Before leaving the Northern Dipper, Ye Fan naturally had many things to attend to — he had to inform the people of the Heavenly Village, and he had to pay a visit to the Ji Family.
On the visit to the Ji Family, there was a good deal of awkwardness. The “precious gift” he presented was a child — leaving everyone staring at one another in bewilderment. The Ji Family stated plainly: if this visit was on account of Ji Ziyue, what was the meaning of offering up a child like this?
“Father!” the little chubby one, utterly mischievous, called out loudly on the spot — and promptly caused a whole row of tables to get overturned, while the culprit wore an expression of perfect innocence, his large eyes blinking without a word.
“Next time I’ll stew you up and feed you to the Black Emperor!” Ye Fan thought seriously about cutting him out after they left the Ji Family.
“I never called you that. I’d never take such a loss — I just had a vague impression come to mind in my consciousness.” The little chubby one refused to back down.
Ye Fan said nothing, and directly searched through his Immortal Platform — found not a single thing. This little chubby one had made trouble on purpose.
Ye Fan had wanted to leave the Ji Family a future quasi-Emperor who could protect the family through a generation of glory. But remembering what the Calamity Spirit Hun Tuo had said, he decided not to insist — and of course, most of the credit went to the little chubby one for causing chaos and shouting out that nonsense.
He left behind half of the Source of the Dao, then crossed the Ji River and departed.
“Master, I want to go back!” When Ye Tong heard that Ye Fan was crossing to the Purple Subtlety Star Domain, his eyes reddened immediately, tears streaming down without a sound as he wept silently.
The hatred of his exterminated clan, a sea of blood and deep enmity — his childhood had been filled with wounds. His parents, his elder brother, the little older sister who had shielded him with her life, and the loyal old servant who had guarded him and helped him flee — whenever he thought of them, his eyes would sting and his heart fill with grief.
Ye Fan nodded. The time had come to bring Ye Tong to the Purple Subtlety Star Domain and settle the grudges of those bygone days.
“After so many years away, it’s time we returned in glory — after all this time, the divine maidens and holy maidens of the Purple Subtlety Star Domain have probably forgotten the unparalleled magnificence of I, Li Tian the Great Emperor.” The two brothers-in-cultivation, both of whom hailed from the Purple Subtlety Star Domain, naturally had to go back for a look.
In those years, the predecessors of their lineage had been wiped out by a coalition of sects. The reason the two brothers had left their homeland was precisely to escape that quagmire — otherwise there would have been endless trouble.
Now, as Saint Kings, they could return without fearing any sect.
“I feel that the path to immortality is truly about to open — each step bringing it closer. We must prepare ourselves and not place ourselves in a position of vulnerability.” Ye Fan said.
“What is there to fear? We’ll fight our way in!” the little chubby one shouted.
He was immediately grabbed by Ye Fan and given a sound smack on his little backside — with force calibrated to reach him even inside the Immortal Spring — making him cry out with howls of protest, his little bottom glowing red.
“How dare you hit me, the Heavenly Emperor! I’ll fight you to the death!” the little chubby one wailed and shrieked, but trying to overpower a Sacred Body was still far beyond him at this point.
“This little chubby one is something remarkable — born a Saint. Let him stay here and be properly trained.” Qi Luo and the others looked on with great interest. After nurturing Ye Tong, Little Sparrow, Hua Hua, and others in the Heavenly Village, they had a particular enthusiasm for such an extraordinarily gifted child.
Ye Fan shook his head. “Better to keep him by my side for now. This one is a world-ending disaster seed — he even scared Hun Tuo into fleeing like a mad old rabbit. There’s no telling what upheaval might come in the future, so better to have everything crashing into me directly.”
“Glad you know it!” the little chubby one muttered — and promptly received another round of smacks, howling and wailing without end.
“Little chubby one, I hear you’re quite the important personage — I’ll give you the title of Arhat, come walk with your older brother.” Hua Hua came back and teased him.
“Baldy, don’t try to tempt me — you’re not even a beautiful woman!” the little chubby one glared at him.
“I have Abbesses there — I’ll make you a Bodhisattva.” Hua Hua said with a slippery grin. He promptly received a light flick to his bald head from Ye Fan — the sound crisp and clean.
All the people from the Western Desert had come, including Kai De, who now went by the title Golden-Maned Heavenly King and served as the Dharma-Protecting Venerable of the Heavenly Court’s Western Desert branch, spending his days in the temple eating great hunks of meat and drinking great bowls of wine alongside Hua Hua.
Old monk Mo Ke had truly had enough. If not for the fact that Hua Hua’s presence was proof and testament to a Buddhist reincarnation, he would have long since slapped the two of them into meat paste.
One should note that the old monk, as a Great Sage, had once been willing to come to blows with the Battle-Victorious Buddha — and had since become the abbot of the Great Thunder Sound Temple, holding a position of the highest reverence.
He had only agreed to become the Mountain Gate’s Great Dharma-Protecting Venerable because he wished to unravel the mysteries of reincarnation, and Hua Hua provided the means to do so.
Everyone deliberated together. The Heavenly Court’s forces should begin withdrawing from the Northern Dipper one after another — for once the path to immortality opened, no one could say what might happen.
Everyone wanted to achieve immortality — but one had to live long enough to try. They had encountered too many things, the Green Copper Cauldron was in hand, and the more they understood, the more hopeless the prospect seemed. Better to stand outside the domain first and observe the situation calmly.
Without question, many throughout the cosmos harbored the same thought. Otherwise, so many of the great powers would not merely be sending subordinates ahead while keeping their true bodies elsewhere, refraining from descending personally.
“The arrogant ones will ultimately be unable to hold themselves back — sooner or later they’ll descend in person. When that day comes, it wouldn’t be surprising to see quasi-Emperor battles stretching from horizon to horizon!”
What left everyone deeply surprised was that in the following half month, as they were making rapid preparations to withdraw, someone descended from outside the domain, coming to seek them out.
“It’s Gu Fei and Gu Lin — that pair of siblings. They’ve come out of the Heavenly Village and have actually returned to the Northern Dipper!”
Everyone was both startled and overjoyed. After the Black Emperor’s unreliable disappearance had once severed their connection with those outside the domain, the arrival of the siblings was exceptionally good news.
“Little Sparrow!” Gu Lin and Little Sparrow were very close friends. After years of separation, she rushed over immediately upon reunion.
And when they saw Ye Fan, the two siblings were even more stunned — and quickly rushed forward to bow deeply in respect.
After the years of separation, the siblings had grown into adults. The younger sister was still lively and spirited, but the elder brother had become remarkably composed — robed in a Daoist robe, looking like a Heavenly Master, a long thin beard hanging from his chin.
In truth, the others had been separated from this pair of siblings for ten years or more as well — some even longer. The reunion naturally brought with it endless words to exchange.
“Did the Black Emperor go back?” the two Silver-Blood Sovereigns asked, their expressions rather embarrassed. The great black dog had put them through such rigorous training that even now the memory made them shudder.
“No. Since he disappeared, he has never been seen returning.” Gu Fei shook his head.
Even with the siblings’ abilities, they could not divine the Black Emperor’s whereabouts — just as they could not divine for Ye Fan. Attempting either would result in terrible backlash.
The siblings’ explanation was this: first, Ye Fan’s fate might be too powerful, and second, his future achievements might be boundless, making it impossible for outside forces to interfere.
The so-called foresight of the future had been articulated thoroughly by the ancient sages of old. Divination was like watching falling leaves and knowing they must descend to the earth — it was simply perceiving and anticipating a trend along a certain course of events.
Of course, it could not be taken as absolute truth. Like those falling leaves, some might land inside a hollow in a tree and decay into mud there, never touching the ground.
“Come — take a look at this little chubby one and see what he’s made of. Try divining to see whether you can see through him.” Ye Fan invited the siblings to perform the ritual, and personally stood guard to prevent any accident from befalling them.
Gu Fei and Gu Lin agreed. They brought out various ritual implements, set up a tortoise-shell divination platform, inscribed various talismans and runes, then sat cross-legged upon it — and hoisted the little chubby one up onto it as well.
“You two… what are you going to do… to me?” He kicked his legs as hard as he could.
Everyone burst out laughing. This fair, chubby little one was carrying on as though he’d been cornered by villains, his face written over with terror — like a frightened little bride.
The siblings performed their art, and the area immediately began to flicker in and out of light. The little chubby one grew increasingly agitated, twisting and squirming, desperately wishing he could flee.
Crack!
The final result: the tortoise-shell platform exploded. Two inexplicable laws of force interwove in the void and struck down toward the Gu siblings.
Swish!
In that instant, both figures vanished.
Ye Fan appeared in their place. This was the Substitute Life Technique — arranged in advance. Should anything go wrong, Ye Fan would take the blow in their stead.
Two soft sounds. Two streaks of blood appeared on Ye Fan’s forehead, spreading like fractures all the way down to his chin — genuinely dangerous — and fresh blood flowed down.
In that moment, the faces of everyone present changed!
Even the carefree, grinning Hua Hua’s expression shifted drastically. He stared at the Divine Infant, then looked over at Ye Fan and said, “Master, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Ye Fan circulated his mysterious techniques and repaired his Immortal Platform. The blood marks vanished — but the golden blood that had appeared moments before had been seen by everyone. It was a shocking sight.
What was the background of this child? Attempting to divine his origins had even caused Ye Fan to be injured — it was simply inconceivable.
Had Gu Fei and Gu Lin borne the brunt themselves just now, they would certainly be nothing but ash and smoke!
Even the old assassin Qi Luo was unsettled. This was nothing but a child — and merely divining his background and origins had produced such overwhelming backlash. It was terrifying beyond measure.
In this world, the ancient Great Emperors could not be divined, nor could Immortals — to attempt it was to invite calamity. Of course, there were other forbidden subjects as well — things that could not be probed. To do so would inevitably bring great disaster down upon oneself.
“Whose child is this? Don’t tell me he really did fall from the Immortal Domain?” Everyone was deeply unsettled and uncertain.
At Ye Fan’s current level — comparable to a Great Sage — bearing the blow in place of Gu Fei and Gu Lin had still left him wounded. That said everything.
After a long time, people gradually calmed.
“Don’t bully me. I’m… I’m very powerful!” the little chubby one said.
Smack!
Ye Fan gave his little backside another palm — without real force, of course — but it infuriated the boy into jumping and stomping in outrage. Everyone burst out laughing, and the tense atmosphere was swept away entirely.
Gu Fei and Gu Lin had reached the Northern Dipper by constructing one formation platform after another in sequence. They had also divined the coordinates of the Heavenly Village, which meant they could retrace the original path back.
Everyone began the great withdrawal from the Northern Dipper, making their way forward, and arrived at the Heavenly Village without incident.
“We’ve finally come back!” Sighs of deep feeling passed through the crowd.
In the village, a group of children came running out to meet them, and many elders appeared excitedly at the entrance of the village — it was lively and joyous.
“There’s no telling what dangers await you on this journey — you must all take care!” Assassin-Saint Qi Luo urged.
The Purple Subtlety Star Domain was no simple place. It was steeped in legends and was considered an Emperor Star — the ancient Heavenly Court was thought to have taken up long residence there at some point. Even though Ye Fan and the others were powerful, they still needed to be cautious. Should they encounter figures or relics from unclear backgrounds or from the era of the Heavenly Court, it would be no surprise.
After all, this was a great age — the path to immortality was on the verge of opening, and all manner of extraordinary beings and things might emerge.
When all was settled, Ye Fan took the little chubby one in hand, brought Ye Tong, and set off together with Li Tian and Yan Yixi, standing upon a platform of divine light and heading toward the Purple Subtlety Ancient Star Domain.
“I hope we find Xiao Nannan soon…” Ye Fan had made up his mind. He would find her — no matter what difficulties arose, he would see it through to the end.
“I hope the ancient Heavenly Court really is in the Purple Subtlety Star Domain.” Li Tian was filled with eager anticipation, while Yan Yixi appeared considerably more composed.