Ye Fan paid no attention to their words. His joints cracked and popped as brilliant treasured radiance flickered across his entire body — recovering his vital energy. The great battle with the Golden-Winged Little Peng King had left him exhausted as well.
In no time at all, his eyes began to shine with brilliant light. His body became spotlessly clean, his divine power surging turbulently — fully recovered.
“The Golden-Winged Little Peng King was already spent, yet he…” Many people were shocked, deeply stunned.
Ye Fan walked to one side, where Tu Fei and the great black dog were whispering among themselves.
“The Desolate Halberd is a demonic weapon forged and refined by a demon clan powerhouse — a rare and extraordinary treasure. Even in its sealed state it has this kind of might. Go pick it up,” the great black dog was urging Tu Fei on.
“Why don’t you go pick it up yourself?” Tu Fei slanted it a sideways glare.
The Desolate Halberd was the weapon of the Heavenly Peng Clan’s rulers, passed down to the Golden-Winged Little Peng King. It lay buried at the foot of the cliff, and no one dared to entertain any ideas about it.
Only the great black dog had harbored a wicked thought, and was now goading Tu Fei into quietly stealing it away.
“This Emperor has a copy of the Void Scripture — you go retrieve it without anyone knowing, and then I’ll transmit a supreme secret technique to you…” the great black dog said with a completely serious expression.
“Damn it, you venomous dog — even if you want to harm me, you don’t have to be this obvious about it.” Tu Fei was furious.
“Would this Emperor deceive you? I’ll give you a taste first — let me recite a passage of the Void Scripture for you. Listen carefully.” The great black dog assumed a grave and solemn air and recited aloud the passage of the Void Scripture that Ye Fan had previously shared.
“Don’t listen to its nonsense — this wretched dog is completely shameless, always trying to con something for nothing!” Ye Fan walked over.
“You little brat, I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet — how dare you say ‘lock the door and release the dog’…” the great black dog bared its teeth.
“Behave yourself and don’t cause trouble…” Ye Fan transmitted in secret, saying: “Don’t forget why we came here!”
Boom!
Suddenly, not far away, demonic energy shot to the heavens as golden light blazed brilliantly. The Golden-Winged Little Peng King had regained consciousness. He let out a long cry and transformed into a golden Heavenly Peng dozens of meters in length, spreading his wings and soaring high into the sky.
“Brother Peng, don’t get excited — your body has taken serious injuries and you need to rest and recuperate.” Qingyi transmitted a message, fearing he might act in extremity out of fury.
“That crazed bird-man — how can his body be this powerful, flying around even with that many broken bones?” Tu Fei was startled, gazing up at the sky.
At this moment, the Golden-Winged Little Peng King’s seal had already been released. As a cultivator of the Four Extremes Secret Realm, the aura he radiated was spine-chilling.
He truly had been grievously injured. His body wavered repeatedly, nearly tumbling from the sky. The Peng silhouette flashed, and he transformed back into human form — his expression dark and brooding as he swept his gaze over those below.
“Little Peng King, how are you feeling? Quickly find somewhere to recuperate and repair your body.” A demon clan cultivator spoke up to advise him.
The Golden-Winged Little Peng King cut a powerful and muscular figure. Strand after strand of golden hair moved without wind. His eyes were extremely sharp and cold as he stared fixedly down at Ye Fan.
Then, with a single gesture, the Desolate Halberd that lay buried at the foot of the cliff transformed into a streak of black light and shot skyward, landing back in his hand.
Many people’s hearts tightened instantly. Qingyi spoke up and said: “Golden-Winged Little Peng King — what are you intending to do?”
The Golden-Winged Little Peng King said nothing at all. He glanced at Ye Fan once, then transformed into a beam of golden light and shot toward the horizon, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Not long after, a lesser demon beast came to report that the Golden-Winged Little Peng King had departed, leaving this space entirely.
The great battle had completely come to an end. The demon clan cultivators gradually dispersed, and Ye Fan and Tu Fei returned to Qingyi’s residence.
“You may have defeated the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, but you shouldn’t stay here long either. Certainly many people are now eyeing your cauldron.” Tu Fei said quietly.
Ye Fan was well aware that after the incident with the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, others might temporarily refrain from open action — but staying too long would inevitably be dangerous.
“I know.” He nodded. He had to resolve the matter of Pang Bo in the shortest time possible.
Not long after, Yan Ruyu appeared, coming to Qingyi’s residence. She too hinted that Ye Fan should not remain here long.
“Princess Yan, I’m sure you can guess what I’ve come for.” Ye Fan said with complete seriousness. “I have only one request — I want to see Pang Bo. We’ve been apart for years, and I’ve never been able to meet him even once.”
“That, I’m afraid, is impossible. He won’t emerge from seclusion for three more months, and he cannot be disturbed right now.” Yan Ruyu shook her head.
Ye Fan was instantly alarmed. The time was too pressing — in three months, it was very possible that the real Pang Bo would no longer exist in this world.
“Are you speaking of… the one in the Hall of Agelessness?” Qingyi’s expression shifted with a strange look.
Yan Ruyu gave a slight nod and said nothing more.
“The Hall of Agelessness — is that the ancient hall that the Azure Flood Dragon King obtained?” Tu Fei said in surprise.
Those present seemed disinclined to discuss the topic at length. They only nodded; no one explained in detail.
“Little Brother Ye, if you wish to continue staying, you may come to my residence.” Yan Ruyu spoke up. She lifted one delicate hand to brush her long hair into place, her complexion flawlessly beautiful and unblemished.
Ye Fan understood — this was genuine goodwill on her part. She feared someone might scheme against him and seize the Primordial Mother Qi’s root source, so she was inviting him there.
“We would ask for nothing more — many thanks for your kind invitation, Immortal Yan!” Tu Fei stepped in and accepted on their behalf without waiting.
“Then we shall trouble the Princess.” Ye Fan had no choice but to nod as well.
The great black dog slunk along quietly without a word — yet a flash of light passed through its eyes and vanished. It had come for the ancient scripture, and entering the residence of the descendant of a demon clan Great Emperor suited it perfectly.
The small realms opened up by ancient sages and wise men varied greatly from one another. Some were dead and desolate, others brimming with vitality — some as small as a few zhang across, others extending for hundreds of li.
The small world discovered by the Azure Flood Dragon King extended for more than two hundred li in circumference — a truly vast expanse. After he took command of it, naturally many demon clan members gathered there.
In truth, once demon beasts transformed into human form, there was little difference between them and humans — their living habits had even begun to resemble one another.
Within this small world was a demon city. It wasn’t very large, but it was quite prosperous. Trading in spirit medicines, rare elemental sources, and forging materials mostly took place there.
Yan Ruyu’s cave dwelling was situated in a scenic area of elegant mountains, about ten or more li from the demon city. There, silver waterfalls hung like silken ribbons, the grass and trees were lush and verdant, and the scenery was magnificent.
Every mountain peak had palace halls upon it, with many unoccupied buildings — arranging accommodations for them posed no problem at all. There were even lesser demon beasts assigned to wait upon them.
Ye Fan chose a tranquil location. On this mountain summit, a pine forest stood as though painted, palace halls nestled within it, and a spring burbled and flowed, winding its way down and cascading off the mountainside below.
“What kind of place is the Hall of Agelessness?” When no one else was present, Ye Fan asked Tu Fei.
“It’s an ancient hall left behind by a sage of antiquity — the Azure Flood Dragon King obtained it. Cultivating inside slows the passage of one’s life span, with a marvelous effect of not aging.”
“That miraculous?” Ye Fan was astonished. Simultaneously, his heart tightened — was this not precisely the kind of place that would give the other existence within Pang Bo’s body the hope of surviving?
“The Hall of Agelessness is truly mysterious. The Azure Flood Dragon King has been studying it continuously, trying to understand the complex Dao patterns upon it and unlock the secrets of agelessness.”
“This is a priceless treasure!” The great black dog’s eyes blazed with light. “If the Dao patterns inside could be traced and copied, they would be of tremendous use in the future.”
“Go cool off somewhere else!” Tu Fei, never forgetting the dog bite, still held a grudge.
“Damn it — show me some respect, you. The day will come when you need me.” The great black dog said with a dark expression.
Ye Fan quickly cut in to prevent them from getting into it — otherwise, he was certain a man-versus-dog battle would break out.
“Where is the Hall of Agelessness? Can you take me to see it?”
Tu Fei was startled and said: “I say, Little Ye — what exactly are you planning? Don’t get any ideas — that’s the Azure Flood Dragon King’s treasure. It’ll bring great disaster.”
“Don’t worry — I won’t do anything rash.” Ye Fan said with a smile.
Tu Fei was true to his reputation as someone who couldn’t keep his mouth shut — he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out information about the Hall of Agelessness. He pointed toward the distant sky and said: “See those clouds? The Hall of Agelessness is floating up there above the cloud layer.”
“An ancient hall that never falls…” Ye Fan was stunned.
“It never sinks — deeply mysterious. It’s a hall left behind by a sage of antiquity.” Tu Fei simply couldn’t hold the words back.
Ye Fan listened and learned the details thoroughly, then rubbed his chin and said nothing more.
“I say — Little Ye, don’t do anything rash!” Tu Fei warned.
Though this world had been opened up by ancient sages, it still had day and night. When a great fire orb that had been artificially refined sank down, night fell.
In the deep of night, Ye Fan and the great black dog soundlessly drew together and then rose high into the sky, gazing from a distance at the ancient hall floating above the cloud layer.
It was an extremely ancient hall, already somewhat dilapidated and crumbling. Around it, quite a number of meteorites hung silently — a peculiar sight.
“Can you see anything?” Ye Fan asked quietly.
“Nothing good — I don’t know what’s inside the ancient hall, but on the outside there are eighteen layers of prohibitions, with Dao patterns densely covering every surface.”
Ye Fan immediately frowned. That was not good news.
The great black dog continued: “Look at those meteorites floating in the clouds — each one is strange, carved with extremely powerful Dao patterns. Only a great power could break through them.”
“So we can’t get in?”
“Who do you think this Emperor is? There are no Dao patterns this Emperor cannot break!” The great black dog assumed an air of imperious self-confidence.
“Keep boasting. I wonder who was trapped in the Cloud-Cutting Mountain Range for eighteen years and nearly became fertilizer for the black soil.”
The great black dog heard this and immediately deflated, saying: “Don’t bring up those old, stale affairs.”
“Can you truly break these eighteen layers of prohibitions?” Ye Fan was somewhat skeptical of it after the incident at the Jade Pool Ancient Site — he felt the great black dog was rather unreliable.
“I’ve seen all these prohibitions before — I know how to resolve them. The only troublesome thing is that I need some materials.”
“What materials do you need? What do you have in mind?” Ye Fan asked.
“Some precious materials, to be used for inscribing certain Dao patterns to break the prohibitions here.” The great black dog named a long list of materials.
“This will be difficult — where would I find these on short notice?”
“If there are no materials, sufficient elemental source will work instead.”
“How much elemental source do you need?”
“A few square units should do it.” The great black dog said carelessly.
“One square unit is three thousand, three hundred catties — a few square units… you say it so lightly!”
“Don’t you have two square units on you? Spend them carefully and it should just about be enough.”
“You wretched dog — so all along you’ve been scheming after the elemental source on me?!”
In such a sensitive location, they dared not act rashly. Without complete certainty, they would not enter the Hall of Agelessness.
When the night had grown deep and still, after Ye Fan returned to his quarters, he sensed someone inside the room.
“Who’s there?”
A tinkling laughter like silver bells drifted over, along with a fragrant perfume. It was a woman. A candle flickered, and a familiar silhouette came gliding lightly forward.
Her long skirt trailed the ground. A pair of slender jade-like legs appeared and vanished with her movement. Her slender waist was round and delicate. Her two jade arms were half-bare, pink and crystalline. Her beautiful hair hung loose over her shoulders, and she had a bewitching, mesmerizing face.
She was extraordinarily seductive — her curves rising and falling, deserving to be called a figure of the devil and a face of an angel. At the center of her brow bloomed a single red beauty mark, from which faint divine light flickered.
“It’s you…” Ye Fan recognized her at a glance. It was none other than the demon seductress, Qin Yao.
Qin Yao smiled lightly, her eyes flowing with charm and allure. “You weren’t in your room this late at night — where did you go?”
“Taking a walk in the pine forest.”
“A lie. You little one — you came to this place with ulterior motives.”
Ye Fan laughed and said: “I came to fulfill a promise — I came to ‘carry out a great slaughter.'”
“What does a little child like you know?” Qin Yao was a genuine seductress in every sense of the word. She gave him a sideways glance, her manner exuding ten thousand kinds of charm and allure.