Chapter 1653: There Are Enemies in This World
The warship started up, moving forward. The surrounding red mist grew thicker, the killing intent piercing to the bone. Behind them, that pair of cyan eyes stared from an extremely distant place, cold and icy, without a trace of white.
Chi!
A golden line streaked through the air. After Ye Fan had everyone board the ship and prepare, he suddenly turned back and charged, tearing through space—naturally, he was incredibly fast. He had no need to be cautious; there were truly few in this world who could harm his physical body. He raised his hand and struck forward to suppress the enemy, his right palm like a thunderbolt, smashing toward the creature’s head.
Ao! A roar tore through the silence of the forbidden land, the sound so violent it was like a chaotic heavenly thunderclap crashing down in this place, rattling even the bones of one’s skull.
One after another, cyan ripples spread out, revealing this terrifying, colossal creature. It shifted three thousand zhang horizontally, its movements as swift as lightning, far too fast.
“Thunder-Sha Beast! This is a world-shaking creature born from the fusion of heavenly thunder and killing intent. Capture it—it’s of immense benefit for artifact forging!” Behind them, Black Emperor shouted.
Ye Fan moved again, swift as a flowing light, tearing through space to arrive close to the Thunder-Sha Beast. He reached out once more, but this monstrous beast was too fast, living up to its name with the speed of lightning.
Kacha!
Ye Fan only grazed its body, but his palm and fingers were incredibly sturdy and powerful. He scraped off a palm-sized piece of cyan light scale, forged as if from cyan lightning, crackling with energy.
“Roar…”
The Thunder-Sha Beast bellowed, stirring up a fierce wind, sending stones flying, and surging red killing intent. The heavens and earth shook, mountains and rivers raging, all rumbling with its fury.
Ye Fan exerted force, and the scale between his palm and fingers deformed, then turned into electric light and killing intent with a pu sound, splashing brilliant radiance.
“Such speed! Ye Fan tore through space and barely caught up to it. It’s truly heaven-defying, riding lightning itself!” Yan Yixi exclaimed in admiration.
This Thunder-Sha Beast was not weak; it had already entered the Great Sage realm. Its greatest asset was its speed, surpassing all the heroes of the world. An ordinary person would absolutely never capture it.
However, it now faced Ye Fan, a man with a Quasi-Emperor’s physical body. Although the Stride Art couldn’t achieve full effect, tearing through space was enough to dominate the era.
Weng! A foot stomped down. This time, no matter how desperately the Thunder-Sha Beast struggled, it was useless. Ye Fan sat astride it, and though its body surged with electric light, it couldn’t harm its enemy.
Ye Fan lightly patted it, and it collapsed limply to the ground. Cyan lightning intertwined, its body crackling, but the blazing divine light in its eyes did not diminish—it grew fiercer. Two sharp beams shot out, piercing toward Ye Fan’s brow. This was a spiritual attack surpassing the beast’s own realm!
Pa!
Ye Fan raised his hand and placed it before his forehead, shattering the two beams of cyan light, which dissipated into mist. Black Emperor flew over, seized control of its sea of consciousness, and fully suppressed the beast, intending to use it for himself.
“This is just a pawn. That cold, blazing gaze came from someone else—it was a wisp of divine thought lodged in its head. There’s a more terrifying figure behind this!”
Ye Fan and the others deduced that a figure on the level of an Imperial Prince had discovered them and held considerable power in this ancient battlefield, having tamed such a rare beast.
Honglonglong!
In the distance came the sound of crashing waves, deafening. An extremely oppressive aura rushed toward them.
“What is that?”
It was like a vast ocean, covering the sky and earth, surging from afar. It was so magnificent that it scattered the killing intent, crashing down and slamming into them!
“Reacting so quickly, striking immediately?”
“A sea of lightning—this is a tribulation sea. To encounter such a thing here! That Imperial Prince-level figure’s Dao path is to control lightning, to preside over heavenly punishment? Trying to contend with the heavens for authority—definitely a domineering figure!”
In Ye Fan’s memory, there was no such person. Neither Huang Xudao, Huo Qizi, the Golden Heavenly Maiden, nor the Dragon Maiden of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest followed such a Dao.
There was no time to hesitate. This was a cascade of lightning waterfalls, blotting out the sky as it descended, vast and boundless, like countless suns exploding, terrifying beyond measure.
Within the sea, furious waves surged, taking shape as various human forms and beasts, brandishing claws and roaring as they charged.
In the past, Ye Fan often used lightning tribulations to attack his enemies. Now, the tables had turned—someone was using such a massive tribulation to destroy them all.
“It could wipe out a group of Great Sages without issue!” Black Emperor said gravely, revealing the cruelty of this ancient battlefield. Only extraordinary combat power could ensure survival here.
Ye Fan did not act. The Black Pearl shone, especially the blood-red hammer at the bow, which trembled with a weng sound, smashing the heavens and earth, turning the surrounding ten thousand li into true void, where even chaotic energy ceased to exist.
Terrifying attack power!
The sea of lightning was breached. The Black Pearl’s power was astonishing, and they sped forward, charging toward their target.
Hong!
A brilliant flash of light burst forth in the heavens. A phantom flickered—this was not a true body, but a manifested form entering the lightning. Its real body was hundreds of thousands to millions of li away, not in this region.
The Black Pearl immediately charged over. There were no special laws here; Imperial Princes dueling, the path of invincibility clashing—combat was the foundation, and the strong ruled.
This time, the warship unleashed its power. Its entire body emitted billions of rays of multicolored light, purple mist flooding the area ahead, shattering all lightning as it rammed into that figure.
This was a Quasi-Emperor artifact, incredibly fast, no slower than lightning. The figure couldn’t dodge in time, seeming shocked to encounter such a formidable group.
“I, the Lightning God, will remember you!”
These words lingered in the void as his body disintegrated, turning into lightning and vanishing.
In an instant, silence returned. All the lightning dissipated, red mist once again shrouded the area, and the heavens grew dim, obscuring distant sights.
“The Lightning God? What is that? Never heard of it!”
“The universe is vast and boundless. Who knows what figures have come? If we can make it here, others will find ways to enter as well.”
They became alert. This place was complex; they didn’t necessarily know all the sons of emperors, and other peerless figures had surely come to fight here.
The earlier commotion had been significant, alerting some creatures and spreading the news—a formidable group had arrived.
Meanwhile, Ye Fan searched the Thunder-Sha Beast’s sea of consciousness for useful information. Though there was little about the Lightning God, he found some maps of the region’s layout.
Hundreds of thousands of li away, there was a city, a relic from ancient times. “Ancient times” here referred to an extremely distant era, at least dating back to the Primordial Era, or even further.
This place was a battlefield for the universe’s strongest—Ancient Emperors, Sacred Spirits, Quasi-Emperors, and others. Many great battles had occurred here, spreading the fame of this mysterious ancient land among the most powerful races. At certain times, their descendants would come here to train and cultivate.
Such cities served as resting points for these figures, places for exchange. This vast battlefield held more than just one ruined ancient city.
In this era, the sons of emperors had agreed to a great showdown, making this the natural first choice.
Red mist filled the air. The Black Pearl moved swiftly. Hundreds of thousands of li was but a stone’s throw for a Quasi-Emperor artifact. Though it didn’t tear through space, it arrived in moments.
This city was very dilapidated, incredibly ancient. It could barely be called a city anymore; the gate tower had half-collapsed, and large sections of the city wall had fallen.
The buildings within were half-destroyed, and even the streets were nearly impassable, blocked by massive stones. It was more a ruin than an ancient city.
Yet there were people here—strong individuals training, some trading goods. Though the figures were few, they showed signs of life.
As soon as they neared the city gate, Ye Fan’s brows shot up. A portrait was posted there—it was the Holy Prince. Someone had put a bounty on him, offering a volume of ancient scriptures on how to achieve ultimate sublimation at the Immortal Platform stage in exchange for information on his whereabouts. It was specifically noted that the scriptures bore the personal annotations of an Ancient Emperor.
“How generous! Who is this? Which faction is so determined to kill Brother Monkey?” Li Heishui said.
Ye Fan stepped forward, directly tore down the bounty notice, examined it, and then turned it to ashes.
Nearby, exclamations of surprise arose. People were clearly shocked by his action, further proving the strength of the one who had issued the bounty.
“So these are the ones who made the Lightning God’s incarnation suffer? What’s their background?”
“The Lightning God comes from a Forbidden Zone of Life—Divine Ruins. He’s currently preparing to face his Quasi-Emperor tribulation, likely breaking through within the next few months, so he has no time for other matters.”
As soon as they arrived, Ye Fan and his group learned a startling fact: the Lightning God they had encountered hailed from a Forbidden Zone of Life—Divine Ruins!
In the past, there had been many speculations about that place. Some thought it was a gathering ground for Sacred Spirits, others said it was the ruins of the Ancient Heavenly Court, hiding their descendants.
The Lightning God came from there!
“The Lord of Divine Ruins is dead. I don’t know if there are still Supremes inside, but since we’ve run into his spawn, we’ll kill them all!” Pang Bo said coldly, showing this expression for the first time.
The great battle over three hundred years ago had been too brutal, causing immense suffering. Even Emperor Void and Eternal Universe Great Emperor had fallen, and Pang Bo and the others had lost several close friends.
Ji Zi, Jiang Taixu, Senior Gai Jiuyou… their vivid faces seemed to still be before their eyes, all spilling blood on the cosmic battlefield.
How could this grudge go unavenged?!
They couldn’t level the Forbidden Zones of Life, but Ye Fan could hunt down their descendants. Even if those people advanced to Quasi-Emperor, Ye Fan had the power to fight them, even to wipe them out!
“Who issued the bounty to kill the Holy Prince?”
Entering the city, Ye Fan asked around. Not everyone here was an Imperial Prince-level figure set on a decisive battle; some were descendants of the most powerful races, accompanied by elders, here only to train and gain experience.
Naturally, some recognized him, and were extremely shocked. They didn’t hide the truth.
“They said they came from the Phoenix Nest, but their exact identity is unknown.”
Someone had seen a massive phoenix nest cross the sky, its aura shaking this battlefield, startling even the sons of emperors.
At that time, a brilliant blade light had cut through the universe in the distance, and the phoenix nest had chased after it without stopping. They had only sent down two people to post the bounty, aiming to kill the Holy Prince.
“Finally showing up?” Ye Fan’s eyes flickered.
The others felt a chill run down their spines. Even Black Emperor was troubled, sensing great trouble ahead. This could be a catastrophe, an endless disaster that might descend once more.
“Who did the Holy Prince defeat?”
“Rumor has it that after years of fierce battles among the sons of emperors, the Holy Prince was the first to slay a great enemy in bloody combat. He killed an Ancient Emperor’s son from the Primordial Ancient Mine.”
“What? The Primordial Ancient Mine still has sealed Imperial Princes?”
This news shocked even Black Emperor. He had always thought there were only a few emperors there, not expecting others.
Ye Fan quickly understood. He had once been to the Primordial Forbidden Zone and remembered that night, watching from afar. In the ancient mine, many figures had risen under the starlight—some sealed in Source, some exposed, and some clearly corpses. It was far from just a few people!