Chapter 79: Carving the Dao Patterns
"Where did the herb gatherer who first discovered the 'Source' in the deep mountain caves go?" Ye Fan asked.
According to ancient records, a single "Source site" could usually yield several pieces of "Source," or even more. If he could find that ancient cave, there might be other discoveries.
Uncle Jiang sighed. "After he returned to town and sold that piece of 'Source' to the Li family, he disappeared within a day. Many suspect the Li family didn't want to pay and did something terrible in secret."
Ye Fan immediately understood. The Li family must have silenced him. "Source" was extremely important to cultivators, and they wouldn't let him spread the word.
"This seems a bit troublesome..."
"Big Brother, what trouble? Tingting will help you." Little Tingting tilted her head, blinking her bright eyes, speaking innocently.
Ye Fan smiled and gently tapped her delicate little nose. "Tingting is such a good girl..."
After breakfast, Ye Fan left the small restaurant and circled the Li family estate from a distance. The place was in ruins, with over thirty rooms burned to the ground.
Just then, beast roars echoed from outside the town. Soon, dust flew as a tall mount charged into town. It resembled a horse but was covered in cyan scales, moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it reached the Li family's front gate.
"Dragon Scale Horse!" Ye Fan's heart jolted. He knew of this strange beast. Covered in cyan scales and horse-like in form, it possessed immense strength. It could run many times faster than an ordinary horse, covering four to five thousand li a day without tiring, needing no rest mid-journey.
Mortals could hardly own such a beast. Even cultivators at the Sea of Suffering realm found it difficult to tame. The Dragon Scale Horse was formidable; usually, cultivators at the Life Spring realm subdued it and then gifted it to juniors who couldn't yet ride divine rainbows.
The Dragon Scale Horse's cyan scales glittered as it shook its head and swished its tail, neighing at the sky, looking exceptionally spirited. On the saddle sat a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six, with pale skin, thin lips, and a cold glint in his eyes.
The Li family was instantly stirred. The gate opened, and someone shouted as they ran inside to deliver the news: "The young master is back..."
Ye Fan felt relieved. He figured this Li family cultivator was likely only at the Sea of Suffering realm; otherwise, he would have ridden a divine rainbow back.
"I'm definitely getting that 'Source'!"
Now wasn't the time to act. Soon after, Ye Fan ventured deep into the mountains. This time, as he examined the golden book within his Sea of Suffering, he noticed the opening characters were even more blurred, as if they were about to vanish completely.
"Why is this happening..." Ye Fan pondered this question, muttering to himself, "At least I've fully comprehended the parts that disappeared."
Afterward, he continued to study the *Dao Scripture*, gaining new insights each time. He only stopped after a long while, then began tempering the "cauldron" above the Sea of Suffering.
Nineteen "divine patterns" fused together, like a lump of divine iron, gleaming brilliantly. No matter how Ye Fan hammered and refined it, he couldn't shape it into a cauldron.
During this time, Ye Fan tried casting a flying sword. Though it wasn't a complete success, he managed to form a rough sword embryo. With continued refinement, he would succeed one day.
"Why is the cauldron so hard to forge?"
Ye Fan melted the golden sword embryo and started forging the cauldron again. But attempt after attempt ended in failure. He could only condense it into a lump, unable to shape it, not even a rough embryo.
"At this rate, when will I ever forge a cauldron full of Dao resonance? If I waste my time like this, it'll be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—all for nothing."
The process of tempering the cauldron consumed not only life essence but also required intense focus of his divine sense. Eventually, Ye Fan's mind and body grew exhausted, and he had to stop.
Above his Sea of Suffering, the bean-sized "divine iron lump" shone with brilliant light, refusing to take shape despite countless refinements.
"This lump of 'divine iron' is already a half-failed 'vessel.' I wonder if I can control a weapon like the Green Wood Treasure Seal."
Ye Fan regretted having no treasures. He didn't know if he could now perform basic "object control," or he would have tried. Suddenly, he spotted the golden book pushed to the edge of his Sea of Suffering by the green copper. An idea struck him. "Let me try controlling it."
The bean-sized "divine iron lump" quickly sank into the Sea of Suffering and instantly merged into the golden book. With a thought from Ye Fan, a blazing golden light burst from his body, streaking through the air like lightning.
The dazzling light flashed past, cutting through several ancient trees and two massive boulders without resistance. Ye Fan walked forward and gently pushed one towering ancient tree. It toppled over, its cut perfectly smooth. When the golden light had passed, the tree hadn't moved, but it had already been severed.
Ye Fan was startled. The same was true for the other trees. When he pushed the two boulders, they split in half, cleanly cut.
The golden book flew over ten meters away, hovering in midair like a brilliant sun. With a thought from Ye Fan, golden light flashed, and it instantly returned to his Sea of Suffering.
"So sharp..." Ye Fan was amazed. He had only tried on a whim, never expecting to successfully launch the golden book, and with such unmatched sharpness.
"Could this golden page, which records the *Dao Scripture*, also serve as a weapon?" With this idea, he tried again. Golden light shot like a rainbow, flashing through the void like lightning.
Ye Fan discovered he could only send the golden book about ten meters. Beyond that range, he couldn't control it.
"The *Dao Scripture* is one of the most mysterious ancient scriptures in the Eastern Wasteland. This golden page must be extraordinary. Now I have a weapon too—swift as a ribbon, sure to be deadly in battle." Ye Fan's confidence grew.
"If even a single page is like this, that green copper must be even more terrifying. It should be a true weapon. I wonder how powerful it is..." Thinking this, Ye Fan couldn't stay calm. He looked inward at his Sea of Suffering, trying to control the green copper.
But in the center of the golden Sea of Suffering, the green copper sat silent, unmoving like a rock.
"It feels like I'm pushing a giant mountain." Ye Fan was drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted. He couldn't budge the green copper at all. The center of the Sea of Suffering was shrouded in an ancient, weathered aura, along with an immense pressure.
"No wonder it even forced the *Dao Scripture* to the edge. This green copper is too mysterious and extraordinary. It's like facing an endless sea or ancient stars—vast and boundless, its pressure like heaven."
The green copper wasn't complete; it seemed like a fragment of some larger artifact. If even a fragment was like this, the complete object must be terrifying.
"Impossible to measure, utterly unfathomable!" Ye Fan was filled with awe. The more he thought, the more shocked he became. He muttered, "What did the complete form look like..."
Just then, his eyes lit up. He saw the "Dao patterns" on the green copper. Those lines held an indescribable Dao resonance.
"I can't move the green copper, but I can copy its 'Dao patterns'!"
The surface of the mysterious green copper had no "Dao patterns." They were only densely packed at the broken edges—complex, profound, and incomprehensible. Yet they gave a sense of Dao following nature and chaos returning to oneness, deeply moving anyone who saw them.
Ye Fan hadn't reached the level to study "Dao patterns" in depth. What he wanted to do was repeatedly melt the "divine iron lump" that couldn't form a cauldron against the green copper's broken edge, carving all the mysterious "Dao patterns" onto it.
"These dense, mysterious Dao patterns must have an incredible origin. They might be the legendary innate 'textures,' unique in the world."
After resting a while, Ye Fan began melting the "divine iron lump." He liquefied it, attached it to the green copper, and hammered it repeatedly, like a blacksmith forging iron. Over and over, he struck it, imprinting many patterns onto its surface.
He continued refining and carving until he felt the "divine iron lump" gradually gain an inexplicable charm. But when he tried to sense it carefully, it still seemed ordinary, unchanged. The so-called Dao resonance wasn't there.
"Is it an illusion?" Ye Fan muttered.
In the following time, he repeatedly melted the "divine iron lump," refining it over and over, carving the green copper's Dao patterns inside and out. It was truly a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements.
"It seems more condensed than before. Whether it's an illusion or not, carving the green copper's Dao patterns can only bring benefits, never harm."
Finally, Ye Fan began forging the "cauldron" again, to see if the "divine iron lump" had truly changed after carving the Dao patterns.
Above his Sea of Suffering, the "divine iron lump" kept deforming. Its edges gradually rounded, its luster dimmed, and it gained a denser feel.
In the end, though he hadn't even formed a rough embryo, Ye Fan felt encouraged. He sensed something unusual. During the tempering process, he found a mysterious feeling.
"The Dao patterns on the green copper are truly mysterious. From now on, I'll melt and carve them daily. Forging the 'cauldron' successfully won't be a problem."
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Book friend Hai Yuntian, along with some other readers, co-wrote a sequel to *Eternal Life*—*Eternal War*. If you're interested, feel free to check it out.
Link: /book/
Synopsis: An eternal tale, a legendary song. Those left unsatisfied use their own pens to make up for all regrets. Storms rise again, and behold, in the continuation of *Eternal Life*, new heroic stories and new myths and legends!