With Thor and the Sixth Patriarch having met their demise, a great uproar ensued.
These two had only been in the mortal realm for a short time, and to think they were already dead. Their death was happening far too quickly!
At this moment, the gods of the Divine Realm found it hard to accept this reality. It was one thing to say Thor was weak, a mere trifle.
But the Sixth Patriarch was a true powerhouse, his strength surpassing most of the gods in the Divine Realm. Even after descending to the mortal realm, he was still an absolute top-tier existence.
To think that even such a being had died. It seemed the Demon Ancestor's power had exceeded their expectations.
The Fifth Patriarch and the Dragon God, the representative sent by the gods, were deliberating on a plan to deal with Yun Fan.
At this point, the Fifth Patriarch said, "The gods we sent down have all died. It seems this brat's strength has exceeded our expectations!"
The Dragon God nodded, "Indeed. To prevent any unnecessary sacrifices, I believe we shouldn't send anyone else down!"
After all, anyone sent down would just be meeting their end. They couldn't possibly send all the gods.
For a moment, the two fell into complete silence. They were originally opposing forces, both viewing mortals as ants.
But to deal with Yun Fan, they had miraculously allied themselves once more.
After a long while, the Fifth Patriarch said, "In that case, we can only resort to containment!"
"Containment?"
The Dragon God didn't understand what he meant.
The Fifth Patriarch explained, "He is in the mortal realm. Because the Great Dao is incomplete there, he cannot break through to the Mahayana stage. Without becoming a god, no matter how strong he is at the peak of humanity, he will ultimately amount to nothing. Let him grow old and die in the mortal realm!"
The Dragon God believed this plan was feasible. No matter how powerful Yun Fan was, he was only at the peak of humanity. While he could kill gods who had fallen from their divine realm, this meant nothing.
As long as he didn't reach the Divine Dao, his lifespan would be extremely short – a thousand, or a few thousand years at most. What was so remarkable about that?
Compared to the long lifespans of the gods, this amount of time was almost negligible. Of course, even gods couldn't live forever.
Their lives were simply much longer.
It had to be said, this plan was very passive, but it was the best option currently available.
At this moment, the Dragon God said, "In that case, we can only seal off the Divine Realm and prevent him from entering it again, thus cutting off his path to godhood!"
"No need!"
The Fifth Patriarch replied, "I actually have a more proactive method. That is, to make him impatient, forcing him to enter the Divine Realm to break through to the Mahayana stage. Once he enters the Divine Realm, it will be his end!"
"We can simply wait for him to fall into our trap!"
It had to be said, his plan was more feasible.
For other gods, or even the aberrant beings, this wouldn't work. Because for them, once they fell from their divine realm, returning to the Divine Realm was impossible.
But for Yun Fan, he was not bound by rules, as they had witnessed with their own eyes. Therefore, this plan of his played a crucial role.
"Alright!"
The Dragon God said, "I will inform the War Goddess Athena to dispatch elites and garrison the various strongholds of the Divine Realm. Once the reborn Demon Ancestor enters the Divine Realm, kill him!"
"Excellent!"
The Fifth Patriarch said, "There's no need to worry about the Realm of Aberration. As long as he dares to step into it, our lineage will surely kill him!"
After all, the lineage of aberration harbored an insurmountable hatred for the Demon Ancestor. No one understood the Demon Ancestor better than them.
The Dragon God stated, "He now has only two choices: either die of old age in the mortal realm, or enter the Divine Realm and be killed by us!"
"However, the aberrant and the gods will have to cease hostilities. Although our conflict has never stopped, this time we have a common enemy!"
"Naturally. The two sides will quickly sign a ceasefire agreement!"
Why was a Yun Fan, who hadn't even reached the divine realm, causing them so much fear? It was because ten thousand years ago, they had been left with deep scars.
Therefore, let alone Yun Fan being at the peak of humanity, even an ant would command their utmost attention.
...
At this moment, Yun Fan and the three women had arrived at the boundary between the Divine Realm and the mortal realm. After Han Yan and Zhu Que set up the grand earth formation, this place was almost completely isolated from the outside world.
Unless the gods searched extensively, they would never be able to sense this place. This was because this was a world Yun Fan had opened up ten thousand years ago, though Yun Fan himself didn't remember it.
Yun Fan was also preparing to break through to his Mahayana stage here.
At this moment, Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said to Yun Fan, "Husband, do you remember this place?"
"No."
Yun Fan shook his head. This place was very special. The divine power here was more concentrated than in the mortal realm, but less so than in the Divine Realm.
If an ordinary person were here, they might not be able to break through to the Mahayana stage, but for Yun Fan, it wasn't a significant problem.
He reckoned there wouldn't be much trouble.
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü then said to Yun Fan, "This was where you went into seclusion ten thousand years ago. It was also here that I was taught by you and broke through to the Mahayana stage!"
At this moment, Jiu Tian Xuan Nü's memories seemed to return to ten thousand years ago, to those unrestrained days when any difficulty was resolved with a single word from Yun Fan.
Though they couldn't return to ten thousand years ago, she was fortunate to still be by Yun Fan's side. For her, this was enough.
She firmly believed that Yun Fan could once again reach the pinnacle.
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "Senior Sister, I can clearly feel that I am only one step away from the Mahayana stage. I think I can attempt it!"
This was how Yun Fan felt at present.
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said, "Why not go into seclusion for a while longer? After all, breaking through now seems a bit too hasty!"
She believed Yun Fan needed sufficient time to recover.
Yun Fan replied, "There's no need to wait, Senior Sister. Although I don't have absolute certainty, I have absolute confidence!"
This was Yun Fan's own assessment.
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said nothing more. She knew Yun Fan's talent was beyond doubt.
Therefore, at this moment, she supported Yun Fan's breakthrough.
After preparing everything, Yun Fan went into seclusion to begin his push for the Mahayana stage.
Unlike previous realms, breaking through to the Mahayana stage required undergoing a heavenly tribulation, the tribulation of the Heavenly Dao. This was because the Mahayana stage was the first realm to break away from the mortal realm.
The challenge faced was a terrifying ordeal. If the Emperor realm was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, where only one in a hundred powerful individuals broke through,
Then the Mahayana stage was even more difficult. Throughout history, although there weren't many Emperor realm powerhouses after the mythological era,
There were indeed many Emperor realm powerhouses during the mythological era.
God Dao realm powerhouses were even fewer, not many even in the mythological era. Especially after he forcefully took a portion of them away from the mythological era, they became even rarer.
Since the mythological era, no one had been able to become a god. In the mortal realm, for about ten thousand years, there had been no gods.
It wasn't that no one had the talent to become a god. On the contrary, there were too many who could become gods, such as Emperor Shun, Emperor Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, and so on, all possessing the talent to become gods.
However, due to the rules of heaven and earth, they all vanished into the long river of history.
At this moment, Yun Fan was attempting to break through to the Mahayana stage. The process was very smooth. Just as he was condensing his divine Dao imprint, he unexpectedly encountered the tribulation.
Yes, it was the tribulation of heaven and earth, the tribulation of the Great Dao.
Facing this terrifying tribulation, Yun Fan's expression immediately changed, as he sensed an immense danger within it.
But at this moment, he could not retreat. Once he retreated, it was unknown when he would be able to attempt to break through to the Mahayana stage again.
However, just as the tribulation of the heavens was about to descend, it suddenly vanished.
"What... what the hell is going on?"
Yun Fan was dumbfounded. He had considered countless possibilities, but none of them were this. Where was the promised tribulation? Why did it disappear for no reason?
Without these tribulations, was his breakthrough to the Mahayana stage truly a Mahayana stage? Everything was subject to speculation and deep thought.
But he quickly reacted. He was not bound by the rules of heaven and earth; he could go wherever he pleased, and it did not affect his strength at all.
Yet, he hadn't expected to be so monstrous as to not even be bound by the rules of heaven and earth when breaking through. This was, to some extent, disrespectful to the tribulation.
Although he hadn't undergone the tempering and refinement of the tribulation, his divine Dao imprint was undeniably real.
This meant that even without the blessing of the tribulation, he was a genuine god, unaffected in any way.
"This path to breakthrough is too easy!"
Yun Fan was somewhat speechless. Although he had now broken through to the early stage of the Mahayana, he felt no sense of accomplishment whatsoever. This was because he hadn't experienced a near-death experience; it felt like he had just picked it up for free.
"You... you broke through!"
The three women didn't expect Yun Fan to come out of seclusion in less than ten days. They had been guarding here, preparing to protect him for several years.
After all, to break through to the Mahayana stage, a normal martial artist would need at least several years. This was because the early stages of seclusion required contemplation, then comprehension, undergoing tribulation, and finally healing the Dao wounds left after the tribulation.
This entire process could take anywhere from several years to a decade. In their opinion, even if Yun Fan were a prodigy, it would take at least one or two years.
As for whether Yun Fan could break through, it wasn't their concern. After all, Yun Fan bore the halo of the Demon Ancestor; failure was impossible.
But they didn't expect Yun Fan to emerge in just ten days. It was, to some extent, disrespectful to the breakthrough.
Moreover, looking at Yun Fan's demeanor, he was very relaxed. Jiu Tian Xuan Nü could also sense that Yun Fan had already ascended to the Divine Dao realm, which was undeniable.
From these pieces of evidence, it was clear that Yun Fan had indeed broken through.
It was just that the breakthrough seemed too hasty.
Yun Fan said helplessly, "That's right, I broke through. The annoying thing is, I wasn't constrained by the Great Dao at all, I didn't even feel involved!"
Hearing this, the three women wanted to beat Yun Fan to death. This guy was too pretentious! They knew that what Yun Fan disdained was the lifelong aspiration of all divine Dao powerhouses and even aberrant powerhouses. Yet, they still had to diligently enter seclusion to break through.
And then face the near-death tribulations.
"Husband, you're saying that the laws of heaven and earth couldn't even restrain you during your breakthrough?"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü asked in shock. Don't ask why she didn't know ten thousand years ago; ten thousand years ago, he was already a top-tier king.
Yun Fan nodded, "It seems so!"
"Uh..."
The three women were at a loss as to how Yun Fan could be so monstrous. But that didn't matter anymore!
What was important was that after Yun Fan broke through to the Divine Dao, his path to invincibility had begun.
"Senior Sister, how much of a gap is there between my current state and ten thousand years ago?"
Yun Fan asked this because he was eager to cause some trouble in the Divine Realm.
After breaking through to the Divine Dao realm, he felt like he was walking on air, so elated, with a sense of unmatched dominance.
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said speechlessly, "Why are you thinking so much? The Mahayana stage has three major realms, and each realm is like a heavenly chasm. In the eyes of all the gods, and even in my eyes, you are at the peak of the Mahayana stage. But I truly can't fathom how, at the peak of the Mahayana stage, you could withstand such brutal encirclement ten thousand years ago!"
"After all, those who surrounded you back then were not without powerful experts at the peak of the Mahayana stage!"
Yun Fan heard this and felt utterly speechless. He thought that after breaking through to the early stage of the Mahayana, he would be a king. It turned out he was the clown.
He was still a hundred thousand miles away from his peak. How could life be so difficult?
Even Yun Fan was somewhat despairing.
However, he had to take things one step at a time. The fact that he had come this far was already a miracle. Of course, in his opinion, this miracle had to continue.
At this moment, Jiu Tian Xuan Nü, feeling dejected, said, "I'm going into seclusion too!"
"Senior Sister, are you also preparing to break through?"
Yun Fan asked expectantly. Jiu Tian Xuan Nü was already a god in the Mahayana stage, so "breakthrough" was perhaps not the right word; it should be recovery.
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said speechlessly, "It's not that simple. Although I was once at this realm, it will still take a long time to recover!"
She was simply stimulated by Yun Fan's breakthrough speed.
Yun Fan encouraged her, "Come on, Senior Sister! I believe you will succeed!"
"That's a given for you!"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said, "Junior Brother, now that you've broken through, you can go to the Divine Realm for a while, but you must keep a low profile. Perhaps you might even gain new insights in the Divine Realm!"
She couldn't keep Yun Fan here forever.
Although Yun Fan was safest staying here, sometimes venturing out would lead to new discoveries.
Yun Fan's physique grew stronger in battle, which was why she made this decision.
Since Yun Fan also wanted to go out and explore, he said to the three women, "Don't worry! I'll be careful. There are too many powerful gods, so I'll prioritize survival and development!"
Then, the three women watched Yun Fan depart.
After Yun Fan left, Han Yan suddenly spoke with Nu Wa's voice, "As expected, in my heart, he is always the strongest!"
"What does that have to do with you? He is my husband!"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said proudly.
But Nu Wa said, "You are wrong. He is our husband!"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü was too lazy to argue with her and asked, "You are currently just two residual souls. When do you plan to merge?"
She knew that the great god Nu Wa was among the most powerful gods and would not remain in obscurity like this.
At this moment, Zhu Que sighed and said, "No rush. My other clone has not returned yet. Also, once I merge, those three will become just me!"
This was the dilemma of the great god Nu Wa.
"What? Are you reluctant?"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü said, "If you don't merge, your strength will never recover!"
"It's not reluctance, it's that I haven't decided yet!"
She said, "Perhaps when I truly decide and successfully merge, you won't even have the chance to get close to him!"
"Hmph, who's afraid of whom!"
Jiu Tian Xuan Nü scoffed dismissively. Although in all aspects, except for her looks, she was inferior to the great god Nu Wa, she would not admit defeat.
This time, she would defeat the great god Nu Wa head-on.