The Nine Phoenix Ancestral King had appeared — the existence with the greatest hope of becoming a Great Sage — nine primordial great beasts pulling the chariot, halted in the sky. Many people felt their hearts pounding with fright.
The clamorous Dwelling in Rosy Clouds Plain immediately fell considerably quieter. All manner of uproar subsided. People were astonished — they had never imagined that even such a figure had come to observe the battle.
“You had all better shut your mouths!” Within the field, the Tongtian Daoist was supremely towering — with jet-black lustrous hair and bronze-colored skin radiating a healthy sheen, projecting a powerful presence.
Among the various primordial factions, none of the younger generation called out any longer — for the Nine Phoenix Ancestral King had spoken. No one wished to court trouble. Quite a few people suppressed a mouthful of indignation and fixed their eyes on this so-called Tongtian Daoist.
“That looks like the Demon Emperor’s Nine Cuts!” Yan Ruyü’s expression shifted slightly. Supremely beautiful, with delicately arched brows slightly raised, she gazed toward the field from afar.
“Pang Bo!” In the distance, Ye Fan was moved. Others’ Heavenly Eyes could not penetrate the disguise — but his Source Heavenly Eye could see through everything. No matter what, he had never imagined that at this critical moment, Pang Bo would appear — alive and returned.
“Who are you?” Pang Bo saw him approaching and watched him warily.
“Poor Daoist Yuanshi.” Ye Fan smiled.
Pang Bo immediately burst into hearty laughter, striding forward with great steps. The two of them gave each other a forceful punch — having shared life and death together, having come to this world side by side through all hardships. They had finally met again.
Twelve years since their parting — still alive to meet again. This was truly no easy thing. Ye Fan had journeyed alone through the Desolate star domains, while Pang Bo had experienced life-or-death battles throughout the Eastern Desolation. Both had been exceedingly perilous journeys.
“How was the Purple Subtlety Ancient Star Domain? Were there any of the ancient figures spoken of in legends on Earth?”
“Same as here — figures appeared, but all followed the ancient stellar paths onward. Where did you go? Why have you only appeared now?”
“I fled into the immortal palace outside the ancient desolate forbidden zone and gained quite a harvest.”
…
The two spoke rapidly for a few exchanges, both hearts far from calm. To reunite in this foreign land — it was deeply moving, and they felt a great warmth toward each other.
They walked out of the battlefield together, disappearing into the crowd.
The morning sun rose in the east. The glow of dawn flooded the earth. The entire ancient battlefield was permeated with a brilliance that bestowed upon this desolate wasteland an air of harmony and peace.
Dimensional gates opened. The great sacred grounds of Great Yan, Purple Mansion, and Dao Yi appeared one after another — many in number. From white-haired elders of youthful countenance to vigorous and spirited young figures — all had come to observe the battle.
Among them was a young woman in purple robes, clear and spiritually luminous. Many people spoke in hushed voices, saying that she was an innate Dao Embryo — a future divine girl of unparalleled genius — drawing a great deal of attention.
Before long, the people of the Great Xia of the Central Prefecture rode upon a stretch of auspicious clouds, arriving like a host of heavenly soldiers and generals — their armor gleaming. The one at their head was none other than Xia Yiming, who had now become the ruler of Xia. Beside him followed a little nun in white robes, clever and mischievous.
“The people of Shencan Ridge have arrived!”
Someone cried out in alarm. An old man came on foot, followed by over a dozen men and women. He appeared from the horizon — unremarkable and plain in appearance, ordinary in every way. Yet many royal clans felt a chill at the sight — for this old silkworm was the younger brother of the Shencan Princess.
Surging clouds billowed. The divine dynasties of the Nine Li and Ancient Hua of the Central Prefecture appeared one after another in the distant sky. The influence of this battle was immense — nearly every major power of renown under heaven had arrived.
Even the supremely detached Jade Pool had sent people. The Holy Maiden of Jade Pool stood amid clouds and mist — elegant and ethereal as a celestial being descended from the heavens — observing from afar in the distant sky, waiting quietly for this battle to begin.
Dark clouds churned. A primordial ancestral king manifested — inhaling and exhaling at the edge of heaven and earth, sitting cross-legged within black mist like an ancient god or demon — coldly watching the Dwelling in Rosy Clouds Plain battlefield.
The appearance of such an existence instantly made this place several degrees more tense. Many people trembled with fear, nearly crumpling to the ground.
Before long, people noticed the Saint from the Heavenly Pivot Stone Workshop — hunched over, leaning on a cane, appearing very frail and weak. Yet his appearance immediately put many of the human race’s cultivators at ease.
“The time has come — Human Sacred Body, have you arrived?!” A great roar reverberated throughout Dwelling in Rosy Clouds Plain — as though a god or demon were bellowing — and the entire earth trembled.
Yuangu had appeared!
The crowd erupted into clamor. Everyone took to the air to observe the principal figure of this decisive battle — one who possessed the bloodline of an ancient emperor stood towering there like a demon sovereign, inspiring awe and terror.
His frame was tall and imposing. Black hair spilled loose, falling to his waist. His eyes were filled with a wild and untamed brilliance, shooting beams of materialized light dozens of zhang in length — a soul-chilling sight.
Such a powerhouse filled with demonic energy, standing alone at the center of Dwelling in Rosy Clouds Plain, possessed an air of I yield to none, I alone am supreme — supremely domineering, surveying all eight directions!
“Human Sacred Body, are you afraid? The time has come — why do you not dare to come? Do you fear our ancient emperor’s bloodline?”
“He who comes must certainly die. In terms of physical constitution he falls short — how can he contend against the unparalleled bloodline of an ancient emperor? In terms of forbidden secret techniques and cultivation realm, he falls far shorter still — to come is to die!”
Many young powerhouses of the Ancient Lake shouted and clamored. Several people even pushed to the fore and advanced to the center of the battlefield to provoke — harboring sinister intentions, wanting to weaken Ye Fan’s momentum. Everything was for the sake of Yuangu’s victory.
Earlier, some unknown Tongtian Daoist had leapt out of nowhere, cutting down several people like slicing vegetables. Then the Nine Phoenix King had appeared. They had not been able to go too far.
Now the great battle was about to commence. They felt no more restraint. Knowing Ye Fan would certainly come, they provoked openly and blatantly — wanting to stir turbulence within him. Their targeting was very deliberate.
“The Human Sacred Body amounts to nothing. If you do not dare to battle the bloodline of an ancient emperor, why don’t I step forward instead? I can cut you down under my blade all the same!”
“CRACK!”
At this very moment, a golden bolt of lightning split the sky — so blinding and brilliant that many people could not help but shut their eyes. It cleaved through the heavens and arrived in an instant.
“Enough noise!”
Ye Fan appeared. He transformed into human-shaped lightning as he descended from the heavens. A pair of great feet came stamping down — his left foot landing on one person’s chest, his right foot treading upon another ancient clan powerhouse’s face.
“BANG!” “BANG!”
The two young ancient clan powerhouses who had been clamoring moments before crumpled like dead dogs to the ground — stamped down from the sky by Ye Fan, prostrate beneath his feet.
“You—” Several ancient clan youths ahead could not help but step back. Truly facing the Human Sacred Body, their courage failed them. That terrifying aura made them tremble involuntarily.
“Scram!”
Ye Fan let out a cold shout. His feet applied force, kicking those two away — sending them crashing into the others ahead.
The others had been on guard, yet could not absorb that force at all. It was as though they had been struck by a great mountain — every one of them coughed up blood, their bodies splitting apart. They flew outward, tumbling down limply in a heap upon the ground.
The Human Sacred Body appeared — his entire being bathed in divine brilliance, composed and steadfast. A battle-shaking aura permeated the air. He advanced step by step, like an immortal idol standing between heaven and earth.
Growing stronger in the face of the strong — with nothing to conceal. He was like an Emperor of Heaven reborn, sovereign over all under heaven. Every single pore of his body radiated boundless light, submerging the entire heavens and earth.
In this moment, his essence, energy, and spirit were unified as one. His battle will could rend the vault of heaven. He pressed forward without yielding — with a momentum that could devour mountains and rivers. The clouds in all ten directions stirred!
“I’ve been waiting for you to appear!” Yuangu let out a roar. He transformed into a streak of dark light and charged forward — executing a killing blow from the very start, with no wasted words.
“BOOM!”
Yuangu threw a fist. The bright moon rises over the sea — vast crashing waves rolling countless miles — as a divine moon cleaved downward from above, engulfing everything ahead. Heaven and earth collapsed!
Ye Fan raised a hand — striking out like a divine being — seizing from the ground a hidden vein of the earth and wrenching it upward, spanning the sky, as though wielding a true dragon and slamming it down.
Earth and stone shattered. Both were violently shaken. Like two suns erupting with hundreds of millions of streams of radiance — incomparably dazzling, impossible to look at directly.
“Is this the collision of the most powerful bloodlines? Others truly cannot compare — to step into this would be to become a paste of blood and flesh!”
Their exchange was like two worlds in collision — infinite light illuminating the ten directions. Clouds dozens of miles away crumbled apart. This stretch of heaven and earth fractured like fine jade.
This was a catastrophic clash. Everyone was in retreat. What had been believed to be a safe zone was clearly nowhere near sufficient. From the battlefield a Dao-dissolving aura permeated outward.
Heaven and earth became radiant. That place was a sheet of brilliant splendor. Within it, two towering figures contended against each other — their appearances impossible to make out. Only two resplendent silhouettes were visible, each strike shaking heaven and earth!
Like two divine beings in decisive combat, everything else had vanished. Only they two remained — the sole source of brilliance.
“BOOM!”
At the final strike, they passed by each other and disengaged — separated then by an infinite distance — silently taking measure of one another.
The ten thousand zhang of brilliant light faded away. Heaven and earth recovered their clarity. The plain had been devastated — a landscape of utter devastation, as though the aftermath of a great calamity, fearsome beyond imagining.
All ten directions fell silent. Especially the elite of the younger generation — cold from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes. The gap was too immense. To be born in the same era as these two was truly a cause for sorrow.
How were others to contend? Even if of the same realm — perched atop the same peak — a single fist from either of these two would likely kill anyone else. There would be no suspense whatsoever!
What is meant by an unparalleled bloodline? What is meant by invincible among peers? These two had given the best possible demonstration. Even if one cultivated equally, standing on the same pinnacle, the power of battle varied from person to person.
“That got the muscles and bones loosened up a bit — passable enough.” Yuangu said.
All around, people’s faces changed. Even this did not count as a true duel? It was merely an exploratory exchange? When they truly fought — how powerful would that be?!
“Then let us battle!” Ye Fan gave a great shout and was the first to strike — his body shrouded in divine brilliance, like the Emperor of Heaven awakening, with a momentum that devoured mountains and rivers. Every strand of hair blazed resplendently, streaming backward. With a single fist he drove his killing blow forward.
“Roar—!” Yuangu let out a sky-shattering cry, like a demon sovereign crossing into the world — black hair wild and unbound — also charging forward to strike. His eyes were terrifyingly fearsome.
“BOOM!”
The two collided — as though two vaults of heaven had collapsed. A Great Annihilation-like aura surged outward. Both their bodies blazed, erupting with hundreds of millions of streams of radiance.
“What?! Both with no defense whatsoever — do they intend to perish together?!”
“It has barely begun and already it is life or death — too fast!”
All around, everyone cried out in alarm. Every mouth gaped wide open. All watched this with tense, fixed attention.
Ye Fan’s fist seemed to pierce through nine layers of heaven — all manner of runes wreathed upon his golden fist and fingers, emitting a terrifying sound like the Great Dao itself resonating. Boundless light shone universally.
Yuangu likewise — the shock wave produced by his jet-black fist devastated mountains and rivers, blasting a region spanning dozens to hundreds of miles into a vast desert, bereft of all vitality.
“Spit—!”
“Spit—!”
Neither evaded the other. Carrying the divine might of hundreds of millions of pounds, each landed upon the other’s body. Ye Fan’s fist drove clean through half of Yuangu’s skull, shooting out the other side, covered in great swaths of blood.
And Yuangu likewise — a single fist punching straight through his chest. Golden sacred blood sprayed in all directions. This was a fighting style of mutual destruction — breathtaking in its violence.
Every drop of their blood, every wave of their fists was terrifying — devastating the earth, cracking open the heavens. Infinite Dao patterns intertwined, as though opening heaven and earth anew, transforming into a fearsome great sound of the Dao resonating — deafening and overwhelming.
“Spit—!”
Yuangu was cold and merciless. He reached out with force and tore away half of Ye Fan’s chest. The bloodline of an ancient emperor was unparalleled throughout the world, surpassing all things — nearly tantamount to the Yuan Emperor reborn in his youth!
“Spit—!”
Yet the Human Sacred Body’s physical form was comparable to that of the gods. With a long cry, he broke free — nearly cleaving Yuangu in two, splitting half his body apart. Great torrents of blood gushed outward.