Chapter 1278: The Return of Sainthood

Chapter 1279: Return of the Saint

The nine Great Emperors vanished, but the endless heavenly tribulation and lightning continued to rumble above, shaking the vast starfield.

Ye Fan stood beneath the sky, calming his mind before ascending again. He knew the heavenly punishment wasn't over and more dangers awaited him.

"Charge!"

A desolate aura washed over him, as if he had arrived at the edge of the primordial universe, witnessing an ancient divine war from eons past. Weapons clashed, horses galloped, and battle cries shook the heavens!

Ye Fan found himself in a vast battlefield, as if transported to primeval times. Tens of thousands of troops surged forward, immense and magnificent. Endless Heavenly Soldiers and Generals appeared, and ancient palaces and grand halls stood amidst the chaotic lightning.

The Ancient Heavenly Court! These words immediately flashed in his mind, his spirit shaking violently, as if he had truly returned to that era. Countless human-shaped lightning bolts charged forward. Were they the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals of ancient times?

Was this the Mythological Era? In the distance, chaotic deities roared, shattering suns, moons, and stars, and true Golden Crows soared across the nine heavens, locked in a continuous, epic battle!

A magnificent painting, an immortal epic – this was the true depiction of the battlefield before him, unparalleled. Ancient beings let out long roars, Supremes bellowed in rage, battling until star rivers shattered.

Those grand halls and towering, majestic celestial palaces stood majestically and magnificently in the sky.

Immortal mist was hazy, chaotic energy swirled, and the ancient architectural complex stretched boundlessly.

Countless individuals were clashing, fighting before these colossal celestial palaces. All of it was still formed from lightning, imbued with the aura of the Mythological Era.

"Charge!" Battle cries shook the heavens, and Heavenly Soldiers and Generals filled the four cardinal directions. This was a world-shaking war, and Ye Fan, dragging his weary, wounded body, was drawn into it for a final campaign.

Vermillion Birds soared across the nine heavens, their wings shattering star rivers. Flying Serpents pierced the sky, sweeping past and causing stars to fall. This was a terrifying scene, like a great annihilation.

Ye Fan, within it all, did not retreat. He pressed forward relentlessly, single-handedly battling to the front, his combat blood boiling, sweeping aside all opposition.

He fought before the Ancient Heavenly Court, participating in this campaign. Bathed in the blood of countless beings, he advanced over immeasurable piles of bones, searching for his path to enlightenment.

Human-shaped lightning, palace-shaped thunder light – all of it was incredibly lifelike, like a real scene. Even when he shattered the head of an ancient saint with a punch, the spatter of blood was remarkably similar to reality.

Ye Fan pondered, "Were these all beings that once existed between heaven and earth, recorded by the cosmos through 'Dao imprints' to reveal something to later generations?"

He fought his way through, searching for his path, holding an invincible belief. He traversed heaven and earth, covering hundreds of thousands of miles, unrivaled, battling until the four directions were vast and empty, with no enemies left.

This was a fierce and tragic battle, charging through vast armies. Ye Fan, having just become a Saint, underwent such a calamitous baptism, which was greatly beneficial for solidifying his realm, providing a valuable refinement after his sublimation.

After fighting for an unknown number of days and nights, Ye Fan was utterly exhausted. He could no longer see any figures; only fallen corpses lay beneath his feet. Alone, he broke into the deepest part of the Ancient Heavenly Court.

Countless fallen leaves fluttered, one after another, all stained with blood, carrying a chill and a sense of desolation. This was the bleak scene outside the Central Heavenly Palace. No soldiers guarded it, only deathly silence and tranquility, and the eternal sorrow that followed a glorious decline.

Tribulation ash covered the ground in a thick layer. Although also formed from lightning, it seemed so real, as if no one had stepped there for a million years.

Ye Fan's steps were firm as he walked, step by step, towards this desolate Central Heavenly Palace, ascending the stairs and entering the empty hall.

With caution, he looked towards the supreme throne in the very center. His heart immediately trembled – it was not empty; a faint, indistinct figure sat there!

Alone, the figure sat, as if enduring eons of solitude. Faint and indistinct, the universe and star rivers seemed to revolve around him, exuding an aura of devouring the primordial cosmos, of being peerless through all ages.

The Deity Venerable!

Ye Fan stopped, his wounded body standing in the Central Heavenly Palace, confronting the dim figure.

Inside this hall within the Central Heavenly Palace, would there be a world-shaking battle that astonished past and present? Ye Fan was prepared.

If this was the Deity Venerable, he must be incredibly powerful, with unimaginable strength; otherwise, how could he control the Ancient Heavenly Court? Ye Fan would face another life-and-death trial!

Ye Fan's expression was calm, his heart steady. He held an invincible belief and the majestic resolve to devour all directions. No matter who he faced, he could regard them with composure.

Even if it truly was the Deity Venerable, what of it? He could fight him!

Ye Fan felt no fear, standing alone – an unshakeable, invincible will. Dragging his wounded body, he walked forward, expecting a battle with the Deity Venerable. However, the hazy light dissipated, and no powerful being materialized.

The ancient Deity Venerable dissolved into the wind, completely fading and dimming.

"Did he not truly appear here?" Ye Fan murmured to himself, a hint of melancholy, disappointment, and regret in his voice.

"What did my vision signify? Was it a fragmented wisp of the Deity Venerable's will, guarding the last of the Heavenly Court, ultimately perishing in eons of sorrow? I saw it, yet I know nothing..."

Suddenly, an ancient cauldron flew out. With three legs and two handles, it was a vessel of the Dao, suppressing past, present, and future!

The moment it appeared, it rushed towards the Cauldron of All Things' Mother Qi above Ye Fan's head, colliding fiercely. Simultaneously, streaks of immortal light scattered, attacking him.

"It's... the green cauldron! This is it... in its state when it first became a Saint Artifact!" Ye Fan watched in astonishment.

The two cauldrons clashed, and the starfield collapsed. Some planets shattered directly, and everything in their wake was pulverized.

In this world woven by lightning, even the green cauldron was replicated and manifested. It was truly astonishing. The two cauldrons continuously collided, battling fiercely.

After a day and a night, Ye Fan, dragging his weary body, with an ancient cauldron floating above his head, broke through the Ancient Heavenly Court.

At that moment, various phenomena appeared, streaking across this part of the universe. Unfortunately, no one witnessed them except the Dragon Horse; they were some of the most terrifying celestial phenomena of all time.

Things like nine stars aligning or ten suns appearing simultaneously were simple phenomena. Chaotic deities roared, starfields were destroyed countless times over, and the Chaos Peng shook, striking across three thousand worlds with monstrous, sky-high ferocity.

"It's over..."

Ye Fan ascended to the peak, sitting before a sea of chaos, and cast his cauldron into it, quietly watching it rise and fall.

Immediately, various thunders roared, chaotic energy shot out, clanging, all sweeping towards the cauldron and simultaneously pouring into Ye Fan's body.

This final forging of the cauldron, tempered by chaotic light and fire, made the patterns of all things on it even more intricate and varied, lifelike, as if they were about to burst out.

The deity born within the cauldron recited ancient scriptures from inside the Nine Dragons Coffin, making the cauldron increasingly solid, ancient, and majestic, like facing a clear, vast cosmic sea of stars.

Finally, everything dissipated. Only Ye Fan stood alone under the starry sky, a cauldron floating above his head, letting down countless strands of starlight and ten thousand threads of mother qi, making him appear indistinct and unreal.

Ye Fan's tribulation this time had taken a long time. Achieving Sainthood from Immortal Stage Four involved ten years of campaigns, ten years of bloody battles, and ten years of suppression. Today, he broke through to the third layer of the Saint realm in one go, advancing three ranks consecutively.

If anyone had been there, they would have been petrified. Every step forward for a Saint consumed immense resources, making it hard to advance even an inch in many years. Yet now, someone had just achieved Sainthood and immediately broke through three ranks.

The lightning vanished, and the many shattered planets in this starfield finally calmed down. Starlight scattered, illuminating the area brightly.

Ye Fan let out a long howl. Silver waterfalls cascaded from the sky, and countless stars shed their brilliance, converging upon him, baptizing his body and replenishing his massive consumption.

After becoming a Saint, one could travel alone through the universe, drawing power from the void. Ye Fan glowed with brilliant light, imbued with the power of star rivers, moonlight, and other cosmic divine energies.

He only stopped after a full day and night. His body flowed with crystalline luster, his black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and the various divine gates within his body's treasures had all opened, filled with Saint power.

From within his glabella, a small golden figure stepped out. The round, three-legged, two-handled cauldron immediately shrunk, was embraced by the golden figure, and then flew into the Immortal Platform, vanishing before his forehead.

Everything was complete. With every move, Ye Fan possessed immeasurable power. At this moment, he could pluck stars and seize moons – this was no illusion, but a genuine manifestation of such might!

He had successfully stepped into the ranks of Saints, achieving a qualitative leap from this point on.

In the distance, the Dragon Horse's heavenly tribulation had long vanished, but its metamorphosis was not over; it was still ongoing, which quite surprised Ye Fan.

There was a giant Saint cocoon there, woven from various divine chains of order. Furthermore, wisps of Dao-transformation power were entwined around it.

The Dragon Horse was enveloped in a large cocoon, resembling several moons, rotating around a massive star that constantly intertwined with Dao-transformation power, emitting vast Saint power.

A horse actually learned to spin a cocoon like a silkworm; this seemed utterly inconceivable.

Ye Fan had already become a Saint, his eyes as deep as the ocean, containing the trajectories of stars from all ages and the sight of starfields being destroyed—profound and endless. He stared at the cocoon.

He knew deeply that the Dragon Horse had obtained a great fortune, rare throughout history. The Dao-transforming great star had interwoven endless divine chains of order and laws, wrapping around it, allowing it to be reborn internally. After becoming a Saint, it would be unfathomable.

"Boom!"

After a few more days, the great cocoon burst open. The Dragon Horse was engulfed in flames, its holy flames leaping vigorously. It galloped through the starry sky, emitting terrifying sounds like mountains collapsing and tsunamis raging.

"I've broken through! Awoo... woof, roar!" It was unclear if it was a horse, a dragon, or a wolf, as various roars and howls continuously erupted, expressing its excitement.

"I've broken through two ranks consecutively, rare throughout history! Who can contend with me?" The Dragon Horse roared. After becoming a Saint, its nature was hard to change, fully displaying its arrogant demeanor.

However, upon seeing Ye Fan, it instantly froze, unable to help but exclaim, "Is there any justice?! I nearly underwent Dao transformation, barely surviving, to achieve my current Dao Fruit, yet I'm still one rank below you?!"

"Let's go back," Ye Fan said, leaping up to sit on its back, holding a black-gold spear. With one thrust, he pierced through the cosmos and entered the Ancient Dao Field.

In front of the plaza of the Human Race's Second Saint City, twelve gateways opened one after another. Kutuotuo, Mu Guanghan, Tuobayu, Ouye Mo, Yu Xian, and others emerged successively.

Meanwhile, Di Tian's subordinates, the six ancient Saints, stood coldly in the distance, watching the exit. They had already emerged earlier, waiting quietly at this location.

Gu Ling, the leader of the Thirteen Riders of Heavenly Desolation, urged his silver Saint Wolf, crossing the sky and galloping out. Following him, large groups of cultivators returned to the ancient city one after another.

One young man had sinister eyes. Behind him, several old men followed, gazing into the distance together, as if awaiting something. The young man surrounded by them was Yan Chifeng, who had escaped a calamity in the Ancient Dao Field using a substitute death technique.

Ye Wuhun, the second leader of the Thirteen Riders of Heavenly Desolation, urged his Saint Beast Azure Dragon to instantly approach, whispering to Yan Chifeng, his gaze also cold and sharp.

Half an hour later, the twelve gateways were about to close, with no more people entering or exiting. Everyone was startled: Ye Fan had not emerged! His performance was obvious to all; could someone as powerful as him have perished inside?

"Time's up! Close the Dao Field!" ordered Grand Commander Yu Han.

"There's still a seeded contestant named Ye Fan who hasn't come out. Logically, he shouldn't have perished inside. The Grand Commander should use the Dao Mirror to project immortal light and check if he has fallen before making a decision," an elder said, a master serving under the Emissary of Guidance.

"No need," the Grand Commander said with a cold expression.

"This... according to the rules, the exit must be inspected with a Dao realm before closing. Otherwise, if someone isn't dead and gets trapped inside the Dao Field, the consequences would be unimaginable. If the Saint Beast Kings within awaken, those who didn't exit in time would likely perish."

"Close the Dao Field!" Grand Commander Yu Han commanded coldly.

The twelve gateways rumbled shut, sealing the world behind them in nothingness.

"Heh, he's dead. You're dead after all. If you can't survive, you're nothing!" Guan Cheng laughed, his tone chilling and icy. His Dao heart had stabilized, and with a cold indifference, he faced the twelve gateways and said grimly, "The victor is king, the loser is bandit. You died here. When the Dao Field reopens next year, you'll be nothing but a pile of dirt."

"What are you saying?!" Rui Wei glared furiously.

"I'm just stating a cruel fact," Guan Cheng responded coldly.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a heaven-shattering sound erupted. One of the gateways shattered, and a figure on horseback, enveloped in divine flames, galloped forth like a war god, shaking the heavens.

"What? He came out!" Everyone was greatly astonished.

The figure and mount, enveloped in divine light, were as radiant as the morning sun, as blazing as immortal fire. They rumbled, crossed the gateway, and charged straight out, their divine might unparalleled.

Ye Fan, holding a black spear in one hand, rode forward, like an immortal king descending to the mortal realm, a truly shocking sight.

Especially Guan Cheng, who was nearby, felt his heart pound upon seeing this scene. He had just been mocking, and now he saw the true master emerge. His heart filled with unwillingness, and he subconsciously raised his bronze ge-dagger forward.

This was an act of hostility and unwillingness, born purely of instinct. This unparalleled Great Emperor was not dead, and his powerful emergence made Guan Cheng hateful yet helpless.

Seeing this, Ye Fan thrust his spear, the Dragon Horse's hooves thundering, shaking everyone's minds.

The bronze ge-dagger shattered. Ye Fan charged past, emanating ten thousand rays of divine light. Guan Cheng cried out, utterly unable to block the attack. He was pierced through by the spear, bleeding profusely, and was lifted into mid-air by Ye Fan, held aloft by the single-handed spear.

Everyone was aghast, filled with shock. It was simply too fast; from Guan Cheng's hostile expression and subconscious attack to Ye Fan's spear thrust, it all happened in a flash of lightning.

An unparalleled spear thrust!

Ye Fan flicked his hand, throwing the spear. It traced a terrifying arc, carrying Guan Cheng along with it, and with a clang, landed right in front of Grand Commander Yu Han.

Blood splattered. The black spear vibrated, pinning Guan Cheng to the ground. Blood spurted, landing on the Grand Commander's feet.

The scene was completely silent!