“I suppressed you once before and ultimately let you go, yet you truly never learn your lesson. Do you really think that just because you have an extraordinarily powerful grandfather and a mighty clan, you can act without any fear or restraint?” Ye Fan said with a smile on his face.
Upon the blood-soaked sacrificial altar, Jiang Yichen’s face had gone pale — this time, he was genuinely afraid. Captured by these few “demons,” he was already considering whether he should take his own life first.
“What… what do you all want?” His voice trembled. At one point he had convinced himself that they intended to use him as a living sacrifice, for why else would he be bound upon such a blood altar?
“Dear nephew, look at how pitiful you are — you can’t even string a sentence together. It’s fine. With your uncle here, no one will kill you.” Jiang Huairen smiled brilliantly.
“Little Uncle, I was wrong. Please let me go.” Fear gripped Jiang Yichen’s heart, and he swallowed his pride, bowing his head in submission.
“What’s that? I couldn’t quite hear you.” Jiang Huairen cupped his ear and asked loudly.
“Little Uncle, please let me go.” Jiang Yichen raised his voice, his face flushing slightly red. The other man was roughly the same age as him, and being addressed with such a title made him feel utterly revolted.
“What a good nephew — so you no longer want to kill your uncle, and no longer call your uncle a bastard?” Jiang Huairen asked with a grin.
“We are all brothers of Jiang Huairen, dear nephew. Shouldn’t you address us with something equally flattering?” Liu Kou asked.
A cold, murderous glint flickered in Jiang Yichen’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it, saying, “Everyone, just say what it is you want.”
“Nephew, don’t overthink it. We’re simply here to reminisce about old times.” Li Heishui said with a laugh.
Jiang Yichen felt stifled inside. “As long as you release me, my grandfather will provide you with ample Source. Even Saint-level weapons would not be a problem.”
“Your Jiang clan, back in ancient times, produced some saints. Leaving them buried in your ancestral tombs is such a waste.” The Black Emperor made an enormously greedy demand. “I won’t ask for the body of the Great Emperor Hengyu, but giving me the remains of a saint shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”
Jiang Yichen’s expression stiffened. If a mere dog already had such demands, what of those few demons — wouldn’t their conditions be even more exorbitant? Of course, he had no way of knowing that this dog was, in fact, the most rapacious of them all.
Jiang Huairen shot a sideways glance at the Great Black Dog. The ancient saints of the Jiang clan were undoubtedly his own ancestors as well, so he naturally wouldn’t let the dog run amok on this matter.
Ye Fan thought for a moment, then stepped forward. “What exactly is the divine physique within your Jiang clan?”
“Two Divine King Physiques appearing in the Eastern Wastelands at once — this is something that hasn’t happened in many years. Who is the Jiang clan’s Divine King Physique? Is it male or female?” Wu Zhongtian was equally eager to know the answer.
“Could it actually be that Jiang Yifei? I’ve always felt his true strength is utterly unfathomable.” Liu Kou said.
“I don’t know who it is either.” Jiang Yichen answered.
“Still playing tough even now. Give him a good slapping — beat him until he gives in. If anything comes of it, I, as his uncle, will take responsibility.” Jiang Huairen said.
“You all… don’t you dare!” Jiang Yichen shouted.
Smack. Smack.
Neither Li Heishui nor Liu Kou were people of soft hearts. Dealing with this Jiang clan heir who had once wanted them all dead, they showed no mercy whatsoever, delivering resounding slaps to his face.
Jiang Yichen’s eyes smoldered with viciousness, and boundless murderous intent surged within him, yet for now he could only endure it. Daring not to talk back, he said, “That person is very mysterious. All I know is that they belong to the line of the clan head.”
“Nonsense!” Jiang Huairen rewarded him with a hard slap, saying, “The Divine King bloodline flows through our branch of the family. How could it have ended up in the clan head’s lineage? Do you dare try to deceive me over even this?”
“I am not lying. It is the truth. There is a rumor within the clan that the one with the divine physique was adopted from outside by the clan head, and is not actually a member of our Jiang clan.” Jiang Yichen cried out, not wanting any more slaps.
“What? They actually adopted someone with a divine physique from outside?!” Everyone was thoroughly astonished and spent a long while turning this over in their minds.
In the end, no matter whether Jiang Yichen pleaded or raged, nothing was of any use — the group decided to suppress him.
“If we suppress him for a thousand years, this brat won’t even have bone fragments left. Let’s just bury him for five hundred years.” The Black Emperor declared, his two great paws sweeping about wildly, raking away every valuable in reach.
“You can’t treat me like this…” Jiang Yichen was in such despair he felt like dying. He had never imagined they would actually suppress him inside a cesspit.
“Damn it, stop screaming like a ghost. Your dear elder cousin has already gone ahead of you to live out his golden years. It’s only just now your turn.” Li Heishui gave him a kick.
Splash!
Jiang Yichen plunged into the cesspit, filth covering him from head to toe. He let out an agonized wail — no real injuries, yet the anguish tore at his very soul, and the veins on his forehead throbbed and bulged wildly.
“You truly are a pampered flower in a greenhouse. Your ancestor — the Great Emperor Hengyu — dared venture into the Primordial Forbidden Zone to forge a sacred furnace and annihilate an existence rivaling a Great Emperor. You’ve merely fallen into a cesspit, yet you act as though it is the end of the world. If you truly fell into the Primordial Ancient Mine, you’d probably die of fright on the spot.” The Black Emperor stood upright, lecturing at length — all while standing from a position of perfect comfort.
“You come in here and try it yourself!” Jiang Yichen was nearly driven mad with rage, and nearly retched his stomach out, erupting in a torrent of furious profanity.
“Stop wasting words with him — hurry and suppress him!” Liu Kou said.
Ye Fan chiseled off a stone tablet and tossed it into the cesspit, saying, “Cultivate diligently here. If you can emerge alive after five hundred years, you will have achieved something truly extraordinary.”
“Even as a ghost, I will never forgive any of you…” Jiang Yichen screamed, but the stone tablet came crashing down and sealed him at the bottom of the cesspit.
“This brat won’t be driven to death by fury, will he? Can he even endure five hundred years? There isn’t even the slightest spiritual energy in this place.”
“Why think so far ahead? This wretched fellow deserves to be suppressed in the cesspit.”
“Why don’t we draw a treasure map, split it into several pieces, and scatter them around? Perhaps after eighty or a hundred years, someone will come searching for this place.”
“That’s far too cruel…”
The group chatted and discussed as they walked away. Pitiable Jiang Yichen had thus begun a long, grueling ordeal — no one knew what year or month he would see the light of day again.
As they journeyed onward, Ye Fan sought to stir the waters of the world. In an ancient, dilapidated town, he found traces of an ancient order known as the Men of the World, left behind from ages past. He offered them Source stones and hired them to carry out an assassination.
Half a month later, word spread that Jin Chixiao, the foremost heir of the Northern Plains Golden Clan, had been ambushed and gravely wounded.
“This fellow’s cultivation is terrifyingly formidable — even the seed king-level experts of the Men of the World failed to finish the job?” Li Heishui and the others were astounded.
“With the golden blood of an ancient king flowing in his veins, how could he ever be ordinary? His raw power must be absolutely fearsome!” The Great Black Dog said.
Ye Fan nodded. That night of the bloody battle, Jin Chixiao had manifested a divine deity from within his sacred palace — a power that was in no way inferior to any of the holy sons. It was not hard to imagine just how formidable his true self was.
At this moment, they were within a verdant oasis stretching roughly eight thousand li in every direction, teeming with life and vitality. Ancient mountain ranges rose across the land in the manner of dragons and serpents side by side, all utterly tranquil.
“It is said that the old immortal dwells somewhere within this oasis. Absolutely no one would dare come here to cause trouble.” Wu Zhongtian said.
The old immortal was a legend — the greatest outlaw in the Northern Region. No one knew his true appearance, nor how many ages he had lived through. Even the holy lands held him in fear.
“Elder brother, what is a hermit?” Xiao Nannan asked.
“We’re about to become hermits ourselves.” Ye Fan said with a smile, gently ruffling her hair. He had laid down a supreme killing formation and caused rivers of blood to flow in a single night, annihilating countless powerful experts. There was simply no way he could continue moving openly through the world any longer.
“How many years will we have to remain in hiding?” Li Heishui asked him.
“Probably until I reach Saint-level.” Ye Fan smiled lightly.
“A Sacred Physique reaching the Saint level…” The others drew sharp, cold breaths.
If that day came, even the holy saints would not dare move against him. Even knowing that he possessed the Cauldron of Mother Qi of All Things, they would undoubtedly keep their respectful distance. A Sacred Physique at the great Saint level could absolutely sweep through all the holy saints, and no one would dare provoke such a being. At that level of power, there would truly be very few capable of standing against him openly.
“Nannan is a hermit now. Dog, you must be a hermit too — no more biting people.” Xiao Nannan gently patted the Great Black Dog.
At this moment, they arrived within a stretch of beautiful mountain ranges — lush peaks, emerald valleys, springs bubbling with spiritual energy, and ancient trees towering toward the sky. A perfect place to live in seclusion.
“Aren’t you going to attend the Jade Pool Grand Assembly? Everyone who should be there is almost gathered — it’s about to begin.”
“Yes, not going really would be a terrible shame.”
Liu Kou and the others spoke these words.
“If I go, there’s a good chance that some holy saint will make a move against me in secret. I’ve slaughtered so many people — all elite experts from supreme ancient sects, five half-step great powers, two holy sons…” Ye Fan said with a smile, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.
Everyone laughed. If Ye Fan were to attend the Jade Pool Grand Assembly, it would absolutely ignite a cataclysmic battle, and it was not impossible that another one or two holy sons would end up dead.
“What a shame… we won’t get to eat the Queen Mother of the West’s flat peaches…” The Great Black Dog lamented.
Ye Fan had decided to remain here in seclusion. Li Heishui and the others prepared to take their leave — they would accompany their elders to the Jade Pool Grand Assembly, where heroes from across the world would gather, and they wished to go broaden their horizons.
That very day, a graceful and beautiful figure came to visit, appearing within these mountain ranges — white robes billowing, unstained by even a single speck of dust, arriving like the Immortal of the Moon Palace herself, untouched by the mortal world.
None of them had expected it: the Jade Pool Saintess had come, having tracked down this very place, personally arriving to invite Ye Fan to make his appearance.
“You may set your mind at ease. Once inside the Jade Pool, no one will dare harm you. Our Jade Pool will see to your protection and well-being.” The Jade Pool Saintess’s voice rang out as melodious as the sounds of heaven itself.
All but Ye Fan were unable to see her true face, which was veiled within layers of ethereal mist — transcendent and otherworldly, graceful as an immortal.
“Will there be flat peaches to eat?” The Great Black Dog asked, its tongue lolling out.
“The fruits in the Flat Peach Garden have already ripened. All those attending the grand assembly will be able to enjoy them.” The Jade Pool Saintess smiled.
“I’m not talking about those ordinary spirit peaches. I mean that true ancient flat peach tree — it should have borne fruit by now, shouldn’t it?” The Great Black Dog’s eyes blazed with fiery eagerness.
Inwardly, the Jade Pool Saintess was startled, though she let nothing show. She looked toward Ye Fan and said, “Brother Ye, no matter what, you must come and make a visit to the Jade Pool.”
Her invitation was sincere. The ancient lineages of Source Arts, the reclusive Source King bloodlines — all had been invited into the Jade Pool. The Stone King left behind by the Queen Mother of the West, along with the strange stones left by the Source Heaven Master, could no longer be kept sealed, and they required supreme Source Arts to maintain the suppression.
“How did you find this place?”
“I must ask for your forgiveness, Brother Ye. Fearing you might not keep the appointment, I embedded a trace of an imprint within the last invitation, so that I might be able to locate you.” The Jade Pool Saintess expressed her apologies.
“Little Ye, let’s go. There’ll be no problem this time — let’s attend the Jade Pool Grand Assembly together.” Li Heishui said.
In the end, Ye Fan set foot on the road to the Jade Pool, traveling alongside the others, accompanied personally by the Jade Pool Saintess.
The Jade Pool’s sacred land was cloaked in drifting mist, its scenery breathtakingly beautiful — like a realm of immortals.
By now, powerful experts from across the world had all rushed to arrive, and were already assembled in full — a grand gathering in every true sense of the word.
To say nothing of those legendary figures who had been renowned for ages, even the younger generation alone was assembled with extraordinary strength: the Yao Guang Holy Son, the Ji Family’s Divine King Physique, the Purple Palace Saintess… nearly all of the young holy sons and holy daughters from across the Eastern Wastelands had gathered.
Furthermore, from the Central Continent came talented young figures such as Wang Chongxiao, Ye Huiling, the Twin Kings, and the Feathered Transformation King — it was a true convergence of the finest talents of the age.
“The Sacred Physique has arrived…” The moment Ye Fan appeared, he instantly caused a stir.
“He slaughtered countless powerful experts in a single night, killing two great holy sons — and he actually dares to come attend the Jade Pool Grand Assembly.” Many people were utterly stunned.
In recent times, Ye Fan had stirred up boundless storms of controversy and was absolutely the focal figure on everyone’s lips. His arrival naturally set off a fresh wave of upheaval.
“The Jade Pool Saintess personally went to receive him before he could be persuaded to come here. What extraordinary airs he puts on.” A young man from one of the ancient Source Arts lineages remarked with a cool, ambiguous tone.
“This time, the Jade Pool Grand Assembly will not be peaceful. Little Ye, you must be on your guard.” Li Heishui warned.
Just as they arrived that very day, wind and thunder howled through the immortal lands of the Jade Pool, as a supreme expert pursued a streak of golden light.
“The Battle Sage Ape!” Ye Fan was dumbstruck.
“That monkey went to the Flat Peach Garden to steal the immortal peaches…” someone cried out.
“The situation really isn’t tranquil this time. Could there be something extraordinary within the Stone King, to have even attracted the Battle Sage Ape?” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
The Jade Pool Grand Assembly was truly magnificent. Even before it had formally opened, all manner of extraordinary figures had already taken up residence within this sacred land, with powerful experts from across the world converging in one place.
The Yao Guang Holy Son, the Divine King Physique, Jin Chixiao, the Twin Kings, the Feathered Transformation King, the Purple Palace Saintess, the Jade Pool Saintess, and Ye Fan himself — all had become the focal points of everyone’s conversations.
Without question, these individuals represented the most formidable young experts of the current era. With all of them gathered under one roof, spectacular clashes were all but inevitable.
Beyond that, the competition in Source Arts was certain to be a major highlight, as the most ancient Source Arts lineages had all arrived, and rivalry between them was unavoidable. Everyone was looking forward to it with great anticipation.