A hundred years passed. Ye Tong attempted once more to cross his tribulation, hoping to stride into the realm of the Great Emperor, to defy the heavens and alter the laws of the great Dao, and to stand upon the highest peak of the martial path — but he failed. In the years that followed, he persisted without relenting, seeking to break the unchanging curse of the ages. Even with a Great Emperor who had achieved the Dao first, he still sought to make that ultimate leap and realize the myth of multiple Emperors existing side by side.

The results were devastating. Time and again he was left gravely wounded and on the verge of death, his blood spilled across the cosmos, unable to change his circumstances.

The Golden Crow Great Emperor’s imprint had long since been seared into the heart of the great cosmos. Now a single Dao reigned supreme and ten thousand Daos were merged into one; favored by the will of the heavens above, no one could shake his foundation. Even were he to die, this Dao would not disperse for ten thousand years. In a sense, it was no longer he who was suppressing others — it was the manifestation of Heaven’s own rules!

During these years, Ye Fan had also acted several times, entering the Life Forbidden Zones, confronting the ancient venerables, and even exchanging blows with the manifestations of certain individuals. He swept all before him, his power shaking the cosmos.

Each time he returned without fail with something gained — at times bringing back ancient stone steles from before recorded history from within the Forbidden Zones, at times taking away immortal divine springs, at other times moving away spiritual roots of heaven and earth.

During this period, great catastrophes erupted from time to time — especially whenever Ye Fan stood in confrontation with the Supremes of the Forbidden Zones. Supreme heavenly tribulations would descend within the boundless chaotic sea, and it was unclear who was crossing them.

In the blink of an eye, seven hundred years had passed since the immortality-path battle came to a close. Ye Tong crossed his tribulation once more, pushing more than half of himself into the realm of the Great Emperor, hoping to advance yet further.

And this time, the heavenly tribulation was of a power that defied imagination. The eight wildernesses of the cosmos were shaken to their core; countless star rivers were shattered. Ye Fan had no choice but to emerge, opening the heavens and forging the sun, moon, and stars anew to prevent the great cosmos from suffering too much damage.

The performance of master and disciple shocked every being in the great cosmos. Each of the great Life Forbidden Zones fell into silence, unable to find words.

Star after great star blazed and fell — like firework after firework blooming, beautiful yet heartbreaking in the moment they faded.

The great cosmic tribulation shook heaven and earth. For Ye Tong himself, the tribulation was unlike any he had ever endured. Lightning filled every heaven and every realm, shaking past, present, and future alike.

Ye Fan quietly acted, forging new stars within the shattered heavenly ruins.

Divine beings and demons submitted. All living creatures trembled. One brought destruction, the other brought creation. The entire world was shaken.

This time, no one came to interfere. In truth, ever since Ye Fan had used the Cauldron of All Things’ Maternal Qi to dominate and intimidate the Forbidden Zones, no one had dared act again — for fear of provoking his anger and causing him to launch the Forbidden Zone war immediately.

Because they themselves were not yet ready!

Silver serpentine lightning danced wildly; chaos roiled like a vast sea. The entire expanse of the star sky endured a great catastrophe the like of which had rarely been seen across all the ages. Ye Tong was covered in blood, suppressed by the great Dao, pushing forward again and again — but in the end, he could not bear the suppression of the heavens above. He coughed up great mouthfuls of blood and came crashing down.

“Elder Brother!”

In the distance, Yang Xi cried out and was about to rush forward — but was pulled back by Xiao Song.

Endless runes rained down from the sky. Every single one was a supreme Dao marking, and they all came crashing down onto Ye Tong’s body, piercing through him and leaving him riddled with bloody holes like a sieve.

This was even more terrifying than having one’s body destroyed entirely. It was the punishment of the heavens — the result of ten thousand Daos working together to suppress him. He had suffered Dao wounds that could not heal; for the rest of his life, he might be crippled because of this.

“One achieved the Dao as Emperor before him, and has merged with the heart of the heavens — this cannot be changed. The myth cannot be broken. Forcing a breakthrough will only bring the most terrible backlash. Since ancient times, no one has ever transcended this; it is impossible to exist as two Emperors in the same age. No one in all the ages has ever succeeded!” A cold, indifferent voice rang out from within one of the Life Forbidden Zones.

Ye Fan’s brow was tightly furrowed. He allowed no one to approach, and only he himself charged forward, catching with both arms his disciple who had fallen from the sea of lightning.

And during that process, endless streams of chaotic lightning and phantom silhouettes of immortals struck down upon him — producing wisps of light smoke, utterly unable to harm his physical body.

This result was astonishing. In all these years, Ye Fan had never once displayed his true strength. Even when he went to intimidate the Forbidden Zones, he never showed his hand. No one knew just how powerful he truly was. Now, lightning could not penetrate him, ten thousand laws could not approach his body, and he held all the strongest beings of the present age in complete stillness.

“Ye Tong… wake up!” Ye Fan held his disciple’s broken body, calling out to him with the resonance of his Dao voice.

“Master, I am afraid I cannot go on. Haste brings no results — becoming an Emperor truly cannot be forced. The will of heaven is difficult to defy.” Ye Tong gave a bitter smile, blood trickling ceaselessly from the corner of his mouth.

His entire body was riddled with bloody holes, front and back transparent. Most terrifying of all, inside every one of those bloody holes was a supreme great Dao divine seal — the result of being suppressed by unmatched Dao markings.

When ten thousand Daos strike back in unison, the result is utterly horrifying. Instances of this had occurred before, more than once. For whenever a Great Emperor emerged in an age, that age was destined to be one of extraordinary brilliance, with brilliant figures rising in abundance. Inevitably, there would be those who refused to accept it and sought to defy the heavens — fantasizing about standing alongside the Emperor as a co-ruler. Yet the outcome in every single case was the same: nearly every such person was reduced to a cripple. No one had ever succeeded.

“Hold on. I will sustain your life force and draw out the marks of the ten thousand Daos!” Ye Fan cried out in a great Dao voice, his entire body blazing with light as ten thousand laws surged forth simultaneously, instantly submerging everything in the area.

Boom!

Even the heavenly tribulation could not intrude in this moment, and it was already beginning to fade.

Ye Fan, like a divine being wreathed in sacred fire, held his disciple with both hands. Endless divine laws spiraled inward and entered Ye Tong’s body as he did everything within his power to drive out the Dao divine seals.

“The will of heaven… to think that something like this has happened. Only a rare few individuals throughout all of history have ever recovered, and yet by his appearance he has suffered far too gravely — this life is finished.”

“Heaven intends to cut off the Heavenly Court’s lineage — truly an unexpected and pleasant surprise!” Someone whispered within one of the Life Forbidden Zones. To think that something like this had occurred — giving the flourishing Heavenly Court a devastating blow. If the Forbidden Zones were to act now, they would need to expend considerably less effort, since Ye Fan had effectively lost one of his greatest assets.

“Master… I have failed you. I had hoped to fight at your side, yet now I have only become a burden!” Tears fell from Ye Tong’s eyes, filled with remorse and regret.

“Think nothing of it. With me here, those foul ghosts and demons will not amount to anything — they are of no consequence!” Ye Fan said in a low and resolute voice.

He told Ye Tong not to think too much. His entire body surged with divine laws, his sacred blood coursing with power, as he treated his disciple’s wounds and worked to draw out those seals.

Yet those symbols were the most fearsome suppression of the heavens — whether at Ye Tong’s Immortal Stage or his Wheel Sea, every part of him had been completely occupied by them. There was no way to extinguish them.

Great Dao sutras resonated within Ye Fan’s body. He blazed like a furnace, shooting out radiant light streams that struck toward Ye Tong’s body — yet each time a stream of seals was extinguished, a part of the disciple’s physical body and Immortal Stage would also be destroyed along with it.

This caused Ye Fan’s brow to furrow deeply. This suppression was far too terrifying. The silver seals had fused with Ye Tong into a single entity. To draw out the marks of the ten thousand Daos would inevitably mean destroying his own disciple.

With a swoosh, Ye Fan vanished from the spot with his disciple in his arms — swift as an immortal, gone in the blink of an eye, crossing through endless star systems and returning to the Heavenly Court.

“How could this have happened?”

No one had anticipated this. It had exceeded everyone’s expectations entirely.

“Elder Brother Ye Tong is blessed with peerless heavenly gifts — unmatched in all the world. How could such calamity have befallen him!”

The Heavenly Court was submerged in grief that day. Everyone sighed and lamented. The more they understood, the colder their hearts grew — it was nearly an impossible situation. External force was of no use whatsoever; only one’s own inner strength could carry one through.

Even someone as godlike as Ye Fan fell silent. For several consecutive days he worked to drive the ten thousand Dao seals from Ye Tong, but still he failed — managing only to temporarily preserve his disciple’s life.

“My beloved disciple, you must pull through!” Li Tian’s eyes had gone red. Though he was by nature freewheeling and unbridled, without a moment of proper composure on an ordinary day, now his truest emotions poured forth.

Ye Tong was not only Ye Fan’s disciple but also the disciple of Li Tian, Yan Yixi, and the Black Emperor. They had raised him and passed on to him all manner of techniques and arts.

Several days later, Ye Fan emerged from seclusion. He seemed deeply subdued, and everyone’s hearts sank.

“His life can be preserved, but as for his cultivation — it will depend on his own fortitude.” When this news broke, the Heavenly Court was shaken to its very foundation. Many wept with grief and felt deep sorrow.

When the news spread to the outside world, the entire cosmos erupted in an uproar. How could something like this have happened?

The Heavenly Court had been flourishing and glorious, its radiance illuminating the cosmos, revered throughout the world — and now this devastating news had come, making it feel utterly unreal.

Ye Tong’s fall was equivalent to severing one of Ye Fan’s arms.

Could this be the beginning of decline after reaching the peak? Everyone’s mind was filled with this thought. In these years, the Heavenly Court had been too glorious. Ye Fan, as the strongest Holy Body in all of history, had slain ancient venerables one after another — enough to shake ten thousand ages — and every one of his deeds was destined to be recorded in the weightiest annals of history.

“In this heaven and earth, no one can escape birth, aging, illness, and death. All things have their time of flourishing and their time of twilight. Everything is the result of natural change. When the sun reaches its zenith it begins to decline; when the moon is full it begins to wane. Nothing in all of creation can escape this. Signs of decay have begun to show in the Heavenly Court.”

After this transpired, such judgments quickly spread in the outside world, prompting deep reflection in many. Perhaps this was truly the result of the heavens above working to maintain balance.

News that Ye Tong had been crippled in the heavenly tribulation spread throughout every domain, triggering a great wave of shock. Everyone was talking about it, and vaguely, people sensed that something might be about to happen.

“Hahaha… truly swift retribution! Is the Heavenly Court not powerful? Now they have crippled one of their absolute peak combatants themselves. I say their defeat and ruin are not far off — for even heaven itself does not aid them!”

“Hmph — delusional defiance of the heavens. My ancestor has already become a Great Emperor. Who could ever overturn that? I would very much like to see the Holy Body Ye Fan try to defy the heavens and break the Dao, and walk that very same path.”

Loud, joyful laughter rang out from within the Golden Crow clan. Many powerful individuals clapped and cheered, feeling that the greatest era of the Golden Crow clan had arrived, and that perhaps the Heavenly Court would truly begin to decline.

However, this kind of talk was quickly suppressed. The Golden Crow Great Emperor appeared, looking down upon the entire Fire Mulberry Star with supreme authority, roaring at them to cease their improper behavior.

What was most astonishing to everyone was that he then opened his mouth and expelled a strand of his foundational Dao fire, sealing it within a divine crystal, and handed it to a Golden Crow Saint. He instructed the Saint to send it to the Heavenly Court and give it to Ye Fan, to help treat his disciple’s wounds.

“Ancestral Emperor, why would you do this?”

“If we who are Emperors were as narrow-minded as you, we might as well have turned to demons.” The Golden Crow Great Emperor thundered.

When this news reached the outside world, all across the cosmos people were taken aback. Many were filled with admiration — this was what a true Great Emperor of the demon race should be.

The Golden Crow Great Emperor had achieved the Dao through fire, while Ye Tong possessed a Solar physique. Their foundational natures were close to one another — and beyond that, Ye Tong had been wounded precisely in his attempt to defy the Golden Crow Great Emperor’s heart-of-heaven imprint, receiving the punishment of the heavens as a result. If treated with the other’s foundational essence, there was perhaps genuine hope for recovery.

After Ye Fan received the divine crystal, he was silent for a moment, then had someone escort the Golden Crow Saint away, expressing his gratitude.

“The great war is about to begin!” After turning around, Ye Fan spoke these words, and the entire Heavenly Court was shaken.