The Accomplished Holy Physique dissolved into a rain of light, drop by drop, sinking into the earthen mounds, vanishing into the wild and desolate hills. Unknown to the world, he thus transcended.
In that same moment, Ye Fan’s primordial spirit trembled. The ray of light the Accomplished Holy Physique had pressed between his brows dimmed — and finally vanished.
“He has left this world.”
Ye Fan stood upon a shattered black peak, silent. He had foreseen the end of the Accomplished Holy Physique — to gaze upon the magnificent mountains and rivers in their grandeur, and finally to depart from the mortal dust.
To look back after tens of thousands of years, standing before the graves of comrades, old friends, and beloved companions — what a particular kind of sorrow that must have been. To watch them grow old one by one, to see them depart from the world, and in the end to have buried their bones with his own hands.
Ye Fan thought of many things. Would this also be his own life? Half a lifetime of brilliance, half a lifetime of cold loneliness — would he have to watch Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, and all the others grow old one by one, and in the end somberly inter their remains?
Such an ending was too sorrowful. He did not want that outcome. If that day truly came — how would he face it?
In this moment, he truly felt the grief that had filled the Accomplished Holy Physique — watching those around him approach the end of their lives one after another, bidding farewell in death to those he had once fought beside, watching them return to the earth with his own eyes. What kind of bleakness and heartbreak must that be?
Ye Fan thought of those scenes and could not suppress a cold shudder. Then he slowly came back to himself. The one consolation was that that day was still very far away.
“What are you thinking about?” Yan Yixi asked.
Ye Fan quickly composed himself. The Accomplished Holy Physique was a mirror — reflecting his own past lives, and indirectly illuminating the shape of his own life ahead.
“What a pity that he is gone just like that. He was an existence that could rival the Emperors of Antiquity. Missing him is like missing an immortal burial mound — for those with the ambition to research the past of the great emperors, this is an immeasurable loss.” Duan De clicked his tongue.
Before long, the Monkey and Pang Bo returned. They had pursued for thirty thousand li — finding only traces left behind by Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman. They had not managed to engage them in battle.
“What happened here? Just now the aura of an Emperor of Antiquity was permeating the air — it was truly terrifying. Even from far away, we could not move a single muscle.” Pang Bo said.
Ye Fan recounted what had just occurred, and even Qi Luo was left wide-eyed and speechless, repeatedly exclaiming that it was terrifying, a pity, and lamentable all at once.
The great battle here had completely ended. No one could say how many enemies had been slain — the twelve Wushi Slaughter Arrays had reaped a number of lives beyond counting. This shattered peak was strewn everywhere with severed limbs, skulls, shattered bones, and blood-soaked mud — like a scene straight out of the Asura realm.
“It is over…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Bloody mist drifted and curled above the black shattered peaks, reeking of blood — enough to make anyone want to retch. Fragments of bone and pulverized flesh were heaped together, a sight that struck horror into the heart.
Within the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range, a good many people had never entered the central region — they had only come to observe. Now that the slaughter arrays had collapsed, they gathered their courage and drew closer — and every single one of them felt a chill from head to toe.
The black shattered peaks had been drenched red by the blood. That brutal scene made everyone’s heart pound and their fine hairs stand on end.
Some of the more timid onlookers let out strange cries and retreated quickly. The sight here was too terrible — this was no mortal world; this was plainly a true and living purgatory.
Many people stood frozen at the foot of the mountain, watching rivulets of blood flow down the black rock faces — streaming from the clouds all the way down to the roots of the mountains. How many people must have died to create such a terrible scene?
Not a single person was left unshaken. Cold crept through every orifice, seeping into the very joints and bones. Even their hair stood on end. Even those who had not ascended knew that what lay above must have been transformed into a blood-soaked killing ground.
Many people were grateful they had not gone up — otherwise, they too might now be flowing down those stone mountains as blood, becoming one more among the countless dead.
This battle shook the world. This day stunned the Five Regions. This moment left every ancient clan consumed with dread.
Ye Fan had set his trap and slaughtered until corpses covered the land, drenching the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range in red. And in the final moment, a Human Emperor had appeared — entering the Undying Mountain, stepping into the Primordial Ancient Mine, and overawing every great royal clan. It was like something out of a myth.
A violent storm had swept across the entire land. Everyone was shaken, and not a single person could remain calm.
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others crossed the void and returned to Heaven Village at the earliest opportunity, unwilling to encounter any mishap amid such turbulent events. From the tranquility of a safe harbor, they watched the outside world.
A shadow of gloom rose in the hearts of every primordial tribe. The Human Emperor pressed upon their minds like a great mountain, and even the ancestral kings of the ancient paths were afraid now.
Who would dare go to the Primordial Ancient Mine to seek answers and ask what had happened? Not a single soul. Every branch of every ancient clan dared not set foot there — not even those who were princes of the ancient clans.
With the sole exception of Huo Qizi, no ordinary person even dared approach the Primordial Forbidden Zone. Not a single person was willing to risk their life for an audience with the legendary being within.
The human race erupted in celebration. They finally let out a long breath. The Emperor’s aura and divine might on this day had instilled a belief in every single person: the human race was the master of this great land, and they feared no intimidation from ten thousand clans.
Many people predicted that a truly peaceful era had arrived — no longer empty words, no longer something to worry about. They believed that for a long time to come, the world could truly be said to be “without a Sage.”
“Is it the Wushi Emperor? It doesn’t quite seem like him — his manner of doing things is different.”
“Who can say for certain? Regardless, the fact that the human race has an Emperor still alive is an indisputable truth.”
The ancient tribes were bitter. A single person had overawed so many of their ancient kings into silence and inaction — what kind of power was that?
The ancestral king who had passed through the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range earlier wanted to say something, but found that he had truly not heard clearly at the time — the Accomplished Holy Physique had completely overawed him, and in that moment of trembling fear, he had retained not even a single impression.
“He erased the imprint from my heart?!” When the realization hit him, that ancestral king was so frightened that he immediately entered closed-door seclusion and dared not emerge into the world.
In the half-month that followed, the Emperor of Antiquity was the only thing on anyone’s lips. People compared him to figures from history, speculated about his identity, and some believed that a person of the current age had achieved the Dao and become an Emperor.
The waves did not subside. People kept on talking. The Human Emperor was not something every person could behold — to share an age with one was a supreme honor, and there was no longer any need to fear bullying from foreign clans.
During this period, every ancient clan became very low-profile. The arrogance of former days was entirely gone — as if they had suddenly lost the backbone that had sustained them.
Across the land, the ancient clans still moved about. Yet even those with the most prestigious of identities no longer walked with their noses in the air. For the first time, they truly dealt with the human race as equals.
“The Ancestor of Crocodiles is what is called an outer-realm divine spirit. The true body of that ancient demon is on the Ancient Star of Mars, while a divine embryo exists in this world. In the future, it will likely be a source of trouble.”
In Heaven Village, Pang Bo, Li Tian, and the others were talking.
“A divine embryo — are you talking about this?” The Black Emperor extended one of its great claws. Pinched between its toes was a golden little crocodile barely a foot long. It grinned like a sly old wolf and said, “Forgotten already? It’s right here. Almost eaten by this Emperor. No divine embryo is possible anymore.”
“That’s not it — this is only a descendant of the Ancestor of Crocodiles.” Ye Fan shook his head and spoke seriously. The Ancestor of Crocodiles had only sent a primordial spirit to this world, bringing some of its descendants with it. The divine embryo formed from it on this ancient star should not be a physical body.
“That’s right — the primordial spirit undergoes transformation, giving birth to a divine embryo, and thus a second true body can be reforged. The demon clan has this heaven-defying technique.” Duan De said.
“There’s such a saying? Even this old one has never heard of it.” Qi Luo interjected from the side.
Duan De’s expression was grave. He nodded to confirm it. He had seen such a mural in an ancient tomb — a primordial spirit shedding its old form and giving birth to a divine embryo, replaying a second life. If the original body perished, this second life could take its place.
“An absolutely heaven-defying technique.” Pang Bo exclaimed in astonishment.
The Black Emperor nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice: “That is correct. The demon clan does indeed possess this heaven-defying technique, though it was lost long ago. Virtually no one in the current age can perform it.”
The divine embryo born through this technique was not merely a spiritual avatar. If it truly succeeded, it would become a second self. Naturally, great power brings great complications — who would hold dominance was a tremendous problem. It could lead to self-destruction, the first true body and the second warring with one another, since no one wished to be another’s shadow.
“The second true body of the Ancestor of Crocodiles — that is to say, its so-called divine embryo — is connected to Li Xiaoman. As long as we find her, we can smoothly eliminate it.” Ye Fan said.
Two new people had come to Heaven Village: Wu Zhongtian and Jiang Huairen had been rescued from the Nine Nether Mountains, achieving a true reunion with old friends.
That had been a place locked by an ancient divine formation from antiquity. Long ago, they had been hunted with nowhere to flee, neither to the heavens above nor the earth below, and had accidentally stumbled into it — which had paradoxically saved their lives. Now they had finally broken free.
When old friends meet, there is never enough to say. Wine flowed freely as they recounted the old days.
A month later, the waves stirred by the Human Emperor finally calmed somewhat and were no longer as clamorous as before. Many people began to reflect, rather than continuing to search relentlessly for answers.
Once the Emperor’s wave passed, the killing formation at the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range immediately became the focus of discussion. No one could count how many had died in that battle. The two great assassin divine dynasties were beside themselves with regret.
“The trap was laid all the way from the Five-Colored Altar. Everything was arranged by the Human Race’s Holy Physique — luring great enemies into his snare.”
Just how many had died at the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range, no one could calculate. Blood had drenched several of those black mountains red, flowing all the way to the foot of the peaks — a sight beyond chilling.
“It was all a ruse. He never had any intention of leaving this world. It was all to eliminate his great enemies.”
That battle had left people’s hearts unsettled and their inner organs trembling. The slaughter had been over for a long time, yet it still made many people’s spines run cold. It had been too bloody.
“He killed until people’s hearts were struck with fear and their gall cracked. After this battle, in the era when there are no Sages, few would dare provoke the Holy Physique of the human race.” This was the sentiment in many hearts — every one of them quaking.
Ye Fan had leveled the ancient noble houses, stood against the ancient assassin divine dynasties, slain Yuangu, killed the Hell Goddess, shot dead the Divine Son of the mortal world, and staged a world-shaking killing formation that drenched the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range in blood. With such power, who else would dare to court disaster?
“Crown Prince, a true man keeps his word. This poor Daoist, Yuanshi, and his junior brother Tongtian, await you in the Divine City to receive the Heart of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree that you owe us from our wager.”
On this day, two Daoren made their declaration in the Divine City, urging the Crown Prince to honor his promise and present the stake from their original bet.
Clang!
In the outer-realm battlefield, a sealed ancient vessel rang out with a metallic vibration, and from within came a stirring wave of life. Had Ye Fan, Li Tian, and Yan Yixi been present, they would surely have been startled — it was precisely the mysterious ancient vessel they had seen beyond the heavens when they had crossed from the Purple Subtlety Star.
“Is there an Emperor still alive in the Ancient Star Region of the Northern Dipper? The terrifying fluctuation from a month ago has completely vanished — it has not appeared again. Hmm. Yuanshi Daoren and Tongtian Daoren — what interesting names.” A murmuring voice drifted from within the mysterious ancient vessel.