Chapter 832: Declaring War on the Ancient Divine Dynasty
Twelve years had passed. Looking back, things had changed, people were gone. The pine forest stood quiet and deep, leaving only a solitary grave. That woman could never be seen again—separated by the eternal divide between heaven and man.
The wind blew the white flowers brought by Ku Zhu and the others, scattering them messily over the grave. A trace of desolation, a wisp of faint fragrance—this was Qin Yao's life.
Who was whose passing guest in life? The scattered flowers, the cold tombstone, the lonely grave—no answer was needed, nor was there any need for words.
A light rain began to fall from the sky, sparse and intermittent, soaking the white flowers, washing away the faint fragrance, adding a touch of chill.
"The last time you came, you saw Senior Red Dragon and then left, not even pausing for a moment. Did you never think that there was an old friend here, a woman you once crossed paths with?"
Jin Yan's voice grew sharp, as if she were very agitated. She clenched her fists and glared at Ye Fan.
"Were you really in such a hurry? What earth-shattering matter awaited you—were you going to mend the heavens?! There is a woman lying here in a cold coffin. Is she truly so insignificant? You had already forgotten her. Even if you had only lingered for an instant, it would have been something." Jin Yan pointed at him, her body trembling with fury.
A stretch of pine forest, a grave, a single person. Heaven and earth were cold and desolate as the rain fell. Ye Fan stood there for a long time. What could he say now?
Qin Yao had withered like a flower, her life reaching its end. She had bloomed brilliantly like fireworks, then returned to eternal darkness and silence.
Jin Yan, Ku Zhu, and the others had already left. Only Ye Fan remained on the mountain. Amid the rustling rain, he faced that new grave alone.
The rain grew heavier, finally pouring down in torrents, soaking him from head to toe. Water droplets kept falling—on his face as well. His lips moved, his voice hoarse, but it was drowned out by the wind and rain, impossible to make out.
He had already achieved the Heavenly Eye Penetration, allowing him to see through the mud and the grave, to the crystal coffin underground. That woman lay there, cold and silent, motionless.
Her fragrance had faded, her beauty unchanged. She lay quietly and mournfully in the coffin, so close yet untouchable, as distant as the horizon.
One step toward life, one step toward death. Even if only a layer of earth separated them, it was impossible to reach her. A barrier of the underworld stood between them, impossible to pull back.
Ye Fan sat before the grave, pressing his hand against the soil, letting the heavy rain pour down upon him. He spoke softly for a while, until dawn broke.
The next day, the rain had not stopped, though it had lessened. Mist wreathed the pine forest. Ye Fan took one last look at the grave, then descended the mountain step by step, moving slowly, leaving footprints behind.
At the foot of the mountain, Jin Yan, Ku Zhu, and the others stood, watching him through the rain and mist.
Finally, Jin Yan could no longer hold back. She pointed at him sharply and spoke at length, as if venting a pent-up fury.
Some of her words were harsh, unpleasant, hurtful. But Ye Fan could not refute them. Some of what she said might not be untrue, and it pierced his heart.
"Sister, let it go. Does Ye Fan want to see this happen? Who wants to see an old friend fall? Who wants to witness parting in life and death? If he didn't have urgent matters, why wouldn't he pause?" Li Tian said.
"Let's go." Ye Fan stopped Li Tian from saying more. He walked away step by step, leaving this place that left him silent and dejected, unable to utter a single word.
"That young lady was truly remarkable. How could she just die like that? What a pity." Black Emperor muttered.
On the long path of cultivation, countless cultivators fell along the way. At every stage, large numbers of people failed to pass and perished. Those who achieved something were all outstanding talents.
This was inherently a merciless path. Once you set foot on it, you would experience many cruelties. You would hear legends of heroes renowned across the world—who would care about the fall of a minor cultivator?
The truth was, the cultivator's path was filled with tragedies, one after another. But aside from the great figures who shook the world, who paid attention to the joys and sorrows of others?
Yan Yixi patted Ye Fan on the shoulder without saying much. They left this place, traveling ninety thousand li in one go.
"Where are we going? What are we doing?" Li Tian asked.
"I'm going to undergo my tribulation," Ye Fan said.
"Where will you choose?" Black Emperor chuckled dryly.
"Use your brain and think carefully. Find a key location of Hell or Mortal World. I want to face the heavenly tribulation in such a place," Ye Fan said seriously.
He had sealed part of his primordial spirit inside Yan Yixi's Divine Maiden Furnace, not keeping it on his own Immortal Platform, forcibly delaying the arrival of the tribulation.
"Let this emperor think carefully. It's been such a long time. Those were some obscure corners of the world. I wasn't very clear back then, and now they've almost been completely forgotten." The big black dog scratched its head, deep in thought.
They began to roam the Northern Domain like ghosts, like gods of death. All of them knew that Ye Fan was filled with pent-up frustration and needed to find some enemies to slaughter.
These days, they tried to keep the conversation light to avoid making the atmosphere too heavy, though they didn't avoid the topic of Qin Yao's death.
"Li Tian always passes through a sea of flowers. If I left for twelve years, what would happen? Most likely, many women would clap in celebration, damn it!" Li Tian cursed.
"None of you are any good at this. You need to learn from this emperor. With great willpower, great wisdom, and great fearlessness, cut everything away. Bury them in the grave of your heart, and you'll never have worries." With that, Black Emperor nudged Ye Fan and said, "For you, this is another experience. The opportunity to sever the dao at the third level of immortality might come early."
"Sever the dao..." Ye Fan looked into the distance and said, "Let's go. Find Hell and Mortal World first."
"Hey, kid, have you decided? What dao will you sever in the future?" Black Emperor asked seriously.
Ye Fan thought for a moment and said, "It's not about what I want to sever. If I think carefully, perhaps severing my entire self would be most fitting. There are too many bonds and shackles."
"..." Black Emperor, Li Tian, and Yan Yixi all wore awkward expressions.
"You're not serious, are you? Severing yourself? What kind of joke is that? Who in history has ever done that? If you want to commit suicide, you can't do it like that," Black Emperor scolded.
Ye Fan said, "Severing the dao is a very distant matter. The strongest prodigies in history, comparable to young great emperors, all fell in the end. My dao also seems difficult to sever. Let me finish the tribulation first."
Following ancient memories, Black Emperor searched many places without finding any clues. Over hundreds of thousands of years of upheaval, the seas had turned to mulberry fields, and many old locations had changed completely.
Moreover, in the past, it hadn't been very clear about these two assassin dynasties. It didn't know where their key locations were, only having vaguely heard of them.
That day, they arrived at a desolate mountain range outside Kaiyuan City in the Northern Domain. They immediately stopped and then walked into the mountains on foot.
Because they had heard from Li Heishui that his grandfather, Li Heng, had died here fighting to save them. They decided to pay their respects.
"That should be the stone cliff."
A broken spear was embedded in the cliff wall. The blood had long dried, forming a human-shaped dark red stain—a shocking sight that spoke of the tragic scene.
Li Heishui had once tearfully said that his grandfather was nailed alive to the cliff by an old assassin of the Hell Dynasty with a long spear.
One could imagine an old man with white hair dying heroically to save his descendants. Looking at the broken spear and the dried bloodstain, everyone clenched their teeth.
Half a month later, Black Emperor led them into the western part of the Northern Domain. It remembered that some events had occurred here in the past, related to the Hell Dynasty.
They entered an ancient mountain range, devoid of life, barren of grass. Still, they found nothing. They were almost completely disappointed. If even a living fossil like the big black dog couldn't find it, who could?
"Found it!" Suddenly, Black Emperor shouted excitedly, pointing at a trace nearly worn away by time, claiming it was a hidden mark of Hell.
"They must be in this mountain range. Be careful not to let them discover us. Search slowly." Having finally found some clues, they naturally became extremely cautious.
It took several days. Hiding in the shadows, they saw a black-robed figure disappear into a cliff before rushing out and charging toward it.
"That's it. I understand now. There's a small world here, created by an ancient sage. It's an extremely important secret location of Hell!" Black Emperor said.
Apart from a supreme ancient hall that served as its foundation, Hell also had eighteen layers of hell, which were eighteen main branches extending from its root.
The eighteen layers of hell were extremely important. They were all small worlds from ancient times, independent of the greater world, almost impossible to find, mysterious and crucial.
"A small world created by a sage. Their foundation is truly deep. Wait outside. I'm going to undergo my tribulation!" Ye Fan said.
Thinking of Pang Bo, whose life or death was still unknown; Liu Kou, blasted into a bloody pulp; Dongfang Ye, whose blood stained the Falling Eagle Cliff; Li Heishui's grandfather, nailed alive—one bloody case after another, one bloody scene after another—the fury in his heart boiled over!
"From today onward, Hell will lose one layer. This is the first debt collected!" Ye Fan's voice was icy cold, echoing through the entire mountain range. He had found the entrance. Retrieving his primordial spirit from the Divine Maiden Furnace, he stepped inside.
At first, Black Emperor, Li Tian, and Yan Yixi were worried and followed him in. But they immediately came out coughing black smoke and retreating hastily.
"This is outrageous! The lightning tribulation is so vast. How can there be human-shaped lightning and ancient heavenly palaces?!" Li Tian had never seen such a terrifying heavenly tribulation before.
"We'd better retreat. It's not safe here either. This small world is bound to collapse. Everyone trapped inside is finished!" Black Emperor bared its teeth, smoke coming from its mouth, its fur standing on end.
They decisively retreated, stopping only when they were far enough away. As expected, this small world had existed since ancient times. After hundreds of thousands of years, it had become unstable. The heavenly tribulation descended, finally shattering it.
"Ah..."
Screams rang out. The small world was pierced through, adjacent to the greater world outside. Everything was visible. Lightning turned into an ocean, thunderbolts connecting into blazing purple light.
This was a human tragedy. As the collapsing small world emerged, all kinds of horrors could be seen. Countless figures turned into charred corpses, and innumerable palaces became ruins.
This was a key location for assassins, filled with experts. Everyone was forced to undergo the tribulation, unable to escape. Although they tried to break out, the tribulation clouds always hung above their heads. Heavenly thunder crashed down continuously, leaving no escape.
Moreover, Ye Fan turned into a human-shaped lightning bolt, chasing down experts everywhere. Wherever he passed, people were reduced to ashes.
"There's a king!"
"There's actually a powerful king here!"
Black Emperor and Li Tian soon discovered a supreme existence with astonishing power. Its heavenly punishment was boundless, forming an ocean.
"It's the assassin king who tried to kill Ye Fan last time. That's his aura. I didn't expect his true body to be here!"
"Ah..."
Screams filled the air. People kept turning into ashes, turning this place into a true hell on earth. But this time, others were coming to take their lives.
This battle had no suspense. Ye Fan charged over, locked onto the assassin king, and an even greater sea of lightning descended. He was struck into ashes.
In one battle, this place was swept clean, leaving only a vast expanse of ruins and human-shaped ashes.
That day, the Eastern Wasteland shook. A secret location of Hell had been destroyed, and one layer of hell was lost!
Ye Fan declared: Since Mortal World and Hell wanted to play, he would see it through to the end. Next, he would hunt down their divine sons and divine maidens.
At the same time, he issued a bounty to the entire world, offering generous rewards. Whether for providing information about the assassin dynasties or for killing their members, there would be a sky-high price.
The world erupted in uproar. Was one man declaring war on two ancient assassin dynasties? Everyone was stunned.