber was rare indeed — throughout the whole ancient road of the starry sky, he deserved a place among the foremost.
The anticipated scene of shattered bone and demolished flesh did not appear. Ye Fan’s physical body, the golden small figure, and the cauldron together drew in the boundless sea of lightning, using it to temper themselves — swallowing it whole!
“Truly unexpected.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Just now he had genuinely thought that heaven and earth possessed a will — and that it was targeting him. After careful reflection, he realized this was most likely a form of naturally existing order-force.
The Source of the Dao was indeed something that defied heaven. It had imprinted upon itself the most primordial essence of the entire cosmos, down to its very roots. As for that hazy will… it was strange.
The Immortal-Sealing Six Bonds had worked. He had drawn the Source of the Dao into the cauldron and reunified it into a single mass of light. Sensing the multitude of symbols within it, he found it fearsome and mysterious.
That hazy will had vanished and did not reappear. Yet the mass of light rejected him — it refused to fuse with him.
The Immortal-Sealing Six Bonds took full effect, sealing the Source of the Dao completely — burying it deep within the cauldron, its aura cut off from the outside world. In an instant, the divine punishment ceased, and the sky full of lightning light receded.
Ye Fan stood whole and unharmed beneath the vault of the heavens. His robes flapped in the wind, and above his head hung a cauldron — ancient and natural, its cascading threads of energy forming a protective shroud around him.
“He emerged without a scratch — beyond belief!”
“That cauldron… heavens, it is forged from the primordial root of the myriad things mother qi!”
Ye Fan had not suffered heaven’s wrath, having passed through unharmed — to the astonishment of all. Only now did their attention shift from the Source of the Dao to the cauldron, and naturally many recognized it.
The exclusive immortal material of the great emperors of antiquity — wherever it appeared, in whatever time and whatever place, it was destined to draw attention, to stir up winds and waves, to become the focal point of all.
“It truly is… the essential essence of the myriad things mother qi!”
The crowd was stunned, their mouths running dry. Many were struck speechless, their minds roaring with a sound like rolling thunder.
“The Source of the Dao was reassembled by him and drawn into the cauldron — can it truly be forcibly contained like this?!”
Some eyes burned with heat. This was simply an immortal fortune. To seize the cauldron was to seize the Source of the Dao as well. If it could be taken — why speak of past grievances or future debts?
A blood-red sword cut silently toward the back of Ye Fan’s head — a killing blow meant to slay him on the spot with a single strike.
At the same moment, all manner of other weapons blazed with divine light, striking from within mountain ranges and down from clouds above — no small number of powerful figures making their move.
Riches move the hearts of men — how much more so an object transcendent as this.
“Kill him! Leave the Source of the Dao — the heavens refuse to recognize you. Hand it over!”
This wave of slaughter came so abruptly. The previously quiet battlefield erupted in an instant. People swarmed to attack Ye Fan from all sides, seeking to keep him here.
“We’ve poked the old heaven’s rear end — damn it all, this many people closing in to kill us. What absolutely wretched luck.” Long Ma cursed.
Ye Fan began his slaughter. Walking the ancient road of the starry sky was about being forged by the strongest — contending for supremacy among endless powerful fighters.
For those who truly walked the emperor’s road and sought to reach the absolute apex — this was always a path of blood. Beneath their feet would inevitably pile the bodies of the fallen, rivers of blood flowing. Only by emerging from the midst of that could one stand apart from the crowd.
Every powerhouse throughout the ages had fought their way forward, forging a fearsome name all the way to the end. There was no other shortcut. If there were, the path of the ancient road of the starry sky would have lost its original meaning.
“Kill!”
Ye Fan gripped the black long spear and drove it through the heavens, splitting the earth. Every thrust sent someone pinned to their death — decisive and clean.
Crack! Crack!…
One corpse, two corpses… thirty-seven corpses — all great demons. In the end, fully fifty-four great demons lay dead at his feet, each one with their forehead bone pierced through.
“Ahh…”
The members of the Divine Kingdom also screamed. The dark-gold long spear in Ye Fan’s hand moved with the swiftness of lightning, cutting down sixty or seventy powerful figures.
It was a massacre!
Blood filled the sky. Countless native inhabitants and trial participants alike fell one after another beneath Ye Fan’s lance tip — drenched in blood.
In the end, even the ancient sages joined the fray. Ye Fan fought in fury, his entire body blazing with light as his phenomena manifested — for a brief moment achieving a state of unity: immortal king, golden bitter sea, chaos azure lotus, all merging into one — his power flooding the heavens.
Crack!
When he tore an ancient sage apart with his bare hands, the entire world fell silent. He strode out of the battlefield bathed in holy blood — none dared stand in his way.
In the half a month that followed, the entire ancient land knew no peace. Wave after wave of people sought to intercept Ye Fan, and he met them all with iron-blooded slaughter.
By the end, he had fought until the sun and moon lost their light and heaven and earth lost their color. Mountains and rivers in every direction had been ravaged beyond recognition, many of them ceasing to exist.
It was a cataclysm. Ye Fan slaughtered sages in this land, overawing the multitudes — until at last, no one dared to provoke him any further, none daring to cause him trouble.
There had, of course, been several moments of crisis as well. Sage-kings from the Divine Kingdom and the Demon Kingdom had appeared — but he had managed to avoid them each time, without being drawn into open battle.
Half a month of fighting — even with Ye Fan’s constitution, he was somewhat weary. Having engaged in successive battles against trial participants and foreign races in rotation, hidden injuries had accumulated in his body.
He had killed no fewer than a thousand people, bathing in their blood again and again. All who crossed his path — powerful figures all — fell dead at his feet. The fighting had driven men’s courage to ruin.
“It is finally over.” Long Ma bared his teeth in a grimace. For him, it had been a form of ordeal — fighting until he was utterly battered, wounds covering his frame.
Clear lake water, lotus fragrance pure and quiet — a beautiful lake misty with water vapor, like a sapphire. Here, they recuperated in peace, their vigorous blood energy gradually restored.
“What exactly is this Source of the Dao?”
By the lakeside, golden qilin grass grew in abundance, overflowing with spiritual energy and resplendent in its beauty. Spiritual medicine fruits were also scattered about, fragrant to the nose. Long Ma had consumed a pile of spiritual fruits and now turned to Ye Fan with his question.
Ye Fan arranged the Heaven-Deceiving Formation, then released the Source of the Dao and examined it carefully. He found it unfathomably deep, all manner of symbols flowing within it — containing the boundless supreme principles of the Grand Dao.
This time, the Source of the Dao transmitted no will. Yet it shattered at the very first opportunity, dissolving into threads of serene and auspicious energy that sought to escape.
Ye Fan’s expression immediately turned cold. The Source of the Dao truly refused to recognize him — evading and fleeing from him in every possible way, refusing to allow him to comprehend it.
Long Ma chuckled. “It seems your prospects are bleak. The Source of the Dao holds you in contempt.”
Ye Fan activated the Immortal-Sealing Six Bonds, reforming the Source of the Dao into a single mass of light, ensuring it could not leave his side — sealed firmly in place, unable to escape.
“What are you going to do with it?” Long Ma asked.
“Wash my feet.” Ye Fan said with a cold smile.
And he truly did exactly that. He sealed the mass of light, removed his battle boots, and plunged both feet into the mass of light — soft as water, sacred as moonlight — that was this immortal object.
“Heavens — don’t — you… you’re actually going to desecrate it?!” Long Ma moved to stop him, but it was already too late. The deed was done. He nearly bit off his own tongue.
Ye Fan sat on a flat reclining rock by the lake’s edge, washing his feet in the Source of the Dao, soaking them within. He felt a mysterious power flowing through him.
The Source of the Dao thrashed violently, seeking to dissolve and surge upward into the sky — but under the Immortal-Sealing Six Bonds, that supreme art of divination, it had no means of escape.