Qi Tian ran on, terror gnawing at his heart. As a Great Sage, it had been roughly five thousand years since he had last tasted this flavor — and now he was experiencing it once more. In his youth, he had clashed with rivals and been pursued by a certain heroic figure, driven to the point where neither sky above nor earth below offered refuge. This moment felt like the turn of a cycle.

That time, he had ultimately escaped. Afterward, that heroic figure had been stopped at the threshold of the Great Sage barrier — attempting to break through several times and ultimately failing — and had passed away in the flow of years.

While Qi Tian had succeeded. He had become an awe-inspiring presence throughout a domain, revered by all four quarters, a peerless powerhouse of an entire realm.

Five thousand years had passed, and now his life was once again being tossed about in the wind and rain. Could he escape as he had before? Qi Tian trembled, despair filling his heart — he could not see a single shred of hope.

Qi Tian passed through forty-one cities in succession, crossing the vast expanse of the heavenly dome — for none of these cities lay within the same star domain — and all along the way, sword energy streaked across the sky as lives withered and fell, accompanied by the stench of blood.

This was a slaughter. Ye Fan was cold and merciless — reaping lives as one harvests grain — his face impassive, his killing sword sweeping wherever it pointed, cutting down everything in its path like toppling dried grass and rotten wood, heads rolling, bodies collapsing to either side.

This battle drenched the Human Race’s ancient path in wind and rain of gore. Ye Fan truly had carried out a purge, and for countless years to come, people would change their expressions at the mere mention of his name.

Qi Tian changed his course. Knowing that to continue this way meant certain death, he chose to leave the Human Race’s ancient path and enter another — mysterious and desolate.

This was an ancient domain, utterly barren, where the city walls were not built but carved wholesale from solid stone — yet not a single person dwelled within any of them, only silence and stillness.

Qi Tian pushed deep into this place, passing through eight cities without encountering a single living creature, growing ever more uneasy — but continuing steadfastly in one direction, unwilling to stop.

“This is the ancient path of the Sacred Spirits!”

After passing through fourteen cities, Ji Ziyue and the others finally recognized where they were. They had seen several stone figures carved with ancient divine script bearing words such as “Sacred Spirit.”

“This is their road — that old wretch is scheming something sinister.”

The lineage of the Sacred Spirits was supremely mysterious — a group of existences that were extremely difficult to provoke, every one of them possessed of vast divine power and world-shaking combat strength. Their only weakness was that they were far too rare.

Just as those before them could observe — over a dozen cities, and not a single living being was to be found. These were dead cities, with no welcoming officials and no trial participants.

“That old wretch is wasting his efforts. The Sacred Spirits are scarce — they always go to the ancient paths of other races to compete and prove themselves, for only in that way can they be truly tempered. Otherwise, what is the point of a handful of Sacred Spirits fighting among themselves? Moreover, the more powerful the Sacred Spirit, the more invisible they are — they will not emerge from their stone eggs unless pressed to the extreme.”

In the end, Qi Tian changed direction once again and left this path, because he could see no hope there — it was far too remote and desolate, without a single powerful figure standing guard.

Ye Fan charged forward with unrelenting momentum, maintaining a certain distance behind Qi Tian at all times — herding him onward — while the killing sword hung above his head, ready to descend at any moment.

Just as Pang Bo had said: following the great battle at the Human Race’s final checkpoint, Ye Fan had gradually established a connection with the immortal sword of the Numinous Treasure Celestial Venerable, gradually earning its recognition, and could now wield it from this point forward.

Ahead, a great star shone brilliantly and blazed with intensity — it was a sun star. The moment they entered this star domain, everyone felt a formidable wave of power emanating from it, extraordinarily terrifying.

Ye Fan’s heart jolted. He felt something deeply familiar. Fixing his gaze upon the great star, he stared at it intently, unable to look away. The life force fluctuation originated from within the sun.

“It is the Fire Spirit, Cang Yan!”

He could not forget that terrifying Sacred Spirit — one that had come within a hair’s breadth of reaching the quasi-Emperor level. Long ago, at the Great Moon Slope, the battle with the old madman had been a clash of dragon and tiger, eclipsing sun and moon, causing mountains and rivers to lose their color.

This was undoubtedly the most fearsome of Sacred Spirits — at the very least, in the current starry sky, only a handful of beings could suppress it.

When Qi Tian arrived here and unexpectedly sensed this fluctuation, he was instantly overjoyed, and called out loudly: “Fellow Daoist, save me!”

From within the sun star, two blazing beams of light shot outward — two gazes — fixing upon the Emperor’s weapon in Ye Fan’s hand. The moment Cang Yan sensed that Ye Fan could wield it, those gazes instantly dimmed and withdrew.

Moreover, Cang Yan’s aura vanished entirely — the supremely powerful fluctuation subsided and concealed itself.

Qi Tian shouted desperately and charged directly into the sun star — he could afford no considerations at this juncture. Whether enemy or ally, as long as they were powerful, that was his target to run toward.

Ye Fan pursued into the star in chase. He detected no aura from Cang Yan — the Fire Spirit had clearly sensed the danger and departed, choosing not to do battle. And he did not destroy the star either, but passed straight through it.

“I have a premonition that this will become an absolutely formidable enemy in time. In the battle at Great Moon Slope long ago — the scripture left by the Sacred Spirit Ancestral Patriarch, capable of completing a fractured Sacred Spirit — most likely fell into Cang Yan’s hands.” Ye Fan glanced back one final time at this place, then departed.

Qi Tian plunged into the ancient domain of the Radiant Clan, for that clan possessed an Emperor’s weapon — the Refining Spirit Cauldron.

“Let this end here,” Ye Fan said. Qi Tian had lost his value — the purge of his confederates along the Human Race’s ancient path was complete, and there was no need to continue.

Now, Qi Tian was trying to pull powerful foreign race enemies down upon him, hoping to use the might of an Emperor’s weapon to eliminate him.

Pfft — a head rolled free. Qi Tian surged forward for tens of thousands of zhang, and only then did his headless body explode apart, crimson droplets scattering all around. As for the head, its face was written with terror, unwillingness, and despair — and at last, inch by inch, it dissolved into a mist of blood.

“This time, I ultimately did not escape…” For reasons unknown, his thoughts drifted again to that heroic figure from five thousand years ago. This time, he had not gotten away.

Whoosh!

The dark crimson immortal sword lit up, drawing Qi Tian’s last thread of Primordial Spirit and primary consciousness toward it, branding it into the patterns on the blade’s body and refining it into primordial killing energy.

“Ah — no!” Qi Tian would sooner have died outright than endure this outcome. But in the end, his wish went unfulfilled. His Primordial Spirit dissolved into light, sank into the blade’s body, and became a wisp of energy.

Ye Fan struck the sword, releasing the Silver Blood Great Sage’s Primordial Spirit — which had not yet fully dispersed — and sought to examine its fundamental origin. He felt that this race’s blood possessed extraordinarily vigorous divine power, surpassing all other races, and there was something strangely familiar about it.

“An ancient clan — one of the lineage of the Silver Blood Twin Emperors!”

Ye Fan was stunned — it truly was this clan. The Silver Blood Twin Emperors had been taught and guided by the Black Emperor, and their ancestral origins were astonishing. The clan was known as Emperors Without Crown. Though no ancient Emperor had ever emerged from their line, they stood absolutely at the pinnacle — producing Great Sages in every generation, never once broken — and this could only be described as a miracle.

According to legend, when this clan had been at its most powerful, they entered the Divine Ruins — and the entire clan was said to have been annihilated. Yet it seemed that was not the full truth: they still existed somewhere in the starry sky.

“Perhaps only the northern branch in the Northern Dipper was destroyed. The ancestral grounds in the starry sky — the Silver Blood lineage — still endure, only they were later sealed by the Ruthless One.”

The strength of this clan was beyond question. Otherwise, why would the Ruthless One’s seal have been necessary? That fact alone said everything.

Petals drifted and fell, a delicate fragrance permeating the air — yet every petal was threaded with veins of blood, scattering through the starry sky. Within the serene elegance, there was the scent of blood.

This was the Human Race’s final checkpoint — and now it lay in ruins, reduced to rubble, with nothing left of what had once been there. It had been shattered by Ye Fan’s furious sword, becoming a historical relic.

At this moment, Ye Fan returned. Many onlookers had gathered around as well — when the city had been destroyed, they had been saved, and they had never dispersed.

Ye Fan seized a meteorite, reached up and carved it with his hands, fashioning it into a new ancient city, laying down formation patterns, and setting it in place here once more. Then he turned and departed.

This was a symbolic act — proof that he had come, that he had repaired the ancient city, and that he had not truly rebelled against the Human Race’s ancient path.

The Celestial Ridgepole Daoist swiftly recorded this moment, inscribing a line of words upon a jade tablet.

The Human Race’s ancient path seethed with excitement. In the days that followed, everyone spoke of it — Ye Fan’s furious cleaving of the final city and his blood purge of the ancient path had shaken the entire world to its core.

Ye Fan paid a visit to the Liu Family. With a single sword stroke, the heads of several key figures fell to the ground — and he then gave chase, eliminating the three ringleaders who had fled elsewhere.

This was a devastating blow to the Liu Family. Though Ye Fan did not kill indiscriminately and spared the bloodline of the clan’s other members, they nonetheless never recovered from this — and began a steady decline into obscurity.

“Qi Tian, in a disgraceful betrayal of his role as a guardian, colluded with the Liu Family to ally with foreign races, persecuted the elites of the Human Race, and sowed chaos upon the ancient path. He has now been brought to justice and met the end he deserved…”

Several guardians of the Human Race appeared simultaneously, publicly announcing Qi Tian’s crimes. The proclamation spread throughout the ancient path, stirring a tremendous uproar across every ancient city.

Qi Tian’s lineage was also uprooted. In the days that followed, the Human Race’s ancient path was filled with turbulence and clamor.

Ye Fan’s name resounded throughout the starry sky — on this path, he had no rivals left.

Even years later, this path still carried his name in its legends. Whether it was the native inhabitants or the trial participants who came afterward, all would change their expressions at the mere mention of him. His combat achievements shook every domain.

The final city, after half a year, rose again to magnificent grandeur. Several of the Human Race’s guardians appeared, rebuilding and laying down formation patterns according to the ancient city’s original blueprints.

Ye Fan came again — naturally causing another great stir.

By now, his name had spread in all four directions, even reaching other ancient domains far away. To have slain four Great Sages in a single day — such an achievement was enough to shake the entire cosmos.

Though half a year had passed, the events of that day remained vivid in everyone’s memory. When they saw Ye Fan arrive again, every heart pounded.

Such a world-shaking madman — since ancient times, those of his kind had either been struck down to ash, or had risen to become Great Emperors. Not a single one had been mediocre. As for this man — as a Holy Body, how far could he smile with triumph?

The Celestial Ridgepole Daoist reappeared and began recording once more.

“Young friend has come again…” the words of the Human Race’s Great Sage left people at a loss for words.

Though the several Great Sages had already made a public announcement, the fact that Ye Fan had blood-purged the ancient path was undeniably true. Wherever he appeared, people inevitably showed a change in expression.

“I have come to ask how to enter the final and only true road,” Ye Fan stated his purpose directly. One who had consecutively slain four Great Sages had earned the right to know where the path ahead led.

He departed. The trial participants who came after him — hero after hero — were all left in awe. Every time someone arrived before the final city, they could not help but speak of the past, and all of it was his “traces” and “glories.”

Ye Fan had shaken the Human Race’s ancient path with his might, and had at last reached the very end of the road. A brilliant chapter closed, leaving behind endless legend.

A fish leaps upward, swimming against the waterfall, scaling the heights of peaks — it was a transcendence. Using the Human Race’s ancient path as a stepping stone, Ye Fan and his companions entered the ultimate realm.

A magnificent pass towered before them, wreathed in primordial chaos energy — the marks of time unable to erase its presence.

The pass had no name, yet the names of the Human Emperor, Amitabha Buddha, the Ruthless One, Void, Wushi, the Azure Emperor, and others were inscribed upon pillar after pillar, and that alone said everything.