Chapter 171: Shockwaves
Crossing the void is extremely dangerous; if anything goes wrong, one would be shattered to pieces. If Ye Fan hadn't been well-prepared, he wouldn't have survived this time. Hiding inside the cauldron, his heart trembled the moment the void began to collapse.
That power of annihilation was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, like snow and ice burying blooming flowers—an unstoppable "momentum" for life.
Space collapsed, the physical body could not resist, destroying everything, extinguishing all vitality, as if pushing the world back to its starting point.
The Mother Qi of All Things flowed, the cauldron remained utterly still. Amid this all-destroying torrent, the cauldron, like a vessel of life, carried Ye Fan, crashing through a sheer cliff before coming to a stop.
When the dust settled and the world returned to clarity, Ye Fan emerged from the cauldron. Before him lay a scene of devastation—a mountain range reduced to scorched earth, all life extinguished, nothing left behind.
"Ruthless indeed, destroying the Domain Gate without hesitation, trying to annihilate me in the void..." Then, Ye Fan threw his head back and laughed several times, the half-year's worth of pent-up frustration swept away in an instant.
Chased by Ji Changkong with no escape above or below, forced to hide in the Fire Domain without daring to show his face, now with a single strike, he had resolved all his grievances.
Burning a Great Figure to death alive—he himself could hardly believe it. Turning over a dozen eminent elders to ashes felt like a dream.
"Even if the Ji Family really finds me and I can't escape death, it's worth it now." Saying this, Ye Fan calmed down and said, "I won't die. I must find a way to flee this region."
He didn't dare delay. Turning into a wisp of shadow, he vanished in an instant. The commotion here was too great and would inevitably attract others; it was best to leave quickly.
Ye Fan felt that leaving the Southern Domain would be very difficult. With no way to cross over to the Northern Domain for now, he decided to go against expectations and head toward the southernmost edge.
The Southern Domain was also vast and boundless, with countless nations. The region where major powers like the Ji Family, Grand Mystery, Yaoguang, and Xiaoyao were located was merely a corner.
Further south, it was said there were one or two more Holy Lands. Though they were in the same Southern Domain, the distance was so great that even flying would take about half a year to reach. This shows how vast the Southern Domain was, let alone the entire Eastern Wasteland.
Without Domain Gates to transmit messages, without the ability to cross the void, the various parts of the Southern Domain couldn't connect with each other, remaining isolated and unable to form gatherings.
Soon, Ye Fan learned that he had traveled sixty thousand li from Xiaoyao Gate. Crossing the void for just a moment had taken him this far, shocking him.
However, what surprised him most was that he had ended up in the region of the Yaoguang Holy Land, about a thousand li away. "Perhaps I can hide here instead of going elsewhere," Ye Fan pondered.
Ji Changkong's fall shook this region, startling all directions! In less than a year, three Supreme Elders of the Ji Family had perished, like raging seas and violent storms!
This wasn't the dark age of ancient history, with no terrifying upheavals occurring, yet the continuous deaths of Ji Family Great Figures were truly shocking.
Peacock King and Crow Daoist were one thing—tracing back over a thousand years, a single stomp from them would shake the Southern Domain.
But what was the origin of a mere youth like Ye Fan, who had also accomplished such earth-shattering deeds, slaying a Ji Family Supreme Elder... it was unbelievable!
In this region, shock filled the hearts of all cultivators. This was a major event; the flames of the Ji Family's fury would surely spread across the world. "Ji Changkong was burned alive, done by a youth who had only cultivated the Wheel Sea Secret Realm." "A Ji Family Supreme Elder was burned to ashes, body and spirit destroyed, by a young cultivator of fourteen or fifteen, causing a Great Figure to fall." "It's truly hard to believe—Ji Changkong, who roamed the Southern Domain for years, was burned to bone fragments and spirit annihilation by a youth named Ye Fan, turning to dust." "This is like a fairy tale. A Ji Family Great Figure was burned to charcoal, his lifelong reputation turned to dust."
Everyone was talking about it. News spread throughout the region, and everyone found it unbelievable, but even more so, shocking.
The Five Elements True Fire could incinerate everything. As long as one was within the Five Elements, there was no power that could resist it. Many cultivators felt a chill in their hearts.
Ji Changkong dying under this five-colored cloud flame was simply fate. Even a Great Figure couldn't withstand this flame, returning to the ashes of the Five Elements.
That Ye Fan possessed special traits was no longer a secret. This matter had spread it, bringing him endless trouble. Not only the Ji Family, but even the Holy Lands would seek him out.
Of course, this wasn't the worst thing. The worst was the exposure of the Primordial Mother Qi Root, a treasure and sacred object coveted by many cultivators.
Currently, he was only at the Other Shore realm, unable to roam the land like Peacock King and dominate the Southern Domain. Having such a cauldron was truly a great disaster.
Although he had burned a Ji Family Supreme Elder to death, shocking the Southern Domain, the world learned the details and realized it wasn't his own power but relied on the Five Elements True Fire.
Ye Fan possessed a precious treasure but wasn't very advanced in cultivation, naturally arousing greed in many. Quite a few people prepared to act, searching for his whereabouts. "Kill!"
This was the kill order issued by the Ji Family. Making such a big fuss over a small cultivator was unprecedented in thousands of years.
Other forces could only search for Ye Fan in secret. No one dared to provoke the Ji Family now; at this critical moment, anyone who touched them would die without a burial place.
This region was in great turmoil, waves surging.
Ye Fan didn't head south. He hid in a mountain range about a thousand li from the Yaoguang Holy Land. He thought the Ji Family would never come here, since it was at Yaoguang's doorstep, but he was completely wrong.
The Ji Family was unfathomable. In opening Domain Gates, inscribing Dao patterns, and crossing the void, they had a foundation beyond ordinary imagination.
Based on the shattered altar, the Source consumed, and the time the void was opened, among other factors, they deduced how many tens of thousands of li Ye Fan had crossed.
That very day, the void was opened, and a Domain Gate appeared above the scorched earth. Over a hundred cultivators emerged, including over twenty elders, the rest being young talents.
Some were as still as mountains, their aura heavy and unfathomable. Others were sharp as peerless swords, their killing intent chilling.
All hundred-plus cultivators were strong. Not to mention the eminent elders, even the young cultivators had significant backgrounds. Almost half of the ten strongest of the Ji Family's younger generation had come. "This scorched earth must have been caused by void collapse. That beast isn't dead..." An old man gave orders for everyone to spread out and search. If there were clues, they were to report immediately.
This was only the first batch. More cultivators were still arriving. If Crow Daoist and the other hadn't appeared to provoke the Ji Family, a Great Figure might have come personally to kill Ye Fan.
Ji Changkong was powerful, sending messages in all directions, sealing off various areas, trying to surround Ye Fan in this region.
Ye Fan didn't expect that by the deep night of that very day, he would spot Ji Family members flying over the mountain range. "How did they find this region?" He naturally didn't know that the Ji Family had calculated everything from the shattered Domain Gate.
Ye Fan felt something was wrong and fled that night, but he was shocked to find that the Ji Family had sealed off the region, with large numbers of cultivators searching.
Two days later, Ye Fan's whereabouts were exposed, discovered by the Ji Family. "An ancient aristocratic family is truly unfathomable, able to calculate even where the void collapsed," Ye Fan marveled inwardly.
He wanted to leave this region as soon as possible, or else alerting the behemoth of Yaoguang Holy Land would make his situation even more dangerous.
If it weren't for his supreme footwork, he would have had no chance of survival when discovered. Even so, he couldn't shake them off.
Five days later, he detoured and fled into a vast grassland, already over ten thousand li from Yaoguang Holy Land. The Ji Family members seemed to have locked onto him, chasing him relentlessly.
On the sixth day, he finally encountered the Ji Family's younger generation, engaging in a bloody battle and breaking through with the help of the cauldron.
On the eighth day, deep in the grassland, a tall man blocked his path. This man was in his twenties, with hair as black as ink, eyes as sharp as knives, bronze skin, a strong physique, and a heavy aura. "Who are you?" To dare come alone to kill him, he must have extraordinary skills. Ye Fan didn't dare underestimate him. "Ji Haiyue!" The tall man's voice was resounding, like a bell. "Never heard of you." "That's because you're ignorant." Behind him, over a dozen people emerged from the dense grass. "Among my Ji Family's younger generation, three have cultivated to the third Secret Realm. Fifth Brother Haiyue is one of them."
Ye Fan's heart tightened. Eminent elders had only cultivated three Secret Realms. Those of the younger generation with such cultivation were all extraordinary figures, rare in the Southern Domain.
As far as he knew, there were only about a dozen such people in this region. The Ji Family had three, Yaoguang Holy Land likely had about three, plus a few like Hua Yunfei and Li Youyou. "Your Five Elements True Fire is exhausted. You have no more tricks. How will you escape now!" Ji Haiyue was tall and imposing, his gaze sharp as lightning, blocking the way.
Ye Fan curled his lips slightly, revealing a faint smile. He shot straight into the sky. He wouldn't clash head-on with this opponent. Since he wasn't surrounded, there was no need to fight.
But as he soared upward, Ye Fan felt a gray haze, an inexplicable force sealing him in, pulling him back to the ground. He knew something was wrong. This place had been set up, inscribed with Dao patterns, gathering the momentum of the earth's veins, locking him in place.
Ji Haiyue sneered, "Don't waste your strength. From the moment you stepped into this place, you were doomed to be trapped."
With that, he stepped forward but didn't press closer. The precedent of the Ji Family Supreme Elder made everyone cautious.
From Ji Haiyue's Wheel Sea, a large banner shot out, appearing high in the sky. It was pitch black like ink, shrouded in mist, seemingly demonic, trying to draw in one's mind.
A melodious laugh like heavenly music reached Ye Fan's ears. Someone transmitted to him secretly, "Little Brother Ye, do you need my help?"
Ye Fan frowned immediately. This was the voice of the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi. So, the behemoth of Yaoguang Holy Land had been drawn in after all. "If you want to help, take out this Ji Haiyue first!" Ye Fan replied.
"You make it sound so easy. He's second only to Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue, the undisputed third strongest of the Ji Family's younger generation before Ji Ziyue grows up," the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi said sweetly, her location unknown. "If I kill him, I'll incur a huge karmic debt with the Ji Family. But I have another way to take you away. Didn't you want to go to the Northern Domain? I have the same intention. We can travel together." "Great, I'd be delighted," Ye Fan replied.
In such a predicament, having someone willing to help was something he welcomed. Though he knew the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi was not to be trifled with, he had to get through this first.
The Holy Maiden of Yao Chi's laughter was like silver bells, feeling like a spring breeze, her words very sweet. "I need to prepare a bit. You hold off Ji Haiyue yourself..."