After a long time apart, Ji Ziyue was just as she had always been: the little dimples when she smiled, the gleaming little tiger-fang teeth, those large eyes that curved into crescent moons — lively and bright, with a faint thread of mischief running through them.

“What are you looking at?” Li Heishui grinned wickedly.

Ye Fan’s face went slightly red. Without realizing it, he had unconsciously activated his Source Heavenly Divine Perception — but the penetrating sight had been of no use. Around the exterior of Ji Ziyue’s moving celestial body was a layer of fine gauze, like a veil of mist, shrouding her in a hazy, indistinct glow.

He could not determine what it was. Perhaps, as the Peacock King had said, Ji Ziyue possessed a special constitution — or it might be what Little Moon had often spoken of herself, that she carried a secret treasure upon her person.

“How did the Divine Silkworm end up in Ji Ziyue’s hands?” Li Heishui said in surprise.

Ye Fan was also startled. Ji Ziyue was holding the little golden sprite in her arms, grinning and teasing it playfully. How had this shifty little creature actually been caught?

Not until the two drew close did they understand what had happened. The little golden creature had mistakenly eaten the gallbladder shell, its mouth gone bitter all the way to a deep purple — and like someone deep in drink, its large eyes were glazed and unfocused, swaying nonstop.

“Little sister, this Divine Silkworm belongs to us — we lost it,” Li Heishui said shamelessly, pressing forward, trying to con his way into getting it back.

“I told that same kind of lie when I was six years old,” Ji Ziyue replied in her clear, bright voice, grinning as she continued to tease the Divine Silkworm.

The little golden sprite kept throwing out drunken punches, trying to escape but unable to. When it saw Ye Fan and Li Heishui coming closer, its large eyes filled with a distinctly frightened look.

“Little one, don’t be scared — these two bad guys don’t dare bully you,” Ji Ziyue said, lightly tapping its little nose and pulling it close into her arms.

Li Heishui was struck speechless. He felt that Ji Ziyue of the Ji Family was too sharp-tongued — he was absolutely getting nowhere with her. He gave a sheepish rub of his nose and moved on ahead.

Ye Fan also brushed past the siblings without slowing, not stopping to exchange any further words. If the Divine King happened to sense something, it would be a great catastrophe.

The Ji Family stone yard was a bustling, surging stream of people — far more lively than the last time he had come.

“What is going on?” Li Heishui was puzzled.

A person nearby offered an offhand remark, “There’s word that the Ji Family stone yard may contain a Stone King, so every day people come here trying their luck.”

“Is that so?” Ye Fan was surprised. He had not expected the news to have spread.

“The last source arts prodigy…” At this point, the person finally noticed the two standing beside him, and exclaimed in shock, “Aren’t you two…” He had unexpectedly come face to face with the very person the story was about, and was tremendously excited.

Through conversation, Ye Fan learned that during his stone-gambling showdown with Tuoba Chang, the two of them had cut stone after stone in a frenzy — and many sharp-eyed elder-generation figures had deduced from this that a Stone King must be present.

That same day, the Ji Family had sealed the stone garden, setting source masters to cut stone by stone, trying to uncover any peerless rarity.

“You don’t know — the Ji Family suffered tremendous losses. They cut open more than half the stones in the entire stone garden and came up with nothing.”

One source arts expert had declared that even if every last one of the astronomically priced stones in the garden were split open, there was no guarantee the Stone King would be found — it was possible it had already become a sacred spirit and was simply cultivating here.

Only then did the Ji Family stop cutting stones. They reopened the stone garden — and drew waves of stone gamblers in.

Ye Fan rubbed his chin. He had not expected this kind of ripple to spread from the incident. He was rather at a loss for words.

As they walked deeper into the Ji Family stone yard, many people recognized him, setting off a wave of excitement. The crowd surged around him from all sides.

“Brother Gu Feng, you’ve come to the Ji Family stone garden again — could you be chasing after the Stone King?”

“Little Brother Gu, surely you’re not planning another world-shaking showdown here?”

……

Not far away, the people of the Ji Family stone yard learned that Ye Fan had come — and their faces all went green. Last time, Ye Fan had swept through like a gale, carting away two great pieces of divine source and cutting out the heaven-defying Divine Silkworm.

Now seeing him return, they were itching to slam the gates, release the dogs, and immediately beat him away — never to let him set foot inside again.

“They don’t seem to welcome us?” Li Heishui said, oblivious and self-absorbed.

“……” The people around them were all rather speechless.

“Of course they’d welcome you — not.”

“I’d guess the Ji Family people are fighting the urge to silence you both for good. You two had better tread carefully — after all, you walked out of here with a great many rarities. This is a holy land stone yard.”

Some people offered cautionary advice, urging them not to push things too far. After all, this was a holy land stone yard, and if they kept coming back to the same place, they might truly push the Ji Family into a corner.

Ye Fan rubbed his nose. Without realizing it, he had already taken on the bearing of a Source Sky Master. Wherever he went, the holy lands turned green in the face.

“Everyone, I’m not here to gamble — there’s no need to be so tense. I’m just browsing around.” Ye Fan smiled by way of explanation.

Not far away, the Ji Family stone yard’s people stared with faces drained of color, not believing a word he said. If there was nothing going on, why would he come wandering around here?

Before walking much farther, Ye Fan spotted a large fat man squatting with his rear end stuck up in the air, rummaging through a pile of stones with wild abandon.

“Curse my divine eyes — this fat slob is wearing enormous red undergarments!” Ye Fan cried out in exasperation.

Walking in with his divine eyes roving in search of the Stone King, he had naturally caught sight of some things he ought not to have seen.

For the female cultivators concerned, he could only offer a silent apology in his heart — but seeing this fat man displaying such bold fashion choices left him quite at a loss for words.

“Wait — this fat slob looks familiar. Damn it — it’s that scoundrel Duan De!”

Ye Fan stared in speechless astonishment. He had never imagined in the least that this fat slob would have turned up here. Sure enough, wherever there was something to be gained, there would be that unscrupulous Daoist.

Duan De had altered his appearance — but under Ye Fan’s penetrating eyes, he was utterly unable to conceal himself. Every ounce of his sleazy manner was laid completely bare.

Ye Fan was sorely tempted to walk over and plant a kick on his enormous rear end — but he restrained the impulse, did not startle the prey, and walked away as if nothing was amiss.

“Fat slob, you’d better pray — if you dare keep hanging around the Divine City, I’ll swindle you for everything you’ve got.”

Ye Fan did a complete circuit of the Ji Family stone garden without finding the Stone King. He finally departed — and the Ji Family’s people let out a collective sigh of relief, seeing him off as if they were seeing off a plague spirit.

Afterward, Ye Fan and Li Heishui arrived at the Great Yan Holy Land stone yard. The moment they stepped inside, someone recognized them — and everyone from that holy land changed color.

“How is it I get the feeling we’ve become the most unwelcome people around?” Li Heishui muttered.

Ye Fan smiled. “You’ve got it backwards. They would love nothing more than for us to be their honored guests — they just don’t want us anywhere near their stone yards.”

After that, they entered several more holy land stone yards in succession — and every single one was the same. Wherever they passed, the holy land stone yards looked at them as if they were facing a plague, and could not wait for them to leave immediately.

In the end, Ye Fan and Li Heishui entered the Jade Pool stone yard — the last stop of the day. Ten thousand years ago, the Source Sky Master had left an endless legacy of legend in this very place, and though many years had passed, some of those tales still circulated.

The Jade Pool stone yard was veiled in misty waters. Beside the premier stone garden of the highest tier, there was an immortal lake — named the Jade Pool, sharing the same name as the holy land itself.

Suddenly, a female disciple of the Jade Pool came forward, conveying that the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool would like to receive Gu Feng.

Ye Fan’s heart gave a sudden lurch, and his expression shifted faintly. If there was anyone who could see through his identity, it was surely the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool.

Beside the immortal lake, there was a grove of ancient trees — utterly serene, with no one passing through. A hazy, indistinct silhouette stood among them, wreathed in a thin veil of mist.

They had met several times before, yet Ye Fan had never once seen the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool’s true face. Meeting again now, he wished to activate his Source Heavenly Divine Perception and see through the mist with his divine eyes.

But at that very moment, the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool suddenly spoke. Her voice was like the sound of nature — yet it shook Ye Fan’s spirit to the core.

“Should I call you Gu Feng, or Ye Fan?”

“What do you mean by that, Immortal Maiden?” Ye Fan asked, watching her with composure.

The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool’s voice carried a magnetic quality. “We entered the Primordial Forbidden Zone together, and later competed over the Nine Secrets in Lizhou. At that time, I already knew you had certainly studied from the Source Sky Book.”

Ye Fan shook his head. “I think you must have mistaken me for someone else, Immortal Maiden.”

The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool said, “Your appearance may have changed greatly — but your source arts have not. That is a fact you cannot alter.”

Ye Fan smiled. “Immortal Maiden, I truly don’t understand what you’re referring to. Those who come from source arts ancient clans are each and every one of them exquisitely skilled in source arts — could it be that all of them are the person you’re looking for?”

The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool smiled lightly and said, “You may have heard — in the past, the Source Sky Master was an honored guest of our Jade Pool, regarded as a guardian protector outside the sect. The source arts he practiced are something our Jade Pool can recognize.”

Ye Fan smiled and remained unmoved, shaking his head in silence.

The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool was hazy as an immortal, moving in light, unhurried steps through the ancient grove, speaking in an offhand manner as she pointed precisely to the uniqueness of Ye Fan’s source arts — cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

“Our Jade Pool does not possess the Source Sky Book — but we can recognize the unique source arts within it.”

Ye Fan understood — she had truly recognized him. Back in the Primordial Forbidden Zone, she had already deduced from his source arts that he had obtained the Source Sky Master’s inheritance. Now, she had confirmed his identity through those same source arts.

“And what do you intend to do?” At these words, he activated his Source Heavenly Divine Perception and looked forward — violet light blazing brilliantly in his eyes.

In that moment, he saw straight through the mist — and beheld a countenance of peerless, immortal beauty, beautiful enough to stop the breath.

Just as the outside world’s rumors said — even an aged Daoist monk who had long renounced the world, upon seeing the unparalleled true face of the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden, would have his mortal heart stirred and wish to return to the secular world.

“You… you obtained a stone gallbladder and cultivated heaven eyes? Stop looking at me!” The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool was greatly taken aback, then felt both shame and indignation — and could no longer maintain her habitual serenity.

“I haven’t cultivated heaven eyes,” Ye Fan denied — but the violet radiance in his eyes grew even more intense, and he continued staring fixedly ahead without blinking.

His expression betrayed him. Anyone who suddenly beheld such a breathtaking sight would have found it difficult to keep their composure.

Like the ninth-heaven divine maiden bathing in the mortal world — an immortal form of snow-white, silken delicacy, with graceful curves and contours, like fine jade or congealed fat, enough to enchant the mind and spirit.

The Jade Pool’s renown across all the world was such that the great holy lands and the ancient lineages all regarded marrying a woman of the Jade Pool as a mark of great honor — though very few could achieve it. As for their Holy Maiden — that was simply an impossibility beyond all imagining.

“You…” The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool swiftly turned around and retreated into the grove, losing all the composure that was usually so characteristic of her.

Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with violet light as he watched that retreating silhouette, murmuring to himself, “Truly a peerless beauty — skin like fine jade, graced with incomparable beauty that could enrapture an entire nation.”

Though it was only her back, that graceful curve, that snow-white brilliance, was still enough to set the blood surging — yet Ye Fan merely allowed the corners of his mouth to curve in a faint smile.

In circumstances like this, he absolutely could not allow himself to harbor any improper thoughts. He simply wished to disturb the tranquility of her mind, so as to seize the initiative in the conversation to come.

He understood that she did not intend to strike against him — otherwise, she would never have chosen to meet with him here.

The Holy Maiden of the Jade Pool heard his murmured words. Her body went rigid in an instant. She disappeared rapidly into the grove, and seemed to need a very long time before finally composing herself — then sent words to him through a directed transmission: “You are very boorish!”