The sky was a deep, clear blue — like one vast, flawless crystal, without a trace of impurity. A gentle breeze drifted through, carrying with it the fresh, clean scent of grass and trees, brimming with boundless life.
The Northern Region was monotonous and barren, lacking all signs of vital energy. The earth was a deep rust-red — not a soul for tens of hundreds of thousands of li in every direction, desolate and bleak, without even the shadow of a bird.
And now, with winter in full force, snow fell across a million li. The land was blanketed in silver-white, stretching away without end in every direction.
Yet the environment in which Ye Fan presently found himself was entirely different — spring was warm, flowers were in bloom, the scenery was like a painting come to life, birds sang with melodious, lilting voices, and various animals could be glimpsed moving through the landscape here and there.
He had left the Northern Region behind and arrived in a world full of vitality. Everything here was pleasing to the eye — the vigorous energy of life lifted one’s spirits and brightened one’s mood.
“Wretched dog…” Ye Fan muttered a curse.
Having crossed through the void, he had ended up a full one million five hundred thousand li from his intended destination. The Black Emperor had previously sworn with absolute confidence that the margin of error would not exceed two thousand li — and yet the actual difference was an astronomical figure.
“That dog is truly unreliable!” Had the Black Emperor been standing in front of him at this moment, Ye Fan would have had the urge to give it a thorough beating.
The Black Emperor, Pang Bo, Tu Fei, Li Heishui, and the others had not come with him — too obvious a group would attract attention and arouse suspicion.
Still, it was not entirely unacceptable. He had at least arrived in the general region of his destination. One million five hundred thousand li was an incomprehensible distance, but relative to the scale of this entire territory, it was still only a small stretch.
Had he not entered this region at all, it truly would have been a catastrophe. With so little life remaining — no more than half a year — he simply could not afford to waste time on the road.
A small boat drifted gently along the water, carried by the current downstream.
Ye Fan was in no hurry to press on. He lay back on the solitary little vessel, carefully thinking through the many difficulties that lay ahead and how he might deal with them.
The river was neither wide nor particularly swift. The banks were thick with water plants, and the mingled scent of green grass and damp earth gave him a deep sense of the natural world around him.
On the river’s surface, fish leaped up from time to time, splashing bright arcs of water into the air and flashing their pale silver bellies — full of life.
As evening fell, Ye Fan took out a wine skin and drank a few mouthfuls of mild wine. He ate half a roasted chicken, then lay back on the small boat and fell peacefully asleep, letting the vessel drift along on its own.
“Bang!”
Sometime in the latter half of the night, the little boat knocked against another vessel ahead. Ye Fan woke to find that he had drifted, at some point, into a wide and broad river.
The sky was scattered with stars. In the river, a great vessel stretched several dozen zhang in length, lights flickering along its sides, with many people leaning over the edge to peer down. Someone called out, “Who’s that bumping into our boat?”
“My apologies to everyone,” Ye Fan said, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture.
The people on board were quite reasonable. Seeing that Ye Fan’s small boat had been damaged, they tossed down a rope and invited him aboard.
“Many thanks,” Ye Fan said. He had wanted to learn something about this region from the people here, so he accepted the invitation without hesitation.
It was a great vessel that sailed the river year-round. Aboard were ordinary mortals alongside a good number of cultivators. Many people, unable to sleep in the middle of the night, stood on deck having idle conversations.
Ye Fan paid the vessel’s owner a modest sum of silver and officially became a passenger. He settled in quietly and listened to the discussions around him.
“These days, all the great powers of the world have been converging on the Northern Region. First the legacy of Great Emperor Wushi shook the earth, then came the rumored Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar. Truly, the winds of change are stirring.”
A group of cultivators were marveling and discussing the great events of recent times.
Ye Fan was inwardly surprised. So the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar was truly about to appear in the world — what An Miaoyi had told him was no fabrication. And yet he had already stepped far from that storm’s center, with no intention of rushing into that chaos.
Without a doubt, immense danger lay within. An Miaoyi hadn’t spelled it out plainly, but there had been enough hints to make her meaning clear — do not go, and do not ask why.
“It’s such a pity about the Holy Body. Breaking a curse tens of thousands of years old, only to face death in the end.”
“Truly — just a short while ago the whole world was watching him in awe, and this is the outcome. What a shame, what a lament. To have battle prowess that overawed the entire younger generation, yet be unable to endure long in this world.”
“A rare talent has fallen, in the end. The world will lose one who had a chance of approaching the level of a Great Emperor. For the Holy Sons, at least, they can breathe a sigh of relief now.”
Many people who spoke of the Holy Body felt a sense of regret. Had things been otherwise, the younger generation would have been locked in a fierce, exhilarating rivalry for ages to come, great battles without end. With this outcome, it meant the world would lose a great deal of spectacular drama.
“What does a Holy Body amount to, in an age when kings rise all at once? He’ll be just one among the crowd — nothing worth noting,” a young man in black iron armor said abruptly, interjecting out of nowhere.
Many people were startled — no one had noticed when he had appeared. He seemed like a wraith, materializing from thin air.
Only Ye Fan saw that the man had stepped in from the void in a single stride — utterly extraordinary. Even Ye Fan felt a jolt of surprise. This was undoubtedly one of the supreme talents of the younger generation.
“And who are you, to say such a thing?” Someone took issue with his words.
“Who I am does not matter. I am merely stating a fact. In the ancient era of antiquity now lost to time, no Holy Body was ever known to become a Great Emperor. When the kings rise together, he will not be the most brilliant among them.”
This was a very young man — tall and well-built, with a handsome face and eyes that gleamed like stars in the heavens. His black battle armor caught the light with a cold, metallic luster.
In his hand he carried a black war halberd. Its blade was razor-sharp, with faint glints of blood-light shimmering within it — a boundless killing intent sealed inside, as though it had drunk the blood of countless living beings.
“How many Great Emperors have there been since ancient times? In an age without a Great Emperor, can many truly rival the Holy Body?” The people on board the vessel, sensing his uncommon nature, dared not argue too forcefully.
“This great age will surely produce a Great Emperor — otherwise, what reason is there for so many ancient king-bodies to appear in the world at the same time? The Holy Body won’t make it. He cannot rise above the rest,” the young man said, his expression stern, shaking his head repeatedly.
Beneath the gleam of dark iron-colored armor, his skin was pale and fair — yet there was nothing soft about him whatsoever. His black hair drifted in the air, and he looked like a divine being descended from the depths of the underworld.
“Young man, you have great confidence in your own strength. But throughout all of history, how many Great Emperors have ever appeared among a countless multitude? To say the current age will produce one seems far too fanciful.”
“The current age resembles the time tens of thousands of years ago very closely — various extraordinary constitutions are emerging one after another. It will certainly give birth to a figure like Wushi,” the young man said in a tone of absolute certainty, a flame-like radiance igniting in his eyes.
“That…” The others were all taken aback. Quite a few had already heard such whispers circulating.
“Ye Huilng — are you still not going to show yourself? Our battle has been delayed long enough. I think it’s time we settle this soon!” The young man in black iron battle armor, halberd in hand, sent his voice across the deck.
“Wang Chongxiao — you came quite quickly!” From the second level of the great vessel, a young woman stepped out, moving with a light and graceful step. She wore a flowing blue dress, which drifted in the night wind.
She appeared to be around twenty years of age, and her bearing matched her name entirely — her features were striking and breathtaking, bright and ethereal, with a cascade of black hair, skin so delicate one might fear to touch it, and vivid, lively eyes.
She alighted onto the deck with poise, standing gracefully — elegant as an orchid in a secluded valley, her extraordinary beauty carrying with it a quality of quietude and of standing apart from the world.
“What? Are they the young kings of the Central Region? I heard they’ve been fighting their way here all the way from the Central Region!”
“That’s right — I heard of it long ago. Among the younger generation of the Central Region, there has been a clash of kings, shaking the heavens. Each of them possesses a secret art of natural talent, and even their elders cannot stop or destroy them.”
Every cultivator on the great vessel was astonished. No one had expected to encounter the young kings of the Central Region out here. Their bearing was truly extraordinary — and a clash of dragons was certainly about to unfold.
“I have no desire to fight you to the death in the near future. Wang Chongxiao — why must you press so relentlessly?” Ye Huiling’s voice was soft and pleasing.
“I have learned — you obtained the legendary ‘Heaven-Covering Precious Robe,’ intending to use it to seal away your own aura and enter one of the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones to obtain an immortality divine herb. Am I correct?” Wang Chongxiao’s voice was calm.
Ye Fan heard these words, and his heart gave an immediate leap. A young king from the Central Region had arrived, bearing a peerless precious robe — and with the same objective as him. This was far from welcome news.
If the other party had come to this region, they had most likely chosen the same destination — the same forbidden zone. This was without question a powerful rival.
“You’re wrong. I would hardly enter carelessly. I merely wish to rely on the Heaven-Covering Precious Robe to observe the edges of the forbidden zone from the outside,” Ye Huiling said, shaking her head, her beauty beyond description.
“Since you don’t dare enter, then hand the Heaven-Covering Precious Robe over to me. I will go and collect the immortality divine herb!” Wang Chongxiao said with a cold laugh.
They had been fighting their way from the Central Region to the Eastern Desolation, with countless exchanges between them — evenly matched. But as time went on, the confrontations would only grow more ferocious. When kings clash, it is a battle of life and death.
“If there is no other choice, then let us fight — what of it?” Ye Huiling’s words were soft, yet she yielded not an inch.
“All of you — leave. No one is to stay and watch. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!” Wang Chongxiao’s voice was icy as he swept his gaze over everyone on the vessel.
The vessel’s owner immediately gave the order to sail on. He had no desire to provoke the young kings of the Central Region. Among all the younger generation in the world, very few could contend with them.
Wang Chongxiao leaped into the air. His black iron armor shimmered with cold light, hair streaming loose, war halberd in hand — the image of a lord of the underworld.
Ye Huiling’s blue dress billowed around her. She was ethereal and radiant, standing quietly in the night sky, a jade flute appearing in her hand — crystalline and flawless, carved with complex and profound Dao inscriptions. A breath of the Great Dao flowed through it. She and heaven and earth became one.
“This is outrageous — daring to act like this in our Eastern Desolation. Who gave them the right to forbid us from watching?” Several young cultivators were deeply displeased.
“Are they truly kings that stand alongside a Divine King-body?”
“Say no more — they do indeed come from ancient king-body lineages that have not appeared for countless years. Do not provoke them. No one here could stop a single one of their strikes.”
Wang Chongxiao cast a cold glance toward the great vessel on the river, his voice cutting: “All of you — disappear at once!”
“He goes too far — does he truly think he has already lorded over the whole world? Issuing orders in our Eastern Desolation!” Someone was furious.
Wang Chongxiao gave a cold laugh. “I have not yet lorded over the world, but I am still not someone that ants such as you can whisper about behind my back. This generation of the Eastern Desolation has very few who could even enter my eyes.”
“Outrageous!” Someone shot up into the sky, their entire body blazing with violet light — like a blazing star. It was a valiant young man who bellowed, “What right do you have to look down on the cultivators of the Eastern Desolation?”
“The right of a young king of the Central Region!” Wang Chongxiao’s face was emotionless. He did not so much as glance at the man.
“That’s the head disciple of the Worship Moon Sect — Xu Yueming — a cultivator at the great perfection of the Four Extremes secret realm and one of the top talents of the younger generation,” someone cried out in alarm, not having expected such a powerful figure to be aboard the great vessel.
“Let me see whether this so-called king of yours truly lives up to the name!” Xu Yueming charged forward.
“A millet grain daring to shine!” Wang Chongxiao gave a cold laugh. He did not even raise his war halberd. Behind him, a terrifying black wall appeared — a divine aura permeating it.
Countless divine swords and treasured artifacts were embedded within it — mysterious and shrouded in haze. Without turning around, he slowly drew a crimson-red divine sword from the wall. The blade’s tip shot out a soaring scarlet radiance, and he swung it downward in a single stroke.
“Splat!”
Blood burst outward. Xu Yueming was cleaved in two — as though he had been pitting himself against a divine being, utterly powerless to resist. He and his weapon alike were reduced to fragments.
“This…”
Everyone was struck dumb, their courage and spirit both shattered. The young king of the Central Region was terrifying beyond measure — with a single strike, he had split a cultivator at the great perfection of the Four Extremes secret realm straight in half.
“Clang!”
Wang Chongxiao still did not turn around. He reversed the crimson divine sword and plunged it back into the black wall behind him. The various divine blades and treasured artifacts flickered with light — and then, together with the terrifying black wall, disappeared entirely.
“Cough…” On the great vessel, Ye Fan coughed up blood. He wiped it away with a cloth and gazed quietly up at the sky.
“In my view, within the Eastern Desolation’s younger generation, save for the Ji Family’s Divine King-body and the Holy Son Yao Guang and a handful of others — none are worth a strike!” Wang Chongxiao’s black hair surged around him, his eyes deep and fathomless — like a lord of the underworld. Clad in black iron armor that radiated a cold, imposing aura, he looked down at every person on the great vessel.