Chapter 1548: Return

"Who's afraid of whom? I'm going to kill you! You destroyed my Dao fruit, and you'll be struck by lightning!" The Black Emperor retorted shamelessly, adding, "Your skin feels really uncomfortable to wear."

The Teng Snake could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of old blood. Even though its cultivation had reached a level where emotions rarely showed, it couldn't withstand such a barrage of verbal abuse.

At this point, there was no turning back. The blood feud was too deep, ensuring a fight to the death between the two sides.

The Saint Prince's eyes remained red. Not only had several of his sworn brothers died tragically, but their entire clans had also been annihilated, filling him with profound sadness. The immortal iron in his hand emanated billions of threads of divine light, making the vast universe tremble.

"Worm, you've gone too far!" he roared, striding forward with his immortal iron staff.

"Monkey, without that immortal iron staff, crushing you would be as simple as squashing an ant!" the old snake retorted cuttingly. At this moment, knowing a bloody battle was inevitable, he had completely committed himself.

"Too bad there are no 'ifs,' so you're destined to become a puddle of blood! And if there truly were 'ifs,' if you were at my level, I'd kill ten of you with a single slap!" The monkey, never one to be underestimated, was always violent and short-tempered.

With a hum, his large iron staff swept out, and he charged forward, determined to kill his formidable enemy.

A clear aura emerged from the old Teng Snake's head, and a formation diagram flew out. It was the ancient map once controlled by the Fourth Young Master of the Golden Snake Clan, which had returned and was now fully unsealed.

This was a Quasi-Emperor artifact!

At the same time, he let out a clear whistle, and iridescent light burst forth as two small, lifelike Teng Snakes flew out, rapidly enlarging and transforming into Teng Snake Swords.

These were also Quasi-Emperor artifacts, and when combined with the formation diagram, they formed a terrifying and immensely powerful killing array.

The Yin-Yang Teng Snakes flew out, and with the Emperor Diagram, they swept forth threads of immortal light, capable of slaying gods and Buddhas, inspiring terror. Waves of cold air emanated, causing hair to stand on end and fall.

The old Teng Snake's use of Quasi-Emperor artifacts against true Emperor artifacts seemed somewhat unrealistic, but in actual combat, it surprisingly demonstrated the power to contend.

These were ancestral artifacts left by the Teng Snake progenitor, who was on the verge of reaching the Great Emperor realm. Once unsealed, their true power was terrifyingly astonishing. Most critically, the Great Emperor artifacts were dormant, only exerting a small fraction of their power, while the Quasi-Emperor artifacts had fully revived to their peak state.

One was attacking with its full might, while the others were dormant, making a confrontation between them not impossible.

This was the old Teng Snake's confidence: he intended to control the Quasi-Emperor artifacts with absolute power and launch a sudden, violent attack to kill the monkey and the others.

"Buzz!"

The Void Mirror glowed intensely, piercing through the cosmos, unleashing a terrifying imperial beam that shot forward.

The big black dog also roared, wielding its killing sword and fiercely slashing at the old Teng Snake. As for Ye Fan, the green bronze cauldron hovering above his head had already revived, pressing directly forward to suppress the enemy.

Although the old Teng Snake's plan was sound, things did not unfold as anticipated. Even fully revived, the Quasi-Emperor artifacts were no match for true Emperor artifacts; they inherently feared and trembled under the pressure.

The formation diagram and the Yin-Yang Teng Snake Swords ultimately recoiled, twitching slightly and uncontrollably, wanting to escape.

After all, with four Emperor artifacts on their side, even if dormant, their mere presence was enough to intimidate the Quasi-Emperor artifacts. The divine spirits within them reacted like minor officials encountering four supreme Celestial Emperors.

With a thunderous crash, the old Teng Snake was sent flying backward, losing its ability to fight. With four Emperor artifacts pressing in from the front, it was a path to certain death. He had no choice but to be forced into the killing array.

Amidst the heavens and earth, thunder roared, and blood rained fiercely as the Limitless Killing Array revived, suppressing everything around it with one terrifying lightning bolt after another.

Of course, this was only a partial array, not as powerful as imagined, but it was still world-shattering, shaking the heavens and earth, causing many small stars to be struck down.

After the old snake plunged into it, the area became a realm of wailing ghosts and bloody gales, sending shivers down one's spine as space itself was twisted and shattered.

Even the Black Emperor himself shivered. Having restored this grand array to such a degree and deployed it, this was its first time attacking an enemy in this manner, and its effectiveness far exceeded expectations.

Finally, a tragic scream was heard, and then everything fell silent.

"Is he dead?" Ji Zi asked.

"Probably," the Black Emperor replied.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the heavens and earth shattered. The area exploded, and a massive golden snake, severed into dozens of pieces, burst out, surrounded by many shattered array platforms.

"Stop it!" the group shouted, giving chase.

"He has a Quasi-Emperor formation on him! He shattered the formation platforms to forcibly carve out a path to escape!" the Black Emperor exclaimed furiously.

The Limitless Killing Array was severely incomplete, and the explosion of a nearly perfect Quasi-Emperor array naturally cleared a path, turning the area into a black hole and ultimately into a desolate wasteland of doomsday proportions.

"Whoosh!"

The old Teng Snake, with the formation diagram hovering above its head and the two Teng Snake Emperor Swords suspended beside it, directly tore open the void and vanished into a cosmic black hole.

"Pursue it! We absolutely cannot let it escape!" Ye Fan urged.

At the same time, he waved his hand, collecting several segments of the massive, mountain-sized snake body, while the Black Emperor, even more swiftly, absorbed the remaining parts into his artifact.

This was divine material, priceless beyond measure, virtually the physical body of a Quasi-Emperor. It was comparable to beings of that level, and many times more powerful than the Great Peacock King of Mount Sumeru.

"No matter, I've prepared a backup plan. Although he passed this barrier, the formation left a mark on him, allowing us to pursue him all the way," the Black Emperor declared boastfully. "Hunting down a being of this caliber is an unprecedented event in this era, truly worth commemorating!"

In fact, not only did he have a backup plan, but Ji Zi's immortal mirror also displayed a series of images, revealing the exact location of the old snake's true body.

Everyone gasped in astonishment. This mirror was truly mysterious and incredibly powerful, possessing such divine efficacy that it could directly pierce through the void, leaving the Teng Snake with nowhere to hide.

The group immediately descended, initiating a grand operation that sent tremors throughout the heavens.

This battle lasted for half a month. The old Teng Snake fled, even managing to shake off its pursuers at times and secretly return for an ambush, nearly succeeding in delivering a fatal blow, but ultimately failing.

This made the group even more wary. A being comparable to a Quasi-Emperor, capable of launching covert sneak attacks, was too dangerous and unpredictable; it simply had to be eliminated!

Finally, they pursued it along the Human Race Ancient Road, then across the Monster Race Heavenly Road, into the Black Tortoise Sea, and further into the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Domain, covering an immensely vast area.

After half a month, the pursuit naturally alarmed the Starry Sky Ancient Road and shocked various races. The names of Ye Fan, Ji Zi, and the Saint Prince resonated throughout the universe, astonishing experts from all corners of the starry sky.

The fact that they were pursuing a figure nearly on par with a Quasi-Emperor, the old Teng Snake, with four Emperor artifacts, was truly astonishing.

"Ye Tong, is that your master?" a young girl softly asked on an ancient road.

"Yes," Ye Tong nodded.

This battle had a truly profound and far-reaching impact. News of it spread across numerous ancient roads, capturing widespread attention, as Great Saints attempted to eliminate a supreme being comparable to a Quasi-Emperor, sending shockwaves throughout the starry sky.

"I can't believe he's become so powerful!" On the Human Race Ancient Road, many were astonished and then trembled, unable to calm their hearts after learning of Ye Fan's actions.

Similarly, along the ancient roads Ji Zi had traveled and in the star domains where the Saint Prince had trained, people were equally amazed by their immense power.

Only the Black Emperor was met with a chorus of curses, infuriating everyone.

"It's that damned black dog again! How is it still alive? It conned my clan out of our divine feathers!"

"How did it get so powerful? I wish I could stew it!"

"That lightning-struck dog, I curse it to hell!"

Ye Fan, Ji Zi, the Saint Prince, and the others all stared at it, wondering what abominable deeds this dog must have committed to earn such universal condemnation.

The big black dog himself wiped sweat, declaring, "They are merely jealous of me. A magnificent being like myself is naturally not understood by the mundane world. Geniuses are always lonely, just like the Great Emperors of old, who tasted bitterness and endured the long passage of time in solitude."

The final battle concluded in a Lunar Sea, where Lunar energy permeated the air. The old Teng Snake, trapped and with nowhere to run, was utterly annihilated, body and soul.

One of the two Teng Snake Swords was also shattered, while the formation diagram and the other sword tore through the void and escaped into the depths of the cosmic galaxy, vanishing completely.

"What a pity the formation diagram escaped," the Black Emperor said regretfully, as that was what interested him most.

As blood rained down, a battle that had shocked every corner of the universe came to an end, astounding all sides.

Undoubtedly, they gained immensely from this battle. They had returned to the ancestral planet of the Teng Snake lineage, where they stayed for a long time, dismantling the Quasi-Emperor formation without damaging the treasury within.

This was the accumulation of the clan throughout its history, an unimaginably vast and dazzling foundation built over countless ages. The Black Emperor immediately sprawled onto the pile of treasures, drooling like a small river and utterly unable to move.

During this time, a few minor incidents occurred. Sealed Teng Snake Saints, and even a Great Saint, emerged from beneath the treasury. However, there was no suspense; they simply could not pose any threat to these Emperor Sons and Great Saints.

Finally, they returned laden with loot, embarking on their journey back to the Big Dipper starfield. Along the way, the big black dog couldn't stop giggling; it truly had an inexhaustible supply of materials for refining formations.

"Doggy, are you back?" In Heaven's Village, Little Nannan ran to the village entrance, saw the big black dog rushing toward her, and softly called out.

That stubborn dog could find a thousand reasons to defy anyone and particularly enjoyed taking advantage of those it knew well. However, it was uniquely gentle with Little Nannan, finding a thousand reasons to humble itself before her.

It displayed genuine affection, howling excitedly as it circled Little Nannan, and finally knelt down, allowing the little girl to sit on its back.

This was a privilege no one else could enjoy. Years ago, when Ye Fan tried to sit on it, he ended up getting bitten by the dog for three months straight, leaving his thighs covered in bruises and dog teeth marks.

In the past, when the Black Emperor was on the verge of death, it was Little Nannan's tears that brought it back to life.

The Black Emperor's return caused a commotion in Heaven's Village. Everyone rushed out, surrounding him and lecturing him about his unreliability.

Only the Silver-Blooded Dual Emperors quietly attempted to slip away. He was their nominal master, and they were truly terrified of his rigorous training.

"Has the Immortal Road not fully opened yet?" Ye Fan asked Qi Luo.

In the evening, a lavish feast was naturally held. Everyone gathered around a bonfire, toasting each other. Not only did the Saint Prince, Ji Zi, and the Black Emperor attend, but Ji Ziyue, Dongfang Ye, Li Heishui, and others also received notification and rushed there, making the gathering exceptionally lively.

Qi Luo shook his head, saying, "No, although the crack in the Immortal Road is still widening, its expansion has become increasingly slow."

In the Big Dipper starfield, an unknown number of patriarchs from various factions had arrived. The atmosphere was tenser than ever before, with a suffocating pressure pervading the entire realm.

Quasi-Emperors had arrived, and the Supremes from the seven great restricted zones had revived. An unprecedented and universe-shaking major upheaval was about to begin.

However, despite everyone's anxious wait, the Immortal Road never truly opened. Many years passed in the blink of an eye, and the crack only extended to three hundred and fifty zhang in length.

In the twentieth year, Ji Haoyue returned. Not only did he come back himself, but he also brought a six or seven-year-old child into the Big Dipper starfield; it was his child.

As everyone welcomed him, they were all filled with emotion. The years had passed, a new generation was rising, but when would the Immortal Road finally open?