Ye Fan clearly heard the cracking sound of his own bones, his body nearly deformed, having suffered unimaginable grievous injuries.
Splash!
He plunged into a mountain ravine and fell into a state of half-consciousness, drifting in and out of awareness, utterly disoriented.
A river formed by mountain streams, waterfalls, and spring water wound its way beneath beautiful peaks. Ye Fan rose and sank with the current, carried off into the distance.
The river was not particularly swift. After more than half a day, it flowed into a vast plain and merged with a great roaring river.
Ye Fan regained consciousness from time to time, but he had not a shred of strength. Floating and sinking in the broad expanse of that river, he felt as though no fewer than a dozen bones throughout his body had been broken.
One must understand — his physical body was comparable to a precious treasure, yet he had still been reduced to this state. One could only imagine how terrifying the force had been.
It was a full three days before Ye Fan’s mind gradually returned to clarity. He immediately grimaced, wincing with pain — many parts of his body hurt unbearably.
By this point, the river had grown calm. Not far ahead was a dock where many boats were moored, and beside the riverbank stood a city.
Thud!
The current swept him up against the dock, and he collided with a large vessel. Someone noticed him at once.
“Damn it, what rotten luck — a corpse crashing into the boat. The whole year’s fortune is ruined now.” The people above grumbled and cursed.
“Not dead — seems like there’s still a breath left.”
“Haul him up and take a look.”
Someone jumped into the water, and with several pairs of hands, they heaved Ye Fan up onto the large boat.
“Could he be a powerful cultivator?” the ship’s captain said solemnly. “Did he suffer grave injuries and fall into the river?”
He reached out and probed toward Ye Fan’s Wheel Sea, then quickly stood up and swore: “He’s useless — not a trace of divine power fluctuations.”
The others crowded around, studying Ye Fan and breaking into chatter.
“His face is disfigured — mouth crooked, eyes slanted, one leg longer than the other, body completely misshapen. I’ve never seen anyone this ugly.”
“This hideous wretch has a woman’s breast garment clenched in his fist and won’t let go — is he so lovesick he tried to die for her?”
“That breast garment is quite beautiful, actually. Seems a shame to have it clutched by his hands.”
“I say, Old Li the Third — surely you don’t want it yourself? A fellow this ugly — the woman he pined after couldn’t have been anything special either. Careful you don’t have nightmares.”
The people on the dock all spoke over one another, gossiping without end.
Ye Fan quickly understood. In the shattering of the void, his physical body had been severely damaged and completely deformed. To recover, he would need to reset every bone — and right now, he most likely did look exactly like some hideous wretch.
“What should we do with him? Looks like he might actually survive.”
“Leave him at the dock and let him fend for himself. Consider it an act of charity on our part — some good karma earned.”
The ship’s captain circled Ye Fan once and said: “We can’t have saved him for nothing. Isn’t that ‘Pleasure Gang’ in the city recruiting people everywhere? Sell him to them — at least that gives him a livelihood.”
“What does the Pleasure Gang want with all these people they’re rounding up?” someone nearby asked.
“Word is they’re acting on behalf of a major power, recruiting people to go dig for source ore in the Northern Region.”
“The Northern Region?! An ordinary person couldn’t get there in ten lifetimes — how would they ever make the journey?”
“Cultivators have immortal arts — they can cross the void. We may have no way of getting there, but for them it’s no great challenge.”
Ye Fan had been about to rise and simply walk away, but upon hearing their words, his heart stirred. He remained where he was.
“You all right there, ugly?” The ship’s captain bent down to ask.
“Fine. A few days’ rest and I’ll be good.” Ye Fan naturally played along.
Hearing this, the ship’s captain was very satisfied. “Get him something to eat, then send him to the Pleasure Gang.”
The Pleasure Gang was nothing more than a small sect — inferior even to the Spirit Void Cave Heaven — yet in this particular city, it was a colossus. This region bordered the Yao Guang Sacred Ground, and every sect was subordinate to it. The Pleasure Gang occupied the lowest rung, subject to the control of those sects already affiliated with Yao Guang.
“Why are they sending all manner of people here? We need strong, able-bodied laborers — not someone disabled like this.” The people of the Pleasure Gang were visibly displeased at the sight of Ye Fan.
“He’s very strong — definitely not disabled. If you don’t believe me, watch him carry a stone.” The ship’s captain smiled ingratiatingly.
Ye Fan obligingly lifted a large rock, carried it a few steps, and set it down. Just like that, he was accepted.
Five days later, the Pleasure Gang transported him along with several hundred others to a sect called “Jade Void.”
“Inspect them carefully — no cultivators must slip through. We are taking people to dig for source ore, not ferrying anyone across the void. If something goes wrong, no one can bear the consequences.”
The Jade Void Sect was subordinate to Yao Guang Sacred Ground and existed to serve it.
An elder holding a jade needle made each of Ye Fan’s group stand before him, one by one. Rays of jade light shot out, aimed at the Wheel Sea positions of those assembled.
“Very good — none of them have divine power.” The elder nodded approvingly.
But it did not end there. Over a dozen more elders then came forward, conducting the examination again and again, no fewer than ten or more times, before finally allowing the several hundred people to pass.
These people were being selected for Yao Guang Sacred Ground, so naturally not a shred of carelessness was permitted.
Over those few days, Ye Fan learned a great deal.
The Northern Region — a transcendent divine source had emerged there, alarming all of Eastern Desolation. Many great powers could no longer contain themselves and had descended upon the north, installing their own representatives to excavate source ore in the area where the divine source had been discovered.
Long before, in ages without number, the various Sacred Grounds and ancient wilderness families had already entered the Northern Region, each holding their own source mines.
This time, with the Ancient Primordial Mine growing restless and divine sources emerging elsewhere as well, their attention had only intensified.
Source ore was profoundly mysterious — formed before the ancient age, traceable perhaps even to the very birth of heaven and earth, buried deep beneath the ground.
Cultivators found it exceedingly difficult to locate, for every piece of source ore was wrapped in a peculiar “stone skin.” Not even cultivators could see through this stone skin; only by quarrying it out could one determine whether source lay within.
It was like the jade on the other side of the starry sky — when encased in its rough outer skin, no instrument could detect what lay inside. Only by cutting it open could one know whether it held any green.
Moreover, excavating source ore could sometimes trigger all manner of sinister occurrences — mysterious creatures that had slumbered for countless ages might emerge from the earth, or the baleful energy from primordial times might seep out.
Therefore, very few cultivators dug for source ore with their own hands.
The ordinary people gathered here knew full well that going to the Northern Region to dig for source was no safe endeavor — but they could not resist the lure of gold coins.
As for Ye Fan — his Wheel Sea had been sealed, his divine power utterly drained. Remaining in the Southern Region offered him no path to survival. He resolved to take the gamble and seize this opportunity to reach the Northern Region.
At present, the bones throughout much of his body were deformed, including his cheekbones and jaw — he was truly disfigured. His left shin had broken into three sections, making his left leg appear shorter, and countless other places were the same — his body was nearly unrecognizable.
His vitality was extraordinary, however — in just five or six days, the broken bones had already knitted back together.
Yet because he had not set them properly, the bones had fused incorrectly, leaving his form misaligned. No matter how one looked at him, he was a hideous wretch.
Ye Fan had done this deliberately. Only after reaching the Northern Region would he re-break and reset every bone. For now, he needed exactly this appearance.
After spending seven or eight days at the Jade Void Sect — during which they inspected the group repeatedly, ensuring there were no oversights — they finally transported Ye Fan’s group to Yao Guang Sacred Ground.
Still at some distance away, the people of the Jade Void Sect descended from the clouds, leading the several hundred on foot for the remainder of the journey.
Ye Fan was deeply astonished. Just ahead, clouds billowed and radiant mists swirled — an array of great mountains, every single one of them floating in the sky, not resting on the ground at all.
Each mountain was awe-inspiring and magnificent. Some were wreathed in demonic clouds; others were encircled by rainbow mist. They seemed to have existed since the birth of heaven and earth itself, emanating an ancient, primordial air.
“A bunch of country bumpkins — never seen anything of the world,” a young cultivator sneered, though he himself was inwardly shaken. “And this is only a corner of Yao Guang Sacred Ground. In its innermost depths, things are even more mysterious and grand — they say there are ancient temples from before the desolate age, and even a divine city that stands forever upon the clouds, never falling.”
None of the several hundred ordinary people had ever witnessed such a sight. They stood with mouths agape, crying out that it must be a celestial realm. Some even fell to their knees in reverence.
Ahead, light and shadows flickered, and several figures came surging forward at speed — people from Yao Guang Sacred Ground had arrived.
A middle-aged man led them, several young men and women following behind. They descended to the ground.
Ye Fan could not claim to be without nerves — yet he had no choice but to take this risk. In the Southern Region, there was simply no way for him to survive.
Thankfully, within Yao Guang Sacred Ground, no one recognized him — except for the Sacred Maiden.
He felt it unlikely he would be so unfortunate as to encounter the Sacred Maiden of Yao Guang.
The people of the Jade Void Sect hastened forward, their manner humble and deferential, bowing in a full ceremonial salute. The middle-aged man waved a hand, signaling for them to rise.
A dazzling radiance enveloped the several hundred people, and a strange energy pulsed and surged. A full quarter of an hour passed before the light finally faded.
The middle-aged man nodded and said: “No problems — none of them have divine power.”
Hearing this, Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief — but his heart also sank. The Seal Immortal Powder was truly terrifying: it had temporarily dried up his divine power so completely that even a powerful cultivator could not detect it. Would it ever recover?
The middle-aged cultivator swept his wide sleeve — it blotted out the sky — and swept all several hundred people inside.
The hundreds of ordinary people erupted in cries of alarm. This secret technique left them utterly aghast.
But it did not last long. They soon saw daylight again, finding themselves atop an enormous island floating high in the sky.
All around, mist drifted softly, and waves of cloud undulated.
Dimly visible in the distance were many great mountains floating in the air — towering yet elegant, a sight worthy of being called magnificent.
“This is Yao Guang — and what I see is only a fraction of it. Such grandeur and splendor — no wonder it is revered as a Sacred Ground. Tai Xuan was large enough, but it cannot begin to compare.” Ye Fan marveled inwardly.
He found himself longing to know what kind of majestic spectacle those ancient temples in the depths of Yao Guang would hold — and even more, to lay eyes upon that divine city that stood forever upon the clouds and never fell.
But there was no possibility of that. For now, he was nothing more than an ordinary man about to go dig for source ore.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s expression stiffened. Onto this floating great island descended a young woman — otherworldly in bearing, and deeply familiar.
She was dressed in blue — like a pristine white lotus with dewdrops rolling across its petals, or a fresh snow lotus blooming on a mountain of white, giving one a feeling of clean, natural purity.
“Wei Wei!”
Ye Fan was startled — he had seen an old acquaintance.
Wei Wei was from Spirit Void Cave Heaven. It was she who had led Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others out of the mountain forests outside the ancient forbidden land.
Word had it her talent was exceptional — rarely seen in a millennium. Spirit Void Cave Heaven, unwilling to hinder her potential, had sent her to Yao Guang Sacred Ground.
To think he would encounter her again today. Ye Fan turned aside, not wanting to be seen.
“Senior Sister Yao Xi has returned — it seems she suffered a considerable setback outside and was gravely injured…” a disciple of Yao Guang Sacred Ground was saying nearby.
“Senior Sister Yao Xi will be heading to the Northern Region before long.” Wei Wei parted her red lips slightly, and in the midst of speaking, glanced — deliberately or not — in Ye Fan’s direction, then quietly withdrew.
Ahead, mist hung thick and heavy, and an immortal gate stood before them. All of the ordinary people had to pass through it for yet another round of inspection.
In addition to their group of several hundred, several thousand more were waiting here. They passed through one by one, and nothing untoward occurred.
This allowed Ye Fan to breathe a sigh of relief.
“I have business in the Northern Region — as it happens, I’ll escort a group of people over today.”
At the center of the island stood a high platform constructed entirely of black jade, gleaming brilliantly. An elder in blue robes stood atop it, a number of young disciples at his back.
“We respectfully bid farewell to the Supreme Elder!” Wei Wei and the others below bowed in salutation.
Whoosh!
The elder in blue swept his great sleeve, drawing all several thousand people inside his robe. Then the black jade platform blazed with light as a domain gate was opened. He stepped through it in a single stride, and the young disciples followed in his wake.
Having been swept into the robe sleeve of Yao Guang Sacred Ground’s Supreme Elder, Ye Fan exhaled a long breath. They were about to enter the Northern Region — at last, he was leaving the Southern Region behind.