“Are you certain he is the person who disappeared at the summit of Mount Tai all those years ago?” The group within the pine forest was utterly astonished.

Boyi nodded, spoke Ye Fan’s name aloud, then ordered someone to retrieve the investigative records from that time. When the two were compared side by side, everyone was left dumbstruck.

“It truly is one of the missing persons from back then!”

The group of great demons were shaken to their cores. This was a heaven-defying matter! The Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin had taken a group of people into the celestial void, becoming an unsolvable mystery — yet this person had somehow reversed course and returned. Just what had he experienced?

“Now do you all understand? What I did was absolutely worth it. He is a living divine treasury! In a mere span of twenty-some years, a great cultivator of divine powers has been forged. If we extract his divine soul and learn his secrets, our own achievements will become unimaginable — far surpassing what a single ordinary mortal could ever offer!” Boyi said with a cold and sinister tone.

Deep within the primordial forest, Ye Fan remained calm and composed, in no rush to escape his predicament. Accompanied by Guo Zhen and Xiao Song, he continued tracking down the whereabouts of the Ancestral Ginseng within the ancient killing formation.

Along the way, they discovered several ginseng pits. This stalk of Changbai Ancestral Ginseng was brimming with Life Essence and remarkable spiritual awareness, possessing an innate instinct to seek fortune and avoid calamity — otherwise, how could it have survived since ancient times?

“This is a bit tricky. It can harness the earth’s energy to move, and as long as it doesn’t separate from the soil, turning all of Changbai Mountain upside down would be useless,” Ye Fan said with a furrowed brow.

Guo Zhen clicked his tongue in amazement. They were surrounded by an ancient killing formation, yet Ye Fan was in no hurry at all, still scheming after the Ancestral Ginseng. That truly commanded his admiration.

“Let me try.” Ye Fan called out softly and unleashed the Heaven Origin Binding Divine Art. The thin Life Essence beneath the earth instantly began to churn, and the surrounding mountain ranges trembled and swayed.

The dormant dragon vein of Changbai Mountain awakened at his command, rolling and turning beneath the ground. On the surface, snow-capped mountain after mountain swayed, triggering avalanches in many areas that came roaring down with terrifying momentum.

Ye Fan stood upon the ground with both feet connected to the earth, his eyes shut tight as he sensed all signs of life and vitality below, searching for the Ancestral Ginseng.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. He had sensed an astounding radiance — containing immeasurable Life Essence, a luminous light of undying divinity, nearly equivalent to half a stalk of the Undying Divine Medicine.

“The Ancestral Ginseng — it truly is a semi-divine medicine!” Ye Fan’s eyes snapped open. He told Guo Zhen and Xiao Song not to move and to wait on the surface.

Then Ye Fan vanished beneath the ground. His origin arts had advanced by leaps and bounds, and now he stood just a hair’s breadth from standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heaven Origin Master. Within the earth veins, he moved like a true dragon returning to the sea.

Deep within the earth veins, that mass of undying divine radiance was extraordinarily fast. The moment the dragon energy began to stir, it had already fled far away, having sensed the danger in advance.

“This old ginseng is quite difficult to deal with. Catching it would likely take several months.” Ye Fan rubbed his chin. It was precisely because he was a Heaven Origin Master that he could pursue it through the earth veins — an ordinary person would have not the faintest hope.

He continued the pursuit, using the dragon energy as a guide and following its trail, hoping to map out the old ginseng’s range of movement so that he could set an origin formation to capture it at a later time.

Suddenly, he discovered a beast bone deep within the earth vein — several meters in length, carved with bird-seal script that looked like ghost-drawn talismans. He stopped and studied it carefully.

The rough meaning was this: the vital energy of heaven and earth was drying up, the earth veins would eventually wither, but the Ancestral Ginseng, having achieved spiritual awareness, could invigorate the underground ancestral roots and generate dragon energy, keeping the mountain rivers endlessly vibrant and luminous. It entreated future sages to show mercy and not harm it.

In the distance, a flash of radiance appeared. A mass of immortal divine light materialized, filling the air with a rich fragrance. A stalk of ginseng, roughly half a person’s height, revealed itself, flowing with precious luminance.

Ye Fan was astonished — he nearly thought a wizened little old man had appeared before him. This ancient ginseng had revealed itself of its own accord and truly resembled a person, with vague and blurry facial features taking shape.

It was a semi-divine medicine that had long since achieved spiritual awareness. Sensing that the person before it could capture it — just as it could command the earth veins — it had chosen to manifest and plead for mercy.

For it possessed an instinct to seek fortune, and it determined that this moment was the most opportune time to appear. With a swing of its arm, over twenty drops of five-colored lustrous liquid flew out toward Ye Fan.

And then it prostrated itself, appearing frail and aged, utterly pitiable. Though it had long achieved spiritual awareness, like the Undying Divine Medicine, it was unable to cultivate Dao attainment.

Ye Fan collected the liquid drops into a white jade vial, let out a sigh, and said, “There is no need for this. I have already read the inscriptions on this white bone. You may leave without worry.”

The old ginseng bowed from a distance, then vanished in a flash, disappearing into the depths of the earth veins, never to be seen again.

Ye Fan examined the medicinal liquid carefully. Five-colored radiance flowed through it, rich and fragrant, its scent seeping into one’s very bones — it was truly divine liquid. He estimated roughly that four stalks of old ginseng would be equivalent to about one stalk of the Undying Divine Medicine.

He moved through the earth veins, pulling up one formation flag after another. These had been set by the Celestial Scale Clan as restrictions, intended for future use in capturing the old ginseng. Many of the magical instruments were made from materials predating ancient times and, once destroyed, would be extremely difficult to repair.

Finally, he returned to the surface. Xiao Song immediately leaped over to him, staring anxiously — it had been deeply worried during his absence.

“It’s fine. The ancient formations here are not enough to kill me. Let us now go settle accounts with them.”

Upon hearing this, Guo Zhen’s heart surged with emotion. Brother Ye was truly ferocious — even an ancient formation capable of slaying Dao King-ranked cultivators could do nothing to him. What extraordinary divine power!

Ye Fan did not grow careless. Such ancient killing formations were deeply complex, with a killing opportunity concealed at every step. Had one been reckless, one truly might have met one’s end here. He broke through the formation as he walked, pulling out every last formation flag until the entire thing had been utterly dismantled.

Dozens of kilometers away, Boyi said, “The avalanche just now — all the peaks were shaking. The killing formation was clearly triggered. He could not possibly have survived; his Primordial Spirit should have been automatically drawn into the main flag. However, to be safe, let us return first. We will come collect his corpse in three days.”

The others all nodded, fearing that entering the formation too early might cause unexpected complications, and they made their way back along the path toward the primordial dragon cave.

Ye Fan had demolished the ancient killing formation, but he was in no rush to travel onward. He occasionally glanced around, observing the primordial forest, and spotted several divine temples, some bearing inscriptions written by the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

They saw numerous stone steles commending virtuous deeds, proclaiming Changbai Mountain a sacred mountain surpassing the Five Great Peaks.

Shortly afterward, as they continued forward, they also came upon several ancestral temples from the Jin Dynasty — grand and imposing. Though on the verge of collapse, one could still glimpse their former splendor.

“Ordinary mortals could once enter this region,” Guo Zhen remarked.

Ye Fan said nothing, continuing to walk forward. Amidst a stretch of great mountains, he came upon a cluster of dragon steles that appeared to be relics left by ancient peoples of remote antiquity, carved with flowers, birds, fish, and insects — they did not resemble written characters.

“This is primitive worship. The era in which the Celestial Scale Clan has existed is truly ancient — they have supported different human civilizations across different periods for their own benefit,” Guo Zhen marveled.

Half an hour later, Ye Fan and his companions returned. Ahead stretched a sweep of snow-covered peaks, and beneath the central main peak, the primordial dragon cave gushed with auspicious energy, wreathed in dragon-shaped divine radiance.

“You… you came out alive?!” More than a dozen men clad in Celestial Scale battle armor, their long hair disheveled and demonic energy swirling around them, were all struck with horror and moved to strike first.

Ye Fan said nothing. He swept his two fingers forward like a blade — the sound of flesh tearing rang out continuously as all dozen or so men were cut through at the waist. Blood flowed freely, staining the ground crimson.

“What happened?” A hulking great man appeared — a demon in every sense of the word, human in form but covered in scales. He looked over — this was a demon general.

“We’re done for — that man has killed his way back!” a demon cried out.

“Please stay your hand, friend — let us talk this over!” the demon general shouted, hoping to stabilize the situation first.

Splat!

Ye Fan advanced in silence. His two fingers like a sword, he pressed down from a distance through the air. A great spray of blood erupted as the demon general was cleaved on the spot — split from the crown of his skull to the roots of his legs without even managing a single groan, falling into two halves.

“Catastrophe! Catastrophe is upon us!” The demon soldiers all fell into panic. Someone rushed into the cave dwelling to deliver a report to those inside.

“Calm yourselves!” a great demon bellowed.

“The one called Ye Fan has broken free of the ancient formation and killed his way back — he is outside right now, slaughtering everyone!” a demon soldier reported in terror.

“What?!” Boyi froze, his entire body turning ice-cold, then breaking out in a cold sweat all over.

The other great demons were equally horrified to their bones. That ancient killing formation was beyond terrifying — several hundred years ago it had ground two great cultivators of divine powers to dust while they were still alive. How could a cultivator at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm have broken through it?

“Let us go out and see.” The group of great demons wore troubled expressions.

Boyi and the others charged out of the cave dwelling and looked ahead — only to see Ye Fan emerge without a scratch, moving as though entering an uninhabited land. Anyone who dared obstruct him was cut down without exception. Blood splattered everywhere, melting great swaths of pristine white snow and dyeing the ground red.

One step, ten deaths!

Like a god of slaughter, Ye Fan’s expression was cold and emotionless. Every last person who blocked his path was killed with a single pointed strike — none could withstand even one blow.

“Stop! Let us talk this over!” a great demon called out.

Splat!

Ye Fan paid no attention. His left hand struck diagonally, cleaving that demon’s head half off on the spot. The corpse flew several dozen meters away, and blood splattered onto Boyi, draining the color from his face entirely.

“Brother Ye… please stay your hand. Let us talk this over.” He forced the words out with difficulty, his heart bitter and his entire body cold. He had never imagined it would come to this.

“Are you not fond of bullying the weak with your strength? What is there to discuss? I had no intention of overawing anyone — I wished to pay a visit with proper courtesy, but now… I have no patience to speak further with you,” Ye Fan said calmly.

Since his return, regardless of how weak a cultivator he encountered, he had always treated others as equals and had no wish to intimidate anyone with his power. However, when someone truly provoked him, he would not hold back from killing. He did not bully the weak, he did not fear the strong — he treated all alike.

“Brother Ye… please stay your hand. We were wrong.” Boyi was filled with a regret that gnawed at his very intestines.

“You call for me to stop with your mouths, yet in your hearts your murderous intent has climbed to its peak — my divine sense can perceive this clearly.” A cold smile appeared at the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth.

He killed one person with each step, as leisurely as if strolling through a quiet courtyard. Blood sprayed in all directions, and bodies continued to fall at his feet.

Splat!

Ye Fan extended a finger. The head of a great demon at the Four Extremes Secret Realm exploded, brain matter flying as the demon toppled backward onto the ground.

Crack!

He swept his arm in a single motion, like a ray of eternal light — a senior brother of Boyi’s was instantly cleaved in two, blood gurgling freely.

“If you wish to live, do not let me sense any hostility from you toward me,” Ye Fan said with complete calm, striding forward unhurriedly. A cold wind surged around him; his black hair whipped in the air, making him look like a demon of slaughter, corpses piled at his feet.

Splat!

He flicked a finger from dozens of meters away. The skull of a great demon at the Four Extremes Secret Realm was sent flying, blood and brain matter shooting several meters into the air as the demon died a violent death.

He raised his right arm level, then swept it horizontally — a ray of killing light surged like a charging thunderclap, nearly shattering every surrounding snow-capped mountain.

Bloody radiance erupted again and again!

The seven or eight great demons standing alongside Boyi all exploded at once, disintegrating into a cloud of blood mist — both body and spirit annihilated.

These were his peers, the core fighting strength of the Celestial Scale Clan. Yet they had been wiped out as easily as an ant crushed underfoot, and it made Boyi’s heart bleed.

“Ah… just who are you?!” He cried out in a wretched voice, his eyes going red. He brought forth dozens of magical treasures and launched them in a killing assault.

“Ye Fan, Lord of the Heavenly Court.”

Ye Fan’s expression was placid. His palm swept like a blade — all the weapons filling the sky crumbled to dust, and half of Boyi’s head flew off. Blood rained down as the corpse collapsed to the ground.

Everyone was stunned into silence. It was as though they were witnessing a myth. Although Boyi had just entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, in the present age he could be called a supreme expert — yet someone had lopped off half his skull with a single blow.

“Lord of the Heavenly Court…” Everyone murmured, terror reaching its absolute peak.

Even Guo Zhen shuddered — he hastily covered Xiao Song’s eyes, not daring to let it look. As for the people of the Celestial Scale Clan, every last one of them was nearly frightened out of their wits. This was a myth written in the bones of the supreme experts — a supreme expert’s corpse as the ink!

“I am quite easy to get along with — I treat others with sincerity. If you show me one foot of respect, I show you ten feet in return. The prerequisite is simply that you do not come to provoke me while thinking yourself superior.”

Ye Fan’s words were calm, without the slightest ripple. He strode in broad steps toward the primordial dragon cave, wishing to see what lay within the cave that was gushing with dragon energy — for he had heard the sect master of the Sacred Treasure say that this might be an ancient cave once inhabited by a sacred emperor of remote antiquity.

At the same time, he did not let his guard down. The Celestial Scale Clan’s masters could not possibly end here.