Chapter 744: Human King

Eighteen ancient ships gleamed with a cold, metallic luster. These were ancient sage artifacts, refined over millennia, and now they all emitted streaks of light, transforming into an ancient killing formation that enveloped the area.

The Immortal Ascension Cliff glowed with a pristine white. Above it, four kings engaged in fierce combat. Divine domains, ancient techniques, energy fields, and tyrannical fists were unleashed simultaneously. Their attacks were like falling stars, collapsing the sky, as they fought for two fragments of a divine ancient scripture, forged from phoenix blood-red gold.

At the same time, a silver hand appeared, flying from the central ancient ship. It reached out towards a tall, imposing figure, immediately unleashing a powerful seal, as if the lord of humanity had emerged!

Shortly before, a person, like an immortal descending from the heavens, had fallen from the starry sky. They had instantly crushed Feng Yuan and seized half a page of divine gold inscribed with immortal realm scriptures.

The owner of the silver hand, from within the ancient ship, was naturally enraged. That was his disciple, and now he was striking with full force, intending to kill this king.

Divine Heavenly Marks, carved into an innate primordial treasure seal, were imprinted on his palm. This became the Human Lord's supreme technique, striking downwards as if ten suns had risen simultaneously, causing the star sea to disintegrate. This was the Human Lord Seal!

The tall man under attack possessed overwhelming divine power. Two eerie beams of light shot from his eyes. He opened his mouth and exhaled innate Dao essence, transforming it into a treasure wheel that ground space and time.

“You’re not dead yet!” the owner of the silver hand spoke coldly from within the ship. The Divine Heavenly Marks in the silver palm became even more dazzling, pressing down.

“Aren’t you also not dead?” the tall man sneered repeatedly. His purple hair spread out, revealing his true face, and the treasure wheel formed from innate Dao essence shone even more brilliantly.

“Heavenly Demon Treasure Wheel!” Li Tian’s expression froze, and he gasped, saying, “That’s actually the Heavenly Demon King! Wasn’t he said to have died in a five-hundred-year battle? He’s now three thousand eight hundred years old and still hasn’t passed away. He’s a hundred times more formidable than Granny Heavenly Demon.”

In the center of the battlefield, the Human Lord Seal and the Heavenly Demon Treasure Wheel collided, collapsing like two ancient universes shattering. It was a scene of mountains utterly destroyed and eons reversed, as if one had arrived at the very beginning of creation, where everything seemed to return to its primordial state.

In the distance, Ye Fan, Yi Qingwu, Li Tian, and others were deeply shaken. Perfected kings were indeed formidable; who could withstand such a divine power confrontation?

“As expected,” Yan Yixi sighed softly, “for a page of immortal scripture, kings who were thought to have passed away have ‘resurrected’.”

At such a cultivation level, what else could move them? Only longevity and transcendence. This ancient scripture, once mastered, could grant immortality, so they would naturally take action.

The silver hand struck down, as if reaching from beyond the domain, clashing with the Heavenly Demon King. Their fierce confrontation allowed no quarter; this was a life-and-death struggle between kings.

The treasure seal, inscribed with Divine Heavenly Marks, was as resplendent as the light of primordial chaos. The Heavenly Demon Treasure Wheel, formed from innate Dao essence, shone as brilliantly as an apocalyptic rainbow, two sharp points meeting.

After extreme brilliance came eternal darkness. Two ancient divine domains collapsed and fell, their single strike seemingly emptying the ancient path.

A trickle of purple blood escaped from the Heavenly Demon King’s lips, and he retreated a dozen steps, his body swaying repeatedly. However, he never loosened his grip on the half-page of phoenix blood-divine gold paper.

The silver hand also showed a crack and slowly withdrew about ten feet. However, it seemed unharmed, demonstrating its immense power and terrifying nature.

“Human King, you’re not…” From the other side, the Golden Crow King, with his golden hair flowing loose, slowly approached. The sky trembled with each of his steps; he was like a demon god.

“What? He’s the Human King, and he’s still alive?” Yan Yixi was astonished. He had thought this was a terrifyingly ancient giant hidden by the Human King Hall, but unexpectedly, he had another identity.

“You arrogant Golden Crow, you dared to run wild in my Human King Hall two thousand years ago,” the owner of the silver hand said in a deep voice. “Had I not been suffering from a cultivation regression then, how could I have allowed your impudence?”

The Golden Crow King, now over three thousand seven hundred years old, had dominated his entire life. At his peak, he even dared to snatch their Divine Maiden from the Human King Hall, a truly legendary feat. It was precisely due to that battle that his foundation was damaged, forcing him into seclusion for over two millennia. No one knew the full extent of what he endured in that fight until now, when the truth finally emerged.

“Although you suffered a cultivation regression, you unexpectedly entrusted your primordial spirit to the Divine Maiden’s Immortal Platform, delivering the most terrifying strike that nearly annihilated my body and spirit, forcing me into two millennia of seclusion,” the Golden Crow King stated indifferently.

“Since we’ve met, you’re also included this time. None of you shall leave,” the Human King said coldly.

“You speak with great arrogance!” Beside him, the Heavenly Demon King, his breathing steady and injuries fully recovered, his purple hair fluttering, tall and imposing, pressed forward.

“Though I am old, I still have some confidence,” the Human King said, and the silver hand reached out again.

“It really is the Human King!” Yi Qingwu’s beautiful eyes shimmered with light, as if greatly astonished. Someone who had been dead for two millennia had come back to life; what could be more astonishing than this? It was enough to show the mystery and terror of the major ancient sects.

The Human King Physique was an incredibly terrifying constitution; otherwise, how could it bear such a name? It was rumored that one might not appear even in tens of thousands of years, a physique with the potential to successfully achieve Dao enlightenment, a living legend.

Three thousand eight hundred years ago, such a child was born in the Human King Hall, filling them with ecstasy and prompting the entire sect to cheer. This was practically a divine gift from heaven.

However, this child endured many misfortunes. Before reaching one hundred days old, he was ambushed, and it took three years to revive him. During that time, forbidden techniques were used to shatter his Wheel Sea and injure his Immortal Platform, almost severing his foundation and ultimate path, pushing them to near despair.

The Human King Hall was enraged by this, cleansing all suspicious individuals within the sect. Blood flowed like rivers, and over ten thousand bodies piled up, marking the most terrifying period in the sect’s history.

Finally, they succeeded in raising the child using ancient methods, and he became renowned throughout the world in his youth. However, this Human King Physique was truly ill-fated, suffering cultivation regressions multiple times due to the prior damage to his Wheel Sea and Immortal Platform. The most severe instance was two millennia ago, which coincided with the Golden Crow King’s attempt to abduct the Divine Maiden from the Human King Hall. Legend said he died shortly after, leaving only regret.

“He disappeared for over two millennia and has now reappeared! A Human King over three thousand eight hundred years old will certainly shock the world!” Li Tian exclaimed.

“No wonder he’s so confident. Among the perfected kings, he’s endured the most hardships, having undergone several cultivation regressions, yet he remains the most confident,” Ye Fan said, also surprised, encountering such a physique for the first time.

“He has no hope of achieving Dao enlightenment, otherwise he wouldn’t have endured for so many years.” Yi Qingwu sighed. “It must be that his efforts have always been fruitless. It’s bad enough that his Wheel Sea was destroyed in childhood, but even his Immortal Platform was severed. Even if an immortal appeared, they couldn’t reverse that.”

A cultivator can lose their physical body, but their primordial spirit’s foundation must not be damaged; otherwise, achieving Dao enlightenment becomes hopeless, and they will eventually perish.

“What a pity,” Yan Yixi said. “After fifty thousand years, a Human King finally appeared, only to have his Dao foundation destroyed in childhood. Otherwise, it would likely be his era now, with no one capable of competing with him.”

Even so, the current Human King, despite his many misfortunes, was still formidable, no weaker than others, daring to kill perfected kings!

A king, gleaming immaculately, as if forged from silver, flew out from the ancient ship. He carried the bearing of one who rules the world, landing on the Immortal Ascension Cliff and charging forward, engaging in battle to reclaim the immortal scripture he was owed. The Human King made his move!

On the other side, Yin Tiande concealed himself well, not revealing his identity. His divine domain enveloped the area, manifesting here, immobilizing the peerless expert Reverend Zhengde, then crushing him and seizing half a page of immortal scripture.

However, his situation was quite unfavorable at this moment; the fourth and last arriving king was attacking him, his divine might overwhelming, light engulfing the sky.

“Yin Tiande is terrifying,” Li Tian exclaimed in admiration. “Although he’s clearly at a disadvantage and about to collapse, his opponent is a perfected king!”

“He has a saint artifact within him, but he’s not unleashing it, using it to resist the perfected king,” Yan Yixi said, holding the Divine Maiden Furnace. He felt an inexplicable connection, as this was a renowned artifact once held by an ancient Great Emperor.

Yi Qingwu, in snow-white robes, had a serene expression and remained silent. Her eyes, clear as autumn water, were lucid and tranquil, her entire being graceful and agile, quietly observing the battlefield.

Ye Fan also said nothing, carefully watching the battle. He had to admit that Yin Tiande was extremely formidable. Had he not coincidentally acquired Yin Tiande’s Vajra Gourd and not erased the mysterious imprint within, he truly wouldn’t have known Yin Tiande was here. His pretense of emulating ancient sages by riding an ox westward to achieve Dao enlightenment was false; waiting for this moment was his true aim. He had even mercilessly killed his sworn brother’s father on the spot. What else was he incapable of doing?

“Pfft!”

Suddenly, a dazzling divine light erupted on the battlefield. A light-attributed domain appeared, enveloping Yin Tiande, causing him to cough up large mouthfuls of blood, his body on the verge of tearing apart.

“Bang!”

He threw the scripture fragment, forged from phoenix blood-red gold, into the air. The perfected king seized it, and Yin Tiande used the opportunity to break out of the domain.

Li Tian said, “Yin Tiande suffered a great loss and is about to retreat. Even with a saint artifact, he’s no match for a perfected king.”

Yi Qingwu shook her head, saying, “You don’t understand…”

“Is that so? Does he just want to temporarily withdraw?” Li Tian indeed knew little about Yin Tiande. This person was too terrifying, and he had always avoided him, thus not understanding him well.

A rumbling sound came, as people from the Longevity Temple made their move. The ancient Daoist temple, an ancient saint weapon, was now suppressing the area. It was incredibly grand, every tile and stone bearing the imprint of ages, emanating an undying aura.

“King of Light, that scripture belongs to our Longevity Temple. Please return it.”

No one emerged from the ancient Daoist temple; only immense pressure permeated, pressing down upon the sky, intimidating in conjunction with the eighteen ancient ships.

The fourth person was actually the King of Light! No wonder his brilliance soared to the sky, illuminating the night. Everyone present was astonished; this was a perfected king believed by the world to have died eight hundred years ago, now reappearing.

“Someone still remembers me…” The King of Light revealed his true appearance. He wore a robe of light, his tiger eyes intimidating, his divine might imposing. Crowned and with thick black hair, his entire body glowed brilliantly. He advanced with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, like a heavenly king descending.

The Light Physique, a super powerful and terrifying constitution, ranked alongside the Divine King Physique. It was said that with Light and Divine King united, the Heavenly Dao would be theirs.

“Whoosh!”

A figure flashed within the ancient Daoist temple, and a gaunt old man stepped out. He descended as if walking down a heavenly ladder, step by step, approaching the King of Light. His Daoist robe was old, with a Yin-Yang Bagua symbol on his back and a map of myriad mountains and rivers on his front. He resembled an ancient Daoist from primeval times, exuding an aura of boundless antiquity and profound age.

“It’s you, Reverend Qinggu,” the King of Light said. “A person who isn’t of a king’s physique, yet lived to three thousand six hundred years old. You truly surprise me. The world said you had passed away, but you’re unexpectedly still hale and hearty.”

“It is I,” Reverend Qinggu replied, his expression impassive.

“Tonight is truly a gathering of the living dead,” the King of Light said. “We old acquaintances, who died eight hundred, or even two thousand years ago, meet again.”

Indeed, the divine ancient scripture had brought many perfected kings, dead for years, back to “life,” gathering them here for battle.

In the distance, Yi Qingwu and the others held their breath, watching in silence. This was an event that would shock the world.

“Too bad we’re not strong enough,” Li Tian clicked his tongue, “otherwise, that’s an immortal scripture! Truly enviable.”

“The opportunity is coming soon,” Ye Fan said, instructing the others to get ready. “Yin Tiande will make his move; we’ll be the second Yin Tiande.” He placed the Divine Maiden Furnace and the Vast Cold Palace in the palms of his left and right hands, respectively.