Within the valley, points of auspicious radiance flickered. Cloud-mist swirled. Colored light overflowed in every direction. Sacred birds danced at the fringes. No matter how you looked at it, it resembled a serene and magnificent painting — so how could there possibly be killing intent hidden within it?

The Lightning Phoenix Bird’s feather, stained with blood, was passed from person to person. Each one held it up to their nose, breathed deeply — and every face in turn took on an expression of grave solemnity.

“No need to pass it further — this emperor detected it long ago. The orchid-scent on the tail feather comes from within the valley. I could even identify with precision which exact flower it came from.” The Black Emperor spoke up. This was its domain — a dog’s nose was the most discerning.

“Whoosh—!”

A snow-white spirit fox darted out. Not a single impure hair grew on its coat. It was immaculate, free of all dust. Large eyes gleaming like rubies blinked at the group for a brief moment — then with a flash, it was gone, bounding into the depths of the valley. A creature of remarkable spiritual intelligence.

“Is there truly killing intent here? And yet there are so many spirit creatures within the valley — why are they completely unharmed?” Li Tian wondered aloud, heart full of doubt.

A snow-white elderly tortoise, as large as a cooking pot lid, poked its head out inquisitively, moving at a slow and measured crawl. It too had appeared within the valley, and most peculiar of all was the tiny white tortoise the size of a fist riding atop its shell.

Li Heishui picked up a stone and hurled it forward. With a “whoosh,” the great white-shelled tortoise’s four legs kicked into a frantic scramble and it vanished in the blink of an eye. The creatures here all possessed remarkable spiritual intelligence — one could say this was a wondrous land, and not a trace of danger could be sensed.

“Let us be cautious. Ever since we entered this great wasteland, I have felt something off — as though a ghost has been drifting through the deep mountains, following us.” Ye Fan said in a low voice, activating his Heaven’s Origin Eye to look out across the surrounding landscape. Yet he discovered nothing.

“Then let’s call Lin Jia out,” Pang Bo said.

“No need to call out. If my premonition proves correct, whether Lin Jia is even still alive is an open question.” Ye Fan said in a heavy voice. Then he directed the Black Emperor to lay down a corner of a killing array, ready at any moment to respond to an attack.

“Since we have already come this far — whether it is a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s lair, we have to get to the bottom of it either way.” The Monkey said.

Ye Fan nodded. They had already walked all this way — turning back empty-handed was out of the question. He and the Monkey split up and moved into action, circling around the Feather Transformation Immortal Valley from a wide distance, trying to get a thorough read of the terrain. But what they found left them stunned: this valley was a small self-contained world, forming its own realm of heaven and earth, with the valley entrance being the sole point of entry.

“True bodies cannot enter — divine consciousness cannot enter either. If either were destroyed, the consequences would be disastrous. Let us send a strand of avatar in to investigate,” Li Tian said.

“A damaged avatar still causes considerable harm to the original body. Do not attempt it lightly.” Ji Ziyue stepped in, stopping Ye Fan.

“It matters not — I have a technique that can enter the valley without suffering any injury,” the Monkey said. He plucked four golden, gleaming hairs from his own body. From between his brows, four threads of subtle radiance shot forth and sank into the hairs. The hairs swelled in the wind, and four battling sage apes appeared — identical to the Monkey in every detail — complete with fiery golden eyes and thunderous square jaws, each baring its teeth at the group.

“Does such a remarkable technique truly exist?” Pang Bo was greatly agitated. He rubbed his hands together eagerly, edging closer to the Monkey, making it abundantly clear he desperately wanted to learn it for himself.

“This is the Art of Many-From-One.” The Monkey explained. Ye Fan and Pang Bo listened with complete attention — they had long coveted this technique, never imagining the day to learn it had finally come.

“Damn it — not nearly enough hair.” Pang Bo was pained by the realization. Having learned it, he tore out a fistful of body hair, wincing and hissing through bared teeth at the sting.

Ye Fan pulled out four strands of hair. The tiny golden figure within his Immortal Platform took one step out from between his brows, blew a breath of golden radiance — and in an instant, it transformed into four other versions of himself.

“When first learning this technique, producing a few copies of oneself is not difficult. But wanting to transform into a thousand, ten thousand — that is extraordinarily difficult. And as for combat power — do not expect much from these copies,” the Monkey said.

The shed hairs would not damage the original body upon being destroyed, and naturally their combat capability would not be strong. Yet the Monkey had said that in its true form, this was a terrifying forbidden technique. When the Battle-Saint Emperor unleashed it, one became ten thousand — and every single one possessed combat power without equal. In a single instant, one could slay every living being in all under heaven and obliterate an entire ancient star.

Ye Fan’s four avatar strands entered the valley from different directions. His true body comprehended everything happening ahead with complete clarity. In this moment, his true self seemed to have arrived inside the valley and divided into four parts — a strangely peculiar sensation.

His primary attention followed the avatar that had entered down the valley’s central path, pressing deeper into its heart. Ancient trees swayed gently. Spiritual energy permeated the air. Ancient medicines covered the ground. Following a path of verdant stone, it was as though walking into an immortal countryside beyond the world.

After advancing several li, a thatched cottage appeared ahead — harmonious and tranquil, with a gurgling spirit spring flowing nearby. Clear water passed beneath a small stone-arched bridge, the scene rich with a poetic, pictorial quality.

The avatar quickened its pace, walking toward the thatched cottage — but in that very moment, a sharp pain struck between the brows. Before the eyes, all went dark. Consciousness was lost. What had happened remained unknown.

Outside the valley, Ye Fan’s true body gave a start. He opened his eyes and said: “Terrifying. That avatar of mine, though possessing little combat power, was highly spiritually acute. Yet it sensed nothing at all — and was destroyed in the midst of a completely serene setting, without ever knowing what struck it.”

Everyone gave a start. Had it been Ye Fan’s true body that had entered, by now it would almost certainly have been far worse than dead. The fact that they could not even tell what killed it spoke to just how terrifying this place was.

The Great Black Dog, in the very first instant, laid down a corner of the Beginningless Killing Array, protecting everyone within it, and vigilantly kept watch on the stirrings all around them.

Ye Fan closed his eyes. Thread by thread, signs of heavenly mystery passed to him from the second avatar, perceived and understood as one with it. He walked alongside it as it arrived before a grove of jade bamboo.

Every single stalk of bamboo appeared to have been sculpted from mutton-fat jade — warm, lustrous, and white. Every joint was clear as crystal, the leaves flickering with white radiance. The grove was not very large, yet the spiritual energy here was even more concentrated.

These were clearly a rare and extraordinary species of spirit bamboo — similar in nature to the Qilin Orchid Trees. They were of immense benefit to those who cultivated the Dao, suffused with a milky-white essence that made the entire body feel as though bathed in comfort and ease.

Within the bamboo grove stood a stone platform, with several stone stools arranged around it. At the sight before it, the expression of Ye Fan’s avatar froze completely in that instant. Because atop the stone platform sat a mobile phone. If he remembered correctly, this should be Lin Jia’s. Bamboo leaves had fallen over it, all now withered and dry — clearly, no one had touched it in a very long time.

“Pop.” He felt as though the top of his head had been lifted off. A thread of blood trickled down, flowing into both his eyes. All color and light faded from his sight. Infinite darkness swallowed him whole.

“Is this what death feels like?” Outside the valley, Ye Fan’s true body opened its eyes. The second avatar had died for no discernible reason — without ever seeing who the enemy was. This was truly terrifying to the extreme.

Every person was left chilled from head to toe. What kind of existence was this? Ye Fan’s spiritual senses were extraordinarily sharp — yet the avatar had been killed on the spot, unable to perceive what it was at all.

Then Ye Fan’s body gave another jolt. “The third avatar has also died,” he said.

Finally, he gave a violent shudder, twin beams of blazing light shooting from his eyes — beams several dozen zhang long. The final avatar had died. But just before the end, it had glimpsed a dark, shadowy figure reaching out and covering its face, then crushing its entire skull in a single grip.

“Four deaths paid as the price to see nothing but a blurred dark shadow — this place is not any ‘Feather Transformation Immortal Valley.’ It is plainly a Devil Valley that takes lives.” Li Tian said. The valley harbored an immense and terrible threat. Had Ye Fan and the others recklessly entered at the outset, they would almost certainly have been instantly destroyed — their survival would have been near impossible.

“No wonder that Lightning Phoenix Bird, for all that it was a King among birds, could not escape death,” Ji Ziyue said softly, fingers tracing the outline of the golden egg, feeling the thread after thread of Dao-rune vibrations emanating from it.

“Are you certain that the writing you saw was in Lin Jia’s handwriting?” Pang Bo asked. Because this bore no resemblance to an old friend setting a meeting — it was plainly a trap of absolute annihilation.

And the trap had been laid with masterful naturalness. A message left years ago. A few scattered clues. Letting the target come of their own accord. Once they stepped inside the valley, death was certain.

Ye Fan murmured: “For all these years, there has been a ghost in the shadows, watching my every move without fail. A trap laid years ago — meant to lead me here to my own death. Not deliberately constructed. Casually scrawled words. Who knows how many more killing traps lie waiting in the future, ready for me to step into on my own.”

“What is there to fear? No matter how powerful it is, can it surpass a Saint? This emperor opens the way with a corner of the Beginningless Killing Array, and the Void Emperor’s corner transport array is ready at any moment as our escape route. I don’t believe it can do anything to us,” the Black Emperor said with proud resolve, deciding they would charge into the Feather Transformation Immortal Valley and see for themselves exactly what manner of being was within.

They waited at the valley’s entrance for a very long time. Nothing terrifying emerged. They exchanged glances with one another — and at last made their preparations to enter the valley.

The Divine Woman’s Furnace was cradled in Yan Yixi’s hands, ready to be unleashed at any moment to suppress and destroy powerful enemies. And above Ye Fan’s head, eighty-one tiny jet-black banners, each barely an inch in height, floated up and down in a mysterious, unsettling drift.

The Great Black Dog was drenched in sweat, having exhausted its full mental strength. After drinking a considerable amount of divine spring water, it engraved an intricate and immeasurably complex array pattern upon a piece of jade disk, and said: “This is a killing array left by an ancient Great Emperor. I estimate it can only remain intact on this jade disk for half a day — we need to move quickly.”

They advanced several li through the valley without incident — right up to its deepest reaches, where the thatched cottage once again presented itself, tranquil and beautiful as before. The gurgling spirit spring. The pristine white stone-arched bridge. No matter how you looked at it, it was the image of an immortal realm beyond the world.

Boom!

Suddenly, the jade disk on the Black Emperor’s back swallowed and released the essence of heaven and earth, blooming with tens of thousands of threads of divine radiance. Killing intent surged up to pierce the sky above as the array swept outward in all directions.

“Pop!”

Directly above their heads, a burst of bloody radiance exploded. Some unknown creature had perished — dissolving into a shower of blood, raining down a ground full of crimson feathers.

“What a tremendously powerful existence — none of us sensed it at all. Just now, it had nearly drawn close enough to reach us — nearly tore the tops of our skulls off!”

“A King — and a fully accomplished King at that!”

All their faces changed color. What was this place? How could such a terrifying creature exist here?

“No — it has no life energy. If it did, it would have been impossible to sense nothing from it. Yet if that is so, why is there a rain of blood falling?” They stood back to back, alert in every direction. Had it not been for that corner of the Beginningless Killing Array, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Crossing the stone-arched bridge, Pang Bo flung the thatched cottage’s door open with a single strike. In an instant, an icy wind howled and raged. Black mist surged skyward. The serenity of the valley was shattered completely. Shrieking ghost-wails pierced the ears. Countless divine runes and radiant Dao-light swept through the air, leveling the entire area.

Boom!

The jade disk engraved by the Black Emperor wove into a “ten thousand threads, thousand strands” formation, transforming into chains of law and principle, manifesting as a vast “sea of Dao” — killing in every direction. Blood flew everywhere. Bone fragments stained with blood scattered across the ground. Figures were everywhere. Terrifying presences were everywhere.

“How is this possible?! What have we walked into?! What are these things — how can every single one of them be so overwhelmingly powerful?!” Li Tian shouted.

Without the Beginningless Killing Array, they would all have been finished. Even with the Monkey having severed his Dao, it would not have been enough. Icy winds howled. Sand and stone flew. No fewer than a hundred ghostly figures were moving through the rain of blood and wind.

“Pop!”

The corner of the Beginningless Great Emperor’s killing array turned, transforming this place into a field of carnage. A massive demonic figure was cut down within the dark icy wind — a blood-dripping arm dropped onto the ground at their feet.

“What on earth is happening here?! Who are these people?! How could a gathering of beings this powerful exist in one place — this defies all reason!” Pang Bo shouted.

Boom!

The sky above was pitch black. A structure of enormous, overwhelming presence pressed down, blanketing the entire sky. It appeared with sudden abruptness — and densely packed figures poured down from it, surrounding them for a kill.

“Dong—!”

The Beginningless Killing Array was without equal in all the world. Even incomplete — barely a tenth of its full power — it remained without comparison, supreme in all heaven and earth, the ultimate force of slaughter.

The jade disk unleashed a beam of divine radiance that pierced the sky, slicing a corner from that vast structure above. The severed piece crashed downward, landing beside them, sending an endless cloud of smoke and dust billowing outward.

“What—?!” The Black Emperor cried out, eyes wide, staring at the grand, magnificent structure now fallen to the ground beside them. Its voice broke: “Why does this look exactly like the Southern Heavenly Gate I once saw inside the Divine Ruins?!”

Upon its surface were several ancient characters — carved in the ancient divine script of the primordial age. The Monkey had mastered it all in recent years, unlike in the past. Syllable by syllable, he read aloud:

“South — Heavenly — Gate!”

“What is this place we have stumbled into?! What connection does the Feather Transformation Immortal Valley have with the ancient Celestial Court of legend?! Heavens — what manner of enemies have we just engaged in battle with?! Can it be that we are fighting against the celestial soldiers and heavenly generals?!”