Ye Fan felt as though he had endured the agony of being drawn and quartered — his entire body was wracked with intense pain. He had only lifted a corner of the bronze coffin with the Soldier Word Art and hadn’t even truly made contact with it, yet it had nearly drained all of his Life Essence.

Like the opening of an Immortal King’s treasury, a divine sound of the Grand Dao resounded throughout Heaven and Earth. A cluster of precious radiance billowed like mist, coiling around the bronze coffin and spreading outward.

Many people craned their necks, watching from afar, desperate to discover what was entombed within. Every single person was filled with shock and bewilderment.

Yet what followed filled many of them with fear. They were compelled to prostrate themselves in reverence against their will, as if they were facing the most supreme of deities, overcome with terror and unease.

Boom!

High in the sky, the ancient mirror drifted, growing ever more substantial. What had before been a projection from the void was now manifesting in true physical form — ancient and grand, trailing down ten thousand spans of primordial chaos aura.

The scene before them was terrifying to behold — a vast expanse of white, as if ten thousand great waterfalls hung suspended from beyond the heavens, nearly shattering the mind and spirit of all who beheld it. Many cultivators could not endure it and crumpled to their knees in trembling worship.

Two ancient treasures, both displaying extraordinary phenomena, filled everyone with trembling and trepidation. Every grandmaster-level figure had long since set off in flight, retreating an unknown number of miles into the distance. Most others had simply collapsed where they stood, their bodies shaking uncontrollably like sieves.

Even at an infinite distance, grandmaster-level figures still felt their hearts pounding, unable to suppress a bone-deep chill — let alone anyone else. This was a weight impossible to bear.

“Did you see what’s inside the bronze coffin?” someone asked.

“Nothing but primordial chaos — as if Heaven and Earth were being divided anew. It is completely impenetrable!” another answered in astonishment.

“How can this be? Whose sacred relic from an ancient Great Emperor is this, left behind in this world? Why has nothing like this ever been heard of?”

People were astonished to discover that both weapons were terrifyingly formidable. No matter how great the distance, they sent everyone into a soul-deep terror, an irresistible urge to bow down in submission and reverence, impossible to control.

The Void Mirror in its awakening process was extraordinarily awe-inspiring — primordial chaos extending for ten thousand spans, like a curtain hanging from the sky, cascading endlessly downward in a vast field of white, submerging everything without end.

The bronze coffin, meanwhile, was like an ancient cosmos — endlessly giving birth and collapsing within it. A hazy luminescent mist coiled around it, impenetrable and inscrutable, like the vast primordial ocean that was the source of all worlds.

“It blocked it — the bronze coffin blocked the Void Mirror’s assault!”

“Ten thousand white waterfalls have fallen into the coffin — what… what is happening?”

“What on earth is this coffin? How can this be?”

People were horrified. The merest breath of aura emanating from the ancient Void Mirror was enough to grind a Holy Sovereign to dust, yet so much chaos light had fallen — there was not a single person in this world who could withstand that, and yet the ancient coffin had absorbed it all!

This sight was beyond any of their comprehension, surpassing the bounds of their imagination. Was this the terrifying power of an Ultimate Dao Imperial Weapon — something no human force could oppose?

At this moment, Ye Fan wrapped his body in the Immortal Treasure from within the Chaotic Dragon Nest and submerged himself within the Myriad Things Mother Breath Cauldron, finally managing to preserve himself from annihilation. It had to be said — mobilizing the bronze coffin also dealt tremendous damage to himself.

For now, it was only because the Void Mirror had attracted the ancient coffin’s attention that anything held at all. That mirror, which had existed since ancient times, possessed tremendous destructive force — like a Great Emperor awakening, slaying gods when gods barred its way and slaying Buddhas when Buddhas stood before it.

In the distance, some powerful figures cried out, spitting blood, unable to withstand the divine power that could destroy all things in Heaven and Earth.

In the ancient era, Great Emperors could pluck stars and capture the moon, using Ultimate Dao Imperial Weapons to strike down and shatter the stars of countless star domains — their combat power was beyond imagination!

“Ahhh…”

“How can this be?!” Voices of alarm rang out from the distance as people cried out in panic, worshipping in terror, coughing blood as they fell back.

Fortunately, the Ji Family’s ancient hall of refined gold was inscribed with formation patterns that teleported those who had collapsed on the ground away. Had that protection not existed, those people would have been turned to pulp — reduced to blood and mud beneath the invisible pressure.

This was what an ancient Great Emperor’s weapon could do, and it had not yet truly revived — it was only in the early stages of awakening, not yet fully alive. And even so, it possessed this kind of mighty force, terrifying beyond measure. Stand in its way, and you would be reduced to ash.

“Let’s see how long you can hold out, boy!” From high in the sky, the Eighth Ancestor of the Ji Family spoke in a sinister tone. He and the two Elders stood amid the ten-thousand-fold cascade of chaos. The ancient Void Mirror was under their control, so the three of them were unaffected by the impact — on the contrary, they were enveloped by the chaos aura, their bodies protected. At this moment, one could say they were indestructible by ten thousand calamities, with no one capable of breaking through their defense.

Even if a Saint arrived, they would likely find it troublesome. The awakening of an ancient Great Emperor’s weapon released an endless flood of divine power, possessed of immortal and boundless might.

Ye Fan’s heart tightened. The ancient Void Mirror in the sky was awakening, its terrifying might growing ever greater. He had to break this deadlock.

Clang!

He once more activated the Soldier Word Art, pushing with all his strength to lift the coffin lid ever further — the opening grew larger and larger, as if Heaven and Earth were being sundered anew!

The first ray of light flew out — all things in Heaven and Earth brightened. The first thread of primordial chaos manifested — an ancient cosmos seemed to take shape. The first divine sound rang out — like an Immortal King expounding the Dao, celestial omens rained from the sky, and sacred lotuses sprouted from the earth.

It was a terrifying and otherworldly scene. As the bronze coffin opened to just past halfway, light and sound poured forth simultaneously, the area shrouded in dense, drifting mist that was completely impenetrable.

Boom!

Like a thousand armies and ten thousand horses stampeding, all the great cascades of chaos plunged downward, pouring into the ancient coffin — incomparably terrifying, like roaring surging waves, converging in a single abyss.

“It truly blocked the Void Mirror — this is an Ultimate Dao clash!”

The bronze coffin absorbed the Void Mirror’s chaos light, drawing it in without cease. It was like a bottomless abyss — no matter how much was poured in, it could never be filled.

Ye Fan was closest of all, and naturally wished to probe what was inside the coffin. But his spiritual perception felt as though it had been stabbed with needles — there was no way to come near what lay within.

Moreover, had the Void Mirror in the air not held the bronze coffin’s attention, forcing all its light and sound to surge upward, he would most likely have been shattered — even with the Immortal Treasure and the Myriad Things Mother Breath Cauldron as protection, it would not have been enough to hold.

“No — I must see clearly!”

Ye Fan gathered his divine sense, forcibly activating his spiritual perception, determined to pass through the ancient coffin and see what was inside.

“Ahhh…”

He let out a cry of agony. His eyes dripped blood, and his Origin Heaven Divine Eyes nearly blinded themselves — but in the end, he glimpsed a vague outline. Within lay a corpse!

“Impossible!”

Ye Fan’s expression was flooded with shock. That body lay ice-cold and motionless, resting quietly at the center of an ancient cosmos — surrounded by raging primordial chaos, yet indestructible through ten thousand calamities.

“How can it look exactly like me?!”

He could barely bring himself to believe it. The ice-cold corpse in the ancient coffin was indistinguishable from him. If he lay down beside it, not a single difference could be found.

“See through three thousand worlds!” From afar, the Monkey bellowed. His fiery golden eyes shot out two divine beams of energy that soared to the heavens and illuminated the cosmos before entering the bronze coffin.

“Ahhh…” In an instant, the Monkey also let out a cry of agony. Blood streamed from both his eyes, and he fell backward to the ground, overcome with shock. “Father — why is it him?!” he cried.

He had seen an ancient ape — its entire body a blaze of resplendent golden fur. Though it had become an ice-cold corpse, the bearing of one who stood supreme throughout Heaven and Earth, second to none, remained entirely undiminished. The Battle-Saint Elder Holy Emperor had been renowned for battle throughout the ages — peerless across all eras. That air of solitary dominion over the heavens, sweeping through all of creation — no one else could ever replicate it.

At the same moment, the Southern Demon shot two beams of strange light from his eyes, penetrating through eternity — as bizarre and extraordinary as a demon god opening his Heavenly Eye!

In the Demon Emperor’s Palace, there was a blood-sacrificial altar upon which a celestial Eye of Heaven and Earth had grown. With boundless magical power and the Dao-force of a Great Emperor, one could use it to see across all the heavens and myriad worlds. The Southern Demon had used it to temper his own Heavenly Eye.

“Ahhh…”

He too let out a cry of agony. His eyes streamed with fresh blood, and he was nearly blinded. His expression filled with sheer incredulity as he said in a trembling voice, “How can it be him?!”

“Let me break through and peer into the very source!” The Red Dragon Daoist let out a low, suppressed roar. As a living fossil, he possessed combat power that was beyond the reach of most others.

Two scarlet dragons shot from his pupils and entered the ancient coffin, seeking to uncover the truth — yet even he as powerful as he was proved no exception. With a muffled grunt, blood seeped from the corners of his eyes.

“The Demon Emperor!” The Red Dragon Elder was greatly shocked, revealing an expression of utter disbelief. Within the bronze coffin, he had seen a supreme Demon Emperor wearing a robe of cyan.

The crowd was greatly alarmed. Just what was inside the bronze coffin? The different figures had each seen something entirely different — it was simply impossible to determine who had discovered the truth.

“Summon the Great Emperor’s spectral shadow!” Just then, the Eighth Ancestor of the Ji Family bellowed from high above. They began to activate the ancient mirror, unleashing a forbidden technique.

Once the ancient Void Mirror fully revived, it would have countless wondrous techniques at its disposal. At this early stage of awakening, only the forbidden technique with the lowest consumption could be employed: an ancient Emperor’s form manifested within the mirror, then stepped out from it.

“The Void Great Emperor — that is the Void Great Emperor!” From the distance, someone cried out in shock. The crowd heard this and was immensely shaken, all eyes fixing like iron on that expanse of sky.

This was a shadow imprinted within the mirror — left behind by the ancient Great Emperor. Though it was not the true form, it nonetheless possessed world-defying power. Once summoned and released, it would be incomparably terrifying.

“An Ultimate Dao Imperial Weapon is truly awe-inspiring — and this is the forbidden technique with the lowest consumption, producing only a spectral shadow. If the ancient mirror fully revives, like a true strike from the Great Emperor, it would be utterly unmatched!”

Boom!

Even so, that hazy shadow was still staggering. It annihilated all the surrounding space and drove a surging tide of primordial chaos toward the bronze coffin.

In the distance, everyone’s faces turned ashen white. This strike was enough to destroy all Holy Sovereigns — even their combined force could not withstand it. This was the pressure of a single surge of Great Emperor’s might, and even as a spectral shadow, it was something no one could oppose.

“Ahhh — what?!”

The Eighth Ancestor of the Ji Family cried out in shock. He had witnessed an inconceivable sight: in the instant the spectral shadow entered the bronze coffin, a vast star domain manifested, and a solitary corpse drifted alone through a dark, cold, ancient cosmos.

“The Void Great Emperor!”

His mind nearly shattered, filled with boundless horror. No matter what he had anticipated, he had never imagined seeing such a sight. The Ji Family possessed a portrait of the Void Great Emperor, and as a Ji Family Elder, he had naturally seen it before.

“This is the Great Emperor’s own coffin — it is he who has returned from the Desolate cosmos…” The Eighth Ancestor of the Ji Family was dumbstruck. Was it possible that they were using the Void Great Emperor’s own weapon to attack his own coffin?

“Could our Ancestor have entombed himself in the endless void, and is this truly his resting coffin, now returned from beyond the domain?” The other two Elders also exclaimed in disbelief.

Hum!

The spectral shadow entered within, transformed into primordial chaos, and disappeared inside — never to appear again.

The bronze coffin shuddered, shooting out beams of luminescent mist and emitting an even grander divine sound that resonated throughout all of Heaven and Earth, shaking the hearts and minds of all.

Crack!

The Eighth Ancestor of the Ji Family lost control of his mind and spirit, struck by a sweep of radiant mist. Had the chaos light not been guarding him, he would certainly have been reduced to dust. Even so, he let out a great cry and fell from the sky.

“Contain!” Ye Fan used the Myriad Things Mother Breath Cauldron to capture him. The ancient cauldron, which could hold the infinite void within it, had a vast interior space. Ye Fan descended from above, one foot planted squarely on the Eighth Ancestor’s face, pressing down as he landed at the bottom of the cauldron.

“You little villain, you—!”

Splat!

Ye Fan ground his foot down, and every tooth in the man’s mouth flew out along with a spray of blood — after which he could make no further sound.