Who, throughout the ages past and present, would dare utter such words — to wash the Human Race’s ancient path in blood? Ye Fan’s words rang out sharp and resounding, striking like iron against stone, and subdued the entire city.

There was once one who had shattered an ancient path — his name was the Azure Emperor. There was once one who had refined and consumed an entire domain — his name was Wushi. There was once one who, with a mere flick of her fingers upon the path, had annihilated dozens of clans — she was known as the Ruthless One. There was once one who…

Those who had ever been such world-shaking madmen either ended up as scattered ash and smoke, or rose to become Great Emperors, manifesting their transcendent and saint-surpassing talent and potential.

And now, Ye Fan too had grown furious. He wanted to carry out a grand purge — to spill blood across the Human Race’s ancient road — and the thought sent tremors through people’s hearts, as though an icy chill was being poured into the very cracks of their bones, leaving their hearts cold and desolate.

Qi Tian’s expression shifted between dark and pale, deeply unsightly. As a guardian of the Human Race, to have involved himself in such matters was utterly disgraceful to the extreme.

Four Great Sages had sealed the city to slay a Saint King, and yet it had come to this outcome. Not only was it shameful — it was likely to become a tragedy as well.

Pang Bo roared sharply: “Qi Tian, you shameless elder — do you have even a shred of dignity left?! You call yourself a guardian of the Human Race — tell me, who have you guarded?! You colluded with foreign races, persecuted the elites of your own people, and committed acts that enraged both men and gods alike. If you are not killed, Heaven’s law itself cannot be upheld!”

Qi Tian’s face turned ashen iron, growing even more unsightly. As a Great Sage who had stood tall in the Sacred Domain for so many years, how many had ever dared speak to him this way? Yet today, every manner of humiliation descended upon him all at once.

As his eyes opened and closed, a cold gleam flickered within them. Realizing that today’s odds were stacked heavily against him, he lunged directly at Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, and the others, intending to seize a few of them.

Clang!

Ye Fan struck the sword, and a brilliant flash of light soared upward — blazing and intense, like a sun cleaving through the sky — trailing a long, luminous tail behind it, blindingly radiant.

Qi Tian cried out, retreating with all his might. Though his body grew blurred, nearly dissolving, a thread of killing intent still grazed his rear heel, and his body shuddered violently on the spot.

With a soft pfft, his lower half was blown apart, dissolving into a paste of flesh and a mist of blood. Although it was only a graze, this was nonetheless an Emperor’s weapon — its divine power was immense.

Qi Tian was sent flying horizontally, drenched in fresh blood, his eyes cold and hard. Fury, shock, humiliation, resentment — every negative emotion surged up within him. That he, a Great Sage of a generation, had been cut down in such a manner — like a scarecrow being hacked apart — was an utter abasement.

He could not suppress a howl of rage, but what could it change? It was futile.

“Holy Body — in all things, do not go to the extreme. You have yet to grow into a Great Sage; it is still too early to claim supremacy,” said Qi Tian, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as he reconstituted his body.

In the distance, Ji Ziyue sighed and said: “And what qualifications do you have to speak such words? Going to the extreme? Who could surpass you in that? Have you forgotten your own identity? Guardian of the Human Race — compared to your own actions, that title is nothing but a grand irony.”

Ye Fan’s expression was cold and piercing. At this point, what more was there to say? He opened his Source Heaven Eye, his pupils shining with a sharp brilliance, then swung his sword forcefully toward a man in the distance who carried a large gourd on his back — the very one who had arrived earlier to bolster the Silver Blood Great Sage and the Liu Feng family.

He had long noticed that this man bore a certain resemblance to Qi Tian in features, and though he had yet to make a move, there was an unmistakable aura of hostility about him.

At this moment, Ye Fan brought his sword down — like an ancient Heavenly Court’s divine mountain crashing from above — striking the man directly. No resistance was of any use. With a pfft, flesh and blood scattered, bones crumbled to ash, and in the blink of an eye, body and soul were both annihilated, leaving behind only a cloud of dissipating blood mist.

“Ah — you—!” Qi Tian screamed, overwhelmed by shock and fury, so enraged that he spat a mouthful of fresh blood, his entire body trembling.

This was indeed one of his own descendants — and one whom he had held in considerable regard. Just like that, without a single sound, the young man had been hewn into fragments. It made Qi Tian’s heart bleed.

“You have always watched the misery of others. Now that it is truly your turn — how does it feel?” Ye Fan said softly. His voice was not loud, yet it sent Qi Tian into a wild rage, pointing at him with a trembling finger, unable to find words.

“As a Great Sage upon the Human Race’s ancient path, to have walked your path to this point — you have truly driven the road of a Human Race guardian to an utter dead end. Killing you ten times, a hundred times over, would still be no more than what you deserve,” said Ji Haoyue. Even when speaking to a Great Sage, there was a natural authority in her voice.

Crack!

At that very moment, the last city of the Human Race emitted a splitting sound. Every manner of formation pattern rose to the surface, shooting straight toward the heavens — the city was about to be torn apart into pieces.

Qi Tian had thrown everything aside. He intended to destroy this city and drag Ye Fan and the others down with him as burial companions. Since he could not breach it in a short time, he fully activated the primordial formation patterns within the city — initiating an ancient forbidden mechanism known as “Jade and Stone Burn Together.”

As the guardian of the Human Race, he naturally knew a great deal about this final checkpoint. Once the Dragon-Locking Gate fell, this place would become an inescapable trap — even a god would struggle to reopen it.

Moreover, within the city there lay an absolutely secret ancient formation. Once activated, it would change everything — but at the cost of nothing remaining: it would turn to dust along with the city.

Boom!

The Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron above Ye Fan’s head rang out thunderously, rapidly expanding, and in an instant enveloped the entire city. He roared: “Those who do not wish to die, enter the cauldron quickly — I will save you!”

The city’s residents were beyond numerous, yet Ye Fan channeled his divine power, and all those who did not resist were drawn into the cauldron in the very first moment, sheltered within it.

Hiss!

He himself drove his sword down with great force — the long blade blazing like a rainbow — striking the Human Race’s last city in a furious slash. Amid thunderous booming, the Emperor’s weapon unleashed its divine might, and not even gods could have stopped it.

Without any suspense, the ancient city was cleaved open. Even the strongest defenses could not withstand it; amid the rumbling, it turned to dust.

The ancient formation within the city had not yet fully destroyed the place, but Ye Fan had already split it open first — even the “Jade and Stone Burn Together” formation patterns of this final checkpoint could not have acted so swiftly.

Hiss!

The first to rush out was none other than Qi Tian himself. In the very instant the ancient city was torn into pieces, he was the first to flee. His talk of wanting to die together — half true, half false — was clearly laced with intimidation. He had been creating an opportunity for his own escape.

A cold smile crept to the corner of Ye Fan’s lips. He drew a deep breath, wielded the Emperor’s weapon, and first directed it toward the Silver Blood Great Sage — not immediately pursuing Qi Tian.

It was a terrifying burst of killing light. In what was almost an instant, the Silver Blood Great Sage was blown apart — only a small fragment of his body remained, sent flying horizontally — while his Primordial Spirit directly escaped.

Ye Fan guided the sword light forward with a gentle sweep. The Silver Blood Great Sage screamed miserably as his Primordial Spirit was drawn over, and the ancient patterns on the dark crimson blade began to glow.

A scene of slaughter manifested. The Primordial Spirit became a prisoner, sinking into those patterns, sealed upon the sword’s body.

The Silver Blood Great Sage let out a wrenching cry — this was the sword of slaughter with the most fearsome reputation since ancient times. To be sealed within it was a torment akin to a living hell, far more terrifying than the lowest depths of the underworld.

He screamed with heart-tearing, lung-splitting anguish, but soon fell unconscious — becoming a small dot trapped within one of the engraved marks on the dark crimson blade, utterly insensate.

The cauldron above Ye Fan’s head tipped and released everyone within it. Without a moment’s pause, he wrapped Ji Ziyue, Pang Bo, and the others around him, and drove the Emperor’s weapon forward.

It was a dazzling streak of sword light that cleaved through the cosmos and crossed the entire expanse of sky. In an instant, it caught up with Qi Tian, who was so terrified his soul nearly left his body as he fled for his life at full speed.

But however great his divine power, however furiously he tore open the void to cross through it — it was all useless. A thread of sword energy had already locked onto him back within the city, and now it had transformed into an immortal radiance, slicing through the void and following him like a shadow.

“The Human Race’s Holy Body has rebelled — quickly inform all the guardians, bring Emperor’s weapons, and suppress this villain!” Qi Tian bellowed, fleeing with every ounce of his strength.

As a guardian of the Human Race, he naturally possessed a divine light platform, through which he could swiftly arrive at other ancient cities. Fleeing for his life, he screamed and roared, hoping someone would step forward to obstruct Ye Fan.

“That old wretch is still slinging mud before he dies — truly shameless to the extreme!” Pang Bo cursed loudly, and while he spoke, he slew the enforcer he was holding.

This was the enforcer who had appeared alongside Liu Mingde and had been battling Pang Bo — now subdued, and directly executed on the spot. There was no further use in keeping him alive.

“Fellow cultivators — the Holy Body has rebelled! He has pledged himself to the foreign races and seeks to kill all the elite masters upon the Human Race’s ancient path! Move quickly — join forces and resist him together!” Qi Tian roared, fleeing for his life.

“This old bastard really has no shame — he himself colluded with foreign races, yet now turns around and points the finger. He truly is a shameless creature,” Long Ma said, declaring itself utterly outclassed by this old wretch’s utter lack of moral limits.

The Twelve Saints and the others were seething with fury, wishing they could pounce on him and tear him apart. They had never encountered anyone so despicable and shameless — they longed to punch him and crush him to pieces.

It could be said that at this point Qi Tian had thrown aside all considerations. As long as he could preserve his life, he would not hesitate to slander even a Great Emperor — he cared nothing for whether his actions were underhanded or vicious.

“Ye Fan, give him a sword — cleave him alive and be done with it. Otherwise, who knows what else this brazen, shameless old thing might say,” Pang Bo suggested.

Ye Fan’s expression remained very calm. “I am deliberately giving him the chance to flee. We need only follow slowly.”

“You… do you truly intend to blood-purge the ancient path and draw out every one of those serpents and vermin?” Pang Bo immediately understood what he intended, and a grave look crossed his face.

“Exactly. Those who have ties to him will likely try to block the way. We will watch where he flees, and cut a path through as we go,” Ji Ziyue said with a nod.

Qi Tian fled, passing through three cities in succession, stirring up a tremendous uproar. This was a Great Sage, after all — being chased by the Human Race’s Holy Body, hounded like a dog being driven away — it was truly astonishing to behold.

“The Human Race’s Holy Body has rebelled — he has become a traitor to humanity, colluding with the giants of foreign races! Everyone, quickly spread the word — invoke the Emperor’s weapons and inform all the guardians along the way!” Qi Tian screamed like a madman.

Yet the effect was remarkably poor. Virtually no one stepped forward to help.

In truth, who would believe that Ye Fan had turned against the Human Race’s ancient path? He had already completed his trials and reached the final checkpoint — how could he possibly rebel? Anyone who thought about it for even a moment would know what was actually happening. That Qi Tian bore a grudge against the Holy Body of the Human Race was widely known along this road.

Yet after passing through several cities, someone truly did step forward — soaring up into the high heavens and calling out from a distance: “Senior Qi Tian has great virtue and prestige, and is an elder worthy of our respect. Perhaps there is some misunderstanding between you and Fellow Daoist Ye that has led to this discord. Could we not first pause, and speak of this calmly?”

The only reply given was a single sword stroke. A ray of immortal radiance swept past, and the man instantly shattered — dissolving into a cloud of blood mist, body and soul alike annihilated.

The crowd drew a sharp collective breath. Everyone grasped what was happening, and expressions of cold dread spread across their faces. Inwardly, they all realized that those connected to Qi Tian’s faction were about to suffer a catastrophic reckoning.

Qi Tian was still running ahead, with no awareness of what had happened behind him. He tore open the void and used the divine light platform to cross to the next city.

“Fellow Daoist Ye, how can you act like this? Surely we can discuss everything calmly — Qi Tian, he…” Yet another ancient city, and yet again someone came out to block the way, speaking words of gentle persuasion and defending Qi Tian.

Pfft!

A flash of blood light passed, and the man was reduced to a pool of blood.

This was a road of blood!

Qi Tian came to realize this eventually — he bit down, spat out a mouthful of blood, yet could do nothing about it. Friends and associates who stepped forward could buy him a little time, even if the price was heavy.

Those ahead remained unaware, but the ancient cities passed along the way had already learned the truth, one after another — and a great commotion erupted.

“Qi Tian is utterly shameless — what scum he is!”

“He himself colluded with foreign races, yet preemptively slung mud at others. He deserves to be hunted down by the Human Race’s Holy Body wielding an Emperor’s weapon.”

“The Ye-surnamed Holy Body did this deliberately — he wants to blood-purge the ancient path and kill everyone involved, clean and complete!”

On this day, the Human Race’s ancient path shook violently. Blood flew and splattered, the clamor reaching the heavens above. Ye Fan’s pursuit of the Human Race’s Great Sage Qi Tian shook the entire expanse of the starry sky, as a great many were cut down and slaughtered.

This truly was a blood purge of the ancient road!