When the dust had finally settled and Elder Han was completely dealt with — his life no longer in danger — Ye Fan calmed himself and sat down on the stone chair to carefully think over what path to take.
Jiang Family knights were hunting him. At this moment, without powerful strength, he was in absolutely no position to contend with them. It was truly inadvisable to show his face openly. The best choice for now was to hide and raise his cultivation.
Without a doubt, this cave dwelling built inside the mountain’s belly was an excellent place to lie low. Elder Han had once said that many Dao markings were carved into the stone, completely imperceptible to outsiders — no one would ever find this place.
“Good. I’ll cultivate right here.”
After making his decision, Ye Fan began to clean up the stone chamber. First, he placed Elder Han’s corpse inside the medicine cauldron and pressed the lid on top.
“You spent your life refining medicines. Then let the pill cauldron be your coffin, and rest in peace within your own cave dwelling.”
This cave dwelling was exceedingly vast, like a labyrinth. Ye Fan carefully made a series of markings as he went, moving forward step by step. He carried the medicine cauldron all the way to the deepest part of the mountain’s belly, then sealed it away inside a stone cave.
Returning to the stone chamber, Ye Fan continued cleaning. Several medicine cabinets were placed back in their positions. He returned the more than ten varieties of rare spiritual medicines to them — that place was most suitable for preserving medicinal herbs.
This spacious stone chamber held, apart from the medicine cabinets, more than ten bronze medicine cauldrons, as well as several stone tables and a number of stone chairs. Atop one stone table rested two ancient texts, made of beast hide and appearing very old — from at the very least several centuries ago.
It was clear that Elder Han had read them frequently — that stone table and chair were polished very smooth from use. One book lay open, with some of Elder Han’s annotations still on it.
“Oh!”
An expression of surprise crossed Ye Fan’s face. The opened ancient text was only a few sheets of beast hide, covered in many strange markings and patterns. There was barely any text — it looked like a collection of occult symbols, impossible to make out. If Elder Han had not left some annotations, Ye Fan truly would have had no way of understanding the meaning of those strange patterns.
“It’s… Dao markings!” His heart gave a jolt. Though there were only a few pages, these were precious ancient texts recording Dao markings.
It was said that “Dao markings” were things that great masters of ancient times had traced and carved out after gaining insight into the natural world. Some had survived and been passed down through the ages.
In a certain sense, Dao markings were tracings carved by the great masters of antiquity from their insights. The more powerful a cultivator was, the more they enjoyed researching the Dao markings that had been passed down into the world.
Ye Fan read carefully. From the few ancient characters available, he learned that this was merely an ordinary ancient text on Dao markings — the word “Foundational” was marked on it.
Yet even an ordinary ancient text on Dao markings had given Elder Han considerable difficulty, and he had written many annotations. There were many places he had not been able to fully penetrate.
“It seems Dao markings are indeed profound and vast — only powerful cultivators can research them. Even Elder Han could only hover at the threshold.” Ye Fan immediately realized that the Dao markings outside this cave dwelling were most likely ones Elder Han had carved based on this book.
“Even though I cannot understand this book, the things he annotated must be carefully pondered — otherwise there’s a very real chance I’ll never find my way out of this cave dwelling.”
Ye Fan opened the other beast-hide ancient text. It too was only a few pages — nothing more than a thin booklet. It recorded some ancient pill formulas whose effects, once refined, would be of enormous benefit to cultivators.
However, Ye Fan’s knowledge of spiritual medicines was limited. Even if the medicinal herbs mentioned inside were placed right before his eyes, he might not recognize them all — to say nothing of opening a furnace and refining pills.
The beast-hide ancient text contained clear records: if one could find a sacred medicine capable of transforming one’s entire being, it could be refined into an extraordinary precious pill. This pill could not only increase a cultivator’s lifespan but also greatly elevate their cultivation, offering tremendous benefits to cultivators of any realm.
“No wonder that old stick-in-the-mud was so set on capturing me…”
Shortly after, Ye Fan discovered a mountain spring within the cave dwelling, along with a considerable store of food that Elder Han had kept. This immediately resolved his concerns about necessities, and he could settle in here with peace of mind to cultivate.
Over the following several days, he carefully studied Elder Han’s annotations in the Dao markings ancient text, and finally began to see something in them. He successfully found his way out of the cave dwelling.
After that, Ye Fan lived a secluded life, venturing out only occasionally to gather wild berries and vegetables. The vast majority of his time was devoted to cultivation and studying the Dao scripture.
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, a full year went by. Ye Fan had consumed all the spiritual medicines, and his golden Bitter Sea had been opened to roughly the size of half a fist — dazzlingly brilliant, with life essence flowing ceaselessly within it.
At the center of the Bitter Sea, roiling clouds and haze surged like signal smoke, shooting straight upward. It no longer merely drifted and swirled — it was as though an active volcano were erupting!
Ye Fan’s golden Bitter Sea could not remain calm, surging ceaselessly at every moment. It seemed to be on the verge of connecting with the Wheel of Life, ready to release a divine spring.
Whenever he entered a state of spiritual emptiness and clarity, the Bitter Sea would fill with the sound of waves, and a faint, almost imperceptible sound of the ocean would drift out of his body. His entire form would be enveloped in a layer of sacred radiance.
Strange phenomena would even arise within the Bitter Sea. The very center surged ceaselessly, like an undersea volcano. And often, flashes of lightning would streak across it.
When he activated the mysterious techniques recorded in the Dao Scripture, a powerful wave of vital energy would immediately arise within him. The golden Bitter Sea blazed like a radiant sun. Life essence flowed endlessly — his four limbs and hundreds of bones were all nourished by it, and his physical body became extraordinarily strong, far more powerful than before.
“Breaking through into the Spring of Life realm is truly no easy matter…” Ye Fan felt a tinge of regret. He had already charged at the Spring of Life realm five times, but had not succeeded.
Over the course of this year and more, he had earnestly studied the Dao scripture and continuously tempered his “vessel.” The “strange lump of divine iron” had been melted and reforged repeatedly, with the Dao markings from the green copper constantly being traced onto it. It had begun to take on a remarkable aura — even carrying some sense of ancient simplicity and naturalness.
After so long a time had passed, Ye Fan believed that the Jiang Family knights must have long since departed. There was no way they could still be doggedly pursuing him.
On this day, he left the cave dwelling and ventured into the wilderness to try controlling his divine power. The waves in his Bitter Sea surged to the sky. A blazing divine light erupted from his body, enveloping him — and then lifted him more than three feet off the ground, sending him flying forward.
Splash!
Unfortunately, after flying only thirty-some meters, he crashed back to the ground.
“Without entering the Spring of Life realm, sustained flight is simply impossible. You need an unceasing wellspring of divine power — only then can you soar through the sky and traverse the earth.”
Though he could not ascend into the high sky, this short-distance flight still made Ye Fan feel a sense of novelty. He practiced repeatedly and found that at most he could cover about a hundred meters in flight. It was much faster than running, allowing him to skim over grass and through trees without his feet touching the ground — like a gust of light wind.
Having not yet reached the Spring of Life realm, Ye Fan was unwilling to leave this cave dwelling. He felt his strength was still too low, and venturing out would be dangerous. Moreover, the fire energy within the mountain’s belly could assist his cultivation — that special spiritual energy was not particularly dense, but it had the advantage of being constant and unceasing.
“I should make a trip to the Ziyang Cave Heaven and retrieve that source…” Though he felt the time was not right for long journeys, he still left. His constitution was too unusual — like a bottomless abyss — requiring vast amounts of spiritual energy to accelerate his cultivation.
On the road, Ye Fan made discreet inquiries and learned that the Jiang Family knights had indeed long since departed, no longer a threat to him. The Yan Region was now quite peaceful.
Arriving in the mountain range where the Ziyang Cave Heaven was located, Ye Fan was exceptionally cautious, taking care to avoid encountering any members of that sect. Before long, he came to a river’s edge, plunged in with a powerful dive, and after about a quarter of an hour, the water churned and Ye Fan surfaced. In his hand was a gleaming, crystalline “source.”
“Thankfully it’s still here…”
At first, when coming here, his heart had been pounding — worried that someone might have taken the source away.
In truth, this place was very secluded. Unless top-ranking powerhouses from the Ziyang Cave Heaven passed through, no one else would possibly be able to sense the source’s aura.
Not wanting to linger, Ye Fan followed the original path back.
“It’s her…” Ye Fan suddenly halted. He spotted several young figures in the distance. Among them was none other than Li Xiaoman.
Ye Fan did not stop. He moved quickly away, disappearing into the mountains.
Half a month later, from the cave dwelling that Elder Han had carved out, came a rolling, thunderous sound. Then a tremendous crashing like a great ocean wave resounded through heaven and earth, and wave after wave of shocking thunderclaps that were deafening.
Boom!
In that very instant, a surge of powerful energy erupted outward. The entire cave dwelling shook. Ye Fan’s body brimmed with surging life essence, and golden divine fire blazed and burned fiercely all around him.
His eyes shone with brilliant divine light — like two bolts of lightning shooting outward — dazzling within the cave dwelling.
Ye Fan stood tall. At this moment a surge of vast and mighty presence had come over him. The aura radiating outward caused the entire stone chamber to shake violently, crack after crack appearing in the walls.
“I’ve finally broken through into the Spring of Life realm!” He transformed into a bolt of golden lightning and shot out of the cave dwelling. Then a blazing divine rainbow enveloped him, and he slowly rose into the air.
At this moment, at the very center of Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea, a spring eye had appeared — connecting with the Wheel of Life. The divine spring gurgled and flowed, wreathed in hazy, colorful mist.