Chapter 1668: Imperial Road Bones
This was not Ye Fan’s ultimate divine phenomenon, but merely a stage in its transformation, having evolved to this point for now.
This “domain” was impassable, enveloped by Ye Fan’s laws and Dao. Even if his primordial spirit surged upward, it was useless. As soon as it rose into the high heavens, a golden crow wreathed in immortal light flew over from the opposite side, seeking to peck and devour him.
Shen Ming roared in sorrow. He knew he was finished, about to fall. Regrettably, in his life, during the age of dark turmoil, he had seen a Human Clan Great Emperor who did not fall, yet now he was doomed to die in this era.
When his father’s generation attained the Dao, they reigned supreme over the world. Even after self-severing a slash, they still dominated, able to wage decisive battle against ancient Great Emperors. As the descendant of such a person, to be defeated was itself a disgrace.
He hated to the point of madness. Originally proud and arrogant, suppressing the world with a grand spirit, belittling the heroes of heaven and earth, he now found himself in such a state.
“Ah…” He resisted, refusing to yield, his roars shaking the heavens as he struggled within the divine phenomenon.
People felt some sympathy for Shen Ming. He was the offspring of a Supreme Being—who would dare provoke him, who could contend with him? Yet now he was like a bird trapped in a net, struggling in vain.
Ye Fan was too powerful. Standing there, his divine phenomenon flooded the cosmos, turning this place into his main battlefield, dominated by him.
A golden crow swept across the sky, viciously pecking at Shen Ming’s primordial spirit, causing him excruciating pain. His light dimmed, and divine radiance like blood splattered as he suffered a heavy blow.
Another chi dragon soared into the sky, crossing primeval mountains and flying over wild forests, striking the heavens above. A flash of red light passed, and another large chunk of Shen Ming’s primordial spirit was missing.
Was it about to end? Shen Ming let out a sorrowful long sigh. The son of a Forbidden Zone had fallen to such a state. He had no strength left to resist, defeated utterly.
Outside, the Golden Heavenly Maiden attacked, and the Dragon Maiden, wielding an Imperial Dao artifact, tore through the cosmic void, seeking to dismantle Ye Fan’s Quasi-Emperor divine domain and rescue Shen Ming.
But it was all in vain; they did not hit their mark. Ye Fan moved, his Stride Art unmatched, touching the realm of time, evading ten thousand attacks. With a single thought, he shifted a hundred thousand li.
His divine phenomenon moved with him, traversing the cosmos, dodging their assaults. All their attacks landed only on a vast, illusory shadow, never striking him by even a hair.
When the true Imperial Dao fluctuations surged in, Ye Fan held the Chaos Azure Lotus in hand. With a single sweep, Imperial Dao laws shattered, heaven and earth opened anew, and all living beings perished.
“I have lost…”
In the final moment, Shen Ming was filled with desolation. He stopped struggling. The fist-sized little man was seized by a vermilion bird, swallowed in one gulp, scattering light specks like rain of blood.
Ye Fan’s divine phenomenon vanished. In its place remained only two halves of a split body and fragments of a Quasi-Emperor divine furnace.
Alas, a generation of ancient Imperial Prince lay dead like this, his life ended. In ancient times, he had blazed with brilliant light, but in this era, he met someone he should never have encountered, ending in obscurity.
Many fell silent, unable to say anything.
“Those are good stuff!”
Only the Heavenly Court crowd could still speak. Shen Ming had broken the ancient road they were building, so these people could never sympathize with him. They stared at the furnace fragments and the body in the pool of blood.
It was an ancient beast, revealing its true form, enormous in size. The blood of a Quasi-Emperor shone dazzlingly, its entire body a treasure that would make any major force covet it.
“The blood flowing within contains traces of an ancient Supreme Being. It can be refined into a great human elixir—this is a supreme divine object!” Black Emperor said.
In the shadows, though many were eager and some major forces stirred restlessly, when they saw Ye Fan’s cold, merciless eyes, they felt as if doused with cold water, suppressing their impulses.
If he dared to kill even the descendant of an existence within the Immortal Mound, what wouldn’t Ye Fan dare to do?!
A clanging sound startled the four directions. The Golden Heavenly Maiden moved, her battle shocking the starry sky. Her entire body was bathed in multicolored light, like a golden volcano erupting. Flying knives, a golden gourd, a divine bell, a Dao tower—all emerged simultaneously, transforming into ancient runes that branded themselves onto her body. In that instant, she donned a suit of golden battle armor, its light blinding.
This was a combination of several forbidden secret arts. She deeply felt Ye Fan’s terror. This man was no longer an opponent for one person alone; he was destined to make all ancient Imperial Princes shudder. He was a peerless great enemy that the descendants of Supreme Beings would face, one who would block the path of many!
The Golden Heavenly Maiden fought desperately, using every means at her disposal. Otherwise, she felt there was no hope.
Moreover, she was prepared: if the killing strike failed, she would flee immediately, because stubbornly fighting on would only lead to a pointless fall.
“Rumble”
Golden runes flickered, attaching to her skin, merging with her form to become pieces of special armor. Each piece had life, as if deities were parasitic on her body.
“Clang”
With a casual strike, she delivered a terrifying blow. From her back, she drew a golden dragon sword, which truly transformed into a furious golden dragon, charging at Ye Fan.
The immortal sword was merciless, cleaving through the void!
With a soft *dang*, Ye Fan’s cauldron moved forward to suppress and block it. She failed to break through, but she did not lose heart. Her entire body charged forward.
On her left shoulder, the golden gourd, now armor runes swirling, gave rise to a deity. On her right shoulder, the Dao bell, transformed into armor, shone brilliantly, sending up an ancient god. The golden lotus brand on her chest flashed, producing a Five Elements deity…
Gods surrounded her body, numerous golden Dao artifacts adorned her, making her shine like a Golden Immortal King. It was a dazzling splendor.
Who could have such majesty? One ancient deity after another stood beside her, guarding her at the center. Even ancient Great Emperors were no more than this, their might overwhelming the heavens.
The Golden Heavenly Maiden launched her strongest attack, merging body, Dao, and spirit, to kill Ye Fan. The stars in this dark cosmos had long been destroyed, but now one bright point after another appeared, even more blazing than before.
One deity after another, until at last there were countless!
Boom!
This peerless assault made everyone’s soul tremble.
“Such a powerful forbidden domain! So many secret arts fused and stacked together, a single strike that shocks the gods!” People’s scalps tingled even as they couldn’t help but admire.
Ye Fan did not retreat. The Primordial Qi Cauldron hung above his head as he advanced straight ahead, meeting the gods head-on, without the slightest wavering.
He was like a blazing great furnace, multicolored light tearing the heavens, like the king of all gods. His aura made everyone’s heart pound.
With a thunderous crash, a fierce collision occurred. All the gods were suppressed. The cauldron above Ye Fan’s head received every attack. Inside the cauldron’s mouth, chaos was as deep as an ocean, impenetrable to the eye.
Suddenly, the chaotic sea within the cauldron stirred up towering waves, blocking these attacks!
The gods descended, scattering in an instant, then struck from all directions. The heavens shattered, this place turning into a porridge-like chaos, a source of destruction.
From the cauldron’s mouth, Mother Qi of All Things hung down like curtains, like waterfalls, shielding Ye Fan’s true body. Inside, he was unaffected.
The Primordial Qi Cauldron had truly matured. Now it could suppress a corner of the heavens, its defensive power astonishing. All the gods charged together, golden light annihilating the world, yet they could not open even a tiny gap.
The Golden Heavenly Maiden’s fierce attack was ineffective. Her heart sank. Ye Fan’s power indeed exceeded expectations; this was too dangerous.
That cauldron made everyone’s gaze burn with desire. It was definitely a peerless treasure among Quasi-Emperor artifacts, rare throughout the ages.
“Hum!”
Suddenly, the curtains of Mother Qi hanging from the cauldron were torn open. The gods surged in. The Golden Heavenly Maiden was stunned—how had things changed so quickly? She was almost ready to retreat.
“Boom!”
With no choice, her runes blazed as she charged forward. It was as if she had opened Ye Fan’s turtle shell, so she naturally would not give up.
The gods were expressionless, their bodies glowing as they delivered a killing strike, slashing forward!
“Now!” the Dragon Maiden called out softly, also striking. Extreme Dao light flashed, the Imperial Dao artifact shot out. The purple dragon rapidly shrank to a zhang in length, its reverse scales opening, the bell’s sound unceasing.
Clearly visible, on that section of the small bell that had become a reverse dragon scale, ripples covered it, terrifying beyond measure.
Ye Fan’s expression was cold. A flash of light from his brow, he offered up the Chaos Azure Lotus, sweeping it toward the reverse dragon scale, suppressing it in reverse, blocking the ancient Imperial artifact.
At the same time, he let the Golden Heavenly Maiden in. Like an overlord demon lord, he clashed head-on with all the golden deities and weapons. Between his palms and fingers, one Imperial artifact after another appeared, manifesting in reality.
The Void Mirror, the Eternal Universe Furnace, the Supreme Emperor Sword, the Western Emperor Tower, the Primordial Bell… one after another, he evolved them using the Battle Saint Art, simulating a few strands of Extreme Dao might.
He had reached the Quasi-Emperor realm, his physical strength and magical power elevated to an astonishing level. Now, executing such secret arts, their power was amplified countless times!
“Boom!”
The golden gourd, divine bell, Dao tower, and others were all sent flying, even shattering on the spot, unable to match these Imperial artifacts.
Because the Weapon Art was also in operation. At this moment, all the golden artifacts were stuck. Even though the Heavenly Maiden herself had reached the Quasi-Emperor level, it was useless; she was thoroughly suppressed.
The Golden Heavenly Maiden finally understood: it wasn’t that she had broken the Primordial Qi Cauldron’s defense, but that Ye Fan had let her in himself. Otherwise, the massive Mother Qi Cauldron above his head was indestructible, impossible to breach.
Realizing this was too late. Though she tried to tear through space, she could not retreat. How could Ye Fan allow it? He swiftly sealed heaven and earth, striking to kill.
The gods roared, their golden figures covering the sky, all attacking Ye Fan. This was a mutual destruction attack. These ancient gods exploded, the energy surging violently, burning through the cosmos.
Yet Ye Fan used only a single punch. Brilliant light exploded, sweeping everything before him. All the deities were annihilated—whether self-destructing or roaring forward—all turned to ashes in that moment.
When the Heavenly Emperor Fist was unleashed, all gods became dust, completely destroyed, not a single one remaining!
The Golden Heavenly Maiden’s face turned deathly pale, drained of all color. This result made her despair. His power was enough to look down on her. Not fleeing was seeking death.
But even if she fled, could she truly escape?
The Dragon Maiden was furious. Wielding an Imperial Dao artifact, she still couldn’t kill Ye Fan, and that monkey too made her blood feel like it would explode, but there was no way. A deep sense of powerlessness arose.
Moreover, she had a foreboding about her own fate. Should she retreat?
The Golden Heavenly Maiden’s fate was already sealed. No one could change it now. When the golden artifacts and light on her body all exploded, she knew that in this life, her figure would never appear again.
“Wenglong!”
The Primordial Qi Cauldron trembled, drawing the Golden Heavenly Maiden inside. Ye Fan’s brow flashed with intense light, and his entire body emitted immeasurable radiance. In that moment, it shocked the cosmos. He activated the artifact, refining her.
Pop!
A soft sound, like a flower blooming. A handful of ash drifted out from the cauldron. It was not the beginning of life, but the withering of one. In this world, there was no longer a Golden Heavenly Maiden!
On the Imperial Road, the strong prevail, the defeated die. True Dao attainers mostly walk forward over corpses and bones. Behind them, blood flows, white bones pile up, stretching beyond sight.
This path is just this cruel.
It is the last day of February. Chen Dong calls on all brothers and sisters to cast your final monthly votes for Shrouding the Heavens. Thank you all!
.(To be continued…)