The Ancient Bronze Immortal Hall—a burial ground for peerless kings of the age. How many heroes of humanity had been swallowed within its depths was beyond counting.
Every time it appeared, it consumed a batch of supremely powerful experts. From ancient times to the present, it had always been a riddle-like place—no one had ever fully explored it.
That Nangong Zheng had returned alive naturally caused a tremendous stir. Senior figures of all kinds paid the utmost attention, and great lords from all factions stepped forward. The Celestial Palace was filled with noise and clamor.
“Everyone, whatever I know I will disclose in full—there is no need for such urgency,” Nangong Zheng said with a smile, walking into the Celestial Palace. He sat down behind a jade table and first poured himself a cup of wine to drink.
“There is no need to be like this, everyone. Since Brother Nangong has returned, are you afraid you won’t learn what happened?” The Queen Mother of the West wore her cloud-like hair pinned high, adorned with a nine-phoenix hairpin, with trailing mists of smoky gauze. She was stately and pure, outstandingly beautiful, with a bearing of infinite grace.
The noise ceased and everyone returned to their places. Most of the people in this Celestial Palace were lords of one region or another, presiding over this great land—or remarkable, extraordinary individuals of transcendent status.
Celestial music rang out, and the beautiful women of the Jade Pool danced in graceful pirouettes, their garments billowing and flowing. Each one moved like an immortal skimming across water, white mist swirling at their feet—as if dwelling within the Lunar Palace. Outside the palace halls, luan-birds soared—dazzling as rainbows. Divine birds carried lingzhi fungi in their beaks, auspicious energy descended, longevity apes presented peaches, and a sweet fragrance diffused through the air.
Before the jade palace, orchids and rare grasses spread in abundance, extraordinary flowers erupted in smoky iridescence, fish and dragons leaped in the lotus pools, with clouds and steam rising in great billowing waves that flowed with liquid gold and overflowing brilliance.
Ye Fan was fortunate enough to occupy a seat at the far end of the Celestial Palace—sitting within a hall only sacred lords could occupy. He had been invited as a remarkable individual, and the Jade Pool had shown him extraordinary courtesy.
Looking around the great hall, only he and the Monkey were so young. All the others had lived for at least a thousand years—most with white hair cascading to their shoulders and eyes full of the deep weariness of ages.
Adding just a few of their ages together would nearly approach ten thousand years. One could say that every single person here had an awe-inspiring background—the weakest among them was the foremost cultivator among a thousand nations.
Many people looked at Ye Fan with peculiar expressions—he had cut down Sacred Sons in succession, and even great lords from all factions had been stirred and were paying close attention.
People understood that he had been invited to sit here as a bearer of the Source Heaven Master lineage. The Jade Pool was about to ask him to seal the Stone King—this was the next matter at hand.
Most people did not know the Monkey’s origins. He was skilled in the arts of transformation—no less so than Ye Fan’s Heaven and Earth Overturning Great Art. Not even a sacred lord could see through it.
A few living fossil-level figures from the lineage of Source Kings, as well as from the ancient families of Source Arts practitioners, had all cultivated the Divine Eye or the Heavenly Eye—these were obligatory divine arts for their kind. Only they could perceive the Monkey’s origins.
Ye Fan, sitting in this place, had hoped to hear Nangong Zheng recount the mysteries of the Ancient Bronze Immortal Hall—but found that the topic was being set aside for later, to be discussed freely over wine. So he withdrew and left, having nothing much to converse about with these people—it was far less satisfying than sharing a cup with Li Heishui and the others.
The Monkey also followed him out. In this place he recognized almost no one, and had no desire to share drinks with those old relics—there was nothing to talk about with them.
Outside the Celestial Palace, jade tables had been set out across the many magnificent palace halls. The immortal maidens of the Jade Pool floated lightly on clouds in graceful dance, bringing forth all manner of rare delicacies and fine wines.
“Little Ye Fan, why did you come out? The great hall has the Peach King on offer—its medicinal potency is powerful and surpasses the peaches outside by a great margin,” Li Heishui said.
Ye Fan sat down cross-legged behind one of the jade tables and smiled: “No matter—in a while I’ll go back in and bring some out for everyone.”
Xiao Nannan nestled close to Ye Fan and sat down obediently—only to find herself nearly swallowed up by the swirling mist. She was far too small, and immediately her delicate little nose crinkled in displeasure.
Everyone burst out laughing. They picked up the little one and set her on top of a jade table—each person having their own jade table, so no one would take issue with this.
“Brother Ye, allow me to toast you.” Jin Chixiao walked over wearing a smile, his entire golden battle armor flowing with radiance—he cut a rather heroic and martial figure.
Ye Fan clinked cups with him and drank it down in one go, then smiled: “I heard Brother Jin was wounded not long ago—nothing too serious, I hope?”
“Nothing too serious. Strangely, the Ancient Assassin Divine Dynasty has made a move against me as well,” Jin Chixiao furrowed his brow.
“We are all in the same difficult situation,” Yao Guang rose to his feet, carrying his jade cup over to join them.
Standing together like this, they naturally drew even greater attention. Other young heroes of the Eastern Desolation all looked over simultaneously—everyone was watching intently.
“You are of the Golden King Bloodline!” The Monkey’s golden eyes shot out rays of electric light, fixing on Jin Chixiao and saying: “What a pity—your bloodline is no longer pure. Your lineage can no longer recapture the grandeur of the primordial Emperor’s era.”
With these words, everyone looked over. Many people knew that the Northern Plains Golden Family was a primordial clan, but few would bring the subject up—for it was far too sensitive. Who could have imagined that the Monkey would not only point it out, but also discern a problem with the bloodline inheritance.
Jin Chixiao showed a flicker of unusual expression but said nothing further. He raised his cup in acknowledgment and drank down a cup of wine.
“Squawk…”
A fire crow cried out in a long cry. In the far sky, it carved a streak of dark light—like a black bolt of lightning—and arrived in the blink of an eye. An old Daoist clad in feathered robes appeared.
“This is the Crow Daoren—he is still alive!” Many senior figures were greatly alarmed.
Ye Fan’s heart also lurched. He had encountered this peerless old monster in the eighth level of the Fire Domain, where the man had refined a pile of divine iron to uselessness and dispatched a great figure from the Ji Family with just a few slaps.
“What a figure this is—a great titan among the demon race, contemporary with the Crimson Dragon Daoren. He has lived for over three thousand years—half a generation above even the various sacred lords!”
All those who recognized him felt their spines go cold. They stepped aside and cleared a path. This old demon had not appeared for more than a thousand years, yet his fearsome name had not been forgotten.
The Grand Elder overseers of the Jade Pool went forward to receive him—politely inviting him into the Celestial Palace with great respect.
Not long after, the longevity apes began presenting peaches, and the Peach Banquet commenced. Several immortal peaches were placed on each seat—fragrant and overflowing with sweetness.
Everyone exchanged cups and spoke of the great matters of the age. That the ancient primordial royal clans were about to emerge into the world was something the disciples of the holy lands had already heard word of—all of them were discussing it.
Jiang Huairen and Li Heishui dragged Ye Fan along, insisting on going to offer toasts—heading straight toward where the Sacred Sons and Sacred Maidens were gathered.
“First check which Sacred Sons are the weakest. In time, have them taken out—it will help us enter the Academy of Remarkable Individuals. Besides, all of them bear killing intent toward you,” Liu Kou said, in a thoroughly dishonorable fashion.
“The immortal maidens, transcendent and pure, with jade-like skin and ice-crystal bones—they fill my heart with longing, yet make me feel unworthy to stand before them,” Jiang Huairen trailed after the Sacred Maiden of the Myriad Origins Sect, whispering on and on without end.
“Little Uncle, what are you doing?” Jiang Yifei’s younger sister—Jiang Caixuan—happened to be standing nearby. She stepped forward to block this unruly clansman-uncle, reproaching him in a tone of exasperated displeasure.
“Looking to find a young aunt,” Jiang Huairen whispered.
Jiang Caixuan was beautiful and vivacious and spirited. Unable to stop herself, she rolled her eyes hugely and shot this little uncle of hers a glare.
“Damn it all!” The crowd glared back in fury—especially the disciples of the Myriad Origins Sect, who had long been seething with suppressed rage after their Sacred Son was cut down by Ye Fan.
“Purple Mist Fairy, have you heard of the Innate Holy Body and Dao Embryo?” On the other side, Liu Kou earnestly inquired of the Sacred Maiden of the Purple Prefecture, even pouring her wine with great sincerity.
“Pfffft!”
Many people who heard these words immediately spat the wine from their mouths. This was far too direct—and the disciples of the Purple Prefecture all rose to their feet.
Ye Fan walked over. He made no deliberate effort to release his aura, yet an invisible pressure emanated from him—making everyone present feel their hearts lurch and quietly step back.
By now, with the Holy Body beginning to take full shape, he already possessed the might to overawe his peers. With the exception of a handful of individuals, the younger generation of the Eastern Desolation was largely unable to contend with him.
Suddenly, not far away, a commotion broke out, and many people ran toward the entrance of the Celestial Palace.
All the Sacred Sons and Sacred Maidens hurried over as well. People knew that something of far-reaching importance was being discussed within the Celestial Palace—they lacked the qualifications to enter, yet could listen in from the doorway.
Ye Fan and the Monkey could enter—they flew over, unwilling to miss this.
“In the bronze hall I saw the skeletal remains of many peerless experts…” Nangong Zheng began to recount his experience.
He and many living fossil-level figures who had little lifespan remaining and were approaching nirvana had entered the Ancient Bronze Immortal Hall. It had been a near-total annihilation—only he had survived. All the others had perished within.
What Nangong Zheng described was almost identical to Ye Fan’s own experience—except that his group had relied on absolute power, fighting their way through with raw force.
Rather than being like Ye Fan, who at the time had borrowed the might of the green copper fragment to pass through with a fright but without true danger.
Nangong Zheng’s group had proceeded virtually step by step with blood shed. The chaotic sword energy within had wiped out nearly half of them in an instant, and within the Gate of Yin-Yang Life and Death, an enormous batch of those ancient relics were swallowed up.
“The immortal character was blood-soaked—carved there before the age of Desolate Antiquity, and the blood has not dried to this day. It radiates a killing intent that runs through ten thousand ages!”
Nangong Zheng’s voice was low as he slowly recounted the events. A group of living fossils joined forces—and went one step further than Ye Fan’s party, actually entering the realm behind the mysterious gate.
“A mere aura nearly tore all of you to shreds?” Everyone in the hall was wide-eyed and slack-jawed—barely able to believe it.
The caliber of those who had entered was something they all knew—every one of them had been a supreme expert standing at the absolute pinnacle of the age, having come in search of an opportunity to break through and extend their lives further along the path of cultivation.
“What kind of existence is that, exactly?” Everyone could barely even imagine it.
“It was the aura of the Ruthless Great Emperor!” The moment these words left Nangong Zheng’s mouth, everyone in the hall leaped to their feet.
“What—this can’t be!”
“Is he still alive?!”
“He is almost certainly the great emperor who lived the longest—at the very minimum twenty-some-odd-ten-thousand years have passed since his time!”
Every single person was stunned. Shock was written across every face.
This ancient great emperor was unlike the others—he had made enemies of the entire world, single-handedly opposing all the most powerful figures under heaven!
His path of growth had been far too perilous—teetering on the edge of death time and again—yet he had been far too terrifying in equal measure. It was a blood-soaked road, nearly an entire world unto one person alone.
“I did not say he is still alive,” Nangong Zheng shook his head.
“What exactly did you see? Why would his aura still be present?”
“What did he leave behind—how did it nearly annihilate all of you?”
Everyone was in extreme agitation, desperately wanting to know the answer. These revelations were far too astounding—each person’s heart was gripped by surging waves.
“We saw the fragmented corpse of the Ruthless Great Emperor…” Nangong Zheng said slowly.
After they entered, they saw crimson red water—no different from the blood of the immortal character—in a mysterious realm of heaven and earth.
Moreover, there were some broken fragments of flesh, though not many. It was from these that the aura had emanated—and when some of the senior figures came near, they were reduced to dust and ash in an instant.
“The Ruthless Great Emperor was dismembered?! How is that even possible!”
“Absolutely impossible—who could have harmed him? In his day he nearly wiped out every ancient lineage under heaven. What person could have overpowered him?”
“Absolutely impossible—even if he had encountered a great emperor of a later age, or had come face to face with a primordial Emperor, he could not have been defeated and killed!”
Nearly every person was stunned, refusing to believe this revelation. The Ruthless Great Emperor had looked down upon all of antiquity—it was impossible for there to be any enemy who could ruthlessly dismember him.
“I am certain it is the Ruthless Great Emperor!”
Everyone fell silent, all eyes fixed on Nangong Zheng.