# Chapter 246: Cloud Severance
The restaurant was adjacent to the gambling stone workshop, and business was very good. Everyone who came and went was either a cultivator or a stone gambler, spending money generously and freely.
At a window seat on the second floor sat a young man in green clothes, no more than twenty-one or twenty-two years old. His skin was fair, lacking masculine vigor, and he had a somewhat effeminate air about him.
He was clearly a disciple of some aristocratic clan. A pair of young maidens beside him were specially attending to him, pouring wine and arranging dishes with great care. After drinking a cup of wine, he said, "The reason that youth was able to burn to death a Supreme Elder of the Ji Family was not because his cultivation was astonishing, but because the Ji Family's important figure had no guard against him and was caught by the terrifying flames he had gathered. Without those flames, he is nothing."
"This friend speaks too harshly. However you put it, that youth burned to death an important figure—he is certainly no simple character." Someone nearby disagreed.
The young man in green swept his gaze over the speaker and said, "More than half a year ago, he was only at the Other Shore realm. Without those flames, many people could kill him as easily as tearing paper."
Someone on the restaurant felt he was being arrogant and said, "This friend, you are overstating things. Kill him as easily as tearing paper? Can you do that?"
The effeminate young man in green drank another cup of wine and said, "Killing him is as easy as turning over my hand. One slap would be enough to crush him to death!"
Ye Fan was sitting not far away and couldn't help but glance at him. This person's expression was calm, and although he did not display arrogance, he was quite self-conceited.
Beside him, someone who found this attitude distasteful said, "That youth is only fifteen or sixteen years old, and his cultivation has already reached the Other Shore realm. That is already quite astonishing. May I ask what realm you are in, friend?"
"Third realm of the Dao Palace." The young man in green replied, taking the white cloth handed over by the maidservant and wiping his mouth.
Many people showed surprise. To have such cultivation at this age was indeed remarkable, no wonder he was so self-conceited.
"What is this young master's name?" Someone asked.
"Situ Feng." The young man in green lightly tossed the white cloth onto the table.
"Could it be Situ Feng of the Swallow Cloud Gate?"
"Exactly."
"No wonder. So it's Situ Feng. Among the generation around twenty years old, few in Qu Province can contend with him."
"Qu Province has no great sects, let alone Holy Lands. At this age, having the strength of the third Dao Palace realm is indeed enough to be proud of."
The people on the restaurant were all discussing animatedly, clearly having heard of the name Situ Feng before.
Naturally, Ye Fan had no good feelings toward this effeminate man who claimed he could kill him with one slap, but he wouldn't bother arguing with him here either. He asked, "Where is the gathering of Qu Province's younger generation being held? I'd also like to go and see it."
"In the Cloud Severance Mountain Range, not far from Chaoyang City." Someone on the restaurant kindly informed him.
"Thank you, friend. When does it start?" Ye Fan asked in detail.
"The time is set for two days from now. By then, many young experts from Qu Province will arrive."
Ye Fan smiled and asked, "I wonder which outstanding figures from the younger generation of the Ji Family and Yaoguang Holy Land will be present?"
"That's hard to say, but there will certainly be exceptional people attending in person, since they are the ones organizing it."
Not long after Ye Fan walked down from the restaurant, the big black dog also wandered over from not far away, grumbling and cursing under its breath.
After listening carefully, Ye Fan couldn't help but laugh. The big black dog had been quite unlucky, running into an unscrupulous meat seller who chased it down an entire street, wanting to skin it and take its meat. Still, it had shown restraint and didn't bite any mortals.
The mountain range here was one hundred and twenty li from Chaoyang City. The terrain was steep, rising into the clouds, hence the name Cloud Severance Mountain Range.
The mountains within the oasis were naturally full of life, no longer a barren sight. Looking out, everything was green, with large trees covering the mountainsides.
The tallest peak was fully six thousand meters high, with white mist rising and clouds swirling around it—very majestic.
Ye Fan arrived early, wanting to familiarize himself with the terrain. The big black dog was very reluctant, its face pulled long as it followed along.
This mountain range stretched for several hundred li. There were no sects within the mountains; it was ownerless land.
It wasn't that the place wasn't beautiful and refined, but because over the past thousand years, three medium-sized sects had successively established themselves here, and all had been destroyed.
Other sects felt the place was unlucky, and from then on, no one took it over.
In fact, the Cloud Severance Mountain Range was very clear and beautiful, with mountains and water depending on each other, springs gurgling, and jade belts winding around the mountains. It was an excellent place for cultivation; otherwise, three sects wouldn't have chosen it.
"So it's this place..." The big black dog's black fur stood on end.
Seeing it like this, Ye Fan was greatly startled. This was the first time he had seen the big black dog so nervous.
"Have you been here before?"
The big black dog's eyes flickered with uncertainty, then slowly calmed down, and its black fur smoothed out again.
"Let me take a closer look!" It quickly ran, circling the mountains for several dozen li until it came to an open area.
"What did you see?" Ye Fan asked.
"It really is this damned place. I didn't expect to come here again." The big black dog's expression shifted between light and dark.
"What kind of place is this?" Seeing it like this, Ye Fan knew it was definitely no ordinary mountain range.
"This Emperor suffered a great loss here back in the day." The big black dog paced back and forth, looking thoroughly disgusted.
"When did that happen?"
"Naturally, a very long time ago. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know." The big black dog put on a cool act.
"A Divine King only has a lifespan of four to five thousand years. If you could live over a thousand years, you'd have to thank the heavens. What exactly happened?"
"This Emperor suffered a loss—why should I tell you?" The big black dog turned and continued circling the mountains.
After obtaining the Source Heaven Scroll, Ye Fan had been studying it. He now used the "Momentum Observation Method" to investigate, and the entire mountain range came into view.
"Nothing special about it. It's not a death ground, and even if there are source veins underground, the amount is pitifully small." That was his conclusion.
"Eh, no." Suddenly, Ye Fan was a bit surprised. Although this place wasn't a death ground, it was somewhat special. Using the Momentum Observation Method to look ahead, he faintly detected a wisp of white mist rising.
That was definitely not the mountain's clouds and mist, but something rising from underground—mist threads caught by his spiritual perception.
"This is neither a death ground nor an immortal land, yet it has a somewhat unusual feeling."
"So many years have passed, and it still hasn't changed much," the big black dog muttered.
Ye Fan walked over and said, "Tell me the details. As a disciple of the Origin Heavenly Master, I know more about mountain and river terrain than you do."
"People in your line love to dig up the ground the most. Unfortunately, this isn't a source problem." The big black dog grumbled.
"Then what did you encounter back then?" Ye Fan asked.
"Back then, this Emperor was trapped here for eighteen years and almost died here." The big black dog gritted its teeth.
"I don't see any danger." Ye Fan observed again. Aside from the white mist threads, he really couldn't sense anything else.
"If you could really see the danger, then there would be big trouble. This place was once the Dao arena of some important figure—very unusual."
"You must have come here wanting to steal someone's things."
"That person died who knows how many years ago. I came then to seek an opportunity!" The big black dog corrected fiercely.
"Whose Dao arena was this, that made you suffer such a great loss?" Ye Fan was very curious.
"It was a ruthless person, who ended up refining himself in the end." The big black dog didn't want to say more, and no matter how Ye Fan pressed, it wouldn't reveal anything further.
"According to what you're saying, we can't even enter these mountains?"
"That's not a problem. Going in is fine, as long as you don't dig recklessly here. It won't cost you your life." The big black dog had let something slip after all.
Ye Fan laughed loudly and said, "Look at you, all that ambition. What did you do back then, searching for treasures?"
The big black dog black-faced and argued, "People in your line love to dig up mountains and ground recklessly. I'm just reminding you!"
Ye Fan had only come here to participate in the gathering of Qu Province's younger generation, not to live here long-term, so he wasn't worried about anything.
In this place, there was a very wide river channel that had been dry for who knows how many years. The cobblestones were nearly weathered away.
This dry river channel wound from the mountains into the distance like a flood dragon.
Ye Fan followed the river channel into the mountains and wandered around for most of the day without figuring anything out. When he asked the big black dog, this fellow kept its mouth shut and refused to reveal anything.
"A treasure that makes your heart move must be something special, right? Don't you want to dig it up?" Ye Fan tempted.
"Naturally, it's a treasure, buried underground for tens of thousands of years. I don't mind it being buried for a few more decades. When my strength is sufficient, I'll come and take it myself." The big black dog's mouth was very tight.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. The Cloud Severance Mountain Range was no longer quiet. It suddenly became lively, with divine rainbows flying in from the sky from time to time, figures flickering—almost all of them young cultivators.
In the central area of the mountain range, there was a severed mountain, very thick and wide, with a flat cross-section as if cut by a peerless sharp weapon, forming a huge platform.
On it, there were many figures, yet it didn't feel crowded at all. On the contrary, it was so vast that it seemed empty and spacious.
"This severed mountain is a full ten times thicker than the other mountains. If it hadn't been cut off, it would probably pierce the clouds and be the tallest mountain in this area." Ye Fan muttered to himself.
"They really know how to pick a place." The big black dog's copper-bell-sized eyes flickered with light.
"This is the Dao arena of that important figure you mentioned, isn't it?" Ye Fan probed.
The big black dog didn't respond.
Half an hour later, Ye Fan, with his wide sleeves fluttering, rode the clouds and also arrived at the severed mountain. He hadn't brought Black Emperor along, otherwise it would have left a clue.
Everywhere were young cultivators, all discussing animatedly. At the same time, figures could be seen flying in from the distant sky from time to time.
Five-colored divine light streaked across the sky. A jade boat flew in, radiating ten thousand auspicious colors, descending from the heavens with powerful divine force rippling. It landed on the severed mountain, and the crowd immediately erupted in commotion. An important figure had arrived.
"The outstanding talents of the Ji Family and Yaoguang Holy Land have arrived."
"The Ji Family and Yaoguang Holy Land have an immortal heritage, with over a hundred thousand years of accumulated foundation. The young disciples they train are already this powerful—it's astonishing."
...
People discussed animatedly, immediately surrounding the place, clustering around the divine boat like stars surrounding the moon.
Ye Fan did not go forward. He stood still in place. At this moment, he spotted Situ Feng, the one who had claimed he could kill him with one slap.
This effeminate man was still dressed in green clothes, quite self-conceited. He didn't push forward but stood outside the crowd, with a hint of arrogance.
"Brother Situ..." Ye Fan approached.
Situ Feng turned around, frowned, and said, "Who are you?"
"Ye Fan!"
Upon hearing this, Situ Feng whirled around and fixed his gaze on him.