This was a black tiger standing three thousand zhang tall, its entire body as if dyed in ink, black to the point of eeriness — so colossal it resembled a towering black mountain looming there.

This was a being at the peak of Saint King, one very likely poised to take that crucial step and transform into a true Grand Sage.

A great black wind blew past, like overwhelming mist swallowing everything in its wake, its momentum astonishing — and yet it was merely a mount!

Upon its colossal head stood a flood-dragon over a zhang in length, standing independently, its body a dull grey, lacking any particular luster, yet carrying an aura of dominance over the entire ancient hunting ground.

This was a flood-dragon — its body not thick or massive, resembling instead an ancient tree trunk, sturdy and unadorned, exuding a sense of overwhelming power.

Its eyes were deeply intimidating, fixed upon the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, as though an ancient god looking down from on high upon its subjects, carrying a powerful sense of oppression.

Though merely a zhang in length, it was a Grand Sage — its dragon-body standing upright, its tail touching the ground, perched atop the mountain-like black tiger’s head, instilling awe in all who beheld it.

Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger!

The combination of flood-dragon and tiger carried an aura that made the powerhouses across the entire star region tremble, clouds and mist churning, thunder and lightning crashing, shaking the entire mythic ancient starry expanse.

It had to be said, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake truly were formidable — advancing with overwhelming force along this path, having slaughtered who knew how many creatures within the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground, corpses and bones littering the ground, advancing bathed in blood.

At this moment, their expressions turned grave. Facing a Grand Sage, even the powerful young supreme talents had to retreat — the gap of a single Great Secret Realm was extremely difficult to overcome.

“So the Golden Snake bloodline still remains in this world — descendants of the ancient god Tengshe. When the ancestral blood reverts to its ultimate purity, it can stand alongside the true dragon,” the grey flood-dragon spoke, its eyes lacking luster yet extremely profound, making all who heard tremble.

The crowd was shocked — so the Golden Snake bloodline truly had astonishing origins, descendants of the divine spirit Tengshe. No wonder they were so powerful!

The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake wore expressions of cold indifference. At this moment they had all transformed into their true forms, each merely a zhang or so in length, their entire bodies as if cast from gold, tails touching the ground, standing upright like humans.

“You four have committed grave sins — bathing the ancient hunting ground in blood, slaughtering my subjects. You shall be severely punished!” The grey flood-dragon was not particularly old, standing in its prime years, far younger than the Path Guardians who walked the human race’s ancient road. It spoke now with a terrifying dignity.

Rumble!

The colossal black tiger, three thousand zhang tall, roared, like a mountain crashing forward, deafening, the starry sky shattering as it charged toward the four young lords of the Golden Snake.

Atop its head, the grey flood-dragon, a single zhang in length, likewise sent forth ripple after ripple of primordial simplicity, pressing forward — that was the aura and killing intent of a Grand Sage, awe-inspiring to the extreme!

And yet, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake truly proved defiant of the natural order. All four golden snakes shot forth like lightning, transforming into golden bolts and vanishing from their original positions, reappearing in the distant void — even the Grand Sage’s terrifying, world-ending aura could not pin them down.

They stood with their serpentine tails touching the ground, their bucket-thick golden bodies brimming with formidable power, like four golden divine spears standing erect, fixing their cold, sharp gazes upon the grey flood-dragon.

The Golden Third Young Lord spoke coldly: “Flood-dragons and serpents are kin — must you truly make things difficult for us?!”

“Within the ancient domain I rule, those who slaughter my subjects must without exception be severely punished!” the grey flood-dragon said. This time it struck out personally, extending a single grey claw that in an instant enveloped heaven and earth, covering the whole of creation.

The entire starry expanse trembled, as though a true dragon had descended into the world — with a single roll of its body it could destroy the ancient universe.

The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, accustomed to their own supreme dominance, refused to bow their heads even when confronting a Grand Sage, insisting on clashing head-on, contesting with raw force — a true testament to just how formidable they were!

The golden radiance of all four serpentine bodies blazed brilliantly, and above each of their heads a corner of an array formation appeared, carrying an aura both primordial and dangerous, from which threads of chaotic energy hung down.

The array formation began to turn, vibrating in four directions, the chaotic energy that fell shielding them from below — even the Grand Sage’s flood-dragon claw could not break through.

This outcome left all the assembled powerhouses unsettled — whether the ancient beasts of the Mythic Hunting Ground or the various trial-takers from every path, none could help but feel a chill of dread.

The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake Clan, arrogant and domineering in their conduct, ruthless in their slaughter — clearly they had the confidence and capital to back their arrogance, daring to defy even a Grand Sage. Who else would dare do such a thing?

The grey flood-dragon, in the prime of its years, had entered the realm of Grand Sage not many years prior — no mere Saint King could compare to it, possessing an absolute position of dominance — and yet even now it could not capture and subdue the Four Golden Snake Venerables.

The entire starry expanse trembled, and countless ancient beasts revealed expressions of utter disbelief!

“Roar…”

The three-thousand-zhang black tiger roared, carrying its master’s fury, lunging forward to strike, the heavens shaking, the earth trembling, black mist billowing to the skies.

Threads of piercing light glinted within the grey flood-dragon’s eyes, transforming into fine strands, bursting forth, supremely sharp, like beams of sword-light soaring across the heavens. It left the tiger’s head, its true body descending, moving to suppress the four golden serpents.

Rumble!

Above the heads of the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, the four-cornered array formation vibrated, its aura growing even more intense, and at this moment it blazed forth with radiant light, killing intent surging in ten thousand directions, projecting the shadows of ancient gods one after another — those were images of Tengshe serpents!

They launched their counterattack, contesting against the Grand Sage in his prime, fighting to the very end — this was a terrifying arrogance. Facing such a King among ancient beasts, they did not retreat, daring to fight to the finish!

The four-cornered array formation merged into one, taking the form of a single Tengshe serpent, its radiance stretching ten thousand zhang, tearing apart the starry expanse. Numerous ancient beasts and trial-takers alike were caught in the disaster, instantly reduced to bloody mist.

The grey flood-dragon proved unable to break through, and found itself in serious trouble — the merged Tengshe array formation continuously unleashed immortal light, posing a genuine threat even to it, clanging and ringing loudly.

Everyone now understood — this array formation was no ordinary thing, undoubtedly an extraordinary treasure of the highest order, possessing tremendous power, capable of contending with a Grand Sage and forcing it to retreat.

The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake were simply too formidable — offense united as one, the four golden serpents merged with the array formation, circulating chaotic energy. Even a Grand Sage could not overcome them in a short time, the bloody battle continuing without pause.

“These four serpents are truly powerful. Combined with that array formation, they’re giving even the grey flood-dragon — who’s only stepped into the Grand Sage realm not many years ago — a hard time. The outcome is impossible to predict,” Pang Bo said, his expression grave.

At this moment, other battlefields also underwent astonishing changes. The Earth Corpse’s great battle against the Dark Tortoise grew ever more intense, several streaks of black blood splattering from its body, the wounds running deep.

The Dark Tortoise was extremely powerful, its cultivation realm higher than the Earth Corpse’s, and it possessed an innate divine ability — the Eight Trigrams pattern upon its shell was the fruit of a lifetime of sacrifice and cultivation, radiant and crystalline, its light capable of settling the heavens and earth, capable of shattering all things.

Clang…

The Earth Corpse opened its mouth and spat out a small black bell, its toll long and drawn out, its entire body pitch black, exuding an unsettling aura, as though dug up from a mass grave — a truly ghastly funerary instrument.

This sound was simply too terrifying — it struck directly at one’s soul, threatening to sever it from the body, the fire of one’s spiritual consciousness on the verge of extinguishing, the physical body reduced to a rootless duckweed.

This was nothing less than a death knell!

The Dark Tortoise shuddered, caught completely off guard, its primordial spirit forcibly ejected from its body on the spot — violently shaken loose — the divine radiance of the Eight Trigrams dimming instantly.

Clang…

The black bell’s form expanded, growing to a height of tens of thousands of zhang, enveloping the void of the universe, tolling out threads of terrifying divine shockwaves, directly forcing open the gates of hell.

The Dark Tortoise let out a single miserable cry, its primordial spirit shattered by the bell’s shockwave, leaving only an empty physical shell, which the Earth Corpse seized and began refining into an ancient artifact.

The situation had reversed entirely, victory and defeat instantly decided, leaving the crowd stunned, and then filled with a chill of dread — what manner of magical artifact was this? The Earth Corpse possessed an indestructible vajra body, and now also wielded an ancient bell specialized in killing primordial spirits — enough to make even young supreme talents wary.

A sudden surprise attack — anyone would be terrified by such a thing!

“That bell is no ordinary thing — it captures souls, an ancient bell of great mourning from bygone ages,” Ye Fan said in a low voice, sensing this was the result of a Buddhist ritual artifact having turned demonic.

If the Earth Corpse had once been a disciple of Amitabha, then this artifact might once, long ago, have been nourished by the aura of the Great Emperor Amitabha himself, and now had thoroughly transformed from Buddha into demon — it was difficult to say just how terrifying it had become.

In the distance, screams rang out one after another. Shen Lan, the woman of the Divine Race, was also cutting a bloody path through the encirclement, her body radiant with boundless light, unstoppable wherever she went.

But even more ancient beasts arrived, among them no shortage of Heavenly King-class powerhouses — that is, beings at the peak of Saint King. This place descended into chaos, blood splattering in all directions, the melee brutal and merciless.

Altogether some eleven or twelve young supreme talents found themselves trapped here, all fighting bloody battles, and only now did people truly see their real strength — each one boundlessly terrifying, possessing powerful trump cards.

“Hiss, hiss…”

That mountain-thick giant serpent finally struck out at Pang Bo, and even dragged Long Ma and the others into the fray, the place echoing with battle cries that shook the heavens.

Ye Fan too found himself under siege, more ancient beasts appearing — four dragon-sharks, six giant pythons, eight ancient flood-dragons, each one capable of overawing an entire region, commanding a beast army that blanketed the sky, charging forward.

And what’s more, even more primordial mutant species from before the Ancient Era appeared, intent on bathing this place in blood!

Where had they come from, and what did they survive on within this desolate universe? This was the question on everyone’s mind.

This place was called the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground — who had named it so, the Emperor of the Ancient Celestial Court, or the gods themselves? Could this truly be a hunting preserve of the mightiest beings of the Mythic Era?

Suddenly, a strand of heavenly music drifted over, golden ripples spreading endlessly outward. Upon seeing this, the countless ancient beasts retreated like an ebbing tide, with astonishing speed.

“The Mythic Far Shore!”

People heard the roaring cries of the ancient beasts.

The starry expanse fell silent. The heavenly music continued still. Ahead stood a Dao platform, bearing many mottled traces — this was an ancient platform from the Mythic Era, the source of the heavenly music.

“This is a divine altar, used for transmitting messages!” Shen Lan, the Heavenly Maiden of the Divine Race, having examined it carefully, recognized its origin and explained its purpose.

There was nothing to delay for. The crowd chased after it. The ancient beast army entered the domain gate, beginning the crossing, moving with tremendous haste — not a few stray beasts were left behind.

Unfortunately, they lacked sufficient rank, knowing only that the Mythic Far Shore required worship — that this was a place drawing near to the divine, one whose nature could not be precisely described, its past unknown.

Only those of the greatest supernatural power could approach it. Ordinary ancient beasts could only watch from afar.

The young supreme talents gave chase, one after another crossing the void, appearing beneath another stretch of starry sky, rapidly approaching an ancient place.

There lay a stretch of reef, arranged within the void. Numerous ancient beasts surged forward, but ultimately all halted — only the most powerful leaders, kings, and rulers could draw near.

At this moment, the Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake, the Heaven-Devouring Beast, the Earth Corpse, the Divine Race, and the Saint Spirits had all arrived. They all trembled simultaneously, sensing a terrifying, world-ending aura!

This felt like an island reef amid a sea of divine taboo — standing here, one could listen to the resonance of the Great Dao, mysterious beyond measure, with all manner of immortal radiance scattering down.

The Divine Python, Dragon-Shark, and Ancient Flood-Dragon leaders emerged, gazing up at the reef, staring at the Mythic Far Shore, their eyes filled with longing and anticipation.

Suddenly, a dim, faint figure emerged, manifesting upon the island reef, almost as if the very embodiment of the Great Dao itself, suppressing the wrist-bone-blue heavens. He was too blurred to make out clearly.

With his appearance, heaven and earth rumbled, the various Daos resonating together, and ancient medicines began emerging from the void, falling toward the countless ancient beasts.

“Where did they come from?” No one could see clearly, and it seemed as though they had simply materialized out of nothing.

And at this very moment, crystalline leaves drifted down one after another, filled with the most astonishing aura of life, like an ocean of divine power.

“This is… the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life!” Ye Fan’s pupils contracted sharply.

Who was that blurred figure upon the island reef, that it could be so terrifying — that with his appearance, leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life should fall? Those were undying divine elixirs!

The young supreme talents were all stunned.

No wonder so many ancient beasts gathered here — the Mythic Far Shore had such heaven-defying immortal medicine falling from it. Naturally it was worth guarding, drawing in a great host of the mightiest ancient beasts.

“What’s going on — are all the ancient beasts being kept here like livestock?!”

This was the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground, where ancient beasts gathered — naturally they needed to be fed. Had it always been this way since ancient times, with divine ancient medicine falling every so often?

The Mythic Far Shore, a place drawing near to the divine, truly mysterious, leaving all who beheld it shaken!