Chapter 162: Purple Qi from the East
The purple qi was like knives, seemingly trying to slice Ye Fan apart, leaving him stunned—and this was just a trace! "Come out!"
Ye Fan was anxious, doing everything he could to circulate the Primordial Mother Qi, trying to draw it out. He could clearly feel it was unusually active, but only a little.
The Mysterious Yellow flowed, finally seeping out, but only a small amount, covering the surface of his body, unable to fully protect him. This was terrible!
Ye Fan's expression changed completely. He channeled divine power into the Grand Luo Net, completely enveloping himself within it, forming a cage that encompassed heaven and earth, trapping himself inside. "Boom"
The void split open completely, and that crystalline jade leaf instantly shattered, turning to ash and disappearing before Ye Fan's eyes.
This was a forbidden artifact, possessing immense power capable of displaying incredible strength, but its fatal weakness was that after a few uses, it would self-destruct. As in the Ancient Forbidden Land, the three elders from the Ji Family, Shan Family, and Yaoguang Holy Land each had a forbidden artifact; after several uses, they automatically destroyed. This jade leaf couldn't compare to those three—it turned to powder after a single use, strictly speaking only a minor forbidden artifact.
The void split open, and Ye Fan fell into a purple world. There were no flames, only flowing purple qi, hazy and indistinct, but the temperature was terrifyingly high.
He did his utmost to channel divine power into the Grand Luo Net. The net's threads emitted starlight-like radiance, forming a curtain of light that temporarily blocked the purple fire.
But before he could feel relieved, the light curtain collapsed. The purple qi seemed to weigh ten thousand jun; the light curtain couldn't withstand it, burning fiercely and rapidly melting. "What kind of flame is this, capable of burning divine power?" Ye Fan was horrified.
If the Grand Luo Net was destroyed, he would have no other recourse. Although the Primordial Mother Qi was active, it hadn't fully emerged and couldn't protect him completely. "Chi"
The light curtain collapsed again, about to vanish completely. The purple mist pressed down, bringing waves of terrifying heat that made his heart race, already faintly penetrating inside. Even the Ji Family elder's precious treasure couldn't block the purple fire!
This was a place where great figures refined their weapons. The flames they chose were naturally rare treasures of the world. Although Ji Hui's Grand Luo Net was extraordinary, it couldn't compare to the treasures of such great figures and was utterly unable to block the purple fire. "Chi"
The light curtain completely collapsed. The purple mist pressed down on the Grand Luo Net, and the crystalline net threads instantly dimmed, then emitted cracking sounds.
The Grand Luo Net developed cracks, about to be destroyed by the purple fire. Ye Fan was terrified. The divine spring water from the Jade Purification Vase flowed out, pouring into his mouth, and then he transformed into a streak of light, charging in one direction. Everywhere was purple qi; he had no idea which direction led outward or which led to the center of the fire domain, unable to judge. "Crack"
With a final crisp sound, the Grand Luo Net shattered inch by inch, completely destroyed. No matter how powerful Ye Fan's physical body was, it couldn't withstand the scorching of the purple fire.
However, the small amount of Primordial Mother Qi that had seeped out played a slight role, flowing on the surface of his body, hazy and indistinct, actually forcing the purple mist away so it couldn't truly touch him.
But even so, he could barely endure it. It felt like thousands of dull blades were slowly cutting into his flesh, the agony unbearable.
Just how high was the temperature of the purple qi? Impossible to estimate. Even at a distance, it was about to tear him apart. "Damn Primordial Mother Qi, why won't it flow out?!" Ye Fan roared, running quickly, constantly pouring divine spring water into his mouth. If the Primordial Mother Qi couldn't cover his entire body, he would surely die this way.
After charging several li, Ye Fan nearly despaired. Ahead, five-colored mist swirled, even more terrifying than the purple qi. "Damn it, this is the center!" He turned and rushed back.
Ye Fan's nearly divine physical body was now blood-red, about to ignite. The small amount of Primordial Mother Qi couldn't fully isolate the terrifying heat.
Just then, he suddenly froze. The Jade Purification Vase in his hand was inferior to the Grand Luo Net—why hadn't it been destroyed? In his anxiety, he had completely overlooked this anomaly.
After all, the small amount of Primordial Mother Qi flowing on his body hadn't covered the Jade Purification Vase, unable to separate it from the purple flames. "How is it unharmed?!" Ye Fan felt his flesh and blood nearly drying up. He felt that if he took a few more steps, he would "bang" and shatter, then turn to ash. Without any hesitation, he offered up the Jade Purification Vase and took himself inside. "First jumping into a trap, then putting myself into the Jade Purification Vase..." Ye Fan realized he had done such absurd things twice in a row, truly forced by desperation.
What object inside the Jade Purification Vase had blocked the purple qi, keeping this treasure intact? Ye Fan entered and felt a wave of coolness, his groggy mind clearing.
Although this vase had been damaged at its foundation in the Ancient Forbidden Land, its internal space was still vast, enough to hold a fifty-meter-high hill. The divine spring water, now scarce, floated to one side.
In other corners were some scattered items, like food and water, the Great Thunderclap Monastery copper plaque, the ancient bronze lamp, the Vajra Pestle, and so on. Searching repeatedly, he was shocked to discover it was that Bodhi seed.
Ye Fan knew well it was a sacred object, but he had been preconditioned to think it only helped with enlightenment, never making other associations. After all, it was a seed; he never imagined it could withstand the purple fire.
Both surprised and delighted, he noted that among the items obtained from the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the others were half-ruined, but the Bodhi seed was the most mysterious—undamaged and intact, with a naturally formed Dao diagram.
Ye Fan held the Bodhi seed, channeled divine power, and rushed out of the Jade Purification Vase. The moment he appeared, the purple qi retreated, quickly rolling to both sides, clearing a peaceful space for him, pure and bright. "So that's how it is..." Ye Fan suddenly thought of many things.
In Buddhist legends, what was the most fearsome fire? Naturally, karma fire! The flame condensed from the karmic power of all beings could burn Buddhas to ashes, destroy all gods in the world, and nothing could stop it.
All the sins of the world gathered together formed karma fire. When the Buddha attained enlightenment, he preached great compassion and mercy, undergoing the burning of karma fire before finally achieving the fruit of the Dao.
And when he attained enlightenment, his greatest reliance was a Bodhi tree, which allowed him to achieve great awakening, withstand all karmic forces, and reach perfection. Without a doubt, that sacred Bodhi tree, fearless of karma fire, was most extraordinary when its divine nature was activated.
Of course, in this world, true eternity was hard to come by. Perhaps the Buddha's perfection only represented a state of being, not so-called immortality.
Whether the Buddha was an immortal, the world did not know. After all, the Great Thunderclap Monastery had been destroyed, and even that legendary sacred Bodhi tree had only left behind this single seed. "Even the strongest karma fire in the world can be blocked, so naturally it's not afraid of this purple fire..." Ye Fan was extremely excited. The Bodhi seed in his hand made him feel it was increasingly mysterious and extraordinary.
Within a three-meter radius, the purple fire did not encroach, leaving a peaceful area. Ye Fan breathed a long sigh of relief. Having such a sacred seed on him gave him great peace of mind.
Ye Fan calmed down, drank some divine spring water, and began to heal. In that brief moment just now, his body had nearly ignited, suffering severe damage and serious injury.
He wasn't in a hurry to leave. For him now, the Southern Domain might only be safe here. All the major forces were searching for him; if he went out and was discovered, he would surely die.
Ye Fan didn't move, sitting cross-legged for three full days, drinking some divine spring water, before finally repairing his injuries and returning to his peak state. "Great figures are truly terrifying. To refine weapons in a place like this requires how formidable a strength?!"
Without the Bodhi seed, he couldn't have survived here for even a moment. He was secretly horrified—those great figures were truly unfathomable.
During this time, he had been constantly fleeing, well-prepared. The Jade Purification Vase contained enough food and water for a long-term stay.
Since he planned to settle here, Ye Fan began to explore the "Purple Qi from the East" fire domain, understanding everything about it.
This place was very quiet. Purple mist swirled, not a sound to be heard. Aside from jagged, interlocking stone forests, there were no other sights.
"What's so special about these stones? Even the Ji Family elder's precious treasure was destroyed, yet they remain unharmed."
Ye Fan forcefully split open a stone but found nothing unusual, leaving him puzzled. In the end, he could only attribute it to the fire domain being spiritually aware. "Even great figures choose to refine weapons here. Perhaps I can use this purple fire to forge my cauldron into shape."
Fire was very important for refining weapons. Back when he was in Elder Han's medicine refining cave, using the underground fire essence, he had forged his cauldron.
Now, this purple fire was countless times stronger than that fire essence, surely with even more extraordinary effects.
Ye Fan was somewhat excited. After all, in this place, the Primordial Mother Qi had become very active; perhaps it could truly take shape.
Roaming this area for half an hour, Ye Fan took a general look but saw nothing particularly special.
Aside from some human-shaped ashes, he found discarded materials from weapon refining. Those who left traces here were, without a doubt, great figures. "The higher the quality of the fire source, the stronger the weapon forged. Legend says that some world-shaking figures would spend half their lives gathering the essence of flames to refine extreme weapons." Ye Fan felt this might be a great opportunity for him. "They want to hunt me down to the death, but perhaps this will perfect me..." He had learned that this place had nine types of flames, each layer more terrifying than the last as one went deeper.
Now, this was only the sixth layer, where many great figures chose to refine weapons. What power would the seventh layer's flames have? What would the eighth layer be like? It truly sparked the imagination. As for the ninth layer, Ye Fan found it hard to imagine.
There were many records about this place. In the most ancient historical texts, it even involved "immortals" and the Desolate Tower. But there were only a few vague, unclear lines. Ye Fan didn't know this; if he had, he would have been even more excited and shocked.
Holding the Bodhi seed, he walked toward the seventh layer of the fire domain. He had faintly seen earlier that it was five-colored mist, emitting a terrifying, heart-stopping fluctuation.
After advancing several li, five-colored mist loomed ahead. It didn't look like flames at all, more like immortal qi, appearing peaceful and auspicious, yet it made one's heart race and even the soul tremble. Standing only at the edge without entering, Ye Fan already felt a burning sensation, even while holding the Bodhi seed.
His expression froze. Before even going deeper, he saw some human-shaped ashes and some discarded, ruined artifacts. "Some great figures chose to refine weapons on the seventh layer, but it seems very dangerous. Some died inside."
He felt a chill. Even great figures had suffered casualties, showing just how terrifying that five-colored mist was. Such flames were beyond imagination. "I'd better rely on the Bodhi seed and honestly forge my cauldron on the sixth layer. If it can take shape, then I'll consider entering the seventh layer for refinement."
Ye Fan didn't want to take risks now. He felt he could take it slow. If he succeeded initially here, he could try drawing fire energy from the seventh or even eighth layer to temper his cauldron. "The root of Primordial Mother Qi, combined with extreme fire source—this combination will surely forge my cauldron." He wanted to forge the most powerful weapon.