A blood raven circled above the moon, its colossal silhouette blotting out the sky, stretching thousands of miles in length, nearly blanketing the entire asteroid and casting vast swaths of shadow below.

In another stretch of the stellar river, a dragon horse galloped wildly, its hooves sending the star field trembling violently beneath it. It was cultivating — refining a ferocious and domineering profound technique, gathering the essence of the nine heavens while drawing in and expelling the divine radiance of the stellar rivers.

Further still, a great black dog muttered and mumbled to itself, its forehead blazing with light like a miniature sun as it paced back and forth across the vault of the sky in an all-too-human manner — one moment crying out the name of Wushi the Great Emperor, the next wailing in grief, utterly erratic and bewildering to anyone who witnessed it.

Within the Solar Star, a lightning phoenix had also entered seclusion, projecting ring after ring of divine halos that dazzled the eye, radiating ten kinds of splendor.

As for the divine islands floating nearby, wondrous phenomena abounded. At the center of the central island stood a Bodhi tree swaying with countless radiant colors, beneath which a group of young cultivators sat cross-legged in silent contemplation of the Great Dao.

On the cliff face across the way, a small violet qilin crouched in repose, as though on the verge of soaring skyward on a tide of rosy clouds. Droplets of divine light fell around it — those were qilin divine medicines. Beside the immortal plant stood a young man whose bearing rivaled that of a divine king, his body suffused with floating Dao runes as he cultivated in quiet stillness. Beside him, a little girl not yet two years old toddled back and forth, clambering up and tumbling down again with adorable, mischievous energy.

When the elder of the Divine Organization laid eyes upon this corner of the Heavenly Court, he could not help but feel a deep sense of wonder. What a staggering assembly this was — so many extraordinary individuals gathered in one place, two divine medicinal plants taking root, their foundation nothing short of astonishing. The future of the Heavenly Court shone brilliantly ahead.

He knew, of course, that the Heavenly Court was far more than what he had glimpsed here. This was merely one small corner of it. At the very least, he had also heard of Ye Tong, Yang Xi, the Human Devil, the Holy Son, and others.

Accompanying Ye Fan were not only this elder but also the White-Haired Sword Deity, and as the two supreme experts made their way through the Court, even they could not help but feel moved.

Many curious gazes from within the Heavenly Court followed them — most eagerly from the unreliable great black dog, which suddenly snapped its head up and let out a sharp bark, its massive head blazing with light as it declared: “Ha! Old man, what a wretched way to die — cut down by the Immortal Heaven Blade.”

Anyone who laid eyes on such a possessed dog would instinctively furrow their brow. Was this not deliberately cursing a guest?

“Pay it no mind. The dog has gone mad lately,” Ye Fan said. After all, these were guests — how could he allow them to be cursed with death the moment they set foot on his territory?

“Nonsense! This Emperor is perfectly fine!” the great black dog retorted with a glare, though there was a note of desolation in its voice as it added: “Boy, I have also seen your future — white-haired and declining in your twilight years, seated alone amidst a shattered universe. Every star has split apart, silence reigns in all ten directions, and there is nothing else.”

Having said this, it threw its head back and collapsed, falling utterly still, its body turning ice cold, the light fading from its head as it returned to its normal appearance.

Ye Fan frowned. He first offered an apology to the elder of the Divine Organization, then walked over and extended a finger, pressing a single point to rouse the Black Emperor, who had fallen into cultivation deviation.

“No matter — I harbor no such aversions. This old body of mine is already half buried in the yellow earth; I could go to meet the Emperor Sovereign at any moment. Would I still fear death? Besides, I have long had a premonition that sooner or later there will be a battle with the Immortal Heavenly Emperor’s lineage. It is only a question of time,” the elder said with easy indifference.

The Black Emperor stared around in bewilderment, with no idea what had happened, denying knowledge of all three questions asked of it, insisting its head was in agony and flatly refusing to acknowledge that it had made any prophecy.

When it attempted to practice the “Foreword Script” technique once more, a piercing pain shot through its skull, and the technique refused to circulate, forcing it to give up.

“The future cannot be foretold. To force one’s way against heaven’s will is naturally to invite punishment,” the elder remarked meaningfully, continuing deeper into the Court with Ye Fan as his guide.

“That child…” The divine elder caught sight of Xiao Song as he returned — the youth smiled shyly, his face tender and unpolished, remarkably beautiful in its youthful rawness.

The two from the Divine Organization fixed their gaze on him for a long while, neither speaking a word.

“This is my disciple. What of it?” Ye Fan asked.

“Extraordinary,” the White-Haired Sword Deity replied in calm, measured tones.

“One who carries the immortal blood of Kunlun?” The divine elder narrowed his eyes, saying no more, and when Ye Fan pressed him with further questions, he simply refused to elaborate.

Xiao Song was ethereal, almost transcendent, his large eyes clear and bright — yet in that moment he looked rather bewildered, and he drifted away without comprehending what had just been discussed.

“How about this old one taking this young girl as a disciple?” The divine elder smiled, gesturing toward Xiao Zi on the cliff.

“You may, but you may only teach her here within the Heavenly Court. She cannot be taken away,” Ye Fan said. For this daughter of his, he harbored feelings of a particularly profound depth. Having once glimpsed a vision of ten thousand years stretching into the future, his heart still trembled at the memory — he could not allow the little one to come to any harm, no matter what. They would never be parted.

The divine elder smiled. He understood — this was Ye Fan binding him to the Heavenly Court to serve its cause. He could only shake his head and say nothing further.

“Master, were you looking for the little gourd-head? I brought him!” Hua Hua walked in holding a massive immortal source upside down by her grip, the divine infant inside throwing his limbs about wildly, hurling curses in every direction.

The White-Haired Sword Deity showed no reaction, but the divine elder’s expression stiffened somewhat. He crouched down and stared without blinking at the divine infant, divine light blazing from his eyes.

Clearly, his mind was far from calm. He reached out and took hold of the immortal source with a composure that bordered on loss of control, his breathing gradually quickening as he gazed at the divine infant.

Everyone could see that his emotions were stirred — and growing more turbulent by the moment. His lips began to quiver. At last, he raised the immortal source high above him with a gesture of solemn reverence.

But the divine infant was wholly unappreciative of the atmosphere, puncturing it entirely by tilting one eye toward the elder and saying: “Old man, who are you? How dare you disturb this young master’s peace?”

This was a plump, fair-skinned little child of no more than two or three years old — an age that should have been the picture of simplicity and innocence — yet the words that came out of its mouth carried the rough swagger of a seasoned street ruffian, making the elder’s fingers tremble.

“Hey, hey, hey — old man, be careful! If you drop this young master, you could never afford to pay for it. My life is more precious than all the people in the Heavenly Court combined.”

Smack!

Hua Hua heard this and immediately dealt him a sharp slap. “Three days without discipline and you’re already tearing the roof off. I haven’t corrected you in a while, and your hide’s gotten loose again, hasn’t it?”

“Baldie, don’t push your luck! This brother wasn’t raised to be scared of anyone. If you’ve got the guts, wait twenty years, and I’ll beat your head into a lumpy mess!” The pudgy little one was full of ruffian bravado, leaving the divine elder slightly dumbfounded as he held him aloft and the two stared at each other.

“Old man, you lecherous old pervert — if you dare peek at this brother’s little sparrow again, I’ll piss in your face!” the divine infant declared. Being held up in midair by the elder, he was indeed pointed directly at the man, and he was deeply displeased, issuing a threat.

The divine elder’s face twitched. This was not at all what he had imagined. This chubby little creature looked soft and round but was anything but simple — how was he so much like a tiny hooligan?

Hua Hua had no patience for any of it and immediately gave him a thorough thrashing, making the pudgy child howl and squawk in outrage.

“Don’t hit him!” The divine elder hastily intervened, asking Ye Fan to find a quiet place where they could speak in depth.

In the end, they settled on a sealed chamber, laying down layer upon layer of rune seals to prevent any information from leaking out. The elder’s expression was grave and solemn as he said with the utmost sincerity: “Is it possible to entrust this child to us?”

“Absolutely not!” Before Ye Fan could even respond, the divine infant erupted on his own, shouting: “You strange old man — who do you think you are?! This young master is not going anywhere with you!”

“Hua Hua, take him outside. Let him go keep Xiao Nannan company,” Ye Fan said.

“I’m not going!” the divine infant screamed in terror, thrashing about inside the immortal source, refusing to budge no matter what.

“How did his personality end up like this?” The divine elder watched the divine infant with a furrowed brow. Could this creature really be connected to that figure who once looked down upon the nine heavens and ten earths, standing supreme through ten thousand ages?

“Are you certain he is the one you seek?” Ye Fan asked.

“We can be certain. Long ago, the Emperor Sovereign left behind a divine statue. We performed a deduction and restored the full appearance of his life from birth to old age — every form is recognizable,” the White-Haired Sword Deity said.

“This little gourd-head is the Emperor Sovereign’s… a flower of the same kind?” Hua Hua’s eyes flew open in astonishment, unable to believe any of this.

The pudgy child blinked in confusion. “What Emperor Sovereign? What has that got to do with me?!”

The divine elder and the White-Haired Sword Deity were simultaneously rendered speechless, lines of exasperation practically crawling across their foreheads, unable to say a single appropriate thing.

“Since when is he an Emperor Sovereign — that’s hilarious. Was the Emperor Sovereign fat?!” Hua Hua burst out laughing without a shred of care, entirely unconvinced. Words so irreverent made the eyebrows of the two visitors from the Divine Organization jump.

The pudgy child finally grasped his own significance and dropped the bewildered act, puffing himself up with grand ceremony as he bellowed: “I am the Emperor Sovereign! You two — throw this dead baldie out, and slap his backside into eighteen pieces while you’re at it!”

The elder and the White-Haired Sword Deity looked at each other, genuinely wondering whether they had found the wrong person. The Emperor Sovereign had possessed incomparable dignity and rarely smiled — how could his lineage possibly produce someone like this?

“Heh heh!” Hua Hua let out a strange laugh, quick as lightning, and delivered a savage pummeling to the divine infant. “So this is what the Emperor Sovereign is like! You fat little thing — let me get a few good hits in first. When I tell people about this later, I’ll have bragging rights for life: the Emperor Sovereign — that fat kid — got thrashed by me!”

“Roaaar, this young master will fight you to the death! Don’t force me to shatter the immortal source — once I come out and start cultivating, I’ll suppress every last one of you!” the pudgy child threatened.

This pair of living treasures left everyone torn between laughter and tears.

When Ye Fan had Hua Hua take the pudgy child outside, the elder revealed the truth: the divine infant was not the same flower as the Emperor Sovereign — rather, he was in all likelihood the Emperor Sovereign’s offspring, his one and only descendant.

“In those days, it was said that the Heavenly Court had a young master, yet no one ever laid eyes on him. Even after the Emperor Sovereign passed away, he never appeared.”

In pursuit of this rumor, the Divine Organization had searched for ten thousand ages, visiting countless ruins and piecing together innumerable fragments of history. By the current age, they had finally determined that this bloodline had come to rest in Ye Fan’s hands.

Ye Fan rubbed his chin. He had probed the divine infant’s sea of consciousness before — it was largely blank, with only scattered fragments relating to the earth: the wailing of countless beings, and the resounding, majestic sound of a great funeral rite, as though an ancient emperor were being interred.

If this were true, how earth-shattering it would be — the descendant of the Emperor Sovereign, a bloodline of transcendent power!

“If he truly carries the Emperor Sovereign’s bloodline, why is there no immortal scripture in his sea of consciousness? No instructions left behind?” Ye Fan asked.

“Perhaps the Emperor Sovereign believed firmly that his child would one day surpass him, and so saw no need to leave any scripture,” the elder said, and recalling the accounts in ancient texts, he grew increasingly certain that the Emperor Sovereign had been exactly that sort of person.

Ye Fan sat in contemplation, feeling that something was slightly off. About the true origin of the pudgy child, he reserved his judgment.

“Master, something’s wrong!” It was at that moment that Hua Hua came bursting into the room, face etched with urgency. “Senior brother Ye Tong has been beaten into a severe injury!”

Ye Fan shot to his feet and strode outside with great steps. From a distance he could already see Ye Tong seated cross-legged beneath the Bodhi tree, his entire body drenched in blood, the light in the center of his brow dim and fading. Blood mist rose from him as he circulated the Healing Secret Technique to treat his wounds.

Within his body, a mass of black energy had gathered and refused to disperse — impossible to expel — corroding both his primordial spirit and his flesh. It would be difficult to eliminate entirely in a short time.

Ye Fan stepped forward, extended a hand, and pressed a single finger. A ray of immortal light entered Ye Tong’s body, and with supreme divine power, he suppressed the black energy, then drew it out and confined it within moments.

“The Shadow Demon God — the third divine general who once served under the Immortal Heavenly Emperor. To think he is still alive as well!” A look of grave weight appeared on the elder’s face.

The Phoenix Nest was making its move — intending to covertly eliminate several of the Heavenly Court’s greatest talents. Even the Shadow Demon God had emerged from seclusion, personally moving to strike down Ye Tong.

“The time has come. It is time to settle matters with the Phoenix Nest once and for all!” Ye Fan said in a cold, steely voice.