“The yuanchu bird departs from the South Sea and flies to the North Sea, resting nowhere but upon the wutong tree.”

The yuanchu is a phoenix-class creature recorded in ancient texts. Born in the South Sea, it must fly to the North Sea, and throughout the world, only the wutong tree serves as its true resting place.

The True Phoenix Tower was in fact a massive wutong tree, grown for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, its trunk as thick and sturdy as a mountain range.

It had no crown of branches—long ago destroyed by lightning strikes—and now only half a trunk remained rooted within the city, refashioned into a tower called the Phoenix Tower, the tallest structure in the Golden Ancient City.

It was difficult to imagine that so massive an ancient tree had never achieved sentience.

Of course, some said that this tree had once transformed into a Quasi-Emperor, but during its tribulation crossing, Heaven had destroyed its cultivation, stripping away the essence within its trunk, reducing it to an ordinary tree.

To this day, the scorch marks at the break could still be seen—the traces left by the lightning strike, a lasting scar from that era, weathered by time yet never fully healed.

Today, the True Phoenix Tower was bustling—cultivators coming and going, powerful warriors emerging, ancient beasts transformed into human form, radiating powerful bloody auras, arriving one after another to ascend this tower.

Here one could see powerful warriors of every race—towering golden giants ten zhang tall, black dragons from the abyssal sea, drought-demons from folk legend…

From the descendants of ancient demon gods, to genuine members of the Divine Race, to the strongest of ancient-blooded warriors—cultivators of tremendous origin were beyond counting!

Ye Fan’s group had also arrived, ascending the steps to enter the tower. The wutong wood produced crisp, metallic vibrations, not resembling wood at all but rather cast from emerald gold.

The entire tower, aside from the scorched tip, remained a fresh emerald green throughout—the wutong trunk had always been like this, evergreen through the years.

Their arrival drew many glances. The Human Race’s Sacred Body was already a formidable physique, and now favored by the Divine Race as well, naturally drawing attention from many races.

Countless gazes, like so many blades, fell upon them. Even with his back turned to some of them, Ye Fan could still feel that sharpness, like bolts of lightning striking down.

Pang Bo walked alongside him, not the least bit reserved, greeting the powerful warriors of every race as if they were old friends not seen in years. Here, where everyone regarded each other with mutual wariness and hostility, guarding against one another, someone as carefree as him was truly rare.

The top of the True Phoenix Tower was extraordinarily spacious—not only because the trunk was as thick as a mountain, but also because spatial laws were inscribed here, capable of accommodating any number of people without issue.

Long Ma, the Golden Lion, Tianxie, the Nine Crocodile-Dragons, and others—in terms of physical size, they were truly nothing special here. Atop this mountain-high tower platform, various formidable creatures were present—some with halos behind their heads, some bearing immortal phoenix wings on their backs… as if arriving at an ancient realm of gods and demons!

“That’s the Human Race’s Sacred Body, said to be one of the strongest ancient bloodlines?” someone murmured, clearly making no effort to conceal it, since many could easily hear.

“What Sacred Body—who conferred that title? It’s merely something the Human Race bestowed upon itself. Among the cosmic races, what does it amount to? Perhaps it can only end up as blood-food!” A cold, harsh voice rang out, quite discourteous, yet impossible to trace its source—hidden in the shadows, projecting its spiritual voice through some strange technique.

Many people showed unusual expressions—these words were sharply targeted, clearly hostile toward the Human Race’s Sacred Body. Could this mean a battle was coming?

“Since you’re so displeased, why not come out and fight? This one specializes in dealing with the disrespectful!” Long Ma declared loudly.

The gazes of all the heroes present turned toward them—cold indifference, goodwill, and sinister malice intertwining, like so many heavenly blades ringing out in clashing echoes.

“Just a beast, and it dares to bully others by borrowing another’s might?!” The same voice sounded again, its words viciously unpleasant, shifting position erratically, still projected through spiritual voice.

“Boom!”

Ye Fan suddenly moved, golden radiance flickering across his entire body, like a humanoid tyrant-dragon, blood energy surging skyward, fierce beyond measure.

As he moved, it was as if a mountain range were trembling—the entire True Phoenix Tower shook, earth-shattering, the vast expanse of sky itself unsteady.

He transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, appearing before a lion-bodied, human-faced warrior, thrusting out one hand to suppress him, wind and thunder erupting, battle-energy surging.

There was nothing more to say. Having located the hidden provocateur, Ye Fan struck immediately with overwhelming force—that palm transformed into a golden heavenly tablet, runes flowing across its surface, weighing ten thousand jun.

“You…”

The lion-bodied, human-faced warrior’s heart trembled with alarm. He primarily cultivated the primordial spirit, his mental strength extraordinarily formidable, possessing ancient techniques such that even ordinary Great Sages struggled to detect him—yet he never expected to be seen through instantly by Ye Fan.

Boom!

He thrust out a lion’s claw, colliding with that golden heavenly tablet, like an ocean’s tide crashing against the shore, bloody divine power surging wildly.

Yet, when the two palms clashed—a muffled sound—the lion’s claw shattered into a mist of blood, white bone fragments flying, blood spraying everywhere!

“Roarrr…”

A great roar sounded—a genuine lion’s roar. The lion-bodied, human-faced warrior bellowed, primordial Dao-principles rushing from his mouth, attacking Ye Fan from this close distance, unrivaled in ferocity.

Ye Fan let out a soft cry, containing the Buddhist syllable “Om” resonating with heavenly sound, instantly shattering the lion’s roar, causing the man’s body to split into pieces and explode on the spot.

The scene was extremely bloody, but all the heroes present remained coldly indifferent, unmoved. Who among those who could appear here had not crawled their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

“Kill!”

From within that exploded mass of blood and flesh, a small silver lion charged out—this was the warrior’s primordial spirit, moving with incredible speed, pouncing directly at Ye Fan’s forehead bone, intent on severing his primordial spirit.

This man’s primary cultivation focused on spiritual consciousness, his mental strength extraordinarily powerful—this was his certain-kill strike. Yet Ye Fan remained perfectly still. From within his forehead bone, a golden figure the size of a fist stepped forward, unleashing the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, delivering a single crushing punch.

There, a brilliant burst of light erupted—the golden figure’s punch shattered the small silver lion into fragments, like fireworks blooming, its body and spirit utterly annihilated.

At this point, the powerful warriors of every race were moved. From the moment Ye Fan had struck to now, he had held an overwhelming advantage—almost every strike could have been a killing blow!

“The Human Race’s Sacred Body truly puts on quite an impressive display of power, but this True Phoenix Tower won’t tolerate your recklessness. With heroes of every race gathering here now, do you intend to disrupt this assembly?”

A sinister, malicious voice rang out. Not far away, a stone-figure emerged, positioned at the Sage King realm—one of his eyes was actually a Sage-Tear jade-green gold, radiating dazzling brilliance, intimidating in the extreme.

Everyone gasped upon seeing this. A Sage Spirit was itself a defiant, world-shattering creature; whoever encountered one would find it troublesome—supremely powerful, and across an entire stellar region with countless stars, having even one such being would already be remarkable.

And now, this Sage Spirit’s left eye had actually become a Sage-Tear jade-green gold, radiating divine brilliance—undoubtedly possessing some world-defying divine ability, certainly among the strongest of this realm!

Ye Fan bore a great feud with the Sage Spirits, and even now still carried that clan’s curse upon him—though he had concealed it with secret techniques, when a genuine Sage Spirit drew near, it could still be sensed.

Between the two sides, no reason was needed—there existed an innate hostility. Should they truly find themselves alone together, it would inevitably become a fight to the death!

The two stood poised for confrontation. Should a battle break out, it would surely shake the world—both could be called supreme powerhouses of this realm, far beyond what ordinary masters could match.

“You’re quite ugly—not even as heroic as a stone figure I casually carved myself,” Long Ma remarked in this critical moment, indifferently, instantly leaving many people stunned, caught between laughter and dismay.

“Do you want to die?!” The stone-figure’s Sage-Tear jade-green eye shot out a beam of divine radiance, tearing through the void, actually emitting a primordial Dao-sound, blazing beyond measure, striking toward Long Ma.

“Rumble!”

Ye Fan struck, swinging the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, his aura swallowing mountains and rivers, golden blood-energy pressing down like an entire stellar region, colliding with that beam of divine radiance.

Many people were sent flying backward by the shockwaves of the two powerful warriors, crying out in pain, caught in the crossfire, suffering severe injuries.

“You two, we’ve come here to exchange the ten strongest ancient bloods—why ruin something significant over something trivial? Better that both of you step back.” Just then, a resonant voice sounded. Accompanying his footsteps, the entire True Phoenix Tower trembled.

This was a giant, standing ten zhang tall, and a member of that race’s legendary strongest bloodline—the Golden Giants, divine strength unmatched, a young paramount in his own right!

Just then, the Divine Race’s celestial maiden Xin Lan also arrived, her eyes shifting, divine radiance shooting out in all directions. With these two young paramounts arriving, a fierce battle was ultimately averted.

“See you on the mythic ancient road!” The stone-figure turned and left without further entanglement.

A cold smile crossed Ye Fan’s lips as he said, “You’re no match for me. Enjoy what little time you have left.”

The crowd of heroes dispersed. Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others continued forward once more, ascending to the highest level of the True Phoenix Tower. Along the way, they saw several corpses, their deaths gruesome.

It was said that Diyi Tian, the Great Demon God, and others had just passed through and encountered challenges as well; they had struck with overwhelming force, causing great carnage.

Of course, the most murderous of all were the four lords of the Golden Serpent lineage, who had taken the initiative to attack, killing dozens of powerful warriors during their ascent—bloody and brutal.

Many powerful warriors had come to the Human Race’s Golden Ancient Road, all the strongest of the younger generation from every race, yet truly only a dozen or so had the qualification to be called young paramounts.

Only through comparison could superiority be determined. Even reigning supreme within one’s own race, or holding kingship over one ancient road within one’s own domain, meant nothing—only when many races gathered together could true strength and weakness be revealed.

Though many refused to accept it, after the fighting that had just occurred, they had no choice but to bow their heads helplessly. Currently, only a dozen or so people had the qualification to be called young paramounts.

Ye Fan’s group walked very slowly, observing the assembled heroes from below, earnestly learning about each race, keeping careful track in their minds—perhaps a terrifying bloodbath awaited in the future. It took over half a shichen before they ascended another floor.

“Though news of the Tree of Life has spread, only the powerful warriors from a few dozen nearby ancient roads have come. Compared to the Great Stellar Road, this is only a small fraction.”

Many powerful warriors had come to the Golden Ancient Road, but compared to the myriad realms of the heavens, this was still far too little—the cosmos was vast, and it was impossible for every powerful race to know of this and arrive.

“This truly is dignity earned through killing,” Pang Bo remarked with feeling.

Not only had Ye Fan encountered challenges—Diyi Tian, the Human King, the Divine Race’s celestial maiden Xin Lan, and the Golden Giant, who had already ascended the tower, all bore traces of blood as well.

Comparatively, the battles Ye Fan’s group had experienced on their way up counted as relatively few—those others were covered in blood, showing just how intense their battles had been.

On the topmost floor stood a high platform, resembling an arena, or perhaps a supreme divine altar. Currently, only a dozen or so people had the qualification to sit high upon it.

The Four Lords of the Golden Serpent Clan, Xin Lan of the Divine Race, the Golden Giant, the Gold-Devouring Beast, Sanggu the descendant of demon gods, the Bronze Ant Sage King, the Dragon Sparrow, the Sky-Devouring Ancient Beast, the Earth Corpse, the Blood Beast, the stone-figure Sage Spirit, the Great Demon God, Diyi Tian…

These figures sat there, each one dominating the world, their aura swallowing the galaxy, each possessing an extraordinary dignity that shook people’s hearts.

Below stood over a thousand people, their expressions complex—all young, strongest warriors of every race, yet clearly falling short compared to that dozen or so above.

Just now, many had issued challenges, all paying with blood; over a hundred had lost their lives. Now no one dared provoke further, all having settled down obediently.

In a certain sense, they had all lost on the road to becoming emperor.

Upon the altar, the dozen or so figures sat high above, making the assembled heroes feel they were beyond reach, unable to shake their positions—everyone yearned for it, yet could not ascend.

Ye Fan arrived, and instantly many gazes turned his way, watching to see whether he would ascend to that altar radiating blazing rosy light.

“I think it’d be comfortable sitting up there,” Pang Bo said.

Ye Fan nodded, ascending alongside him, immediately sparking dissatisfaction from many powerful warriors. The first to react was someone already on the platform—the Second Golden Serpent Lord let out a cold snort, like a heavenly sword slashing down, its chill piercing.

“Boom!”

Ye Fan strode forward, golden light blazing across his entire body, like a golden ocean surging, dissolving the icy killing intent. His eyes then shot out two beams of divine radiance, looking toward the Second Golden Serpent Lord, as he and Pang Bo calmly ascended the platform.

The Second Golden Serpent Lord’s cold eyes swept over them once but showed no further reaction, sitting cross-legged like his three brothers, motionless.

However, the cruel cold smile at the corner of his mouth indicated that he simply had no desire to act right now, not that he held any apprehension!

Years ago, it was he alone who had killed his way into another stellar region, wiping out the entire, most powerful Divine Ape lineage, bathing the starry sky in blood, shaking countless ancient realms.

He was a living legend, his fearsome reputation known everywhere, feared by every race. Since his debut to this day, not a single opponent had ever escaped his hands alive.

Without doubt, upon this divine altar, if ranked by pure strength, it would belong to these four brothers. Because each one was a young paramount, and the four strongest of the Golden Serpent Clan combined—who would dare provoke them?!

“I have heard that the Human Race’s Sacred Body is considered an extraordinary physique, and the blood within his body could be considered one of the strongest ancient bloods that meets our requirements.” Just then, the Blood Beast suddenly spoke, positioned at the upper end of the divine altar, his words icy cold.

“Indeed. We require ten of the strongest ancient bloods. If the Sacred Body offers up his blood, it could count as one of them.” The Earth Corpse nodded.

These two powerful warriors both sat high upon the supreme divine altar, looking down upon the assembled heroes below. Having now both mentioned the Sacred Blood, they had made their stance clear, directly targeting Ye Fan.

Not only did Ye Fan’s expression darken, but Pang Bo grew furious as well. They had come here to exchange ancient blood, carrying with them the ancient blood of the Ten-thousand-legged Demon Spider, something respectable to offer—never expecting someone would treat them as prey.

“Are you certain—you’d take me as prey for the sake of my blood?!” Ye Fan glared, the light in his eyes flaring like torches.

“And if I am? I’ve long heard that the Human Race’s Sacred Body’s blood is extraordinary. If you offer it up today, we will all remember your kindness.” The Blood Beast was an ancient primordial ferocious beast, bloodthirsty by nature, the most brutal of all, its true body several thousand zhang in length, but now transformed into a red-haired Daoist figure, sitting cross-legged upon the divine altar, blood mist swirling, his eyes cold as ice.

“That is precisely our intention—we intend to take you as prey. So what of it?” The Earth Corpse was even more direct. He was an ancient corpse who had achieved the Dao, said to possess a body of indestructible vajra.

“I see you two are tired of living!” Ye Fan struck immediately, his golden fist shattering the void! To this very day, no matter where he went, he never needed to retreat—on the road to contend for emperorship, one must advance bravely without hesitation.