“Forty-thousand-year fire lotus seeds — grown deep in the Earth’s heart flame, rooted in magma, on the verge of transforming into a medicine king. Passing travelers, do not miss this.”
“Demon bloodcrystals — after a peerless demon overlord fell in death, a lifetime’s worth of essence blood transformed into demon crystals within a blessed cave dwelling. Worth a fortune beyond price!”
“The essence of the earth’s dragon veins — divine material rarely seen since ancient times. An encounter like this will not come again in a lifetime.”
The Divine Punishment City was extremely prosperous. All manner of clamor rose and fell without cease. There were no weaklings here — only powerful cultivators. The heavenly materials and earthly treasures being exchanged were naturally extraordinary.
Countless pairs of eyes turned to watch as Ye Fan entered the city, drawing far too much attention. Even as he passed through any given area, that area would fall into a silence so complete one could hear a pin drop.
What had been a bustling market — as their group walked through it, even those untamed wandering cultivators of the cosmos and those powerful beings with deep backing all withdrew and stepped aside, making way.
The people of the Celestial Court were inevitably going to come to blows with the Divine Court’s great army. People did not wish to be dragged into the middle of it. To court trouble at a time like this was pure self-inflicted misfortune.
Ye Fan inspired wariness in people. Even though rumor had it that he was nearly half-crippled, having been forced to retreat from the Imperial Road, and that over the past ten years his condition had been growing worse by the day — the moment he appeared, his every move and gesture still seized the hearts of all.
All along the way, the Black Sovereign’s great eyes nearly bulged out of its head. Among those heavenly materials and earthly treasures being offered for exchange, there were truly divine-grade items — enough to make even it drool.
“Isn’t that the Nine Yang Divine Herb that can only grow on solar stars?” The Black Sovereign nearly let its saliva drip down, frozen before one stall, unable to move.
It was a plant blazing with divine fire — like a mass of primordial immortal light — bearing six leaves that illuminated all four directions and above and below. This was a rare divine herb. Even searching countless solar stars, finding a single specimen would be considered fortunate.
It was an exceptional plant for cultivating the body and refining the yang energy within oneself — able to temper a person into a frame of bronze sinews and iron bones, refining one into an indestructible diamond body.
That such a thing could even be found in this ancient city testified to its prosperity — only a treasure ground frequented by Great Sages who regularly came to exchange divine materials could possibly circulate an object like this.
A pity — the Black Sovereign’s infamy was too great. When the seller saw it was a great black dog, they immediately activated a retreat technique and bolted.
“Woof — why are you running?”
“Any person of discernment knows: absolutely never exchange anything with a black dog or a fat Daoist!”
“Woof — you people are discriminating against this Emperor!” The great black dog, with its broad forehead and large ears, looking ferociously imposing, was about to give chase — only to be pressed down by the neck by Ye Fan, who stopped it from causing trouble.
Many people narrowed their eyes, shooting one beam of sharp brilliance after another, fixing their gaze on Ye Fan’s hand — wanting to see clearly.
Ten years had passed — what changes had come to his body? Every person hoped to determine the true extent of his strength. Quite a few gazes, sharp as a drawn bowstring, shot in from multiple directions.
Yet they were disappointed. Ye Fan’s hand had not exerted any visible force. And the great black dog, as though sensing something, narrowed its copper-bell eyes and swept a glance in all four directions.
On a fractured mountain, a young man asked: “What do you think — has he recovered?”
Beside him stood an elder — hair white as snow, yet with a ruddy complexion, skin as supple as a newborn infant’s, eyes sharp and bright. The elder said: “Hard to say. By all reasoning, he ought to be unable to recover in this life or in this world. He should die amid illness and suffering.”
The young man who appeared youthful had eyes blazing with divine light. His words carried a measure of coldness, a measure of callousness: “If I were to suddenly strike and kill him — what would the consequences be?”
The elder’s expression grew grave at those words: “Yu Mo — do not act recklessly. You would likely fail to kill him.”
“I want very much to test it — to see whether he is weakening day by day, or whether he has recovered somewhat,” the young man said, his eyes growing even more blazing.
The elder cautioned: “Do not act recklessly. Setting aside whether you could succeed — just the act of striking at him carries consequences that ordinary people cannot bear. In those years, he died in great battle against the supreme being in the Forbidden Zone of Life, and now he lives again. Were he to be killed by someone, the people of the world would not accept it.”
“You people — always so calculating, thinking too much. If he’s killed, he’s killed. It becomes established fact — what then? I think after not too many years, everyone will have forgotten him. What are called achievements — they are nothing but fleeting clouds.”
Ye Fan had come. Many people grew restless. Dark currents stirred. Some even contemplated a violent strike. Those harboring hostility were mostly the Divine Court’s leading figures — among them even their youngest grand commander had come, reputed to be one of the three greatest talents of this generation across the past three hundred years.
Clearly, everyone had reservations and hesitations. Even if they could truly kill Ye Fan covertly, none of them dared to act lightly. If exposed, countless people would raise their banners in condemnation.
Whatever might be said — at present, no one dared openly and brazenly proclaim the killing of Ye Fan. This would be to go against the current of the world — to make an enemy of all living beings.
Quite a number of hostile cultivators hoped Ye Fan would perish sooner rather than later. They had no wish to see him live on. They would always feel he was an unpredictable factor, and would rack their brains trying to make that hope a reality.
Outside this great star, along the frontier of the territory under the Divine Court’s rule, the armies were boundless and without limit — nearly flooding this place entirely.
With this many forces deployed to the intersection of the star regions, Ye Fan and the others standing on this star could clearly sense the rolling pressure from the void of space.
A great blood battle seemed to draw ever closer.
Ye Fan and the others stood upon Blood Crow’s back and arrived in outer space. In the distance they could see banners unfurled, arrayed across the cosmos in a vast and imposing formation.
“The Holy Physique Ye Fan has appeared — does he truly think we dare not make a move? Let him not imagine that having battled the supreme being in the Forbidden Zone of Life somehow makes that glory into a protective charm.”
The powerful soldiers and fierce generals were deeply unwilling to submit. In the star region, they fixed cold gazes on this place — yet still had not received an order to fight and did not dare to make a move without authorization.
On the other side, within the territory under the Celestial Court’s rule, the frontier was also dense with banners, murderous intent surging. The powerful beings who had proclaimed kingship in each section had all arrived, each commanding a contingent, gazing across the void — watching with the eyes of a tiger eyeing its prey.
The armies of the Divine Court and the Celestial Court gazed at each other from across a stretch of space, on the verge of striking at any moment.
And the buffer zone at the center was none other than this Divine Punishment City.
According to legend, in the distant reaches of the long past, this had been a star teeming with life — reduced to a site of catastrophe only by a great battle. It is said the two sides involved had been a divine organization and the underworld. That battle had split the heavens and shattered the earth; ghosts wailed and gods howled. Even the near-perfect Great Emperor formation markings had been destroyed.
History repeats itself with astonishing similarity. Now, two great organizations stood opposed once more, about to decide the contest here. With all the Emperor-markings of this star long since gone, this place may well be reduced entirely to cosmic dust.
Ye Fan, the Black Sovereign, Li Tian, Yan Yixi, and the others were unhurried. They returned to the Divine Punishment City, paying no attention to the great army on the opposite side — as though they had no fear at all.
“How truly composed — are you not afraid I might lose my temper and send my great army in to wipe them all out?!” Not long before, the young man who had stood upon the fractured mountain gave a cold snort.
He was the Divine Court’s youngest grand commander — reputed to be one of the three greatest talents of the past three hundred years, a truly remarkable rising talent. His name was Yu Mo. The master of the Divine Court had taken him as a personal disciple.
Beside him, the white-haired elder — the Divine Court’s most senior commander — also furrowed his brow. Ye Fan being this composed — did he truly have something to fall back on?
“Report — the Holy Physique Ye Fan, by invitation, has begun a lecture on the Dao within Divine Punishment City. Many have gone to attend, discussing scriptures and discussing insights into cultivation.”
Divine Court forces were the first to obtain news of the movement in the Divine Punishment City. They came rushing to report it — and immediately the young grand commander Yu Mo’s sword-like brows shot up again and again. Was this an act of contempt toward them?
“Let us go and see — we will enter the Divine Punishment City as well.” A woman’s voice, carrying magnetism — carrying a kind of sensuality — carrying a kind of astonishing allure.
The adopted daughter of the Divine Court’s master had come. Taken as a daughter by one on the verge of achieving the Dao, her status could be said to be supremely illustrious. The daughter of one nearly at the achievement of Dao would inspire reverence wherever she went.
The Divine Punishment City was immense — containing even several mountain peaks within its walls. In one section of it stood five stone mountains side by side, like the Five-Fingered Mountain, a place where cultivators normally gathered to discuss the Dharma and debate the Dao.
And today, only Ye Fan sat upon the lecture platform, expounding on the insights from his cultivation in the past. He had indeed drawn a large crowd.
“A fine Dao resonance — a pity that only this much remains. Can the Holy Physique still fight?” Yu Mo descended. He was very direct.
Midway here, he had already made up his mind: he could not allow Ye Fan to continue in this manner. That others kept invoking Ye Fan’s merits to the various races was something that could not go on indefinitely. Those were all hollow things. If this continued, the Holy Physique’s reputation would only grow larger and larger. Today, even if he did not engage Ye Fan in a life-or-death duel, he had to strip him of his dignity — bring him down from his pedestal, tear away his halo.
Even if people might be displeased with him for it, he would do this. He would topple Ye Fan from his divine altar, letting people see that this was now nothing but an ordinary mortal — that three hundred years ago had merely been a specific period of history, when circumstances happened to allow the Holy Physique Ye Fan to emerge and shine forth some light.
The adopted daughter of the Divine Court’s master frowned, but ultimately said nothing, silently permitting him to act — to push Ye Fan’s divine image off its high platform.
“A young person lacking in respect for elders is one thing — but to be this arrogant on top of it only reveals your own ignorance and shallowness,” the Black Sovereign said without the slightest courtesy, even extending a great paw, preparing to strike.
Yu Mo gave a cold laugh: “History produces outstanding people with each generation, each shining for a span of centuries. Some people have grown old — having already been crippled, they ought to have retired into seclusion. They should not be appearing again.”
He knew the consequences of saying such things. He would likely be condemned by the world. But he was determined to strip Ye Fan of his dignity — to shatter the reality of his being revered by all races, to drag him down from his divine altar.
One time, two times — time and again. Once controversy was generated, with many people opposing the Holy Physique, the so-called divine halo around Ye Fan would grow dim. He would no longer be championed by others in this way.
“I can see you very much wish to battle me — is that so?” Ye Fan sat cross-legged on the lecture platform. His expression was tranquil, without joy or grief, as he looked toward Yu Mo.
“I have that inclination — a pity you are no longer the person you once were. I have heard that over the past ten years your condition has been growing worse, that you no longer have the strength for even a single battle. Disappointing.” Yu Mo descended to the ground.
The crowd erupted in uproar. The people of the Divine Court had clearly come to provoke. Their words carried far too much disrespect — knowing full well the state of Ye Fan’s condition, and yet pressing him in this manner.
“Child — let this Emperor teach you what a true powerhouse is!” The Black Sovereign descended like a demon god, its entire body enveloped in mist and haze, its blood energy surging like a vast ocean.
Ye Fan waved a hand, without letting the Black Sovereign act. “I have indeed had some problems,” he said. “Yet I am still capable of a battle. Come, child — make your move against me.”
When the Black Sovereign heard Ye Fan say these words, its heart gave a violent leap. Was he truly going to take that step? It silently mourned for the Divine Court’s million-strong great army, and sighed for all those who had come here intending to strike him down.
“Ha — I look forward to this endless divine army helping Little Ye Fan break from his cocoon like a butterfly. Best of all would be if a vice-head comes to strike him down at the critical moment!” Li Heishui was also excited, yet buried all of it deep within his heart and revealed nothing.
Yu Mo’s expression was cold and devoid of feeling: “If I injure you, I fear the world’s condemnation. I am not like you — you are enveloped from head to toe in a divine halo, with your statues erected in no small number of places.”
“It doesn’t matter — come at me,” Ye Fan said.
Yu Mo gave a cold laugh: “Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for striking heavy. If you truly can’t hold on, feel free to cry out!”
Setting aside everything else — on the basis of battle record alone, how many people in all these years had dared to show Ye Fan such disrespect? What he had said was excessive beyond measure, and many people were furious.
In the Divine Punishment City, silence fell abruptly. After all this time — was Ye Fan still capable of acting? Rumors had circulated all along that his body seemed to be growing worse and worse.
Ten years ago, he had been able to fight in the imperial gate by relying on the divine order-chains in his blood. But not long ago, someone had leaked a secret: that at present, Ye Fan could no longer even employ the divine order-chains of primordial order.
Bang!
Yu Mo struck — driving his palm directly into Ye Fan’s chest. The Holy Physique did not dodge. Every single person’s heart clenched — they sighed inwardly at the passing of a hero. Had it come to this, that he could not even avoid a blow like this?
A trace of a mocking smile crossed Yu Mo’s face, filled with contempt. He had just opened his mouth to say something — when his expression suddenly changed to one of catastrophic horror. He cried out inwardly in shock: “What is happening?! My Dao fragments!”