# Chapter 977: Northern Dao Sacred Land
(Third Update)
The ancient slaughter formation was destroyed, leaving a scene of devastation. Fortunately, nothing outside was damaged. The Maoshan area in the mortal region remained calm and peaceful, with no one knowing that a great battle had taken place here.
Ye Fan had no intention of seeking trouble with the Heavenly Scale Clan. The death of the two Dao protectors was over and done with—there was nothing to pursue. It was only those two who had insisted on coming forward to seek revenge.
"May I ask, do you all know who this person is, and which clan he belongs to?"
Having been ambushed today, Ye Fan couldn't help but recall a past incident. He took out an old photograph—a black-and-white photo from the World War II era of the last century. It showed a demonic shadow overflowing with blood energy, impossible to see clearly.
"That person caused a stir at the time. He wasn't from any of the Four Great Demon God Clans, and no one knew his background." The old patriarch of the Vermilion Phoenix lineage said.
Ye Fan nodded upon hearing this. As long as it wasn't someone from the Heavenly Scale Clan, that was fine—otherwise, there would inevitably be another great battle in the future. This was absolutely a very terrifying person.
He departed with his nominal disciples, accompanied by Old Daoist Qi Ri. More precisely, they were going with the old Daoist to Zhongnan Mountain to be his guests, to rest and recuperate for a while.
"Master, when will we set out? Let's head west quickly," said You Weiyu, somewhat impatient.
"No rush, because they've already come. If I go west, I might miss something. I'll deal with a few groups first, make them never dare to march east again, and then I'll head west," Ye Fan said.
"That's not bad either. A slow westward journey—our generation will cross to the west. Perhaps one day we'll be recorded in the annals of the cultivation world," Zhan Yifan said.
On the road, Ye Fan walked together with Old Daoist Qi Ri. This old man was no ordinary person—he was already over twelve hundred years old, had lived in seclusion at Zhongnan Mountain for many years, and was one of the few great cultivators remaining today.
"I'm ashamed. I've been stuck at the first level of the Immortal Platform for many years, unable to make any further progress. I don't know when I'll achieve success," the old Daoist said humbly.
This was a man even older than the Changbai Mountain Dao protector, one of the few known long-lived elders in the Central Land, revered as a figure of Mount Tai and Beidou level.
Ye Fan sighed. It wasn't that the old Daoist had poor aptitude—it was just that the world had changed, especially in the last few hundred years. For the old Daoist to have reached this point was truly not easy.
He decided to lend a hand. If he could help the old Daoist break through to the second level of Immortal Platform, the old Daoist could live to over two thousand years old. The long road of cultivation needed such persistent people.
However, he didn't say anything directly. He only discussed the Dao with him, telling him some bottleneck-breaking techniques from the other end of the starry sky.
Of course, along the way, he also taught some methods to his disciples. First, he passed down a secret technique from the hearts of two ancients from the Jin Dynasty period.
It was an ancient secret technique they had obtained when going out to sea—the Fish Leaping to Transform into a True Dragon. In a brief instant, it could achieve ultimate sublimation, elevating agility to the extreme, matching the Stride Secret for a single moment.
"I do have some other ancient secret techniques, but learning them requires high standards and many trials. For now, I can only teach you other methods."
These were nominal disciples, not those who would truly inherit his legacy. Therefore, the Stride Art, Battle Secret, and others could not be passed down now.
The Fish Leaping to Transform into a True Dragon was also a wondrous technique. In ancient times, it shook the world and was highly esteemed. If not for the existence of the Stride Art, it would have been a supreme divine technique.
Even Old Daoist Qi Ri was tempted and joined in, humbly seeking instruction. Ye Fan earnestly taught it to them. The old Daoist was so delighted that he rushed back to Zhongnan Mountain alone that day, only to run back again shortly after, just to test the technique.
The several disciples were naturally overjoyed as well. This ancient wondrous technique had been lost for many years, and now they were fortunate enough to learn it—they were extremely excited and thrilled.
"Wow, what an adorable little treasure! Come here, let big sister hold you!" The Phoenix Heavenly Maiden flailed her arms and chased after Little Pine.
Yan Xiaoyu was initially reserved, but eventually couldn't hold back. She set aside her ladylike demeanor and joined in, fighting to grab the little purple fellow.
It wasn't just the two young women—even Zhang Qingyang and You Weiyu couldn't resist. They also wanted to touch the little amethyst-like creature. There was no helping it—its appearance charmed young and old alike.
Little Pine felt very wronged. Its big, black gem-like eyes blinked, glistening with tears. It looked at them timidly and fearfully, hiding behind Ye Fan, gently tugging at his clothes, only daring to peek out with half its head.
It was very confused. It didn't know what was wrong—why were these people "bullying" it? It felt very aggrieved.
"This is your little senior brother. Don't bully him," Ye Fan spoke up, standing up for it.
"Little senior brother, just give in to me. I'll take good care of your daily life, bathe you every day, and feed you delicious things," the Phoenix Heavenly Maiden tempted him. Her hair draped over her shoulders, her figure was curvaceous, and she wore tight jeans that made her graceful legs look straight and long.
Clearly, she wanted to keep the little purple creature as a pet. The others felt the same way, tempting him one after another, even taking out rare exotic fruits they considered very precious to lure him.
Little Pine looked left and right, blinking its big eyes, but didn't choose anyone. Finally, it took out a Red Moon Fruit from its small bell-shaped Dharma artifact made of Great Luo Silver Essence. It took a bite, chewing with relish. Instantly, a fragrant aroma wafted out, spreading ten zhang in all directions.
"An ancient spiritual fruit?" The few of them stared wide-eyed, feeling as if they were the ones being tempted instead. They very much wanted to snatch the little thing's bell and rob it on the spot to see if there were more spiritual fruits inside.
After finishing one Red Moon Fruit, Little Pine blinked its big eyes, patted its little belly, and took out a Source Dragon Fruit—golden yellow, crystal clear, shaped like a small dragon.
This kind of thing grew in places rich in source energy. It wasn't very common even on the Big Dipper, but for Ye Fan, picking them was no problem.
"I say, little one, we'll call you little senior brother, alright? Don't tease us anymore," Zhan Yifan said.
When Little Pine saw them approaching, it immediately became very alert. It hugged the Source Dragon Fruit behind its back, looking as if to say, "I don't know you, don't take my things," its big eyes rolling around.
Ye Fan smiled wryly. This little guy was always so innocent. He really didn't know when it would grow up.
The people across from them wailed—partly from craving the ancient spiritual fruits, and partly from wanting to catch it and squeeze it, feeling sure it would be very satisfying to the touch.
"Master, you can't be so biased! Little senior brother's snacks are all ancient spiritual fruits. How are we supposed to feel? Poor children like us have no choice—we haven't even eaten a few in our whole lives!"
The several disciples acted spoiled, demanding things from him. The Phoenix Heavenly Maiden didn't hesitate to be ambiguous and clingy, blowing hot air into his ear and hugging his arm, refusing to let go.
Among these people, only Long Xiaoque remained calm, because his nature was naturally cold and he didn't like to talk much, so he looked very cool.
His real name was Long Yuxuan. It was only because their lineage needed the characters "dragon" and "sparrow" to demonstrate their strength, wanting to compare with the ancestor Dragon Sparrow, that he was also called Long Xiaoque.
Ye Fan naturally wouldn't be stingy. When they stopped to rest on a mountain, he took out a jade plate piled high with various spiritual fruits, inviting Old Daoist Qi Ri and the disciples to taste them together.
Back when he was about to return, he and Pang Bo had made large purchases, worried that Earth's spiritual energy would dry up and they wouldn't be able to cultivate. They had made extensive preparations, with countless spiritual fruits.
Finally, when Ye Fan gave Old Daoist Qi Ri a small basket of spiritual fruits, everyone's eyes nearly popped out. Too extravagant!
"Master, we want some too!" The several disciples were red-eyed. Such things were rare and hard to come by on Earth. Even Old Daoist Qi Ri hurriedly refused, saying he couldn't accept such a gift.
Ye Fan shook his head and took out more to distribute to his disciples. These things were nothing special on the Big Dipper—sect leader-rank figures might not even deign to look at them.
He had brought them back to Earth only to supplement spiritual energy. They had no other special effects for him, unlike the Immortal Elixir's flesh, which contained fragments of the Great Dao.
"Master, what kind of world is the other end of the starry sky really like?"
They naturally couldn't help but ask. They had long known of Ye Fan's origins and yearned endlessly for the Big Dipper Star Domain, wanting to cross the starry sky to go there.
"If we go there to cultivate, can we cut down those so-called Holy Sons and Holy Maidens in the future, and overpower those so-called Saint Lords?"
Zhang Qingyang and You Weiyu both declared they were willing to go to the Other Shore, join the so-called Heavenly Court, and leave this world.
Ye Fan's heart stirred. These few were all rare geniuses. In an environment where the Great Dao could be attained, they had hope of becoming saints in the future. With so many fine talents joining the Heavenly Court, even Divine Dynasties and Holy Lands would pale in comparison. Great achievements would surely come in the future.
Unfortunately, he sighed lightly and said, "I can hardly return myself. How can I take you all on the road?"
"There must be a way. When the ancient sages departed, they must have left behind some star domain route maps. We'll find them someday." Their faith was very firm.
Zhongnan Mountain, with its thousand peaks layered in green and beautiful scenery, was known as the "Immortal Capital" and was the foremost among cave heavens. The saying "Blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea's endless waters, longevity like the Southern Mountain's ageless pine" referred to this mountain.
It was also one of the ancestral courts of Daoism, the birthplace of the Complete Perfection Sect. With Southern Orthodox and Northern Complete Perfection, countless Daoist followers came here every year to make pilgrimages.
The mountain ridges were filled with Daoist temples, layered peaks and ridges, deep and elegant valleys, with the sounds of apes howling and tigers roaring—returning to simplicity, returning to primitive nature.
"Master, when will we head west?"
"It already started when we left Dragon Tiger Mountain. Haven't we been walking west from Maoshan to Zhongnan Mountain?"
Ye Fan and the others walked on the rugged mountain path, arriving at Old Daoist Qi Ri's cave dwelling. The old vines were as thick as water vats, and it had been a thousand years since outsiders had last come.
In the distance, many Daoist temples stood, magnificent in scale, shrouded in mist. Cranes danced, spiritual monkeys frolicked—it was exceptionally otherworldly.
Zhongnan Mountain was steep and beautiful, like an embroidered landscape screen, its majestic form towering in Shaanxi Province.
Old Daoist Qi Ri's cave dwelling was very simple, with nothing but stone beds, stone tables, and stone chairs. The outside scenery, however, was very good. Located in a valley with ancient trees standing tall, vines densely covering everything, and a clear small lake, various rare and strange beasts appeared.
Little Pine felt like it had returned to paradise here, running all over the valley. These days, it had finally become familiar with Yan Xiaoyu and the others. Although it often got squeezed and pinched, grunting in protest, it was no longer so resistant.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Fan taught them cultivation while discussing the Dao with the old Daoist, helping him break through to become a sect leader-rank figure.
Moonlight was like water. By the Mirror-Like Lake, Old Daoist Qi Ri bowed deeply to Ye Fan. He had touched upon that barrier and might step into it soon, attaining the Dao treasure.
"Friend, you're too polite. There's no need for this. If you hadn't been born in this world, you would have been a remarkable figure," Ye Fan said, helping him up.
"I will go into seclusion. If I achieve success, I will never forget this in the future. Perhaps a year, perhaps ten years, perhaps a hundred years—then we may meet again."
Old Daoist Qi Ri began his seclusion that night, no longer appearing in the mortal world, unable to see them off.
The moonlight was bright. Ye Fan returned to the cave dwelling he had opened, preparing to leave tomorrow and continue westward.
In the latter part of the night, the bright moon hung askew. Moonlight spilled into the cave entrance. A graceful, slender figure walked in. She possessed classical beauty but wore modern, fashionable clothing.
Bathed in the moonlight, her skin was crystalline, her hair lightly dancing, as ethereal as a fairy maiden from the Moon Palace. She walked in from the cave entrance.
Her steps were light and nimble. She came straight to Ye Fan's stone couch. Warm jade and fragrant incense—she came to Ye Fan's side, her breath like orchid.
Her graceful body was as white and beautiful as ivory, indescribably crystalline and moving. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with captivating radiance.
"Shua—"
Ye Fan opened his eyes. His gaze was like two bolts of lightning illuminating the cave dwelling. "What are you doing?"
"Talking about life ideals, of course. You're not that much older than me. Don't act like an old scholar. I don't mind taking responsibility for you, Master." She leaned in close.
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.