When Ye Fan peeled away the stone shell and cut to the very center of the millstone, ten thousand divine rays of light erupted outward — like golden needles flying out in every direction, impossible to look at directly.
Everything had happened so suddenly. Layer after layer of stone shell fell to the ground. The stone’s core was like a small sun — too intense to look at directly; tears streamed down involuntarily.
“What kind of priceless treasure is this? Could it be Divine Ore-Essence?” Old Man Zhang the Fifth turned his head away, his eyes slightly swollen from the pain of those divine rays piercing them.
Could it truly be Divine Ore-Essence? That was Ye Fan’s first thought as well, and his heart pounded furiously. What he needed most right now was ore-essence.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully observed. It was an extremely small bead — no larger than a soybean — transformed into a luminous substance, bearing no resemblance to any material form. It seemed like a small cluster of the most sacred light imaginable.
With the stone core fully stripped open, this bead of light did not fall — it hovered in midair, utterly wondrous. Like a single point of the primordial source of heaven and earth, it made one instinctively want to draw near to it.
Old Man Zhang the Fifth dared not look at it directly. Through the corner of his eye he watched, and his rough, weathered old hand reached out unconsciously to touch it — all of it a completely instinctive motion.
Even the Black Emperor, which had collapsed unconscious and was convulsing on the ground, moved a couple of inches toward it while still foaming at the mouth — as though drawn by an invisible pull.
Divine Ore-Essence!
Ye Fan was now certain. This was ore-essence formed from the primordial spiritual energy that had existed since the very inception of heaven and earth — one of the rarest treasures in the world.
It would never sink or fall. It possessed the most pure and primordial essence of heaven and earth, inspiring involuntary reverence. All of this matched perfectly with the characteristics of Divine Ore-Essence as recorded in the Yuantian Scripture — a perfect match.
This was the first time Ye Fan had ever touched Divine Ore-Essence. A sacred, pristine energy flowed from his fingertips through his entire body, leaving him feeling utterly at ease — as though bathed in a warm spring breeze, his physical body undergoing what felt like a complete baptism.
This was Divine Ore-Essence. Its effects were inconceivable. It was a sacred object that even the Holy Lands would fight over. Every time it appeared in the world, it would stir up an enormous storm.
Yet this piece of Divine Ore-Essence was too small — just this one tiny bead. Compared to the enormous blocks of Divine Ore-Essence that had sealed away Primordial Ancient creatures, it was genuinely “insignificant.”
Still, it was absolutely a rare treasure. Were news of it to spread, countless people would shatter their skulls fighting over it.
Divine Ore-Essence came in many varieties with vastly different effects. Ye Fan’s understanding of it was still limited — he had not yet touched the deepest levels of ore-essence scholarship.
This surely can’t be worth a hundred thousand catties of ore-essence…
Even as Divine Ore-Essence, its volume was simply too small — far from sufficient. He needed thirty squares of ore-essence to break into the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Dao Palace. A single bead of Divine Ore-Essence could not solve that problem.
“So this is Divine Ore-Essence… What on earth did our ancestors leave behind?” Old Man Zhang the Fifth murmured to himself. After touching the Divine Ore-Essence, he felt his body become considerably lighter, his blood and vital energy noticeably more vigorous.
For ordinary people, Divine Ore-Essence had tremendous effects — nothing at all like a Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, which possessed an overwhelming “resistance.”
“Legend says there are dozens of varieties of Divine Ore-Essence, and some have effects that beggars belief. I truly wish I could gather them all and examine each one.” Ye Fan gazed at the remaining stone artifacts.
Though his heart yearned for it, he did not intend to continue cutting. The true value of these stone artifacts likely did not lie in small pieces of Divine Ore-Essence — they were far more likely to contain fleshy fruits of some kind.
To continue cutting now would very likely squander priceless treasures. Without understanding how to use them, it would be pure waste.
After a long time, Ye Fan and Old Man Zhang the Fifth finally calmed down from their astonishment. After all, this was a piece of Divine Ore-Essence — anyone who saw it for the first time could hardly help but react this way.
The Black Emperor had fainted away. Had it not, it would no doubt have leapt up to snatch it by now — Divine Ore-Essence had always been something it yearned for without end.
Old Man Zhang the Fifth had heard at least something of Ye Fan’s situation. Knowing that his constitution was special and that his cultivation demanded enormous quantities of ore-essence, he urged Ye Fan to take this piece of Divine Ore-Essence and keep it.
In the end, Ye Fan did not protest too much. He genuinely needed vast quantities of ore-essence at this moment; the debt of gratitude could only be repaid in the future.
The pink fleshy fruit extracted from the stone artifact carried potent medicinal power. The Black Emperor remained unconscious for five full days before it gradually recovered its senses — though it still could not get up, and convulsed from time to time.
“What in the hell! This Emperor has had the worst luck imaginable. What kind of worthless stone material produces a fruit with such extreme poison? It could kill a real dragon!” It cursed and convulsed simultaneously.
“Serves you right. Who told you to be so greedy and try to swallow it whole first?” Ye Fan said scathingly.
The Black Emperor had the urge to murder someone but lacked the strength to stand. Occasionally it still coughed up a mouthful of white foam — clearly it would not fully recover without at least half a month’s time.
Ye Fan studied the fruit for a long time but could not determine what use it had. In the end he let the matter rest.
Finally, he departed from that land of beautiful mountains and clear waters. Now he had only one thought: find ore-essence, break through as quickly as possible. Even if it meant raiding a Holy Land — as long as there was any hope of success and a way to do it, he would not hesitate for a moment. He felt an overwhelming sense of urgency.
When Ye Fan emerged into the outside world, he learned of considerable news. The storm over the ancient scroll had grown ever more violent. The Peacock King had attempted to intercept and kill the Sacred Master of Yao Guang, and had very nearly succeeded — sending shockwaves of utter terror through the entirety of the Northern Region.
Had the Ji Family’s Sacred Master not been traveling together with the Sacred Master of Yao Guang, something earth-shattering would certainly have transpired. Even as things stood, they had paid a bloody price.
Several Grand Elder Patriarchs from both the Ji Family and Yao Guang had been reduced to ash by the Crimson Dragon Elder, while the Sacred Master of Yao Guang had been struck squarely by the Peacock King’s Chaos Sacred Seal and suffered no light injuries.
The implications of this affair were enormous. Whether it was the Crimson Dragon Elder emerging anew into the world, or the Peacock King’s attempt to kill the master of a Holy Land — both were catastrophic upheavals of the highest order.
During Ye Fan’s time in closed cultivation, the Northern Region had been seething and surging, turbulent with waves every single day, never knowing a moment’s peace.
By now, the Violet Mountain was no longer any secret. Many great figures already knew of it, yet no one dared act rashly. Nine Dragons stood sentinel over a single mountain — it was connected to an Ancient Emperor of antiquity. Even the most supreme of powerhouses felt a trepidation in their hearts.
Of course, the majority of cultivators were simply moved by temptation, hoping to seek some fateful opportunity here. But all of them were waiting — waiting for the right moment, with none willing to make the first move.
Several years ago, the Demon Emperor’s burial mound had been terrifying beyond measure — mountains of bones and seas of blood. Multiple Holy Lands had taken turns attacking, filling that black pool with bodies, yet still they could not breach the Yin burial mound. In the end they had let it sink into the earth and vanish from sight.
With such a bloody lesson before them, the powerhouses of the Eastern Wastelands were naturally not going to be as impulsive as they had been that time. Numerous Holy Lands had converged on the Northern Region to discuss the Violet Mountain situation — a unified alliance had become inevitable.
The Yao Chi gathering had been postponed indefinitely. The Violet Mountain’s influence was too great; all eyes were now fixed upon it.
The Violet Mountain had not even been opened, yet already the winds were stirring and the clouds were churning — Sacred Masters had even been wounded because of it. One could only imagine what magnitude of upheaval lay ahead.
After learning all of this, Ye Fan rubbed his chin. All of it bore some connection to him, one way or another. Devising a way to release that ancient scroll into the world had indeed punctured the heavens.
What is the value of a single bead of Divine Ore-Essence? Ye Fan could not estimate. Tu Fei was going to borrow twenty thousand catties of ore-essence; the rest would have to come from his own efforts — and it was an enormous number.
Perhaps it truly is time to go to the Sacred City… In these recent days he had been deeply studying the Yuantian Scripture, preparing to stake everything on one throw.
Huo Yun Province — crimson as fire, with fire-cloud trees everywhere. This was a wondrous species of tree unique to that province.
The fire-cloud tree: not only were its leaves a vivid blazing red, but even its trunk was a reddish-brown. Viewed from a distance, it looked like a sea of fire — or perhaps like a sky full of evening clouds — entirely living up to its name.
From the moment he entered the province, they were the most abundant plant on the road ahead. Red far outnumbered green; one might describe it as ten thousand reds surrounding a single spot of green.
This province was not terribly far from the Sacred City — at most another eleven or twelve days of travel. Ye Fan moved forward with a clear destination in mind: he was going to gamble everything against the Holy Lands.
Huo Yun City was the center of this province. Its city walls were imposing and grand, stretching like the Great Wall — vast, magnificent, and ancient. It was a city of considerable renown.
Legend had it that long ago, a powerful Desolate Ancient clan had stood here, dominant throughout the Eastern Wastelands, its inheritance spanning more than a hundred thousand years. It was a pity that tens of thousands of years ago they had been reduced to ash, disappearing beneath the starry sky of history.
They embodied the truth that no inheritance lasts forever, and no clan endures eternally — everything has a day when it reaches its end.
As he arrived before the grand city gate, Ye Fan spotted two wanted posters — both bearing his likeness. They had been posted by Yao Guang and the Ji Family respectively as arrest warrants.
Both great inheritances had offered astronomical bounties: anyone who could provide relevant information was to receive ten thousand catties of ore-essence.
And anyone who could provide a confirmed location where Ye Fan could be found would receive thirty squares of ore-essence — a full hundred thousand catties. A price that defied the heavens.
Wanted notices like these had been posted in the central cities of the various great oases. The more Ye Fan looked at them, the more nauseating he found it. Who would want to be hunted and pursued like this?
Truly worthy of being a Holy Land — they casually throw out tens of thousands of catties of ore-essence…
He understood why he was worth so much. Beyond the enmity between the parties, the far more critical reason was that the other side wanted the Myriad Things Mother Qi from within his cauldron. If they could obtain it, a million catties of ore-essence would not be enough to stop them.
A hundred thousand catties of ore-essence in exchange for my cauldron and my life — they’ve calculated quite nicely. Ye Fan stood before the city gate with a cold smile.
Out on the horizon beyond Huo Yun City, several dozen mounted riders came charging in. These spirit beasts moved without touching the ground, treading through the air. The riders upon them were clad in gleaming iron armor — they were people of the Ji Family.
“Damn it all — almost no useful information to be found. I truly don’t know when we’ll manage to drag that boy surnamed Ye out of hiding. If he dares show himself, I’ll crush him with one hand!” One of the Ji Family’s young riders said with a cold voice.
“Hmph!”
The young man at the head of the group let out a cold snort and swept his eyes over the speaker: “Ji Yunteng, do not underestimate him. Someone at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Dao Palace may not necessarily be able to suppress him.”
Ji Yunteng laughed coldly: “He’s nothing but an outdated cripple — what’s so remarkable about him? Even if someone at the same level can’t beat him in a fight, I refuse to believe that I, at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Dao Palace, can’t squash him — a man at the Second Heavenly Layer. It’s infuriating. This piece of trash is hiding somewhere, but if he dares come out, I’ll stomp him to death with one foot.”
“Don’t be arrogant. The Sacred Son of Yao Guang is so powerful, the Young Peng King is so proud — and yet both were taken in by him.” The young man at the head of the group was measured and steady; he cautioned the other young powerhouses.
Ji Yunteng was unconvinced: “That was only because the Chaos Stone froze everyone present. Otherwise, could a mere cripple with that small a cultivation base have captured the most supremely talented young powerhouses at the Four Extremities Secret Realm?”
“If he truly dares come out, I’ll poke him to death with one finger!” Another prominent talent of the Ji Family’s younger generation also burned with anger.
They had been tasked with searching through Huo Yun Province, and over these past many days a stomach full of resentment had built up within them. They could barely restrain themselves from dragging Ye Fan out on the spot.
“This brat has had us trudging through wind and rain every single day, tracking his whereabouts. I’m so furious I could slap him into dust with one palm!”
“This boy surnamed Ye is nothing but a cripple, yet he’s stirred up such enormous trouble. If I ever catch him, I’ll crush him like a bug!”
These young powerhouses were all brimming with resentment. They mounted their spirit beasts and rode into the city.
Ye Fan’s lips curved into a faint cold smile: With a bounty worth tens of thousands of catties of ore-essence — I might as well go collect it myself!
To use the enemy’s ore-essence to fund his own insatiable needs — that was the most ideal arrangement imaginable. He swept his robe sleeves wide and slipped into Huo Yun City.