The vast golden desert shattered like glass. The sea of sand directly ahead disappeared, and faint mountain silhouettes appeared on the distant horizon.

“This is…” All of them were astonished.

The Black Emperor said, “I understand now. It was the Dao patterns on the weapon’s shattered fragments that had been influencing the desert. By putting them away, this section has been restored to open sky and clear land — and I would wager the entire desert is now the same.”

This was an unexpected delight. Even as the Black Emperor and Tu Fei secured rare and precious materials, they had broken through the deadlock and walked out of the desert.

After proceeding another ten-odd li and completely leaving behind the vast desert, they arrived at the edge of an oasis.

By now, deep autumn had set in. The great majority of trees had shed their leaves entirely; only a handful of species — green pines, red maples, and a few others — still stood lush and full.

“What a fat dog — looks like we’re eating well tonight. Stewed black dog meat!” called out several silhouettes ahead, standing at the foot of a barren hill at the edge of the oasis, speaking with sarcastic, mocking tones, their bodies clad in iron armor that gleamed with cold light.

“You two little whelps — leave behind everything you’re carrying and then get lost!”

The Black Emperor nearly leapt to its feet on the spot. It held itself back for now, grinding its teeth inwardly.

“Who are you people?” Tu Fei’s face went dark. A descendant of the Great Bandit, being robbed — this was a first.

“You’ve come to the wrong place. Leave your source stones, then get lost — you don’t have the standing to be asking questions here!”

These people were extremely arrogant and had not put the two men and one dog in the slightest regard.

“Of course, the dog stays behind — today we eat well.” Several men laughed without restraint.

“Woof!”

The Black Emperor could no longer restrain itself. It pounced forward, its gaping maw opening wide for a bite.

“This black dog is pretty ferocious — but that’s what makes the eating tastier. They say ferocious dogs have the finest flavor.” One of them, clad in silver iron armor, stepped forward and slapped its palm squarely down toward the Black Emperor’s skull.

Clang!

The blow landed solidly — because the Black Emperor hadn’t even bothered to dodge. Iron muscles and steel bones — its physique was not far behind Ye Fan’s. It swung one great paw, and with a thud slashed through, knocking the man flat on the spot, leaving a horrifying bloody gash across him.

“This dog…”

Those behind all changed color. This great black dog was clearly far beyond any ordinary dog spirit — a single paw had sent a cultivator of the Divine Abode First Layer coughing up blood.

The Black Emperor had been enraged just now and transformed into a streak of dark light, charging back and forth at the foot of the barren hill.

Both great paws swung freely — the iron armor crumpled like paper, utterly unable to hold. Crunch after crunch rang out, and every one of those people was pressed flat to the ground.

“How dare you think about eating me… there is no such person in this world!” Two jets of white vapor blasted from the Black Emperor’s nostrils — the manifestation of its fury.

The men on the ground had been arrogant at first, but now were every one of them behaving themselves. They knew they had kicked an iron plate. Under the Black Emperor’s sharp teeth, one by one they began to cry out in pain.

“Who are you people, that you dare be disrespectful to me?” Without even needing Ye Fan and Tu Fei to ask, the Black Emperor was already roaring — it had fury to vent.

It stood on top of several people, and every time it pressed down a great paw, they would all wail.

Under the Black Emperor’s roaring, these men confessed everything. They were bandits of this region, and their forces were not insignificant.

Ye Fan immediately laughed and said to Tu Fei, “Now there’s a colleague of yours.”

“Don’t compare those bottom-feeding scum to me. A true Great Bandit only plunders holy lands — we never bully the weak,” Tu Fei walked forward and gave them a thorough kicking.

In truth, these people were genuinely not weak — every single one of them at the Divine Abode First Layer. As a band of brigands, they were a force to be reckoned with.

“Is it just the few of you?” Tu Fei pressed.

“We have a stronghold — several dozen men in all, just up the mountain ahead.” Under the Black Emperor’s paws, they confessed everything. They had come to the rear mountain to bury source stones and had happened to run into Tu Fei and the others.

Ye Fan smiled at that. Tu Fei had helped him borrow twenty-five thousand catties of source stones, and then they had plundered fifty-seven thousand catties from Duan De — totaling over eighty thousand catties. He was still over ten thousand catties short of three square formations.

Though he had one grain of divine source, it was difficult to estimate exactly how much ordinary pure source it would be worth.

“Dig out all your source stones!”

“You…” Several of the not-at-all-weak bandits were furious in their hearts but dared not disobey. At the edge of the desert, they dug up a dozen-odd chests of source stones.

When the wooden chests were opened, they shimmered in five colors, crystalline brilliance — over a thousand catties in total.

“You’re quite capable indeed — comparable to a small sect. How many people have you plundered and robbed?” Ye Fan said coldly, and without ceremony swept all thousand-odd catties away with a wide sleeve.

“Leave half for us — we’ll be punished if we don’t,” the men said mournfully, filled with bitter regret.

“You even have to make tribute payments?” Ye Fan said, surprised.

This time he interrogated them personally, using his powerful divine sense to press down and compel them. He learned everything he wished to know.

This province was called An Province — though it was anything but peaceful. It covered a large area, spanning some eight thousand-odd li in circumference. Brigands were plentiful, and among the more notable ones, five bands stood out.

The men before him were subordinate to one of those five brigand bands, obliged to deliver tribute on a regular basis.

After Ye Fan had reviewed their memories with his divine sense, he directly tapped out several fingers and ended their lives.

“These men deserved death — every one of them with blood-soaked hands, an utter pack of degenerates. They robbed and slaughtered even ordinary people!”

For the brigands of An Province, that deep autumn was a cold one. Across eight thousand-odd li, many brigands were counter-plundered, and many a bandit leader was killed.

In that final season of falling leaves, the brigands of An Province were swept clean in one purge — even three of the five most notable bands were wiped out.

For a full half month, Ye Fan carried the God-Striking Whip on his back and swept through An Province, plundering every brigand band. To avoid exposure, the Black Emperor stayed out of sight. Tu Fei lent his assistance on occasion.

In the deep of night, campfires flickered. A pungent smell of blood hung over these mountain ranges, as this mountain stronghold — the fourth of An Province’s five great brigand bands — had been large indeed. Six cultivators at the Divine Abode Fourth Layer had held the stronghold, making them the most formidable brigand band of all. Ye Fan had fought a great battle and slaughtered every one of them in the end.

The yellow leaves on the ground were stirred by the autumn wind, rustling with a dry, sandy sound. The untended campfires crackled and popped. Corpses lay scattered in every direction, blood soaking into the earth.

Ye Fan had not expected such a great haul from this venture. After sweeping through brigands large and small across eight thousand li, his collection amounted to over twenty thousand catties of source stones in all.

Deep in the night, a campfire leapt and danced. A leg of roasted mountain goat glistened golden and glistening with fat on the wooden rack, while beside it several crocks of aged wine gave off an enticing fragrance.

With the last brigand band dealt with, Ye Fan and Tu Fei sat on the hillside, drinking wine by moonlight. The Black Emperor beside them wolfed everything down ravenously — four mountain goats had been roasted, and three and a half had gone into its belly.

“This time I’ve been slaughtering colleagues of yours,” Ye Fan said with a laugh.

“Don’t put me in the same category as them — I have never plundered ordinary people. I have never once done anything evil,” Tu Fei retorted.

These bandits had plundered far and wide, reaching across several oases, and their accumulated wealth had far exceeded Ye Fan’s expectations. Now, a hundred thousand catties of source stones had been fully gathered — not even counting that grain of divine source, it was more than sufficient.

Even Tu Fei was astonished at having acquired so much after sweeping through this oasis.

Ye Fan bit into a glistening, golden-tender leg of mountain goat and drank a mouthful of wine. “If this is how it goes, by systematically plundering brigands in oasis after oasis, I could gather even a million catties of source stones.”

Tu Fei shook his head. “You’re being too optimistic. This particular oasis is unusual — I noticed it. It has someone backing it. Otherwise, there’s no way this many brigands could be here, with this much accumulated wealth.”

“There’s still one last brigand band remaining — but I’m not going to move against them right now. I need to go into seclusion first. A hundred thousand catties of source stones is already enough. I can’t afford to delay any further.”

Ye Fan drank his last mouthful of wine, tossed the cup into the campfire, and said, “I’m going to be gone for about half a month.”

Tu Fei nodded. “Go into seclusion. I’ll stand guard for you — but we should leave this place and find somewhere else first. These brigands definitely have a backer, and I want no unexpected complications.”

“Boy, that hundred-thousand catty source hoard still has a share for me!” the Black Emperor called, raising its great head.

“You greedy dog — you forfeited your share the moment you tried to snatch the God-Striking Whip. If you still want it, there’s still that last notable brigand band in this province. Wait for me to come out of seclusion and I’ll take you there for your share.”

That day, Ye Fan began his seclusion.

He chose a location deep within a mountain range, placed the entire hundred-thousand-odd catties of source stones into the cauldron, and then stepped inside himself.

He felt that the Holy Physique required an enormous surge of vital essence to break through in a single attempt. Spreading it out might not guarantee success, and so he gathered it all together in a single cauldron.

Moreover, the Black Emperor had specially carved a field of Dao patterns around the perimeter, where jade stones glimmered and transformed the local conditions, drawing in the spiritual energy of ten directions.

Deep within the mountain range, fallen leaves lay everywhere. The autumn wind was sharp as a blade, cutting down the lush growth and scything away the vitality, leaving all withered and faded.

For a full half month, mysterious Dao resonance echoed through these mountain ranges — as though someone was chanting from a supreme great Dao scripture.

Spiritual energy flowed in from all eight directions like water, until it was as dense as liquid here, so rich that many withered flowers and grasses broke through the soil once more — endless vitality returning.

This was a wondrous sight. The spiritual energy was so dense that it coaxed the plants back into spring — new buds on branches, new shoots pushing up, flower buds swaying open.

The ancient bronze cauldron glimmered, dimly luminous, with boundless source energy flowing and overflowing from within.

A hundred thousand catties of source stones being refined simultaneously — what did that signify? It was clearly visible: within the cauldron, five colors of brilliant light swirled, auspicious clouds resplendent, as Ye Fan was completely submerged within.

The Scripture of the Western Emperor truly deserved its name as a supreme scripture — it effectively guided this dense source energy, surging in like a rainbow, like a tide, pouring without end into his body.

Within the Divine Abode, the five great sacred repositories trembled in unison. “My Passing Self” and “My Dao Self” seemed to truly exist — stirring heaven and earth, attuning to the natural Dao.

Chanting sutras for the self of this life, coexisting with heaven and earth. Making a vow for the self of this world, threading through the fate of destiny, undying in this lifetime.

Whether the past self, or the self that exists alongside the Dao — in this moment, both were stirring the Dao’s world, causing one’s own being to undergo transformation.

The resonance of the great Dao rang through the mountain ranges, as though someone was chanting a supreme ancient scripture, illuminating the wondrous principles of the Dao.

Yet it was difficult to truly hear its sound or understand its meaning — like an ancient Great Emperor in meditation, and yet like the earliest ancestors of the primordial age offering prayers and worship to a supreme sacred king, boundlessly sincere.

Around the great cauldron, dead wood put forth new buds, old vines turned green, young grass broke through the soil — a thriving vitality burst forth anew.

The smell of earth mingled with the fragrance of flowers and grasses. Plants turning to greet the spring — growing again in the bleak autumn, a hundred flowers dyeing the world with color once more.

This was a world renewed. Life newly sprouting, tender green tinged with yellow, flower buds trembling open — everything full of hope.

In the distance, Tu Fei was astonished. “Chanting from the Divine Abode — like a supreme great Dao scripture transmitted outward — mingling with the spiritual energy, causing flowers and grasses to be reborn. Truly astonishing!”

The Black Emperor was also watching. “Even among people of the ancient era, few could do this at this cultivation level. The Desolate Holy Physique is truly remarkable.”

On the eighteenth day, Ye Fan took out the grain of divine source, for the hundred thousand catties of ordinary source stones were nearly fully refined, and he had still not broken through to the Divine Abode Fourth Layer. He did not want to fall short at the final moment — that would be too great a loss.

Divine source — the vital essence at the very inception of heaven and earth, the most primal and fundamental of essences!

Though it was only a single grain — an extraordinarily small quantity — the moment it began to be refined, rays of golden divine radiance shot toward the sky, dazzling — impossible to look at directly.

Flash!

Immediately following, a golden ray of light flickered and vanished, absorbed into the cauldron.

The most primal essence of heaven and earth surged into the Divine Abode. Ye Fan’s entire body in that instant became crystalline and radiant, glowing — he looked like an immortal deity who had existed since time immemorial.

Within the Divine Abode, the resonance of the great Dao grew more vast and magnificent, enveloping the entire mountain range. All manner of plants and grasses were coaxed into spring, endless vitality fully manifesting!

As though an ancient Great Emperor was truly discoursing on the Dao, chanting a supreme ancient scripture — or like a sacred king descending upon the world, with countless ancient ancestors of the primordial age offering prayers in boundless devotion.