The Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace was one of the greatest historical mysteries of the Eastern Desolation. Legend held that it was forged by immortals, though this could not be verified. It had appeared even before the Ancient Era, and no one had ever truly understood its origins.

Ye Fan had decided to pierce the heavens — to reveal this secret. Everything he did was merely to create an opportunity to leave this place.

He could well anticipate that once the news spread, it would send great waves crashing across this land. But he could no longer afford to concern himself with that.

Ji Ziyue’s beautiful eyes grew very wide. She tried to transmit her voice to stop him, but it was already too late. Ye Fan paid her no heed and continued speaking of his own accord.

“You little brat, what do you think you’re doing? Do you know what consequences this will unleash once the news gets out? Didn’t we agree to keep this information hidden?” Ji Ziyue was furious. Seeing that Ye Fan ignored her, she clenched her delicate fists, wishing she could go over and pummel him a few times.

Ye Fan was very thorough, even identifying the specific location — telling them it was near Tai Xuan, that they could go verify it at any time. He had no other choice. To make his escape, he would have to set aside Ji Ziyue for the moment.

“Is this truly so?” The Holy Maiden of Yao Guang was shaken. She rose to her feet, her jade-like body glowing, wreathed in a soft halo of light — like an exiled immortal descending upon the mortal world.

“Are you certain?!” Even Hua Yunfei could no longer maintain his serene composure. He leapt to his feet, gazing at Ye Fan.

“Ziyue, is this true?” Ji Haoyue looked steadily at his younger sister. He knew the two of them had been together all along.

Uncertain of Ye Fan’s words, everyone’s gaze converged on Ji Ziyue. There was no way to conceal it any longer — she could only nod.

“Something this significant — why didn’t you say so sooner?” Ji Haoyue was mildly reproachful.

“It’s not as if it’s anything good. Every time the Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace appears, many people die. I thought it would be better to quietly suppress the matter and avoid all the bloodshed,” Ji Ziyue muttered under her breath.

“I forgot to mention — there is a great deal of Primordial Heaven-Earth Qi there. Thick as clouds, heavy as mountains…” Ye Fan was perfectly thorough, tossing out another explosive revelation.

“What? There is Primal Mother Qi of All Things there?!”

“That is a sacred material for forging treasured implements!”

Everyone was astonished. Their eyes all lit up at once.

The Mysterious Heavenly and Earthly Essence — the Dark representing the essence of heaven, the Yellow representing the marrow of the earth — together they are the quintessence of heaven and earth; hence dark and yellow have long stood as symbols of the cosmos.

“Are you certain?” Hua Yunfei could no longer remain calm. He drifted closer, fixing a serious gaze on Ye Fan and asking earnestly.

“Certainly. I witnessed it with my own eyes.” Ye Fan gave an affirmative answer.

“Where is that lake?” The Holy Maiden of Yao Guang’s beautiful eyes swirled with vivid light.

The others pressed in from all sides as well.

Since the very beginning of heaven and earth, the overflow of quintessential energy became the Primal Mother Qi of All Things. Its quantity was pitifully scarce — nearly exhausted — and it was the most prized treasure of supreme-level cultivators, a jewel among treasures for forging implements.

The Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace, while awe-inspiring, was also something distant and intangible to them. Even knowing of its existence, all they could do was report it upward and let the sect masters and Elder Patriarchs make the final decision. The so-called opportunity to become an immortal was far beyond where they stood.

But the Primal Mother Qi of All Things was different. That was a genuine treasure — a sacred material capable of forging all tangible forms. If they could gather it, the benefit to their entire lives would be immeasurable.

Every pair of eyes blazed with fire. Not a single person there did not wish to forge a supreme-tier weapon.

“What are you doing, you scheming little wretch?! You’re leading everyone into harm’s way!” Ji Ziyue was sharp — she had noticed something was off, and quietly berated Ye Fan, saying: “You knew perfectly well that the Primal Mother Qi had already withdrawn back into the bronze palace. Why would you say otherwise?”

Ji Ziyue had sought Primal Mother Qi from Ye Fan to no avail and had gone to that lake multiple times to gather the Primal Mother Qi herself, reaping considerable gains — but she had noticed the Primal Mother Qi sinking lower each time, until at last it all sank entirely into the bronze palace and could no longer be gathered.

These assembled individuals each withdrew, going to report to their respective elders in person. They had each come accompanied by senior figures from their sects — and such news was simply too momentous.

Even figures like Ji Haoyue, the Holy Maiden of Yao Guang, and Hua Yunfei had no authority to act on their own in a matter like this. They departed in haste.

Ji Ziyue’s large eyes shimmered with flowing light. Quick as a sprite, she wrinkled her nose and angrily seized Ye Fan’s arm, saying: “You — what exactly are you trying to do?”

“Don’t be upset. Getting angry causes wrinkles,” Ye Fan said with a smile, pinching her delicate nose.

“Little brat, you’ve been far too bold today,” Ji Ziyue ground her small canine teeth, preparing to settle accounts with Ye Fan.

“Quickly, bring out your treasured object and use it to collect the essence of the Primal Mother Qi,” Ye Fan quietly transmitted to her.

“What?!” Ji Ziyue was startled, a flash of brilliant light leaping in her large eyes.

She had already collected some Primal Mother Qi from that lake — but it was incomparably inferior to the mother qi’s “primal root.” Only this source-root of the mother qi could be used to truly consecrate the legendary supreme-Dao weapons through ritual.

She had coaxed and threatened Ye Fan in every way imaginable, yet he simply would not give her the Primal Mother Qi “primal root.” She had never imagined that he would now offer it to her of his own accord.

Ye Fan felt that Ji Ziyue, though clever and mischievous, harbored no ill intentions. On the contrary, she had stood up for him on numerous occasions over the past days. As he prepared to leave this place, he felt a pang of guilt and decided to give her the treasure most prized among cultivators — the Primal Mother Qi.

Though he could not control the Primal Mother Qi and could only gather a small amount at the surface of his body, Ji Ziyue possessed a secret treasure that was sufficient — allowing her to draw it into her hand.

“Ah — this is truly the essence of the Primal Mother Qi!” When Ji Ziyue received the Primal Mother Qi “primal root,” her large eyes curved into crescents. Dimples appeared on her cheeks as she bounced about with the liveliness of a sprite.

“Cultivate well and surpass your brother…” Ye Fan ruffled her hair, then turned and strode away. “I have matters to attend to — I’ll be heading back to Untalented Peak first.”

Ji Ziyue was perceptive enough. She had long since sensed Ye Fan’s unusual behavior. For no apparent reason, he had revealed the Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace. Connecting the events before and after, she immediately guessed the reason.

“Little brat, you don’t need to run…” she called and quickly gave chase.

Ye Fan had been diligently studying the mad elder’s footwork technique of late. Though he could not yet take a single step and leave mountains and rivers behind him, he had reached a speed that was nothing short of astonishing. It was an incomparable secret technique.

Though Ji Ziyue’s cultivation was higher than his, she could not hope to catch him. In the blink of an eye, she was left far behind.

Ye Fan barely caught a distant cry: “Little brat, don’t go…”

He let out a long sigh and departed without looking back. With insufficient power, he had no choice but to flee.

Passing through the area near Untalented Peak, he saw Li Ruoyu standing at the mountain’s summit, gazing in this direction.

Ye Fan hesitated briefly, but ultimately rose into the air. He trusted this old man, who had offered him much guidance. He could not bring himself to leave without a word.

He flew up to Untalented Peak, performed a deep bow of respect, then stood upright.

“You are leaving?” Li Ruoyu asked.

Ye Fan nodded.

“Then go. Every person walks a different Dao.” The old man said nothing more. He possessed great wisdom in the matter of cultivation — meditating upon the Dao at Untalented Peak — and was a figure of uncommon depth.

Ye Fan thought for a moment, then drew out the jade clean bottle and poured a portion of divine spring water into a jade vessel, which he presented to Li Ruoyu with both hands. “Many thanks, senior. I take my leave.”

With these words spoken, Ye Fan stepped upon empty air. Using the incomparable secret technique taught to him by the mad elder, he departed in a streak of flowing light.

Aside from Ji Ziyue and Li Ruoyu, there was one other person who had suspected Ye Fan intended to leave.

If anyone could be said to know Ye Fan best, it was without question Li Xiaoman — for they had lived alongside each other for several years. The moment he spoke of the Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace, she had already guessed his motive. Then she watched him depart into the distance, and in an instant understood clearly: Ye Fan was making his escape.

Ye Fan paused not a single moment. His golden Bitter Sea surged and seethed, lightning interweaved, he drew upon his full divine power and pressed his feet against the mysterious footwork technique, rapidly distancing himself from Tai Xuan.

As for the mad elder — Ye Fan had nothing to worry about on that score. A man of that level of power, even deep in slumber, would be nearly impossible for outsiders to harm.

Several days later, Ye Fan was tens of thousands of li away, standing in a land separated from Tai Xuan by more than a dozen kingdoms. Only then did he stop.

Flying directly to the Eastern Desolation’s Northern Region would consume several years. During that journey, there would be no opportunity to cultivate — wasted time, nothing more. Ye Fan could not accept that.

“Is there truly no other way?” He sighed deeply. The Eastern Desolation was truly immense. This territory was but a single corner of the Southern Region. To travel from south to north — the distance was unimaginable.

When Ye Fan stopped, he at last grasped what an enormous storm he had set in motion. One could truly say he had pierced the heavens.

Within these past few days, news of the Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace’s emergence had spread through the spatial domain gates across the Eastern Desolation’s great powers. Countless major figures had been alarmed.

Over these days, the world had stirred. In all ten directions, the land was shaken. Not only had powerful human cultivators come rushing in — even prominent figures of the demon clan had arrived.

Among them were many great figures who had not appeared for years, having remained in long seclusion.

Yet the most shocking news was what arrived this very day.

Word had spread: a renowned human cultivator of great power — Nangong Zheng — said to have passed into death’s rest five hundred years prior, had impossibly reappeared in the world, arriving at Tai Xuan.

Further news claimed that the demon clan’s great figure — the Peacock King — who had swept through the Eastern Desolation’s Southern Region eight hundred years ago, had once again emerged and appeared within the borders of the Wei Kingdom.

Whether true or false, when these rumors spread, every heart was shaken.

Becoming an immortal — the ultimate dream of countless powerful cultivators, the highest goal pursued throughout an entire life. Yet since time immemorial, how many had ever truly taken that step?

Ancient texts hinted at a few who may have done so, but without conclusive proof, leaving countless dazzling and extraordinary figures feeling the road ahead stretched into formless uncertainty.

Across the long ages — seas becoming mulberry fields — as one brilliant and heaven-gifted figure after another returned to dust, the word “immortal” felt ever more distant.

Like the wind of a winter’s day, like a night without stars or moon — leaving one feeling cold and dark, with no hope to be seen.

Yet throughout the Eastern Desolation’s long ancient history, there had appeared figures of dazzling talent — possessing the ability to span the heavens and thread the earth, peerless within their era’s ages — who yet, in the end, became dry bones.

In that far-distant past, several heaven-gifted figures had risen to heights where it seemed they might pluck stars from the sky. They possessed the ability to reach through heaven and penetrate the earth to its core. And yet in the end, even they could not escape the tribulation of death.

Mighty as the demon emperor of ten thousand years past — wishing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the blue heavens, looking down upon all the world, sovereign unto himself, his force of arms unchallenged wherever it was directed, none failing to bow their heads.

How boundlessly vast was the Eastern Desolation — the demon clans were beyond counting — yet that emperor had united them all under one banner, seeking to establish a celestial court of the demon clan and achieve a supreme and unparalleled feat.

Yet beneath the grinding weight of the ages, his ambitions came to nothing in the end. He dissolved into a wisp of wandering soul, and at last, dust returned to dust.

Since time immemorial, a legend had persisted throughout the Eastern Desolation: the Ancient Bronze Immortal Palace held the opportunity of becoming an immortal.

For those who had scaled the absolute peak — such as Nangong Zheng and the Peacock King — this was naturally a fatal temptation. That existences such as these would re-emerge in the world was therefore no cause for wonder.