Chapter 89: Purple Sun Cave Heaven
“Purple Sun Cave Heaven…” At last, he understood. His encounter with Li Xiaoman and the others was no coincidence—their sect was nearby.
Ye Fan turned to leave. He didn’t want to be entangled with Li Xiaoman’s sect. Their meeting today had been uneventful; Li Xiaoman’s calm bordered on indifference. Though she gave him money, it felt condescending, as if she were looking down on him.
“Let me just be an ordinary person, don’t stray down the wrong path… Am I really that worthless?” He chuckled bitterly. He felt no sadness or hatred. Like passing clouds and flowing water, everything would leave no trace. Ye Fan thought that if they met again, a smile and a passing glance would suffice—no need to hold onto anything. Sometimes, brushing past each other lightly was the better choice.
Ye Fan had already walked dozens of meters when he suddenly stopped. He had been pondering how to escape the pursuit of the Jiang Family knights. Now, a thought struck him: could he use Purple Sun Cave Heaven to resolve the crisis?
For now, his strength was insufficient to face anyone head-on. He had to think carefully. “I can never shake them off—there must be a reason. Even the most powerful person couldn’t have such keen intuition to track me down continuously…”
Ye Fan reasoned that Purple Sun Cave Heaven, as one of the six blessed lands of the Yan Kingdom, must have “Dao patterns” carved into the surrounding mountains and rivers, gathering mysterious power to create a self-contained realm. If he ventured deep inside, he might sever all connection with the outside world.
“Right, I can use this place!” After careful thought, Ye Fan headed deeper into the mountains.
“Such rich spiritual energy—truly worthy of a blessed land.”
Though dusk had fallen, he could still see wisps of purple qi swirling among the peaks. True to its name, Purple Sun Cave Heaven was shrouded in purple mist, with occasional rays of blazing sunlight streaking across the sky.
Even the outer regions felt extraordinary—green peaks, verdant valleys, bubbling clear springs, lush vegetation. Many plants seemed almost sentient, their leaves shimmering with faint light.
Ye Fan approached Purple Sun Cave Heaven, observing carefully to see if he could slip in unnoticed. But he found it difficult. At the mountain gate, not only were there patrolling cultivators, but also guardian savage beasts.
Two strange beasts, covered in bumps like giant crocodiles but with fleshy wings, lay like small mountains. Their basin-sized green eyes opened and closed, revealing faint flashes of light.
“Eh, there are a few youths kneeling there. What’s this about?” Ye Fan noticed several sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys kneeling before the gate.
A passing cultivator stopped and said, “You should leave. Your aptitudes are too ordinary—no amount of effort will help.”
“Immortal master, give us another chance.”
The cultivator sighed. “You’ve knelt for days. I’m not heartless, but your aptitudes are truly too mediocre. You can’t pass the assessment. Go down the mountain.”
“Immortal master, we ask for nothing else—just one last chance.” The youths remained kneeling, pleading bitterly.
“Fine, one more chance. In half a month, we’ll select disciples again. Whether you can stay depends on yourselves.”
“Thank you, immortal master!” The youths kowtowed together.
Hearing this, Ye Fan strode forward.
“Who goes there?” The cultivator turned.
“Immortal master, I’ve come to take you as my teacher,” Ye Fan shouted.
“The selection starts in half a month. You’re too early.”
“My home is far away. I walked the entire way, half a year on foot, afraid of being late. Please take pity on me, immortal master.” Ye Fan had observed for a while and judged this cultivator to be soft-hearted, likely to make an exception.
“This goes against the rules.”
Ye Fan spoke with sincerity, recounting how he had scraped together money, even begged, crossed mountains and rivers, traveled thousands of miles, and walked for over half a year to find this place.
The so-called immortal master was young, only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and indeed soft-hearted. Seeing Ye Fan’s tattered clothes and dirt-streaked face, he sighed and nodded. “Come in with them.”
Ye Fan quickly thanked him and entered Purple Sun Cave Heaven with the youths. All the immortal mountains were wreathed in purple qi, hazy and indistinct. Palaces perched on peaks, ethereal and otherworldly, like a true paradise.
“The spiritual energy here is even richer than at Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven…” Ye Fan murmured to himself, nodding in approval. This place was indeed extraordinary.
Deep within the immortal mountains, lush vegetation and abundant spiritual herbs filled the air with a crisp, refreshing scent. It was a beautiful, tranquil blessed land.
Ye Fan and the youths were settled near a bamboo grove, where wooden huts were reserved for menial laborers. Practicing disciples rarely came here.
Here, Ye Fan gradually calmed down. If they could still find him like this, then he would have no choice but to fight to the death.
“Maybe there’s something on me that they can sense and track.”
Ye Fan first ruled out the green copper block. This mysterious treasure had gone unrecognized even when held by many cultivators in the past, let alone now, when it lay dormant in his golden Sea of Suffering.
Could it be the Dao Scripture? Unlikely. As long as he didn’t circulate the mystic method, his golden Sea of Suffering remained still, as calm as divine iron, hard for outsiders to detect.
“Could this piece of ‘Source’ have given away my location? That shouldn’t be either.” Puzzled, Ye Fan muttered, “Never mind that for now. I’ll refine this ‘Source’ first.”
In the following days, the bamboo grove remained peaceful, undisturbed by outsiders—a perfect place for cultivation. The Jiang Family’s powerful knights didn’t come.
Ye Fan began refining the Source, gripping it tightly in his palm each time, carefully melting it bit by bit. He feared that if he was too forceful, the vast life essence within the Source would burst out, triggering a wave of Source energy that others might detect.
On the sixth night, under a bright moon, Ye Fan refined a small amount of Source. Suddenly, his golden Sea of Suffering erupted with a terrifying roar like a tsunami. He quickly stopped and hid the Source.
“What a hassle…” His special physique frustrated him. He thought he could control it, but the breakthrough still produced a dreadful sound. The Sea of Suffering’s phenomenon was too shocking—if discovered, it would cause an uproar.
“It seems I can’t fully refine this Source here. I’ll have to continue after leaving.”
Still, he had made progress. His golden Sea of Suffering had expanded, now containing eight more “divine patterns” swirling above it. Ye Fan fused them into the earlier “divine iron lump,” repeatedly tempering and carving “Dao patterns” onto the green copper block.
The next day, the peace was broken. Several young cultivators came to the bamboo grove and found Ye Fan.
“It’s you… the little beggar!” They were stunned—these were the Purple Sun Cave Heaven disciples he had met days ago, though Li Xiaoman wasn’t among them.
Yesterday, Ye Fan had caused a commotion, and some cultivators had come to investigate. Finding nothing at night, these few were curious and came to check in the morning.
“How did you get into our Purple Sun Cave Heaven? Are you looking for Junior Sister Li?” They were surprised to see Ye Fan here.
“Your Purple Sun Cave Heaven’s sect leader happened to meet me, said I had extraordinary talent, and insisted on taking me as a disciple…” Ye Fan fabricated on the spot.
They naturally didn’t believe him. One woman scowled, “Little beggar, you have some nerve!”
Just then, a middle-aged man appeared in the bamboo grove. He circled a few times, then stopped. “I sense the aura of ‘Source.’”
“Greetings, Grandmaster Uncle!” The young disciples quickly bowed.
Ye Fan was startled. This man’s perception was incredibly sharp. The Source had been sealed, yet he still sensed it.
“No need for formalities.” The middle-aged man had a ruddy complexion and jet-black hair, but his eyes were ancient and weary, belying his youthful appearance.
“This man is probably over seventy or eighty…” Ye Fan guessed, recognizing him as a formidable expert.
“On you…” The man fixed his gaze on Ye Fan.
“Greetings, senior.” Ye Fan bowed.
“You’re not a disciple of Purple Sun Cave Heaven?”
“No.”
Without moving, the middle-aged man appeared before Ye Fan in an instant, as if teleporting, and grabbed his wrist.
“Senior, what are you—” Ye Fan was alarmed, thinking he was about to attack.
“Your physique…” The man’s expression shifted to surprise, then he shook his head with a sigh. Clearly well-informed, he made a judgment instantly.
In that moment, Ye Fan’s heart raced. Fortunately, his Sea of Suffering was deathly still—darkness had frozen the golden sea, turning it into a lifeless void. When the middle-aged man probed there, he found nothing unusual.
Ye Fan marveled. Under deliberate concealment, even an expert like this was fooled.
“Do you have a piece of ‘Source’ on you?” the man asked.
Unable to hide it, Ye Fan pulled out the small wooden box. “I don’t know if this is ‘Source.’ It’s a family heirloom.”
The man opened the box, glanced at it, and said, “Indeed, it’s Source. Impure, but still rare. Would you be willing to part with it?”
“This…”
“You can’t cultivate, so this ‘Source’ is useless to you. Don’t worry—I won’t let you lose out. If you trade, you’ll have wealth enough for ten lifetimes.”
“But I don’t want to trade…” Ye Fan looked troubled. Entering Purple Sun Cave Heaven had temporarily shaken off the Jiang Family knights, but now his Source was exposed. He felt helpless but had no choice.
“You truly won’t trade?” The man’s expression was calm, without any pressure.
“I…”
“Forget it. I won’t force you. A piece of Source means little to me.” With that, he turned and left, vanishing from sight after just a few steps.
Ye Fan’s heart tightened. This was definitely a master.
“Little beggar, who’d have thought you had ‘Source’ on you? Even an impure piece is more precious than spiritual herbs.”
The young men and women all showed surprise. They never expected Ye Fan to possess such a treasure, and some naturally coveted it.
“Little beggar, you really don’t know how to seize an opportunity. Do you know who that was? The second-strongest expert in Purple Sun Cave Heaven, with less than a hundred years of cultivation, yet stronger than several patriarchs. If you’d given him the ‘Source,’ you’d have earned a great karmic connection with someone like him—endless benefits…”
The young men and women made offers for the Source, but Ye Fan refused.
Only after they left did Ye Fan mutter, “I’ve dodged the Jiang Family knights for now, but I’ve exposed the ‘Source.’ I wonder if this will bring trouble.”
Half an hour later, Li Xiaoman appeared in the bamboo grove, accompanied by the young men and women who had just left.
Without asking why Ye Fan was there, she said calmly, “Ye Fan, you can’t cultivate. Holding this ‘Source’ is useless. Why not trade it for ten lifetimes of fortune…”
Ye Fan shook his head firmly. “I won’t trade!”
-- Welcome, dear readers, to read the latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works, all original!