Ji Ziyue’s lips curved slightly at the corner as she glared at Ye Fan, furious. “You want treasures? None. You want the ancient scripture? Even less. All I have is the life of a future immortal — do with it as you will!”

“You really are something else.” Ye Fan burst out laughing. “To use your own words: if you don’t come clean, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”

Ji Ziyue lightly bit her red lips with her gleaming pearly teeth, turned her head to one side to gaze at the clouds on the horizon — as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately held it back.

Ye Fan did not press her immediately. He had plenty of time. The most urgent matter at hand was tempering the Profound Yellow quintessence — his cauldron had shattered and now adhered to the green bronze, which filled him with no small amount of worry.

Within the spring at the bottom of the Wheel Sea, the green bronze fragment sat motionless. Around it, the Profound Yellow quintessence swirled, and the shattered cauldron rose and fell, fusing with the Profound Yellow, impossible to distinguish from it.

What Ji Ziyue said was very reasonable. The shattering of the small cauldron was not entirely a misfortune for Ye Fan — it was an opportunity.

“Shattered? Then I shall recast it!” Ye Fan’s consciousness fully immersed itself in the spring, using the spiritual power within the Wheel Sea to gently compress the shattered cauldron.

What he was doing now was not mending the break directly. What he intended to do was to shatter it more thoroughly — more completely — causing it to fuse entirely with the Profound Yellow quintessence.

To shatter the cauldron within the Bitter Sea was like shattering one’s own body — spiritual power circulated through it, consciousness immersed within to direct the process, giving rise to the strange sensation of destroying himself.

The Profound Yellow quintessence was like the radiance of the moon and the brilliance of the sun — extremely dazzling, constantly fusing and merging with the shattered cauldron. Under Ye Fan’s direction, the two became indistinguishable, gradually transforming into a single flowing radiance.

It revolved around the green bronze, misty and hazy, profound and mysterious in the extreme. In the end, its radiance was contained inward, its sharp edges drawn back, becoming unadorned and plain, while the misty Profound Yellow dual energies flowed naturally, giving the impression of unfathomable depth.

From the very beginning of heaven and earth, a small measure of heaven’s essence and earth’s marrow was born — the mother-energy of all things, possessing mysterious power beyond imagination. It is the jewel of spiritual instrument refinement!

Ye Fan exercised careful control and did not rush to cast the cauldron. To ensure the two fully fused, he continuously tempered the energy, simultaneously etching it toward the green bronze — imprinting upon it.

He wanted the Profound Yellow quintessence to enfold the green bronze fragment, repeatedly tracing and tempering, seeking to merge the two into one body, engraving into it the natural Dao patterns that were inscribed there.

This was destined to be a long process, requiring slow and patient refinement over time. In the beginning, everything proceeded smoothly, with no accidents — a good start had been made.

And so Ye Fan settled here temporarily beside the lake. He added several more layers of seals upon Ji Ziyue, to prevent her from breaking through the existing restraints.

Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.

The lake was wreathed in mist, its surface glittering with points of light. Along the shore, trees were lush and green, flowers and grasses fragrant.

Beneath a towering ancient tree, Ji Ziyue sat perfectly still — unable to move, bound in place. Ye Fan ignored her shouts and, with full concentration, held a brush in hand, painting upon the smooth and jade-like surface of her pretty face.

He painted quickly, and in a moment a toad took shape. He nodded, apparently quite pleased with his work. Setting the brush aside, he picked up a small mirror and held it before Ji Ziyue’s eyes.

“Ahhhh!” Ji Ziyue let out a tremendous shriek, as though she had encountered the most terrifying thing imaginable — a sound that nearly split the eardrums. She was incensed and gnashed her teeth, her large eyes glaring furiously at Ye Fan.

“Half a month has passed, and you’ve only written out a single passage of the ancient scripture for me. Far too little. I need the complete text…” At this point, Ye Fan shifted tactics, speaking in gentle, coaxing tones. “I have the Profound Yellow quintessence — rarely found across a thousand ages. If you explain the ancient scripture to me, I will give you some of the mother-energy of all things. It would be mutually beneficial — neither of us would lose out.”

Ji Ziyue was genuinely somewhat tempted. Her large eyes blinked again and again. “I’ll need some time to think it over slowly.”

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to stall.” Ye Fan sat down across from her, prepared paper and brush, and undid the seal on Ji Ziyue’s right hand. “Stop dawdling. The mother-energy of all things is right here — don’t you want to collect some?”

Ji Ziyue protested angrily: “You’ve gone too far! I’ve already given you several treasures, and you’re still not satisfied. At worst, we’ll go down fighting together. As long as I die, the marks on my body will certainly appear before the Ji Family, and everything that has happened will be revealed…”

Ye Fan was rendered speechless. He pushed the phoenix hairpin, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings all back in front of her. “These things — how am I supposed to use them? Give me the ancient scripture, and I’ll return every single one of them.”

Ji Ziyue immediately shifted to a completely different expression — tears welling up in her eyes, on the verge of weeping. “It’s not that I don’t want to write out the ancient scripture — the family elders have sealed an immortal curse within my sea of consciousness. If I dare reveal it, I’ll be instantly destroyed in body and spirit…”

Ye Fan laughed lightly. “Don’t look so pitiful. None of what you’re saying, I believe in the slightest.”

Misty tears brimmed in Ji Ziyue’s beautiful eyes, and she sobbed helplessly: “I never harbored any hostility toward you. I even spared the members of the demon race, and certainly had no intention of harming you — yet you treat me like this…”

This genuinely filled Ye Fan with a measure of guilt. After capturing this troublesome figure, he found her exceedingly difficult to handle — he could not kill her, could not release her, and pressing her continuously for the ancient scripture had yielded no cultivation methods.

“I am determined to have that ancient scripture. There is no need to keep performing…”

Ji Ziyue immediately shifted her expression yet again. The mist vanished from her eyes, and she began to grind her sparkling little canine teeth. “I’ll fight you to the end!”

“Then let us fight.” Ye Fan began to remove her shoes and socks.

Ji Ziyue shrieked: “What are you doing?! Stop!”

“Are you going to write the ancient scripture or not?”

“I…”

Ye Fan removed her shoes and socks entirely, exposing one small, jade-pure foot — gleaming like white suet jade, shimmering with a faint luster, slender and graceful.

“You…!” Ji Ziyue was utterly mortified and furious, her face flushed pink. Completely panicked, she trembled: “Stop this at once!”

Ye Fan, unhurried and calm, spread a layer of honey across the smooth, warm surface of her sole, then caught a few ants and placed them upon it.

From within the ancient forest, the sound of Ji Ziyue’s shrieks rang out — furious and ashamed all at once: “You little brat Ye Fan, I’m not finished with you! Ahhhh…!”

Half an hour later, Ye Fan walked to the lakeside holding several pages, his expression focused and intent as he carefully read the scripture written upon them.

“The Great Dao is like an abyss — the ancestor of all things, harmonizing with the light, mingling with the dust…”

As he read and reflected, Ye Fan felt a wave of admiration — the Ji Family’s ancient scripture truly had its unique qualities, and was by no means inferior to the Dao Sutra.

The opening lines immediately made clear the core emphasis of this ancient scripture: the fundamental nature of the Great Dao is void and empty, yet its function is without end. This was the Ji Family’s Void Scripture.

The Void Great Dao grinds away the sharp edges of all things, resolves all conflicts and disputes, harmonizes all radiance, mingles with all dust — yet itself remains ever empty, ever existent, eternal and indestructible.

It was a pity that Ji Ziyue was utterly resolute — preferring death to surrender — and had only written a limited few pages. To obtain the complete ancient scripture would require more time.

These few pages of scripture were very disjointed. The passages concerning the “Dao Palace” were pitifully scarce — barely half a page — yet he read them carefully.

“The valley spirit never dies — this is called the mysterious female. The gateway of the mysterious female — this is the root of heaven and earth…”

Though it was no more than a brief half-page, it made clear to Ye Fan what the Dao Palace cultivated.

“It truly is the five divine deities that must be cultivated!”

One who can nurture the spirit within does not die. Within the Dao Palace reside five divine deities — if they can be turned to one’s own use, one’s lifespan may be extended and the five energies nurtured. When the divine deities unite with the energies, all manner of mysterious events occur. The Dao Palace seemed exceptionally profound — more remarkable than even the Wheel Sea. It would unlock and reveal all manner of extraordinary wonders. It was a pity that Ye Fan had seen only half a page, and did not yet know what must be done next.

To cultivate the Dao Palace, one must first cross the Bitter Sea and reach the other shore — only then could the process begin.

In the days that followed, Ye Fan entered a rigorous period of cultivation, unwilling to waste a single moment.

Throughout this process, he also continuously tempered the Profound Yellow quintessence, having it enfold the green bronze fragment — tempering it repeatedly, fusing the two together, engraving upon it the Dao patterns.

Of course, the most important thing Ye Fan undertook was to begin refining the sacred blood of the Demon Emperor’s Holy Heart. He needed power — great power. That heart sat submerged in his life spring, and if he did not make use of it, it would be a tremendous waste.

This time, he used the Profound Yellow dual energies to press against the Holy Heart, causing its blood to blaze across the sky, collecting the sacred blood in this manner.

With the green bronze fragment suppressing it at the floor of the sea, the Demon Emperor’s Holy Heart could not resist, lying there like a mighty serpent stranded in the shallows, not daring to make any large movements.

A full half-month passed — what Ye Fan was doing could only be described as relentless exploitation: continuously refining the Demon Emperor’s sacred blood, using it to wash and refine his physical body. His flesh became as crystalline and lustrous as jade, and all manner of impurities were expelled. He was on the verge of a complete rebirth.

Ji Ziyue watched all of this, and was inwardly shocked. She vaguely sensed that Ye Fan harbored many secrets — far beyond what appeared on the surface.

On the nineteenth day of refining the Demon Emperor’s sacred blood, something astonishing occurred. The crimson, jade-red heart seemed unable to endure any longer, and burst into a full eruption.

Ye Fan’s golden Bitter Sea boiled completely. Had the green bronze fragment not stilled everything in this place, he would likely have been torn apart.

The Demon Emperor’s heart began to beat — thump, thump — recovering its vitality entirely. Unwilling to have its sacred blood stripped away any longer, it sought to shake Ye Fan to death.

That day, even cultivators who had surpassed the Other Shore realm could not have withstood it — which gives some sense of how terrifying this heart truly was!

The Profound Yellow dual energies flowed across the surface of the green bronze fragment, stabilizing the Wheel Sea, keeping Ye Fan from danger. But that heart — brilliant as a crimson ruby, blazing like a furnace — directly tore through Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea and, transforming into a brilliant streak of bloody light, vanished into the sky.

Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea was in tremendous pain. Though it closed rapidly, a long time passed before he recovered. He stared in stunned disbelief, muttering to himself: “I was too ruthless in my exploitation — truly not right. The Demon Emperor’s Holy Heart actually… flew away!”

The mighty Demon Emperor’s Holy Heart, unwilling to have its essence stripped away day after day, had ultimately… vanished without a trace, breaking through the heavens and departing.

“Heavens — that was surely the heart of a Demon Emperor, and it was inside your body!” Ji Ziyue stared in dumbfounded astonishment, her face a mask of shock.

Ye Fan made no attempt to pursue it. He sat down cross-legged and used the last of the collected sacred blood to refine his physical body.

In that moment, his entire body became as translucent as jade, his five organs shimmering, his bones brilliant and gleaming, his skin crystalline — and through the sacred blood’s baptism, waves of unbearable pain washed over him.

At last, following the consumption of two divine medicines, he underwent his third complete physical rebirth.

This was a painful and grueling process. A full half a day passed before everything grew still. Ye Fan rose, standing like a divine being — divine radiance streamed in all directions, rivaling the brilliance of sun and moon, shining with the glory of stars and constellations, as lustrous as seven-colored glazed crystal.

Only after a long time did the radiance finally fade. He returned to his ordinary appearance, reverting to how he had always looked.

He felt tremendous power surging within him. His third physical rebirth had left him feeling as though he were reborn through fire — his entire body filled with strength as if it could never be exhausted!

With five fingers gathered, the moment he clenched his fist, his golden hand crackled and blazed with interwoven golden lightning — as if it could punch straight through heaven and earth.

Most astonishing of all: the Profound Yellow dual energies floated and manifested upon those golden fists — as if they had been smelted directly into them.

Ji Ziyue was tremendously surprised, her small mouth forming a perfect “O.” “You… what have you done?”

A fresh breeze blew. Ye Fan’s dark hair floated gently in the wind. He clenched his golden fists, feeling a sense of supreme power — as the Profound Yellow dual energies billowed outward from them.