The solar star was enormous. The temperature was scorching, with occasional bursts of flowing fire shooting outward beyond the domain.
The moment Ye Fan drew near, he heard the indistinct sound of scripture chanting. This was a luminously brilliant divine star of great age, inscribed with profound and abstruse divine traces layer upon layer.
“Cang Yan was born on this ancient star!”
In that moment he realized — this was Cang Yan’s birthplace. Here was the primal aura of his origin, engraved with the undying imprint of a fire spirit’s existence.
This was a Great Sage’s private chambers. Ye Fan naturally dared not be careless. He opened his Celestial Source Eye, and a slit appeared at the center of his brow — a third, vertical eye.
Cultivators along the immortal path had their share of loneliness as well as rewards. Unlocking the treasures hidden within one’s own body, one by one, was the fruit of the Dao.
“Murderous intent without limit!” Ye Fan clicked his tongue. A sacred being had been born here — there was no need to lay formations. This place was itself a forbidden zone, with many natural Great Dao patterns woven through it.
It was precisely because of this that Cang Yan had not made extensive additional arrangements. The innate formation diagram bestowed upon him by heaven was sufficient on its own to obstruct outsiders from exploring.
Moreover, he was a sacred being — only a hairsbreadth from stepping into the quasi-Emperor realm. Who in ordinary times would dare provoke him? Formations were useless for his private chambers.
This made Ye Fan grateful. He cultivated the Source Technique, and ten years ago had crossed that threshold, becoming a true Celestial Source Master. In the naturally formed divine veins, mineral grounds, and ancient Dao traces, he had the deepest expertise.
For others, this place was a deadly forbidden zone. For him, it was only a matter of careful thought, contemplation, and deduction — and a path could be navigated through.
One by one, streaks of fire light shot upward as the innate solar divine fire raged. Ye Fan carefully controlled his movements, shifting aside stretch after stretch of innate Dao traces, clearing a path that led through to a set of private chambers.
Within the solar star, there lay a quiet expanse of Dao earth, overflowing with divine radiance — an ideal place for cultivation.
“To think there is such a towering and majestic stone mountain inside a sun star — truly unimaginable!” Long Ma and Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon exchanged glances, both dumbstruck by what lay before them.
A colossal mountain floated within the solar fire essence, like an island in a vast ocean, tens of thousands of zhang tall, pitch-black in color, heavy and ancient.
Setting aside everything else — this black stone mountain alone was itself an extraordinarily rare supreme treasure. It was within this mountain that the sacred being had been born, and it was filled with undying divine power.
“This… seems to be a… Chaos Stone!” Long Ma was greatly shocked.
Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon also stepped forward, its eyes blazing, its body trembling, and said: “It really is a Chaos Stone!”
Chaos Stones are profoundly mysterious and exceedingly rare. They generally contain immortal materials within. It is said that the Beginningless Great Emperor had once found a Chaos Stone in the Qinling Mountains, and from it had refined an immortal material that was then forged into the world-shaking Beginningless Bell.
For a Chaos Stone this large to be found here — how could it not be shocking?
Ye Fan examined it carefully, employing his all-penetrating Source Technique to see through every inch of the stone. In the end, his expression shifted as he said: “This divine stone nurtured Cang Yan into being, and within it still resides some divine essence. In time, it may birth another fire spirit.”
Long Ma said: “No wonder Cang Yan didn’t refine it into a weapon. For that clan, this is a birthing ground. Placed within the sun, it might nurture a kindred being over hundreds of thousands of years — perhaps even millions.”
The Chaos Stone itself was already a supreme treasure — refined into a Great Sage weapon, it would be more than adequate. And now, with some divine essence still present within it, it naturally drew Ye Fan’s attention.
“If this divine essence were sent to the Eternal Mother Star, it might be possible to refine a sixth-stage evolution liquid from it.”
Ye Fan personally went to work, drawing out strands of crystalline stone liquid — though it had not yet transformed into the divine liquid of a Nine-Aperture Stone Man. It was still only a mineral substance.
They could not wait for that transformation to occur over so vast a span of time, for it would take at minimum several hundreds of thousands of years before it could begin to take the form of a stone person.
Long Ma’s eyes blazed with heat. “In a moment, you two help me, and we’ll refine this into a Heaven-Overturning Seal!”
They climbed the Chaos Stone mountain. From the Dao earth below, streaks of solar fire essence rose upward — capable of reducing a Sage to ash, yet powerless to harm even a fragment of the Chaos Stone.
None of them were ordinary figures. They deployed the Fire-Avoidance Technique, which was more than sufficient to withstand it. Most especially Ye Fan — he had cultivated the Supreme Solar Immortal Scripture himself, making a place like this of no consequence to him.
“So many treasures!”
Once they entered an ancient cave, they discovered a vast quantity of rare and precious items — the overwhelming majority of them fire-attribute materials, shimmering brilliantly.
“Take everything. Don’t leave him even a single hair.” Long Ma, deeply influenced by the Black Emperor, moved through like a swarm of locusts, not even sparing Cang Yan’s bed, or even his meditation cushion. Everything was looted clean.
“What is this?” Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon had discovered a jar. The moment it was opened, fire essence shot out in all directions, nearly searing it.
Inside the jar was a crimson liquid, like flowing lava — yet from it came waves of fragrance that assailed the nostrils and left one intoxicated.
“That is… fire essence divine sap!” Ye Fan looked down and examined it for a long time before recognizing it, his heart filled with shock. This substance was extraordinarily rare — one could search the entire world and find it difficult to obtain even a single drop.
Unfortunately, this substance was beyond anyone’s ability to consume. Whoever dared to drink it would be reduced to ash — for it was divine sap born within the fire essence.
“This is one of the primary ingredients for refining the Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir. Other than being used in that elixir, there is simply no way to consume it.” Ye Fan confiscated it immediately. Something so heaven-defying might go unused for ten thousand ages, yet still it could not be cast aside or wasted.
The Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir — a legendary ancient elixir from the age of myth. The Eternal Mother Star’s evolution liquid, at its utmost perfection, might perhaps touch the threshold of this immortal elixir.
Yet throughout history, no one had ever been heard of who could actually refine it. What existed were only legends. And the fragments of immortal elixir found on certain ancient stars, or rumors that certain ancient figures had once refined it — none could withstand scrutiny. This included the secret pill formulas of the Eternal Mother Star, which also could not be taken at full face value and were likely not a true Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir or authentic ancient formula.
“What is this?” Long Ma’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. It had charged deep into the inner chambers and come across a grove of small trees — none more than a meter tall. Each one was crystalline and translucent, emitting streaks of divine radiance.
Ye Fan was momentarily stunned, then observed carefully. His heart shook violently. He could not help but marvel — the fire spirit sacred being Cang Yan’s collection was astonishingly rich!
He had encountered this sort of scene before, which allowed him to recognize it immediately — this was a cultivation ground for the Undying Wondrous Tree!
The area was cool and clear, without any scorching fire essence. Instead there were jade-like divine walls. These jade trees had not been carved or sculpted — they were all rooted in the earth, with gnarled and twisted root systems like coiled dragons.
There were forty-nine jade trees in total, each a different color. Some were like red agate, some as green as leaves, and some shone like pure gold.
“The Undying Wondrous Tree — it occupies the topmost position among Sage-level weapons. Once fully nurtured and consecrated, it can be said to penetrate heaven and earth. There have been those who wielded it and became invincible in all under heaven!” Ye Fan recited the account from the ancient records.
“What?! This is the Undying Wondrous Tree — also called the Seven-Wonder Ancient Tree?” Long Ma was shocked, then swallowed wildly. It was said to be an ancient treasure refined by a Daoist from the age of myth who had passed down the consecration method — its power was supreme and unrivaled.
It began looking around, searching for the primary tree.
“The great count of the Da Yan numbers fifty, of which forty-nine are used in practice — this has to do with the Great Dao. There must still be one more tree — the one that represents the fugitive one, the one that has withdrawn. That is the true Seven-Wonder Ancient Tree!”
“These forty-nine are only subsidiary trees used to absorb immortal radiance.”
“Here it is!” Long Ma finally spotted it. The main tree was suspended above, its root system sunk into the void, drawing from the power of empty space.
Evidently, this was a weapon Cang Yan had been consecrating for himself. The time had not yet come — it had not fully transformed into an invincible Great Sage weapon.
“What a pity — it isn’t ‘ripe’ yet.” Long Ma cried out in disappointment.
“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it.” Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon said, drool flowing freely.
This ancient tree stood about one meter tall, with seven branches growing from it, supporting the vault of the heavens — as though capable of splitting open the firmament.
“Be content with what you get. If you waited for it to become a Great Sage weapon, even if you were given it, you wouldn’t be able to subdue it.” Ye Fan said.
He activated the “Weapon” Word Technique. In his palm, a broken branch immediately appeared, bearing seven leaves — crystalline and translucent, similar in appearance to this ancient tree, only shorter in length.
This was something Ye Fan had obtained in the immortal cave world long ago — only a broken branch, which had never been put to use.
“Wait — that’s strange. Even though it’s only a broken branch, why does it carry such a terrifying weapon-soul fluctuation?” Long Ma asked.
Ye Fan nodded. Long ago in the Northern Region Divine City, he had cut through a strange stone, within which was a kind of unimaginably extraordinary substance — a weapon soul — capable of repairing various ancient weapons.
In the end, he had used it on the Undying Wondrous Tree. Unfortunately, it was ultimately only a branch — far too incomplete. The weapon soul resided within it, yet could not bring it to a state of perfection.
“Pluck it!” Ye Fan had Long Ma step forward and pluck the Seven-Wonder Ancient Tree from the void.
“But it isn’t yet perfect — right now it can only be refined into a Sage weapon!” Long Ma said with regret.
Ye Fan said: “Wait until it becomes truly flawless and perfect, and it won’t be something you can control anymore. If you pluck it now and use the weapon soul to fuse this broken branch with it as one, it can be refined into a supreme treasure. As long as your strength is sufficient, you can let it continue to grow in the future.”
Long Ma heard this and nodded, plucking the ancient tree.
In Ye Fan’s hand, seven-colored radiance flashed, and the branch bearing the weapon soul flew upward and merged into this ancient tree. Instantly, the tree blazed with undying brilliance, carrying within it a terrifying aura of divinity.
Long Ma was overjoyed and said: “This weapon soul — was it left by a supreme existence from the Northern Dipper?”
It knew that with this ownerless weapon soul fused into it, this weapon could continue to grow in the future. It would obtain an invincible wondrous ancient tree!
“It is best for a weapon to grow alongside its wielder. That way they will perfectly meld, and it will answer every command with ease.” Ye Fan said, then collected the forty-nine small trees along with the jade stone foundation and handed them over to Long Ma.
Long Ma understood and said: “Once I refine it into a Sage weapon and achieve a perfect bond with it, I’ll use these forty-nine precious trees to nourish it further — sooner or later, it will become an invincible ancient weapon.”
“What about my treasure?” Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon asked hopefully, also wanting to gain something.
Ye Fan said: “Long Ma now has the ancient tree. The Chaos Stone mountain is left for you — it can be consecrated according to the ancient method to form a Heaven-Overturning Seal.”
Without question, this would be a devastating killing weapon. Once completed, it would not be inferior to Long Ma’s Seven-Wonder Ancient Tree.
The three of them swept through the fire spirit sacred being Cang Yan’s private chambers, their gains enormous. In the end, not even a fire dragon grass was left behind — the ancient mountain, the chambers, and the celestial halls within the solar star were all looted clean.
“The moment that old fellow comes back, he’s going to lose his mind.” Long Ma said with gleeful schadenfreude.
Ye Fan had successfully found the extreme-realm fire essence that had nurtured the fire spirit sacred being in this place. Cang Yan had been born within this sun, and much divine solar essence of the same nature still lingered here.
In a terrifying heavenly tribulation, Ye Fan used the Lunar Divine Core and the divine solar essence together — life-death collision, yin and yang mutually complementing — and successfully broke through the barrier.
When the heavenly tribulation ended, he had smoothly advanced to the Eighth Tier of the Sage realm. Cultivation grew harder the further one pressed forward. This time he had climbed only a single small step — yet his strength had increased by a vast margin.
Peerless among Sages!
At this moment, Ye Fan found it difficult to encounter an opponent among the ancient Sages. The Eighth Tier of the Sage realm was sufficient for him to engage Sage-level kings in full combat.
He stood in the darkness of the star field, gazing into the depths of the cosmos. It was as though he crossed through time and space, beholding one after another those truly terrifying, world-shaking enemies of incomparable power — the Great Demon God, Emperor Heaven, the hereditary rivals of the Holy Body, and countless others!