The sacred grounds of Dayang, Wanchu, Zifu, the Jiang Family, Yao Guang, the Ji Family, Dao Yi, and Yaochi had existed alongside the world since ancient times, their legacies enduring through ten thousand tribulations without perishing.
At this moment, even the most gifted heirs of these sacred grounds were hesitant, none daring to make the first move — to do so would almost certainly make them the target of everyone present.
“Since you’re all being so gracious, why not just give it to me!” The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King strode in with great steps, driving the Desolate Halberd into the ground with a thunderous boom. The entire divine hall shook.
No one had known where he had been hiding until now. He appeared at last, surveying everyone present with the predatory gaze of an eagle, wild and untamed.
The heirs of the various sacred grounds were all extraordinary figures, and naturally none of them feared him. Yet the atmosphere grew tense, for a great melee could erupt at any moment.
“Hum!”
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King made his move. He swung the Desolate Halberd in a wide arc, dimming the Light Divine Hall, warping and distorting the void wherever it struck.
The future king of the Tianpeng Clan transformed into a streak of golden light, charging straight toward the Chaos Stone, reaching out with a great hand to snatch the ancient beast-hide scroll.
“How dare you!”
Everyone present struck out simultaneously, attacking him to prevent him from touching the hovering Chaos Stone. Sacred swords, celestial sounds, and ancient pagodas all surged toward him at once.
“A Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords!”
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King let out a great roar. His entire body blazed with golden light as tens of thousands of massive swords rang out, surging in every direction — an indiscriminate attack.
The Light Divine Hall instantly fell into chaos. The delicate balance had been shattered, and the many sacred sons had no choice but to act. Killing intent filled the air.
This had been the Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King’s intention all along. He had no wish to fight so many powerful opponents alone — he simply wanted to break the stillness and set everyone scrambling.
He possessed the advantage of unparalleled speed beneath the heavens and had no fear of a chaotic melee. The more disorder, the better for him. In an instant he retreated, breaking free of the encirclement and bursting out of the hall.
Now there was no turning back. The calm had shattered, and everyone had but one purpose: charge toward the dark divine altar at the center and seize the ancient beast-hide scroll.
The divine body of the Jiang Family was decisively swift, offering up a crimson divine furnace — its form indistinct, wreathed in circling divine phoenixes — sending it soaring toward the Chaos Stone.
The Sacred Son of Yao Guang was equally decisive. He offered up a cauldron densely covered in dragon patterns, brimming with the resonance of the Great Dao and radiating a heaven-swallowing force, intending to draw the dark divine altar into its interior.
These two were not merely competing for the ancient scroll — they would not even spare the Chaos Stone itself. The others naturally refused to fall behind, each offering up their weapons to forcibly claim the black divine altar.
The Light Divine Hall had once been the bed-chamber of a great emperor of old; were that not the case, the young supreme powerhouses present would have long since reduced it to dust. Even so, the hall shuddered under the assault.
Yet despite the combined efforts of so many sacred sons, not one of them could move the Chaos Stone by even a hair. It was as though it were the root of heaven and earth itself — a pillar of the cosmos — absolutely immovable.
“Withdraw!”
The Sacred Son of Yao Guang called out softly. His cauldron, dense with dragon patterns, rose and fell, exhaling and inhaling sacred light and sending out terrifying ripples — and yet still he could not claim the Chaos Stone.
“Rise!”
The future divine king of the Ji Family caused a divine moon to emerge above his head, driving back those nearby. Moonlight poured down upon the dark divine altar, but even his divine body’s extraordinary manifestation could not budge the black stone.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the hall. A figure in blue robes arrived together with three other young demonic clan supreme powerhouses, entering the Light Divine Hall.
Beyond them, Wu Zhongtian, Li Heishui, Liu Kou, Jiang Huairen, and a group of other descendants of the great bandits filed in one after another, some bearing light injuries.
“Damn coffins — can’t open them at all!”
Evidently, this group had gone to the rear of the complex, where three ancient coffins the size of palaces each sat waiting. Unfortunately, they had been unable to open a single one and had returned empty-handed.
“Attack!”
All of them made their move simultaneously, surging toward the Chaos Stone at the center.
The dark divine altar streamed with cascading radiant auspicious mists — mysterious and weighty — utterly unmoved, hanging there in silent stillness.
“Why is it so impossibly heavy?!”
It was not as though no one had tried to simply grab the ancient scroll directly. But none could approach it — even from a distance of over thirty feet, an immense pressure bore down upon them.
“Everything or nothing!”
By this point there was no longer any hesitation. This was the moment to truly contend for the treasure — provided one could actually reach it, for only then would one have the right.
“Clang… clang… clang…”
The heir of the Dayang Sacred Ground cleared a path with his sacred sword. Sword radiance surged like a dragon, driving forward. He advanced with tremendous effort, step by step drawing closer to the Chaos Stone.
On the other side, the Sacred Son of Yao Guang descended like an immortal king, unleashing Yao Guang’s peerless divine art. Once the Sacred Light Technique was deployed, it was said to be impervious to all techniques.
His body blazed with brilliant light. Bathed in sacred radiance, even his hair was dyed golden. He advanced step by step toward the dark stone altar — with equal difficulty.
At a moment like this, no one could afford to hold back. Whoever seized the ancient scroll first would all but claim it as their own.
For no great sacred ground master would wage open war over this — the entire Eastern Desolation would be plunged into devastation. It could only be left to the younger generation to contend amongst themselves.
This was a trial for all of them — the first great collision to determine who was stronger and who was weaker, an early glimpse of who might one day reign over the Eastern Desolation.
Yao Xi — a stream of crystalline luminescence seeped from between her brows, enveloping her body. Slender and graceful, she advanced with light, lotus-like steps.
She was like a luminous pearl blooming amid a raging sea, like a spirit of lightning moving through dark clouds — swaying, radiant, drifting yet purposeful.
The future divine king of the Jiang Family remained deeply mysterious, still not having revealed their true face. Covered head to toe in iron armor — even the head was concealed within heavy divine iron plate — they advanced with firm and unwavering strides, moving in a straight line, utterly determined to obtain the ancient scroll. Divine radiance spilled forth, bearing the true bearing of a divine king. A great road of divine light appeared beneath their feet, leading straight toward the Chaos Stone — truly like a divine king patrolling the heavens, sweeping gaze across all eight directions.
The several supreme powerhouses of the demonic clan also refused to fall behind, pressing toward the Chaos Stone. Even if they could not cultivate from that ancient scroll, the black stone alone was worth a fortune. If they could not carry it off whole, even breaking off a piece would be worthwhile.
The descendants of the thirteen great bandits also began to move, charging forward, along with members of the various great sects. No fewer than a hundred or more people were present, many bearing serious injuries — yet all of them acted now.
In the Light Divine Hall, many young powerhouses made their moves, yet none could reach the front for the time being. All they could do was watch, inch by inch, as others slowly drew closer.
“The bed-chamber of a great emperor of old — not something just anyone can approach!” The Black Emperor remarked coldly.
Ye Fan frowned. Could this truly be the resting place of a great emperor? But no matter how he looked at it, it did not seem quite right. He asked the Black Emperor about it.
“Of course not!”
Ye Fan agreed. If this were the tomb of a great emperor, it would certainly be far more terrifying than this. The twin yin-yang burial mounds of the Demon Emperor of old had driven the great sects of the Eastern Desolation to war for two years at tremendous cost.
The Black Emperor said, “Only this bed-chamber belonged to the great emperor. Someone, at some point, transformed it into the Light Divine Hall. But this place may well harbor something truly fearsome — those three great coffins in the rear fill me with unease.”
“Is there any way to retrieve the Chaos Stone?” Ye Fan asked.
“This treasure is indeed enticing, but it is far too heavy. You certainly cannot take it. Truth be told, even I would like to carry it off and sleep on it for a few years — but there is truly no way.” The Black Emperor was deeply reluctant.
“What a shame…” Ye Fan sighed with genuine regret.
“The Chaos Stone once contained a sacred object within it, which the great emperor extracted long ago to forge a weapon. Even so, the dark stone itself is worth a fortune. Cultivating atop it can multiply one’s speed of progress several times over. It is a peerless treasure. Apart from a transcendent weapon, ordinary weapons can barely scratch it — it is a naturally formed great chaos seal. In the hands of a supreme expert, it would be unstoppable, capable of shattering anything.” The great black dog drooled.
“Which great emperor are you referring to?” Ye Fan felt that this wretched dog was far too mysterious, knowing the affairs of this great emperor so thoroughly.
The great black dog sensed it had said too much. It immediately fell silent and refused to say another word. When pressed to the point of exasperation, it opened its mouth and lunged to bite Ye Fan.
“Fine, you don’t have to say anything. Just tell me — can the ancient scroll be obtained?”
“Boom!”
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King returned, casting his gaze with lordly disdain over all present. He declared, “This time, no one is targeting me specifically. Let each of us rely on our own abilities and contend for the treasure.”
“Out of my way — don’t block my path!” he said to Ye Fan, his expression cold and contemptuous, looking at him as though he were an insignificant insect.
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King strode forward with great steps. Those who had not gone forward to contend for the treasure cleared a path for him as though avoiding a venomous serpent, stepping aside hastily.
Suddenly, he spun around sharply. His spiritual perception was extraordinarily acute. Turning to face Ye Fan, he said, “How dare you direct killing intent at me. Someone from the Secret Realm of the Dao Palace like you — I could crush fifty-six of your kind with a single hand!”
“Swish!”
All at once the void gave a faint tremor. The future divine king of the Ji Family deployed the Great Void Art, piercing through space itself and pressing toward the Chaos Stone.
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King was startled, fearing to fall behind. He transformed into a streak of golden light and charged forward, driving at full speed with the extreme velocity of the Tianpeng to break through the restraining force.
“Boom!”
The Light Divine Hall shook. The Chaos Stone shot out ten thousand feet of radiance as streams of auspicious light cascaded down, warping the surrounding space and forming a unique force field.
In that instant, everyone who had drawn near was frozen, nearly unable to take a single step. All the sacred sons and daughters were bound in place.
Ji Haoyue was forced out of the void, held in place five zhang from the Chaos Stone. Even the extreme speed of the Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King was rendered useless — he was as though mired in deep mud.
“The bed-chamber of the great emperor — imbued with his aura. Not just anyone can move within it,” the Black Emperor murmured to itself.
Ye Fan’s heart grew cold. The great emperors of antiquity were beyond imagining. The Chaos Stone had merely absorbed the lingering aura of one of them — and already it was this fearsome. Truly astonishing.
“Is there truly no way?” he inquired via divine thought.
“Damn it all, you little wretch — you deserve to be struck by lightning!” The great black dog was indignant.
Hearing that, Ye Fan knew immediately there was a possibility. The creature’s displeasure meant it most likely could pass through.
“They are all frozen in place — you genuinely have an opportunity now. Do you not possess the primordial mother qi source? The Chaos Stone cannot restrain that sacred object.”
“Very well then. Today I will reveal my true form, before all these eyes, and snatch food right from the mouths of these sacred sons and daughters!”
Once he brought out the cauldron, he would inevitably be recognized anyway. He might as well reveal himself directly. Ye Fan walked out of the hall, found a place away from prying eyes, manifested his true appearance, and changed into different clothing.
“I, the Emperor, will enter your cauldron. In a moment we shall see whether the Chaos Stone can be carried off.” The great black dog bared its teeth.
“That despicable Daoist still hasn’t appeared — we must be careful.” Ye Fan muttered to himself.
“He’s just a wretched Daoist. He dares to snatch food from the Emperor’s mouth? I’ll bite him to death!”
“I may as well just eliminate the Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King and all these sacred sons and daughters while I’m at it.” Ye Fan strode back with measured steps, his voice utterly calm — yet had anyone heard these words, it would have sent shockwaves through the world.