The Great Completion Holy Body’s body blazed with ten thousand zhang of light, the fine tendrils permeating all of heaven and earth, causing many great mountains to topple and collapse.
Every region outside the protection of the ancient great emperor’s formation inscriptions was reduced to wasteland, some black great mountains crumbling into ash.
This was an incomparable, terrifying holy power. Virtually no one in the mortal world could resist it — and this was not a deliberate attack, merely the natural, overflowing release of a portion of his divine power.
Ye Fan was deeply shaken. If he could enter and control this body, who in this world would he need to fear? Even facing the peerless supreme masters who emerged from the ancient halls of the ancient assassin divine dynasty, he would have nothing to fear.
He was profoundly awestruck. This was merely the remnant portion of the Great Completion Holy Body’s divine power. If he had been at his peak — just how terrifying would his combat power have been?
Perhaps… he truly could have destroyed this great world with his bare hands.
Ye Fan searched carefully and completely imprinted the unbroken auxiliary secret art. His heart surged — this would be the powerful foundation for his future advance into the supreme realm.
“Clang!”
He reached out and retrieved the golden ancient scepter from within the stone coffin. Divine power surged through him — he felt as if he could pluck stars from the sky, with nothing beyond his reach.
In this moment, he occupied the Great Completion Holy Body — it responded like his own flesh, as if directed by his arm, with not the slightest resistance, utterly as he wished.
“If only I could take this away — I could go level both the mortal world and the underworld directly!”
Ye Fan’s heart surged with excitement. Even the withered, death-stilled body of the Great Completion Holy Body was incomparable to his peak state, yet still possessed immeasurable combat power.
Now, holding the golden scepter in hand and possessing combat power that looked down on all under heaven, killing intent soaring to the clouds, he felt entirely capable of sweeping through this Sacred Cliff.
The supreme scepter of the Celestial Court — cold and forbidding, soaked in the blood of tens of millions of living beings across the ages — now emitted threads of light as if the netherworld itself had opened its gates.
“Flash!”
Suddenly, Ye Fan was expelled by a strange force from that body. The supreme killing scepter dropped to the ground, ringing out with a clear, crisp sound.
The azure lotus, wrapping his divine sense, returned in an instant to his own body, which the Old Madman had sheltered within a curtain of light, facing off against the Great Completion Holy Body.
“The corpse of the Great Completion Holy Body is too terrifying — it absolutely must be taken away. Its combat power is enough to awe the entire world, comparable to a supreme sacred weapon!” Li Heishui cried out.
“Though covered all over in corpse hair, that matters not at all — this is a peerless human-shaped weapon!” The Great Black Dog could no longer sit still either.
Regrettably, Ye Fan had in the end been forced out, unable to maintain control.
Moreover, the Old Madman frowned and said, “Do not touch him. There is something ominous within his body.”
At that very moment, the divine power throughout the Great Completion Holy Body’s form was suppressed. His eyes turned green, and the corpse hair all over his body grew wildly, becoming even more frightening.
“My descendant…” He suddenly spoke, and these words rang out — sonorous and powerful, like metal and stone grinding against each other.
His eyes blazed with divine radiance, fixed upon Ye Fan without blinking, and he said, “Take me away!”
“You…” Ye Fan’s heart leapt.
Xiao Nannan was extremely anxious. She tugged at the corner of Ye Fan’s robe, trembling, and said, “Inside his body… there is a ghost.”
“You are my descendant — help me be reborn, take me away…” The voice was ancient and distant, as if carried from an era long past, bearing a demonic power that made it impossible to refuse.
Ye Fan let out a cold snort. He had come from the other shore of the starry sky — he had absolutely no blood connection to this ancient holy body from before the primordial times of this world. His eyes went cold on the spot.
The Old Madman then uttered a heaven-shaking sound, sending tremors through the entire Sacred Cliff, and said, “If you want to act, go ahead.” He pressed forward several great strides.
“Hmph!”
The Great Completion Holy Body let out a cold snort. The corpse hair all over his body grew even denser, nearly submerging him entirely. That strange force grew even stronger and more powerful.
His killing intent was fully exposed. He advanced step by step, and then suddenly reached out a great hand toward the Old Madman, seeking to crush him into pulp.
This was the peerless Great Completion Holy Body — whether alive or dead, no one could damage his physical body. It was, by any reckoning, supremely terrifying.
The Old Madman let out a soft shout, raised his hand, and manifested an unbroken Dao diagram, pressing it forward to seal and suppress the corpse of the Great Completion Holy Body.
“Boom!”
At the same moment, the Sacred Cliff trembled. The Scroll of Divine Sealing on the mountainside blazed with golden light, and a heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing aura erupted from it, enveloping the high sky in an instant.
“Bang!”
A great golden hand pressed down from above, forcing the corpse of the Great Completion Holy Body to resist with its full power.
“The Scroll of Divine Sealing — it’s not only suppressing what lies in the mountain’s belly, it’s also pressing down on this corpse!” Li Heishui was shocked.
“Wrong — there must be something in the mountain’s belly causing trouble, having entered the corpse to act. That is what triggered the Scroll of Divine Sealing.” This was Ye Fan’s deduction.
“Boom!”
A thunderous sound erupted as that great golden hand drove the corpse of the Great Completion Holy Body back in a single blow, and then pressed down again.
The Great Black Dog was so excited it could barely contain itself, trembling as it said, “Did you all see that?! The Scroll of Divine Sealing is sealed here — it is equivalent to one of Emperor Wushi’s hands pressing down upon this place!”
The Great Completion Holy Body, blanketed in corpse hair, let out a great roar that shattered many distant mountain ranges. Even the black mountain bodies cracked in numerous places.
He raised his hand and struck toward the heavens — shaking the sky, rocking the earth.
Yet the great golden hand manifested by the Scroll of Divine Sealing was equally terrifying — pressing down with unstoppable force, covering the entire Sacred Cliff.
“Bang!”
The Great Completion Holy Body was driven back. That great golden hand crashed down, destroying everything in its path. Even the Great Completion Holy Body’s physical form could only retreat, avoiding its force.
“How can this be… Ah, of course — the Great Completion Holy Body’s physical form has dried out, with very little divine power remaining.” Ye Fan consoled himself — after all, that body was his ultimate goal.
“Young one, no need to be disheartened. The Great Completion Holy Body’s physical form is peerless under heaven — but the Scroll of Divine Sealing was forged by Emperor Wushi…” The Black Emperor said.
“Boom!”
That great golden hand drove the corpse of the Great Completion Holy Body upward and sent it plunging into the ancient coffin, then with a thunderous crash sealed the coffin lid back over it.
“This…” Li Heishui said in astonishment: “Is it truly equivalent to one of Emperor Wushi’s hands pressing down?”
“Emperor Wushi’s hand presses on the mountainside — this is merely a manifested portion of it.” The Great Black Dog said.
“Is Emperor Wushi’s physical body stronger than the Great Completion Holy Body’s?” Ye Fan frowned.
“Emperor Wushi’s physical body has all the advantages of a holy body — meaning this is equivalent to two holy bodies colliding. Except that one has already become a great emperor.” The Great Black Dog delivered this stunning revelation.
Then it added, “The ancient great emperors — every one of them was incomparably powerful, supreme under heaven, all of them eternally peerless and lonely. Never mind what their physical constitutions were before — in terms of the emperor’s body alone, they could pulverize all things.”
The Sacred Cliff returned to calm. The great golden hand manifested by the Scroll of Divine Sealing vanished, and everything was restored to peace.
“The Movement character secret of the Nine Secrets, along with the Lord of the Celestial Court, have both been sealed within the ancient coffin again…” the Great Black Dog muttered. It had only memorized four of the Dao diagrams and was feeling rather reluctant to let it go.
“Leave it for the next person with a destined connection.” The Old Madman spoke.
Ye Fan walked over and, enduring the terrible torment of his mind and spirit on the verge of collapse, sealed the golden scepter away. It was the symbol of the ancient assassin divine dynasty’s Celestial Court.
Beyond that, it was also a weapon — an extremely terrifying secret treasure. Whatever realm one was in, it could exert force commensurate with that realm.
“This is a weapon forged by an ancient saint, created to strengthen the Celestial Court’s legacy. It has the function of self-sealing — unless one reaches the saintly realm, its full power can never be unleashed.” The Great Black Dog drooled, leaping up several times, on the verge of robbing Ye Fan.
“Damn it — this absolutely peerless wretched dog wants to rob even its own acquaintances!” Both Li Heishui and Ye Fan wanted to give it a good beating.
Xiao Nannan patted it lightly and said, “Doggy must be well-behaved.”
At those words, the Great Black Dog nearly toppled head over heels. Had it been anyone else, it would have already charged over and bitten them. But faced with Xiao Nannan, it could only restrain itself with a sheepish grin, too embarrassed to harbor any more ill intentions.
They did not linger. They retraced their steps and headed back down the mountain, intending to leave the Sacred Cliff. This place was no good land — staying too long might bring calamity.
Suddenly, when they reached the halfway point of the mountain, they saw someone in the distance blocking their path.
His Daoist robe was extremely ancient — nothing like what one saw in the present age — of an era utterly unknown, filled through and through with the marks of time.
The Great Black Dog’s last remaining scraps of fur on its head instantly stood on end. It ground its teeth and said, “Damn it — a vastly oversized one. These are garments from over a hundred thousand years ago!”
“Surely it’s not another ancient corpse?” Li Heishui said quietly.
“He is not a corpse!” The Old Madman walked at the very front, his expression extremely grave, his gaze fixed upon that old Daoist.
That old Daoist looked like a living fossil, making his way along the mountain path, slowly ascending toward them. Not a single thing about him was not ancient and worn — even his person was extremely decrepit.
The purple-gold crown on his head had gone dim and dull, on the verge of crumbling away. His Daoist robe might dissolve into ash at any moment. He recited his Daoist invocation as he walked, bearing an air of benevolent compassion.
“Venerable travelers, would you be willing to lend this poor Daoist a helping hand? In return, I am willing to offer two of the peerless supreme arts of the Nine Secrets as a gift.”
This was the old Daoist’s very first utterance — and it stunned the group speechless. Two of the Nine Secrets, offered all at once — just what was his background?
“Who are you?” Xiao Nannan’s voice was soft and childlike, her question asked with the innocent curiosity of a little one.
On the other side, the Old Madman grew even more grave, his aura like a great mountain, like a mighty peak — and his entire being transformed into an ancient diagram, no longer in human form.
One could imagine just how seriously he was taking this. He treated it as facing a great enemy — and for a saint to be so affected was sufficient to convey how terrifying this old Daoist truly was.
“This poor Daoist has forgotten the past, for the true me perished long ago. No one can resist the passage of time.” The old Daoist’s words were calm, and an ancient aura permeated the air.
“He… must be the supreme being from within the mountain’s belly — the one suppressed by the Scroll of Divine Sealing!” The Great Black Dog trembled all over, showing extreme terror and alarm. If this were truly so, they were looking at catastrophe.
The person whom Emperor Wushi himself had dealt with in the past — ultimately suppressed with the Scroll of Divine Sealing — if he still had not died, the mere thought of it made the scalp crawl.
“My physical body perished long since and returned to the earth. I only remember that others called me the Undying Daoren.” The old Daoist continued.
“The Undying Daoren… most likely a supreme being originating from the Undying Mountain?” Ye Fan felt a sinking in his heart. The Sacred Cliff had been severed from the Undying Mountain.
The Old Madman had transformed into an unbroken ancient diagram, drawing upon the Great Dao of all the heavens, manifesting the supreme fruit of the Dao — an aura of eternity pervading the air, as if it had been thus since time immemorial.
“This poor Daoist has only one thread of his primordial spirit remaining, buried within an immortal source. I wish to leave and fulfill one last wish of my heart, and I mean no harm.” The old Daoist’s expression was serene.
How many ages had passed — even if the physical body had long since turned to ash, he had still managed to preserve a thread of his primordial spirit. The mere thought was terrifying.