The old woman was dressed very plainly, no different from an ordinary grandmother in a mountain village — utterly unremarkable in appearance.

Yet this one elderly figure had become the center of attention, drawing every gaze. The people of Yao Guang Holy Land regarded her as a great threat, not daring to act rashly.

The pyramid, forged from an unidentified metal, shimmered with a faint blue-green luster. Upon its surface, the sun, moon, and stars appeared, flowing out streams of clear radiance that surged toward the old woman like rippling water.

Yet it could not shake her in the slightest. The old woman stood completely still, unaffected, muttering to herself as she circled around the pyramid.

Hum!

The blue-green pyramid trembled, emitting a vibrating hum. Then brilliant light flooded the sky, and endless green enveloped the reddish-brown earth.

Everyone was stunned. The barren and Desolate land had completely transformed — boundless grass spread in every direction, teeming with life, with ancient thousand-year trees stretching across the landscape in unbroken groves.

An aura of primordial antiquity surged forth — vast and ancient, like the boundless cosmos, like the infinite starry sky. Ten thousand living creatures arrived in droves.

It was as though an ancient world had been resurrected. A thunderous roar shook the ears, and enormous creatures, like mountains, crushed everything in their path.

Many strange tribes appeared intermittently — lush earth, dense spiritual energy, powerful creatures — leaving everyone dazzled.

“Is this the Northern Domain from before the Great Antiquity? Brimming with life, all things flourishing — completely unlike it is now!”

One could clearly see the formation of Source. The heaven and earth’s Source energy was so dense it crystallized, transforming into Source.

Many powerful creatures died, and occasionally being enveloped by droplets of Source, they were sealed inside. At this moment, everyone finally understood why pre-ancient creatures had left behind severed fingers, skulls, and other remains.

“Heavens…”

Just then, everyone drew a sharp breath of cold air. They saw extraordinarily powerful humanoid creatures tearing apart mountains with their bare hands.

There were many varieties of humanoid creatures, each different from the last — some covered in scales, some bearing beast-like fur, some with imposing massive frames, others with slender elegant bodies, and still others beautiful as bright pearls and fine jade. All of them were tremendously powerful.

Within the dense ancient forests, one could occasionally see towering temples — enormous and magnificent, awe-inspiring to the soul.

Before each ancient temple stood different humanoid creatures as guardians, solemn and sacred.

The temples were all completely different — some resembling the Daoist observatories of the present age, some like celestial gateways, and even some like the pyramid before them.

“How interesting…” At that moment, the old woman’s voice carried out, heard clearly by everyone.

She swept her sleeve, and the brilliant light flooding the sky vanished. The vibrant life on the land was entirely withdrawn, the powerful creatures disappeared, and once again it became a lifeless wasteland. The clear radiance flowed back into the pyramid.

Swoosh!

The old woman stepped forward and walked directly into the pyramid. The luster on the blue-green tower dimmed once more, and then — silence.

Every person from Yao Guang Holy Land was shaken to the core. This old woman was unfathomably deep — they had no way to stop her, nor any ability to do so.

The Saintess of Yao Guang, like a holy lotus holding its petals, had a pure and luminous complexion. In this moment, her composure was rattled. What kind of person was this old woman? Her beautiful eyes had widened considerably.

Many veteran masters quickly surrounded the blue-green pyramid and waited quietly for the old woman to emerge.

Among the thousands of ordinary people present, many had been frightened beyond measure. The various scenes that had appeared moments ago made them half-believe they had entered another world entirely.

The pyramid trembled lightly, and the old woman stepped out — completely unhurried, as though she were simply crossing a bridge or stepping over a threshold, completely unhindered.

“It is indeed somewhat interesting…” The old woman said the same words again.

Yet in the ears of those around her, the meaning was entirely different.

Such a relic was obviously of priceless value to cultivators, yet she did not seem to care about it in any particular way.

“Senior, you are…” The Saintess of Yao Guang smiled before she even spoke — like an immortal flower in bloom, radiant yet graceful.

“I am just an ordinary old woman.” The old woman looked at Yao Xi, smiled kindly, and said, “Your fortune and destiny are no shallow thing.”

The Saintess of Yao Guang’s heart stirred, and she was about to say something — but the old woman had already turned to look at the others, sweeping her gaze one by one across the veterans of Yao Guang.

“I am taking it with me to see if there is anything special about it. I will return it to your Yao Guang Holy Land in the future,” the old woman said.

“Senior, you cannot…” Several veteran masters moved to stop her. This was something the Supreme Elder had stressed ten thousand times must be guarded — needless to say, it was surely of tremendous importance.

But they had no way to stop her.

The old woman reached out her hand toward the pyramid, a hundred meters tall, its surface shimmering with sun, moon, and stars, streaming with a faint luminous glow.

In almost an instant, the magnificent pyramid shrank down rapidly. A flash of blue-green light, and it was reduced to the size of an infant’s fist — like a bright pearl — revolving with luminous light in the old woman’s hand.

She had captured the blue tower in her palm with the most casual of gestures, and in that instant, the veteran masters swallowed back every word they had been about to say. They knew it was absolutely impossible to stop her.

Ye Fan had long since understood the old woman was unfathomably deep, yet he was still shaken in this moment. His heart grew uneasy, for she had — intentionally or not — swept her gaze in his direction.

The old woman slowly walked toward the distance. Her figure blurred rapidly and vanished into thin air almost in an instant, leaving no trace whatsoever.

After the old woman departed, Mining Area Fifteen fell into a great uproar. The cultivators of Yao Guang Holy Land broke into heated discussion — something so significant had occurred, and it had to be reported up the chain immediately.

“Let’s go. Get out of this cursed place!” This was the urgent thought pressing on Ye Fan’s mind.

Source emerged in the Northern Domain — he did not believe it could not be obtained elsewhere. Staying here, who knew what else they might dig up, and he might end up paying with his life.

Besides, Yao Xi was here, and the Holy Lord of Yao Guang was coming as well. Both of them had seen him — this place was extremely dangerous.

In the days prior, Ye Fan had already worked out how to leave. Every so often, people would go outside to purchase rice and grain and other supplies, and since the disciples of Yao Guang Holy Land were unwilling to deal with ordinary people, they would always bring along a few of the Source miners when venturing out.

He planned to blend into one of those groups. Once in the outside world — the sea was wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky high enough for birds to soar — he would be free of all constraints.

If not for the dao-runes that had been laid here, isolating it from the outside world, he would have fled long ago.

“Find a place to cultivate until the third or fourth secret realm, then come back to auction off the Saintess of Yao Guang’s chest garment…” Ye Fan’s wicked imagination ran away with him — though this was purely to motivate himself, of course.

Ever since being struck by the Immortal-Sealing Powder, more than a month had passed before the faintest traces of divine power began flowing through his body again, and his Wheel Sea slowly began to revive.

And in these past few days, while chiseling rock at the deepest part of the mine, he had finally made a gain — digging out several walnut-sized lumps of Source, all of which he refined and absorbed.

In the end, within the golden sea of bitterness, the green lotus swayed and trembled. A muffled rumble rose from within his body, and his divine power began to flow freely once more.

Ye Fan had not known what ordeal he had endured. Had the dosage of Immortal-Sealing Powder been sufficient, even a great master’s divine power could be sealed away to a dried-up state. If not for his special constitution, he would have been completely reduced to an ordinary person.

With his Wheel Sea unsealed and his cultivation restored, Ye Fan prepared to escape.

Of course, before leaving, he intended to accumulate more Source — but this spiritual treasure was too rare. An entire mine could barely yield a few catties. Moreover, Source was enveloped in a peculiar stone skin, completely impervious to a cultivator’s spiritual perception, making it impossible to probe for or excavate more.

“I really want to raid Yao Guang Holy Land’s Source vault.” Ye Fan could only wish for it. His strength fell far too short — he probably couldn’t break through such a place even without any guards.

Two days later, Ye Fan prepared to leave, planning to blend into a group of people going out to purchase supplies. But that very day, word arrived that the Holy Lord of Yao Guang would be arriving, and no one was permitted to enter or exit.

“Your grandfather — truly one setback after another. Nothing had better go wrong.” His heart gave a lurch.

Half an hour later, a world-shaking boom came from outside the Source area — the void itself had shattered!

The moment the Holy Lord of Yao Guang arrived with his entourage and the void cracked open, unparalleled experts had joined forces to launch a devastating strike, causing that section of void to collapse.

“Kill!”

Battle cries shook the heavens. Outside this Source area, brilliant light surged skyward. Spiritual treasures flew through the air, men and horses cried out, and an uncountable number of figures charged in.

“Peacock King!” The Holy Lord of Yao Guang’s voice was cold and detached. Shrouded in a hundred and eight streams of light, with countless worlds revolving around him, he descended like a divine king.

“Holy Lord of Yao Guang!” Opposite him, the Peacock King appeared just as always — like a graceful young man — yet his gaze was sharp and fierce, roaring enough to shake mountains and rivers.

“You abomination — you dare appear again? Today I will cut you down!” One of the elder figures behind the Holy Lord of Yao Guang bellowed.

“Indeed, someone needs to be cut down today — but that would be you!” The Azure Dragon King appeared, standing side by side with the Peacock King.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook. A fierce great battle erupted. The dao-runes surrounding the Source area were torn apart, and many cultivators surged inside.

“The Fourth Great Bandit and the Seventh Great Bandit have arrived!” The cultivators of Yao Guang Holy Land fell into a panic.

The entire Source area boiled into complete chaos.

Ye Fan was stunned. From the shouts of those around him, he learned that the Azure Dragon King was actually ranked the Fourth Great Bandit of the Northern Domain, while the Seventh Great Bandit was a powerful individual named Tu Tian. Two great bandits, along with the Peacock King — they had actually set an ambush for the Holy Lord of Yao Guang.

The powerful fighters under the two great bandits had already broken through and charged in, engaging the Yao Guang cultivators inside in a great battle.

If he couldn’t take advantage of this chaos to grab something, Ye Fan felt he would truly be doing himself a disservice.

The Source vault — he didn’t even think about it. He certainly couldn’t break it open, and it was surely the primary target of the forces under the two great bandits. He headed straight for a stone tower in Mining Area Fifteen, where recently collected Source had been stockpiled.

Battle cries shook the sky. No one had any attention to spare for this place — after all, compared to the Source vault, this was nothing.

The stone tower was no more than ten meters tall, but it was extraordinarily solid. Ye Fan pushed at the stone door several times without moving it at all.

“There are restrictions here too…” Without another word, he raised his fists and smashed.

Boom!

The stone tower shook. On the fifth punch, he finally broke the stone door open — thankfully there were no complex restrictions within.

Brilliant light filled his vision ahead. Ye Fan immediately narrowed his eyes. Piece after piece of Source was arrayed on jade shelves, glittering and radiating light in every color of the spectrum — adding it all together, there was easily several dozen catties.

All the Source collected over these days was right here — it hadn’t been transported away yet. It was dazzling, shining in five colors.

“So much… the total collected from over twenty Source mines!” Ye Fan’s heart surged with excitement. This much Source meant he could advance his strength — to him, it was a priceless treasure beyond any price.

He summoned his Jade Clarity Vase and collected every piece inside.

“Brother, who are you? Your hands are quick — you even beat me here.” A voice came from outside the stone tower. A young man of about twenty stared at him in surprise.

“I’m just an opportunist passing through. The real professionals are out there fighting the Yao Guang Holy Land people,” Ye Fan answered casually.

“I am one of the professionals you’re talking about. I didn’t expect someone to get here ahead of me — you’re even faster than I am.”

Ye Fan was at a loss for words. The young man before him was of average build — not particularly handsome — but his eyes were exceptionally bright, almost exactly what legends described as the “gleam of a thief.”

“I heard Mining Area Fifteen had some strange happenings and might yield some exceptional Source, so I specifically came here instead of going for the Source vault.” The young man’s eyes grew even brighter — one could truly call it a thief’s radiance blazing in all directions. “By the rules of our trade, since I arrived in time, you have to split a quarter of it with me.”

Who said I’m in the same trade as you? I’m not a professional. Ye Fan had half a mind to say it, but he sensed this young man was no ordinary person, and he had no desire for a fight here. “There’s nothing particularly special in there — if you don’t believe me, look for yourself.” He summoned the Jade Clarity Vase, and a cluster of Source blocks floated out.

“If there’s nothing special, forget it.” The young man was quite disappointed and waved his hand.

The two of them stepped out of the stone tower. Ye Fan was about to leave when the young man suddenly grabbed his arm. “Wait — you have something on you. Why do I sense a familiar smell?”

“I really am not a professional. There’s nothing special on me.”

“No — this is… the aura of the Saintess of Yao Guang!” The young man’s eyes blazed like brilliant pearls as he fixed his gaze on Ye Fan. “Brother, you are no simple person — your hands are more nimble than mine. You even managed to steal something from the Saintess of Yao Guang.”

“I… am genuinely not a professional. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have approached the Saintess of Yao Guang at close range before. Outstanding individuals in our trade have perfect recall — that is her aura, no question about it.” The young man bore no hostility toward Ye Fan and was immediately familiar with him, as though they were old friends. “Take it out and let me have a look, brother.”

Ye Fan guessed it must be the Saintess of Yao Guang’s chest garment, and he summoned the Jade Clarity Vase and tucked it back inside.

“Heavens — my immortal eyes have gone blind!” The young man had seen it perfectly clearly and cried out on the spot. “I said you were something, brother — truly something. When did our trade produce a talent like you? I admire you to death, brother. This is the thing I’ve dreamed of doing.”

“I am truly not in the same trade as you. I came by this item by pure chance.” Ye Fan felt that walking alongside this fellow was far too dangerous. If he attracted Yao Xi’s attention, the trouble would be enormous — he very much wanted to shake him off.

“I admire you deeply. In our trade, we believe in ‘chance acquisition by a deft hand’ — nothing too deliberate about it.”

This sort of thing… also involves ‘chance acquisition by a deft hand’?! Ye Fan was genuinely at a loss.

“An act of such difficulty is beyond ordinary people,” the young man remarked admiringly. “My grandfather was a hero all his life and died with a single lifelong regret.”

“Who are you? Who is your grandfather? What lifelong regret?” Ye Fan felt this young man’s background must be anything but ordinary.

“My grandfather is Tu Tian, the Seventh Great Bandit. He roamed freely throughout the Northern Domain and could steal anything he laid his hands on. His greatest regret in life was that he never managed to steal a Saintess as his wife.”

Ye Fan was astonished. The grandson of the Seventh Great Bandit — quite a remarkable background indeed.

“My name is Tu Fei. To fulfill my grandfather’s one great wish, I have vowed to steal a Saintess as my wife.”

Ye Fan truly didn’t know what to say. Seizing Saintesses from the great Holy Lands as wives — who could come up with such a thing.

“The Saintess of Yao Guang is over there. Come on, let’s take a look and find an opportunity to make a move and take her down.” Tu Fei’s eyes shot out two beams of light as he gazed toward the sky.

At this moment, battle cries filled the sky, and fighting raged on all sides.

Right ahead, Yao Xi — her skin like immortal jade — was as a thin cloud veiling a bright moon, as a jade sea cradling a luminous pearl: beauty at its absolute peak. Her long skirts billowed, dancing on the heavenly wind, as she fought the horde of raiders.

Ye Fan tore himself free in an instant. He could sense that staying alongside this fellow was bound to lead to a tremendous disaster. With the battle raging on all sides, this was the perfect moment for him to leave.

Tu Fei leaped into the sky and bellowed, “Yao Xi! Did you lose something? A genius in our trade got to it first!”

Ye Fan stumbled and nearly fell face-first. This foul-mouthed, reckless loudmouth — truly without any filter on his words. Wasn’t he just inviting catastrophe down upon him?