The young Old Madman was like a demon lord — terrifying and fearsome, his eyes filled with madness, impossible to approach.
Heaven, the gods — none of it was in his eyes. Whatever deity came, he would slay it. This was a form of extreme self-confidence — an aura of “I alone am supreme, I alone will prove the Dao, all things prostrate at my feet.” Everything lay crushed beneath him!
Ye Fan’s heart was solemn. He was as though he did not recognize this person. The young Old Madman’s bearing was completely different from before — incomparably dominant, capable of treading even the gods underfoot.
The young Old Madman was carving Dao patterns into the void, manifesting them with supreme divine power. He was truly deducing the locations of several dozen Primordial Ancestor Kings.
This was a maddened decision. Would he truly stand alone against this many kings from the primordial age? Would he kill them all with a single strike? It was simply mind-boggling!
The divine thought Ye Fan had transmitted to him was manifested faithfully — a purple copper warship was imprinted into the void Dao patterns and subjected to the calculation of celestial mechanisms.
“So you have truly come. This battle begins now!” The young man who resembled a divine demon spoke those cold words. Ye Fan understood his meaning — he was going to kill all the Primordial Ancestor Kings and three great sages alone, by himself!
What supreme dominance — the young Old Madman was truly breathtaking, causing one’s heart to clench and one’s pulse to race. Yet simultaneously, one could not help but be utterly captivated. Such power and bearing — truly one could say he could swallow mountains and rivers.
“What has happened to this ancient sage? That aura is too overwhelming. What is he about to do?!” From afar, the others were all trembling throughout their bodies. Under the aura that flowed from the ancient sage, even sect leader-level figures felt their courage fail them.
“Boom!”
The young Old Madman stepped forward with one foot. From the ground, thousands upon thousands of tracings instantly burst forth, forming a great teleportation formation.
He pointed with one hand, and a spatial passage opened at once. Five-colored divine light flickered within — this path, as if passing through the heavenly realm, led to the end of eternity.
The young Old Madman stepped in with a single stride — cold and dominant, pressing forward without hesitation, not once looking back as he departed, vanishing into the ancient passage through the void.
The purple copper warship had descended upon the Purple Tenuity Ancient Star Region. A great catastrophe was at hand for the human race. Billions would fall — the coming of several dozen ancient kings would claim the lives of endless human beings to fuel their resurrection.
It could be said that a disaster of rivers of blood and mountains of bones was at hand — one that concerned the life and death of an entire race!
And who now could stand forth and fight?
The Old Madman was going to go kill several dozen Primordial Ancestor Kings — including three great sages among them, one of which was the Thousand-Handed Divine Demon. It was a world-shaking battle — yet he said little more about it.
He went with dominance, without so much as a furrowed brow — incomparably cold and resolute. Truly possessing a heroic and peerless spirit of great courage!
Ye Fan’s heart raced. Had the Old Madman gone outside the starry void? That seemed unlikely — could he really step out such an ancient path with a single stamp of his foot?
“This is… too terrifying. A sage’s means are beyond calculation — one step down, and a divine formation capable of spanning eight million li has appeared!”
Some of those who had studied formation patterns rushed over, observed the coordinates, and were completely stunned.
“What…” Ye Fan’s heart went cold. Could it be that the purple copper warship from the primordial age had truly descended within the Purple Tenuity Ancient Star Region? Was this place its true target?
But how had it arrived? Drifting on its own through the void — traveling through the cosmos alone — would certainly require hundreds of lifetimes.
“Let us also go and see — what does this ancient sage intend to do?”
Someone spoke up, repairing the formation patterns and crossing over in pursuit. Where one person went, a second followed. Many powerful individuals began to cross through space.
Ye Fan also set out. He could not possibly stand aside. He followed along with some formidable figures — he also wished to witness the Old Madman’s means.
A sage’s means were boundless and inexhaustible — a single stamp of the foot produced ten thousand Dao tracings, inscribing such a world-shaking teleportation formation. A great crowd followed in pursuit.
Five-colored radiance flashed, ten lights blazed. When the people emerged, they found themselves in a great wilderness — dense ancient trees, towering green mountains, vast lakes like seas, broad and mighty ravines, all of it a scene of primordial wildness.
It was a vast wilderness without end. Trees and vegetation everywhere — yet something was different. It seemed to lack a certain vitality.
“This is a great wilderness of the Luzhou Region. It stretches boundlessly for an unknowable number of tens of thousands of li — many who have entered have never been able to find their way out for their entire lives.”
“What has happened here? Why is this great wilderness so silent? Why are there no beasts roaring, no fierce creatures moving about — even the plants have yellowed? Something must have happened!”
Everyone found it peculiar and revealed expressions of astonishment. Only Ye Fan understood — something terrible had occurred!
“Ahead, that ancient sage made no attempt to conceal his aura and has entered deep into the wilderness.”
The crowd followed the traces left by the young Old Madman, pressing forward in pursuit, desperate to see the truth of the matter.
“Heaven — what has happened here? Why has a land of lush vegetation become so lifeless and still?!”
Quickly, the people revealed expressions of shock. Along the way there were the remains of many animals — including some extraordinarily powerful and ferocious beasts. Even the ancient trees and thorny brush had withered and died, stripped of all vitality.
Entering the old-growth forest, the sky was full of yellow leaves drifting and falling — an autumnal bleakness pervading everything, radiating cold and desolation.
When the group had gone deep into the great wilderness, they were completely rooted to the spot. Was this still the sparsely inhabited, savage beast-haunted ancient wilderness they had known?
The sea of green was gone entirely. In its place was now a golden desert. Every mountain and river had been shattered, becoming a vast land of stony wasteland.
“This is impossible — this was a great expanse of wild land! How has it become a desert? What heaven-defying thing has happened?!”
“Just a year ago I came to this very place, searching for the legendary ancient medicinal king, and it was full of vitality and lush growth — how has it come to this?!”
Many people cried out in alarm, utterly unable to believe what they were seeing. The change had been too rapid — a great expanse of wilderness transformed into a lifeless desert. A change as vast as the gap between heaven and earth.
“This is the dried skeleton of a heavenly roc — so powerful, a fearsome creature at the Saint Lord level — yet it has died suddenly and been buried beneath the sand and dust.”
The people were shaken to the core. Beneath this great desert were quite a few skeletal remains. All of them had their flesh desiccated and their blood drained away, dying in agony.
“All of them died unnatural deaths — as if some towering demon-god had drained all the life force from every living thing. How could this be? The great wilderness has become an incomparably deadly ground!”
“When did this begin? This is too terrifying!”
Suddenly, everyone felt a wave of palpitations — nearly suffocating. Having come to this region, they were like prey spotted by a primordial ferocious beast — a prickling on their backs, as though some colossal being had locked onto all of them with cold and savage eyes.
“Boom!”
In an instant, the immense aura of the young Old Madman’s life force burst upward in a torrential wave, sweeping over the entire desert.
The prickling sensation everyone had felt vanished instantly. Everyone returned to normal, exchanging startled glances.
“What is ahead? Has this ancient sage come here to rid the world of this threat? Let us go and see!”
Many pressed forward, wishing to see the truth. They entered the depths of the desert.
Ye Fan, meanwhile, felt his heart grow heavy. The purple copper warship had already descended into this world — there was no doubt about it. If this was not resolved, it would be a catastrophe of the highest order.
“What? For a circumference of several hundreds of thousands of li, everything has become desert — not a blade of grass grows, and every living being has died, their life force stripped from them!”
This was the terrifying result everyone had witnessed — impossible to accept. All of it was too bizarre and too horrifying. And somehow, news of this had never reached the outside world.
At last, the people arrived at the deepest point, and there they saw the young Old Madman — still as if petrified — facing a massive purple copper ancient ship in a standoff.
“Such a vast ancient ship — it feels as though it has existed since the primordial age, as though it has endured from the very beginning of heaven and earth!”
The purple copper ancient ship was covered in rust and patina, saturated with the weight of ages — as if it had traversed the entirety of ancient history, existing since the moment heaven and earth first came to be.
Yet it also made one’s spirit nearly shatter. Every dark and oppressive feeling was coming from it. By this point, the people needed no further thought to understand — the formation of this desert was very likely caused by this ship!
“What is that — why is my soul trembling? I can barely breathe!”
“I cannot endure this! My soul is nearly fragmenting!”
Many powerful cultivators cried out in alarm, then swiftly retreated — as if fleeing from some primordial ferocious beast. The ancient ship seemed to bring the weight of ten thousand ages of all heavens crashing down, driving people to the verge of collapse.
Everyone fell back — Ye Fan included. This was the might of a sage. A single wisp of aura was capable of penetrating a Saint Lord. It could not be withstood.
“Boom!”
A thunderous quake rang out. The young Old Madman’s dense black hair flew like a waterfall from the nine heavens. Step by step he walked forward, driving toward the purple copper warship.
“He’s truly going to make his move!” Ye Fan’s heart was solemn.
When they had retreated to fifteen hundred li away, the people finally stopped — for this was a battle between sages. The shockwaves could travel enormous distances, easily capable of cracking the heavens and sinking the earth.
An elderly sect leader who had cultivated the Heavenly Eye opened it and stood atop the vault of heaven, gazing deep into the desert, imprinting everything he perceived onto the sky for all to see.
“The sage has made his move!”
The young Old Madman was supremely dominant. Step by step he advanced. With a raise of his hand, he laid down a world-shaking formation pattern — including two corners of incomplete imperial patterns — sealing himself and the purple copper ancient ship together within.
Ye Fan’s heart shook. The Old Madman had left himself no way out at all. If he could not kill all these dozens of Primordial Ancestor Kings, he would die inside.
“Humans. Powerful. Very powerful. Extraordinarily powerful!” Such a terrifying wave of energy transmitted from within the purple copper warship, evaluating the young Old Madman.
“Yet do you truly believe that with you alone, you can stand before us? Knowing certain death and still coming to obstruct us — your courage is commendable.”
This ocean-like wave of energy actually propagated over a thousand li. At the far reaches of the horizon, everyone was shaken to their core. What kind of existence was this — truly defying all reason? Surely a single strike from such a being would be enough to slay every last one of them.
Everyone was horror-stricken. Having retreated so far, they were still not within a safe range. The power of a sage was beyond imagination — likely a single blow would be enough to cut down everyone present.
Regardless of whether you were a powerful sect leader or a supremely gifted demon cultivator — as long as you were within this great wilderness-turned-desert, you were within range of the attack.
“The means of a sage are too terrifying!” This was the sentiment shared by every single person present.
Within the great desert, the young man of seventeen or eighteen years had an utterly cold expression. Without a single pause, his steps were unwavering and resolute — pressing forward without hesitation, like a demon lord descending across all the heavens!
“Boom!”
An ancient living creature resembling a divine phoenix flew out from within the purple copper warship. Its entire body was bathed in a torrent of divine fire — like an immortal phoenix descending upon the mortal world.
From the moment of its appearance, terrifying waves of energy surged to the heavens. The wilderness collapsed across its entire span — the destruction extending outward in an instant, cracking the sky and shattering the earth!
“My heaven — just the ordinary shockwaves from this thing’s appearance are enough to make the surrounding area for countless tens of thousands of li collapse outright. This is a Primordial Ancestor King!”
“We are finished. Every last one of us is going to die. Even just this ordinary aura is enough to shatter us all!”
…
The people were near despair. The true might of a Primordial Ancestor King had surpassed all imagination!
“Boom!”
The young Old Madman waved his hand, and every formation pattern he had laid down moments before was fully activated. Light blazed to the heavens, flooding this stretch of heaven and earth — instantly cutting off everything, blocking all the waves emanating from this Primordial King who resembled a divine phoenix and confining them within.
In the ancient era, battles between sages had to be conducted beyond the domain itself, lest the land itself be struck and sunken into oblivion. Now that battle was upon them, the Old Madman used the divine formation to protect the land.
“Human race — you are but one person. Do you truly think you can stand before several dozen of us Ancestor Kings? Three great sages are among our number. Do you think yourself an ancient emperor?!”
This phoenix-like ancient king possessed supreme majesty. The divine thought waves surged like an ocean — vast, surging and rushing. The heavens and earth trembled. Even fifteen hundred li away, the crowd was being shaken and swayed.
“Are they all alive?!” Ye Fan felt a great sense of dread. He had believed only the Thousand-Handed Divine Demon among the great sages still lived. Yet it seemed that what he had assumed were ancient kings who had long since aged and perished had also clung to life and resurrected!
This was truly dire. Even if the Old Madman were far more powerful than imagined, he would still bleed for this. How was a battle like this to be fought?!
“You wish to let billions of living beings fall in death, their blood staining the land, that you might use it to resurrect yourselves?” The Old Madman asked calmly.
“Since you have already seen through it, what need is there to ask further?” The Primordial Ancestor King replied coldly — no different from a being bathed in immortal phoenix fire, supreme in its authority over all the world.
“Then I will kill every last one of you!” The young Old Madman spoke with pitiless cold. In that moment, he made his move.
No one could see clearly what happened. They only saw the desert’s heaven and earth crack apart, the cosmos shaking violently, chaos churning and surging — an aura of the very first opening of creation swallowing everything, submerging it all.
“Ahh—”
At last, a great cry rang out, and every trace of light vanished. Within the field, a single youth stood alone, his entire body covered in blood — holding a divine phoenix that had been torn in two, one half in each hand.
“That is…”
Everyone was struck dumb. What combat power was this?!
A Primordial Ancestor King had been killed — just like that. And this was a living creature resembling a divine phoenix. A genuine and proper Primordial Ancestor King.
“Ahh—”
The ancient creature that had been split in two trembled throughout its entire body. Blood poured down, dyeing the desert crimson. It was still shrieking.
Yet the Old Madman pointed with one finger, and a beam of light shot forth — shattering its soul on the spot, ending it completely.
He cast the two halves of the bird’s body onto the ground as if discarding the carcass of a chicken or duck — without the slightest regard. His gaze was frozen and cold, filled with a frenzied killing intent.
From a distance, the people were shaken to near catatonia. Their entire bodies dripped with cold sweat. What an inverse-heaven combat power — one that even the ancient era might not have witnessed.
This was simply too terrifying. Whether supremely gifted prodigies or powerful sect heads of all kinds — everyone trembled from the depths of their very souls!
Just what means had been employed in that moment? Not a single person had seen clearly. In the chaos-light, various forbidden techniques had been unleashed simultaneously. Victory and defeat had been determined in a flash.
“It is said that in the ancient era, when sages clashed in a contest of life and death, it was extremely possible for death to be decided in a single breath — victory was victory, defeat was defeat, impossible to prolong. I never imagined it to be true!”
“Did he really just kill a Primordial Ancestor King? Am I dreaming?!”
…
Now, within the desert, a lone youth’s gaze was pitiless and cold. Without a single moment’s pause, his steps were firm and unwavering — pressing toward the purple copper warship. He was truly going to face all the Primordial Ancestor Kings alone!