Ye Fan put away the Myriad Origins Mother Qi Cauldron. Long Ma had been pinned beneath it for half a month — he was nearly spitting blood. It was fortunate that divine markings flowed across the cauldron’s surface, which had self-contained its killing intent.
The moment Long Ma broke free, he came in with a hoof. He had been pinned for half a month, furious enough that fire was crashing against the top of his skull. It was clear he was no gentle creature — he was the undisputed overlord of the Kunlun immortal vein.
“Boom!”
A twin radiance of dragon-shaped violet light burst from Little Pine’s eyes. The “Spirit Wound” technique from the Nine Slashes of the Demon Emperor struck outward — it was acting on its master’s behalf, protecting the Dao.
Long Ma looked on with contempt, opened his mouth, exhaled a single breath, and scattered it entirely. Little Pine sat down hard on the ground with a thump, looking disheartened, muttering quietly under its breath. Ye Fan smiled, patted its head, and consoled it, “How many years have you been cultivating?”
He flickered and mounted Long Ma’s back directly, saying, “If you continue to not know your place, don’t blame me for being merciless. You should understand — you entered this place of your own accord.”
Long Ma struggled and thrashed, but facing this anomaly of a human saint physique that severed the Dao, even with Long Ma’s invincibility at the third boundary of immortality, there was nothing to be done. He simply could not shake this “mountain.”
“Since we have successfully entered the immortal-gestating ground, the water in this pool is divine liquid — whether for refining medicines or for cultivation, it will serve great purposes.” Ye Fan said.
“It is sweet.” Little Pine said in its tender, childlike voice, raising a small jade bowl in both hands, its large bright eyes blinking as it looked up at Ye Fan, offering him a sip.
Ye Fan smiled and took out various spatial implements, preparing to collect the divine liquid from the pool. Such things were beyond rare encounters — gifts wrested from the creative forces of heaven and earth, with boundless and marvelous uses.
He had already tasted it a moment ago — it surpassed even the divine springs of the life restricted zones. It carried a rich and clear fragrance, and could be called a miraculous medicine in its own right, capable of slowing the body’s aging and extending one’s life span.
“It is a pity that the immortal essence and dragon treasures within each dragon-headed peak have already been lost — otherwise the divine liquid that flows out would be truly heaven-defying.” Ye Fan said softly.
The Savage Emperor’s methods inspired awe. To strike within the killing formation laid down by the ancient Celestial Court and pierce through every single dragon-headed peak — it was enough to shake the ages, past and future.
Long Ma was not idle either. He opened his mouth and sucked greedily, wishing to take in as much divine liquid as possible. Little Pine slapped its small medicine basket on its back, which also transformed into a streak of violet light that drew the divine liquid toward it, claiming it for its own.
Yet what none of them had anticipated was that the moment they began amassing the divine liquid, an unexpected change unfolded — the celestial pool rapidly dried up. The water and immortal radiance surged in reverse, retreating into the distance.
“What is going on?” Long Ma’s large eyes went round.
Ye Fan issued a sharp command, activated the Soldier Character Art, and seized the divine water. With a great splash, the final few dozen pounds of water came streaming toward him — everything else reversed and flowed away, vanishing into the mountain bodies.
Ten thousand dragons drinking in reverse!
Over ten thousand dragon-headed peaks drew in the divine liquid, reclaiming all essence and immortal radiance, no longer nourishing this place. It was a reversal — the opposite of everything that had come before.
Each dragon head let out a cry, as though filled with life. Across their bodies, layers of stone dragon scales opened. Their eyes even released flickering divine radiance. Ye Fan was struck with wonder — had the Savage Emperor not struck out with such ferocity, to what degree might these stone dragons have grown?
“Boom!”
A final great tremor, and all immortal radiance was swallowed into the draconic maws. Only misty auras lingered below, and throughout the entire valley, the spiritual energy dropped sharply.
“That is well too. The heaven and earth of the Earth will slowly regain its vitality and life force.” Ye Fan said. After the immortal cauldron was taken away, the ten thousand dragon-headed peaks would no longer draw upon the Earth’s spiritual energy, no longer need to nourish the immortal forging ground, and might even give back to the mountains and rivers of the Earth in return.
Ye Fan had no means of destroying this place. Not to speak of him alone — even the countless brilliant figures throughout all of history had been unable to do so! The killing formation laid by the ancient Celestial Court exerted a deterrent force over ten thousand ages, unsolvable by anyone. To touch it was to die.
Within the immortal valley, auspicious radiance still moved and flowed. Even greatly diminished compared to before, it far surpassed any place Ye Fan had ever passed through. Ancient medicines perfumed the air, and a strand of the undying divine medicine’s fragrance also drifted through, intoxicating the spirit.
“Let us go… the heaven and earth are finally going to begin changing again.” Ye Fan rode upon Long Ma, with Little Pine beside him, and left the immortal forging ground, disappearing into the mountain range.
Mighty Kunlun — its peaks unceasing, stretching endlessly. Ye Fan and the others walked for a long time before finally emerging, finding themselves at the border of Xinjiang and Qinghai. Looking out at that blue sky and white clouds, it all felt somehow unreal. Across this great land, many regions remained hidden within ancient killing formations, unknown to ordinary people — like two separate worlds.
Having left Kunlun and arrived in the outside world, Long Ma was immediately filled with astonishment, and with no small amount of disdain — for it was too barren here, without a trace of spiritual energy. Compared to the world within the ancient killing formation, which resembled an immortal realm, everything before them now looked like a great desert.
Little Pine, on the other hand, was very happy. It had originally lived in just such a world and had long grown accustomed to it. It let out whoops of delight.
The news of Ye Fan returning astride a dragon horse sent a great shock rippling through every sacred ground. It was said that this had been the mount of an ancient sage-emperor — only the truly virtuous could ride one. That he had now directly subdued one and come back left people gaping open-mouthed, unable to speak.
This was a pureblooded dragon horse, not a mixed-blood descendant. Such creatures had rarely been born throughout all of history — they were auspicious sacred beasts given birth to by heaven and earth themselves.
“Master!” His disciple, the Little Celestial Master Zhang Qingyang, came to pay his respects.
This nameless short mountain showed no particular change — still just a few thatched huts and a small medicinal field. Ye Fan sat cross-legged on a green stone. When he saw his disciple, he found him severely injured.
“What happened?”
Who in this world today would dare offend his disciple? Several years prior, he had gone alone into the holy city of Jerusalem, and then killed his way into the Vatican, already shaking the world both within and beyond the nation’s borders.
“It is fortunate that you have returned riding a dragon horse at this time, Master. Otherwise, the Celestial Court’s work of spreading the Dao might truly have suffered greatly.” Zhang Qingyang said.
Just days ago, someone had entered one of the Celestial Court’s sacred grounds, spoken words of extreme disrespect, and on the spot set fire to the statue of the Celestial Emperor, severely injuring Zhang Qingyang. The impact had been considerable.
The Little Celestial Master of the Celestial Court being injured by another was naturally a major matter. The one who had done it had declared openly that the Celestial Court did not know its own worth — what virtue or capability did they have to establish a religion under such a name? They had best dissolve the religion at once, or they would be swept away.
Ye Fan naturally understood that the world was full of remarkable people. Even in the era of waning Dharma, there were surely some unknown masters on the Earth. Yet such brazen provocation was somewhat beyond his expectations.
“The person was not old — not much older than me. Young and vigorous in spirit. He does not feel like someone with an ageless appearance who is secretly an extraordinary being.” Zhang Qingyang said.
Ye Fan nodded. The Little Celestial Master today was incomparably different from before. With Ye Fan’s assistance and having been tempered through heavenly tribulations multiple times, only Long Xiaoque, You Wei Yu, and their peers could match him in this world.
“The main thing was that his treasure was too fearsome. It is called the Void Seal. When it struck, it shattered several dozen of my bones all at once.” Zhang Qingyang recounted the events of that day in detail.
Had not Huang Tiannu and Yan Xiaoyu also been present, moving quickly to rescue the Little Celestial Master, he might well have been in mortal danger that time.
Ye Fan nodded and said, “He has gone too far. He says he wants to sweep away the Celestial Court — then I will wait for him to appear.”
Little Pine stepped forward, reached into its small medicine basket, and produced a Medicine King that was more than half a meter tall — the entire plant like a crystalline carving of red agate, brilliant and dazzling. It was a kind of spiritual vine, its medicinal fragrance wafting over. Little Pine offered it to the Little Celestial Master.
“Ah — this is… Thank you, Little Senior Brother.” Zhang Qingyang was not like Huang Tiannu, who often teased Little Pine. He recognized it at a glance, and this was most likely a supremely rare spirit medicine.
“This is a Medicine King. It can restore life and mend bone, and extend one’s life span.” Ye Fan said.
“A Medicine King?” The Little Celestial Master was stunned. He had anticipated something valuable, but had not anticipated it being a treasure so rare it was barely seen even in the ancient age. His voice trembled as he said, “This is… far too precious.”
Ye Fan had him put it away, to be kept as a life-saving measure for the future, and then took out some divine liquid from the celestial pool and bestowed it upon him before sending him off to recuperate.
Before long, Yan Xiaoyu, Zhan Yifan, and others also arrived in succession, all stunned beyond words. Each of them received a Medicine King and some divine liquid. To them, these things were nothing short of “celestial elixirs” — for even in the ancient age, a Medicine King capable of extending a lifespan by several hundred years was something even a sage would bow his head for.
“Master, your venture into Kunlun this time truly yielded an immense harvest. Next time you go searching for treasure, you must bring us along.”
“Quickly think of which ancient sacred grounds on Earth remain — let Master make a round of them all. There will surely be countless worldly divine rarities to be obtained.”
“That’s right — the birthplace of the Greek gods, the ancient sacred grounds of Egypt and India, and some ancient sites within our own borders should have precious treasures sealed within them.”
The group, having tasted the sweetness of it, were urging Ye Fan to go out again.
This Kunlun journey had yielded an immense harvest. The immortal cauldron and the divine-marked purple-gold tower alone said everything — and just in Medicine Kings, seventeen had been obtained. As for other precious medicines of somewhat lesser maturity that had been packed into Little Pine’s medicine basket, even if the Earth’s environment never changed, there would be no need to worry about lacking spirit medicines.
“You should all cultivate seriously — everything must depend on yourselves. Grow up as quickly as you can. Perhaps one day before long I will be leaving.” Ye Fan admonished them. Having stayed on Earth for so long, he could not forget the people he had left behind on the other side of the stars.
“Master, where are you going?” Several disciples pressed him, wishing to follow him into the star domain and leave this world behind.
In the blink of an eye, several more years passed. The young man who had sent Zhang Qingyang off with such severe injuries and declared he would sweep away the Celestial Court never reappeared. Ye Fan had now been back on Earth for ten years. His cultivation had advanced daily, and each day he gazed up at the starry sky. Not having been able to see his parents one last time was the greatest regret of his life — but now all ties to the mortal world had been fulfilled, and only the path to immortality remained. Yet how was he to leave?
Over these several years, Ye Fan had traveled to many places, seeking the star domain coordinates of the ancients. With so many sages having departed in the ancient age, something must surely have been left behind as a clue.
During that time, several masters from India reached out to him again, saying that a more complete set of ancient incantations might have been obtained, and that by means of these one might be able to enter the Spirit Mountain. For this reason, Ye Fan had personally traveled to India, drawing out quite a stir.
He traveled in and out of one ancient site after another, exchanged pointers with a number of so-called masters, naturally finding no worthy opponents. He also obtained a copy of the Vedas — though severely damaged, it was still enough to shake the world.
Both Brahmanism and the Buddhist tradition founded by Shakyamuni had been profoundly influenced by this scripture. It was a primordial ancient text that recorded unique and profound principles.
Ye Fan spent several months studying it in depth, refining a hundred scriptures in his crucible, taking ten thousand Daos into his body, returning them all to a single furnace — nourishing and gestating his own Dao methods through this process.
In the end, he obtained a number of incantations in India, then set out with several of the masters, bringing Little Pine along, walking toward the Spirit Mountain. For he felt that somewhere within the Tibetan region’s Spirit Mountain there might be a five-colored sacrificial altar — and perhaps the star domain coordinates of the Northern Dipper!
Yet he was disappointed. The incantations were incomplete. Even so, they could not enter Shakyamuni’s sacred ground, and in the end fell just short of success — unable to glimpse the innermost secrets of the Buddhist tradition.
“Ten years have passed — one wonders what kind of turbulence has been stirred up in the Northern Dipper star domain…” Ye Fan gazed up at the starry sky and murmured to himself.
On the other side of the stars lay a great age in which kings rose side by side and ten thousand clans coexisted — unprecedented! There, brilliant figures emerged in endless succession: the scions of ancient emperors gathered, and even the sons of great emperors might appear. Not for anything else — only to await the opening of the immortal path. Without even needing to think on it in detail, one could know that these years must have been magnificent and turbulent — heroes contending for supremacy, celestial maidens soaring through the sky, a galaxy of brilliant stars.
“After ten years, perhaps many people have already forgotten me as an adversary.”
As Ye Fan gazed up at the stars, in a humble herder’s home within the Tibetan region, joy and surprise and worry were mixed together. A child of only three years old, following a severe illness, had exhibited the most miraculous phenomenon of all within the tradition of “hidden treasures”: “recognition of the hidden treasury.” Not yet literate, having never studied the scriptures, the child could recite scripture texts totaling over a million characters — and they were all texts that had been lost to history.
Over these years, Ye Fan had entered many secret places and visited numerous ancient sacred grounds, all in pursuit of what he sought. Those within the Dao tradition naturally understood his purpose.
On this day, an elderly Daoist from Longhu Mountain — the ancestral seat of Daoism — came to visit. He told Ye Fan that there was perhaps a divine land on Earth that could allow entry into the mysterious depths of the star domain.