Ch. 295 - Fifty Thousand Kilograms of Source

“Don’t even dream of getting the divine art recorded in the Void Scripture!”

The Ji Clan members looked ugly. This man before them was Ye Fan, the very one who had tricked them out of five thousand kilo of source. Now he actually had his eyes on the Ancient Void Scripture!

“There’s no need to guard your treasure so jealously. I have scriptures too. Why don’t we sit down and discuss the Dao together?” Ye Fan smiled.

“The Eastern Wilderness has only a few ancient scriptures. Our Ji Clan alone holds one. What scripture could you possibly have worth discussing?” one of them said, trying to stall for time, hoping for rescue.

“I hold a copy of the Dao Scripture, and a copy of the Western Emperor Scripture. Which one do you find more interesting?” Ye Fan asked casually. He already knew they were dragging things out, but it didn’t bother him.

“What?! You have scriptures too, not just the Dao Scripture, but also the Jade Pool Sacred Ground’s Western Emperor Scripture? How did you get those?”

The Ji Clansmen were shocked. In this situation, they believed he wasn’t lying. They were sealed within his domain, completely under his control.

“So you see… discussing scripture with me won’t put you at a loss. What do you say?” Ye Fan’s smile widened.

“Then recite a passage for us to hear,” they demanded.

“How could that be proper? Why don’t we recite simultaneously?” Ye Fan suggested with an amiable tone.

The tense atmosphere loosened. The Ji Clan members relaxed somewhat, circling with Ye Fan while they tried to buy more time.

Ye Fan looked harmless, as though genuinely negotiating. But suddenly, golden light shot from between his brows, lancing into one man’s head.

He hadn’t meant to kill, only to seize the scripture imprint from the man’s sea of consciousness by surprise.

He feared he could never obtain it otherwise. Not long ago, in the Cloud-Sever Mountain Range, he had tried to strip a Ji Clansman’s imprint, but the man’s spirit sea had detonated.

Pfft!

The man’s head instantly burst apart. Ye Fan’s divine sense fled back, retreating into his brow in disorder.

Boom!

A destructive aura swept out. Terrifying spiritual power surged like a flood, crashing toward Ye Fan. He let out a sharp shout. The Motherly Energy of All Things cascaded down before him like a veil.

Dang!

A thunderous clang rang out. An ancient cauldron blocked the murderous will, shattering that torrent of spirit force and dispersing it into the void.

Another failure, exactly like last time. The Ji Clan disciples’ spiritual seas bore mysterious seals. Any attempt to seize them would trigger collapse.

“You…” The remaining four Ji Clansmen turned pale.

“The situation is clear. There’s nothing left to say. If you want to live, hand over the Ancient Void Scripture. Otherwise, there’s only one word for you, death.” Ye Fan’s voice was cold. He didn’t hold out much hope; divine sense could not strip the imprints, and forcing them to speak would be just as hard.

“Attack!”

Two of the Ji still retained combat strength. They refused to sit and wait for death, each summoning seven or eight weapons, dazzling like stars.

They were desperate, willing to burn their weapons to seriously wound Ye Fan. Each blade and spear flared brilliantly, almost self-immolating.

Dang!

The Motherly Energy Cauldron gave a soft tremor. All those weapons, on the verge of exploding, were drawn into it. Blinding light burst from within, energy surging wildly.

Every weapon burned and shattered, but none of them harmed Ye Fan. At last the cauldron quieted, leaving only a pile of scrap metal.

With a flash, Ye Fan struck. In an instant, the two Ji disciples were slammed to the ground, stripped of their fighting power.

“I’ll be clear: whoever speaks the method of the Innate Voidforce, I’ll spare. The rest die.”

At first, the four were silent, their bones hard, refusing to yield. Ye Fan frowned. Forcibly stripping their seas would only make them collapse.

“I’ll give you a chance…”

He let them recover, then sparred with each of them in turn, secretly using the War Paragon Art to imitate the Innate Voidforce.

In time, he finally understood: this secret art was refining the void. He did not know the exact incantations, but he grasped the essence.

When Ye Fan used the War Paragon Art to derive this divine art, Ji Yunteng and Ji Yunsheng’s eyes nearly popped out.

Ye Fan gave a sharp cry. From his mouth burst divine radiance, a torrent like a tsunami sweeping the heavens, devastatingly powerful!

“You… how do you know this divine art?!”

“Let’s compare and see whose is stronger.”

Driven by the War Paragon Art, Ye Fan’s simulated Innate Voidforce wasn’t the true version, but its might was not inferior.

The “Battle” character secret of the Nine Secrets could transform into endless attack techniques, peerless in its adaptability.

The more Ye Fan used it, the smoother it became. When he spat out light, it was like a hanging river falling from the sky, unstoppable. His vital essence far surpassed ordinary people’s; his Innate Supreme Power surged like the sea. This divine art suited him perfectly. Unlike the Ji Clansmen, who with every use would drain their energy and nearly collapse.

This time, when he spat out light, it formed a scroll inscribed with glowing Dao Runes, like an ancient sealing scroll descending from the heavens. It directly bound the four.

“This is impossible!” Ji Yunteng and the others were dumbfounded.

Ye Fan wielded the Innate Voidforce far more fearsomely than they could, as if he had cultivated it for years. They couldn’t make sense of it.

“Many thanks, you’ve just helped me gain yet another divine attack art.” Ye Fan finally stopped. This wasn’t the Ji Clan’s sacred art, it was his “Battle” character of the Nine Secrets mimicking it.

Half an hour later, Ye Fan returned to Fire Cloud City, spreading word that the Ji Clan could not be trusted, that claiming their bounties often led to death.

Soon after, he disappeared without a trace. The Ji Clan scrambled desperately, eventually calming the uproar, announcing that someone had deceived people with false information.

Truly, the Ancient Desolate Clans were colossal forces. Soon the city was “harmonious” again. Few believed Ye Fan’s words.

But Ye Fan had expected this. With Ji Clan influence, no disturbance was too great to smooth over. His only goal was to leave a shadow in their hearts, making future strikes easier.

Half a month later, Ye Fan returned to Luminous Prefecture, back to Stone Village.

The black dog had finally recovered, though it had thinned out a great deal. Now, whenever it saw pink fruit, it twitched at the mouth, allergic.

“Black Emperor, you ate an immortal fruit. Did it give you great benefits?” Ye Fan laughed.

“Mention that again and this emperor will bite you!” The big black dog’s face darkened. It prided itself on never losing out, but that fruit had knocked it flat, still leaving it foaming at the mouth whenever it recalled it.

“It should have some effect. That fruit was clearly extraordinary,” Ye Fan muttered, touching his chin.

“Effect, my ass! Everything I eat now tastes bitter as gall. Who knows when it will fade…” The black dog was deeply depressed. It was its own greed that had doomed it, grabbing that fruit without hesitation.

Tu Fei had done well, managing to gather twelve and a half thousand kilo of source, pure and high-grade, glittering.

“With so much source, this emperor wants half!” the greedy dog lunged, trying to snatch it. But Ye Fan swept it all into his sleeve.

“Woof!”

“Damn dog, don’t fight me!”

“I’ve helped you several times and always ended up suffering. You owe me compensation!”

“No problem,” Ye Fan agreed easily. He had returned mainly to enlist the black dog’s help.

Then he called Tu Fei over.

“What? You’re insane! Show yourself, and let someone claim the bounty of source?!” Tu Fei was stunned.

“Exactly. It’s a rare opportunity, and highly feasible,” Ye Fan nodded.

Tu Fei shook his head. “You already scammed them once for five thousand. They’ll be on guard. You can’t keep cutting meat off a tiger.”

“True, the same method won’t work again. I hear now they require divine sense verification. So this time, I’ll reveal my true form, so real they can’t doubt it.”

“That’s too dangerous!” Tu Fei protested.

“No matter. If we handle it carefully, the odds of success are high. With fifty thousand kilo of source, I can immediately reach the fourth level of the Dao Palace!”

“You’re gambling with your life. If anything goes wrong, you’ll regret it!” Tu Fei objected strongly.

“With the Black Emperor here, I’ll turn danger into safety…”

“Woof!” The black dog glared. “Kid, I’ve never profited by sticking with you. It’s always disaster. Don’t count on me.”

Ye Fan only smiled. “Don’t you always want source? This time we’re going for fifty thousand kilo. Think carefully.”

“Fifty thousand…” The dog drooled, torn between refusal and temptation.

“Damn it, fine! But if I suffer again, boy, you’ll be hunted to the ends of the earth!”

Ye Fan laughed. To Tu Fei and the dog he said: “Planned well, there’ll be no danger this time.”

“Then explain in detail.”

“First, we need a suitable candidate, someone who ‘discovers’ me and reports to Radiant Light or Ji Clan to claim the bounty.”

That was tricky. Since now the informant needed divine sense proof, a false lead would be exposed. The candidate had to be genuine, unaware, and completely natural.

Tu Fei thought aloud: “Finding someone to betray you isn’t hard. The key is letting him stumble in naturally. That’s the challenge, no trace of our setup.”

Ye Fan continued with a smile: “Second, we need to create momentum. After that person reports to a holy land, there should be a big stir. Best if the local cultivators all know, and follow along as witnesses.”

“But then, if you’re surrounded, won’t you be even more in danger?”

Ye Fan chuckled. “With the Black Emperor’s mastery of Dao Runes, traversing the void isn’t difficult. I only need to show myself for a moment, then vanish thousands of miles away.”

Tu Fei nodded. “Hearing it like that, it does sound doable. Maybe it will succeed.”

“Black Emperor, can you guarantee absolute safety when crossing the void?” Ye Fan asked seriously. This step was crucial. If they couldn’t escape, they’d die.

“You’re too naïve,” the dog shot back. “These Ancient Desolate Clans surely have treasures that can fix the void in place. Escaping won’t be so easy.”

“There are artifacts like that?” Ye Fan was shocked.

“The sacred lands have deep inheritances. Of course they’ve refined such treasures.” The black dog narrowed its eyes, then said, “Still… this emperor isn’t helpless. I have ways to deal with it.”

That very day, they left Luminous Prefecture, off to scheme for fifty thousand kilo of source.

Comments