All nine of the Ancestral Crow manifestations launched forth simultaneously, rivaling the sun and moon in radiance and contending with heaven and earth in longevity, charging toward Ye Fan’s phenomena. Divine feathers, millions upon millions, seemed to fall from the nine heavens — boundless and brilliant, like a golden snowfall stretching across ten thousand ages, descending in chaotic splendor.

The various phenomena around Ye Fan’s person connected with one another. Though hazy and not yet fully formed, they were capable of grinding away every force that came from outside.

These two terrifying spectacles — needle against needle, spike against spike — collided, and between them blazed a brilliant divine radiance. Then came endless desolation, like an entire stellar domain disintegrating.

That brilliant light caused everyone to close their eyes. That terrifying darkness caused many people’s souls to nearly plunge into it.

Two completely opposite changes were completed in the instant of those blazing fireworks, sending many hearts into shock.

Falling from the blazing heart of brilliant sunlight into the limitless darkness of a hellish abyss — that was the sensation everyone experienced in that single moment.

Ahead, Ye Fan stood as though petrified, not moving. Lu Ya’s gaze blazed with ferocity, his aura surging like a great river flowing to the sea, unstoppable. A streak of divine light rose from the crown of his head, penetrating heaven and earth above and below.

Had the victor been determined? At the edge of the horizon, people watched with anxious attention, their eyes unblinking.

“Lu Ya has won — his momentum is awe-inspiring, like a great river rushing to the sea, impossible to stop!”

Everyone witnessed Lu Ya’s magnificent figure at his peak — his golden hair flowing, the beams of light from his eyes incomparably frightening, as though an ancient divine idol stood there.

Behind him, the Nine Ancestral Crow manifestations one by one raised their heads defiantly toward the heavens, divine feathers dancing, a brilliant, shimmering display, their cries resonating up into the nine layers of heaven.

In contrast, the radiance of Ye Fan’s phenomena dimmed, slowly dissolving, returning to stillness, and then vanishing altogether.

“He’s lost — the young man of the Ye surname has ultimately lost, defeated at Lu Ya’s hands.”

This battle seemed to have drawn its curtain. Many people were saying so. Some cheered; others sighed in silent lament. The distant sky was filled with clamor.

“Thud!”

Suddenly, Lu Ya staggered back a full step, spitting out a great mouthful of fresh blood from his mouth, one of the Ancestral Crow manifestations shattering into pieces.

“Thud!”

Then Lu Ya staggered back a second step. A cracking sound came from his chest bones — clearly they were fracturing. The surging momentum that had filled the heavens dissipated completely. The divine radiance at the crown of his head transformed into a bloody light.

“What happened?” People cried out in shock and confusion.

The supremely mighty Lu Ya of moments before was now coughing up blood with every step, retreating backward. All nine of the Ancestral Crows collapsed and shattered before him. His skeletal frame crackled continuously, nearly shattered inch by inch, with exposed white bone visible in some places.

“Lu Ya has lost — it was actually he who lost!”

By this moment, everyone could see it clearly: Ye Fan’s phenomena had withdrawn on their own, not been shattered — he had not suffered even the slightest harm.

The Nine Ancestral Crow manifestations were utterly defeated!

Lu Ya had suffered grievous injuries. His hair was disheveled, his entire body drenched in golden crow blood. He had barely avoided being destroyed right then and there. His bones were re-knitting themselves — without that, he would have been completely unable to stand.

“He’s lost — the Golden Crow Clan’s foremost genius has been thoroughly and utterly defeated.”

“Lu Ya was acclaimed as a figure of heaven-bestowed gifts, a physical constitution that the Golden Crow Clan had not seen in tens of thousands of years — and yet he has lost like this.”

The world-shaking decisive battle had drawn its curtain. Without even the Nine Ancestral Crow manifestations being sufficient, what did Lu Ya have left with which to fight?

Ye Fan activated the Military-Word Secret, attempting to seize the divine trident hovering above Lu Ya’s head. He was extremely cautious, for he clearly understood how difficult it would be to claim it.

Sleeping within every sacred weapon was a divine being. Unless an ancient sage made the move, no one in the current age could subdue it — much like an emperor’s weapon. Even if briefly seized, it was extremely difficult for an outsider to control, and once the divine being sleeping within the weapon awakened, that would be a disaster!

“Is this what the Sacred Body is — among your peers, only Yin Tiande could suppress you…” Lu Ya was smiling with savage cruelty, carrying the ferocity of a wild beast.

The divine trident hung above his head, slowly floating up and down, lowering lengths of divine radiance like strips of silk. It was precisely because of this that he had not been torn apart by Ye Fan’s phenomena.

Ye Fan’s gaze cooled. Without a word, he stopped moving and sensed a trace of subtle danger. This time he did not deploy divine arts. He directed the divine maiden furnace, preparing to perform a ritual sacrifice of it — controlled through the Military-Word Secret, it could exert its greatest possible might.

“My Dao-heart is fractured, my path to comprehending the Dao is hopeless, but I still have a way to kill you!” Lu Ya had nearly gone mad.

His Nine Great Golden Crow manifestations were the very foundation of his path to Dao comprehension, but Ye Fan had severed them — and this was a powerful blow to the unbroken confidence in victory that had always driven him forward.

“My Dao stretches far ahead; my Dao foundation has been severed. If that is how it is, then I will drag you down to the underworld with me, to accompany my nine brothers!”

Lu Ya shook the trident. He appeared as though consumed by a demonic transformation — every golden strand of hair standing on end, endless ripples flying outward. The divine trident released the might of an ancient sage.

“You think you can kill me with something like that?” Ye Fan laughed coldly. With the divine maiden furnace in hand, he felt no fear whatsoever of this formidable enemy.

Under normal circumstances, the two might have fought a thousand exchanges. But he had severed Lu Ya’s Nine Ancestral Crow manifestations — and that changed everything.

“One-Day Ten-Crow Elixir!” Lu Ya let out a low and thundering roar, and swallowed a precious elixir the size of a finger joint — golden in hue, gleaming and translucent.

Upon hearing that name, Yan Yixi’s expression changed instantly, and she cried out a warning: “Retreat quickly — he’s going to destroy himself along with everything around him!”

“What a madman — trading a single day of life for the strength of ten golden crows!” Li Tian also cried out in alarm.

At the edge of the horizon, every single person who witnessed this scene went pale. The One-Day Ten-Crow Elixir was a forbidden drug, far too heaven-defying and cruel.

It causes a person to exhaust their life entirely, leaving them with only a single day to live — but in that day, ten times their latent potential is unleashed, making them the mightiest being under heaven.

Consuming this precious elixir, one burns like fireworks, blazing forth in the most resplendent moment of beauty — and then fades away forever.

The ultimate sublimation, dying in brilliant glory.

“Ahhh…”

Lu Ya let out a great cry. Every bone in his body shifted, crackling like firecrackers without end. Every inch of his flesh blazed with blinding light. He appeared to have caught fire.

“The One-Day Ten-Crow Elixir — retreat quickly!” Yan Yixi and Li Tian both shouted.

Ye Fan fell back. The divine maiden furnace above his head observed calmly, quietly watching all of this.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, a ray of immortal light burst from within the elixir Lu Ya had swallowed, transforming into a hazy golden silhouette. The figure stood high in the heavens, looking down upon Lu Ya, and said: “Sixth, you have disappointed me greatly.”

“Father King!” Lu Ya cried out in shock, but his face was already twisted — the elixir’s effects had taken hold.

In the distance, everyone was horrified. Had their clan king come? This was an aged golden crow with a fearsome battle record — nearly on par with a fully accomplished Divine King!

This was a venerable king of three thousand seven hundred years, who had swept all before him throughout his life. In his prime, he had dared to storm the Human King Palace and abduct their divine maiden — a figure of legendary renown.

It was precisely because of that battle that he had suffered injuries to his foundation, leading him to enter seclusion for over two thousand years. Hence he had fathered children late in life — yet every one of them was extraordinary. From a single family, ten crown princes.

“Was not the Golden Crow King in seclusion — vowing never to emerge until reaching the fully accomplished King Realm? Could he have taken that step?” That was the question agitating the hearts of all.

“Father…” Lu Ya too was shocked and bewildered.

“Sixth, you have disappointed me immeasurably. What does a fractured Dao foundation matter? Have it severed and start anew — sooner or later you will forge a broader path!” The old golden crow was awe-inspiring and fearsome.

“I have disappointed you. Let me be your son again in the next life,” Lu Ya said with fiery stubbornness, preparing to fight to the death.

“If you only have this much mettle, you are unworthy to be my offspring in the next life either. Wake yourself up!” The old golden crow thundered.

“But I have already swallowed the One-Day Ten-Crow Elixir. There is no time left,” Lu Ya said, his veins bulging all across his body, like twisted dragons flowing beneath his skin, ready to burst open at any moment.

“When you took that drug years ago, I had already severed sixty percent of its potency. You can survive. Go — carve yourself a path in blood. Your father awaits your return.” The Golden Crow King spoke, and his silhouette gradually grew faint.

“Ahhh…” Lu Ya let out a great cry, seized the divine trident in hand, swung it into motion, and charged forward to kill.

“Four times the latent potential — it is nothing more than drawing against lifespan. A minor trick!” Ye Fan laughed coldly, advancing step by step, without the slightest hesitation or fear.

“What did you say?!” Lu Ya erupted in rage. He was a supreme genius and divine son of his generation, the foremost hero of the Golden Crow Clan. To be so contemptuously dismissed by Ye Fan was already insufferable — swallowing the One-Day Ten-Crow Elixir had been humiliating enough — and now his blood boiled over with furious heat.

“Let me send you on your way!” Ye Fan had nothing more to say. He removed the divine maiden furnace and held it in his palm, pressing it forward to suppress all before it.

The divine maiden furnace’s power surpassed the Crow-Wing Flowing Gold Trident, for it had been cast by an ancient great emperor and possessed endless profound mysteries. Immediately, heaven and earth shattered, and the aura of an ancient sage pervaded everything!

Lu Ya’s face went iron-blue. From deep within his soul, a great battle banner surged forth, snapping in the wind. He sensed clansmen flying toward this location, and cried out: “Summon the Ancestral Banners!”

In an instant, banners and pennants blanketed the sky, mist and fog roiling and surging — as though ten thousand divine soldiers and heavenly generals were charging forward.

Seven more great banners shattered through the heavens, descending like seven ancestral crows alighting, snapping and crackling in the wind. This was the clan’s supreme killing formation!

Long ago, at the Tanggu, the Golden Crow Clan had displayed a clan-guarding supreme treasure: eight great banners composing an ancient killing array, rivaling a sacred weapon in power, for it had been left behind by a sage.

Unfortunately, all of them had been severed entirely by the divine being manifestation born from the Human King’s transformation — and these banners were precisely those severed remnants. Though destroyed, they still contained immeasurable divine power.

Without question, Golden Crow Clan elites had arrived, seeking to rescue Lu Ya.

“Whoosh!”

Eight banners spread wide, golden crows soaring aloft. Together with the divine trident, they vibrated, releasing the might of an ancient sage.

The Golden Crow Clan’s desire to kill Ye Fan had demanded a tremendous investment of effort. Beyond Lu Ya wielding the divine trident, a group of elites had come carrying the Ancestral Banners — and now, at last, they had found their use.

“It is useless. Even if you summoned another sacred weapon today, you would not survive.” Ye Fan struck, and the divine maiden furnace came pressing down.

“I refuse to believe that the divine trident and Ancestral Banners combined still cannot suppress a single sacred weapon of yours!” Lu Ya roared. His fourfold potential erupted — his entire body seemed to be on fire, his divine power staggering.

“Thud!”

The Crow-Wing Flowing Gold Trident and all eight Ancestral Banners attacked the gleaming divine furnace simultaneously.

“Boom!”

Heaven and earth shook violently. Lu Ya’s latent power burned. Wielding one and a half sacred weapons, he held off the divine maiden furnace — and he was incomparably ferocious, appearing as though he intended to take everything down with him.

“Let this end.”

Ye Fan gave a cold shout. At this critical juncture, unwilling to suffer the slightest injury that might give others an opening to exploit, he turned over his palm, revealing in his hand a skull like black jade, pressing it forward to suppress all before it.

“The ancient sage skull of the Supreme Yin Sect!” The crowd cried out in shock.

This skull — translucent like black crystal — instantly blocked the incomplete Golden Crow Ancestral Banners, dissolving the ancient killing formation.

Then the divine maiden furnace came pressing down, shaking the divine trident until it vibrated ceaselessly. Lu Ya spat up great mouthfuls of blood. His body crumbled inch by inch. It seemed he was on the verge of being destroyed.

At the ends of the earth — in some unknown location — there was a world of flame. Fire blazed everywhere; an ancient cave was filled entirely with solar essence. Yet this fearsome place was someone’s seclusion ground. At this moment, a king who looked like a demonic deity suddenly opened his eyes, shooting two bolts of lightning from within the ancient cave.

He was the Golden Crow King — a supremely terrifying existence. Nearly everyone of his generation had perished. Even in that era, precious few could rival him in battle!

In the instant he awoke, within the Origin Ruins relic in the Divine Continent, the hazy projection that had emerged from the elixir Lu Ya had swallowed seemed suddenly nourished and manifested anew — and this time incomparably vivid.

“Am I to emerge from seclusion?” The Golden Crow King, reappearing on the battlefield, murmured to himself. With one hand he seized the divine trident, blocking the divine furnace’s killing strike. In the sky, it was as though ten suns had shattered.

“The Golden Crow King — his projection from beyond the Celestial Domain has manifested!” Every single person who saw this was horrified.

“Father!” Lu Ya cried out. He knew this manifestation was entirely different from the previous one — this father before him possessed tremendous combat power!

This time, the Golden Crow King’s form was manifested with incomparable clarity. He was a middle-aged man who looked like a demonic deity — simply standing there pressed the very breath from people’s lungs.

Within his eyes, mountains and rivers collapsed, ages turned, and stars dissolved — infinitely ancient and terrifying.

He stood in the void with the divine trident in hand and gave it a light shake. Waves crashed against a shore: the entire expanse of this heaven and earth was about to shatter!

Ye Fan’s palm cradled the divine furnace. His body shook violently as he retreated a full twenty-some steps. Cracks appeared across his brows one after another, trickles of fresh blood flowing down — a frightening sight.

“Bang!”

He finally steadied himself. His expression was incomparably cold. Without a single word, he looked ahead at the terrifying king.

“Somewhat interesting.” The Golden Crow King’s voice was ice-cold, like a demonic deity speaking from within purgatory.

“My body is hard; my Dao is harder still. If you intend to sever my Immortal Platform, that is destined to come to nothing. Even with you manifested here today, I will still cut down Lu Ya!” Ye Fan cried out.

“With me here, you think you can still cut him down…” The Golden Crow King’s voice was vast and far-reaching, reverberating like thunder throughout all of heaven and earth, causing every single person who heard it to feel their blood surge and churn.

Even as a projection from beyond the Celestial Domain, he was still this fearsome — truly worthy of being a demonic-deity-like existence in the current age.

“With you here, I will cut him down all the same!” Ye Fan declared with absolute conviction.

“Is that so…” The Golden Crow King was indifferent. It seemed nothing in the world occupied his thoughts.

“Boom!”

Suddenly he abruptly raised his head. His twin pupils became incomparably terrifying, filled with a demonic nature — like two black holes, with stars falling within them!

In this moment, he possessed a supremely terrifying aura, as though a single glance could crumble mountains and dry up seas!

This was the bearing of a peerless master: a single gaze sweeping across the vast wilderness, mountains and rivers overturned!

He and the divine trident became one. The formless pressure alone was already unbearable for people — to say nothing of when he gave it a light shake.

New cracks blossomed across Ye Fan’s brows once more, vein after vein of fissures appearing, blood threading like a spider’s web. He looked as though he was about to shatter like cracked earth.

A peerless master. A fully accomplished king. His projection from beyond the Celestial Domain manifested — and still no one could match him!

“Ye Fan, run!” Li Tian and Yan Yixi called out urgently in the shadows.

“It is not his true body descending. Today, I am determined to cut down Lu Ya!” Ye Fan said with unwavering resolve, driving the divine maiden furnace forward.

“If you had one more sacred weapon, there might be hope. Otherwise…” The Golden Crow King suddenly cut himself short, abruptly glancing toward another direction.

The black skull that had been locked in contest with the Ancestral Banners suddenly blazed with intense radiance, releasing the might of an ancient sage.

In this moment, space-time fell into chaos, heaven and earth shook, as though several sacred weapons were clashing in mutual impact. The entire space blazed brilliantly — everyone closed their eyes.

When they opened them again, Ye Fan’s palm cradled the divine furnace as he coughed up blood and retreated, his brow nearly pierced through!

On the other side, the Golden Crow King’s expression turned colder than ever. A mist of blood drifted open not far from him, and it seemed a mournful shriek still lingered and resonated.

Lu Ya — body and soul — had been completely destroyed!

“Concealed within the skull was an ancient sacred weapon…” The Golden Crow King said, cold and detached, showing no sign of raging fury at the loss of this son.

Everyone was stunned silent. Ye Fan had truly dared to strike — cutting down Lu Ya right before the Golden Crow King’s eyes!