Chapter 183: The Sea Spans Wide, Letting Fish Leap Freely
A so-called Saint Weapon is the ultimate level a weapon can reach. In the entire Eastern Wasteland, there are only a few, countable on one’s fingers, all forged by the hands of ancient Saint Emperors.
How many Great Emperors have there been throughout history? Those recorded in ancient texts are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, and thus Extreme Weapons number only a handful.
The earthen-gray clay jar was excessively plain, yet its power was astonishing. Under the combined force of Azure Dragon King and Tu Tian, it devoured heaven and earth, leaving nothing uncollected. "Crack!"
In the sky, a Bagua furnace, as large as a small mountain, blazed with towering flames, blocking the way ahead. But it could not withstand the clay jar at all, producing cracking sounds. "Boom!"
The massive furnace split open in an instant, surging flames spreading wildly in all directions. Yet, after only a brief moment of fluctuation, everything was sucked into the clay jar.
This was already the ninth weapon destroyed by the Supreme Elders. Before an Extreme Weapon, resistance was futile; only destruction remained.
The earthen-gray clay jar appeared ordinary, but it was a Saint Weapon forged by an ancient Great Emperor from his own flesh and blood. Its power was unfathomable. If not for the missing lid, the enemy would have long been annihilated. "How long can you hold out?!" Azure Dragon King roared, once again urging the clay jar with Tu Tian.
Opposite them, an ancient cauldron sank and floated, with dragon patterns emerging on its surface. Its style was archaic, gathering chaotic mist around it.
This was a replica of Yaoguang Holy Land’s Dragon-Pattern Cauldron, controlled by an exceptionally powerful old man who strained with all his might to resist the earthen-gray clay jar.
But a replica was, after all, a replica. Although this Supreme Elder had refined it for centuries, it still could not withstand the Saint Weapon of an ancient Great Emperor.
With everyone combining their strength to drive it, they only held out for half an hour before the replica Dragon-Pattern Cauldron began to shake. The dragon patterns on it peeled off, and its luster dimmed.
"Crack!"
The replica Dragon-Pattern Cauldron finally gave way, developing cracks and on the verge of shattering, about to be swallowed by the clay jar.
"Old Tu, your Saint Weapon is far too formidable. I would pay any price to exchange with you; you can take everything I have," Azure Dragon King exclaimed in admiration, saying this.
"In this life, I rely on it. I cannot trade it with anyone," Tu Tian refused outright.
At this moment, the people of Yaoguang Holy Land had pale faces. Their weapons were all shattered, and they could no longer hold on.
The terror of an Extreme Weapon chilled one to the bone. Unfortunately, their Yaoguang Dragon-Pattern Cauldron was a sect-guarding treasure and could not be easily brought out; otherwise, why would they be so passive? On the other side, Peacock King was locked in battle with the Saint Lord of Yaoguang, traversing through a hundred worlds, fighting fiercely.
The sun and moon lost their light, heaven and earth changed color. The two Great Powers possessed boundless magical power. With a single roar in the distant sky, they shook the stone mountains on the ground until they cracked.
Ye Fan was dazzled and mesmerized. The Extreme Weapon left him deeply shaken. Today, the people of Yaoguang Holy Land were about to meet their end because of this clay jar.
He was no longer in a hurry to leave. Azure Dragon King and his group had absolute control of the situation. If they could eliminate those old antiques and free up their hands, then the Saint Lord of Yaoguang would surely be in grave danger. For now, he could just join Peacock King and the others and leave with them, no longer needing to flee. "Brother Genius, in our line of work, we must uphold loyalty..." Tu Fei also rushed to the edge, landing beside Ye Fan.
The Holy Maiden of Yaoguang did not pursue. Anyone could now see that the big shots of Yaoguang Holy Land were in a very bad situation, suppressed by the ancient Great Emperor’s Saint Weapon, at risk of annihilation of body and soul at any moment. Yaoguang Holy Land had deep "foundations," but distant water could not quench a nearby fire; crossing the void was already too late. "Boom!" The distant sky shook, with shouts of men and roars of beasts. A troop of iron cavalry shattered the heavens, thundering as they came.
At the horizon, it was like a flood rushing in, killing intent soaring to the sky. In the center, a large banner fluttered noisily, bearing a single character: Jiang!
The people of the Primordial Aristocratic Clan Jiang had arrived. They were one of the masters of the Northern Domain, with much greater influence in this region than Yaoguang Holy Land. "Fellow Daoists of Yaoguang, our Jiang family has come to aid you!"
Hundreds of iron cavalry charged forward, with several major figures in the center. Their battle intent surged like rolling tides, rushing in, their icy aura chilling one to the bone. "What rotten luck!" Tu Fei cursed.
In the sky, Peacock King, Azure Dragon King, Tu Tian, and the others also changed color. Now, with the powerful Jiang family coming to reinforce, their efforts were about to be wasted.
The cultivators of Yaoguang Holy Land, on the other hand, shouted in unison. Having fought until now, many had died, and they were on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, a fresh force like this arrived, naturally lifting their spirits.
"Brother Genius..." Tu Fei turned his head again, only to find that Ye Fan had already fled far away, almost disappearing in the blink of an eye. He was a bit dumbfounded and shouted, "I say, Brother Genius, in our line of work, we can't be so disloyal!"
Ye Fan dared not delay. He knew his own limits. With the Great Bandits and Holy Lands clashing, staying here with his strength would only make him cannon fodder.
This was a group of formidable people, none of them weak. Those with slightly inferior cultivation had already been killed in the previous melee. Blood mist swirled, and this battlefield was extremely brutal.
"Boom!"
The rear shook violently as the battle reached a fever pitch. Azure Dragon King and Tu Tian grew ruthless, ready to pay any price to wipe out a batch of strong opponents.
Peacock King’s eyes were also sharp, his killing intent shaking the surroundings. He transformed into a five-colored peacock, tearing heaven and earth apart. Behind them, everything boiled over, as if the sky and earth were about to be annihilated.
Ye Fan moved like lightning, streaking across the ground like a beam of light, pushing the mysterious footwork to its limit. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. "I will return someday..." He vanished into the vast land.
He needed to find a place to cultivate in peace, to improve his strength, and not get drawn into conflict.
The reddish-brown land stretched endlessly, with no vegetation, no water sources—only emptiness and silence.
Seven or eight days had already passed. Ye Fan did not know how many miles he had traveled. He had not seen even a single leaf, let alone an oasis.
Far away from that source mining area, Ye Fan let out a long breath. From now on, the sea spans wide, letting fish leap freely; the sky is high, letting birds fly. He was no longer bound.
Yaoguang Holy Land’s foundation was in the Southern Domain. Even if the Holy Maiden of Yaoguang knew he was in the Northern Domain, she could not dispatch enough people to track him down.
The Thirteen Great Bandits were their biggest headache. Just guarding the source mines required a great deal of effort, making it hard to attend to other matters. "I need the cultivation methods for the Dao Palace Secret Realm..." Ye Fan muttered to himself.
This was his main purpose in coming to the Northern Domain. He had already cultivated to the Other Shore realm, and time waited for no one. He urgently needed the Jade Pool heart method.
Thinking about this problem gave him a headache. He felt he had set himself an enormous challenge. The ideal was beautiful, but putting it into action was extremely difficult, and success was far from certain. "The most effective method is to kidnap a Jade Pool fairy maiden from the Dao Palace Secret Realm and then interrogate her for the mystic method."
However, the consequences of such an act would be severe. He had only learned one supreme secret technique from the Ji family without cultivating the Void Ancient Scripture, and it had already brought him a catastrophic disaster.
If he really kidnapped a Jade Pool fairy maiden and cultivated their secret method, it would surely be another great calamity.
In the past, there had been people who cultivated the ancient scriptures of Holy Lands, but in the end, they were either annihilated as a clan or as a sect, with all traces erased.
Holy Lands and Primordial Aristocratic Clans valued their respective ancient scriptures above all else. Whoever learned them would inevitably be hunted down with all their might. "I have set myself an enormous challenge..." Ye Fan massaged his temples. If he had a choice, he would not want to take on such a challenge.
"Jade Pool fairy maidens can marry, but it is said that the conditions are very harsh..." He recalled the words of Old Man Wu Qingfeng.
How could a lofty Jade Pool fairy maiden possibly marry a small cultivator like him? Time was tight; where would he find the time to slowly approach a Jade Pool fairy maiden? This path was extremely difficult. "Could I really have to become a great demon king and snatch a Jade Pool fairy maiden?" Ye Fan was truly troubled. He did not want to become an enemy of Jade Pool, but he very much wanted to obtain their heart method.
"To become a son-in-law of Jade Pool, what conditions are needed..." Ye Fan let his thoughts wander.
"Perhaps there is still some buffer time." He thought of Old Man Wu Qingfeng’s words. Many ancient Great Powers only cultivated a single secret realm, yet they could still reach the pinnacle of cultivation.
"The Wheel Sea must still have many secrets that have not been uncovered. Perhaps I can cultivate it again, buying enough time to approach a Jade Pool fairy maiden."
Ye Fan felt that the most urgent thing now was to improve his strength by any means necessary. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to become a "demon king."
After careful consideration, he believed he needed to prepare for two possibilities. Whichever path he took, he would need the strength of a demon king, enough to defeat a Jade Pool fairy maiden in the Dao Palace Secret Realm.
Ye Fan did not want to cultivate in this area. He felt it was still not far enough and continued to rush into the distance. Along the way, he would sometimes stop, blasting open the reddish-brown earth to search for source blocks. But the harvest was meager. After traveling all this way, he had not dug up many source blocks, as he had not mastered the techniques of prospecting.
Over ten days later, Ye Fan finally found an oasis and saw signs of human habitation. "I have been traveling at top speed using supreme secret techniques, stopping and starting, but I must have covered at least seventy thousand miles. It took this long to see people..." Such a vast region far exceeded all the land on Earth, making him sigh with emotion.
"In the endless ages past, this land was lush with vegetation, with numerous races standing tall. Powerful humanoid figures could tear the sky apart with their bare hands, and various temples stood on the ground. What happened that turned the Northern Domain into a barren wasteland?" Ye Fan did not stop and continued onward. Only on the twentieth day did he finally halt, deciding to find a place to cultivate in seclusion.
Along the way, the oases he saw ranged from a few miles in circumference to thousands of miles, scattered across the reddish-brown earth.
The Northern Domain had a fierce folk custom. He witnessed many bloody incidents—battles over oases and source mines happening all the time.
Ye Fan did not enter any oasis. Finally, he secluded himself in an empty desert. He chiseled open a stone mountain, carved out a cave dwelling, and began to cultivate inside.
He summoned the Jade Purification Vase, and before his eyes, a dazzling array of colorful source stones sparkled brilliantly, illuminating the cave dwelling.
A rough estimate put the total source blocks at about sixty jin. This was a huge fortune that could help him improve his strength. Ye Fan began to cultivate, preparing to break through.
The so-called Other Shore realm was a realm of transformation. Legend had it that ancient Great Powers who cultivated only the Wheel Sea Secret Realm would undergo nine lives and nine deaths of transformation. Ultimately, they would break out of their cocoon like a butterfly, reaching great perfection. As soon as they emerged from seclusion, the ten directions would stir, and divine phenomena would surge into the sky.
Of course, this was the result of years of accumulation. Some people spent their entire lives on this cultivation, not achieving it overnight.
Cultivating a single secret realm required not only a powerful heart method but also some ancient secret techniques to complement it. Ye Fan did not understand these, so for now, he could not compare to the ancient Great Powers.
In the following seven days, the cave dwelling was filled with dense spiritual energy. Ye Fan’s Wheel Sea displayed various strange phenomena: an azure lotus swaying, a golden sea surging, and a blue sky interwoven with lightning... His transformation had begun.