“Someone was just crossing their tribulation — a tribulation of such unimaginable scale, like rolling thunder. Could it be that someone has achieved the Dao? It is simply beyond all comprehension!”
“What a pity — it has failed. Only an eternal sorrow remains.”
Throughout all of history, countless brilliant heroes had died at the final and most decisive pass of their lives — just half a step short, yet it was the difference between hell and heaven.
In all the heavens and earth, only a pool of blood remained. The cauldron too had shattered, broken into countless fragments scattered in all directions.
“Master!” Ye Tong let out a cry that tore at the very heart.
Li Tian and Yan Yixi were also struck with violent shock. That blood showed no trace of the divine — dull and without luster, as though the spirit within had been entirely extinguished.
“Elder Brother…” Xiao Nannan’s eyes blurred with tears.
“He’s gone?” Only one Divine Child could manage such indifference, and he murmured it softly — whereupon he received a solid and thorough spanking. Even through the Immortal Source, he very nearly had his backside split open.
“Elder Brother is going to be fine!” Though Xiao Nannan’s eyes brimmed with tears, she kept murmuring the words softly.
The pool of blood stirred and began to tremble, and then it slowly started to glow. Especially within the fragments of the shattered cauldron, a drop of blood appeared — vivid crimson, crystalline and dazzling, radiating an ocean-like surge of vital energy.
“Kill!”
Suddenly, a terrifying divine will came sweeping in. Someone had unleashed a Great Saint weapon, striking at Ye Fan’s drop of true blood — seeking to exterminate him while he was at his most vulnerable.
Boom!
Fortunately, Li Tian and Yan Yixi had been on guard the entire time. Even just moments before, when their hearts had filled with a premonition of disaster — when they had feared something had happened to Ye Fan — they had not relaxed their vigilance.
The Divine Goddess Furnace launched forth, intercepting that weapon, sending a shower of brilliant radiance in all directions, obliterating it entirely.
A drop of vivid crimson blood fell into the golden pool of blood and began to roll and move, constructing a skeleton, reassembling the true body. A human form rapidly took shape, and Ye Fan — who had disappeared — returned to the world.
At the same moment, the cauldron fragments rang out with a trembling resonance. A radiant shower of brilliant light merged and converged into one — and with a resonant clang, like a divine drum from ten thousand ages past struck with force, the sound rang across the stars.
The cauldron was reassembled as well. Strands of primordial aura spread in all directions, and streams of divine principles flowed like liquid. Hammered and tempered a thousand times over, ten thousand times refined — the mother cauldron of all things took form, displaying a supreme and transcendent magnificence.
Then, after a moment of supreme brilliance, it returned to its ancient and unadorned simplicity, hovering above Ye Fan’s head — and became, in truth, a genuine Great Saint weapon.
Upon the cauldron’s walls, the rune patterns had grown even more intricate — patterns born from the heart of primordial chaos, formed naturally of their own accord, carrying with them a sense that the Dao was nearing its completion.
Ye Fan’s true body finally solidified completely. Yet his face was pale, and his body trembled as he nearly toppled.
“Elder Brother!” Xiao Nannan stretched out her little hands and wanted to rush forward. Ye Tong quickly brought her along as Li Tian and the others hurried over.
“I’m alright. Don’t worry.” Ye Fan rubbed Xiao Nannan’s head and wiped the tears from her face. He then looked toward Ye Tong and the others, and let a smile cross his lips — one that put their hearts at ease.
Then he suddenly extended a great hand that spread across the entire sky, reaching directly toward what lay ahead. With a quiet sound, several silhouettes were reduced to dust. The Great Saint’s might was fully on display, unmistakable.
Those who had struck against him just moments ago had only had one of them destroyed by the Divine Goddess Furnace. These remaining few had also been secretly driving that Great Saint weapon, and Ye Fan had sensed them clearly. Now they were obliterated in an instant.
“He… has become a Great Saint!”
Every person in the Ziwei Star Domain was struck dumb. One by one, they went cold from head to foot. Already so terrifying at the Saint King realm — and now having reached this degree of power — who could possibly stand against him?
Ye Fan settled cross-legged in the starry sky and began to recover. This time he had sustained injuries far too severe. His entire body had been beaten to pieces, everything had been reassembled, and he had come within a hair’s breadth of dying completely.
Vital energy came pouring in from all four directions. Ye Tong quickly drew Xiao Nannan back, and Li Tian and Yan Yixi did the same — they could no longer remain in this place.
In the end, an enormous pillar of light materialized from the sun and shone directly upon Ye Fan. From across the eight wildernesses of the cosmos, all manner of origin vital energy came rushing in.
A Great Saint replenishing his vital energy was something tremendously terrifying in and of itself — and especially for someone of Ye Fan’s physique, it was like a bottomless abyss. Heaven and earth rumbled with a deep resonance, and a vast ocean of vital energy poured into his body, causing him to begin radiating light, gradually becoming like a divine wheel suspended in the void.
Ye Fan sat in solemn repose, unmoving, reforging his physical body in this place, tempering his organs and bones — like a divine being incarnate.
The sound of blood flowing was like the rumbling of a great river, thunderous to the ear. One could see that within the golden blood, brilliant crimson was beginning to appear once more, radiating a luminous glow!
Those with the Heavenly Eye could see the changes occurring within Ye Fan’s flesh and blood. Every person was struck dumb — each beat of muscle and bone resounded like a sacred weapon giving voice. Each one sang.
What a body of unimaginable power — so terrifying in its might. A single stream of blood launched outward would be enough to destroy a Saint weapon. And a single punch thrown would leave no Great Saint weapon intact!
For seven full days and seven full nights, Ye Fan did not stir once. He was in transformation — repairing his wounded body, forging his Great Saint form. Within his body came rumbling and thundering — the remnants of the lightning tribulation, tempering his body and meridians.
His primordial spirit also flew out, cradling the small cauldron, likewise reverberating and resonating, growing ever more attuned, the Dao principles burning bright.
At last, everything drew to an end. Ye Fan had crossed the Great Saint Tribulation. From this point onward, he was a true patriarch-level figure — capable of looking down upon an entire star domain.
“Great Saint Ye Fan!” Li Tian cried out in that strange way of his.
A Great Saint at just over two hundred years of age — by any era’s standards, this would be counted as remarkably young. Relative to the lifespan of six or seven thousand years that such beings could expect, he was still in his infancy, having only just begun!
Add to that the extraordinary vitality of the Human Race’s Sacred Body bloodline, which allowed for an even longer life — and the path ahead shone with even greater brilliance.
This road was destined to be full of grand and stormy events to come. Ye Fan’s vital energy withdrew inward, returning to calm — yet in his every gesture, there was now a sense of the Dao that inspired reverence in all living creatures.
Simply reaching this realm was enough to naturally radiate a faint suppressive pressure. Of course, with a little effort and deliberate concealment, one could also disguise it completely, making oneself appear no different from an ordinary mortal — utterly undetectable.
“It truly is time to leave.” Ye Fan spoke softly. And these words meant that parting was at hand.
That day, they drank — more than any of them could say. The jars of wine piled up until they nearly formed a small mountain. Xiao Nannan rested her chin on her hands, sitting obediently to one side, watching them drink with great abandon.
“Brothers for this lifetime!”
“Even the starry sky cannot sever the bond between us brothers. There will be a time to meet again — we will reunite, we will see each other again, we will fight side by side once more!”
Li Tian, Yan Yixi, and Ye Fan drank until the wine fumes filled the air around them — and yet they could not get drunk. The moment of parting had at last arrived.
Ye Fan set off, bringing along Ye Tong, Xiao Nannan, and the Divine Child. He turned to look one final time, then charged toward the outer domain.
“Nannan, we are good friends — friends for life. Remember to come visit me. And when I grow up, I will come find you too.” Xiao Cao wept as she spoke.
“Elder Sister, I will remember you always. I will never forget you — I will come to find you…” Xiao Nannan’s tender voice carried down from high above, growing gradually more distant until it disappeared entirely.
Yi Qingwu was no longer in the Ziwei Star Domain — she had set foot upon the Ancient Star Road. Yet even so, Li Tian and Yan Yixi could still call upon their connections to see Xiao Cao enrolled in that sect.
Out in the outer domain, Ye Fan’s body gave a sudden tremor. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth — golden, tinged with vivid red. Ye Tong’s face changed at once, and he cried out in alarm: “Master, what’s wrong?”
Xiao Nannan had already nervously grabbed the hem of Ye Fan’s robe, her face filled with fear — even a trace of panic.
“It’s nothing — just a Dao injury. I hadn’t expected it to be so tenacious, following me from the Saint King realm all the way through my breakthrough into the Great Saint realm. But it has no great effect on my combat strength.” Ye Fan said calmly.
“Really?” Xiao Nannan looked up at him with worry and concern.
Ye Fan lightly flicked her adorable little nose and said: “Of course it’s true. Don’t worry.”
“Master, do you have a way to treat it?” Ye Tong asked, a quiet unease lingering in his heart.
“You can rest easy — I will treat it thoroughly.” Ye Fan’s voice was unhurried.
“Elder Brother is going to be fine. Nannan will help heal Elder Brother’s injury.” The little one said with great seriousness.
Out in the starry sky, Ye Tong seemed to hesitate. Ye Fan noticed and asked: “What’s wrong?”
“Master, I want to set foot on the ancient path of the greatest champions — to go and temper myself.” Ye Tong said.
Ye Fan nodded. “That’s a good aspiration to have.” He naturally supported his disciple’s decision. It was a perilous path, but one that truly hardened a person.
Ye Tong had gone through far too much in the Beidou Star Domain already. It was time to let him try a road that was different from everything else.
“I’ll see you there.” Ye Fan said.
Along the way, Ye Fan asked Xiao Nannan how she had come to be in the Ziwei Star Domain. Unfortunately, the little one was quite confused — she thought for a long while, yet could not recall.
“The big black dog almost died. Nannan was very sad. And then it seems like she started floating upward, higher and higher and farther and farther away, and after that… she couldn’t remember anymore.” The little one said in a small, soft voice.
Ye Fan had heard about these events from the Great Black Dog. At that time, Xiao Nannan had ascended like an immortal taking flight — rising into the rosy glow, impossible to pursue or follow.
Before the first gate of the Human Race’s path, many new faces were waiting — each one filled with longing for the road ahead. Every single one of them was brimming with vigor, confidence, and spirit.
Just like Ye Fan and his companions had been all those years ago: full of hope and ambition, full of boldness and mettle, full of killing intent as well — but with no way of knowing how many of them would actually make it through alive.
“This will do.” Ye Fan brought his disciple to this place, and would give no further assistance. The path from here onward was one Ye Tong had to walk on his own.
Ye Tong bowed deeply before taking his leave of his master. “I will travel through the Human Race’s Ancient Path and enter another battlefield entirely!” he declared.
He had no wish to retrace Ye Fan’s road — he wanted to fight his way onto other ancient paths, opening up a world of his own, blazing his own Dao.
Ye Fan had no intention of intervening. He let him go and charge ahead freely. A young eagle must have the courage to strike at the heavens — only then could it spread its wings and soar to the clouds.
“Hey, who is that? Someone came leading a little girl, and then left again.” Someone murmured quietly.
And at the city gate, some of the soldiers looked on with a perplexed expression. “He looks familiar.”
“That’s him… the Sacred Body!”
“What?!”
The place erupted into commotion. The Sacred Body of the Human Race was renowned throughout the Ancient Path — his ferocity had shaken all ten directions. Naturally, such a figure drew attention. He had left behind far too many legends.
Alas, in a flash of brilliant light, Ye Fan had already vanished. Standing upon the Divine Light Platform, he brought Xiao Nannan with him and crossed the sea of stars, leaving behind only a mysterious silhouette.
“Elder Brother, where are we going?” Xiao Nannan asked.
“We’ll head back to the Heavenly Village first. Many people there have been missing you very much.” Ye Fan smiled.
“Nannan has been ill and has forgotten some people — but deep in her heart she feels much longing, as though she has been thinking of them.” The little one said in a soft, gentle voice.
Ye Fan reached out and began treating her, placing a finger gently upon her brow. Light blazed brilliantly there, and Xiao Nannan’s entire body shimmered with a luminous glow — like a jade child made of pure light.
Not long after, they returned to the Beidou Star Domain. The moment they drew near, a piece of earthshaking news reached them.
“The path to immortality has opened!”
“After countless ages of waiting, this day has finally come — the immortal road has appeared!”
The people had gone mad!