Tong Tong was very quiet — delicate as jade, her large eyes with crisp black-and-white irises blinking slowly. She rarely spoke, yet within her body dwelled a divine Yang energy that overflowed outward, her flesh and blood luminous and radiant.
“Truly worthy of a child with the blood of the Sacred Emperor flowing through her veins.” The others offered flattery as well, seeing this child as an excellent point of entry.
Princess Yueshi wore divine phoenix hairpins in her raven hair, with strands of sea-god pearls hanging below. Her figure was graceful and willowy — each step a gentle sway that captivated all who beheld her, every inch of her skin gleaming with a breathtaking, alluring radiance.
As the second most beautiful woman of the age, she naturally had countless admirers. Her phoenix eyes shimmered with spiritual energy; a single frown or smile was enough to dim the sun and moon. She crouched down, gently patted Tong Tong on the head, and said softly: “Would you like to come to the Ziwei Divine Dynasty with Elder Sister?”
Everyone’s hearts jolted. This was an open move to draw Ye Fan in — was she not afraid of offending the Golden Crow Clan and the Taiyin Sect?
Among the immortal legacies of the mainland, the Ziwei Divine Dynasty was the first to openly court Ye Fan; all the others had merely extended their olive branches in secret.
“I won’t go. I want to stay with my Master.” The five-year-old child shook her head, her large eyes — like black gemstones — flicking toward Ye Fan.
“Congratulations, Brother Ye, on gaining such a fine disciple,” said Princess Yueshi with a smile, her expression blooming like a crystal flower — crystalline and brilliant.
Ye Fan was taken aback. The child had indeed mentioned wanting to take him as her master, but he had never agreed. He hadn’t expected the little one to bring it up again.
“I am Master’s first disciple. Twenty years from now, every enemy Master has today will be a defeated foe beneath my hand.” The tender voice of a child rang through the cave dwelling of the Mysterious Turtle Elder, and everyone present froze in place.
Long ago, there had been a peerless genius who once said: Those of you who stand against me now — in twenty years, you will only be fit to contend with my disciples.
And so it had come to pass, exactly as he foretold. His merits shook the world, and with merely a single disciple stepping out, he was enough to overawe all under heaven — a legend that had become a cherished tale for generations.
“Children don’t know what they’re saying — just idle talk.” Ye Fan laughed and tousled the little one’s head, sending her jet-black, lustrous hair into a delightful tangle.
Even though he offered this explanation, the image had already been seared into everyone’s minds. They took one long, deep look at him, then looked again at Tong Tong.
People from the Hall of the Human King privately extended an invitation, asking Ye Fan to serve as an external guardian of the Dao on the sect’s behalf — a truly extraordinary honor, the kind bestowed perhaps once in a thousand years.
“The Sea-God Island is a divine isle left behind by the deities of the Northern Sea. Brother Ye, you really should visit it at least once.” The women of Sea-God Island extended a warm and earnest invitation.
“Fellow Daoist Ye, if you ever find yourself with leisure, please do come visit my Fallen Rosy Cloud Palace.” An elderly sect master offered a sincere invitation.
……
Ye Fan had demonstrated tremendous combat power and terrifying potential, stunning a great many people — all of whom rushed forward to invite and recruit him.
Ding, ding, dong, dong…
Princess Yueshi plucked the strings of a jade zither, the sound like a clear spring striking stone — like moonlight accompanying celestial music — evoking a hazy, dreamlike image of breathtaking, otherworldly beauty. Her fair hands sent a silver goblet gliding through the air as she offered Ye Fan wine, extending her invitation once more in gentle, melodious tones.
“Very well. If I return to the mainland, I will pay the Ziwei Divine Dynasty a visit.” Ye Fan said.
“Then it’s a promise.” Princess Yueshi smiled sweetly, and even the cave dwelling seemed to grow more radiant with her expression.
The banquet lasted a long while before the guests gradually dispersed. Throughout this time, news had already spread outward — the Northern Sea trembled, and cultivators across its boundless waters were all shocked.
Days later, the great sects on the mainland also received word, setting off waves of sensation. Everyone was stunned and astonished beyond words.
The storm Ye Fan had caused grew fiercer with each passing incident, truly shaking all under heaven beyond ignoring. The three who had died this time were each a child favored by heaven!
The Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King had risen from the vast marshes — the mightiest undefeated warrior among the Northern Sea’s rising generation, without a single defeat in his lifetime. Yet the moment he encountered Ye Fan, not only was his myth of invincibility shattered, but he met his end because of it.
Chi Yang had been the youngest elder of the Golden Crow Clan, the younger brother of their king, unfathomably deep in power — yet Ye Fan killed him with a single strike, dyeing the Northern Sea with his blood. This was something close to myth.
The Divine Son of Taiyin had possessed heaven-given talent, dominated the mainland, and overawed all the ancient living fossils — no one knew how many men of renown he had slain. Yet even he fell in defeat and ruin.
“Was this truly the work of one man? Slaying three great geniuses in a single day — it’s simply horrifying!”
“Each of them was an unrivaled talent in their own domain, yet they have fallen like this. The path to becoming a Great Emperor is truly paved with blood and white bones!”
Ye Fan’s performance was on a dreamlike level, leaving the people of the mainland unable to suppress their shock — his name had dominated every conversation in recent times.
“This person called Ye Fan has been in the Northern Sea all this while, and hasn’t even set foot on the mainland — yet he has already stirred the winds of the world. If he returns, what kind of storm will he unleash?” someone raised this very question.
“The moment he appears, he will command the gaze of the entire world, become the center of all attention, and there will surely be an earth-shaking battle!”
At this time, Ye Fan was exploring scenic spots hidden within the sea, in no hurry to leave. He had accepted invitations from several great powers and visited their islands.
He was deepening his understanding of this world, asking people whether five-colored altars had ever appeared in the ancient Ziwei Star Domain, for he wished to return.
“There are some vague accounts — fragmentary records exist in certain ancient texts — but they vanished long before the endless ages came to an end.”
Such was the response of several elderly sect masters. According to what they said, such things had existed before the ancient era, but had since vanished or been destroyed, and were no longer to be found.
Ye Fan could not help but feel a deep sense of astonishment. How powerful had the ancient Ziwei Star Domain been in the era before antiquity? The five-colored altars seemed to be more than just one or two — there may have been many.
Truly worthy of being called the Ancient Emperor Star of legend. In that distant past, this place must have flourished extraordinarily, having passed through an era of glory and brilliance without equal.
Yet now, not a single weapon of the Ancient Emperors remained, having been taken away by the human race’s Great Emperors along with the immortality medicine.
“It is said that at the farthest reaches of the Northern Sea, a Roc has slumbered since the ancient times — an ancient sage of a bygone era. There may be a five-colored altar in that place.”
“Don’t mislead people — that place cannot be found at all. And even if you were to locate the ancient Roc’s nest and enter, death is all that awaits. In the old days, a divine king who had lived four thousand years entered and was shattered without even letting out a sound.”
Upon hearing this news, Ye Fan let out a sigh. That place was not worth considering at all — even if he found it, it would be walking to his death.
Half a month later, Ye Fan used ancient teleportation formations preserved on some desolate islands to successfully return to the mainland.
However, this time he had not entered Luzhou in the north, but instead arrived in Shenzhou in the east. Having heard that this continent held many ancient relics, he wished to search for a five-colored altar.
“Do you think that person surnamed Ye will return to the mainland? Are his battle records real? I somehow feel it’s all too fantastical. The Divine Son of Taiyin once single-handedly dominated the ten sects of the Eastern Lands, silencing all four directions — not a single person dared step forward to fight — yet he was cut down just like that.”
“Every single one is absolutely true — not a shred of exaggeration in any of those battle records. Just wait and see: once he returns, there will surely be world-shaking waves. The Golden Crow Clan right now is practically going mad — they’ve nearly scorched all of northern Luzhou to a crisp. Their entire clan wants to kill the young man surnamed Ye.”
This was a prosperous tavern, and Ye Fan had chosen a window-side seat on the second floor, listening to the chatter of several cultivators.
“Has the half-page of the divine immortal scripture from Mingling’s Ancient Longevity Monastery been exchanged with the Hall of the Human King’s half-page yet?”
“Over the past few years they’ve been wary of each other, and there have been several attempts at a mutual exchange, but each time it’s fallen through — each side too afraid to be deceived by the other.”
……
Ye Fan listened quietly and discovered that over the four years he had been away, many events had occurred on the mainland that were enough to shake the four seas.
At the Hall of the Human King, the elder king — three thousand and seven hundred years of age — had passed away sitting upright. His lifetime of achievements had defied the heavens; thus did he reach the end of his life, allowing many great sects to finally breathe a long sigh of relief.
Yin Tiande had spent ten years in a life-and-death closed retreat, and upon emerging, he was immeasurable. Following the footsteps left behind by the original master of the Palace of Eight Sceneries, he mounted a green ox and journeyed westward, and some had witnessed purple qi drifting eastward across eight thousand li.
The peerless genius of his generation, the Great Peacock Brilliance King, had made his charge at the Third Heaven of the Immortal Platform — and in the end he failed, incinerated to a streak of ash, his body and dao both extinguished.
Yi Qingwu — so beautiful that every woman in the entire ancient star domain paled in comparison — had broken into the realm of the Eighth Forbidden Domain, ascending to the ninth step of the Second Heaven of the Immortal Platform. With skin of ice and bones of jade, pure and flawless, she had been venerated as a divine maiden.
Lu Ya had spent four years in closed retreat, and upon emerging, nine ancestral golden crow divine manifestations had appeared behind him, shocking all under heaven.
At the Ziwei Divine Dynasty, the peerless divine strategist and imperial advisor had passed away sitting upright. Before departing, using the full power of his lifetime’s Dao, he had divined that the dynasty was destined for great flourishing — and that in the future, a divine infant would descend from the heavens to become the Divine Lord.
……
“In these four years, the tides have risen and fallen, and so much has happened — as unpredictable and immeasurable as the vast ocean.” Ye Fan sighed, then finished his meal and took little Tong Tong by the hand, walking downstairs.
“That person…” One cultivator stared at Ye Fan’s retreating figure with suspicion, then looked toward the five-year-old child he was leading — whose flesh and blood gleamed with crystalline luminosity — causing him to show an expression of shock. “Could it be… he’s returned?”
Thud, thud, thud… He rushed quickly downstairs in pursuit, yet the street outside was already empty — not a trace of them remained. The others, seeing this, all revealed expressions of astonishment and came down to follow.
“Brother Qi, what happened? You’ve only just returned from overseas not long ago — did you run into an old friend? Or did you spot an unrivaled powerhouse like the Three-Lacking Daoist?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the one from the Northern Sea has returned. This continent is bound to fall into great chaos.” The cultivator surnamed Qi wore a grave expression.
On that very day, an explosive piece of news spread through Shenzhou in the east: the man who had escaped from the Eye of the Northern Sea had returned!
Once this rumor broke, all under heaven was set in motion — even more sensational than the news of Yin Tiande riding his ox westward. No one could say how many people in the world had been waiting for Ye Fan to return.
He had bent his bow to shoot down golden crows — in a single day, he had shot dead five Golden Crow princes and subsequently slain over a hundred Golden Crow powerhouses, dyeing the Northern Sea red with their blood and shaking all under heaven.
After that, he had killed three of the world’s greatest geniuses in swift succession, shattering the aura of invincibility around each of them — stunning the entire world.
And now, this man had actually returned — appearing on the mainland. How could this not draw attention? All ten directions were shaken, and every cultivator in the world turned their gaze toward Shenzhou in the east.
Lu Ya flew into a towering rage, erupting forth with his Crow-Wing Gilt Trident in hand, nine ancestral golden crow divine manifestations rising behind him, releasing a long roar to the sky as he crossed over toward Shenzhou in the east.
“Not only did he escape the Eye of the Sea alive and return to this world, he’s achieved battle records that shake the heavens like this…” The divine maiden Yi Qingwu murmured to herself. By now she was breathtaking to all under heaven — the very embodiment of beauty and sanctity — and countless cultivators were willing to prostrate themselves at her feet.
The moment Ye Fan appeared, he stirred the winds and clouds of all under heaven, and every person on the mainland was watching!