Chapter 756: Enemies Across the Big Dipper Star Domain
Ye Fan's mind exploded. What had happened in these twelve years? All his old friends had fallen... These words shook his blood, causing it to surge like thunder through his veins, and even his primordial spirit trembled violently.
At this moment, his gaze was terrifying, his eyes like comets blazing through the void, burning with an urgent need to understand the hidden truth. His black hair obscured his face, whipping wildly as he sat cross-legged like a demon god.
"Brother Ye, restrain yourself," Yan Yixi transmitted mentally, while Li Tian patted his shoulder.
Ye Fan said nothing, sitting as still as a boulder, his eyes seeming to pierce through twelve years of time, returning to the past to stand alongside those old friends, reliving that unforgettable era.
Bloody battles in the Southern Domain, fleeing and fighting, the storm in the Divine City, Source Art duels, surviving the Saint Body curse by a hair's breadth, entering the Primordial Forbidden Zone, venturing into Immortal Mountain, storming the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, traversing the Central Province, fighting at the Qinling Immortal Pool and Dragon Cave...
During that time, there were self-sacrificing rescues, desperate battles, blood-soaked dirges, touching warmth, scenes of mutual support—they walked together, experienced everything together.
Those people, those events, were as clear as if they were still before his eyes.
Ji Ziyue smiling through tears, Li Heishui howling at the silver moon, Pang Bo ferociously gnawing on coffin planks, Tu Fei's big mouth unchanged, Little Nannan obedient and pitiful, the Big Black Dog insatiably greedy... Scene after scene—some warm, some heroic, some tearful, some joyful—an unforgettable period of time.
Slaughter the world!
These four words thundered through Ye Fan's heart. If these people truly no longer existed in this world, having met with disaster, he would slaughter the world and cut down every enemy.
But even doing that wouldn't bring anything back. His eyes turned cold as he sat cross-legged on the stone platform, listening to the discussions around him.
"More than ten years have passed, and those people's lives were truly tenacious, lasting until now."
"They finally fell silent not long ago. They're probably all dead by now. Surviving until now under the pursuit of such experts was already a miracle."
Even those present sighed with emotion as they spoke of these matters. A group of powerful individuals, all formidable, had ultimately been unable to hold on.
Li Xiaoman?!
Ye Fan's eyes immediately sharpened. He heard her name from the crowd's words—she had actually pursued Li Heishui, Wu Zhongtian, Jiang Huairen, and the others. According to what people said, she was extremely terrifying.
At this moment, his blood surged. This woman was truly heartless enough that she hadn't even spared Pang Bo. Coming from the same homeland, she had joined forces with Hua Yunfei and other experts to make those people bleed across the Eastern Wasteland.
Ye Fan remained silent, his knuckles white from clenching. His expression grew even colder as he gazed into the distant land, longing to charge over immediately and cut off those people's heads.
Hua Yunfei had become a major force. Twelve years ago, he became the common enemy of the world, hunted for eight full years, enduring hundreds of life-and-death crises, but ultimately cultivated the Ruthless Great Emperor's supreme heavenly art. Now, no one in the world dared to hunt him down anymore; many were instead worried about their own safety.
This man, like a banished immortal, possessed an extraordinary ethereal aura. He had been able to endure and hide his strength back then. Ye Fan had always been wary of him, knowing he would inevitably rise. Now, it came as no surprise—sooner or later, there would be a reckoning between them.
"That woman named Li Xiaoman also cultivates the Devouring Demon Art, along with a secret technique for summoning deities. She's utterly terrifying and likely no weaker than Hua Yunfei. Back then, Pang Bo was so astonishing, rising from behind among the Holy Sons to surpass his peers, but he nearly had his physical shell seized by that eerie summoned deity. His vitality dried up, his origin energy was severely damaged, and he almost died. It was precisely because of that battle that he began his path to ruin. Otherwise, his potential was boundless."
"Li Xiaoman..." Ye Fan spat out these three words, his clenched fingers turning from white to green. His expression was ice-cold.
In his heart, he had transcended anger. He knew Hua Yunfei would become ruthless—once he achieved great success, he would make a move against him. But he never expected Li Xiaoman to go even further, attacking even Pang Bo, willing to kill an old friend from the same place.
This was a stone platform where many people sat cross-legged, discussing the Dao and debating the world's powerful figures. The topic was about to be dropped—it couldn't be dwelt on forever.
However, Yan Yixi and Li Tian knew that Ye Fan urgently wanted to learn about his old friends' situation. They skillfully steered the conversation back to this topic.
Ye Fan remained silent, sitting quietly behind the stone platform, listening to the crowd recount the various details.
The Northern Emperor, Wang Teng, was not dead!
This news was a considerable shock to Ye Fan, causing a ripple in his icy expression. It was indeed unexpected.
"Is this person very strong?" Li Tian asked quietly, seeing Ye Fan's expression change.
"Twelve years ago, he could overpower various sect leaders and make the masters of the Holy Lands deeply wary. He was called the Northern Emperor, and among the younger generation at that time, he was guaranteed a spot in the top five."
"He was that powerful twelve years ago?!" Li Tian was startled.
Ye Fan nodded. Back then, he had relied entirely on the Black Gourd to burn Wang Teng to death—it wasn't a victory through true strength.
In that battle, the Northern Emperor was extremely frustrated. He possessed the power to dominate the world but couldn't use it. He looked down on his contemporaries, yet was ultimately crushed to death by the Bronze Coffin and the Black Gourd.
If it had been a true duel, even counting the older generation, few could have suppressed him back then. That battle was a great hatred in his life.
"In the current world, if anyone most desires the Saint Body's return, it's none other than Wang Teng. After that battle, he was resurrected through the Ancient Emperor War Chariot and has been brooding over it for twelve years."
"In that battle, the Northern Emperor was indeed frustrated to the extreme. Otherwise, with his true strength, who in the world could suppress him?"
"Shh, keep your voice down. No one dares to call him the Northern Emperor now—it would bring deadly disaster."
Ye Fan fell silent, listening to their accounts. The Northern Emperor's fortune hadn't diminished; in fact, it had grown even stronger. Back then, he had obtained another inheritance in an ancient hall personally built by Emperor Void of the Ji Family.
The chaotic ancient inheritance, plus what seemed to be Emperor Void's inheritance—cultivating the scriptures of two ancient great emperors simultaneously—was a rare occurrence in history, ancient or modern.
Ye Fan clearly understood that his killing of Wang Teng that day wasn't due to his true strength. On the distant northern grasslands, a terrifying great enemy was waiting for his return, and there would surely be an earth-shattering battle.
Li Tian sucked on his teeth after hearing this. Yan Yixi continued to steer the conversation so Ye Fan could understand the situation of his old friends in detail.
The Wang Clan of the Northern Plains had a deep relationship with the ancient tribes. When they pursued Li Heishui and the others, they allied with the ancient tribes to make their move. Someone had personally witnessed Zi Tian of the Divine Spirit Valley kill Wu Zhongtian at the Eagle-Falling Cliff, staining the stone wall with blood.
"The Wang Clan... I will make a trip to the Northern Plains," Ye Fan muttered to himself.
Mentioning the ancient royal clans, someone brought up the legends among them—Huang Xudao, the Celestial Prince, Yuangu, Huo Qizi, the Divine Silkworm Daoist, and others.
Yuangu had once pursued Pang Bo, trying to obtain the Demon Emperor Nine Slashes. If the Monkey hadn't intervened, the consequences would have been unimaginable. However, the Monkey was dragged into it because of this, becoming hostile toward the Immortal Celestial Prince and Yuangu. He faced numerous great calamities and was now missing, his life or death unknown.
Ye Fan also unexpectedly learned that the fact Pang Bo had seized control of his body and suppressed the soul-stealer had been exposed. Most of the demon clan had complicated feelings about him. Important figures, remembering old ties, hadn't made a move or demanded the return of the ancient scripture, but they no longer protected him.
The Red Dragon Daoist and the Peacock King, remembering old friendships, had saved his life several times but couldn't change anything.
"Who else made a move?" Li Tian asked on Ye Fan's behalf. Even he was sucking on his teeth, realizing that the enemies Ye Fan had to face were terrifyingly numerous.
The Central Province's great sect—the Yin Yang Sect—had an ancient heritage. They had once produced an invincible human great sage who killed an outer-domain deity. They had made their move.
Additionally, a mysterious woman, white-robed like snow, peerlessly beautiful, her face unseen, terrifyingly boundless, had also made a move, pursuing Ye Fan's old friends.
"Who is this woman?" Ye Fan was startled. He thought for a long time but couldn't recall ever offending such a woman.
Moreover, he unexpectedly learned that this woman was so mysterious and eerie that she even wanted to kill Li Xiaoman. They had fought once, but the outcome was unknown.
"Did you ever seduce and abandon someone..." Li Tian kindly suggested, though it looked like he deserved a beating.
"Go hang out where it's cool." Then, Ye Fan thought of Li Heishui, Wu Zhongtian, Liu Kou, and the others. Their grandfathers were among the Thirteen Great Bandits of the Northern Domain—hadn't they come forward to protect them?
"With the two ancient assassin divine dynasties emerging, even the Thirteen Great Bandits of the Northern Domain couldn't handle it..."
Hell and Mortal World, the two ancient assassin divine dynasties, no longer hid in the shadows. In this chaotic age, they had finally emerged. Their successive divine sons and divine daughters were said to be capable of killing all kings. Their ancient palaces were built from the skulls of various king bodies, with the skin of ancient saints as carpets.
In this generation, the divine sons and divine daughters of Mortal World and Hell terrified all sects. Following their ancestors' will, they sought to attain the Dao through slaughter.
If one were to list the top contenders among the younger generation, they would have to be included. But few cultivators present dared to mention them, showing just how feared they were.
Li Heishui's grandfather—the Eighth Great Bandit, Li Heng—died in battle on a desolate mountain in the Northern Domain. An old assassin from Hell's assassin dynasty had pinned him to a cliff with a spear.
Liu Kou's grandfather—the Sixth Great Bandit, Liu Feng—bled out in the Divine City. An old assassin from Mortal World had pierced through his crown with a single sword strike. He died standing, unable to close his eyes.
Hearing this, Ye Fan ground his teeth to powder, his fists clenched tightly. Even among the Thirteen Great Bandits, someone had fallen. No wonder their descendants couldn't protect their lives.
"Most importantly, the first among the Thirteen Great Bandits, that most mysterious old immortal, is suspected to have passed away in meditation. Some say he's closed himself off for a life-and-death seclusion, charging toward a realm ordinary people can't imagine, burying himself alive. He probably won't emerge for a hundred years, removing a powerful deterrent."
"Anyone else?" Yan Yixi asked, helping Ye Fan understand everything thoroughly.
With so many enemies already, they thought there wouldn't be others. But the truth was unexpected—there were more, and they were extremely powerful.
This was a group of mysterious people who had never revealed their identities. They had gone to the Grand Mystery Sect in the Southern Domain to kill an unknown person—Zhang Wenchang. Later, people realized he was someone closely connected to the Saint Body.
At first, the Grand Mystery Sect thought a great enemy had descended, losing many experts. It wasn't until Li Ruoyu of Clumsy Peak made his move that the powerful enemies were driven back in shock.
"Who would have thought that Li Ruoyu of Clumsy Peak was terrifying to such a degree? He rivals the ancient sages with great power. He's just an ordinary physique, yet so astonishing."
Sitting for centuries, mediocre in talent, he ultimately soared to the heavens. Li Ruoyu was a cultivator of great wisdom and great perseverance.
Hearing this, Ye Fan let out a long breath. Zhang Wenchang was safe, but he quickly became alert again.
That group of mysterious people had also ambushed Liu Yiyi when she left the Jade Pool. Though they didn't succeed, it seriously indicated a problem.
"Who is it? Who are these people? Could they be former classmates? That shouldn't be the case. There's no reason for them to turn hostile, no reason to kill these two..." Doubt arose in Ye Fan's heart.
Enemies surrounded him on all sides. Ye Fan could already feel their cold gazes. He knew there would be continuous battles, that he would walk a blood-soaked warrior's path, with endless blood and bone along the way.
"Do you know? This time, a certain tribe of the Southern Ridge's barbarian clan will face great disaster. Experts from the Northern Plains' Wang Clan are going to raze them," someone said.
Dongfang Ye, that barbarian, was close friends with Pang Bo and the others. Over the past dozen years, they had shared many life-and-death crises, dragging his small tribe into trouble.
"I've heard some rumors. Is it true?"
"It's no rumor. I heard the Wang Clan has already set out. They've probably already made their move by now. Haven't you noticed that today's Spiritual Medicine Assembly has fewer people than a few days ago? Those in the know have gone to watch the excitement."
"Let's go. Time to kill!"
Ye Fan shot to his feet, his expression ice-cold. This news made his blood boil with rage. He had heard that Dongfang Ye might have died in battle, and now his tribe was being bullied at their doorstep. How could he not be furious?
"Starting a massacre in the Southern Ridge?" Li Tian asked.
"Wherever I am, that is the battlefield!" Ye Fan's killing intent pierced through the nine heavens.