Chapter 1124: Path to Heaven

The Star Gate closed, and Ye Fan vanished from this world. He had defeated the Invincible Crown Prince of Heaven at the same level and defied heaven to slay ancient saints, leaving behind an immortal legend.

"Master!"

Ye Tong cried out to the dimming five-colored altar, but only an echo returned, with no one in sight. The area was completely silent.

Over the past few decades, Ye Fan had stirred up immense commotion; the legend of the Saint Body spread across the entire ancient star, and even many years after his disappearance, people found it hard to forget him.

"The Path of the Strongest, the most formidable trial in human history. I might know how to intervene..." said an ancient saint who had descended from beyond the stars.

"Oh, please enlighten us, sir," said a lord of an ancient clan.

"What do you intend to do? Do you also wish to undergo the trial?"

The Ancestral King of the ancient clan replied, "The Path to Immortality is about to open. As an ancient saint, I have no such intentions for myself; I merely wish to send off some of my descendants to try their luck."

"Don't even think about it," the sage from beyond the stars sneered. "Ordinary individuals who go there will only be throwing their lives away. Unless it's a character of the Ancient Prince level, they will surely perish."

"Is that so? Perhaps it's worth considering," the ancient clan's saint's eyes gleamed. "I believe some individuals would be willing to go, such as the Golden Princess, Huang Xudao, and the Dragon Maiden of the Myriad Dragon Nest. Furthermore, most of the Primordial Myriad Races came from beyond the stars; perhaps this path could lead them home, back to their ancestral lands!"

Although Ye Fan had left, legends about him circulated throughout the ancient star. Over the decades, he had slain Holy Sons, defeated Divine Sons, and slaughtered Ancient Princes, establishing a formidable reputation.

Many believed this was a path of no return, that those who embarked on this heaven-reaching ancient path might never come back. They thought this was the last ripple of his fame, and he would never reappear.

A desolate wind blew, and the desolate ancient star finally stirred, breaking its death-like stillness. Yellow sand covered the ground. Ye Fan gazed into the distance; the scene was one of utter desolation.

Especially at dusk, darkness was everywhere; the sky and earth were a dull yellow, profoundly dim, with no sign of life.

Having cast aside prosperity, left his homeland, and bid farewell to old friends, he embarked alone on the Path of the Strongest. Gone was the clamor of the mortal world; now there was only solitude.

He had been traveling for half a year, moving from one ancient star to another, tirelessly, in monotonous repetition, yet he had not encountered a single living being.

The vast cosmos was endlessly dark and cold. Crossing it like this, with no end in sight, he didn't know how far he had traveled from the Big Dipper; perhaps he would never return in this lifetime.

Half a year ago, when he exited the five-colored altar, he found a small altar on that ancient star; just like the path leading from Hangu Pass on Earth, it was a one-way teleportation.

He had no destination, able only to follow an ancient path laid out long ago by predecessors. Unaware of the beginning or end, he moved passively.

This journey was incredibly lonely, with no one to talk to. Far from the worldly glamour, he could only cultivate alone in solitude.

"The strongest trial in history, where three Saint Bodies have perished. Wu Shi and Great Emperor Qing had also walked this path. I am following in their footsteps; I must reach the end!" Ye Fan murmured to himself.

The wind grew stronger, and yellow sand filled the sky, obscuring it. His Heavenly Eye opened. As the dust flew upwards, some snow-white skulls appeared in this vast desert.

He walked over and squatted down to observe carefully, finding that they belonged to an unknown race. They had been dead for tens of thousands of years, yet the skulls were still very solid and gleamed with a faint luster.

Ye Fan unleashed his powerful divine sense and searched meticulously, scouring the entire ancient star, finally discovering a trace of a clue.

On a bone arm, some words were engraved, almost eroded by time. They were ancient human characters, stating that this was the Gate of Trials, and from here, true hardships would begin.

"Does it begin here?" Ye Fan murmured to himself.

The hardships had already begun; he had spent a full half month just to find that small, one-way, five-colored altar on this ancient star.

Some of those white bones belonged to ancient people who had lost their lives because they couldn't find the Heavenly Path, their life force exhausted, withered here.

"Om."

With a flash of light, he stepped onto the true trial path. In the void passage, he murmured to himself, "I anticipate what lies ahead!"

Soon after, a suppressed, heavy aura washed over him. Ye Fan burst out of the Star Gate and arrived in a mysterious world.

"Bang!"

A bone blade struck, its force heavy and fierce enough to cleave a great mountain. The moment Ye Fan emerged from the Star Gate, he was attacked.

"I won't be lonely anymore! Finally, I've encountered a living being!" He was not angered by the ambush; instead, he was pleasantly surprised, having truly had enough of the monotony and solitude.

"Crack!"

Ye Fan flicked his finger, instantly shattering the bone blade. Then he swung his right leg in a sweeping kick, and the snow-white skeleton in front of him disintegrated, unable to withstand the power of the Saint Body's physical form.

"What kind of world is this? Is this the strongest trial ground in history?"

Ye Fan looked ahead, a frown creasing his brow.

A deathly aura permeated everywhere. There was no light, nor was it intensely dark. The surroundings were profoundly dim, wreathed in ribbons of black mist, as if he had arrived in a realm of death.

Heavy, leaden clouds, like mountains, pressed down from the sky, filling every inch of space and completely obscuring this world. There was no sunlight, no moonlight, no stars.

This was a black and white world, devoid of any vibrant colors. It was like the dimmest evening. White bones lay piled unknown dozens of feet deep on the ground, and bone dust was everywhere.

How many had to die to create such a terrifying scene?

Ye Fan did not know. He saw no creatures of flesh and blood. In the distance, only white skeletons moved, with eerie ghost flames flickering in their skulls, dark and strange.

"What kind of world have I entered?"

He walked a great distance, yet the ground remained covered in white bones, with no end in sight. Finally, he soared into the sky, flying over many mountains and lands, but all he saw was still a vast expanse of white!

Ye Fan felt a chill. This was too terrifying. Even if this was a living ancient star and all its life had been extinguished, there couldn't be so many skeletons. How were they formed?

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a ghostly light shot forth, shattering the firmament like an ocean crashing down. It was a black ancient spear, imbued with a hint of immortal divine power.

Ye Fan was startled and quickly dodged. In the distance, a black figure stood on a mountain of bones, roaring at the sky, completely unlike the other white skeletons, its roar deafening.

All around, many skeletal creatures knelt and worshipped it, trembling in fear, suppressed by its spiritual power, unable to move.

"A Dao Slasher, whose divine consciousness was born amidst bones. Is this a miracle of life?" Ye Fan stared at all the skeletal beings.

Life is the greatest miracle in the world—incomprehensible, uncreatable, and full of mystery.

That creature, entirely black, with bones like black jade, stared at Ye Fan, full of hostility. It soared into the sky and, holding the ancient spear, thrust it forward once more.

"Clang!"

With a single strike, Ye Fan shattered the ancient spear. Then, with a snap, he twisted its neckbone, cleanly removing its head.

"King!"

All around, within the endless land of white bones, all the creatures knelt and trembled, sending out spiritual messages to him, proclaiming him king.

"A mysterious world, a realm of trials. I must understand it completely."

Ye Fan surveyed his surroundings, observing the prostrating bone spirits, his mind calm. He landed on a bone mountain, extracted the ghost flame from the black skull, and meticulously observed it.

Strands and wisps of threads intertwined, forming this flickering "ghost flame." To be precise, it wasn't fire, but fragments of life imprints, chains of order!

This shook Ye Fan's heart. He opened his Heavenly Eye to observe, and each wisp of flame became a divine rule of order, appearing in his eyes.

"These are incomplete life profound insights!"

Deeply moved, he immediately sat cross-legged on the bone mountain, remaining motionless for an entire day and night. Was this created artificially, or did it form naturally?

Chains of order intertwined, their energy fields spreading, forming a ghost flame that transformed into a life form. Was this the process by which living beings are generated?

Who was controlling all of this?

It was different from a human's spiritual sea; there were significant distinctions. This type of life form was very unique. He diligently sought to break down the chains of order, finally understanding many profound insights and gaining immense inspiration. His understanding of life deepened considerably. Connecting it with the 'All' character secret, he pondered for a long time, gaining profound enlightenment.

Was this arranged by predecessors, or was it merely a coincidence that such strange bone spirits existed along this path?

"Hmm," he wondered, "in the deepest part of this death realm, within the sea of white bones, there is an unfathomable supreme existence, which even made this Dao-slaying black skeletal body tremble with fear and never dare approach. Just how powerful is it?"

Ye Fan was astonished. With a "thud," he dropped the black skull, letting it live or die as it might, no longer paying it any attention.

He flew forward. As he passed through each large area, he encountered particularly powerful bone spirits, but they could not harm him, and he passed through safely, though with some alarm.

Soon after, he saw towering black mist in the distance. A massive stone monument stood tall, surrounded by shadowy figures, many soul specters like ghosts. These were another type of life form, without thought or emotion, hazy and aimlessly wandering in this place.

"These are what mortals call ghosts, merely fragments of magnetic field energy. How are there so many in this area, yet none have gained sentience?"

Ye Fan approached the massive stone monument, carefully examining the ancient characters carved on it, which were in archaic divine script. There were only four large, vigorous characters: "Intruders die!"

This was a warning, and more so, a deterrence. Standing before this stone monument, an overwhelming killing intent surged forth, making one feel like duckweed on the sea, liable to be extinguished by the waves at any moment.

"White bones are everywhere; even the mountains are piled up from skeletons," he thought. "It's rare to see a giant monument, yet it's so intimidating!"

Ye Fan was astonished, because even he felt an immense pressure, a suppression in his heart. One could imagine how terrifying the carver of these words must have been.

Beside it were vast stretches of huge bone fragments, each over ten meters long. In this world of death, there were bones of all kinds of creatures; it was impossible to identify them all.

"There are words here too!"

Ye Fan discovered that these were human characters, and not few in number. They served as a warning, informing future generations embarking on the Path of the Strongest Trial to be extremely cautious, not to enter this place, as there was great danger. This was discovered by their ancestors through bloody lessons!

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, a beam of immortal light streaked across the distant sky, dazzling and brilliant, pure and flawless. It sliced through the leaden clouds and showered down upon the earth.

"Aooooh..."

All around, many bone spirits roared, utterly terrified. Under that immortal light, countless skeletal creatures turned to dust, completely purified.

"What is that?" Ye Fan was greatly astonished.

"Roar!"

As the immortal light tore through the leaden clouds and descended, a colossal roar, terrifying enough to shatter one's soul, emanated from the center of this forbidden zone. It was boundless terror; the entire world seemed on the verge of collapse!