Ye Fan leapt down from the ten-thousand-foot jade platform and gave chase at those people’s heels, driving the ten-thousand-foot sea of lightning as he moved. Whoever saw it was confounded — every last one broke into headlong flight.

The heavenly tribulation was like an ocean stretching as far as the eye could see, lightning blazing and crackling across the nine heavens, submerging the earth — terrifying beyond measure. Wherever it passed, rock and soil were scorched and charred, peaks crumbled and collapsed, the sound shook the sky and threatened to split the very bones of one’s ears.

It was a scene of apocalyptic devastation — boundless and vast, without end. The sea of lightning swept through everything and left nothing behind.

Wherever Ye Fan passed, the earth rapidly turned to scorched wasteland. All vitality was extinguished; nothing could survive.

Though divine power was suppressed in this space and difficult to activate, he moved almost without his feet touching the ground — like one in flight — rapidly pursuing the divine being’s Thought, while tens of thousands of lightning bolts cascaded downward.

Under ordinary circumstances, to say nothing of him, even a host of capable figures charging together would find it nearly impossible to escape death. The Thought formed from the malevolent consciousness of the Undying Celestial Emperor was fearsome beyond measure.

But when faced with the heavenly tribulation, this demonic being was utterly helpless. It fled in a panic like a startled small rabbit, not daring to offer even the slightest resistance.

The divine being’s Thought — legend said it was the embodiment of the malevolent side of a divine being, born from the original body after death, impossible to extinguish.

Yet whether divine beings truly existed in this world had never been determined. What could now be confirmed was that even ancient great emperors, after death, could give birth to a divine being’s Thought — the present situation was the clearest proof.

This creature, however, had long since forgotten its past life. At present it was simply a vague existence — endowed with tremendous divine power, yet in truth a proper demon.

Had this been a genuine member of the human race who had reached such a terrifying level of strength, they could simply have turned back, charged into the heavenly tribulation, and killed Ye Fan dead.

But the divine being’s Thought could not — no matter how powerful it was, that power was useless here. Because it was a demonic being born in defiance of the heavens, a thing born from the death of a divine being or ancient emperor, in contradiction to the Great Dao of heaven and earth — its very existence was something heaven and earth did not permit.

Under ordinary circumstances, it was fine. But the moment a heavenly tribulation was diverted toward it, the result would be absolute and overwhelming heavenly punishment — the collapse of entire great worlds — and there was not the slightest possibility of surviving. The moment it attracted the tribulation, it would certainly be destroyed in body and soul. Therefore, when it saw Ye Fan pursuing it, all its former domineering confidence was gone. It turned and fled.

From the distant mountain ranges, the crowd stood and watched. Seeing this scene, every last one of them was somewhat dazed. Even wielding an absolute-path imperial weapon might not necessarily be enough to deal with the divine being’s Thought — yet now it was being chased by Ye Fan in desperate flight.

“I feel that even if an ancient sage were to come here, they might not necessarily be able to suppress this demonic being — yet it fears the heavenly tribulation this much…”

“Boom!”

Heaven and earth erupted. Lightning blazed and crackled, smashing through all things — a patch of mountain terrain was blasted flat in an instant, transformed into barren wasteland, dust and smoke billowing.

“Roar…” The divine being’s Thought let out a great roar, its head full of purple hair flying wildly, an utterly hair-raising sight. It was furious beyond measure.

“Bang!”

It tore the sky apart with its bare hands, opening a spatial fissure more than thirty li long, cutting off the path behind it and trying to obstruct Ye Fan’s pursuit.

In the distance, everyone felt their hair stand on end. This was just a casual swipe — and it possessed such terrifying power. Anyone who went against it would certainly be killed in a single blow.

“Rumble, rumble…”

Ye Fan gave chase relentlessly, for he had no choice. If he did not eliminate the divine being’s Thought now, he would most likely face certain death.

This demonic being had already locked onto him. During his tribulation it had stared fixedly at the ancient scroll he had obtained from the Chaos Dragon Lair, with undisguised greed in its eyes.

Ye Fan not only activated the Movement character formula but also triggered the All character secret, multiplying his maximum speed tenfold. Even so, he still could not catch this demonic being. A chill ran through him — he truly had no idea what level of power this being had attained.

Yet right at that moment, heaven and earth seemed to respond. From his own tribulation, a small portion branched off and struck directly at the divine being’s Thought.

“Boom…”

“Roar…”

Thunder rang out without cease, heaven and earth trembling. The demonic being roared. It was born from the most extreme Yin energy, the malevolent consciousness of an ancient emperor made manifest — and it feared the heavenly tribulation above all else.

“Crack!”

Light wisps of smoke rose from the demonic being’s body, as though ice and snow were melting away, hissing with the most extreme Yin energy. It was so terrified of drawing down its own tribulation that its very soul nearly left its body.

Far away on the mountain ranges, the crowd stood with wide, staring eyes. For quite some time not a word was said. Ye Fan was chasing the divine being’s Thought as one might run down a stray dog. Under ordinary circumstances, who would dare lay a hand on such a demonic being? Not even ten thousand lives would be enough to pay for it.

“Roar…”

The divine being’s Thought let out a great roar and leapt ten-thousand-zhang into the air. Even with this space suppressed, it could not obstruct its supreme might — it crossed back to the jade platform in a single bound.

It had sensed a crisis of utter annihilation. It seemed as though the Great Dao of heaven and earth had become aware of its existence, and the heavenly punishment was about to descend.

“Swish!”

It transformed into a streak of dark light and appeared before the five-colored divine ice in an instant, then knelt and kowtowed to the skin within. It was only a strand of the most extreme Yin malevolent consciousness born from the Undying Celestial Emperor’s physical body — and it knew all too well just how terrifying the original had been.

“Boom!”

Heaven and earth were submerged. Ten thousand tribulations descended from above, enshrouding the jade platform in their entirety. There was no longer any question of a single bolt of lightning.

It was a pillar of light reaching the heavens — descending from some eternal and unknown place, threading through the above and below, the past and the future, destroying all things.

“Heavens — ten thousand tribulations descend. The world-shattering heavenly tribulation that obliterates the divine being’s Thought has come!”

“Truly terrifying. This lightning, fused into a single column — even an ancient sage would tremble in fear. Is there anyone in this age who can withstand it?”

People all cried out. A heavenly catastrophe of this magnitude had not occurred in who knew how many years. They had only ever read of it in ancient records.

In great sound, there is only silence!

Ten thousand tribulations descended upon the world, yet without any sound — only endless destructive force, intending to shatter this world entirely.

“This is bad. That young man has brought a catastrophe upon himself. He has stirred up a tribulation this enormous. Even if the divine being’s Thought is struck dead, this small world will collapse!”

“Wuu, wuu…”

The sound of thunder finally issued forth — like the splitting of the very sky — a thunderous roar. Ten thousand tribulations manifested, and many were struck with awe, seeing great celestial towers appear in patches, and humanoid beings descending from above.

From a distance, Ye Fan’s heart lurched with alarm. When he had faced the eighty-one ancient celestial dragons during his last tribulation, he had also seen the phantom of the ancient Heaven’s Court — and now, unexpectedly, heaven and earth manifested once again to suppress the divine being’s Thought.

“Roar…”

On the ten-thousand-foot jade platform, the divine being’s Thought let out a great roar, full of unwillingness and fury. Its body was struck again and again by lightning, shaking ceaselessly and growing more and more insubstantial.

“That is…”

Suddenly the crowd was shocked. The divine being’s Thought was kneeling before the five-colored divine ice and kowtowing without cease — and the skin within began to flow with an uncanny brilliance.

“Dead for countless ages — at the very least a million years — and that one skin still has the Great Dao principles flowing through it. This is too terrifying!”

In the end, the divine being’s Thought knelt reverently on the ground, not daring even to breathe, and raised the five-colored divine ice encasing the skin high above its head.

“What — the ten thousand heavenly punishments are retreating!”

“This… is the power of the Undying Celestial Emperor? Capable of commanding heaven and earth — even after being dead this long, a single piece of skin still holds such might!”

Everyone’s expression changed. This was truly beyond comprehension. It was almost impossible to imagine how powerful he had been in life — no wonder the ten thousand Primordial clans regarded him as an existence surpassing divine beings.

And yet, even in that brief instant, the divine being’s Thought had been struck to the brink of complete annihilation. Its body was broken and battered, on the verge of dissolving at any moment.

The ten thousand heavenly punishments faded. That place gradually returned to clarity.

“This is the power of the ancient emperors — until you reach that level yourself, you will never know just how terrifying those ancient sovereigns and great emperors truly were!”

On the other side, lightning still flashed and thunder still rolled. Ye Fan’s heavenly tribulation had not yet passed. In a certain sense, the scale and momentum of his tribulation appeared many times greater than that of the ten thousand heavenly punishments. For he had flattened patch after patch of mountain peaks, and everywhere he passed turned to scorched earth. Lightning was everywhere between heaven and earth — while the ten thousand heavenly punishments, almost the instant they appeared, had receded.

“That bastard is charging toward us!”

Far away, the crowd was shocked and furious. Ye Fan drove endless rolling thunder, transforming it into a blazing ocean of electricity that surged toward them.

Ye Fan estimated the time — it was running short. He could not waste a single moment now. He needed to use the lightning’s power to break through and escape. Otherwise, if a group of apex figures bottled him up here, the odds would be overwhelmingly against him.

“Stop him — the divine punishment is nearly spent. We can’t let him take the divine being’s coffin!”

“The ancient emperor left behind an ancient scripture — it’s right there on the coffin floor. We must intercept him!”

“His motives are treacherous — stirring up heavenly tribulation to wreak havoc on sacred ground. He deserves death!”

“He carries the Primal Mother Qi Cauldron — which is tantamount to a crude prototype of an absolute-path imperial weapon. It is a priceless divine object.”

…

Many people were trying to evade, but the people of the Yin-Yang Sect and the Xiao Family were doing their utmost to provoke and incite the crowd, urging people to obstruct Ye Fan’s path.

“Hmph!”

Ye Fan let out a cold snort from afar. The distance was too great for it to be heard, but with his divine eyes he could read their lips, and a deep hatred for these two clans took root within him.

“Boom!”

He had an endless ocean of lightning above his head as he charged straight toward the Yin-Yang Sect and the Xiao Family. Things had already reached this point, and they still wanted to kill him — he had no reason to be lenient.

Far from the ten-thousand-foot jade platform, crossing beyond the Tai Yin River, many people could now barely manage to fly. But Ye Fan still caught up with them. With the Movement character formula active, he was unmatched under heaven in speed.

“This bastard is actually coming after us!”

Even capable figures changed color at that — to say nothing of the half-step capable figures waiting outside and the many Supreme Elders watching from afar.

Ye Fan went after the Xiao Family first. Xiao Yunsheng and Xiao Zhi had explicitly declared their intention to strip out his tendons and peel off his bones. Now he very much wanted to kill these people in a single stroke.

“Come to me — everyone come to me!” Wang Yangzhan called out. Red and black energies cascaded from above his head. An ancient mirror hovered, suppressing this small world.

“His tribulation is nearly over. With this damaged ancient sage weapon of mine, I have more than enough power to attack into the midst of it.” Wang Yangzhan transmitted this as a show of deterrence — though truthfully, even he felt no real certainty in his heart.

Everyone clustered toward the sect leader of the Yin-Yang Sect, sheltering behind a killing star, and when the red and black energies closed around them, people finally let out long breaths of relief.

“Once the tribulation passes — skin him alive!” Everyone ground their teeth.

“Seize his Primal Mother Qi Cauldron — then use him as a torch, make a human lamp of him!” Xiao Yunsheng howled with rage. Both his arms had been reduced to pulp by Ye Fan; though in a single thought they could regenerate, the shame of it was something else entirely.

“I will pull out his bones one by one and shatter them slowly!” Xiao Zhi, too, was filled with fury and resentment. He was a half-step capable figure, and he had suffered badly in this as well.

Yet Ye Fan was utterly unintimidated. He charged straight toward Wang Yangzhan and struck at them.

“Hasn’t his tribulation nearly finished? How does he still dare to come over?”

At that moment, the golden small figure at Ye Fan’s glabella opened its mouth and inhaled — swallowing up an endless flow of lightning. This continued opposition made the tribulation intensify by a considerable measure.

“Boom!”

Wang Yangzhan’s heart pounded violently. He suddenly furrowed his brow — and then… he ran. He fled like the wind, not daring to bring out his damaged sage weapon, terrified of becoming entangled in the heavenly tribulation.

The crowd was startled. This living fossil… had actually fled. He hadn’t dared act.

Several other capable figures of the Yin-Yang Sect, along with some Supreme Elders and the people of the Xiao Family, also immediately sprinted for their lives. But Ye Fan’s speed was too great. With the Movement character formula pushed to the extreme, it triggered the All character secret.

He had already possessed the absolute limit of speed, and now it was ten times faster still. In an instant he closed the gap. These people were not the divine being’s Thought — there was absolutely no way they could shake him.

“Boom!”

The sea of lightning descended. Quite a number of people were struck by lightning!

Yet they dared not fight back to the death, fearing they would draw down their own heavenly tribulation. They could only defend passively.

Ye Fan set his sights squarely on Xiao Yunsheng and Xiao Zhi, pursuing them relentlessly and refusing to let go. And in the course of this pursuit, several Supreme Elders of the Yin-Yang Sect finally triggered their own heavenly tribulations.

“Aah…”

Screams rang out. They had never undergone heavenly punishment in all their lives — this was a form of tribulation reserved exclusively for those of extraordinary talent. Facing supreme-level heavenly punishment now, they simply could not withstand it.

Three people caught within it were, in no great span of time, reduced to ash by the lightning strikes. Three Supreme Elders of the Yin-Yang Sect perished.

“Xiao Zhi — where do you think you’re going!”

Ye Fan caught up. In the midst of the tribulation, he drew the Ten Thousand Calamities Bow and loosed an arrow, instantly drawing a sheet of lightning that surged forward.

“Aah…”

Xiao Zhi fought back — and triggered his own tribulation. That was a heavenly punishment at the level of a half-step capable figure, considerable in its ferocity. Though he struggled to resist with everything he had —

He could not hold out in the end. After no great time, with a bang, half his shoulder was blasted apart. White bone splinters glistened amid scorched flesh and blood — a horrifying sight.

“Boom!”

Another lightning strike descended. Xiao Zhi could not hold on. His chest bones were blasted apart, his five organs were knocked outward — scorched black throughout — his screams unceasing.

“Aah… You Ye brat — I won’t let you get away with this!”

“Boom!”

Yet another great heavenly tribulation struck. Xiao Zhi’s body was split apart while still alive, his bones all charred black — and yet he had not quite drawn his last breath.

“Weren’t you going to flay me alive?” Ye Fan showed not a trace of mercy.

“Aah…”

“Boom!”

Five tribulations descended simultaneously onto Xiao Zhi’s head. His skull shattered and crumbled instantly — five thunderbolts to the head — and he perished.

In the end, nothing remained of Xiao Zhi but a piece of charcoal. He had truly died.

From a distance, the crowd drew sharp breaths. This was the fearsome nature of the heavenly tribulation — the Great Dao shows no mercy, destroying all things.

Ordinary cultivators had no concept of undergoing tribulation. They would die without ever experiencing a heavenly tribulation in their lives. Only an extremely small number of exceptional individuals would ever face a tribulation at all.

And yet today, people who had never undergone tribulation faced heavenly punishment firsthand. It was an unspeakably terrifying thing, and it made many feel cold fear deep in their bones.

“Xiao Zhi…” Grand Tutor Xiao’s eyes turned red, an overwhelming murderous aura surging from him as he fixed his eyes on Ye Fan in the distance.

At that moment, Ye Fan was pursuing Xiao Yunsheng — this person had repeatedly made things difficult for him and declared his intent to kill him, so Ye Fan naturally was not going to let him go.

“Hey — the one with a head squashed flat as though caught in a door. Stand right there!”

Xiao Yunsheng heard those words and nearly spat blood in his fury. On the ten-thousand-foot jade platform, he had thought he could grind Ye Fan into nothing — yet he had ended up with his own forehead bone caved in by his opponent’s foot.

Now Ye Fan was shouting after him like this — hitting him and going straight for the face, insulting him and going straight for his most humiliating weak point. It filled Xiao Yunsheng with such rage that the veins on his temples bulged and his hair stood on end.

“Hey — the one with a head squashed flat as though caught in a door — did you hear me? I’m talking to you!”

“You little bastard!” Xiao Yunsheng was beside himself with fury, practically breathing fire through his nose. Were it not for the heavenly tribulation, he would certainly have charged over and flayed his opponent alive.

“So this is the prodigy of the Eastern Wasteland!”

“Ye Who Covers the Sky — Ye Fan — both names for the same person. The Holy Physique of this generation!”

From afar, everyone exclaimed in wonder. A cultivator of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm chasing a capable figure’s heels while driving him in desperate flight — this was truly a remarkable sight.

“It’s over — Xiao Yunsheng won’t survive. The tribulation has caught up with him!”