Chapter 3: Arrival
Ji Ziyue's lips curled slightly as she glared at Ye Fan, fuming, "If you want treasures, there are none. If you want ancient scriptures, there are even fewer. All I have is this one life of mine—do what you will!"
"You're quite the tough one," Ye Fan said, amused. "If you don't come clean, I've got plenty of ways to deal with you."
Ji Ziyue bit her rosy lips with her crystal-white teeth, turned her head away, and gazed at the clouds on the horizon. She seemed about to say something but held back in the end.
Ye Fan didn't press her immediately. He had all the time in the world. For now, the most urgent task was to refine the Mysterious Yellow Essence. His cauldron had shattered, clinging to the Green Copper block, which truly worried him.
Within the Wheel Sea's spring, the Green Copper block lay motionless. Around it, the Mysterious Yellow Essence swirled, and the fragments of the broken cauldron floated, merging with the Mysterious Yellow, indistinguishable from one another.
Ji Ziyue's words made sense. The shattering of the small cauldron wasn't entirely a bad thing for Ye Fan—it was an opportunity.
"Shattered, then I'll recast it!" Ye Fan's mind was completely immersed in the spring, carefully pressing the broken cauldron fragments together with the divine power within his Wheel Sea.
He wasn't trying to simply rejoin them. What he needed to do was to crush the cauldron even more thoroughly, completely fusing it with the Mysterious Yellow Essence.
Shattering the cauldron within the Sea of Suffering felt like shattering himself. Divine power flowed, and his mind was immersed in control, giving him the illusion of breaking his own body.
The Mysterious Yellow Essence shone like moonlight and sunlight, dazzlingly bright, continuously merging with the cauldron fragments. Under Ye Fan's control, the two became one, gradually turning into a stream of light.
It revolved around the Green Copper, misty and hazy, mysterious beyond words. Eventually, the radiance turned inward, the sharpness faded, becoming plain and unadorned. The faint Mysterious Yellow Qi flowed naturally, giving a sense of unfathomable depth.
At the dawn of heaven and earth, a trace of the essence of heaven and earth was born—the Mother Qi of All Things, possessing unimaginable mysterious power. It was a treasure for refining artifacts!
Ye Fan controlled it carefully, not rushing to cast the cauldron. To ensure a complete fusion, he continuously tempered this Qi, imprinting it onto the Green Copper block.
He let the Mysterious Yellow Essence envelop the Green Copper block, repeatedly carving and tempering it, aiming to merge them into one and engrave the natural Dao patterns upon it.
This was destined to be a long process, requiring time to slowly polish. Everything went smoothly at first, with no accidents, marking a good beginning.
And so, Ye Fan settled down by this lake. He placed several more seals on Ji Ziyue to prevent her from breaking the restrictions.
Time passed quickly, and half a month flew by.
The lake was shrouded in mist, with shimmering ripples. The shore was lush with trees and fragrant with flowers and grass.
Beneath a towering ancient tree, Ji Ziyue was immobilized, unable to move. Ignoring her screams, Ye Fan focused intently, using a brush to paint on her smooth, jade-like face.
He worked quickly, and in no time, a toad took shape. He nodded, seemingly satisfied, set the brush aside, and picked up a mirror, placing it in front of Ji Ziyue.
"Ah…" Ji Ziyue let out a loud scream, as if she had encountered something utterly terrifying, piercing enough to tear eardrums. She was furious, grinding her teeth, her big eyes glaring at Ye Fan.
"Half a month has passed, and you've only written out a fragment of the ancient scripture. That's far too little. I need the complete scripture…" As he spoke, Ye Fan shifted his tone, coaxing her, "I have the Mysterious Yellow Essence, something rarely seen in a thousand generations. If you explain the ancient scripture to me, I'll give you the Mother Qi of All Things. We both benefit—neither of us loses out."
Ji Ziyue was indeed tempted. She blinked her big eyes and said, "I need time to think it over carefully."
"Don't think I don't know you're trying to stall," Ye Fan said, sitting across from her. He prepared paper and brush, then unsealed the seal on her right hand. "Don't dawdle. The Mother Qi of All Things is right within reach. Don't you want to take it?"
Ji Ziyue fumed, "You're going too far! I've already given you several treasures, and you're still not satisfied. Fine, I'd rather we both go down in flames. If I die, the mark on my body will definitely appear in the Ji Family, and everything that happened will be revealed…"
Ye Fan fell silent. He pushed a phoenix hairpin, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings back in front of her and said, "These things—how am I supposed to use them out in the open? Just write out the ancient scripture, and I'll return them all."
Ji Ziyue's expression changed instantly, her eyes welling up as if she were about to cry. "It's not that I don't want to write the ancient scripture. The elders of my family have sealed a forbidden curse in my heart sea. If I dare to reveal it, I'll be destroyed on the spot—body and soul…"
Ye Fan chuckled lightly. "Don't put on such a pitiful act. I don't believe a word you're saying."
Ji Ziyue's beautiful eyes filled with mist, and she sobbed helplessly, "I've never harbored any hostility toward you. I even let the demon clan members go. I never intended to harm you, yet you treat me like this…"
This did make Ye Fan feel a pang of guilt. After capturing this hot potato, he found it hard to handle. He couldn't kill her, and letting her go would bring endless trouble. He had been pressing her for the ancient scripture but hadn't obtained the profound method.
"I'm determined to get that ancient scripture. Stop putting on an act…"
Ji Ziyue's expression shifted again. The mist in her eyes vanished, and she began to sharpen her gleaming little tiger teeth. "I'll fight you to the death!"
"Then let's fight," Ye Fan said, starting to pull off her shoes and socks.
Ji Ziyue screamed, "What are you doing? Stop!"
"Are you going to write the ancient scripture or not?"
"I…"
Ye Fan pulled off her shoes and socks completely, revealing a pair of smooth, jade-like little feet, as sparkling and clear as mutton fat, shimmering with a faint luster, delicate and graceful.
"You…" Ji Ziyue was both ashamed and furious, her face flushing pink. She was utterly terrified, her voice trembling as she said, "Stop right now."
Unhurriedly, Ye Fan smeared a layer of honey on her warm, jade-like soles, then caught a few ants and placed them on top.
From the ancient forest came Ji Ziyue's shrieks of shame and anger: "You little brat Ye Fan, I'm not done with you! Ahhh…"
Half an hour later, Ye Fan walked to the lakeside holding several pages of paper. He focused intently, carefully studying the scripture recorded on them.
"The Great Dao is like an abyss, the ancestor of all things. Harmonize with light, mingle with dust…"
As he studied, he pondered. The Ji Family's ancient scripture indeed had its unique merits, no less than the "Dao Scripture."
The opening lines pointed out the core essence of this ancient scripture: The essence of the Dao is void, but its effects are endless. This was the Ji Family's "Void Scripture."
The Dao of Void dulls the sharpness of all things, resolves all conflicts, harmonizes all radiance, and mingles with all dust, yet the self remains forever void and eternal.
Unfortunately, Ji Ziyue was resolute, preferring death to surrender. She had only written a few pages, and obtaining the complete scripture would take time.
These few pages were disjointed, with pitifully little explanation of the "Dao Palace." Only half a page covered it. He read it carefully.
"The spirit of the valley never dies—this is called the Mysterious Female. The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of heaven and earth…"
Though only half a page, it made Ye Fan understand what the Dao Palace was meant to cultivate.
"So it really is about cultivating five deities!"
If a person can nourish their spirit, they will not die. Within the Dao Palace reside five deities. If one can transform them for their own use, they can extend their lifespan, generate five kinds of Qi, and when the deities merge with the Qi, all sorts of mysterious events occur.
The Dao Palace seemed extremely mysterious, even more extraordinary than the Wheel Sea. It would unlock and reveal various wonders. Unfortunately, Ye Fan had only seen half a page and didn't know what came next.
To cultivate the Dao Palace, one must cross the Sea of Suffering and reach the Other Shore before proceeding.
In the following days, Ye Fan began to train hard, unwilling to waste a single moment.
During this time, he also continuously tempered the Mysterious Yellow Essence, letting it envelop the Green Copper block, repeatedly refining and merging it, carving the Dao patterns.
Of course, the most important thing Ye Fan did was to start refining the essence blood of the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart. He needed powerful strength. This heart was submerged in the Life Spring, and not using it would be a waste.
This time, he used the Mysterious Yellow Qi to pressure the Sacred Heart, causing its blood light to fill the sky, thereby collecting the essence blood.
With the Green Copper block suppressing the sea floor, the Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart couldn't resist, like a coiled dragon stranded in a shallow pool, daring not to make any big moves.
For a full half-month, Ye Fan could be said to be squeezing it dry. He continuously refined the Demon Emperor's Sacred Blood, washing his own body. His flesh became as sparkling and clear as jade, expelling various impurities, on the verge of a transformative rebirth.
Ji Ziyue watched all this, astonishment growing in her heart. She vaguely felt that Ye Fan harbored many secrets, far more than he appeared to.
On the nineteenth day of refining the Demon Emperor's Sacred Blood, a startling change occurred. The heart, red as jade, seemed unable to endure any longer and erupted completely.
Ye Fan's golden Sea of Suffering boiled over entirely. If the Green Copper block hadn't stabilized everything, his body would have shattered.
The Demon Emperor's heart began to beat with a "thump, thump," fully reviving its vitality. Unwilling to have its sacred blood stripped away, it sought to shake Ye Fan to death.
Back then, even experts beyond the Other Shore realm couldn't withstand it—this showed how terrifying it was!
The Mysterious Yellow Qi on the Green Copper block flowed, stabilizing the Wheel Sea and preventing Ye Fan from danger. The heart, brilliant as a ruby, blazed fiercely, directly tearing through Ye Fan's Sea of Suffering, turning into a dazzling blood light, and vanishing into the sky.
Ye Fan's Sea of Suffering ached sharply. Though it closed quickly, it took a long time for him to recover. Stunned, he muttered to himself, "I squeezed it too hard. That was wrong. The Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart actually… flew away!"
The powerful Demon Emperor's Sacred Heart, unwilling to be drained daily, ultimately… disappeared without a trace, breaking through the heavens.
"Heavens! That must have been the heart of the Demon Emperor, and it was inside you!" Ji Ziyue was dumbfounded, her face full of shock.
Ye Fan didn't give chase. He sat down cross-legged and used the last collected sacred blood to wash his mortal body.
At that moment, his entire body was like jade. His five viscera shimmered, his bones gleamed, and his skin was translucent. After the baptism of sacred blood, he felt waves of unbearable pain.
Finally, after consuming two sacred medicines, he underwent his third transformation.
It was a painful and agonizing process, lasting most of the day before everything calmed down. Ye Fan stood up like a deity, divine radiance shooting in all directions, shining with the sun and moon, sparkling with the stars, as sparkling and clear as seven-colored glass.
It was a long time before the radiance faded. He returned to simplicity, looking as he did before.
He felt immense power. The third transformation made him feel reborn, as if his energy was inexhaustible!
When he clenched his five fingers into a fist, golden lightning intertwined around his golden fist, as if it could punch straight through heaven and earth.
Most astonishingly, the Mysterious Yellow Qi appeared on his golden fist, as if fused into it.
Ji Ziyue was very surprised, her small mouth forming an "O" shape. "What have you done, you…?"
A gentle breeze blew, Ye Fan's black hair dancing lightly as he clenched his golden fist. He felt incredibly powerful, the Mysterious Yellow Qi spreading outward.