At the ancient sea-demon’s great tomb, the old monk had sat across from Duan De, discussing the strange and uncanny things within the tomb in vivid detail. He said that among all the malevolent spirits he had exorcised over the years, none compared to the one that Śākyamuni had suppressed — it had been earth-shattering.

“He said that one was born from the death of a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body, transforming into a being that could be called a Ghost Sage — an extremely powerful malevolent will, one that none in that era could subdue, ferocious beyond measure.”

In the end, Śākyamuni himself had made his move, using a supreme Buddhist technique to strip away ninety percent of its cultivation, tearing out its Dao roots, and only then was he able to subdue it, permanently sealing it beneath the Great Thunder Sound Temple, cast down into the eighteenth level of hell.

“The malevolent will of a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body?” Pang Bo looked astonished, his expression turning thoughtful, saying: “Could it be a Divine Spirit Will?”

“He said it was a malevolent spirit that had already achieved sagehood, become an ancestor — and now that I think of it, that’s exactly what’s called a Divine Spirit Will!” said Duan De.

As the legend went, a Divine Spirit Will was a form of malevolent will born from the death of a divine being. However, first there had been the Undying Heavenly Sovereign, then the Solar Sacred Emperor, and now the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body — after each of their deaths, this same ghostly phenomenon had emerged, even though none of them were true deities, which left everyone astonished.

“Who in this world has ever actually seen a true god? In my view, it’s simply that the strongest being of a given era gets endlessly deified by the people, passed down through legend as a ‘god.'” said the Black Emperor.

Ye Fan’s heart sank — the malevolent spirit was the Divine Spirit Will of a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body, and this left him deeply unsettled. Did this have some connection to him, some kind of karmic bond, as though it were coming specifically for him?

“That old monk said that everything Śākyamuni suppressed could be called the spirit of an entire domain. Some beings are so difficult to destroy that even in death, a wisp of ‘will’ remains in the world, tied to the great deeds they accomplished in life.” said Duan De.

“What are you talking about?” said the Monkey.

Who in this world could avoid death? This was a problem that even the ancient Great Emperors were still struggling to solve, though they had discovered many methods to extend life, to prolong their lifespans.

To achieve great accomplishments in this world, to be passed down and praised by others, could forge an immortal legend, allowing one’s Dao-fruit to endure, even to live through two lifetimes — this was something the ancient Great Emperors had explored and discovered.

When countless living beings throughout the world revere a single person, worshipping them daily, it seems to forge a kind of collective willpower, which then reinforces that person, further granting them immortality, advancing them toward eternity.

But beings like this were extremely difficult to destroy — the Divine Spirit Will that Śākyamuni had suppressed had, in life, been someone of great accomplishment, and even after death, people still remembered him, silently reciting his glorious deeds, and so a wisp of his consciousness was reborn, becoming a Divine Spirit Will.

“So that’s how a Divine Spirit Will comes into being?” Everyone had gained new insight — one had to admit, a Quasi-Emperor’s knowledge and understanding truly differed from the ordinary, carrying something of the vision and bearing of an ancient Great Emperor.

“Bodhi covering the land, faith converging, establishing a sect for eternity…” Li Tian thought of the prophecy spoken by the two divine children at Heaven’s Village, and exchanged glances with everyone present.

“This kind of thing is all something bestowed by others — the crucial thing still depends on oneself. Otherwise, the ancient Great Emperors would never have failed to treat this as the sole path to eternal life — clearly, they must have discovered flaws hidden within it.” said Ye Fan.

“Let’s get back to talking about the malevolent spirit. Daoist Duan, don’t tell me you’re saying that the black ghost we saw in the bronze coffin is the Divine Spirit Will of a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body?” Pang Bo asked.

Duan De nodded, saying: “I believe it must be him — coming from beneath the Great Thunder Sound Temple on the Ancient Star of Ominous Brilliance — what else could it possibly be?”

Everyone drew in a sharp breath of cold air — the malevolent spirit’s origins were this significant, actually a Divine Spirit Will — this kind of being was the most terrifying of all, having in life nearly been a deity, and even in death remaining undying, possessing power that transcended the laws of this world.

“This is no ordinary Great Accomplishment Sacred Body — it must be one of the Nine Invincibles of that era!” said the Black Emperor.

In years past, the reason the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body had shaken the entire ancient star, carrying with it a faint sense of being the foremost physique under heaven, was mainly because during the primordial ancient era, nine such beings of extraordinary power had appeared, each one invincible across heaven and earth, sweeping through all realms, suppressing everything.

As one passed into stillness, before long, another would emerge, carrying this glorious legacy forward without interruption — it was impossible for people not to be shaken by it, impossible for the world to ever forget them.

One could say that during that era, their battle achievements and glorious light illuminated the entire heavens and earth — every living being on this ancient star bowed before them without exception. Only beings of this caliber could ever give rise to a Divine Spirit Will.

“That’s it, that must be it — the Undying Heavenly Sovereign was revered by all clans, and so a wisp of his consciousness did not perish after death. The Solar Sacred Emperor held the same status in the Ancient Purple Micro Star Region, likewise worshipped by all living beings there, and so a Divine Spirit Will was born from him as well.”

“Exactly right — of the nine Invincible Great Accomplishment Sacred Bodies, several left this ancient star, going beyond the domain, with some never returning for the rest of their lives — that malevolent will must certainly belong to one of them who passed into stillness out there.”

They worked through various deductions, generating many theories, feeling as though they were drawing close to the truth of the matter.

“That day, this poor Daoist discussed this at great length with that old monk, touching on the various kinds of ghosts with cultivation — we arrived at a shared conclusion: they fear their former selves, that is, the glorious being they once were, while also deeply yearning for it, wishing to possess it once more.” said Duan De.

Everyone exchanged glances, and Ye Fan felt a chill run down his spine — the malevolent spirit in the bronze coffin was primarily targeting him because they shared the same physique, both fearing it, wanting to destroy it, and yet also harboring a longing, wanting to obtain it — this was a contradictory psychological state.

Duan De said: “Actually, there’s no need to worry too much. That old monk told me that the malevolent will transformed from the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body had ninety percent of its cultivation stripped away by Śākyamuni, and even had its Dao roots torn out — after being suppressed for nearly two thousand years, it should already be severely weakened.”

Moreover, sacred blood is naturally effective against this kind of malevolent will born after death — it cannot get close to it, especially now, having lost its Dao roots, even if it has recovered some of its cultivation, its power remains limited.

“If things are as we’ve surmised, the malevolent spirit transformed from the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body poses little threat — it can do nothing to Ye Fan.”

“It took away three people — Liu Yunzhi, Li Changqing, and Wang Yan — and those three are all pawns, suspected of having once entered the Immortal Palace.” Pang Bo said gravely — these people understood Ye Fan incredibly well, having learned some terrifying techniques, and lurking in the shadows, they were certainly a major threat.

“Damn it, why can’t I ever get into that Immortal Palace? This poor Daoist has come around here plenty of times, but I’ve never had the chance to go explore it archaeologically.”

Grave robbing? No, Duan De never did such things — in his own words, this was archaeology, exploring ancient secrets, uncovering the mysteries of a bygone era. He took this responsibility without hesitation, devoting himself fully, willing to dedicate his entire life to it.

Finally, they left this stretch of mountains, disappearing into the vast wilderness. Now that they knew who the enemy was, they at least felt they had some ground to stand on, able to make targeted preparations.

Half a month later, the Heavenly Demon Treasure Pavilion, the Ji Family’s Divine Tower, the Jiang Family’s Precious Pavilion, Yao Guang’s Immortal Study, and countless other auction houses and commercial societies across the world all suddenly began buying up Five-Colored Precious Stones together.

This news caused an uproar across the five regions, sparking no small controversy — no one knew what was happening, why all the major financial powers had suddenly moved together in this way.

Finally, well-informed individuals uncovered the ultimate secret — someone wanted to build a Five-Colored Altar, to head beyond the domain, into the boundless and brilliant starry expanse.

“Who is it — has someone truly gone mad, or is it that the great sacred grounds themselves want to do this, with a great era approaching, all of them wanting to develop beyond the domain?!”

People were shocked; the world buzzed with noise, sparking a great uproar.

The Five-Colored Precious Stone was not jade, but a crystal formed by an ancient spiritual wood — the tree species had long since gone extinct on this ancient star, and only occasionally could such crystals be dug up from the ground, extremely rare.

With all the major trading houses moving at once, frantically searching, naturally the price of this precious stone skyrocketed, and all the resource gatherers abandoned their original trades to join the stone-mining industry.

Everyone sensed that a storm was coming — collecting the Five-Colored Stone on such a massive scale suggested that someone would very likely succeed in reaching beyond the domain in the future.

During this period, across every black market and every auction house, people were also searching for any ancient transmission formations, anything related to crossing the star region — even a single corner of a formation pattern would fetch a heaven-tier price.

Furthermore, some formation masters, some ancient lineages, had people bring forth extraordinary treasures, inviting them to some mysterious location to jointly research the Five-Colored Altar, to open the path toward the domain beyond — requiring many masters to work together.

Then, even various ancient clan sects were affected — some offered exorbitant prices, tempting treasures that were hard to resist, to buy up whatever kind of divine stone they could find.

Many people knew that it wasn’t only the Five-Colored Altar that could cross the star region — the Ancient Emperor’s Sacred Platform could as well; that was exactly how Ye Fan had returned from the Ancient Purple Micro Star Region back then.

Clearly, whoever was behind this in the shadows was going all out, wanting to pursue both paths simultaneously, desperate to reach beyond the domain, beginning to hoard both kinds of treasures on a massive scale, waiting for the opportunity.

Even some ancient clan formation masters, experts in formation patterns, were drawn out, tempted with rare treasures to gather together and conduct research — one could see just how desperate whoever was behind this truly was.

“Who exactly is doing all this?” Everyone wanted to know. People began to vaguely sense that this was very likely the work of one and the same great power.

Finally, the Mortal Realm and Hell made their move, raiding two financial powers, plundering all the various precious stones they had purchased, and discovered that indeed, they had all been buying on behalf of the same power, offering enormous sums as payment.

That same day, someone issued a bounty in retaliation, offering a heaven-tier reward to anyone who could kill a disciple from either of the two assassin Divine Dynasties, only intensifying this storm further.

This left people even more astonished — just who was squandering resources like this, which great power was being so extravagant, could there really be immortal treasures beyond the domain?

Over the following half month, the Assassin Divine Dynasty continued losing members one after another, with everyone sent out on missions failing without exception, as if someone bore them a deep grudge and was specifically targeting them.

“It’s the Human Clan Sacred Body gathering the Five-Colored Precious Stones!”

Finally, one day, the Mortal Realm dropped this explosive piece of news — they had raided yet another financial power, and by following the trail, had finally uncovered a clue.

Once the news broke, the world was in an uproar — what was Ye Fan trying to do? Spending resources so recklessly, searching everywhere for Five-Colored Precious Stones — did he really intend to build an altar and leave this world?

Many people knew he had once gone beyond the domain and successfully returned, and were filled with curiosity about him, wanting to understand the truth.

“Why do I get the feeling he’s fleeing from something, desperately hoping to leave — what exactly is going on here?”

That very same day, Ye Fan and those around him issued a public denial, claiming they were not the ones buying up the Five-Colored Precious Stones, that they had no idea who was responsible either, and urged people not to make baseless assumptions.

Just two days later, an ancient clan formation grandmaster leaked a crucial piece of information — someone had persuaded him to come out of seclusion using a small piece of Great Netherworld Silver Essence, leading him to a mysterious location to repair a corner of a certain formation array.

“And you still say it’s not the Human Clan Sacred Body Ye Fan? Only he could possibly produce such a priceless divine material.”

According to that grandmaster, he had been taken to a very mysterious location, where a Five-Colored Altar stood nearly complete — each grandmaster was only responsible for a single small section, and the task was considered complete as long as they could repair it.

All parties were shaken, the whole world astonished — did the Human Clan Sacred Body really have this kind of grand ambition? Had he truly restored a Five-Colored Altar, truly about to open the path beyond the domain?

“I’ll say it one more time — this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me, not a single copper coin’s worth of connection!” Ye Fan once again stepped forward to deny it, and thereafter no longer showed himself.

“Just which madman is behind all this, and to what end?” People were utterly bewildered, sensing that a storm was truly gathering on the horizon — something major was about to happen!