The Yin-Yang Cult’s ancestral graves had been dug up and ransacked by thieves. What a spectacle this was — jaws dropped all around, countless people’s mouths twitching at the corners.
Wang Yangzhan received the news and flipped over a table, slapped an entire ancient hall into rubble with a single palm, his hair standing on end, white smoke shooting from his nostrils.
Just who had committed this act? It was simply too vile. People had seen the wicked and the ruthless, but they had never seen someone this depraved — digging up graves, robbing tombs, defiling ancestral grounds. Who could possibly endure this?
“It must be that fatty!” The Yin-Yang Cult Leader immediately thought of Duan De — thought of everything from that day.
He nearly went mad. He had assumed that fatty Duan was just running his mouth with nonsensical talk. He hadn’t imagined the man would actually follow through — this character was something else entirely, an absolutely elite specimen of depravity.
On the outside, people came in droves, drawn by the spectacle to view the Yin-Yang Cult’s burial grounds, infuriating so many of the sect’s senior figures that they nearly committed murder.
“Don’t get angry, just taking a look and then leaving!”
“Get out!”
“You’re getting on in years — anger is bad for the body, don’t work yourself up.”
“Get out!”
“This fellow is truly something special — look at that excavation tunnel, it channels the divine essence of the great Dao, a truly remarkable sight.”
“Get out!”
…
Every day people came to the Yin-Yang Cult’s ancient mausoleum, drawn by its notoriety. The grave-keepers cursed and fumed without respite, nearly driven to madness.
Many visitors were thoroughly shameless, pointing and gesturing, offering nothing but cold remarks.
“Whoever did this — it’s a bit much, isn’t it? What does this leave the Yin-Yang Cult to feel? You could at least steal from the living — robbing the belongings of people’s ancestors…”
Quite a few people were left speechless, unable to fathom which formidable figure had done this. The style of the act was enough to make one’s head spin.
Of course, far more people were quietly laughing. A character this uniquely depraved was, in a way, endearingly wicked.
Three days later, more news arrived — the Xiao family’s ancestral graves had also been dug up, sending several great masters into a frothing rage as they scoured the world hunting for the person who liked burrowing into things.
“Still, you have to admire the Yin-Yang Cult for keeping their composure — even after being robbed, they’re not losing their heads like this.”
“Easy for you to say, standing on the sidelines — this thief is infuriating. He left words behind before departing.”
People were astonished to learn: the thief had carved an inscription in front of the opened graves: Cheapskates — not even one decent burial offering. Far inferior to the Yin-Yang Cult.
Once this line spread, not only the Xiao family went into a frenzy — even the Yin-Yang Cult couldn’t take it anymore. They scoured the world in pursuit, determined to drag Fatty Duan out into the open.
“It’s absolutely that dead fatty!”
A crowd of people with aching teeth, burning lungs, and churning stomachs cursed as they ground their molars — yet they could do nothing. They couldn’t find him, couldn’t lay a hand on him.
Truth be told, their hatred of Fatty Duan was climbing at a dizzying rate — they were nearly ranking him alongside Ye Fan.
Damn it all — who uses revenge like this? Not a soul had seen such a way of settling scores. It was the heartfelt lament of people whose teeth were itching with rage, who would have gladly flayed him alive.
Indeed, all of this was the work of Fatty Duan. He said what he’d do and did it, without dragging his feet for a moment.
This was simply his nature — he had never been the sort to take a loss lying down. And revenge was never left to age — there was none of that business about a gentleman waiting ten years for the right moment.
He had once raided the stronghold of a fearsome figure, lost nine lives in the process, and dug out the Demon Jar That Swallows the Heavens. What ancient burial ground could possibly give him pause? In Fatty Duan’s own words: entering the Xiao family’s ancestral tombs was like strolling on level ground — nothing worth mentioning.
People reflected on everything that had happened recently and felt that the Yin-Yang Cult had encountered the most cursed of fortunes across eight generations — they’d stumbled into two absolute specimens of depravity. One dug up the tombs to deal with the old, and the other was even fiercer, declaring his intent to kill all of their young.
“The grave-robber seems to have quieted down — probably let off enough steam. That prodigy from the Eastern Desolation definitely isn’t going to let things rest so easily.”
“He’s bold enough to confront the Yin-Yang Cult head-on — who knows what kind of storm will break out.”
The grudge between Ye Fan and the Yin-Yang Cult had long since reached the Central Continent, and there was no possibility of peaceful resolution. He had killed many of their people — never mind the Holy Son and Holy Daughter, even their Vice Cult Leader had died in the Ten Thousand Dragon’s Lair.
This was an irreconcilable conflict — it would not end until one side was dead. Especially because Ye Fan was a Sacred Physique — the Yin-Yang Cult could not allow him to grow any further. If they did, he would one day crush them so thoroughly they couldn’t even breathe.
Ye Fan left the immortal palace world. Under a different guise he had once entered Lu City, where he saw that the Xiao family had moved back in to take control. Afterward he went to the Desolate Cottage, and there too he found many suspicious figures — clearly waiting for him to appear.
He was unafraid. With his Movement Scripture in hand, he could go anywhere in the world. Very few people knew the true speed he was capable of — it was one of his greatest trump cards.
The Desolate Cottage — a great emperor had once spent his final years in seclusion there, most likely the Grand Emperor himself. Ye Fan had already obtained the ancient scripture of the Dragon Transformation chapter, and this no longer held much significance for him.
He did not go far. He entered seclusion on a solitary cliff two thousand li from the Oddity Scholar Manor, eating pine nuts when hungry and drinking mountain spring water when thirsty — rather pleasant, all things considered.
“The jade fragments have cracked…” Ye Fan stroked his chin. These were protective formations carved by the Black Emperor, capable of severing the workings of heaven from detecting him.
Back then, the two ancient assassin dynasties — the Human World and the Netherworld — had hunted him because they possessed divine calculators who could divine his location.
Not long ago, when he crossed his tribulation, three of the jade fragments had cracked. He had been deep in enlightenment at the time and forgotten to put them away, only managing to shield six of them.
Ye Fan pondered — whether someone might be able to calculate his whereabouts from this, and if such a master existed, trouble was likely on the way.
“These past days I have cultivated the Dao every day, and sitting in closed-door seclusion like this is no longer useful. If they come looking for me — I’ll do battle with them. It will be an excellent way to temper myself!”
Another half a month passed. A clear breeze blew through, pine waves sighed along the cliff face, a mountain spring trickled and chimed. Ye Fan sat cross-legged beneath an ancient pine, his mind utterly serene.
Throughout these days he had silently contemplated the Grand Emperor Scripture, sensing a profundity vast and deep — it tempered the great dragon of the human body, carrying with it a wondrous craft born of heaven itself.
“No wonder Great Xia’s sovereign dragon aura has offensive power without equal in the world — it has an immense connection to the Dragon Transformation chapter. This is one crucial part of the source of that power!”
With the great dragon of the human body reawakened and the sovereign dragon aura set in motion together, the destructive power produced would shake the heavens and weep the spirits. Ye Fan studied it carefully. He only had the cultivation method of this one secret realm and none of the attacking holy arts, but it was enough.
For he possessed the Battle Sage Scripture, and this secret could endlessly evolve — without limit. As long as he could attain enlightenment, he could continuously approach the very origin of the battle sage.
Now that the Dragon Transformation chapter of the Grand Emperor Scripture was in hand, combined with what he already had, one could say his might would grow more powerful still, and his offensive strength would increase — for both inclined toward assault and conquest.
“The great dragon of the human body reawakens — nine times through nirvana — and in one leap, gazes toward the immortal realm…”
The Dragon Transformation Secret Realm was truly extraordinary. Each time Ye Fan entered deep stillness, he would sit motionless for days at a time, his consciousness often wandering beyond the great void.
Indeed, this secret realm was profoundly wondrous — his divine will transformed into a small golden figure that rode the great dragon of the human body soaring into the blue heavens. From there he looked down upon the earth, racing across it on a howling wind, witnessing many extraordinary lights and colors.
Are those the wandering souls drifting between heaven and earth? he wondered, full of uncertainty, as his divine consciousness rode the dragon through the celestial dome.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a dragon’s roar shook the heavens. The great dragon dove downward, sinking into his spine, while a small golden figure settled into the space between his brows. Ye Fan felt a pang of premonition and snapped awake, his eyes flashing open.
In the distant mountains, a figure appeared without a sound, standing with hands clasped behind their back, sweeping the entire mountain range with a powerful divine will that extended over every inch of space.
“A great master!”
Ye Fan’s heart lurched. He recognized this person — a supreme figure of the Yin-Yang Cult, who had somehow tracked him here and found his trail.
“Little wretch — I’d like to see where you run to!”
Very shortly, this great master of terrifying power found him. With a wide sweep of a great sleeve, they surged downward with a thunderous rush.
Ye Fan shifted a thousand zhang sideways, leaving a lingering afterimage on the cliff face before reappearing at the peak of another mountain.
Swoosh!
The great sleeve covered the sky, and in a single motion swept the previous thousand-zhang cliff into its folds. The several adjacent mountain peaks promptly collapsed.
Ye Fan’s expression changed. A great master’s Dao techniques were truly fearsome — once their power was unleashed, it swept the skies and rolled the earth, capable of easily suppressing and refining all things between heaven and earth.
“Young one, do you still think you can leave?” This great master took a single step forward. The laws of heaven and earth trembled in unison. Various Dao patterns interwove and transformed into a golden highway stretching across the sky that spread toward where Ye Fan stood — the Great Dao Sky-Spanning Technique!
Whoosh!
Like a flash of streaming light, he arrived in an instant. Five fingers spread wide — five thick black lines shot outward, evolving in the void to form a cage of dark flickering light that descended.
This is the cultivation of a great master — his physical body cannot compare to mine, but with his vast power he has manifested the laws and could refine me into nothing.
The light in Ye Fan’s eyes extinguished. Without his Movement Scripture he could not have broken free at all. His footwork was like a dream and a phantom — he shifted sideways again several thousand zhang.
“How did you find me?”
“Do you truly think you can escape? From this day forward there is no place in the world that will shelter you. We have called forth a disciple of the Divine Calculator — they can divine all things, wherever you flee they can trace you!”
Ye Fan was momentarily stunned. So it was indeed because three of the jade fragments the Black Emperor had carved for him had cracked, leaving him unable to fully conceal himself from the heavens’ workings. Realizing this, he turned and left without further delay.
Suddenly, another great hand reached out — larger than mountain ranges, flying out from deep within the desolate range of peaks. It transformed into a Five Elements Mountain and came crashing violently down.
“Another great master!”
Ye Fan’s heart leapt. His footwork grew intricate as he shot out from beneath the Five Elements Mountain like a meteor, slipping free.
“The Xiao family’s people have come as well!”
Two great masters, more than a dozen Supreme Elder-level existences — they appeared from all four directions, closing in to surround him.
“Each time you pursue and kill me once, I will annihilate one of your contingents!” Ye Fan left behind these words, darting left and thrusting right. He narrowly escaped disaster several times, but in the end vanished into the blue heavens.
“His footwork…”
The two great masters’ killing intent receded, and both revealed an expression of grave solemnity.
That very same day, word spread: Ye Fan had attacked one of the Xiao family’s fiefdoms, slapping three experts at the eighth transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm to their deaths with a single palm.
Two hours later, he stormed one of the Yin-Yang Cult’s ancient cities and eliminated its city lord — who was at the ninth transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm — then departed with great swagger.
The Central Continent was unlike the Eastern Desolation. All the great sects there built cities to gather and nurture dragon aura, transforming them into sanctuaries of cultivation. Therefore, all major powers controlled ancient cities rather than choosing sacred mountains and rivers.
“The prodigy from the Eastern Desolation has made his move — truly extraordinary!”
“Two great masters gave chase and still couldn’t catch him, and he turned around and killed several powerful experts from two major forces.”
Over the following half-month, two great masters, four half-step great masters, and eight Supreme Elders from the Yin-Yang Cult and the Xiao family together pursued and attempted to kill Ye Fan — five times in all.
Every time he escaped. They were never able to suppress him. Only once did they succeed in wounding him, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
After that, Ye Fan struck back with fierce force. He uprooted five of the Yin-Yang Cult’s cities, burning them to scorched earth. Five experts at the ninth heaven of the Dragon Transformation Realm were killed.
Similarly, five of the Xiao family’s fiefdoms were razed to the ground, stripped of every blade of grass, left with nothing remaining.
“Hiss!”
When the news spread, many people sucked in sharp breaths. They felt that Ye Fan had truly come into his own — there was every possibility he would keep fighting all the way to the sage sovereign stage and reach the path of great completion.
One had to understand — this was a Sacred Physique, the only one since ancient times to break the curse. If all the world became his enemy and he fought his way through them one by one, he might genuinely surpass the sage sovereign, leap to the divine king’s level, and achieve the great completion of the Sacred Physique.
After being chased by the great masters multiple times, Ye Fan gradually discovered that the six remaining jade fragments carved by the Black Emperor still had some effect — his pursuers couldn’t pinpoint him precisely and each time were searching within a radius of two thousand li.
“The Sacred Physique will not survive. With a disciple of the Divine Calculator divining his location and our cult’s great masters personally giving chase, he has no road to heaven, no gate to the earth!”
The Yin-Yang Cult’s Holy Son led eighteen young experts out of the Oddity Scholar Manor, joining the campaign to encircle and destroy Ye Fan.
This Holy Son was naturally a newly selected one. For the sake of preserving face, the Yin-Yang Cult had forcibly elevated his cultivation to the fourth transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm using dragon marrow.
One had to understand — for someone of the Holy Son’s caliber to be elevated to this level was enormously formidable, for they could challenge and defeat cultivators several minor stages above them.
The Yin-Yang Holy Son had drawn together a group of peers within the Oddity Scholar Manor — all outstanding figures of their generation. Upon learning Ye Fan had appeared in the vicinity of the Manor, they went together to surround and kill him.
With eighteen young powerhouses in tow, and great masters of the Yin-Yang Cult also operating in this region, the Holy Son was confident he could chase Ye Fan like hunting down a dog — making a show of force and restoring prestige.
Indeed — setting aside those great masters, with just himself and these eighteen young paragons from the Oddity Scholar Manor, they absolutely could kill any person of the same generation.
The mountain range was desolate, its vegetation sparse, wild beasts howling. The location was four thousand li from the Oddity Scholar Manor, where the combined forces of the Yin-Yang Cult and the Xiao family were conducting their search.
The Yin-Yang Holy Son arrived with those eighteen young paragons — every one of them a Holy Son-caliber figure of exceptional ability.
In the distance, atop a sheer overhanging cliff, Ye Fan’s eyes were like lightning. By reading the shapes of their mouths, he learned all of it. The corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
Whoosh!
He flickered and leapt through the air, landing on a mountain peak that blocked the path of these people.
“Ye Fan — Ye Who Covers the Heavens!” someone shouted.
“You’ve come to kill me?” Ye Fan looked down from above, his expression cold and indifferent.
“That’s right — to kill you, to chase you like a dog and cut you down!” The Yin-Yang Holy Son bellowed. He didn’t believe Ye Fan could fight alone against eighteen paragons from the Oddity Scholar Manor.
He was confident that with eighteen Holy Son-caliber young geniuses fighting together, not a single person of the same generation could withstand them — and among them there were genuine prodigy-level existences.
“You certainly rounded up quite a number of hands!” Ye Fan paid no heed to any of it.
“Everyone charge together — finish him off! He carries the root source of the Maternal Qi of All Things!” The Yin-Yang Holy Son’s eyes were cold and treacherous. He believed that killing Ye Fan would secure his position as Holy Son beyond question.
“On your strength alone you think you can kill me?!” The light in Ye Fan’s eyes extinguished. He descended in a single step, one great foot shattering the void.
Boom!
The Yin-Yang Holy Son shot skyward, opening his mouth to spit out an ancient treasure — but found that a great Dao aura had locked onto him, and before anyone could rush to his aid, Ye Fan was right in front of him.
Crack!
Ye Fan brought a foot down — dense and solid, its force penetrating the void — crushing several ancient treasures and breaking through to strike. He shattered both of the Yin-Yang Holy Son’s arms.
He descended from the sky, pulverizing six magical treasures, breaking through a swath of laws, and stood with a foot planted on the Yin-Yang Holy Son’s chest — kicking him down from the sky directly into the ground. Dominantly ferocious, he stamped him into the earth.
Spit!
The Yin-Yang Holy Son coughed up blood. He could hardly believe any of this — a great foot from the heavens had stood on him and stomped him all the way down to the ground. What kind of dominance was this? And yet none of it belonged to him.