The Gold-Devouring Beast was a formidable existence, far beyond what an ordinary person could compare to — its body could not even be broken, at most it could be forced to change shape.

It possessed extremely high combat power, unrivaled and dominant within its territory, and now it had blocked Ye Fan’s path, provoking murderous intent from Pang Bo and the others. But there was no time to fight to the death — a group was chasing from behind, and if they were trapped here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Move!” Ye Fan barked lowly.

It was a fierce battle. Though Ye Fan and the others were fleeing, they were not panicked — they fought through several intense clashes, carving a bloody path forward and charging into the distance.

In the end, they broke through the encirclement.

Once word of this spread, it caused a great stir. Both the natives of this world and the powerhouses from beyond the domain came to understand Ye Fan’s ferocity — even the powerhouse who emerged from the Divine Domain, joined by numerous young Supremes, had failed to keep him behind.

“That great devil Ye Fan is truly impossible to deal with. The Divine Army mobilized, and he still escaped — it’s unbelievable.”

“Have you heard? The one who came out of the Divine Domain — do you know who it is? It’s the Heaven-Gifted Sage King who’s been in seclusion for years, Yan Chongtian, said to be second only under the stars! Even he couldn’t hold that man back.”

“This… could this devil from beyond the domain truly claim to be number one under heaven?”

After this battle, Ye Fan’s infamy as a devil grew even greater. The other shore regarded him as the foremost devil — that a blasphemer could still be alive was, to them, unbelievable.

However, the consequences of this battle were also terrifying. Aside from Yan Chongtian, the Heaven-Gifted Sage King said to be second under the stars, an even more terrifying figure had appeared.

A Divine Elder had emerged from the Divine Domain, his cultivation reaching the Great Sage realm, intent on personally slaughtering the devils — to exterminate Ye Fan, the Golden Serpent Lord, and other great evils.

Moreover, the powerhouses who had descended from beyond the domain were also stirring — the Stone Man Saint Spirit, wielding the Immortal Tear Green Gold Ruler, was searching for Ye Fan; the Great Sage of the Ancient Clan was doing the same, hoping to eliminate him in this world.

Deep in the Great Wilderness, ranges of mountains overlapped, ten-thousand-foot cliffs and thousand-foot precipices stood, and apes howled while tigers roared.

Ye Fan and the others sensed the killing intent permeating this world, and so they went into hiding, retreating to the deepest part of a mountain range to quietly cultivate the Dao, comprehend ancient methods, and temporarily leave the mortal world behind.

This was a valley, unusually tranquil, with almost no sound. Within the valley was a cold pool, its waters crystal clear, yet looking down revealed only pitch darkness, its bottom unseen.

Long Ma, being reckless, stuck a hoof down into it. It immediately grimaced as if struck by needle-sharp pain, and quickly withdrew — a thick layer of profound ice had formed on its leg, freezing it to the marrow.

Even it reacted this way — an ordinary person would have been instantly frozen and shattered. Clearly this cold pool was no ordinary thing.

What was strange was that in a neighboring valley there was a pool of magma — not a volcano, but level with the ground, bubbling with scorching liquid.

The Golden Lion had once tried it — the fire was so intensely hot it could nearly burn a Dao-Severing cultivator to death. Clearly, this was no ordinary land.

“This place really is extraordinary. Look — the mountain ridge separating the two valleys, doesn’t it resemble a coiling dragon?” Pang Bo hovered in midair, pointing downward.

“Indeed. This is a naturally formed Yin-Yang diagram. If I set up my formations here, I can bring the Origin Heaven Divine Array to its fullest potential, letting us cultivate in peace,” Ye Fan murmured to himself.

He took out several array platforms, arranging them between the two valleys, laying them out with great care, carving one golden formation after another. This place became their dwelling.

Afterward, he also laid down the Heaven-Deceiving Array Patterns left by Emperor Wushi, completely erasing this place from the world, returning it to nothingness.

“You all cultivate here in peace, and endure for a period of time. In the future, you’ll be able to go anywhere in the world,” Ye Fan said. He took out a Bodhi tree and planted it in the valley.

Because it had been nourished by the Ancient Heavenly Venerate’s Life Spring Divine Liquid, this divine tree grew vigorously, its whole canopy lush and emerald, glistening as if about to drip — when its leaves swayed, they emitted rumbling sounds of the Great Dao, as though someone were chanting scripture.

“You’re not staying here? Where are you going?” Pang Bo frowned.

“I want to go out and take a look around. I have Origin Techniques — I can alter the heavens and earth, and it will be hard for others to recognize me,” Ye Fan said. His cultivation was not as simple as closed-door seclusion; perfecting his scriptures required time and could not be rushed.

“Your Great Dao Injury…” Pang Bo was worried.

“The Dao injury arose from cultivating the Four Extremes Secret Realm. As long as my scriptural meaning becomes complete and I cultivate to the peak, it should heal — it’s not a problem,” Ye Fan replied.

“BOOM!”

That very day, the Divine Domain shook violently — an ancient, vast divine will swept across the six directions and eight wildernesses, surging toward every corner of the other shore!

This aura was majestic and boundless, like sun and moon falling from the sky, like a myriad of stars shining bright, illuminating the world in dazzling splendor. A supremely sacred and divine presence flowed forth, making everyone feel awe.

“A divine miracle!”

“The God has manifested in the mortal world!”

The supreme ruler of the Divine Domain had descended upon the world. Every clan bowed their heads in reverence, none daring anything but awe, all trembling with fear.

This was a vast force of faith, originating from the Divine Domain, resonating with the divine statues of every clan in the world, rumbling and roaring, thus sweeping across the universe, swallowing rivers and mountains in its might.

His body split into a myriad of forms, and the faith-power he had gained was, in this moment, decomposed and sent surging toward every corner of the world — the God had personally taken action, searching for Ye Fan, intent on executing the devil from beyond the domain.

The moment Ye Fan stepped out of the valley, he sensed the shimmering radiance filling the heavens and earth, deeply shaken — he had once seen this kind of vast faith-power at Mount Sumeru!

He had not expected this world to have it too. The Divine Domain, from ancient times to now, had drawn upon the faith-power of all living beings year after year, day after day, long since accumulating an ocean-like reserve of sacred mental force.

And now, the ruling god of this era had merely deployed a portion of what he possessed, and it was already enough to swallow mountains and rivers, sweeping across all directions — one could imagine just how terrifying the full extent must be.

Ye Fan was fortunate that he had prepared thoroughly — he had already carved the Heaven-Deceiving Array Patterns beforehand, concealing his own aura, and so he was not detected by this pure mental force. He immediately retraced his path, rushing back into the Yin-Yang Valley and sealing off the passage to the outside world.

“What — that God has come out? He might far surpass a Great Sage?” Pang Bo and the others were shaken.

In their view, the ruler of the Divine Domain was at most an unrivaled existence at the very peak of the Great Sage realm, wielding an Emperor Artifact, and that was how he was able to command the world and slay Great Sages.

Now it seemed this might exceed that category entirely.

“I dare not say for certain he’s Quasi-Emperor, but it’s likely he already has one foot through that door — truly, an overwhelming power,” Ye Fan’s expression turned grave.

Outside, the world turned upside down. The God had emerged from the Divine Domain, letting the faith-power he had accumulated over so many years scatter across the world, communicating with every subject, searching for the blasphemer.

“Something’s wrong. Does the blasphemer have something on him that’s made even the God unable to sit still in the Divine Domain, descending upon the world? What exactly is going on — surely it isn’t as simple as one avatar being killed!”

Many old relics of the great clans’ ancestral grounds harbored doubts in their hearts.

People did not believe that a God, with such supreme dignity, would go to such great lengths over a mere Sage-King — there must be some unknown secret.

“The Cauldron of Myriad Origin Qi… that person holds the prototype of a supreme artifact in his hands. Should it fall into the God’s possession, it could one day become a divine weapon!”

“Not only that — that person also knows how to gather faith-power. He is a Demon God. It was precisely the mental force within his cauldron that destroyed one of the God’s avatars. Such a person absolutely cannot be allowed to grow further.”

Such news spread from within the Divine Domain, sparking an uproar. Those on the other shore searching for Ye Fan grew even more numerous, wanting to present him as a gift to the God.

Yet, for several days in a row, the foremost devil Ye Fan’s trail remained elusive — as if he had vanished from the world, with not a trace of him to be found.

This shook the world. The God had emerged from the Divine Domain, deployed the power of faith, yet had still failed to locate the devil from beyond the domain — this defied all reason.

“BOOM!”

The sky cracked and the earth split; divine light blazed in splendor. A towering blood mist erupted in the Great Wilderness — the Heavenly Dog Great Sage had fallen, killed cleanly by the God.

He was a Great Sage, ranked alongside Grey Flood Dragon and Golden Toad, both Beast Sovereigns. His strength was beyond doubt, but he could not withstand the God’s might, and was slain outright.

This shook everyone from beyond the domain — this was not the first Great Sage to be killed. Could this God truly be unrivaled beneath the stars?!

For a time, the whole world fell silent. The heroes descended from beyond the domain all held their tongues, falling quiet — the God could not be opposed by force.

Eight days later, a graveyard exploded in a great blast — another Great Sage hiding there was slain, blood drenching the ground, likewise from beyond the domain.

The other shore trembled, the whole world seethed, everyone shaken beyond words. The God’s followers prostrated themselves in worship, and all within the four seas were astonished, marveling at the God’s supreme strength.

However, half a month passed, and a certain fact could not help but provoke thought — the God had come out, yet he still had not managed to find the blasphemer.

“What’s going on? The God is all-powerful, connected with all living beings, his divine might sweeping the world — how can he not discover that blasphemer?”

A month passed, and Ye Fan still had not been found — not a single trace of information, undetectable. This left everyone on the other shore even more bewildered.

“What’s happening? Why still can’t he be executed? The God is supreme, a single thought moves the world — how can he not even find one devil from beyond the domain?”

Everyone was filled with doubt, all manner of suspicion arising in their hearts.

Two months later, the devil remained unseen, and the God returned to the Divine Domain. A strange atmosphere emerged across the world.

“Could it be that the God has reached his twilight years? I once heard that when a God’s sensing power begins to decline, it marks the transition period between the old god and the new.”

A rumor spread across the world, sparking a great upheaval and panic.

The God was enraged, stepping out of the Divine Domain once more, displaying boundless divine power, exterminating an entire clan that had spread the rumor, making all directions tremble in terror.

At the same time, he walked outside the Divine Domain for over ten days, searching for the blasphemer, but still to no avail — no results.

When the God returned to the Divine Domain, the rumors rose again — some claimed in secret that the God truly had grown old, that he might pass away within a few years, and that every clan should make preparations early, showing reverence to the new god.

And, right at this moment, the world’s foremost devil, “Ye Fan,” appeared once more, rampaging across the world, proving to everyone that he was still alive and well, that the God could do nothing about him.

The world erupted in uproar. Upon hearing the news, the God rushed out — the mountains and rivers in all directions trembled — yet still came up empty, gaining nothing.

This time, no one else needed to spread the rumor — the various clans had already begun to waver, feeling that the God’s time might truly be running out, that he no longer had his former divine sense, and that his life was not long.

“A new god will be born. The old god has become the past.”

Once this news came out, the God’s other shore shook violently, the entire world thrown into upheaval, the power of faith destabilized, the light-points flowing toward the Divine Domain sharply diminishing — the most direct change had occurred.

The God sensed something was wrong, and stepped out of the Divine Domain, wielding his divine artifact, pressing down upon heaven and earth with his might, entering clan after clan, trying to suppress the growing trend and safeguard his own fortune.

However, just as the God walked the world, the devil from beyond the domain, Ye Fan, appeared again — less than ten thousand li from him — a flash, and then gone, seen by many, spreading across the world.

“The God is failing — truly not long for this world. Not even within ten thousand li was there any sensing. I think the true God is about to be born, to replace him.”

“The old god is about to perish — this is a changing of the guard, a cycle turning. His time is short. We should consider erecting a new divine image to worship.”

Rumors flew in all directions, shaking the world.

Not to mention the outside world — even the Divine Domain itself was filled with a strange, eerie atmosphere. Many were secretly active, and the oppressive air made it hard to breathe.

Over the following ten years, the God’s radiance grew ever more dim, because blasphemers kept popping up from time to time — no longer just Ye Fan alone, but one after another, though he remained the foremost among them, roaming freely outside for ten years, still very much alive and well.

In truth, Ye Fan had not gone out to provoke anyone — he had been hiding in the valley the whole time. He sensed a scent of conspiracy — someone was targeting the God, and it was certainly going to be a great upheaval and a world-shaking horror.

Ten years’ time can change a great many things. Half the world now believed the God was failing, on the verge of passing, facing a fearsome twilight.

Over these ten years, the faith-power the God could obtain dropped to its lowest level, and it grew chaotic and impure, much of it scattered thoughts — as if a dynasty were about to end, about to collapse.