Chapter 301: Xia Jiuyou
An autumn wind blew, scattering yellow leaves and desolating the mountains and rivers.
The Northern Domain was a bitterly cold land, with long autumns and winters as the seasons changed. For half the year, there was no sign of life, only a withered chill.
Luan Yun Prefecture was a land of endless, unbroken mountain ranges, with hardly a single patch of flat ground. Peaks pierced the sky, almost touching the clouds, which was how it got its name.
"I think this prefecture is a good choice," Ye Fan said.
Tu Fei nodded. "With all these towering mountains and steep hills everywhere, it really is a great place to lie low."
Luan Yun Prefecture was about eleven or twelve days' journey from the Northern Domain's Holy City, separated from Huo Yun Prefecture by an oasis and two stretches of reddish-brown desert.
After selecting for over half a month, they had finally decided to make their move in this prefecture, waiting to be "discovered."
Black Emperor was hidden among a stretch of mountain peaks, responsible for carving array patterns, while Ye Fan and Tu Fei moved around, getting a detailed understanding of the prefecture's situation.
Shan Yan City, though located deep in the mountains, was the central city of Luan Yun Prefecture. Mountains were everywhere, with no flat ground to build a city.
This city was not grand. The streets were paved with mountain rock, and on both sides of the ancient thoroughfare, large trees were nearly bare, yellow leaves swirling in the air, telling of autumn's chill.
Ye Fan walked along the not-so-wide stone street, circling the city, and quickly gathered quite a bit of information.
The big shots from the various Holy Lands were deeply captivated by that ancient scroll. They had now focused all their energy on Purple Mountain, with the major powers constantly deducing and calculating, hoping to open it smoothly in the future.
Ye Fan climbed up to a tavern, ordered a pot of old wine and a few small dishes, and drank alone while listening to the conversations of some cultivators.
"The Holy City cut out something good again. Seems like a rare treasure, bought by a royal family from the Central Province."
"Many people are searching for that Ye Fan. Any leads? Remember, he's worth a hundred thousand catties of Source."
"A hundred thousand catties of Source is too little. Think about what he's carrying—that's Mother Qi of All Things, a priceless treasure, a sacred object that would move even the ancient Great Emperors."
"The big shots are studying Purple Mountain. Looks like there'll be a huge commotion in the near future."
"Quite a few geniuses have come from the Holy Lands, not just from Yaoguang and the Ji Family. No matter how vast the Northern Domain is, I'm afraid there's nowhere for him to hide. The Mother Qi of All Things will end up in the hands of the Holy Lands."
"Actually, many senior figures are secretly searching for that young man named Ye, just not showing their hand. After all, the Mother Qi of All Things is too precious."
"Speaking of which, the Primordial Saint Body once dominated the world and was invincible. Now, it can only stop at the Dao Palace Secret Realm. If it had grown up and clashed with those Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, the Eastern Wasteland's future would have been incredibly 'lively.'"
Ye Fan's heart stirred. He heard many famous names—both from the younger generation and the older generation—who had all come to the Northern Domain, all aiming for his cauldron.
"Tap," "Tap," "Tap"...
A very rhythmic sound of footsteps came, as if echoing in the hearts of everyone upstairs, making their heartbeats pulse along with it.
Many people felt a tightness in their chests, a suffocating sensation, as if someone had grabbed their throats and controlled their breathing.
At the stairway, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old youth walked up. He was dressed in pure white, spotless, with jet-black glossy hair, skin as white as snow, eyes like black gems, red lips, and white teeth. He was very handsome, truly a graceful young beauty.
"What Primordial Saint Body? What invincible at the same level? To me, he's just a mangy dog. If I ever run into him, I'll catch him and make him my servant."
This youth was like a jade tree or an immortal flower, handsome to the point of being almost demonic. But his words were very rude, causing many to frown.
Behind him followed two old men, dressed in gray robes, decrepit-looking, bent and stooped, like two loyal old servants.
One of them stepped forward, selected a table for the youth, carefully wiped it with his sleeve again and again before letting him sit. Then the two old men stood behind him.
"Whose child is this? How was he raised? At such a young age, he spouts arrogant nonsense without any restraint. Isn't he afraid of going down the wrong path?" Although the people upstairs guessed that this youth's identity was unusual, someone still couldn't help but retort.
"What, am I wrong?" The youth glanced sideways at the speaker, asking coolly.
"Child, you should be more humble in your speech. Many geniuses die young."
"Hmph!" The youth snorted coldly, the sound like a golden bell shaking, causing many people's blood and Qi to surge. He spoke, "The Primordial Saint Body has been deified. Don't talk about now—even a hundred thousand years ago, it wasn't absolutely invincible."
Among the traveling cultivators from all directions, there were naturally experts. One of them retorted, "In the past, the Primordial Saint Body was invincible—that's an indisputable fact. Even now, that crippled body has shown extraordinary combat power. Few at the same level can suppress him."
The white-clothed youth sneered. "Whether he's a crippled body or a sacred body, he's still just someone to be trampled."
"Young friend, you're getting carried away. How old are you? What makes you think you can defeat the Primordial Saint Body? Even if he's a crippled body, he's almost invincible at the same level," someone provoked.
"A frog at the bottom of a well—how would it know the vastness of the sky? At the same level, I'd kill him too," the white-clothed youth said coldly.
"What exactly is your background? Are you really confident you can defeat the Primordial Saint Body at the same level?" someone asked in surprise.
"I live in the mountains, a mere commoner with no great background. Do I need to talk about my origins to trample a Primordial Saint Body? He really amounts to nothing," the white-clothed youth said with a cold expression.
The Eastern Wasteland was boundless, and deep mountains and great rivers hid many extraordinary people. Not all experts were in the Holy Lands. Everyone showed strange expressions, feeling that this youth might indeed come from such a tradition.
Someone couldn't help but extend their divine sense, trying to test the white-clothed youth's cultivation level. But before it even got close, it was like being struck by lightning.
One of the two gray-robed old servants flashed his eyes, shooting out terrifying light that forced back seven or eight strands of divine sense.
"Who's talking big here? Aren't you afraid of the wind biting your tongue?" Tu Fei walked upstairs, found a table for himself, and glanced at Ye Fan not far away.
They had entered this city together to gather information, but they hadn't walked together. Now arriving at this tavern, he swept his gaze over the youth and said, "May I ask your name?"
"Xia Jiuyou."
As the grandson of a Great Bandit, Tu Fei wasn't afraid even when facing people from the Holy Lands, so he naturally wouldn't be polite to a youth. "I've heard of Gai Jiuyou, but never of Xia Jiuyou."
Eight thousand years ago, Gai Jiuyou had fought his way across the Central Province without defeat. Many thought he could become a Great Emperor, but in the end, he went to the Eastern Wasteland and disappeared from this land.
"From now on, you'll remember this name," the white-clothed youth Xia Jiuyou said with a cold laugh.
"I see you look down on the whole world. How about I spar with you for a few moves?" Tu Fei asked, squinting at him.
"I'm not interested in you. I came out of the mountains this time mainly for the Primordial Saint Body," Xia Jiuyou said without even glancing at Tu Fei.
Big Mouth Tu wanted to slap this youth to death but couldn't, so he asked, "Has the Primordial Saint Body offended you?"
"He hasn't offended me, but I still want to catch him. I read in an ancient book that the blood of a Saint Body can be used to refine medicine. I came specifically for him, to refine a furnace of divine medicine."
"A hero emerges from youth," Ye Fan said. He poured himself a glass of wine and drank it.
Actually, he really wanted to teach this youth a lesson. It was the first time he'd seen someone so arrogant—so young, yet talking about refining his Saint Body into medicine.
"Are you also here for the Saint Body? The Ji Family and Yaoguang are both offering rewards. If you have any leads, what price are you offering?" Tu Fei asked with a sly grin.
"Whatever price they offer, I'll match it," the white-clothed youth Xia Jiuyou replied, glancing at him.
At that moment, everyone upstairs was stunned. What background did this youth have? The highest reward from the two Holy Lands was a hundred thousand catties of Source. How could a mere youth possibly come up with that?
Everyone looked at him, all showing surprise. He didn't seem like someone from a Holy Land. Who was his master?
"A hundred thousand catties of Source is no small amount," Ye Fan said casually.
"Can you really come up with that?" Tu Fei also questioned.
"A hundred thousand catties of Source is quite a bit, but I'm not so hard up that I can't pay it," the white-clothed youth Xia Jiuyou said coldly.
"What background does this youth have? Could he be a disciple taken in by some old Saint Lord who went into the wilderness in his later years?" some people speculated.
"Hehe..." A charming laugh came from the stairway, accompanied by a fragrant breeze. A stunningly beautiful girl walked up, her voice like pearls falling on a jade plate, crisp and pleasant. "This young master in white has quite the bold spirit."
She was a tall, extremely sexy woman, dressed in a green skirt, with a green glow around her head and five-colored jade light beneath her feet. She was full of charm, her eyes like water, her hair flowing.
Ji Biyue!
Ye Fan's heart stirred. This was one of the three top experts of the younger generation in the Ji Family, second only to Ji Haoyue. Though this woman was alluring, she was definitely a ruthless character, even willing to kill her own clan sister.
The white-clothed youth Xia Jiuyou asked, "Who are you?"
"Your servant is Ji Biyue." Ji Biyue smiled charmingly, causing many people upstairs to feel dazed.
"So, you want to compete with me for the Primordial Saint Body?" Xia Jiuyou said.
"There's no talk of competition. He killed an elder of my Ji Family. I just want to kill him," Ji Biyue said with a sweet smile.
"But I might not kill him. I want to use his blood to refine divine medicine. I want to take him as my servant," Xia Jiuyou said.
Tu Fei secretly transmitted his voice to Ye Fan. "See that? This kid is making me so angry I'm about to blow my top. What's his background? How do we teach him a lesson?"
Ye Fan remained calm and also transmitted back. "Don't act rashly. After we finish our big plan, we'll slowly deal with him. He probably really does have a big background."
Footsteps sounded again at the stairway. A young man in blue climbed up, with an extraordinary aura, his heroic spirit concealed, occasionally divine light flashing in his eyes.
"Brother Li Rui of Yaoguang, you've come too," Ji Biyue said with a light laugh.
This was a young expert at the Four Extremes Secret Realm, a top figure of Yaoguang's generation. After the Holy Son Yao Guang was taken away by Ye Fan, he was very likely to be established as the new Holy Son.
"It seems everyone received the same piece of news. Someone sold it to us at the same time," Li Rui replied with a smile.
Tu Fei's appearance had already changed. Though not as thoroughly as Ye Fan's transformed aura, he wasn't worried about being recognized, as he had never truly interacted with these people.
He transmitted to Ye Fan, "Damn it, which bastard is feeding them information? Are they trying to trick them like we are, and we just happened to run into each other?"
Ye Fan was also puzzled. People from Yaoguang and the Ji Family had both come to this mountain city. The situation was clearly unusual.
"No matter who comes, I'm taking the Primordial Saint Body. He's my future servant," Xia Jiuyou said coldly.
"This time, no matter what, I'm going to chop that white-clothed kid into pieces first. Doesn't he have a hundred thousand catties of Source? Rob him!" Tu Fei said fiercely.
Ye Fan also wanted to give him a good beating. This Xia Jiuyou was too arrogant. But he seemed to have a real big background, daring to contend with people from the Holy Lands.