“We share good fortune and face hardship together. Since you’re leaving, I will certainly go with you.” Pang Bo said this with great firmness and resolution, having made up his mind to leave the Spirit Void Cave Heaven together with Ye Fan. It was impossible for Ye Fan to agree. After Pang Bo had been designated as a Celestial Seedling, his future was bright. If he were to leave now, everything would be reset to zero, the road ahead filled with unknowns — and there might even be accidents.

“There is another reason for my departure. We overpowered Han Feiyu and humiliated him completely…”

Pang Bo immediately cut him off at this point and said, “No need to worry about him. I am now a Celestial Seedling. I believe he won’t dare cause trouble in the short term. Once our strength grows, what is there to fear from him?”

Ye Fan shook his head and said, “This matter is by no means as simple as it looks on the surface. These past days, I have gathered information from various sources and learned that his great-uncle is a skilled pill refiner who is doing everything possible to refine a batch of ‘Life Restoration Pills’ to extend his lifespan. In recent years, he has been sparing no expense to search for spiritual herbs, constantly going out and personally venturing into deep mountains and vast marshes to find them. He only returned a few days ago, and Han Feiyu immediately came to provoke us. I suspect there is something very unusual about all this.”

Pang Bo nodded upon hearing this. He too had always found it strange — they had no grievances or grudges with Han Feiyu, and there should have been no conflict between them. There had been no connection between the two sides at all before this.

“You don’t suppose you’re guessing… that his great-uncle wants to set his sights on us?” Pang Bo’s mind was also quick; in an instant he had thought of many things. The two of them had once consumed a sacred herb and unexpectedly returned to their childhood appearance. If Elder Han had learned of this, he would very likely have designs on them indeed.

“I believe his lifespan is nearly exhausted and he desperately wants to refine the ‘Life Restoration Pills.’ It is very possible that he has fixed his gaze on us.” Ye Fan rendered this judgment, then added, “Now that you are a Celestial Seedling, he would not dare do anything to you. But if I continue to stay, I fear an accident will happen to me.”

“That miserable old wretch!” Pang Bo frowned upon hearing all of this. He no longer tried to stop Ye Fan from leaving, but insisted on accompanying him.

“If you insist on coming along, then I won’t leave.” Ye Fan said this very plainly and simply. He did not want to hold back Pang Bo’s cultivation — the Spirit Void Cave Heaven was truly the best choice for him.

Pang Bo knew Ye Fan well. Seeing that he was this resolute, he stopped insisting for now and sat there in silent brooding.

“Go fetch paper and brush — I’ll leave you a copy of the ancient scripture.”

Ye Fan had only ever spoken to Pang Bo about obtaining the ancient scripture from the Ancient Bronze Coffin. He had once recited a few lines before, and Pang Bo had listened to them as though hearing scripture from the heavens — for it was so abstruse and profound that it was simply incomprehensible. Even now Ye Fan himself did not understand its meaning. He had pondered over it for a long time but could not grasp a single thread of it.

“Those scripture texts are complete gibberish to me — leaving them with me would be useless. I certainly won’t be lacking mystical techniques here in the Spirit Void Cave Heaven. No need to bother writing them out.”

Ye Fan paid no attention to this and grabbed paper and brush and began to write. In the very instant he set brush to paper, a divine sound like a great bronze bell resonating within the heavens suddenly rang out in his mind. Hundreds of ancient characters flowed like a gentle stream through his heart, instantly filling him with a sense of mental clarity and spiritual refreshment. Ye Fan’s brush moved like a dragon, swift and fluid and unbroken, rapidly leaving row after row of script on the paper. But then, at this very moment, something extraordinary occurred.

The brush stopped — and the characters vanished!

When the brush in his hand came to a stop, the rows of ancient characters on the page slowly faded away, and the paper then disintegrated to ash and smoke. It was as though a mysterious power was concealed within the tip of the brush, destroying everything in its wake.

At the same time, those hundreds of ancient characters in Ye Fan’s heart grew slowly blurry, and the sounds gradually faded away. Beside him, Pang Bo stood there agape. This was too extraordinary — it gave one the feeling of something deeply sinister and uncanny. Only after a very long while did he finally speak: “I think… let’s not write anymore. This scripture from the heavens is too strange and evil.”

The hundreds of ancient characters were something never seen nor heard of before — a script more ancient than bronze and tripod inscriptions. Originally, Ye Fan himself could not read them either. But because of the presence of the divine sound, when those hundreds of ancient characters had been branded into his heart that day, he gradually came to understand the meaning of these characters.

Ye Fan bowed his head in deep thought, recalling some words that Elder Wu Qingfeng had once spoken. Before the Desolate Ancient era, there existed sacred texts, and every single character condensed the resonance of the Dao, possessing mysterious and immeasurable divine power. Even a mere imitation of them would cause inexplicable and strange occurrences. Some speculated that writing these ancient characters might connect with the power of heaven and earth and trigger chaos in the primordial energy — thus producing all manner of inexplicable phenomena.

“Could it be that every single brushstroke of these ancient characters condenses a kind of ‘force,’ and that in the process of writing, it causes the primordial energy of the surrounding heaven and earth to fall into chaos — ultimately destroying the paper…” Ye Fan murmured to himself.

He then began to carve into the ground. The instant the brush tip came to a stop, a faint arc of electricity swept across the surface, and every trace of the characters was reduced to ash and dust without exception.

Pang Bo found it utterly baffling and said, “This scripture from the heavens is causing mischief — don’t write it anymore!”

“It is not the scripture causing mischief — rather, these ancient characters are no ordinary thing. Every single brushstroke condenses a kind of ‘force’ capable of interfering with the fluctuations of the primordial energy of heaven and earth. All the ‘forces’ concentrated together are sufficient to draw upon the power of heaven and earth in the surrounding area, forming a power that erases the ancient scripture.” Ye Fan rendered this judgment.

The more this proved to be the case, the more mysterious and unfathomable the ancient scripture appeared. The person who had left behind this scripture was even harder to fathom — hundreds of ancient characters arranged together made it impossible for the ancient scripture to manifest in the world. It seemed as though this were a secret text that should never have appeared in this world.

Ye Fan ceased his attempts. The ancient scripture was too abstruse and profound — even if he left it for Pang Bo, he would struggle to understand its meaning.

In the end, Ye Fan chose to leave. Pang Bo saw him off in silence. Along the small path paved with pebbles, walking out from the depths of the immortal mountain, they came to the exit of the Spirit Void Cave Heaven. As Ye Fan stepped onto those bluestone steps, the ancient scripture in his heart rang out once more. He turned to Pang Bo and said, “Beneath the hundred-plus ancient bluestone steps of the Spirit Void Cave Heaven, there is very likely something extraordinary. You might come here often in your spare time…”

At that very moment, Pang Bo suddenly widened his eyes and said, “Don’t go yet.”

Ye Fan also sensed something and turned to look. He caught sight of a familiar figure flashing past and disappearing — it was one of the young men they had once turned upside down and planted headfirst in the ground.

“Han Feiyu won’t give up. He actually had someone spying on us.”

“Don’t leave yet — if they’ve seen that you’re about to depart, they’ll certainly ambush you on the road.”

Ye Fan nodded, and the two of them turned back. The young man had already vanished without a trace. But on the way back, they caught sight of Han Feiyu rushing toward them at lightning speed, with several people following behind him.

Pang Bo’s face immediately turned ashen. If they hadn’t happened to discover that young man tailing them, and Ye Fan had left just like that today, it would certainly have been an irreparable tragedy. He burst out cursing on the spot: “Han Feiyu, you bastard! Just because you have your great-uncle backing you, you think you can do whatever you please — kill whoever you want? If you’ve got the guts, come over here and kill me directly!”

Hearing him shout like this, Han Feiyu’s face immediately turned green. If the other elders or the sect master were to misunderstand that he intended to eliminate the Spirit Void Cave Heaven’s Celestial Seedling, then even with his great-uncle’s backing, he would very likely not be able to protect his own life.

“Don’t say such things — I just happened to be passing through here.” Having said this, he led the others away without looking back, cutting a very sorry figure. He had indeed come for Ye Fan today. Upon learning that Ye Fan had packed his belongings and was about to leave, he had rushed over immediately, intending to ambush and kill him on the road.

Pang Bo seethed with fury, gritting his teeth and saying, “This little wretch really is vicious and sinister. He’s been keeping tabs on us all along — it’s clear he’s truly been looking for an opportunity to make a move on you. You’d better not leave for now.”

Ye Fan nodded. When one’s strength was insufficient, it was indeed impossible to leave rashly — otherwise, one’s life would truly be in danger.

In the following month, everything was very calm. Han Feiyu did not dare to have anyone spy on Pang Bo and Ye Fan again, and restrained himself considerably, terrified that Pang Bo would go and report him to the other elders.

Then one day, Pang Bo came back from Elder Wu Qingfeng’s place with an expression that seemed somewhat downcast.

“What happened?” Ye Fan asked.

“It might be good news for you, but it’s hardly good news for me.” Pang Bo let out a sigh and said, “I also feel that it might be dangerous for you to stay in the Spirit Void Cave Heaven much longer. Just now I asked Elder Wu Qingfeng to send you away on your journey…”

“That is indeed good news.” Ye Fan immediately smiled and said, “It’s not a final parting. No need to sigh — sooner or later we’ll meet again. By that time, I hope you will already be the formidable Sect Master Pang, renowned throughout the Eastern Desolation, making even those so-called holy lands and ancient clans tremble.”

Pang Bo was truly reluctant to part with Ye Fan, yet had no alternative, and said, “We’ll need to wait a few days. Within the next several days, Elder Wu Qingfeng will be selecting some disciples with potential to take outside the Spirit Void Cave Heaven to a primordial ruin for training.”

In ages long past, the land where the Spirit Void Cave Heaven stood was a ruin. Later generations had cleared it and it became a blessed cave heaven. One could say the Spirit Void Cave Heaven had a history stretching back to antiquity — traced all the way back, this ancient land extended into the Desolate Ancient era.

The primordial ruin was extraordinarily vast and stretched on without end. The Spirit Void Cave Heaven occupied only a portion of it, and there remained an enormously wide expanse of territory that had never been cleared. In that ruin, ancient trees soared to the heavens, all manner of rare birds and exotic beasts roamed freely, and many rare medicinal herbs grew there. Every year, the elders of the Spirit Void Cave Heaven would lead disciples there for training — it was not only a form of tempering, but also an opportunity to broaden the disciples’ horizons.

The ruin of the Ancient Wood Wolf Forest was no pure land. It sheltered no small number of savage beasts and fierce birds. Although elders traveled with the group, there were still bloodshed incidents every year.

“It’s said there are quite a few precious medicinal herbs growing in there, and some are even rare spiritual medicines. If one is lucky enough to gather them, they can be immediately exchanged with the accompanying elder for pills.” At this point, Pang Bo looked toward Ye Fan and said, “You urgently need Hundred Herb Fluid right now. If you gain something there, you can temporarily resolve your immediate needs.”