Moonlight flowed softly into the cave dwelling like rippling water, serene and tranquil, with wisps of white mist rising in curls, as though it were the abode of immortals.
Huang Tiannü possessed a classical beauty, yet dressed in modern clothing — an unconventionally stunning appearance. Appearing here among the deep mountain cave dwellings, she moved through the moonlight like a sprite.
As though she were the man, and Ye Fan merely a delicate woman, she teased, “Master, why don’t you just give in to me? I’ll take responsibility for you.”
“Stop this nonsense and go rest.”
Ye Fan barely held back from spitting out a mouthful of blood. This disciple of his truly had audacious words — daring to speak to him like this with that cheeky grin plastered on her face.
“Pfft, what era do you think we’re living in? Why so proper? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.” Huang Tiannü sat down on the stone bed, completely relaxed, not caring in the slightest.
She wore a top as thin as cicada wings on her upper body, her beautiful hair still damp — she had just bathed in the small lake in the valley. Her skin, white as jade, was translucent and tender; a pinch would draw water from it. Her eyes were lively and flowing, captivating for a brief instant, vivid and breathtakingly beautiful. Her entire being was utterly at ease, not caring about anything at all.
Huang Tiannü boldly draped her snow-white lotus arms over Ye Fan’s shoulders, coming to sit face-to-face with him on the stone bed, smiling as she said: “Master, you aren’t blushing, are you?”
“Behave yourself.” Ye Fan tried to put on an imposing air, assuming the manner of a strict teacher.
This female disciple was remarkably bold and forward — she actually blew a breath of warm air at him, fragrant as orchid and musk, drifting to his ear, the tresses of her snow-white neck dancing about, her smile intoxicating and unrestrained.
“Master, you’ve been cultivating the Dao all these years — have you never even held a woman’s hand? Do you want this disciple to teach you?”
Huang Tiannü grinned cheekily, a crystalline gleam flashing across her face. Her phoenix eyes tilted upward at the corners as she smiled — even brazenly so — not treating him like a master at all.
“If you dare to be this undignified again, I will strip ten years of your cultivation and seal you in a deep mountain cave for another ten.” Ye Fan said in a low, stern voice.
“Pfft, what era are we living in? Master, must you be so rigid? We’re both modern people — it’s not like we’re living in ancient times, following all those old rules about men and women keeping their distance.” Huang Tiannü looked utterly unconcerned.
Her eyelashes were long, her large eyes flashing with a roguish gleam. Her figure was slender, sitting nearly face-to-face with Ye Fan, her fair and pretty face drawing ever closer — almost touching his.
“Master, don’t tell me you’ve been out all these years and you’re still a… a leftover bachelor? That really shouldn’t be the case.” She extended one snow-white, slender hand and slid it across Ye Fan’s face, snickering to herself.
The divine light in Ye Fan’s eyes surged explosively. He raised his hand, ready to suppress her — this disciple was truly too insolent. For her to tease him like this was genuinely the first time in his life.
“Hey, Master… easy now.” She cried out, genuinely fearing that Ye Fan’s hand would come down. She cast a sidelong glance with her beautiful eyes and carefully shot him a look, muttering: “Why be so rigid? Can’t you take a joke? Besides, I’m genuinely concerned about your personal affairs.”
Ye Fan gestured for her to get off the bed and leave. There were boundaries between master and disciple — if the other disciples saw them sitting together on one bed like this, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t wash away the implications.
Huang Tiannü was normally quite cold and arrogant, offering no pleasantries to outsiders. For her to be this lively and playful was rare indeed — yet now she had run into a soft refusal.
“Master, your thinking is too rigid. My younger cousin is much younger than you, and back in university he had a passionate teacher-student romance — and he was the student.”
Huang Tiannü wore a pair of short shorts on her lower half, barely reaching her upper thighs, revealing a pair of long, slender jade legs — white, delicate, and smooth as jade — which were quite eye-catching on the stone bed.
She shifted slightly, no longer sitting cross-legged, and stretched out her beautiful legs, making them even harder to ignore — remarkably long and straight, as luminous as ivory, nearly perfect, with an almost unreal quality to them.
Her damp hair spilled loosely, covering half of her fair and pretty face. Her large, lively eyes were filled with provocation as she said: “Master, don’t tell me you’re still a… an old… you know what I mean?”
Ye Fan was nearly about to explode. This female disciple was truly too outrageous — if he didn’t suppress her, she would undoubtedly say something even more shocking and scandalous.
“Master, did I just touch a sore spot? It’s alright — this disciple understands. Please don’t… don’t suppress me. I won’t dare again.” She retreated as she spoke.
“Why haven’t you left yet?!” Ye Fan snapped.
She did not get off the bed. Seeing that Ye Fan had finally calmed down, she scooted closer with a pert, graceful movement.
“I don’t mean anything else by it — I just wanted to joke around with you and get a little closer. Can you not be so serious?” She leaned in near, fixing her gaze on Ye Fan’s eyes.
Ye Fan’s eyes immediately sharpened.
Huang Tiannü was decisive — she had long anticipated this outcome and moved preemptively, knowing she was no match for Ye Fan’s speed. Her pair of straight, slender jade legs wound around him like snakes, warm and luminous, as white and lovely as mutton-fat jade.
Thud!
Ye Fan pressed down with one finger, immobilizing her. He fixed her with a glance and was about to use his great divine ability to send her back to her own cave dwelling.
“Master… what are you trying to do? I was only teasing you — nothing else. Don’t do anything rash.” Her eyes shimmered with flowing light.
Ye Fan could not be bothered to say anything. He disentangled her snow-white, luminous, long jade legs from himself and activated his divine technique, preparing to send her away.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, his expression shifted. He undid the seal on Huang Tiannü, letting her stand to one side, and reached out a large hand to grasp toward the valley below.
Whoosh!
A streak of dark light shot through the air, using every means to flee — yet it could not break free from Ye Fan’s grasp. He seized it and dragged it back, confining it within the cave dwelling.
This was a streak of black light — a considerable divine sense that had taken form — which had been probing the valley, only to be discovered and captured alive by Ye Fan.
The entity was from the West. In a mocking tone that betrayed its origins, it said: “Esteemed sir, beautiful miss — I deeply regret this intrusion. I apologize for the disturbance. In this hour when the bright moon hangs high and all the world is still, a forbidden romance between master and disciple — how enviable and romantic.”
Ye Fan said nothing. He directly extracted the entity’s divine sense imprint and examined its origins. His brow furrowed immediately. “People from the Western cultivation lineages have finally arrived,” he said.
“These people are truly annoying — early wouldn’t do, late wouldn’t do, and they had to ruin the atmosphere at this moment. But Master, don’t worry — I’ll take responsibility for you in the future.” Huang Tiannü swayed her slender waist, shifted her long jade legs, her damp long hair draped across half of her breathtaking face. She straightened her top and shorts and turned to leave.
She knew that the opening of hostilities had begun. People from the Western cultivation lineages might be just nearby — most likely, a great battle was coming.
Half a quarter-hour later, an unusual atmosphere descended over the valley. Even the bright moon was swallowed by black clouds. Powerful figures were approaching, and the demonic mist they carried in their wake obscured the stars and moon.
Ye Fan emerged from the cave dwelling and stood at the edge of the clear lake, watching the space ahead without a word — standing still, waiting to see what manner of great enemy had come.
With the exception of the Wandering Sun Daoist, who was sealed in deep seclusion, the Kunlun Twin Fish and Long Xiaoqu were both stirred. They rushed out and appeared behind Ye Fan, sensing wave after wave of dread in their hearts. They knew that certain extremely powerful figures had arrived.
Huang Tiannü arrived last, her face serene and coldly imperious — utterly unlike her earlier demeanor. The others could not discern anything amiss.
Up ahead, black mist surged and billowed. The sound of iron chains came through it — as though someone were walking out from Hell — the grating noise of metal scraping against metal, chilling and ear-piercing.
More than ten figures emerged from the darkness, walking across the surface of the lake. The dense black mist and the aura of death surrounding them made them appear extraordinarily strange and sinister.
“Souls hovering at the gates of Hell — awaken from your wandering. Walk the path my Lord has laid open for you.” One person’s voice was low and hoarse.
These were more than ten men clad in black armor, like the walking dead, bound in black iron chains. In this very moment, they simultaneously unleashed a forbidden technique — Hellfire Binding.
They were under external control. In the depths of the darkness, an old man stood quietly in the rear, holding a skull-headed staff, silently chanting ancient incantations to command them.
Clang!
The chains pierced through the void — like more than ten black sea serpents surging forward, aimed at destroying one’s Primordial Spirit — covering Ye Fan from above.
He stood unmoved. The divine light in his eyes suddenly blazed upward. Two brilliant beams shot out, like a pair of celestial swords cleaving apart the void. The sound of shattering metal rang out without cease as every single chain was reduced to dust.
Boom!
More than ten men, like gods of death, simultaneously unleashed their great magical power, splitting apart the heavens and causing a massive black gateway to appear — intending to draw Ye Fan and the others entirely within it.
Ye Fan struck out with a single palm. At this level of cultivation, no matter how many secret arts or divine abilities one possessed — they were useless. A single palm was sufficient.
In that instant, the black gateway turned to ash. More than ten people burst apart like dust, shattering into fragments that scattered with the wind, leaving nothing behind.
“Ancient heroic souls — be with me. Together, we shall conquer the heretics!” From within the darkness, the black-robed figure revealed his true form — a wizened, withered elder of indeterminate age, holding a gleaming white human-skull staff.
Behind him, dense and innumerable, appeared rank after rank of ancient soldiers in black battle armor — like shades from the underworld, devoid of life, who let out roars as they charged forward.
“Is that the full extent of your power?” Ye Fan gave a cold, contemptuous laugh.
Zhan Yifan and the others were horrified. This elder’s cultivation was extraordinarily powerful — most likely at the Great Completion of the Dragon Transformation realm, or possibly even higher.
The elder’s eyes flickered with an eerie green glow. He swept his white bone staff and every surrounding heroic soul charged forward. At the same time, he executed a secret technique: blood light erupted and coalesced into a blood-red skeleton that launched itself at Ye Fan to devour him.
“Allow me to pass judgment upon you heretics.”
Ye Fan said softly. In an instant, he activated the Solar Essence Fire. A sweeping, all-encompassing sacred blaze surged outward, engulfing everything ahead, covering every heroic soul entirely.
In a single instant, the entire area became a sea of fire. Whether living or undead, all were reduced to flying ash in the blink of an eye — not a single piece of armor remained.
“Ahh…” The old man screamed as well. Caught within the Solar Essence Fire, he became a blazing torch. He struggled briefly — and then both body and spirit were extinguished.
The black mist dissipated. Stars and moon returned to the sky. The heavens above were brilliant with countless stars, the bright moon hanging high — a scene of peace and serenity. The lake below mirrored a mesmerizing starscape.
In the distance, a large contingent of forces appeared. Every single one of them radiated a sacred, divine aura, clad in resplendent battle garments, appearing like one blazing sun after another.
The Eastern Crusade had arrived.
They were a proud group of people. Every one of them held a distinguished identity and status, coming from different families, bearing noble bloodlines — all possessing a glorious past.
Most were middle-aged, bursting with vitality, exceedingly powerful. Among them were also several young figures of elevated standing, attended by those around them.
They all bore long golden hair. The men were heroic and martial — every one of them as though a sun god reincarnate. The women were radiant and beautiful — as though goddesses of the moon had descended into the world, utterly sacred, emanating holy light.
“Heretic! You have repeatedly struck down cultivators of our Western lineage. Today, we shall pass sentence upon you with the fire of judgment!” A young man with golden hair flowing loose at the center called out loudly.
Beside him, a woman radiated pure and holy brilliance. She raised her jade-white hand and gave a light wave, issuing her command — preparing to launch the assault.