Ye Fan stood in the Northern Region — a barren expanse as far as the eye could see, not an old friend in sight. Yet this place held many people impossible to forget, bound to a stretch of time that would never fade.

The Ten Thousand Clans of the Primordial Era had run rampant. The bell of the Purple Mountain had tolled for three consecutive months. Ten thousand years after the death of Ancestor Zhang Lin, his spirit and wisdom remained unextinguished, and he had fought alongside Ye Fan against the ancient clans — then, on that morning, dissolved into scattered motes of light and rain and dispersed.

The peerless Divine King had struck up a melody on the zither at the Jade Pond, moving all ten directions. Blood had soaked his white robes. He had been magnificent beyond compare…

Too many people. Too many things. Impossible to let go. Impossible to forget.

Ye Fan stood among ancient ruins — the place where Ancestor Zhang Lin had fallen in battle. Now this land had become the ground where Dao dissolved. Yang Yi, whom Zhang Lin had sealed away for ten thousand years, had come here in the final moments before her passing, tears falling like rain, dissolving into streams of Dao light — so that she and Zhang Lin could dance together forever.

To fall in battle, to bury one’s bones amid sword light — that is a hero’s end. To slowly grow old, white-haired, fading into the ordinary world — that is a hero’s helplessness.

In the Northern Region of today, none of the Thirteen Great Bandits remained. Of the petty bandit company, only two were left — both within the Heavenly Court — and it was nearly impossible to find anyone from the past.

Ye Fan’s figure flickered, shattering the void, and he parted temporarily from Pang Bo and Long Ma, venturing alone into a small world.

This was the small world of the Northern Region’s Fourth Great Bandit, the Azure Flood Dragon King. Now this place had become a sacred ground of the demon clan — though even the Azure Flood Dragon King’s son, Qing Yi, had already died.

The former Hall of Undying had long since fallen as well, for when the demon clan later slew the ancient clan entity sealed beneath the hall’s foundation, they had destroyed the entire structure in the process.

Ye Fan’s form swayed, and he appeared atop a mountain peak. In the distance, pine winds soughed — yet here it was very still. A solitary grave stood alone, the stone bearing two carved characters: Qin Yao.

So many years had passed. The grave was quite old by now, yet no weeds had grown over it — someone came regularly to tend it.

A pity that even Jin Yan, who had been close with Qin Yao, had since passed away. Now there was no one left who could tease and scold Ye Fan on her behalf.

Ye Fan sat before the lonely grave. She had been a fine woman — yet she had passed too early, leaving him shadowed with sorrow.

Jin Yan had once grieved for Qin Yao, weeping as she said that she had been only a passing traveler through Ye Fan’s life.

Ye Fan had encountered many people in this life. Yet for Qin Yao, he had never forgotten her. As a Heavenly Emperor, he sometimes felt a vast and helpless desolation — there were things that could not be done no matter how hard one tried.

“I’m sorry. I never found the Divine Fate Flower.” Ye Fan said quietly, downcast, sitting before the grave and whispering to her.

In the past, he had believed that obtaining the Source Heavenly Master’s inheritance would allow him to find the Divine Fate Flower — yet more than six thousand years had passed, and he had found nothing.

The time was too great, the years too long. Six thousand years and more — even if the Divine Fate Flower truly existed, reversing fate would be beyond reach.

The more one knew, the more clearly one understood, the more helpless one felt. The Divine Fate Flower simply did not grow in this realm — it grew only in the Immortal Realm.

In the past, even those such as the Fourth Generation Source Heavenly Master who had searched for the Divine Fate Flower had never truly obtained it. The legends had misled all who came after.

The Human Origin Fruit, the Earth Fate Fruit, the Heavenly Divine Fruit — these were divine-grade items born within stone, three products of a single divine object at different stages of its evolution. The first two kinds could be found in the mortal world. Among them, the Earth Fate Fruit was no worse than an Undying Medicine. As for the Heavenly Divine Fruit — it had never been seen, for it grew only in the Immortal Realm. It was said that when the Earth Fate Fruit evolved into the Heavenly Divine Fruit, a flower bloomed alongside it — and that flower was called the Divine Fate Flower.

Only the Immortal Realm could bear witness to it. And yet — if one entered the Immortal Realm, the power of the Undying Medicine by one’s side would increase many times over. What need would there be for the Divine Fate Flower then?

A solitary grave buried an unforgettable person, and with her a stretch of feeling from his younger years. Ye Fan murmured softly, recounting many things to the ancient tomb there before that lonely grave.

At last he rose, and walked down the mountain.

“Ye Fan.” Yan Ruyu appeared.

“Princess.” Ye Fan turned back, and did not immediately leave. He too had much he wished to ask, so he spoke directly: “I want to ask about the Green Emperor.”

“He… may have been entombed within the Desolate Tower, having perished while attempting a method of immortality.” Yan Ruyu was as beautiful as ever — these were only her conjectures.

It was naturally world-shaking news — yet Ye Fan remained utterly calm. At this level of cultivation, what could still make him lose his composure? Even if the Green Emperor appeared before him in person, he would be just the same.

Ye Fan departed and rejoined Pang Bo and the others.

The ancient Ten Thousand Clans of the Primordial Era were all gone. The Northern Region today was desolate and quiet — everything from those years was gone, never to return.

The memories of his time in Divine City had left a deep impression on Ye Fan: the stone gambling, the great battle of the Divine Kings… it all felt as if it had been only yesterday.

Now Divine City had risen again. Ye Fan walked into it, the world vast and boundless — yet he did not recognize a single person.

“Heavenly Emperor Ye!” Someone cried out, trembling with shock.

By now, his portrait had long since been held by every clan — it was no wonder someone recognized him.

When the news spread, the Eastern Wasteland erupted, all ten directions shaken. Old friends still living came rushing from all directions — still this same city, still some of the same familiar faces.

“Brother Ye…” The former crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, now its sovereign, was very old, the bold fire of youth from those days long since gone.

Ye Fan smiled. The feeling of seeing old friends again was truly wonderful — especially seeing the young nun from those years, who had long since returned to secular life and was now aged.

“Your bond as siblings is truly deep.” Ye Fan smiled.

“When one grows old and can gather together again, it is truly wonderful.” Yao Yue Kong had also arrived — now the elder master of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Soon after, Jiang Yifei, master of the Northern Region’s Jiang Family, arrived with his sister Jiang Caixuan. More than six thousand and five hundred years since they had last met, their hearts were filled with emotion.

“Let us have a proper reunion.” Jiang Yifei said.

His vital energy was abundant — he had achieved the Dao through an extraordinary path, and was extraordinarily powerful, absolutely a peerless powerhouse on the same level as Southern Demon, Ye Tong, and the like.

“Brother Jiang is truly a man among men.” Ye Fan said.

Jiang Yifei said: “I know Brother Ye has always harbored some suspicion toward me. Now that things have come this far, there is nothing left to hide. I did indeed receive a portion of the Ruthless Great Emperor’s inheritance.”

These words sent everyone present into shock. Only Ye Fan let out a sigh. Back then he had always felt that Hua Yunfei, Yao Guang, and Jiang Yifei had a very particular air about them — a quality they shared in common — and he had held suspicions.

Now there was no need to suspect. As a Heavenly Emperor, one glance was enough to see through everything.

“They secretly chose Yao Guang, and also came to my Jiang Family to select disciples. In the end I received the Undying Heaven Art — yet their ambitions were too great, and in the end the powerhouse lurking within our Jiang Family was slain by our clan’s experts.” Jiang Yifei said.

Ye Fan understood at once. Perhaps this was why the shadowy controller within the Yao Guang Sacred Ground had lent out the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Cauldron to kill Jiang Taixu — they had long since become enemies of the Jiang Family.

Before long, the Sacred Maiden of the Jade Pond, the Sacred Maiden of Dao Yi, and several other peerless beauties from those years also arrived.

Time spares no one. Though they were all formidable, the years had dusted each of them with frost — they were still beautiful, yet white had already taken root in their hair.

“More than six thousand years have passed, and the Sacred Womb of the Jade Pond still hasn’t emerged into the world.” Pang Bo muttered.

The Sacred Maiden of the Jade Pond looked toward Ye Fan and let out a sigh. “With a Heavenly Emperor like Brother Ye in the world, even a Sacred Womb would choose not to face him — and has instead chosen a future lifetime.”

She had once been one of the most beautiful women in the Eastern Wasteland; now she already had countless disciples, at least dozens of generations of successors.

When the Innate Dao Embryo Zixia arrived, Long Ma could not help but let out a strange cry — only to be silently suppressed by Ye Fan, leaving Long Ma sweating all over, unable to move a muscle. Inwardly, Long Ma thought: Brother Black Emperor, I wanted to let out a roar on your behalf, but I can’t even do that.

Among those who came was someone who surprised Ye Fan greatly — the Yin Underworld Eyes, Li Desheng, with whom he had once entered the Primordial Forbidden Zone.

“Daoist Duan De sought me out several times, inviting me to explore an underground ancient mausoleum with him. He once gave me some divine marrow. The fact that I have survived until now — I owe much of that to Daoist Duan.” Li Desheng said.

When the gathering concluded and the guests dispersed, Ye Fan offered everyone a final cup of wine, then rose and bid his farewells. The crowd sighed with emotion as they parted — they might never see one another again in this life.

Ye Fan walked through Divine City, murmuring quietly to himself: “You said that ten thousand years later, a similar flower would bloom and I would meet her again. More than six thousand years have already passed.”

Deep in the night, he wandered alone through the city, thinking of a woman who had died many years ago. It was in this very city that they had first met.

A pity that the Miaoyu Nunnery no longer existed.

Not long after, Ye Fan’s footprints were also left in the Northern Plains. He sought out the master of Wang Teng — that old crane — yet it had long since passed into nirvana. However, it had left behind its inheritance, and the lineage of the Ancient Chaos Great Emperor would have successors.

Ye Fan left behind a restored Emperor’s Talisman here, then passed on the “Former” character scripture and departed, drifting away.

He crossed the Western Desert, entered the Central Region, and surveyed the old lands of the past — witnessing the stillness of Xumi, beholding the dragon energy surging through the Central Region.

In the western reaches of the Central Region — the Qin Mountains — he encountered an old acquaintance: a peerless genius from more than fifteen thousand years ago, once sealed for nine thousand years, the Central Emperor Xiang Yufei.

He was indeed a true hero of his era, of extraordinary power. Ye Fan had heard that he had once challenged the Golden Crow Great Emperor — how that battle had concluded was never made public, but it was reasonable to suppose his record had been brilliant.

For he had once been spoken of in the same breath as Gai Jiuyou — men of the same era.

Now the Central Emperor was solitary and withdrawn, dwelling in a thatched hut on the bank of a lake, a melancholy that defied words written in his brow.

Ye Fan invited him to join the Heavenly Court. The Central Emperor declined with courtesy. “I have died once before, and was then sealed for nine thousand years, missing far too much. The woman I loved took her own life for my sake and cast herself into this lake. Now I only wish to remain here and keep watch.”

Ye Fan thought of the past. Back when he and the Old Sickly Man had walked together through the Qin Mountains, he had seen the Central Emperor standing in a daze before this very lake. Gai Jiuyou had told him this story about the Central Emperor then.

Two great geniuses of their era. Different paths — yet the same solitude.

Ye Fan departed and encountered descendants of Princess Yudie. He also learned that another woman who had once stirred the Central Region — Princess Moon Spirit — had passed into nirvana one year prior.

Afterward, he sought out an old friend, Ye Huiling — a woman who had once helped him when he went to the Primordial Forbidden Grounds to harvest Undying Medicine.

Ye Huiling’s vital energy was still reasonably full, for she had once consumed the fruit of an Undying Medicine — though it had not been fruit borne of a complete Undying Tree. Meeting Ye Fan again, she was both surprised and delighted.

“What is this?” She looked at the tear crystal Ye Fan handed her.

“This is a gift from Xiao Nannan for you.” Ye Fan said.

“She is always forgetting the past — does she still remember me?” Ye Huiling sighed softly.

“Thank you for caring for her back then. For anyone who treated her kindly — even if the little one has forgotten, she will eventually remember again with time.” Ye Fan smiled.

After they parted, he rejoined Pang Bo and Long Ma and went again into the Central Region’s Chamber of Extraordinary Scholars — but unfortunately the old master of the chamber had died many years past.

He repaired the formation altar there that opened a passage to the regions beyond, then traveled southward, entering the Southern Ranges.

The Demon Emperor’s Palace was as magnificent as ever, yet the Southern Demon siblings were nowhere to be seen — they had not returned. That last farewell had been their final meeting in this world.

In the Southern Ranges, many from the Savage Clan had returned from beyond the outer regions and were living here. Dongfang Ye’s younger brother, Dongfang Man, had become the clan chief, for Dongfang Ye remained permanently stationed in the Heavenly Court.

“Rest in peace, Senior Xuanwu.” Ye Fan paid his respects before a great tomb. The Black Tortoise had been the guardian deity of the Savage Clan. At the great Jade Pond gathering in those years, it had shown its divine might and protected the human clan — a deed that commanded reverence.

Afterward, he also paid respects at the tomb of the old Savage King — that admirable old man had already departed this world several thousand years past.

“It’s you…” Ye Fan was surprised to encounter an old friend in the Southern Ranges. White hair framed a face whose beauty had not faded — the years had whitened her hair but could not conceal her appearance. It was, remarkably, Yao Xi.

The former Sacred Maiden of Yao Guang was now living in the Southern Ranges.

Yao Xi saw him, her expression complex. Thinking of all the entanglements and grudges of those years past, she finally let out a sharp scolding: “Some Heavenly Emperor — back then you were nothing but a shameless little thief!”

The moment she said it, she felt her own face flush. She regretted it a little. So many years had passed — why dredge up old matters?

After learning that the Yao Guang Sacred Ground had been secretly controlled by others, she had chosen to leave. Later, when Weiwei swept everything clean and overthrew the old order, Yao Xi still did not return, choosing instead to live in seclusion.

The old matter left Ye Fan at a loss for words. Even a Heavenly Emperor could find himself speechless sometimes.

“I invite you to join the Heavenly Court…”

Ye Fan hadn’t expected it — Yao Xi actually agreed.

The one thing Ye Fan was grateful for was that Pang Bo and Long Ma were still drinking at the Savage Clan and had not witnessed this scene. Otherwise, a Heavenly Emperor’s “lifetime reputation” would surely be ruined in their telling of it.

At last, they departed and returned to the Heavenly Court.