Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
The sounds of divine rainbow streaks splitting the air were unceasing. Cultivators arrived at the horizon one after another, charging toward the Demon Emperor’s burial mound ahead. Ye Fan watched all of this without much excitement. He strode forward in great steps, moving away from the ruins and following the original path back to the region where the Five-Finger Mountains stood.
What’s going on… Ye Fan was astonished at heart. It was still this same region, yet the lush, verdant, and vibrant scenery was gone. Ahead stood five bare stone mountains, not a single blade of grass growing on them, completely barren. They were no longer so tall and imposing either, having grown quite short — like five great boulders standing side by side.
Passing through the five stone mountains and walking forward, he neither lost his way nor saw any otherworldly pureland. What lay before him was a ground of scattered rocks and yellow sand — desolate, quiet, entirely unfamiliar, a landscape of utter barrenness.
I didn’t take the wrong direction… Ye Fan was certain it was this same region, yet the scenery before him had utterly changed, and that pureland had completely vanished.
Ye Fan thought he might have stepped into an illusion. He closed his eyes and used his heartbeat to sense the pulse of the Demon Emperor’s Heart — but felt nothing at all. This place was extraordinarily still. It was a true wasteland in every sense.
He searched carefully through this region, and reluctantly arrived at a conclusion: all of this was real. There was no pureland here — only a stretch of sand and stone dozens of li across, devoid of life, utterly dead and still.
How can this be… Ye Fan furrowed his brow and returned to the five stone mountains. Then, at the base of the middle mountain, he suddenly discovered a corner of a sleeve.
It’s Pang Bo’s…
Ye Fan searched on and on through this region, but ultimately left disappointed. This wasteland held nothing — Pang Bo and the several great demons had disappeared without a trace.
He searched circuits around the region, losing count of how many times, until at last Ye Fan lay exhausted in the sand, carefully thinking and reasoning it all through, and finally let out a long sigh. Given his current level of strength, he simply had no way to find Pang Bo. Even if he truly discovered a clue, he would have no power to rescue him.
In the end, Ye Fan could only choose to leave. He did not know whether, after parting today, he would ever see Pang Bo again.
They had come to this starry realm’s distant shore together, and had always faced life and death side by side, supporting each other. Yet now they were separated like this. Ye Fan was deeply disheartened, and he walked away, step by step.
Traveling hundreds of li on foot, Ye Fan passed by the ancient ruins. He was now only a few li from the Demon Emperor’s burial mound, where a great multitude of cultivators had already gathered. The Demon Emperor’s ancient tomb rose and sank slowly in the sky, light blazing into the heavens.
At this moment, a rumbling sound came from the sky, and the heavens trembled in waves.
An ancient war chariot, radiating an aura of killing intent, cast entirely from gold and engraved with dense Dao-runes, was pulled by nine powerful azure jiao-dragons. Wind and thunder rang out from it as it rolled across the sky, approaching with a surge of powerful battle intent like a crashing tsunami.
In the distance, the many cultivators drew sharp breaths. Another great figure had arrived, and not a few of them paled — though the people of the Ji Family alone showed expressions of delight.
Pulled by nine azure jiao-dragons, the golden ancient war chariot soared through the clouds and mist, rushing forward swiftly until it came to a stop before the Ji Family’s people, after which all fell silent.
Before everyone could even recover their wits, waves of celestial music drifted closer from the distance, and a sky full of flower petals began to drift down — crystalline and gleaming, fragrant and soft. Beautiful silhouettes drifted past in the sky like immortal fairies, their sleeves floating, indescribably otherworldly and graceful.
They were a cluster of blossoming flowers surrounding a fragrant carriage woven from sacred flowers, arriving with lightness and ease. Petals rained down from the sky — crystalline and gleaming — casting a gorgeous splendor over the entire ruins.
Before the Demon Emperor’s burial mound, all the cultivators were startled. Another extraordinary personage had arrived. This ancient palace hall had truly stirred many powerful cultivators, all of them coming in person.
By now Ye Fan had grown calm. Though he had not found Pang Bo, he firmly believed that Pang Bo would not die — there would come a day when the brothers would meet again.
Grow stronger. I must keep growing stronger, and refuse to let others dictate our fate!
Ye Fan swept away his low spirits. The light in his eyes gleamed with brilliance, revealing a steadfast and self-assured expression. Since he had already set foot on the path of cultivation, his most pressing task at present was to make himself powerful — only then could he one day go and rescue Pang Bo.
He did not leave. Instead, he chose to retreat several li back, and gazed from afar atop a tall mountain eight or nine li from the Demon Emperor’s burial mound. With his current cultivation, he had absolutely no strength to compete for anything there — the weakest person present could reduce him to ash without effort. He chose to watch from a distance simply to broaden his experience.
By now, no one knew how many cultivators had gathered, and quite a few had already made their move — yet still no one had been able to open the Demon Emperor’s burial mound. Quite a number of cultivators had died in the attempt.
The grand ancient palace hall, consecrated from five-colored sacred jade, was covered in dense demonic script. Five-colored divine radiance blazed forth; the dragon-shaped characters, phoenix-shaped characters, and black tortoise-shaped characters seemed to have come alive. Demonic energy rose like billowing black smoke straight into the heavens, while the surging demonic power rose and fell like a vast ocean. No cultivator could approach — anyone who dared to step across the forbidden boundary was pulverized to dust in an instant.
“The immortal-slaying power laid down by a Demon Emperor of one generation, worn thin by the erosion of countless ages, has already fallen to its lowest. Moreover, the pattern of its pulsing has been grasped by us. The time is nearly right — we can move.”
From within the jade carriage pulled by nine qilin beasts before the Demon Emperor’s burial mound, a cold and clear voice rang out — not particularly loud, even somewhat subdued, yet it carried clearly to every corner, causing many cultivators to tremble involuntarily.
This supremely powerful great figure was finally going to act!
“Indeed — the Demon Emperor’s burial mound can now be opened.” A gentle voice responded. No one could find the source of this woman’s voice, but no one doubted it either. To speak in dialogue with the great figure in the jade carriage, she had to be an existence of equal standing.
“We several families hold the advantage of the geographical head start. Opening the mound now, the gain will be considerable!” At that moment, yet another part of the sky issued a commanding voice — each word fell like a thunderclap, leaving all present with their ears ringing.
From beneath the flower-rain-dappled sky, a woman’s voice rang out from the fragrant carriage woven of sacred flowers — crisp and pleasing to the ear: “If that is the case, then let us proceed.”
“We will forcibly open the Demon Emperor’s burial mound. To avoid injuring the innocent — everyone, stand back!” From within the Ji Family’s golden ancient war chariot, which radiated killing intent, an aged voice boomed out like a crashing tide, shaking the heavens and carrying with it an incomparable, overwhelming pressure.
Five great figures spoke in succession, their voices nearly overlapping — soul-shaking, like rolling thunder. In this moment, everyone present was struck with a violent tremor of mind and spirit, their bodies staggering, involuntarily stepping back and retreating into the distance.
The five mysterious great figures were unwilling to wait any longer — for powerful cultivators from other great forces were nearly there as well. The five of them would join hands to forcibly shatter the Demon Emperor’s burial mound and seize the treasures ahead of the others.
Even from eight or nine li away, Ye Fan still felt a terrifying wave of force. His heart grew cold with dread. Without any hesitation, he quickly moved away from this region, retreating several more li.
BOOM!
Before long, a world-shaking explosion came from the direction of the Demon Emperor’s burial mound — enough to make one’s very soul tremble. Brilliant divine light shattered the clouds and pierced through heaven and earth. Like a volcanic eruption, boundless demonic power surged forth in a frenzy, and the resplendent radiance crashed outward like a tsunami in all directions. Many cultivators, like fallen leaves in the wind, were directly swept flying. Those who had already retreated far enough were still caught in the shockwave.
In the distance, Ye Fan was horrified. Even where he stood, the impact reached him. Countless trees and plants were snapped and broken, quite a few boulders went rolling and flying, and huddled behind a stone mountain as he was, he still felt his heart pounding with fright.
This Demon Emperor’s burial mound was truly terrifying. Countless ages had passed, and the immortal-slaying power laid down by the great Demon Emperor had grown profoundly weak — yet when struck by an external force, it still erupted with such horrifying demonic might. One could only imagine how tremendously powerful the Demon Emperor who had once unified the demon clans of the Eastern Desolation had been in his time!
“The Demon Emperor truly was worthy of being called the supreme cultivator who looked down upon the Eastern Desolation in the primordial age. Even the seal he laid down in life has such terrifying power — one can glimpse from this a shadow of the unrivaled magnificence of his prime!”
Before the grand ancient palace hall, only five figures now remained. Their forms were impossible to make out clearly — only five dazzling orbs of light hung suspended there, all of them sighing with admiration.
“The Demon Emperor of that generation possessed stunning brilliance and extraordinary talent — truly an unmatched master of the ages!”
“The demonic power remaining in this tomb is probably less than one-tenth of his strength at his peak, yet it still carries such terrifying force. The mere thought of it is staggering.”
Though the five great figures said as much, they did not cease their efforts. They gathered the full power of their divine force and unleashed an even more fierce and domineering assault.
BOOM!
Like a divine ocean flooding the heavens, like the Milky Way pouring in reverse — heaven and earth turned vast and boundless, blinding light blazing everywhere, limitless divine radiance crashing and surging, the boundless demonic power rising and falling. The area around the Demon Emperor’s burial mound seemed to be on the verge of boiling.
All the cultivators had long since retreated far from that place. No one dared to remain.
The five great figures struck again and again, each time bringing forth their weapons to batter the Demon Emperor’s ancient tomb directly — causing the sun, moon, and stars to lose their light, making the entire heaven and earth tremble.
Limitless divine light and terrifying demonic power continued to surge in all directions.
No one knew how much time had passed. The five great figures themselves did not know how many strikes they had made before, at last, barely managing to crack one corner of the Demon Emperor’s mausoleum.
BOOM!
Joining forces once more in a powerful strike, the five powerful weapons swallowed and spat divine light, concentrating the vital energy and divine power of all five great figures — and finally tore open a corner of the Demon Emperor’s burial mound.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
At that moment, streaks of radiant light flew out from the torn corner of the Demon Emperor’s tomb, shooting in all directions — spiritual weapons with their own sentience had escaped on their own!
The five great figures all reached out great hands, grasping toward the sky, yet still quite a few streaks of radiance became fish that slipped through the net — some shooting toward the heavens, others vanishing into the mountain forests.
At this moment, the cultivators who had been watching from afar all sprang into action, swiftly flying in all directions — some chasing toward the horizon, others charging into the deep forests — in pursuit of those streaks of radiance.
Whoosh!
One streak of azure radiance plunged into the stone mountain where Ye Fan stood, easily piercing through the stone wall and embedding itself inside. This gave Ye Fan a great start — he had never imagined that hiding so far away, he might still have something fall his way.
BOOM!
At that moment, the five great figures joined forces once more, bringing forth five powerful weapons to strike again at the Demon Emperor’s burial mound!