Chapter 1011: Primordial Source Cauldron
Bang!
When Ye Fan's hand reached into the Immortal Pool, it was repelled by a strange and uncanny force, unable to penetrate to the bottom. He narrowed his eyes and observed. The walls of the pool were lined with silken threads, each strand crystalline and flowing with immortal light, resembling the blood vessels of a living being. They even seemed to inhale and exhale.
"Truly alive!"
He couldn't help but be astonished. This pool, originally shaped like a placenta, had been shattered into its current form by a single slap from the Ruthless Person, yet it still possessed powerful vitality.
Ye Fan did not act rashly. He carefully examined the pool walls, revealing a look of shock, then turned his gaze to the distant mountains. The essence exhaled by tens of thousands of Dragon Head Peaks all converged here, forming a divine pool nurturing an immortal fetus.
"That is..."
When he opened his heavenly eye for a closer look, he was greatly startled. On the brow of every single Dragon Head Peak, there was a crack, as if a hole had been punched through it, with mist and light flowing.
Ye Fan focused, a strange light gleaming in his eyes. Not a single one of the tens of thousands of Dragon Heads was an exception. On each brow was a delicate palm print, which had imprisoned and drawn away the essence within the mountain.
"The Dragon Treasure is lost!"
The so-called Dragon Treasure was the soul essence of each Dragon Head Peak, the true spirit nurtured after descending upon one ancient star after another, the immortal essence accumulated over millions of years.
Divine light flickered in Ye Fan's eyes as he observed carefully. Although divine liquid still flowed from the open dragon mouths, having lost the Dragon Treasure, its effectiveness had diminished many times over.
"This is... the work of the Ruthless Great Emperor?"
His gaze shifted continuously, then fixed on the Immortal Pool. This was undoubtedly a placenta, connected to the tens of thousands of Dragon Head Peaks. Nourished by the essence of immortal life, it could indeed seize the fortune of heaven and earth and should have been able to nurture an immortal fetus.
But now, everything was gone. This place of immortal gestation had been shattered by a single slap from the Ruthless Person. Ye Fan couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Truly worthy of being called Ruthless—she wanted nothing and was indeed ruthless enough.
Ye Fan dispersed the immortal light, revealing everything within the pool. He could see that the crystalline "blood vessels" on the pool walls led to the tens of thousands of Dragon Head Peaks. The Ruthless Person had used them to strike a blow against ten thousand true dragons!
The aura of slaughter was earth-shattering!
Alas, the Ancient Heavenly Court had laid out this grand blueprint, enduring through the ages, only for the Ruthless Person to destroy it with a single palm, ruining the immortal placenta.
Ye Fan stared intently, carefully observing. The broken immortal cauldron at the bottom of the pool had also been affected, clearly having been struck along with the Ruthless Person's palm!
This was the hope of becoming an immortal. The Ruthless Person cared nothing for immortality, ignored it, and did not take it away. Ye Fan took a deep breath, activated the Weapon Art, and with a swoosh, retrieved the immortal cauldron. The strange force could no longer hinder him.
Water splashed, immortal vapor rose, and colorful mist swirled. The place was brilliant, with all kinds of light flowing, flooding the area.
Boom!
The Dragon Horse made its move—or rather, its hooves. It reared up, and a pair of hooves, as large as washbasins, came crashing down at Ye Fan. This was a blatant attempt to seize the hope of becoming an immortal.
Ye Fan was unafraid. He pushed horizontally with his right hand, striking out with force, sending the Dragon Horse staggering back and preventing it from getting close.
"You really are restless, aren't you? If you ever make it to the Big Dipper, I'll have to find you some friends to spar with—like Black Emperor, Duan De, and the like."
The divine steed neighed, its cry echoing through the nine heavens like a dragon's roar. Its entire body, covered in dragon scales that gleamed like Phoenix Blood Red Gold, shone brilliantly, its light piercing the sky. Its mane blazed like fire, trembling violently.
Ye Fan glanced at it, and seeing it attack again, he threw the Primordial Qi Cauldron at it. Instantly, mother qi cascaded down like a sky-shaking waterfall, pressing down on the Dragon Horse.
This was a supreme treasure of heaven and earth. Every strand of mother qi was heavier than a mountain. Back then, Ye Fan had only been able to absorb it into his body thanks to the Green Copper, which had attracted and held these things. Only after refining them could he use them.
Otherwise, the sheer weight of this Primordial Source Root would have crushed him. Few could bear it.
The Dragon Horse kicked and stomped, but it couldn't break free. The cauldron had been refined by Ye Fan thousands upon thousands of times and was now his Dao treasure, indestructible, combining offense and defense—a true divine treasure of the world.
Little Pine grumbled and snorted. The Dragon Horse's attack on Ye Fan had displeased it greatly. It rolled its eyes at the Dragon Horse and waved its small medicine hoe vigorously.
Ye Fan examined the cauldron closely. Some crystalline, thread-like substances were still attached to it, repairing it. The more he looked, the more astonished he became. They truly had life.
This cauldron was severely damaged. Originally, its three legs and base should have been separated. Clear cracks were visible, but now they had healed and fused together.
"Return to the Source!"
Ye Fan shouted softly, his hands moving as he unleashed a shocking great divine ability. This was a manifestation of his Dao fruit after entering the Immortal Three realm, as he tried to see what had happened in the Immortal Pool back then.
This was a heaven-defying divine art, extremely draining on his essence, energy, and spirit, because it required recreating the final moment before the Immortal Pool shattered. Such an act of "observing the past" was forbidden by heaven and earth.
Boom!
In the end, Ye Fan succeeded, but the image was quite blurry—just a momentary flash of insight. He saw a sliver of heavenly secrets from over two hundred thousand years ago. A placenta shattered, an immortal cauldron sank to the bottom of the pool, the cracks on its surface widening, then the cauldron pieces separated and lay motionless.
Ye Fan remained silent for a long time. The Ruthless Person was indeed fierce, caring for nothing. Even the hope of becoming an immortal was slapped down with a single palm, not worth her desire.
Of course, he hadn't seen the delicate hand. It involved an ancient Great Emperor, and he dared not use the reverse ancient art to spy on her, or the consequences would likely be unimaginably terrible.
But the scene of the placenta and the cauldron shattering was etched into his sea of consciousness, replaying over and over, allowing him to see it clearly. The immortal cauldron had originally had cracks that had healed, but after suffering that world-shaking blow, the cracks widened and it split apart again.
The divine placenta had been destroyed, and its repair effect was far weaker than before. Thus, after another two hundred thousand years, the cauldron's three legs and base had only now re-fused together.
Ye Fan gently pulled off those crystalline, transparent threads, revealing the immortal cauldron. At the same time, the tens of thousands of Dragon Head Peaks emitted a dragon's roar.
Boom!
An aura of supreme strength and sanctity spread out, soaring above the nine heavens. At that moment, every cultivator on Earth felt a tremor in their hearts. The stronger the cultivator, the more pronounced the sensation. Some even heard the dragon's roar.
"I've actually obtained it."
Ye Fan felt as if he were in a dream, a sense of unreality washing over him. This was something countless heroes throughout history had gone mad for, originating from the Heavenly Court. Even ancient Sacred Emperors and Great Emperors had fought over it. Some Great Sages and Quasi-Emperors had even lost their lives for it.
The Green Cauldron bore many marks of age and time, but every carving was blurry, for it was too ancient. It appeared unadorned, simple, and real.
Ye Fan rubbed it with his hand. No aura of an extreme weapon emanated from it, but it made him feel an immense weight. Even in its broken state, wielding it could sweep across all domains.
Before entering the Kunlun Immortal Vein, he had exhausted his strength to extract two pieces of old copper from his body. Along the way, the Green Copper blocks had shown no fluctuation of energy. It was only when Ye Fan fitted them onto the cauldron that a burst of blazing light erupted!
Ye Fan was startled. The copper blocks, mottled and worn, had been as passive as an old master since he obtained them, never acting on their own. But now, they emitted a rumbling like thunder.
At the bottom of the cauldron was a large hole. When the two copper pieces were placed over it, they fit perfectly, seamless. Immortal light flowed, and they fused together.
"Is it repaired just like that?"
When the light faded and the Green Cauldron dimmed, Ye Fan exerted all his strength, sweating profusely, and with a crack, pried the two copper pieces off again. They hadn't truly healed.
"As I thought, it won't work. It needs to be nurtured within the immortal placenta."
Where exactly lay the secret of becoming an immortal? Ye Fan opened his heavenly eye, not missing a single inch, examining the inside and outside of the cauldron clearly and thoroughly.
The ancient marks on it were the true vicissitudes of countless ages, having endured who knows how many years. There were flowers, birds, fish, insects, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as ancient people and gods from before the Primordial Era!
"This cauldron is extraordinary. The one who cast it had too grand a scheme. Unfortunately, he couldn't wait for that moment."
Ye Fan's expression was grave. Every mark on this cauldron held extraordinary significance. The beginning of heaven and earth, the birth of all things—all could be found on it. This was the Primordial Source Cauldron, capable of containing everything!
He stared at the gods from before the Primordial Era, his gaze unblinking, wanting to see through them. He muttered to himself, "Could there be a secret to immortality?"
In the endless ages past, there were gods in heaven and earth, but whether they could live forever was unknown. The Monkey had once revealed that his father, the Battle Saint Emperor, had said that divine wars were the most terrifying.
"Where is the opportunity to become an immortal?" Ye Fan shifted his gaze from the divine marks to the ancient people, then to the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, flowers, birds, fish, and insects.
"Primordial Source Cauldron, where is the secret of immortality hidden?" He sat down cross-legged, holding the cauldron in contemplation.
For an entire half-month, Ye Fan didn't move a muscle, like a boulder, sinking his mind and spirit deep into the cauldron, comprehending its ancient immortal secrets.
Little Pine obediently guarded him, acting as his protector, mainly to prevent the Dragon Horse from breaking free. The little purple creature was diligent, its big eyes sparkling.
Ye Fan finally opened his eyes. The cauldron bore all things, and each thing was a Dao mark, profound and vast. It would likely take a lifetime to fully comprehend them all.
As for the interior of the cauldron, it was filled with incomprehensible laws and patterns, interwoven into the supreme—Dao!
Ye Fan stood up, silent for a moment, then gazed into the sky. "If I want to fully grasp the method of becoming an immortal, I need to enter the starry sky and seek guidance from the ancient sages. Only then might I understand the secrets within the cauldron."
Perhaps the Ten Thousand Primeval Clans knew something. Why else would they fight over the immortal cauldron? The ancestral temple of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty might also have records. But on this end of the starry sky, I can only guess on my own; I can't fully comprehend it.
"The immortal cauldron is already broken. I might as well refine it into my Primordial Qi Cauldron," Ye Fan said, feeling a surge of intent.
Seriously speaking, the two were very similar—one was the Primordial Source Cauldron, the other the Primordial Qi Cauldron. They were naturally compatible.
In the end, he didn't act on it. This cauldron was of great consequence and couldn't be tampered with now. Even if he wanted to recast it, with his current cultivation, there was no hope. With his Dao level, not to mention melting the Green Copper, even a slight attack on it might backfire and kill him!
"In ancient China, the cauldron was a divine artifact with many implications. It probably originated from this immortal cauldron."
Ye Fan's cauldron was the same shape as this one—a round cauldron with three legs and two ears. One cauldron, two ears, three legs—the physical form of the Dao. It corresponded to "Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things."
"Friends at the other end of the starry sky, are you all right?" Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Now, he had obtained the immortal cauldron. Even if it was less than a third complete, he thought he could stand proudly in one corner of the world and resist extreme weapons!
If he could one day return to the Big Dipper Star Domain, whether the Holy Son Yao Guang attacked with the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Imperial Weapon, or Huang Xudao and others came with ancient imperial weapons, he would have nothing to fear.
"The immortal cauldron must have many fragments scattered everywhere. I hope I can gather them all someday."