Upon the path ahead stood a half-meter-tall purple tower, lying quietly across the way. It was like a piece of ancient sky that had fallen to earth — carrying the weight of primordial time, vast and imposing, flowing with an indescribable aura.

The Dragon Horse recognized the treasure and lunged forward. Having seen the ancient scroll in Ye Fan’s hand, it had determined that this object lay upon the safe path — and posed no danger.

Ye Fan felt it was all deeply unreal. For such a large mass of immortal material to actually be sitting here — it was too dreamlike, too impossible to believe.

“This is… Divine Marking Purple Gold!” Even his voice was trembling.

Phoenix-blood Red Gold, Dragon Pattern Black Gold, Immortal Tear Green Gold — he had seen all of these, and they were among the most celebrated immortal materials in existence. Yet this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on this particular divine treasure. Crystalline throughout like purple diamonds, radiating a dreamlike brilliance — this was what was called Divine Marking Purple Gold.

The Dragon Horse charged wildly, dragon breath spewing from its mouth, swift as wind and lightning. While still far away, it opened its mouth and attempted to draw the object in and claim it as its own — but it tried and did not succeed.

Moreover, in that instant, it sensed a forest of lethal killing intent. Even its original spirit seemed on the verge of shattering. Its entire body spasmed, and it stopped its feet fast.

At this moment, only Little Pine was still relatively calm. Its large eyes blinked in bafflement. It could tell this object was extraordinary, but it did not recognize it.

“Don’t act rashly!” Ye Fan cried out, restraining the Dragon Horse.

A mass of immortal material half a meter tall, with no admixture of impurities whatsoever — this was a genuinely staggering find, its value beyond any measure. Even an ancient great emperor’s heart would have leapt.

“A single fist-sized piece of phoenix-blood Red Gold is enough to shake the whole world and drive people mad — and yet this much, this large…”

Divine Marking Purple Gold cast into the form of a tower — one could only imagine that whoever possessed such a thing must have had law-defying power. This object would surely be extraordinarily dangerous. To act rashly might bring lethal catastrophe.

“Is this an extreme Dao Imperial weapon?!”

Ye Fan’s heart hammered with a rapid thudding. He could not be certain — for the immortal-nurturing ground contained every variety of law-formation killing trap, capable of masking all auras, making it impossible to judge.

How did a mass of immortal material this large come to be left here? Even the most extravagant figure would not squander resources like this. This made no sense and gave him pause.

At last, they drew carefully close. A heaven-shaking killing intent seeped out, slicing at one’s original spirit. The Dragon Horse could no longer approach at all.

Ye Fan dismounted and advanced step by step until he could at last see clearly where the danger lay: on the other side of the purple tower’s body clung several drops of blood, vivid and crimson, killing aura flooding the field.

He was struck with a start, not daring to act rashly. He looked toward the scattered Quasi-Emperor bones in the distance — blood gleaming with light, aura exactly matching — they were of one and the same origin.

“The Quasi-Emperor’s divine blood — this tower is his!”

Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with light. What immense fortune it must have taken to obtain a mass of immortal material this large — and to have succeeded in casting it into even a rough prototype. It was nothing short of astonishing.

“Immortal material that even an ancient great emperor would find difficult to obtain — and yet he possessed a mass this large. He should have had a brilliant road ahead, marching toward the glorious peak of Dao attainment…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.

This person’s fortune had been heaven-defying — fit to call the central figure of an era, the protagonist on whom heaven and earth had set their stage. Yet in the end, most unexpectedly, it was precisely this Quasi-Emperor — one whose fate-luck ran endlessly long — who had met a miserable death here.

“Heaven’s intent is unfathomable. A person of boundless potential has been cut down just like this.”

Ye Fan had every reason to believe that this person had been an extraordinary figure on some ancient star, and had he met with no accident, would have been capable of attaining the Dao and becoming an emperor. Yet the path to immortality was treacherous and harsh, and no matter how peerless a genius you were, you might in a single moment be reduced to white bones.

This also proved, from the side, how terrifying this “immortal-nurturing ground” was. Even a Quasi-Emperor bearing such immense fortune had met with great calamity here. In this place, there was no room for defying heaven — whatever heavenly fortune one possessed had been stripped away entirely.

This made his heart run cold, and he dared not be careless in the slightest. Every step was painstakingly careful, cautious and deliberate.

Ye Fan stepped back. Once he was far enough away, he activated the Word of Soldiers secret technique, peeling away several drops of the Quasi-Emperor’s blood, setting them temporarily to one side. Then he moved the purple tower toward himself.

“What extraordinary fortune — this is an extreme Dao original prototype!”

He had been observing for so long that he could now confirm it: this weapon was only a rough prototype. No Dao traces or principles of any kind had yet been carved upon it, indicating that the Quasi-Emperor had obtained it not long before.

The half-meter-tall purple tower radiated an aura of primordial antiquity, as though a piece of ancient sky had fallen and settled here, wreathed in varied immortal light.

In the immortal-nurturing ground, what was never lacking was the nourishment of immortal energy. This rough prototype would not be diminished in the slightest — only grow gradually more spiritually aware over time.

The tower’s body was thick and solid, every inch crystalline and transparent, gleaming with purple light, resplendent as purple diamonds. Upon it were streaks and veining, as though a divine being had carefully carved them — this was what was meant by “divine markings.” They were also called the visible manifestation of the Dao, and they were the source from which the material derived its name.

Little Pine’s large eyes fluttered open and shut, peering at it with curious bewilderment, feeling strangely unsettled — for this Divine Marking Purple Gold and its own body were both entirely wreathed in purple brilliance, matching in color, and even their spiritual nature seemed remarkably akin.

The Dragon Horse, utterly without manners, opened its great mouth and tried to swallow the thing whole. Any being with a shred of spiritual discernment would want to possess something so heaven-defying — this was a weapon for attaining the Dao!

Ye Fan shoved it aside with one hand and said: “Little Pine found this.”

He examined the object carefully and confirmed that this tower harbored no danger whatsoever, that truly no Dao traces had been carved upon it, and that it was an ownerless rough prototype. Only then did he set his mind at ease.

Little Pine drew close and craned its neck to look up at the purple tower — which stood a full head taller than it — all ablaze with purple light, the two of them making a complementary pair, causing Little Pine to scratch its head in puzzlement.

It put its strength into trying to lift the tower’s body, and wound up drenched in sweat before sitting down on the ground with a plop, its face flushed — it couldn’t even budge it.

The Dragon Horse stepped in without a shred of shame, attempting to seize the opportunity and claim the object for itself — only to receive a great shock as well. The tower was oppressively heavy, weighing in at several million jin.

This was supreme immortal material. Even as a rough prototype it was world-shaking. Little Pine, with Ye Fan’s help, heaved the purple tower up with great effort — only to clap it over itself with a thud and find itself unable to get out.

Ye Fan smiled with a kind warmth, lifted that treasure — capable of shaking an entire star domain — and extracted Little Pine from beneath it, saying: “I’ll help you store it inside the silver bell. Every day you can temper it with your heart and spirit, and when you grow strong enough in the future you’ll be able to wield it.”

He removed the small stone Buddha from within the bell, carefully carved an intricate spatial formation array upon it, stored the Divine Marking Purple Gold Tower inside, and gave it to Little Pine.

“Perhaps one day I will leave this ancient star and travel to another star domain. That place is filled with blood and war — exceedingly arduous and perilous. I want to leave you behind here, to cultivate in peace. This will be your weapon for attaining the Dao.”

Upon hearing this, Little Pine was instantly filled with terror. Its eyes brimmed with tears. It thrust the supreme treasure rough prototype back into Ye Fan’s hands and pleaded with him not to leave — and that even if he did go, he must take it along. They must not be separated.

“It is too early to speak of such things. I do not yet know how to return.” Ye Fan affectionately tousled its head, then gazed up at the vault of heaven. Another star domain — a great battle would come in time, and the brief peace could not hold for long.

All races believed the path to immortality was on the verge of opening. To contend for the chance that had been awaited since ten thousand ages past, there would be a bloody battle among the greatest figures of the age.

The Dragon Horse was deeply reluctant, but could do nothing about it. The Divine Marking Purple Gold Tower had been discovered by Little Pine and claimed by Ye Fan — it truly had no grounds to make it its own.

“Earth is a place apart from all others. If you can someday attain the Dao here, you will achieve a Dao fruit beyond what the imagination can reach.” Ye Fan helped it secure the bell properly, and advised it that it would be best to stop using the small stone Buddha from now on — henceforth, to place all its heart and spirit within the purple tower.

He already had the All-Things Mother Qi Cauldron. Though this tower was a divine treasure, it held no meaning for him.

Ye Fan employed heaven-reaching, earth-penetrating methods to seal several drops of the Quasi-Emperor’s precious blood inside the cauldron. In a certain sense, this was divine blood — it could be used to refine sacred medicines, and would prove greatly useful.

They continued on. Ye Fan guided Little Pine on how to temper its weapon of Dao attainment; there was much to pass on before they departed.

What left him at a total loss for words was discovering the realization in the little creature’s head — the principle of one weapon to break ten thousand methods — and the intention it had formed to recast the purple tower into a “pine cone tower.”

The spherical fruit that grows on pine trees is called a pine cone because of its resemblance to a tower. In the mind of the little purple creature, since a tower was to be cast, it ought to be evocative — and the pine cone that grows in nature was the most fitting form.

“You just think pine nuts are the tastiest thing, don’t you?” Ye Fan asked.

“Yes.” It answered reflexively, then immediately flushed with embarrassment.

“Fine then — a pine cone tower it is. Whether the name or the shape, it suits you perfectly.” Ye Fan had nothing more to say.

They continued onward. Ye Fan murmured to himself: “In this world there are several divine golds — phoenix-blood Red Gold, Immortal Tear Green Gold… It is said that if they are all smelted together, they can be transformed into another kind of supreme material. A pity that no one in all of history has ever succeeded.”

Little Pine immediately spoke up in its childlike way, saying that in the future it would find all manner of divine golds for its master, mix them into the primordial mother energy and smelt them together, forging the foremost weapon in all the world.

Ye Fan tousled its head and said nothing. With the source of All-Things Mother Qi already in hand, that was enough. As for those legends — they were too vague and distant, and not necessarily real.

At last, they arrived at the space between the dragon-headed peaks, ascending a mountain path. The ten thousand-odd dragon-headed mountain peaks stood arrayed side by side, encircling a single immortal valley. Spiritual energy billowed in mist; countless hundreds of millions of rays of rosy light made this place feel supremely sacred.

They had truly entered the immortal-nurturing ground. This was a miraculous earth unrivaled in all the world, holding the mysteries of stealing the workings of heaven and earth throughout all time — capable of nurturing an immortal.

Every dragon peak was a cascade of ten thousand immortal lights, a thousand streams of auspicious color, supremely divine and sacred. Even the lowest-grade medicine growing upon them had at least twenty thousand years of seasoning, filling the air with a pure, clean fragrance.

Ye Fan moved along the mountain path. Little Pine was in high spirits. Upon the safe path it discovered two Medicine Kings, each with a medicinal age of over ninety thousand years. With great care and delicacy it dug them out.

The ancient medicines stood a full meter tall — like precious trees in its eyes, blazing and brilliant. It needed to hold them overhead. Full of cheerful delight, it respectfully offered one to Ye Fan, then with another gesture of goodwill presented the other to the Dragon Horse.

Such things could extend one’s lifespan, and were beyond price even in the Northern Dipper — priceless rarities before which even a saint would bow their head. The divine steed naturally accepted without ceremony. But it did not swallow it in one gulp — knowing well the rarity of a Medicine King, it set it aside to slowly refine at a later time.

The path was winding and narrow, the one and only path of life — a single misplaced step led to the gate of death, with no way back. Ye Fan and the others moved in a winding course, turning past many dragon-headed peaks and entering the valley.

Throughout this process, Little Pine was the most delighted of all. In total it harvested eight ancient Medicine Kings, each one growing along the path itself. It swung its small medicine hoe with unbridled joy.

“Keep them for yourself — you need not offer them to me.” Ye Fan said.

Every time it dug up a specimen it would respectfully offer it to its master — but Ye Fan would use his great power to quietly tuck each one into its “pine cone tower” when it wasn’t looking. He would be leaving eventually, and Little Pine would be left to cultivate alone on this ancient star — it would certainly need these things.

In the end, they reached the innermost part and descended into the heart of the mountain valley, where at last they beheld the magnificent spectacle.

The ten thousand dragon-headed peaks let fall immortal light like waterfalls, so thick and dense it had condensed into liquid, flowing toward the center of the valley. There, a fairy pool roughly a zhang in diameter lay overflowing with swirling immortal energy, blazing clouds and rosy light beyond number, gleaming and dazzling, drowning out half the valley.

“The ‘hope’ of immortality is being nurtured right there within the fairy pool!” Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with divine radiance.

Within the valley, clouds and rosy haze billowed in splendor. Never before had any place compared to it. Precious medicines carpeted the ground, enough to drive a person mad — if all of them could be gathered, the result would be beyond imagining.

At the same time, a particular fragrance struck his nostrils — unlike any other, transcending all that was ordinary. Ye Fan’s spirit jolted. Without question, there was an Undying Divine Medicine somewhere in this place.