Ye Fan bore wounds inflicted by the Great Dao, and had at most half a year of life remaining. Even having broken the curse and commanding authority over the younger generation, he was naturally no longer a target worth drawing into any alliance.

“Regarding the marriage alliance…” The peerless Divine King sat in the seat of honor, his hair as white as snow, his eyes somewhat dimmed — yet his bearing remained noble and undiminished. It was impossible to tell the true state of his health.

The Patriarch of the Wind Clan, Feng Jingyun, sat below — composed and unmoved, his dark hair loose around his shoulders, his eyes deep and penetrating, carrying an unspoken authority. Even before the Divine King, he was far from overly deferential.

“That child Feng Huang is far too willful. She refuses to agree, no matter what — we have no choice in the matter. She’s been spoiled by us.”

“I understand,” the white-robed Divine King said with a nod. He then gave a light cough, and a white handkerchief was stained with thin threads of blood — vivid and startling.

“Alas — no one could have anticipated things turning out this way,” said the Patriarch of the Wind Clan, Feng Jingyun.

“This cannot be blamed on your clan. Ye Fan and I are alike — both in a precarious state, living day to day with no future to speak of. Were he to become betrothed to the Wind Clan’s jewel, it would be truly unsuitable,” the white-robed Divine King said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. His expression carried a trace of desolation.

The white-robed Divine King — who had endured in this world for five thousand years, whose Battle Saint Technique had made every great power in the realm submit in awe. He had personally stepped forward to bring about this alliance between their two clans, and yet in the end, it had all come to nothing.

Though it was a loss of face, the Divine King did not dwell on it. Reality was what it was — dwelling on it would only bring further humiliation. Better to let it go entirely, as though nothing had ever happened.

Having ultimately declined the peerless Divine King, Feng Jingyun, Patriarch of the Wind Clan, felt a degree of anxiety in his heart. Though he had shifted the blame onto Feng Huang’s willfulness, who could truly fail to see through such an excuse?

“Greetings, Divine King!” Ye Fan had watched all of this unfold and now entered, offering a deep bow of formal salutation. He then turned and offered a bow of greeting to the Patriarch of the Wind Clan as well.

Feng Jingyun felt some of the tension ease from his chest. Welcoming the change of subject, he looked toward Ye Fan and said, “Heaven never seals off every road. There will certainly be a way to resolve this — you must not despair.”

Ye Fan smiled — warm and radiant. The knot in his heart had long since come undone, and his spirits had lifted. He flashed his gleaming white teeth. “The heavens may be coming for me, but I truly am not ready to go. I will not let them have their way.”

“Good!” The peerless Divine King nodded in approval.

The Patriarch of the Wind Clan smiled. “That is exactly the spirit a young person should have — full of vitality and drive. I believe your future holds far more than this. If you could break a curse tens of thousands of years old, can anything be more difficult than that?”

These were, naturally, courteous words for the occasion. At this point, words of encouragement were all he could offer. As for a betrothal — that was out of the question. And fortunately, nothing had ever been formally decided before, so there was no breach of any promise to speak of now.

Ye Fan smiled and expressed his thanks, then formally bid farewell to the Divine King, stating his intention to journey far from this place.

“Wait two more days before you go. The child with the Extreme Yin constitution has been clamoring to come see you — she will arrive tomorrow,” the Divine King said.

Little Tingting was coming. Ye Fan nodded his agreement.

“The immortality divine herb is the most sacred of remedies for healing — every Great Emperor cultivated at least one variety. They are the rarest treasures in all the world. If one could be obtained, it would certainly do great things for your injured body. The only thing lacking is an ancient primordial land,” the peerless Divine King said.

This was the conclusion he had reached after many days of reflection. For the wounds left by the Great Dao to heal within Ye Fan’s body, he would need to be nurtured by the immortality divine herb within an ancient primordial land — only then could he fully recover.

“An ancient primordial land…” The Patriarch of the Wind Clan was greatly startled.

“Throughout the vast Eastern Desolation, there are only seven places that still preserve the laws and forces of the ancient primordial world — places capable of nourishing a Holy Body,” the white-robed Divine King said.

“Could those be the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones?!” The Patriarch of the Wind Clan was stunned, his expression filled with shock.

“Regrettably, save for a Great Emperor, no one can survive within those forbidden zones for even a few months,” the peerless Divine King said with a sigh.

The Holy Body was the cherished child of heaven and earth from before the ancient era. In those times, the laws and principles of the Great Dao had not yet changed — an environment very suited to their growth. According to the Divine King’s inference, only within such a region, with the immortality divine herb to sustain him, could Ye Fan recover.

Ye Fan’s mind suddenly opened with clarity. He clenched his fist. His fate was at last in his own hands — there was a chance to fight for it, rather than simply resigning himself to the will of heaven.

When he stepped out of the great hall, he came across Feng Lie and a group of others. These people all looked at him with strange expressions. One young woman of considerable beauty smiled lightly and said, “I’ll go tell my lady — we’ve finally sent him on his way.”

Ye Fan heard those words, turned, and looked at her. “We never had anything between us. What need is there for this?”

“Of course not — there couldn’t possibly be anything between you. Hmph!” This girl was one of Feng Huang’s handmaidens — she and Feng Lie and over a dozen others had all been suppressed by Ye Fan once before.

Beside her, someone gave a cold snort. “Three million jin of divine source — even thrown into water, you’d hear the splash. And what did it all amount to? Just a ceramic man with half a year left to breathe. What a lavish squandering of resources.”

“Exactly — what a waste. An astronomical sum like that, and it only produced something this fragile, with barely a year to live. What an extravagant and pointless expenditure.”

“A constitution like this is simply defective. In the end it all came to nothing — and caused our clan to lose so many divine source stones in the process.”

The dozen or so young men and women — cousins and sisters of Feng Huang on both sides — some of whom had been suppressed by Ye Fan before, now saw him fallen to such a state and cut loose with cold remarks one after another.

Ye Fan swept his gaze over them. “Since you’ve brought it up — three million jin of divine source is indeed no small sum. If I do not die, I will personally come to the Wind Clan and repay every last bit of it.”

“Young man, saying such things makes me lose face — don’t bring this up again!” Feng Jingyun, Patriarch of the Wind Clan, stepped out. His expression darkened as he reprimanded the young people sternly. “What terrible manners — the moment you return to the clan, every one of you is going into closed-door cultivation.”

These young people all feared the Patriarch greatly. Every head went down; not another word was spoken. Only after Feng Jingyun had gone did they raise their heads again.

Someone muttered under their breath: “Fine words — but he’s practically dead. How is he going to pay anything back?”

“Exactly — he’ll be a rotting corpse in less than half a year. What does paying back have to do with anything?”

Ye Fan couldn’t be bothered to squabble with them. He only let a faint smile touch the corner of his mouth. “I will live ten thousand years — and by then, the sacred lands will probably all be having headaches over how long I’ve managed to survive.”

Not far away, a graceful silhouette came gliding through the air — Feng Huang, draped in five-colored cloud robes, the renowned jewel of the Wind Clan. Her slender jade form was wreathed in shimmering colored light, dazzling and breathtaking.

The legendary face of absolute celestial beauty was hidden behind a five-colored phoenix mask — clearly a precious artifact, impossible to see through, glittering with flowing radiance.

“My lady, I was just about to come tell you the good news,” the handmaiden from moments ago said with a smile.

Feng Huang remained as aloof as ever — as though she stood atop clouds, her small, crystalline white chin tilted up, her gaze sweeping Ye Fan with a cool, brief glance. “Take care of yourself,” she said.

Ye Fan just smiled and said nothing, then turned and walked away.

If he did not die, he would perhaps truly see these people again very soon. The Wind Clan was located in the central region of the Eastern Desolation, and one of the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones — the Mountain of Deathlessness — lay within that same territory. Once he had resolved his own situation, he would certainly need to pay that place a visit.

That evening, Ye Fan made it clear: he would go in search of the immortality divine herb and make one desperate, heaven-defying gamble.

Pang Bo was firmly opposed. He believed it was far too dangerous — a nine-in-ten chance of death — and insisted on obtaining the Green Emperor’s heart instead to extend Ye Fan’s life.

But Ye Fan’s mind was made up. Nothing could change it.

With things as they were, objections were useless. The group began to discuss and deliberate over which destination would be most suitable.

“Actually, there is an immortality divine herb inside the Purple Mountain — personally cultivated by the Great Emperor Wushi. What a pity it’s become inaccessible now,” the Black Emperor said with frustration, having spent an entire day cursing about it. It could not fathom why such a thing had happened.

“How does this wretched dog know so much? Could it actually have come from inside there?” Li Heishui voiced his suspicion.

“Could it be… that the world has begun to change again?” The great black dog’s eyes burned with intensity as it looked up at the sky, breaking into a foolish grin — ignoring the suspicious looks the others were giving it entirely.

For now, no one had time for such matters. The discussion continued over which destination to choose.

Li Heishui was adamant — the Seven Great Life Forbidden Zones were absolutely out of the question. Ancient sages and immortals had gone in and never come out. It was simply impossible to remain there for several months to heal.

Tu Fei thought the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest was worth considering. He had witnessed with his own eyes that a true dragon divine herb grew there — and beyond that place, such a thing could barely be found anywhere else in the world.

“The truth is, I made up my mind long ago. You’ve all assumed I was gathering divine source stone skin to enter the Purple Mountain — that’s not it at all.”

Ye Fan spread open a rough map of the Eastern Desolation and pointed to one end of it. “I am going here.”

“No — absolutely not. That place must not be entered. It is far too dangerous.”

“Even if several sacred lands attacked it together, they couldn’t make a single ripple. It is a true dead end in every sense of the word. No one who enters has ever come out alive.”

Tu Fei and Li Heishui were both fiercely opposed.

The following day, little Tingting arrived with the Jiang Family, having crossed through the void. She wore a purple dress, delicate and exquisitely crafted — like a fine porcelain doll. But her large eyes were brimming with tears.

The moment she saw Ye Fan, she rushed to him. “Big Brother…”

She already knew everything that had happened to him. She was heartbroken beyond measure, tears streaming down without end, soaking the front of his robe, her large eyes red from crying.

“Big Brother, please don’t let anything happen to you,” she sobbed and wept, overcome with sorrow.

“Tingting, be good — don’t cry. Nothing is going to happen to me,” Ye Fan crouched down and gently comforted her.

“Big Brother — Tingting has Extreme Yin true blood. I read it in an ancient text — it can save a person’s life…” Little Tingting wiped at her tears, still hiccuping with sobs, and made to cut open her small white wrist to release the Extreme Yin true blood.

Ye Fan quickly stopped her. He flicked her lightly on the nose and laughed. “Rest easy — before long, I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Really?” Little Tingting’s long eyelashes were hung with glistening teardrops, and her small face was written over with disbelief.

“When have I ever lied to you? No more crying — at this rate you’re going to look like a little tabby cat.” Ye Fan wiped away her tears, patted her head, and smiled.

“Then when will I be able to see you again?” Little Tingting still didn’t believe him. Every time her large eyes blinked, another pearl of a tear would roll down.

“It won’t be too long,” Ye Fan said. At that, the Myriad Mother-Qi Cauldron materialized and hovered above his head, sending down ten thousand strands of profound yellow energy — drifting like gossamer threads in a hazy mist.

“Hiss!”

Everyone present drew a sharp breath. Many people surged forward instinctively — and had the peerless Divine King not been present, a bloody confrontation would have been unavoidable.

“Oh!” Even little Tingting was startled.

“Do you like it?” Ye Fan asked her. He then rose to his full height, faced the people of the Jiang Family, and said, “I am lending this cauldron to little Tingting for now.”

Everyone understood his meaning. His life and death were uncertain. If he did not return, the cauldron would be a gift for the little princess of the Jiang Clan. If he did manage to come back to life, he would reclaim it in the future.

No one believed he could truly be reborn and return. The eyes of every powerful figure present were blazing with hunger — and he was simply giving away a heaven-defying sacred artifact, just like that. Blessing the Jiang Clan’s little princess was the same as blessing the Jiang Family itself.

He had originally intended to leave the cauldron to Pang Bo, but feared it would bring calamity down upon him. He had experienced far too much to make such a mistake. The sacred lands had hunted him largely because of the Myriad Mother-Qi Cauldron — he had no desire to see Pang Bo follow the same path. Instead, he quietly gave Pang Bo the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold.

It was likewise a peerless sacred artifact, but no one knew of its existence — it would not draw misfortune to Pang Bo.

“I’ll hold onto it for you,” Pang Bo said when he received it. “When the time comes, we’ll forge the ultimate pinnacle weapon — the more kinds of sacred material, the better.”

Entrusting the cauldron to little Tingting, with the Jiang Family as its guardian, meant no one needed to worry about outside covetousness. It also allowed Ye Fan to be completely unburdened — when his strength was sufficient, he could simply take it back.

With his remaining life so short, he was giving away his greatest treasure. The powerful factions no longer had any reason to keep their eyes fixed on him — it was as though a deadlock had been broken open, the shackles cast off.

Quite a few of the Wind Clan’s younger members were unhappy, feeling that Ye Fan was playing favorites and had given no thought to the Wind Clan — they had been completely overlooked.

“Actually, you still have a chance to live. As long as you sever your cultivation at the Four Extremes realm, your injuries may not be cured — but they won’t deteriorate further either.”

An eminent physician of the Eastern Desolation said this — summoned by the peerless Divine King. His cultivation was at the Sage Lord level, and his medical skill was among the rarest in the world.

“Is that so? Then I will certainly choose to keep living,” Ye Fan said with a smile. In truth, should this distant journey yield a future for him, this explanation would serve as a very useful cover.

The Divine King departed — silently and without a trace. No one knew where he had gone. Along with him, little Tingting vanished, and so did the Myriad Mother-Qi Cauldron.

He did not return to the Jiang Family — leaving the world with one great unanswered question.

Everyone had already surmised that his life was running out and he could not survive much longer. But why had he taken the little girl away with him?

Some speculated that this was the Divine King’s final act of deterrence — deliberately leaving behind an unsolved mystery, so that no one could know his fate.

Without a definitive answer, it was like a sword that had not yet fallen — leaving everyone with hearts perpetually suspended in unease. This was the power of an unspoken threat.

As Ye Fan prepared to leave, he walked through every corner of the Divine City one last time. Wherever he passed, the younger generation was consumed with fearful wariness, dreading that he would launch one final rampage.

“The Holy Body is here — run! He has no way left to survive anyway. He’ll probably go on a rampage and start slaughtering Holy Son-level figures.”

“Move fast — best to leave the Divine City entirely. Don’t you see? The Holy Maidens and Holy Sons have all fled — not a single one of them is anywhere to be seen.”

“Apparently, even the Golden-Winged Xiaopeng King has left and returned to the central region of the Eastern Desolation.”

“Feng Huang and her group left too — they’ve also gone back to the central region.”

……

Wherever Ye Fan passed, it was as though the streets had gone silent. Everyone feared he might challenge them in these final days of his life, and no one dared stand in his path — all retreated.

And yet, everyone guessed wrong. Ye Fan did not challenge a single person.

When the Black Emperor had finished carving an extraordinarily complex and profound spatial gateway formation, Ye Fan made his choice — he bade the Divine City farewell and departed.

The demon Yue Kong, the Holy Maiden of Jade Pool, the Great Xia Imperial Prince, the little white-robed nun, and others came to see him off, followed by several more who arrived in turn.

Among the crowd, Ye Fan caught sight of An Miaoyi. She was peerless in grace, untouched by the dust of the mortal world, gazing quietly at him with clear, calm eyes.

“Whoosh!”

Ye Fan raised his hand and offered up the “Immortal Exquisite” — casting it toward An Miaoyi. It was the rare treasure cut from the Celestial Music Stone; nurtured by immortal energy, it could one day become a supreme immortal text.

“Farewell!”

Ye Fan stepped onto the dark jade platform. In an instant, he vanished — crossing through the void and departing.