At this moment, the vessel’s owner was trembling with fear, frantically ordering his crew to sail faster. Faced with a young king of the Central Region, cold sweat poured down his back. He had absolutely no desire for the other man to shatter his entire vessel to splinters with a single sword blow.

Every cultivator on board was rattled. Not another word of protest could be heard. Even someone as powerful as Xu Yueming had been split in two at the very first exchange — blood splattered across the deck, a horrifying and deeply unsettling sight.

Ye Fan stood on the great vessel, his heart calm, making no outward sign. He had no desire to stir up trouble on his own initiative — yet his thoughts were quietly turning.

If the two young kings of the Central Region fought until both were wounded, he would not be opposed to going over and “borrowing” the Heaven-Covering Precious Robe — and taking the opportunity to deal with the overbearing Wang Chongxiao in the process.

“Wang Chongxiao, you’ve gone too far,” Ye Huiling said, her voice soft — but carrying a faint edge of chill.

“That is none of your concern. Tonight you and I will have a battle of life and death!” Wang Chongxiao stood unmoved, his voice cold. He gripped the black war halberd, blood-light shimmering along its edge, killing intent flooding the heavens.

Ye Huiling was ethereal and transcendent, her dark hair drifting around her, her skin smooth as cream, her eyes like black gemstones, her nose delicately arched, her teeth like lustrous jade. Jade flute in hand, she raised it to her pale rose lips and began to play with light, lilting fingers.

In the bright moonlight, she seemed a transcendent immortal figure — drifting, airy, and otherworldly. The flute’s melody was clear and cleansing to the soul — like a spring flowing through a great desert, like a tender green shoot pushing up in the depths of winter, bringing boundless hope and beauty.

“Hmph!”

Wang Chongxiao gave a cold snort. In his hand, the war halberd trembled faintly in the night sky, and killing intent poured out like midwinter cold. The entire world seemed to grow frigid and bone-piercing all at once, as though countless living beings were struggling and writhing in their death throes, an ocean of blood all around.

Without question, this was a peerless weapon of great ferocity. The terrifying killing intent sealed within it — the boundless, bone-deep malice it contained — had now begun to seep outward. It chilled every person present to the core.

If the beautiful flute music embodied life, then his aura embodied death — the two were in absolute opposition. The moment the halberd stirred, every blade of grass and leaf withered.

Wang Chongxiao fixed his gaze on the great vessel and gave a cold laugh. “I said — no one is to turn and watch the battle. Did you not hear me?”

He transformed into a beam of dark light and plunged downward. The atmosphere on the vessel became unbearably tense. Every person feared the powerful young king of the Central Region would strike out without mercy.

At the same moment, Ye Huiling swept in — arriving first despite having moved second — and placed herself before him. “There is no need to drag unrelated people into this.”

Wang Chongxiao stopped. He stood in the night sky, his expression cold as he looked down at Ye Fan. “I said it multiple times, yet you still did not comply. You kept your eyes on the sky — is that a provocation? I noticed long ago that you were different.”

“I have no wish to be drawn into your battle. But if you insist on forcing my hand, I have no choice,” Ye Fan said. Though he had no desire to provoke trouble, he was equally incapable of bowing his head and submitting docilely.

“Quite an attitude for someone who presumes themselves worthy of being dragged into this,” Wang Chongxiao said, fixing his gaze on him.

Ye Fan said nothing more. He slowly turned and began walking away into the distance, no longer paying any attention to either of them.

An invisible killing intent surged forward. Everyone on the great vessel felt as though they had been plunged into an icy abyss — and yet Ye Fan continued to walk, completely unaffected. Each step fell with an unhurried rhythm.

“Swish!”

A beam of dark light shot out, driving straight toward Ye Fan’s back. It was the halberd’s discharged edge-energy — reeking of blood, as though it had gorged on the lives of countless beings.

“Bang!”

Ye Fan did not even turn around. He flicked out a finger and released a golden radiance that shattered the dark beam, dissolving the killing intent into nothingness.

“I underestimated you. I did not expect you to have something of substance,” Wang Chongxiao said, a trace of surprise in his voice.

Everyone else on the vessel was equally stunned — none had anticipated that this young man had blocked a strike from a young king of the Central Region.

Ye Fan turned to look at him. “You would do better to go find the Divine King-body or the Celestial Demon Body for a great battle. I have no interest in fighting you for no reason.”

“I have fought my way across the Eastern Desolation and found its cultivators not worth a strike. Are you frightened?” Wang Chongxiao gave a cold laugh.

“Ding!”

From within his body, a beam of dark light rushed out — emitting a ringing metallic tone, like a black spear — and shot straight toward Ye Fan.

“Swish!”

Ye Fan raised a sleeve and gently swept it aside. The black spear’s edge was ground into nothing, dissolving into a dim black haze that dissipated where it stood.

By now, anyone watching could see that this young man was no ordinary figure — an absolute top-tier expert. Even Ye Huiling stepped back, no longer interfering.

“Are you Yao Guang the Holy Son?” Wang Chongxiao’s expression shifted — he could sense this was a formidable opponent.

“No,” Ye Fan replied evenly.

“If you’re not the Ji Family’s Divine King-body, not the Celestial Demon Body, not Yao Guang the Holy Son — then who else could you be?” Wang Chongxiao was deeply confident in his own assessment.

“Clang!”

A black wall appeared behind him, a divine aura emanating from it, bristling with countless weapons and treasured artifacts — enigmatic and wreathed in shadow.

Wang Chongxiao’s iron armor rippled with dark light. Still not turning around, he slowly drew a violet long saber from the wall, then swept it down in one powerful stroke.

It was a strike of unrivaled power. The saber radiance pierced the clouds, and a towering bolt of violet lightning was cleaved down from the heavens — killing intent without limit. Even a cultivator at the great perfection of the Four Extremes secret realm could be annihilated with ease.

“Whoosh!”

Ye Fan stood immovable as a mountain — yet from within him, an azure lotus emerged, coiling wisps of Chaos mist around itself and rising up before him. The violet saber was halted in an instant.

“A Chaos seed azure lotus!” someone cried out in shock, eyes going wide with disbelief.

“It’s you!” Wang Chongxiao gave a start — then understanding dawned. He dispelled the divine wall and rapidly retreated a considerable distance.

“That’s right. It is me,” Ye Fan said. One step at a time, he walked out into the night sky. Facing the young king of the Central Region, his expression was calm — composed and entirely at ease.

And yet every person present could feel the pressure. Golden blood-energy surged skyward — like an ancient, undying immortal furnace burning without end, impossible to approach. Wave after wave of suffocating force rolled outward.

“He’s the Holy Body, Ye Fan — he actually came here. This is the last thing anyone could have expected.”

“He’s about to come face to face with a young king of the Central Region!”

Everyone on the great vessel cried out in shock. Ye Fan had only just left the Divine City, and already he was facing a king of the Central Region. This was no small upheaval — it seemed as though the winds of fate converged upon him at every turn.

Ye Fan had not wanted it to come to this either — but his opponent was a powerful adversary. Once he engaged, concealing his aura would be impossible. Given that, there was nothing worth hiding.

“I heard you don’t have much longer to live — that death is coming for you soon,” Wang Chongxiao said, his expression cold. He dared not draw too near. The Holy Body’s physical form was without equal, and self-assured as he was, he did not dare engage in close-range combat.

Ye Fan gave a laugh. “You said you wanted to fight me — what are you standing so far away for?”

No one had words for that. Who would dare stand side by side with him? A body like divine iron, indestructible and unyielding — nothing short of overwhelming divine power could contend with him in direct combat.

“In this age of kings rising together, even a Holy Body amounts to nothing — it is not the most brilliant of them all. I will be the one to surpass you!” Wang Chongxiao roared.

Behind him, the black divine wall reappeared — and this time, a gateway had been added to it. Now it slowly opened a crack, and immediately a tidal wave of killing intent surged outward.

It seemed to connect to the deepest depths of the underworld, as though a peerless demon-god were imprisoned within — ready to burst forth at any moment. The boundless killing intent was like an ocean, and the entire sky shuddered along with it.

“The King of the Underworld Wall!” Ye Huiling whispered.

“What — that is the King of the Underworld Wall? So he is a King of the Underworld Body — a true king of the Central Region!”

Everyone on the great vessel erupted in outcries, their minds filling with countless legends.

“The King of the Underworld Wall entombs endless divine weapons — they will never be exhausted. It can pierce through any enemy in the world, indestructible and unstoppable!”

“Behind the divine wall lies the King of the Underworld Pure Land. Once opened, one can obtain power beyond compare — victorious in battle, unbreakable in siege!”

“He has already opened that gateway a crack — can you imagine how terrifying that is?!”

This was no manifestation phenomenon — it was a natural divine art of his bloodline. Incomparably fearsome, few in the world could rival it. Once deployed, it was enough to look down upon peers and stand at the absolute pinnacle.

Legend said that deep within the King of the Underworld Pure Land, a divine being lay slumbering — only one who surpassed the great completion of the King of the Underworld could touch it. Whether this was true or not, no one could say.

Others said it was not a divine being at all, but rather the sleeping potential of one’s own self — or perhaps a divine being birthed from within the body itself. Once one reached that level, one took on the attributes of a god.

“The Divine Wall, Eternal!” Wang Chongxiao bellowed.

Behind him, the black wall blazed with limitless divine radiance. Countless divine weapons and treasured artifacts trembled, and then — to the resounding crash of metal upon metal in a ceaseless ringing — every one of them drew itself out of its own accord.

Violet war spears, crimson-red longswords, golden great seals, pitch-black war halberds — an entire forest of divine weapons massed before him, killing intent soaring to the clouds. Every person there felt their hearts lurch in terror.

So many divine weapons drawn all at once from the King of the Underworld Wall — it was impossible to fathom the sheer magnitude of their combined destructive power. Because every person present had witnessed with their own eyes one of those crimson swords annihilating Xu Yueming — a cultivator at the great perfection of the Four Extremes secret realm — in a single blow.

“Hum!”

The void trembled. Countless divine weapons and treasured artifacts surged outward together in a vast and overwhelming torrent. Blinding radiance dimmed the stars and moon alike as every single one of them drove toward Ye Fan at once.

This was a killing strike.

Wang Chongxiao intended to succeed in a single blow — to unleash his greatest power and destroy the Holy Body utterly.

The King of the Underworld Wall entombed endless divine weapons — it was acknowledged as the most terrifying divine wall in the world. Throughout the long course of history, who could count the number of kings who had met their end before this wall.

“Whoosh!”

Ye Fan did not move. A miniature world appeared and manifested around him — magnificent mountains and rivers within it, scenery like a living painting. He stood atop a solitary cliff, and though countless divine weapons raged and surged all around him, not a single one could so much as graze him.

The Splendid Mountains and Rivers phenomenon had emerged — and it blocked every last divine weapon entirely.

“Hum!”

At the same moment, Ye Fan moved. He unleashed the Immortal King Descends from the Nine Heavens phenomenon, merging it with himself — becoming one with the Immortal King, reborn. He charged forward directly — driving straight toward Wang Chongxiao.

“Boom!”

Heaven and earth erupted in upheaval. Golden blood-energy swallowed the sky, and Ye Fan’s battle prowess surged like the waves of a vast sea — awe-inspiring, shaking the soul. He seemed to be on the verge of piercing through the Great Dao itself, destroying heaven and earth with his every movement. With each raise of his hand, everything in his path was reduced to ruin — countless divine weapons shattered before him.

He seemed to have transformed into a divine being, breaking through every obstacle. He raised his hand and released the Yin-Yang Life and Death Diagram, driving it forward.

“Boom!”

Wang Chongxiao’s divine wall rocked — on the verge of collapse. He flew backward rapidly, shock written across his face. His opponent’s battle prowess was far stronger than he had anticipated — it was far beyond his expectations.

“You…” he said, coming to a halt only after retreating a great distance.

“A Holy Body may not be much — but it is more than enough to fight you,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

Wang Chongxiao’s expression darkened at those words. He had said a Holy Body was just one among the crowd, nothing worth noting — and now his opponent had answered him in the most direct way possible.

Every onlooker was shaken. Such might as this — there was truly a basis for looking down upon the entire younger generation. Even with his life running out, the Holy Body was absolutely capable of facing down a young king of the Central Region in battle.

“That was mere trickery — behold my true supreme King of the Underworld divine art!” Wang Chongxiao spoke in a low voice. In an instant, his eyes went blank and hollow. The divine wall behind him rumbled and shook, and that gateway was slowly being pushed further open — the crack growing wider and wider.

Ye Fan’s expression grew grave. This truly was a rare and formidable enemy. He could sense a dangerous aura — he absolutely could not let his guard down.

“Boom!”

Ye Fan’s body shuddered. His body became golden all over — as though he had transformed into a golden god of war, making the entire world tremble along with him. He pressed forward, as though stepping from that ancient age one stride at a time.

Everyone present felt their hearts lurch and their faces drain of color.

Wang Chongxiao’s expression tightened as well, and he moved even faster to unfurl his supreme King of the Underworld art.

“Wang Chongxiao — put away your divine art and save your strength to fight me,” Ye Huiling said lightly, a smile at her lips, as she began to play the jade flute beside him. The heavenly music of a transcendent beauty drifted out in long, unhurried notes.

“Whoosh!”

Wang Chongxiao retreated far into the sky. The King of the Underworld Wall vanished. Even with divine arts that could shake the heavens, he did not dare face two powerful opponents alone.

“Holy Body — I underestimated you. I take back what I said. If you do not die, we will fight again another day!” He transformed into a beam of dark light and departed — he had no desire to face two great enemies in a single night.

The Holy Body alone had faced the unrivaled, overbearing king of the Central Region — and they had come out even. In the end, he had driven the king into retreat. The result left every last person utterly astonished.

“The Holy Body is nearly dead — and he still has this kind of power. Truly frightening!”

“If he were allowed to grow and advance further, he would be a match for the kings of the world — an unparalleled nemesis for every one of them!”

Every person was profoundly shaken.

People knew that Ye Fan’s death was imminent, and they all felt it was an incomprehensible waste — a deep regret that they would never witness him contending with the kings of the world.

The night was like water. On a solitary small boat, drifting downstream, the sound of a flute floated through the air — clear and beautiful, as though it could purify the very soul, drawing one into a deep, tranquil reverie.

Ye Fan sighed in admiration. “Truly a divine art — approaching the very nature of the Great Dao!”

Ye Huiling smiled faintly. “Brother Ye flatters me.”

“What a pity — my time grows short. I will not be able to listen to Miss Ye’s divine music often,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

“I imagine Brother Ye has also heard — I possess the Heaven-Covering Precious Robe, which allows entry into the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones. If I were to lend it to you…” Ye Huiling looked over at him, like a spirit in the moonlight — luminous and serene.

“Lend me the Heaven-Covering Precious Robe?” Ye Fan’s expression stirred.

Ye Huiling smiled lightly. “I came for the immortality divine herb — but the Central Region has sent no small number of people this time, and succeeding will be very difficult for me. Under heaven, perhaps only your constitution is capable of entering a life forbidden zone.”