The Monkey, Dao Yi, the Man Devil, the Old Madman, and all the others worried deeply for Ye Fan. Yet none of them stopped. For this was an opportunity Ye Fan had purchased with his own life — it would be a betrayal to hesitate.
“Rumble, rumble, rumble…”
They spread out and began crossing the tribulation — striving to reach the highest realm that their bodies’ potential could achieve, transforming themselves to the utmost and hoping thereby to break through into the highest domain their physical existence could attain.
They had dispersed, each positioned in a different star system, each preparing to face their own great tribulation individually. Immortal light streamed in ten thousand directions. The terror was beyond all measure.
The world was shaken. People had never imagined they would see such a scene — yet here it was, truly happening: multiple people crossing the Great Emperor tribulation simultaneously. It was like a legend made real.
“The Holy Body has truly defied the heavens. How can he be this terrifying? It is too frightening!”
Every cultivator was stunned and amazed. Many trembled. The presence was more than they could bear. This was the most unthinkable miracle in all the world.
Solar immortal light burst open — that was Ye Tong crossing the tribulation. Blazing heat enveloped the great universe, as he was wrapped in endless fire, the sea of lightning boiling.
Lunar immortal light scattered in all directions, surging and turbulent — that was Jiang Tingting standing within the universe like a peerless female emperor, drawing upon the power of the great universe to resist the greatest tribulation of her life.
Five-phase divine radiance pierced the heavens, riddling the sea of lightning with holes — that was the Old Madman crossing the tribulation. In each of his five Secret Realms, a miniature version of himself sat in meditation, resisting the Great Emperor tribulation, shattering heaven and earth.
An immortal iron staff spanned the sky, severing the ancient vault of heaven. The Monkey struck upward at the nine heavens and downward at the nine depths of the underworld — unmatched under heaven, his might beyond compare. The sea of lightning collapsed and scattered.
……
Yang Xi, the Man Devil, and all the others were straining with everything they had to cross their tribulations, hoping to succeed — unable to betray Ye Fan’s heart-and-soul sacrifice in forcing open this heaven and earth for them.
Outside, every person’s soul quivered and trembled. It was beyond all imagination. Every heart was pounding.
Divine law flickered. Lightning raged. The edge of the universe became stellar ruins — a land of devastating tribulation, completely shattered. Who could have conceived of it: multiple people becoming Great Emperors simultaneously, lightning blazing in the hundreds of millions — it was too terrifying.
Even without being in the same place, without any connection between them, that presence remained overwhelming, rousing every direction — like several vast oceans bursting their banks simultaneously, flooding the mortal world.
“How can this be?”
“Is the Holy Body still even human? This is too astonishing beyond all measure!”
This unthinkable thing was happening — unique in ten thousand ages, never done by anyone before. All cultivators could only look on and sigh in awe.
“Boom!”
Ye Fan was in an extremely dire position. Blood had dyed the universe red. He strained in resistance, striking out fist after fist toward the vault of heaven. Divine law erupted from his heavenly spirit platform and from his flesh — forcing back the ten thousand Dao streams through sheer will.
He was pitting his own strength against the ten thousand Dao streams — creating an immortal legend, forging a miracle so brilliant it made one’s hair stand on end.
Yet he was truly exhausted. Not even his battles against supreme beings in the past had pushed him like this. He faced the threat of death at every moment. The blows he was absorbing were unspeakably terrifying. Yet he could only grit his teeth and endure. If he faltered, the loss of hope for his old friends to become Great Emperors would be a small matter — the true terror was endangering their lives.
Even as his body shattered, his flesh and blood still blazed with radiance, using divine law to hold back the ten thousand Dao streams — not letting them suppress this expanse of heaven and earth — buying time for everyone.
“If you succeed, what would that make of me?!” The Golden Crow Great Emperor stared at that place with an expressionless face.
Yet he could not approach. Even Ye Fan was on the verge of death. If he went over, he too would face the tribulation, and he certainly could not withstand it.
Ye Fan was firmly convinced: even if the supreme beings within the forbidden zones who opposed him learned that he was in dire straits, they would not dare come. Anyone who entered would face the assault of the ten thousand Dao streams — they would experience everything he was enduring.
“My, truly formidable. The greatest Holy Body in history lives up to his name. Now I truly believe — he may well become a figure like the Desolate Heavenly Emperor.”
“What are we waiting for? Since the opportunity is right before us, let us also cross the tribulation — and try to become Great Emperors!”
Ye Fan had blasted apart the ten thousand Dao streams, making the suppression of the great universe vanish entirely. This was a window of opportunity. Other figures with the potential to become Great Emperors were all stirred — they too wished to seize this moment and break through.
“Boom!”
Indeed — mysterious presences erupted. Others wished to become Great Emperors, and boldly charged forward.
This was an age of splendor — an era of brilliance — where extraordinary talents were born in multitudes and geniuses rose one after another. In this moment, it was given its fullest expression.
Ye Fan defied the heavens, striking at the ten thousand Dao streams with his own strength, resisting the suppression of heaven and earth — hoping to carve out a place of open sky for his friends and disciples, so that they might reach the Dao.
Now many were taking advantage of the opening to seize the chance, eager in this moment to become supreme overlords. Tribulation after tribulation ignited, shaking every corner of the universe.
“What a glorious age this is! Truly the finest era ever seen. The Holy Body Ye Fan has forged a miracle!”
“Indeed. If all succeed, he will stand as the sovereign among Great Emperors — all the other emperors will bow before him. It is he who has made all of this possible. Truly a transcendent divine being!”
Many exclaimed in awe — though it had nothing to do with them.
Even though Ye Fan had blasted open the ten thousand Dao streams, the number of people who could seize this moment to break through could never be many. No matter how glorious the age, it would be impossible for everyone to stand at the very peak of the ninth level of the quasi-emperor realm.
The opportunity today was prepared for the supreme masters of this world!
“Once we become Great Emperors, who will be stronger than whom? We will see at that point who truly stands as sovereign among the emperors!” someone murmured, and began to cross the tribulation.
“Perhaps after becoming a Great Emperor, everything will be different — and I will be able to contend with that person on equal footing!” one supremely powerful figure was convinced. After becoming a Great Emperor, they would stand in the same realm, and everything would change.
“Strange — though the Holy Body Ye Fan has blasted apart the ten thousand Dao streams, the region centered on him is the most favorable for reaching the Dao. Elsewhere, there is still some degree of suppression.”
People were startled to discover this.
Yet that region had already been claimed by Ye Fan’s disciples and friends. He had long since deduced this possibility and assigned each of them their area in advance.
This left everyone astonished and helpless. No one dared rush over to seize ground. If they did, Ye Fan might act, drawing on the ten thousand Dao streams to strike down those who harbored ill intent.
Yet few were willing to give up. Even positioned at a distance, at a great disadvantage, they still chose to cross the tribulation — for they knew that if they missed this moment, they would truly and completely lose their chance forever.
One person becoming a Great Emperor was already enough to suppress heaven and earth, with ten thousand Dao streams resonating as one. If several Great Emperors coexisted simultaneously, how terrifying would that suppression be? Just the thought of it made one tremble.
Especially since Ye Fan was certain to become a Great Emperor. Only he could hold the ten thousand Dao streams open now — to break the path for his disciples and friends. If he completed his own ascension, could he then defy both himself and the rules of the universe? That was simply unimaginable.
Boom!
Across the great universe, tribulation lightning blazed everywhere. Great calamities erupted in every direction as everyone strained with all they had.
Ye Fan was soaked in blood but persisted. Yet his imperial fists had begun to tremble. His body was riddled with cracks. He could barely stand — struggling with immense difficulty.
The path he was walking now, the impacts he was absorbing — they were horrifying beyond measure, enough to make anyone tremble.
“Boom!”
What he found most difficult to resist were the Undying Medicines, surfacing at intervals — the immortal light exhaled by those faces behind them was unmatched in all the world. His situation was extremely dire.
Time flowed on. Ye Fan’s peerless divine body had been shattered many times, reconstituting itself from clouds of blood mist, striking against the ten thousand Dao streams — never relaxing for a single moment, pressing forward through unspeakable hardship.
As time went on, he swayed — on the verge of collapse. Yet across many regions of the universe, divine radiance was erupting. More and more people were crossing tribulations, straining with everything they had to break through. All of them were giving it their all to succeed — unable to betray the meaning behind Ye Fan’s willingness to sacrifice his own life to force open this heaven and earth.
“Master, push yourself no further. If this continues, you will drive yourself to ruin,” Ye Tong called out loudly.
“Master, pull back!” Xiao Song said as well.
The Monkey, Jiang Tingting, and the others all spoke up. Though they were in the middle of their own tribulations, their eyes had never left Ye Fan. Watching him struggle on the line between life and death, their eyes were nearly split with anguish.
If this went on, Ye Fan would certainly be destroyed. This lifetime would come to an end.
Ye Fan fell silent. The ten thousand Dao streams were reviving. The rules of the universe pressed down without relent. This road was far more terrifying than he had imagined. He truly could not hold on much longer. He was capable of blasting a path through the tribulation for himself, but holding it open for everyone over a sustained period was beyond him.
“I will hold on a little longer. If I cannot, I will stop.”
He was unwilling to give up easily and persisted — though even his primordial spirit had been shattered in four pieces several times, had blazed up again and again, he roared the universe into submission and drove back the ten thousand Dao streams.
Time flowed on. Still no one had become a Great Emperor. For the great tribulation required considerable time to complete — one could not leap into that realm and achieve full perfection all at once.
As more time passed, Ye Fan let out a roar of fury. Was the first step on the road of immortal longevity — the road he had deduced for the sake of everyone — truly this difficult? Without becoming a Great Emperor, how could one advance further toward immortality?!
“Master, pull back.” Xiao Song wept as she cried out.
“Stop!” The others all shouted as well, unable to bear watching Ye Fan like this.
Ye Fan let out a soft sigh and nodded. “Very well.”
After analyzing the situation carefully, he understood that this attempt had failed. He was unable to blast apart the ten thousand Dao streams. He looked bleak — he had not been able to help everyone become Great Emperors. And he himself had been gravely wounded. His primordial spirit had nearly been extinguished.
“Ah—!”
Ye Fan let out a great roar. He unleashed a supreme secret technique — taking onto himself the tribulations of all the others, drawing all of their heavenly punishments to himself to bear alone.
For the ten thousand Dao streams were about to return. When they did, it might grow very dangerous. He did not wish for anything to go wrong for those around him.
“I am withdrawing. I will no longer obstruct the ten thousand Dao streams. Those crossing tribulations — pull back now, and make ready,” Ye Fan transmitted to all the supreme beings across the great universe.
“What?!” Many faces went pale.
Even so, Ye Fan had notified them in time. Many reacted with great decisiveness — immediately bearing the pain of having their bodies shattered in order to violently resist, no longer attempting to become Great Emperors, severing all cause and effect.
Even so, the tribulations already in progress would not vanish — they would still crash down. It was simply that no new, even more dangerous great calamities would follow.
Ye Fan held on for them a while longer. In the end, he truly had no strength left to defy the heavens. He shattered in that place, allowing the ten thousand Dao streams to flood in. He gasped for breath within the sea of lightning, reassembling his body.
At last, a Dao sound shook all the heavens of ten thousand ages, tearing through the ten thousand Dao streams — piercing straight through the vault of heaven!
In this moment, that beam of light became the only thing in the universe. Every person trembled and shook. It pierced through the heart of the sky and above — rivaling the high heavens themselves.
The Golden Crow Great Emperor, who had just allowed his heart to settle, felt it constrict once more. He let out a long sigh and said: “What a Holy Body. Truly extraordinary. Even like this — you will still forge a miracle?!”
In this moment, Ye Fan pierced through all constraints. He no longer struck at the ten thousand Dao streams to destroy them — instead, he pierced through them, standing above them, with all the rules beneath his feet.
He was crossing his own Great Emperor tribulation!
The Golden Crow Great Emperor’s imprint and the ten thousand Dao streams lay below. And he was above all of that — not merging his imprint with this universe, standing beyond all the heavens. The presence of a Great Emperor bloomed.
Yet it was precisely because of this that the tribulation he faced was even more ferocious — shaking the entire universe.
Calamity upon calamity descended. Undying immortal medicines surfaced. This time it was not face after face appearing — instead, one figure after another walked forward. Transcendent women. Imposing men. All as though they were immortals.
This was a great battle. Ye Fan strained with every last ounce of strength, giving his life without a thought for it.
He stood above the ten thousand Dao streams — beyond the sight of the mortal world. One could only sense a terrifying presence expanding outward. The Golden Crow Great Emperor’s face shifted again and again. He felt it — that person was crossing the tribulation above his imprint and above the ten thousand Dao streams, standing over all of them.
“The presence somewhat resembles my father’s in his later years when he was transforming into a battle immortal!” The Monkey wore an expression of stunned disbelief.
How much time passed — impossible to say. Heaven and earth grew still. The ten thousand Dao streams no longer trembled. The Old Golden Crow’s imprint gathered back together, merging with heaven and earth once more, slowly reassembling.
What had happened? No one could know!