The Great Yin and the Great Yang, which is weak and which is strong—when Yin and Yang assist each other, the world proclaims an emperor.

These two ancient immortal scriptures represented two extremes, revered by the Emperors of old. Once cultivated to their utmost limit, one would naturally become an emperor, able to dominate the eternities.

Strand after strand of purple immortal mist rose into the air, billowing like thin smoke, appearing dazzling and mystical—it was the Hegemon’s divine sense treasury, being extracted and refined by Ye Fan.

At this moment, bursts of scripture-chanting sounds could faintly be heard, seemingly present yet absent. Above the head of the split-open purple figure, a phantom shadow sat cross-legged, transmitting the true meaning of the Dao, as if an ancient Human Emperor hung suspended above the ninth heaven.

Ye Fan listened attentively, his expression solemn. Nine ancient characters appeared one by one there, flickering with immortal radiance, cascading down through the starry rivers of the universe.

Though there were only nine characters, they contained intricate and profound transformations, ceaselessly flickering and shifting, becoming an evolution of the ultimate Dao, pouring down a vast waterfall of divinity.

Infinite transformations, from simplicity into complexity, then from complexity back into simplicity—that was the supreme doctrine, condensed within nine characters.

This did not merely transmit a Dao—it transmitted a spirit and essence, as if recreating the Human Emperor’s supreme divine bearing. The void figure sitting cross-legged above the purple figure suddenly solidified.

With a soft sound, those eyes opened, as if transmitting the Dao across eternities, shooting out two sharp beams of light. The phantom carried a supreme sense of majesty.

Boom!

The universe trembled, the brilliant starry river shook, the vast Dao quivered—this was the legacy left behind by the Human Emperor blazing forth, shaking the mortal world.

Ye Fan’s heart remained calm. The nine ancient characters, neither more nor less, branded thousands upon thousands of transformations into his mind, as he received the supreme true meaning of the Great Yin Immortal Scripture.

The Hegemon screamed miserably, filled with resentment and boundless humiliation. Powerful as he was, to have his scripture seized like this, becoming a prisoner at another’s mercy—this was unimaginable in the past.

He was a Supreme of the younger generation. How could he be treated this way? Yet now it had truly happened—forced to surrender his scripture, the gates of his divine sense treasury thrown wide open.

What was most unbearable was that, observing his sea of consciousness, the one seizing his immortal scripture was a hereditary enemy of the Heavenly Hegemon Blood lineage. This drove him to a maddening hatred, his eyes about to split from rage, yet he was powerless to stop it.

At this time, Ye Fan was within the Divine Restriction domain. His performance at this realm could be called a divine miracle—even the ancient Emperors in their youth could not have done better.

A sharp shout split the universe into four, a resplendent divine radiance flying over to suppress Ye Fan, carrying the divine might of the vast universe, bringing down a heaven-flooding waterfall of divinity.

Qi Tian, the ancient path’s Dao-protector of the human race, could finally no longer hold back and struck again. He could not watch idly—he wanted to stop all this, merged with the Dao, unfathomably deep.

All ten directions collapsed; his true body was invincible. Wherever he passed, heaven and earth split open, chaotic mist spread everywhere, and his Dao-might was unstoppable.

However, while seizing the scripture, Ye Fan’s heart remained calm, and he had not abandoned his awareness of the outside world. He was alerted instantly—golden runes flickered beneath his feet, and in an instant, he was far away.

Only an afterimage remained there. Qi Tian struck at the void, leaving behind ripple after ripple, destroying that place—formation array after formation array exploded, utterly ruined.

Daoist Qing Huang gave a soft shout and also made his move, appearing right before Qi Tian. A pair of withered, thin palms pressed down, cutting off his path ahead, his expression cold and indifferent.

“If the Hegemon is forced like this, even if a path of survival is left for him, it will leave an indelible shadow. The young pride of the Heavenly Hegemon Blood lineage might be ruined because of this. This should not continue.” Great Sage Cang Lan also spoke, his expression cold and severe.

The nine ancient characters shone brightly—Ye Fan had completely absorbed the true meaning of the nine characters within the Great Yin Immortal Scripture, and had also severed away all the various negative emotions, without being invaded by the Hegemon’s sea of consciousness.

Ordinary people were unwilling to view others’ memories, because too much mixed and chaotic divine sense would invade—most of it useless and harmful.

The purple figure inside the Hegemon’s skull was split apart, spilling out all kinds of purple radiance. As Ye Fan absorbed the nine-character mystery of the Great Yin Immortal Scripture, the Zhe Character Secret was also refined out at the same time.

This was an unprecedented divine technique. The moment he obtained it, he grasped the wondrous realm within it—it was truly the pinnacle of stealing the creation of heaven and earth, its mystery beyond compare, stirring something within his heart.

He had once, in the ancient Purple Micro Star Region, seized half a page of a divine ancient scripture forged from phoenix blood and crimson gold, and had grasped its true meaning within it. Now, completing it, the two verified each other, and he quickly comprehended its true essence.

The Zhe Character Secret evolved through ancient, simple divine patterns and lines—it was not recorded in written words. Though it was not a grand, lengthy work, it was vast and profound, its meaning shocking heaven and earth, making ghosts and spirits weep.

Ye Fan circulated it, his whole body suffused with blood energy, flowing out from his pores, unconsciously repairing his body, removing impurities, making him crystalline and translucent like divine jade all over.

He had no wounds to begin with, but the Zhe Character Secret was too exacting—it dissolved away every “flaw,” even regenerating one or two broken strands of hair, filled with luster.

The moment the Zhe Character Secret entered his hands, Ye Fan nearly reached a transcendent state, his whole body bright and clear, flawless and radiant, as if a divine being’s world-shaking war body had manifested in the mortal world.

Ye Fan felt a sense of release—no wonder the Hegemon’s life force was so powerful, that even a single drop of blood remaining could revive him was no exaggeration. It was truly miraculous beyond compare.

“Ahh…” The Hegemon screamed, truly unwilling to accept this. There had been a time when he reigned supreme on this ancient path, and wherever he passed, the masses revered him in awe—he was the most dazzling focal point.

Yet now he had been captured like this, illuminating another’s path forward, becoming an accent piece beside someone else’s brilliant divine halo, becoming scenery in another’s story.

“The Hegemon has lost…” Xu Li’s eyes lost their focus, her soul scattered in despair. The Hegemon had once been the Supreme she admired, yet to be defeated so utterly—it was hard for her to accept.

Her father, the receiving envoy of the human race’s Eighty-First City, stood behind her, likewise silent.

Further away, there were other receiving envoys, all having rushed back from ahead on the ancient path to watch the battle, having once placed boundless hopes on the Hegemon. At this moment, they too could only watch silently, the taste in their hearts hard to describe.

At this moment, the starry sky fell silent. The hearts of many powerhouses surged with turmoil—the rise of a young Supreme was now unstoppable, impossible to suppress even if one wished to!

Having defeated the Hegemon with such a display, even if the Great Sage held reservations, suppressing him was no longer possible.

Ye Fan was already strong enough, and now having obtained the nine supreme immortal characters from the Great Yin Immortal Scripture, supplemented with the Zhe Character Technique, he would henceforth possess a true indestructible golden body, growing stronger day by day—who could stop him?

“Boom!”

Qi Tian and Daoist Qing Huang clashed head-on hard, and crack after blazing crack appeared in the universe, spreading rapidly, everyone retreating without exception. When Great Sages contended for supremacy, they could destroy sun, moon, and stars at any moment, making people tremble—anyone caught in such turbulence would surely perish.

Qi Tian was determined to protect the Hegemon, tearing away all pretense, willing to act against Ye Fan on the spot, provoking Daoist Qing Huang into action—a fierce battle between two Dao-protectors.

“Boom!”

A pair of terrifying divine wings appeared behind Daoist Qing Huang—those were phoenix wings. Immortal light soared to the heavens; a gentle tremor alone destroyed most of the starry sky nearby, the surrounding stars all shattering.

Everyone was struck with awe—this was the divine form of a human race Dao-protector. Daoist Qing Huang had relied on this very form over twenty years ago, when her blood energy had withered, to fight against a Sacred Spirit—supremely powerful.

Just one divine form was already this earth-shaking. People couldn’t help but think again of the Hegemon—he possessed several divine forms, and if he grew to the very end, when the nine forms merged into one, he would be Supreme and invincible.

The various heroes fell silent, increasingly realizing just how terrifying the Hegemon was. If not for Ye Fan standing within the Divine Restriction, the Hegemon might truly have been unrivaled among the competitors on this ancient path!

People even speculated—if Ye Fan could not enter the Divine Restriction, would the battle have ended in bloody mutual destruction for both sides?

Finally, Great Sage Cang Lan also made his move, unable to sit idly by, fearing the Hegemon would be destroyed by Ye Fan. He actually deployed a forbidden secret technique, his whole body blazing, transforming into a blue ocean, surging forward like a vast sea.

“The Great Sage is going all out just to catch up to the Sacred Body!” People were shaken—the human race’s Dao-protector, Great Sage Cang Lan, displayed his utmost profound technique, chasing after Ye Fan, trying to stop him from continuing to act.

Yet, he still could not catch up.

“Fellow Daoist, why be so impulsive? We haven’t crossed blades in four thousand years—why not exchange a few moves?” In the starry sky, the ancient demon who had come escorting the Southern Demon siblings spoke, his figure flashing as he blocked Great Sage Cang Lan’s path forward.

“Boom!”

These two Great Sages clashed—with a single strike, a corner of a star region was annihilated!

“You, Dao-protector of the Demon race, do you want to fish in troubled waters, wanting one of my human race’s young Supremes to perish? You’ve calculated well.” Cang Lan shouted.

“Wrong. I simply cannot stand your style.” The ancient demon laughed heartily.

“Little friend, that’s about enough.” At this moment, Daoist Qing Huang spoke again, fighting Qi Tian while transmitting sound to Ye Fan at the same time.

People understood his meaning—the universe was vast, with countless ancient star regions. No matter how strong one person was, they could not guard over everything. The Hegemon, being a young Supreme, would inevitably need to hold down a region in the future and play a great role.

Hiss!

Time was limited. Ye Fan refined and extracted the last strand of purple divine mist, then shook the cauldron, tossing the Hegemon out.

The Hegemon was suffocated to the utmost extreme, his essence blood burning, dense divine patterns covering his body to protect and defend himself. Yet Ye Fan didn’t even glance at him once—truly “discarded like a worn-out shoe.”

This attitude, this expression, made the Hegemon unable to help but roar in anguish—it hurt him too much. That indifferent gaze pierced deep into him.

It was not deliberate contempt, but simply a natural attitude. Yet it was as if he had been poured out of the cauldron like discarded waste, and then no longer paid any attention to at all.

Beneath the starry sky, the various Sages also felt complicated emotions. Was this arrogance on Ye Fan’s part? It didn’t seem so—it was genuine indifference toward this enemy, a natural expression.

Everyone knew the Hegemon’s strength, comparable to an Emperor’s state in his youth—this was no exaggeration!

Yet Ye Fan dared to act this way, which was enough to prove the point—in his heart he held a truly invincible conviction, born from deep within his bones, utterly unconcerned about his opponent.

The two pairs of Great Sages also stopped their combat. With the Hegemon freed from his predicament, they had no reason to continue fighting. For a moment, the starry sky fell silent.

Only Ye Fan remained there, deducing his technique—that was a vast fist intent, supremely unyielding and strong, hegemonic energy flooding the heavens and covering the world, making the stars tremble, possessing an air of “who else but me,” supreme and unrivaled.

This was the supreme ancient technique of the Heavenly Hegemon Blood lineage—the Hegemon Fist!

Everyone stood dumbfounded—the divine sense treasure that Ye Fan had finally refined out was actually this fist intent. He intended to thoroughly study his enemy’s supreme secret technique, walking the path of invincibility.

“Roar…” The Hegemon went mad, unable to bear it.

Ye Fan paid no attention, evolving alone within the starry universe, driving the sun, moon, and stars to turn, the star region resonating with him!

The Hegemon’s eyes shot out intimidating beams of light, roaring while defending: “You bully people too much!”

“You need not be on guard. At this moment, I do not consider you an enemy,” Ye Fan said calmly, deducing the ancient technique alone beneath the starry sky. “Does the ancestral star of the Heavenly Hegemon Blood lineage have a forbidden zone of life? Have the Hegemon Blood Supremes who killed Sacred Bodies on the ancient path back then all passed away in seated meditation? In the future, I look forward to it!”

The moment these words left his mouth, the starry sky fell silent—everyone stood frozen in place.