Yunze Prefecture—true to its name, springs flowed every hundred steps, rivers crossed every ten li, and great marshes dotted the land everywhere, the air thick with misty water vapor.

Ye Fan and the others left the ancient pocket world, returning to the world outside, and once again took in the sight of this oasis and its waters.

“Someone’s following us!” The Black Emperor’s spiritual perception was razor-sharp. He sensed someone tracking them from behind.

Suddenly, the clouds on the horizon were blasted apart—a surge of demon energy roiled outward, as though some colossal creature was closing in at great speed.

Woooooo—

A war horn sounded, deep and resonant, splitting the sky and carrying across the distance.

A purple streak shot forward like a purple cloud—heavy and massive, roughly the size of a small mountain. As it pierced through the cloud layer, one could make it out clearly: a colossal warship, its purple metallic luster gleaming—heavy, solid, and imposing.

“It’s the demon clan’s purple-bronze warship!” Tu Fei’s face fell. This felt very bad—these ships were deployed only when annihilating enemies.

“Three of them—three whole ships!” Tu Fei was startled again.

Three purple-bronze warships in formation charged forward, scattering clouds and transforming into three streams of purple light converging at terrifying speed—an overwhelming sense of pressure bearing down on them.

“What kind of figure commands that sort of warship?” Ye Fan asked. These ships were clearly headed for them.

“Hard to say—any demon clan member with influence can possess one,” Tu Fei replied.

“No need to speculate—I can see them already…” Ye Fan gazed toward the horizon.

Standing on the first purple-bronze warship was a man in white robes who carried an air of unworldly refinement—none other than Bai Feng, the young demon clan powerhouse.

“He brought a lot of help.”

There were many demon clan members aboard the ship—clearly not weaklings, their demon energy soaring. At least seventy or eighty of them.

Woooooo—

The second bronze warship sped forward. The figure standing at its prow came into view—a golden cultivator’s robe billowing dramatically: Jin Yu, accompanied by a large number of reinforcements.

Woooooo—

On the third purple-bronze warship, Ku Zhu stood motionless in his green robe, a great many experts stationed behind him on deck.

Bai Feng, Jin Yu, and Ku Zhu—three geniuses from within the demon clan’s pocket world—had come in joint pursuit, their target unmistakably Ye Fan.

“What is the meaning of this?” Tu Fei called out sharply. His grandfather was the Seventh Great Bandit—his status was anything but ordinary, and he held no fear of these demon clan members.

“We harbor no ill will toward Young Master Tu—we merely have words for Brother Ye Fan,” Bai Feng transmitted.

Ye Fan remained composed and asked: “What do you want to say?”

“Upon your departure, a secret treasure of our demon clan went missing. We therefore require you to return with us,” Bai Feng replied.

“Does that mean I’m also a suspect?” Tu Fei asked.

“This has nothing to do with Young Master Tu—we’ve only sensed the treasure’s aura on his person,” Jin Yu said, standing at the ship’s prow, his golden robe shimmering brilliantly.

“What a joke. You’ve ‘lost’ some secret treasure—this is nothing more than an excuse to come after the Myriad Things Mother Qi on my body.” Ye Fan laughed coldly.

Ku Zhu, in his green robe, spoke calmly: “You do indeed carry the aura of a demon clan secret treasure. We will give you a fair hearing—take you back and let the elders adjudicate impartially.”

Ye Fan’s heart tightened. He thought of those old demons whose lifespans were nearing their end. In a steady voice he said: “You can’t even name what secret treasure it is, and you still have the gall to throw mud on me?”

“The Great Luo Star Disc is on your person—today, you must come back with us,” Bai Feng called out.

“You were far too reckless in our demon clan’s sacred land—you destroyed the palace provided for your stay by Princess Yan, shattered Fairy Qin Yao’s dwelling, and then stole a secret treasure on your way out. We have no choice but to detain you,” Jin Yu said with a chilling tone.

“Enough talk—move in and take him!” Ku Zhu bellowed.

The three warships burst forth with streams of colored light that interweaved into a vast heaven-spanning net, sweeping down toward Ye Fan.

“Plainly this is murder and robbery—trying to seize his Myriad Things Mother Qi Source Root—and yet you speak of it with such high-minded justification. Are the three of you not ashamed?” Tu Fei thundered.

The great net of spiritual energy descended. Ye Fan transformed into a shadow and slipped through the narrowing gap, escaping without being bound.

“We might as well just seize all three warships,” the Black Emperor said. In his hands were many banners inscribed with profound dao patterns—they had even managed to trap old demons back in the Eternal Hall.

“Get moving!” Ye Fan transmitted. “Very likely it’s those old demons with expiring lifespans who are directing them.”

He had caught something in Ku Zhu’s earlier words—about taking him back to be judged impartially by the elders. That was no good omen at all.

Whoosh!

The big black dog showed absolutely no loyalty whatsoever—it deployed its jade vessel and bolted, fleeing into the distance without a single glance back. It feared there might be old demons aboard those warships.

“Tu Big-Mouth—you get out of here too.”

“What about you?”

“They can’t catch me.” With that, Ye Fan shot off in a different direction.

Tu Fei also didn’t dare linger. He fled with every ounce of strength, vanishing from sight in a blink. His grandfather may have been the Seventh Great Bandit, but that alone was not enough to intimidate the entire Northern Region. If an old demon emerged and silenced him in this place, it would be too late.

As expected, Bai Feng, Jin Yu, and Ku Zhu had no desire to clash with Tu Fei, and even less inclination to pursue the big black dog. All three converged on a single direction—locking onto Ye Fan.

“Ye Fan—you cannot escape. Even if your footwork technique is divine and rivals the Great Peng in speed, you cannot outrun a purple-bronze warship,” Bai Feng declared, killing intent now completely unmasked.

Jin Yu and Ku Zhu also ordered their crews to drive the warships forward relentlessly. The three colossal vessels pierced through clouds and mist, maintaining a firm lock on Ye Fan.

Ye Fan’s current speed was unmatched within the Dao Palace realm, yet even he could not escape the purple-bronze warships—the distance between them stubbornly refused to widen.

“To hunt a man and seize his treasure, you truly mobilized an impressive force,” Ye Fan taunted.

“Remember this clearly—we are not here to seize your Myriad Things Mother Qi Source Root. You stole our secret treasure first, so we had no choice but to pursue you,” Bai Feng responded.

“Why be so hypocritical? There are no outsiders present. Doesn’t it tire you out, speaking with that mask on?” Ye Fan scoffed.

Jin Yu said icily: “If that’s how you choose to interpret it, we have nothing more to say. Today we will take you back.”

“All three of you—mark my words: today you attempt to kill me and steal my treasure. In the future I will repay you in kind,” Ye Fan declared in a cold voice.

“What future are you speaking of? You are destined to spend your entire life confined to the Dao Palace realm. And besides—do you truly believe you can escape today?” Ku Zhu spoke flatly.

Ye Fan said no more. He brought out the cauldron, reducing it to roughly one meter in height and suspending it above his head, from which streams of dark-yellow energy descended like curtains, shielding his body.

Throughout this entire chase, he had not sensed the aura of those few old demons—and that realization let him breathe a long sigh of relief. The situation was not as dire as he had imagined.

When Bai Feng, Jin Yu, and Ku Zhu actually laid eyes on the Myriad Things Mother Qi Source Root, their expressions grew visibly agitated—their true purpose for coming had been this cauldron all along.

“You stole our clan’s secret treasure—you are destined to die today. As for your cauldron… we will preserve it on your behalf,” Bai Feng announced.

“What a consummate hypocrite—even at this stage, you speak in such lofty terms!” Ye Fan mocked.

Jin Yu was comparatively more direct. His killing intent was fully exposed as he said icily: “I have nothing to say to a dead man—hand over the cauldron!”

He opened his mouth and spat forth a beam of golden light, cleaving forward like a bolt of golden lightning that tore through the sky at the absolute limit of speed.

Swish!

Ye Fan dodged to the side—the golden light struck empty air. He had no intention of trading blows head-on; his opponent was at the fifth level of the Dao Palace, three full realms above him.

Without visible movement, he began to activate the Nine Secrets. He was not attempting to fight—he wanted to multiply his speed tenfold.

“The Golden-Winged Little Peng King is too arrogant, insisting on fighting you at the same realm—truly laughable,” Ku Zhu said via transmission in a flat tone. “We, however, will not follow that example. A Holy Body that has gone to waste—just erase him outright.”

“That merely proves you will never stand shoulder to shoulder with the Golden-Winged Little Peng King. You can only pursue me in this shameless pack,” Ye Fan shot back.

As he spoke, the “All” Secret within the Nine Secrets triggered successfully—his speed surged to ten times its original in an instant. And at that very moment, a thought stirred within him.

The three purple-bronze warships were advancing side by side in extremely close formation. If he capsized one, the other two would almost certainly be caught in the devastation. As though guided by some inexplicable impulse, he reversed course and charged directly back at them. The Hell-Burning Divine Furnace appeared in his hand, its lid flying open as black flames roared within.

His speed was already terrifying enough—even the purple-bronze warships had struggled to pursue him—but now, with a tenfold increase, he had reached a level that shook the very souls of those at the Dao Palace realm.

Bai Feng, Jin Yu, Ku Zhu, and every other cultivator across the three warships launched their attacks, trying to crush him. Yet Ye Fan’s speed was simply too great—he evaded every strike and brought the Hell-Burning Divine Furnace to bear. A torrent of monstrous black flames cascaded downward.

The cultivators aboard could leap clear—but the three warships had no way to change course in time. The central ship was instantly swallowed by the inferno.

The flames drawn from the Fallen Sun Ridge burned with scorching intensity that even magical treasures could not withstand. To this day, only the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes’ Form-Obliterating technique had ever been able to extinguish them.

BOOM!

The central purple-bronze warship shattered in an instant. This kind of large-scale magical treasure, suffering a catastrophic attack, unleashed an explosion of energy that made hearts seize in terror.

Blinding light and tsunami-like shockwaves swept in all directions, rolling across this entire stretch of sky.

Crash! Crash!

The other two warships, flanking the center, took the full force of the devastating shockwave. Though they did not explode outright, the violent energy tore straight through their hulls, punching countless great holes through them.

The two purple-bronze warships were nearly torn apart—tumbling out of the high sky, clearly no longer capable of flight. They were effectively destroyed.

Even Ye Fan had not anticipated consequences this catastrophic. It had been nothing more than a desperate, reckless strike—and somehow all three purple-bronze warships had been finished off.

Most critically, of the sixty or seventy demon clan cultivators aboard the central warship, nearly all of them were reduced to dust. Only Bai Feng had escaped—though even he had sustained severe injuries and was coughing blood without cease.

The cultivators aboard the other two warships also suffered partial casualties. Among them, one of Ku Zhu’s arms had been struck so hard the bone had fractured, and he could no longer maintain his composed demeanor.

Of the three great powerhouses, only Jin Yu emerged completely unscathed. He led the remaining ninety-plus cultivators in a charge toward Ye Fan.

“Surround him—don’t let him escape!” Bai Feng bellowed through gritted teeth.

Ku Zhu’s face had gone iron-gray. Just moments ago he had been saying it would be trivial to erase a Desolate Holy Body—and now he himself had a shattered arm.

Three precious warships had been destroyed, driving every one of the demon clan cultivators into a frenzy of rage. They roared and charged forward.

Ye Fan shielded himself with the Myriad Things Mother Qi and burst through their lines at speed—he had no intention of stopping for a pitched battle, for the black flames within the Hell-Burning Divine Furnace had run dry.

“Ha ha ha…” Ye Fan laughed loudly. “You came to kill me, and instead you lost three warships and came away with broken bones! What a joke!”

Three great powerhouses, commanding this many people, had been sent on a pursuit—only to lose three warships to a single strike and suffer their own injuries. Their faces were utterly unreadable.

Bai Feng, Jin Yu, and Ku Zhu said nothing, their expressions iron-dark as they gave chase. But Ye Fan was simply too fast—without the warships, there was no hope of catching him.

“Ye Fan—do you dare face us in single combat?!”

“I’m surprised you have the nerve to say that. It’s a bit like me asking you—do you dare go head-first into a hen? ” Ye Fan’s words were truly below the belt, and the three of them were so furious they wanted to tear him apart—but they simply couldn’t catch him.

Ye Fan could not afford to stop. Being in Yunze Prefecture was extremely dangerous—it was not all that far from the Azure Serpent King’s pocket world. If an old demon suddenly appeared, the outcome would be beyond question.

He could not afford the slightest delay. He had to escape Yunze Prefecture in the shortest time possible.

“My thanks to the three geniuses for seeing me on my way for a thousand li. Now the time has come to part—do please turn back. And don’t forget: bring larger warships next time. I do love watching fireworks in full bloom.”

Bai Feng, Jin Yu, and Ku Zhu stood with faces dark as storm clouds—and could only watch helplessly as Ye Fan disappeared from sight.

Six days later, Ye Fan arrived in Li Prefecture. True to its name, the scenery here was like a painting—a world apart from the desolate landscapes of the rest of the Northern Region.

Li Prefecture was not terribly far from the Northern Region’s Sacred City. Flying at full speed, one could reach it in roughly half a month.

This oasis spanned five to six thousand li across. Its central city was known as Li City—a place of extraordinary beauty, renowned throughout the entire Northern Region. The city was filled with remarkable garden scenery, a breathtaking sight at every turn.

Ye Fan had barely entered Li City when his heart gave a sudden lurch—for he caught sight of a familiar figure: Ji Ziyue.