Chapter 1650: The World Has Enemies

The warship started and moved forward. The surrounding red mist grew thicker, and a bone-chilling malevolence permeated the air. Far behind, a pair of cold, stark blue eyes stared from an extreme distance, utterly devoid of whites.

A golden streak tore through the air. After ensuring everyone was on board and ready, Ye Fan suddenly turned back to attack. He ripped open space, moving with extreme speed. He had no need for apprehension; few in this world could truly harm his physical body. He raised his hand to strike forward, his right palm like a clap of thunder, aimed at the creature's head.

A roar shattered the desolation's tranquility. The sound was incredibly fierce, like primordial heavenly lightning striking the area, making one's skull ache from the reverberation. Wave after wave of green ripples spread out, revealing the terrifying behemoth. It moved sideways three thousand zhang, its movements as swift as lightning—too fast.

“A Thunder Fiend Beast! This is an astonishing creature born from the fusion of heavenly lightning and malevolence. Capture it; it would be immensely beneficial for artifact refining!” shouted the Black Emperor from behind.

Ye Fan moved again, swift as a flowing light, breaking through space to reach the Thunder Fiend Beast. He extended his hand once more, but the monstrous beast was too fast, possessing the speed of lightning, true to its name.

“Crack!”

Ye Fan merely grazed its body, but his palm and fingers were incredibly sturdy and powerful. He scraped off a palm-sized, glowing green scale, which seemed cast from green lightning and crackled with energy.

“Roar…”

The Thunder Fiend Beast roared loudly, conjuring strong winds, flying sand, and rolling stones. Red malevolence surged, and the very mountains and rivers of the world roared in response to its fury. Ye Fan exerted force, and the scale in his hand deformed, then disintegrated with a pop into electrical light and malevolence, scattering brilliant radiance.

“What incredible speed! Ye Zi had to tear through space just to barely keep up with it; that's truly astonishing. It really does move by controlling lightning!” Yan Yixi exclaimed in admiration.

This Thunder Fiend Beast was not weak. It had long entered the Great Saint realm, and most importantly, its speed surpassed that of all other powerful beings in the world; an ordinary person would never be able to catch it. However, it was now facing Ye Fan, a man with a quasi-emperor's physical body. Though his ‘Movement’ secret technique couldn't be fully utilized, his ability to tear through space was enough to stand proud in this era.

With a hum, a foot descended. This time, the Thunder Fiend Beast's desperate struggles were futile as Ye Fan rode upon its back. Electrical light surged across its body, yet it could do nothing against its adversary. With a gentle pat from Ye Fan, it collapsed to the ground, crackling with interwoven green electricity. However, the blazing divine light in its eyes did not diminish; instead, it intensified, shooting out two sharp beams directly towards Ye Fan's brow. This was a spiritual attack that transcended the beast's own realm!

“Snap!”

Ye Fan raised his hand horizontally in front of his forehead, shattering the two green lights, which dispersed into smoke and mist. The Black Emperor flew over, seizing control of the beast's sea of consciousness, completely suppressing it to be used for their own purposes.

“This is just a pawn. The cold, blazing gaze earlier belonged to someone else—it was a strand of divine sense lodged in its head. There's a more terrifying figure at play!” Ye Fan and his companions deduced that an imperial prince-level figure had discovered them, and that this individual held significant power in this ancient battlefield, having even subdued such an exotic beast of heaven and earth.

“Rumble!”

In the distance, the deafening sound of surging waves crashing echoed, and an extremely oppressive aura swept towards them.

“What is that?”

It looked like a vast ocean, overwhelming and mighty, surging from afar. It was incredibly magnificent, dispersing the killing intent as it directly crashed down, falling upon them!

“Such a quick reaction, an immediate attack?”

“A sea of lightning! This is a sea of heavenly tribulation. To think we'd encounter such a thing here. Is that imperial prince-level figure's path to control lightning and wield heavenly punishment? To contend for merit with the heavens, that must be an incredibly powerful individual!” In Ye Fan's and their companions' impressions, there was no such person; neither Huang Xudao, Fire Qilin Son, Golden Heavenly Maiden, nor the Dragon Maiden of Myriad Dragon Nest pursued such a path.

There was no time for hesitation. This was a torrent of lightning waterfalls, obscuring the sun, vast and boundless, as if countless suns had exploded, incredibly terrifying. They could see angry waves churning within the sea, forming into various human and beast figures, baring their fangs and claws as they surged forward. In the past, Ye Fan often used heavenly tribulations to attack powerful enemies. Now, the tables had turned; someone was using such a massive heavenly tribulation to destroy all of them.

“Destroying a group of Great Saints is no problem!” the Black Emperor stated gravely, revealing the cruelty of this ancient battlefield, where only extraordinary combat power could ensure survival.

Terrifying offensive power!

The sea of lightning was pierced through. The Black Pearl's power was astonishing; they sailed forward at extreme speed, rushing towards their target.

“Boom!”

Light flashed explosively between heaven and earth, and a phantom flickered into existence. This was not his true body, but merely a transformed manifestation residing within the lightning. His true body was hundreds of thousands or even millions of miles away, not in this area. The Black Pearl immediately rushed towards it. There were no special rules in this place; imperial prince-level figures dueled, and the Path of Invincibility was a grand confrontation where battle was fundamental and the strong reigned supreme.

This time, the warship unleashed its power, emanating billions of streaks of multicolored light. A purple mist enveloped the front, pulverizing all lightning as it crashed into that figure. This was a quasi-emperor artifact, incredibly swift, no slower than lightning itself. The figure was unable to evade, seemingly surprised, having not anticipated encountering such a powerful group.

“I, Lei Shen, will remember you!”

With that declaration left hanging in the void, his body disintegrated, transforming into lightning, and vanished. In an instant, tranquility returned to the area. All the lightning dissipated, the red mist enveloped everything once more, and the world grew dim again, obscuring distant sights.

“What is this ‘Lei Shen’? Never heard of them!”

“The universe is vast and boundless; heaven knows what kind of figures have arrived. If we can enter, others will surely find a way in too.”

They became vigilant, realizing this place was complex. They might not know all the imperial princes, and there were certainly other peerless figures coming here to battle. The commotion just now was significant, alarming some creatures who spread the news that a group of powerful individuals had arrived.

Similarly, Ye Fan had searched the Thunder Fiend Beast's sea of consciousness and found some useful information. Although there was little about Lei Shen, there were some topographical maps of this region. Hundreds of thousands of miles away lay a city, a remnant from ancient times. The ‘ancient’ period referred to here was extremely remote, at least traceable back to the Primordial Era, or even further.

This place was a battlefield for the strongest beings in the universe: ancient emperors, sacred spirits, and quasi-emperors. Numerous great battles had occurred here, making this mysterious ancient land renowned among some of the most powerful races. At certain times, their descendants would come here for experience and cultivation. Such cities served as strongholds for these figures, used for communication. This vast battlefield contained more than just one ruined ancient city. In this generation, the imperial princes had agreed to a grand confrontation, and this place naturally became their preferred location.

As the red mist permeated the air, the Black Pearl advanced swiftly. Hundreds of thousands of miles were but a short distance for a quasi-emperor artifact; though it didn't traverse space, it arrived in mere moments. The city was very dilapidated, truly ancient. It could barely be called a city anymore; the gate tower was half-collapsed, and large sections of the city walls had fallen. Buildings within the city were in a state of semi-ruin, and even the streets were almost impassable, blocked by huge rocks and other debris. It was less of an ancient city and more of a ruin.

However, there truly were people within the city: powerful individuals who came for experience, and some exchanging goods. Though there weren't many figures, their presence indicated a vibrant life. As soon as they approached the city gate, Ye Fan's eyebrows shot up. A portrait was posted there—it was the Saint Prince. Someone was offering a reward: whoever provided his whereabouts would receive an ancient scripture detailing how to achieve ultimate sublimation of the Immortal Platform, with a special note indicating it contained personal annotations from an ancient emperor.

“How generous! Who is this? Which power is so determined to kill Brother Monkey?” Li Heishui asked.

Ye Fan stepped forward, directly tearing down the bounty poster. After examining it thoroughly, he reduced it to ashes. From nearby, exclamations of surprise could be heard; people were clearly astonished by his action, which further proved the power of the bounty's issuer.

“These are the people who made the Lei Shen's avatar suffer a loss. What is their background?”

“Lei Shen comes from a Life Forbidden Zone, and is currently preparing with all his might to face his quasi-emperor tribulation, expected to break through within the next few months, leaving him no time for other matters.”

As soon as Ye Fan and his companions arrived, they learned a startling fact: the Lei Shen they had encountered earlier originated from the Life Forbidden Zone—the Divine Ruins! In the past, there had been many conjectures about that place: some believed it to be a gathering place for Sacred Spirits, while others said it was the ruins of the ancient Heavenly Court, harboring its descendants. Lei Shen came from there!

“The Lord of Divine Ruins is dead, but who knows if there are still Supremes inside? Encountering his offspring this time, we are destined to kill them all!” Pang Bo said grimly, showing such an expression for the first time.

The great battle more than three hundred years ago was too tragic, causing widespread devastation and suffering. Even the Great Emperor Void and Great Emperor Hengyu died in battle, and Pang Bo and his companions lost several close friends. Ji Zi, Jiang Taixu, Senior Gai Jiuyou… one by one, their vivid faces seemed still before their eyes, all bleeding out on the cosmic battlefield. How could this grudge go unavenged?! They couldn't raze the Life Forbidden Zones, but Ye Fan could pursue and eliminate their descendants. Even if those individuals had advanced to quasi-emperor, Ye Fan had the capability to fight them, or even wipe them out!

“Who is posting a bounty for the Saint Prince's assassination?”

Upon entering the city, Ye Fan sought information. Not everyone who came here was an imperial prince-level figure destined for a decisive battle; some descendants of powerful races came with their elders simply for experience and to broaden their horizons. Naturally, some recognized him and, utterly astonished, did not conceal the truth.

“They said they were from Phoenix Nest, but their exact identity is unknown.”

Someone had once seen a gigantic phoenix nest traverse the sky, its surging aura shaking this battlefield and astonishing all the imperial princes. At that very moment, a brilliant blade light sliced through the universe, appearing in the distance. The phoenix nest pursued it without stopping, only descending two individuals who came here to post the bounty for the Saint Prince's assassination.

“Have they finally appeared?” Ye Fan's eyes flickered.

The others, however, felt their scalps tingle. Even the Black Emperor developed a headache, sensing immense trouble; it could be a catastrophe, an unbounded disaster that might descend once more.

“Whom did the Saint Prince defeat?”

“According to rumors, after years of fierce battles among the imperial princes, the Saint Prince was the first to slay a major enemy in a bloody fight: he eliminated a direct descendant of an ancient emperor from the Primordial Ancient Mine.”

“What? The Primordial Ancient Mine still has ancient imperial descendants sealed within?”

This news stunned the Black Emperor; it had always thought there were only a few emperors there, never imagining there were others. Ye Fan quickly felt relieved. He had once visited the Primordial Forbidden Zone and remembered that night, observing from a distance, when numerous figures had emerged from the ancient mine amidst starlight. Some were sealed in primordial sources, some were exposed, and some were clearly corpses—there were definitely more than just a few individuals!