The night had grown deep. A jade disc hung high in the vast sky, while the distant black ocean swelled and churned. The island was shrouded in a pale, hazy stillness—vermillion cliffs, strange boulders, ancient medicinal herbs drinking in the moonlight and exhaling rosy mist.

At the Valley of the Rising Sun, the six-zhang golden Fusang Undying Divine Tree blazed brilliantly, illuminating the night sky. Beneath the tree stood a solitary old man in cyan robes, lost in bewilderment, offering no response to Ye Fan.

Before him lay an ancient stone coffin,lying horizontally upon the ground, radiating an unsettling, eerie aura that made everything on the island feel strange and otherworldly.

Above the golden Fusang Tree, a cluster of ancient palace halls sat half-concealed within the sky—towering, magnificent, and overwhelming in their grandeur.

The old man in cyan robes looked as though he had lost his very soul. His entire person was dazed and muddled, without a single ripple of divine thought. He stood there like a wooden stake, utterly unmoving.

“Senior!” Ye Fan raised his voice and, facing the one-armed elder, stepped forward several more paces.

Before the Fusang Divine Tree, blazing flames surged skyward, the Solar Sacred Power circulated, and the stone coffin exuded an overpowering aura. Not a single cultivator could draw near. No one knew how many people had set their sights on the Undying Tree—yet every last one of them was forced to halt their steps.

The Golden Crow clan had attempted to approach several times, only to be driven back each time by the pressure emanating from the one-armed elder and the stone coffin’s aura—like a colossal predator lying in wait, ready to strike at any moment. No one dared move rashly.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” some people said coldly. Watching Ye Fan stride forward toward the old man in cyan robes, they all feared that he might truly obtain something from this.

“Whatever else is said, this Fusang Divine Tree belongs to our Golden Crow clan—no one had better think of scheming against it!” declared one aged Golden Crow with chilling severity.

Nearby, the eight princes of the Golden Crow clan all made their murderous intentions plain, pressing forward to surround Ye Fan and cut him down on the spot.

Li Tian and Yan Yixi rode the Divine Maiden Cauldron through the air, gazing coldly downward, overseeing everything from above. Lu Ya and two elder Golden Crows descended, brandishing their Crow-Winged Flowing Gold Lances, advancing to intimidate.

The Sacred Son of the Lunar Yin and the Three-Deficiency Daoist also flew in, wielding ancient sacred weapons to lend their aid. The people of the Guanghan Palace surrounded Yi Qingwu to celebrate her escape, and for the moment took no action.

As for the other major powers—such as the Hall of the Human King and the Purple Subtlety Divine Dynasty—they watched with cold detachment, withholding their stance for the time being.

The atmosphere at the scene grew tense. The great battle had raged for quite some time; it was only Yi Qingwu’s escape that had brought some temporary relief, but now the flames of conflict were about to erupt again.

Of course, fighting had been ongoing continuously within the ancient halls, where the majority of the powerful figures were concentrated, still locked in bitter combat over the legacy inheritance of the ancient Human Emperor.

Now, the fires of war had at last spread to the base of the Undying Tree. A Golden Crow struck soundlessly, transforming into a bolt of golden light and hurtling toward Ye Fan.

“The Golden Crow princes have made their move!” someone cried out in alarm.

That clan—ten princes from a single lineage, each one at the grandmaster level, supremely powerful, shaking past and present alike. No major power’s leader could boast such a terrifying group of offspring.

The eighth prince of the Golden Crow clan struck—a young man of around twenty-some years, whose cultivation was unfathomably deep. A stream of Scorching Separation Fire flew out, burning across the heavens and engulfing Ye Fan from above.

Yet to everyone’s astonishment, Ye Fan did not dodge at all. He let the flames wash over his body, bathing in them, without suffering so much as a hair’s worth of damage.

He activated the Ancient Solar Scripture and strode forward, step by step approaching the old man in cyan robes. Even the Solar True Fire overflowing from the divine tree was temporarily unable to harm him.

“The Golden Crow clan is nothing more than this!”

A cold laugh came from the shadows. It was clearly an attempt to provoke them into going all out against Ye Fan—to prevent him from advancing freely—for no one knew what relationship he held with the one-armed elder.

“The Golden Crow clan calls itself the descendants of immortal spirits, but I see it otherwise. They had their ninth prince cut down, and now the great enemy stands right before them, yet they…”

Shhk!

A thread of Solar Fire Essence shot out, cutting off the hidden speaker’s words. In its place came a scream—the instigator was reduced to ash on the spot.

The second prince of the Golden Crow clan merely curled his lips in a faint cold smile. To him, this was nothing whatsoever—yet it alarmed every last person present.

“Heavens—that is a thread of Solar Fire Essence born from the Solar Sacred Power pushed to its absolute limit! He has actually refined such a thing!”

“To locate a great master and reduce him to ash with a casual lift of the hand—the second prince of the Golden Crow clan is terrifying beyond measure.”

The world said that the Golden Crow clan’s ten princes grew mightier one after the other, with Lu Ya as the greatest among them. But after witnessing the second prince unleash Solar Fire Essence, many now harbored deep doubts.

This sort of fire essence was sufficient to incinerate a peerless grandmaster. A typical great master could barely resist it. Just how terrifying was such a person?

Many people were watching the second prince intently, yet he wore an utterly calm expression. And within the scene, it was still the eldest prince who commanded the most respect—which made the onlookers feel an even deeper chill.

“Everyone, please stand back. Today we will certainly kill this person. Anyone who dares to cut down members of our Golden Crow bloodline cannot be saved even if the Ancient Solar Emperor were to be resurrected!”

One of the Golden Crow princes spoke. They fanned out, encircling both the Fusang Golden Divine Tree and Ye Fan at the center.

“Your Golden Crow clan’s appetite is far too great—you clearly intend to swallow this Undying Divine Tree all by yourselves!” came a cold snort from the shadows.

“This tree was the nesting place of our Golden Crow clan’s founding ancestor. Is there any question about that?” said one of the Golden Crow princes.

“What evidence do you have that this is your ancestor’s divine tree?” came the mocking reply from the darkness.

“That is the evidence!” Lu Ya called out from the sky above, pointing toward the lush golden leaves where, faintly visible, an old crow’s nest could be seen.

“Saying all that is useless. The fact that a golden crow once nested here proves nothing. The world knows well that the Fusang Divine Tree bore witness to the Ancient Solar Emperor’s attainment of the Dao—it belongs to the human race.” An ancient fossil from the Hall of the Human King spoke out.

The Hall of the Human King was one of the oldest human legacies in existence. When they made their position known, the atmosphere at the scene instantly became delicate.

The tenth prince of the Golden Crow clan stepped forward—the youngest of them, youthful and hot-blooded. He spoke with no small measure of rudeness: “In all manner of divine myths and legends, the Fusang tree and the golden crows have always been inseparable. Our clan even suspects that the Ancient Solar Emperor was, in fact, the reincarnation of our founding ancestor.”

“Ha ha ha…” Li Tian laughed heartily, holding the Divine Maiden Cauldron as he looked down from above. “Why don’t you also say that the forebear of the Hall of the Human King, the founder of the Guanghan Palace, the ancestor of the Purple Subtlety Divine Dynasty, and the Lord of the Eight Scenery Palace were all incarnations of your founding ancestor?”

As to whom the Fusang Divine Tree ultimately belonged, every person present was on high alert. All the great powers wanted to seize it for themselves.

But everyone understood that no single clan could monopolize it—they would have to share it in the end, and the only question was how much each would claim. The posturing now was all in service of securing more later.

“I think these matters can be discussed later.” The eldest prince of the Golden Crow clan spoke. He was steady and composed—past fifty years of age, golden hair draped over his shoulders, the bearing of a seasoned Daoist veteran.

“Indeed. For now, we ask everyone to look on from the sidelines and allow us to deal with our clan’s great enemy first.” The second prince of the Golden Crow clan nodded, his gaze pressing directly upon Ye Fan ahead.

“If you want to kill me, then come walk over here first,” Ye Fan said, turning his head.

By this point, he had already arrived before the old man in cyan robes. Everyone was taken aback. The stone coffin lay there—some had attempted to attack it with sacred weapons, only to be repelled. Ye Fan felt entirely unafraid, naturally because of the corroded copper pieces. The two chunks of aged bronze seemed to sense that this place was extraordinary, and had not flown back into his Wheel and Sea the entire time.

The stone coffin was terrifying. Every single wisp of aura it exuded was sufficient to annihilate a peerless figure. It simply lay there in silence, mysterious beyond all measure.

“Everyone, it is time to act!” someone from the Golden Crow clan called out. They had a bad feeling. Ye Fan had actually drawn close to the old man in cyan robes and showed not the slightest fear of the oppressive aura—this was no good omen.

Others were equally alarmed. Ye Fan had come to stand beneath the Undying Tree, the Solar Fire Essence pouring over his body without causing any harm—the two chunks of aged bronze had blocked it all.

“Lay down the formation inscriptions—annihilate him here!” shouted the eldest prince of the Golden Crow clan. Though past fifty, he possessed a sharpness no young man could match. His Daoist robes billowed, his golden hair streamed loose, and his eyes were utterly cold and ruthless.

Boom!

With the exception of Lu Ya, all eight Golden Crow princes took up their designated positions. From beneath their feet spread an elaborate web of inscriptions, reaching into sky and earth alike.

“What—this is the Golden Crow clan’s ancient divine formation!”

Each of the eight held an ancient formation banner in their hands, crafted by the hand of a sage! This was to be an absolute slaughter—giving Ye Fan not a single chance—while simultaneously scheming and acting to seize the divine tree.

“They’ve actually deployed these divine inscription patterns—this is a primordial killing formation. Even a peerless divine king would meet a bitter end if caught inside!”

People grew horror-struck. This was the Golden Crow clan’s sect-guarding grand formation, one that had not been deployed once in thousands upon tens of thousands of years. Yet now it had been laid for Ye Fan.

Boom!

A force like a vast ocean surged violently. Dark clouds churned and demonic mist flooded the heavens, swallowing this entire place in an instant!

The eight great banners were black as ink—like eight primordial divine fiends, standing erect with a fearsome majesty that could sever the three thousand realms.

In that instant, a terrifying radiance rose within the primordial killing formation—blazing and overwhelming. A golden figure appeared, standing proudly amid the sky-swallowing dark clouds, of extraordinary height, towering into the demonic mist above. When his eyes opened and closed, golden light shot out for dozens of li in every direction!

“That is… the great sage of the Golden Crow clan!”

“This primordial killing formation is too terrifying—it has actually summoned the Golden Crow clan’s great sage’s divine projection!”

A horrifying aura erupted. On the spot, many people throughout the Valley of the Rising Sun crumpled to the ground and could not stand—that unruly, supreme-beneath-heaven-and-earth majesty made every heart tremble with terror!

Only the great powers bearing sacred weapons maintained their composure and were not overwhelmed into paralysis. All others were incapable of movement.

“What does the Golden Crow clan intend to do?!” People were utterly stunned.

Was this all just to deal with one Ye Fan? This was truly making a mountain out of a molehill. This was the Golden Crow clan’s sect-guarding divine formation—more than sufficient to slaughter a peerless divine king.

These were not replica banners of any kind—these were the original banners of a true primordial killing formation, and they had been deployed here today.

“The Golden Crow clan intends to swallow the Fusang Divine Tree all for themselves!” someone bellowed.

Li Tian and Yan Yixi made their position known through action, striking first—summoning the Divine Maiden Cauldron and hurling it forward.

“Everyone, I give you my word—this is solely to kill Ye Fan. I ask that you look on calmly!” Lu Ya spoke at the opportune moment, also summoning his Crow-Winged Flowing Gold Lance. Behind him, two elder Golden Crows lent their assistance as well, holding off the Divine Maiden Cauldron.

Others had been on the verge of intervening, but now they stopped once again.

Boom!

In the sky, dark clouds churned and demonic mist flooded the heavens. The world between sky and earth turned pitch black, as though they had been transported to the primordial age. A golden figure stood within the clouds, his gaze overpowering, more dazzling than the sun itself!

He had already acted, stepping forward, determined to strike Ye Fan down. The torrential, world-defying majesty he exuded shook the nine heavens and ten earths, reaching every far corner.

Ye Fan was unperturbed. He stood calmly before the one-armed elder without a trace of fear. In secret, he sent a voice transmission to Yi Qingwu: “If I return the Guanghan Throne to you, would you be willing to coordinate with the Divine Maiden Cauldron to eliminate all ten Golden Crow princes and their elders in a single strike?”

“That’s impossible. The Crow-Winged Flowing Gold Lance is a sacred weapon, and that primordial killing formation is even more fearsome!” Yi Qingwu was radiant as jade and bone, her graceful figure swaying gently, standing in the moonlight like a banished celestial being.

“Never mind then,” Ye Fan said.

“Who am I… who am I…” the one-armed old man in cyan robes murmured to himself. His eyes grew brighter and brighter. Then, abruptly, he raised his head and lifted the stone coffin into his arms.

In the sky, the Golden Crow battle deity blazed with light, standing amid the dark clouds, pressing upon the nine heavens with his might. Yet when faced with the divine thought-will and the stone coffin, he became immeasurably solemn and advanced no further.

“Beneath nine heavens and ten earths, I alone am supreme. I sweep through the three thousand realms, reverse the six cycles of reincarnation. I am—the Solar Sacred Emperor!”

The one-armed old man in cyan robes spoke slowly, cradling the stone coffin in his arms. In that moment, it was as though all three realms and six paths had been shaken—the entire vast black northern sea surged, its waves striking the heavens, as the clouds in all ten directions shattered and collapsed.