Chapter 1801: One Cycle
In the morning glow, they stood side by side, gazing into the heavens, their expressions all complex.
Those who should come had all arrived. Wang Ziwen had originally been on the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star; like Liu Yiyi, who was hidden on Earth, his cultivation talent wasn’t considered exceptionally heaven-defying. Now, both of them had white hair, showing clear signs of old age, reaching the twilight of their lives.
Kade was very special. He wasn’t a Quasi-Emperor, but he had come into contact with the power of faith, nourished daily. Although he too had aged, his blood vitality wasn’t too severely depleted.
Over the years, Zhou Yi’s strength had become astonishing, his might shaking the universe. He could be called a heavenly prodigy of his generation. His gaze was firm, his heart set on the Dao, never wavering.
Although he and Lin Jia were disciples of the same master, their choices differed. He wanted to strive upward, wishing to become a supreme powerhouse in the universe, attaining the Dao and seeking immortality.
Among these people, the states of Zhang Ziling and Li Xiaoman were the most peculiar. They were half-dead, originally beneath the Primordial Abyss.
Ye Fan had brought them out. In this era, only the Heavenly Emperor could accomplish this; only he had such face. Otherwise, anyone who intruded there would be obliterated.
However, these two were very wooden, with only a sliver of consciousness revived. Ye Fan had communicated with them, asking if they wished to return. With his level of power, there was nothing he couldn’t do; he could revive them because they weren’t truly dead.
The two didn’t respond immediately. Their consciousness fluctuated, as if in violent turmoil.
Ye Fan, Lin Jia, Wang Ziwen, Zhou Yi, Li Xiaoman, Kade, Pang Bo, Zhang Ziling, Liu Yiyi, Zhang Wenchang—ten people in total. It was a strange gathering, standing silently on Mount Tai.
The universe was so vast; not everyone had chosen to live in seclusion on Earth. Only the Heavenly Court had the operational capability to find them all and bring them together.
These were still the same people from before, but many were missing, never to be seen again. It was from here that they had set sail long ago, stepping onto the starry sky and embarking on an unimaginable life.
Unfortunately, a miracle didn’t happen a second time. They waited for nothing, and couldn’t possibly wait for anything.
They had long been mentally prepared for this. This gathering was just a reunion. Meeting again after about sixty-five hundred years was truly wondrous.
Lin Jia smiled, but tears rolled down her face. “Life is nothing but a great dream. Why should I be so attached? Cherish and enjoy each day. May every one of us find happiness in this dream.”
She smiled through her tears, coming over to hug each person, making her final farewell. Everyone knew that after this parting, it would be hard to see each other again in this lifetime.
“I’ll accompany you to walk the last stretch of this dream together,” Liu Yiyi said.
Not everyone chose to return to Earth. They would be scattered across different corners of the universe, each with their own different dreams.
“On the road, my dream continues. I will fight to the very end!” Zhou Yi said, never having been as resolute as he was now.
“At this point, I have no grand ambitions. On the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star, I live with my descendants and posterity. I am very content,” Wang Ziwen said calmly.
People knew his choice was good, that he must be very happy. But truly reaching this step, with such profound strength, who could really let go?
Kade said, “Hmm, my wish in this life is to find God and discuss life ideals with him, ask him why the hell he exiled me into the starry sky, making me eat vegetarian on Mount Sumeru for so many years. I hate him. But after I became the God of Light myself, I felt I had no hope in this life. Time, ah, it severed the great meeting that should have happened between us.”
Ye Fan didn’t speak. His hands began to move, evolving a supreme great divine ability. He traced back to the source, wanting to get to the bottom of Mount Tai’s past.
Because he was unwilling, wanting to investigate the truth of the Nine Dragons Coffin.
“No mountain is greater than it; no history is more ancient than it.”
This was Mount Tai, the most truthful evaluation by the ancients. Mysterious and boundless, it was regarded in ancient times as the place where all things were born.
Ye Fan’s hands turned a pale gold. Thunder rumbled, as if countless ghosts and gods were nearby, tearing through the void to help him probe the past and present.
Pang Bo’s expression changed. He knew Ye Fan was using all his power, employing forbidden means. Today, he was already the Heavenly Emperor. It had been countless years since he had gone all out. This was truly astonishing.
Boom!
It was as if heaven and earth were overturned. Then, on Mount Tai, countless ancient people appeared. They built altars to sacrifice to heaven, sacred and solemn.
A grand sacrificial sound rang out, deafening, making people feel as if they were about to attain enlightenment, to kneel down and kowtow to the heavenly gods.
Ye Fan was using forbidden means to pierce through the past and present, tracing the origin, hoping to seek a clear explanation.
The sages of history appeared one by one, all standing on Mount Tai. Many ascended to heaven, entering star gates, stepping into the universe.
The seventy-two ancient emperors of high antiquity were naturally not true Great Emperors, just titles. Ye Fan saw them all.
Rumble!
The sound became even more astonishing. Finally, he traced back to an extremely ancient era, abruptly blocked by a figure, unable to see through the past.
That was a Great Emperor, very blurry, impossible to see clearly, but standing there, blocking the way, impossible to penetrate.
Using this kind of secret technique, the worst thing was encountering Great Emperors or Ancient Emperors. They were too powerful, able to erase the traces of those years, preventing further tracing, blocked by them there.
Ye Fan frowned. This secret technique from the Veda Sutra was useless now. His brow glowed, and he unleashed a forbidden secret technique from his own Heavenly Emperor Sutra. Divine thunder rumbled, and blazing lightning flashed.
“Boom!”
In the end, he broke through that person. The Heavenly Emperor’s divine abilities were unmatched. He continued to trace Mount Tai’s origin, hoping to see everything that had happened in the past.
He traced from the Primordial Era back to the Primeval Era, only to be blocked again, this time by several figures in succession. He finally broke through with difficulty.
During this process, he saw the Nine Dragons Coffin return to Mount Tai several times, setting sail again. Each time, it made things very difficult for Ye Fan; it was also a barrier hindering exploration.
However, those times, the bronze coffin didn’t take anyone away.
Finally, he reached the Mythical Era. This time, the resistance was even greater. Blood trickled from the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth. Pang Bo and Zhang Wenchang were horrified. They knew Ye Fan was defying heaven, using a secret technique that shouldn’t exist in this world, injuring even himself.
No one could endlessly travel through the River of Time. But Ye Fan was going upstream, against the will of heaven. Others might trace a stretch of time, but he traced all the way to the Mythical Era.
“Emperor Venerable, is it him?!”
This time, when the phantom appeared, people saw a cauldron above his head, identical to that Green Copper Cauldron.
Ye Fan coughed up a mouthful of blood, injured again, but he didn’t stop. That was, after all, just a phantom. Although it blocked his forbidden technique in the river, making exploration difficult, it wasn’t a real person. In the end, it was broken through.
Going upstream, the River of Time seemed to be unraveled. Ye Fan traced to the end of the Mythical Era, but still couldn’t see anything.
Moreover, at this point, a barrier appeared, impossible to cross, preventing him from going further back against the flow of time.
Human power had its limits. Even though Ye Fan was the Heavenly Emperor, with unparalleled strength, he couldn’t completely pierce through the ages. But he didn’t lose heart; he continued to strive.
“Open for me!”
Ye Fan shouted, continuously coughing up blood, his body swaying. Finally, with a rumble, he shattered that barrier and broke into another era.
The Chaotic Ancient Era!
Then, he saw a person, standing atop Mount Tai, dominating heaven and earth, unrivaled. His aura was beyond words!
At that time, Mount Tai wasn’t like this. It was too magnificent. Sun, moon, and stars were insignificant compared to it. It hung in the universe, not on any star.
Then, he saw that person sever Mount Tai. The most majestic part floated up into the high heavens, rumbling and roaring.
“It’s that!”
Ye Fan’s eyes blazed, golden beams shooting out. That was actually the Heaven Above. The severed main body was a coffin-shaped island connected by nine vast dragon veins.
The Mount Tai of today was the abandoned remnant.
No mountain is greater than it; no history is more ancient than it.
Then, Ye Fan saw that person bury himself in a bronze coffin. Nine dragons served as the coffin’s pulling beasts, soaring into the Heaven-Burying Island. Finally, the Heaven Above drifted away, entering the universe.
“It’s a person from the Chaotic Ancient Era.”
Ye Fan withdrew his secret technique. Rumbling sounded within his body. His injuries healed, and blood no longer flowed from his mouth.
How many years had it been? He had actually been wounded. That was a considerable miracle. If word spread throughout the universe, it would surely cause a great upheaval.
“Could it be the true Heavenly Emperor?” Pang Bo frowned.
The more they understood, the more chaotic their thoughts became.
Some believed that the Ancient Heavenly Court founded by Emperor Venerable in the Mythical Era was also imitating the ancients. Some Ancient Emperors thought that in an unknown age, there had been a vast heavenly dynasty, created by the master of the Desolate Tower. He was the true Heavenly Emperor.
And the title “Emperor Venerable” also borrowed a character from “Heavenly Emperor.”
“Is this a cycle? The Nine Dragons Coffin began at Mount Tai and returns to Mount Tai. We set sail from here…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
“Is the Heavenly Emperor cycling?” Zhou Yi suddenly spoke.
“There are no people who cycle, only old affairs that cycle,” Ye Fan said calmly. Then he added, “Tracing back to the source, everything is about seeking immortality. In the cultivator world, all great changes since ancient times have arisen because of immortals.”
A few days later, Zhang Ziling was saved by Ye Fan. His spiritual consciousness fully recovered. He was very moved and emotional. He followed Zhang Wenchang to the Heavenly Court. Li Xiaoman chose to step into the Primordial Abyss, without looking back.
Looking back, sixty-five hundred years had passed. Past events had scattered with the wind.
The gathering at Mount Tai ended with this parting. For some, it was forever.
Worldly affairs were concluded. Ye Fan strode forward. In this life, he would no longer be tied down or affected by matters on Earth.
He didn’t leave immediately. Together with Pang Bo and the Dragon Horse, he came to the core of Kunlun—the Immortal Ascension Ground.
Great arrays densely covered the area, seizing the fortune of heaven and earth. But now, they couldn’t stop Ye Fan, who was the Heavenly Emperor. They arrived and saw ten thousand dragon-head peaks, divine springs gurgling, and the fragrance of medicine wafting through the air.
“This place… is simply a miracle!” Pang Bo exclaimed. He saw many Medicine Kings, like a garden of Medicine Kings.
In fact, the Medicine Kings had decreased significantly; their numbers weren’t very astonishing anymore. They had all transformed into essence, giving back to Earth. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a heaven and earth suitable for cultivation now.
“If the Heavenly Court faces a great calamity one day, this place might become a life-saving ground,” Ye Fan murmured softly.
He began to search and explore here, studying carefully.
It was indeed the arrangement of Emperor Venerable and a Source Emperor. To be precise, that Source Emperor was the Netherworld Emperor. Moreover, Ye Fan saw a name in the array—Cao Yusheng.
The Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Venerable Cao Yusheng. That was the Netherworld Emperor’s own inscription. It was his first life, the foundation of his pursuit. He had gained sentience and been reborn from the corpse of a Heavenly Venerable.
The Netherworld Emperor knew his time was short. He had inscribed his past names. The Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Venerable and the Netherworld Emperor shared the same physical body but not the same primordial spirit.
“In this life, he is Duan De!” the Dragon Horse shouted.
“Duan De, he’s digging up the great secrets underground. Is this instinct? His subconscious is driving him to search, wanting to reclaim everything from his past,” Pang Bo said. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to register on the literature website to recommend this work. Your support is my greatest motivation.)