“You… are you truly Ye Fan?” This powerhouse had fallen into a pool of blood, his body nearly destroyed. He tried several times to push himself up, but failed each time. His face was filled with shock and terror.
This was a person who should not exist — how had he returned to this world? If word of this got out, it would shake the heavens, sending tremors through the entire starfield!
In days past, the Human Race’s Sacred Physique fighting a supreme to the last — that was known by all. In the end, he had bled beyond the reaches of the universe and never returned. Every person believed he could never still be alive. That he had died in battle was the consensus of all.
“It’s just a name. What’s worth impersonating?” Ye Fan’s face was impassive. Though his eyes lacked their former luster, there was a steadfastness in them that made one feel they were gazing into a boundless sea.
The young powerhouse of the Yao Guang lineage gave a shudder that ran from head to toe, as though his very soul were trembling. In years past he had never faced Ye Fan directly, but he had seen his stone statue — and the bearing it preserved. Comparing that to the man now before him, he was certain this person was not lying. They were the same individual.
The ground trembled. The scent of earth and grass surged into his nostrils. He watched Ye Fan advance step by step, that powerful, lean body bearing the weight of mountains, and at such close range, the sense of suffocation it caused left him unable to breathe.
“Ye… Senior.” The word that left this young man’s mouth changed at the last instant, and the flash of shock and fear in his eyes vanished as he said: “I did not expect you to still be in the world of the living, Senior. I believe many people would want to hear this news.”
“Perhaps,” Ye Fan said with complete indifference, neither pleased nor sad. “And there are those who would not want to hear it.”
“How could that be? You fought the supreme to the utmost, waging war across the stars — the world should revere you. The moment you appear, it will cause a great sensation, and countless people will come to pay their respects,” the young powerhouse of the Yao Guang lineage said.
Ye Fan neither agreed nor disagreed. “How did the dark chaos end?”
He began asking about matters of the past. These were the things he truly cared about.
“It was suppressed by a woman Emperor—”
Suddenly, at this point, the young powerhouse’s body blazed with light and rapidly grew transparent. That was a powerful burst of arcane power — he had a secret artifact on him that had allowed him to retain a portion of his cultivated attainment.
His body erupted with world-shaking divine power. He was, after all, a Great Sage-level powerhouse, and of course he could tear the sky open. But he was not moving to attack Ye Fan — for he had already experienced Ye Fan’s Heavenly Emperor Fist. That was an unsurpassed battle technique that had dominated an entire generation of paragons, making them unable to hold their heads up. He had just personally tasted it and was certain Ye Fan was beyond him. What he wanted now was to flee — to carry the staggering news that the Human Race’s Sacred Physique was still alive back to his sect, so they could make decisions and launch a major undertaking.
Yet even temporarily restored to his power, his surging aura reaching the sky, nothing changed. Ye Fan took a single step forward. No light surrounded him, no waves of energy — just one foot came down, crushing that blazing halo to pieces, detonating this entire spot.
BOOM!
Ye Fan put one foot forward, directly shattering the sky, and sent him flying — unable to escape. And when the young man surged forward with his supreme artifact in a final desperate bid to fight to the death, blood erupted in all directions. He felt everything go dark before his eyes, and then forever lost all sensation — because a single foot had stamped him into pulp, extinguishing his life forever.
It was that simple. From beginning to end, Ye Fan wore no expression and did not glance down even once. He stepped forward into the depths of the battlefield, leaving behind only a steady and unyielding silhouette.
Within the Immortal Ascension Battlefield, the rain of light fell, like one crystalline petal after another drifting down — or as though someone were shedding their mortal shell and ascending to immortality. Dazzling. Beautiful.
Ye Fan moved through it like a lone wolf, silent and solitary. Having once fought an ancient supreme to the last — fighting to the very edge of death — a terrifying quality had naturally seeped into him from that ordeal.
When he walked alone in cold silence, it radiated outward naturally. Even without any surge of divine power, it still made hearts tremble — as a hundred beasts before the king of the wilderness could not help but want to give way and avoid him.
Even stripped of his Dao-fragments, Ye Fan was still without fear. Cold and solitary, he pressed forward, unafraid of whatever anyone might try to bring to him.
Many years had passed. He hoped to find old companions here — he longed to be reunited with them — but this domain was too vast, wider even than the Eastern Desolate of old, and now unable to traverse the void, he could only search slowly.
A blood crow dove from high above, soundlessly. Only when it was almost upon him did it bare its vicious talons, tearing toward Ye Fan’s skull. Its enormous avian body stretched dozens of zhang in length; its blood-energy surged explosively, and in that instant, dark clouds pressed down from above, wild winds roared, yin gales howled — as though countless aggrieved souls were wailing. This was a Great Sage-level blood crow, having clawed its way here through a road of blood and bone. Its sinews and bones were innately powerful; its blood-crimson feathers rang like metal on metal, casting a vast shadow below.
Ye Fan turned sideways. A single step carried him dozens of zhang to the side, evading the strike. He turned back coldly, fixed his gaze on the blood crow, and showed not a flicker of expression. In that instant, the blood crow’s entire plumage stood on end. It felt as though it had become the prey — locked onto by another.
BOOM!
Its final strike: talons tearing open the sky, leaving the area in ruin. Then it spread its wings, about to shoot straight upward.
But a silhouette moved too fast — faster even than its own diving strike — and sprang into the air. The person’s two hands reached out, leaving the blood crow with nowhere to escape. It was seized directly.
The blood crow screeched, shaking the mountain ranges, a baleful cry of death carrying a terrifying penetrating force that cracked several peaks and made some mountains crumble. It wanted to break free from this terrifying human. Between its razor talons, blood-light surged brilliantly — enough to make even a peak Great Sage bleed and burst apart.
Yet the human did not move an inch. Instead, the person held firm, gripping its two claws, and the hands were exerting force, making the blood crow feel its bones snapping, blood spurting — and then an irresistible great force surged upward from below, a force that threatened to split it apart from below!
This force was terrifying beyond measure, spreading and vibrating upward. The person was gripping its legs and threatening to cleave it in two while it still lived — ferociously enough to make it go cold.
“No!”
The blood crow had cultivated for five or six hundred years, dominating several star domains without finding a match. It had never felt a threat of death like this. For the first time, it felt such terror.
This human looked perfectly ordinary, but within that body — not particularly massive, yet lean and imposing — was hidden a force like a volcano, like an ocean. To be seized by him was like being picked up like a baby chick.
THUD!
Ye Fan released his grip — but his arm hooked around one of the blood crow’s wings, flipped up onto its back, and sat cross-legged there, as steady and immovable as a boulder.
The blood crow was incensed. It was a Great Sage, powerful and proud — otherwise it would not have had the standing to fight its way here. And yet it was being treated like this. Its wings bristled with killing intent. All these long years, who had ever dared to sit on its back? It wanted nothing more than to spread its wings immediately, use its matchless power to tear this person apart and devour them on the spot.
Yet reason forced it to calm itself. Though its fury made every feather tremble, it forced itself to suppress the impulse.
“Northwest,” Ye Fan said.
The blood crow was outraged. To be used as a mount — and the tone was so level, without a trace of agitation, as though this were the most natural thing in the world — which infuriated it even further.
It shot straight into the sky, every feather standing on end, as though it were about to ignite. The force fluctuations across its body were terrifying, its sinews and bones pulsing with energy — absolutely capable of destroying any Great Sage artifact.
Yet this person was too powerful, truly impossible to dislodge. No matter how violent the struggle, the person merely brought one palm down, and it sent the blood crow’s entire body cracking and spitting blood.
Moreover, this person was completely cold — as though doing something utterly mundane, from beginning to end not even furrowing a brow. This sensation was deeply unsettling. It made the blood crow feel as though it were facing an ancient supreme, not an equal opponent, for the other’s bearing said exactly that.
The person showed absolutely no agitation whatsoever, and brought another palm down directly, nearly obliterating the blood crow in midair. Then from the person’s lips came four words again: “Northwest.”
The blood crow’s heart seized with fear. It trembled involuntarily. It understood now — if it showed any further hostility or desire to kill this person, it would be shattered in cold blood, reduced to a cloud of bloody mist.
It had no idea why, but it felt as though it were facing a supreme demon lord. Its own body had betrayed its heart. It could not stop itself from convulsing — seized with terror.
“Who… exactly are you?!” It desperately wanted to know this person’s identity. Among those who had made it to the threshold of the First Emperor’s Gate, it knew almost all of them — yet it knew nothing of someone this terrifying.
“Ye Fan,” said the young man on its back, calm as a boulder, immovable.
The blood crow’s body shook. Every feather stood upright. Its voice trembled: “Which… Ye Fan?”
“The one you’re thinking of,” said the young man on its back, unhurried.
“What — you’re… the Human Race’s Sacred Physique — alive?!” In that instant, the blood crow trembled from head to tail, its very bones threatening to come apart, rattling and clattering, unable to believe any of this. Its heart was flooded with shock.
It finally understood why this person was so perfectly calm and composed — looking upon even a Great Sage-level divine bird as something utterly ordinary. Of course it was this person, who had fought ancient supremes — naturally he would be like this.
That was the aura of one who had fought to the edge of death against a supreme and survived — like the king of beasts in a great forest. Here in this battlefield, even if one’s power was not the greatest, the experience and courage were beyond anyone else’s reach.
Since it was this person, no other reason was needed. That was enough. To have this bearing — to look down upon all rivals — was entirely fitting, for this was Ye Fan.
“You… survived. You are still in the world of the living.” At these words, the blood crow could say no more. The news was simply too staggering — world-overturning. If it spread, it could shake the entire battlefield to its foundations.
“Northwest,” Ye Fan said again.
“Understood!” The next instant, the blood crow spread its wings — like a bolt of blood-red lightning across the sky — looking down upon mountains and rivers, everything laid out below in a single glance.
It knew Ye Fan was seeking old companions, and so it headed toward regions where pillars of light had once appeared, cutting through zone after zone of stillness.
Across that vast expanse of land, on one great mountain peak after another, terrifying silhouettes stood like pillars. Their gazes became beams of light that pierced the clouds, fixed on the blood crow streaking across the sky.
“Who is that person, seated cross-legged atop a Great Sage-level fierce bird? Why does his silhouette look… somewhat familiar?”
“Why do I feel a trembling sensation? Separated by ten thousand li of sky, yet still this — that person… makes me feel as though I know him.”
“Could it be him? Impossible. Fighting an ancient supreme — he was long buried in the most terrible dark chaos, and should not exist in this world any longer.”
“Inconceivable. In a daze, I felt as though I’d seen the most terrifying enemy of my life return. Is it really him? Come back to this world once more?”
“Is it the one who was unrivaled among his entire generation — that person? This can’t be real. He and the ancient supreme were entombed together in the universe, his blood staining the stars. How can he still appear?!”
In that moment, the Immortal Ascension Battlefield trembled — as though a hurricane were rolling across the land, shaking mountains and rivers. Others noticed nothing — but that first group of supremely powerful figures from ages past all felt a terrifying jolt of alarm, simultaneously lifting their gaze to the heavens!