In the brightly lit great hall, the several elders’ gazes were sharp as lightning, sweeping back and forth, examining Ye Fan and the others in wonder.
“Why are your clothes so strange?”
“Why do you keep your hair this short?”
“You are all ordinary mortals — why did you stray into the Ancient Forbidden Land?”
“Why is your manner of speech so unusual? Where do you come from?”
“Given your level of strength, how could you have gotten anywhere near the ancient abyss and gathered the legendary sacred fruits…”
The several elders were very sharp and thorough, peppering them with questions, intent on getting to the bottom of where this group had come from.
To say they came from the other side of the starry void, tens or hundreds of light-years away — a crossing that would take millions of years of travel to reach this side — how could such words be spoken? Ye Fan and the others remained silent.
“Why are you not answering?” One elder’s eyes instantly became piercingly severe.
“Even if we told you the truth, would you believe us?” Ye Fan looked at the people in the great hall, composed and calm, and spoke: “Our homeland is extremely far from here. Simply by ascending an ancient mountain, we arrived on another side of heaven and earth — with no idea where we are, unable to look back toward home.”
The several elders exchanged glances with one another. Then one of them nodded. “That is understandable. There must be a supremely powerful expert who laid a ‘formation’ on that ancient mountain — capable of instantly shifting the sun, moon, stars, and the very heavens in the blink of an eye. But for someone to possess such a technique is truly… terrifying!”
Since the several elders had ceased their questioning, Ye Fan and the others made no mention of the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, and said nothing of traversing the Desolate universe to arrive on the other side of the starry void.
At this point, the copper lamp, the alms bowl, the ancient bell, and other objects in Ye Fan’s group’s hands drew the attention of the several elders.
“This is…”
One of the elders’ expression tightened. He took the copper lamp from Ye Fan’s hands and examined it carefully and attentively. After a long while, he let out a long sigh. “An extremely refined technique. I suspect the lamp’s wick has already given birth to a ‘spirit,’ but regrettably it has now been reduced to waste — not a single vein of structure remains within it.”
He then examined the alms bowl, the ancient bell, the bronze plaque, and the rest, one by one — his face filled with shock and regret, sighing again and again: “These were all fine objects once. How did every single one end up ruined?! The ‘Dao-patterns’ of value within them have all been destroyed — one cannot even study the technique any longer.”
“How did you come by these objects?” The several elders all seemed to feel the loss keenly, their faces filled with regret, sighing without end.
At this moment, Ye Fan made no reply. His earlier words had been airtight — even if Zhou Yi and the others later revealed the truth, what he had said would not contradict the facts. This situation was different.
But someone followed the thread of his earlier account and answered on everyone’s behalf, saying these divine artifacts had been obtained on the ancient mountain where the “formation” had been set, and that they had been carried through without being discarded, all the way until they inexplicably entered the Ancient Forbidden Land.
Clearly, it was not only Ye Fan who did not wish to speak of the matters from the other side of the starry void — the others also understood that the stakes were too great, and that one could not simply say whatever came to mind.
“I see. I find myself growing increasingly curious about that ancient mountain you speak of — I would very much like to go and investigate it.” One elder smiled with narrowed eyes; it was unclear whether he was expressing genuine suspicion or a sincere wish to explore.
“Where did you originally live? Can you give us a general area?” Another elder opened his mouth to inquire.
By now, almost everyone was following Ye Fan’s lead, all constructing the lie together. A female classmate said that the group came from the western territories.
“The western territories? So you come from that boundless Western Desert…” One of the elders furrowed his brow and muttered to himself: “To cross from the Western Desert to the Eastern Wasteland — the distance is inconceivably vast. Even if I were to travel by rainbow flight, it would take me over thirty years. Who could possibly possess such heaven-and-earth-shaking power as to have laid a ‘formation’ this formidable on that ancient mountain? Unimaginable!”
“Then it sounds like we have arrived in the Eastern Wasteland.” Zhou Yi seized the moment to ask: “How large is the Eastern Wasteland?”
“The Eastern Wasteland is vast beyond reckoning. Even if a mortal lived dozens of lifetimes over, it would be nearly impossible to traverse it all.”
“That vast?!” Everyone in Ye Fan’s group wore expressions of disbelief.
“In the mortal world, the nation governing the territory of the Ancient Forbidden Land is called ‘Yan.’ It stretches two thousand li from north to south and three thousand li from east to west. Yet a territory of such size amounts to no more than a drop in the ocean within the Eastern Wasteland — and nations of comparable size are too numerous to count.”
Hearing this, Pang Bo nearly jumped to his feet. What an incomprehensibly vast region! The nation of Yan possessed such sweeping territory, yet within the Eastern Wasteland it amounted to nothing — and nations of equal size were beyond counting.
The Eastern Wasteland — truly boundless and immense. It was impossible to imagine just how vast it truly was.
“How can there possibly be somewhere that large?!” Pang Bo’s pupils contracted. He felt that what he was hearing defied all common sense — truly too far beyond imagination. But thinking of how gods and divine beings existed in this world, he could only shake his head.
The several elders, seeing that Pang Bo was struck dumb, all smiled with satisfaction. This boy, who looked only eleven or twelve, would be one of the key “seedlings” they would focus on cultivating in the future. One of them continued: “Though the nation of Yan is no more than a corner of the Eastern Wasteland — a mere drop in the ocean — it is not without renown. The Ancient Forbidden Land within its borders is one of the seven great life-forbidden zones of the boundless Eastern Wasteland.”
Everyone was speechless for a long while. They had received a great deal of useful information, and the shock within their hearts was immense — like towering, crashing waves.
“You just mentioned the Western Desert — how does it compare to the Eastern Wasteland?” Wang Ziwen, being more careful and detail-oriented, couldn’t help raising this question.
“In terms of sheer size, the Western Desert and the Eastern Wasteland are comparable — both equally vast and boundless.”
Hearing this answer, the waves within everyone’s hearts surged anew. What an incomprehensibly immense expanse of land!
And yet what followed was even more staggering. One elder continued: “Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Ridge, Northern Plain, Central Region — of all these, the Central Region is the greatest: boundless and inexhaustible, mysterious without end. Even cultivators find it nearly impossible to cross from one side to the other…”
Everyone was utterly petrified, mouths dry, unable to utter another word.
The several elders were very pleased and offered encouragement: “A mortal’s one life is ultimately far too small — like an ant — to even understand the full shape of the world they inhabit. But you all now have the opportunity to look down upon this vast land. As long as you are willing to cultivate diligently, the day will come when you can stir up the winds and stand at the very summit of the clouds.”
The group took a long while to come back to their senses. Some hesitated uncertainly. “We… cultivate…”
“That’s right. You entered the Ancient Forbidden Land. Though your youth is gone, this world is one of balance — what is lost in equal measure is gained. The path of cultivation is filled with thorns and difficult to walk, yet you have already begun carving out a small trail.”
“Indeed — your ‘Bitter Sea’ has already been awakened. The day you cross the ‘Bitter Sea,’ set foot on the ‘Divine Bridge,’ and find your own ‘Deity’ is not out of the realm of possibility.”
The several elders spoke up one after another in encouragement, guiding the group toward the path of cultivation.
“We still don’t know who you are…” Zhou Yi seized the moment to raise this point.
“Within the nation of Yan, there are six cave heavens and blessed lands — and our place of cultivation is one of them. Though of course it is not located here, in the mortal world.” One of the elders replied with a smile.
“The nation of Yan is nothing more than a drop in the ocean of the Eastern Wasteland, yet even in this one corner there are six cave heavens and blessed lands — how many immortal sects for cultivation must exist in this world…” Pang Bo muttered quietly.
Clearly the elders regarded him and Ye Fan with special esteem — and far from showing any displeasure, they replied in a warm and genial manner: “Do not aim too high. Foundation is what matters most. The fundamental techniques handed down in our cave heaven and blessed land were inherited from a certain holy land, and the foundational principles are absolutely among the finest in the world. Moreover, if in the future you rise to prominence, we will also provide you with a far broader path forward.”
“That is right!” Another elder said proudly: “We may be only a cave heaven and blessed land, but we are affiliated with a renowned holy land in the Eastern Wasteland. If you should one day possess talent brilliant enough to astonish, it is not out of the question that you could be recommended to enter that holy land as a disciple.”
As he said this, the several elders looked with doting affection at the young woman Weiwei standing nearby. “Weiwei is the once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy of our cave heaven and blessed land. Before long she is to be recommended to the holy land — we are truly a little reluctant to let her go. But we have no wish to hold back her cultivation.”
Just at this moment, a burst of hearty laughter rang out from beyond the great hall. “Your ‘blessed land’ is lacking — if you have fine talents, send them to our ‘cave heaven’ instead! I heard you’ve discovered over a dozen promising seedlings for cultivation?”
One by one, more than ten streaks of rainbow light descended from the sky. Without waiting for an invitation, these people walked directly into the great hall.