“You’re that watermelon Yuangu — do you die if you stop pretending to be a saint? I’ve long wanted to cut you down. You’ve been running around all over the place lately — get over here and meet your end.” Duan De pointed right at his nose, calling him out for a fight, with the air of someone burning to eliminate him.

Li Tian and Li Heishui both knew he was a fake — they rolled their eyes in unison. Yet Ye Fan himself didn’t stop him, letting him take the stage.

Yuangu’s left eye held a black sun, his right a blood moon. He was imposingly tall and well-built, and upon hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and smiled with a cruel edge: “Are you seeking death?”

“Come at me, watermelon. Ten moves — and I’ll have you dead!” Duan De made his boast without a hint of shame.

The crowd around them knew nothing of the impersonation. All were taken aback — seeing him project such an air of contemptuous dominance, as if looking down upon all under heaven with a self-appointed invincibility, none could gauge the true depth of his strength.

“So this is the Human Clan’s Holy Body. I’ve heard his name long since — turns out he looks like this.”

“He once led the Barbarian Clan cavalry and leveled the Northern Plains Wang Family, and went so far as to vow he’d annihilate the Divine Spirit Valley, strike the Son of Heaven dead, and kill Yuangu. Is he truly this ferocious?”

Many of the Ancient Clan cultivators watched him regard Yuangu as beneath contempt and felt stirrings of unease. Several female Human Clan cultivators had their eyes practically sparkling.

Duan De was full of swagger, pointing at the world as if he owned it, and bellowed: “Yuangu the watermelon — come on then! Three moves — and I’ll have you dead!”

Ye Fan felt the urge to kick him. The boast kept deflating — from ten moves down to three. One could see at a glance that Yuangu was not an easy opponent. There was every chance Yuangu had already severed the Dao — in which case, it would be Yuangu dealing out death in three moves, not the other way around.

“On one point, you’re right — it only takes three moves. Three moves to wipe out you, the so-called Human Clan Holy Body.” Yuangu clasped his hands behind his back, bands of demonic mist coiling about him, like a great wall of darkness, as if he could cut off three thousand worlds.

Many cultivators surged toward the spot. Seeing these two, each more arrogant than the other and each more audacious than the other, the crowd was aching for them to come to blows right now.

One was the Human Clan’s Holy Body — embodying a kind of invincible physique. The other was an Ancient Emperor bloodline — born for the purpose of Attaining the Dao.

“Don’t push it too far — if this gets out of hand, there will be no way to rein it back.” Ye Fan warned Duan De.

“No worries. The gathering’s first rule is no provocation or conflict here. If he strikes first, the Immortal Tear Green-Gold Pagoda might just suppress and kill him outright.” Duan De said.

On the other side, the Son of Heaven was also transmitting his voice to Yuangu: “I’m worried about the Western Emperor Pagoda. A great battle here could invoke the supreme imperial might.”

Yuangu’s expression turned darker, and he said: “Human Clan Holy Body — do you dare go outside Yaochi to fight me?”

“You have no courage at all, have you. Right here, I’ll give you three free moves — and if you still feel you can’t beat me, get out of my sight right now. I’ll spare your life, and we can settle accounts slowly down the road.” Duan De gazed forward with contempt, hands clasped behind him, the very image of absolute invincibility.

Yuangu’s expression grew ever colder. The black sun in his left eye blazed and jumped. The blood moon in his right eye flickered with a dim, eerie glow. He stood there like a divine demon.

“Too arrogant — is the Human Clan’s Holy Body truly this powerful?”

“Yuangu carries the blood of Ancient Emperors. Back in the day, because his gifts surpassed every royal ancestor of the Primordial Lake, he was sealed away to live to this era. He was born to Attain the Dao.”

Many among the Ancient Clans were indignant, feeling that Ye Fan was being far too brazen. Even as powerful as he might be, none believed he could suppress Yuangu.

“Everyone — inside Yaochi, conflict is prohibited, or the Western Emperor Pagoda will release its imperial might. Please consider your own safety.” At this moment, a voice like heavenly music rang out, and a slender, graceful woman moved lightly forward.

She was a woman like a spirit — tall and willowy, her slender waist a delicate span, her lotus steps moving softly and gently. Her black hair shimmered like satin.

Her skin was luminously white as jade, glowing with a soft radiance. Hers was a face of supreme, otherworldly beauty — her lashes long, her eyes carrying a misty softness, brimming with a lyrical, poetic spirit.

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi had arrived, showing her true face for the first time — no longer concealing herself behind sacred mist as she had in the past. Her bearing and grace were impeccable — she was an embodiment of the world’s spiritual beauty and wisdom.

The tense standoff was defused, for she brought news: before the convocation of ten thousand clans opened, the clans could first sit down together and talk. Yuangu was called away by people from the Primordial Lake, spared from a showdown with the Human Clan’s Holy Body.

More than a decade later, reuniting with the Holy Maiden of Yaochi — even though it was not their first meeting — Ye Fan still found himself struck with admiration. She was like a true immortal stepping down into the mortal world.

“Truly a nation-toppling beauty — a match for Yi Qingwu.” Li Tian was as invigorated as if he’d been injected with fresh blood. He rushed forward, folded open his fan, introduced himself, said he was the leader of a great teaching, and kept on trying to ingratiate himself.

Duan De walked up with perfect gravity, pushed Li Tian aside with one hand, looked at the Holy Maiden of Yaochi with complete seriousness, and said: “There’s something I’ve wanted to say for twelve years but couldn’t bring myself to say. So I’ve come back for you, twelve years later.”

Ye Fan’s forehead was covered in black lines. He stepped forward, seized Duan De by the throat, and suppressed him with the Sacred Shell.

The Holy Maiden of Yaochi looked startled — then her eyes rippled with warmth, outshining the most luminous pearls, dimming the embroidered earth itself. She let out a small smile and turned to leave.

“Damn it all, that fatty deserves a beating — come on, let’s deal with him together.” Ye Fan called out. Li Tian was the first to respond, and the others stepped forward as well.

“This Dao Lord meant only kindness — since that’s not welcome, I’ll know better next time.” Duan De protested.

“No — absolutely never again will I let that scoundrel occupy my body. One more word and I’ll use the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar to collect you!” Ye Fan threatened.

Duan De grumbled and demanded the jar be returned first.

“The jar cannot be returned yet. Right now, the Human Clan has no Saint to show for it — there’s a good chance this Sacred Shell will need to step forward and command respect.” Ye Fan said.

This Sacred Body was the genuine article — what it lacked was only spiritual laws and magical power. If someone put it to the test, it would be exposed without question. But if the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar were stored within the Sacred Shell, any magical power sent probing inward would be entirely dissolved — an absolute bottomless pit that no one could see through.

In the end, in a place where no one was watching, Ye Fan returned slightly less than half of his Divine Soul to his true body — not daring to infuse the full amount, for fear of drawing Heavenly Tribulation. The other half remained within the Sacred Shell, prepared if necessary to appear in the guise of a Saint.

Before the gathering officially opened, the various clans had begun sitting down to talk. Ye Fan and the others made their way over. It was a grand and imposing hall — clearly carved within with spatial Dao-inscriptions, capable of accommodating any number of people without issue.

Inside, every manner of being was represented. Many had bizarre and fantastical forms — the noise was tremendous, everyone talking over each other without end.

“The Human Clan has seized land far too vast and sweeping. A weak and inferior clan commands the whole of the great earth — it is time this land was returned to us.”

…

Within the hall, every manner of voice could be heard, arguing without end. Many of the great clans had even begun drawing up territorial divisions — carving up the various regions among themselves.

The Human Clan’s clan leaders were also quarreling — but it was plain that the more powerful clans paid them no mind and came close to ignoring them entirely.

“In the Ancient Era, the Human Clan was confined to a corner, barely able to protect itself — nothing more than prey in the mouths of many powerful clans!” One royal clan was particularly forceful, openly making such an outrageous statement in front of everyone, without the slightest care.

“Correct. When the ten thousand clans stood together and the many sovereigns competed for supremacy, the Human Clan sometimes sought the shelter of stronger clan groups to survive — nothing more than a negligible little clan.”

“This is no longer the Ancient Era. Today belongs to the Human Clan!” Ye Fan strode in — his true body at the front, the Sacred Shell at the rear — though he did not release a Saint’s Pressure Aura.

“Hmph. Indeed it is no longer the Ancient Era. But now all our clans have awakened — nothing can remain as it was before!” An aged Ancient Living Being sneered coldly.

Called a convocation of ten thousand clans, ostensibly assembled to sit down and negotiate, yet the dominant powerful clans had no regard for the Human Clan at all — they looked down from above in contempt.

Far away at the edge of heaven and earth, amid a range of vast, soaring black peaks, an unusual aura arose this day.

In the middle wilderness of the Eastern Wasteland, near the border with the Northern Domain — the Sacred Cliff, stained black-red with the blood of a Great Saint Body, its corpse still lying within the great coffin atop the mountain peak.

At this moment, a golden ancient scroll sealed upon the Sacred Cliff blazed with brilliant radiance, rustling and flapping — and began to loosen.

It was a resplendent long scroll, as if cast from solid gold — refined by the Wushi Great Emperor of old, sealing this cliff for more than a hundred thousand years.

In this instant, it shuddered violently, rattling and clanging — it seemed ready to fly up into the heavens. The entire black mountain trembled because of it.

At last, blazing light shot into the sky. It finally broke free — sacred and vast, impossible to look directly upon, compelling every soul to bow in reverence.

Inside Yaochi, the various clans continued their ceaseless quarreling, dividing up territory among themselves, paying the Human Clan no mind at all — their posture that of one looking down upon a vassal tribe.

From the moment Ye Fan entered the great hall, Yuangu and the others in the distance had taken notice of him.

The Son of Heaven rose to his feet and sneered coldly: “Everyone says the Human Clan’s Great Emperor has not died — that Zhang Lin, under Wushi’s command, struck the Divine Spirit Valley down. I believe there is treachery in this claim — it is simply not to be believed!”

To speak such words in a setting like this was nothing less than astounding — at once, all eyes turned toward him.

“I only wish to say: no matter how powerful a Great Emperor may be, it is impossible to live for a hundred thousand years — unless he has already attained immortality!”

The Son of Heaven was supremely gallant, his bearing near-perfect, nine rings of divine radiance rising behind him in five colors — like a deity reborn. His eyes were unfathomably deep as he looked down upon all the heroes assembled in the great hall, and continued to speak.

“You of the Human Clan — can any one of you prove whether this world contains such a thing as immortality?”

“My father left behind a mark within me that allows me to perceive certain strands of heavenly mystery. I once slumbered for countless ages within the Ancient Emperor Mountain, and I can tell you with absolute clarity — Wushi passed away long ago. It occurred eighty thousand years ago!”

“Although I was dim and unaware then, my spiritual consciousness not yet fully opened — I still knew what had happened. He died upon the Dao Platform. The aura of it shook the heavens and shattered ten thousand ages of the sky — it was without question a Great Emperor turning to ash!”

These words from the Son of Heaven left the crowd in stunned silence. The entire great hall went deathly quiet, every person frozen in place.

“One-sided ravings! You were not yet born in those days — what could you possibly have perceived?” someone called out.

“Your father’s tomb was claimed by the Wushi Great Emperor. You carry resentment and slander his supreme and glorious name.”

“The Wushi Great Emperor cannot possibly be dead — it was he who sent people to strike the Divine Spirit Valley down!”

…

And among the Ancient Clans, every mind blazed to life. Many were deeply agitated, calling out loudly with questions.

“Your Highness — is this true?”

“Wushi truly turned to ash eighty thousand years ago?”

The majestic ancient hall erupted immediately into complete chaos, and many of the Ancient Living Beings were seized by violent surges of emotion.

The Son of Heaven nodded with gravity and said: “What I have spoken is every word the truth. For in those days, I was too near to that Dao Platform — I perceived it all firsthand!”

As these words went out, Yaochi fell into utter chaos. Many of the Ancient Clans burst into long laughter.

And among the Human Clan, a cloud of sorrow hung over every face, deep anxiety written on them all.

Suddenly, a great commotion erupted outside Yaochi, and rapidly spread inward — something of momentous consequence had clearly occurred.

“Wushi — the Wushi Great Emperor — is alive!”

An Ancient Living Being, pale with terror and gasping for breath, rushed into the hall and delivered news that struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

“What has happened?!” Even the Blood Phoenix Mountain and Fire Kirin Cave — royal clans that prided themselves on being beyond such disturbances — could not remain composed for the first time. Their expressions changed, and they personally stepped forward to ask.

“The outside world is already in pandemonium. The Wushi Great Emperor has returned to life! The List of Deified Ones he refined has swept across the Northern Domain — ten thousand zhang of golden light now illuminates the mortal world!”