Ye Fan had already branded the three-legged, two-eared round cauldron into his heart’s field. But when it came to truly tempering the “divine markings” within the Bitter Sea, the difficulty was extreme. Even gathering all nineteen “divine markings” together consumed a great deal of time.

In the end, he slowly smelted the nineteen “divine markings,” refining them down to a soybean-sized mass — but forming it proved impossible. It simply could not take shape. No matter how he looked at it, it bore not the slightest resemblance to a ding.

Ye Fan attempted many times. Not only did he fail to hammer it into anything resembling a cauldron — he couldn’t even inscribe decorative patterns on it. Forging the ding was, without question, extraordinarily difficult.

Still, he felt no particular anxiety. After all, he had only just begun. There would be ample time to refine it going forward. This would be a long and grueling process — and he was far from alone in that struggle. Others would likely have it even harder.

As evening approached, Ye Fan caught a badger and made his way back. Returning to the little restaurant and sitting down, the old man promptly set a table full of food and wine before him, the fragrance mouth-watering.

Little Tingting had changed into a new set of clothes. Her flushed little face was lit with a sweet smile, showing two adorable dimples. For a small child, happiness required so little — as long as she had enough to eat and was not bullied, she was fully content. And now she even had new clothes to wear.

“Today, the Li Family seemed to be on high alert — quite a number of able-bodied men gathered there. They appear to be guarding against something.” Grandpa Jiang said this at the dinner table.

“What happened?” Ye Fan asked.

“The Li Family has a rival, living several dozen li away. That family also has members who went out to cultivate immortality. They’re a local powerhouse as well, and the two families have never gotten along. The Li Family suspected this rival had set fire to their cargo — more than a dozen cartloads’ worth. They sent men to investigate, and one steward was seized. The rest were beaten half to death and sent back.”

Ye Fan smiled lightly. “I had actually planned to stir things up more with them myself. But now it’s even easier than that. This way, they’ll be so preoccupied with their own troubles that they won’t have the slightest thought to spare suspecting anyone else. Let two families that have been lording it over everyone fight and scheme against each other.”

After learning the full details, Ye Fan slipped quietly out of the small town that night and made straight for a mountain estate several dozen li away.

He infiltrated it without a sound. Though this family had members out cultivating immortality, none were currently stationed at home — which made their defenses, for Ye Fan’s purposes, as good as nonexistent. He spent the better part of an hour searching before he found a man in a woodshed, bound up thoroughly.

“Is that Steward Zhang?”

The man in the woodshed had a rather shrill voice — close to Grandpa Jiang’s description — and answered at once, “It’s me. Who are you?”

“Steward Zhang, I’ve come to rescue you.” Ye Fan approached and snapped the ropes binding him with one hand. “Your family’s young master has descended from Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto. This time, he means to wipe out the Wang Family entirely.”

“What…” Steward Zhang seemed utterly astonished. “Who are you?”

Ye Fan’s voice turned cool and level. “Steady yourself. Your young master invited several of his fellow disciples — I am one of them.”

“This humble one pays his respects to the immortal lord.” Though Steward Zhang could tell from the voice that the other party was young, the moment he learned he was speaking to a cultivator, he immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated himself like a woodpecker.

“No need to bow. I have instructions for you now — listen carefully.”

“Please speak, immortal lord.”

“There are several barrels of oil here. Take them and go set fires in several places outside. Once the fires are burning, shout that your young master is coming to slaughter the Wang Family to the last person.”

“Ah — wouldn’t that get me caught and killed?” At this moment, Steward Zhang had no thought for anything else. His only concern was whether his own life could be preserved.

“Relax. Your safety is our responsibility. We intend to torment them slowly — let the Wang Family die in fear.”

“Alright — I’ll go start the fires right now, and then charge in alongside the immortal lords!”

Ye Fan clapped him on the shoulder and said meaningfully, “You’ve rendered a great service!”

Praised in such a way by someone he considered an immortal, Steward Zhang’s blood surged with excitement. Every ounce of the cruel spite he had long harbored toward those he’d bullied over the years came pouring out. He seized several barrels of oil and marched out in great strides.

Ye Fan picked up the severed ropes from the ground, then turned and vanished into the darkness.

Before long, the estate was engulfed in fire, with four or five separate spots blazing simultaneously. At that moment, Steward Zhang’s shrill voice cut through the deep of night with piercing clarity: “Wang Family, you turtle-spawn — I’ve set your cursed lair ablaze! Just you wait — my young master is going to wipe out your entire bloodline!”

The Wang Family instantly descended into chaos — women wailing, men shouting curses. Within moments, figures came charging out with gleaming blades, rushing toward where Steward Zhang’s voice had come from.

At that moment, Steward Zhang was in a state of extreme agitation. With immortals backing him up, he felt no fear at all. He lit another four or five fires.

When the Wang Family members saw all this, their eyes turned red. They roared and charged at him, hacking out with their blades — swords gleaming brilliantly in the firelight, dazzlingly bright.

Only then did Steward Zhang feel the first stirring of terror, for the immortals had not appeared at his side. By now it was already too late to flee. He let out a panicked cry, managed half a step as he turned to run, and then a blade found his neck. Blood poured freely from the wound — he died with his eyes wide open, all grievances unresolved.

Watching Steward Zhang cut down, Ye Fan quietly withdrew from the shadows — but he did not leave. Taking advantage of the chaos, he set more than a dozen additional fires. The flames roared and blazed, turning half the sky a deep, burning crimson.

Only then did Ye Fan depart like the wind, vanishing into the darkness in an instant.

The following day, the news reached Clearwind Town. The Li Family was thrown into complete upheaval.

“Half the Wang Family’s estate was burned to the ground?!”

“What?! Zhang Shun was behind this?”

“That bastard! Zhang Shun, I’ll kill your entire family!”

The entire Li Family panicked like ants on a scorching iron, mobilizing every able-bodied man they had in preparation for the Wang Family’s retaliation.

Half the Wang Family’s estate had been reduced to ash. They were beside themselves with fury. That same day, they burned the Li Family’s shops in the county seat to the ground, seized all the silver and valuables within, then gathered their own forces and marched on Clearwind Town.

That day, outside Clearwind Town, the two clans clashed in violent and bloody conflict. Both sides suffered considerable casualties. There was nothing left to explain — only blades and blood could settle it now.

Not until dusk did both sides finally withdraw. Clearly, this would not end here. In the days that followed, there would certainly be more bloodshed.

That very night, the Wang Family came again. They stormed into Clearwind Town and made straight for the Li Family’s compound, intent on burning it down. Had the Li Family not been prepared, they might have been reduced entirely to ash. Even so, quite a number of rooms were burned down, and there was no peace for the entire night.

Every resident of Clearwind Town was jubilant. The Li Family had long been oppressing and exploiting everyone in the area — popular resentment had built for years, but no one had dared to stand against them. Now that this had come to pass, it was exactly what they had always imagined but never dared to do.

Grandpa Jiang witnessed all of this with his own eyes, and could not help but show a troubled expression. Seeing this, Ye Fan smiled and said, “Don’t worry — neither of those two families is any kind of decent. They’re just two vicious dogs tearing at each other.”

The old man nodded. “Child, try not to do things like this in the future…” He was worried about Ye Fan — an eleven or twelve-year-old boy who, with a few simple moves, had stirred up such an enormous storm. The old man feared that as his mind grew sharper with age, he might end up on a crooked path.

Ye Fan smiled lightly. “Old sir, set your mind at ease. I have never had any desire to harm innocent people. I only treat people like them this way.”

“The Li Family’s member who went out to cultivate immortality will likely be coming back,” the old man said with a sorrowful expression, his thoughts turning to his own son.

“I expect you’re right. With something like this happening to the Li Family, they must have already sent word to Misty Haze Heavenly Grotto.”

“Even if none of this had happened, that person would have been due to return by now.”

“Why?” Ye Fan was puzzled.

“The Li Family spends heavily on a daily basis — mainly to collect spirit medicines to send to those members of their clan who are out cultivating immortality. Lately it seems they came across some kind of Source — supposedly a herb-gatherer found it deep inside an ancient cave in the mountains. Apparently it is of tremendous benefit to cultivators.”

Ye Fan’s heart gave a violent jolt at that very instant.

According to ancient records, in the age when heaven and earth mingled their vital breaths and gave birth to all things, vegetation flourished in abundance, living creatures were mighty, spirit medicines were inexhaustible, and many Sources crystallized — translucent as amber, yet sealed within with vast repositories of life essence.

Some rare and wondrous Divine Sources even contained powerful creatures from the era of creation sealed within. Once such Sources were unearthed, they could provide immeasurable amounts of life essence.

“A Source found deep in an ancient cave in the mountains — the Li Family has truly delivered me a magnificent gift!” Ye Fan’s face broke into a brilliant smile.