Why would one need to wait out that special period? Could the Demon Emperor’s death over a thousand years ago still exert such a terrifying influence — making it impossible for later generations to prove their Dao and become emperors? That was far too astounding.

“In the same era, two great emperors cannot appear. It has been so since ancient times — an accepted truth, with no exceptions.” Pang Bo said.

Ye Fan had long heard this rumor, but had never been able to work out why — the great black dog had never explained it to him in detail.

The ancient great emperors represented the highest achievement of the human race. They commanded the supreme Dao forces of the world — embodiments of heaven and earth’s grand Dao, capable of plucking stars and seizing the moon, with nothing beyond their power.

After a great emperor’s passing, for a long stretch of time that emperor could still influence the land. Some estimated that only after ten thousand years following a human great emperor’s transcendence would the grand Dao fully return to stillness.

The Green Emperor was a legend unto himself — in the later primordial era, when even sages could scarcely emerge, he had proven his Dao and become an emperor, becoming one of the greatest beings in all of history.

Which era he belonged to, no one could say clearly. How long he had lived was difficult to measure. People only knew he had transcended in the Eastern Wastelands ten thousand years ago.

“Xiang Yufei needed to wait out that special period. Even with the bearing of a great emperor, he could not prove his Dao then — and moreover, he genuinely bore the constitution of one fated to die young.”

Xiang Yufei — at nineteen, the foremost figure of the Central Continent, capable of clashing with the greatest emperor-tier figures, contending with the Saint-Master of the Eastern Wastelands. Such a world-shaking hero of men was rare even across all of history.

What a pity that he had died at twenty — a cause for endless sighing and regret. Nine thousand years later, he appeared in the world again — an unsolved mystery.

“Like the primordial era creatures slumbering in sleep — nine thousand years in a single dream, bidding farewell to his past life, only now awakening.”

That such a brilliant figure could be brought back to life was indeed a joyful thing. He had added a legend to this era, and added a layer of pressure upon the many powerhouses.

“He bore the constitution of one fated for early death. Even sealing his body in divine source fluid could only maintain a state of near-death. It took several medicinal king plants to finally revive him and bring him back into the world.” This was a secret from within the Hall of Exceptional Talents — Pang Bo had come across it entirely by accident, and almost no one else knew.

Ye Fan drew a sharp breath. The Hall of Exceptional Talents’ depth was truly formidable. They still had divine source fluid available in this age — it was almost beyond belief!

And to revive Xiang Yufei after nine thousand years, they had produced several medicinal king plants — plants tens of thousands to nearly a hundred thousand years of age. A dozen or more of them combined in value matched a single Immortality Divine Medicine.

Ye Fan sighed softly. This person was clearly being treated as a future great emperor. He would likely truly be able to prove his Dao one day — otherwise everything expended on him would simply be too much.

“This person must possess talent that surpasses all ages. Nine thousand years ago, a supreme figure from the Western Desert who was on the verge of attaining the Bodhisattva level gifted him a Buddhist treasure Longevity Lock to extend his life — that alone speaks volumes.”

For a living fossil of that level, such an object had been beyond price — it could extend one’s lifespan, forged from purple gold that a Buddha had consecrated repeatedly, pouring in boundless merit.

“Nine thousand years — even the Buddhist faith saw his potential. And now the Hall of Exceptional Talents has revived him. Many people believe he will be the central figure of this land.” Pang Bo said.

“It seems that as the Black Emperor said, this world has begun to change again. Beyond the waning of the Demon Emperor’s influence, it is also evolving back toward the heaven and earth of the pre-primordial era.” Ye Fan pondered.

“Exactly — no doubt about it. Otherwise Xiang Yufei, as a person with the potential to become a great emperor, could not have been resurrected at this time.”

“Speaking of which, that Wang Teng really is frightening. He can be ranked alongside the Central Emperor — and he is a person of this present age.”

Both marveled. Separated by nine thousand years, heroes from different times and spaces would meet — there would inevitably be brilliant sparks between them. Only who else might join them was unknown.

They both deeply felt that they had arrived in this world too recently. Measured against such peerless monstrous talents, they were still far behind in cultivation, and needed to work diligently.

“That Wang Teng has subdued two powerful primordial era creatures and dispatched them. I suspect he may be sending them after you.” Pang Bo warned.

“No matter. With the Divine Punishing Whip on me now, they cannot detect my whereabouts. I can actually think about setting a trap for them.”

Ye Fan took out three bottles of dragon marrow. Each bottle held a dozen or more golden droplets the size of grapes — not blending with each other, each one crystalline and radiant, with an intoxicating fragrance.

“Take two bottles. Entering the Dragon Transformation, having dragon marrow to assist you will achieve twice the result with half the effort. It contains fragments of the grand Dao’s laws and can nourish the great dragon within the human body.”

“I have the Demon Emperor’s ancient scripture, which contains divine dragon transformation arts — I don’t need these.” Pang Bo declined.

“What are we being so polite with each other for? I’m telling you to take them — they’ll certainly be of great use.” Ye Fan stuffed two of the bottles into his arms.

“The color is brilliant gold, and every drop is this large — these are obviously superior-grade dragon marrow. One bottle would be enough; there’s no need for this much.” Pang Bo wanted to leave them for Ye Fan’s own cultivation.

“Don’t worry. Although people say dragon marrow is almost impossible to find in hundreds or thousands of years, there must be places to buy it. The Central Continent has countless dragon veins — all ancestral veins — and every major sect builds cities as sanctuaries to cultivate dragon energy. I refuse to believe dragon marrow cannot be found.”

“From what I hear, dragon marrow can indeed be found, but it costs upward of a million pounds of source every time. Only at the grandest auctions does it appear, and it must be traded in divine source.” Pang Bo shared this piece of information.

Ye Fan broke into a smile upon hearing it. “Then there’s no need to worry too much. I won the five hundred million pounds of source from the ancient source-arts family at the Peach Blossom Feast and exchanged it for divine source — that should be enough to buy some dragon marrow for the two of us to cultivate the Dragon Transformation realm.”

“The Central Continent truly is sacred land — it has something as heaven-defying as dragon marrow. It contains fragments of the grand Dao within, and not only can it extend one’s lifespan, it can help one comprehend the Dao. They say the most supreme grade — dream divine marrow — rivals a single Immortality Divine Medicine. It is said to have taken on living form and cannot be caught at all.”

Ye Fan laughed. “My source arts will likely have plenty of use again. Once I’ve thoroughly investigated the various secrets of dragon marrow, I’ll personally go seeking the ancestral veins to obtain it.”

“Don’t go seeking dragon marrow. The stuff is said to be profoundly dangerous — once you enter the underground ancestral veins, all manner of strange things can happen. Even Saint-Master-level figures have died without explanation.” Pang Bo was firmly opposed.

Ye Fan was intrigued and felt he needed to learn more. Heaven and earth had nurtured this divine substance — it was very likely accompanied by something, or had given birth to something.

“Stay in the Hall of Exceptional Talents and find that ancient road leading beyond this domain.”

Pang Bo nodded. “I know. I entered the Hall of Exceptional Talents for the sake of that ancient road. Of course, the insights left by the sages upon those beautiful peaks are also invaluable.”

At last the two parted, agreeing on when and where they would next meet.

West Dam City had stood for ages immemorial. Wars of fire raged, dynasties rose and fell, eras came and went, and seas became fields and fields became seas — yet it had always remained, never once relocated.

Of course, it had been rebuilt and renovated countless times over the ages, given how extraordinarily ancient it was. It was one of the ten great ancient cities recorded in the human race’s ancient texts of the Central Continent.

It lay some five thousand li from the Hall of Exceptional Talents — not especially far. When the heroes of the Five Great Domains had needs outside the hall, West Dam City was their first destination.

As one of the Central Continent’s ten great ancient cities, its layout was remarkable. Dragon energy nurtured the entire city, and quite a few rogue cultivators had chosen to live here in seclusion.

The city had no lord and belonged to no major power — it was entirely free, with vast numbers of cultivators passing through, making it extraordinarily prosperous.

Every time a large-scale auction was held, numerous Saint-Master-level figures came from far and wide. People of every school and background could be found there — all manner of individuals.

Ye Fan arrived at West Dam City with the Divine Punishing Whip strapped to his back, intending to cultivate here and strengthen himself.

The city was towering and imposing, grand and magnificent. Its walls were cast like dark iron, like a great black steel rampart. Within, the layout was expansive and flourishing, with followers of every philosophy and school — all kinds of people — and a constant flow of traffic, ceaseless as a river.

Ye Fan settled in there, cultivating on one hand and keeping watch for Saint-Master-level auctions on the other, hoping to obtain rare and precious dragon marrow.

Here one could often see disciples of the Hall of Exceptional Talents. So long as the hall was not sealed, they could move about freely — people often came here to exchange magical treasures and elixirs.

And within West Dam City, there was naturally no shortage of people discussing who among the younger generation of the Five Great Domains was first under heaven.

Beyond the Central Emperor and Wang Teng, people spoke of the Southern Fiend and also mentioned the mysterious powerful figure from Mount Sumeru — but by what seemed to be common agreement, the Eastern Wastelands was left out.

Because that domain was simply too complex and mysterious — it was impossible to say who was stronger or weaker there.

In the Eastern Wastelands, many mighty figures had risen together. No one could name the domain’s foremost expert. The Holy Son Yao Guang was far too low-profile, never having fought a battle to the death with anyone. Only the Golden Winged Little Peng King had once experienced that power — but he had sealed his lips entirely and would not speak a single word of it.

At present, even asking the Golden Winged Little Peng King to describe that battle was impossible — he had been suppressed by the Old Peng King, and until he broke through the trial set by the ancient Celestial Peng Sage, he could not emerge into the world.

Beyond that, some speculated that the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool was tremendously strong. Others said the divine king constitution bearer of the Ji Family was undefeated, and was the foremost expert of the Eastern Wastelands.

Still others said these individuals all fell short — once the Holy Maiden of the Purple Mansion became a Saint-Master, she would have no equal, for she possessed the innate Dao womb constitution, matchless in the world.

Yet others said the true foremost was Yan Ruyu — once her supreme Dao weapon emerged, both Wang Teng and the Central Emperor would be forced to concede defeat.

And of course Hua Yunfei was brought up once again. He had vanished for nearly three years, yet no one had forgotten him. He cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, and once he let himself loose, no one could stop him — he would advance a thousand li in a single day. Some came close to ominous predictions: within ten years he would wreak havoc across the Eastern Wastelands; within a hundred years he would rampage across the Five Domains.

Naturally many also mentioned Ye Fan, believing that if he survived and continued to grow step by step, his achievements would be limitless — after all, he was the only sacred constitution bearer in the post-primordial era to break the curse.

Most speechless of all was that Duan De — a graverobber already past thirty — was also brought up, with people calling the depraved Daoist an eccentric whose depths could not be measured.

There was also one named Xia Jiuyou, who received a mention. At age thirteen she had broken through the Four Extremes and entered the Dragon Transformation realm — an astonishing talent rare throughout all of history.

She was nothing like Wang Chong, who had tumbled into a dragon cavern and received a world-shaking opportunity, drinking dragon blood and consuming divine marrow. She had climbed up one step at a time entirely on her own.

In the end, people found that the Eastern Wastelands had too many figures to name, and no clear foremost expert could be identified. Most of them had never fully revealed their true strength, all keeping an extremely low profile.

This had remained so even after they entered the Hall of Exceptional Talents — not a single person from the Eastern Wastelands had been called a monstrous talent, nor had any of them forcibly stepped into the limelight or made a spectacle.

Yet people had heard that the Holy Son Yao Guang was someone who drew heavenly tribulation every time he advanced — how could he possibly not be a monstrous talent?

From this one could infer that the others were equally formidable and possessed enormous potential for growth.

Outside West Dam City, two towering figures stood suspended in the void. One was covered densely in golden fine scales, bearing a pair of divine wings; the other shimmered with silver light, bearing four arms and an extra vertical eye.

“He has disappeared — his aura completely concealed. Even the Divine Calculator’s disciples can no longer divine his location through their deductions, and the people of the Yin-Yang Sect can no longer find him.”

“He must still be somewhere in this region. Without taking his head, we cannot return to report our mission.”

The two primordial era creatures spoke quietly, their eyes blazing like flames, their auras terrifyingly powerful.

And while these two primordial era creatures were scheming to kill Ye Fan, he sat holding the Immortal Tear Green Gold book, pondering it himself. The small characters carved upon it were written in divine script from before the primordial era — could he perhaps capture an ancient creature to translate it?