“Young man, is my request so unreasonable? Just release the Overlord — less bloodshed, less killing, better for everyone involved.”

The Path Guardian who had appeared first was named Qi Tian, his figure hazy, blended with the Great Dao, wisps of divine markings trailing about him, hanging down like rivers of stars encircling him.

“Since you believe there should be less killing, why did you not stop the Overlord when he turned back and, from a higher realm, attempted to kill me?” Ye Fan’s gaze was sharp.

Silently, without a sound, dense patterns appeared beneath his feet, and in an instant he crossed the star river, vanishing who knows how many miles away, breaking free from that battlefield.

This was the Xing Character Mantra, the world’s foremost technique of speed, and now, in the Divine Prohibition state, with the Jie Character Secret no longer sealed, his speed multiplied tenfold upon this already extreme foundation.

This was a form of divine speed — even a Great Sage could only stare in astonishment, utterly unable to keep up.

Over all these years, Ye Fan had already refined the Xing Character Secret to its very extreme, precisely to deal with the great powers of the ancient path — relying on this, he could stand transcendent above all methods. Able to fight, he fought; unable to fight, he withdrew — facing a Path Guardian, a true Great Sage-level existence, this was no disgrace.

Ye Fan had not truly retreated. His hands moved slowly, and the entire starry sky trembled — the earlier forbidden array revived completely, transforming into golden divine patterns, flashing with blazing light.

This was his main battlefield — advancing to attack, retreating to defend, ensuring nothing could go wrong.

The Path Guardian Qi Tian’s expression turned cold as he silently studied this golden array. Being a Great Sage himself, he could naturally see the profundity of this place — this was a remnant site of the ancient Heavenly Court, and one wrong step could see even a Great Sage fall into it.

Qi Tian’s face remained expressionless. “Young man, I acknowledge you are a heaven-born talent, but before the passage of time, many bright things eventually dim. The road ahead is long, filled with uncertainty — countless prodigies have been buried in foreign lands, unable to complete their starry paths. Show mercy where mercy can be shown.”

“Are you threatening me?” Ye Fan’s gaze gleamed, his aura like a rainbow, still standing within the Divine Prohibition realm, his body unimaginably powerful.

“This old one merely speaks the truth.” Qi Tian’s expression remained unchanged, standing like a stone statue within the starry sky, the vast Great Dao enveloping him.

At this moment, another Path Guardian, Cang Lan, spoke up. “The Overlord turned back to the human ancient path’s Fiftieth City, using strength to bully the weak — a serious violation of the ancient path’s laws, stirring up such great conflict. He will surely be severely punished.”

Using strength to bully the weak? The crowd was somewhat taken aback — in the end, the mighty Overlord had nearly been suppressed and slain, yet was now saddled with such a charge. It was almost ironic.

Yet upon reflection, it was indeed so — however profound the Overlord’s cultivation, he had merely encountered someone even more heaven-defying, one who understood the Origin Heaven divine array. Had it been anyone else, there would have been no chance of survival.

Great Sage Cang Lan continued, “We ask that young friend spare his life. The Path to Immortality Ascension is about to appear — no one knows what may come. This generation may see great turmoil; we need some young supremes to grow, to guard the ancient path.”

Ye Fan smiled. “I’m quite easy to talk to. Since both Great Sages have said as much, I naturally won’t refuse — trade me the Lunar Immortal Scripture and the Zhe Character Secret.”

The assembled heroes were all stunned. Even two Great Sages pleading on his behalf had been of no use.

Ye Fan was determined to obtain the scriptures — no matter who came, it made no difference. These two ancient arts held great value for him — the Lunar and Solar ancient characters complemented each other, and the Zhe Character Secret could grant him an undying body.

Who could say what the future held? With the Path to Immortality about to appear, everyone strove for it, and even beings from the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones of the Big Dipper would have to make their move for the sake of an illusory chance at eternal life.

Now, only by strengthening himself could he stand firm in the future, live on better, and shelter his family and friends.

Great Sage Cang Lan said nothing further, his expression blank, falling silent for a moment.

Qi Tian spoke coldly. “Only that which withstands the test of time is real. You are a peerless talent, astonishing through the ages — you ought to cherish everything before you now. It has not been easy to come this far.”

“In my life, I’ve never believed in fate. Do you believe you’ve withstood the test of time, having lived to such an age — do you think yourself an immortal stone, still shining, never having dimmed?” Ye Fan said coldly.

He began to sacrifice and refine the Cauldron of the Myriad Things’ Mother Qi, chaotic qi spreading within, wisps of immortal mist overflowing — inside, it was as if an entire world were turning upside down, being created anew.

The Overlord roared, the blood-qi within his body ceaselessly diminishing, forcibly refined by Ye Fan, becoming part of the essence qi of heaven and earth. Before long, his flesh and blood suffered severe damage — even his undying purple blood, possessing divine nature, could not withstand such terrible depletion.

Ordinary sacred artifacts could not refine him at all, but this cauldron was different — within it dwelled countless heavenly spirits, a powerful treasure containing boundless traces of the Dao.

The Overlord struggled, and upon the cauldron’s inner walls, ancient primordial ancestors stepped forth to suppress him, along with rocs spreading their wings and true dragons soaring the nine heavens, all manifesting from the cauldron’s walls to pounce upon him.

Within the cauldron’s inner world, everything felt so real — the Overlord was shaken beyond words, even more astonished than when he had witnessed Ye Fan’s Divine Prohibition. Such an artifact, once fully cultivated, could shatter anything within the myriad worlds of the heavens!

He had vaguely heard rumors that the supreme immortal weapons of the Heavenly Court were exactly like this — could it be that in the future, another divine weapon capable of commanding the star-domains would emerge?

The Overlord was lost, his blood-qi ceaselessly refined away, his flesh severely damaged, even his primordial spirit feeling as though struck by thousands upon thousands of blades, rapidly weakening.

Even with the Zhe Character Secret, he could not endure — this cauldron was simply too mysterious, its interior like a genuine immortal realm, with vermilion birds dancing across the nine heavens, ancient primordial ancestors opening up the star river, gods and demons roaring within chaos, true dragons soaring from ancient pools…

Whatever traces existed upon the cauldron’s walls would manifest with total realism, tormenting the Overlord trapped within, unable to resist, as though warring against genuine immortal-realm beings.

This was the world within the cauldron!

Outside, people watched as waves of purple blood surged forth, turning into mist, the divine essence dissipating — all revealing expressions of shock.

How could the Overlord be refined so quickly — this cauldron was truly too heaven-defying; once trapped within, even a Sacred King could not escape the fate of perishing.

“The Myriad Things’ Mother Qi…” Many eyes burned with envy, yet none dared rush forward to their deaths at this moment.

Ye Fan, connected to the cauldron, instantly understood all of this — even he had not realized how divine this vessel truly was. The Overlord was pinned in place within it, unable even to destroy himself.

This was equivalent to a terrifying world unto itself — true dragons, vermilion birds, ancient primordial ancestors, and gods and demons bound the Overlord within, tying him down amid the star river of creation, unable to move at all, his primordial spirit losing its freedom as well.

Qi Tian’s heart lurched; sensing the Overlord’s dire situation through the wisps of qi leaking from the cauldron, he transformed into a phantom shadow, lunging forward to stop all of this.

Ye Fan’s expression remained calm, golden talismans flashing beneath his feet — the Xing Character Mantra reigned supreme across this stretch of starry sky; in his current state, none could compare, able to ascend to the nine heavens above and descend to the underworld below, reaching anywhere without limit.

He was too fast — like a golden bolt of lightning, even a Great Sage could not draw near. With a rumbling crack, that Origin Heaven array shattered, unable to hold back a Path Guardian of the ancient path.

Qi Zheng, a Great Sage of the human race, lunged forward only to grasp at empty air, not even touching Ye Fan’s golden afterimage, leaving the crowd in shock — what kind of extreme speed was this?

In this present world, setting all else aside, Ye Fan’s speed alone was enough to protect himself — able to go anywhere in heaven or earth, with no one able to stop him.

Qi Zheng’s expression turned wooden, his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness unreadable. Being a Great Sage himself, his first strike having failed utterly, sent a jolt through the hearts of all the assembled heroes.

Ye Fan shouted loudly, “You dare strike at me — quite the Path Guardian of the human ancient path. Let me ask you this: whom exactly are you protecting the path for? Are you even worthy of guarding this path?!”

This was a stern rebuke, delivered loudly before all the powerful beings of the starry sky, openly scolding the Path Guardian Qi Tian, his expression turning grim, his gaze cold and menacing.

Deep within the starry sky came a powerful wave, and a gaunt figure appeared, saying, “As a Path Guardian of the ancient path, if one bullies the weak with strength, suppressing the Sacred Body while so obviously sheltering the Overlord, then that is truly going too far.”

The crowd trembled — yet another great figure had arrived, no weaker than Qi Tian or Cang Lan — the third Path Guardian, manifesting within this star-domain.

“Daoren Qing Huang.” Someone exclaimed in recognition of this old Daoist — his remaining years were few, rumored to be nearing his final meditative passing, yet he remained powerful beyond compare, able to contend even with an invincible divine spirit despite his waning blood-qi.

By this point, Ye Fan no longer needed anyone’s protection — at worst, he could simply leave. But he was still grateful that Daoren Qing Huang had chosen to appear.

Qi Tian’s expression turned cold. “I am merely mediating. The Sacred Body carries too much killing intent upon him — he should cast aside his thoughts of slaughter. I wish for him to understand that in life, one must learn to let go.”

“Letting go, giving up — since you can say such things, you ought to slap yourself across the face, then turn and leave at once.” Ye Fan spoke without the slightest mercy.

Qi Tian’s expression changed at once. “Young man, you go too far. Showing no respect at all to a Path Guardian of the ancient path — you deserve to be punished!”

“What kind of Path Guardian are you — you have no right to say such things. Leaving is your best option; otherwise, you’ll regret it later.” Ye Fan said coldly, showing even less respect.

Everyone stood frozen in shock — in all these years, who had ever dared show such disrespect to a Great Sage of the human ancient path, openly rebuking and mocking him? This was the only instance of its kind.

The Sacred Body was simply too dominant!

“Haha, well said. Since that’s the case, young friend, I invite you to join me in venturing into the Demon Race’s ancient path — there, at least, there are no despicable Path Guardians.” Laughter rang out across the starry sky.

An ancient demon, godlike and terrifying, flew over, making countless stars tremble violently — its power reaching an extreme. Behind it followed two young figures — a man as heroic as a demon god, and a woman of unparalleled beauty and grace, capable of toppling kingdoms — none other than the Southern Demon siblings.

Not seen in many years, their bearing was now even more magnificent than before!

Ye Fan’s emotions stirred; he nodded toward them — they were old acquaintances from the same ancient homeland.

“Boom!”

Ye Fan shook the cauldron, intent on refining the Overlord completely. Within, purple blood burned, the chaos roc howled, the true dragon soared the heavens, the ancient primordial ancestors roared — as if a mythical world had come alive.

The Overlord cried out in agony — though he possessed the mighty Zhe Character Secret, he could not escape this trap. Being refined by another meant certain death, and now, trapped and sealed, he could not even destroy himself.

Qi Tian and Cang Lan shouted together, moving to stop all of this — they could not stand by and watch the Overlord perish.

“Young friend, spare his life — perhaps we truly will need him in the future. We are all growing old; the human race needs a few young supremes to rise and grow, to guard the four directions. The Path to Immortality is unpredictable, after all.” Daoren Qing Huang suddenly spoke up, pleading on the Overlord’s behalf.

“Since you, Elder, have spoken, I shall of course comply. But should anyone else speak carelessly, I will kill the Overlord at once!” Having said this, Ye Fan swept his gaze over Qi Tian, the Path Guardian of the human ancient path.

Within the starry sky, not a sound was heard — aside from Daoren Qing Huang and the arriving Demon Race powerhouse, no one dared speak up, openly rebuking a human Great Sage to his face.

Ye Fan’s dominance left everyone’s hearts pounding with fear.

“Clang!”

A wisp of immortal light shot from his fingertip, splitting open the Overlord’s skull, severing his primordial spirit, and Ye Fan began forcibly extracting the Lunar Immortal Scripture and the Zhe Character Secret from his sea of consciousness.

“Aah—” The Overlord roared in fury, yet could change nothing. Trapped within the cauldron, both body and spirit bound, unable to struggle free, he could not even take his own life.

His skull’s small purple figure was split open by Ye Fan’s immortal light, forcibly seizing the treasury of his consciousness — first, the nine-character mystery of the Lunar Immortal Scripture emerged, followed by the complete radiance of the Zhe Character Secret.