This was a golden monkey. His fur gleamed and shone like silk. In the darkness of the cosmos he was turning somersaults — not a trace of composure about him — carrying half of an Ancient Tree of Life on his back, scratching his ear and rubbing his cheek.
He laughed without stopping. His eyes were crafty, yet his face was honest and guileless — a somewhat contradictory combination that made him look quite unusual.
Setting aside demeanor, from his appearance alone — he was the spitting image of the Holy Emperor’s son: a thunder-god’s beak of a mouth, fiery golden eyes, a lean and powerful frame, as though cast from gold.
And yet he had six ears — capable of hearing the sounds of all the world. He was clearly a different kind of divine ape, rare since ancient times — the Six-Eared Macaque.
Half an Ancient Tree of Life flowed with life essence, jade-green throughout, radiating auspicious light, exhaling immortal mist. It looked as though carved from jade, covered with imprints of the great Dao’s cycles, containing within it fragments of the laws of heaven.
This was something every person in the world would go mad for. Great Sages and the like could use it to extend their lives, and through it, live out a second lifetime. Anyone who found it would inevitably slaughter mountains of the dead to claim it.
The Six-Eared Macaque carried half the ancient tree on his back. His eyes were rolling and spinning without stop. He plucked some leaves and swallowed them into his mouth — his life essence boiling throughout his body. He sat cross-legged in place for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, his gaze blazed with penetrating divine light.
Without a sound, a spatial rift appeared. He became a golden pinpoint of light and, taking the precious tree with him, vanished from this spot.
No one would have imagined that at the critical moment, the Six-Eared Macaque would leap out, deliver Dao Yi a devastating blow, nearly intercept the prize outright — bold and audacious beyond measure.
Obviously, Dao Yi was bitterly frustrated. A perfectly intact precious tree — achieved through exhausting all possible schemes, finally in his hands — had been stolen halfway, losing half of it. This grudge ran deep.
The Immortal Shore was no more — reduced to a stretch of dust. Every living being there had almost entirely perished.
Now only the Divine Domain remained, like a lone island suspended in the cold heavens. Great Sages were fighting within — using ancient emperor weapons to contend for the immortal swords, and also attempting to seize the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable’s formation diagram.
The Holy Emperor’s son’s eyes were wide open in fury, his roar shaking the heavens. He gripped the Battle Saint Staff and, with great difficulty, pinned down one of the killing swords — only for the Ten-Thousand Dragon Bell and the Divine Refinement Cauldron to both emerge and advance together, pressing toward him to suppress him.
The Great Sages had lost the Ancient Tree of Life — they were all the more unwilling to lose the immortal swords as well. Naturally, they made their move with full force, acting together.
“These old scoundrels are despicable!” Long Ma fumed.
“Don’t go over there!” Ye Fan said — he wanted the others to stay concealed within the Heaven-Deceiving Formation, observing the battle from the heavens at a distance. Going in would be too dangerous.
“No. How will you manage alone? At the very least I can stir up the five-element immortal energy to help you drive the green bronze cauldron.” Ji Ziyue said.
Pang Bo and Ji Haoyue naturally refused to fall back. One wanted to live and die alongside Ye Fan; the other wanted to protect his younger sister. Both joined in.
In truth, not a single person left. Even the ten great sages channeled their divine power to assist — the Ancient Gold Roc transformed into a form just one foot in length and perched upon Ye Fan’s shoulder, eyes fixed on what lay ahead.
Ye Fan layered the Heaven-Deceiving Formation eighteen times deep, unwilling to reveal their position. The first strike had to be a sneak attack — only then could it achieve the maximum effect.
“If I appear, it may cause serious problems.” He had another lingering concern: if his true self appeared here, it would very likely drive the assembled Great Sages to even greater frenzy.
Not long before, in the battle at the Divine Demon Ridge, he had cut down enemies on all sides alone, washing the young generation in blood, killing virtually all the supreme beings. None dared claim supremacy any longer.
But it was precisely because of that battle that his possession of a Bodhi Immortal Tree had been witnessed by Emperor Heaven, Xinlan, Nine-Eyed Jade Toad, the Great Demon God, and the White-Haired Heaven Wolf.
And what had brought the Great Sages here? The primary reason was the Ancient Tree of Life — to extend their lifespans and live out a second lifetime.
Now, if Ye Fan revealed himself — holding mastery over an immortal tree of equivalent divine effect — he would certainly become the prime target, subjected to the most ferocious assault.
“No need to worry too much. The Great Demon God, Nine-Eyed Jade Toad, and the others seem to have not leaked the information. Even now, no one has mentioned it.” Ji Haoyue said.
That battle had already passed many days ago — and yet throughout these days, things had remained completely calm. The most talked-about matter was the terrifying power Ye Fan had displayed and the astonishing brilliance of the Heavenly Emperor’s Fist. No one had ever spoken of the Bodhi Tree.
Ye Fan had pondered it himself. There were only two possible explanations.
The first: Emperor Heaven, the Great Demon God, Nine-Eyed Jade Toad, Xinlan, and the White-Haired Heaven Wolf — ambitious as they all were — were keeping the information to themselves, waiting for a future day to invite powerful figures to deal with him and seize his precious medicine. They did not want the information to leak out and allow the Great Sages to take it first.
The second: the Great Sages had already been quietly informed by those few, but were restraining themselves and biding their time — fearful of alarming the prey. Hence the recent calm — simply waiting for him to reveal himself, then striking with a single decisive blow to seize the immortal tree.
Now was not the time for excessive deliberation. Ye Fan used his source arts to reshape heaven and earth and alter the appearances of the group. Regardless of whether the green cauldron and Bodhi Tree had truly been exposed, it was better to conceal them for the time being.
The Heaven-Deceiving Formation sealed all four directions, and they approached in complete silence — but having truly reached the very center of the storm, there was clearly no hiding it. The green bronze cauldron was pressed and blazed with intense light, cyan radiance surging like a tide.
With a thunderous boom, Ye Fan directly drove it forward and launched the most ferocious strike — blasting it outward and smashing into the front, shattering the deadlock.
At this moment, the Holy Emperor’s son was in a weak position. The other two sides were fighting over the sword, and neither wanted him to release it — they needed him to keep it pinned down. So they only needed to slightly suppress him without going all out.
The green bronze cauldron suddenly burst in — startling everyone. A fifth imperial weapon had manifested, so suddenly that all the Great Sages were momentarily dazed. Because just before, when Dao Yi had stirred the vast torrent of immortal energy and cut off both sides, they had sensed a terrifying fluctuation but did not know what it was.
“BOOM!”
The blow was utterly sudden. The Ten-Thousand Dragon Bell bore the full brunt first — caught by the cyan radiance, it was sent flying horizontally. Imperial weapons rarely truly collide with one another in direct physical impact — the consequences would be unthinkable — so only their wave-forms clashed.
At the same moment, the Holy Emperor’s son — who had already received the transmitted message — roared, temporarily releasing his grip and letting go of the immortal sword, then swung the staff down and smashed it against the Divine Refinement Cauldron — a vicious, crushing blow.
This place erupted into turmoil in an instant. The Great Sages were caught completely off guard.
In a single breath, the green bronze cauldron and the Battle Saint Staff joined together, sweeping everyone aside — directly ripping a hole through the void and vanishing from within.
Moreover, during this process, the ten million strands of immortal radiance streaming from the monkey’s Immortal Iron Staff poured down and engulfed the cauldron — concealing its true form. Almost no one caught a clear view.
And at this moment, the Heaven-Deceiving Formation finally collapsed entirely. The group’s whereabouts were exposed — but they were wrapped within the divine iron staff’s protection, blocking the line of sight of everyone else.
It was not that the Heaven-Deceiving Formation of the Limitless Emperor was weak — only that the materials used in laying it were inferior. In the human world, suitable divine materials could not be found. Under the assault of these imperial weapons, it could only collapse first.
“What weapon was that?!” Many were enraged, surrounding and attacking from all sides.
“Move!” Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s son, without hesitation, tore open the void, driving the imperial weapons to escape from the center of the battle — otherwise, surrounded on all sides, how could they emerge unscathed? Against them were Great Sages, wielding three imperial weapons between them. If they truly fought it out to the bitter end, they would be bleeding out here.
Retreating to a sufficiently distant place, Ye Fan sat cross-legged in the void. He took out a bronze ghost-face lamp in the shape of a human figure, recited the Scripture for the Salvation of Souls, activated the military character secret art, and performed the summoning.
Ji Ziyue sat cross-legged opposite him. As an Elemental Spiritual Body, she was able to draw upon the fundamental source of all things. She gathered all the dispersed five-element immortal energy from this region and channeled it into Ye Fan’s body.
This was the life essence born from the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable’s Dao Palace. Merging with Ye Fan and becoming one — then guided by his recitation of the scripture, holding the ancient lamp — it naturally released the most mysterious energy.
The nearest killing sword ceased its movements. It rang clearly, as though it were a living being — the dark red sword body stood upright and “gazed” in this direction.
“It’s working — but the power is still a little short. Let me help!” The Holy Emperor’s son said. He placed the dark-radiance, endlessly vast Immortal Iron Staff against Ye Fan’s shoulder, carefully driving it — and in an instant, a tremendous pressure descended.
This was not to attack enemies — it was to use the imperial might to gather life essence, stamp it with supreme laws, and channel it into Ye Fan’s body. The effect of this was, evidently, superb beyond measure.
Ye Fan blazed with light all over his body, as radiant as a sun. His body expanded enormously — like a great divine demon seated cross-legged there, every inch of his skin covered in dense, intricate traceries — mysterious and complex, as though he had attained the Dao, capable of looking down upon the Great Sage realm.
The bronze ghost-faced lamp blazed brilliantly, also empowered and releasing extraordinary radiance. Combined with the five-element immortal energy Ji Ziyue was channeling into Ye Fan’s body, it was as though the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable himself had been reborn — profound and mysterious, his entire body submerged in a haze of Chaos mist, the Scripture for the Salvation of Souls resounding throughout the vault of heaven.
In the distance, the four killing swords resonated in harmony. Three of them spiraled slightly — and flew directly toward this direction.
The assembled Great Sages were shaken. They could not see Ye Fan and the others from such a distance — but they dared not delay. All drove their laws and principles with full force. The Ten-Thousand Dragon Bell and the Divine Refinement Cauldron transformed into two streaks of the most terrifying blinding light, cutting across the heavens to intercept — catching two of the sword streaks and blocking them.
Only one sword broke through the air and arrived, hovering above Ye Fan’s head. It circled the ghost-faced lamp once — then became perfectly still, all its energy withdrawing inward.
Even so, everyone felt as though heaven was being destroyed and earth annihilated — as though their flesh and spirit-bones were on the verge of shattering. The killing intent emanating from this sword was too thick and concentrated.
On the dark red sword body, terrifying engravings of slaughter could actually be seen — image after image, set after set — ten thousand living beings prostrate in submission, blood dyeing the universe. The terror reached the very extreme.
“Damn it all — if we’d gotten three swords called over, those old turtle-shell bastards intercepted two of them. Infuriating!” Long Ma was furious and resentful.
Pang Bo, Ji Haoyue, and the others were all filled with regret. The opportunity had been so rare, success almost within their grasp — but the opposition had each used an ancient emperor weapon to intercept one piece apiece. There was absolutely nothing to be done.
Suddenly, a scripture began to ring out — deafening, like the crashing of mountains and the surging of seas, bearing down from every direction.
The fourth killing sword gave a slight tremor, transformed into a streak of divine radiance, and flew off — disappearing into the darkness of the cosmos. This left everyone greatly astonished.
“This is the orthodox immortal scripture of the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable — who is this? Who has obtained it?” The Great Sages had only heard the opening few lines — and then the scripture transformed into waves of the Dao, rumbling and thunderous, impossible to capture in words.
In the darkness of the cosmos, in an uninhabited void, a golden monkey with a thunder-god’s beak of a mouth was sitting cross-legged — drenched in sweat, covered in blood, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets — channeling an ancient vessel, using it to recite a vast and magnificent scripture.
This was the highest divine power of the Daoist lineage — the most supreme Dao-roar.
Legend had it that this Dao-roar could shatter divine spirits with its sound. And yet right now it was being used only to awaken the immortal sword — to summon it to come.
It was none other than the Six-Eared Macaque. No one had known it — that he actually possessed the orthodox immortal scripture of the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable, now releasing its power through an ancestral vessel, at last stirring one of the killing swords to break through the air and arrive.
“They were all meant to be mine. You ruined my great endeavor.” He fumed with indignation as, with great effort, he guided this killing sword to his side.