Under the enhancement of the formation, the Fourth Ancestor was trapped within Yun Fan's Heavenly Demon Great Formation.
At this moment, the Fourth Ancestor was filled with regret. If he had realized this earlier, the Heavenly Demon Great Formation would not have been able to surround him.
Now, he still had great confidence in himself.
"You are no longer the you of the past. Do you think you have the strength to kill me now?"
The Fourth Ancestor did not believe that Yun Fan had the chance to kill him. After all, Yun Fan's strength did not allow it; the gap between them was vast.
Even with this cobbled-together Heavenly Demon Great Formation, it would be of no avail.
Yun Fan said, "That is not necessarily true!"
Following this, he continuously strengthened the formation, and countless demonic energies poured onto the Fourth Ancestor.
The Fourth Ancestor's expression changed. He had not expected that this low-tier version of the Heavenly Demon Formation would have such terrifying oppressive power. What would happen if this continued?
He continuously resisted the formation's attacks, searching for its flaws.
However, although the formation was very crude, it had no issues regarding its flaws.
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "Fourth Ancestor, it's your turn to struggle now!"
"Don't be arrogant. I have special methods to deal with you!"
The Fourth Ancestor said calmly.
Then, he focused all his strength and attacked a single point, intending to forcibly break through the formation.
"Is this the so-called method you speak of?"
Yun Fan said disdainfully, "You disappoint me too much!"
In an instant, he unleashed his power, continuously repairing the formation. This power was not his own but the demonic energy left behind earlier.
Although the Fourth Ancestor appeared to be out of danger, everything had been arranged by Yun Fan. He was not in a hurry and slowly wore down the Fourth Ancestor.
Finally, the Fourth Ancestor became impatient.
"Demon Ancestor, do you think this method can kill me? You're thinking too simply. Even if you wear me down continuously, you can't do anything to me!"
This was the Fourth Ancestor's source of confidence. Indeed, in his eyes, the Heavenly Demon Formation was merely an empty shell.
It could only hold him back, not kill him. To him, it posed no threat.
However, Yun Fan said, "You have lived for tens of thousands of years, even longer. Why do you lack a little patience?"
"Hmph!"
The Fourth Ancestor snorted coldly. "When I escape, you will be the first to die!"
"We'll talk about that after you've escaped!"
Yun Fan said disdainfully.
The Fourth Ancestor was enraged. He was truly infuriated by Yun Fan, so at this moment, he unleashed his full power solely to break through the formation.
But with the reinforcement of demonic energy, the formation was as solid as gold, and even with his colossal strength, he could not break it.
After an unknown period, Yun Fan finally realized that he had used up all the remaining demonic energy.
"Now let's see what other methods you have!"
The Fourth Ancestor sneered, thinking that Yun Fan was out of options. At this instant, while the formation lacked power reinforcement, he broke through it.
Thus, he escaped and stood opposite Yun Fan, sneering, "Without the formation, you are nothing but a clown before me!"
"It would be as easy as pie for me to kill you, but I won't kill you so quickly. I will slowly torture you to death!"
He was extremely angry. Yun Fan's continuous wearing down had prevented him from exerting his true strength.
Now, he only wanted to slowly torture Yun Fan to death, otherwise, it would be an insult to the energy he had expended earlier.
Yun Fan said, "Do you think I can't channel my own power into the formation?"
"What do you mean?"
The Fourth Ancestor asked Yun Fan, confused.
Yun Fan replied, "Because, for now, it's unnecessary. My objective has already been achieved!"
"So, you choose to wait for death?"
He looked at Yun Fan playfully, not understanding where Yun Fan got the confidence to speak to him like this.
Yun Fan said, "No, you're mistaken. I'm not choosing to wait for death, but to wait for your death!"
"I don't believe you!"
Although the Fourth Ancestor was very confident, he felt a little uneasy inside. Therefore, he did not delay and immediately attacked Yun Fan.
Unexpectedly, in the next moment, a surge of demonic energy erupted from within him and began to burn continuously.
"What's going on?"
The Fourth Ancestor was shocked because he could feel where this demonic energy was coming from—it was from his previously cursed origin.
But he had clearly eliminated the curse; why was it still present?
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "Do you still remember this curse?"
"Why is the curse still here when I've already eliminated it?"
He looked at Yun Fan with unwillingness, feeling as though fate had played a massive joke on him.
Under the burning of the curse, he had given up resisting. He knew that even if he fought Yun Fan now, it would not be successful.
On the contrary, it would intensify the burning and lead to his premature death.
Yun Fan said, "That's right, you did eliminate the curse. But what you don't know is that the curse's mark has been imprinted onto your soul. You can only truly eliminate the curse when you die; otherwise, it's impossible!"
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Ancestor was completely stunned. He had never imagined that the curse would become so terrifying.
Had their tens of thousands of years of effort been in vain?
At this moment, Yun Fan continued, "Although I can reactivate the curse, it requires a long time. Otherwise, do you think I would have wasted so much time with you?"
The battle just now was insignificant and even painless, but it was this long period that allowed him to activate the curse.
"Damn it, I should have killed you sooner!"
The Fourth Ancestor glared furiously at Yun Fan.
Yun Fan said, "Unfortunately, you didn't. Therefore, you have failed, and the consequence of failure is death!"
He noticed that the Fourth Ancestor was very detached about life and death. Even though he was about to die, his state of mind remained steady.
He said, "I understand. Although I was defeated by your trickery, a loss is a loss. I have no complaints!"
"Your calmness is unexpectedly terrifying!"
Yun Fan discovered this secret at this moment. He found the Fourth Ancestor very abnormal, lacking even a trace of fear of death.
The Fourth Ancestor sneered, "It seems you've discovered it. That's right, I am a rare dual-soul body among the strange creatures, a phenomenon rarely seen in tens of thousands of years. My soul is split into two. One is here, and the other is elsewhere. Even if you can kill this clone, it doesn't matter because I already know the secret to breaking the curse, hahahaha!"
The Fourth Ancestor burst into laughter. In his opinion, this was a very profitable deal.
By sacrificing one soul and his physical body, he had obtained the secret to breaking the curse. From now on, Yun Fan would never be able to deal with their strange race through curses.
Yun Fan's eyes turned cold. He hadn't expected to be tricked. At this moment, he was very angry, but no matter how angry he was, it was useless.
No wonder the Fourth Ancestor was so calm; he had been prepared all along.
Yun Fan said, "You are indeed very cunning. Although it seems you have won, I have not lost either!"
"You have lost!"
The Fourth Ancestor sneered disdainfully.
In this battle, Yun Fan had lost everything. Having grasped the method to counter the strange creatures, the only fate awaiting Yun Fan was death.
Yun Fan said, "All your power will belong to me. After devouring your power, I will advance to become a Titan. Even if your strange race doesn't come looking for me, I will find you!"
"Hahahaha!"
The Fourth Ancestor laughed heartily. "In this life, you are ultimately too arrogant. If becoming a Titan could destroy my strange race, we would not have survived to this day. Wait for death slowly! Not long from now, the events of ten thousand years ago will repeat themselves!"
With that, his body was completely consumed and burned by Yun Fan.
At this moment, Yun Fan had no time to be angry and rushed to help Athena.
However, the battle between Athena and True Martial Great Emperor had already concluded.
Just now, True Martial Great Emperor had seen the Fourth Ancestor being incinerated. Despite being able to fight Athena, he chose to flee instead of continuing the battle.
That's right, in front of two juniors, even True Martial Great Emperor, who had been famous for tens of thousands of years, had fled.
At this moment, Athena apologized to Yun Fan, "I'm sorry, I couldn't keep him!"
"There's no need to apologize!"
Yun Fan said, "You've already done a great job. True Martial Great Emperor is not a strange creature, and killing him would have been troublesome!"
As for Yun Fan now, because he had an innate advantage against strange creatures, dealing with them was effortless.
Although demonic energy also countered normal martial artists, it was not an innate counter. True Martial Great Emperor, a Titan, was not weak to begin with.
Retaining him would have been extremely difficult, and with their current strength, they could not have kept him.
At this moment, Athena asked, "Is the Fourth Ancestor dead?"
"He's dead, yet not entirely,"
Yun Fan replied directly.
"Why?"
Athena did not understand what Yun Fan meant.
Yun Fan said, "He has two souls. Only one soul has been dealt with here; he still has another soul!"
"What?"
Athena was shocked. Wasn't this equivalent to having two lives? She hadn't expected the strange race to play so unfairly.
However, being able to deal with one soul had already exceeded her perception of Yun Fan.
She knew that Yun Fan's strength had not yet reached the Titan realm, yet he could sever a Titan's soul. It seemed that demonic cultivators were born with a halo for exceeding their rank.
At this moment, she asked Yun Fan, "What do we do next?"
"It's easy next. Once I break through to the Titan realm, I will actively seek them out!"
Yun Fan said confidently. As long as he became a Titan, those so-called Titans would be nothing in his eyes.
"Mhmm mmm!"
Athena asked Yun Fan, "Does the previous wager still count?"
"It does!"
Yun Fan said, "I won!"
"Then you can make any request!"
Athena said to Yun Fan with anticipation. However, Yun Fan said, "I don't plan to make a request!"
"What?"
Athena was stunned. Giving Yun Fan an opportunity, and he wasn't taking it? So, she proactively said, "Actually, there was something more I wanted to say about the wager just now!"
"What did you want to say?"
Yun Fan asked, confused.
Athena said, "What I wanted to say was, I won ten times, and if I lost, it would be half, so five times!"
"You're cheating!"
Yun Fan was utterly speechless. How could a loser make such a demand? He could not indulge Athena.
However, Athena said, "So what if I don't want to play anymore? As a man, will you also refuse to play?"
"Uh..."
In Yun Fan's opinion, Athena's words were somewhat provoking. Therefore, he immediately said to Athena, "Alright, five times it is. But no begging for mercy mid-way!"
Upon hearing this, Athena felt a little flustered. However, the words had been spoken, and she could not take them back without disgracing her title as the War Goddess.
Thus, she immediately said to Yun Fan, "Okay, I promise not to beg for mercy!"
Soon, she was dealt with by Yun Fan. Hesitation leads to defeat. Although she was decisive, she ultimately suffered defeat.
This made her extremely regretful. She wished the wager had been voided. It could only be said that she had also met her fate.
It was estimated that for a considerable period to come, she would have lingering trauma. The saying "boldness doesn't exist" was not applicable here.
After dealing with Athena, Yun Fan did not slack off and began to refine the Fourth Ancestor's power.
Of course, he did not leave to go elsewhere. Their next destination had already been chosen.
However, this was undoubtedly the best place to break through, so he chose to stay here to advance.
Thus, after a period of seclusion, Yun Fan thought he would smoothly enter the Titan realm.
But the outcome disappointed him. It wasn't that his talent was insufficient or that his comprehension was lacking. In fact, he had long comprehended most of it, only lacking a critical point.
However, he had not expected that he would ultimately lack the power to support his breakthrough to the Titan realm.
Therefore, although he now had the concept and understanding of the Titan realm, his power was still a step short.
Undoubtedly, at this moment, he even had the idea of seizing Athena's power to complete himself, but this bold idea was quickly dismissed.
When Athena saw Yun Fan emerge from seclusion with a dejected expression, she comforted him, "Don't be discouraged. Becoming a Titan is not easy. Don't rush. After I comprehend the realm, I will break through, and then I will have to face the heavenly tribulation!"
In Athena's opinion, the most terrifying aspect of breaking through to the Titan realm was the tribulation, which was a life-or-death ordeal.
However, Yun Fan said, "You also know that with my demonic cultivation physique, I don't need to undergo tribulation when breaking through!"
"What?"
Athena looked at Yun Fan in disbelief. What did she mean by "you also know"? What did she know? This demonic cultivation physique was too monstrous; it didn't even require undergoing tribulation, completely exceeding her expectations.
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "Look!"
With that, he displayed the concept of the Titan realm. Athena was instantly moved. How could she not understand what this meant?
This meant that although Yun Fan had not reached the Titan realm, he had effectively broken through.
In other words, as long as Yun Fan's power reached the required level for a Titan breakthrough, he could seamlessly advance to the Titan realm.
This was too monstrous! Even she had never seen such a monstrous existence. Was this still human?
"You... How did you do it?"
Athena asked in shock. She had to admit, Yun Fan had truly shown off this time.
Yun Fan said, "I don't need to do anything; my physique is just like this!"
Athena almost fainted. She finally understood what it meant to strive for tens of thousands of years and still not be as good as someone who lived leisurely.
She felt that her tens of thousands of years had been lived in vain.
At this moment, she asked Yun Fan, "Can I also have a demonic cultivation physique?"
Undoubtedly, at this moment, she had decided to put aside all her prejudices and wanted to become a monstrous existence like a demonic cultivator.
Yun Fan shook his head and said, "No. I've conducted many experiments. If a normal person's body is infused with a demonic cultivation physique, it becomes a ticking time bomb!"
On this point, Yun Fan felt a great pity. Because if it were possible to transform into a demonic cultivation physique, he would first have to transform those in the mortal realm, allowing them to become like him, with an unrestrained demonic cultivation physique.
But reality was often cruel. He had tried countless times, but ultimately, he had failed, so he gave up.
Athena was somewhat speechless. It was no wonder the demonic cultivation physique was the strongest in the God Realm. With such an overpowered breakthrough, it was impossible not to be strong.
At this moment, she asked Yun Fan, "Are you really going to that place?"
"Yes!"
Yun Fan said firmly, "I must go!"
"Then let's go!"
...
At the border between the God Realm and the mortal realm, where the three women were in seclusion, a guest arrived today. It would be an exaggeration to call them a guest; rather, an insider had returned.
This insider was Han Mei.
With the blessing of Goddess Nuwa, Han Mei arrived in the God Realm in advance. Under the guidance of Goddess Nuwa's remnant soul, she obtained the He Dao Flower.
Now that she had returned, Han Yan and Vermilion Bird emerged from seclusion. Only one person had not come out, and that was the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady.
Sensing the arrival of Goddess Nuwa's remnant soul, she indicated that she did not wish to interact with Goddess Nuwa and therefore continued her solitary seclusion.
After the three women reunited, Goddess Nuwa's remnant soul said, "You are a part of me, but after being split into three, your strength could not grow. Therefore, I finally made this decision!"
"What decision?"
The three women repeatedly asked in their minds.
Goddess Nuwa's remnant soul said, "That is to merge back together and become the true me! In this era of decadence, only by uniting the three souls can one return to their peak! However, you all have developed independent consciousness, so I will not force you!"
This was Goddess Nuwa's attitude. Originally, she had abandoned this plan earlier, but after her calculations, she realized that Yun Fan would soon face his darkest hour. She had to elevate herself to her peak to help Yun Fan.
As for who had injured her and forced her to split into three souls, she alone knew.
Because the person who injured her was too powerful, even Yun Fan at his peak during the Demon Ancestor era might not have been their match.
Therefore, she had kept this matter a secret. Now, by uniting the three souls, although it might alert that person, she had no other choice.
If she didn't do this, Yun Fan might not survive this darkest hour.
At this moment, Vermilion Bird raised her doubt, "If we merge, will we lose all our memories?"
"Yes!"
Goddess Nuwa said, "Your three souls will merge to form my main soul. All your consciousness will be within me!"
Upon hearing this, the three women hesitated at first but soon agreed.
Since they were all sub-souls of Goddess Nuwa, merging together now was acceptable, as their memories would not be lost, merely presented differently.
Especially Han Yan and Vermilion Bird, they both wished to help Yun Fan. Merging now would be a better way to assist him.
Therefore, at Goddess Nuwa's suggestion, they agreed. No, it should be said that at the suggestion of the main soul, their sub-souls all agreed.
Then Goddess Nuwa nodded and said, "Very good. From now on, I will live for you. You are me, and I am you!"
"Mhmm mmm!"
The three women nodded.
Although the process was difficult, Goddess Nuwa possessed the He Dao Flower, so she could take the gamble.
...
At this moment, Yun Fan and Athena arrived at a sacred realm in the God Realm. Why was this place unique?
Because its former master was extraordinary. This master was the Queen Mother of the West.
That's right, the number one deity in the later mythological era, she was an existence that surpassed all ancient and modern times.
After being taught by the Demon Ancestor, her strength soared. Neither Goddess Nuwa, Pangu Great God, nor Emperor Jun could match her.
The later Dragon God, True Martial Great Emperor, Fire God, Water God, and other Titans were even less of a match.
She was the strongest among the Demon Ancestor's disciples. A legend circulated in the God Realm: the Queen Mother of the West at her peak could rival the Demon Ancestor.
During the war between gods and demons, it was not the Third Ancestor who contributed the most, but Yao Xi.
Of course, this was not Yao Xi's peak moment. Her peak moment was transcending the barriers of the God Realm and achieving true immortality.
She became the first god in the history of the God Realm to achieve true immortality, though she might also be the last.
In any case, Yao Xi had many peak moments; her status as the number one deity in the God Realm was backed by her achievements.
In the eyes of the gods, Yao Xi's strength before her ascension was likely not inferior to that of the distant Sanqing.
In any case, there were too many legends about her; one could talk for three days and three nights without end.
Especially after ascending to immortality, it further ignited the gods' yearning for ascension. They did not know how Yao Xi had broken through the rules of heaven and earth to become a true immortal, but at least it proved that true immortality existed.
Moreover, as long as one's strength reached a certain level, it was entirely possible to become an immortal.
Unfortunately, Emperor Jun and Pangu Great God, among others, tried countless times afterward and failed.
Did this mean that the God Realm was truly like a cage, trapping all gods and preventing them from surpassing this world?
In fact, they, and even Yun Fan, did not know that before Yun Fan descended into this world, he was undoubtedly a true immortal-level existence, or even stronger.
It was only after descending into this world that his realm declined.
The strange creatures were in a similar situation.
However, this secret was not widely spread.
At this moment, Athena said to Yun Fan, "Setting aside Yao Xi's opposition to us, in terms of talent and strength, she has truly achieved something unprecedented!"
Even Athena admired the Queen Mother of the West, Yao Xi. Both in the past and present, she had one wish: to one day become like Yao Xi, a supreme empress who transcended the rules of heaven and earth.
But unfortunately, even though she had become a Titan, she was still far from Yao Xi's level, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as ten thousand miles apart.
Yun Fan said disdainfully, "What's so strange about that? She's still a disciple I taught. One day, I will be stronger than her and crush her beneath me!"
Athena scoffed, "Although she wasn't as strong as you during the war between gods and demons, in the later era, she surpassed you. It's generally acknowledged that she surpassed you!"
"Uh!"
Yun Fan said speechlessly, "Can you stop boosting the enemy's morale and undermining our own?"
"I'm stating facts!"
Athena remained unmoved. Yun Fan couldn't be bothered to argue with her and directly descended into the small world created by the Queen Mother of the West.