The blue-robed girl was like a fairy beneath the night moon — otherworldly in grace, ethereal and transcendent, as though she did not belong to this mortal world, embodying both spiritual energy and beauty in equal measure.
All around her, rows of immortal maple trees swayed gently, their jade-green leaves lustrous as carved emerald, with crystalline light dancing through them. Pure white petals cascaded down in a flurry, filling the air with a delicate fragrance that left one intoxicated.
“Weiwei!” Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise. He had recognized an old acquaintance.
Weiwei hailed from the Lingxu Cave Heaven. It was she who had led Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others out from the ancient forbidden grounds and the surrounding forests. Gifted with a peerless natural talent rarely seen in a thousand years, the Lingxu Cave Heaven had not wished to hinder her cultivation, and so had sent her to the Yao Guang Holy Land.
When Ye Fan had once crossed the void from the Southern Domain to the Northern Domain, he had slipped into the Yao Guang Holy Land in disguise. Weiwei had seemed to notice him back then, yet had not exposed him — and had even deliberately dropped a few hints.
He had never expected to encounter her here. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he whisked the Great Black Dog away into it.
“Hey, what’s the meaning of this?” the Great Black Dog growled, wanting to bite him.
“We’ve run into someone I know. Behave yourself, or you’ll give us away.” Recently, they had been venturing out to plunder brigands, and Ye Fan had used the Heaven and Earth Transformation Art to conceal his true appearance — the only potential flaw was the Great Black Dog.
“You know this woman — pure as crystal, beautiful as a fairy?” Tu Fei said in astonishment, then let out a strange cry: “You scoundrel! I keep noticing that you seem to have ties with many women.”
“Keep your vulgar imagination in check. This woman did me a great kindness — she once saved me before she became a disciple of Yao Guang.” Ye Fan said.
Though they were still some distance apart, Weiwei’s spiritual senses were extraordinarily sharp. She turned to look back, her face as radiant as a jade pearl catching the glow of dawn, lighting up the entire maple forest with her brilliance.
“I get the feeling she’s recognized you,” Tu Fei said, looking puzzled. He already knew that Ye Fan possessed the Heaven and Earth Transformation Art, which made this all the more surprising.
“That’s impossible. I’ve altered not just my appearance but my entire bearing and aura. How could she possibly recognize me?” Ye Fan said.
Yet Weiwei truly did walk toward them — light and graceful, her blue robes fluttering, crystalline petals drifting alongside her, like a celestial goddess stepping over gentle waves.
“Could she really see through my disguise?!” Ye Fan was somewhat startled.
Tu Fei said, “In this world, there is the Nether Eye, which can see through the realm of the dead and peer into the underworld. Beyond that, there are several other forms of heavenly sight. Among them, the Celestial Spirit Eye can see through all illusions — no disguise can fool it, for it gazes directly upon one’s true essence. I believe this girl most likely possesses the Celestial Spirit Eye. Look at her — pure as an immortal, innately otherworldly. That is no mere simplicity of character; it is a celestial and spiritual quality, consistent with what is said of those who bear the Celestial Spirit Eye.”
“The Celestial Spirit Eye…” Ye Fan murmured in astonishment.
“That’s right — it must be the Celestial Spirit Eye. Otherwise, how could she possibly see through your Heaven and Earth Transformation Art?” Tu Fei suddenly grew agitated. “Capture her!”
“What are you thinking?!” Ye Fan wanted to strike him.
“You don’t understand — people born with a heavenly eye are favored by the heavens. She carries a celestial and spiritual quality about her. If you were to take her as a wife, the benefits would be immeasurable.” Tu Fei’s voice had taken on an almost dreamy quality.
“What utter nonsense — you’re talking complete rubbish.” Ye Fan gave him a slap, snapping him back to his senses.
“No, it’s absolutely true! You don’t know this — many say that the Void Emperor of the Ji Family attained the Emperor’s throne precisely because he married a female Divine Sovereign. Many people say so.” Tu Fei’s face was full of longing.
The Black Sovereign, from within Ye Fan’s sleeve, could not hold back a derisive retort: “What wishful thinking. Do you think that’s how one becomes a Great Emperor? Ancient Great Emperors achieved their throne through their own cultivation alone!”
Tu Fei argued back: “Ancient texts record that every ten or so generations, the Ji Family would produce a Divine Sovereign physique — because they are descendants of a female Divine Sovereign, that lineage is undying. There is concrete evidence that the Void Emperor married a female Divine Sovereign.”
“By that reasoning, did the Boundless Universe Emperor of the Jiang Family also marry a female Divine Sovereign?” Ye Fan asked with a smile.
“That’s not the case — it was one of his descendants who married a female Divine Sovereign.” Tu Fei said.
The Black Sovereign snorted coldly: “Posterity has twisted all of this. Marrying a Divine Sovereign as a wife was not for one’s own cultivation — it was to ensure that among their descendants, a divine physique might occasionally appear, to shelter and protect the family. Because the Void Emperor understood all too well just how monumentally difficult it is to attain the Emperor’s throne. Throughout all of history, only a handful have ever done so. He would never have been naive enough to believe that a single family could produce a second Great Emperor — that notion is simply unrealistic.”
Tu Fei pressed the argument: “Then why do some great powers also say that marrying a woman of divine physique or celestial spiritual quality gives one hope of attaining the Dao?”
“That claim has only a grain of truth to it. Women of divine physique and celestial spiritual quality are favored by heaven — they carry an immortal resonance about them. Living alongside them brings one close to an immortal-like sensation, and on occasion one might gain an insight or two. But as for attaining the Emperor’s throne? It’s absolutely useless.”
“So you’re saying it still has some benefit for cultivation!” Tu Fei argued.
“It has not one bit of use!”
Weiwei had not yet drawn near, yet Tu Fei and the Great Black Dog had already started bickering.
In a flash, Weiwei was before them — like rippling light, like a fleeting shadow — arriving in an instant, light and graceful, filled with a keen and spiritual quality, flawlessly beautiful, without a trace of worldly air about her.
“Is there something you need, young immortal?” Ye Fan still found it hard to believe she had recognized him.
Weiwei’s pearl-white teeth gleamed as she gave a faint smile, brightening the entire maple forest, and said, “I have come under my master’s orders to capture Ye Fan.”
Ye Fan understood then — Weiwei harbored no killing intent. She had truly recognized him.
“Where is Ye Fan? I’m looking for that scoundrel myself — he’s worth a hundred thousand catties of source!” Tu Fei feigned ignorance.
“The real Ye Fan is not easy to find, but there is no shortage of fake Ye Fans. The last one — that Daoist fellow, Duan Dao — was badly wronged by it. If not for producing a black iron plaque at the critical moment, he would have been beaten to death. As it stands, the real Ye Fan is now worth two hundred thousand catties of source.” A slight curve appeared at the corner of Weiwei’s lips, with a hint of playful wit and radiance.
“Ha ha ha…” Tu Fei burst into laughter. “So that shifty Daoist finally showed his true colors and got found out?”
During this time, they had been busy plundering brigands and had paid no attention to the outcome of that day’s events.
“When the Roc King appeared in his true form, even with Duan Daoist’s formidable abilities, there was no escaping.” Weiwei smiled lightly.
Ye Fan felt that she was intentionally passing him information.
Sure enough, Weiwei smiled and said, “The great figures of every major holy land have gathered at Purple Mountain, seeking to unlock the treasure vault of an ancient Great Emperor. As for the younger generation and certain wandering cultivators — they are all searching for Ye Fan.”
“Oh? Who exactly is searching for Ye Fan?” Ye Fan did not let on that they knew each other, allowing both sides to maintain a tacit mutual understanding.
“Many people — all of them remarkable figures. Even an Imperial Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty from the Central Region is searching for him, hoping to use the Myriad Things Primal Energy Cauldron to forge a divine artifact for the Great Xia Dynasty.”
The Central Region was home to four immortal dynasties, which had been passed down for tens of thousands of years, surviving countless tribulations without decline — flourishing to an extraordinary degree, each founded by an ancient Great Emperor.
Ye Fan had once encountered a prince of the Great Xia Dynasty — imperial dragon energy coiling around him, nine dragons soaring into the sky, his stature comparable to the Holy Son of Yao Guang. That clan’s “Supreme Imperial Scripture” was devastating in offensive power, said to be able to rival the Sacred Battle Technique in combat.
“Which Imperial Prince of Great Xia might that be?”
“He resides permanently in the Northern Domain’s Holy City. By his side is also a petal-flower girl from the Buddhist sect.” Weiwei smiled.
Ye Fan knew immediately — it was the very same Great Xia Imperial Prince he had seen before. The petal-flower girl from the Buddhist sect was, without question, the white-robed little nun he had encountered — who was also a princess of Great Xia.
Ye Fan smiled faintly. He was heading to the Holy City, and perhaps he would have a great stone-gambling battle with this Imperial Prince of Great Xia.
“At present, the greatest threat to Ye Fan comes from Yao Guang’s Ten Great Experts.”
“Yao Guang’s Ten Great Experts?”
“Right here between Anzhou and Kunzhou, Yao Guang’s ten greatest young experts are searching for Ye Fan — each one of them extraordinarily powerful.” Weiwei mentioned this news in a casually offhand manner.
“How powerful, exactly?” Tu Fei asked.
“They are all disciples nurtured by Yao Guang’s reclusive elders. At the fifth level of the Dao Palace, they can battle cultivators of the Four Extremes Secret Realm, and four or five of them have likely already reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm themselves.”
“So fearsome?!” Tu Fei was greatly startled. Those who were at the fifth level of the Dao Palace could battle those of the Four Extremes — and four or five of them were already Four Extremes cultivators themselves — truly astonishing.
Ye Fan also furrowed his brows and said: “Wasn’t Yao Guang’s younger generation only supposed to have four Four Extremes cultivators in total?”
“That was news from a year or two ago. Everyone makes progress. There will always be exceptional individuals who advance in rank. Besides, the disciples trained by the reclusive elders tend to be low-key and rarely expose themselves to the world.”
“Do these ten great experts emerge specifically because of Ye Fan?” Tu Fei asked.
“The Holy Son of Yao Guang is, if not outright the finest of his generation in the Eastern Wilderness, certainly close to it. With him around, none of Yao Guang’s people would harbor any other ambitions. But he was suppressed by Ye Fan — whether he can return alive remains uncertain. So naturally, certain Elder Sovereigns and reclusive elders would want to cultivate their own disciples’ ascent. This time, whoever can capture or kill Ye Fan will add a great luster to their own reputation.”
“How did Yao Guang’s ten greatest young experts come to narrow their search to this region of Anzhou and Kunzhou?” Ye Fan asked.
Weiwei smiled softly and said: “By now, everyone knows that the Desolate Holy Body needs a vast amount of source to advance in cultivation. Someone going on a large-scale plundering spree against brigands naturally draws suspicion. Yao Guang’s younger generation — these ten experts who have stepped out of the shadows and into the open — all want to vie for the position of Holy Son. Naturally, they are the most sensitive to these matters.”
“A scramble among many contenders for the prize — just make sure the prize doesn’t end up getting taken down by all of them!” Ye Fan muttered.
Weiwei’s celestial spiritual quality was transcendent and supremely pure, her eyes bright and clear, her smile captivating, with a slight curve at the corners of her lips. “Oh my, I must be off — under my master’s orders to capture Ye Fan.” Her manner as she prepared to leave was somewhat playful.
She turned with effortless grace, her jade feet treading on glistening petals, and drifted away, leaving only a lingering trace of fragrance.
The Great Black Dog burst out of Ye Fan’s sleeve without a moment’s wait, gazing toward the depths of the maple forest at that beautiful silhouette on the verge of disappearing, and said: “This girl is most unusual. Her celestial spiritual aura is dense — there is an indescribable quality of divine charm about her.”
Tu Fei also nodded and said: “Indeed, she is no ordinary person. Is she hoping to use our hands to eliminate Yao Guang’s ten great experts? Could she be aiming to become the female Holy Sovereign?!”
Ye Fan said: “Whatever the case, she harbors no killing intent toward me. Both in the Southern Domain and the Northern Domain, she has twice seen through my true identity yet never reported it to Yao Guang to claim credit.”
Tu Fei seemed lost in thought. “And that is precisely why this girl is extraordinary. I believe she thinks the same as I do — that you can break the curse of the Desolate Holy Body and break through into the Four Extremes Secret Realm.”
Ye Fan said: “Since Yao Guang Holy Land’s reclusive elders have dispatched these ten trained young experts, bringing them to Anzhou and Kunzhou, I shall not disappoint them! I will strike down all ten of these so-called great experts, shake up the Northern Domain a little — otherwise, everyone will treat me like easy prey.”
Tu Fei was startled. “What are you doing? Just to vent your anger, this is far too reckless.”
Ye Fan smiled and shook his head. “The reason I do this is to create a misdirection — to keep the world’s eyes focused on the various oases, while I prepare to enter the Holy City.”
“You want to go for a grand stone-gambling spree at the holy lands?” Tu Fei exclaimed in alarm.
Ye Fan had long since told Tu Fei about the Source Heaven Book. Since Tu Fei had been such an invaluable ally, he had not wanted to conceal anything from him.
“Exactly. This is an ideal opportunity. The great figures of every major holy land have gone to Purple Mountain to attempt to unlock an ancient Great Emperor’s treasure vault. I intend to use this window to enter the Holy City and gamble heavily on the rough stones of the major holy lands.” Ye Fan spoke to Tu Fei with great gravity: “I need your help. After I enter the Holy City, I need you to stir up some smoke and mirrors among the various oases, making it appear that I am roaming around plundering source stones.”
Ye Fan had the Heaven and Earth Transformation Art at his disposal, but for safety’s sake, he felt it was still better to make additional arrangements.
“That’s easy enough to do. A web of false leads — I’ll guarantee these people keep searching for you in endless hope!” Tu Fei laughed.
“I also need to ask the Black Sovereign for a favor. Every so often, make an appearance in various places — engrave a few formation patterns here and there, go for a brief wander and come back. That’s all.” Before it could object, Ye Fan added: “As you know, now that I’ve cultivated the Source Heaven Book, tracking down divine sources in the future will be no problem whatsoever. Helping me now is helping yourself.”
Once everything had been discussed and decided, Ye Fan gazed toward the distant horizon and said: “Before I enter the Holy City for the grand gamble, let me first deal with these ten freshly emerged experts. Let me bring some turbulence to the quiet Northern Domain!”