Chapter 743: Divine Form
The black skull, translucent and crystalline, flickering with a dark light, was a divine object like a perfect work of art, belonging to the ancient Yin Saint of that era.
At this moment, it sprayed out radiant mist, steam rising from its seven orifices, trembling as if alive—it was precisely this strike that had broken through the Golden Crow King’s defenses.
“Little Six, you have disappointed me. To perish at this age, body and Dao extinguished—I had placed great hopes in you, but you could not be lifted up.”
The Golden Crow King showed no grief or anger, nor did he roar. He was very calm, as if speaking of something unrelated to himself, his expression indifferent.
This only made him seem more terrifying. Was this the calm before the storm, or was his nature simply such, unmoved even as Mount Tai collapsed before his eyes?
“The Golden Crow Clan’s ten princes have all died at the hands of a single person!” At this moment, the cultivators at the horizon were shaken.
Lu Ya was dead, blood mist scattering, yet the Golden Crow King truly showed not a single ripple of emotion. He only stared at that ancient saint’s skull.
Others were also pondering. The ancient weapons left behind in this world all had distinct characteristics, countable on one’s fingers—which one could this be?
Ye Fan smiled. With just the Weapon Art, he could conceal everything, evading all detection. In fact, there were many secret methods to hide a weapon without leaving any trace.
Just like back then, in the Divine City of the Northern Domain, when heroes from all sides came to kill the White-Robed Divine King, the most notable among them was the Dark Night Monarch, who had brought an ultimate imperial weapon. To this day, it remained an unsolved mystery, unknown which one it was.
The Golden Crow King suddenly turned, facing Ye Fan. Without another word, he struck directly. In his eyes, sun and moon sank and fell, mountains and rivers crumbled, and the vicissitudes of ten thousand ages revolved.
At that moment, the ancient primordial wilderness appeared, and the Golden Crow, overlord of the world, descended upon the land, soaring across the sky, streaks of golden light tearing through the void.
This was a suffocating killing intent, this scene transforming into a tangible world, pressing forward.
Even though he had manifested only a projection from beyond the celestial domain, he still possessed an unparalleled kingly demeanor, not to be judged by common sense. His dharma power was vast as the sea, his divine energy boundless.
This was a heaven-shaking attack. Everyone was nearly suffocating. When the ancient primordial earth and the Golden Crow spanning the sky appeared, even those at the horizon trembled.
At the center of the battlefield, Ye Fan held the Divine Maiden Furnace in his hand, facing this ancient battlefield. He was struck as if by lightning, stumbling backward more than ten steps.
With each step, the void was stamped with Dao marks. His Immortal Platform was under violent assault—an invisible kingly Dao.
“Crack”
The Golden Crow King was sacrificing his Dao, severing the last secret realm of Ye Fan’s human body, ruthless and cruel, unstoppably powerful.
Ye Fan’s primordial spirit shook violently. The golden miniature figure developed cracks one after another, spreading down to the Immortal Platform beneath it—a very dangerous crisis.
If this continued, he would be severed alive on the Immortal Platform, his Dao foundation destroyed, reduced to a fool, a living corpse.
“Pfft”
Ye Fan was wounded, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Facing a projection of the Golden Crow King, comparable to a Greatly Accomplished Divine King, it was like confronting a demon god, an endless pressure.
“Crack”
His brow was drenched in blood, a terrifying blood scar appearing. The power severing his Dao foundation invaded, destabilizing his primordial spirit.
This was a crushing of the Dao, an attack on the very source of divine energy, formless and traceless. Ye Fan held the divine furnace, circulating the ancient scripture’s heart method. His body blazed with golden light, forming a sacred domain.
“Boom”
With the final strike, his forehead bone nearly shattered. For him, who had cultivated his physical body to such a level, this was almost unimaginable.
“It wounded my physical body…” Ye Fan muttered to himself. A figure comparable to a Greatly Accomplished Divine King was truly terrifying. Even without his true body present, attacking with just his Dao intent was so fierce!
The gap in cultivation level was too great!
Even if you were a dragon, in your youth you had to coil, not yet a match for other fierce beasts. The same principle applied. Though Ye Fan was a Sacred Body and now very strong, facing someone on par with a Greatly Accomplished Divine King, his cultivation level was still far behind.
However, it was ultimately a projection from beyond the celestial domain, not the true body. Once Ye Fan unleashed his Golden Sacred Domain, he finally blocked this calamity.
He staggered backward, the sacred domain like gold, enveloping him, becoming a place where no dharma could touch, confronting the Golden Crow King.
“A pity, too little power available. The true body should come out and move around a bit.” The Golden Crow King regretted. Without his true body present, the attacks he could launch were limited.
At the horizon, people felt a chill. Was the mighty Golden Crow King about to emerge again? A Greatly Accomplished King leaving seclusion—who in the world could contend with him?
This would be news that shook every continent, even stirring up a storm overseas. How many years had it been since a Greatly Accomplished King had walked abroad? People could hardly remember.
“Clang”
Ye Fan struck, activating the Divine Maiden Furnace. On the other side, the black ancient saint’s skull also trembled, pressing down like a demonic tower.
“Zheng,” “Keng”…
This was a clash of saint weapons, faster than lightning, more violent than the collapse of a star domain. It was a storm of divine energy, affecting even those hiding at the horizon.
No one could see what was happening at the scene. Only light and black holes alternated, turning that place into an eerie stretch of sky. Nothing else could be glimpsed.
With a final tremor, heaven and earth cleared. Ye Fan staggered back, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. On his chest was a fist-sized blood hole, piercing through, nearly shattering his heart.
“A terrifying Greatly Accomplished King!”
“An incredible projection from beyond the celestial domain! Tens of millions of miles away from his true body, yet able to unleash such divine might!”
These were the thoughts of everyone present. All were terrified. Anyone else would have been annihilated in body and spirit. Only the Sacred Body could withstand it.
The gap in cultivation level could not be measured by ordinary standards. The invincible kingly posture swept all before it, living up to its reputation.
“A pity. A few more strands of divine energy would have been enough. I lack the strength…” the Golden Crow King muttered to himself. His attacks were constrained at every turn.
“Boom”
He clasped his hands together. The ancient primordial earth reappeared, the Golden Crow soaring, transforming into a heaven-and-earth furnace!
He moved his hands, tracing the trajectory of the Dao, enveloping Ye Fan. He was using heaven and earth as a bronze furnace, Dao intent as the furnace fire, to sacrifice and refine Ye Fan alive.
Above the furnace, the Golden Crow Clan’s ancient divine trident floated, letting down thousands of silken threads, fueling the Dao fire.
“Boom”
The heaven-and-earth furnace grew more and more real. The Golden Crow King stood in the sky, his Dao intent like fire, driving and pouring it downward, chanting: “Dao dissolve!”
This time, people could see nothing again. There was only light there. Dao intent driving the furnace—this was an attack of Dao and dharma.
At the center of the radiance, Ye Fan’s expression was grave. This was the final stage of a king’s attack. If he handled it poorly, he might truly fall.
He swung his arms, evolving the Golden Taiji Circle. The sacred domain expanded, dharma power vast as the sea. Golden light burst forth, trying to break through this heaven-and-earth furnace.
Then, with a flick of his right hand, he cast out the Divine Maiden Furnace from his palm, fixing it within the Golden Taiji Circle. Light blazed brilliantly, divine radiance dazzling.
This fist-sized crystalline divine furnace became a divine point within the yin-yang fish, like a sun hanging in the sky!
“Slap”
With his other hand, he struck out, casting the ancient saint’s black skull into the Golden Taiji Circle as well, fixing it as another divine point in the yin-yang fish.
Within this black skull was embedded the Guanghan Tower, borrowed from Yi Qingwu, hidden inside, hard for outsiders to sense.
This was a terrifying evolution. Even the Golden Crow King’s expression shifted when he saw it, muttering: “Divine Form!”
At this moment, Ye Fan blocked the Dao fire, calm and composed within the heaven-and-earth furnace. With a forceful shake, the Golden Taiji Circle surged upward, its divine might awe-inspiring, as if heaven and earth were about to return to chaos.
Amid the battle between light and darkness, charging between brilliance and black holes, Ye Fan used the Golden Taiji Circle to break the furnace, fighting the fearsome Golden Crow King.
In this process, the two clashed fiercely. The saint weapons trembled repeatedly, killing the heaven and earth in this area into an unstable, shapeless mess.
The Golden Taiji Circle now displayed world-shaking divine might, because the two yin-yang points had been replaced by ancient saint weapons. The Divine Maiden Furnace and the Guanghan Tower, one yang and one yin, perfectly matched its essence.
Finally, a vast void abyss appeared, swallowing everything, leveling everything. Heaven and earth fell silent. Nothing could be seen!
No one knew how long passed before light reappeared. When everything came to a halt, the two figures rushed out of the great void fissure one after another.
The Golden Crow King stared ahead and said: “In this era, Yin Tiande evolved a flawless divine form over a decade ago, and now there is another—you.”
When the physical body is pushed to its extreme, taking on the shape of the Dao, it is a manifestation of profound cultivation, entering the hall of the Dao, and a direction for future attainment of the Dao. All such transformations are called divine forms.
Four years ago, Yi Qingwu had also said that Yin Tiande had displayed a divine form while breaking through the one hundred and eight life-and-death trials of Guanghan Palace, and that she herself was on the verge of success.
“It seems there is no way to kill you today.” The Golden Crow King sighed softly. All ten of his sons were prodigies, yet all had died at the hands of one person.
He was very decisive. Carrying the Crow-Wing Flowing Gold Trident, he retreated, intending to fly away through the heavens.
People were horrified. What kind of divine form had Ye Fan evolved? He had blocked the attack of a Greatly Accomplished King—it was simply shocking to hear.
“Though it was a projection from beyond the celestial domain, not the true body, the caster was still a Greatly Accomplished King!”
At this moment, everyone realized that a true contender for the future, one who could rival the master of the Eight Scenery Palace, had appeared. As long as he did not die, he would surely become a second Yin Tiande.
“Leaving just like that? Why not lend me the divine trident for a while?” Ye Fan used the two ancient saint weapons as the yin-yang points of the Golden Taiji, cutting off the path ahead.
“The weapon contains a deity. Once awakened, unless an ancient saint emerges, who can subdue it? Apart from my Golden Crow Clan, no one in the world can use it. Are you sure you want to take that risk?” said the Golden Crow King.
“If I can’t use it, I can smash it with the Divine Maiden Furnace and recast it into a rough saint weapon,” Ye Fan said.
“Young man, leave some leeway in all things, or things may become irreparable.” The Golden Crow King stood tall and imposing, like a demon god, his golden hair loose, staring coldly.
“To the benevolent, I will treat them with courtesy. To those who come with a butcher’s blade, I will leave not a shred of leeway.” Ye Fan struck.
Using two ancient saint weapons as the yin-yang divine points, his evolved divine form was amplified in power by who knew how many times. Even the Greatly Accomplished King’s projection could not withstand it!
“Boom”
Like a deity, the Golden Crow King let out a long cry. Most of his essence burned up, pouring into the ancient divine trident, which shot toward Ye Fan like a meteor.
“Boom”
The two yin-yang divine points in the divine form shook together, shooting out yin and yang qi, unleashing the great power of the Dao, smashing all obstacles.
But a king’s desperate strike was immeasurable. The divine trident pierced through, arriving close at hand.
The divine form shook again. The ancient divine trident tore through the void, vanishing into it, disappearing without a trace.
“Young man, I will make you understand the consequences of leaving no leeway!”
The Golden Crow King had used the trident to reach Ye Fan’s side. This was a mutual destruction. His entire body burned, sublimating to the extreme, transforming into a streak of immortal light, stabbing toward Ye Fan’s head.
Ye Fan’s Immortal Platform shook violently. His forehead bone showed blood marks. The immortal light was about to plunge in!
“Boom”
Suddenly, within Ye Fan’s brow, a golden miniature figure emerged, holding a cauldron, pressing down. At this moment, time stopped, heaven and earth froze!
The Golden Crow King let out a great cry. His body faded, turning to ashes. Only an incomplete sentence escaped his lips: “After the divine form…”