For the first seven days, Ye Fan’s entire being was radiant with flowing light. Life energy surged like a vast ocean. Within the Wheel Sea, extraordinary visions appeared in succession, emitting all manner of sounds.
After this continued for seven days, the brilliance gradually receded. The entire cave grew somewhat dim. No more luster remained on the surface of Ye Fan’s body — he was like dead wood, life energy hidden within, no longer flowing outward.
On the eighth day, his body shriveled. Compared to its previous crystalline and luminous appearance, it now resembled a piece of rotten cloth.
On the ninth day, his five viscera and six organs ceased functioning. Compared to the vitality he had known before, he was now as dead as ash.
On the tenth day, his bones turned a dull grey — no longer snowy white and clean — as if they were about to decay, unable to endure much longer.
This was the transformation of the Other Shore realm.
Upon reaching the Other Shore, a cultivator’s flesh, organs, and bones would all become Desolate — after which a different kind of rebirth would occur. One would undergo nine cycles of blood replacement and bone transformation to complete the metamorphosis.
However, it was quite evident that Ye Fan’s situation was a little different. He was advancing step by step — not beginning the transformation only after reaching the absolute pinnacle of the Other Shore. His nine cycles of transformation were being carried out separately. What was occurring now was only the first transformation — not consecutive cycles of extinction and rebirth.
Ye Fan’s entire being seemed to be returning to dust — approaching annihilation, as though his life had reached its end.
Until the eleventh day, when he was like vegetation that had endured the dead of winter and once again burst with life, surging with towering vitality.
Brilliant light filled the cave. The essence of life pervaded the space. Within Ye Fan’s body, the vital blood was reborn — rushing like a great river, the sound so loud it could be heard from quite a distance.
His heart beat with powerful force — like a war drum being struck, thudding with sound. Any ordinary person who saw it would surely be shocked. His five viscera and six organs resonated together — like the clang and ring of music. His bones too were constantly reverberating, the dull grey retreating entirely, leaving them snowy white as jade, each translucent, while they trembled continuously.
Old injuries that had been sustained previously — whether to the skin, the organs, or the bones — had already been repaired long ago, but this rebirth of the body was a renewed baptism.
The entire body — without dust, without impurity — was completely reborn. This transformation lasted several days before Ye Fan fully awakened, divine power surging within him.
This time did not quite count as a complete renewal of body and bones — yet his constitution had significantly improved, and his body had grown considerably stronger.
“Eight more transformations remain. If they continue to the very last, stacked together, it should be comparable to a single complete renewal of body and bones.”
Two times consuming a sacred fruit, once tempering his body with the sacred heart’s vital blood of the Great Emperor of the demon clan — three complete renewals of body and bones in total. He felt that the nine transformations of the Other Shore, taken all together, might be equivalent to a single renewal of body and bones.
Ye Fan discovered he had consumed nine catties of Source — which greatly alarmed him. The consumption was so enormous it exceeded his expectations. He had originally thought that this much Source would be enough to bring him through the great completion of the Other Shore realm and into the Dao Palace’s secret realm.
“Calculated this way, even several dozen catties of Source cannot sustain me through all nine transformations. I must continue searching for Source.”
The fact that more Source was consumed also indicated the transformation had been thorough — the improvement in his constitution had been considerable. Even so, this was still astounding, far exceeding an ordinary cultivator.
“This is a form of extravagant squandering…” He couldn’t help but reflect that had he not come to the Northern Domain, he would have had a difficult time resolving this dilemma.
In the days that followed, Ye Fan remained in secluded cultivation, not venturing outside. His Jade Clarity Vase contained ample food and water — no cause for worry.
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by. Ye Fan had undergone six transformations and consumed all of his Source.
The six transformations had made him considerably stronger, and the Wheel Sea had become different as well.
Within the cave, Ye Fan sat still as a mountain. Electric arcs coiled about his body, the green lotus was at his side, an azure sky appeared above his head, and he sat in the midst of the golden sea.
This was not a true extraordinary phenomenon — this was only the further evolution of the Wheel Sea breaking free of the confines of the flesh and manifesting outwardly as reality.
That green lotus — as though the Dao had given rise to one — still bore only three leaves, as if three had given rise to ten thousand things. It swayed gently, with hazy misty chaos enveloping Ye Fan within.
That expanse of azure sky was bright and clear as a gemstone. Beneath it, electric dragons swam and moved, weaving together into countless streaks of lightning — like the primordial cataclysmic lightning that opened heaven and earth, evolved and arriving here.
The golden sea heaved and surged, yet Ye Fan was like a great stone — utterly still — letting the tides rise and fall and wash all around him.
It was a wondrous sight. At first, the roar of the tides and the crack of the lightning were deafening. Then everything grew still, becoming a picture of quiet harmony.
Not a true extraordinary phenomenon — yet comparable to one. It surrounded him, making him feel as though he stood within a strange and wondrous realm.
In this moment, Ye Fan was without ripple or wave, his pulse united with that of heaven and earth. Within the stillness there resided a wondrous, immense power.
Much later, he finally opened his eyes. The green lotus, azure sky, lightning, and golden sea all withdrew inward and vanished.
The situation Ye Fan now faced was that he absolutely had to go and search for Source. His body was like a bottomless pit — no amount of Source seemed enough.
By now, he deeply envied the disciples of the Holy Lands — they had the most powerful ancient scriptures, had inexhaustible precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and needed only to cultivate diligently.
Whereas he had to devise all manner of schemes to obtain cultivation methods, and still had to mine for Source himself. All for the sake of a single secret technique, he had been hunted down to the Northern Domain, narrowly escaping death multiple times.
Boom boom boom!
Ye Fan used the Golden Scripture to split open the earth and search for Source veins, having nearly turned the entire surrounding region upside down. Large cracks ran through the earth everywhere, shattered soil and rock strewn all about.
It was not until the fourth day that he finally found a single rock vein — the kind that encased Source. But after fully excavating it, he was deeply disappointed. All told, it yielded barely half a catty of Source — a truly low figure.
Half a month later, Ye Fan had obtained just over one catty of Source. This made him fully understand that the Source areas controlled by the Holy Lands were the finest territories available. Compared to them, everywhere else was extremely barren.
This way of going about it was no solution. He had to think of something else.
When Ye Fan returned to his dwelling — the cave in the stone mountain — he suddenly discovered a group of people, about a dozen in number: one old man and the rest young and able-bodied adults, all circling and examining the stone mountain.
“Alas, Chen Big-Beard is too brazen — truly bullying us beyond endurance. If we can’t deliver five catties of Source, he’ll wipe out everyone in our village — the old and the young alike.”
“There’s nothing we can do. The strongest person in our village is only at the Life Spring realm. How can we resist them? They’re a group of powerful raiders.”
“The deadline is close. If we can’t find Source in time, our village is truly in danger.”
“Elder Zhang, you’ve walked a full circle around this stone mountain. Is there any Source here or not?” A very honest-looking young man asked.
“This stone mountain definitely contains Source inside — and it must be a rich deposit. Unfortunately, it’s a stone mountain three hundred meters tall. Our strength isn’t enough to mine it.” The white-haired elder called Elder Zhang sighed.
Ye Fan had lived in this spot for over two months and hadn’t even known there was Source nearby. This man had walked a single circuit and confirmed it — which gave Ye Fan’s heart a stir.
“Let’s go — we’ll look elsewhere.” Elder Zhang sighed. “We’ve been mining Source for years, and all the places nearby have been picked clean. Getting enough in time will be very difficult, it seems. I don’t know if we can make it.”
A dozen riders turned their horses and rode away into the distance.
A short while later, Ye Fan flew out and stood atop the stone mountain. He summoned the Golden Scripture and slashed in all directions.
Soil and rock flew in all directions. Before long, he had sheared off over ten meters from the peak — and indeed, a Source vein appeared.
He set to work excavating it, digging out a full two catties of Source — which, for this region, was genuinely a rich deposit.
“That old man had eyes sharp as lightning — he could truly see it!” Ye Fan was somewhat astonished.
The sound of hoofbeats rang out. Elder Zhang and the dozen-odd young adults had turned back — they had heard the commotion behind them and returned.
Seeing the top of the stone mountain sheared away, with a young man of fourteen or fifteen standing atop it, everyone was greatly startled.
“Young friend — no, young immortal — this old one pays his respects.” The white-haired Elder Zhang dismounted and gave a deep bow.
The other young adults, seeing this, quickly dismounted and bowed as well.
“Elder, there is no need for such formality.” Ye Fan answered from above.
Among the dozen-odd people, the most quick-witted was a half-grown youth of seventeen or eighteen. Seeing Elder Zhang act this way, he immediately understood what was happening and hurriedly knelt down. “Young immortal, please save us — help us, we truly have no way out.”
The others also came to their senses, kneeling down one after another. “Chen Big-Beard is going to kill everyone in our village. Young immortal, please save us!”
A young man named Er Lengzi was knocking his head so hard against the ground that his forehead was bleeding. “Young friend, please save us — my sister was taken by them, and surely she’ll have no good end. And now, for the sake of Source, they want to kill everyone in our village…” He wept and sobbed bitterly.
Elder Zhang also knelt, his white-haired head striking the ground. He sighed, “Young immortal, please save us. We truly have no way out — we have no way to gather five catties of Source in such a short time. Those brutes have declared that if we don’t have enough, they’ll kill all the men in our village and take the women away.”
Ye Fan had no desire to stir up trouble — but he could never stand by and watch the weak be bullied. It was in his nature, and he found it impossible to turn away coldly.
“Elder, please rise.” He descended to the ground and helped up the old man whose forehead was bleeding, then asked, “What kind of people are they?”
“A group of raiders — without any virtues. They don’t have the principles of the Thirteen Great Bandits. They only bully the weak.”
“Raiders like this are plentiful, but villains of their particular cruelty are rare.”
…
The group spoke all at once, seven mouths and eight tongues together explaining the full story from beginning to end.
This group of raiders had no fixed base — they roved about, plundering Source, killing at will, abusing young women, every manner of evil.
From their descriptions, these raiders included cultivators at the Divine Bridge realm. Although there were cultivators in the village, they were no match.
Ye Fan’s thoughts turned over quickly. These raiders roved about pillaging everywhere — their hands must have Source. He could very well become a lone outlaw himself, specifically targeting these raiders.
“Elder, let me ask you — are raiders like this common?”
“Very common. Like locusts — one group passes and another arrives. It’s like this everywhere in the Northern Domain. Exceedingly lawless.”
This was also the reason why even a small village had cultivators among them. Without armed protection, their situation would be precarious.
Ye Fan’s eyes brightened. He felt the difficulty before him had been completely resolved. He nodded straightforwardly first and said, “Elder Zhang, I’ll go back with you.”
“Many thanks to the young immortal.” The group was overwhelmed with gratitude and bowed deeply once more.
“There’s no need for this — please don’t.” Ye Fan quickly stopped them.
Along the way, Ye Fan asked Elder Zhang how he had been able to see that the stone mountain contained Source.
“That stone mountain’s bearing was deep and condensed. Its peak bore scales, its waist was as though wrapped in stone vines, and furthermore…” Elder Zhang went on at length before finally saying, “All these signs indicated it was an inwardly restrained stone-heart Source.”
Ye Fan was dumbfounded. Searching for Source was this complex? According to what the old man said, even the movement of the sun, moon, and stars and the changing colors of the ground had to be taken into account.
“So intricate…” Ye Fan was quite astonished.
“This is merely the most elementary method.” Elder Zhang shook his head. “Searching for Source is truly profound and far-reaching. It requires observing the terrain and landscape, understanding the flow of underground hidden veins, and at times corresponding it all with the stars in the sky…”
Ye Fan couldn’t help but be impressed. The principles behind searching for Source were this extensive — truly vast and deep.
“Is all of this really true?”
“Naturally it’s true. Elder Zhang is the most renowned Source Seeker in our entire region.”
“Elder Zhang’s ability to locate Source is precise and rarely mistaken.”
Elder Zhang shook his head, however. “What our ancestors passed down — I have only learned the surface of it. This branch of knowledge is on the verge of being completely lost.”
“Elder Zhang’s ancestors were Source Celestial Masters, who could find the dragon veins of Source and hold a supreme divine Source in place so it could not escape.” Er Lengzi interjected.
“Source Celestial Masters… and a supreme divine Source can actually escape?” Ye Fan was greatly astonished.
“Divine Source has life — it gestates within the dragon vein of Source. Even when people happen to discover it, they can rarely catch it.” A middle-aged man beside him added.
Elder Zhang shook his head. “According to what my ancestors said, it is not actually that divine Source has life — rather, it is that the creature sealed inside still has life.”
“What?!” Ye Fan was even more startled. An ordinary person who understood divine Source this well —
“According to my ancestor’s deductions, those creatures are extremely powerful. Even the strongest cultivators of the present day would likely be no match for them.” Elder Zhang spoke of the past with nothing to hide. “My ancestor once personally witnessed an ancient being walk out from a supreme divine Source, let out a piercing howl, and collapse an entire mountain range.”
Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart, his imagination running wild. The Northern Domain was truly mysterious — this vast land held far too many “ancient events.” Though life on the surface had been extinguished, underground, those “ancient events” had not concluded — they had merely been sealed away.
“How much did your ancestors understand about those ‘ancient creatures’?” Ye Fan asked.
“Not a great deal.” Elder Zhang shook his head. “According to what my ancestors left behind, those mysterious creatures are a taboo-like existence in the Northern Domain. It is best not to keep mentioning them — otherwise, inauspicious things easily occur.”
“Your ancestors were Source Celestial Masters — their status must have been quite extraordinary, to have known such secrets…”
“Source Celestial Master is a title. In the distant past of the Northern Domain, there were very few who held it, and now such figures no longer exist at all.” The middle-aged man beside them seemed somewhat moved.
Hiss!
Ye Fan drew a sharp breath of cold air. He didn’t know much about the Northern Domain, but it was evident the Source Celestial Masters had a formidable background — surely no ordinary people, nothing as simple as that.
“In the Northern Domain, there is a sacred place known as the Jade Pool — and they once formally invited Elder Zhang’s ancestor to visit as a guest.” Er Lengzi interjected.
“What?!” Ye Fan was shocked.
Invited as a guest to the Jade Pool Holy Land — viewed in this light, the Source Celestial Masters had clearly been figures of transcendent and sacred stature. Those who could find the dragon vein of Source and hold divine Source in place — it was surely beyond imagining.
“Did the Jade Pool people ever come to your village afterward?” Ye Fan asked.
“They came once, five hundred years ago — but unfortunately, the Book of the Source Celestial had already been lost for over a thousand years by then. Later descendants had only learned its surface and were unable to be of any help to them.” Elder Zhang shook his head.
“Your ancestor must have been a truly extraordinary remarkable figure. Did he end his days in peaceful old age in this village?” Ye Fan felt the Source Celestial Master had been a being of transcendence and sacredness, unfathomable to ordinary understanding — which prompted this question.
“Alas!” Elder Zhang drew a long sigh. “A Source Celestial Master who understood the secrets of Source too deeply… inauspicious things were bound to befall them…”