Chapter 1033: Fourteen Years
“That’s easy to settle. Let’s drink first,” Ye Fan said.
“Right, let’s have a toast first.” Everyone raised their glasses, all filled with fine wine. Qi Luo spared no expense, ordering someone to bring out a thousand-year-old divine brew.
“I’ve brought some delicacies for everyone.” Ye Fan smiled, taking out piece after piece of glistening, crystalline dried meat that flowed with a Dao-like force.
“This is…” Even the Killing Saint Qi Luo was stunned on the spot. “Flesh and blood of a Demon Saint!”
“That’s right. It’s from an ancient great crocodile I encountered in the stars. Now it’s become a meal on the table,” Ye Fan said, warning them not to eat too much, or they wouldn’t be able to withstand such essence energy.
Everyone was shocked. An ancient great crocodile had become roasted meat, laid out on the dining table. This was truly an extraordinary event. The aroma was tantalizing, and the meat shimmered with radiance.
“Too… astonishing. This is a good thing, a legendary super tonic!” The group all moved their knives and forks, beginning to enjoy the divine crocodile feast.
They pressed for details about the incident, all finding it incredibly shocking. Killing a Sage was a major event that would make the Nine Heavens tremble three times and shake three times.
Ye Fan recounted what had happened back then. When they learned that a Primeval Great Sage had acted, becoming a god by day and a demon by night, ultimately exiling himself into the deepest part of the starry sky, everyone sighed with emotion.
“Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time. Haha, this poor Daoist truly has good fortune, actually getting to eat the dried meat of an ancient Crocodile Saint?” Duan De arrived, looking every bit the charlatan, wearing a purple-gold Daoist robe, his face beaming.
He acted as if he owned the place, clinking glasses with Ye Fan, then immediately cut off a large piece of meat and wolfed down several pounds.
Black Emperor enthusiastically stepped forward, poured him wine, and brought over several more plates of meat to make it easier for him to enjoy.
After six pounds of crocodile meat went down his stomach, the unscrupulous Daoist noticed that everyone had put down their chopsticks and were staring at him with strange expressions. His face was thick as leather. “Crocodile Saint meat is truly fragrant. Everyone, eat up. Don’t stand on ceremony with me.”
Black Emperor nodded. “Old Duan, you came late. We’re all full. You’d better eat quickly. In a little while, the two of us plus that stupid horse are going to pull off a big job.”
It kindly brought over a few more plates of meat and helped Duan De refill his wine, urging him to eat faster, saying there was a big deal waiting to be done.
Duan De’s face immediately flushed with excitement, and he ate even more heartily. But after a while, he seemed to sense something. He put down his chopsticks, and before long, he was sweating profusely, with multicolored light spraying from his pores. He shot to his feet and shoved aside the enthusiastic Black Emperor.
Duan De started hopping in place, steam rising from his whole body as if he were being roasted. Flames shot from his mouth and nose, and then he rushed out without looking back, beginning to sprint wildly around Heavenly Village.
“Old Duan, don’t be in a hurry! Have two more plates!” Black Emperor shouted warmly from behind.
“You dog-sired Black Emperor! I knew you weren’t being so kind for nothing. Just you wait, Dao Lord will settle this with you!” Duan De cursed loudly. At this point, he had too much energy. Having eaten too much crocodile meat, his whole body felt like it was about to catch fire. He ran wildly around the mountain.
Moreover, as he ran, he stripped off his Daoist robe, just to better expel the essence energy from his body. His entire being felt like it was about to explode, his body seemingly ignited, turning him into a human-shaped torch.
“Ah… Boundless Heavenly Venerable! Damn it, I’m burning up!” The unscrupulous Daoist howled like a ghost, drawing the attention of everyone in Heavenly Village.
“Hahaha…” A group of people laughed heartily, drinking wine while watching him streak naked. The big black dog’s mouth was practically split to its ears.
“Come, come, let’s all toast. Since Daoist Duan is providing such entertainment, how could we disappoint his good intentions?” The group raised their glasses frequently.
Duan De was so angry his nose was practically twisted. His legs churned frantically, unable to stop, as he desperately burned off the surging energy.
“Where is Pang Bo? How are the Ji siblings doing now?” Ye Fan saw that most of his old friends had arrived, but these three were still missing, so he asked about them.
“They’ve set foot on the Stellar Ancient Path,” the Killing Saint Qi Luo said.
“What?” Ye Fan was stunned.
“You’ve been gone for fourteen years. Many things have happened. Let’s talk while we drink,” Yao Yuekong said.
They spoke of everything, discussing the events of these years.
Ye Fan frowned. The rumors he’d heard on the road weren’t unfounded. Over a decade ago, the Central Emperor had nearly been killed!
When the Central Emperor severed his Dao, heavenly auspicious colors descended and sweet springs gushed from the earth, with all kinds of strange and bizarre phenomena appearing. People said it was an Emperor’s omen. Ten years ago, a Primeval Ancestral King had struck, nearly annihilating his physical form and spirit.
“At the critical moment, Gai Jiuyou intervened, killing that Ancient King with a flick of his finger, and then nearly clashed with the ultimate giant of the Ancient Clan.”
Speaking of these past events, the atmosphere grew somewhat heavy. Back then, ordinary people had no idea about this incident; only a few cultivators knew of it.
“Later, Gai Jiuyou, Divine King Jiang, and the others went all out, directly blocking Celestial Prince, Huang Xudao, Huo Qizi, and the like, wanting to wipe them all out cleanly.”
It was because of this that the various Ancient Clans were terrified. The Ancestral Kings restrained themselves and didn’t continue their extermination campaigns. Otherwise, it would have nearly turned into a tragic mutual slaughter of each other’s geniuses.
Not long after this incident, the ancient path at the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion in Central Province opened. The Central Emperor, the Southern Demon, and Ji Haoyue were the first to set out on the journey, beginning their mysterious trial and leaving this world.
From ancient times to the present, every ten thousand years, the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion would open a path. No one knew where those people went, and it had always been called the strongest trial in history.
“This time, the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion made an exception. The ancient path was opened several times in succession.”
The Western Bodhisattva, Pang Bo, and others also set out on the journey, entering the vast starry universe. A few years ago, Ji Ziyue also chose to walk this path.
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan was lost in thought. Where did this ancient path lead? Was it the same path that Laozi had taken? Could it be heading to the Flying Immortal Ancient Star? It was hard to say.
Among the life-bearing stars Ye Fan knew of—Fire Mulberry, Heaven-Piercing, Gouchen, and Flying Immortal—there were four ancient stars to choose from, but he had no opportunity to go there.
“What happened with Pang Bo back then?” He still clearly remembered that scene. When he was about to return, this good friend had acted very strangely, leaving without saying goodbye.
“The Demon God bloodline within him suddenly awakened. The racial inheritance nearly caused him to have an accident…”
This kind of awakening was very dangerous. It forcibly altered his physique, even overturning his mental state and thoughts, leading to all sorts of terrifying and inexplicable events.
“An Ancient Great Emperor once said that life is the greatest miracle in the world!”
According to the ancient sages, immortality might exist. The continuation of a race was one manifestation, involving many mysteries.
“Did our ancestors truly die? A distant Quasi-Emperor once said that, in fact, they did not. They live on in our blood.”
“In a sense, this isn’t wrong. We are the continuation of our ancestors’ lives. As long as reproduction continues, they are not extinguished. This is a different kind of immortality.”
“The ancient sages spoke correctly. Our ancestors’ blood flows within us, and even fragments of their memories live on in our flesh and blood.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan was momentarily stunned, then relieved. When he thought about it carefully, wasn’t this exactly how life’s reproduction and evolution worked? All the secrets of immortality were imprinted in the genes.
Ye Fan had seen specific, minute examples of this, such as when he fought against Yuangu, who had summoned the phantom of Emperor Yuan from his bloodline.
“Back then, Pang Bo’s inheritance was very dangerous. He nearly became a different person, receiving many memory fragments from his blood. He had no choice but to step onto a secret formation and go far away.”
Ye Fan was speechless. He had already learned on Earth that in ancient times, the Demon Clan and humans had lived together. Pang Bo’s clan were descendants of the Demon God.
They raised their glasses and drank, chatting about the events of these years. All of them were slightly drunk. Even after the moon had risen, the feast had not yet dispersed.
Only the unlucky Duan De was left howling alone under the night moon, putting on a performance of the “Wolf’s Legend” to vent his excess energy, unable to join in.
As time passed, the big black dog’s tongue was hanging out from drinking. It got together with the Dragon Horse. This pair of scoundrels didn’t start a fight. After some conversation, they actually showed mutual admiration, saying they wanted to team up and pull off a big job.
“From the ancient path at the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, a corner of a blood-stained battle robe was sent back. It belonged to Ji Haoyue. But there wasn’t a single word written on it…”
It was because of this that Ji Ziyue set out on the journey, to save her brother, participating in the strongest trial in history.
“Before she left, she gazed at the starry sky every night. In the end, she went to the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion in sorrow.” When Li Tian said these words, he patted Ye Fan on the shoulder, somewhat emotional.
“Can that ancient path still be opened?” Ye Fan asked after a moment of silence.
“It hasn’t been opened again in these years,” Yan Yixi shook his head.
Gu Fei and Gu Lin, the two spirit children, came over to toast Ye Fan. This pair of young siblings had grown up. The brother was now tall and handsome, and the sister was graceful and elegant.
“Uncle Ye, why is it that even when you stand right in front of us, we can’t calculate anything about you?” Gu Lin asked, blinking her big eyes.
“I reversed my Dao severance, disrupting the heavenly secrets.” Ye Fan smiled. The truth wasn’t that simple. He knew it must be because of the broken Immortal Cauldron inside him.
“In recent years, the Holy Son Yao Guang has been very low-key. He probably hasn’t left this ancient star. But there are also rumors that he was the last one to step onto the star path,” Black Emperor said.
It and Duan De had been in cahoots, plotting against the Yaoguang Holy Land all these years, believing that the Holy Land was built on top of a massive Emperor’s tomb and wanting to dig it open.
“The strongest trial in the depths of the stars… where does that path lead?” Ye Fan downed a glass of wine, gazing at the starry sky.
Late at night, Duan De looked like he’d been pulled out of the water, drenched in sweat, exhausted to the point of cramping. His skin was still emitting multicolored light, but he had finally managed to hold on.
He came in, first clinked glasses with Ye Fan, sighed for a while, then put down his glass and went straight for Black Emperor, starting a man-dog brawl.
Immediately, the group’s drinking spirits rose again. They watched the fight while drinking.
“Brother Monkey, is this injury of yours not too serious?” A jade bottle appeared in Ye Fan’s palm, and he handed it over. This was the divine liquid he had brought out from the Immortal Ascension Region.
“It’s nothing. I’ll recover after resting for a while. In a bit, you come with me. Help me hold off one person, and I’ll go kill the Celestial Prince myself.” The monkey’s eyes blazed with a terrifying light. He was clearly holding in a lot of anger.
“Alright, no problem!” Ye Fan had the same intention.
Since he had returned, he certainly wouldn’t remain silent and dormant. When he had accumulated enough, he needed an outlet—to cut away the grudges of the past.