“The young clan master of the Jiang Family is truly a man of extraordinary genius—he has not yet set foot into that realm, yet he can already contend with an unparalleled great saint.” Someone sighed softly.
“Could he truly be an Emperor’s Son? How else could he tower so supremely above the world?!”
Up in the sky, the two faced each other—as did the two weapons opposing one another, present and yet barely perceptible. Imperial energy swept through both the domain beyond and within, causing the saints below to shudder wave after wave.
In the end, several great saints rose into the air. The ripple of other imperial weapons spread out as well, persuading both parties to stand down—not to resort to open warfare.
“These are all old accounts from years past. So many long ages have elapsed. Let us not speak of such things today—let us discuss only matters concerning the immortal path.” An old great saint stepped in to mediate.
The Huntuo Great Saint also stepped forward, his face bearing an expression of compassion, saying, “Fellow Daoist, please calm your anger. In all things, harmony is paramount.”
My heavens—everyone felt a twinge of discomfort at that. Without him, there would be no calamity; with him, problems arise. Regardless, the name of “the Calamity Saint” still carried considerable weight, and people were wary of him.
“In the past, the Eternal Universe Emperor killed the twin quasi-emperors of my clan—a lineage that produced two emperors, and both died. He showed no mercy whatsoever. This blood feud has not been forgotten to this day!” The elder gnashed his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
“On the path to emperorhood, bodies pile high. Had the Eternal Universe Emperor shown mercy, it would have been he who died. In his lifetime, he slew twelve quasi-emperors in total and survived one blood tribulation after another—he had no choice,” someone lamented.
Before the Eternal Universe Emperor had proven his Dao, he had once stood in the starry sky, facing challenges from all ten directions. Over the course of time, twelve quasi-emperors had come forth to battle him, and all were slain one after another.
That battle directly left ten thousand realms across all the heavens desolate, causing the primordial cosmos to collapse in its wake—it was inscribed in the annals of history, and even now when one thought of it, one shuddered.
No one could have anticipated that the descendants of a quasi-emperor from those days would find their way here—and even more unbelievable, that they had obtained the Human Emperor Seal. This was truly something that defied the heavens.
“Which clan does he come from?” Many people were alarmed and could not help but whisper.
A single lineage producing two quasi-emperors—this was like something out of legend. What kind of supremely powerful clan would this have to be? It was beyond shocking—perhaps unparalleled throughout all of history!
“The Kunlun Legacy Clan!”
Someone softly spoke these four characters. To the ears of some younger generation members, it meant little—but to some of the older great saints, it was like a thunderbolt detonating in their minds.
“What—the Kunlun Legacy Clan? Descendants of near-immortals?” At this point, whether it was the human great saints, the old patriarchs of the ancient imperial clans, or the great saints from beyond the domain—all were visibly shaken.
This place instantly broke out into clamor. When even so many ancient great saints could change countenance, how could it fail to astound? It was clearly not a trivial matter.
Many younger-generation powerful figures all began to speak, seeking guidance from their elders—asking what this was all about, what had happened.
“It cannot really be said to represent the Kunlun Legacy Clan as a whole—this is only one branch of the legacy clan. One must understand that the so-called ‘legacy clan’ does not refer to a single race, but rather represents an entire collective.” Jiang Yifei spoke, his voice unhurried and calm—even facing this many great saints, he remained composed and unruffled.
He was refined and handsome, possessed of divine bones and jade-like skin—elegant and transcendent in every way. One glance was enough to know that he was the kind of figure who stood above the common masses.
“The Kunlun Legacy Clan—as the name implies, they once dwelt upon the immortal mountain of Kunlun, a collective rather than a single race. They aspired to draw near to immortality, and all of them were absurdly powerful, possessed of boundless divine arts. Only an emperor-sovereign could have brought them down… otherwise, who would have dared challenge their authority?” An ancient great saint sighed softly.
Everyone was even more alarmed. An emperor-sovereign was involved—a mention of the most powerful ruler of ten thousand realms throughout the ages instantly called countless things to mind, sending wave upon wave of shock through the crowd.
At this moment, Ye Fan’s ears twitched slightly. Though he had not stepped forward, he had employed the Heavenly Ear technique and was listening with great attention. This was something he had not known before.
“In this world, there are several mountains renowned enough to be called world-shaking—not limited to a single domain, with legends spread across many places in the cosmos, supremely famous…”
Kunlun, Mount Sumeru, the Undying Mountain—their names resounded through the ages!
The Undying Mountain required no explanation—it was not far from here, one of the Northern Dipper’s life-forbidden zones. It rose to fame relatively late, yet some had researched its origins and concluded that its former nature was in fact far more terrifying. It had merely been forgotten by people—it had actually descended upon the Northern Dipper from the depths of the cosmos and bore an immense origin.
Mount Sumeru likewise did not belong to the Northern Dipper. It was moved here by the Great Emperor Amitabha, and its age was extraordinarily ancient—when the Buddhist Emperor retrieved it back then, he had truly spent tremendous effort to cleave it from its original immortal land.
These things differed from mortals’ understanding and did not accord with the knowledge of many cultivators either—they were secret lore. Everyone listened as the ancient great saint spoke, not daring to interrupt.
As for Kunlun, it was even more exceptional. In the past, certain extraordinary clan groups had dwelt there—dwelling close to immortality, holding themselves in high regard and refusing to mingle with the mundane world. That place was far too special, and it was precisely because of this that great catastrophe was invited.
The master of the Ancient Celestial Court personally launched an assault, and who in the world could resist? In a single battle, Kunlun was subjugated and the various clans were exiled—and it was precisely because of this that the Emperor-Sovereign’s immortal cauldron came to be.
In a certain sense, the jade bronze cauldron was born because the Emperor-Sovereign conquered Kunlun.
Ye Fan was stunned. Kunlun now lay on the other shore of the starry sky—in his homeland!
“These clan groups were exiled by the Emperor-Sovereign and came to call themselves the Kunlun Legacy Clan.”
Kunlun was truly exceptional—it was upon seeing Kunlun that the Emperor-Sovereign perceived the hope of achieving immortality. Otherwise, he would not have personally taken action, sweeping across heaven and earth, engulfing all within the cosmos.
“After Kunlun, the Celestial Court seized one ancestral dragon vein after another, descending upon one ancient land after another—even the ancient star of Huoyi was destroyed in this manner,” Ye Fan thought to himself, suddenly recalling a great many things—as though he had seized upon something, yet it remained indistinct.
“After Kunlun, the Emperor-Sovereign acquired much valuable information from them—information about the path to immortality.” Someone spoke.
No wonder they were so extraordinarily powerful. No wonder the old man before them belonged to a clan that had once seen the twin quasi-emperors—an event ancient and unprecedented—a direct consequence of their ancestral bloodline!
“When this matter here is concluded, I will go to the Jiang Family and demand satisfaction. This enmity cannot go unanswered!” The elder roared.
“Come when you are ready. I will fight you,” Jiang Yifei said with composure. He had no desire to explain anything. His bearing was exceptional—like an elegant immortal walking the earth—making it easy for people to feel favorably toward him.
“From where did you obtain this ancient seal?” The Ji Family great saint asked.
The Human Emperor Seal had reappeared in the world—this was a matter of tremendous consequence. And what was most alarming was that it had fallen into the hands of the Kunlun Legacy Clan, and appeared to have accepted them.
“Divine wars erupted, their scope vast—fighting could have reached anywhere. This was found by my clan in the Kunlun ancestral lands.” The elder spoke.
Everyone was taken aback. The so-called “Kunlun ancestral lands” would naturally be the most ancient land that remained after the Emperor-Sovereign had severed it. Could this clan truly still be dwelling there?
“It is said that several imperial weapons were destroyed—was that also a mistake? Are they in fact not destroyed at all, still existing somewhere in the world?” Someone harbored doubts.
Even so, this was no longer their concern. Even those who knew would not disclose such information—the stakes were far too high.
Ye Fan sat calmly in the pavilion, listening to the discussions of the crowd gathered before the Heavenly Palace, having gained a deeper understanding of several divine wars. One of them had been sparked because of Kunlun.
According to accounts, that battle shook heaven and earth, with the supreme beings of the entire starry sky fighting one another and nearly advancing all the way to the land of immortal ascension, drawing close to Kunlun—but for some unknown reason, they had all withdrawn.
Rumor had it that those divine wars may have drawn out the inhabitants of all the great life-forbidden zones to participate, or else they could never have been so devastating!
“The fighting reached the doorstep of the last foundation of the Ancient Celestial Court, but then an immortal bell descended from the heavens. Something strange occurred on a peculiar ancient star, and in the end all the supreme beings withdrew—sealing that place, leaving behind only a demonic sea eye.”
When Ye Fan heard this, his heart lurched. He immediately thought of the ancient star of Huoyi—he had once witnessed certain imprinted scenes that seemed to show ancient sage emperors locked in battle!
He was instantly seized by a chill. Had a battle at the emperor level truly occurred? He would never have mistaken what he had seen—it had been vivid and real at the time. Afterward, the Demon Man and the Demonic Crocodile had both mentioned the North Sea Eye as well.
The great crocodile that had refused to leave and remained there—it was precisely because it wished to enter the Demonic Sea Eye and thereby obtain an immortal treasure.
Ye Fan suddenly felt that many things had all been linked together—yet they were on a scale too vast and sweeping. Kunlun, Huoyi, the Northern Dipper—they had all been connected.
“What is this immortal bell?” Someone asked.
“An immortal artifact, naturally!” A great saint answered.
Today, powerful figures from ten thousand realms across all the heavens had gathered. Great saints from different ancient stellar domains were assembled together, and it was precisely because of this that many fragmentary pieces of ancient lore could be pieced together, gradually growing clearer.
Otherwise, at the very least, the cultivators of the Northern Dipper stellar domain would never have heard of an ancient artifact called the immortal bell.
“The Desolation Pagoda, the Immortal Bell, and the Emperor-Sovereign’s Cauldron—three ancient artifacts said to be the closest things to immortality…”
When Ye Fan heard this, he could not help but be shaken. He thought of the immortal treasure map he carried—its front face depicted ten thousand realms across all the heavens, and he had yet to make sense of it. The back face showed three illustrations. The first depicted the immortal land of Kunlun—ten thousand dragons spewing immortal springs, transforming into an immortal pool like a placenta, nurturing the incomplete jade bronze cauldron.
Now, understanding that three immortal artifacts existed simultaneously, it was only natural that he immediately associated this with the other two illustrations on the back face—which might each contain the true meaning corresponding to the other two artifacts.
Could they point the way to the other two immortal artifacts?
It had to be said—when powerful figures from ten thousand realms gathered and began discussing certain ancient secrets, they could swiftly unravel portions of the truth. Each person understood a little, and once combined, the effect was astounding.
“As to what era the Desolation Pagoda was born in, and how it came to be—tracing back through the long ages, where its origins lie cannot be verified. It is far too ancient. There are even rumors that it was left behind by true immortals when they established an immortal court.”
It was rumored that this ancient artifact had once vibrated a Great Completion Holy Body to death, and was even considered capable of suppressing and slaying a great emperor!
“The Immortal Bell was born in Kunlun—it was the first artifact that immortal mountain ever nurtured. It contains the mysteries of ten thousand heavens and is incomprehensibly terrifying. The Emperor-Sovereign’s jade bronze cauldron was also born in Kunlun, leaving behind fragments of the path to immortality etched upon it. When the Emperor-Sovereign attacked the mountain, the Immortal Bell cleaved through the void and departed—he did not obtain it. Because of this, the jade cauldron came to be nurtured and born into the world…”
When these words were spoken, they were paradigm-shattering—enough to make jaws drop. This was the “secret lore” assembled by great saints from the many stellar domains, piecing together many scattered fragments.
“It is said that when the bell sounds, it can restore a person to a youthful state. When the bell falls silent, it can cause a person to grow old and die in an instant.”
This was but one of the Immortal Bell’s incomparable abilities—something one could not begin to imagine.
Kunlun had nurtured the Immortal Bell at great cost to its own vitality. It was for this reason that the Emperor-Sovereign had traveled to ten thousand realms, seeking out one ancestral vein after another, replenishing Kunlun’s immortal essence.
Ye Fan’s heart surged with waves of emotion. He had learned many secrets, and at this point in time, he could string together no small number of things.
“The divine wars erupted, ancient sage emperors battled… that being so, the Immortal Bell may be sealed on Huoyi—could that be the so-called immortal treasure? What strange events did it manifest back then, that emperor-level powers joined forces to seal it?!” Ye Fan thought to himself.
“The Emperor-Sovereign once left behind an immortal map. According to legend, its back side records everything about the jade bronze cauldron, and also contains partial secrets of the Desolation Pagoda and the Immortal Bell.” A great saint spoke.
Ye Fan’s heart pounded violently. This map had once been held by the Emperor-Sovereign. It had once been held by the Undying Celestial Emperor. It had once been held by the Battle Sage Emperor. It had once been held by the Ruthless Man. In the end, he had retrieved it from the Chaos Dragon’s Lair—and now it was held by him!