Within the mountain was a battle for supremacy. Stars shone in abundance — every single participant was the outstanding hero of their era, yet all were gathered in one place, all appearing in the same age.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. At one moment sword light broke through the dawn; at another, a divine pagoda came crashing down in suppression. The whole place seethed.

The emperors’ children fought — who could match them? Any person below that level who entered was simply walking to their death. The Quasi-Emperor level was the minimum starting point; otherwise, how could one possibly be an opponent?

A streak of golden light flashed past — the monkey collided fiercely with someone inside the mountain in a single strike, erupting in a blinding burst of radiance. A shockwave of violent force burst outward and shot skyward.

Hmmm! — the sky itself shuddered. A cluster of stars exploded apart; the spectacle was breathtaking!

No one could make out who it was that could actually fight the monkey to a standstill, yet vanished in a single bound. Within the mountain, danger lurked everywhere, ready to erupt at any moment.

Whoosh! — a golden crow streaked through the chaos, trailing a line of flame that incinerated everything it touched, leaving a swath of ash. Some people’s treasured artifacts were destroyed.

“That is a divine weapon transformed into a golden crow — it is not a member of that race!”

Within, explosions rang out in chaos. Huo Lin’er was locked in a battle with an elderly Quasi-Emperor, the two of them evenly matched, and she would briefly appear only to vanish again — there was no way she could remain visible for long.

Outside, many people despaired. The gap was far too vast — they were simply not in the same category, with no way to go in and contend with those figures.

This was a new epoch. Those within were extraordinary talents of their generation — or one could say, the mightiest individuals from different eras — and a clash that would shake both ancient times and the present was coming.

Ye Tong represented the Sun Sacred Emperor; Huo Qizi and Huo Lin’er represented the Qilin Emperor; the monkey represented the Battle-Saint Emperor; Dao Yi represented the Dao-Derivation Great Emperor; the divine one represented the descendants of the Ancient Heavenly Court; the figure within the coffin represented the Underworld…

There were no small number of them, and Celestial Void Dao, Yin Tiande, Shencan Daoren, the Divine Venerate, and the Middle Emperor had also all come, battling without pause within.

Everyone was awestruck. In any other era, a single one of these figures would have been sufficient — enough to claim the absolute pinnacle of the world. Yet now they were merely one competitor among many in the battle for the Emperor’s Path.

With a great boom, black light flickered as An Pu cleaved through a chaotic mountain with a single stroke and engaged a mysterious figure inside, then quickly vanished.

Within that place, great battles were unavoidable. At times they arose involuntarily — anyone who entered seeking the Sacred Emperor’s immortal scripture or the great secrets of Dao-attainment was bound to encounter the others.

Outside, many felt a hollow despondency. There was nothing for them in a battlefield like this — entering would only get them killed. Even the battle formations had halted, every last person dejected and crestfallen.

This was a confrontation belonging to the emperors and the Great Emperors’ descendants!

“We can only be spectators,” someone lamented.

“There should be others who will enter. This feast is not theirs alone,” came a reply, spoken with absolute certainty.

In an instant, certain names flashed through people’s minds, and their hearts jolted.

“In the primordial age, there was once a person who single-handedly slew every competitor who had reached the threshold before the One True Path. His name was Emperor Sovereign. Will he come again?”

In the primordial era, he had appeared like a flash of divine lightning — standing alone at the first Emperor Gate and blocking all who came, striking every single one of them down. Yet he himself had never advanced. With a soft sigh, he had turned his back on the one and only Emperor’s Path and walked away. Because of what had happened, that age produced not a single person who entered the gate — something that had shaken the entire world of the living.

People began naming the dominant figures of the present age. This era lacked neither powerful cultivators nor geniuses. Ye Fan had risen with overwhelming force; Taichū and Zhang Bairen were enigmatic and unfathomable; and there were unknown Quasi-Emperors of astonishing power lurking with hungry eyes, waiting for their moment.

“A golden age of flourishing — a hundred vessels contending in the current, ten thousand Daos arising together. This heaven and earth will surely be shattered, and all shall fight and kill within a blood-soaked universe.”

“The Chaos Body has not yet appeared!”

Rumors had persisted. People waited with anticipation — perhaps in the final confrontation that figure would flash into view, perhaps even this very day, and when he did, the most dazzling radiance would surely blaze.

Beyond that, there was also the stone egg beneath the Immortal Blade of the Undying — more than one powerful cultivator had glimpsed it drifting through the universe. Unfortunately, it seemed to drift along the river of time, beyond pursuit or reckoning. But it would eventually emerge, to battle humanity.

Dong! — a tremendous crash, as though an entire world had been punched through.

Ten thousand feet of golden light shot to the heavens. The monkey had fought his way to the top of a great mountain, standing before a divine statue, tears brimming in his eyes. The statue was too lifelike — vivid and breathing, as though the Battle-Saint Emperor himself had been resurrected.

Suddenly, a massive black hand came crashing down from behind him. Absolutely firm and absolutely powerful — it was as large as a millstone, and it covered the monkey entirely.

Everyone’s heart leapt. That hand was terrifying — pulverizing the chaos. Within it, runes flickered, dimly composed of tiny dragons and zhuque, representing a form of supreme Dao power.

In a trance, one star after another blazed, and rivers of stars wound between the fingers and palm. This peerless divine ability was truly staggering beyond words!

Who was this person? Everyone was thunderstruck. It was as though he were splitting heaven and creating earth — incomparable, without parallel.

What looked like a millstone-sized palm in fact contained an entire universe within it, smelting the cosmos and its stars. What level of divine ability did one need to accomplish such a thing? Just who was he?

Everyone was horrified. What was this person’s identity? And aboard the Black Pearl, every single person felt their hearts seize with cold dread for the monkey’s life, consumed with profound worry.

“Yah!”

The monkey let out a great shout. His spiritual senses were keen, and he perceived the killing intent in the very first instant — more acutely than anyone else. In his hand appeared half a celestial iron staff in an instant, and he swept it backward in a reverse strike.

A soft tremor rang out — then a great fog disintegrated all around. Looking carefully, one could see it was the essence of chaos, containing within it countless shards of stars. An entire cosmos had been punctured through by the monkey.

The celestial iron staff blazed with glorious light, murderous intent surging from it. The monkey gripped it, his golden eyes blazing, and both he and that person retreated from each other.

That figure was blurred and indistinct, his entire body concealed within the mist of chaos — yet he could face a damaged imperial artifact with his bare hands alone. To what degree was he powerful?

It was not a clash of physical bodies. That earlier strike had been a great divine ability — the palm containing the cosmos, smelting all things and stars. Such methods shook the entire world of the living.

“Someone from the Phoenix Nest?!” the monkey demanded loudly.

“Indeed.” The newcomer’s eyes were like knife-edges, shooting out beams of astonishing light — yet his entire person was blurred and dim, creating a striking contrast.

“Kun Tian the Divine General — one of the Eight Divine Generals who followed the Ancient Undying Celestial Emperor!” The monkey’s gaze was awe-inspiring. Being a creature of primordial antiquity, he had naturally heard many legends and deduced this person’s identity.

Not a descendant of the Eight Divisions — but a true and invincible divine general. There had once been eight of them who swept the universe unchallenged, suppressing the mightiest beings of the ten thousand heavens and ten thousand realms.

This man was one of them. And he was still alive!

This news was too stunning.

The moment the monkey spoke, everyone behind stood with dropped jaws. Though they could not see clearly, they could feel that surging tide — it was far too terrifying.

Ye Fan moved. He took up the Green Lotus and left the Black Pearl Quasi-Emperor ship, plunging into that expanse of chaotic sea. He was going to fight. The people of the Phoenix Nest had come — they had come for him and the monkey, seeking to avenge the son of the Celestial Emperor.

Among the Eight Divine Generals were truly invincible figures from another age. They had commanded the eight wildernesses of the universe and dominated an entire era, campaigning across ten directions until long ago there had been no enemy left to face them.

Some of these figures had even been on the verge of stepping out onto their own Emperor’s Path — their power was boundless. According to records, some had passed away in seated meditation, and some had vanished without a trace in their later years.

Just now, had the monkey not been holding the celestial iron staff, the situation would have been truly dire. After all, that was a veteran unrivaled Quasi-Emperor who had reached the absolute summit, his profound arts long since refined to the state of effortless perfection.

However, the moment Ye Fan entered the chaotic sea, he was met with a sneak attack. A cold, sharp edge shot toward him — an arrow, fired by a Quasi-Emperor!

Golden light blazed brilliantly. The arrow crossed the heavens, capable of slaying heavenly generals and cutting down deities — dazzling beyond description.

Wuuu… — a strange, piercing howl arose. It was clearly only a single arrow, yet from all sides came an endless horde of divine beings and demons, each dripping with blood — a horrifying vision.

And among the crowd, there was even Ye Fan himself — only far older, having already entered his twilight years, nailed to a wooden stake, his brilliant Great Sage blood — crimson and vivid — staining the ground beneath.

This sight… caused Ye Fan’s pupils to contract sharply in rapid succession. A wave of deep unease washed through him. The cauldron above his head chimed softly and flew into the air, suppressing the arrow.

“Do you see? That is yourself. Even if you survive this tribulation, you will still fall in the future!” A cold, indifferent voice spoke from the darkness.

As the Cauldron of All Things’ Qi moved to catch the golden arrow, it missed entirely. The arrow that had moments before been fierce and dominant dissolved into nothingness, crumbling into shards of gold that scattered and vanished.

“The Reincarnation Arrow — reflecting the endless cycle of all things — that was the image of your end and ruin. To think you can still live that far.” The voice from the shadows spoke on, unhurried and hollow.

Ye Fan’s mind and spirit grew unstable. A demonic sound invaded his consciousness, attempting to devour his fundamental force and annihilate his sea of consciousness. It was extraordinarily bizarre.

“Away with you!”

He let out a great roar. From within his brow, a blaze of light erupted, and a golden small figure stepped out in one stride, shooting out a punch that struck the void — a puff of white smoke and a wretched groan emerged.

“Someone from the Sea of Reincarnation has some ability, but you think you can take me with illusions and soul-confounding tricks? You are still far off. I fought your elders in years past!” Ye Fan said.

He had come to know the identity of the attacker — someone from the lineage of the Reincarnation Lord, from a Forbidden Zone of Life, with a supremely powerful bloodline!

But he had already killed four or five people of that kind. He held not the slightest bit of apprehension now. The Cauldron of All Things’ Qi above his head chimed once more, and in an instant it sliced through the long sky and flew out.

Clang!

A golden divine arrow came shooting in to kill, slamming hard against the cauldron wall with a terrifying burst of radiance that swept away a swath of stars, which exploded in the void.

Everyone was aghast. The starry sky in this place was peculiar — like decorations embedded in the chaos by an ancient Great Emperor, each one a true star compressed into concentrated form, far more solid and imperishable than ordinary stars.

Yet now they were cascading down one after another, crumbling into dust — leaving the world stupefied.

Fierce battle erupted. Ye Fan advanced with steady steps, pushing forward. Before him, an azure dragon coiled; a fire phoenix danced; a Kun-Peng shattered the ten thousand realms. His grandeur was vast beyond measure.

His power and his terror were laid bare before the world — unstoppable in his advance, impossible to check. Even the golden arrows could not wound him; four of them were swept into the Cauldron of All Things’ Qi.

At last, a cyan-robed figure had nowhere left to retreat. He gripped a great bow and hacked at Ye Fan with it — but with a resounding clash, Ye Fan reached out and seized it, gripping the Reincarnation Bow in his hand.

In that instant, however, a sense of danger arose within him. From within the bow surged a violent fluctuation that nearly devoured Ye Fan’s spirit!

“Remarkable — anyone else would be dead,” Ye Fan murmured. He had fought ancient supremes in blood-battle before. Had he not been sensitive to that kind of surging energy, that strike might have swallowed his divine consciousness.

Within was actually a phantom spirit of the Reincarnation Lord. Compared to the ancient supremes it was far weaker — but compared to Quasi-Emperors, the phantom spirit of the supreme master of an absolute Forbidden Zone was still extraordinarily powerful!

Ye Fan’s hand trembled ceaselessly, carrying within it a force that transformed decay into the miraculous. This had been the greatest reward of his battle with the ancient supremes of old — his combat techniques and body techniques had reached an absolute pinnacle unmatched by anyone in this generation.

He shook off the long bow. The Forbidden Zone’s young master — who had deliberately released the bow — stared wide-eyed, simply unable to believe it. He did not linger, tearing open the void and departing.

With his other hand, Ye Fan swept lightly. The Chaos Green Lotus in his hand brushed across the bow, and that sliver of phantom spirit immediately dissolved, scattering into the ages.

The Green Lotus then blazed with a burst of radiance that shook the entire expanse of chaotic sea, setting this entire place into a seething uproar — evidently that sliver of phantom spirit had been a great nourishment for the Green Lotus!

Clang! — the jet-black bow came into his hand once more. Ye Fan reached into the cauldron and drew out one of the golden arrows, nocking it to the bowstring, using it to draw back the string.

Boom! — an arrow that shocked the immortals themselves. Boundless golden radiance flooded this place, dispersing part of the chaotic sea ahead.

This was a set of Quasi-Emperor weapons of tremendous power!

Pfft!

A rain of blood splattered. The powerful cultivator from the Sea of Reincarnation let out a wretched scream as the golden arrow pierced through him, then exploded apart in the sky, his blood dyeing this place red.

Everyone trembled. What a terrifying battle — truly the Emperor’s Path stained with blood, as horrifying casualties began to appear. Ye Fan was not unworthy of being called the slayer of ancient emperors’ children.