“Little Uncle, that is the thief wanted by our Ji Family — Ye Fan.” The Ji Family members stepped forward, respectfully bowing to a man in his late thirties standing at the center of the group.
“Truly audacious, daring to come here.” The exceptional talent of the Ji Family’s elder generation clasped his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.
Many of those present recognized him — he was Ji Yuanqing of the Ji Family. Of medium build, he was not particularly imposing in stature, yet he possessed an aura of the Great Dao that was extraordinarily ethereal, like a void of emptiness, impossible to grasp or trace.
He gave people a sense of nothingness — a manifestation of having cultivated the Void Sutra to its deepest reaches. In years past, he had fought alongside the Peacock King’s eldest disciple, Kong Teng, from the Southern Region all the way to the Central Prefecture, shaking the entire world.
He was renowned among all the major sacred grounds. Had the Ji Family not produced the divine-body bearer Ji Haoyue, the position of future family head would have certainly been his.
“Where did the Little Peng King go?” At that moment, Kong Teng raised his head as well, his sword-like brows arching upward, a sharp aura surging forth.
Besides Yan Ruyu, there were other demon clan members on the ground. One of them stepped forward to report: “The Golden-Winged Little Peng King has also been suppressed by Ye Fan.”
“What? Three exceptional prodigies, all suppressed by him alone?!”
All dozen or so people present changed their expressions. They were each half a generation to a full generation above the younger group, all exceptional talents in their own right — yet even they held the Sacred Sons and Sacred Daughters in considerable regard.
The Golden-Winged Little Peng King and the Sacred Son of Shaking Light both faintly possessed the qualifications of a Great Emperor, their performances somewhat resembling those of ancient Great Emperors in their youth. That both had been simultaneously suppressed by a single person left everyone unable to suppress their shock.
Kong Teng stepped forward. His sword-like brows swept into his temples, his eyes were like stars, and he was born with an unyielding pride — imposing even without anger. He gazed up at Ye Fan floating in midair and said: “No wonder my master holds a thread of anticipation for you. Indeed you are remarkable. Whether it is fortune or strength, being able to suppress these three is enough to demonstrate that you have your place among the younger generation.”
Chu Lingkong, the eldest disciple of Shaking Light Sacred Ground, stepped forward. Tall and slender, he carried himself like an Immortal King descended to the mortal world, his eyes deep as a starry sky. Fixing his gaze on Ye Fan, he spoke only two words: “Release them.”
Ye Fan had suppressed three people in total, two of whom were from Shaking Light Sacred Ground. This caused him to furrow his brows slightly — once this spread, it would significantly damage Shaking Light’s reputation.
Ye Fan rose to his feet, his smile brilliant and radiant. “I was just about to address all of you. These three individuals — I have claimed them, and releasing them is out of the question. What I ask is this: for one year, do not pursue me or seek out my whereabouts. If you agree to this, I will release them after one year.”
Everyone was utterly stunned. No one had imagined that Ye Fan would dare, in the presence of so many exceptional talents from the major sacred grounds, to openly state such a condition.
“Do you truly believe you can leave this place?” Chu Lingkong’s expression remained calm, but his eyes had taken on a sharp edge.
Boom!
Suddenly, Kong Teng — the true-transmission eldest disciple of the Peacock King — made his move. He thrust out a single palm, causing the entire great hall to shudder violently. He positioned himself at the doorway, blocking Duan De’s path.
At the same moment, Chu Lingkong, Ji Yuanqing, and the others also moved, cutting off the unscrupulous Daoist’s escape route and preventing him from fleeing.
“Why does Dao Lord Duan intend to leave without a word?”
The dozen or so people were all perfectly composed. Having established their reputations over many years, each possessed profound depth of character and keen vigilance — Duan De could not manage to flee even when he tried.
These dozen or so individuals were each exceptional talents of the previous generation. If they joined forces, they could nearly match a Mighty One in battle, more than enough to slay the sect leaders of several major teachings.
Duan De’s face was a mask of bitterness. He intoned a Daoist salutation and said, “This poor Daoist merely wished to step outside for some fresh air.”
He dared not attempt to force his way through. His current situation was dire — in front of him, over a dozen exceptional talents blocked the way; behind him, a demon clan princess wielded an extreme-path weapon, its aura of power making him deeply uncomfortable all over.
Boom!
A violent tremor shook the entire Luminous Divine Hall so severely it nearly turned upside down — the force behind it was beyond reckoning.
Even the Chaos Stone at the hall’s center shuddered violently, its force field destabilizing somewhat, struck by the powerful shockwave.
“This is…”
Everyone changed their expressions, deeply alarmed.
Duan De drew his neck in and said: “Everyone, run quickly — if you wait any longer it will be too late. There are three great coffins behind us; something has certainly broken out from within the coffins.” Even as he spoke, he tried to edge his way toward the exit.
“Dao Lord Duan, you had better stay right where you are.” Ji Yuanqing said coldly.
Kong Teng and Chu Lingkong’s eyes also flashed like lightning. The dozen or so of them all revealed killing intent, prepared to act against him at any moment.
“I am doing this for your sake — truly. This poor Daoist swears to the heavens: those three coffins are not something we can afford to disturb!” Duan De pointed up at the sky and drew gestures in the air.
“Be at ease. The Supreme Elders of the major sacred grounds are the ones making their move,” Chu Lingkong answered coldly.
“You people… truly dare to act so boldly. Those are the Three Absolute Coffins. Someone intends to use a corpse to prove emperorship — that person must be an incomparably terrifying figure.” Duan De’s face had gone slightly green.
“He was alive and still failed to become an Emperor. What can he prove after death? He cannot surpass the Sacred Masters of the major sacred grounds, and once my master arrives, that will be more than enough to suppress him.” Kong Teng said indifferently.
Duan De’s expression shifted several times. The Peacock King looked down upon the Southern Region with disdain — none of the major Sacred Masters could do anything about him. His peak combat power was indeed absolute.
Boom!
A violent surge of energy struck, nearly sending the entire Great Emperor’s Sleeping Quarters flying. Had it been any ordinary structure, it would already have been reduced to ash.
But this was the residence of the Beginningless Great Emperor, permeated with his aura and engraved with the Great Emperor’s patterns. Even with a Mighty One making their move, this place simply could not be destroyed.
A great roar rang out, shaking mountains and rivers. Beneath the ground, an underworld mountain directly cracked apart.
The entire underground world shook violently, as though the most terrifying of earthquakes had struck.
“Roar…”
Another great roar. Mountains trembled and the earth quaked. Within the great hall, some cultivators of weaker cultivation were directly shattered to pieces!
“This is…”
Those who survived were terrified, their faces ghostly pale, every single one of them shaken. Even Kong Teng, Ji Yuanqing, Chu Lingkong, Duan De, and the others changed their expressions. This clearly signaled that a Mighty One had made their move.
A figure of that caliber possessed power beyond imagination — capable of shattering mountains and rivers with a single roar.
“It is my master making his move.” Kong Teng’s expression grew solemn.
Ye Fan had also recognized it — it was the Peacock King’s voice, engaged in single combat against a peerless powerhouse.
Ji Yuanqing and Chu Lingkong’s expressions shifted repeatedly. The Peacock King’s divine might was unfathomable. Eight hundred years ago, he had swept through the Southern Region, overawing all directions and remaining undefeated in all encounters.
He had successively engaged in great battles against the Sacred Master of Shaking Light and the Sacred Master of the Ji Family, and had never suffered a single defeat in his life. His divine valor was rarely seen in the world, and the Ji Family’s impression of him was the deepest of all.
Over a year ago in the Southern Region, the Peacock King’s single great roar had shattered many of the Ji Family’s veteran figures where they stood, and he had even slapped their Supreme Elder to death with one palm.
“Quickly — seal the doors. Otherwise, few of us will be left standing in here; everyone will be shaken to death by my master!” Kong Teng spoke up. It was not that he was concerned for the sacred grounds — there were also demon clan cultivators here, as well as members of the Thirteen Great Outlaws.
The dozen or so people acted together, sealing the doors of the Luminous Divine Hall, cutting it off from the outside world.
And at that moment, the Peacock King was fighting with genuine fire. His divine power surged like a vast tide, rippling even to this distant region, roaring and shaking the mountains and rivers.
Boom!
Ahead, the five palace halls that had been broken through earlier were suddenly shattered to rubble by his roar alone, reduced to ruins. He and a powerful adversary swept through the air, engaging in relentless combat through the skies of the underground world.
Ye Fan had once seen the Peacock King before — a youth who appeared no older than sixteen or seventeen, extremely handsome and refined. Yet in actual battle, his valor proved boundless.
“Little one, forget about refining those three — let’s get out of here quickly. This Peacock King is rather frightening.” the Black Emperor urged.
Ye Fan nodded. Since the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, the Sacred Son of Shaking Light, and Yao Xi had already been sealed, it no longer mattered whether they could be refined.
Suddenly, a peng-cry split the sky, filling the entire underground world with a suffocating pressure that made even souls tremble.
“The Old Peng King has appeared — truly terrifying!” Many people changed their expressions.
Even Ye Fan shuddered. That was the Old Ancestor of the Golden-Winged Little Peng King — a colossus of the demon clan. His combat power was overwhelming like a flood tide, possessing the fastest speed in the Eastern Desolate. Every major Sacred Master had been given tremendous headaches by him.
“Little one, release the Golden-Winged Little Peng King,” Kong Teng spoke up.
“Release the Sacred Son and Sacred Daughter,” Chu Lingkong said coldly as well.
“I truly do not know how you plan to escape,” Ji Yuanqing shook his head.
Ye Fan showed no panic. “All the sacred grounds have representatives present. In front of all of you, I will say it one more time: do not disturb me for one year. If that condition is violated, all three individuals I have taken will die without exception.”
“Laughable. Who do you think you are, that you can negotiate terms with us?” someone scolded.
These individuals all possessed considerable composure, but being addressed with conditions time and again by a trifling little cultivator of the Dao Palace Secret Realm finally caused their expressions to darken.
Nearby, some disciples who were at the second or third level of the Dao Palace mocked openly: “Standing at death’s door yet still speaking so shamelessly — do you truly believe yourself to be a Mighty One?”
Ye Fan smiled — utterly unconcerned. “Is being a sacred ground so impressive? I will pay visits to the Ji Family and Shaking Light one by one. When that day comes, I will borrow your ancient scriptures for a proper read — openly and above board.”
These were extraordinarily brazen words. Borrowing a sacred ground’s ancient scriptures for a read — easily said. Since ancient times, only the Great Emperors possessed the boldness and the ability to do such a thing. Who else could manage it?
Unless one could conquer the sacred ground itself — how else could such a thing be accomplished? This was an unabashed declaration of war.
Regardless of what Ye Fan had done before, from this day forward his name would be known throughout all the major sects — he would be widely recognized for the first time.
“Truly ignorant of how vast the heavens are. You, with an ancient desolate physique — what capital do you have? You have no future whatsoever, yet you dare speak such shameless boasts?!”
The dozen or so exceptional talents and the various Sacred Sons and Sacred Daughters said nothing, but the younger disciples could not endure it, and began scolding him in these terms from all sides.
“Then we shall meet in the future. I, this so-called ‘desolate physique,’ will experience every one of your supreme techniques one by one!” Ye Fan stood upon the Chaos Stone, sweeping his gaze across everyone present.
Swish!
A flash of radiance — and upon the Chaos Stone appeared a Mysterious Jade Platform. Ye Fan stepped forward and mounted it.
“Not good — stop him!”
Only at this moment did the crowd come to their senses: the opponent could actually move through a spatial platform. The realization stunned them.
Swish!
A flash of radiance — and Ye Fan vanished from where he stood.
In that very instant, Duan De shot forward like a ghost, also intending to use the Mysterious Jade Platform to cross through the void.
Crack!
But in that same moment, the Mysterious Jade Platform suddenly shattered, sending Duan De hurtling backward.
“Damnable, heaven-cursed single-use platform!” Duan De’s teeth itched with fury.
Behind him, the dozen or so people surrounded him, all wearing unfriendly expressions. Allowing Ye Fan to escape through an unexpected turn of events left none of them with any face to speak of.
“Everyone, shall we study this ancient scroll together? There is no need to be so tense.” Duan De’s smile looked more pained than weeping.
A thousand li away, a flash of radiance — and the cauldron forged from the Primordial Qi of All Creation surged out of the void. Ye Fan and the Black Emperor materialized from within the cauldron.
“Quickly — keep carving the Dao patterns. This time we need to get tens of thousands of li away. That Old Peng King possesses the most extreme speed in all under heaven; a thousand li is nothing to him at all.”
The Black Emperor wasted not a moment, moving swiftly. The patterns were completed quickly, and they once again traversed the void — instantly putting more than ten thousand li between themselves and where they had been.
After crossing through the void multiple times in succession, having thoroughly left Lizhou far behind and with over twenty oases between them and it, Ye Fan finally let out a long breath. He knew the danger had been escaped.
That very day, news spread as though it had grown wings, reaching the surrounding regions — a cultivator by the name of Ye Fan had suppressed the Sacred Son of Shaking Light, the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, and Yao Xi, shaking dozens of prefectures.
Only a few days passed before Ye Fan’s name had alarmed hundreds of oases, spreading through half the Northern Region. Many people came to know that a cultivator called Ye Fan intended to hold three exceptional prodigies captive for one full year.
Who was Ye Fan? Some rumors had circulated before, but the overwhelming majority of sects had no knowledge of him. Yet from this moment forward, he would be a stranger to no one in the greater part of the Northern Region.
The Golden-Winged Little Peng King and the Sacred Son of Shaking Light were figures with aspirations toward the path of a Great Emperor — the most formidable among the younger generation of the Eastern Desolate, with few capable of standing against them. They were the future sovereigns of the Eastern Desolate.
And yet, they had been suppressed by a previously unknown little cultivator.
Without question, the news would spread farther and wider, and more and more people would come to know of it.
Henceforth, all under heaven shall know your name — this was no exaggeration. By suppressing Yao Xi, the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, and the Sacred Son of Shaking Light and taking all three away, Ye Fan had ensured that his name would be known throughout every major sect.