Ancient trees stood gnarled and powerful, their branches and leaves dense and lush, their trunks twisting toward the sky like coiling dragons. The forest was serene and tranquil.
The Holy Maiden of Yaochi finally emerged, her figure wreathed in a soft haze. Though she stood close, she gave the impression of someone dwelling in the heavenly palaces of the ninth heaven.
She seemed to belong to no mortal realm — her jade body untouched by the smoke of the mundane world, exuding a purity and an eternal untouchability, as though she were infinitely removed from the ten thousand strands of the red dust.
Ye Fan’s lips curved in a faint smile, his eyes bright and clear. It was precisely this kind of woman who, just moments ago, had stood before him without a thread of clothing.
That peerless figure seemed to linger before him still — the snow-white crystalline skin, the graceful curves — even now, recalling it, he found it difficult to believe.
The Holy Maiden of Yaochi was someone the talents of the immortal dynasties of Zhongzhou and the sacred grounds of the Eastern Wasteland could only admire from afar, never draw close to. Yet she had somehow been seen by him, bare, without reason or warning.
If this were to get out, it would absolutely shake the world and cause a tremendous uproar.
Of course, it was even more likely to draw out the heroes of the various sacred grounds to hunt Ye Fan across ten thousand li — for this was a grave act of desecration.
“You are utterly shameless.” The Holy Maiden of Yaochi said these four words, white mist coiling around her, her expression unreadable.
“I didn’t see anything at all,” Ye Fan said without the slightest trace of guilt, his manner entirely sincere.
“I have no wish to speak of this further.” The Holy Maiden spoke calmly. The spiritual essence of heaven and earth gathered within her — she was no ordinary person, and she had no desire to entangle herself in this.
Yet Ye Fan feigned ignorance, saying, “I truly did not obtain the Stone Gall. Immortal maiden, you have misunderstood. Just now, I saw nothing.”
“You—” The Holy Maiden of Yaochi exhaled softly, her emotions stirring for a brief moment, before she quickly composed herself. “If you dare bring this up again, I will immediately reveal your identity to the world.”
“Very well. Nothing happened just now.” Ye Fan smiled, the purple gleam in his eyes long since hidden away, his gaze now clear and clean as he regarded the peerless beauty before him.
He knew the Holy Maiden of Yaochi likely had no intention of harming him at present, so he waited with a smile for her to speak — to see just what she wanted.
“Are you not afraid? The Divine City is filled with powerful experts. Once your identity is exposed, death will be all but inevitable.” The Holy Maiden of Yaochi parted her rose-red lips.
Ye Fan nodded. “I am afraid. Who could face life and death with calm? But do I have a choice?”
“You could have chosen not to come here. Why take such a tremendous risk?”
“To flee far away and find temporary peace — that may well bring a lifetime of regret. Coming to the Divine City, I may indeed face death, but I may also seize a future. I have no other choice.”
“You are quite confident. Do you truly believe you can seize tens of millions of catties of Source? Even if you obtain it, there is no guarantee you can enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm. The curse of the Desolate Holy Body will very likely be far more difficult than you imagine. It will not be this simple.”
“I humbly ask for the immortal maiden’s guidance.” Ye Fan sincerely requested, his gaze fixed attentively on the peerless beauty before him.
“I have nothing to teach you.” The Holy Maiden shook her head.
“Then what exactly did the immortal maiden seek me out for?” Ye Fan asked.
“The strange stones within Yaochi…”
Within Yaochi there were world-defying strange stones — sealed by the Source Master of Heaven, suppressed by successive generations of the Queen Mother of the West. What lay within them was beyond imagination.
Ye Fan conversed with the Holy Maiden of Yaochi for a long while before walking out from the ancient woodland, his brow knitted in deep thought.
The Immortal-Sealing Six Locks…
This gave him quite a headache. It was a supreme and wondrous technique — one needed only to look at its name to grasp how profound it was. It could stir the great Dao itself, seal mountains and rivers, and suppress the greatest of experts.
Unfortunately, it was merely a divine technique theorized in concept alone. The Source Heavenly Scripture contained only a few lines about it, all of them hypothetical and extraordinarily abstruse. To say nothing of actually creating and executing it — the mere idea was overwhelming.
“Is the Yaochi fairy beautiful?” Li Heishui, who had been waiting outside, asked the moment they met.
“Her grace is unrivaled — a peerless beauty,” Ye Fan replied, still absorbed in contemplating the Immortal-Sealing Six Locks, answering instinctively.
Li Heishui gaped, then cried, “You actually saw her true face? No — wait — Little Leaf, you absolute beast! What did those lecherous eyes of yours manage to peek at?!”
“What nonsense are you spouting!” Ye Fan jolted back to awareness, his heart immediately guilty. He couldn’t help glancing back toward the ancient woodland.
“Little Leaf, don’t try to cover it up. I only tossed out a casual remark and you gave yourself away immediately. Tell me — what did you see?”
“I saw nothing!”
“Rubbish! You just achieved the lecherous gaze, and you’d just stand there calmly and look at nothing?!”
“Old Black, could you please stop talking for a moment?!” Ye Fan turned his head and saw that the Holy Maiden of Yaochi had walked out, her long skirt dyed golden by the sunlight.
“Then tell me when we get back!”
……
Ye Fan grabbed Li Heishui and fled in a flash, vanishing in an instant, swiftly leaving behind the Yaochi Stone Workshop.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The grandmaster of the ancient Source technique lineage would today engage Ye Fan in a great Source technique contest. The storm was gathering, and the entire Divine City was stirring.
Word had spread long ago. No one knew how many people had been waiting, deliberately making their way to the Divine City to witness this grand spectacle.
Even many senior figures from the major sects had emerged from their closed-door cultivation to come to the Divine City, wishing to personally witness the most consequential Source technique contest in thousands of years.
“I heard this Source technique contest is to be decided by life and death — is that true?”
“I heard the same. A top Source technique expert let slip this information. It will be extremely dangerous.”
“The young members of the ancient Source technique family declared long ago that they would crush the Ancient Style in matters of Source technique. It seems it was not an empty boast — they truly intend to fight to the death!”
Many people were discussing this, speaking of the contest with immense anticipation.
“Who knows what will be cut open this time — there will likely be unexpected rarities. Both sides are truly furious.”
“Just the wager alone is one million five hundred thousand catties of pure Source. It’s hard to imagine what could be cut out that would be more astonishing than the bet itself.”
On this day, there was only one topic throughout the vast Divine City. Everyone spoke of it — even the impending great battle at the Purple Mountain was being ignored.
Before long, the location of the Source technique contest was announced: the Yao Guang Stone Workshop. It would officially begin in one hour.
The entire city erupted. No one could say how many people surged toward that place, until the roads were completely blocked and no one could advance a single step further.
The Yao Guang Stone Workshop was filled to bursting, completely surrounded. The overwhelming majority of people were turned away, without the qualifications to enter.
“This is beyond exaggerated — it rivals that Source Master of Heaven from years ago. Every alley emptied, all just to witness a world-shaking battle.”
“Back then, when the Source Master of Heaven wagered against the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, was there even this many people? It’s staggering.”
“Because the Divine City has been peaceful for too long. This time, a Source technique grandmaster has emerged from seclusion to contend with the young prodigy Ancient Style — it naturally draws the eye of the world.”
When Yao Guang’s people learned that their location would be the main battlefield, their faces immediately turned green. There was nothing worse than this.
They had the urge to hire assassins. With both sides clashing here, it was essentially like a plague descending upon their door.
They very much wanted to pack away all their priceless strange stones, but with so many people already present in the garden and everyone watching, doing so would be far too shameful.
In the end, they held their noses and accepted the situation — helpless and fuming.
Many people crowded before the entrance of the Yao Guang Stone Workshop, unable to enter. Too many had come, so naturally there had to be a selective admittance process.
“Jin Chixiao of the Golden Family, Xiang Yifei of the Great Derivation Sacred Ground, and the Son of Wan Chu have entered!”
“The young daoist nun of the Dao-One Sacred Ground, who typically keeps to herself and avoids conflict — she has actually come today.”
“The Holy Maiden of Yaochi has arrived.”
“The Ji Family’s Divine King Body and Little Moon have also come.”
……
People were astonished to discover that nearly half of the young generation’s Son-level figures had arrived — they were almost all present.
“Isn’t that the Supreme Elder of the Yin-Yang Sect? I heard he has been in closed-door cultivation for many years — how is he here?”
“Those few old men over there — they appear to be Supreme Elders from several sacred grounds!”
……
People could not help but be astonished. Today’s great Source technique contest had alarmed many figures of great origin. The scale of its influence spoke for itself.
The storm of today had eclipsed even the impending great battle at the Purple Mountain, causing people to set aside everything else. At this moment, the Divine City had become the center of the storm, drawing the gaze of all.
The people of the ancient Source technique family arrived first. A commotion broke out through the crowd as everyone parted to make way — four old men and several young people walked into the Yaochi Stone Workshop.
“Those four old men are Source technique grandmasters, with deep ties to the various sacred grounds. They are often invited out to handle problems that arise within ancient mines.”
“Even if Ancient Style loses, it is no disgrace — after all, he faces the great figures of Source technique. To lose to such opponents is not something to be ashamed of.”
Before long, Ye Fan and Li Heishui arrived, immediately causing a great stir as they calmly walked in.
The Yao Guang Stone Workshop had a long history. Its ancient structures were grand and towering, and in the sunlight, a kind of sacred radiance seemed to flow through them.
The various stone gardens were not barren — they were planted full of ancient trees, dense and lush, so that stepping into one felt like entering a primordial wilderness.
Ye Fan and Li Heishui did not stop, walking directly toward the depths of the stone workshop. Today’s great battle would naturally take place in the Heaven-grade stone garden.
Yao Guang’s people watched them arrive with completely expressionless faces — their looks stopped just short of having the words “unwelcome” written across them.
The Heaven-grade stone garden was planted with a rare kind of spiritual bamboo called Blood-Tear Jade Bamboo. Its nodes were as white as jade, and only upon its mutton-fat jade leaves were there scattered blood-red marks, shaped like teardrops.
Many legends surrounded this spiritual bamboo. Some said the tears of a divine being had stained its leaves red; others said it was the blood of the ancient royal clans that had soaked into them.
Without question, this was a world-rare spiritual bamboo, difficult to cultivate, with precious few specimens in existence. And yet here there was an entire grove of it, overflowing with spiritual energy.
Stretching in swathes, the spiritual bamboo shone snow-white and jade-like, flourishing vigorously, crystalline and gleaming, its scattered blood-red marks swaying like falling teardrops.
Almost all who were meant to come had arrived. At a glance, there was a great sea of white heads — all of them senior figures.
As for the young generation who could enter the Heaven-grade stone garden, all were of Son-level standing: figures such as Jiang Yifei, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, Ji Haoyue, the young daoist nun of the Dao-One Sacred Ground, and others.
“You’ve finally come!” A young member of the ancient Source technique family sneered.
“Take a good long look at this place. In a true Source technique contest, you should know what will happen.” Another curled his lips with a trace of mockery.
Li Heishui said, “Who lives and who dies is hard to say. A Source technique grandmaster is not invincible.”
Another used a secret transmission to taunt, “Wait and see. Let’s see if you’ll be on your knees begging for your lives.”
Ye Fan paid them no mind, instead looking to the side. The Supreme Elder of the Phantasm Palace, Li Yishui, had also arrived with Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian — all of them watching with meaningful cold smiles.
Li Heishui said, “Senior Li, you’ve come again. Giving us that cold smile — do you intend to wager against us again? One wonders if you’ve brought enough Source this time.”
Li Yishui’s expression did not change. “Young people, don’t be too arrogant. You may well be ground to dust in a moment.”