Chapter 982: The Western Lands Boil Over
The heavenly tribulation finally ceased, but the scattered lightning had not yet fully dissipated, spreading out as residual waves. If not for the Heaven-Deceiving Ancient Array Ye Fan had laid down, this mountain range would surely have been destroyed.
Finally, the last wisp of thunderlight faded, and heaven and earth returned to tranquility. On the ground lay a patch of ashes, with a small section of charcoal lying across it.
"Little Pine!"
Weiyou Yu and the others could not bear to witness this scene—it was too cruel. The little purple one had been struck down to the ground, reduced to ashes.
They felt Ye Fan was somewhat heartless. How could he not even care about his disciple's life or death? Had the little purple one truly died like this?
No life force, no flesh and blood—only a pile of ashes and a piece of charcoal. Its body was scorched, devoid of vitality, too tragic.
Thinking of the little one's adorable appearance and seeing this sight, they all felt like crying. Their hearts were choked with emotion. Why did it have to be this way?
"It's fine. It hasn't died," Ye Fan spoke. It wasn't that he was heartless, but once he intervened and sheltered the little one, its tribulation crossing would be considered a failure, causing incalculable consequences. Its future path of cultivation would be incredibly difficult and bumpy.
Even worse, its Dao foundation could be destroyed. Forget about supreme Dao fruits, forget about becoming a peerless Demon Emperor, forget about dominating the world—none of that would even be worth thinking about.
Little Pine whimpered, struggling in the ashes. Its body emitted a faint aroma of cooked meat, and finally, some life force stirred, allowing others to sense it was still alive.
Yan Xiaoyu and the others quickly ran over, watching nervously but not daring to touch it, afraid of worsening its injuries. Little Pine was barely recognizable, pitifully opening its eyes, its body nearly turned to charcoal.
It kept mumbling, crying out in pain. Ye Fan immediately acted, offering golden blood from his own body to cleanse its bones and heal its injuries.
Once the Human Sacred Body achieved success, its blood could be regarded as a precious spiritual medicine, naturally possessing extraordinary effects—strengthening tendons and bones, cleansing marrow and hair, emitting a unique fragrance.
"Everyone's first tribulation crossing is like this. Back then, your master was even worse off than you—unrecognized by the Great Dao, barely escaping death, and only reclaiming my life by entering the Ancient Forbidden Land."
Soon after, Little Pine's dazed eyes slowly focused. It whimpered a few times, looking at Ye Fan pitifully, its whole body in severe pain.
"Now is the time to consolidate your Dao fruit. You need to pull yourself together. Having experienced the baptism of thunder tribulation, you must transform into a stronger body," Ye Fan urged sternly.
On ordinary days, he could be indulgent, but when it came to cultivation, he would never spoil it. He strictly ordered it to quickly rouse itself and temper its physical cauldron.
Although Little Pine was innocent, it understood that Ye Fan meant well. Hearing this, it forced itself to repair its injured body, undergo blood exchange, and begin tempering its nearly destroyed shell.
"Crackle, pop"
Within its body, remnants of heavenly tribulation essence still lingered. As blood flowed, they hummed softly, hammering its broken bones, refining its organs, and purifying its flesh and blood.
It took several hours. Little Pine underwent a complete transformation, shedding a small pile of charred skin and bones on the ground. Its body had changed greatly—its fur was smoother, shimmering with purple light.
Now, its body had shrunk to the size of a palm, and even with its tail, it was only a foot long. Its big eyes were like two black gems set in amethyst.
The other disciples sighed. In this era, true heavenly tribulation was rare. Only some ancient sects had secret methods, using thunderstorm days to draw a little lightning to temper their bodies. Something like this was absolutely unprecedented.
"Little Pine, how many years have you actually been cultivating?" Zhan Yifan asked.
The others were also curious, teasing and laughing, asking how old it really was to have such cultivation.
It earnestly began counting on its fingers, looking dazed, even using its toes. Its silly appearance immediately made everyone laugh.
Ye Fan also smiled. "It's an anomaly. It hasn't actually been cultivating for many years. Otherwise, how could it have this kind of disposition?"
Little Pine had just counted to five on its toes when it heard this and immediately looked embarrassed. But soon, it joined in with a carefree, silly laugh, looking adorably naive.
Kunlun stretches west from the Pamir Plateau, running between two regions and extending into Qinghai. It is the most important ancestral mountain in ancient Chinese mythology.
According to some ancient records, the ancient people of the Central Land may have originated from Kunlun, the result of an eastward migration. This theory has received support from linguistics, mythology, and modern genetic analysis, and is accepted by some scholars.
People believe that this is why the ancient people left behind so many legends, and why Kunlun holds such an important place in Chinese mythology.
Gazing at Kunlun from afar, it is majestic and imposing, filled with a myriad of scenes. It is like a profound history, or a source of life, bearing too much.
Afterward, they entered the Kunlun mountain range and visited Sect Master Xue Chen, receiving a grand welcome. What Ye Fan had done recently was truly too shocking.
Kunlun's scenic wonders are countless. Since ancient times, it has been called an immortal mountain, a place to ascend to immortality. Unfortunately, the main part lies within an ancient formation, invisible to ordinary people.
"Within the mountain range lies the hope of becoming an immortal, and it also grows the Immortal Elixir. The Ruthless Person's older brother may have fallen here," Ye Fan murmured to himself.
If they continued westward, they would soon leave the national border and officially begin their western expedition. Ye Fan did not set out immediately but took his disciples to explore Kunlun.
There were too many legends here. They also wanted to try their luck, but after lingering for several days, they found nothing. Ye Fan estimated the location of the hidden immortal ground, which contained the opportunity for immortality, but he didn't have a complete map and dared not venture in.
At night, deep in the Kunlun mountains, a campfire crackled. Zhang Qingyang had hunted a unicorn. The group skinned and cleaned it, then set it on a rack to roast.
"You're devils! Wuwu..."
In the distance, a blonde girl cried angrily. She had come to the Central Land to eliminate demons, but after finding their trail, she lost her beloved mount.
The people in front skinned her unicorn right before her eyes, roasting it until it was golden and fragrant. The aroma wafted through the night, especially tantalizing.
"Wuwu, my sister won't let you off! You devils, you ate my unicorn..." She wept, but couldn't change anything.
"Little girl, have you read too many stories of brave warriors slaying dragons? So naive, and you dare come to the Central Land to eliminate demons? An innocent child who doesn't understand the truth," Zhan Yifan shook his head, laughing as he teased.
"Hey, you have to admit, this unicorn meat is really delicious. A delicacy! Too bad it's not a purebred, or it would definitely be a great tonic," Zhang Qingyang said.
In the Kunlun mountains, the fog was heavy at night. The group sat before the campfire, roasting unicorn meat, which had a unique flavor. Weiyou Yu had a creative idea—he specially went to get some seasonings from the locals and started roasting skewers, making the meal very enjoyable.
"Wah... I'll fight you!" The fourteen or fifteen-year-old blonde girl charged, claws out, but Zhan Yifan picked up a piece of fragrant meat and stuffed it into her mouth. "Little girl, don't be so fierce. Try it yourself. That unicorn was well-raised; the meat is quite good."
Ye Fan didn't need to think to know that the Western Church was mobilizing all its forces. Otherwise, how would such a little girl have come east?
Clearly, the children of some ancient families had been deceived, all wanting to become epic heroes who slay demons. Many had probably sneaked away from their families to come to the East.
As expected, over the next few days, more than a dozen similar incidents occurred. Some who dreamed of becoming heroes who slay dragons and kill demons were still children, naive about the world.
Whenever Zhan Yifan, Zhang Qingyang, and the others caught such naive "heroes" and "beauties," they would strip them clean, give them a good spanking, and then chase them away.
"Go back and tell your families that I'll stay in Kunlun for three more days. If you want to come, come quickly. If not, I'll go visit the Pope in the West and have afternoon tea with him."
When the group of young people who had come with great dreams but suffered severe setbacks returned and recounted their experiences, it caused an uproar in the Western cultivation world.
"This is too much! The Mohan family's unicorn was eaten, the Haigu family's lesser dragon was roasted, and the Qiu'en family's fire phoenix bird... These people are truly demons, evil to the extreme! They deserve to be burned at the stake!"
Ye Fan and his group hadn't even entered the West yet, but they were already infamous. Even his six disciples had become horned devils, let alone him.
The peace of Kunlun Mountain was shattered. When the news spread back, in just three days, countless people from Western Dao traditions arrived—all independent cultivators who had heard the news and wanted to vent their anger.
However, the result was brutal. With one sword strike, Ye Fan swept through thousands of troops, rivers of blood flowed, and no one was his match.
Not a single person managed to escape. Blood stained the rocks of Kunlun. In the end, Ye Fan told the Daoist sect to relay the message to the Pope through them, and only then did the West learn that a group of independent cultivators who had come east to eliminate demons had fallen.
A high-ranking figure in the Vatican smashed his wine glass filled with red wine, his fury blazing, holy light surging into the sky.
"Charland, you are one of the most powerful holy knights to survive from the Dark Ages. The merciful Lord has descended divine light upon you, granting you incomparable glory. Can you still find a few others from the same ancient era?"
"Can't I kill him alone?"
"Your divine bravery is known throughout the world. Holy knights who have survived from the Dark Ages are all favored by God. I am worried you might be injured. Find a few companions, and go together to the East to kill that demon."
"Alright, I might be able to find a few holy knights from the ancient era to go kill him."
After the great upheaval in the Western Dao traditions, they naturally began a tight response strategy. The crusade being completely annihilated in the Central Land was a very negative major event, and many had died afterward. It had to be resolved quickly.
In these days, even ordinary people heard the hymns of angels and occasionally saw unusual sights, showing how active they were.
Many ancient families were sought out. Protected by ancient formations, isolated from the world, they lived year-round in medieval castles, and now they were called out of retirement.
"A demon has appeared in the Central Land!"
These four words became a key phrase in recent days, spreading throughout the Western cultivation world, putting pressure on some. Others believed it was the Central Land's Daoist sects declaring war.
"The will of my Lord descends upon the mortal world, cleansing the filth of the world with holy fire..."
On this day, a sacred angel descended, appearing in a grand cathedral. It had a female face, peerless beauty, golden hair flowing like a blazing sun, a slender figure, wearing light gauze, radiating holy radiance.
On the same day, the Pope of the Vatican officially issued a call to arms, summoning the various traditions from afar to form a true crusade for an eastern expedition.
The Pope's influence was immense. Throughout history, true crusades had been initiated by the Pope. Thus, with this call, the Western cultivation world was in an uproar.
From ancient castles isolated from the mortal world, some exceptionally talented and powerful young people, as well as old men with half their bodies already buried in the grave, all responded to the call.
"Let's go. Three days have passed. Time to hit the road again..." Ye Fan and his group left the Kunlun mountain range, officially crossed the national border, and began their advance westward.
The first day was intense. Chen Dong worked hard on writing. I also ask all brothers and sisters to cast your votes in support. The first day's votes are lagging behind. I seek your support to fight back. Now I'm going to write the third chapter.