“Before Heaven and Earth separated, primordial energy was one undivided whole — this is what is meant by the Great Origin and the Great Unity.”

“The Dao is the universal principle of Heaven, Earth, humanity, and all things — this is what is meant by the Supreme Polarity.”

Such were the records preserved in the ancient texts. The Supreme Polarity was the unfolding of the Dao itself — at the dawn of Heaven and Earth, from non-existence into existence, the ten thousand things were born and transformed. This was the Supreme Polarity.

The most mysterious ancient classic of old China — the Book of Changes — had long expounded upon it, recording: “In the Changes there is the Supreme Polarity, from which the Two Modes are born…”

In the mountain terrain beyond the Wei capital, before a small lake as clear and brilliant as a sapphire, Ye Fan moved from stillness into motion and from motion back into stillness — one moment standing as upright as a green pine, the next flowing and coiling like soft water — gently stretching his body, using his tangible flesh to give form to the intangible rhythm of the Dao.

Ye Fan was no deity. It was impossible for him to create in an instant a fully-formed body cultivation technique for tempering the flesh. He could only grope forward step by step: when his body surged with power it was like rushing thunder, and when it eased it was like a gentle breeze — one movement, one stillness — carrying the natural flavor of things.

After half a month had passed, he came to appreciate the difficulty. Sometimes having ideas alone was not enough — whether those ideas could actually be carried out was what mattered.

At this stage, tempering the flesh was destined to remain a secondary pursuit. He was a cultivator of only the Divine Bridge realm, a minor figure — he had no way to rapidly create a body cultivation technique that would shake the world. All of that would have to come slowly, through continued exploration.

For now, the true priority still had to be the cultivation of the secret realms of the Wheel Sea, the Dao Palace, and the rest. These supreme, great Dao secret arts had been passed down through endless ages, honed and baptized by time — they were a truly mature and perfected cultivation system.

“I cultivate the Wheel Sea, the Dao Palace, and the other secret realms within; I cultivate a powerful body technique without. The two complement each other — I will possess both divine abilities and raw primordial combat power.”

Ye Fan looked forward to it intensely. He yearned to grow stronger.

“I believe the crystallized wisdom of the great sages of ancient China will surely ignite brilliant sparks when it collides with the supreme Dao of this world.”

Ye Fan had been in the Wei Kingdom for nearly two months. Beyond cultivation, he had been continuously pondering how to cross the void — yet no good solution had presented itself.

He had not yet broken through the Wheel Sea’s secret realm, his understanding of Dao patterns was limited, and it was impossible for him to condense heavenly momentum, open a domain gate, and traverse the void on his own. No matter how he thought about it, he could only rely on the great powers.

Within the Wei capital, carriages and horses flowed like water, the streets thrumming with extraordinary prosperity. By chance, Ye Fan caught sight of a familiar figure — robed in Daoist garments and wearing a violet-gold crown, yet with not the slightest trace of a monk’s bearing. Rotund, ruddy-faced, utterly at ease — it was none other than the unscrupulous Daoist, Duan De.

“That fat corpse really has a tough life. The Demon Emperor’s burial mound was a mountain of bones and rivers of blood, and he was driven into the yin tomb by five great figures — yet somehow he didn’t die…”

Ye Fan felt that the fat Daoist was far from simple, nothing like the amiable surface he presented. He was surely a ruthless character, and Ye Fan did not dare approach him.

By now, his spiritual sense had grown extraordinarily powerful — his mental energy had condensed into a small golden lake of tangible substance, gathered at the space between his brows. He followed from a great distance without fear of being detected.

The unscrupulous Daoist climbed into a tavern, devouring meat in great mouthfuls and draining bowls of wine with abandon, without the slightest restraint, bearing absolutely no resemblance to a monk.

After roughly half an hour, he left the Wei capital, reeking of alcohol and swaying from side to side as he walked into the mountains.

“This fat corpse fills his belly and then heads straight into the deep mountains. What on earth is he up to?” Ye Fan was puzzled, following at a distance. At the same time he felt a creeping unease — even with his highly refined spiritual sense, Duan De still gave him a feeling of unfathomable depth.

The unscrupulous Daoist moved swiftly. He scaled mountain after mountain with a speed not much slower than flight, and before long arrived before the gate of a small sect. Ye Fan recognized it as a minor sect within the Wei Kingdom — one that even fell short of the Spiritual Ruins Cave Heaven in comparison.

Duan De twisted and turned his way deep inside. Ye Fan did not dare follow, waiting quietly outside. A quarter of an hour later, the fat Daoist slipped out, looking ruddy and pleased with himself, then swaggered off without a care.

Before long, shouts and clamor erupted from within the sect, a great commotion rising. Ye Fan could faintly make out that the sect appeared to have lost something of great value.

“This fat man is truly unscrupulous.” Ye Fan immediately fled by flight. The cultivators who had burst out from within that sect were now flying in every direction — if someone blocked his path, he would have no way to explain himself.

“Stop right there!” Unexpectedly, an old man spotted him.

“Fat man, damn your entire family line — surely this wasn’t intentional? Did you deliberately set me up to take the blame?” Ye Fan’s heart was shaken with doubt as he vanished in an instant into the deep mountains.

About half an hour later, he caught sight of the unscrupulous Daoist’s trail again. He began to suspect that Duan De might already have sensed someone was following him.

However, the unscrupulous Daoist did not look back even once, appearing entirely unaware. Still belching from the wine, he muttered to himself: “The Wei Kingdom’s grand gathering of cultivators — worth watching. I wonder if there will be any rare natural treasures to see.”

“So this fat man wants to attend some kind of gathering.”

After flying for more than five hundred li, Duan De landed in the mountains. Ahead, clouds and mist billowed amid green peaks and lush valleys, and quite a few cultivators were riding rainbow-light through the air, descending into a valley ahead.

It was a sect. Before the mountain gate stood a slab of green stone engraved with two characters — “Profound Origin.” No one blocked the way; visitors could enter freely, and cultivators were arriving from every direction.

Inside, the peaks were graceful, pavilions and towers rose in splendor, waterfalls and springs tumbled and flowed — a land of extraordinary peace and harmony. Many cultivators had already gathered within.

Ye Fan had been tailing Duan De all along. He found that this man truly took unusual paths at every turn, winding and twisting his way through, seizing a moment when no one was watching, and making his way to the back mountain of this sect.

Before him, peach blossoms were in full bloom — a sea of pink. Peach groves stretched across every slope, covering the entire mountainside, as though a pale pink veil of gauze had been draped over the land. The fragrance of flowers filled the air.

Duan De came to a stop ahead, clinging to the trunk of an ancient thousand-year peach tree. His eyes glazed over and drool nearly dripped from his mouth — a positively disgraceful sight.

Ye Fan watched him from a distance with quiet contempt. He had no idea what rare natural treasure this fat man had spotted.

“Who’s there?!” At that very moment, a young woman’s sharp, startled cry rang out.

Ye Fan looked again — Duan De had vanished in the blink of an eye, his trail completely gone. Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately fled. But the peach grove around him suddenly began to spin, pink blossoms scattering in all directions, dancing like a shower of crystalline flower petals. He could not retreat; he could not find the way back.

Ye Fan charged left and broke right, but found he could not escape — instead he plunged deeper into the back mountain and emerged at the very spot Duan De had just occupied.

Only now did he understand what Duan De had seen. Ahead, fallen petals drifted in cascades, flower rain spilling down. Within the peach grove lay a clear, brilliant little lake. Along its banks grew acres of ancient thousand-year peach trees, from which brilliant robes and skirts hung in clusters.

Peach blossoms drifted through the air; the entire little lake was awash in pink. A crystalline shower of petals enveloped it all, wave after wave of sweet fragrance drifting over — it was breathtakingly beautiful, like a realm of immortals.

Of course, that was not the most important thing. What truly shocked Ye Fan was that within the lake, more than a dozen beautiful young women were bathing — their black hair cascading like waterfalls, their arms pale as frost and snow, their luminous jade bodies shimmering with an enchanting radiance that, set against the rain of blossoms overhead, drew the eye far more powerfully.

“Fat man, you’ve gotten me killed!” Ye Fan cried inwardly in anguish. He knew the unscrupulous Daoist had almost certainly spotted him and deliberately lured him here to take the blame. He wanted to flee but could not — the fallen blossoms of the peach grove were all glowing with rosy light, evidently carved with Dao patterns that had gathered the extraordinary and mighty force of the mountains and earth. This place had become a self-contained realm unto itself, severing every path of escape.

Laughter like silver bells rang out from within the peach grove. Several women wearing sheer gauze, beautiful as lotuses rising from water, drifted forward — graceful and swaying, their jade arms bare, their long legs unobscured by the thin fabric, as white and luminous as mutton-fat jade, endlessly captivating. Flower rain swirled all around them; their figures were entrancingly graceful, their gauze robes barely covering their forms, their skin luminous and radiant, radiating an incomparable allure.

Ye Fan had been unable to flee. He had assumed these women would come for him with killing intent, but not at all — they revealed not a trace of murderous aura. Instead they approached with measured lotus steps — any normal man would have had his blood surging at such a sight.

Yet Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart. These were absolutely not a group of ordinary women. If they were, how could they be so utterly bold — baring their backs and shoulders, completely unconcerned — advancing toward him with bright, charming smiles?

“Duan De, you unscrupulous Daoist — get out here!” he shouted into the surroundings.

Ripples of light laughter rose. Several of the women walked forward with perfect composure, their jade-like skin still dotted with tiny droplets of water that made it all the more luminously clear, their garments barely covering their exquisite forms, as they arrived at close range.

“What nerve you have, little brother — to infiltrate the inner sanctum of our sect and peep at us as we bathe…” The tallest and most graceful of them, standing with perfect poise, gathered together the dripping strands of her jet-black hair. Her smile was gentle and faint as she gazed at Ye Fan — one felt as though a spring breeze was brushing one’s face.

“It was a complete misunderstanding — I was set up by a fat man. He framed me and left me to take the blame. Just now it was clearly him peeping here, and it has nothing to do with me.” Inwardly, Ye Fan offered a silent stream of curses at the unscrupulous Daoist’s female relatives. This fat man had no morals whatsoever.

In that clear and glittering little lake, all the women had now stepped ashore. Each was draped in nothing but a single length of white gauze, their entrancing, exquisite forms half-visible through the fabric — it concealed nothing, and the effect was immensely alluring.

Their figures were full and shapely — rounded and jade-like arms, waists so slender they could be encircled in one hand, flawlessly white and perfect legs, long and straight, as they moved lightly on their small feet. The entire scene was one of breathtaking beauty — with flower rain drifting all around, such bold women were clearly no ordinary beings.

The most beautiful of them — a young woman of about twenty — had moist, red lips and teeth as fine as jade. Her smile was bewitchingly lovely, her jet-black hair spilling loose across her snow-white chest. Her voice carried a natural resonance, deeply pleasant to the ear: “Whether or not you were framed is not what matters. Since you have already come here, consider it a matter of fate.”

“I don’t need any fate — please, all you immortal maidens, let me leave. It truly had nothing to do with me…”

The young woman at the fore had a tiny red mole at the center of her brow, which added a peculiar, bewitching quality to her appearance. Her jade body was lithe and swaying as she drew near, extending one slender finger toward Ye Fan.

Ye Fan tried to dodge, but found her movement was faster than his — he could not avoid her. His heart lurched. This was absolutely a powerful figure. These women who appeared so seductively enchanting had to have extraordinary origins.

Those slender, jade fingers pinched his cheek: “I can feel how remarkable this flesh is — blood and energy surging like a great river in full flood. This is no ordinary body…”

A sense of caution gripped Ye Fan’s heart, but he smiled and said: “Any normal man in my position right now would have his blood boiling — it’s not that my constitution is special. Could you all possibly stand a little further away? Otherwise you’ll shave years off my life.”

The woman’s body exuded waves of delicate fragrance. She smiled softly: “You need not be afraid. We will not kill you.”

“Are any of you immortal maidens satisfied with this precious body?” At that moment, Duan De’s voice rang out from within the peach grove, and he walked out looking ruddy and pleased with himself.

“You unscrupulous Daoist — you set me up!” Ye Fan fixed his gaze on Duan De.

“You have the nerve to say I set you up…” Duan De’s expression soured. As he spoke, his face grew extremely agitated: “Three years ago, outside the Demon Emperor’s burial mound, you made my life utterly miserable — I nearly died nine times over, and all of that was thanks to you, you little brat.”

“To hell with you — three years ago you snatched three spirit-linked weapons from me, and now you’re saying I set you up? You deserve to be struck by thunder from Heaven!”

“What are three spirit-linked weapons? Where is that chunk of scrap bronze? I fought my way through the Demon Emperor’s yin tomb nine times over, nearly losing my life in there — and in the end I didn’t see so much as a sliver of that green copper. You ruined me, you little brat…” The fat Daoist grew more and more agitated as he spoke, looking as though he wanted to skin Ye Fan alive.

“Daoist Duan, I am very satisfied with this precious body.” At that moment, the twenty-year-old young woman beside them laughed softly — radiant and captivating, she radiated an irresistible charm.

“If you are satisfied, then give me a single drop of the Demon Emperor’s blood essence.” A strange gleam flickered in the fat Daoist’s eyes: “I trust that you of the demon race keep your word and do not go back on your promises.”

Ye Fan was stunned. These women were actually demons — and the mention of the Demon Emperor’s blood essence immediately brought the Demon Emperor’s heart to his mind. He let out an inward groan, then glared at the fat Daoist: “Fat man — you dare sell me out like this?”

The unscrupulous Daoist shot him a sidelong glance and said with irritation: “Don’t you use that word ‘sell out’ with me, boy. Three years ago you sold out my life. Today I merely sold out your body.”

“You’ve got nerve.” Ye Fan very much wanted to leave the print of his shoe sole on that fat face.