Never before in all eternity had so many people gathered here. In the past, they came only in small groups — the victors of the Emperor’s Path battles.
This era was entirely different. Many had come, waiting for their opportunity!
Immortal medicines flew across the ancient mountains, dazzling golden fusang trees and scarlet zhuque plants swaying in a manner utterly captivating to behold.
“Something is wrong. Most of these are condensed from lightning elements — they are not real. Know that the golden fusang tree absolutely cannot be here; the Sun Sacred Emperor’s immortality medicine was buried in the Purple Subtlety Star Domain.” Ye Fan said. He had once witnessed it with his own eyes and had been fortunate enough to refine one of its branches.
By the same logic, the other immortality medicines were likely not genuine either — they should be transformations of terrifying lightning elements. A Great Emperor had once trodden this place and left impressions behind, carved into its very fabric.
Boom!
Deep within the ancient mountain, there was a celestial cavern. From it burst forth a rain of immortal light that transformed into countless symbols, searing themselves into the void and becoming vessels of the Great Dao.
A resonant, earth-shaking hum rang out — a Dao chime. In that single instant, everyone present was struck with sensation. Without exception, they fell into a state of rapturous absorption, each perceiving a strand of scriptural meaning.
This was not a gift bestowed upon one person or two, but upon an entire multitude. What each received differed according to the depth of their cultivation and the sharpness of their perception.
“The Sacred Emperor’s scripture!”
Some received a fragment of words, as though struck by a sudden enlightenment, and immediately sat cross-legged in meditation. Others, having understood cultivation problems that had plagued them for years, leapt about in something close to madness.
This was a profound and vast scriptural meaning, flowing like water across the hearts of all present. Many were immersed in a wondrous state, gaining something precious.
Yet few could perceive actual written characters. Most grasped only a passage or a few fragments of ordered runes, so every person’s experience was entirely different.
This was no illusion — it was a genuine essence of scripture, carved into the great mountain ahead, emanating from the ancient cavern that poured forth its radiance to fill the high heavens.
Symbol after symbol flickered with blazing light, causing every powerful cultivator to tremble inwardly with awe and great gain.
“Unthinkable — a Sacred Emperor’s immortal scripture truly exists in this world. It seems as though all of us can receive it!”
Many people grew excited, especially the ordinary cultivators who lacked the qualifications to have reached this place under normal circumstances, and had only come because this age was special, with nine Emperor Gates inexplicably opened to all. Every last one of them was overcome with joy.
What a magnificent surprise!
The runes flickered. The Great Dao sang in harmony. Passage after passage of scripture transformed into true dragons and into dancing phoenixes — each no longer than an arm’s length — that swirled through the winds of heaven and astonished the world.
Was this the power of a Sacred Emperor?
Countless ages had passed, yet the scriptural meaning he had left behind seemed alive, resonating here and stirring in every heart a compulsion to bow in reverence.
“This is only the Sacred Emperor’s test.”
Aboard the Quasi-Emperor warship, Ye Fan spoke softly, piercing the veil of mystery and rousing Li Heishui, Hua Hua, and the others from their daze, sending each into quiet contemplation.
“A fool wastes a good opportunity!” the Black Emperor declared, its mind intoxicated, earnestly studying the scripture.
“This scripture suits humanoid beings,” Dongfang Ye noted.
“This Emperor is more human than any human. Some people are more themselves than I am myself — take that lot, for instance. In truth they are nothing more than figures labeled A, B, C, and D, yet they fancy themselves transcendent, aloof from the world. They are nothing but brushstrokes in the same painting.” The Black Emperor swept its gaze ahead and laughed coldly without pause.
“Grandfather, that black dog looks so fierce. Will it bite me?” Not far away, a small boy spoke timidly.
“It won’t. It’s very well-behaved,” the old man replied with a beaming smile, revealing a mouthful of gapped, yellowed teeth. He held the hand of a boy of five or six, standing at the edge of the crowd.
“It looks fierce,” the little boy said bluntly, his face round and fierce-looking.
“He has a point, when it comes down to it — everyone here is too sure of themselves. Brushstrokes in the same painting, yet some who would point and lecture at the world are human, and some are dogs.” The old man with the mouthful of yellowed teeth burst into hearty laughter.
Ye Fan, the Sacred Emperor’s son, and the Human Demon all turned around. They had not heard the words being spoken, but instinct had made them sense a surge of energy — something astonishing, supremely extraordinary. It was not an oppressive fluctuation but rather a staggering resonance. This could only be an unrivaled master.
“Oh! The people in the painting have seen us,” the little boy said.
“We are all brushstrokes in the same painting,” the old man said, patting the boy on the head. Then he turned and walked away without pausing.
The Sacred Emperor’s scripture flickered as everyone received something, yet in the end each understood that they could receive no more. Only a very small portion had been shaken out from the celestial cavern.
Even so, this only made people’s hearts burn brighter. This place undoubtedly bore the traces of a Sacred Emperor, leaving behind his indelible mark. The great mountain and the depths of chaos almost certainly contained a complete ancient scripture, and the longing in every heart was fierce.
“There is a divine statue of the Sun Sacred Emperor on that mountain! On another mountain stands a statue of the Grand Yin Human Emperor!”
“There is a golden monkey blazing with light — it looks like the Battle-Saint Emperor — on another great peak!”
People gasped. Statues of ancient Great Emperors and primordial sovereigns flickered in and out of visibility, emanating a mysterious fluctuation. People believed that the laws of the Dao might linger within them.
Aboard the Black Pearl, the Sacred Emperor’s son could no longer remain calm. He gazed toward one of the mountain bodies with golden eyes blazing, divine light flaring within them.
“Someone is making a move! Shall we charge inward too? We might seize an Emperor’s destiny for this age — at the very least, we may gain more scripture!” someone proposed, eager to take the risk.
In truth, powerful battle formations had already moved, their vanguard pressing forward and sending countless ripples surging outward.
Among them, several great clans that had long been hostile to one another continued to fight even here, spattering blood, making this place ever more chaotic.
A sea of people stretched in every direction, and once a great battle broke out it would be terrifying — it might become the spark that set off rivers of blood.
Many retreated, afraid of being swept into a terrible vortex.
Ye Fan and his companions did not make a move. The Quasi-Emperor ship shrank and dimmed, hovering at the edges, while they observed everything here with calm composure.
Boom!
From within the mountain, chaotic energy churned and roiled. Two figures emerged in fierce combat, actually bursting out from within the chaotic immortal earth — so suddenly it shook every single person present.
“What? They were fighting from inside? When did they enter? Have they been fighting for years?”
People remembered clearly — over the past several years, people had entered one after another but none had come back out. Now two people suddenly appeared, naturally causing tremendous uproar.
“It is Dao Yi and Huo Qizi,” Ye Fan said softly.
Dao Yi — born of the Kongming lineage — was slender of build and otherworldly in manner, exactly as he had always been. His every gesture carried a quality of transcendence beyond the mortal world, yet his offensive power was overwhelmingly fierce.
Huo Qizi’s water-blue hair streamed loose like a waterfall in motion. His frame was tall and powerfully built, and every blow he struck sent a celestial qilin surging upward, horrifying the world of the living with force that shook the heavens.
These were two Quasi-Emperors — and supremely powerful ones. Unfathomable paragons, they had been tempered through countless trials. Like unrivaled immortal swords drawn from their sheaths, they revealed their most dazzling edge.
“This powerful — even those lightning-element dragons and zhuque can do nothing to them. It’s terrifying. They can move freely in and out of this place!”
Everyone was dumbstruck. The sons of ancient emperors had now grown to the Quasi-Emperor realm. These two were born to be the greatest of rivals, locked in confrontation and blood-battle across a lifetime, becoming the most fearsome cultivators of the present age.
Boom!
From within the chaos, a great mountain swayed. A graceful figure emerged — Huo Lin’er burst forth and shattered a Quasi-Emperor artifact with a single palm, having clearly just finished off a great enemy.
“Terrifying — that was a Quasi-Emperor blade, and she snapped it with her bare hands.” People gasped in amazement.
After appearing, Huo Lin’er moved directly toward her elder brother, intending to join forces and defeat Dao Yi, eliminating him together.
“Do not come. This is an Emperor’s Path battle. I have resolved my inner conflict and set aside all enmity — this opponent is mine alone!” Huo Qizi called out.
Huo Lin’er — graceful in figure, snow-white of complexion, beautiful as divine diamonds cascading from a flowering tree — radiated light in all directions, breathtaking in her splendor. Her full head of blue hair swirled as her bright, lively eyes swept the scene. Then she turned and re-entered the ancient mountain.
This stirred tremendous debate among the onlookers.
“Have all the ancient emperors’ sons come? Who will reach the summit?”
The Sacred Emperor’s son, Dao Yi, Huo Qizi, the Celestial Void Dao cultivator, Shencan Daoren, and so many more — all born in the same age, appearing together. There was also a possible Emperor’s son from humanity. This heaven was destined to be shattered.
One could say that this would be the most brutal Emperor’s Path battle in history — every single participant was the outstanding hero of his era, gathered from different periods, brought together to produce the most terrifying clash imaginable.
In a certain sense, this would be a campaign waged between ancient emperors and Great Emperors through their descendants. Their children represented their Dao, completing a pinnacle confrontation and fulfilling long-held final wishes.
As expected, more ancient emperors’ sons arrived. The Celestial Void Dao cultivator appeared, transforming into a blood-colored divine phoenix and plunging into the chaotic depths of the ancient mountain, shaking this entire place.
With a reverberating hum, a jade-green coffin shattered open. A figure enveloped in jade-green mist charged into the mountain, and the moment he moved, all four directions trembled.
“It is someone from the Underworld — a Quasi-Emperor. He may be the next-generation master of the Underworld!”
Those words sent many people trembling. The terror of the Underworld was deeply rooted in every heart. At the end of the cycle of reincarnation, all things shall come to an end — the Underworld is the destination of all living beings. These words had circulated through the world and chilled every soul who heard them.
Whoosh!
A streak of sword light clove through the sky and cut open the chaos in a perfectly straight line, plunging into the space between the ancient mountains. A white-haired man stepped into the battlefield in a single stride, gripping a black sword, killing his way inside.
The sword’s edge was of an unparalleled, world-defying sharpness, the likes of which mortal eyes seldom see, making every person’s hair stand on end. He was so terrifying — was he a Sword Immortal? On many Great Sages, even the body’s fine hairs began to fall out, quivering and dropping.
A cold killing intent swept past, and blood marks appeared on many people’s bodies — they had nearly been split open!
And this was merely the natural aura flowing from him as he rushed past. It was not even an offensive strike. The might of an immortal sword.
“It is him — the divine one!” Ye Fan exclaimed in astonishment. After so many years apart, he had actually seen him again.
Years before, when traveling toward the Eternal Star Domain, Ye Fan had passed by a desolate ancient star partway through his journey. There he had seen a heaven-splitting giant; sun, moon, and stars had orbited that figure like rings around a body, as tiny as ants by comparison. The giant had seemed like a god of creation — but had failed to achieve the Dao and died there.
And at that time, a terrifyingly powerful white-haired figure had been there, performing rites of worship.
“So it truly is him!” Ye Fan naturally recalled.
In fact, when the path to becoming an immortal had opened, this white-haired figure had also appeared — gripping one-third of a green bronze cauldron, which he hurled with great force to shatter the immortal path, nearly burying the Longevity Heavenly Venerate within it.
Now this person appeared once more. Without question he was an unrivaled master of his age. He bore great hostility toward the Underworld, and charging in now was naturally aimed at the Underworld’s next-generation master.
Several more figures flashed into view — more entered, each with boundless divine power, capable of reaching up and plucking the sun and moon with a raise of the hand.
“I sense the aura of the Forbidden Zones of Life. Their descendants have gone inside!” the Sacred Emperor’s son said. The immortal-iron staff in his hand trembled — once broken in that battle of long ago, it was now most sensitive to the auras of certain forbidden lands, yearning for battle.
Ye Fan quietly perceived what was happening. He knew that at the very least, An Pu from the Desolate Mountain had come and entered.
The Sacred Emperor’s son acted first, charging directly inside — plunging into the chaotic ancient mountains. He wanted to go before his father’s divine statue, to look upon it and fulfill a long-cherished wish.
Shortly after, this entire place seethed.
No one had anticipated it — with so many brilliant talents entering, a confrontation was unavoidable. Great battles erupted with sudden ferocity, more terrifying than anyone had imagined!
The descendants of the emperors fought — a great decisive battle that the ancient supremes had once longed for but never conducted, now unfolding in a different form!
“Ah…”
Suddenly, an aged sigh rang out, shocking Ye Fan. It came from within the chaotic mountain — from somewhere within, as though a Great Emperor were looking down upon the descendants, filled with the weariness of ages.