Hummm— The war stele enlarged, standing a thousand zhang tall, its presence vast and imposing as an ancient mountain range. It emanated an aura that made one’s heart tremble, strand after strand of Dao patterns flowing across it in archaic grandeur.
The stele seemed like a divine being awakening, possessed of its own life. Battle-qi then surged and billowed, and the shadowy forms of divine and demonic warriors, the shapes of heroic spirits, materialized one after another—as vivid and real as if they truly stood there in the flesh.
A tremendous Pressure Aura swept through all six directions, shaking heaven and earth. The war stele reached to the very heights of the sky!
Yet the good fortune was not long-lived. The Twelve Saints’ coordination was insufficiently fluid, the battle formation spiraled out of control, and unable to direct the stele, they scattered to all sides.
BOOM!
The ancient stele toppled. Fierce qi surged.
“Aiyo… awoooo…”
Long Ma let out a miserable cry—it had been directly in the way, nearly flattened into a patty. The ancient stele had come down right on top of it, leaving only one leg sticking out from underneath, twitching without cease.
The others stared at one another blankly, each having teleported dozens of li away, dreading it would act up and come looking for them.
Ye Fan’s brow creased. The Twelve Saints were individually formidable, but getting them to cooperate in perfect unity was another matter entirely. Each of them was wild and ungovernable—expecting them to merge into a single cohesive whole was like expecting the Golden Lion to become vegetarian.
Long Ma cursed with a torrent of invective as it crawled out from under the stele, furiously berating the Black Bear, the Nine-tailed Crocodile Dragon, the Scorpion, and the others for their lack of loyalty—abandoning it to be suppressed alone, nearly leaving its bones snapped and its tendons broken.
Fortunately, the war stele’s Pressure Aura had abated at the last possible moment and had not truly landed upon it—otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable.
They tried a second time. Arranging themselves in the ancient battle formation, they moved as one, directing the stone stele, seeking to unleash its world-destroying might. Regrettably, it failed again.
“Awoooo…”
This time it was the Black Bear Saint who was suppressed—a body as massive as a mountain range pinned beneath the war stele.
In the same instant it shrank down, transforming into a miniature bear barely more than a foot long. It crept out on all fours, blinking its big eyes, tears threatening to spill over, declaring to all present that they were disloyal ingrates—using it as a buffer.
“Stop playing pitiful—you enormous, shameless beast! Just a moment ago it was your backside that sat right on top of me—you nearly crushed me to death!” Long Ma snapped with furious indignation.
Ye Fan felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. Hoping these creatures would find their unity in any short span of time was simply impossible. It would require battle after battle—life-and-death tempering—before they would finally be worn into synchrony.
The most critical element for activating the stele was not Dao attainment and realm—it was heart-will and courage, and the question of whether they could unite as though a single person, without any stray thought. For this group of mountain lords, each of whom was an unruly force of nature in their own right, getting them to hold themselves in check and become a disciplined, orderly force was a task of colossal difficulty.
The war stele was a “great weapon” without equal in the world, of extraordinary provenance—but it was not something just anyone could wield. It was suited to an army of veterans hardened through a hundred battles, not this current pack of unruly outlaws.
Ye Fan led them all back to the Lin Clan. The situation here had grown ever more tense—the pressure of an army bearing down on them, war ready to ignite at any moment.
There were ancient demons from within the great mountains, powerful figures from the human clans, and overlords from the sea domains. The Gu Family’s frenzied activity over these days had produced quite remarkable results.
Ye Fan’s seizure of the Gu Family’s stone stele had been the equivalent of a slap across their face—the pretense of civility between the two sides was completely torn away now, and the atmosphere was wound to a breaking point.
“The He Family’s old Saint King has arrived. The pangolin holy beast king from the Primordial Mountains has appeared. The North Pole azure wolf has manifested. Even the Sea Shark Saint King from the Western Sea has shown up. Most critically, the Gu Family’s old patriarch has come out of closed-door cultivation—four Saint Kings are currently in council.”
Wang Ziwen described the situation with some worry. His father-in-law was exceedingly powerful, but after all had not yet taken that final step. If conflict broke out, how could he face so many old enemies alone?
Ye Fan was momentarily taken aback. “Was the old senior not on the verge of becoming a Grand Saint? How has something come up again?”
Wang Ziwen gave a wry smile. “He wishes to ponder for a few more days—he feels certain refinements to his Dao lineage are necessary.”
Ye Fan was genuinely surprised. Every one who could become a Grand Saint was a person of breathtaking brilliance—this old saint of the Lin Clan was indeed no ordinary individual, to remain so composed even under such circumstances.
“We have no choice but to delay for a few more days. For now our only option is to project strength through intimidation, keep them uncertain of the situation, and thereby maintain the initiative.” Wang Ziwen said.
Ye Fan nodded in agreement, and the two of them consulted at length. During these days, the Lin Clan had also allied itself with certain other powerful figures—such as the South Sea Dragon King and the Zhongyue Saint King.
“Boom!”
Beyond the Lin Clan’s outer territory, a spirit mountain was struck and shattered. Powerful shockwaves surged and rolled as far as where they stood.
It was a provocation—probing the Lin Clan’s true strength, attempting to determine whether, beyond the Twelve Saints, the Lin Clan had any other powerful allies yet to arrive. The great battle could ignite at any moment, and those outside wanted to see for themselves.
“Lin Clan, why persist in this? Your ambitions have grown too great—colluding with demons from beyond the domain, seeking to eliminate the major lineages of the Celestial Soldier Star. This cannot be forgiven.”
A hoarse shout rang out from the distance, rolling in like a thunderclap, its might pressuring this sanctuary. A Saint King had arrived.
“That is the He Family’s Saint King.” Wang Ziwen said. He was a formidable figure—the reason He Kun and He Qingyang had dared to arrive in such force and make such a brazen assault on their doorstep was precisely because this person sat in the clan as their mainstay.
Shouts of various kinds came from without—some bellowing denunciations, some gentle-voiced persuasion, claiming that if the Lin Clan only surrendered the demons from beyond the domain, the matter would be considered closed and no further reckoning would follow.
In the two days that followed, the entire region was wound to the breaking point. Several existences at the pinnacle of Saint King realm descended, and the clamoring noise was endless.
“Hand over the demons from outside, and restore peace and quiet to the Celestial Soldier Star!”
“Exterminate the invaders—bring them to justice and restore the harmony and order of the Celestial Soldier Star!”
Hordes of cultivators arrived, pressing for surrender—all disciples of the great powers, their clamor rising to the sky. They painted Ye Fan as a monstrous, thoroughly vicious archfiend.
These people could never openly admit their true motivation—that they coveted Lin Han’s Nine Cycle Immortal Elixir. Instead they had erected a banner of righteousness, calling upon every powerful figure on the Celestial Soldier Star to join forces in exterminating the foreign invaders.
Of course, they also magnanimously declared that if the Lin Clan came to their senses and helped them slay the archfiend, it would be counted as a great meritorious act.
The one thing all of them still feared was Lin Han—uncertain of his present condition. He was the old nemesis they dreaded most. They feared this was a trap he had laid, waiting for them to step into it of their own accord.
“Guard the Celestial Soldier Star! Defend our territory! Surrender the ringleader!” The crowd roared, urging the Lin Clan to recognize the greater good and put the greater situation first.
“Things are looking somewhat ominous.” Wang Ziwen said with a creased brow—certain parties were moving in secret, seeking to persuade one of the three Grand Saints to move against the Lin Clan.
Both sides were stalling, neither willing to act rashly.
“These people are truly without shame—obviously here for the Nine Cycle Immortal Elixir, and yet they invoke what great righteousness, calling upon the entire ancient star to wipe us out.” Long Ma and the others fumed with righteous anger.
During this time, Wang Ziwen and his allies naturally undertook extensive efforts of their own—organizing forces in great numbers to expose the true motives of the Gu Family, the He Family, and their ilk.
Dark currents surged beneath the surface!
“None of this matters.” Ye Fan summoned Long Ma, the Golden Lion, the Black Bear Saint, and all the others to gather close. He ordered them to move out, concentrate all their strength on striking at the comparatively weaker He Family, and through a forceful and crushing victory, intimidate everyone watching.
The following day, a sweeping upheaval erupted. The He Family came under attack. Though ancient formation arrays stood in its defense, they were still crippled—brought to the very edge of being torn out by the roots.
When this news broke, the entire ancient star was shaken to its core. Everyone knew it must be the Lin Clan’s counterattack—and once again they had struck first, taking the initiative.
At the same moment, the North Pole Azure Wolf’s dwelling was broken into by Ye Fan—who drove it into a howling chaos, leaving corpses strewn everywhere. All under heaven was shaken once more. The Azure Wolf Holy Beast King was a great and fearsome figure who sat as overlord of the northern reaches, a force no one dared provoke on ordinary days—and yet here someone had broken into its dwelling. It was truly staggering.
The Azure Wolf Holy Beast King was now marching with the Gu Family beneath the banner of righteousness. Many people found this deeply frustrating.
At this moment, as the people felt their shock, so too did they feel a surge of exhilaration—a few more deaths among such great and fearsome figures would be all to the good.
The Azure Wolf Saint King flew into a towering rage and returned to the northern reaches immediately. Learning that its most beloved young son had been taken captive, and that someone was warning it to keep itself in check for the time being—it let out a roar that shattered mountains and rivers, then charged southward, demanding that the Gu Family and the others launch a full-scale offensive against the Lin Clan and wipe out the enemy utterly.
But the Pangolin Saint King, the Western Sea Shark Saint King, and the others all recoiled in fear, hastily departing—terrified of being targeted in their own dwelling, of having their rear strongholds raided and plundered.
During those days, Wang Ziwen was frantically busy—personally paying visits to the other two senior figures beyond the Fire Crow Grand Saint, terrified that they might be persuaded to emerge against the Lin Clan.
On Ye Fan’s side, he advanced and retreated at will, attacking in one place and feinting in another, striking with overwhelming force, sending genuine dread through the hearts of many.
“Kill!”
The Gu Family’s old Saint King, the Azure Wolf Holy Beast King, the He Family patriarch, the Western Sea Shark Saint King, the Pangolin Venerable from the Primordial Mountains, and their allies—they finally made their move.
Ancient formation arrays blazed and flared, crashing down one after another. Then strand after strand of source-heaven veins emerged, reshaping heaven and earth, blocking and withstanding the patriarchs’ assault.
This was a bloody, savage battle. Ye Fan held the center, using the carefully laid source-heaven formation array diagrams to entrap the great powerhouses. The Lin Clan, the Wang Family, and their allies who had come to lend aid—the South Sea Dragon King, the Zhongyue Saint King, and the rest—all joined the fight, ambushing the powerful enemies from within the formation. The battle raged so fiercely that sun and moon lost their light and heaven and earth lost their color.
“Puff!”
Ye Fan let out a long battle-cry. To the disbelief of all who watched, wielding the power of the Sacred Body, he split the Gu Family’s second-in-command—a Saint King—directly in two with a single stroke, slaying this peerless powerhouse.
A rain of blood fell across the sky, staining the earth red. Long Ma, the Golden Lion, and the others joined the fight as well, battling across all fronts. The entire area seethed.
At last, a tremendous Pressure Aura descended from beyond the domain. Lin Han appeared—having successfully crossed the Grand Saint tribulation—his entire body wreathed in the markings of the Great Dao, like an ancient god, his divine might covering the sky, his aura filling every inch of heaven and earth.
All suspense was gone. The Gu Family, the He Family, the North Pole Azure Wolf, the Shark Saint King, the Pangolin Venerable, and all their allies fell—reduced to a rain of blood. Before a Grand Saint, the enemies of former days simply did not matter.
The winner takes all. Especially so for the Gu Family, the He Family, and the others who had harbored malicious intent—seeking to prevent Lin Han from becoming a Grand Saint, and going to war for the Nine Cycle Immortal Elixir. After their defeat, they were denounced and condemned on all sides.
War is never merciful. What followed naturally included a thorough purge. Some great powers rose to prominence, while others became the past, buried in the dust of history.
The label of foreign demons from beyond the domain vanished. Ye Fan and his companions became honored guests of the various factions of the Celestial Soldier Star. They lingered for a full month—meditating on the Great Dao, coming to understand the singular nature of this ancient star, and confirming that this place had once been a training ground and garrison for the Ancient Heavenly Court.
With every saint of the Gu Family and He Family eradicated, the entire ancient star returned to peace. Four Grand Saints sat in watch over it, and a new era of tranquility and harmony was ushered in.
“Take care of yourselves!” Ye Fan turned and strode away, stepping once more onto the journey ahead.
Wang Ziwen watched in silence as they receded into the distance, pulling away from the Celestial Soldier Star.
The Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin had changed the trajectories of all their lives, giving each of them an entirely different existence. Where lay the road home—could they ever gather again? None of them knew.
“The stellar void is boundless. Even an emperor can only radiate a moment of brilliance in the long river of time—a single instant of illuminating the cosmos. Who among us can be undying?” Wang Ziwen sighed. His road was different from Ye Fan’s—a different personal choice.
“Father, do you also wish to walk the heavenly road, to journey singing through the stars, to contest for supremacy in the depths of the cosmos—to witness a glorious golden age of myth in the making?” Wang Chen asked.
“That is not my road. Now that I have you, I do not wish to leave my bones in some distant realm. In my eyes, here is where all the splendor lies—this is my grand world.” Wang Ziwen replied.
“Father, one day let us go and see your homeland together.” Wang Xi said brightly, full of life and energy.
“Of course.” Wang Ziwen nodded—yet in his heart, a hollow longing quietly took hold.