“Bang!”

Ye Fan shot upward into the sky, swinging his golden fist and bringing it crashing down, shattering nearly every bone in Ji Ren’s chest.

Yet this old steward was unfathomably formidable, his life force without equal — still he showed no signs of dying, instead letting out low, rumbling roars and snarls.

Ye Fan pressed his advantage, descending in pursuit. He unleashed the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada at its absolute limit, each step landing squarely on Ji Ren’s body, every impact punctuated by the sharp crack of breaking bones.

Eight steps completed — Ji Ren’s bones had shattered in dozens of places across his entire body, his form nearly unrecognizable. At the same time, he had crashed to the ground.

Ye Fan’s final fist came down with crushing force. Ji Ren was sent flying as though he were a stone, tumbling to the ground like a dead dog.

The methods were nearly brutal, yet Ye Fan felt no mercy. In this world where the strong prey upon the weak, hesitation meant death. Ji Ren had been dispatched to carry out an execution — cold, composed from beginning to end, utterly indifferent to the act of killing him, without the slightest trace of guilt.

Therefore, Ye Fan felt no emotional wavering. Kill, and be done with it. No hesitation.

“Ahhh…” Ji Ren was still snarling, still not dead.

Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart. The opponent was too powerful — an ordinary cultivator would have long since lost all signs of life.

He could not discern Ji Ren’s cultivation realm; the man was profoundly inscrutable. Unwilling to allow any unexpected outcome, Ye Fan directly summoned the golden scripture.

The carrier of the Dao scripture — that page of golden paper — transformed into a dazzling streak of golden radiance and surged forward, brilliant and razor-sharp, slicing through the void itself until it blurred, as though it would tear space apart.

This page of the Dao scripture was not a true weapon, yet it was more resilient than the purple-bronze Eight Trigrams Mirror of the Jiang Family elder. It could be submerged within the Bitter Sea.

The purple-bronze Eight Trigrams Mirror, the Heaven-Ensnaring Parasol, and the Jade Purification Vase, however, could not do the same — they had been blocked above the Bitter Sea by the green copper block. In a certain sense, this golden page was not a weapon, yet it surpassed weapons.

“Slice!”

The golden blade was blindingly radiant. That thin page of golden paper rivaled the sharpest of weapons — a single slash, and it was done.

“Splat!”

Ji Ren’s head was severed from his neck. Blood erupted from his torso like a crimson fountain, spraying outward nearly two meters, while the severed head flew several meters away.

Such was the cruel world of cultivators — once battle was joined, it was either be killed or kill another. There was no mercy to speak of. Ye Fan let out a quiet sigh.

But in that moment, he discovered something that startled him: the headless body was still rolling, and the severed head was still trembling.

Even in this condition, Ji Ren was still alive. It sent a chill down Ye Fan’s spine. He summoned the golden scripture once more — if someone this terrifying managed to pull through, the mere thought of it was horrifying.

“Splat!”

The golden scripture pierced into Ji Ren’s Sea of Wheels, directly severing the source of his divine power and shattering that secret realm. No matter how powerful his opponent, Ye Fan no longer feared him.

“Slice!”

Ye Fan did not stop there. He summoned the golden scripture again, sweeping it toward that still-trembling head in the distance. Destroy it, and Ji Ren would never again be able to stir up any storms.

“Hum!”

But then, something astonishing occurred. From between the strands of Ji Ren’s nearly-fallen-out hair, a cascade of five-colored radiance burst forth — and in an instant, it blocked the golden scripture from outside.

This was a surge of formidable divine power that had sealed the surrounding space, repelling the golden scripture completely.

Within the brilliant five-colored luminescence, a slender bone hairpin radiated a hazy and mysterious aura. It was the hairpin that had vibrated with its mystical power, sending it flowing toward Ji Ren’s severed head.

At the same time, the bone hairpin shattered, and from within it burst a beam of light. The silhouette of Ji Hui materialized and demanded sharply: “What has happened?”

Ye Fan’s scalp immediately went numb. Though he would have liked nothing more than to obliterate that wretched old woman on the spot, he was well aware of the gap between them — this venerable elder of the Ji Family was like a colossus compared to him.

“It’s you…” Ji Hui’s silhouette materialized, clearly shocked. She said, “How could Ji Ren possibly have been defeated by you — to the point of being at death’s very threshold? The bone hairpin I gave him before he set out has even shattered. This… how can this be?!”

Ji Hui, the venerable elder of the Ji Family — that old woman’s face was filled with utter disbelief. To her, this was too extraordinary, as though she had just heard that a lion had been bitten to death by an ant.

Ye Fan quickly steadied himself. Without a single word, he directly summoned the golden scripture and slashed it toward Ji Hui. He knew this was not the true venerable elder of the Ji Family — merely a thread of a spiritual imprint. He had to act quickly and destroy it, otherwise that severed head might recover.

“This has shaken me to my core… it overturns all reason!” Ji Hui was still in a state of shock when the golden scripture swept through and cleaved her apart.

Yet Ji Hui was unharmed. She rapidly reassembled and said coldly, “Boy, you are still far too green. You cannot even distinguish a spiritual imprint, and yet you think you can destroy me? You cannot.” Then she bellowed, “Ji Ren, wake up at once!”

“Slice!”

From the center of Ye Fan’s brow, that pool of golden light reappeared. A small golden sword shot out — formed entirely from his powerful divine sense made manifest — and in an instant slashed toward Ji Hui.

Now that he understood his opponent’s nature, Ye Fan’s heart settled at once. Using his formidable divine sense to destroy a spiritual imprint was the most fitting approach.

“Ahhh…” The apparition of Ji Hui cried out in furious shock, thrashing left and right. Everything had exceeded her expectations — Ye Fan’s divine sense was so powerful it was entirely incompatible with his cultivation realm.

“Crackle!”

Like a red-hot iron rod plunged into ice and snow, melting a great swath through it — Ji Hui’s imprint blurred in an instant, nearly obliterated.

Against the true venerable elder of the Ji Family, Ye Fan would have had no chance whatsoever. After all, he had only been cultivating for a little over three years. But this was merely Ji Hui’s imprint, not her true body — and so he unleashed carnage without restraint.

“You wretched old hag — if I can’t kill your true body, do you think I can’t kill your spiritual imprint?!”

Ye Fan was filled with deep revulsion toward this vicious old woman. She had repaid his kindness with enmity and actually sought to destroy both his body and soul. Right now, she truly made for a supremely satisfying outlet for his rage.

“You…” Ji Hui erupted in fury at being cursed, but she also knew the terrifying nature of his divine sense. She shot skyward, attempting to flee.

Ye Fan could not possibly give her that chance. If this thread of imprint returned to her true body, escaping her in the future would become nearly impossible — she would surely torment him in every way imaginable.

“Old hag, aren’t you fond of chasing people down to kill them?” Ye Fan surged after her and roared: “Today I’ll show you what it means to be hunted down!”

“Splat!”

From within the golden pool, the divine sense made manifest struck out and shattered Ji Hui’s arm in an instant.

“Splat!”

The divine sense celestial sword cleaved straight down, severing Ji Hui’s head.

“You dare insult me, you little—”

“Your grandfather’s insult, you were already trying to kill me…” Ye Fan charged forward, swinging his golden palm and slapping it down, saying: “Let me pat that dog-head of yours!”

“Bang!”

The golden palm smacked Ji Hui square on the head. She was instantly dispersed, but quickly reconstituted herself. Aside from attacks of divine sense, other forces had great difficulty destroying her.

“You…”

Ji Hui was incensed beyond measure. How many years had it been since anyone had subjected a venerable elder of the Ji Family to such humiliation?

“Slice!”

From Ye Fan’s brow, golden divine sense surged forth once more, piercing through Ji Hui’s head. Then divine light scattered in all directions, instantly engulfing that space.

He had no time to waste — first because he could not afford any mishaps, and second because below him was a half-dead Ji Ren still to be dealt with.

“Ahhh…”

Ji Hui’s thread of imprint let out one final howl of unwilling rage, then shattered on the spot, dissolving like snowflakes, vanishing utterly from the world.

Ye Fan plunged downward and summoned the golden scripture, slashing at Ji Ren once more.

In that moment, the severed head — nourished by that mysterious radiance — had grown calm. Its eyes opened, consciousness restored, the gaze as cold and bone-chilling as a blade, now aimed at Ye Fan.

“You stubborn old thing, what a tenacious life you cling to…”

Ye Fan drove the golden Dao scripture forward in a killing blow. The surrounding space was sealed — the only path out was through the enemy ahead.

The divine power contained within Ji Hui’s imprint had been transferred entirely to Ji Ren, bringing him to full wakefulness. The severed head suddenly shot upward and veered away toward the distance.

“Slice!”

Ye Fan was not afraid of it causing trouble. Without chasing the head, he struck directly at the headless body.

But then, something astonishing happened. From within that shattered, boneless flesh, five silhouettes suddenly burst forth, standing side by side, guarding in front of the body.

The first figure was clad in black iron armor from head to toe, wielding a massive scythe. Aside from the cold gleam of the blade, everything about him was black as ink — this figure stood there like a god of death.

The second figure wore crimson armor, red as dripping blood, as though flames were burning around him, holding a blood-colored longsaber that radiated a sinister, vibrant light.

The third figure was garbed in azure armor that shimmered like the scales of a green dragon, gripping a wolf-fang war club, exuding a dense, compressed presence.

…

These five figures stood like five malevolent divine beings, radiating a dark and sinister aura, each with mysterious power circulating within them.

“The Dao Palace Secret Realm!”

Ye Fan instantly understood, and simultaneously drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

It was said that cultivators who had reached the Dao Palace Secret Realm could cultivate five divine manifestations, possessing all manner of unfathomable and extraordinary abilities. Once their cultivation reached completion, strange phenomena would begin to occur.

Although he had shattered Ji Ren’s Sea of Wheels, the man’s Dao Palace remained intact — and now these five sinister divine beings had leaped out.

The one fortunate thing was that the severed head could not rejoin the body, making it impossible to properly control these five divine manifestations.

“The Dao Palace Secret Realm is truly too mysterious — this manifestation is only the tip of the iceberg.” Ye Fan mused inwardly.

There was no retreating now — only forward.

Ye Fan summoned the golden scripture, simultaneously circulating the Dao scripture’s profound techniques, stirring the All-Things Mother Qi within his body, and prepared for a desperate battle.

“Slice!”

Yet to his surprise, the five sinister divine beings were not as formidable as he had imagined. A flash of golden light — and one of their arms was severed.

From the distance came Ji Ren’s furious roar, filled with despair and unwillingness.

“Ha ha…” Ye Fan laughed and said: “I understand now — your head cannot return to your body, so they cannot unleash their full power. What is there to fear?!”

Ye Fan charged forward boldly, swinging his golden fists — “Bang!” — and smashed one of the sinister divine beings to pieces. It dissolved into a magnificent cascade of radiance and dissipated.

Ji Ren howled in fury. Though he had no body, the howling scream of his divine sense was even more terrifying.

“Whoosh!”

The heavens and earth briefly dimmed. A massive violet net materialized in the sky and descended, spreading downward like a canopy.

“The Great Net of Heaven!” Ye Fan’s heart lurched — it was this very net that had imprisoned him, preventing his escape.

To his surprise, the Great Net of Heaven did not move toward him. Instead, it enveloped the severed head and surged toward the distance. The remaining four sinister divine beings transformed into four beams of light and also shot skyward.

“This undying old wretch…” Ye Fan surged after them. Pushing to the absolute limit of his reserves, he completely destroyed the headless corpse, then swept his remnant form of the Void Great Seal Technique outward, slapping it toward the sky.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”

Black palms filled the sky, blotting out heaven and earth, shattering all four sinister divine beings entirely. He dared not delay a moment — he swept toward the distance in pursuit of Ji Ren.

Without a body, the head’s divine power was finite. Both the Sea of Wheels and the Dao Palace Secret Realm had been destroyed, leaving Ji Ren with no reserves to draw upon. The Great Net of Heaven could no longer protect him, and his speed gradually began to slow.

Ye Fan had cultivated the supreme secret art of the Mad Elder. In the blink of an eye, he had caught up. He knew Ji Ren absolutely could not be allowed to escape — the consequences would be endless.

“Undying wretch, you have no source of divine power, no five great divine manifestations — how do you intend to keep running?”

Ye Fan quietly congratulated himself for having severed the head first. If the man had remained whole, he would not have had a single chance.

Yet it could not truly be called luck — he had created this outcome himself. Striking at the enemy’s divine sense had succeeded, and that had sealed this result from the beginning.

“Bang!”

Ye Fan swung his palm and struck out. The violet light flashed — the Great Net of Heaven dissolved Ye Fan’s attack, temporarily keeping the head unharmed.

But a head was still just a head. Its divine power was limited. After so much continuous flight, it was nearly exhausted, utterly unable to supply energy to the Great Net of Heaven, with no further means of controlling it.

No matter how powerful a treasure, it required divine power to drive and control it. Without that, it was useless.

“Old fellow, thank you for delivering a treasure to me!”

“Bang!”

With Ye Fan’s final strike, Ji Ren’s head was finally shattered to pieces. The violet net drifted downward, and he caught it in his hands.

“Truly a priceless treasure!”

He could sense Ji Hui’s aura upon it — it must certainly have been bestowed by Ji Hui, the venerable elder of the Ji Family. The net’s threads were woven as though from intertwined starlight, crystalline and resplendent.

“Encompassing heaven and earth — truly a divine artifact!”

Ye Fan could feel that the Great Net of Heaven was far more powerful than the purple-bronze Eight Trigrams Mirror and the Heaven-Ensnaring Parasol that had been destroyed. Dao markings shimmered faintly upon its surface, profoundly mysterious, as though capable of ensnaring the sun, moon, and stars themselves.

He did not linger. After erasing all traces of himself from the area, he departed with the speed of a lightning bolt, vanishing in an instant. He needed to keep a low profile — if the venerable elders of the Ji Family learned of this, their wrath would be boundless, and they would not let him go.