A person who had been received in audience by the Azure Emperor!

What a world-shaking thing to be. He was veritably a living chronicle of history — how many years had he existed in this world? It was beyond all belief. Utterly defying heaven.

This was not someone sealed away within a divine source — this was someone who had gone on living, continuously, right through to the present. A supreme ancient being of the Divine Clan who had survived through the ages.

The Azure Emperor had passed away over ten thousand years ago — yet this man had knelt before him in audience. That meant, at minimum, he had to be over ten thousand years old by now. Truly terrifying.

And at that time, ordinary people could not have been granted an audience with the Azure Emperor. One would need to have been of supremely elevated standing — with cultivation transcending the mortal and entering the sacred, which required years of accumulation to achieve.

This was a true living fossil!

“The Demon Emperor’s bearing was unparalleled — he looked down upon all ages, proud above all under heaven. That magnificent figure, even now, when I think of it, leaves me trembling.” The Divine Clan’s Old Ancestor sighed, nostalgia drifting across his face, sinking into the depths of memory.

“Yet even the greatest of supreme beings has a day when he grows old.” He shook his head slowly. The supreme Demon Emperor had shaken the cosmos in all eight directions — yet in the end had not achieved immortality.

The crowd opened their mouths wanting to say something, yet nothing came out. The passage of time had buried too many things.

The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief had not been sealed away using a divine source. In truth, throughout all these years he had continued to cultivate without cease. Thus his Dao had gone on growing without end — he had sought to break free of his shackles and allow himself to ascend.

Alas, he was too old. His immortal platform was withered, on the verge of crumbling, unable to make the final leap — unable to complete the ultimate transformation.

His lower half had turned to stone, which was the result of imitating the longevity methods of the ancient supreme beings. It was a technique for prolonging life — Sacred Spirits could transform their stone bodies back into flesh and blood, while he did the reverse, causing his physical body and immortal platform to enter a state of dormancy and hibernation, reducing life consumption to its lowest possible point.

Throughout this process, he kept only a single thought alive, using it to contemplate the Dao and ponder the path to ascension. All other emotions and mental activity were frozen — suspended.

Of course, this was also related to the divine elixirs he had consumed — without them, such dormancy could not have been sustained, nor could he have lived for so long.

The drawbacks of such an approach were equally obvious. The person was half-ruined. His contemplation of the Dao had produced no breakthrough, while his body had been reduced to something not far from a state of ruin.

According to what the Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief described, different life forbidden zones had different longevity methods. They were not true immortality — but they could effectively slow the aging process.

What mattered most, naturally, was severing oneself from the Emperor realm, then sealing oneself away, and only awakening at necessary moments to sustain life by these methods.

He, however, needed to contemplate the Dao while remaining clear-minded, and so had not used a divine source to seal himself.

To have endured from ancient times all the way to the present — it was truly astonishing. Enough to leave everyone blinking in bewilderment.

One ought to know: even a fully accomplished Sacred Physique lives at most a little over ten thousand years.

“Why — did the Azure Emperor not perish? Could this perhaps be his reincarnation?” At last, the Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief calmed his emotions, and asked Ye Fan to show him the azure lotus.

When, with trembling hands, he accepted the Chaos Azure Lotus, his expression was one of shock. Both hands shook without cease. He thought of the unrivaled Demon Emperor of the Demon Clan from over ten thousand years ago — he felt that vast, star-like immensity of presence bearing down upon him, and could barely resist the urge to prostrate himself.

“The Azure Emperor… it is the Azure Emperor. The true supreme great Emperor — the aura is the same!” The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief’s eyes were supremely piercing. Beams of light split the void as he stared at the azure lotus, unable to look away.

He was somewhat unable to understand how they could share the same vein, origin, and form. He asked Ye Fan to explain what lay behind this.

Ye Fan concealed nothing and told him everything truthfully — for he too wanted to know what was happening, to understand it completely.

“Could it be that the Azure Emperor did not die — that he has truly been reborn?” The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief felt the azure lotus in his hands was extraordinarily hot. A look of reverence and apprehension crossed his face.

If this were truly the case, and the Demon Emperor believed them to harbor ill intent — if there were a misunderstanding — disaster could descend and their clan could be wiped out. The Divine Clan was truly formidable, surpassing all other clans, but in the eyes of a true great Emperor, they were nothing at all.

Not even the Divine Lord’s supreme formation could destroy this small azure lotus. He believed that in this world, as long as no supreme being appeared, no force could harm this lotus.

The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief had always felt there was something strange about the way the Azure Emperor passed away in those years. For a time, he had believed the Azure Emperor was still in this world and had not truly departed — after all, this was the one person after the primordial age who had become an Emperor. And furthermore, with the path to immortality only ten thousand years away, how could the Demon Emperor not have foreseen it? Perhaps he had some heaven-defying means to endure half-alive until this age to see it with his own eyes.

These speculations, once voiced, caused Ye Fan, the Black Emperor, and the others to shake inwardly as well. They too had harbored similar thoughts before. The Azure Emperor — what manner of being was he? How could he not have calculated this?

Especially given how close this age was to those events — even dying by degrees, half-alive and clinging to existence, ought to have been enough to hold on and see what came to pass.

“He has been reborn — the Azure Emperor is in our hands?!” Everyone together fixed their gazes upon this azure lotus. Unfortunately, it had no fluctuations of divine consciousness whatsoever — reaching into the body of the lotus yielded nothing.

“The Azure Emperor may not die so easily — but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s this azure lotus.” Ye Fan said.

It is said that the Azure Emperor was born taking root within the green copper block. Then, once his blood had again touched the green copper block, the possibility that it had taken form and grown into this small lotus was not entirely out of the question.

The mystery was shrouded and impossible to unravel. The secrets of the Azure Emperor’s life and death could not be made clear.

In the end, Ye Fan and the Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief debated the Dao, speaking of many questions related to cultivation, and in passing also touched upon the powerful figures of the current age.

“The Divine Court’s Emperor Lord is very powerful — nearly at the verge of attaining the Dao. But he most likely cannot take that final step. Had he been able to, he would have succeeded long ago and would not still be sitting there motionless for hundreds of years.” The Divine Clan’s Old Ancestor said.

“But even so, there is no one who can check him. Half a step away from becoming an Emperor — how many people can fight against him? Ye Fan would need to reach full accomplishment at minimum — and still has some time yet to wait.” Li Heishui’s face showed a look of worry.

“It’s not entirely hopeless. Among those I have seen, the Quasi-Emperor of the Golden Crow Clan is one of the most terrifying individuals. He should be capable of matching the Emperor Lord in battle. I don’t think he should have died without a sound. But there hasn’t been any movement from him for so many years — it’s hard to see clearly, and it’s uncertain whether he is still in this world.”

The Black Emperor, Pang Bo, and the others all groaned. The Quasi-Emperor of the Golden Crow Clan would absolutely not let them off easily — if such a person truly existed, he was destined to be an enemy. It would be better if he didn’t exist at all.

“The cosmos is vast. Extraordinary individuals emerge in every generation. As long as no one has attained the Dao and become an Emperor, no one dares to call themselves the greatest warrior beneath the stars.”

Inevitably, the conversation turned to the life forbidden zones. The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief also sighed. He could not see through them — no one could predict what lay ahead. Those places were beyond human power to level.

“In this world, beyond the most powerful figures who can be seen and heard, and those on the verge of attaining the Dao, there are also some ancient organizations that must not be overlooked — and they may be even more terrifying.” The Divine Clan’s Old Clan Chief offered this as a kind warning.

He had come to regard these people as a force that could stand in mutual support with the Divine Clan. Through the bond of Ji Cheng Dao, the two sides could ultimately come together.

Ji Cheng Dao carried within him the purest divine blood — whether he acknowledged it or not, he was a member of the Divine Clan, and could even be cultivated into a future Divine Lord.

“What other organizations are there?”

“The Underworld goes without saying. The Divine Organization is composed of the descendants of the Heavenly Court’s members — they have preserved many terrifying methods and their foundations run deep.” The Divine Clan’s Old Ancestor named these two opposing ancient organizations directly.

Everyone nodded to indicate they were aware.

“Beyond that, there is an ancient surviving clan that you may not know of — or may have overlooked.” The Old Clan Chief offered the reminder.

“There’s more?”

“Indeed. The Kunlun Surviving Clan. That was once a place where an immortal bell was suspended. And think — who but an Emperor Venerable could ever conquer the Kunlun Immortal Veins? It would be absolutely impossible for any other — those people are far too powerful!”

The crowd drew sharp breaths upon hearing this. They thought of the secret accounts they knew — sure enough, descendants of the Kunlun Surviving Clan had appeared in this age, once in possession of a damaged Human Emperor’s Seal. Yet that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Ye Fan’s group descended from the broken mountain. Within the divine cave, chaotic energy surged and rolled. The Old Clan Chief sat in deep thought, murmuring to himself: “The organization from the era of the Ancient Tower should have perished by now, shouldn’t it…”

“Mother — I’ve come!” On the path leading to the rear mountain, Ji Cheng Dao called out loudly, tears streaming down his face. They had been separated for over three hundred years. He had barely formed memories when they parted — it was the agony of separation as though by death itself. In those days, he had lain on the ground and wept bitterly, pleading with the Divine Clan’s keepers — to no avail.

It was a world of birdsong and fragrant flowers. There were only a few thatched cottages — very simple and plain, returned to nature.

Before a desk, a beautiful woman was painting. One scroll after another. One scene after another. The scrolls were vivid, telling a story — a heroic man, covered in blood, stubbornly refusing to bow his head, carrying a young child on his back and lingering outside the Divine Clan, unwilling to leave.

Having painted to this point, the woman wept. A wound in her heart had been touched, bringing up sorrows of the past.

The keeper opened the formation. The scenery and sounds of the outside world instantly poured in.

“Mother!” Ji Cheng Dao cried out. He recognized her in a single glance — that was his mother.

Xin Yue’s head snapped up. The brush in her hand fell to the ground. Her entire person froze. She sensed a familiar aura — and in an instant she knew. That was her child. That was young Cheng Dao from those years. Her hot tears instantly slid down her cheeks, and a single word — “child” — spoke the desolation and bitterness of over three hundred years.

Mother and son reunited and recognized one another. Ye Fan and the others kept their distance and did not go forward.

That night, several muffled grunts rang out. Several elders of the Divine Clan were attacked. By the time one night had passed, all of them had been beaten into pig-headed faces — their backsides very nearly kicked to pieces.

It was only when Ye Fan’s group departed with Xin Yue that several furious roars rang out. The seals the elders had been bound with then broke open. They had been restrained by the Black Emperor during the night, left behind for Ji Cheng Dao to vent his anger on.

The young fellow had not held back. He had given them a fierce kicking, and when he was done, had sealed all of them up.

There were naturally people within the Divine Clan who knew what had happened — at minimum the Old Clan Chief and several others had been able to see through it all clearly. Yet they turned a blind eye and let it pass without intervening.

Time passed swiftly. Another ten years went by. Clans throughout the cosmos flourished and prospered. The golden age of prosperity reached its absolute peak. No small number of new powerful figures emerged.

And it was also in this very year that news arrived from an ancient battlefield — one that outsiders found nearly impossible to locate, believed to lie in another cosmos altogether, utterly mysterious. The Sacred Prince had been gravely wounded, having claimed a narrow victory over his opponent, and was in need of rescue.

“Though Monkey won, he may have enemies who would take advantage of his injury to finish him off. He managed with great difficulty to get word out.”

“The Sacred Prince has been wounded — even someone with his fierce and unyielding character has chosen to endure in silence and lie low. That means he has been weakened to an extreme — his injuries are very grave. We must rush to his aid immediately!”

Upon receiving the news, the Heavenly Court members — Ye Fan, the Black Emperor, Pang Bo, and the others — decided to set out at once. A new great battle was coming. Perhaps when this battle was over, all uncertainty would vanish, and the contest for the Emperor Path would at last draw to its close.