Heaven and earth fell silent. All things were like a painting—an eternal scene—all of it utterly motionless, as though frozen.
Only the small golden figure moved, cradling the cauldron, illuminating the heavens—becoming the sole being in this expanse of the world, radiating undying, immortal divine radiance.
The Divine Son of Extreme Yin—like a sand castle—rapidly dissolved and scattered as the water came surging in, as though he had never appeared at all.
Ye Fan’s golden divine soul was only three cun tall. Golden light flowed through it. Like an undying divine spirit, it cradled the cauldron and settled into a solemn and majestic bearing.
In one strike he killed the Divine Son of Extreme Yin. He transformed into a rainbow and flew back, then in one step entered the brow of Ye Fan, seated upon the Immortal Platform with a small cauldron cradled in his arms.
In that moment, threads of divine luminescence flowed from Ye Fan’s brow, descending in streams—making him appear serene and majestic, as though he were a divine being standing there.
His entire body radiated light. Every inch of flesh was crystalline and spotless. Every pore relaxed and opened, circulating vital energy of the Dao—like a seven-colored glazed divine lamp.
Only when Ye Fan’s divine soul returned to his physical vessel—radiating undying divine brilliance—did the crowd awaken from that eternal stillness.
Was it an illusion, or was it a delusion? That was everyone’s question. Had heaven and earth truly seemed frozen just now—with only a divine soul and a cauldron in motion?
For otherwise, why had the Divine Son of Extreme Yin not even had time to resist before his skull was struck through and he was erased from the world?
The divine soul uniting with the Dao—transforming into a stunning eternal rainbow, carrying the cauldron to instantly slay the Divine Son of Extreme Yin—all of it had been too fast. It had surpassed human thought, leaving the Northern Sea with a silence like death.
Everyone felt a wave of lingering terror. Even the bodies of living fossil-level figures went cold. A Ye Fan like this was truly too terrifying—who in the world could oppose him?
Just what was that technique—the question in every heart above the sea. That blazing radiance just now had not only destroyed the Divine Son of Extreme Yin but had left every single person with a coldness all the way through.
Hum!
In the sky, that ancient sage’s skull came descending, pressing toward Ye Fan’s physical body. The seven cavities all emitted a wailing hum, radiating and surging with a radiance that soared to the sky.
These were traces of an ancient sage’s presence—a presence beyond all resistance—pressing down until the vast void of all eternity was crumbling.
Flash!
Ye Fan withdrew his phenomenon, stepped onto the Movement Secret, his violet robes flowing—graceful as a banished immortal—soaring sideways for over ten thousand zhang, avoiding this strike.
At the same moment, with undivided focus, he activated the Combat Secret. A strange fluctuation appeared between heaven and earth, severing some kind of celestial trajectory.
Thud!
The skull—black as a boundless abyss—shuddered violently. It separated from some kind of profound trajectory, deviating from its original path. The seven cavities gradually dimmed.
Ye Fan had carried out the decapitation strike—first killing the Divine Son of Extreme Yin. Without the continued support of divine power, without so much as a thread of divine soul continuing to resonate with the skull, its path of revival was severed.
Now Ye Fan used the Combat Secret to interfere further, knocking it off the celestial trajectory, causing its presence to sharply diminish—and it would gradually fall into slumber.
This was ultimately only a sage’s skull. Across infinite ages, its vital energy had long since largely dissipated. It could never truly possess a living sage’s power—all it had was his invincible presence.
Although it had been carved with supreme spiritual patterns—and once it evolved into a sacred weapon, it could manifest the sage’s invincible divine power—it had ultimately come up one step short of that transformation. While it surpassed other king-grade weapons, it still had traces by which it could be unraveled.
One step. To cross it would be to manifest the ancient sage’s invincible divine power. To fail to cross it meant that, though it surpassed other king-grade weapons, it still followed traceable patterns and could be dissolved.
The skull dimmed. Its seven cavities no longer radiated divine power. Without the Divine Son of Extreme Yin’s control, without subsequent divine power to sustain it, it began to fall. The divine spirit harbored within it sank into slumber.
Clang!
Ye Fan activated the Combat Secret. The skull transformed into a beam of dark light that disappeared into his sleeve, to be cradled in his palm—now his battle spoils.
In that moment, the Northern Sea was shaken. Everyone’s eyes burned with intense heat—yet not one person dared charge forward.
This was a sage’s skull—its material was absolutely the finest—only one step from evolving into a legendary sacred weapon. Whoever could refine it and cause it to advance would be able to merge person and weapon into one, manifesting its greatest power.
This was a great stroke of fortune!
Many people wished to seize it—but overawed by Ye Fan’s earlier display of power, not one person dared make a move. Not one dared advance a single step.
The skull had dark light flowing through it—crystalline as jet-black jade—releasing dreamlike radiance in Ye Fan’s palm, spreading a flow of dark gold.
The spiritual patterns upon it were incomparably complex. When Ye Fan examined them closely, he discovered also a vast number of prohibitions—all placed there by the Supreme Yin Holy Cult. To erase them and completely claim it as his own would prove somewhat difficult.
For now, this was not the time to refine the sage’s skull. With a flash of dark light, he calmly put it away—and it vanished from his palm.
Clang!
In the sky, the gleaming Diamond Ring, under Ye Fan’s Combat Secret, expanded to the size of a millstone. Its king-grade divine power overawed the nine heavens and ten earths—like a silver divine moon hanging in the sky.
It swept across the Northern Sea and cut a brilliant silver arc, striking toward the nine eerie netherworld bamboos with terrifying force, sending the entire Northern Sea into a boil!
The nine netherworld bamboos had indeed become demonic evils. Although they were bamboos—not human bodies—they let out sharp screams and fled into the Northern Sea.
And every one of them was billowing with black mist. A sage’s presence radiated upward, crushing all obstruction.
Truly heaven-defying demonic evils—and the Supreme Yin Holy Cult had cultivated such things? If not rooted out while there was still time, they would inevitably become a great calamity in the future! This was the alarming recognition in every heart.
Fed on a sage’s corpse aura and supplemented with Supreme Yin Holy Power, planted in the netherworld earth—all of this had cost immeasurable ingenuity. These were in every sense of the word demonic bamboos.
Bang!
The Diamond Ring struck the netherworld bamboos—but failed to destroy them. The sage’s death aura was overwhelming. It nearly even contaminated the precious ring.
In the distance, the crowd was terrified. These nine netherworld bamboos were truly heaven-defying. This Diamond Ring was capable of shattering other king-grade divine weapons—because it was something beyond ordinary—yet in this moment it had failed to achieve its effect.
Ye Fan was also greatly surprised. He decisively took out the skull, and instantly dark light filled the sky. The Northern Sea nearly evaporated. Rolling sacred might descended from the heavens.
The skull purified all the death aura left by the sage. The Diamond Ring—like a silver moon spanning the sky—crashed down, sending waves upon waves crashing!
The nine netherworld bamboos let out mournful cries. Every one was struck and snapped apart, dissolving into nine pools of filth scattered across the vast ocean. From that point, they were no more.
“Fortunate that they hadn’t yet reached their full magnitude—otherwise these nine netherworld bamboos would have been truly heaven-defying. Had they not been destroyed, they would have inevitably become a great calamity in the future.” Many people could not help but let out a long breath.
Ding-ding-dong-dong…
In the distant sky, a peerlessly beautiful woman was playing a jasper zither. A flowing melody poured outward like water waves—crystalline radiance illuminating the heavens—like a poetic realm, like the fresh breath of ice and snow, drifting in on these beautiful notes.
The era’s second greatest beauty—the Moon Poem Princess of the Purple Tenuity Divine Dynasty—her ten jade fingers plucking beautiful notes that moved the heart, as though ten thousand flowers were blooming in full, petal by transparent petal fragrant and clear, filling the heavens and scattering gently down.
She had said before that she would watch the battle, and would play the zither for the several extraordinary young talents in the great fight—accompanying the battle music. And now the battle was over, and the melody came to its end.
The zither notes faded. Three prodigies had met their end. Blood stained the long sky. The curtain fell—with only Ye Fan standing alone in the battlefield, the sole victor.
A brief silence—then this vast expanse of water boiled over. Noise and clamor surged to the heavens. This battle carried enormous implications. Three divine-son-level figures—peerless talents who had each been supremely dominant in their own domain—had here been ended. They had become the stepping-stones for the Ye-surnamed youth’s advancement toward the supreme Great Dao.
The Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King, Crimson Yang, the Divine Son of Extreme Yin—every one of them was an extraordinary figure without equal in their domain, of breathtaking talent, of courage unmatched in the world—and yet, in a single day, they had all been slain by the same person!
What Ye Fan had achieved could be called extraordinarily glorious. For how many years had nothing like this occurred? In one day, he had consecutively cut down three heroes who aspired to the Great Emperor’s path. This was enough to shake the world.
One could imagine that within a matter of days, when the news reached the mainland, it would inevitably trigger a great earthquake—the entire world left in shock!
In the Venerable Black Tortoise’s cave dwelling, there was bustling activity everywhere. Everyone had returned. Ye Fan stood at the center as the moon is cradled among the stars, surrounded by the many cultivators.
After this battle, people felt a premonition: an emperor-star was about to rise. Yin Tiande had a rival in this world!
The Three Deficiencies Daoist would most likely no longer be able to remain apart from the mundane world. Lu Ya would certainly have to break through the death gate and come out to fight this fearsome enemy of the Golden Crow clan.
“Elder Brother Ye, you are truly of heaven-defying disposition. In a single day you consecutively slew three great enemies who had been holding the younger generation down, unable to draw breath—you have left us viewing you as a godlike being.” The younger generation offered their flattery and praise.
“Invincible in youth, a broad path ahead—your future achievements are immeasurable. The Great Dao is within reach!” Quite a few elder-generation sect master-level figures also spoke up.
…
Although the Venerable Black Tortoise’s longevity banquet had come to an end, this place had become even more lively. Before white jade tables, people raised their cups and drank immortal brew. Many great powers tried to draw Ye Fan in.
After this battle, Ye Fan’s worth had, one could say, skyrocketed. Many people felt the premonition: this youth’s rise was already unstoppable.
“Elder Brother Ye, come with me in a while to the Northern Sea Dragon Palace. My ancient ancestor has quite a few treasures there. I’ll definitely have him send you a king-grade divine weapon you can wield.” Said the Black Dragon King.
Everyone was startled. The Black Dragon ancient ancestor was an old flood dragon who had lived for three thousand seven hundred years—with cultivation terrifying beyond measure and depths unfathomable.
Beside him, a beautiful and gorgeous young woman approached with a graceful, swaying step. Someone recognized her as being from an ancient undying great cult of the Northern Sea—the Sea God Island. She smiled lightly: “Elder Brother Ye’s combat power is truly world-shaking. Now that you are in the Northern Sea, you must come visit our Sea God Island.”
The Venerable Black Tortoise and the Black Dragon ancient ancestor were both among the most powerful ancient demons in the Northern Sea. His cave dwelling was naturally one of the top-tier great powers. One of his disciples also invited Ye Fan to stay permanently.
This battle had created enormous impact. Many people—nakedly, without concealment—flattered and tried to draw Ye Fan in. He stood surrounded on all sides, unable to move his feet.
The great cults from the mainland—because they shared a domain with the Golden Crow clan and the Supreme Yin Holy Cult—could not draw Ye Fan in too conspicuously, but they all hinted, or covertly extended goodwill.
Of course, those great powers and strong individuals with closer ties to the Supreme Yin Cult and the Golden Crow clan could only stand to one side and lament in sorrow.
“Not long ago, I still saw the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King ranging across the Northern Sea—beating down powerful masters in all directions so that none dared speak—and now… sigh!”
“The Divine Son of Extreme Yin—truly the prodigy of a generation—just days ago he single-handedly suppressed an entire great cult, leaving ten directions in silence with none daring to fight. And now he lies buried at sea.”
Three prodigies—with magnificent bearing, seldom meeting their match in the world, in the full flourishing of their youth—had all been ended together. People witnessed the bloody terror and cold ruthlessness of the emperor’s path.
This moved people to lamentation. The fall of genius, the defeat and destruction of dazzling talents—all of it had contributed to the rise of one Ye-surnamed youth. Treading forward atop the bones of many kings—this was a path to becoming a great emperor stained with blood, strewn with blood and white bones at every turn.
At this moment, even undying inheritances such as the Human King Hall, the Palace of Vast Cold, the Immortal Guan of the Longevity Order, and the Purple Tenuity Divine Dynasty were secretly extending an olive branch to Ye Fan—one could see just how great and far-reaching the impact and effect of this battle had been!
“This child—is he the descendant of the Human Sage Emperor? So young already, yet his divine splendor is full and his talent prominent. Truly worthy of being a continuation of the Human Emperor bloodline.”
The Moon Poem Princess of the Purple Tenuity Divine Dynasty approached. Her head of dark hair gleamed like silk satin. Her skin was snow-white and crystalline. She had a pair of spirited phoenix-shaped eyes, slightly tilted upward at the corners—bearing endless beauty and enchantment.