# Chapter 1396: The Divine Clan
God—a word that inspires awe just by hearing it. It has existed since ancient times, with endless legends about them, describing them as supremely powerful!
They are revered and respected by mortals, feared and dreaded by cultivators, representing strength and omnipotence. The tales of gods are infinite, found everywhere, glorious throughout eternity.
However, there has also been much controversy about them in the world. In some ancient star domains, their existence is not recognized, considered beyond reason and inconsistent with reality.
Whether gods truly exist is something mortals cannot reach, and it has always been a topic of discussion among cultivators, leading to various conflicting debates.
For a long period in certain ancient lands, gods were a taboo topic. Those who offended them died, while those who revered them prospered, making them all the more unfathomable.
Now, Dragon Horse, Black Bear Saint, Scorpion, Golden Lion, and others had carried back a stone coffin, claiming to have captured an ancient god. How could Ye Fan not be shocked? It all felt unreal.
"He calls himself a god, and we jointly forced open his sea of consciousness, capturing a strand of divine thought that proves he speaks the truth," Dragon Horse stated firmly, looking utterly convincing.
To gain opportunities, they had labored hard on this declining ancient star. The twelve saints combined their divine seas of consciousness, sweeping across many famous mountains and great rivers to investigate.
Along the way, they saw many ruins and finally discovered an ancient cave dwelling. They forcibly broke through the stone gate guarding it, entered, and found this coffin.
It was a stone coffin carved from rare evergreen stone, looking ancient yet spiritual—a precious coffin for burying corpses, rare throughout history.
The god had white hair, skin shriveled against his bones, all his essence blood drained away. He clearly had one foot in the grave, not long for this world.
White strands of hair were falling out. He was gaunt, with wrinkled, dry old skin. His eyes were murky, dim and lifeless. His lips moved as if wanting to say something but unable to form words.
The only thing making him appear supremely sacred was that even in his decrepit state, his body emitted divine radiance, like a divine moon enveloping him. The halo behind his head was like a sea of stars.
Ye Fan's entire body glowed. The Presence Secret activated, strands of golden blood energy seeping from his flesh, enveloping him. He appeared even more brilliant than this god, his body crystalline and incomparably powerful.
When they made contact, the god's body trembled violently. Strands of rosy light entered his body, nourishing his essence, bringing a trace of luster to his dim eyes and a spirit to his entire being.
It must be said, the Presence Secret was unparalleled—a divine technique for healing wounds, even effective at extending life force, making it the ultimate in this domain.
The god's life essence was withered. After receiving treatment from the Presence Secret, there was a slight sign of improvement, allowing him to hold on a bit longer without suddenly passing away.
"Are you really a god?" Ye Fan asked. He had already stopped. This person's origin was completely dried up. Unless he took an immortality pill to extend his life, there was no hope of survival.
"I... am a god," he said with difficulty. His essence, energy, and spirit still couldn't truly condense (ningju), one foot already stepping into the shadow of death.
Ask the world—who can avoid death? It's nearly impossible to find an example. Throughout history, all heavenly prodigies have turned to dust. If gods existed, they should dwell eternally in the world, immortal.
But no one can truly prove that gods still live. They are believed to have died in the passage of time, not true immortals.
"If you are a god, can you still die?" Ye Fan said calmly. He didn't believe in the existence of true gods. From ancient times to the present, there have been no shortage of legends about gods, but not a single piece of evidence.
"I was... devoured by someone... my origin was taken. Otherwise, I wouldn't be like this." He was very weak, gasping heavily as he spoke these words.
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Dragon Horse, and Black Bear Saint all trembled. Someone had killed a god here and taken his origin? This was truly extraordinary news!
"Gods aren't necessarily above everything. In ancient times, there are no shortage of records about great emperors suppressing them," Golden Lion spoke up, because it was indeed true.
Ye Fan nodded, thinking of several supreme beings.
Countless ages ago, Emperor Venerable swept through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, swallowing the universe, subduing gods, once ruling over all heavens and myriad domains. All gods in the world revered him and came to pay homage.
That was an extremely glorious era. Emperor Venerable established heavenly laws and decrees that all gods had to obey, none daring to defy. It was a true mythological age.
Later, Immortal Emperor rose, also possessing supreme might. He once ruled over the world, with all gods coming to pay audience, all races bowing together. That kind of majesty was unparalleled, rare throughout history.
But those were all legends, long passed. Moreover, there was much controversy in the world, with many believing they weren't gods in the true sense.
"Who was it? Was it really a human?" Dragon Horse asked urgently.
If a god had his origin devoured by a human, this would be a world-shaking secret. Thinking about it carefully sent chills down one's spine, a coldness in the body.
"You can't even beat a human, and you still dare call yourself a god?!" Dragon Horse taunted, its copper bell-like eyes wide open. It desperately wanted to know what kind of person that was.
"It should be another kind of god..." Ye Fan muttered to himself. By now, the meaning of "god" had changed. He believed this person definitely wasn't the kind of god from ancient legends.
The being in the stone coffin, white-haired, lying like a corpse yet surrounded by rings of divine light—even in his decrepit state, a divine radiance shone from him. He spoke a name that immediately made Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others tremble violently.
Yao Guang!
That human was actually Yao Guang—a name not unfamiliar, just unseen for decades. It was he who had devoured this god's life essence, taking his divine origin for himself.
So many years had passed, and this person still followed his consistent (yiguan) conduct, staying quite low-key on the Ancient Human Path. Only Southern Demon had accidentally glimpsed his whereabouts; no one else knew.
Pang Bo had been keeping watch but never got any news of him, always on high alert. He never expected to encounter Yao Guang's strange trail here.
"Him?!" Ye Fan frowned slightly.
"This person is very hard to deal with. He will definitely be a great enemy in the future. He has undoubtedly inherited the Ruthless Great Emperor's legacy!" Pang Bo also frowned, thinking of past events.
Back in the battle at the Central Province Ancestral Temple, Yao Guang had directly used the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron to suppress and kill them. If they hadn't anticipated the crisis and used the Devouring Demon Jar to counter, they would surely have been in danger.
Ye Fan had never underestimated Yao Guang, but he also didn't believe he could devour gods. That wasn't realistic. He stared at the old man in the stone coffin, certain he wasn't a true deity.
"You're not a god!" Pang Bo glared, extending a hand as big as a plantain leaf and poking him, nearly sending him flying out of the stone coffin.
"This god... is not that god," the being in the stone coffin said weakly. He was afraid Pang Bo's thick fingers might poke several holes through his body, the finger strength terrifying.
"I am a member of the Divine Clan!" His eyes were dim, but when speaking of his race, a startling brilliance flashed through them—that was pride and arrogance.
True gods are immortal, taboo existences in legend.
But since gods could never be seen, people's faith wavered. Later, the meaning of the term gradually changed, often used to describe some heaven-defying beings.
Thus, "god" gradually came to have two meanings.
From ancient times to the present, every "god" that had been seen eventually aged and passed away, turning to dust in the river of history, becoming a handful of yellow earth, unable to achieve immortality.
The saints believed that divine miracles, legends, and inexplicable ancient events were actually the deeds of powerful beings, not manifestations of gods.
God has two meanings: true gods, and extraterrestrial beings so powerful they are unimaginable. By now, the former has almost been completely negated.
This person claiming to be from the Divine Clan immediately made Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Dragon Horse, and the others understand, while also shocking them. There was indeed such a race, said to be the continuation of the gods' bloodline.
Regardless of which meaning of "god" was used, it explained the race's unparalleled strength. They were considered a heaven-defying clan, said to be omnipotent.
In fact, after stepping onto the Stellar Ancient Path, one could hear legends about them. All saints said there was a Divine Clan's ancient path, the most mysterious, hard for outsiders to find.
This race had very few members, rarely seen throughout history. Some powerful clans often called themselves the Divine Clan, but they weren't the true one. The real members rarely revealed themselves.
"Not true gods, but the Divine Clan—I've heard of that," Pang Bo nodded, then asked, "Just how powerful is this race?"
"Extremely powerful. Legend says they're almost heaven-defying," Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon said solemnly.
Ye Fan also nodded seriously. Over the years, he had read many ancient texts and inquired from saints of different star domains on the path, learning about many powerful races.
Members of the Divine Clan were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, but they were truly heaven-defying. According to legend, the occasional Divine Physique appearing among humans was similar to this clan!
"What? That can't be possible?!" Pang Bo was shocked, unable to believe it.
This secret was truly astonishing. Even Ye Fan found it unbelievable when he first learned of it, but according to several nearly lost ancient records, it was indeed so.
"This... is hard to believe. Ji Haoyue, Jiang Yifei—such rare and powerful physiques, the blood flowing in their bodies is similar to the Divine Clan?!" Pang Bo was truly stunned.
It wasn't an individual, but an entire race. Even if they were very few, they were still a clan. How powerful was such a divine-blooded race? Almost unimaginable!
Ordinary members were Divine Physiques. The most outstanding among them must be extremely powerful, with divine blood returning to its ancient state, certainly transcendent in the world!
"If Ji Haoyue and Jiang Yifei were to join this clan, they would only be ordinary members. If this clan gave birth to a young king... that makes one's scalp tingle," Pang Bo muttered to himself.
"Don't worry. This clan is pitifully few, almost extinct. Most clans in the world that call themselves the Divine Clan aren't the real one," Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon said.
For six years, Ye Fan and his group had traveled on the Golden Ancient Path. Besides tempering themselves, their main goal was to follow a clue in search of the Ji siblings' whereabouts.
Now, they had unexpectedly learned of Yao Guang's trail and met a true member of the Divine Clan—an unexpected gain.
"Does that mean Ji Haoyue and Jiang Yifei aren't human?" Pang Bo asked.
Ye Fan shook his head. According to those ancient records, in the distant past, the Divine Clan was also a branch of humanity. But their bloodline was too strong. They considered themselves noble, extremely proud, and eventually separated to establish their own clan.
"This conflicts with the legends of the gods, so the Divine Clan doesn't acknowledge it and has never accepted this claim."
However, occasionally individual Divine Physiques appear among humans. In terms of physique and the divine blood flowing in their bodies, they are indeed very close to the Divine Clan, proving some points. (To be continued)