Ye Fan transmitted his voice covertly. Faced with an expert at the Seventh Transformation of the Dragon Transformation, he was profoundly wary. Even with the Black Emperor’s aid, there was no guarantee of victory — everything had to be airtight.
Clang!
The cyan-robed elder servant’s great hand resembled a ghostly claw, shooting out streaks of dark light that wove together into a cage as though cast from underworld iron — growing ever more solid and refined, like a true realm of purgatory made manifest.
“You little wretch, you’re nothing but a crippled body. Without the Wind Clan’s support, you would be nothing. Yet now you dare come rampaging across our clan’s divine island — I’ll break your bones and sever your tendons!” The cyan-robed elder servant sneered coldly. He swung the infernal cage, enclosing all four directions, intending to trap and confine Ye Fan within and slowly refine him away.
Li Heishui shouted from a distance, “You shameless old lackey! What you say is without shame. Yes, the Wind Clan provided three million jin of source stones — but did they not do so because they had their eye on Ye Fan breaking the curse? And as for how much good that source actually did them, you all know in your own hearts. Ye Fan could have produced that much source himself!”
“You little wretch! Our clan showed you great kindness, yet instead of thinking of how to repay it, you still dare to talk back. Today I’ll suppress the lot of you!” The cyan-robed elder’s expression turned glacial, his attacks growing ever more vicious.
The black infernal cage let out a droning wail and grew ever larger, blotting out the entire expanse of sky. Several times it nearly trapped Ye Fan within — had his footwork not been supremely divine with its tremendous speed, he would already have met his end in bitter defeat.
“Not even the young lady has ever scolded me, yet you dare disrespect me — today I will flay the skin right off you!” Feng Huang’s handmaiden shrieked from the side. “Uncle Yi, quickly suppress him! Don’t let him escape!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already locked onto him. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth, I’d drag him back out!” The cyan-robed elder servant was utterly confident, having no fear whatsoever that Ye Fan could escape. He wore the cold smile of a cat toying with a mouse. “He carries a Holy Sword and a divine medicinal seed on him. Leaving treasures like those in the hands of a man on the verge of death is nothing but a waste — he may as well return them to our Wind Clan.”
Boom!
With a cold snort, Ye Fan finally launched his counterattack. A blazing radiance shot out from between his brows, transforming into a beam of golden light that flew straight toward the cyan-robed elder servant.
Pop!
The cyan-robed elder servant spat out a lotus flower from his mouth and transformed into a streak of cyan light, retreating swiftly, breaking out in a cold sweat. The terrifying power of that divine sense left even him shaken.
Crack!
The lotus flower shattered — it hadn’t withstood the golden divine consciousness at all. A chill crept through him, and he murmured to himself, “The legends are indeed true. This little wretch’s divine sense power is astonishing. Fortunate that I had prepared early.”
He opened his mouth and exhaled a divine wind that surged outward, transforming into flower after flower of wind, each petal shaped like a lotus, immaculately white and pure, forming a divine garment that wrapped around him completely, guarding him on all sides.
“Uncle Yi, with such a secret treasure protecting you, killing him should be as easy as turning your hand!” Feng Huang’s handmaiden rejoiced.
The Wind Battle Armor was a secret treasure of the Wind Clan, specially designed to ward off the power of divine sense. After the cyan-robed elder servant donned the silver-white battle armor, his entire bearing appeared considerably younger and more imposing.
“You little wretch, let’s see what power you have left to resist!”
He shouted coldly, his cultivation power surging like an ocean, condensing in the sky above to form a network of innate patterns that recast the infernal cage and pressed down with crushing force.
Ye Fan urged covertly, “Black Emperor, are you not ready yet?!”
“He’s an expert at the Seventh Transformation of the Dragon Transformation — you think he’s a soft target? Trapping him without anyone noticing is an extraordinarily difficult task. Still waiting!” The Great Black Dog transmitted.
“That little wench — come, come, let’s fight three hundred rounds!” Li Heishui fixed his gaze on Feng Huang’s handmaiden and charged.
“Seeking death!” The cyan-robed elder servant gave a cold snort. His enormous hand swept across the sky like a small mountain, and he slapped downward, confining Li Heishui within the battlefield as well.
“You’re being unreasonable. This is wrong — you shouldn’t bully us.” Xiao Nannan sat atop the Great Black Dog and spoke in a childlike voice.
“A little one who looks quite pretty — come, let Big Sister discipline you.” Feng Huang’s handmaiden sneered coldly and transformed into a streak of colorful light, rushing over.
The Great Black Dog’s eyes flashed with cold light. It turned and bolted, running wild circles around the battlefield where the cyan-robed elder and the others fought, calling out as it went, “This Emperor can’t be bothered with you — I won’t lower myself to your level.”
“You wretched dead dog — I’ll send you straight to the kitchen and turn you into a dish!” Feng Huang’s handmaiden shrieked.
“This Emperor shall take you as a human pet — behold, my treasures!” Carrying Xiao Nannan, it fled at full speed, hurling out an assortment of bizarre and peculiar objects one after another.
Within the battlefield, Ye Fan and Li Heishui kept dodging continuously. Facing an expert at the Seventh Transformation of the Dragon Transformation, they bore enormous pressure and were barely holding on — yet upon witnessing this scene, their spirits surged immeasurably.
“I’ve run out of patience, you little wretches — all of you, hold still!” The cyan-robed elder servant produced an ancient banner from his hand and gave it a light shake. The void collapsed, and the infernal cage expanded, spreading toward the two of them.
Ye Fan and Li Heishui felt as though they were mired in a swamp, their movements immediately impeded, on the verge of being bound in place.
Whoosh!
Seven-colored divine light shot into the sky. From between Ye Fan’s fingers flowed a vast starry river, heavy as a mountain, blocking the purgatory and the ancient banner — it was the Sacred Sage Bone Dust seized from the Yin-Yang Holy Maiden.
“What is this?!” The cyan-robed elder servant was startled, then gave a cold smile. “This treasure suits me well — it would be most fitting to refine it into the ancient banner.”
“Still trying to seize treasures — old wretch, your time of death has come!” The Black Emperor shouted. It transmitted a message to Ye Fan, guiding him on how to break free, as the formation patterns had now been fully laid.
Ye Fan and Li Heishui charged out swiftly. The battlefield had been sealed off by stellar stones, sacred blood soil, and various other strange materials. By the time the cyan-robed elder servant realized what had happened, it was already too late — he could not break through at all.
“You little wretches — you dare plot against me?!”
“Old undying one, you’ve been calling us ‘little wretches’ with such relish, haven’t you?” Ye Fan sneered coldly from outside the formation. “Your time of death has come!”
Feng Huang’s handmaiden turned and fled immediately. She had never imagined that an expert at the Seventh Transformation of the Dragon Transformation could be sealed away so imperceptibly. She had no intention of waiting here for death.
“You still think you can run!”
Ye Fan let out a cold snort. A great golden hand struck out, covering the sky like a brilliant expanse of clouds. Ye Fan moved as though swatting a fly — with a single blow, he smacked her down.
“You can’t kill me—!” She screamed, struggling violently.
How could Ye Fan possibly let her go? With a wave of the great golden hand, he seized her and exerted the barest fraction of force — bones broke in multiple places across her body. He tossed her directly in front of the Black Emperor. “Take her as your pet!”
“This Emperor has no use for such a disgraceful creature. The bare minimum would be a Holy Maiden!” The Great Black Dog was not at all interested.
“But this is Feng Huang’s personal handmaiden. Having her as your pet — to roast lamb legs for you and the like — couldn’t be more fitting.” Li Heishui laughed.
Woof!
Under the Black Emperor’s control, the formation patterns shifted, and the sealed area continued to shrink. Ye Fan stood outside, swinging his great golden palm in repeated strikes inward.
“You old undying wretch — weren’t you going to suppress me? You wanted to break my bones and sever my tendons? Perhaps I should give you a good thrashing first!” With his unparalleled physical body, how could anyone in the Dragon Transformation realm possibly compare? Within this confined space, even the elder servant’s cultivation power had been suppressed and he could not resist at all.
Smack, smack…
Ye Fan’s great golden palm continued to rain down. Controlling the force, he struck the cyan-robed elder servant until he coughed blood continuously, bones snapping one by one, until he could no longer stand.
“The two of you are nothing but a pair of lackeys, and yet you dared to ambush and attempt to kill me. You’ve gone far too far in bullying others!”
Ye Fan lost count of how many times he struck. The cyan-robed elder servant was near the point of becoming a pulp, yet he had not died — those at the Dragon Transformation realm possessed immensely powerful life force, and as long as a single breath remained, they could cling to life.
“Let me get some frustration out too.” Li Heishui took over, delivering several dozen more great palm strikes in succession, beating the cyan-robed elder servant until he barely retained human shape, wringing from him anguished, inhuman pleas for mercy.
“Tell me — was it Feng Huang who sent you here?” Ye Fan pressed.
“We acted on our own initiative. The princess was furious, and we felt she would not object, so we came to ambush you.” Feng Huang’s handmaiden was utterly terrified, on the verge of collapsing to the ground entirely.
“The Wind Clan’s Holy Master is not without merit. Killing these two would be rather poor form toward him.” Ye Fan deliberated.
“Don’t kill us!” Feng Huang’s handmaiden was truly frightened, wailing and begging for mercy. Even the elder servant had completely capitulated.
“Very well then — this Emperor shall show a bit of mercy and deal with them by sending them into exile.” The Black Emperor spoke. It reproduced roughly half of the chessboard and formation patterns it had seen at the Undying Mountain range, working from memory.
It was very excited — these were formation patterns left behind by an ancient Great Emperor, and it intended to use these two as test subjects. “Let’s send them to the Western Desert. They won’t be able to fly back for decades. Let those shaved heads there enlighten them.”
“No, please—!” The cyan-robed elder servant cried out.
Boom!
Light and radiance erupted skyward. The Dao patterns flashed, and in an instant he vanished from his original spot, leaving behind a terrifying ripple of energy in the void.
The Great Black Dog stared blankly for a long moment before cursing, “What the hell happened?!”
Neither Ye Fan nor Li Heishui needed to think about it — that dead dog had certainly done something unreliable again, and had definitely not sent anyone to the Western Desert.
“Where did you send them?”
“It seems they ended up in the Southern Ridge.” The Great Black Dog muttered uncertainly.
“You dead dog, what a talent you are — managing to miss the Western Desert and land in the Southern Ridge instead. Who else under heaven could pull off something this absurd? Can you even find someone more unreliable than yourself?” Li Heishui delivered the blow.
Woof! The Great Black Dog fumed.
In the end, they did not teleport Feng Huang’s handmaiden away. The Great Black Dog, with great reluctance, temporarily took her on as a human pet, after which they made their way to Purple Sky Capital.
Purple Sky Capital was one of the ten great ancient cities of the central Eastern Desolation. From time immemorial to the present, no one knew how many legends had been born within its walls.
Legend had it that it was a purple-gold celestial city from the illusory immortal realm, which had tumbled down into the mortal world, giving rise to this grand city of renown that stretched across the known world.
Ye Fan and the others wandered about the city for two days, passing through the various stone trading establishments, looking to prepare a gift for the Wind Clan’s Holy Master.
In the end, Ye Fan selected an unusual stone from a stone trading establishment belonging to the Purple Subtlety Sect, purchasing it and taking it away — though he did not cut it open on the spot.
He had already discerned what lay within — a piece of divine source. It was sufficient as a birthday gift, and he had no wish to cause a sensation in Purple Sky Capital.
Ye Fan had wanted to pick out more unusual stones and fully repay the Wind Clan’s three million jin of source stones, for those young disciples constantly bringing up the matter made him feel rather uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, though the trading establishments were many, how could one expect to find rare treasures at every turn? Having found a single piece of divine source was already quite remarkable — he made no further discoveries.
Over those two days, Feng Huang’s handmaiden trailed along beside them, tasked with handling all manner of trivial affairs: carrying bags, feeding the dog, paying bills, wiping tables and chairs…
After many had recognized her, they could not help but be astonished, whispering amongst themselves.
“What’s going on? How has the Wind Clan princess’s personal handmaiden ended up serving as a maidservant to the Holy Physique?”
“Something doesn’t add up. The Wind Clan’s pearl is extraordinarily arrogant — how could she possibly have her own handmaiden doing these menial tasks for a Holy Physique she finds displeasing?”
“What are you all staring at? She belongs to this Emperor as a human pet!” The Great Black Dog barked loudly, sending jaws dropping across the crowd. Every single person stared in wide-eyed stupefaction.
“What are you looking at? You’re envious? This Emperor wouldn’t mind taking you on as a human pet as well — you look passable enough.” The Great Black Dog spoke without a shred of shame, addressing the onlookers openly.
“What the hell, that dead dog is infuriating!”
“Sooner or later I’ll skin it alive. Come on, today I’m treating everyone — let’s go eat black dog meat!”
A crowd of people cursed their rotten luck yet had no desire to quarrel with it, while at the same time they all eagerly anticipated what would happen if Feng Huang were to find out. What expression would she wear?
“I hope Feng Huang gets word of this soon — that her handmaiden is serving as a pet to some vicious dog. She’ll certainly come storming over.”
“Quite right. I hope that moment comes soon!”