Chapter 168: Facing the Royal Clan Directly
The human body is like a reservoir, with Dao cultivation as the water and combat power as the rational use of that water. Ye Fan already possessed a certain level of divine sense and Dao cultivation, but previously lacked a mental method to operate it. Now, having obtained the Solar True Scripture, everything fell into place naturally.
In one month, a powerful figure was rapidly forged, greatly enhancing his combat power. Now he had the strength to move about the Northern Domain and face various formidable enemies.
Ye Fan sat cross-legged in the void, like an indestructible golden body, flowing with golden mist and radiating colorful light. His entire being seemed forged from divine gold, flawless and brilliant, his precious body shimmering with radiance.
*Swish*
With a single thought, he instantly appeared on the ground. The two ancient creatures trembled and said, "You promised that if we translated the ancient scripture for you, you would let us go."
"I keep my word. But if you attack me in the future, there will be no mercy." A golden divine sword, an inch long, shot from Ye Fan's brow and entered their heads, severing the relevant memories. Then, with a point of his finger, two streams of golden mist flew out, surged into their bodies, and instantly dissolved the restrictions on the two ancient creatures.
The two ancient beings lost the relevant memories, but they did not forget that this was the Sacred Body whom the young master of the Divine Spirit Valley wanted dead. Their eyes immediately sharpened, and they lunged to attack.
"It seems I won't have to wait for the future; you're attacking me right now." Ye Fan stepped back. The golden divine sense from his brow transformed into a small cauldron, instantly flying out, radiating blazing divine energy like a sinking sun.
*Puff*
At such close range, after triggering the Eight Prohibitions Domain, such a powerful cauldron formed from divine sense was nearly indestructible. It instantly shattered the two ancient creatures into pieces, annihilating both form and spirit.
Ye Fan took a deep breath. The small cauldron formed from Primordial Mother Qi ascended along the great dragon of his spine, entered his brow, and settled there.
Whichever great secret realm one cultivates, one must place their primary weapon there. Now, the small cauldron had finally entered his golden brow, destined to become his future tool for attaining the Dao.
In one month, many things had happened in the outside world. The entire Eastern Wasteland was unsettled.
The Northern Emperor had once again entered the Ji Family and was welcomed into the ancient imperial hall left by Emperor Void. Moreover, his ancient ancestor had emerged, personally crossing the void to hold a long, secret discussion with the Ji Clan.
Rumors circulated that the Ji Family's stance had softened, and they might have agreed to the marriage. Some claimed to have seen the Little Moon of the Ji Family sulking, pulling out a handful of beard from an elder, trying to flee through the void.
Unfortunately, she was caught again, and the matter fizzled out without any conclusive news.
Wang Teng looked down upon the Eastern Wasteland, finding no opponent among his peers. Over these many days, several outstanding talents had challenged him, but none lasted a single move. The gap in strength was like heaven and earth!
The Northern Emperor, dominating the younger generation of the Eastern Lands, drew attention with every word and action. No one was his match. Wherever his golden ancient war chariot passed, even sect masters gave way.
His future was brilliant and boundless. He advanced steadily on the path of the Great Emperor, unshakable. So far, aside from the Central Emperor, no one had been able to stop him for even half a step.
Moreover, he was on good terms with the ancient royal clans. He often traveled in a war chariot with an ancient creature named Zi Tiandu from the Divine Spirit Valley, who had once crushed a sect master with one hand.
Thus, Wang Teng not only oppressed all the younger generation of the Eastern Wasteland, but even Saint Lord-rank figures were deeply wary and unwilling to provoke him.
The Northern Emperor was now at his zenith. No one in the Eastern Wasteland dared to offend him. He stood alone at the peak, seeing no rivals, his name resounding across the vast land.
For the past month, Wang Teng and Zi Tiandu had activated the golden lake of the Divine Spirit Valley, searching for Ye Fan's whereabouts, but to no avail.
Ye Fan emerged from seclusion and came to the outside world, hearing many rumors and news. The Wang Clan of the Northern Plains continued to issue statements, dismissing him as worthless, claiming he could only endure and dared not come out.
"What is Ye Fan? With my cousin Wang Teng in the Eastern Wasteland, he can only cower in a corner, never daring to stand up!"
"My cousin is called the Northern Emperor. With him in this world, what is the Sacred Body? He should regret being born in the same era!"
Members of the Wang Clan spoke out one after another, belittling Ye Fan as utterly worthless, not even considering him a dish. Of course, everything was orchestrated by someone.
The purpose was simple: to prevent the young and hot-tempered Ye Fan from finding peace. If he jumped out, they would kill him with force. If he endured and stayed hidden, they could disturb his mind and affect his Dao realm.
Over the past month, many were indignant. Even Pang Bo, far away in the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, had heard these arrogant remarks.
"Damn it, has the younger generation of the Wang Clan grown tired of living?" Li Heishui was furious.
"It doesn't matter. We're going to the Eastern Wasteland for a great battle soon. We'll let our strength speak and shut certain people up!" Recently, the Barbarian had grown close to them, swinging his Wolf Fang Great Club as he spoke.
It was said that the various ancient royal clans were stirring, and boundless storm clouds were gathering over Purple Mountain. The major human forces could no longer sit still.
Ye Fan had not appeared for a month, and naturally, many in the Eastern Wasteland were discussing it. Some said he should do this—endure before growing strong.
Others said the Sacred Body lacked an indomitable spirit, having made no response. He should let his will be known; otherwise, even if he grew powerful later, he would lack the conviction to contend for the position of Great Emperor.
Amid the uproar, a dog appeared, barking at the world, loudly proclaiming that it would take the Northern Emperor as a human pet and ordering him to come and kneel for death.
People had seen arrogance, but never such an arrogant dog. At the height of the Northern Emperor's prestige, this big dog roared across the Eastern Wasteland, shocking everyone.
"Is this the legendary "keng die" (tricking one's father) dog? Last time it killed two great powers and made the Northern Emperor suffer a great loss at Ancient Emperor Mountain. Now it's jumping out again?"
Black Emperor bounced out, challenging the Northern Emperor, mocking all the younger generation of the Wang Clan, claiming they weren't even fit to be human pets and could only be killed as flower fertilizer.
This big dog lived up to expectations. After two days of barking, it struck. It set up a killing array, turning a Wang Clan auction hall into a meat grinder, leveling it to the ground. No one escaped.
The Wang Clan mobilized heavily. Four great powers joined forces to hunt the big black dog across the entire Eastern Wasteland, wanting to stew it into a pot of dog meat, causing a huge commotion.
Moreover, an elder of the Wang Clan intervened mid-journey, trying to capture Black Emperor and intercept him halfway.
Black Emperor was straightforward: he ran. He didn't try to fight. It was said someone saw him standing upright, wearing a pair of large floral shorts, carrying a delicate, jade-like little girl on his back, and using a swift footwork technique to leave the Wang Clan elder behind across eighteen mountain ranges, winning purely on speed and escaping.
Afterward, the Wang Clan elder was covered in dust, having eaten a mouthful of dirt. He only saw a big dog in floral shorts standing on its hind legs, letting out three loud farts at him before disappearing from sight.
"Damn it, that dog!"
The entire Wang Clan wanted to skin it alive, but it ran faster than a rabbit. They couldn't catch it, and even the divine arrays they painstakingly set up couldn't trap it.
"Now, Ye Fan doesn't dare to come out himself. He can only rely on a demon dog to stir up trouble."
"The Sacred Body can never catch up to my clan's imperial son. He can only look up from a corner for the rest of his life!"
"Ye Fan, you'd better hide far away. With my cousin around, you'll never rise to prominence. You might as well never come out for the rest of your life!"
"The Sacred Body's only use is to be a good green leaf, setting off my cousin's invincible prowess. Being born in the same era is his greatest tragedy!"
The younger members of the Wang Clan, unable to catch Black Emperor, vented all their resentment on Ye Fan, using harsh words to dismiss him as worthless, full of contempt and humiliation.
After emerging from seclusion, Ye Fan heard these rumors along the way and laughed, but it was a cold laugh. His recent breakthrough made him eager for a trial.
"No rush. Take it slow." Along the way, carrying the God-Slaying Whip on his back, he moved slowly, pondering Source Art.
On this land of the Northern Domain, he could roam freely without fear of any strong opponent. As long as no ancient king surpassing a Saint Lord appeared, he could dominate the world.
"Origin Heavenly Master... requires the recognition of heaven and earth, and the collection of law fragments from tens of thousands of dragon veins."
Ye Fan had been considering how to become an Origin Heavenly Master, finding it extremely difficult. Though he was very close, it felt like a chasm of a thousand miles.
"No wonder there have only been five Origin Heavenly Masters since ancient times. Even becoming an Origin Master is this hard."
The power of an Origin Heavenly Master was hard to measure. In the past, they made all the Holy Lands turn pale with frustration, yet they were helpless. They could enter the Primordial Forbidden Zone and see the corpse of an old imperial lord, while an Origin Heavenly Master could set up formations there.
The Northern Domain was sparsely populated, often with millions of miles between cities. The red earth was barren, with ninety percent of the land being desolate and bare.
Ye Fan traveled forward. With his current level of Source Art, he could naturally observe dragon veins and excavated several large pieces of Divine Source, each as big as a washbasin.
During this process, he startled a few ancient creatures who flew out from an underground dragon vein ancient mine, but they couldn't harm Ye Fan, as no ancient ancestral king had awakened.
A few days later, Ye Fan arrived outside the Divine City, which he hadn't seen for several years. Looking up, it seemed like a heavenly capital pressing down on the earth.
The majestic city was vast and boundless. The city gate could accommodate a hundred horses passing side by side. As soon as he entered the Holy City, he caught the attention of some people, who looked his way.
"He is... the Sacred Body!"
"It's really him! The Sacred Body Ye Fan has returned!"
"Now, the Wang Clan is searching for him everywhere, and he appears at this time without any concealment!"
Ye Fan was recognized immediately. Back then, he had stirred up boundless storms here. Now, his return caused an uproar.
He did not seek out old friends or visit An Miaoyi. Instead, he headed straight for a super gambling stone workshop.
The gambling stone workshops of the Divine City were the largest in the world. Among them, the Holy Land-level workshops were unparalleled across the five domains. The Wang Clan also had one, located in a bustling area, guarded by a great power.
"The Sacred Body Ye Fan has returned!"
On the entire street, everyone looked over, and then a wave of excitement erupted. The gambling stone battle of the past was still unforgettable, driving people to madness.
Now, despite his unfavorable situation, he dared to return so openly, clearly confident in his safety.
"Does he want to duel the Northern Emperor?!"
"This is... heading straight for the Wang Clan's gambling stone workshop!"
"This is going to be lively. It's certain that today will bring earth-shattering waves. Either the Sacred Body dies, or the Wang Clan is uprooted from the Divine City!"
In the city, many received the news. The streets emptied as people surged toward the area. Many greeted Ye Fan.
Back then, the gambling stone battle had caused such a huge stir that many recognized him, and many had invited him for a drink.
Ye Fan walked calmly, neither fast nor slow. His footsteps on the ground had a special rhythm, like a heavenly drum beating in people's hearts—a terrifying tempo.
"Indeed, he's heading for the Wang Clan's stone workshop!"
Everyone knew that today would not end peacefully. There would be a collision like a comet striking the earth.
"No concealment, coming openly. Is this a naked confrontation, stepping on the Wang Clan's face?!" Some who reveled in chaos were extremely excited.
Not long ago, the Wang Clan had roared across the world. If their foundation in the Divine City was uprooted now, it would be shocking, equivalent to slapping the face of this most terrifying great force from the Northern Plains.