Not a single person could remain calm. Emotions surged through the crowd. A small world had manifested — vivid and real — and it had stunned everyone present.
A full ten-plus tens of thousands of years had passed without a Holy Body able to enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm. But the auspicious signs had appeared — could this curse truly be broken?
The entire expanse of heaven and earth rang with clamor. Countless cultivators boiled over with excitement. Every single person was paying close attention, for they might be on the verge of witnessing the rise of a figure who, in the future, could rival the Great Emperors of antiquity.
The Holy Sons and Holy Maidens all changed expression. Each and every one silently watched. Not a single person spoke.
The Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King was bathed in golden light — like a demon god, tall and imposing. He gave a cold laugh, his fighting spirit running high. The Dark Great Desolation Halberd materialized at his back.
Xia Jiuyou had cherry-red lips and bright clear eyes, incomparably striking. Though no more than thirteen or fourteen years of age, his cultivation already commanded the respect of the younger generation. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, unmoved.
In this moment, even the Holy Masters were moved, and none could keep their hearts steady. The expressions on their faces were each different from the others.
The appearance of a peerless Divine King from the Jiang Family had already given the sacred grounds more than enough reason for unease. If in time there also appeared a fully realized Holy Body who could contend with the Great Emperors of high antiquity — what would become of all the other sacred grounds?
Moreover, once Ye Fan succeeded in his breakthrough, the Wind Clan and the Jiang Family would without question form a marriage alliance — no doubt about it. When that day came, the balance of power among the sacred grounds would truly be shattered.
The great figures who had come from the four great immortal dynasties of the Central State and the hundred schools and myriad sects were also deeply shaken in heart and spirit. This would absolutely become an unrivaled and formidable enemy to their descendants.
Ye Fan was without self, without objects — transcendent and above the world. However great the turmoil outside, none of it could move him.
Every leaf of the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree was unique, each possessing wondrous uses beyond imagination, drawing Ye Fan into a profound and mysterious state.
The small world was vivid and real. He sat high in the nine heavens as the yin-yang tai chi diagram revolved — like a primordial deity who had opened heaven and earth, gazing down upon the mountains and rivers below, as though receiving the worship of all living beings.
Swish!
The four leaves rose in unison — some like mutton-fat white jade, some like cast molten gold — crystalline and dazzling as they hung suspended in the air.
Hum!
In the night sky, the power of all the celestial stars, together with the liquid moonlight, were drawn in and swept toward the Dragon Transformation Pool — flowing into Ye Fan’s small world and making it all the more vivid.
Boom!
The Dragon Transformation Pool surged and swelled. Every last bit of divine source was being refined, rushing toward Ye Fan — whose form was now imprinted upon the void — and pouring into him. His entire body became crystalline and luminous, even the fine hairs on his skin blazing with light.
Washing and scouring the fleshly body — this was a visible transformation. His physical form grew more and more flawless — translucent and clear as crystal. The powerful life force surging from him became even more awe-inspiring.
Yes — every heartbeat Ye Fan produced was like a divine war drum being struck, ringing out so powerfully that the eardrums of those nearby hummed and buzzed. It could only be described as hair-raising.
And his heartbeat grew louder and louder — thump, thump, thump — reverberating through all of heaven and earth.
“He’s changing his blood — flesh and blood reborn!”
The crowd was stunned. Ye Fan was undergoing a complete rebirth and transformation. His outer shell was on the verge of a sacred metamorphosis — the harbinger of a breakthrough!
Boom!
The Dragon Transformation Pool shook. Ye Fan drew boundless vital essence pouring into his form. His flesh grew ever more dazzling — truly like an Immortal Sovereign descending into the world.
And throughout this process, divine radiance soared skyward. The vast amount of source energy simply could not be fully sealed in — it was impossible for all of it to be absorbed — and it illuminated the entire expanse of heaven and earth.
Swish!
A tiny golden creature, ancient and lively, transformed into a golden thread and crept into view overhead — peering this way and that with a thieving look — in a state of near-ecstasy as it absorbed the source energy.
Shencan had appeared. With great effort it had finally slipped away from the little white-robed nun and sneaked over here, gulping down the divine radiance surging up from below like a great whale drinking the ocean, drawing all the divine radiance up into its little belly.
The white-robed Divine King was also high above, using the Departure Fire Sacred Furnace to unravel the Great Emperor’s formation markings. He glanced mildly in Shencan’s direction.
The tiny golden spirit was immediately frightened. Then its large eyes began to blink — blink blink — putting on a pitiful, beseeching look, as though pleading to be allowed to stay.
The peerless Divine King paid it no further mind, activated the Departure Fire Sacred Furnace, and continued to contend with the Great Emperor Killing Formation, gradually erasing the divine markings imprinted upon the void.
The tiny golden spirit, as though granted a reprieve from a death sentence, dove into the stream of source energy and kept on swallowing, drawing it all inward. Its entire body blazed with golden light. It was utterly intoxicated — its large eyes shimmering with countless tiny little stars.
“Shencan!”
Many people cried out, and suddenly understood: it too needed a vast ocean of source in order to undergo its own transformation. Today it was very likely to be another great beneficiary of all of this.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Suddenly, the void was torn open with a great gash. From within, a massive purple hand reached out — appearing entirely without warning — and snatched directly toward the Dragon Transformation Pool.
Purple energy coiled and swirled around it. It blotted out the sky, like a demonic cloud covering the stars and the moon, cutting off the vital essence flowing between heaven and earth. Its terror was overwhelming — making everyone’s skin crawl.
“Heavens — a great hand tearing through the void! This is a supreme expert!”
The crowd was alarmed. At last, a powerfully positioned figure had made their move, launching an attack — trying to obliterate Ye Fan.
Bam!
The four elders of the Wind Clan moved. One of them shot straight up into the void and struck out against the sky, colliding with the purple great hand.
Spit!
He spat a mouthful of blood and came crashing down in an instant, gravely injured. The color drained from every face present.
Thud!
The Peacock King moved. He shot into the void at the great rupture, spat the chaos treasure seal from his mouth and sent it plunging downward. A tremendous crash — and the purple great hand was beaten back. In a single breath it vanished, nowhere to be seen.
Roar…
Suddenly, several more great rifts appeared. No one came surging out — but from within came terrifying howls, like boulders splitting clouds asunder, like monstrous waves crashing against the sky!
The sound was so immense that it was deafening, nearly enough to shatter mountains and rivers!
In the distance, quite a few people toppled backward, blood flowing from all seven orifices, their lives hanging by a thread. One could only imagine how horrifying those howls truly were.
Red Dragon Daoren formed hand seals with both hands, isolating the Dragon Transformation Pool within a small celestial domain, preventing the sound waves from surging inside.
The many cultivators nearby flew backward in retreat, watching the Holy Body’s breakthrough while trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
The Peacock King, Cyan Flood Dragon King, and the elders of the Wind Clan each struck out toward the several spatial rifts, severing the sound waves and restoring peace and tranquility to heaven and earth.
“Disrupting the Holy Body’s breakthrough is crueler than killing him outright!” Many drew sharp breaths, immediately grasping the intent of those lurking in the shadows.
A cultivator’s breakthrough is most vulnerable to disruption. Having all previous effort come to nothing was the lesser harm — the greater likelihood was that the person would be left half-crippled and unable to cultivate for the rest of their life.
Those in the shadows had planned ahead. They sought to exploit the moment of Ye Fan’s breakthrough at the smallest possible cost — to block his advance, cripple him utterly, and ensure he could never again cultivate for the rest of this lifetime.
At the critical moment, perhaps a single great howl would be enough to cast Ye Fan down from the clouds into hell, never to rise again.
Swish!
The peerless Divine King at last erased the Great Emperor’s formation markings clean. Yet he dared not let down his guard — those in the shadows most likely had more in reserve. He was even guarding against the possibility of an extreme-path sacred weapon.
Spit, spit…
The leaves grown from the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree crumbled to ash one after another. Four beams of divine light entered Ye Fan’s body, weaving together into innate markings that made him more and more sacred by the moment.
And that small world grew clearer and clearer — more like a real space than a mere auspicious sign.
In this moment, Ye Fan stood immovably tall, his body like seven-colored glass — pure and flawless. Boundless vital essence, endless divine mist, washing his flesh — he was like a divine being!
“What are the Holy Body’s auspicious signs? Could it be, like the Divine King’s, a pure land?”
“No — it looks as though several auspicious signs have converged into one, and haven’t yet taken their final form!”
“Stars illuminating the blue sky, embroidered mountains and rivers, primal chaos giving birth to a green lotus, the yin-yang diagram of life and death, the Immortal King overlooking the nine heavens… There are the echoes of these ancient and terrifying auspicious signs in there!”
“What kind of awe-inspiring auspicious sign will ultimately take form?”
Everyone was speaking in low voices, all of them watching with rapt and careful attention.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s heartbeat intensified. Endless source energy from the Dragon Transformation Pool poured into his body. He blazed with boundless radiance.
Whoosh!
He actually burst into flame. Divine fire surged skyward. His flesh grew near-transparent, his blood and bones laid almost bare to sight.
From every pore of his body blood was seeping — he was drenched entirely in crimson. Raging fire burned and crackled, evaporating that flowing liquid, filling the air with the scent of blood.
“What is happening — why has he ignited? Is he going to be burned to ash?”
“No — this is a true rebirth and transformation!”
“Flesh reborn — the Holy Body’s minor realization — he’s truly about to enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm!”
People were astounded.
Within Ye Fan’s body, blood flowed ceaselessly out through his pores — while inside, new blood bearing a faint luminescence was being born, a pale gold shimmering within it.
Crack!
Suddenly the crowd heard the sound of bones breaking. In the haze, one could just make out, within his body — gleaming like seven-colored glass — that bones were shattering, and then regrowing.
No one had ever witnessed a rebirth and transformation as utterly terrifying as this. It was literal in every sense — so thorough was the metamorphosis that even his bones were being remade from nothing.
Pop!
Ye Fan’s crystalline flesh also broke open — like a beautiful jade vessel cracking apart — and then his organs shuddered in unison, his joints rang out, and everything began to be reborn.
The Dragon Transformation Pool had turned crimson. Divine fire wrapped around him. He was like a phoenix rising from the ashes — every single bone, every inch of flesh, even his hair — all of it was being replaced.
“This is too brutal. What kind of agony must the Holy Body be enduring as he transforms?”
“This is not suffering — it is rebirth. I think a great many people would gladly trade places.”
Ye Fan drew the vital essence of divine source to wash his body, relentlessly changing bone after bone, renewing his blood — his flesh growing back, incomparably powerful. He shed his old shell and reborn into a new self.
Suddenly, those lurking in the shadows struck to disrupt him at this moment. The void buckled repeatedly — like an ocean — heaving in violent waves.
It was impossible to say how many supreme figures were making their move, but together they tore this entire patch of heaven and earth apart. The sound was like rolling thunder; all ten directions quaked; and the life force of heaven and earth was extinguished utterly.
The Divine King moved. His gaze swept like lightning across the entire expanse of heaven and earth. Every place that had cracked open sealed back together in an instant. The void was restored. Peace descended in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s body shuddered violently. He opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood, toppling over backward, his entire body drenched in blood. Within the Dragon Transformation Pool, the endless source energy erupted like a tidal surge, sending him flying.
“Heavens — what happened?”
“Has the Holy Body’s breakthrough failed?”
The crowd was shaken, at a loss. The Divine King, Red Dragon Daoren, and the Peacock King were likewise alarmed.
Bang!
Ye Fan flipped upright and sat back down, closing his eyes again. He drew upon the vast sea of source energy as the divine sound of the Great Dao within him continued without pause.
“Terrible — the divine source in the Dragon Transformation Pool is nearly depleted!” An elder of the Wind Clan cried out in alarm.
Yet even so, at this precise moment, Ye Fan’s fleshly body completed its transformation. This was a true and complete rebirth.
Thud!
He stood up all at once. The heavens themselves trembled. He lifted his head and gazed up at the starry sky — his hair flying in wild disarray, his newly reborn flesh shimmering with radiance, radiating a powerful surge of energy.
Boom!
Yet at that very moment, purple lightning descended from the sky — striking down toward him!
“Heavens — what is this? How are there lightning bolts beneath the starry sky?”
“That is a Heaven Tribulation!”
The crowd cried out.
“To break through into the Four Extremes Secret Realm — how could a Heaven Tribulation descend?”
Everyone was dumbfounded. Thunder descended from the nine heavens, striking down at Ye Fan, who stood tall and upright to face the purple lightning.
Boom!
The first bolt of heavenly thunder fell. His entire body flashed with crystalline luminosity, and he withstood it with his bare body — not the slightest injury done.
Boom!
The second Heaven Tribulation — it was no longer a single bolt of lightning. It transformed into a vast purple sea — a pool of lightning!
Endless bolts of electricity submerged Ye Fan. The heavens and earth were awash in purple radiance — an ocean of lightning — terrifying beyond measure.
“Throughout all of history, aside from a handful of heaven-defying prodigies, there has been no record of anyone encountering a Heaven Tribulation during a breakthrough attempt.”
“A Holy Body’s breakthrough — and he’s encountered a Heaven Tribulation. And it seems to be of the most terrifyingly powerful kind!”
The Black Emperor shouted from hiding: “Kid, if you endure this — there will be immense benefit! In his time, the Wushi Great Emperor was struck by lightning constantly — as long as you don’t die, hold on through it, and in the future you won’t fear having the entire world as your enemy!”