“Whoosh!”

The two elders, hair disheveled, vanished in a flash, reappearing in the distant sky, having dodged the remaining two strikes of the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes. Covered in blood, they stared at the two young men with unease and disbelief.

The “All” Mystery Technique and the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes were both techniques that shook the ages, leaving the two elders inwardly astonished, fear rising within them. They were several realms above Ye Fan and Pang Bo, yet they had still been wounded — it was hard not to feel horrified.

This was something that should never have happened! For the younger generation to defy the norm and slay immortals, they needed to manifest a phenomenon to do so.

“Yin and Yang united as one, invincible under heaven…” the old woman murmured to herself. Suddenly, as if realizing something, she opened her eyes wide and said in a trembling voice, “Could it be one of the Nine Mysteries!”

“Could it really be that kind of secret technique…” The disheveled old man, arms hanging past his knees, his combat strength astonishing, had his eyes light up like golden lanterns.

Countless years ago, their ancestors had achieved the status of ancient sages, their bodies fused with Yin and Yang, unmatched in the Central Continent. Yet when they ventured far to the Eastern Wastes, they were defeated — all because they encountered a sage who possessed the inheritance of the Nine Mysteries.

The old woman and the macaque-like disheveled old man sneered coldly at Ye Fan, saying, “We know what sacred technique you’re using, but you can’t sustain it continuously — you need to keep triggering it. With our Yin and Yang united, we’ll kill you slowly!”

“And you…” They turned to look at Pang Bo as well, saying, “You possess the demon race’s supreme sacred technique — it must be the legendary Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes!”

The two elders, their white hair stained with blood, looked sinister and ferocious. Though they had suffered heavy blows, the shattering of the Yin-Yang diagram had absorbed most of the impact for them.

“Boom!”

They joined arms once more, each summoning the Yin and Yang diagrams respectively, merging them together, the aura of the Dao flowing forth as they advanced to kill.

“Unfortunately, within Yin there’s not a trace of Yang, and within Yang not a trace of Yin. Though fused together, they haven’t formed the Supreme Ultimate — lacking the two Yin-Yang eyes,” Pang Bo sneered coldly.

He retreated alongside Ye Fan — with the enemy’s Yin and Yang united, their combat power was four to five times greater, and they had no wish to clash head-on.

The two elders pursued relentlessly. The Sacred Body concealed a great secret, and Pang Bo too carried a supreme inheritance upon him — this had turned their eyes red with greed. They had originally intended to kill both of them, but now, with the possibility of obtaining unprecedented ancient scriptures, they certainly wouldn’t let this chance slip away.

“Boom!”

Ye Fan triggered the “All” Mystery Technique once more, his entire body erupting with golden light like a divine being, beginning to counter-pursue them. Pang Bo also unleashed the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes.

The old woman and the disheveled old man used their Yin-Yang diagram to tear through space, fleeing rapidly, not daring to clash directly, knowing the terrifying power of the “All” Mystery Technique. Only when its effect faded would they turn back to strike again.

Both sides fell into a stalemate. Whenever Ye Fan triggered the “All” Mystery Technique, the two elders would retreat, only to be counter-pursued and struck down repeatedly by Ye Fan and Pang Bo, both sides trading blows in turns.

It had to be said, these two elders were truly formidable — inherently powerful, with vast combat experience, extremely difficult to deal with.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Just then, Tu Fei and Li Heishui called out loudly.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo both laughed simultaneously, retreating swiftly. The Black Emperor had already rushed over, leading the way for them.

“Not good!” the two elders cried out, but it was already too late.

“Boom!”

Monstrous black mist surged, endless killing intent spreading, and heaven and earth were sealed off. They were trapped within black banners in the void — this was something Ye Fan and the Black Emperor had arranged earlier through voice transmission, having Tu Fei and the others secretly set it up in advance.

The Great Black Dog was a genius in the art of formations, ranking as a grandmaster-level expert. With the assistance of Ye Huiling, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui, it had covertly laid down an extraordinary formation, sealing off a vast area without anyone noticing.

Not a single one of the Yin-Yang Sect’s powerful figures managed to escape — all of them were trapped inside.

“You brat…” the old woman and the disheveled old man cried out in shock and fury, but they couldn’t break free.

“Can you separate them?” Ye Fan asked the Black Emperor in a low voice.

“That’s easy.” The Great Black Dog was full of confidence. Dozens of banners fluttered, shifting from their original positions, dividing the area into two separate spaces.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo exchanged a glance and each went to face one opponent, resuming battle. Otherwise, relying solely on the formation to refine these two elder-generation figures could take an unknown amount of time, and neither wanted to wait.

This time, Ye Fan could fight his opponent even without activating the “All” Mystery Technique. He once again faced off against the old woman.

Pang Bo confronted the disheveled old man, though he didn’t venture deep into the formation, only striking from outside its boundary. As long as the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes had sufficient mana behind them, their power was boundless — he began whittling down the disheveled old man like peeling a radish.

“Brat, if you have the guts, come inside! Scheming against me like this — what kind of skill is that!?” The macaque-like old man raged furiously.

“Deceive through strategy first, attack through force second — you old codger deserve to be whittled down. Weren’t you planning to drink Ye Fan’s blood? I think it’s better we drain yours first!” Pang Bo continued whittling away with the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes, thoroughly enjoying himself.

By the time Ye Fan had dealt with the old woman, Pang Bo had also reduced the disheveled old man to nothing more than a dried radish, completely resolving the battle. Even Li Heishui and Tu Fei watched with eyes practically bulging out.

“I’m basically just shooting fish in a barrel…” Pang Bo shook his head.

Cleaning up the battlefield proved troublesome. The formation had trapped many people, and it wasn’t possible to kill them all. Ye Fan couldn’t bring himself to do so — instead, he searched through their spiritual awareness, erasing the relevant memories, leaving them blank, and then released them all.

The remaining children posed quite a problem. There were over thirty of them, all clearly possessing extraordinary talent, and Ye Fan had no idea where to send them.

“Why don’t we just start our own sect? These are all immortal seedlings, all little geniuses.” Li Heishui suggested.

Everyone was quite astonished — these children truly did possess remarkably rare talent. It was hard to imagine how the Yin-Yang Sect had managed to find them all.

“Let’s hurry and leave this place.” Ye Fan’s anger had already subsided, and he no longer wished to pursue the matter of the Yin-Yang Sect’s Holy Maiden further. This place couldn’t be lingered in — it was the stronghold of a supreme sect, and if a major figure appeared, it would spell great disaster.

“Big brother, do you really know Nannan?” Xiao Nannan asked, blinking her large eyes.

“Of course I do.” Ye Fan gently flicked her nose.

Bringing along such a large group of children was quite inconvenient. Fortunately, Ye Huiling was there — ethereal and elegant, beautiful and graceful, she was well-liked by the children. Otherwise, with a whole group of kids crying and wailing, Ye Fan and Li Heishui would have been at a complete loss.

They arrived at a small town, and the first thing Ye Fan did was take Xiao Nannan to buy new clothes — what she wore was far too tattered, her little shoes even had holes at the toes. A three-year-old child might not notice such things herself, but it made others feel deeply uncomfortable seeing it.

“Can we eat something first?” Xiao Nannan asked in a small voice, lowering her head, looking somewhat timid.

Since losing her seven-colored little stone, she had become like a normal child again — if she didn’t eat, she would suffer from hunger. At the Yin-Yang Sect’s stronghold, her circumstances had been dire; she often went hungry, her little face thin and gaunt.

“Alright, I’ll take you to eat first.” Ye Fan said softly.

“Really?” Xiao Nannan seemed to have forgotten about Ye Fan during this recent period, having been constantly bullied by others. Although the person before her was very kind to her, the little girl still felt somewhat uneasy, which was why she acted so timidly.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want…” Xiao Nannan tilted her head, thinking for a moment, then spoke in her tender voice, “I want to eat spirit medicine paste. When I was very hungry and about to fall asleep, a little sister secretly gave me some to eat — it was very delicious.”

Ye Fan’s heart ached with sourness. Clearly, when the little girl said she was “about to fall asleep,” she meant she had been on the verge of losing consciousness from hunger.

The Black Emperor had cleaned out the Yin-Yang Sect stronghold’s medicinal storehouse, so naturally there was no shortage of spirit medicine. Ye Fan prepared a small bowl for her and let her eat slowly.

Afterward, he changed her into a beautiful new set of small clothes, and Xiao Nannan instantly transformed into a porcelain doll, delicately carved and adorable. Even Li Heishui and Tu Fei couldn’t help coming over to pat her head and tease her into laughing.

Ye Fan took out a piece of crystalline jade and pressed it against Xiao Nannan’s forehead. Inside it were memories from her time in Yan Capital, which he had specially preserved, in case the little girl forgot her past.

“Big brother, it’s you — I remember now…” Xiao Nannan was overjoyed and delighted. Having regained this portion of her memory, she was no longer as timid and uneasy as before, because now she knew who Ye Fan was.

Then, Ye Fan took out the seven-colored little stone and placed it in her palm.

“Nannan gave this colorful stone to big brother — I can’t take it back anymore,” the little girl said, shaking her head with a very serious expression.

“No one can give this stone away — you’ll get sick if you do. You must keep it safe and never lose it,” Ye Fan said, fashioning the seven-colored little stone into a small pendant and hanging it around her tender, delicate neck.

He had searched through the innkeeper’s memories — if anything happened to the little stone, Nannan would fall gravely ill, and she had nearly died from it once before. It absolutely could not be lost.

Pang Bo, Li Heishui, and Tu Fei had all grown quite fond of Xiao Nannan, finding her adorable and well-behaved, naturally endearing to everyone.

“Xiao Nannan is just like a little porcelain doll, but it’s not quite suitable for her to stay by our side — we’re often facing life-and-death battles. What do you plan to do about her?” Pang Bo asked.

“I originally intended to send her to Taixuan Zhuo Peak, to become Zhang Wenchang’s daughter. But now that I’ve pushed that sect’s Hua Yunfei into becoming an enemy of the entire world, I can’t go there anymore.”

“Nannan doesn’t want to go anywhere else…” The little girl panicked. Although she had been playing with the other children some distance away, her spiritual senses were extremely acute, and she had overheard their conversation.

Ye Huiling chuckled softly, crouching down to flick her delicate little nose, saying, “From now on, you’ll stay with sister. We’ll go to the Central Continent, where you can be a true, carefree little princess.”

“Nannan doesn’t want to be separated from big brother…” The little girl lowered her head, her mood turning downcast.

Hearing these words, Ye Fan laughed and said, “Don’t worry, how could I ever abandon you?” He quickly signaled to Pang Bo not to say anything more.

Xiao Nannan instantly brightened, her large eyes sparkling as she broke into a pure, radiant smile.

“We must keep her by our side — don’t send her anywhere else.” The Black Emperor suddenly spoke up. Ever since seeing the little girl, the Great Black Dog had been deep in thought about something, though no one knew exactly what.

“Have you noticed something?” Ye Fan’s heart stirred. Pang Bo, Li Heishui, and Tu Fei all looked over as well.

The Black Emperor immediately coughed dryly and muttered, “This Emperor hasn’t noticed anything at all.” Then, it trotted over to the little girl’s side, wagging its tail as it coaxed her, “Little cutie, want to become my disciple?”

“Why would I want to become your disciple?” Xiao Nannan asked innocently.

“Become my disciple, and I’ll give you spirit medicine paste to eat every single day, and I’ll teach you a supreme technique that surpasses even what the Ruthless One created in his later years, with nothing lacking in comparison.” The Black Emperor coaxed like a scheming old fox with a giant tail.

The Black Emperor had definitely noticed something! This was the shared understanding among Ye Fan, Tu Fei, Pang Bo, and Li Heishui — this shameless dog grabbed treasures whenever it saw them, and this was the first time in its life it had tried to claim a person.

“From now on, you don’t need to worry about her — I’ll take care of her myself.” The Great Black Dog declared this boldly, taking full charge, staring at Xiao Nannan as though it had discovered a supreme treasure, practically drooling.

“You mutt, if you dare eat a child, I’ll skin you alive!” Ye Fan shouted.

“Damn it, what are you even thinking? This Emperor is going to cultivate a future Great Emperor — just you all wait and see!” The Great Black Dog grew more excited the more it spoke.

“Mutt, what exactly did you notice?” Tu Fei asked.

“Is Xiao Nannan a Great Emperor? No wait, a future Great Emperor?” Li Heishui was also puzzled.

“Xiao Nannan… a Great Emperor?!” Not far away, Ye Huiling, who had been playing with the group of children, also looked over in astonishment, saying, “Such an adorable little thing, so tiny — can you really tell she’ll become a Great Emperor?”

To these questions, the Black Emperor refused to answer at all, turning its head away with an air of self-importance, before its face broke into a beaming smile as it resumed coaxing Xiao Nannan.

“I’ll take you into the Undying Mountain to pick tea leaves and eat, how about that?”

“I’ll take you to the Immortal Mausoleum to search for treasures, want to go?”

…

“Why are you saying all that to Xiao Nannan? How would she even understand?!” Ye Fan scolded.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” the Great Black Dog muttered under its breath, then broke into another beaming smile, continuing to dote on Xiao Nannan, clearly quite taken with her.

“Such a cute doggy.” Xiao Nannan said happily, her voice innocent and pure.

The Great Black Dog froze on the spot, petrified. For the first time in its life, someone had called it cute — and it was a little girl, no less. It wanted nothing more than to slam its head into the ground.

“Hahaha…” Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others all burst into laughter.