# Chapter 1537: Tracking the Trail
A few wisps of black mist dispersed, revealing a dark, gaping fissure seven or eight zhang wide and over a hundred li long, cutting straight through the imperial city—clearly left behind from a great battle.
Ye Fan descended into the earth fissure, plunging straight down several hundred zhang into the pitch-black underground, until he reached a large subterranean cavern. Here, that aura was even stronger.
His heart was uneasy. Had he truly found Little Nannan the moment he arrived? He shook his head, yet this vibrant life force could not be mistaken.
Within the underground cavern were pools of water and clusters of stalactites, resembling snails and giant bamboo shoots. Water droplets fell continuously, echoing through the darkness and emptiness, making it all the more serene and quiet.
Yan Yixi and Li Tian also followed down, walking behind Ye Fan. They were somewhat doubtful, for they had no special sensation at all.
"Over here!"
In a small puddle lay a translucent crystal, glittering brilliantly like a drill, shining with beautiful radiance. Beside it, a jade jar lay shattered, as if the crystal had rolled out from within.
Ye Fan picked up the sparkling particle. It was extremely translucent, emitting seven-colored light, and a life force rushed forth—carrying Little Nannan's aura.
"This isn't that seven-colored little stone. Its shape resembles a teardrop that has condensed into crystal." He was greatly surprised. Could the little one's teardrops also form such crystals?
Yan Yixi and Li Tian were both astonished. Even up close, they sensed nothing. They truly could not understand how Ye Fan, from such a distance, could find clues.
Li Tian received it in his hand and said, "Touching it with my finger, I feel an extraordinary divine energy, as if immortal qi is pouring into my body!"
Yan Yixi was also shocked. Why could they not sense it from afar, only perceiving it upon contact? It was most puzzling.
"It must be because Little Nannan gave me that seven-colored little stone back then, and I absorbed the seven-colored radiance within it," Ye Fan said, offering this explanation.
At the same time, a trace of joy appeared on his face. Others found it difficult to locate Little Nannan, but he could use this connection to sense her—a considerable advantage.
Of course, relative to the vastness of the land, this advantage was still frustrating. The territory was immense, truly headache-inducing, like searching for a needle in the ocean.
And this was indeed a major problem! Over the following half-month, Ye Fan and his companions crossed sea channels, appearing on several continents one after another, searching for clues about Little Nannan.
Unfortunately, they could not find even a single trace.
Decades had passed. The many great powers of the Ziwei Star Domain had found nothing. Expecting to locate her the moment they arrived was unrealistic.
"What do we do?"
"The Human King Hall, Underworld Ridge Longevity Temple, Guanghan Palace, and other great powers have been searching for decades. Perhaps they have made some discoveries. I need to pay them a visit and find out," Ye Fan muttered to himself.
There was no other choice. He had to gather the results of others' efforts; perhaps only then could he break through the fog surrounding Little Nannan's whereabouts.
"That's true. After all, they've been searching for decades. The valuable information they hold must be far greater than ours," Yan Yixi nodded.
From that day onward, a mysterious figure appeared in Shenzhou, Luzhou, Hezhou, and other regions, knocking out elites from various great sects with a single blow, but never taking their lives.
This was naturally Ye Fan. He silently took down dozens, even over a hundred people, all elite members of the great sects, searching their sea of consciousness for anything related to Little Nannan.
The more he saw, the darker his expression became. These people regarded Little Nannan as an immortal elixir, all wanting to throw her into a medicine cauldron and refine her into a furnace of divine pills.
The only thing to be grateful for was that, based on the known information, no one had succeeded yet.
"It's time to strike at the most crucial great power. After all, they are the main instigators," Li Tian said.
Decades ago, the Ziwei Divine Dynasty turned to ashes. The primary black hand was that great power which descended from beyond the starry sky. Now, they had taken its place, becoming the most formidable force on this star.
Over the years, they had expanded rapidly. Many rogue cultivators had joined their ranks, and they seemed poised to stabilize their rule over the realm, exuding the domineering aura of swallowing the entire ancient continent.
If this continued, it would be no surprise if they unified the entire Ziwei Star Domain!
However, their highest echelons had always remained mysterious, shrouded in a layer of fog. Even powerful entities like Underworld Ridge Longevity Temple and Human King Hall could not fully understand them.
The moonlight was soft and beautiful. All was silent. On the horizon stood a magnificent giant city—this was Kun City, a place that made cultivators across the land halt in awe and deep reverence.
Decades ago, it was they who struck, annihilating the Ziwei Divine Dynasty, bringing an end to an immortal great power that had been passed down for millennia.
It was a behemoth. Who in the world dared to provoke it now? When its command was issued, none dared disobey. From their expansion trend, they truly seemed to be on the verge of controlling this entire Emperor Star.
This filled the various great powers with deep fear and regret for having allied with them to destroy the Ziwei Divine Dynasty back then. It was like killing a tiger only to lure in an even more ferocious dragon.
Moonlight flowed like water. The giant city stood majestic on the land, like a primordial ferocious beast lying in ambush—though its ferocity was concealed, its oppressive aura rushed forth.
Ye Fan came alone, walking under the moonlight, entering the magnificent giant city. He went straight to the inner imperial city, where he was blocked by a shocking great formation.
He did not force his way in. Instead, he observed quietly for a time and was astonished to find that there was even an imperial might within, with a quasi-emperor slaughter formation laid out inside.
At this moment, Ye Fan's eyes turned cold. He classified this divine dynasty as one of the most dangerous—not a simple great power, but one with a significant background.
Carefully sensing, he could not determine whether a quasi-emperor was present, but he could taste a hint of ominous clouds from the formations here. Regardless, the mastermind behind it all was terrifying.
Ye Fan did not want to alert the enemy by striking the grass, nor did he wish to start a conflict here.
He waited a long time until a powerful figure emerged from the imperial city. As for the ordinary soldiers and guards before that, he disdained to act against them. This person was a half-saint—nothing compared to him, but still very strong in the mortal world.
Ye Fan transformed into a divine light, swooped down, and carried this person away. It could be said that he did so without the slightest effort, and no one noticed at all.
In the wilderness, Ye Fan searched his sea of consciousness, investigating the origins of this great sect.
A moment later, his heart shook. Their origins were truly immense. Deep in the starry sky, there was a mastermind of unknown cultivation depth and unknown background, who had issued a divine decree for his disciples to set out and unify the Ziwei Ancient Domain.
They intended to establish a Heavenly Court!
In the end, Ye Fan obtained this information. How could he not be shocked? What immense ambition was this?
This was not about establishing a sect on a single ancient star. They were putting it into action, conquering domain after domain, constructing this vast system, recreating the glory of the mythological era.
"Truly extraordinary!" Li Tian and Yan Yixi emerged from the mountain ridges. After examining the memories in this person's immortal platform, they could not help but exclaim in admiration.
"To establish a Heavenly Court that can rule over ten thousand domains, this person is at least a quasi-emperor, right? Among the current human race, who can oppose him? Perhaps only Old Man Gai," Li Tian said.
"Just a single disciple taking action nearly rules the Ziwei Ancient Star Domain. The leader behind them must be terrifying to the extreme. Otherwise, how would they dare to do this?" Yan Yixi sighed.
Ye Fan erased the relevant memories from this person's mind and sent him back. He furrowed his brows slightly. He had tried every method, yet still found nothing.
"Perhaps we should ask some old friends for help," Yan Yixi said.
"Go to that particular sect?" Li Tian asked.
"Exactly!" Ye Fan naturally thought of it too. Now they needed to seek help from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.
Back then, when they left, the Heavenly Mechanism Ancestor was about to pass away. He had glimpsed a corner of the future and delivered two prophecies, which had proven accurate.
Li Tian and Yan Yixi held Heavenly Mechanism tokens. According to the agreement with their ancestors, the Heavenly Mechanism Valley needed to perform divination for them four times. Now, two remained.
The Heavenly Mechanism Ancestor of that time had said they could return after twenty years.
After Ye Fan and his companions left, they were separated by hundreds of millions of li, with no knowledge of the return coordinates. They had never thought they would come back, nor had they planned to visit this lineage again.
Who would have thought that over a hundred years later, they would have need of them again? The affairs of the world were unpredictable.
Taiyuan was located in the western part of Central Province. It was a massive, deep valley, perpetually sunless and shrouded in darkness. The reclusive ancient path of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had closed its mountain gate and did not emerge, rarely seen in the world.
All because they could deduce the secrets of heaven, incurring the curse of the heavens, forcing them to remain in seclusion.
This sect was envied by heaven. Though they possessed astonishing divine arts, they could never flourish. Each generation had only a few disciples, making them a reclusive ancient path.
When Ye Fan and his companions descended deep underground, they were stunned. The Heavenly Mechanism Sect had been leveled to the ground, nothing but rubble everywhere, utterly destroyed.
This was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, chilling them to the bone. Coming here was the most effective shortcut, perhaps allowing them to glimpse clues about Little Nannan. They never expected it to be cut off so abruptly.
"Who destroyed it?" Li Tian gritted his teeth.
"It was that divine dynasty that descended from beyond the starry sky," Yan Yixi said. At this site, they found terrifying holes left by war spears, similar to those at the Ziwei Imperial City.
Clearly, this great power that sought to establish an ancient Heavenly Court, with unparalleled strength, also wanted to use the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's prophecies. But in the end, they destroyed this place.
Ye Fan was disheartened. Leaving this place, he felt that finding Little Nannan would truly take a very long time.
However, things often took unexpected turns. They searched in eastern Shenzhou, and half a month later, they encountered a young Daoist boy who took the initiative to greet them.
"Little Daoist, who are you?"
"I am from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. I have come to deliver two pages of talisman paper to the three of you," the young Daoist boy said.
"The Heavenly Mechanism Sect survived that calamity?" Li Tian was surprised, and also astonished. This lineage was truly divine—they had actually managed to find them.
"We escaped the annihilation that befell us back then. We are now living in seclusion in the low mountains ahead. Another ancestor is about to pass away, with only one day left. He happened to see you all coming here and wishes to settle his final worldly affairs," the young Daoist boy said, a trace of sorrow on his face.
In the distance, another middle-aged Daoist walked over. His ink-black beard fluttered, and he had an immortal air. Upon closer inspection, he looked familiar—it was the same young Daoist boy from over a hundred years ago, now the inheritor of this sect.
"Another ancestor is about to pass away, settling his final wishes. Our sect will completely retreat from the world until this greatest upheaval in ten thousand ages has passed!" The middle-aged Daoist wore a sorrowful expression.
Back then, he had witnessed one ancestor die from heaven's envy, and now another. This was the inescapable doom of their lineage.
"Please accept our condolences."
Ye Fan and the others did not know how to comfort them. They silently paid their respects and offered some divine liquid from ancient heavenly venerables.
"What you seek, the ancestor dares not divine. To touch upon it would not only destroy him but also cause the entire Heavenly Mechanism Sect's ten-thousand-year legacy to turn to ashes. He only vaguely senses that if you travel northwest, you may find something—right here in this mortal world," the middle-aged Daoist said sorrowfully.
Finally, they exchanged salutations and parted ways. From then on, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect would not appear in the world for tens of thousands of years!
In the bitter cold lands of the northwest, a small, lonely figure was trudging forward. Her little clothes were already tattered beyond recognition...