Chapter 1649: The God Clan
"Attaining the Dao—have you considered your parents? Have you thought about your aunt? What about your uncle? What about us? Filial piety comes first; you need to think it all through." The Black Emperor was utterly unscrupulous, his meaning obvious. Since they had already beaten the God Venerable in Ji Haoyue's name, they could naturally use Ji Ziyue and the rest of their group's names to give him another thrashing.
Shen Lan's phoenix eyes went wide, her slender, supple waist trembling as her peerlessly beautiful face filled with indignation. How could anyone teach a child like this, egging a nephew on to beat his own uncle? This dog was far too underhanded.
"Cough, enough. After all, he is Chengdao's mother's elder brother," Pang Bo coughed, trying to smooth things over.
But seeing Ji Chengdao's eager, itching-to-try look, the God Venerable's mouth twitched, and Shen Lan pressed a hand to her forehead in a wave of helplessness. It was clear just how little this child thought of the God Clan—he really wanted to land a few more blows.
"He's your maternal uncle," Shen Lan emphasized.
"But he locked my mother up and made my father grieve for three hundred years. That punch was for my aunt—she was unhappy about it too!"
*Bam!* Sure enough, the child, after his eager hesitation, couldn't hold back and punched again in Ji Ziyue's name. The God Venerable's right eye socket turned black and blue, swollen like a rotten peach.
Many in Emperor Pass were petrified, wanting to laugh but not daring. Alas, the God Venerable—a lifetime of prestige, undone by three punches from his nephew.
In an instant, over a dozen figures appeared blocking the way ahead, all of formidable strength. The men were heroic, the women stunningly beautiful—beauty and power were the defining traits of the God Clan.
"So it's you. We can't stop you. Pass." The old man was very straightforward, dismissing those younger ones.
This was a very small village, with only a dozen or so households, but nearly every household could field a top-tier expert. This shocked Ye Fan, the Black Emperor, and the others.
No wonder they were called the God Clan—everyone was heaven-defying, with astonishing strength that defied common sense, leaving other races in disbelief.
"Think about it—everyone is a Divine Body. That really is heaven-defying!"
Though this claim was somewhat exaggerated, it was close to the truth. Even if not every God Clan member was exceptionally strong, their average level far surpassed that of other races.
The only thing holding them back was their population, which was extremely scarce. The entire God Clan numbered fewer than thirty thousand—a staggering figure.
Moreover, among those thirty thousand, many had impure blood. Those with flawless, pure divine blood numbered only about two thousand. The scarcity was "appalling."
They sped along, arriving at an ancient land. There, several towering mountains pierced the clouds, each shrouded in auspicious mist, covered in divine trees and strange herbs.
One broken ancient mountain in particular, like a volcanic crater, was hollow inside, spewing out misty clouds and flowing light, dazzling and brilliant.
"Ye Fan of the Sacred Body, you actually came!" someone shouted. This was the God Clan's sacred ground. As soon as they approached, dozens of people flew over to block their path.
Purple orchids took root in the void, their fragrance wafting through the air.
Flame Phoenix Trees rooted in underground magma, stubbornly sprouting branches above ground, their swirling flames like dancing phoenixes.
Cloud Dragon Vines grew in the clouds, cascading down from the sky like azure dragons diving, their momentum extraordinary.
...
The vegetation here was all peculiar, dreamlike, beautiful and astonishing—a strange and wondrous world.
"Since you know who we are and why we've come, we won't waste words. Release the people!" the Black Emperor bared his teeth.
"Fine. Defeat us, break through our God Clan's ancient pass, and you may take them away!" a middle-aged man said.
"How cliché. What era is this, still pulling this old routine? Don't blame us for not warning you—if we accidentally blow up this star, don't come crying," the Black Emperor mocked.
There was nothing more to say. It directly sacrificed that blood axe, while Pang Bo sent out the reassembled Purple-Gold Gourd. Though it was a damaged quasi-emperor weapon, its power was still terrifying.
How could these people block it? Their faces turned pale, and they decisively retreated. Even the God Clan, even with their exceptional talents, went weak in the knees when facing quasi-emperor-level might.
Ye Fan and the others advanced unstoppably, with the Black Emperor leading the charge. They encountered many formations along the way, all of which it deciphered, unable to hinder their progress.
"Mother, I've grown up. I've come to save you!" Ji Chengdao's eyes streamed with tears.
Finally, they reached the foot of several giant mountains, not far from the central broken mountain. But here, they were met with immense pressure, barely able to move.
A great formation blocked the path ahead, covering heaven and earth with runes. As soon as they arrived, they densely appeared. Chaotic energy emerged, and divine waterfalls cascaded from the sky—a river of divine power flowing.
"What a powerful formation!"
This was a shocking divine formation left by the God Lord of yore, guarding the God Clan's ancient land. It was nearly impossible for outsiders to breach, its power immense and unmatched.
The God Clan activated this formation to block Ye Fan and the others' path. Several God Elders stood atop the giant peaks, watching them.
Even the Black Emperor frowned. This was either a flawless, peak quasi-emperor formation or a flawed ancient emperor formation. It gave even him a headache, requiring time to ponder—very difficult to decipher.
"I'll go in alone," Ye Fan decided, unwilling to let the others take risks. As a quasi-emperor, even if danger arose, he could tough it out.
"This isn't some half-baked formation from the Divine Court. This was laid down by the God Lord himself—very terrifying. This Emperor will accompany you," the Black Emperor said.
"No need. I haven't studied my Source Heaven Formation patterns for nothing. I know how to decipher it too." Ye Fan entered the formation alone. The stars shifted, and heaven and earth transformed completely. One blazing star after another flew toward him, as if the universe itself was collapsing, all crashing into him.
Everyone was shocked. The formation had become its own world—a universe being created, chaos spreading, stars being destroyed, unstoppable.
Ye Fan swung the Heavenly Emperor Fist, fighting fiercely, advancing step by step without retreating.
*Boom!*
A strike from the God Lord, spanning endless years, cut off the cosmos, blocking the path. A vast ocean of divine power appeared there, shaking even Ye Fan's body, forcing him to act cautiously.
This trapped him for three days. Finally, he found a path of life and crossed over.
*Hum!*
A hundred thousand divine swords crisscrossed, slashing through this world.
If there had been a path of life before, now there was only a dead end. Anyone who tried to force their way through had to block the God Lord's sword light, or it was absolutely impossible.
The Black Emperor's face changed. Formation Dao usually left a path of life in desperate situations. Such absolute formations were rare and the most dangerous. Even his heart raced.
"The God Lord's weapon is guiding from within. If such a supreme weapon strikes, even a quasi-emperor's body can't withstand it," the Black Emperor said uneasily.
Facing the hundred thousand divine swords descending, Ye Fan did not retreat. He charged forward bravely, his hand tracing a streak of azure light. No overwhelming power erupted, no violent waves surged, but it blocked the sky-filling sword light!
In his hand, chaotic energy spread. A single azure lotus trembled at the sword light, with only three leaves, embodying the true meaning of "Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things!"
"Green Emperor! It's the Green Emperor!"
Inside the God Clan's broken mountain, in an ancient cave, an old man who had lived for who knows how many millennia suddenly opened his eyes—eyes that had not opened for thousands of years. Two astonishing beams of light shot forth, piercing through the void.