Chapter 556: Adjacent to the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion
"What? You want to go to the Desolate Hut?" When Princess Yudie returned and heard about it, she was shocked. Over a hundred thousand years had passed, and it had long since become a wasteland.
She firmly opposed it, saying: "You can't go there. Since ancient times, no one knows how many lords have died there. Not a single person has gained anything. It's a place of death!"
She was tall and slender, standing gracefully, with bright cherry lips, a delicate nose, and eyes clear as black and white, incredibly spirited. Her long hair danced in the wind, carrying fragrance, as she stood opposite Ye Fan, her orchid-like breath brushing against his face.
"I spoke with my father. I wanted to gift you the Purple Dragon Terrace or the Fire Phoenix Ridge. Those are sacred grounds for cultivation, where you can progress one or two times faster than elsewhere, naturally interwoven with traces of the Dao," Princess Yudie explained.
When she was discussing it in detail with the old emperor, Grand Tutor Xiao merely mentioned it casually, bringing up the Desolate Hut and saying he was willing to return it to the imperial dynasty and no longer wanted it.
The old emperor had only said it as a jest, remarking that if Ye Zhetian wanted that land, he could give it to him as well. But Xiao Mingyuan had relayed a completely different message.
Anyone who first learned that it was the place where an ancient great emperor had built a hut in his later years would find it irresistible. Ye Fan knew that the other party had anticipated he would go—it was a temptation too great to refuse.
"Since His Majesty has also spoken such words, I am willing to go, to take a look there and broaden my horizons," Ye Fan said with a smile.
Princess Yudie firmly opposed it. Her heaving chest rose and fell with emotion as she said: "For tens of thousands of years, countless senior experts have gained nothing. Those who lived there long-term all met with misfortune. Why must you risk it?"
Ye Fan did not change his mind. He said he would only observe briefly and not stay long, so no problems would arise.
"You saved my life, and I wanted to repay you, but this has happened instead." Princess Yudie sighed softly, took out a small white jade jar, and handed it to Ye Fan.
Even though the pure white jade vessel was sealed, a fragrant aroma wafted out, making one feel completely relaxed, every pore opening wide, refreshing the heart and mind.
"Dragon Marrow!" Xiao Mingyuan, who had returned, exclaimed in surprise.
Ye Fan thought for a moment. This man harbored ill intentions—could he still be thinking of coveting the Dragon Marrow? He smiled, directly unscrewed the stopper, and poured it into his mouth.
Fragrance filled the garden. A drop of crystal-clear liquid the size of a grape flowed with five-colored divine radiance, its pure fragrance intoxicating to the bone, falling into Ye Fan's mouth.
He savored it briefly, then swallowed it directly, muttering to himself: "It doesn't taste like much?"
The people nearby were dumbfounded. Even Princess Yudie didn't know what to say. Such a celestial treasure, and he just ate it like that, while others would carefully refine it.
"Brother Ye, I'm not one to criticize, but this is like a cow chewing peonies—a waste of a heavenly gift. It's really... too wasteful!" Xiao Mingyuan watched with a pained expression.
Beside him, the old guard also opened his mouth, completely speechless. If it had been given to him, he would have refined it to the utmost to strengthen his life essence.
"Brother Ye, you should quickly find a place to sit in meditation and refine it completely. It will restore your vitality," Princess Yudie said, then turned and left.
In the garden, everyone dispersed, leaving only the gurgling of the spring and the rustling of green trees swaying. Ye Fan sat cross-legged beside a rockery, silently circulating his heavenly art.
Having even consumed an Immortal Elixir, he didn't place as much importance on a treasure like Dragon Marrow, but he didn't want to truly waste it either. His earlier actions were merely to make Xiao Mingyuan give up hope.
"Dragon Marrow, dragon qi, Dragon Transformation!" Ye Fan was greatly surprised, realizing that Dragon Marrow was indeed miraculous, containing fragmented laws within.
The Wheel Sea, Dao Palace, and Four Extremes—these three secret realms correspond to different parts of the human body. Dragon Transformation was no exception. The human body undergoes nine transformations, leaping to become a dragon.
What was called Dragon Transformation was the cultivation of the spine—a hidden great dragon within the body. The next secret realm was to make it undergo nine transformations and revive, aligning with the Dao.
However, Ye Fan still didn't know how to cultivate it, because he hadn't broken through yet, nor did he have the corresponding ancient scripture. It was said that this secret realm was incredibly mysterious.
Ancient records stated that when the dragon leaped up, after nine transformations it would gaze toward immortality, seeing strange phenomena like immortal gates, with all kinds of mysterious and unpredictable events. Sometimes one could even ride a dragon to roam beyond the void.
But as for the specifics, no one could explain clearly. Everyone's experience was different, each having their own process of understanding the Dao.
"Spirit enters the great void!"
Just now, when Ye Fan refined that drop of Dragon Marrow, he touched upon such a fragment of law, shocking him immensely.
"If I could obtain a Dragon Transformation scroll of an ancient scripture, along with a large amount of the celestial treasure—Dragon Marrow—this secret realm could definitely be cultivated quickly!"
Now, the Four Extremes secret realm of the human body—the limbs—had all been refined to great perfection by him, able to imprint into the void. Both arms and legs could resonate with the Great Dao.
He felt that as long as the opportunity came, he could break into the Dragon Transformation secret realm, but he lacked a corresponding ancient scripture. Before coming to the Central Province, he had already investigated thoroughly. If one were to talk about the strongest Dragon Transformation scripture, it was undoubtedly the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty's—the Supreme Emperor Scripture.
Their Imperial Dao Dragon Qi had unparalleled offensive power, rivaling the All Secret, and part of its source power came from the Dragon Transformation scroll.
Ye Fan could only feel envious. He had no confidence in seizing an ancient scripture from an ancient divine dynasty. Back then, the Supreme Emperor stood alongside the gods, leaving behind an Extreme Imperial Weapon to protect the dynasty for eternity.
"At worst, I'll cultivate a single secret realm, starting over from the Wheel Sea!" He wasn't too worried. Mastering a single secret realm thoroughly could still lead to sainthood!
Ye Fan was about to leave the capital of the Anping Kingdom and head to the Desolate Hut to try his luck with the emperor's fate.
"Which great emperor's later years' hut was it?"
"Over a hundred thousand, even two hundred thousand years have passed. Who can still say clearly? Especially the dwelling of an ancient emperor in his later years—even his descendants probably don't know." Princess Yudie shook her head.
"Isn't there even a single clue?" Ye Fan asked.
The old guard said: "Some say it was a great emperor from the Eastern Wasteland, others say it was the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Ridge, and still others say it was an ancient emperor from the Central Province. It can't be confirmed at all."
Princess Yudie sighed: "Actually, why bother distinguishing so clearly? There are only a few ancient great emperors. The great emperors of the Eastern Wasteland, Southern Ridge, Central Province, and Northern Plains were unique in their respective domains, but some ancient records suggest that some great emperors might have been the same person."
"What?" Ye Fan was hearing such a claim for the first time.
"Do you really think each domain had five or six great emperors?" Princess Yudie shook her head, believing that attaining the Dao as an ancient emperor was too difficult. In truth, there were only a few.
"There are legends that the Ruthless Great Emperor of the Eastern Wasteland was actually the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Ridge, and also left a supreme imperial name in the Northern Plains," the old guard said.
"Is this true?!" Ye Fan was truly stunned.
"For example, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor of the Eastern Wasteland and the founder of the Central Province's Guhua Imperial Dynasty might be the same person."
Guhua was one of the four immortal imperial dynasties of the Central Province. Back then, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor killed a supreme being from the Primordial Ancient Mine and indeed traveled far to the Central Province.
Ye Fan was dumbfounded. Such hidden secrets existed, deeply surprising him.
"According to the research of an ancient sage, the great emperors of history can be counted on one's fingers. The five domains actually only had a few people."
"This... is hard to believe!" Ye Fan was stunned.
Ye Fan finally set out, leaving the ancient capital of the Anping Kingdom, heading for the Desolate Hut to seek his own fortune.
"You must not be reckless. Don't stay there long. I'll be cultivating at the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion and will visit you in my spare time," Princess Yudie saw him off.
It must be said that the Central Province was truly vast. The territory ruled by the Anping Kingdom spanned a million li. Ye Fan activated a Dark Jade Platform and crossed the void more than a dozen times before approaching the domain.
Ahead, immortal mountains towered, auspicious vapors swirled, phoenixes flew, long-life apes climbed peaks, qilins appeared, and ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs took root on the cliffs.
Anyone who saw it would know it was a sacred land, like a celestial cave dwelling of a transcendent being, exceptionally ethereal and magnificent.
Ye Fan activated his divine eyes and was even more shocked after careful observation. In that instant, he saw purple qi rising, flooding the immortal mountains, as if ten thousand great dragons leaped through the sky.
"Truly a divine land, noble beyond words!" he marveled.
However, this was not his fief. This was the majestic ancient mountain range where the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion was located. Within a radius of five hundred li, auspicious vapors swirled, mysterious and profound.
As for his fief, it was situated right next to it, adjacent to this ancient immortal mountain range, spanning about a hundred li in size. But the scenery was very different.
The source of ten thousand veins, the spiritual essence of the ancestral roots, seemed to all converge on the spiritual mountain where the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion stood. The surroundings were desolate, without a trace of immortal qi, completely different.
Ye Fan stood in the void, looking down. Within a hundred li, there were many green areas, but they lacked spiritual essence. Had an ancient great emperor truly chosen this place? Why would he abandon the ancient immortal mountain beside it and build a hut in this barren land? It was hard to understand.
Carefully observing, there was a dilapidated city within this territory, not very large. It could house at most twenty thousand people, more like a town, but it was surrounded by ancient city walls.
Ye Fan flew down and landed on the ground. The Desolate Hut had a specific location. He didn't rush there but headed for the city first to formally take over the territory.
The city was in ruins. The two main gates were nearly collapsed, and the moat was murky, filled with silt, almost dry. Some loaches could be seen burrowing around.
"Halt! Who are you?!"
On the ancient city wall, covered in cracks, a dozen soldiers stood with disheveled armor, holding iron spears and rusty long blades, looking arrogant as they shouted at him.
"I am your lord, here to take over this city," Ye Fan said. At the same time, he sensed something—the broken wall had fluctuations of divine power. It wasn't as weak as he had imagined; it was likely inscribed with powerful array patterns, suggesting it had existed for an incredibly long time.
"What lord? This place already has an owner!" a fierce soldier shouted impatiently.
"Then I'll go see him," Ye Fan said.
"Wait outside first," one of them barked.
Ye Fan was taken aback. He had just arrived, and a group of soldiers wanted to give him a show of force? He didn't say much, standing outside the city, waiting patiently.
But a full half-hour passed, and no one came out. The soldiers on the wall were drinking and playing finger-guessing games, leaving him hanging there.
Ye Fan smiled. A few thuggish soldiers with a bit of cultivation dared to treat him like this? He rose into the air, ready to charge in.
"Enemy attack! Defend the city!" several fierce soldiers shouted.
"Boom!"
The broken city emitted divine light. Array patterns surfaced on the wall, and a curtain of light rose, completely covering the small ancient city, protecting it within.
"Kill him! He dares to attack our city!" someone yelled.
Ye Fan's eyes turned cold. He had just arrived, and someone wanted to intimidate him? Thinking that this was originally the Xiao family's territory, he immediately understood.
"Do you want to rebel? I have the emperor's decree here. Are you seeking death?!" he demanded.
"Nonsense! This place has an owner. Show me your imperial decree!" At that moment, a middle-aged man finally appeared, wearing divine iron armor, and climbed onto the city wall.
Ye Fan was surprised. This man was a Dragon Transformation Fifth Change expert. Did the master of such a ruined city also have this level of cultivation?
"Look carefully!" Ye Fan flicked his hand and tossed down a piece of yellow cloth.
The man caught it, didn't even look at it, and tore it apart, saying: "This is a fake imperial decree! Activate the array patterns and grind him to death!"
"Boom!"
The city shone with dazzling divine light. Lines of patterns interwove and surged toward Ye Fan, with extraordinary power that ordinary people could not have laid down.
Ye Fan's face darkened. To encounter such a thing upon arrival, he said coldly: "It seems I'll have to take this city myself. Once I become the city lord, I'll give you all a proper welcome!"