The stone house had become a sea of flames — yet it was no ordinary fire. It was source energy surging and boiling, refining the void. A blinding spectacle.

In the distance, many cultivators sat down on the spot to meditate, channeling the source energy flowing outward into their bodies to baptize their flesh and temper their physical shells.

More people were gripped by awe, staring with unblinking eyes into the depths of the stone garden. Immortal radiance scattered in all directions there, a sacred aura moving the ten directions — the kind of fluctuation that made one tremble.

When the phenomenon of an immortal emerging from stone appeared, an incomparable divine object was inevitably about to manifest. It was absolutely a priceless treasure. And now these fluctuations were extraordinarily strange — bordering on terrifying.

“What is it? Some heaven-priced extraordinary stone must have cracked open, with a divine object tumbling out!”

Many people were moved, yet had no way to draw close. Ye Fan’s Source Heaven divine formation was too fearsome — people were afraid of being caught within it and refined to dust.

“Clang!”

A weapon’s ring — clear and crisp, like a dragon’s cry shaking the nine heavens, carrying an especially far-reaching resonance. Various divine mists flew out, brilliantly radiant.

“A weapon — it’s actually a weapon!”

Everyone was shaken. For a weapon to have been sealed within an extraordinary stone, surviving through such immense ages undestroyed — one didn’t even need to think to know it had to be an earth-shaking precious weapon.

“A weapon emerging from stone — absolutely its provenance is staggering. It would make every Sacred Ground fight to break their heads over it!”

In this instant, many minds raced, entertaining every kind of possibility.

A weapon sealed within stone — if it was born naturally, it was most likely like the nine-aperture stone man Ye Fan had once cut open, which held a holy sword within. It would be a proof-of-Dao object for the future.

If it was not that — then it was even more alarming. Very possibly it was a weapon left behind by a Primordial Ancestor-King or the most powerful of the human race’s Saints. After such a span of time, still preserved to this day — it had to be at that level.

“Ancient weapons of the Primordial era should have long since crumbled to dust — could it be that a true Primordial Sacred Weapon has actually emerged into the world?!”

Chaos spread through the area. Many people grew restless. If it was such a weapon, its value was incalculable — Sacred Grounds would fight to crack their heads open for it.

“It’s even possible that it’s a fragment of an Imperial Weapon!” Someone blurted this out without warning.

With that one statement, the entire crowd fell silent. The blood in many people’s bodies flowed faster. It was not impossible. The awe-inspiring fluctuation that made people want to prostrate themselves said everything.

Whatever the case, the destroyed stone house certainly contained a peerless rare treasure — making people’s blood surge with fervor, unable to contain themselves.

Suddenly, after a tremendous roar, a figure like a divine demon appeared amid the blazing flames, howling at the sky, pacing back and forth without ceasing, smoke and mist surging heavenward.

“What — there’s a living being?!” Everyone was dumbstruck. No matter how they had imagined it, they had never thought — could it be that a Primordial ancient being was emerging into the world?

“Clang!”

The weapon’s ring grew louder. That humanoid being moved — and the sound was not footsteps, but the resonance of the weapon, making everyone stare in bewilderment.

Ye Fan was also watching all of this. He could have charged in — but he didn’t move rashly. A powerful aura pervaded the stone garden that gave even him a deep feeling of unease.

Suddenly, Ye Fan froze. He sensed a peculiar fluctuation — faintly familiar — appearing in the cloud layer. He quickly raised his eyes and looked upward — and in a flash he caught sight of a familiar little figure.

A small golden living being, somewhat timid, with a pair of bright large eyes like black gemstones — glancing around furtively — its entire body densely covered in golden scales. In the end, it dove headfirst into the boundless source energy.

“Shencan!”

Ye Fan was astonished. He had never expected that after several years, he would again encounter this little creature in the Northern Domain’s divine city. It was even more nimble and graceful than before.

It was only a palm’s length, plump and round, shaped like a small golden qilin, streaming flowing radiance — cautiously, timidly absorbing source energy from within the clouds.

Below, source energy surged and burned. The entire stone house had been dissolved, including all the heaven-priced extraordinary stones within — the life essence that poured out was terrifying in its magnitude.

Shencan has nine transformations. Each transformation requires a vast quantity of source energy. The commotion at this place had drawn it here — it wanted to use this to undergo a transformation.

Ye Fan’s expression softened. A trace of a smile curved his lips. This small golden creature was rather charming — it was very close to him. Back when he had been wounded in his foundations by the great Dao, it had crept over in the dead of night to look in on him, playing dead to make him laugh.

Thinking back on those past events, Ye Fan engraved divine patterns in the void, altering the Source Heaven divine formation to guide the purest source energy surging up toward the high sky.

High in the sky, Shencan was deeply contented and intoxicated — it opened its mouth and sucked in mightily, beginning to gulp in the boundless source energy like a whale drinking the ocean, its entire body shimmering with golden mist.

“Shencan — it’s the Shencan that Ye Fan cut out back then!” Someone cried out. Others had at last spotted the small golden creature high in the sky, and everyone’s hearts stirred.

Now this small creature’s value far exceeded what it had been before. It had already undergone three transformations. If it absorbed the entire accumulated reserve of an ancient family’s stone house, it would most likely complete its fourth transformation.

Though some people wanted to reach out and seize Shencan, no one dared act rashly. Ye Fan was right here. The methods he had just displayed were enough for everyone to see clearly — even a Saint-Master would be helpless against them.

The scene briefly fell still. People watched the depths of the stone garden for the weapon, while looking up at the small golden creature in the sky — everyone making their calculations.

A full three hours passed. The Wang Family’s stone house still burned fiercely — one could imagine just what a vast accumulation of divine substances those heaven-priced extraordinary stones had contained. These were their collection of many years.

In the fourth hour, Shencan contentedly patted its little belly. Its large pair of eyes rolled around and around without stopping — with a crafty look — and it prepared to make a run for it.

“BOOM!”

Suddenly, heavenly tribulation descended from the sky — arriving with great speed. The small golden creature was struck until its eyes rolled back in its head, its entire body trailing smoke, nearly falling from the sky.

“Ate it all clean and was just going to run? Ha — retribution has arrived.” Ye Fan laughed.

The tribulation was severe — terrifyingly so, comparable to Ye Fan’s own tribulations. Every variety of lightning: five-element lightning, the True Supreme Yin Tribulation, chaotic thunder — all of it struck down at once.

Shencan was like a startled little rabbit — leaping and bounding, charging about within the tribulation, and then beginning to resist.

“Use your innate divine techniques to resist!” Ye Fan transmitted his voice — instructing it as he had done last time.

All around, people fled in every direction. Not one dared to linger. If they were implicated in the tribulation punishment, death was certain — no one wanted to be killed by a sneaky, crafty little Shencan.

One had to say, this ancient creature was a cunning spirit. First it played dead, foaming at the mouth, rolling its eyes — then it grew furious and cursed the heavens, its small claws gesturing wildly — before unleashing one great technique after another outward, all of them strange and mysterious divine techniques.

Yet by the end, this small golden creature was covered in wounds, streaming golden blood, the smell of roasted meat drifting outward. It looked down pitifully below, begging for help.

“This can only depend on yourself!” Ye Fan sent out a divine consciousness — depicting the various scenes of his own past tribulations, reflecting them before Shencan’s eyes.

In the end, Shencan was nearly shattered into pieces, nearly becoming a charred black lump of coal, tumbling from the high heavens. The tribulation dissipated.

“It can’t be dead, can it?” People looked on with wide eyes.

“Pop!”

A light sound. The charred black coal cracked open. A resplendent radiance surged upward. A phoenix cry moved the four directions. A divine phoenix burst forth from within.

It was only half a chi in length — including the tail feathers, only a chi or so. Its plumage was brilliant and beautiful, the dominant color gold, full of divine vitality. Its eyes held a quality of divine grace — yet there was also a certain bewilderment, as if uncertain where it was.

With each transformation of Shencan, memories of the past were lost. This was its greatest drawback. The small golden creature was, in effect, severing its past and beginning anew.

Yet its adaptability was remarkable. In an instant it became cunning and crafty once more — turned and was about to flee. Golden wings spread wide, cleaving the sky, like a golden river rushing upstream, vanishing into the clouds.

Ye Fan, however, had been prepared. The Walking Script activated — he closed off its path ahead in the very first moment, reaching out one large hand and grasping forward.

Simultaneously, a divine consciousness was sent out, reflecting all its past existences before it, making Shencan understand its previous life.

The small golden phoenix bird was momentarily dazed — and then fully awake. Yet it still chose to flee into the distance and not remain. It was extremely wary.

Ye Fan was astonished. His large hand had not been able to stop it. The innate divine techniques of the Shencan clan were extraordinary — shattering through all constraints, piercing the void, leaving a small seven-colored aperture where it had been. It vanished from this place.

“Shencan’s nine transformations — unrivaled under heaven and earth. Worthy of being one of the most powerful Primordial royal clans!” He murmured to himself.

At the same time, in a place of incomprehensible distance — one of the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones, the Primordial Ancient Mine renowned across ten thousand ages — a humanoid being seemed capable of seeing through countless millions of li, its gaze directed toward the divine city.

In that moment, the entire Northern Domain bore a mysterious aura that appeared — then swiftly vanished.

The Wang Family stone house was no more. The source energy had ceased its boil. The earlier lightning and thunder had razed this vast area to level ground. Only the stone garden still retained some semblance of its former shape.

“That is…”

Everyone was greatly startled. A shadow like a divine demon had faded into transparency — and then dissolved into a piece of violet copper.

A weapon fragment!

“It truly is a weapon — a weapon that has birthed a weapon spirit! This must be the weapon of a Primordial Ancestor-King!”

“It’s also possible it’s a fragment of an Imperial Weapon!”

“Just now, did you feel it? I sensed a pair of eyes watching from an incomprehensible distance — as though from the direction of the Primordial Ancient Mine. Could it be that the owner of this weapon is still alive?!”

“There was indeed a momentary sense of daze. But it vanished very quickly.”

A divine spirit extracted from a weapon to use in repairing another — it had no will of its own. Whoever obtained it could use it. Its value was equal to an entire mountain of source — incalculably precious.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He carried with him an ancient object that could be repaired with just such a weapon divine spirit. Though it might not be fully restored, it would certainly yield boundless wondrous effects.

In this battle, the Wang Family’s foundation in the divine city was no more. Every last person was wiped out — no one escaped. They died miserably.

The news spread through the Eastern Desolation in the very first moment, shaking the vast land. Everyone was alarmed. The moment the Holy Body emerged from seclusion, he stirred up such a world-shaking wave.

Now, still in the First Heaven of the Immortal Platform, he had already dared to uproot an immortal Sacred-Ground-level great power’s foundation. What would he dare to do when he was stronger?

“When Wang Teng learns all of this, he will certainly come to kill — to fight the Holy Body in a battle to the death!” People were certain: before the Ancient Emperor Mountain battle began, the Northern Emperor and the Holy Body would most likely clash in one decisive fight first.