# Chapter 1612: The First Tribulation Star
Ye Fan was still alive, but utterly exhausted, unwilling to move a single muscle. Not only his body, but his mind and spirit were nearly drained dry.
This battle had been too brutal for him. Especially when, in a daze, he had glimpsed the broken bodies and blood of Ji Zi and Jiang Taixu, filling him with deep sorrow. He had drifted for many years, yet could barely move.
That day's battle had created a ruin of blood and bone. Great Emperors had departed, outstanding talents had fallen, and even the heavens had rained blood.
Ye Fan had fought fiercely in the cosmic battlefield, playing a crucial role in that campaign. He had assisted two Great Emperors, delivering two vital strikes that ultimately led to the fall of the Reincarnation Lord and the Light-Darkness Supreme Being.
Relatively speaking, he was but an ant. Yet at that critical moment, he had fought with such desperation that the price he paid was enormous. The Immortal Ascension Cauldron had shattered, and his own body had bled across the outer realms.
Not only that, but the Dao-Yan Immortal Robe had also exploded, breaking into fragments stained with his blood. At that moment, it had been dazzlingly brilliant.
The reason he had survived was that the deity within the Dao-Yan Immortal Robe had protected a sliver of his consciousness from extinction, using dozens of fragments to block that earth-shattering, world-destroying bloody light.
Both Great Accomplishment Saint Bodies had been reduced to bloody mud, with bone fragments scattering everywhere. His original body naturally could not be preserved either, having mixed into that bloody mud. Yet those two bodies had also acted like divine garments, shielding him from countless killing blows and destructive forces.
They shared the same origin, they shared the same body. The bloody mud of the Great Accomplishment Saint Bodies had protected a single drop of his true blood from being extinguished, incorporating it into the bloody mud so that the supreme killing aura could not sever his life force.
Little Nannan had arrived, crying bitterly amidst that bloody mud and the fragments of Dao-Strike Golden Gold. Her tears fell like rain, her grief reaching its peak. Those tears were equivalent to an Immortality Pill, protecting his final unextinguished imprint.
But at that time, he had no strength to speak a single word. His entire being had sunk into boundless darkness. Perhaps that was death itself—he had stepped into that domain.
He did not know what happened later in the Imperial Battle. The fragments of the Immortal Robe, accompanied by his remaining blood and broken bones, drifted into the distance, floating through darkness and cold, moving farther and farther away, cut off from the outside world.
He did not know how many years passed. He spent them in desolation. A sliver of unextinguished divine consciousness mixed with a single drop of true blood, protected and preserved, surviving through the darkness.
Perhaps it was decades, perhaps a century. In the darkness, he tried desperately to open his eyes but could never manage it, drifting in a dazed stupor.
Later, he heard a passage of scripture echoing within that sliver of unextinguished divine consciousness, thunderously loud, gradually guiding him back, slowly reviving him. It was the several hundred ancient characters recorded on the bronze coffin pulled by the nine dragons, keeping him from perishing.
Later, he regained true sensation. At that time, the "Presence" Secret was operating, using a single drop of blood to regenerate, nourishing and rebuilding his body.
And it was then that he discovered an azure lotus beside him, scattering some light rain that actually contained the essence of his bloodline, participating in the repair of his body. His true form gradually grew.
At the same time, his divine consciousness was also like this—guided by the immortal scripture from the ancient bronze coffin, repaired by the Presence Secret, nourished by the azure lotus, slowly strengthening.
Decades ago, he had regained his true form. It was his own flesh and blood, solid and indestructible. Even colliding with a meteorite could not destroy it. But it also stopped there—he had lost all fluctuations of laws, all saintly order.
He was like a being forged from divine gold, indestructible, yet unable to activate the secret techniques of the past. Having fought desperately against a Supreme Being, that battle had been incomparably brutal. The fragments of the Dao were no longer visible.
In those years, he could barely move. Perhaps fragments of the Dao were hidden within his flesh and blood, but they could not be used by him. He could only drift alone, floating through the desolate borders of the universe in darkness.
During that time, he seemed to have seen half of the Void Mirror accompanying a broken body. Was that Emperor Void, or Ji Zi, or the Yellow Emperor? It made him want to roar, but he could only watch helplessly, unable to move, watching them drift away, buried in the cold.
Similarly, he had also seen the blood and bones of Eternal Universe Great Emperor and Jiang Taixu, along with many fragments of Imperial Artifacts stained with blood. His heart ached greatly, but he was powerless.
Only in recent years had he been able to move, yet he still could not fly on his own. His physical condition was not good. Later, he fell into slumber again, not waking until he fell onto this great star.
So many years had passed. He did not know how things were outside, did not know where his old friends were. He did not even know the outcome of the Dark Calamity.
Now, in these ordinary days, he still experienced heart-rending pain. His primordial spirit felt as if it were being sliced open knife by knife, his bones as if they were being crushed by fragments of the Dao, about to turn to powder. This was the result of battling an ancient Supreme Being. Though he had survived, it was miserable.
He drifted in a daze, his body and mind exhausted, and there was also a heartache. Had Ji Zi truly died like that? Could the White-Robed Divine King never appear again? And Gai Jiuyou—"In this life, who dares to fight me?"—that voice still shook his heart and mind.
So many people had gone far away. Even their final farewell had only been a passing encounter in the cold universe, unable to gather their blood and bones.
"We're home. This is my home."
The youth was named Bai Ye—a strange name, yet ordinary when viewed literally. He was cheerful and optimistic, only fourteen years old, but possessed strength that surpassed adults. Otherwise, he could not have carried Ye Fan from the mountain back to the village with such swift steps.
This was a very ordinary stone-tiled house, facing a fish pond, located at the easternmost edge of the village. The furniture inside was old, having seen many years, but it was kept neat and quiet.
Bai Ye's eyes were clear and bright. He handed over a dry towel for Ye Fan to wipe his face, then brought a pile of clean, soft bedding for him to rest on.
Ye Fan silently took them, wiped off the mud and water, changed into a set of half-new clothes, and sat there in a daze.
His head still hurt terribly. Whenever he tried to activate his divine consciousness to recover himself, this always happened. The Imperial Dao of the ancient Supreme Being had caused him tremendous damage. Though his true body was indestructible, serious problems remained.
For an ordinary person, they would have long since turned to ashes. He had survived only because various factors had combined together.
So many years had passed. Ye Fan wanted to once again roam the eight wastelands, soaring into the sky, but he still could not control his body. He vaguely felt that there should be powerful strength within his flesh and blood, always circulating, yet not available for his use.
"Ah, how did it grow on the kang?" At that moment, the youth Bai Ye exclaimed in surprise. That azure lotus had actually taken root in the earthen sleeping platform, growing downward.
It only had three leaves, no thick root system. In a place without water, it possessed such powerful vitality, leaving one dumbfounded and unable to believe it.
Old Man Bai opened his mouth, wanting to say something but holding back.
Ye Fan pulled it up, walked to the pond in front of the house, and placed it inside. The result was the same—it instantly took root, sinking into the water. Faintly, wisps of white mist diffused outward.
"You can rest here and heal peacefully." The youth Bai Ye revealed a sunny smile.
"Thank you," Ye Fan said. Though his divine consciousness felt as if it were being cut by knives, in that short moment, he still managed to capture their thoughts and understand the language of this star.
Perhaps this was also a sign and signal of his possible recovery.
"No need to thank us." The youth scratched his head, sunny and simple.
At that moment, the old man brought a bowl of hot soup for Ye Fan to drink. Though he knew Ye Fan's background might be astonishing, he still brought this ordinary mortal food and drink.
"Has the Dark Calamity ended?" Ye Fan put away his thoughts and asked. This was his greatest concern at the moment. In that battle years ago, many outstanding talents had paid too much, and the result... was despairing. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
That was a bloody battle he, Ji Zi, Jiang Taixu, and others had fought to try to change the cruel reality. Emperor Void, Gai Jiuyou... so many had died. What had happened in the end? It was terrifying.
"What calamity? Are you talking about the Qiongqi emerging, the Chaos destroying the world? None of them have appeared," the youth said.
"I mean, has this star suffered a blood calamity, with ancient Supreme Beings descending?" Ye Fan asked. He had already noticed that the old man was a cultivator, and though the youth didn't understand magic techniques, his physique was powerful, not ordinary. They should know about the cultivation world.
The grandfather and grandson looked at each other, showing puzzled expressions. Together, they shook their heads, indicating they didn't know what he was talking about.
"Are you... someone from the outside world?" After a moment, the old man asked hesitantly.
Ye Fan was startled. Soon, through his inquiries, he understood what kind of place this was. It was actually cut off from the greater universe, blocked by chaotic mist. This was a peculiar star domain.
"The Dark Calamity you speak of—could you mean the Flying Immortal Battlefield? Don't worry, as long as you don't actively enter to participate in the battle, generally speaking, the people inside won't come out. Blood disasters are rare," the youth Bai Ye said.
"Flying Immortal Battlefield?!" This name easily evoked many associations. Ye Fan's dim eyes emitted a startling beam of light.
"Look, it's over there. We live right on the edge, adjacent to it." Bai Ye pointed into the distance. That was a stretch of gray earth, and at its end lay the Flying Immortal Battlefield.
"Many extremely powerful people come here to fight, all from the outside world..." After learning this, Ye Fan murmured to himself. Without resting, he walked straight out.
"Hey, are you well enough? That place is very dangerous. It severs one's Dao, strips away cultivation, mysterious beyond compare," Bai Ye called out.
"I just want to climb a mountain and take a look," Ye Fan said. He had no problem moving, but he couldn't fly. His own Dao fragments were sealed within his flesh and blood.
Bai Ye followed, worried about him. Together, they climbed a mountain peak and gazed toward the Flying Immortal Battlefield. At the end of the gray earth, there were many points of light, as if a divine land was awakening.
"Our star is called the First Tribulation Star, and that region is vast and boundless, much larger than the human habitation area, occupying a quarter of this star's territory."
The First Tribulation Star—a very strange name.
Ye Fan listened, silently calculating. This was a continent even more expansive than the Eastern Wasteland, truly a vast battlefield.
Faintly, he could sense a mysterious fluctuation spreading outward from there. Within the battlefield, one talisman after another was condensing, imprinting themselves into the mountains and rivers.
"Look, the Flying Immortal Battlefield is awakening. It will host terrible hunts, duels, and siege battles. According to legend, whenever a golden age arrives in the outside world, they all come to our Flying Immortal Battlefield to fight. Every single person is a peerless expert," the youth Bai Ye said with great interest, full of longing.
"Is that so? Will I soon see many old friends?" Ye Fan murmured softly. The fragments of the Dao did not manifest, and his eyes lacked luster, but they had grown even deeper.