A single martial-Dao will — blasting apart the Fourth Prince of the Soaring Serpent clan, bellowing two other powerful beings to death on the spot — such might would shock the entire world!

Ye Fan’s Dao was overpoweringly terrifying — chilling to the bone, freezing the limbs, making everyone’s blood run cold from head to toe. How could anyone fight against this?

In that moment, quite a number of people chose to strike — attacking toward the center. They refused to let him complete his enlightenment, wanting to shatter this state of Dao-comprehension and kill him beneath the enlightenment tree.

Battle cries shook the heavens as great enemies from all four directions surged forward — the Great Lord of the Golden Serpent at the front, Sang Gu at the rear — valor supreme, the situation dire to the extreme.

“Roar…”

The Great Lord of the Golden Serpent screamed. Its face contorted with ferocity. Even it — normally cold and deep in thought — could no longer contain itself. Three of its brothers had died one after another, all at Ye Fan’s hands.

Most of all his youngest brother — just killed before his eyes. A single martial-Dao will, yet it had cost him a brother. Blood is thicker than water. He cried out in grief and rage — heedless of the cost, catalyzing his divine power fully. The Soaring Serpent formation diagram flew and whirled, crashing into the void precious mirror.

Crack!

Between heaven and earth, blood and essence burst forth — some belonging to the Great Lord of the Golden Serpent, some to Ji Haoyue — for when the two ancestral weapons collided, a great explosion occurred. Even enveloped and protected by the light of their two ancestral weapons, both still suffered terribly.

“Sacred Physique of the human race — go and die!”

The Great Lord of the Golden Serpent screamed. From its pupils burst two terrifying beams of light that penetrated the void and shot straight toward the Bodhi tree — wanting to disturb Ye Fan’s enlightenment, send his original spirit into chaos, and thereby kill him. It wanted to avenge its brothers!

Pang Bo roared. A piece of coffin-board clenched in his teeth, his entire body drenched in blood, he hurled himself across the sky to block the Great Lord of the Golden Serpent’s attack — even as his own opponent struck him in the back with an ancient treasure. He paid it no mind, instead thundering against those two beams of light.

BOOM!

Surging flames of light soared into the sky, drowning the Divine Demon Burial Ground. Pang Bo used the Dragon-Seizing Art to forcibly withstand the Soaring Serpent clan’s lightning-radiance, shattering it — but was himself violently shaken. After all, this was a Saint-King at the ninth layer of heaven, nearly become a Great Sage.

At the same moment, the person behind Pang Bo struck again in assassination. A silver battle spear shimmered brilliantly — coiled in great tracts of Dao runes — and with a sharp sound, pierced through Pang Bo’s shoulder blade. Blood burst outward.

“Roar…”

Pang Bo bellowed in fury. His enormous body spun around with great force, and incredibly he snapped this silver Saint-King weapon in two. Then he gritted his teeth — both eyes blazing like torches, shooting out two dragon-shaped pillars of light — this was the Demon Emperor’s Nine Strikes: Form-Annihilation!

This strike scattered blood in all directions. The dragon-shaped pillar of light cut the sneak-attacker into four separate pieces. His palm-sized hand reached forward and with a sharp sound plucked off this person’s head, then crushed it with a single grip.

He himself spat out a great mouthful of blood, swayed unsteadily, steadied his form, and then began employing the Character-Secret to heal, recovering his vital energy.

“I will go kill the Sacred Physique!”

Sang Gu had arrived. His entire body blazing with light, three thousand Dao runes circulating — densely covering his body — his whole person like a divine idol engraved with the incantations of antiquity.

Among those present, he and the Great Lord of the Golden Serpent were equally desperate to slay Ye Fan — because he believed that the figure seated beneath the Bodhi tree had also received the divine and demonic Dao lineage and was using it as forge-fire to temper the Emperor’s Fist.

Sang Gu refused to let anyone else lay claim to the runes of the Divine Demon Burial Ground. The three thousand great Daos would belong exclusively to him. He had to kill this competitor and eliminate the threat at its root!

Between his brows, brilliant radiance shone. A yang-talisman appeared — on close inspection its surface was densely covered in fine veining, with mist billowing outward, like dozens or hundreds of divine and demonic runes condensed into one.

With a thunderous boom, this talisman penetrated all obstacles. The last few remaining arrays in this ancient land were all struck into flying ash, falling toward Ye Fan — wanting to suppress and slay him.

“Let the essence-energy of heaven and earth heed my command!” Ji Ziyue murmured, supremely sacred. Her exquisite white face was covered in perspiration. Enduring enormous pain, she severed the primal essence of heaven and earth at that location, intercepting the yang-talisman.

BOOM!

Ji Ziyue was sent flying, coughing blood. The trajectory of the ancient talisman changed — skimming past the Bodhi tree and flying into the distance, blasting open the void and disappearing into another dimensional space.

This was Ji Ziyue’s technique — inheriting from within the Void Emperor Scripture, as well as her innately gifted divine art — interfering with the primal essence of heaven and earth, causing that location to undergo upheaval and transformation.

But her cultivation realm was ultimately insufficient. Her power was naturally quite below Sang Gu’s, and she suffered heavy injuries.

“Little big sister!”

The Little One cried out in alarm. Its body spread open like a golden immortal phoenix soaring across the sky — trailing long brilliant tail-feathers — eliminating its opponent, then rushing toward Ji Ziyue.

“Let me see who can stop me!” Sang Gu spoke with cold indifference, striding forward step by step. His expression was incomparably brutal, surveying all four directions — there was almost no one who could resist him.

BOOM!

Ten thousand feet of lightning and thunder crashed down. He advanced like a divine being or demon — alone revered in the world, no one able to block his path.

Behind him, a crowd of powerful beings followed — with him in the lead, all charging together — wanting to shatter Ye Fan in one fell swoop, ruin his Dao-foundation, and seize that mysterious Bodhi tree.

Ji Ziyue had fallen before the Little One. She appeared fragile, but her large eyes were blinking with alert intelligence — in truth she was not as badly injured as it seemed.

“Little One — the situation is now critical. With so many people coming like mountains, we truly cannot fight anymore. It all depends on you. I will undo your seal, and you go through your tribulation — charge at those people, block them, buy time for Ye Fan,” Ji Ziyue said.

The next moment, the Little One suddenly erupted with an incomparably powerful vital-force aura, charging toward Sang Gu — lightning flashing and thunder rolling across its entire body. Then heaven and earth became a vast blank expanse as tribulation-lightning crashed down upon everyone present.

It was an exceptional being — having consumed the Demon God Flower — advancing in cultivation levels with extraordinary speed over all these years. It had been sealed by everyone, fearful that its progression was too fierce and would cause problems.

Now, the moment the seal was lifted, it strove to draw upon the great Dao — immediately leaping a full cultivation level and drawing down a heavenly punishment that struck down upon everyone present.

Without question, no one wished to be drawn into it — for they would share in surviving the tribulation, which would be extremely troublesome. One careless moment and they might be taken advantage of by others.

Vast seas of tribulation-lightning crashed down. Sang Gu bore the full brunt, encountering great trouble — his footsteps blocked.

However — it must be said — this was an extraordinary group of young supreme beings. Tribulation lightning could not truly inflict lethal harm upon them. As the strongest in their respective domains, many had used methods like this to contend against powerful enemies before.

Now each displayed their abilities — some evading, others deploying arrays designed to pass undetected through the heavens — withstanding this heavenly tribulation and breaking free.

Still, the powerful beings on this front had their advance blocked. Sang Gu and the others were unable to reach the Bodhi tree in the first instant to strike down the Ye Fan seated there.

BOOM!

Cadaverous energy flooded the sky. From another direction the Corpse-Fiend struck. He turned his hand and clouds appeared; he turned it back and rain came down. Cadaverous energy was overwhelming — like a black ocean surging and raging outward.

This was a merciless demonic path. As long as it contaminated Ye Fan, it would certainly plunge his divine consciousness into the demonic — shattering his Dao-fruit in an instant, and reducing thirty years of painstaking contemplation to nothing.

In former days, the Corpse-Fiend had achieved a profound awakening through battling Ye Fan — something rather transcendent in character. But now, witnessing Ye Fan’s supremely powerful aura, he could no longer contain himself. His methods were vicious — wanting to ruin Ye Fan’s Dao-foundation!

“Whatever Sacred Physique of the human race — you are merely a meal, a blood-feast for me. His holy blood is vigorous and abundant — it can help me attain the Dao!” The Heaven-Devouring Beast also finally struck. One of the mightiest present, its enormous body moved — destroying heaven and annihilating earth — everyone making way for it. Terrifyingly powerful beyond all measure.

One enormous claw blotted out the sky — directly engulfing the vast earth, reaching for Ye Fan and the Bodhi tree, treating them as prey and blood-food.

“It’s over. There are too many of them — especially the strongest ones among them, all striking at once. We cannot hold them!” The Black Bear Sage, the Azure Luan, and the others had despaired. All were young supreme beings — with this many charging together simultaneously, who could resist? Even Pang Bo and Long Ma were covered in wounds in an instant.

Most of all — the Great Lord of the Golden Serpent, Sang Gu, the Corpse-Fiend, the Heaven-Devouring Beast, and others had all reached the absolute pinnacle of the ninth layer of Saint-King heaven, capable of running rampant across the cosmos. Among their generation, there were very few who could withstand their edge!

With them at the head and a great multitude of powerful beings following behind — charging forward all at once — even a Great Sage would be daunted. This force was too overwhelming.

Moreover, Emperor Tian, the Great Demon God, the Nine-Eyed Jade Toad, the Celestial Maiden of the Divine Clan, and the Ancient Golden Roc — peerless experts of that caliber — were also watching with covetous eyes, ready to join in at any moment.

“Now it all comes down to this. Brothers — form the formation!” Long Ma bellowed, calling out to the Twelve Sages. In its palm appeared a stone stele roughly a foot in length — bearing the engraved marks of ages past, with the two characters “Heavenly Soldiers” carved upon it.

This was a secret weapon — extraordinarily powerful, a relic of the Ancient Celestial Court, capable of guarding an entire star domain, earth-shattering in might. It was a truly worthy Warring Stele!

However, the conditions required to activate it were exceedingly strict. Ten or more people were needed to consecrate it together. The primary condition was not dharma-power, Dao-practice, or cultivation realm — what was truly required was soaring battle-will, courage to advance without retreat, indomitable resolution, and unity of purpose among all.

“This is an ancient weapon left behind by the Celestial Court! If we unite our hearts and minds and strike together, we will knock their egos right out of them!” Long Ma roared. It was drenched in blood, having suffered heavy injuries in the blood-battle.

Two of the Twelve Sages had fallen. The remaining ten — in this moment of life-and-death — consecrated the stele together!

With an immense rumbling, the ancient stele erupted with a world-shaking aura. Ten thousand cavalry charged forth — so deafening it hurt the eardrums and softened the bones and sinews. The stele reached as high as the heavens.

Rolling killing intent surged like a tidal wave, drowning this entire area. A hundred thousand heroic spirits charged out, sweeping through all of creation!

Thud. Thud.

Fourteen people in succession were smashed apart by the warring stele — bones shattered, sinews broken — swallowed by the hundred thousand heroic spirits, torn limb from limb, eliminated completely.

Yet Long Ma and the others also suffered the stele’s rebound. This ancient stele was extraordinarily difficult to control. In theory it required a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers — unrelated to power or cultivation realm!

They coughed up great mouthfuls of blood. The heavenly stele rapidly shrank — impossible to unleash a second strike.

BOOM!

The Corpse-Fiend, the Heaven-Devouring Beast, and the rest charged together in unison. Long Ma and the others were sent flying in a shower of blood and flesh. Had they not used the shrunken heavenly stele to block the blow, the Twelve Sages would certainly have had their forms and spirits annihilated.

Even so, all of them had broken bones and shattered sinews. Many no longer had complete bodies — a miserable sight beyond description.

“I will kill the Sacred Physique of the human race. Even if a god arrived, it would be impossible to keep him alive!” The Heaven-Devouring Beast was boundless in enormity, laughing cruelly as it looked down upon the Twelve Sages collapsed in a pool of blood.

“Thud!”

On the other side, the Little One let out a mournful cry. Golden divine feathers scattered across its body. One wing had nearly been torn off. It crashed heavily into a pool of blood.

The Little One’s eyes dimmed. It let out weak chirping cries, struggling to rise — even drawing down heavenly punishment by passing through its tribulation had been unable to do anything against Sang Gu.

Sang Gu — descendant of primordial divine beings and demons — was extraordinarily powerful, standing tall and straight, eyes sharp as lightning. His hands were covered in blood, stained with divine feathers. He had nearly cleaved the Little One in two. He laughed coldly and cruelly: “You will all die — buried alongside the Sacred Physique of the human race. Only we of the divine and demonic bloodline are the rightful rulers — who dares to defy us?!”

“Little One!” Ji Ziyue’s heart ached until tears streamed down her face. She embraced the electric phoenix-bird trembling in agony — all of this was nothing more than the gap in power. Even the great killing weapon of tribulation-summoning had lost its effectiveness.

“The Sacred Physique of the human race is certain to die. He has not a single chance remaining. The Bodhi tree belongs to us. Now — let us take off his head first,” said the Gold-Devouring Beast and Bronze Ant King on the other side, their faces ferocious, closing in together with a crowd of others.

Ji Ziyue wiped away her tears, rose to her feet, and her entire body was suffused with sacred and radiant light — dignified and majestic. This alarmed Ji Haoyue in the midst of battle, who called out: “Ziyue, you must not act recklessly! If there is truly no other way, carry Ye Fan and retreat first!”

“I believe he is about to wake!” Ji Ziyue’s expression was calm. She intended to invoke certain forbidden techniques through her unique physique, standing directly against the terrifying Sang Gu and the others.

“It will be useless. I mean to kill the Sacred Physique of the human race. No one can stop me.” Sang Gu said darkly.

Behind him, divine beings and demons filled the sky. The true meanings of the three thousand great Daos manifested. He was set on uprooting Ye Fan — seizing this place’s great fortune for himself alone. His expression was as cold as ice that had never thawed since the beginning of eternity — tinged with a thread of arrogance, and a thread of mockery.

On the other side, demonic blood surged boundlessly. The Heaven-Devouring Beast suppressed heaven and earth. An enormous claw reached down, pressing toward the Twelve Sages — wanting to seize them all and swallow them into its mouth as blood-food.

“Get past me first!” Long Ma put away the dim stone stele — it could not be driven in the short term — and propped up its blood-drenched body, standing before everyone to shield the Twelve Sages.

“Though you are very powerful, your cultivation realm is ultimately insufficient. I am only half a step from becoming a Great Sage — how can you resist? You and that Sacred Physique of the human race will both become nothing more than my blood-food!” The Heaven-Devouring Beast laughed without mercy.

“I come for the precious tree. Whoever blocks my path to the Buddha and the Demon — I will send them to their next life!” The Corpse-Fiend also wore an expression of icy cold, cadaverous energy flooding the sky, stepping forward one step at a time — his destination: the Bodhi tree.

Thud!

At the edge of the Bodhi tree, Pang Bo — engaged in fierce battle — suffered a heavy blow. A black long saber, glinting with cold light, appeared without sound from the void — embedding itself in his spine. It nearly pierced all the way through, almost cleaving him in two.

“Roar…”

Pang Bo let out a great roar. Using his flesh to clamp the saber’s blade, he wheeled around sharply — one punch launched, blasting the sneak-attacker to a violent death, reducing them to a bloody mist!

“At this point, they are still here protecting him — they do not know when to give up!” The Gold-Devouring Beast and Bronze Ant King, their expressions savage, arrived at the vicinity of the Bodhi tree first — a crowd of people behind them — closing in.

Pang Bo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed loudly: “If you want to touch my brother, first ask whether I agree!” Blood foam continued to surge from his mouth.

“The tide has turned. The Sacred Physique of the human race is finished. Those guarding him are all spent,” someone murmured from a distance. A number of people had still not entered the fray.

The Great Demon God and Emperor Tian wore cold and indifferent expressions, shifting their feet forward. It was unclear whether they also intended to act.

The Celestial Maiden of the Divine Clan, Xin Lan, let out a soft sigh. To live is to be victorious — a dead supreme being is worth nothing. She also stepped forward, preparing to take a share of the feast.

Rumble rumble rumble!

An enormous sound rang out. The Divine Demon Ridge suddenly collapsed and crumbled. The tens of thousands of divine and demonic runes that had filled the sky all exploded simultaneously. The entire world seemed to have been destroyed — leaving behind only a single pair of Emperor’s Fists!

Beneath the Bodhi tree, Ye Fan’s eyes snapped open.

Like two golden lamps — dazzling and brilliant. Everywhere his gaze swept, many screamed in agony, blood streaming from their eyes.

Though he was still seated there, not yet having made any move — he was already emanating a supremely powerful and supremely vast vital-force aura that caused everyone to tremble!