It was an entirely new experience. Ye Fan stood high in the sky as fierce winds whipped his robes into snapping motion. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth all lay beneath his feet. A feeling of commanding “all things” surged into his heart.
His field of vision was vast. Gazing as far as the eye could see — a sensation utterly unprecedented. Ascending to the heavens by one’s own power and looking down upon the world in which one had once lived was profoundly awe-inspiring.
Majestic mountains and rivers, the boundless great earth — all of it filled his eyes. His heart felt expansive and his aspirations soared. All things between heaven and earth, every blade of grass and every tree, settled into his heart. He could not help but feel the stirring of a great ambition to swallow mountains and rivers.
“So this is the Spring of Life realm. I can feel the powerful energy…” Ye Fan stood in the high sky. His flesh was free of all dust and impurity — translucent throughout, shimmering with faint points of light like a beautiful work of art. It gave him the feeling of having been completely reborn.
At last he understood just how vast the gulf was between different cultivation realms. His physical body was flawless, approaching perfection. If he were to encounter a cultivator of the Bitter Sea realm, he felt that with a single raise of his hand he could reduce them to ash — not blind overconfidence, but because there truly was an inexhaustibly powerful force within his body.
Ye Fan rode his rainbow through the sky, traveling freely between heaven and earth. Brilliant rainbows sliced through the blue sky — one moment like a comet slamming into the earth, the next like a bright moon rising over the sea, or a dragon soaring skyward.
Only after half an hour did he finally settle down completely. Standing atop a mountain peak, letting the clear breeze caress his face, his long black hair gently drifting, his eyes shone like two brilliant stars.
Ye Fan was still and silent. His powerful and sharp presence was fully restrained. He had taken on an air of serenity and tranquility. Flawless and pure, his robes drifting in the wind, he looked like an exiled immortal descended into the mortal world — ethereal and graceful, giving an impression of transcendence and naturalness.
At this moment, within his body, the Bitter Sea — half the size of a fist — had grown completely calm. There was no raging “volcano,” no surging great waves, no billowing signal smoke.
The golden Bitter Sea was very still. At the very center, a spring eye gurgled and flowed. Vigorous life energy permeated the air — the wellspring of divine power flowing freely within.
The Wheel of Life beneath the Bitter Sea had been connected. The boundless life energy stored within now surged upward — this was the very foundation of a cultivator’s power.
Ripples spread outward from the spring of life toward the four directions of the Bitter Sea, transforming into gentle waves. This added a sense of vitality and naturalness, making the golden sea sway softly while the divine spring gurgled on — the two as one, divine power unceasing, life force vigorous.
At this moment, that mysterious piece of green copper had shifted to a new position, settled at the spring eye on the sea floor, continuously receiving the baptism of the life divine spring. The golden scripture remained pressed to the edge, unable to approach the spring eye.
The “cauldron” that Ye Fan sought to temper had at present only a vague outline — still not fully formed — about the size of a cherry, floating above the Bitter Sea.
By common logic, across the four great realms of Bitter Sea, Spring of Life, Divine Bridge, and Far Shore, one could refine a different type of “vessel” in each realm. But Ye Fan had already reached the second great realm without having completed even one “vessel.” He could not help but furrow his brow. “Cauldron” was indeed the most difficult of vessels to temper.
However, he did not worry excessively. The Dao Scripture contained a clear record: the more profound and complex the “vessel,” the harder it was to take shape. Yet they would contain the “Dao” and “principles” of heaven and earth.
According to the Dao Scripture, one could focus entirely on tempering a single “vessel.” The most powerful vessels were always forged by combining all four great realms into one. In other words, to obtain the strongest vessel, one would temper only a single “vessel” across the Bitter Sea, Spring of Life, Divine Bridge, and Far Shore — not four separate ones.
This was what was meant by “a great vessel is long in the making.” Once successful, it could employ one vessel to break all techniques — when my flower blooms, all other flowers wither.
Across the entire Eastern Desolation, only a handful of ancient scriptures recorded this profound secret method of tempering a single “vessel” across four realms. Ordinary cultivators had no chance of ever encountering it.
Yet even disciples of the sacred grounds and ancient families who possessed these few ancient scriptures rarely dared to take this risk. For opportunity and danger had always walked side by side. To gain more, the price one paid could likewise be unbearable. Tempering a single “vessel” across four realms — throughout all of history, the vast majority of those who attempted it ended up with no “vessel” at all, their years wasted for nothing. Without one’s own “vessel,” one could not wield objects externally — little different from being useless. Thus, even disciples of the sacred grounds and ancient families rarely made this choice.
During the Bitter Sea realm, Ye Fan had not needed to make a decision — he simply needed to focus wholeheartedly on tempering his “cauldron.” But now that he had broken through into the Spring of Life realm with no “vessel” yet formed, he had to make his judgment.
“Though it is fraught with peril — and may end in nothing after a lifetime of effort — I have no way back. The reason I chose to temper the ‘cauldron’ is because I wanted the strongest ‘vessel.’ One day it may give birth to the ‘Dao’ and ‘principles’ of heaven and earth. Tempering a single ‘vessel’ across four realms is perfectly in keeping with my choice — it is consistent with it. I have no reason to flinch.”
Ye Fan was not worried about others having many “vessels” while he had few, putting himself in a difficult position. He had faith in the declaration recorded in the Dao Scripture: one vessel to break all techniques, when my flower blooms, all other flowers wither.
“May the great vessel be long in the making — and not just years wasted for nothing…”
After reaching the Spring of Life realm, one could fly through the heavens. Ye Fan began considering making a trip to the ancient forbidden land — but he would need thorough preparations. Without them, that place could very well be his burial ground.
He did not rush to set out. Instead, he remained to consolidate his realm, for a breakthrough in cultivation required time to adapt. In the days that followed, the cave dwelling was dug out by Ye Fan until it was barely recognizable. In order to draw upon the spiritual energy within the fire energy, he kept boring down into the earth’s depths — nearly causing the fire vein to erupt upward.
Time passed swiftly. Ye Fan cultivated for nearly another year. The entire fire vein was almost drained dry by his refining. His cultivation realm had completely stabilized and was steadily rising, and the gurgling divine spring surged with even more vitality.
Of course, that was not the greatest gain. What satisfied and excited him most was that the “rough form” of his “cauldron” had been successfully tempered. With the aid of the strange fire energy, after countless millions of instances of hammering and forging — with the Dao markings on the green copper being traced onto it again and again — the three-legged round cauldron had at last taken shape for the first time and come into this world.
“It seems that to successfully temper a ‘vessel,’ one needs a strange spiritual energy. Without doubt, the energy of various divine fires is most effective — just as in the real world of forging weapons, you need a fire source to smelt metal before you can hammer out divine weapons and precious blades. And so it is with casting the ‘cauldron’ within one’s body!”
Above Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea, a rough form of a small cauldron — about the size of a cherry — had its dazzling divine radiance fully contained within. It looked ancient, simple, and natural. Over nearly a year, through countless millions of instances of tempering, and with the “Dao markings” from the green copper repeatedly traced onto it, the small cauldron already possessed a very remarkable aura, giving one the feeling that its Dao resonance had come about naturally.
Ye Fan’s mind stirred, and the small cauldron immediately shot out of his body — noiselessly, effortlessly piercing through the stone walls more than ten meters thick — and shot directly out of the cave dwelling, hovering in the air outside.
“One cauldron, two ears, three legs. The Dao gives birth to one; one gives birth to two; two gives birth to three; three gives birth to all things — all things bear yin and embrace yang… Good! Good! Good!”
Ye Fan was greatly satisfied. The ancient, simple, and natural small cauldron gave him the feeling that the Dao had arisen naturally — as though it had truly given birth to the “Dao” and “principles” of heaven and earth, appearing mysterious and profound.
“I look forward to the day when one vessel breaks all techniques…”
From the moment the small cauldron first took shape, it already counted as a powerful weapon — capable of both offense and defense, able to break through anything. The mysterious “Dao markings” on the green copper had endowed it with strange power, causing it to continuously transform.
Ye Fan had already come to this world for three years. He had lived for one year in the Ling Xu Cave Heaven, and had spent nearly two years cultivating in this cave dwelling. His body had grown considerably taller — reaching about a hundred and seventy centimeters — but he still looked immature, like a child of around fourteen. His short hair from before had grown to two feet in length, jet-black and dense, falling naturally across his chest and back, drifting lightly in the wind. He looked very delicate and refined, and no one would have imagined that such a young man was already a cultivator in the Spring of Life realm.
“It is time to leave…” Ye Fan looked back at the cave dwelling behind him, then skimmed low through the mountain forest and shot outward toward the foot of the mountains.
Ye Fan dragged a water deer into a small town. After exchanging it for some coins, he first chose a suitable set of clothing for himself. Over the past two years, his body had grown considerably taller — his old clothes were long since worn and tattered, practically ragged — and he had been pointed at and stared at when entering town.
“In worldly cultivation, the first thing one must do is blend into the mortal world.”
Ye Fan found a place to eat and chose a seat near the window. At the adjacent table sat several people of distinguished bearing, clearly different from ordinary folk.
True cultivators did not mix with ordinary people. They generally did not reveal anything unusual in front of the common folk. Even if they passed right in front of each other, ordinary people would not know. It was clear that these were all cultivators. Adhering to their usual principle of not disturbing the surrounding common folk, they were speaking in hushed tones. Unless one had exceptionally keen spiritual senses, ordinary people could not hear a thing.
“That demon emperor’s burial mound is truly too sinister and strange. For over two years, countless cultivators have died, yet it still cannot be opened.”
“The entire Eastern Desolation has been stirred. All the major sects have dispatched powerful experts to that ruin, yet there is simply no way to open that yin burial mound.”
“The main problem is that the truly peerless powerhouses are hesitant and dare not act rashly. That yin burial mound is extremely demonic and sinister — it has long been nearly sentient. Unless one possesses a supreme treasure of the Eastern Desolation’s human race, even if an era-defining powerhouse could break through the killing array, there would be no way to hold the burial mound in place. It would plunge beneath the Eastern Desolation’s earth — like a dragon returning to the sea — and leave no trace.”
“Reportedly, three major figures have already died. Is that true?”
“Naturally it is true. Over these two years, cultivators have died and been injured in countless numbers. That deep pool is almost filled with corpses. Even among the major figures, several have fallen one after another, and a few more are reportedly on the verge of death.”
Ye Fan was greatly surprised. He had not expected that after two years, the demon emperor’s burial mound still had not been opened, and the killing array inside the yin burial mound had claimed the lives of vast numbers of cultivators. He ate his meal while quietly listening, showing not the slightest change of expression — not wanting to be noticed by those cultivators.
“The area around that deep pool is now mountain upon mountain of corpses and bones — it has completely become a land of demonic darkness. Just observing it from a distance makes one’s hair stand on end. The resentful energy there billows sky-high, and every inch of the earth is stained with cultivators’ blood.”
“Since that deep pool is a place from which none return — turned into a sea of corpses and blood — why are still countless cultivators going one after another, endlessly pressing forward there?”
“Without any benefit, who would risk their lives like that? That is the burial mound of a great emperor who once unified the demon race of the Eastern Desolation. Inside there are surely endless treasures.”
“That’s right — even those transcendent major figures have been stirred. Word has it it’s because the demon emperor’s yin burial mound contains a supreme treasure of our Eastern Desolation’s human race — the Desolation Tower!”
“Is that the legendary Desolation Tower, said to be capable of suppressing even immortals to death?”
“Indeed it is. Otherwise, why would those major figures risk the danger of falling to venture deep inside?”
“A full two years now, and disciples of every sect are already terrified — dreading being dispatched to that ruin. Yet none of the sects will give up. At this rate, truly no one knows how many more people will die.”
“You may not have heard yet — apparently even people from the Central Province have been stirred. Recently, some mysterious figures have made their way to the Eastern Desolation.”
“Are they trying to seize our Eastern Desolation’s supreme treasure — the Desolation Tower?”
“That is not it. They would not reach their hands so far. Even though cultivators from the Central Province are unmatched in the world, surpassing the other four domains in strength, they would not dare lightly make an enemy of the entire Eastern Desolation. Were such a great war to break out, the deaths would be impossible to imagine. Apparently what they seek is a supreme treasure of their own from the Central Province…”
Not far away, Ye Fan’s heart suddenly gave a jolt. Without even thinking, he knew that the great figures from the Central Province had surely come for the mysterious green copper.