Blood condensed and bones were tempered — Ye Fan had shed his old self and been reborn, reaching the most powerful state he had ever stood in throughout his entire life. Every aspect of his physical condition had improved across the board, and even his Primordial Spirit had become crystalline and full, brimming with vitality.
In that moment, he was like a divine god, his entire body radiating light, his flesh and blood glowing with brilliant splendor, like a blazing lamp from the immortal realm, illuminating mountains and rivers in ten thousand directions, while he himself remained untainted by even a speck of dust.
At the peak of one’s life, blood-light shone from the crown of his head, mapping out the heavenly decree — scene after scene appeared, projected upon the vault of heaven. A supremely exalted being was rising, setting foot upon the road toward the Imperial Throne.
This sight was utterly terrifying, enough to shake anyone to their core!
Ye Fan’s crown blazed with light, illuminating the heavenly decree, breaking through mountains and rivers, shattering the universe entire.
A golden homunculus emerged from the center of his brows and ascended toward the heavens. It let out one long cry, and swallowed all the manifested visions of the heavenly decree, dissolving them into nothingness.
He commanded all things — he refused to acknowledge the heavenly decree, he would not accept any celestial edict!
From the six directions and eight wastelands, reaching every corner without limit, a suffocating aura descended, pressing into every inch of this expanse of the universe. It was an endless sea of thunder, transforming into the greatest “tribulation” Ye Fan had ever witnessed.
Boom — rumble, rumble!
The low, heavy sound was like a war chariot of the heavens rolling forward with thunderous force, crushing everything in its path. It was as though the Ruler of all things had arrived, intending to deal with Ye Fan personally and strike him down.
Endless, boundless thunder-light swept in — and immediately, eighty-one layers of the Violet Sky Great Tribulation descended. That was the light of the Grand Dao, transformed into violet energy that pressed down from above — supremely vast, immeasurably immense, without equal.
One could see the nine-times-nine great tribulation: every single layer was like one tier of heaven — violet mist drifting, pressing down until the river of stars fractured and the universe shattered.
And this was only just the beginning. Every great star in this stretch of the universe exploded, reduced to fine powder, not a single one remaining. The sight of it sent shivers down the spine — hair-raising and bone-chilling!
No tribulation had ever been this way — obliterating the entire universe the instant it arrived. At the very least, ordinary cultivators had never witnessed this, and Ye Fan himself had never faced anything like it.
His great tribulation had come. Because his body had reached the supreme peak of his life, his vital blood surging like an endless ocean, impossible to suppress any further — he was crossing the tribulation!
“Rise!”
Ye Fan let out a great roar. The cauldron above his head shot into the air — chaotic energy billowed within it, and its mouth rapidly expanded before swallowing heaven and earth whole, engulfing all eighty-one layers of the Violet Sky Thunder Tribulation entirely. In all of heaven and earth, a perfect vacuum remained — nothing was left.
The sight was utterly terrifying. If there were any cultivators present, they would certainly have been driven to madness — what magnitude of divine power must this be, for the entire sky-wide sea of thunder to simply vanish?
One must understand that this drifting violet energy had already shattered the entire stretch of universe — the river of stars had scattered, reduced to fragments that would never exist again.
One cauldron suppressing all things, swallowing divine punishment — this was entirely the power of a supreme exalted being, something that surpassed the comprehension of the world!
And at the same time, no corner of the universe could remain at peace. With a tribulation of this magnitude, its very first appearance had already startled all directions. In particular, the supreme exalted beings dwelling within the Forbidden Zones of Life had awakened, sensing a familiar aura — for each of them had walked through this very step themselves.
“Such a vast tribulation. This person may well become a master of the Imperial Dao!”
“A tribulation of this magnitude, with boundless potential — if he ascends yet another level, the outcome is impossible to foresee.”
Once a great tribulation appeared, no amount of concealment would do any good — not even heaven-deceiving formation arrays could help, for a thunder-sea of this magnitude was far too vast to ever be hidden.
“BOOM!”
The great tribulation grew even more violent. Mysterious light blotted out the world without boundary. This shattered stretch of the universe became the very source of annihilation — all things were extinguished, nothing remained.
The immensity of the thunder-sea surpassed all mortal imagination. It was incomprehensible. It transformed this place into cursed ground — any living being that entered would inevitably be struck to pieces.
Ye Fan’s expression turned solemn as he moved to resist. This was only the beginning, and already the great tribulation was this savage — more than enough to reduce a quasi-emperor to ash. Even as powerful as he was, he had to treat this with care.
The universe let out a mournful cry. The ocean of thunder and lightning surged and overflowed, filling the six directions and eight wastelands with its light. No stars flickered — every strand of blazing lightning was weaving and erupting all at once.
Traces etched by the most fundamental laws of the universe cleaved through all things. This was the opening of the heavens — the aura of the Primordial was surging, while the opposing world-annihilating divine force billowed and roared.
Hum!
This great tribulation showed no sign of relenting, and another divine calamity descended — dozens of varieties of punishments fell from the sky, one after another, rolling forward together. Ye Fan let out a long, sharp cry, resisting fiercely.
This place had become the most terrifying location in all the universe. Nothing could be seen — blazing light illuminated past and present alike; heaven and earth both trembled. It was as though the Ruler in the shadows had arrived here, supremely majestic, intent on striking Ye Fan down.
“Break!”
Light blazed from Ye Fan’s brow. The golden homunculus shot straight up into the sky, opening its mouth to breathe in and out all manner of thunder-light, baptizing itself, tempering the Primordial Spirit — then channeling it all toward his physical body.
This great tribulation was a form of trial. Within the most terrifying lightning-light, Ye Fan tempered his body, refined the cauldron, forged his Primordial Spirit, making himself stronger — becoming a living True God.
Without question, this was an intense process, fraught with danger at every moment. At any instant, he might be reduced to ash within these blazing bolts of lightning, unseen in ten thousand ages — but if he endured it, there would be few worthy adversaries left in all the world.
Thunder-light fell like waterfalls, pouring ceaselessly into the cauldron, leaving all manner of brand-marks upon its surface — they became part of the cauldron’s Grand Dao runes, formed by nature itself, not by conscious intent.
The cauldron rose and fell, being baptized together with the golden homunculus. The mother-essence of all things cascaded down like curtains, replacing the river of stars, making this place magnificent and splendorous.
Ye Fan tilted his head back. His physical body was like a bottomless pit — even as he resisted the endless thunder-sea, he continuously opened his mouth to swallow arcs of lightning, while every inch of his flesh and blood was also like a jade vessel, having long since absorbed an incalculable amount of thunder.
A terrifying transformation was occurring within his physical body and Primordial Spirit. Now, every single drop of his blood contained the secret of the opening of the heavens — within each droplet, thunder erupted. Any single blood bead, should it fly outward, would inevitably annihilate the river of stars and shatter even a Great Sage.
“Clang!”
Within the divine punishment, a chaos bell began to toll — disrupting the flow of time. It was as though ten thousand ages had passed in an instant. Ye Fan felt his flesh stiffen. In that moment, he felt as if an entire lifetime had elapsed, felt his body grow ancient and crumble to dust — then, like grains of sand carried on the wind, drift away to cycle through reincarnation as grass, trees, and beasts.
“Back!”
Ye Fan let out a great shout, urging the golden homunculus to become still and clear, radiant and empty. He circulated his supreme divine techniques, steadying himself, ignoring the disruption of time — instantly growing quiet.
Then, light blazed from his brow. The Fore Character Secret and the Movement Character Secret began to circulate, unleashing forbidden power — time — which he turned back against the vault of heaven in equal measure, meeting force with force, resisting the tribulation punishment of the heavens.
This was a terrifying place. Every manner of law was interwoven, power swelling and surging. The quasi-emperor battle-armor that Ye Fan had forged had long since turned to flying ash — the lightning strikes that came down could not be endured by it at all.
Now, only his physical body remained indestructible, along with the cauldron that could endure forever. Every other treasure, no matter how powerful — even quasi-emperor artifacts — could not withstand the lightning strikes here. They would inevitably be reduced to ash.
A great tribulation of this vastness — rarely seen since ancient times!
“Crack!”
The Grand Dao evolved, taking on true physical form and lunging downward to kill — the forms of all manner of living beings appeared: the Vermillion Bird, divine beings, and more — engaging Ye Fan in fierce combat, clashing together in battle.
A terrifying spectacle, without compare, shaking the spirit. Every variety of heavenly tribulation was sufficient to destroy all quasi-emperors in the world — yet here, they emerged one after another without end.
Beginning from the nine-times-nine eighty-one layers of the Violet Sky Great Tribulation, the count of tribulation-strikes kept diminishing — yet they grew all the more terrifying with each passing layer, pressing downward without cease.
With a great boom, five-elemental immortal light shot into the sky, carving out an inexplicable aura across the universe — the Great Five-Elemental Tribulation had appeared!
Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth evolved in tandem, blending together into one, and at last they forged a World-Grinding Disc, which pressed down, posing an extreme threat to Ye Fan’s physical body.
Moreover, upon that grinding disc rested a demonic head — a true skull, severed clean at the neck, blood-soaked, placed atop the grinding disc. Its fangs protruded from its open mouth, hair wild and disheveled, staring down at Ye Fan.
Ancient texts recorded that within the most terrifying of great tribulations, all manner of inexplicable things would occur — things that defied explanation. Such as this: some said it was a form of sacrifice, stirring the heavens, drawing the Ruler to descend and unleash the most terrifying thunder laws.
That a blood-soaked demonic head forged from the power of the Great Five Elements and fixed upon the grinding disc was sufficient proof of how fearsome this tribulation was.
Indeed — as Ye Fan withstood it head-on, drops of blood began to appear on his body. Truly worthy of the legends that called it a forbidden great tribulation summoned through sacrifice to the heavens — without equal.
The starry sky itself was ground to dust. Even the shockwaves that radiated outward reached distant star systems, causing stars there to explode one after another, reduced to fine powder.
Ye Fan withstood the grinding disc head-on, his palms slick with blood, white bone nearly exposed — something that had never happened before.
“What a powerful heavenly tribulation — truly rare since ancient times. At the very least, it’s impossible to encounter at this cultivation level.” A cold and detached voice rang out, and in the distant starry sky, a silhouette appeared.
He stood over three meters tall, a full head of violet hair billowing freely. He stood at the edge of the thunder-sea, gazing forward at the figure ahead. His eyes were like knife-edges, sharp and oppressive — his entire bearing domineering, filled with aggressive intent. A powerful aura pressed out from him, enough to cause people to feel suffocated.
Without question — this was an ancient supreme exalted being!
The Perfected Hegemon Body had arrived. To this day, Ye Fan had reappeared, and the great tribulation was shaking the world — he could sit still no longer, and had personally come here.
“You are very strong — truly worthy of being called divinely gifted by heaven. At your age, to achieve accomplishments such as these… even if not entirely without precedent in all of history, it is certainly rare.” The Perfected Hegemon Body nodded and sighed, his admiration entirely sincere.
At the very least, he knew this: he himself had not been capable of this back then. When he had crossed his tribulation, he had already been well past a thousand years of age — and even his achievements had been hailed as rare since ancient times.
“What does any of that matter? Some people touch the realm of Dao attainment at five or six hundred years of age, yet afterward cannot advance a single step further. While others attain the Dao only after thousands of years — and directly transform into peerless supreme exalted beings.” Ye Fan was indifferent to such praise.
He was crossing the most terrifying tribulation, and had encountered the person in this world who carried the most hostile intent toward him — and yet he remained this calm, genuinely deliberating, utterly composed.
The Perfected Hegemon Body — at the center of his brow, there was a dark mark that pulsed faintly now. His gaze grew ever sharper, twin beams of light like two arcs of violet lightning shooting out, fixing upon Ye Fan as he spoke: “What a pity — a talent this splendid is about to fall. Never again to see the beauty of the starry sky, or the goodness of life.”
“Are you truly that confident you can kill me?” Within the tribulation, the World-Grinding Disc grew ever more terrifying, and the demonic head upon it exploded — blood poured over everything, causing the five-elemental grinding disc’s divine power to erupt violently, its aura shattering the Milky Way.
The blood on Ye Fan’s fists was spraying in all directions, and a grim look spread across his face. The grinding disc pressed down on the sky — within the disc, a phantom-image materialized, person and disc becoming one. It was the will of the Grand Dao of heaven and earth, rejecting him — and it lunged down to kill him.
“To kill you — why would I need any confidence at all? In the age of my invincibility, even your ancestors had to submit. The Perfected Holy Body of that era was beaten to pieces by me and fell before me — the sensation of bathing in that sacred blood was truly exquisite. I have not experienced it in a long, long time.”
The Perfected Hegemon Body clasped his hands behind his back, standing proudly above the river of stars, looking down upon all beneath heaven with supreme contempt — utterly arrogant beyond measure.