# Chapter 1774: Inevitable Battle
Ye Fan held a divine crystal in his hand, within which a flame burned, and a vigorous life aura emanated—this was the supreme origin fire of a true Great Emperor.
He immediately went into seclusion, placing this flame into the Primordial Qi Cauldron, refining it hundreds and thousands of times, tempering and sublimating it with secret techniques.
Because this was the essence of an emperor, the very foundation of the Heavenly Heart Mark, it absolutely had to be purified. After an hour passed like this, Ye Fan appeared holding a ball of immortal fire in one hand, the light making his palm transparent, blood vessels and all clearly visible.
Chi!
Ye Fan directed this flame into Ye Tong's brow, burning away several runes, protecting his sea of consciousness, making that area brilliantly radiant as the fire merged into his disciple's flesh and blood.
"How is he, Master?" Yang Xi, Huahua, and the others watched anxiously.
"Ye Zi, you must save Little Tongtong!" Li Tian, Yan Yixi, and the others were all grief-stricken.
Ye Fan nodded but did not speak.
For several consecutive days, Ye Tong remained unconscious, sunk into the deepest level of dormant hibernation to protect himself.
And Ye Fan also employed supreme divine abilities. During these days, all across the universe, people sensed a terrifying Dao principle surging violently, shaking ten thousand domains.
Everyone was horrified. People knew that Ye Fan was using his techniques, but it was too powerful, terrifying beyond compare. Seven hundred years without seeing him fight desperately, and unexpectedly his Dao cultivation had become even more profound and world-shaking.
Finally, he departed in silence, heading straight to the Big Dipper, descending into the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
Everyone's hearts pounded with fear. What was Ye Fan going to do? Was he enraged because his disciple was about to fall, intending to level the forbidden zone?
Even the ancient venerables within the forbidden zone were shaken. This was not an unreasonable speculation, because he had such "prior offenses"—the Reincarnation Sea and the Immortal Mountain had already been flattened by him!
The world was shocked. However, after Ye Fan entered the Primordial Forbidden Zone and approached the Primordial Ancient Mine, no great battle occurred.
There, chaotic energy rose up, and auspicious light flowed within the mysterious ancient mine, as if it would suck in all the sun, moon, and stars of the heavens into the divine mine, a breathtaking sight.
"You should know, by confronting us like this and forcibly borrowing immortal source and Primordial Life Stone, you will pay ten times the price!" An icy voice rang out.
"I'll wait." Ye Fan walked out, carrying a massive piece of immortal source and a life stone, which he had carved into a coffin shape, flying straight toward the Big Dipper.
Everyone was stunned, then understood. Ye Fan had no other choice—he was going to seal his disciple in immortal source, leaving the calamity to be resolved in the future.
At the same time, people sensed his domineering nature, daring to come to the Primordial Ancient Mine to seize stone!
Indeed, Ye Fan used supreme divine power to turn the immortal source into liquid, preparing to seal Ye Tong.
"Senior Brother!"
"Ye Tong!"
Many cried out in grief, unable to accept this outcome.
At the final moment, the Golden Crow Great Emperor sent another ball of origin emperor fire. Ye Fan expressed his gratitude, carefully refined it, injected it into Ye Tong's body, and then sealed him.
A generation's heavenly prodigy was thus to temporarily disappear from this world. The Heavenly Court was deeply grieved, remaining in a sorrowful atmosphere for many days.
When this result spread to the outside world, it caused a sensation. Everyone was discussing it—some sighed, some rejoiced, some grieved, some gloated, their private reactions varied from one to another.
Without a doubt, the Golden Crow Great Emperor's conduct was commendable. The world believed he possessed great spirit, not acting narrowly despite the friction between the Golden Crow Clan and the Heavenly Court. He was worthy of a Great Emperor's bearing, and many respected him, becoming increasingly reverent.
The experts on the Fire Mulberry Star, restrained by the Demon Emperor, did not gloat at all. Instead, their relationship with the Heavenly Court eased considerably, showing signs of reconciliation.
"The Golden Crow Great Emperor is truly worthy of being an accomplished Daoist!"
Many people sighed in praise.
The world was in turmoil, stirring up great waves.
Within the Immortal Mountain, on a black cliff, Ye Fan stood at the forefront, gazing into the distance at the horizon. He had not spoken for a very long time.
"Master, do you have confidence in this battle?" Behind him, Yang Xi asked in a low voice, his eyes gleaming.
"I have obscured the heavenly secrets two or three times, but they are many. Over these years, they should have long since steeled their resolve and prepared themselves," Ye Fan said.
Just as he had said, a battle was inevitable. Because Ye Tong had fallen, he had lost his right-hand man. The forbidden zones had been preparing for years and would not miss such an opportunity.
Yang Xi frowned and said, "The Golden Crow Great Emperor sending the emperor origin fire was good for Senior Brother, but it also shattered the forbidden zone supremes' expectations of him battling you, Master. I think this is also why this battle has been brought forward."
"Master..." In the distance, Huahua flew over, showing an anxious expression, saying, "Some forbidden zone sons have returned to the Big Dipper. Shouts of surprise are coming from there—they seem to have achieved a great victory."
His bald head was shiny, but his face was filled with worry. Some forbidden zone sons had been away for many years, and they had known nothing about it.
"Don't blame yourself. Every major forbidden zone has ancient venerables. It's easy for them to conceal the heavenly secrets," Ye Fan comforted him.
"I hate this! The great battle is coming, yet I haven't reached the Ninth Heaven. I can't help you, Master!" Huahua beat his chest, hating himself for being lax over the years, never working hard enough. He had enough talent, but he could never fully commit to cultivation.
"Are you showing off, you little brat?" Dongfang Ye, Li Tian, Pang Bo, Yan Yixi, and a group of people all arrived.
Li Heishui directly slapped Huahua's bald head, saying, "If you're complaining about your realm being too low, how am I supposed to feel!"
"Senior Brother Ye Tong..." Behind them, Little Pine opened his mouth.
At these words, everyone on the cliff fell silent.
"Ye Zi, you're not thinking of fighting alone again this time, are you?" Pang Bo asked. His strength was considerable, but it was still too early for him to battle ancient supremes.
"Don't worry. This time, I'll flatten at least one Forbidden Zone of Life!" Ye Fan said, his voice resounding with force.
Everyone was startled. Seeing his confidence, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, dispelling the gloom that had hung over their hearts for many days.
"This time, let us attack the forbidden zone! If we can't fight the big ones, can't we catch the little brats of the forbidden zone?" someone said.
That day, the Heavenly Court vanished entirely, concealing itself from the vast starry seas, disappearing without a trace.
The whole world was shocked!
People realized that something earth-shattering was about to happen. Were they going to go to war with the ancient supremes? In the past, Ye Fan had done this before—hiding all his heavenly soldiers and generals, then slaughtering wantonly on the path to immortality.
Everyone sensed that a tremendous storm was about to arrive.
"Sacred Body Ye Fan, are you so impatient?" A cold voice came from the direction of the Big Dipper's forbidden zones.
The heavens themselves trembled. Everyone was terrified. They knew that their bad premonitions had come true—the winds and clouds were rising again, and a forbidden zone war was truly about to happen!
The Divine Ruins, the Immortal Mound, and others rumbled with movement. The aura of supremes spread, shaking the entire Big Dipper domain, as shocking as a vast ocean!
One could see that within the Immortal Mound, an ancient beast raised its head, resembling a divine lion, its entire body flashing with crimson light. It emerged from a split-open great tomb, carrying on its back an old woman in strange clothing.
This place was called the Immortal Mound, covered everywhere with hill-like giant tombs, impossible to verify from what era they remained, impossible to trace.
Although they were great tombs, when they split open, an immortal aura spread forth. The blood-colored divine lion, its entire body blazing with crimson light, carried this strangely dressed old woman with sparse white hair as it strode out, her aura terrifying the world.
"So the Immortal Mound's Immortal Matriarch has emerged. What a surprise—she still lives!" People from other forbidden zones sighed.
"They all say the Immortal Mound is the most mysterious, possibly a cemetery of immortals left over from the chaotic ancient era before the mythological age. The Immortal Matriarch became an emperor in the early primeval era and has lived in seclusion there for so long, shrouding her in mystery."
At the same time, from the Divine Ruins, immortal light shimmered, ten thousand auspicious colors streamed forth. An ancient war chariot flew out, vast chaotic energy spreading. Seated cross-legged on the chariot was a middle-aged man with black hair flowing over his shoulders, vigorous blood energy, and eyes bright like blazing lightning.
"It's the Divine Spirit!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
The Divine Spirit, also known in the past as the Divine Emperor, was a sacred spirit. However, he was not a stone man who attained the Dao, but rather a being formed from a strand of innate essence energy that took on a flesh-and-blood body.
If the Dragon Horse knew, he would certainly be shocked, because they were of the same kind—spirits born from the essence energy of heaven and earth. However, one had taken the form of a horse, while the other was human.
The Divine Emperor had been in seclusion within the Divine Ruins, sleeping all along, showing not a trace of aging. On the contrary, he gave people the feeling of surging blood energy. As soon as he emerged, he shook the mortal world.
"The Mythological Battlefield!"
The war chariot rumbled, chaotic energy surged. The Divine Emperor spoke and directly vanished from the Big Dipper.
In the universe, Ye Fan said nothing more. He directly stepped forward, heading toward the battlefield, because this battle was unavoidable. Delaying was not a solution, and the other side might directly initiate a dark calamity.
The Mythological Battlefield was a vast expanse of starry space. Emptiness and deathly stillness were the eternal themes. Here, there were almost no intact stars—all were shattered and broken.
Everywhere were meteorites, everywhere were star ruins. This universe had long been crippled by battle.
What was most shocking was that occasionally one would see enormous corpses, spanning across the ancient blue sky, eternally undecayed. However, their essence blood had long since drained away.
The essence was lost, only the form remained.
Ye Fan was silent. This place held not only the corpses of various clans' ancient ancestors but also the remains of sacred bodies. One could imagine how brutal the battles here had been back then.
Every single one of these skeletons had an extraordinary origin, likely the strongest ancestor of a clan. If taken out, they would absolutely shake the mortal world. Tracing back carefully would lead to one brilliant legend after another.
Of course, this could not be the result of a single battle but the accumulation from the mythological age up to the present.
"Young man, you are very strong. In my memory, you should count as one of the most powerful sacred bodies in history. But you are also very arrogant!" the Divine Emperor said.
"Alas, this old woman was once the focus of all eyes, revered throughout the universe. Looking back, it's truly like a great dream," the Immortal Matriarch sighed lightly, then continued, "At that time, I was peerlessly elegant, the most beautiful under heaven. Like you, I was full of youthful vigor, believing there was nothing in this world that I, a divine maiden, could not accomplish."
She showed a nostalgic expression. When she said these words, it felt extremely strange, because now her skin was loose, she was decrepit, her teeth nearly all fallen out, quite ugly.
"Ultimately, it's all just a dream," the Immortal Matriarch said, suddenly opening her turbid old eyes, staring at Ye Fan. "Young man, you are very dazzling. Unfortunately, you came, and now you will die!"
"Who doesn't die eventually?" Ye Fan said.
"But your wife and daughter have become immortals!" Another figure appeared, surrounding Ye Fan in the center.
"I see you all seem quite confident. Aren't you afraid of the tragedies of the past repeating themselves?" At this moment, Ye Fan also revealed a fierce and sharp killing intent. In years past, he had single-handedly killed several supremes.
"After so many things have happened, would we make a move without confidence in killing you?" A fourth person appeared.
Ye Fan's heart gave birth to an ominous feeling. When the four gathered, it actually made his hair stand on end. He sensed immense danger, and in a daze, it seemed he saw a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, a scene where even immortals lay dead. (To be continued.)