“What kind of creatures are these?” Ye Fan was greatly startled.

All three creatures had humanoid forms, yet were covered in silver scales, with rows of bone spines growing along their backs — each spine nearly half a foot long — and no matter how one looked at them, they were clearly not benevolent beings.

Yet the flickering silver light made them appear almost divine, nothing like the undead. Each creature possessed a pair of silver wings that flashed with silver radiance, and when they beat those wings, space itself split apart.

“Ancient creatures? No, that can’t be right — most of those are in the Eastern Wastelands. These look exactly like Soaring Divine Yakshas. Legend says they are formed from the bodies of supreme ancient warriors after death. Every single one of them is terrifyingly powerful.”

Ye Fan’s heart pounded violently. If that was truly the case, these were three demonic kings — their exact cultivation was difficult to estimate, but they were absolutely not something he could afford to provoke.

However, the present situation was entirely different. He bore a Heavenly Tribulation upon him, and such malevolent spirits should not exist in this world at all. They were innately terrified of the five thunderbolts crashing down from above — born to be suppressed by it.

Ye Fan pressed forward. The rare precious marrow was far too important to him. It contained fragments of law within it and could help him comprehend the Dao and advance in cultivation. As long as he had enough of it, he could continuously break through — it was a priceless sacred object.

Sacred light flashed, and the three silver creatures struck together, each opening their mouths to spew forth a mass of silver flames. The surrounding rock walls instantly became lava, which then evaporated.

“Such scorching heat!”

Ye Fan was stunned. Anyone at the first heaven of the Immortal Platform who came here would be reduced to ash — no divine power or Daoist technique could withstand it, and even ancient treasures would be cracked and burned.

“Roar!”

One of the silver creatures lunged forward. The aura it radiated was like an entire galaxy, enough to collapse the entire ancient cave.

Ye Fan swept his lightning forward and hacked downward. Ten thousand paths of Heavenly Tribulation descended — boundless lightning, deafening thunder — pulverizing the mine tunnels ahead into powder.

The silver creature’s eyes revealed fear as it retreated continuously. The Heavenly Tribulation was its bane. Ancient evil corpses that had transformed into Soaring Divine Yakshas were not permitted to remain in the world, for their lives should have ended long ago.

“Roar!”

The other two silver creatures let out great howls, like muffled thunder, causing the underground world to tremble violently — testament to their immense power.

Ye Fan broke out into a cold sweat. He was snatching food from the mouth of a tiger, and the Soaring Divine Yakshas refused to yield, which made his heart pound. The true strength of these creatures was frightening beyond measure. If he delayed a moment longer and the Heavenly Tribulation dissipated, things would turn disastrous. With that thought, he carried the boundless lightning light forward and charged ahead, unstoppable.

“Roar!”

In the end, all three Soaring Divine Yakshas let out great cries, furious and alarmed. The Heavenly Tribulation was drawing closer — by pure instinct, they were filled with dread and terror. They were innately countered by it.

Though deeply unwilling, they had no other choice. Once the thunder tribulation was triggered, they would be reduced to flying ash. The laws would not permit them to live a second life against heaven’s will.

This world had its own rules: once one had died, even if your corpse came to life through some miraculous means, you were destined to face annihilation. Laws would not permit the existence of lives that fell outside their boundaries.

The three terrifying creatures, filled with fury and resentment, ultimately fled, daring not to touch the lightning.

“These creatures appear sacred, yet they feed specifically on the yang energy of humans. If they escape, it will likely be a great calamity. Unfortunately, I am unable to destroy them.” With the Heavenly Tribulation nearly spent, Ye Fan dared not pursue them further and could only stop here.

“Whoosh!”

Still at a great distance, he summoned the Myriad Transformations Mother Qi Cauldron and collected those thirty-six drops of precious marrow within it. He dared not approach closer, fearing the lightning light might destroy them.

“Rare and precious marrow — a full thirty-six drops! With these, I can sit at the fourth stage and look to the fifth. I will undergo yet another transformation!”

Ye Fan’s heart surged with excitement. The ancestral roots of heaven and earth lay beneath the ground of the Central Continent, and the divine liquid they gave birth to was of immeasurable value to him.

These droplets did not mix with one another. Each one was like a small luminous pearl, radiating divine brilliance and flowing with extraordinary radiance. Vaguely, one could glimpse tiny dragon shapes within them, trembling lightly, all turning pale gold.

“This is a spirit object — a single drop is worth over a hundred thousand catties of origin source!”

Of course, this was his most conservative estimate. If truly brought to auction, this would only be a starting price — who knew how high the bidding might go.

Within the marrow pool, luminous mist swirled and dragon qi continuously overflowed. This was the entrance to an ancestral root, and the dragon marrow was what it had nurtured and given birth to over countless ages.

“Wait — this is more than just an entrance. This is a Dragon Pool!”

Dragon marrow was extraordinarily rare in the human world — something one could encounter only by chance, never by seeking. There existed things even more precious than it, divine marrow so rare that it appeared perhaps once in a thousand lifetimes. Legend said it had become spiritually aware and transformed into a living being, comparable to the Undying Medicine.

Ye Fan was astonished. Once he had come to understand the importance of dragon marrow, he had spent considerable effort collecting books to study it in detail. The ancestral roots of the most supreme dragon veins could sometimes nurture inconceivable immortal treasures.

First, a Dragon Pool had to form before it could gestate divine beings with living consciousness within it. The small pool before him — roughly one meter square — was absolutely a Dragon Pool, for along its inner walls were markings that resembled dragon scales.

This was the most distinctive feature — the sign of a Dragon Pool’s birth. Piece after piece of azure scale-like patterns shimmered with radiance, yet no longer carried any pulse of life.

“In that distant past, a dream-tier divine marrow was born here…”

He quickly understood everything. No wonder there were human bones in this place — a great battle had occurred here long ago, and the immortal treasure had been harvested away, leaving only the Dragon Pool. After long ages had passed, several dozen drops of dragon marrow had been born anew.

“I imagine those three Soaring Divine Yakshas were the terrifying cultivators who fell in that era!”

Ye Fan let out a soft sigh and left the underground world. A world-shaking battle must have occurred here in days gone by — what manner of figure had obtained the divine marrow? Sadly, it was too long ago, and everything had been buried in history.

He rose to the surface, trampling the rocky ground to seal this place beneath. Perhaps after a thousand lifetimes, rare treasures would be born here again — after all, there was an ancestral root here.

At that moment, the lightning light weakened. The last bolt of lightning flashed and vanished, and the Heavenly Tribulation completely disappeared.

Ye Fan dared not linger. He transformed into a streak of flowing light, covering dozens of li in an instant, and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

Half a quarter-hour later, a dimensional gate appeared in the sky, opening without a sound, and more than a dozen silhouettes charged out, sweeping the ten directions with their powerful divine senses.

“The divine calculator’s top disciple deduced the precise location — it is right here!”

The people from the Yin-Yang Sect and the Xiao Family appeared with murderous intent. Among them alone came four great abilities, and the rest were all senior cultivators of the first heaven of the Immortal Platform.

“He underwent his tribulation here!”

This was very bad news. It had been only a few months since the last time, yet Ye Fan had already broken through again. His advancement was so terrifyingly fast that it changed every single one of their expressions.

“At this rate, he will ascend to the Immortal Platform within just a few years…”

They were all shaken. None had anticipated that Ye Fan would be such a prodigy — his advancement truly too rapid. He was not much slower than the intermediate emperor realm cultivators, and would likely catch up with them in the future. Another “Northern Emperor Wang Teng” had emerged.

In the far sky above, a golden silhouette and a silver silhouette stood side by side. They were two powerful ancient creatures, their eyes flickering with an indiscernible light.

“He slipped away again. The master ordered us to bring back his head, and three months have already passed, yet we still cannot track down his whereabouts.”

Not long after, Ye Fan returned to the small Daoist temple on the low mountain, where he secluded himself once more for half a month, completely consolidating his realm.

At dusk, a red-hued whirlwind stirred, and on the low mountain several scenes once again manifested. Ye Fan paid little attention to them now — this elder saint was too transcendent, having left nothing behind. He felt that no matter what, the other party could not possibly have recited some scripture. Paying too much attention to it would serve no great purpose.

“That’s wrong — that is…”

Suddenly, he was startled. Beneath that ancient pine tree, he spotted a young man — dressed in flowing blue robes, ethereal and otherworldly, his entire being as lofty as an exiled immortal, standing atop the low mountain as one with heaven and earth.

“Hua Yunfei!”

The vicious man emperor had left behind a copy of the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art — a technique that shook ancient and modern times. Even after so many years had passed, it remained a forbidden thing. Whoever obtained it would inevitably be hunted down by all under heaven.

In years past, Hua Yunfei had concealed himself deeply. It was only by accident that Ye Fan had come to know of it, exposing him before the world. Yet after the battle over two years ago, he had disappeared and could no longer be found.

“He actually came to the Central Continent — he appeared here!”

Ye Fan’s heart sank with a bad feeling. This was the magnetic mountain rock’s “playback” of past events. Hua Yunfei had come to this place before him and had surely also learned of the Nine Secrets that belonged to the Cai Clan.

Even more troubling — if the old saint had left something behind, Hua Yunfei might have taken it. The work of ancient saints touched the very workings of creation; any object they had refined was a supreme treasure.

“This is terrible…”

Ye Fan had found nothing here, assuming the old saint had left nothing behind. Now it seemed the situation had changed — it was entirely possible Hua Yunfei had already taken whatever had been left.

“Where is the Cai Clan?” Beneath the ancient tree, Hua Yunfei murmured to himself, facing west.

After hearing those words, Ye Fan let out a slight breath of relief — the other party had not obtained the Nine Secrets here. But then his heart sank again: Hua Yunfei had come before him, possibly over two years earlier. During that time, it was hard to say whether he had already found the Cai Clan.

“With such great fortune as his — having obtained the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art — he now may have the Nine Secrets within his grasp as well.”

Ye Fan furrowed his brow. Nearly three years had already passed. He had no idea what heights this terrifying adversary had reached, and dared not reason about it by ordinary standards — for the other party could devour the fundamental essence of others.

Once he acted without restraint, an invincible demon lord would rise swiftly — and no one would be able to stop him.

“I must cultivate while searching for the Cai Clan. If he gets there first, things will be disastrous — a great catastrophe!”

The Ten Thousand Transformations Sacred Art — with a single thought, flowers bloom; lordship over all under heaven; countless techniques unmatched in the world. If the Nine Secrets were added on top of that, and Hua Yunfei devoured the fundamental essences of others and accumulated them to a sufficient degree, the day would truly come when he stood invincible under heaven.

Ye Fan calculated the days — nearly four months had passed. It was time to go see Pang Bo and discuss things with him, to see whether they might borrow the resources of the Extraordinary Masters Mansion to locate the Cai Clan.

Two days later, Ye Fan arrived once more at the Extraordinary Masters Mansion. Purple qi billowed and rose, cliff faces loomed magnificent, spirit springs gurgled, ancient medicinal herbs drifted their fragrance, and over ten thousand great dragons soared through the sky — it was a place that connected to the heavens.

At the agreed-upon time and location, he waited quietly within a stretch of mountain ranges. Before long, Pang Bo appeared.

“You’ve broken through!” Both men said the words almost simultaneously, then burst into laughter together.

Sitting in meditation atop the coffin board of the Dao-Comprehending Ancient Tea Tree, refining dragon marrow, with Dao-Comprehending tea leaves in his mouth — this could truly be called divine speed. Even Pang Bo found it difficult to believe.

Ye Fan sealed thirty-six shimmering drops of the precious marrow into three white jade bottles, handed them over, and said, “We must rapidly increase our strength.”

“So much dragon marrow!” Pang Bo was startled and refused to accept it.

“Don’t decline. I can obtain more at saint-master-tier auctions — as long as I have sufficient divine source, it’s no problem at all. Moreover, there are many ancestral dragon vein roots beneath the Central Continent’s land. In the future I will enter the underground to search for them, and I will never lack for supply. I may even obtain dream-tier divine marrow.”

Pang Bo recalled something and said, “The second most beautiful woman in the Central Continent — the Moon Spirit Princess of the Nine Li Divine Dynasty, said to possess the appearance of sinking fish and falling geese, of eclipsing the moon and shaming the flowers — recently sought out earth masters. It seems they have discovered a location with a supreme ancestral vein.”

Earth masters were extraordinary experts who studied the mountain terrain and earth veins. To enter the underground dragon veins in search of rare precious marrow, one could not do without such powerful figures.

Ye Fan nodded and said, “I heard about that as well. It’s an ancient ore deposit that may contain dream-tier divine marrow, guarded by powerful creatures. Word is that three great abilities have already fallen in those underground reaches, and countless other experts have been killed or wounded. In a while, when I have some leisure time, I’ll go take a look personally.”

He had great confidence in the Source Heavenly Scripture. What these earth masters called terrain-reading techniques were very close to what he had learned from the source art’s earth observation writings — the two were essentially interchangeable.

Moreover, he had once heard a rumor that one of the five Source Heavenly Masters of the Eastern Wastelands, after encountering inauspicious omens in his later years, had crossed the void and come to the Central Continent. Perhaps on this great land, he might find clues about him and learn whether the man had ultimately escaped his destined fate.

“Be careful above all else. The guardian creatures within the ancestral roots are extraordinary things — some are even far more terrifying than ancient creatures.” Pang Bo cautioned.

Ye Fan nodded, then spoke of his recent experiences, asking Pang Bo to help him gather materials on the Cai Clan within the Extraordinary Masters Mansion to see whether any clues could be found.

The Extraordinary Masters Mansion had an ancient lineage and possessed endless ancient texts, with extensive records on the origins of factions throughout the world. It was even quite possible to directly locate information on where the Nine Secrets had gone.

“Hua Yunfei appeared again… When the time comes, I’ll go with you to take him down!” Pang Bo said with a nod.

“I hope he hasn’t obtained the Nine Secrets. If he has, things will be very bad.” Ye Fan replied.

“By the way…” Pang Bo furrowed his brow and brought up an infuriating matter: Li Heishui had been severely wounded — nearly beaten to death.

“What?” Ye Fan was furious. Li Heishui had been tremendously good to him. Back during the source stone gambling at the Divine City, he had accompanied Ye Fan all the way through and helped him enormously.

Pang Bo said, “I wanted to act and kill those people, but Li Heishui and the others wouldn’t allow it, fearing that since I’m in the Extraordinary Masters Mansion, it might expose me and put me in danger.”

The Extraordinary Masters Mansion had Wang Teng sitting as its pillar, suppressing everyone of the younger generation and making it hard for anyone to breathe. If Wang Teng were to learn of Pang Bo’s relationship with Ye Fan, Pang Bo would face a great calamity.

“Right — you must not be impulsive. I’m still counting on you to endure and search for the ancient stellar path leading beyond the domain. Leave this matter to me.”

“Li Heishui was so badly wounded that he was bedridden for a whole month before recovering. Jiang Huairen and the others were injured too. I’ve been feeling stifled about it and couldn’t stop myself from wanting to act several times.” Pang Bo struck his fist.

“Who exactly attacked them? I will kill them one by one!” Ye Fan’s tone was firm, with killing intent flowing through his words.

“Who else could it be? The holy maiden of the Yin-Yang Sect gathered eight or nine people, and together with Yan Yunluan, they attacked Li Heishui and the others, beating them into serious injuries.”

“They’ve grown tired of living. I’ll wait outside the Extraordinary Masters Mansion for them to come out — not a single one of them will survive!” Ye Fan knew this had absolutely been done to strike at him through his companions. They had undoubtedly learned of the relationships between those people and him.

“Li Heishui had many of his bones broken. He’s only just now able to get out of bed.” Pang Bo said in a voice full of hatred.

“Very well. I’ll wait quietly for them to come out. You go back now and help me collect the materials.” Ye Fan said.

Not long after, Ye Fan came to the outside of the Extraordinary Masters Mansion and waited patiently before its mountain gates, murmuring to himself: “One comes out, one dies. Two come out, two die!”

In his hand, he held a scroll of paintings bearing the faces of eleven people — all of whom had attacked Li Heishui and nearly crippled him.