Ye Fan smiled and said, “The Purple Subtlety Sect really knows how to do business — selling leftover edge material as unusual stones.”
“One can’t put it that way. The source stone trade has always operated like this — willing buyer, willing seller. Besides, we didn’t set the price on this piece of edge material particularly high.” Zhao Fa smiled back.
“Just as I thought. He only bought it because it was cheap. This is really going too far — to look down on our Wind Clan like this.”
“How could he do this? This is truly unacceptable!”
The group of young Wind Clan members who had harbored consistent animosity toward Ye Fan were now seething with anger. Many wore expressions of disdain, glaring over with furious, indignant eyes.
Ye Fan paid them no mind. The Wind Clan Holy Master’s birthday celebration was at hand, and he had no desire to stir up anything unpleasant here. He simply resolved to repay their three million jin of source stones as soon as possible — otherwise people would always be throwing it back in his face.
He smiled slightly, glanced at Zhao Fa, and said, “The Purple Subtlety Sect knows business well. I’m quite impressed. But sometimes it is precisely these unassuming stones that yield divine objects.”
“Do you dare cut it open?” A Wind Clan disciple scoffed.
The smile on Zhao Fa’s face remained unchanged. “I have long heard that Brother Ye’s source arts are extraordinary. Why not cut it open right here and let us broaden our horizons?”
“I originally only intended to send a piece of divine source — keeping it full of suspense and leaving it for the Wind Holy Master to enjoy at his leisure has a certain elegance to it. But since everyone wishes to see, I’ll go ahead and cut it open directly.”
Ye Fan stepped forward. He did not produce a silver blade — instead, he used his finger alone to slice through the stone’s outer skin, cutting into it as though a divine blade were shearing through soft tofu, stone dust cascading to the ground in a fine shower.
Here were gathered the outstanding talents of the younger generation. Witnessing someone cutting stone, they all began to murmur amongst themselves, and those at nearby tables turned to watch as well — suddenly, a great many eyes were fixed on this spot.
Swish!
Ye Fan’s finger gave a light vibration. The entire dull black stone mass fractured all at once — clearly he had no intention of wasting time, and meant to peel it open directly.
“Does it truly have something rare inside? Judging by how unbothered he looks, it probably won’t be something of priceless value.”
“A Source Arts Grandmaster cuts with extraordinary care, yet he dispatched this with a single vibration and left it at that. That’s rather unusual — not at all the technique one would use when handling a rare treasure.”
Ye Fan smiled and asked Zhao Fa, “What do you think will be cut out, Brother Zhao?”
Many fell quiet. Zhao Fa shook his head, not daring to say much — he knew well that Ye Fan’s source arts were formidable, and if he dared cut it open, he likely had a fair degree of confidence in the outcome.
“Brother Ye should simply cut it open and let the facts speak for themselves.”
Crack!
Ye Fan tapped it lightly, and the black source stone shattered. The outer skin continued to fall away, and then a blinding divine radiance erupted skyward, bringing tears streaming involuntarily from many eyes.
“Divine source!”
“There’s divine source within!”
The crowd cried out in astonishment. A piece of leftover edge material had yielded a rare divine source — they could not help but marvel, for a Source Arts Grandmaster truly seemed to possess the power to transform the mundane into the miraculous.
Zhao Fa’s face had grown rather stiff. He himself had declared this was nothing but the outer skin remaining after the Purple Subtlety Sect had cut out a piece of divine source — yet someone had gone and cut out yet another divine object from it. His face burned hot, as though he’d been slapped.
“A divine source was actually cut from it…” The Wind Clan disciples were also stupefied. Not one of them had anticipated this outcome.
Since something divine was inside, why hadn’t Ye Fan cut it open beforehand? That way, the gift would have been far more dazzling. This left them bewildered.
“A Source Arts Grandmaster presenting divine source holds no real mystique — presenting an unusual stone is the superior choice, worth treasuring.” An elderly man sighed softly, explaining the reasoning behind it.
Clatter!
The outer skin fell away entirely. A blinding radiance shot out, like a golden sun suspended in the sky. The overwhelming majority of those present could not look directly at it.
Divine source could hang suspended in the air, never sinking downward, shimmering with brilliant and layered hues — its resplendent beauty stirred the heart of every single person present. Its value was immense.
The great sacred grounds hungered for divine source beyond measure, for it possessed endless wondrous uses that touched upon legends of immortality. Every great religious institution spared no effort to collect it.
Whether a sacred ground was powerful or not was closely tied to how much divine source it possessed. The various intricacies of this were beyond the understanding of ordinary cultivators, yet all knew it was of peerless rarity.
“This alone is worth thirty thousand jin of pure refined source. What a weighty gift.” Someone cried out. The piece of divine source was roughly half the size of a human head.
Even the gifts presented by other Holy Masters were no more than this, and Ye Fan, as a junior, offering such a weighty present was by any measure quite remarkable.
“Wait — there’s something inside the source. Strange and brilliant wisps of iridescence are seeping out. Something terrifying yet sacred!”
The people quickly noticed something unusual: there was another object within the divine source, from which a mysterious aura was flowing.
Ye Fan was inwardly astonished. When he had selected the stone, he had detected nothing unusual — he had assumed it was simply a piece of divine source, sufficient as a birthday gift. He had not anticipated that cutting it open would reveal something more.
A fragment resembling a broken dragon’s horn — no more than two inches in length — was bathed in flowing golden light and flickering iridescence, emanating a terrifying pulse of power, while at the same time exuding an incomparably sacred and mysterious aura.
“A divine object — containing a rare treasure within!”
“Is that… a dragon’s horn?”
Many cried out. They sensed a supreme, overwhelming pressure seeping out in fine wisps, so overwhelming that one felt an involuntary urge to kneel down in reverence.
As time passed, this terrifying pressure grew stronger still, shaking the hearts of all present.
By this point, the multitude of guests had all turned to look. The divine radiance here had long since alarmed everyone, and even those Holy Master-level figures were gazing over from within the great hall.
“This is the Sacred Horn of an ancient royal clan!” At last, an elder recognized what the object truly was.
At this moment, the Wind Clan’s Holy Master and the other great figures were all alerted, and personally came forward to observe the object resembling a dragon’s horn that lay within the divine source.
The kings of high antiquity were peerless under heaven and earth, all of them humanoid in form, utterly invincible, matchless foes throughout that primordial age. They were vanishingly rare in number.
Later generations knew little of them — what knowledge existed had been gleaned from source stones and ancient mines sealed away in the dust of time. Now that such a divine object had appeared before them, astonishment was inevitable.
“That’s right — this is the Sacred Horn a high antiquity royal clan was born with. It can cleave open the heavens and split the earth. It is a divine object without peer!” A Holy Master-level figure exclaimed in admiration.
“The supreme kings of high antiquity were on a level comparable to the ancient Great Emperors. The Sacred Horn they were born with is the concentrated essence of all they were — the most precious of treasures, a supreme sacred object used for consecrating weapons.”
“Though this is merely a fractured fragment, it is still priceless — a gift of the highest caliber!”
Several Holy Masters spoke in agreement, all of them offering high praise, leaving the crowd even more astonished. Zhao Fa’s expression was thoroughly unpleasant — he could never have imagined such an outcome. His Purple Subtlety Sect had missed out on this divine object, and the feeling of it was enough to make him want to spit blood. Nothing but leftover edge material, and yet something even more precious had been cut from it.
Feng Huang and some of the Wind Clan disciples wore expressions of shock. The dull, unremarkable black stone the other party had presented was of such extraordinary worth — truly possessed of remarkable “depth” — leaving them all standing there in a dumbfounded daze.
“This is not only a sacred object for consecrating weapons — if ground into powder it can also cure ten thousand poisons, and for tempering the body’s blood and flesh its uses are without limit!”
The great figures present were all full of admiration. A conservative estimate put the value of this two-inch fragment of Sacred Horn at over two million jin of pure refined source. When that figure was spoken aloud, a collective gasp swept through the crowd, and everyone was stunned into silence.
Even Ye Fan was taken aback for a moment. He had never intended to send something so extraordinarily precious — this had all surpassed his expectations entirely.
“This gift is too heavy — I cannot accept it.” The Wind Clan’s Holy Master appeared as a man in his middle years, imposing and magnificent in bearing, with ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall, eyes deep and profound, radiating tremendous authority.
Ye Fan smiled. “You didn’t even furrow your brow when sending me three million jin of source stones — what does this amount to? Please, accept it.”
“Very well then. To do otherwise would make me seem overly fussy.” The Wind Clan’s Holy Master nodded, and also inquired with concern about Ye Fan’s injuries, sending someone to deliver several life-prolonging pills.
At this moment, the Wind Clan’s disciples were all looking rather sheepish, every one of them at a loss for words. Feng Huang’s younger brother, Feng Lie, walked over with a glib, easy smile. “Brother Ye, when will you send me an unusual stone too?”
Ye Fan glanced at him. He had a very deep impression of this young man who had once briefly been his convenient little brother-in-law — their very first meeting had involved Ye Fan giving him a thorough beating.
After that, this peculiar fellow had wanted to visit the Wondrous Desire Convent and absolutely insisted on dragging him along as a guide — truly an exceptional character who had left Ye Fan in equal parts exasperated and amused.
Ye Fan made idle conversation with him. From not far away, Feng Huang called out sharply, “Feng Lie, come here this instant!”
Li Heishui stirred up mischief from the side, smiling as he said, “Little Lie, if you don’t leave, I’ll take it upon myself to speak for Ye Fan and promise you three unusual stones.”
“Really? Is that true?” Feng Lie’s eyes lit up.
“Of course it’s true. Don’t forget — it was the two of us who cut out so many rare treasures back in the Northern Domain Divine City, stirring up all manner of storms. Don’t you trust me?” Li Heishui laughed.
“Right then, I’m not leaving. From now on, I’ll follow you all.” Feng Lie planted himself there and refused to budge, treating Feng Huang’s words as though they’d gone in one ear and out the other.
“Feng Lie—!” Feng Huang glared at him from the side — her beauty transcendent, clear and lovely as an immortal, her anger at this moment carrying its own distinctive charm.
“Sister, don’t be harsh with me. I’m grown up now.” Feng Lie muttered.
The other Wind Clan disciples couldn’t bear to watch. No one had expected him to have so little backbone — actually going to fraternize with Ye Fan. This had many of his male and female cousins grinding their teeth in fury.
Feng Huang pointed a finger at him, too furious to speak further, and turned and walked away.
Nearby, the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters were all rendered speechless, feeling that Li Heishui was truly reprehensible. Was there anyone who stirred up trouble like this? This was deliberate antagonism toward the Wind Clan’s crown jewel — dragging her own brother away to their side.
“Brother Ye, do you truly intend to sever your cultivation?” The Holy Son of the Purple Court suddenly spoke. His expression was neutral, but Ye Fan knew this person harbored no goodwill toward him whatsoever.
This was because he had once suppressed the Holy Maiden of the Purple Court, and in the Divine City there had been many rumors circulating that the Heaven-Born Holy Physique Dao Fetus might emerge into the world — a matter the Holy Son of the Purple Court had nursed a grievance over ever since.
“That’s correct. Within half a month I must make my decision. Time does not wait for me — I have little life left, and I am running out of time.” Ye Fan nodded.
Many minds stirred with thoughts. Even if Ye Fan were to sever his cultivation and become an ordinary mortal, he would still be of great value — as could be seen from the unusual stone he had just presented. It was well worth the effort of every great institution to win his allegiance.
“You short-lived wretch — it looks like you don’t have many days left. Severing your cultivation won’t change anything.” The Golden-Winged Little Peng King strode forward in great steps, his eyes filled with savage wildness and cold cruelty. His imposing body radiated divine light, and he pressed down on those around him like a great mountain. “Since you have only days left, I’ll strike early — otherwise I’m afraid I’ll run out of time to kill you!”
“Are you in such a hurry to send yourself to your death?” Ye Fan said coldly.
“The age we live in is no longer one suited for someone like you to cultivate. Even heaven itself seeks to destroy you through the Great Dao — let me act on heaven’s behalf and send you on your way!” The Golden-Winged Little Peng King was supremely arrogant, his golden pupils full of bone-chilling killing intent.
“Have you forgotten the last time I broke your bones?” Ye Fan sneered.
“Last time I was fighting with my hands tied. This time I will crush you like a stinking insect and drain you of your last drop of blood!” The Golden-Winged Little Peng King’s voice was deep and resonant with overwhelming forcefulness.
“It seems this battle between us is now unavoidable. Then let us leave the eight hundred divine islands — we must not disturb the Wind Clan Holy Master’s celebration!” Ye Fan rose to his feet.
“That suits me perfectly. I am desperate to tear you apart!” The Golden-Winged Little Peng King’s savage nature was fully unleashed. His golden pupils were knife-sharp and terrifying. “I will strip every inch of flesh from your body and shatter every bone in your body!”