She was a young woman with blue hair — bright eyes and white teeth, a tall and slender figure, her skin as white and beautiful as fine jade, graceful and swaying as she moved toward him, enchanting in every way.
Her blue hair shimmered like silk, falling to Huo Lin’er’s waist, held up by a jade hairpin — crystal clear and translucent. At the top of the pin, a slender string of beads dangled with a small purple qilin, lifelike and vivid, setting off the jade-white luster of her cheeks.
This was the true daughter of the Ancient Emperor, sealed just like Huo Qizi, reborn into the present age, possessing an inherited bloodline power that defied imagination.
Ye Fan was astonished. That such a woman — breathtakingly beautiful — could trade physical blows with him without the slightest harm to herself. Truly formidable.
“So this is the Ancient Emperor’s bloodline — as a child of the first generation, with talent stunning through ancient and modern times, with no rival. The innate advantages are terrifying!”
The Holy Body’s physical shell was peerless. Strictly speaking, no one among the young generation had truly dared to clash with him directly — yet Huo Lin’er had traded a palm strike with him right from the start!
And the daughter of an ancient sacred emperor would not be limited in talent to just the physical body — in every other aspect she would be the strongest as well. The implication was truly alarming.
“No wonder people say that whenever an ancient emperor’s child emerges, it is world-shaking — able to recreate the glory of their forebears.”
In ages past, the sons of human emperors were exactly this way. Once they grew up, they were only a single step from proving the Dao and entering the realm of the ancient great emperors — capable of suppressing all nine heavens and ten earths.
Ancient Emperor’s children were the same — one year of cultivation equivalent to a hundred years for others. In the future, the world would surely witness a confrontation between those of the highest strength.
“The Human Holy Body is impressively powerful — my hand aches a bit from that. Truly unexpected,” said Huo Lin’er with a light smile, vivid and captivating, her blue hair swaying like the essence of the sea.
Everyone was alarmed, involuntarily retreating, all showing reverence. The daughter of the Ancient Emperor had arrived and everyone instinctively made way.
From this, the rigid hierarchy of the ancient clans was plain to see. People revered the ancient sovereign figures beyond measure, and that reverence extended to their descendants, who were held in the highest esteem.
Among those present were human cultivators as well, who understood well the strength of the Holy Body’s physical form. Seeing this scene, they were all stunned and quietly marveled at how terrifying the heirs of the emperors were.
“Worthy of being the Ancient Emperor’s youngest daughter — her talent shakes the world. Truly admirable,” said Ye Fan.
“I came here not wanting a battle to the death with you — leave that to the Heavenly Prince or Yuangu. Though of course, if my older brother ran into you, he’d most likely find you very interesting.” She smiled sweetly, spirited and bewitching — she was of course referring to Huo Qizi.
“Then what guidance do you have for me?” Ye Fan asked.
“Would you return the seed of the Qilin Divine Medicine to me? It’s the only thing our father left for us.” Huo Lin’er said with a pitiable look, though she then burst into a light laugh and added, “Don’t refuse right away — my clan will exchange immortal materials for it.”
People stood in a daze, moved by her beauty and lost in thought at her words. The Qilin Divine Medicine had once accompanied an ancient sovereign — and yet it still existed in the world today, after so many years? One sensed in this a terrifying weight of time’s passage.
“I’ve said it before: tell me the locations of hell and the mortal world’s ancient halls, bring me the head of one of their leaders, and I will hand over the Qilin Medicine with both hands. All other conditions are off the table,” said Ye Fan bluntly.
He would never hand over this medicine no matter what. Every one of the ancient great emperors had possessed a stalk, without exception. Beyond prolonging life, there was surely a purpose not yet known — perhaps one that would become critically important in later stages.
“Come now, let’s negotiate a little. Don’t be so rigid about everything. What I can give you won’t disappoint — I guarantee your satisfaction,” said Huo Lin’er with a sweet smile, her long jade-like legs catching glimpses as she walked forward.
“Let’s maintain a certain distance between us, to avoid misunderstandings and disputes,” said Ye Fan. This woman, beautiful as a flower in full bloom and with the bearing of an immortal, was also extremely dangerous.
“With a Holy Body’s peerless physical shell, shouldn’t I be the one keeping my guard up against you?” Huo Lin’er laughed lightly, taking graceful lotus steps forward — but ultimately she stopped, advancing no further, saying: “You truly won’t reconsider? Fire Qilin Cave has existed since ancient times, has produced ancient emperors, and possesses immortal materials that people the world over dream of. They would be worth more than the Qilin Medicine.”
Ye Fan shook his head. In this world, what he considered most precious were undying medicines. He had encountered nearly everything else; divine medicines were the hardest to find.
“What a shame. The ones who came from hell and from the mortal world are divine sons and daughters. If a leader had come and we could have cut off their head for you to exchange… wouldn’t that be perfect?” She stepped onto a jade carriage, rested her chin in her palm, and stared dreamily. Her large eyes blinked — seemingly innocent yet somehow bewitching, carrying a strange quality.
Human cultivators were awestruck. How powerful was this youngest daughter of the ancient emperor? A pity she hadn’t continued fighting the Holy Body — it was impossible to measure.
“Princess, if you wish to reclaim the Qilin Divine Medicine, I will fetch it for you!” At this moment, a young man from an ancient clan stepped forward — a crystalline jade horn on his brow, wearing a coat of chain mail, silver hair over his shoulders. He was a powerhouse from the Horn Clan.
“Wonderful! If you bring it back for me, I’ll invite you to spend a year in Fire Qilin Cave,” Huo Lin’er said with a smile, incomparably enchanting.
Many among the ancient clans changed expressions. Fire Qilin Cave was where the ancient emperor had cultivated, and where he had gone into seclusion in his later years to sit in nirvana. It held endless wonders — every saint longed to enter, but none ever had the chance.
“Dongba Hongchuang…” the silver-haired young man murmured in a low voice, chanting an ancient curse formula. His body became radiant, emitting silver light, like a divine lamp suspended in the air.
The people around him scattered like he was a snake or scorpion, all leaping backward and flying far away, deeply wary of this curse — none willing to draw near.
“This is the Horn Clan’s death curse. It cannot be dispelled. A young elite king at peak second immortal platform making a move — the consequences will be quite terrible.”
Ye Fan heard their discussion. This curse formula, once invoked, meant that within a certain range — even if one did not die — one would be weakened for several years afterward. It was the most bizarre of techniques.
The best course of action was to retreat immediately, avoid this ancient curse, wait for it to dissipate, and then come forward to attack. However, the area was encircled, making it nearly impossible to break through, giving the Horn Clan powerhouse ample space to bring this secret technique to its full expression.
Between heaven and earth, one tadpole-shaped rune after another appeared, trapping Ye Fan within — a sinister power called the death curse.
“Human Holy Body, you think the ancient ten thousand clans are nothing, repeatedly showing disrespect — today I have come to take your life!”
Accompanied by a great shout, the young Horn Clan powerhouse’s full head of silver hair began to fly wildly. The jade horn on his brow blazed with spiritual power, carving rune after rune into the void — suffused with dark light.
People retreated even further, fearing to be contaminated. Even the sacred light baptism of an ancestral king would struggle to cleanse it, and would likely lead to death.
And yet, people were astonished to discover that Ye Fan showed no sign of retreating. He actively pressed forward, advancing toward the center, as the tadpole patterns almost touched his body.
Clang, clang, clang!
Ye Fan made his move. His fingers were like heavenly swords, carving nine ancient characters from the scripture into the void — characters capable of achieving a brief state of eternal transcendence for the self, as if standing within a separate small world.
He advanced step by step, as if walking on level ground. Every single tadpole marking fell away before him, dissolving like ash upon touching the nine ancient characters — completely unable to stop him.
“What?!” People were astonished.
For anyone else, they would rather fight a member of an ancient emperor’s clan than clash head-on with such a curse. And yet Ye Fan had dissolved it on the spot before their very eyes.
“You…”
The young Horn Clan powerhouse went pale with shock. Every enemy he had ever faced would first retreat from his edge, then seek an opportunity to counterattack. This was the first time anyone had broken through his technique from the front directly.
He turned and fled. The pressure the Human Holy Body gave him was too terrifying — like a blazing, immortal divine furnace closing in on him, threatening to refine him. The boiling golden blood qi made him tremble with fear.
But how could Ye Fan possibly allow him to escape? Since mastering the Movement Scripture, his speed was unparalleled. He responded after the move was launched yet arrived first, cutting off the escape route, and hammered down with a punch.
Spit!
A flash of blood light erupted. The silver-haired young man became blood mist on the spot — body and soul both annihilated, not a single fragment of bone left.
A chill ran through everyone, yet the ancient clans still did not disperse. A crowd of people slowly pressed forward, among them no shortage of royal clan — even imperial clan — elites.
“Hey, old man — you sold this same piece of information to all of us separately and made quite a bit of source stones, didn’t you?” Huo Lin’er called out, fixing her gaze on the ancient tower ahead.
“The information ranged in price from ten thousand to fifty thousand catties of source stones. Not much at all — I’m penniless, nowhere near the level of a source master,” Qi Luo said with a dry laugh.
BOOM!
No one said anything more. As if by a shared unspoken agreement, everyone made their move at once. All manner of divine laws and one secret treasure after another ascended simultaneously, surging toward Ye Fan.
“Since this is how it is, I will begin the slaughter!” Ye Fan gritted his teeth. Today, without paying in blood, there would be no smooth departure.
He let out a great roar. The peerless Golden Sacred Domain expanded to its fullest extent — perfectly round as the Dao itself — enveloping him entirely. In an instant, ten thousand laws slid away from his body without touching him. Without a trace of fear, he charged toward the enemy.
A fierce battle broke out. Dozens upon hundreds of powerful masters — even if each one only launched a single attack, that alone would be terrifying. Combined together, even a Dao-crossing king at the third immortal platform would have cause for dread.
All the more so because a divine son of the Assassin Divine Dynasty was hidden among them. The moment such a person struck, it would be an absolute kill — among the young generation, very few could avoid it and survive.
With so many people attacking, each one an elite — their combined power was overwhelming. Ye Fan’s Golden Sacred Domain was nearly broken through. It was not that it was weak; it was that the enemies were too numerous and too fearsome.
“The defensive power is astounding — comparable to a king!”
The attackers were even more shocked. Logically, a peak second immortal platform powerhouse should have been reduced to ash with a single blow, yet the Human Holy Body had endured.
“Kill!”
Surrounded and besieged, the killing cries shook the heavens.
Ye Fan coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. His heart went cold. Among the crowd, there were actually a few people who were not far behind him in strength — with one foot already stepping into the third immortal platform, about to successfully cross the Dao.
“What manner of people have gathered here?”
Dozens upon hundreds of terrifying elite kings all moved at once. The killing was so fierce the sun and moon lost their light. Ye Fan suffered one heavy blow after another, sent flying several times, the Golden Sacred Domain nearly shattering.
“Ten thousand laws cannot touch him? Break open his Sacred Domain — strip him of his defenses. With this many people striking, we can deal an absolute kill!” someone roared.
The truth was, even Ye Fan’s Sacred Domain could not withstand so many people. But the Movement Scripture was peerless — he had dodged the most terrifying of the waves of assault; he would not clash head-on unless absolutely necessary. Only when more than twenty people struck the golden circle simultaneously did he cough blood.
“Kill!”
Ye Fan’s fury was kindled. His killing intent became boundless. He began to fight without reservation — wide, sweeping strokes, slaughtering in all four directions.
An elite king from the Shadow Clan came silently from behind, lunging from within the black mist — but Ye Fan detected him immediately. He deployed the Heavenly Court secret technique, struck down with a hand chop, cleaving him in two. Blood sprayed high.
“Frost Sealing Three Thousand Miles!”
A white-robed woman called out softly. A powerhouse from the Snow Clan, she could innately wield the divine art of ice. A surge of white, hazy air swallowed Ye Fan, sealing him within a block of divine ice.
“Excellent!” Others cheered.
BANG!
Yet the divine ice shattered in an instant. Ye Fan unleashed the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist — there was simply no sealing him, and the fist power was matchless.
Spit! Spit!…
One figure after another became blood mist, stricken from this world. Eleven elite members of the ancient clans were destroyed with a single fist!
This staggering result left people dumbstruck — yet they did not stop. An even fiercer wave of attacks followed as people from the distance launched all manner of weapons that descended upon Ye Fan, making him cough up great mouthfuls of blood as the Golden Sacred Domain broke open several times.
“Kill!”
Another great shout from Ye Fan. He activated the Military Scripture — every ancient weapon reversed course at once, as if time had been turned back, all undergoing a strange transformation.
“Ahh…!”
Agonized cries broke out one after another. Nine people died on the spot from their own weapons. Furthermore, over a dozen more were injured, covered in blood.
This scene was even more horrifying. Many broke out in cold sweat. People gripped their own weapons tighter, palms sweating, some unable to stop themselves from trembling.
“He’s finished — after facing our combined assault, there’s no way he can hold out much longer!” someone sneered and struck first.
“That’s right. He’s done for.” The woman from the Living Ghost Clan smiled sinisterly, her face snow-white, fine scales running along both arms. “The blood of ancient humanity — I’ve missed it. I wonder what the blood of a Holy Body tastes like today?”
Ye Fan tottered, struggling under assault from so many powerful figures. Even someone at the third immortal platform would have a hard time enduring this long. Future kings of every clan charged forward together, pressing in.
“ROAARRR!”
Ye Fan let out a great roar. Fighting to the death, he lunged — in a single leap he reached the Living Ghost Clan woman, grabbed her, and with one savage pull, tore her apart with a crack. Blood drenched his body.
The scene was bloody, yet possessed an overwhelming power to intimidate. Many people retreated in shock, not daring to come close.
BANG!
Finally, the Golden Sacred Domain shattered. Ye Fan chanted an ancient scripture aloud — the Nirvana Sutra that An Miaoyi had passed to him. Golden blood qi boiled throughout his body, rapidly restoring his injured form.
“Quick — stop him! We can’t give him time!” Many people shouted, attacking together.
Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with cold lightning. He charged forward while healing, pushing the Movement Scripture to its absolute limit, slaughtering in all four directions.
BOOM!
A woman whose entire body burned within roaring flames — at this critical moment — unleashed sky-filling fire to incinerate Ye Fan. She was a young powerhouse from the Fire Cloud Clan.
“Battle Saint Scripture!”
Ye Fan’s gaze turned ice-cold. His hands moved — like divine king Jiang Shen gazing down upon all creation — and he manifested a sacred furnace the color of crimson blood!
BOOM!
The Eternal Universe Furnace flew forward, pressing downward. A chorus of screams rang out as the woman bore the full brunt of it and was killed on the spot. As the sacred furnace detonated, eight or nine more people were incinerated to ash.
When Ye Fan used the Battle Saint Scripture to manifest the Eternal Universe Furnace, he had also simultaneously activated the sacred power from the Ancient Solar Scripture, channeling it to solidify the furnace form — the two reinforcing each other.
“Magnificent! Though my Heavenly Court has no scriptures from the ancient great emperors, every master through the ages has undergone ten thousand kinds of brutal tempering, in order to make themselves the foremost under heaven!” Qi Luo transmitted in a secret voice from the ancient tower.
“Long ago, if one could not become a peerless powerhouse — if one could not slay all kings — the Heavenly Court would rather have no master at all,” Old Blade Handle also transmitted.
“That is exactly right. The Master of the Heavenly Court must be the foremost under heaven!” Qi Luo’s voice was resolute and sonorous, ringing beside Ye Fan’s ears like ten thousand swords being drawn at once, sounding together in a great cry.