Chapter 653: The Five Domains Shaken
This was a grove of snow maple trees, ancient trees standing in a continuous stretch, verdant and fragrant. White snow maple flowers drifted down in patches, snow-white and crystalline, their fragrance assailing the nose, like ice blossoms dancing in the air.
Amidst the trees, ahead of the snow maple grove, lay a cemetery. Row upon row of tombstones were engraved with the marks of time, exuding a sense of vicissitude and weight.
An autumn wind blew, ancient trees swayed, petals danced wildly in the air, rustling down, covering everything in snow-white. It carried a desolation, a chill, like the tears of heaven falling to the ground.
Ye Fan walked through the cemetery, step by step. His gaze swept over several tombstones without a single word. The autumn wind lifted his dark hair, obscuring his eyes.
He stopped in front of several earthen graves. The stone tablets were carved with familiar names. Petals fell onto the graves, adding a layer of chill.
Neither more nor less, there were exactly six graves, inscribed with six names: Pang Bo, Wu Zhongtian, Liu Kou, Jiang Huairen, Li Heishui, and the last was the grave of Ji Family's Little Moon, delicate and neat.
Ye Fan only paused briefly before leaving. Passing through the cemetery, he arrived before a bamboo grove, where there were a few thatched huts, his current dwelling place.
The battle at the Qinling Mountains had passed two months ago. He had secluded himself in a corner, stepping beyond the world, silently cultivating here. Without the clamor of the mortal world, without the distractions of earthly affairs, it was peaceful and remote.
Unfortunately, it lacked some vitality. He could not see the faces of old friends, could not hear their laughter. Only falling flowers and silence accompanied him.
Ye Fan stood in the bamboo grove, listening to the rustling of leaves falling to the ground, watching the blossoms gradually wither. He was like a passerby, the depths of his eyes clear and serene as water, devoid of any worldly smoke.
This was a transcendent temperament. Ye Fan passed his days like this, walking through the wilderness, appearing by wild springs, silently comprehending heaven, earth, and nature, merging into them.
Wild geese flew south, gradually disappearing into the distance, evoking thoughts of not knowing where the return path lies, where in heaven and earth is my home.
"Another row of wild geese flying south... old friends..."
Over these two months, he had not deliberately cultivated, yet he had progressed very quickly. Perhaps it was time to prepare for his heavenly tribulation.
"Without you all by my side, cultivating alone feels like something is missing." Ye Fan sighed softly.
Time passed quickly. Another month went by. Ye Fan never left this place, sitting quietly in the thatched hut, watching a cliff face opposite.
"Boom!"
A full three months later, a loud crash finally came. A cliff split open, and a majestic figure flew out. Nine divine lights pierced through the heavens.
Nine divine weapons surged and clashed, cutting through heaven and earth, like nine divine phoenixes dancing, causing the mountain range to tremble and all the peaks to shudder.
"Ye Zi, I'm out of seclusion!" Pang Bo shouted. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, a full head or two taller than an ordinary person, robust and powerful, very imposing.
Ye Fan laughed heartily and went to meet him, saying, "Are all your injuries healed?"
"No problem. I've been reborn, far surpassing before!" Pang Bo opened his mouth and inhaled. The nine divine weapons turned into nine beams of light and vanished into his mouth. His thick black hair flew as he landed on the ground.
"Bang!"
On the other side, four ancient caves burst open in succession. Rocks flew up, piercing through the clouds, sweeping away a large area of the bamboo grove. Dust and smoke rose in all directions.
Wu Zhongtian, Li Heishui, Liu Kou, and Jiang Huairen emerged from seclusion one after another, flying out. Each was full of energy, their injured bodies completely restored, undergoing a transformative rebirth.
The sixth cave dwelling shook slightly, then shot out beams of immortal light. With a bang, it exploded. Huge rocks flew in all directions, and a purple-clad girl rushed out.
Her black hair danced lightly, her purple robes fluttered, her figure was slender. She was like a spirit, containing divine beauty within. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her eyes were full of spiritual energy.
Ji Ziyue, who had been gravely wounded and on the verge of death, also emerged from seclusion. After three months of recuperation, all her scars were gone. She was ethereal and airy, her smile charming, her eyes beautiful and full of life, playful and spirited.
"I'm out of seclusion! It was so stifling. I hate closed-door cultivation the most."
The six people came out of seclusion at the same time, full of vigor. Compared to three months ago, they had all ascended to a higher level in every aspect—their magical power had increased, their divine sense had condensed.
"I set up tombstones for all of you. Go pay your respects to yourselves." Ye Fan laughed.
"You really have a twisted sense of humor!" Ji Ziyue wrinkled her nose. Her skin was as crystalline and fair as ivory, gleaming with luster. Her hair fluttered, and her big eyes were like black gems.
"The broken, ruined bodies, just burn them to ashes. Why set up tombstones? Little Leaf, you're really not being straightforward." Li Heishui also grumbled.
Three months ago, in that great battle, the extreme weapons had been revived. Even Ye Fan's body had nearly split apart, let alone the others. At that time, some of them had half their bodies turned to pulp, or a section of their torso shattered. It was a narrow escape from death.
Ji Ziyue, in particular, had been the most severely injured. She had continuously borrowed the power of the great world, paying a tremendous price, almost draining her foundation. She had suffered Dao-mark injuries and nearly died.
Their shattered bodies, after falling off, were all buried by Ye Fan in a cemetery, hence the tombstones.
At their level of cultivation, severed arms could naturally regenerate, and broken bodies could regrow. Disability was impossible. They had possessed this regenerative ability when they reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the head and divine sense were not destroyed by the enemy. Otherwise, even an immortal would be useless, and they would only perish, their Dao extinguished.
All of them had been injured by the shockwaves of extreme imperial weapons. It was like being severed by the Great Dao, making survival extremely difficult. Without special means, death was almost certain.
However, all this was nothing to Ye Fan. He carried sacred fruits picked from the Ancient Forbidden Land, originally prepared for Divine King Jiang, but they had not been used.
Now, using these immortal sacred fruits to heal the others, naturally, there was no danger of death. Moreover, they all underwent a rebirth because of it, gaining a great opportunity.
"You've all come out of seclusion. I should find a place to undergo my tribulation." Ye Fan said.
"The pressure is immense. It seems I should also go eat some coffin boards." Pang Bo grumbled. He had undergone another rebirth, but he also needed to break through.
"What's the situation outside?" Li Heishui asked.
"Probably... after the uproar, it has calmed down." Ye Fan was very calm, having already understood this.
"Why don't we go out and take a look first?"
"Yeah, three months away from the world, we don't know what's happened outside."
Two days later, the group left the great mountains and arrived at an ancient city in western Central Province. As soon as they entered the city, they heard many pieces of news.
A full three months had passed, but the storm from that day's battle had not yet subsided. It was still a topic on people's lips. In tea houses and restaurants, many cultivators were discussing it.
Extreme Imperial Weapon Duel—these words appeared most frequently, touching the nerves of everyone. Almost everyone who spoke of it showed a look of reverence.
"A full six extreme imperial weapons! They could cut down stars beyond the domain, flip over Central Province, and sink an entire great region!"
"With so many imperial weapons, they still couldn't keep Sacred Body Ye Fan. He took away the Green Copper Block."
"That day's battle was truly a bloodbath in the sky. No one knows how many Half-Step Great Powers died. Even some Saint Lord-rank figures fell one after another..."
The battle at the Qinling Mountains had been too brutal. Many great figures had died. It was a tremendous storm that shook the Five Great Domains. Even now, people changed color when talking about it.
A shocking battle, with so many imperial weapons deployed, was unprecedented in ancient and modern times. On that day, even the foundations of many great sects had almost been fully mobilized, rushing to western Central Province.
"It's said that quite a few Great Powers died. Many great sects have red eyes!"
"Alas, need it be said? Who didn't have red eyes that day? Too many people died, bodies falling in droves."
"Even more people were left without bones, evaporated by the extreme imperial weapons!"
Ye Fan and the others felt a chill. After they had withdrawn, in order to fight over the Immortal Transformation Pool and the Dreamlike Divine Marrow in the Eternal Dragon Cave, many great sects had fought another battle, suffering countless casualties.
In the end, the Immortal Transformation Pool disappeared, and the Eternal Dragon Cave sank deep into the earth. It was a mobile ancestral root that would not stay in one place for long.
"So brutal! Piles of bones like mountains. The leaders of the Yin Yang Sect are almost crazy, searching the whole world for the Sacred Body."
"Hmm, the Northern Emperor has declared that as long as Ye Fan shows himself, he will surely kill him!"
"Last time, Wang Teng suffered a great loss at the hands of the Sacred Body in the Qinling Mountains. He was almost suppressed to death by the Nine Li Diagram, losing face."
"The Sacred Body dares to do anything!"