A road to immortality?
Ye Fan’s heart was shaken. Even with suspicions in his heart that this place might have some connection to immortality, he still could not suppress the shock of hearing it confirmed — that he had actually laid eyes upon such a road!
The old woman intended to re-open the ancient path — to bore through the primordial chaos and restore this small world to what it had been before its destruction.
Without question, this was an enormously difficult undertaking. The primordial chaos had consumed everything here, leaving behind utter desolation. This pure land had been completely severed.
A road to immortality from several million years ago — was that the early primordial era, or the final days of the mythological age? It was impossible to determine. Someone had tried to break into the immortal realm here and shattered this small world, giving rise to the scene that now lay before him.
“Who were those people?”
One name after another surfaced in Ye Fan’s mind. Was it the Ancient Celestial Venerables? Was it the Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Emperor from the final days of the mythological age? Or was it the Undying Heavenly Emperor?
Without question, those who set foot upon the road to immortality would shake both ancient times and the present.
One could only wonder whether they had failed or succeeded. Judging by the state of this place — with the Great Emperor Formation Patterns ground nearly to dust and the road to immortality broken and severed — the battle here must have been of extraordinary intensity.
“In the end, it has all become the past…” Ye Fan let out a quiet sigh.
To enter the immortal realm required the right moment in time, the right location, and a power that defied the heavens — not one of these conditions could be absent.
Where the road to immortality would open in this age, not a single person could say with true certainty. This place was only an undying relic that bore witness to the brilliance of those who had come before, and to the desolation of their final curtain.
What the old woman could do was only to bore through the primordial chaos and restore this pure land as it had once been — to search for traces and clues left behind by that road to immortality from millions of years ago.
It was no longer possible to enter the immortal realm from this place. As time turned, so too did locations shift and change. Yet this place was undoubtedly a treasure — rich with immortal light.
“The people of that era were absolutely peerless. They must have broken through into the immortal realm — otherwise, immortal light would not have fallen into this world.” The old woman said.
There was every reason to suspect it. The North Pole Immortal Light was the spiritual energy of the immortal realm. Long ago, someone had shattered the wall that had never been broken throughout ten thousand ages, allowing the breath of that world to come flooding through.
That immortal energy and auspicious light had been sealed within the primordial chaos, and over long eons, occasional strands would overflow out into the world beyond.
“This was a powerful being — one who beheld the immortal realm!”
Ye Fan sighed quietly. Xue Yueqing had also set foot upon the road to immortality, broken through the barrier, but had been old and weakened — stripped of the full glory of her youth — and had ultimately fallen on the road, unable to enter that world.
This person — what of them? Had they, too, done the same — broken through into the immortal realm, only to bleed out upon the road in the end? That was entirely possible, for this place had been completely severed and destroyed, with the Great Emperor Formation Patterns nearly worn smooth to nothing.
Ye Fan looked at Tu Fei and let out a sigh. He knew that this visit had come too soon. Tu Fei’s fortune and opportunity had not yet run their course — his transformation was still ongoing, and it was not the right time to take him away.
A violent ripple of divine consciousness came through. Tu Fei’s body could not move and his mouth could not speak — he was sealed within the dark ice — but his divine consciousness had awakened long ago over many years, and it now surged back to life, brimming with excitement.
“Little Ye… is it really you?!”
“It’s me. I’ve come to see you.”
“I’m a living corpse right now — can’t move at all. I really want to get out of here!” Tu Fei’s body was occupied by the immortal light and had not been truly refined yet, so he could not move.
“Just wait. The day will come when you emerge.” Ye Fan consoled him.
“Where’d that damn dog go? I’m going to kill it! That worthless bastard, that unreliable son of a…” Tu Fei was full of grievances, and with a mouth that had never been easy to restrain, now was certainly no different. He unleashed a torrent of curses, giving the Black Emperor a tongue-lashing worthy of a dog’s blood bath.
“Is the flesh of the Peng better, or is donkey meat better?” Tu Fei’s train of thought was not something that could be followed by ordinary logic — one moment he was cursing the Black Emperor, and the next sentence was about food.
“What’s the matter?” Ye Fan asked.
“Hungry.”
Ye Fan: “……”
“Those Saintesses of yours — how many have you gotten your hands on? Don’t you dare go and spoil them all — a brother won’t stand for it. Leave a few for me!” Tu Fei, besides his big mouth, also had an exceptionally bold nerve. In the blink of an eye he had pivoted again, leaving Ye Fan thoroughly speechless.
Trapped for so many years, and this fellow was still the same old self, stubborn as ever.
“Little Ye, you’re no good, you know that? You still haven’t settled things with Yao Xi, and it’s been over a hundred years since you went to see the Jade Pool Saintess. What a waste!” That big mouth was misfiring again.
“You just woke up — can you worry a little less and behave?!” Ye Fan felt a headache coming on.
“I want to drink Enlightenment Tea.”
“Your grandfather’s — can you keep your thoughts in order? Stop jumping all over the place!”
“Is the Black Emperor still wearing those floral shorts? Get him a dog-skin pair instead!” Tu Fei’s thoughts went wandering off again.
“……”
After his thoughts had leapt about endlessly without stop, he finally fell silent. After a very long time, he let out a choked sob: “Liu Kou is dead…”
That was his true, genuine emotion. The few little bandits who had sworn brotherhood together — Liu Kou had been his brother through life and death, yet in the end, he had not even been there to see him off. The grief in his heart was immense.
Ye Fan understood. Tu Tian and the old undying one had come here before, telling Tu Fei everything of the outside world, and naturally his heart carried both hurt and pain.
After weeping loudly for a long while, Tu Fei finally grew calm, slowly conversing with Ye Fan, asking about many things. In the end, he kept sighing heavily, wishing he could charge out immediately.
The old woman had taken Tu Fei as her disciple, passing on to him the Extinction Immortal Sutra — said to be highly likely the Dao lineage of an Ancient Celestial Venerable, transcribed from a divine stone tablet unearthed from the ground below.
That Tu Fei had lain in deep slumber for all these years was related to this as well. This environment, this immortal light, combined with this cultivation method — all of it suited him remarkably well.
In the end, they also spoke of the road to immortality. The old woman pointed out that the Immortal Manor world in the Central Region must also have once been a correct location — and that someone may have truly entered the immortal realm from there, for that world had not collapsed to this day. In other words, the ancient road had not broken there.
“I want to go there and walk through it myself — to see what lies at its deepest reaches.” Ye Fan said. In years past, his power had been insufficient and he had been blocked at the outer perimeter — he could not have ventured deep.
In that place, the Undying Heavenly Emperor and the Grand Emperors had once perished and been buried, leaving behind their coffins — yet no bodies. They had passed in and out of that small world, and their deaths may not have been real: it was going to immortality that was the truth.
Ye Fan remained here for three days, talking of many things from the past. Tu Fei’s emotions surged dramatically — killing the Heavenly Prince, storming the Human Race’s ancient road — he had not been part of any of it, and regretted it deeply, wishing he could charge out at once.
But his cultivation method was far too peculiar. Once the three days had passed, he directly “entered extinction” — falling back into deep slumber, transforming once more into a living corpse, beginning his extraordinary path of cultivation.
Snow fell in great white flurries. Ye Fan said his farewells to Tu Fei and the old woman and left the ice plain, pressing southward through wind and snow.
In the end, he returned to the Eastern Wastelands and entered the small world of the Azure Flood Dragon King.
The Azure Flood Dragon King had passed on before heaven and earth changed. Now, the Peacock King and the Crimson Dragon King presided here, governing the demon clan. None dared come to make trouble.
Atop a quiet mountain peak, deep within a pine forest, there was a grave — solitary and alone. The mound of earth was not large. A stone tablet stood before it, carved with the name Qin Yao.
A cold wind blew through. Fallen leaves drifted to the ground. Ye Fan felt cold throughout his body. He stood before the grave in silence, set down the flowers he carried — and in an instant, petal upon petal of white blossoms went scattering through the air, drifting down around him. It looked desolate and forlorn.
Ye Fan sat on the cold ground. He was alone for a very long time. What was there to say? Time had passed. The person had returned to the earth — unable to come back, ever again.
The life of a cultivator — not only did it entail countless battles of life and death, but also the parting and loss of many beloved friends and family. The stronger the cultivator, the more of these they would face in years to come.
The pines sighed and rustled — this place was desolate, solitary, only this lone grave, filling one with sorrow.
No one could say how much time had passed before Ye Fan finally stood. The wind had grown stronger. The pines surged in waves, like the sound of muffled weeping — plaintive and lamenting.
He rode out on a gust of wind, bursting out of the Azure Flood Dragon King’s small world. He did not go to see the Crimson Dragon Daoist or the Peacock King — he only wanted to leave this place, to run with his full strength.
“Who scattered these flowers?” A young woman appeared — it was the one called Golden Swallow from years past, now much more mature. She gazed at the vanishing figure in the distance and said: “Has that person come to see her? Qin Yao, sister — the one you never stopped thinking of has come to visit you. I hear he is nearly peerless under heaven.”
“My elder brother Golden Feather died. Senior Brother Bitter Bamboo also perished when he severed his Dao. Of the three of them, now only Senior Brother White Phoenix remains. If we could have chosen differently, what would our paths have looked like?” Golden Swallow left the mountain peak.
Ye Fan was now a figure capable of cutting down an early-stage Great Sage — his power at the extreme end of might. Having also cultivated the movement scripture, he possessed the swiftest speed under heaven. Even though the land was vast and boundless, it amounted to nothing against his current cultivation.
He made no use of the formation platforms, relying only on his own two legs — spending his surging blood energy freely — and charged toward the Central Region.
No one could say how long it took before he at last slowed his pace. He had already entered the Central Region, and he allowed his feelings to gradually settle back to calm.
Rolling mountain ranges stretched one after another, like sleeping horned dragons resting in wait. Wisps of purple energy rose and steamed upward — as though this were a land from which immortals might ascend — majestic and yet retaining a delicate beauty.
This was the immortal mountain where the Hall of Rare Scholars was situated — splendid and magnificent in form.
Ye Fan walked straight through the mountain gate. Upon arriving, memories of the past came flooding back: one remarkable figure after another challenging the gates with their abilities, entering the Hall of Rare Scholars — yet it was only he who had waited outside, never entering. He had eaten the mount belonging to Qi Huo Shui, shot and killed Yan Yunluan, and stood against Wang Teng.
“Hmm — who is this person? He looks somehow familiar.”
The Hall of Rare Scholars of today, though it had seen off a number of extraordinary figures into the starry void, had not closed its doors and still gathered the finest talents of the Five Regions.
The moment Ye Fan arrived, he drew the attention of several people, who turned to look his way.
“He is… the Holy Body, Ye Fan!” Someone recognized him, and cried out in shock.
The Hall of Rare Scholars immediately erupted in clamor. Many people appeared, looking toward his direction. Ye Fan’s name was too great now — he had nearly leveled Mount Sumeru, and there was no need to speak of anything else. The moment he appeared, it was naturally bound to cause an uproar.
“It’s really him. I hear he is nearly a Great Sage by now — capable of cutting down those who have just entered the Great Sage level, killing his way through the Human Race’s ancient road without an equal, and returning to the Northern Dipper.”
Within the Hall of Rare Scholars, there were people from the same generation as Ye Fan. Upon seeing him, they could not help feeling a bitterness in their hearts — their own cultivation level lagged so far behind his that it was as though they were from two different generations.
“Senior Ye, what was it like on the Human Race’s ancient road?” A small girl with a bright, spirited presence came running over — she looked no more than twelve or thirteen, her face pretty as a porcelain doll, completely unafraid of his formidable reputation.
“Senior, tell us about the ancient road!” Several other young people came crowding around as well.
These were the generation that came after — more than a hundred years removed from Ye Fan and his peers. They were just as full of vitality and spirit as that generation had once been.
Even so, a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child among them was genuinely startling to behold — she must surely be of extraordinary natural gifts.
Ye Fan took a closer look and found that this porcelain-doll girl, like the young novice monk he had seen at Lanta Monastery in the Western Wasteland, had a bone structure of remarkable quality — natural roots of exceptional talent, rare in the world.
“Who are your parents?” Ye Fan asked her gently.
The porcelain doll was adorably coy: “My mother is an old acquaintance of Senior Ye’s.”