An undying body. An inheritance. Still alive atop the Dao platform…

Throughout the divine city, the name “Wushi the Great Emperor” had become the phrase on more lips than any other. Everyone debated it that whole day, and the theories were as varied as the people voicing them.

No individual had ever carried such sweeping influence — anything connected to him was bound to become the focal point of the world’s gaze.

Beyond that, there was another smaller focal point: Ye Fan himself, having cut out so many world-shaking rare treasures, which caused no small amount of burning envy.

The Red Dragon Old Daoist had vanished, his whereabouts unknown. Many people could guess why — he had his reservations. After all, he had once hunted a holy lord, and now that the other side had brought out a holy weapon, the Red Dragon Daoren certainly could not afford to keep lingering. If he were cornered here by people from a holy land, with a Great Emperor’s divine weapon raised against him, even the Red Dragon Daoren’s heaven-defying methods would result in the annihilation of his body and soul. No one in this world could resist a Great Emperor’s holy weapon. Though he had gone, the ancient Source Arts families dared not cross Ye Fan — for as long as the Red Dragon Daoren still lived, his presence or absence made no difference.

This time, Ye Fan’s harvest was extraordinarily abundant. The rare treasures he and Nangong Qi had cut out were of a value nearly impossible to measure — radiant and breathtaking, enough to make one’s heart soar.

The ancient insect divine Source, the primordial royal clan member’s skull, two Source masses the size of human heads — just these items combined exceeded two million jin of pure Source. The eyes of everyone present went straight.

Even many people of considerable background and experience, who had witnessed no shortage of grand spectacles, were struck dumb at the sight. A trove of divine wealth this vast — enough to drive anyone’s heart to wild beating.

Even Nangong Qi, who had weathered many a storm, was ashen-faced and dizzy at that moment, his heart practically bleeding.

He and the other three Source Arts Grandmasters had come to the Yaoguang Stone Bazaar many days in advance to study and assess the stones, exhausting their every effort and nearly depleting their vital energy — and still they had lost.

Originally, he had intended to return the cut-out rare treasures to the Yaoguang Stone Bazaar so as to avoid making an enemy of them — for ancient Source Arts families generally do not gamble on stones in a holy land’s bazaar.

But now, all of that had come to nothing. Not only had he suffered losses that wounded him to his very core, but he had also utterly offended the Yaoguang Stone Bazaar into the bargain — a far from trivial piece of trouble.

“The wager — one million five hundred thousand jin of pure Source, to be paid in divine Source form!” Li Heishui reminded everyone in a loud voice.

Nangong Qi was on the verge of spitting blood. On top of the rare treasures that had already been cut out, he was expected to pay out an additional sum of Source of that magnitude — it was maddening beyond words.

“How truly generous of you all — such warm and wholehearted generosity. Words of gratitude would only cheapen it.”

The young members of the ancient Source Arts families glared at that dark face, barely restraining themselves from rushing over to give him a thorough thrashing with their shoes. Every single one of them was close to suffering internal injuries from sheer rage.

“Dark one — I will remember you!” one disciple of the ancient Source Arts families shouted, quivering with fury as he leveled a pointing finger.

Though the rare treasures had all been sealed, they still radiated cascading aurora light, leaving people breathless with awe, hearts racing, eyes dazzled — more than they could take in at once.

A heap of rare treasures lay spread out there — ten thousand rays of brilliant light emanating from them, so dazzling one could barely keep one’s eyes open. Just the thought of it was enough to drive people mad. Many in the crowd felt a sudden impulse to kill and seize the spoils.

It was a staggering divine trove — something out of a fairy tale. How many people could say they had ever laid eyes on so much at once? Even the various holy sons and daughters were breathing rapidly.

With rare treasures of such magnitude, what could one not do? Found a sect, exchange them for scriptures, purchase ancient elixirs, buy a supreme-grade holy weapon…

All of it carried the irresistible temptation to commit a transgression. And yet, the most precious item of all — the Qilin Seed — had not even been included among these rare treasures. Ye Fan had already sealed it away inside the white jade cauldron.

“Hurry up and put it all away — those old fellows look like they’ve been given a stimulant. Their eyes are red and they’re about to pounce,” Li Heishui muttered under his breath.

Even the various holy sons and daughters were fighting the urge to rush forward and plunder the lot — to say nothing of everyone else.

Swoosh!

With a sweep of his sleeve, Ye Fan gathered every single one of the rare treasures. Fortunately, they were all divine Source — if they had been pure Source, it would have amounted to a mountain, and gathering it would have been an ordeal in itself.

The moment the treasures vanished, a swarm of elder-generation figures surged forward — grabbing and pulling at Ye Fan. For people like them, the turmoil surrounding Wushi the Great Emperor was none of their concern; the only truly urgent matter was resolving the problem of their remaining lifespan.

“You pack of old men are ruthless…!”

Li Heishui cursed and scrambled his way out — nearly getting trampled underfoot, his clothes practically torn off, his shoes completely sent flying by the stampede.

At the center of the crowd, Ye Fan could not break free either. His clothes were in tatters, the old men’s “enthusiasm” more than he could bear.

“An auction — I’ll hold an auction at the Celestial Demon Treasure Pavilion!” Unable to hold out any longer, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The crowd did not disperse. It took a full hour before he managed to extricate himself and make his escape.

Over the next two days, Ye Fan and Pang Bo holed up inside the Celestial Demon Treasure Pavilion and dared not step outside — for wherever they went, they would be immediately surrounded.

Representatives from every holy land had come to visit. Their intentions were plain: they wanted to purchase the Qilin Seed. For them, it was a priceless sacred object.

The storming of Purple Mountain had set off a storm of enormous proportions. Over those two days, one astonishing piece of news after another emerged without pause — though few could discern which were true.

Jiang Taixu, the Divine King, was still alive!

When news of this spread, the Northern Region was shaken — and all of the Eastern Wastelands recoiled in shock. This was the only piece of news that had been verified beyond doubt; everything else still awaited confirmation.

“A man who has lived for nearly five thousand years…”

“Sealed for four thousand years — and he endured it!”

The divine city was in an uproar, and few could regain their composure. The news was too staggering. Without question, the greatest winner in all of this was the Jiang Family.

Whether or not they had obtained the Wushi Scripture, the Jiang Family could be said to have returned with enormous gains. One needed only to consider that the Divine King Jiang possessed the Fighting Battle Sacred Method — reputed to be the supreme offensive divine art, boasting the mightiest destructive power in all of the Eastern Wastelands.

“Unbelievable — he endured four thousand years without dying. The Divine King’s life really is extraordinary. Now that the Jiang Family has obtained the Nine Secrets, who can stand against them?”

No one could remain calm. The “Battle” character-secret of the Nine Secrets had emerged into the world. The Eastern Wastelands were shaken — many people burned with desire, desperate to get it into their own hands.

The Jiang Family was on high alert, guarding Jiang Taixu night and day with the paramount weapon, terrified that someone might take advantage of his weakened state.

Jiang Taixu had indeed been rescued — but he was barely any different from a dead man. Not only was his physical body nearly withered away to nothing, but his divine consciousness was on the brink of being extinguished as well.

“Imprisoned for thousands of years, deprived of spiritual energy — the mere fact that he survived is already the greatest miracle in the world.”

“Divine King Jiang Taixu — in his youth, he was magnificent beyond compare. He shook the world while scarcely past boyhood, yet when he returns to the world, he comes as a hero whose time has passed.”

Many people sighed. A man of such heaven-defying genius had been reduced to this.

Old Divine King Taixu’s condition was too fragile. There was no way to transport him back to the Jiang Family — his flame of divine consciousness could be extinguished at any moment. The only option was to place him within the divine city’s Dragon Transformation Pool.

The pool was as ancient as the divine city itself. Its efficacy in healing injuries was remarkable, and it was steeped in legends whispered across the ages — said to have once given birth to a true dragon. In that moment, it was the only thing that could save his life.

The Jiang Family moved without pause, retrieving all manner of divine medicines from the family seat, while simultaneously putting out a call to all under heaven at tremendous price, seeking any method that might save the old man’s life.

The fact that Ye Fan had cut out a Qilin Seed had of course reached the Jiang Family’s ears. They had sent several Grand Elders over already, prepared to pay a great price to buy it and use it to save the old man’s life.

At the same time, even more people came looking for Ye Fan — all of them driven by the same purpose, willing to pay any price to obtain the Qilin Seed.

“Some of them do not want Old Divine King Jiang to recover.” Yaoyue Kong took one look at the situation and reached this conclusion at once.

“The ways of the human heart…” Ye Fan nodded as well.

Naked competition — so many people willing to buy the Qilin Seed at any price.

Many were unfamiliar faces. Some did not even show their true appearances. There was no telling what great faction they hailed from — but the target was clear. They were plainly intent on making things difficult for the Jiang Family.

Li Heishui even suspected that if they were not holed up in the Celestial Demon Treasure Pavilion, someone might come directly to strike them down and seize the Qilin Seed.

Ye Fan had no reluctance about it. The very first time he met with the Jiang Family, he told them plainly: the divine medicine was reserved for Divine King Taixu alone — he would not give it to anyone else.

The Divine King Jiang had shown him the great grace of passing on the Dao. He would not forget.

“Over these two days, we will first use various divine medicines to regulate and stabilize the Old Divine King’s physical body. Once his condition improves somewhat, the Qilin Divine Medicine will be urgently needed to save his life.”

The Jiang Family’s Grand Elder explained everything clearly — at present, it was not yet appropriate to use medicines of too violent a nature to sustain the old man’s life. Things would proceed step by step.

Ye Fan very much wanted to hand the Qilin Seed over to them directly, but before he could say anything, the Jiang Family’s Grand Elder stated clearly that within the next few days they would assemble the necessary divine Source and come to purchase the divine medicine.

He thought about it for a moment and said nothing more — because being too eager might cause the Jiang Family to grow suspicious.

At the same time, he was reluctant to see the world’s only Qilin divine medicine vanish forever, and found himself thinking of the true dragon divine medicine fruit he had obtained not long ago — perhaps that could serve as a substitute.

The storm clouds were gathering. Over those two days, the atmosphere within the divine city grew markedly unusual — a faint undercurrent of oppression that pervaded everything.

Deep in the night of those two days, the divine city was violently shaken. A supreme expert launched a nocturnal assault on the Dragon Transformation Pool, slaying one of the Jiang Family’s Grand Elders and nearly forcing their way inside.

Had the Hengyu Furnace not unleashed its might and driven the great enemy back in fear, the Old Divine King would most likely have already been killed.

When word spread, the divine city was shaken — shock rippled across every direction. Though everyone had anticipated it — knowing that many great factions would not want to see the Divine King revive — no one had expected someone to actually make a move so soon.

Everyone understood that this would not end here. Perhaps it had only just begun. The revival of a matchless Divine King carried too great an impact — many great factions did not want the Jiang Family to obtain the Nine Secrets.

The Jiang Family was on a war footing, holding the paramount divine furnace forged from Phoenix Blood Red Gold and standing guard before the Dragon Transformation Pool day and night, calling in large numbers of powerful experts.

When Ye Fan heard the news, he immediately invited powerful witnesses from all sides to be present, then turned the Qilin Divine Medicine over to the Celestial Demon Treasure Pavilion to auction, letting everyone know it was no longer on his person.

Otherwise, he feared that the very next night, someone would come to strike him down and seize the divine medicine seed.

The shadowy forces had already dared to storm the Dragon Transformation Pool and provoke the Jiang Family — still less would they hesitate over a young cultivator with no backing like himself.

It could be predicted: many great factions had the impulse to act, and among them there were certainly holy lands involved. These were colossal entities perched high above the clouds — he had no wish to become cannon fodder for no good reason.

That day, the divine city tensed all at once. Inside the city, the vital blood-energy of powerful experts surged like dragons, faintly piercing straight through the vault of heaven.

Even when concealed, if too many peerless powerhouses converged, a peculiar resonance would form — and many great figures found their hearts stirring with alarm.

When night fell, one could clearly see blood-energy column after column shooting into the sky like true dragons, piercing through heaven and earth from below.

The sight struck change into the expressions of countless cultivators. To what level of cultivation did one need to reach before one’s blood-energy would manifest such a terrifying phenomenon of soaring into the heavens?

“The divine city is a unique place. Once peerless powerhouses arrive with killing intent, heavenly omens manifest at night — made real and visible.” So spoke one among the elder generation.

Without a doubt, a number of terrifying figures had gathered inside the city — and they might very well strike with the full force of thunderous power!

After turning the divine medicine seed over in full view of a crowd, Ye Fan fled that very day. He dared not remain in the Celestial Demon Treasure Pavilion any longer.

And yet, he could not truly remove himself from it all — after all, the divine medicine was his. The moment he stepped out, invitations arrived from every side.

Even Li Heishui was taken aback, exclaiming, “You’ve really become a hot commodity — people from every holy land are sending you invitations.”

Ye Fan had a headache as well. Holy sons and daughters were each extending invitations in turn, and emissaries from various great sects had also delivered calling cards.

“I can’t afford to offend any of them — which one do I go to?” With every side vying to draw him in, he needed to deliberate carefully.

Li Heishui blinked, pointed at a pink invitation, and said, “An Miaoyi is inviting you — she’s clearly looking to take you on as a close confidant.”