The clan head of the Celestial Scale Clan, Boyi Ren, requested that Ye Fan seal the mountain, saying their Dao attainment was insufficient to seal it securely, and fearing that old enemies might break through and assault them.
Ye Fan nodded. He understood that the Celestial Scale Clan was demonstrating their resolve — this was their pledge to him that they would not take a single step out of Changbai Mountain for five hundred years.
He said nothing more. He entered the primordial dragon cave — immortal light blazed within, auspicious energy curled like smoke, and the ancient cave ran very deep, bearing the mottled marks of long ages past.
At first he came upon two meditation cushions and immediately showed a look of surprise, for the traces of Dao rippled upon them — clearly a master had sat in meditation here for many years.
“Where are these two people?”
A number of people from the Celestial Scale Clan grew anxious, fearing some complication might arise. The old Heavenly Serpent hastened forward to explain: “They are the guardians of the primordial dragon cave’s Dao — neither has returned in a hundred years.”
He dared not conceal anything. For at Ye Fan’s level of cultivation, once his powerful divine sense was deployed, nothing could withstand it — there were no secrets to speak of.
Changbai Mountain was regarded by the Jurchen clan as the ancestral land of their rise to power. In ancient times, they came to pay their respects every year. The two guardians were ancestors of the Jurchen clan, who, if they were still alive today, would be over a thousand years old.
“People of the Jin Dynasty…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
The Jurchen clan had emerged from beyond the mountain pass in their time, overthrowing the Northern Song Dynasty. Even before that era, these two men had already entered the cave as disciples. Later, they had achieved success in cultivating the Dao and became guardians of the Celestial Scale Clan.
“A thousand-year-old ancient person.” Ye Fan pondered. These two had considerable Dao attainment — they were worth paying attention to.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty also regarded Changbai Mountain as an ancestral land, for they were descendants of the Jurchen clan. Not long before, the two ancient individuals Ye Fan had slain were men of the Qing era, known as Dharma-Protection Daoists.
It was clear they were simply no match for the guardian Daoists — the two Jin Dynasty ancient ones were around a thousand years old, having lived on from antiquity to the present, their Dao attainment profound and deep.
“Having been away for over a hundred years does not necessarily mean they have died in meditation.” Ye Fan murmured softly, saying nothing further.
This ancient cave ran very deep. Legend had it that in remote antiquity, a sacred emperor had traveled northward and entered closed-door seclusion here, remaining sealed inside for several centuries — and so the cave had come to be called the Primordial Dragon Cave.
At the very deepest point of the ancient cave was a stone chamber — dry, clean, and completely devoid of furnishings. Not even the auspicious energy came near it. It could only be described as austere.
Yet Ye Fan fixed his eyes upon this place at first glance, setting everything else aside and striding in to ask what sort of place this was.
The Celestial Scale Clan head, Boyi Ren, answered that this was the place where their Ancestor Demon God had entered seclusion — he might sit for a hundred years at a stretch, and no one dared approach.
“Where has the Heavenly Serpent Ancestor gone?” Ye Fan asked again.
Boyi Ren gave a light sigh. With the vital energy of heaven and earth running dry, the old Heavenly Serpent Ancestor had long since calculated in the ancient era that later generations would be unfavorable for cultivation, making it difficult to prove the Dao. He had therefore vanished from the mortal world during the Warring States period.
Ye Fan entered the stone chamber, closed his eyes, and quietly sensed. He felt that something was unusual — the stone chamber bore no demonic energy. It was centered and balanced, untainted by the mortal world, which was quite distinctive.
“According to legend, a sacred emperor of remote antiquity once came here to enter seclusion. A thousand years after he departed, our clan’s ancestor discovered this place.” The old Heavenly Serpent offered this.
“That explains it.” Ye Fan had them withdraw and sat cross-legged in the chamber.
He sat for half a month without moving a single step. During that time, he transmitted a Dao text to Guo Zhen and gave him several origin source blocks and two stalks of spirit medicine.
As for Xiao Song, it was anything but still — after gnawing on one stalk of spirit medicine, it crawled up and down the stone chamber like a restless little monkey, unable to keep idle.
“Three meters into the stone wall, there is a stone diagram!”
Ye Fan was astonished. When he opened his eyes half a month later — who had left this behind? There was a diagram within the stone wall, and even the Heaven Origin Eye had great difficulty perceiving it.
This was beyond ordinary reasoning. His heavenly eye could pierce through all illusions and see through mountains and stone walls. Yet sitting here in contemplation for a full half month, he had only barely caught a fleeting glimpse.
He thought to stretch out his hand and break through the wall, but suddenly stopped himself, recalling a certain legend: great cultivators of divine powers from antiquity had inscribed diagrams with their minds, branding them within stone. If the stone were forced open, everything would be destroyed and nothing would remain.
Ye Fan did not act rashly. In the end, he sat back down before that stone wall and remained utterly motionless — quietly observing and contemplating. This made the Heavenly Serpent clan deeply uneasy: as long as he did not depart, they remained on tenterhooks every single day.
“Heaven Origin Secret Art — the method of breaking the seal!”
In the present age, only Ye Fan could study the stone diagram this way. Even if a half-sage were to come, they would struggle to see clearly into a diagram three meters deep within a stone wall.
He spent another half month, his eyes dry and his heavenly eye nearly cracking from the strain, before he finally saw it all clearly and transcribed a copy of the stone carving himself.
The moment he saw it fully, Ye Fan understood at once what it was. His heart trembled. He quickly retrieved a bone fragment from his chest and also transcribed the mountain-and-river diagram he had seen in the underground palace on Mount Lu.
“They are part of the same whole — this is one portion of a single divided map!”
His heart was profoundly shaken. He committed it firmly to memory, then gently erased the marks he himself had inscribed.
An opportunity to ascend to immortality!
He had not expected to encounter something of this kind again in the primordial dragon cave — it was truly beyond all expectation. One could surmise that it had been carved either by the Heavenly Serpent Ancestor or left behind by the sacred emperor of remote antiquity.
Whatever the case, the one who left it behind was at the very least a great sage!
The ancient figure whose body had been dismembered in the underground palace on Dragon Mountain; the fire-burial immortal, Red Pine Master, on Eight Ridge Mountain — which of them was not a great sage? When one thought carefully, the heart trembled in awe. Great sages of the human clan had separately preserved portions of the map — it must be something of utterly heaven-defying power!
To be frank, when he obtained the first stone carving and the second bone fragment, Ye Fan had not given it much thought. But now, having obtained a third portion, something stirred greatly within him. He wanted to collect them all and see what this was truly about!
His parents were gone. On this earth, he had nothing more to seek. Ascending to immortality and attaining the Dao was his one and only goal. This immortality map was of immense importance to him.
Ye Fan departed from Changbai Mountain. He did not act personally — he told them only to seal themselves for five hundred years — and then disappeared beyond the snow mountains with Guo Zhen and Xiao Song.
Outside, the season of early spring had arrived. Ice and snow were melting, tender shoots were breaking through the earth, and a faint scent of soil hung in the air.
Ye Fan gave Guo Zhen several Dao texts, some origin source blocks, and spirit medicines, and they parted ways there. They had come to know each other on this journey; he sent him off with a fortuitous opportunity. They could not walk together forever — each person had their own Dao and their own path.
He and Xiao Song returned to City B. Along the way, he received a phone call from Xu Qiong, who had had no word from him in so long that she feared something had happened.
Ye Fan invited Xu Qiong’s family to a simple meal. Xiao Song sensibly stayed home, behaving itself and not daring to follow along, for fear that the wild girl Xu Ye would torment it.
He rested for two days, and then set out southward once more, making his way toward the Ten Thousand Demons Valley. According to information obtained from the Celestial Scale Clan, the mystery of the true and false Pang Bo was connected to this faction.
In truth, whether he went or not, he had already guessed the rough outline of things — this trip was merely to confirm what he already suspected.
The Ten Thousand Demons Valley was situated within the Daba Mountains. In the remote antiquity era, an unknown number of great demons had established their Dao lineages there, and it had long since become a sacred ground for the demon race in the mortal world.
The greater Daba Mountain range stretched across the border regions of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Hubei provinces. Ye Fan planned to enter through Shennongjia in Hubei from the eastern end.
For since the last century, rumors had persisted that there were wild men in Shennongjia, and now that he had returned, he also wished to get to the bottom of it — to see whether or not these so-called wild men truly existed.
Ye Fan brought Xiao Song into Shennongjia, walking slowly and avoiding the tourist sites, venturing deep into the uninhabited zones. The ancient trees had already put out new buds, and streams burbled and murmured — the place was deeply serene.
In the primordial zone, undergrowth grew dense and forests were thick. He was in no hurry to press forward and eventually lingered for several days in one mountain valley, contemplating the spiritual beauty of the mountains and rivers of heaven and earth.
“A wild man — we’ve finally spotted one! Chase it! We must get a clear photo!” someone called out.
Ye Fan saw a group of people chasing down into a distant mountain ridge. He brought Xiao Song along and leaped lightly, making no sound as he shot past them, and soon several kilometers away spotted a strange figure covered head to toe in long fur.
“Immortal, please spare me — I have not harmed anyone. I was only discovered by humans by accident.” The wild man caught sight of Ye Fan descending through the air and was so frightened that it nearly lost its soul. It prostrated itself and begged for mercy.
Ye Fan was caught speechless. He finally understood what these so-called wild men were — it was a small demon that had not fully transformed. Covered in long fur, running upright, it truly did look just like a wild man.
“In which mountain range do you cultivate?”
“I am a lesser demon from the Ten Thousand Demons Valley. I sometimes play with my companions and wander eastward along the Daba Mountains into Shennongjia.” The small demon answered.
It was not truly small — when it stood upright, it was well over two meters tall. It was a wild ape that had gained spiritual awareness and taken partial human form. Speaking honestly, the difference between it and a wild man was not so great.
Ye Fan burst out laughing. He had been on his way to the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, and had not expected to run into a lesser demon from that very valley — it had saved him quite a bit of trouble. He had no intention of making things difficult for this wild ape spirit, for the sight of it inevitably brought to mind the monkey from the Northern Dipper.
The greater Daba Mountain range stretched over a thousand kilometers and bordered several provinces. Lesser demons from the Ten Thousand Demons Valley sometimes slipped out quietly and wandered along the mountain range for some amusement.
Ye Fan was both amused and exasperated. The mystery of the wild men of Shennongjia had originated from the Ten Thousand Demons Valley? Having learned the truth, he truly did not know what to say — he could only shake his head.
The wild ape moved quickly, guiding Ye Fan straight into Sichuan territory and deep into the Daba Mountains. In some uninhabited zones along sheer cliff faces, they spotted numerous hanging coffins — filled with a mysterious air.
The coffins jutted out above and below the cliff walls, their wood mottled and weathered, yet undecayed after thousands of years. That could only be called a miracle.
“Has none of you ever opened them to look?” Ye Fan asked.
The wild ape shrank its neck and said, “No one dares open them. Everyone says that five hundred years ago, one of the old valley masters tried to trace a certain earth immortal, opened many of the hanging coffins, and died inexplicably in the end. After that, few dared touch them.”
Ye Fan smiled and said, “Can those of us who cultivate the Dao truly be afraid of such things?”
“It cannot be taken lightly! The current third valley master has also said it is connected to an ancient earth immortal, and has told us not to touch them carelessly. If we spot a strange hanging coffin, we are to report it to him immediately.”
At those words, Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He recalled a passage from the ancient text Taiping Yulan: “The dwelling of earth immortals — half up the cliffs hang thousands of coffins.”
Not long after, they entered the deepest reaches of the Daba Mountains — remote and untouched, where they turned left and right through one stretch of mountain ridges after another, and suddenly disappeared from one mountain range only to emerge in a far vaster territory.
Ancient cliffs stood row upon row. Ancient trees soared to the sky. Apes cried and tigers roared. The terrain was utterly primordial, as though no human had entered in thousands of years.
“Just as I expected.” Ye Fan nodded. The Ten Thousand Demons Valley was also sealed off from the world of men, enclosed within an ancient formation and located within a vast uninhabited zone.
In remote antiquity, a demon god had cultivated here. Afterward, other notable great demons had come to join, and it had gradually become a sacred ground for the demon race.
The valley was called the Ten Thousand Demons Valley because it was home to not just one species of demon — all manner of clans were present. In every generation, three valley masters were elected, all of them figures of heaven-reaching magical power.
The Ten Thousand Demons Valley was rich in talent and abounded in demons. In terms of true strength, it was in fact more flourishing and powerful than the other three great demon god lineages.
From a great distance, Ye Fan could already see an enormous valley — demonic energy surging skyward from within, a belt of black mist coiling around it, like a peerless demon crouching in slumber.
“Truly a sacred ground for cultivating demons.” He observed the geography of the mountains and rivers. This was a land that produced demons. According to the records in the Heaven Origin Scripture, it was possible that an ancient demon emperor had perished and dissolved their Dao here, and that was what had given rise to this kind of geographical configuration.
Countless lesser demons climbed and leaped about in the valley, making it a lively scene. Ye Fan privately reckoned that with a place this flourishing, there might truly be ten thousand demons.
A great black banner cracked and snapped in the wind, its surface bearing the three characters “Ten Thousand Demons Valley.” It was planted within the valley, and every time it unfurled, it seemed to carry the force of mountains overturned and seas capsized, the sound of rolling thunder — an imposing air without equal.
Suddenly, from within the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, drums and music sounded together. A group of great demons surged out to greet them — as though capable of howling to the heavens and earth, snatching at stars and seizing the moon. Their presence was stunning and their demonic energy surged to the sky.
“An honored guest has arrived — forgive us for not coming to welcome you sooner.”
At the center stood a monkey — with the beak of a thunderbird, eyes of blazing gold, its entire body of fur shimmering with golden light. It was the very image of a Battle Saint Ape!
Ye Fan was taken aback — he nearly cried out. It bore far too close a resemblance to that monkey from the Northern Dipper. The wild ape spirit beside him quietly whispered that this was their third valley master.
“May I ask the third valley master’s name?”
The monkey with the thunderbird beak and blazing golden eyes had sharp ears and answered directly: “Sun Wukong.”
Ye Fan was stunned. He turned to stone on the spot.