Chapter 297: Divine Source
As Ye Fan peeled away the stone skin and cut down to the center of the millstone, tens of thousands of divine rays shot out, like countless golden needles flying forth, blinding to the eyes.
This was all too sudden. Multiple layers of stone skin fell to the ground, and the stone heart blazed like a small sun, impossible to look at directly—tears would involuntarily stream down.
"What kind of treasure is this? Could it be divine source?" Fifth Elder Zhang turned his head aside, his eyes slightly swollen from the stabbing pain of the divine light.
Had they really cut out divine source? This was also Ye Fan's first thought, his heart pounding. What he needed most right now was source.
He squinted his eyes and carefully observed. It was a very small bead, only the size of a soybean, composed of light itself, not seeming like tangible matter—more like a tiny cluster of the most sacred light source.
When the stone heart was fully peeled open, this light source did not fall but instead hovered in the air, extremely mystical. It seemed like a fragment of the world's primal origin, irresistibly drawing one closer.
Fifth Elder Zhang dared not look directly, observing from the corner of his eye, and involuntarily reached out his rough, aged hand to touch it—all subconscious actions.
Even the big black dog, who had fainted and was convulsing on the ground, managed to drag itself a little closer while foaming at the mouth, as if being summoned.
Divine source!
Ye Fan could now confirm—this was source formed from the spiritual energy that existed at the very beginning of heaven and earth's creation, a rare treasure in this world.
It never sank or fell, possessing the purest, most primal essence of heaven and earth, making one want to bow in reverence. All these were characteristics of divine source, exactly as recorded in the Source Heaven Scroll.
This was Ye Fan's first time touching divine source. A sacred aura came through his fingertips, making his entire body feel comfortable and relaxed, like bathing in a spring breeze, warm and pleasant, as if his flesh was undergoing a baptism.
This was divine source, possessing unbelievable miraculous effects, a divine object that even holy lands would fight over. Every time it appeared in the world, it would stir up a tremendous storm.
However, this piece of divine source was too small, just this tiny grain. Compared to the massive blocks of divine source that sealed ancient creatures, it was truly "insignificant."
But it was absolutely rare and precious. If news of it spread, many would break heads to snatch it.
Divine source was divided into many types, with vastly different effects. Ye Fan didn't fully understand it yet, having not delved into the deepest levels of source studies.
"This definitely can't match one hundred thousand jin of source..."
Even though it was divine source, its volume was too small, far from enough. He needed thirty fang of source to break into the fourth heaven of the Dao Palace. This single grain of divine source couldn't solve the problem.
"So this is divine source... What exactly did our ancestors leave behind?" Fifth Elder Zhang muttered to himself. After touching the divine source, he felt his body had become much lighter and his blood energy had increased considerably.
Divine source had a great effect on ordinary people, unlike the Primordial Saint Body, which possessed strong "inverse resistance."
"Legend says there are dozens of types of divine source, some with inconceivable effects. I really want to see them all." Ye Fan looked at the remaining stone artifacts.
Although he was very tempted, he didn't plan to continue cutting. The preciousness of these stone artifacts probably didn't lie in the small piece of divine source, but more likely in things like meat-fruits.
If he cut now, he might waste heavenly treasures, not knowing how to use them properly—pure squandering.
It took a long time before Ye Fan and Fifth Elder Zhang calmed down from the shock. After all, this was a grain of divine source; anyone seeing it for the first time would react this way.
Black Emperor had fainted, otherwise he would have jumped up to rob it. He had always been obsessed with divine source.
Fifth Elder Zhang had heard a little about Ye Fan's special constitution and knew he needed large amounts of source for cultivation, so he told Ye Fan to keep this grain of divine source.
In the end, Ye Fan didn't refuse too much. He indeed needed a great deal of source now, and the debt of gratitude would have to be repaid later.
The pink fruit extracted from the stone artifact had powerful medicinal effects. The big black dog had fainted for five days before gradually regaining consciousness, but still couldn't get up, occasionally twitching.
"Damn it, this emperor has the worst luck in eight lifetimes! What kind of crappy stone material is this? The fruit it nurtured is incredibly poisonous—could kill even a true dragon!" it cursed while twitching.
"Serves you right. Who told you to be so greedy, trying to swallow it all first?" Ye Fan taunted.
The big black dog had the urge to kill, but couldn't stand up, occasionally spitting out a mouthful of white foam. Clearly, it wouldn't recover for at least half a month.
Ye Fan studied for a long time but couldn't figure out what this fruit was actually useful for, and eventually gave up.
Finally, he left this scenic place. Now he had only one thought: find source and break through as quickly as possible. Even if it meant robbing a holy land, as long as there was hope of success and he could carry it out, he would do it without hesitation. He felt a strong sense of urgency.
When Ye Fan came to the outside world, he heard many rumors. The ancient scroll storm was escalating. Peacock King had ambushed the Saint Lord of Yaoguang, nearly succeeding, stirring up boundless waves that shook the entire Northern Domain.
If the Saint Lord of the Ji Family hadn't been traveling with the Saint Lord of Yaoguang, a shocking upheaval would have occurred. Even so, they paid a bloody price.
Several supreme elders from the Ji Family and Yaoguang were turned to ashes by Red Dragon Daoist, and the Saint Lord of Yaoguang was struck by Peacock King's Chaos Treasure Seal, suffering considerable injury.
This incident had a huge impact. Both Red Dragon Daoist's re-emergence and Peacock King's attempt to kill a holy land's master were massive storms.
During the time Ye Fan was in seclusion, the Northern Domain was in an uproar, turbulent and unsettled every day.
Now, Purple Mountain was no longer a secret. Many major figures already knew about it, but no one dared to act rashly. Nine dragons guarding a single mountain involved an ancient great emperor, and even top-tier experts were wary.
Of course, many cultivators were more tempted, wanting to seek opportunities there, but they were all waiting for the right moment, none willing to make the first move.
Years ago, the Demon Emperor's tomb had been too terrifying—mountains of bones and seas of blood. Several holy lands took turns attacking, filling the black pool with corpses, yet they couldn't conquer the yin tomb, letting it sink underground and disappear.
With such bloody lessons before them, the experts of the Eastern Wasteland naturally wouldn't be as reckless as last time. Many holy lands gathered in the Northern Domain to discuss the Purple Mountain issue, and joint action had become inevitable.
The Jade Pool grand gathering was postponed indefinitely. Purple Mountain's influence was too great; now everyone's attention was focused there.
Before Purple Mountain had even been opened, the situation was already turbulent. Even a holy land master had been injured, showing just how great the upheaval would be.
After understanding all this, Ye Fan rubbed his chin. This was somewhat related to him. By finding a way to send out the ancient scroll, he had indeed stirred up the heavens.
"How much is one grain of divine source worth?" Ye Fan couldn't estimate. Tu Fei was going to borrow twenty thousand jin of source, and he would need to solve the rest himself—a massive number.
"Maybe I really should go to the Holy City..." These days, he had been diligently studying the Source Heaven Scroll, preparing to take a gamble.
Fire Cloud Prefecture was blazing red like fire, covered everywhere with fire cloud trees. This was a peculiar tree species unique to this prefecture.
Fire cloud trees not only had leaves as red as fire, but even their trunks were reddish-brown. From a distance, they looked like a sea of fire, or more like a sunset glow—a very fitting name.
From the moment he entered this prefecture, this was the most common plant he saw along the way. Red far outnumbered green, so much so that it could be described as "a touch of green amidst ten thousand reds."
This prefecture was not far from the Holy City, at most another eleven or twelve days' journey. Ye Fan traveled with a clear goal: he was going to gamble with the holy lands!
Fire Cloud City was the center of this prefecture. Its city walls were majestic, stretching like the Great Wall, grand and ancient, a city of considerable fame.
Legend had it that in ancient times, a powerful Primordial Aristocratic Clan was based here, dominating the Eastern Wasteland for over a hundred thousand years, but eventually turned to ashes tens of thousands of years ago, vanishing under the starry sky of history.
It illustrated that there were no immortal inheritances, nor eternal aristocratic clans—everything would come to an end one day.
Just as he reached the grand city gate tower, Ye Fan saw two portraits, both of him—the wanted posters issued by Yaoguang and the Ji Family.
Both major inheritances had offered sky-high bounties. Anyone who could provide relevant clues would receive ten thousand jin of source!
And if someone could precisely report Ye Fan's location, they would receive thirty fang of source—a full one hundred thousand jin of source, an earth-shattering price.
Every central city in the various oases had such wanted posters. Ye Fan found it extremely annoying—who wanted to be hunted and pursued?
"Truly worthy of holy lands, throwing around tens of thousands of jin of source..."
He knew why he was so valuable. Besides the grudges between them, more importantly, they wanted the Mother Qi of All Things on him. If they could get that, even a million jin of source wouldn't stop them.
"One hundred thousand jin of source for my cauldron and my life—quite a good plan." Ye Fan stood before the city gate, sneering coldly.
On the horizon outside Fire Cloud City, dozens of riders charged forward. These strange beasts didn't touch the ground, treading through the air. The riders' iron armor gleamed—they were people from the Ji Family.
"Damn it, there's almost no valuable information. I don't know when we'll catch that kid surnamed Ye. If he dares to show up, I'll crush him with one hand!" a young Ji Family knight said coldly.
"Hmph."
The leading young man snorted coldly, glancing at him, and said, "Ji Yunteng, don't underestimate him. A Dao Palace fourth heaven cultivator might not be able to suppress him."
Ji Yunteng sneered, "An outdated waste body, what's so great about him? Even if someone of the same level can't beat him, I don't believe that as a Dao Palace fourth heaven cultivator, I can't crush a Dao Palace second heaven guy! Hateful, this piece of trash is hiding. If he dared to come out, I'd step on him to death."
"Don't be arrogant. Even the Holy Son Yao Guang, as strong as he is, and Golden Wing Little Peng King, as proud as he is, had their things taken by him," the leading young man said steadily, warning the other young experts.
Ji Yunteng was very unconvinced, saying, "That's because the Chaos Stone immobilized everyone present. Otherwise, with his little waste body, could he have taken the top young experts of the Four Extremes Secret Realm?"
"If he really dares to come out, I'll kill him with one finger!" another young expert from the Ji Family's younger generation said, full of anger.
They were responsible for searching in Fire Cloud Prefecture. These days, they had been holding a belly full of anger and resentment, wishing they could drag Ye Fan out immediately.
"This kid makes us go through wind and rain, searching for clues about him every day. I really want to slap him into ashes!"
"That kid surnamed Ye is just a waste body, yet he's caused such a storm. Don't let me catch him, or I'll crush him like an insect!"
These young experts were full of resentment as they rode their mounts into the city.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Ye Fan's mouth. "A bounty of tens of thousands of jin... why don't I just claim it myself!"
Using the enemy's source to fill his bottomless pit was the most ideal plan. He flicked his sleeve and slipped into Fire Cloud City.