The Primordial Desolate Realm — devastated and desolate, blanketed in darkness, like having arrived at the scorched wasteland of the world’s end. Bleak and desolate.

Chain after chain of order divine energy clattered and resounded, densely packed, weaving together into patches of gleaming, brilliant lines — the visible body of the Dao. For any divine soul to brush against them was instant death.

Ye Fan’s physical shell remained motionless. The golden miniature figure sat cross-legged atop the Celestial Platform, radiating brilliance throughout, numerous sigils flickering across its form — cradling a small cauldron in its arms, the primordial breath of all creation coiling around it, shielding the figure completely.

Time seemed to have stopped. Heaven and earth appeared to have entered an eternal state of desolate stillness. Both men were building up to a world-shaking strike — each seeking to utterly finish the other.

Then, abruptly, from the crown of Ye Fan’s head, a dazzling column of light shot upward. The golden miniature figure, cradling the small cauldron, finally rushed out — surging forward in a lethal advance, weaving through the chains of order principle one by one.

Too fast!

Yuangu changed color. His two divine beings had merged into one, standing at the opposite end, his feet upon the chains of order — beginning to suppress and slay his adversary.

“Clatter, clatter!”

The two men were like adversaries separated by a field of stars — every chain of principle vibrated in unison, releasing boundless light that illuminated the mountains and rivers.

Dao-songs of every kind rang out, lights of every kind flew dancing through the air — a scene of brilliant splendor. The Primordial Desolate Realm was no longer dark; divine principles blazed everywhere, like the flowers of a glorious era blooming in full.

Beautiful, dazzling to the eye — yet concealing absolute and lethal killing intent. Any single chain was a weapon of supreme destruction; any king who let his divine soul enter here would perish at a touch.

The Absolute, the Supreme, the Transcendent — the golden miniature figure merged with the Dao, transforming into that which returns to the One, flying free from within Ye Fan’s body, becoming a ray of eternal light.

And now, Ye Fan cradled the cauldron and advanced — the primordial breath of all creation descending in curtains, blocking every force of principle — locking onto a single point ahead, charging directly toward Yuangu.

Time congealed. Space contracted. Everything seemed frozen in this single instant — only he with his cradled cauldron remained imperishable, radiating divine radiance. The Primordial Desolate Realm trembled around him.

Yuangu’s divine being seemed to have been fixed in place, unable to struggle free — watching helplessly as that streak of divine brilliance drew closer, and at last let out a thunderous roar.

“Boom!”

The entire Primordial Desolate Realm seethed. In the very instant the golden miniature figure pressed down with the cradled cauldron, he finally broke free. A deafening toll erupted above his head as a great bell appeared, its bell-waves shaking the ears — while in his hand, a battle halberd materialized, thrusting toward the high heavens to meet the great enemy.

“Clang…”

The gentle bell-wave rang out. The great bell above Yuangu’s head took a direct hit and nearly shattered — fissures spreading across it. The battle halberd in his hand blocked upward, colliding with the cauldron of all creation’s primordial breath — barely managing to withstand the absolute killing strike.

“Your technique has been broken — let me see what other arts you have!” Yuangu roared. Beneath his feet, brilliance surged as he stepped upon the chains of order, the entire void turning crystalline around him.

Chain after chain of principle, like translucent true dragons, threaded toward Ye Fan, seeking to bind him within the Primordial Desolate Realm — to suppress and slay him utterly.

“The Dao’s arts are boundless — this is only the beginning. There is no breaking or not breaking here.” The golden miniature figure remained perfectly calm. The cauldron in its arms rose upward, hovering above its head — releasing thread upon thread of fine silk to shield it on all sides.

This was the first time anyone had retreated from one of Ye Fan’s strikes completely unharmed — the depth of Yuangu’s Dao cultivation was evident. Yet he showed not a trace of anxiety.

“Clang”… “Clang”…

Every chain resounded, piercing the void, grinding Ye Fan down. Order divine fire burned — capable of consuming any divine soul — with no claim to immortality remaining.

“Buzz!”

Ye Fan evaded rapidly, then secretly activated the Soldier Character Secret Art, attempting to have the great bell and iron halberd turn on Yuangu. Yet a Dao-song rang out — only a slight tremor. Those were not divine soul weapons; they had been woven from intersecting chains of order — not solid bell or halberd in truth. It seemed Yuangu had grown deeply wary of his weapon-commandeering art.

“Clatter, clatter!”

More than a hundred threads of principle chains appeared — this was the Yuan Emperor’s forbidden secret art. Every chain of order divine energy gleamed translucent and brilliant, harboring absolute lethal intent. Chain after chain of principle, woven together, formed the Killing Formation of Taikoo Order — a supreme emperor’s technique of the Extreme Dao!

To fall into this formation of order was to find escape nearly impossible — almost no path to survival. This was an absolute killing technique from among the final secret arts of an Emperor of Taikoo!

Of course, constrained as Yuangu was by his realm and cultivation, he could not lay down a flawless formation of Taikoo Emperor principle chains. Yet even so, it was already terrifyingly powerful — and to be trapped within a killing formation of order left almost no hope of survival.

Yet Ye Fan was not caught in this catastrophe. He moved like a ghost, the golden miniature figure’s feet treading the “Traveler” Character Secret Art — walking through the “thousand-threaded, ten-thousand-stranded” web of Dao principles, evading every peril.

“You—!”

Yuangu was dumbstruck. He had once tested this against a fully-realized king within his own clan during a battle — imprisoned within the Primordial Desolate Realm, that person had been wholly unable to escape.

The “Traveler” Character Secret Art shone brilliantly — flickering amid the Dao diagram woven from intersecting chains of order. Ye Fan moved through crisis after crisis, pressing ever closer.

“How can this be?!”

Yuangu felt powerless despite having so much to draw upon. How many people in all the world could drive chains of order such as these? Even those who had severed the Dao numbered very few who could deploy them — especially so many at once!

This should have been an absolute kill — yet the other man had evaded it as lightly as drifting air. The obliterating force shredded the void to nothing, yet could not touch him by even a hair.

“Boom!”

The golden miniature figure blazed with golden battle energy from head to toe, Spirit-Striking Whip in hand, the treasure cauldron hovering above its head — crossing through the Dao principles, closing to close range.

The divine soul battle raged, fierce and turbulent. Both men became streaks of lightning, battling without cease. Yuangu gathered all his principle chains back, blanketing them around his body — yet he still could not reverse his deteriorating position, suppressed by the Spirit-Striking Whip in Ye Fan’s hand. He dared not deploy his divine soul weapons out of wariness toward the Soldier Character Secret Art.

One side pressed forward with invincible resolve, while the other side held back in caution — the outcome of this battle was naturally one-sided, the curtain ready to fall at any moment.

“Boom!”

In the end, Yuangu still deployed his divine soul weapons — the great bell and iron halberd reappeared, yet both were wrapped in divine chains, not driven directly.

“Clang…”

The golden miniature figure fought with growing momentum, swinging the Spirit-Striking Whip to shatter the crimson great bell — its fragments tumbling to the ground.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

Halberd and Spirit-Striking Whip clashed — sparks flying — until at last the halberd snapped and was completely destroyed. Yuangu let out a great cry. The chains of order coiling about him were wrenched apart by Ye Fan’s force, dissolving into streams of flowing light that scattered and faded.

“Buzz!”

The divine soul merged with the Dao. At last the golden miniature figure cradled the cauldron once more, transforming into that which returns to the One — becoming a ray of eternal light. Time and space seemed to still.

“Pfft!”

Cradling the cauldron, the golden miniature figure descended — transforming into a Dao-point transcending the world — and shattered half of Yuangu’s divine soul into fine powder that dissolved into a rain of light.

“Ahhhh…”

Yuangu cried out in anguish. The remaining half of his form fled backward at great speed. The chains of order in every direction all burst apart, transformed into a sea of the Dao.

The golden miniature figure could only retreat as well, then swiftly withdrew — plunging back through the space between his brows, settling cross-legged atop the Celestial Platform to guard all within.

“Boom!”

The Primordial Desolate Realm collapsed — no longer capable of restraining Ye Fan’s physical shell. He found himself standing once more upon Qixia Plain, while before him, the real Yuangu was clutching his own head, rolling in agony.

The great battle had gone on until now — no one knew how many thousands of exchanges had been traded. The red sun had sunk toward the west, and the evening glow had appeared, stained like blood.

“What — Yuangu is defeated. Fissures run through the space between his brows — clearly his divine soul has suffered a devastating strike.”

Everyone was stunned. Yuangu had just displayed one of the secret arts recorded in the Yuan Emperor’s final chapter — yet he had still suffered a great defeat, with his foundation damaged. This battle was clearly drawing to a close.

“Xiao Yezi…” Ji Ziyue wept with joy. She had been consumed with anxiety just moments before. Now, tears streaming down her face, she leaped for joy in the distance.

“Good — he is finally going to slay Yuangu. What does the bloodline of an Ancient Emperor amount to? In the end, he has still been defeated!” Li Heishui clenched his fist tightly. He had been hunted nearly to death in those early years — now at last he could let out this pent-up rage.

“He won…” Yao Guang, his hair gleaming crystalline, clad in white robes and detached from the dust of the world, murmured these words to himself. No one knew what he was thinking.

On the demonic clan’s side, the Crimson Dragon Daoist revealed a thread of contented smile. Yan Ruyu was watching in silence as well, her expression shifting, beautiful enough to stop one’s breath in the evening glow.

All the powerful cultivators from the various sacred grounds were moved. This battle had been witnessed by all — Yuangu’s secret arts were extraordinarily fearsome. Had it been anyone other than Ye Fan who broke them, that person could only have met their end in regret. Even a king would die from this!

Even the people of Jade Pool — who had always remained aloof, standing apart from the world — revealed unusual expressions at this moment. The Holy Maiden of Jade Pool’s beautiful eyes shimmered with flowing light as she fixed her gaze on that solitary figure within the battlefield.

Now, Ye Fan stood upon Qixia Plain. Bathed in the evening glow, every pore of his body radiated wave upon wave of divine brilliance, making him appear ever more majestic and imposing — like an emperor descending into the mortal realm!

The ancient clans of Taikoo were thrown into a great upheaval. Had the Human Race’s Holy Body truly reached such a degree of power? Even the bloodline of an Ancient Emperor had been defeated — leaving every last person cold throughout their body.

The people of Primordial Lake were the most stunned of all. Every single one stood frozen in place — even the Ancestral King who had come with them stood stupefied and wordless, sunk in silence.

“In those ancient years, the Yuan Emperor struck down the most powerful enemy of his lifetime on this very ground, and attained the Dao from that victory. Today, you too can forge your own invincible emperor’s path — for you are the Yuan Emperor’s descendant!” one of the people of Primordial Lake suddenly roared, his voice shaking all ten directions.

The ancient clans of Taikoo erupted in great shouts. In every direction, countless voices joined the clamor — the entire Qixia Plain was swallowed beneath that earth-shaking sound.

This was a battle cry that set the body trembling — and the entire Qixia Plain shook with it!

“Ha… Ha ha ha…” Suddenly, Ye Fan threw his head back in great laughter. His entire body — even his hair — radiated crystalline brilliance. Standing in the setting sun, his frame was gilded with a line of gold that made his silhouette taller and more imposing still — a spirit that could swallow mountains and rivers.

Everyone fell silent. Qixia Plain quieted in an instant. Countless gazes fixed upon him — not a sound to be heard.

“I have not yet severed the Dao,” Ye Fan said calmly, those few words reverberating across the entire plain.

“He has not yet severed the Dao!”

Someone — no one knew who — echoed those words, and instantly every single person was shaken to their core. Indeed — Ye Fan had fought Yuangu at the second Celestial tier, and in the end he had prevailed!

The bloodline of the Ancient Emperor — so it amounts to this — was that the unspoken meaning behind his words? Everyone was stunned!

“If the Human Race’s Holy Body were to sever the Dao, slaying Yuangu would be like butchering a dog!” Pang Bo roared from within the crowd — like igniting a living volcano. Qixia Plain erupted all at once.

Watched by ten thousand — in this moment, every gaze was fixed upon that upright and valiant young figure in the center of it all. Every single person was moved, their faces etched with awe, as though gazing upon a divine being.

From every one of Ye Fan’s pores, auspicious light blazed and surged, wrapping him in a halo of sacred radiance. He walked across the open plain, one step at a time, advancing upon Yuangu. With each footfall, the sound resonated in every person’s heart — rhythmic, like the great drums of heaven pounding!