Chapter 615: Eighteen Maps
Map
Crumbling walls and broken tiles, not a blade of grass grew. A massive abyss stretching over a hundred li, pitch black, its bottom impossible to see—it was a mark left by a single finger.
Ye Fan stood dumbfounded. Had the records in that unofficial history come true? A man standing ten thousand li away, pointing a finger, had annihilated an ancient family comparable to a divine dynasty.
Green Emperor!
The only one to attain the Dao after the Ancient Era, his origins mysterious, his cultivation immeasurable—an emperor full of enigmas, shaking past and present.
Ye Fan grasped the terror of the Demon Emperor. With a light flick of his finger from ten thousand li away, he had turned an immortal legacy to ashes. What kind of vast divine might was that?
"I think if he wished, creating a finger mark ten thousand li long wouldn't be a problem either..."
The hundred-li-long great canyon was meticulously crafted, precisely destroying the pure land of the Cai Clan without spreading beyond. The control was exquisitely accurate, perfect to the finest detail.
"The ancient great emperors were too formidable. Erasing a divine dynasty with a wave of the hand would pose no difficulty at all!"
Green Emperor—what a figure he was, the only great emperor of the post-ancient era, surely one of the most brilliant in history. Would he wipe out an ancient aristocratic clan just for the Nine Secrets?
The Nine Secrets, the supreme divine arts of Daoism, were indeed tempting, but would they drive a great emperor to such an act of annihilation? Ye Fan pondered but couldn't figure it out.
"Could there be some unknown secret involved, or perhaps something related to the secrets of immortality?" Ye Fan thought. Reasons that would move a great emperor to act were far too few.
He felt that the Cai Clan must have held many secrets, enough to make even Green Emperor take action. If he could find that clan, perhaps he would uncover a fog of history.
In the present era, aside from the clan itself, probably no one knew the full cause and effect of those years.
Ye Fan walked through this ruin, finding nothing. He figured that over the past ten thousand years, countless people must have come to pay their respects here; even if there were clues, they wouldn't remain.
He descended into the bottomless pit and felt the power of that finger. It reached ten thousand zhang deep, the ground beneath hard and dry, both rock and soil flattened into nothing.
With a trace of melancholy and reverence, Ye Fan left this place. A glorious family, passed down through the ages, ultimately couldn't withstand a single finger from Green Emperor—a lamentable fate.
According to the information Pang Bo had given him, the Cai Clan hadn't been completely wiped out. Some members were away at the time and surely escaped the calamity.
Over these ten thousand years, a few emerging sects had been suspected of being survivors of the Cai Clan, believed to have changed their appearance and continued the family's glory.
Ye Fan also believed the clan hadn't been entirely annihilated. Otherwise, how could there have been an old sage who, before dying, gazed westward and dissolved into the natural Dao?
In the following days, he began a long journey of searching.
The Vermilion Bird Sect, a great sect that rose eight thousand years ago, occupied a vast area in a range of beautiful mountains in western Central Province.
This time, Ye Fan crossed the void to get there because the distance was too great. He sighed helplessly. In the past two months, he had visited many places but found nothing.
This mountainous region was mainly red soil. Without vegetation to cover it, it looked like a sea of blazing flames. The Vermilion Bird Sect had flourished in recent millennia, with numerous experts among its ranks.
This was almost Ye Fan's last target. If there were no descendants of the Cai Clan here, he would truly be out of options.
A few days later, Ye Fan disguised himself as a geomancer and lingered here, learning many details. The sect had seventy-two spiritual peaks and over ten thousand disciples.
However, to his disappointment, he heard nothing about the sect possessing any special divine arts. Either they hid it well, or he had come to the wrong place again.
After a few more days, Ye Fan learned that this was where a phoenix had fallen, its blood dyeing the mountains and rivers red, hence the red soil and rocks. The sect's ultimate technique was called the Lesser Yang True Scripture.
"It's an evolved scripture from a fragment of the Sun True Scripture!" He was surprised. No wonder the sect was growing increasingly prosperous—they held a fragment of a scripture with great origins.
One-fifth of the Sun True Scripture was enough to establish a great sect, showing the profound depth of the two supreme human classics from the ancient era: the Yin and Yang Scriptures.
Half a month later, Ye Fan spent a piece of Divine Source to learn a secret from a disciple of the sect known as "Know-It-All." The founding patriarch indeed bore the surname Cai, but he hadn't stayed long. After founding the sect five hundred years later, he left, entrusting everything to his disciples.
"Brother, you're here looking for the Nine Secrets, right? Over these eight thousand years, countless people have come. Don't waste your time—there's nothing here." Know-It-All patted Ye Fan on the shoulder, speaking meaningfully.
Ye Fan smiled too. It seemed this approach was definitely futile; many had already tried it.
"Let me put it this way: our patriarch might really have been a survivor of the Cai Clan, but he didn't pass down any Nine Secrets, only a fragment of a scripture."
Know-It-All said a lot. Over eight thousand years, many remarkable figures had come searching, only to leave in disappointment, unable to obtain anything.
The Nine Secrets, the nine most powerful divine arts of Daoism, held too many secrets. They were envied by heaven, unable to be unified, now scattered across the land, with several already lost.
Searching like this was like looking for a needle in a vast ocean; there was no hope of finding any clues.
"You spent a piece of Divine Source to buy information, so you're quite generous. I'll give you a free tip: our founding ancestor headed south and was said to have gone to an ancient place called Hanchuan."
Ye Fan smiled bitterly. Eight thousand years had passed; tracking down a person's trail was incredibly difficult. He even suspected that the sect's patriarch was the old sage who had dissolved into the Dao.
But to obtain the Nine Secrets, he had to keep searching, even though he knew many had walked this path before him. He still hoped to find valuable clues.
He had come from the west, and now he had to head to the southern part of Central Province. The journey was extremely far, so he could only rely on spatial travel again.
Fortunately, the so-called southern region bordered the west, not the far south, or he would have been truly frustrated.
He had enough Dark Jade Platforms, and by now he could even carve them himself, though they were the simplest kind, each only capable of crossing tens of thousands of li.
Along the way, Ye Fan crossed the void, discarding countless Dark Jade Platforms—too many to count—until he finally reached Hanchuan in southern Central Province.
This region spanned a million li in area, but within the vast southern Central Province, it was just a small corner.
Hanchuan was a plain. Eleven great cities were the most famous here, gathering the dragon qi of heaven and earth. Each was extremely ancient, with flourishing fortunes.
Every ancient city was a major power. Ye Fan felt a headache coming on. After half a month of secret investigation, he only got a single clue: members of the Cai Clan had indeed come, but later vanished without a trace.
Finally, using every means at his disposal, he learned that the Cai Clan had intended to be reborn from the ashes here and restore their glory, but they ultimately left for unknown reasons.
The next stop was far in eastern Central Province, close to the Eastern Wasteland. From south to east, it crossed more than half of Central Province, making it even more distant.
If Ye Fan wanted to continue, ordinary Dark Jade Platforms wouldn't suffice unless he carried a mountain's worth to squander. Now, he needed a super-large divine array; the distance was simply too great.
"Are the Cai Clan people deliberately messing with me? First the west, then the south, then the east—next time, will it be the north?"
Ye Fan felt that this kind of search was definitely futile. Over ten thousand years, countless people had sought the Cai Clan's Nine Secrets. Since they hadn't been passed down to the world, it proved most of these seekers had failed.
So if he continued down this path, he was doomed to fail as well.
"I can't think like those before me. I need to change my perspective."
Then he began spending his Divine Source, purchasing information from three ancient sects in Central Province to deduce where the Nine Secrets might be.
The Hundred Schools of Knowledge, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, and the Mortal World Pavilion—these three ancient sects were among the Hundred Schools of Thought in Central Province. Their origins were ancient, traceable back to before the Ancient Era. They had the most extensive information networks and sold intelligence at a premium, with great accuracy.
"I can only hope Hua Yunfei found some clues..."
Ye Fan really didn't want this man to obtain the Nine Secrets, but now he had to start from him. Hua Yunfei had gone to that small Daoist temple before him and likely got more clues than he did. Perhaps the old sage had left something behind.
He stopped searching for the Cai Clan and began spending large amounts of Source, using these three ancient sects to track Hua Yunfei's whereabouts.
First, Ye Fan issued a commission task: to tally the regions where the most saint-level figures had fallen.
He knew well that Hua Yunfei cultivated the Devouring Demon Art. To devour extraordinary origins, those saint-level figures were definitely his preferred targets.
Soon, the Hundred Schools of Knowledge sent a confidential letter with relevant information. When he saw it, he was both amused and exasperated.
It simply stated that the region where Sacred Body Ye Fan appeared had the highest number of fallen saint-level figures, listing places like Fire Demon Ridge, Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, and Immortal Mansion World.
"How did it trace back to me..."
Fortunately, the Hundred Schools of Knowledge sent another, more detailed report. In the past two years, some outstanding disciples of great sects in western Central Province had died, a few remarkable figures had vanished in southern Central Province, and some exceptionally talented young experts in eastern Central Province had mysteriously disappeared.
Ye Fan's heart stirred. In the past two years, some brilliant figures in Central Province had vanished inexplicably, leaving many unsolved cases. But because the region was so vast, no one had noticed anything.
"Was it Hua Yunfei's doing? But it's too scattered—I can't deduce his location..." He drew several circles on the map, dividing it into a dozen regions, any of which could be where he appeared.
He spent considerable time connecting the times and locations of these deaths, organizing them into a trajectory map.
"Using this to deduce Hua Yunfei's movement patterns is still unreliable—too many variables."
Then, Ye Fan spent a large amount of Source, commissioning the three ancient sects to investigate a crucial link: gathering locations where heavenly tribulations had occurred in the past two years.
This was very difficult. Most people undergoing tribulations would find an uninhabited area to avoid detection.
However, the three ancient sects were extraordinary. They actually sent some very valuable information, marking certain regions with certainty that someone had undergone tribulations there.
Using this, Ye Fan drew another map, but it still couldn't be taken as definitive. He studied it carefully for a long time.
This was far from enough. The world was too vast. Even combining all this information wasn't enough to deduce where Hua Yunfei was.
When Ye Fan was with Black Emperor, he had learned in detail about the various characteristics of the Devouring Demon Art, including the problems and difficulties encountered during cultivation.
This art defied heavenly harmony. It was a demonic path with a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival. Devouring others' origins invited heavenly punishment, requiring several ancient medicinal formulas to balance.
These formulas, aside from Black Emperor, even the divine dynasty members didn't know. Few in the present world understood their purpose.
Ye Fan listed several rare spiritual herbs that were the main ingredients of these ancient formulas. They were hard to find in the world. If any were sold, there might be a trail to follow.
This information was crucial. Soon, Ye Fan received a report from the Mortal World Pavilion. Based on the times and locations of these herb sales, he drew another map.
"Once the Devouring Demon Art reaches minor success during trials, it can devour mountains and rivers, with black holes crushing everything."
Based on what Black Emperor had said, he issued another task: to check for unusual movements in mountains and rivers across various regions—whether some areas had lost mountain ranges.
...
Thus, based on various details, Ye Fan issued a total of eighteen tasks, each costing a large amount of Source. From eighteen sets of information, he drew eighteen maps.
Then, he summarized and combined them, merging the eighteen maps into one final trajectory map representing Hua Yunfei's movements.
"Five regions are the most suspicious!"
Late at night, Ye Fan leaned over the table, studying the map carefully, identifying five regions.
"Hua Yunfei, I'm coming!"
The next day, Ye Fan set out to search. The five regions on the map needed to be visited one by one.
It was a tedious process. He spent a month eliminating four of the regions and finally returned to western Central Province, but not to the Vermilion Bird Sect—instead, to a place called the Qinling Mountains.
This time, Ye Fan spent even longer. After more than a month, he finally found some clues, but couldn't determine the exact location.
The Qinling Mountains were a mysterious place, home to many ancient sects, all extremely powerful but unrelated to the Cai Clan. Most had existed for tens of thousands of years.
However, in this region, Ye Fan discovered traces of Hua Yunfei, closely matching the eighteen maps he had drawn.
"I believe you're in this region, but the Qinling Mountains are too vast. I can only advance slowly—I will definitely find you."
Half a month later, Ye Fan passed by a declining small sect. This place had no ancient cities gathering ancestral dragon roots, only a few low hills lacking spiritual beauty or scenic charm.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure on one of those low hills, walking alongside several disciples of this declining sect.
"Li Xiaoman..."
It was the old acquaintance from the other end of the starry sky. He hadn't seen her in nearly three years. She was still as pure and beautiful as ever, dressed in white, carrying an ethereal aura.
In that instant, Ye Fan realized that Hua Yunfei must be here without a doubt. He had found the right place.
"The Nine Secrets must be here too. Impressive—Hua Yunfei took only a little over two years to find what others had sought for eight thousand years in vain."
A declining small sect with only a few dozen disciples—were the Nine Secrets really here? Ye Fan stood in the distant sky, watching Li Xiaoman, pondering quietly.
"She became a disciple of this sect. This declining small sect might not be as insignificant as it seems..."