This man’s white hair cascaded like a waterfall down his chest and back. The light that blazed from his eyes was like twin torches — the vast army ahead was reduced to ash in wave after wave, and every powerful figure his gaze swept over met catastrophe.
“A Heavenly Emperor reborn!” — that was the first thought that flashed through the minds of all who saw him. The terror of it was beyond reckoning. This was nothing but a gaze — and it had turned a thousand-strong army to flying ash. How could anyone resist?
“Form the formation!”
Someone bellowed from behind — but what use was that? The newcomer was cold and utterly without mercy. He looked forward. The starry sky collapsed, sun and moon exploded, and the entire region split apart in four directions.
“My god!”
That sight made their scalps crawl, every hair on their bodies standing upright. Some fell to their knees — this was a divine miracle! How could they fight? The two sides were not even on the same level. The difference between them was that of heaven and earth.
Every last one of them despaired. This was a supreme hero of the world. Though his hair was white as snow, who could match his edge? Even if an Ancient Supreme were to emerge, it could not be more than this. All hearts went cold.
They were simply people of two different worlds. Even if a million of them came, they could not scratch a single hair on this man’s body — they could only die in vain.
“Who are you?” a shout came from the distance, and a figure rapidly approached.
This was a middle-aged man with a full head of violet hair, eyes blazing like golden lanterns, wielding a bronze celestial halberd, his battle energy surging and crashing — a powerful quasi-emperor, burning with fury. In this great age, who would dare defy the Life Forbidden Zones? Yet the newcomer had thrown all caution to the wind, killing without restraint.
But when he saw Ye Fan’s face — he froze, as though he had plunged into an ice cellar. Every last ember of his fury was extinguished, replaced by a chill that ran from the crown of his head all the way to the soles of his feet. His whole body trembled.
“You are… Ye Fan, the Holy Body — and you’re still alive!”
Those words rang out like a clap of thunder, leaving every set of ears ringing, the blood in every person’s veins near freezing over. All faces went white with shock.
The man himself had not died — and he had actually come back. For centuries, his reputation had shaken the universe: he had slain Ancient Imperial Princes, battled the bloodline descendants of Ancient Supremes, and his hands were soaked in blood.
To the enemies standing before him, this man was an absolute demon king of unmatched power.
Ye Fan’s face bore the traces of time, yet his authority was undiminished — and beyond that, there was now a depth to him that was simply unfathomable.
Those eyes were as deep as the sea of stars. One look into them, and a person would quickly find themselves sinking, their very soul on the verge of dissolving and fragmenting. No one dared meet his gaze.
And that aura — how could it be so terrifying? It had nearly drawn level with the Ancient Supremes themselves.
The one overseeing things on behalf of the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star was a powerful quasi-emperor who had broken free from the ancestral cave and once followed the fully accomplished Hegemon Body. What kind of great scene had he not witnessed?
Yet from the very first moment he laid eyes on Ye Fan, he could not stop himself from trembling. He understood that something had gone terribly wrong.
“Fall back!”
He bellowed the command, ordering everyone to retreat at once — because he understood clearly that to remain here was to die, without the slightest hope.
Everyone was dazed. Their leader — an immensely powerful quasi-emperor — had been frightened into this state. Just how terrifying was the newcomer? Could he truly be a genuine Great Emperor?
Tens of thousands of soldiers scattered in all directions, attempting to flee, some tearing open the void to traverse the cosmos in an instant.
But it was all futile. Ye Fan’s hair cascaded white, yet his dominance was absolute and matchless. With a wide sweep of his sleeve, a thunderous rumble covered the entire star domain, and tens of thousands of people were swept up inside — along with several suns, moons, and stars.
The sight was horrifying. Those were actual great stars — and just like that, they vanished into his sleeve together with the entire army, as though all of heaven and earth were held within the palm of his hand.
“Bang!”
Ye Fan’s sleeve shook, and all tens of thousands of soldiers became ash — among them were saints and sages, who were reduced to fine powder along with the fragments of the stars, raining down as incinerated residue onto the frigid cosmos.
“You — you killed them all. Such heavy murderous intent — are you not afraid that when you undergo your tribulation, the heavens will settle the score?!” The quasi-emperor from the Hegemon Body ancestral cave roared, eyes gone red.
“When you were slaughtering my Heavenly Court’s people, did you ever think of that?”
Ye Fan had not opened his mouth. But throughout all of heaven and earth, a powerful will was spreading — like the divine sound of the Great Dao resonating, harmonizing with this entire expanse of the cosmos.
“Is not the very path of cultivation to shatter eternity, to defy the heavens, to seek immortality? Having walked to this point, do you think I would still abide by the rules it set for me?”
A vast will surged and undulated — as though a supreme god were demanding an answer — and yet Ye Fan simply stood there, having never parted his lips. All creation, all of this cosmos and its stellar rivers, reverberated for him, thundering and roaring.
“If you want to achieve the Dao, you will fall on the day of your tribulation!” the powerful figure from the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star shouted — yet his eyes were filled with terror, for he saw a massive hand pressing forward to cover him. No divine ability, no Dao technique was of any use. He could not escape.
“Boom!”
His form exploded, dissolving into a cloud of blood mist that scattered across the cosmos.
“Teacher — is it you?”
“Brother Ye — have you truly come back? Heavens be praised!”
In the distance, figures began to appear. This star domain held quite a few Heavenly Court soldiers — otherwise the Hegemon Bloodline would not have come to sweep it clean.
The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon was soaked in blood. All eight of its golden tails had been severed; the horns on its head were shattered; blood dripped freely, and its scales were torn apart in numerous places — a wretched and pitiable sight.
And yet it was laughing now, tears streaming down its face. Behind it, Heavenly Court veterans were gathering, all trembling with excitement, unable to hold back their howls and cries.
“Ha ha… the Heavenly Court shall rise again!”
Many laughed and wept at once. The wait had been too long. To finally see the light of day — Ye Fan’s overwhelming power just now had said everything. The Heavenly Court would flourish.
From the crown of Ye Fan’s head, a sky-engulfing torrent of blood-light erupted, transforming into great dragons that streamed into each person’s body. In an instant, every veteran’s wounds were healed, their blood energy surging back to its peak.
This entire stretch of starry sky was permeated with his aura. His blood energy shot through sun and moon, enveloping the cosmos and stellar rivers.
“Brothers — it has been a long time. From this day forward, the Heavenly Court shall return!” These were Ye Fan’s first words.
“Rebuild the Heavenly Court!” Everyone’s blood ran hot. They raised their heads and roared to the sky, having waited far too long for this moment.
“I’m sorry to have made you brothers suffer. Tell me — who has been going against my Heavenly Court?” Ye Fan asked quietly.
When that question was raised, many eyes turned red. Too many had died — several entire battle divisions reduced to ash, the Black Bear Great Sage and many other commanders perishing under unjust circumstances.
“The Forbidden Zone Disciples Alliance…”
…
On the other side of the starry sky behind Ye Fan, the cultivator who had first spotted him and kindly warned him let out a great cry and hurtled toward the distance.
“Ye Fan, the Holy Body, has returned!”
The moment those words rang out in the stellar river where he was, a host of figures stirred into motion. And then the news spread, racing outward in every direction, propagating at the greatest speed possible.
“Crack!”
Throughout the cosmos, dozens of star systems experienced anomalies — within them, Great Dao formation patterns shattered and collapsed.
At the same time, within a hidden chamber of the Heavenly Court, streams of rune light arose, shooting up brilliant radiance — starry coordinates, one after another, shimmering and flashing.
“First, go bring the children back!”
The Black Emperor and the others understood: Ye Fan’s hundred-year seal had expired, and the Origin Heaven Grand Formation had dissolved automatically. Though hearts still carried their grief, everyone scattered immediately, charging toward the great star systems.
These children were the hope of the Heavenly Court — they represented the future. Nothing could be allowed to happen to them.
“Mother, how long was I asleep? Where is Father? Why didn’t he come himself to get me?” Xiao Zi emerged from the Origin, her eyes still blinking in a daze as she gazed up at Ji Ziyue.
“Your father is in closed cultivation. He’ll need a little more time before he can come home,” Ji Ziyue said, barely holding back the urge to break down weeping — yet the crystalline tears welled up in the end, and fell.
“Mother, you’ve been crying. Father — where is he really? Don’t lie to Xiao Zi.” The child was precocious and sensed something was wrong. She came fully awake, opened her wide eyes, and seized Ji Ziyue’s arm, shaking it desperately.
The children of the Heavenly Court were back. Every last one of them had received tremendous benefit: a place after place where primordial essence had been gathered into sacred hollows, cultivated from the day after birth for a full hundred years, had elevated the foundations and bones of an entire generation of children by a tremendous degree.
Even in the midst of grief, even with aching hearts, everyone was astonished — they could scarcely believe what they were seeing.
Ye Fan’s origin arts were masterful beyond imagination — as though he could recreate heaven and earth itself. His methods were truly sky-reaching, and every single child had received extraordinary benefit, their innate essence filled to its fullest.
“Where’s Uncle? Why isn’t he back yet?” one of the older children asked.
“Father — where are you? Mother, don’t lie to me. I want to see Father.” Xiao Zi sobbed aloud, using her small, pale hands to wipe her tears.
Silence fell. No one had any words.
Then, a great shout rang out: “Ye Fan is still alive!”
The moment those words sounded, the Heavenly Court erupted into uproar. Everyone rushed out at once.
Li Heishui had returned, bearing the latest news, roaring with excitement: “He’s appeared! The whole outside world is talking about it!”
In the next instant, a figure flashed within the Heavenly Court — and a white-haired man appeared. Xiao Zi tore herself free from Ji Ziyue’s arms and threw herself forward, crying out: “Father! I missed you!”
Everyone stood stunned for a heartbeat — and then all of them surged forward at once. Ye Fan had come back, and the place erupted.
“Ye Fan!”
“Master!”
“Ye Fan!”
Everyone was overwhelmed with emotion. It was like something out of a dream — Ye Fan had appeared right here, alive and real, so sudden and so unexpected.
They saw that he bore some signs of age — and yet they felt only gratitude for what they had. That he had come back alive was enough. Ji Ziyue wept tears of joy.
Ye Fan gently wiped her tears away, cradled Xiao Zi in his arms, and said to everyone: “I must go face a great tribulation. Do not enter the world in the meantime — wait for me. We will meet again before long.”
Having said those words, he set Xiao Zi down, transformed into a blazing streak of light, and vanished from this place.
“Ha — the Heavenly Court deserves to fall. That is exactly what we intend to do. Uproot them entirely — and who could stop us?”
The path the Forbidden Zone disciples had walked was soaked in blood and carnage, and none had dared oppose them. They rampaged openly, proclaiming it without any attempt at concealment.
“What? Ye Fan, the Holy Body, is still alive? How unexpected. I thought he had dissolved into the Dao.” When the news reached them, they all froze.
“This news is quite alarming. We must report it above!”
Fear settled into the hearts of the Forbidden Zone disciples. Several turned and began making their way back — naturally, they would not dare treat Ye Fan the way they had treated the Heavenly Court’s soldiers. He was not someone they could simply kill at will.
“Boom!”
On the path leading toward the Big Dipper, a blazing torrent of light descended from the heavens. A single foot stamped downward, pressing straight toward Wangsheng, the Prince of Reincarnation from the Sea — more imposing than anything he had ever known.
“How dare you!” Wangsheng had thought his return journey was kept secret — he never imagined someone would find out, and come to cut him off.
Wangsheng opened his mouth and spat out a forbidden artifact — one forged by an Ancient Supreme — sending it blasting toward that great foot. But then something that shook him to the core happened: Ye Fan swept his sleeve, and the forbidden artifact was simply caught and taken away, without the slightest disturbance.
“Bang!”
That great foot descended with unstoppable force, landing square on Wangsheng’s body. Even the bloodline of an Ancient Imperial Prince could not bear it — it could not withstand this.
“Aah…” He spat out a great mouthful of blood.
The foot pressed down on his face, forcing him to kneel prostrate. Then the other foot came down upon his chest, collapsing him flat against the ground. The newcomer lowered his head and looked down at him, asking: “Were you among those who killed my people?”
“And what if I was?” he asked, feigning bravado, voice raised.
Ye Fan raised his head, his gaze leaving Wangsheng entirely and drifting out toward the distant stars. That instant made Wangsheng’s premonition scream with dread.
“Wait—” he cried in terror.
“Boom!”
But Ye Fan paid him no heed whatsoever. The foot pressed down with the slightest shift of force, and blood and flesh splattered high. Wangsheng screamed once, his face written over with terror — and then he exploded apart.
In another stretch of the starry sky, the Ruins Woman’s face went as white as snow. She had witnessed the entire process with her own eyes. She too had been secretly making her way toward the Big Dipper — and now her own path forward was cut off.