The Qinling Mountains had two places of great treasure: one was the Immortal Transformation Pool, and the other was the thousand-year-old Dragon Vein. There were sayings in the world that obtaining even one of them could allow a cultivator to attain the Dao.
The Immortal Transformation Pool spoke for itself — even the Green Emperor had been born within it. How many such dazzling figures had there been since ancient times? That said everything.
The Qinling Dragon Vein, while not quite the strongest dragon vein in Central Province, was close to it. Otherwise, why would ancient emperors from remote antiquity have competed to be buried there? It was precisely because of the legend that one could become a Corpse-Liberation Immortal that so many ancient tombs lay beneath this ground.
Everything arose from that thousand-year-old Dragon Vein. All who came sought to be buried within it, hoping that one day they might become a Corpse-Immortal and endure in the mortal world, eternal and undying.
The third-generation Heavenly Eye Master — whose Heavenly Eye arts could seize the creative power of heaven and earth, calculating all things, with no one across all ages who could locate the Qinling Dragon Vein — had been the one to fix upon it and take it as his burial ground.
So many years had passed — a full seventy thousand cycles of seasons. Even a blade of wild grass placed within it would have awakened a spiritual consciousness long ago. To say nothing of a remarkable corpse.
The Sickly Elder speculated that this Heavenly Eye Master’s remains had breathed in and out moonlight, absorbed the ancestral qi of the Qinling, and been nourished by the dragon vein, long since becoming a Living Flesh — one harboring within it the essence that sustains life.
“Where there is light there is darkness; where there is yang there is yin; where there is life there is death. Clearly a remarkable corpse from antiquity, yet steeped in the light of the sun and the nourishment of the dragon vein — within it lie the mysteries of eternal life.”
Great minds of the past had reached this conclusion: that a divine pill had coalesced within the body of the third-generation Heavenly Eye Master — much like a single point of yang held within the heart of the greatest yin. This pill had absorbed the essences of the sun and moon, condensing into a Yang Pill.
Cultivated over seventy thousand years of time, heaven alone knew how potent its effects would be. Ancient sages had speculated that it must be a mortal immortal elixir — one easily absorbed by the human body.
This was an incomparably rare and precious immortal medicine, beyond all valuation — impossible to place any price upon. Reviving the dead and restoring bones to flesh was the lesser of its wonders. Its greater marvel was that it offered an opportunity for attaining the Dao.
After learning all of this, Ye Fan could not help but click his tongue in amazement. The red-haired humanoid creature had repelled him deeply, representing inauspiciousness — yet now it seemed to harbor a supreme immortal treasure within it.
“The thousand-year-old Dragon Vein of the Qinling truly is comparable to the Immortal Transformation Pool. Both hold unparalleled rarities, and obtaining either one could allow a cultivator to attain the Dao. It seems this was no empty claim.”
His heart stirred with excitement. Rather than seek out the Immortal Transformation Pool, perhaps it was better to start with the ancient tombs. He had inherited the legacy of the Heavenly Eye Master, giving him a powerful advantage in that regard.
Especially since the third-generation Heavenly Eye Master’s burial ground would certainly conform to the methods of geomantic observation laid out in the Heavenly Eye Scripture. If he reasoned through it in detail, he would certainly uncover some thread to follow.
The Sickly Elder said: “Within the Qinling Mountains, a thousand-year-old great dragon lies hidden beneath the earth. Naturally, it would have produced fantastical-grade divine marrow. Either within the Immortal Transformation Pool or within the Dragon Vein — one of them must hold it!”
This was another piece of shocking news. The divine marrow produced by a thousand-year-old great dragon — that was certainly a supreme object. If it had transformed into a living being, it would be comparable to an immortality divine pill.
There had long been legends throughout the world saying that fantastical-grade divine marrow truly existed, that it had developed its own life. It was very possible that it possessed tremendous power — yet no one had ever actually seen it.
“I have a feeling that this time, something world-shaking is about to emerge from the Qinling Mountains. Even the fantastical-grade dragon marrow alone might be enough to set the five great regions into a frenzy.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
The Sickly Elder shook his head. “I do not see it that way. I fear what’s more likely is that great chaos will erupt. So many years have passed — for the fantastical-grade dragon marrow to have transformed into a great holy being by now would not be the least bit surprising.”
“What?! A primordial holy being capable of matching a great emperor?! If something like that truly exists, no matter how many people come this time, they will all die.”
“Li Heishui has also come…” From a distance, Ye Fan spotted Li Heishui, Jiang Huairen, Liu Kou, and Wu Zhongtian — their strength had grown considerably.
Last time, Li Heishui had been humiliated. Although Ye Fan had later avenged him by killing those responsible, he had still suffered a deep blow, and over the past two years had subjected himself to bitter cultivation.
Ye Fan had given Pang Bo the coffin plank from the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree and asked him to pass one piece along to Li Heishui. It had proven to be of great benefit.
Within the Qinling Mountains, the peaks were towering and majestic, the ancient trees gnarled like coiling dragons. Many of them were as tall as mountains, exuberantly lush — a primordial land overflowing with vitality.
A million miles in circumference was but a small territory in the context of Central Province. Yet the actual land was vast beyond measure — many times larger than Earth on the other end of the star sea.
“Too vast. With this thousand-year-old great dragon buried beneath the earth, finding it is nearly impossible…” Ye Fan finally grasped how great the gap between himself and the Heavenly Eye Masters truly was. The other had been able to fix upon the location of a true dragon’s ancient ground, while he could not even find the entrance.
“It’s him…” The Sickly Elder’s expression froze, staring fixedly ahead.
The ancient trees swayed. Ahead lay a great lake, its surface shimmering and sparkling, waters stretching endlessly in all directions — grand and magnificent.
On the bank of the great lake stood a young man, no more than twenty-some years of age. His bearing was fierce and commanding, yet his expression was completely blank. His hair hung loose and disheveled, and he stood motionless there like a petrified statue.
“Time erodes all things, old friends are buried in the yellow earth, and even the most exceptional of a generation cannot outrun it — yet he managed to evade and come to this world after all…” the Sickly Elder murmured to himself.
At this moment, they stood upon a ridge, more than ten miles from that great lake. There was no concern about being noticed.
“You mean him?” Ye Fan was surprised.
“Zhong Huang — the outstanding hero of a generation, Xiang Yufei. At nineteen years old, he already surpassed all the powerful lords of his time, becoming the youngest emperor-lord in Central Province of that era.” The Sickly Elder sighed with admiration.
Ye Fan felt a chill run through him. What was the Sickly Elder’s background? The tone of those words was peculiar — how many years had this man actually lived?
Who was Zhong Huang? A hero of nine thousand years past, his brilliance shaking ancient and modern times. Although he had been revived in the current era, few had actually met him. How could the Sickly Elder speak of him this way?
“You are overthinking it. Who in this world could live to nine thousand years…” the Sickly Elder gave a hollow laugh, shook his head, and said: “I read the accounts of his life and was moved to sentiment, nothing more.”
“You truly startled me, old friend.”
“In that era, Central Province was a land of outstanding people and exceptional talents — it produced several remarkable figures. Sadly, apart from Xiang Yufei, who was kept in cold storage by the Extraordinary Scholars’ Manor, all the others have returned to the dust.”
“Were there others comparable to Xiang Yufei?” Ye Fan was startled. For such a hero to appear once was already enough to be written into the ancient records.
“There was one other — of timeless brilliance. Sadly, he walked one road to its end and never looked back, ultimately unable to withstand the passage of time.” The Sickly Elder sighed deeply.
“Who was that person?” Ye Fan asked.
“Gai Jiuyou.” The Sickly Elder spoke only these three characters. A trace of desolation crossed his face — there and gone in an instant.
“It’s him!” Ye Fan immediately remembered. This was a truly extraordinary, peerless figure.
Eight thousand years ago, Gai Jiuyou was invincible throughout the world. No one in the five great regions could withstand even a single move from him. People believed he would attain the Dao and become an Emperor. Yet in the end, he failed.
The Green Emperor had died only two thousand years prior — and the Dao he had walked had not yet faded from the world. No great emperor could be born in this age. Gai Jiuyou let out a mournful sigh and in his final years journeyed far into the Eastern Wilderness, ultimately being buried in the yellow earth.
Now, in the Eastern Wilderness, a girl named Xia Jiuyou had appeared — a stubborn and forceful young girl who had inherited the legacy of Gai Jiuyou. When the Nine Netherworld Immortal Song rang out, even the nine heavens were moved.
“The Green Emperor was truly too powerful. He attained the Dao in the later Archaic Era, blazing a new path for those who came after. Yet precisely because he was so powerful, even ten thousand years after his death, his Dao had yet to fade — making it impossible for others to become emperors.”
Ye Fan nodded in deep agreement. Judging by all accounts of the Green Emperor’s deeds, this Demon Emperor was of a power that defied heaven itself — so overwhelmingly great that even those at his side could not fathom the heights he had reached.
“The flowing river moves ever onward; the crashing waves wash away heroes of old; yet the green mountains endure, and the sun sets again and again…” The Sickly Elder shook his head. “Gai Jiuyou was so brilliantly gifted — he walked one road to its end, never looking back, never accepting the Extraordinary Scholars’ Manor’s good intentions. In the end, he was defeated. Though to fall before the still-lingering Dao of a dead Green Emperor is no disgrace.”
“To press ever forward without retreat — this must have been a man of unyielding and proud spirit.” Ye Fan sighed with admiration.
Ahead, Zhong Huang stood before the lake, still motionless, as though his life had left him. He stared quietly at the great lake, still as a withered tree.
A long time passed, and still it was so. Ye Fan was puzzled. “What is he doing there?”
The Sickly Elder seemed lost in thought. “In those years, Xiang Yufei died young — not yet twenty years old. A young woman took her own life for him, throwing herself into the lake to drown.”
“Ah…” A great cry rang out, and Xiang Yufei’s figure vanished without a trace — disappearing in an instant that defied all comprehension.
“Nine thousand years have passed. Even if he had gathered immortality divine medicines, they could not help that woman now. All that remains for him is to grieve in sorrow at the place where the woman he loved fell.” The Sickly Elder shook his head.
“As expected — figures such as these all carry with them stories unknown to others, their own chapters to their lives…” Ye Fan murmured.
He and the Sickly Elder traveled together. Along the way, they encountered a number of familiar faces. In the end, Ye Fan departed alone and headed out beyond the great mountains. He needed to gather certain materials that only a Heavenly Eye Master could use, in preparation for probing the thousand-year-old Dragon Vein.
Within the million-mile span of the Qinling Mountains lay an ancient city. No one knew how many years it had stood. It was counted as one of the ten most ancient cities of Central Province, and its name was Qin City.
Its city walls were mottled and worn, every inch carved with the marks of time. Within the city, people came and went in a constant stream — lively and bustling, prosperous and full of life. There were many common folk, but no small number of cultivators as well.
Acrobats, medicine sellers, vendors of every manner of food — their calls and cries rose and fell one after another, noisy and lively, teeming and bustling, filled with the vibrant spirit of the mortal world.
Ye Fan spent five or six days, spending a great deal of Origin stones, walking through many auction houses — and obtained only a small amount of divine Origin stone skin, nowhere near enough for what was needed.
The thousand-year-old Dragon Vein harbored fantastical-grade divine marrow and was the burial ground of the third-generation Heavenly Eye Master. Heaven knew what peculiarities lay within. He needed a variety of materials, to be used in crafting the Six Immortal-Sealing Etchings.
On the seventh day, Ye Fan made his way to the most renowned establishment in Qin City — the Heavenly Capital Pavilion. It was a supremely magnificent structure, nine stories tall, selling every rare and precious item imaginable.
He could hear the sounds of argument long before he arrived. In front of the grand Heavenly Capital Pavilion, two groups of people stood in confrontation.
Ye Fan was startled. A number of familiar faces were gathered before the Heavenly Capital Pavilion, the situation tense. One of the groups was Li Heishui’s party — and Pang Bo was among them.
The other group was led by a young man of no great age — the younger brother of Wang Teng, that now eleven-year-old young prodigy who was remarkably formidable. He stood in the void looking down, gazing at Jiang Huairen, Liu Kou, and the others.
Beside him stood a dozen or so men and women, every one of them powerful, all in the Dragon Transformation secret realm — all of them Holy Son and Holy Maiden-caliber figures.
Among them, one young woman sneered at Li Heishui’s group while doing her utmost to provoke Wang Chong’s side into making a move.
“Does the Yin-Yang Sect want to change its Holy Maiden for a third time?” Pang Bo said without the slightest mercy.
Another young man swept them with a contemptuous glance. “Bringing up someone’s shortcomings like this is meaningless. If you truly want to fight, can any of you survive?”
“Yin-Yang Holy Son — you would do well to watch your words. The lesson of those who came before is not far in the past. Take it as a warning.”
The Yin-Yang Holy Son laughed coldly. “Are you referring to that Indestructible Body? He has been hiding for more than two years. Even now he doesn’t dare show himself. A pity — our Sect has so many powerful fighters who wish to take his life, and yet they have no idea where he is.”
They had not made a move, and only because Ji Haoyue and his sister were also present, standing on the other side of Pang Bo. Even Wang Chong held them in deep wariness.
“Has the Yin-Yang Sect selected yet another Holy Son? Don’t you find it tiresome? I think the Sect has no reason to exist at all!” Ye Fan said with a smile, walking over step by step from the distance.