The violet qi was like a blade, seeming to want to slice Ye Fan apart — this filled him with terror, and this was only a single wisp!
“Come out!”
Ye Fan was anxious, exerting every effort to circulate the Primordial Qi of All Creation, trying to draw it forth. He could clearly sense it had grown considerably more active.
The dark yellow energy swirled and finally seeped out — but only in a small amount, coating the surface of his body, nowhere near enough to fully protect him.
Things had gone gravely wrong.
Ye Fan’s expression completely changed. He poured divine power into the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net, wrapping himself entirely inside, stretching it into a cage that enclosed heaven and earth around him, trapping himself within.
Boom!
The void shattered fully open. That crystalline jade leaf suddenly disintegrated and turned to ash, vanishing before Ye Fan’s eyes.
It had been a forbidden weapon, possessing enormous destructive power and capable of displaying incredible might — but its fatal weakness was that after being used a number of times, it would crumble. Back in the ancient forbidden grounds, the three elders of the Ji Family, the Jiang Family, and Yao Guang Sacred Ground each held one such forbidden weapon; after several uses, they self-destructed. This particular jade leaf could not compare to those three, and it had shattered after only a single use — strictly speaking, it could only be counted as a lesser forbidden weapon.
The void split open, and Ye Fan plunged into a world of violet — no flames, only violet qi drifting and circulating in a hazy dreamlike flow, yet the temperature was shockingly high.
He exerted every effort to circulate divine power into the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net. The net’s threads radiated a light like starlight, forming a luminous barrier that temporarily blocked the violet fire.
Yet before he could feel relieved, the barrier suddenly caved inward. The violet qi seemed to weigh tens of thousands of pounds; the barrier could not hold it back at all and burned swiftly away, rapidly dissolving.
“What kind of flame is this, that it can burn divine power itself?” Ye Fan was inwardly horrified.
If the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net were destroyed, he would truly be without options. The Primordial Qi of All Creation was active enough, but it had not fully seeped out; it could not protect him completely.
Hiss!
The barrier caved in again, on the verge of complete collapse. The violet mist pressed down; wave after wave of terrifying scorching heat came pulsing through, already faintly transmitted inward.
Even the Ji Family elder’s supreme treasure could not block the violet fire.
This was where great powerhouses came to forge weapons. The flames they had chosen were naturally rare and precious in all the world. Though Ji Hui’s Grand Gauze Heavenly Net was no ordinary object, it was not something that could compare to the treasures of great powerhouses, and it could not withstand the violet fire.
Hiss!
The barrier collapsed completely. The violet mist pressed down onto the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net, and in an instant the crystalline net threads dimmed. Then they began emitting crackling sounds.
Cracks appeared in the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net; it was about to be destroyed by the violet fire. Ye Fan was in a panic. The divine spring water from the Jade Cleansing Bottle flowed outward and poured into his mouth; then, transforming into a streak of light, he charged in a certain direction.
Violet qi surrounded him on all sides. He had absolutely no way of knowing which direction was the outer perimeter and which was the center of the Fire Domain — it was impossible to judge.
Crack!
One final sharp sound, and the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net shattered piece by piece, completely incinerated. Strong as Ye Fan’s physical body was, it could not endure the scorching of violet fire.
However, the small amount of Primordial Qi of All Creation that had seeped out — though very little — had at least served some purpose, flowing across the surface of his body in a faint haze, actually forcing the violet mist back, preventing it from truly pressing against him.
Even so, it was more than he could bear — as if ten million blunt blades were slowly slicing through his flesh and blood. The excruciating pain was nearly impossible to endure.
Just how high the temperature of the violet qi was, there was no way to fathom. Even at a distance, separated by a gap of space, he was already on the verge of shattering.
“Wretched Primordial Qi of All Creation — why won’t you flow out?!” Ye Fan roared, sprinting forward, continuously pouring divine spring water into his mouth.
Unless the Primordial Qi of All Creation could cover every surface of his body, he would die for certain if this continued. He charged forward several li, nearly in despair — ahead, five-colored mist swirled and coiled, even more frightening than the violet qi.
“Damn it all — that’s the center!” He reversed course and charged back.
Ye Fan’s physical body, surpassing even the power of treasured artifacts, was now a sheet of blood red — on the verge of igniting. The small amount of Primordial Qi of All Creation could not fully block the horrifying heat.
Just then, he suddenly went still. The Jade Cleansing Bottle in his hand was even less protective than the Grand Gauze Heavenly Net — so why hadn’t it been incinerated? In his panic, he had completely overlooked this abnormality.
The small amount of Primordial Qi of All Creation was flowing across his body surface, but it had not covered the Jade Cleansing Bottle. There was nothing separating it from the violet flames.
“How is it unharmed?!” Ye Fan felt as though his flesh and blood were nearly drying out; he sensed that a few more steps would cause him to explode with a thunderous crack and then turn to ash.
Without any hesitation, he summoned the Jade Cleansing Bottle and drew himself inside it.
“First throwing myself into a trap, and now drawing myself into the Jade Cleansing Bottle…” Ye Fan realized that these two absurd actions had somehow been done consecutively — truly driven to desperate measures.
What could be inside the Jade Cleansing Bottle that was blocking the violet qi, leaving this precious vessel undamaged? Ye Fan entered the interior, felt a wave of cool freshness, and his foggy, muddled mind immediately cleared.
Though this bottle had been wounded in its fundamental nature back in the ancient forbidden grounds, its internal space remained extremely vast — at the very least, a fifty-meter-tall hill could fit within.
The divine spring water remained, floating nearby in a small quantity.
In the other corners were various scattered objects: food and water, the bronze plaque of Great Thunder Sound Temple, an ancient bronze lamp, a diamond vajra staff, and others.
After searching carefully, he discovered it with a start — it was that Bodhi Seed!
Ye Fan knew well that it was a sacred object. But having taken that impression for granted, he had assumed it could only assist in comprehending the Dao and had never thought further than that. After all, it was a seed — he had never imagined it could withstand violet fire.
He was both astonished and overjoyed. Of all the items obtained from Great Thunder Sound Temple, everything else had become half-ruined, but the Bodhi Seed alone remained most mysterious — undamaged and whole, with the patterns of the Dao forming naturally upon it.
Ye Fan held the Bodhi Seed, silently circulated his divine power, and charged out of the Jade Cleansing Bottle. The instant he appeared outside, the violet qi retreated, rapidly rolling to both sides to open a clear space before him — a patch of pure stillness and clarity.
“As I thought…”
In that moment, Ye Fan’s mind flooded with a great many thoughts. In Buddhist legend, what was the most powerful fire? Naturally — karmic fire.
The flames condensed from the karmic forces of all living beings could reduce a Buddha to ash, could extinguish every divine being in the world — nothing could stand against it.
The sins of all living creatures, accumulated and joined together, became karmic fire. When the Buddha attained enlightenment, he embraced great compassion and mercy, passed through the scorching of karmic fire, and ultimately achieved the fruit of the Dao.
And what he had relied upon most in attaining enlightenment was a Bodhi tree, which had allowed him to reach perfect understanding, withstand every karmic force, and reach complete fulfillment.
Without question, that sacred Bodhi tree feared no karmic fire, awakening to its divine nature and standing most extraordinary.
Of course, in this world it is difficult for anything to be truly eternal. Perhaps the Buddha’s fulfillment represented only a kind of realm — not what people called everlasting life.
Whether the Buddha had become an Immortal, the people of the world did not know. Great Thunder Sound Temple had long since been destroyed, and even the legendary sacred Bodhi tree had left behind nothing more than this single seed.
“If even the world’s most powerful karmic fire could be blocked, then naturally this violet fire holds no fear…” Ye Fan was deeply moved. This Bodhi Seed in his hand struck him as ever more mysterious and extraordinary.
Within a radius of three meters, the violet fire could not intrude — a domain of peace and stillness. Ye Fan let out a long breath. With such a sacred seed on his person, a deep sense of security settled over him.
Ye Fan calmed his mind, drank some of the divine spring water, and began healing his injuries. In those brief moments just past, his body had come close to igniting, and he had suffered grievous damage.
He was in no hurry to leave. In the Southern Region as it was now, this place was perhaps the safest location available to him. Every great power was searching for him; if he went out and was discovered, death would be certain.
Ye Fan did not move. Sitting cross-legged for a full three days, drinking some divine spring water, he finally managed to restore his wounded body and return to peak condition.
“Great powerhouses are truly terrifying. To forge weapons in a place like this — just how overwhelming must their strength be?!”
Without the Bodhi Seed, he could not have survived here even for a moment. He was quietly awestruck, and could not fathom what those great powerhouses were truly capable of.
Over these days, he had been constantly on the run, yet he had prepared well — the Jade Cleansing Bottle contained sufficient food and water, enough to sustain him through a long period of seclusion here.
Since he intended to stay for a while, Ye Fan began exploring the “Purple Qi Comes from the East” fire domain, acquainting himself with everything here.
This place was very still. Violet mist drifted all around, without even a trace of sound. Aside from the stone forest jutting up in jagged tangles, there were no other features of any kind.
“What is so special about these stones, that Ji Family elders’ precious treasures were destroyed while they remain completely unharmed?”
Ye Fan struck hard and split open one of the stones, finding nothing abnormal within. This puzzled him greatly; in the end, he could only conclude that the Fire Domain possessed a spiritual awareness of its own.
“Even great powerhouses choose to forge weapons here. Perhaps I can make use of this violet qi to temper my cauldron into form.”
Fire was of the utmost importance in weapon forging. Back then, in the cave dwelling of Elder Han who refined medicinal pills, he had borrowed the underground flame essence to forge the cauldron into shape.
Now, the violet fire here was beyond comparison with mere flame essence — it would surely produce effects far more extraordinary.
Ye Fan’s heart stirred with a measure of excitement. After all, in this region the Primordial Qi of All Creation had already grown quite active — perhaps it truly could take form here.
He wandered through this domain for about half an hour, taking a general look around, and found nothing of particular note.
Apart from some humanoid ash piles, he discovered materials that had been discarded after weapon forging, leaving their traces here. Those who had left such traces — it went without saying — were all great powerhouses.
“The higher the quality of the fire source, the stronger the weapon forged. Legend has it that in the past, some peerless figures would spend half their lives gathering the essence of flames to use in tempering supreme-path weapons.”
Ye Fan felt that this place might represent an extraordinary opportunity for him.
“You wanted to drive me to complete destruction — yet you may well have given me a perfect chance instead…” He had by now learned that this place held nine types of flame, each tier surpassing the last, growing more terrifying the deeper one ventured.
Right now, this was only the sixth tier, and quite a few great powerhouses chose to forge weapons here. What power would the seventh tier’s flames possess?
What sort of sight would the eighth tier present — it was enough to set the imagination running wild.
As for the ninth tier, Ye Fan felt it was beyond imagining entirely.
Many records had been written about this place. In the most ancient historical texts, references could even be found to “Immortals,” and to a Desolate Pagoda. However, these amounted to no more than a few sparse, indistinct lines — vague and difficult to make sense of.
Ye Fan did not know these things. Had he known, his excitement and astonishment would surely have been far greater.
Holding the Bodhi Seed, he made his way toward the seventh tier of the Fire Domain. Just a moment ago he had glimpsed it in the distance — five-colored mist that radiated terrifying fluctuations capable of making the heart lurch.
He advanced several li. Five-colored clouds hovered before him in a dreamlike haze — nothing like fire at all; it was closer to celestial mist, looking perfectly serene and tranquil at first glance, yet it caused the heart to clench and the soul to tremble slightly.
Standing only at the boundary without entering, Ye Fan already felt a scorching heat — and this was while holding the Bodhi Seed.
His expression stiffened. Without venturing deeper, he had already spotted humanoid ash piles and the remnants of weapon forgings that had failed.
“Great powerhouses have chosen to forge weapons in the seventh tier — but it seems exceedingly dangerous. Some have perished inside.”
He felt a creeping chill. If even great powerhouses had suffered deaths and injuries, one could imagine how terrifying that five-colored mist truly was. A flame of this kind had long since surpassed all imagination.
“I’ll stick to the sixth tier and honestly temper my cauldron there with the Bodhi Seed’s protection. If it takes shape here, I can then consider entering the seventh tier for further refinement.”
Ye Fan had no intention of risking himself at this moment. He felt he could proceed gradually — if he succeeded here as a first step, he could attempt to draw upon the fire power of the seventh tier, or even the eighth, to further temper his cauldron.
“The primordial source of the Primordial Qi of All Creation, combined with a supreme fire source — such a combination will surely allow me to forge my cauldron.” He intended to forge the mightiest weapon imaginable.