Chapter 1073: Towards the Way

Chapter 1074: Towards the Dao

Ye Fan and the Holy Prince were both deeply shocked. According to the Black Emperor, it seemed that some Great Emperors were still alive. Could this be true?

"Black Emperor, is what you said true? Are any of the ancient Great Emperors still alive?" Ye Fan asked urgently.

"They are all dead. Not a single one survived..." The Black Emperor looked desolate, vigorously shaking its enormous head and pouring wine into its mouth.

"Then what did you mean just now?" The Holy Prince cast a sidelong glance at it.

"There are no Emperors in this world. What I meant was, the true Great Emperors are all dead," it growled, then collapsed with a thud, hugging the wine jar as it passed out drunk.

Ye Fan and the Holy Prince exchanged glances, utterly helpless. They turned to Ji Zi and questioned him, as he was a true Emperor's son.

Ji Zi was not very talkative and had been drinking by himself, as if he didn't quite fit into the world. His ordinary appearance and common demeanor made it hard to associate him with the Son of the Void.

"I was sealed away a long time ago, so how could I know my father's whereabouts?" Ji Zi looked out the window, where the sky was full of stars and the moon. He seemed to be trying to pierce through the heavens.

"He buried himself in the boundless void. Even my older brother couldn't bid him farewell. Now, he is either a cold corpse floating in the dark universe, or he has already assimilated into the Dao and turned into dust," Ji Zi said calmly.

The Guanghan Palace hung in mid-air. Moonlight poured down, creating a hazy atmosphere. This place was very serene and ethereal.

Gentle songs and graceful dances, accompanied by the melodious sounds of string and wind instruments, filled the air. Ye Fan, the Holy Prince, and Ji Zi had also drunk a considerable amount of wine. They soon relaxed and fell asleep.

In the latter half of the night, everything was silent.

"I want to enter the Immortal Realm to find the Great Emperor Wushi," the Black Emperor mumbled in its sleep, grinding its teeth in the dead of night.

"The Innate Saint Body Dao Embryo must come into this world. The Great Emperor said that his successor could only possess this physique. I must make him appear; I must revive the Great Emperor!" The Black Emperor gritted its teeth. These dream words startled the people in Guanghan Palace, leaving them dazed and terrified.

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight poured down, shining through the window into the great hall. All of them opened their eyes.

"Black Emperor, last night you said..." Ye Fan wanted to press further.

"What did this Emperor say? I said nothing!" The big black dog instantly denied it, as if it were a completely different creature.

"Are you trying to take back what you said last night?" Ye Fan glared at it.

"Kid, debts must be repaid! When are you going to pay me back for the Innate Saint Body Dao Embryo you owe me?" the big black dog asked, its eyes wide like brass bells.

Ye Fan slapped it. This scoundrel had completely come back to life, all its sadness and sorrow thrown to the winds.

"Debts must be repaid, it's only right!" the Black Emperor bared its teeth. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, it jumped high and exclaimed, "Damn it, we missed a great opportunity! Hurry, let's see if it's still possible to catch it!"

"What is it?" Even Ji Zi showed surprise.

"The Emperor's Son is dead, and all eight Divine Generals are annihilated. We should raid the main peaks where those Ancestor Kings cultivated!" The Black Emperor set up a formation platform and quickly opened a domain gate.

The others suddenly realized there really was a Sacred Treasure to be found. They all immediately stepped into the domain gate and swiftly disappeared from that place.

In the Northern Domain, a vast expanse of scorched earth, they arrived at the Immortal Heavenly Sovereign's temporary palace. This time, their target was the several peaks surrounding it.

"Damn it, we're too late!" The Black Emperor was furious. "This place has been dug up, and not a single hair is left!"

The main peaks had all been visited by strong individuals. They had virtually dug three feet deep, leaving not a blade of grass, and sweeping everything clean.

"Why does it look like grave robbery? There are so many holes in the ground..." Ye Fan was also speechless.

"This was originally broken into using grave-robbing methods, employing the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Cover to clear a path. It's... that damn Duan De!" The big black dog was furious.

Ye Fan was also stunned. That Fatty Duan was truly ubiquitous; he appeared wherever there was treasure, and his reactions were incredibly swift.

Finally, deep within the mountain range, they discovered another graveyard belonging to the ancestors of the Eight Divine Generals, but it had also been visited.

"That bastard, wherever he goes, it's truly clean. Don't expect even a single hair to be left. He plunders both the living and the dead."

Finally, the big black dog went to Heaven's Village, and the monkey also went into seclusion. The Path to Immortality was about to open, and everyone had to start preparing.

Ye Fan and Ji Zi traveled south, returning to the Southern Domain, where he intended to meet an old acquaintance.

"The Ji family... Hmph!"

At this moment, a powerful aura emerged in the Southern Domain, directed towards the Ji family. Although not aimed at annihilating the clan, the deterrent effect was clear.

However, at that very instant, the mysterious Ancestor King of the ancient race turned pale, turned, and left, daring not to stay in the Southern Domain for another moment.

Ye Fan and Ji Zi happened to arrive just then. Witnessing this scene, Ji Zi remained calm, as if he had already expected it.

"A family that has produced a Great Emperor is indeed unfathomable," Ye Fan thought, his heart stirring.

They parted ways there. Ye Fan headed straight for the Taixuan's Clumsy Peak. This place was overgrown with weeds and lacked any spiritual scenery; it hadn't changed much from the past.

A few crumbling ancient buildings were hidden beneath old vines. Crows perched on withered trees, and wild rabbits darted along the paths.

Ye Fan did not sense the aura of old man Li Ruoyu. He only saw Zhang Wenchang. Over a decade had passed, and Zhang Wenchang's temples were streaked with gray, and he carried a lot more world-weariness.

"Ye Fan, is that really you!"

He sprang to his feet amidst the dilapidated buildings, his heart stirred with emotion, and quickly walked out to greet him.

"You successfully returned to Earth, and now you've reappeared..." Zhang Wenchang's body trembled as if in a spasm. He clutched Ye Fan's arm, his face filled with hope and longing.

"It's me..." Ye Fan patted his shoulder.

"My parents, my wife, my child, how are they?" Zhang Wenchang's voice trembled, a hint of fear even present. After cultivating for many years, he was now unable to control himself, terrified of hearing bad news.

When he left, his wife was pregnant, and the child was about to be born. Yet, when he was most needed, he disappeared from Mount Tai.

"They are all fine. Your parents are quite old now, and everyone experiences birth, old age, sickness, and death... You have a child named Zhang Yi, and he looks very much like you," Ye Fan said.

"And... she, uh..." Zhang Wenchang's lips trembled.

Ye Fan naturally knew he was asking about his wife. At that time, their relationship was very good, but they never imagined they would be separated by the vastness of the sky.

"She is a good woman. She has been taking care of your parents and raised your child. There's a good man... who treats her very well," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Wenchang choked on his words, slowly walked towards the dilapidated courtyard wall, sat weakly on a broken stone, and buried his head in his hands.

"How I... how I wish I could return to her side. But this... this star field, it forcibly separated us." Tears streamed down his no longer young face.

What could Ye Fan say? He sat beside him, took out a pack of cigarettes he had brought from the other end of the starry sky, and gently tore it open.

In the past, Zhang Wenchang had quite a smoking habit.

"Cough..." Zhang Wenchang trembled as he held the cigarette, took a deep drag, coughed loudly, and his eyes watered again.

At this moment, he was not a cultivator, but merely an ordinary middle-aged man who was even approaching old age.

"Time... starry sky... I hate it!" He couldn't help but shout to the sky.

Then, he burst into tears. His graying temples, wrinkled eye corners, and cloudy tears were visible. His fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled, unable to bring it to his mouth.

"What 'Dao Slaying', what 'Path to Immortality'? I don't want any of it... I just want to be with them, grow old together, be an ordinary mortal, and not stay in this world."

Zhang Wenchang coughed, looking up at the sky.

Ye Fan took out some photos and specially recorded video clips, stacked them in front of the dilapidated hall, and let him look at them slowly.

"Is this... my child?" Zhang Wenchang clumsily flipped through the photos, repeatedly caressing them.

"This is him when he was little, he's just like me," he cried and laughed at the same time.

After seeing everything, Zhang Wenchang looked at his wife's photo, his eyes showing a mix of emotions: nostalgia, sadness, happiness, and struggle.

"I'm sorry for her... I hope she can be happy!" After saying this, he burst into tears, stood up, and stumbled into the desolate, dilapidated hall.

Ye Fan said nothing, nor did he try to console him. He walked around Clumsy Peak, observing the old scenery of the place.

The nine jade steps, which Ji Ziyue once bravely ascended—but where was she now? The nine old crows were still there. Who knew that they were divine talismans, transformed from nine arrows?

A day later, Zhang Wenchang reappeared. He looked much more haggard, as if he had aged twenty years overnight.

"Try to be more open-minded."

"I know. As long as they are all well, what more could I ask for?" Zhang Wenchang said, strongly holding back his tears. He now had only one goal in this life: to cultivate, perhaps one day he could return and see them.

Li Ruoyu was not on Clumsy Peak. He had gone traveling the world six years ago and had not returned, which left Ye Fan somewhat regretful.

Zhang Wenchang's cultivation was not high. After decades of cultivation, he had only just entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. However, his foundation was very solid.

Ye Fan wanted to help him, but he shook his head and said, "Master Li said it's okay to be slow. He told me to calm my mind and not rush for quick success."

He then brought up another matter, saying, "Ten years ago, I saw Lin Jia; she's still alive... Liu Yunzhi and Li Changqing did not capture her back then."

"What?" Ye Fan's heart stirred.

"She found a great opportunity in the Immortal Palace outside the Primordial Forbidden Land. She said it might be a corner of the Primordial Heavenly Court, and there might be a path leading outside this domain..."

She learned that Ye Fan could find a way to leave this world, so she also went to seek an immortal opportunity, believing there might be a path to the starry sky there.

"Moreover, Lin Jia speculated that Zhou Yi and Wang Ziwen might not have left at all back then. They are either still in the Immortal Palace, or they accidentally went to another star field."

"Partial ruins of the Primordial Heavenly Court..." Ye Fan frowned.

He left Taixuan's Clumsy Peak and once again went to the Primordial Forbidden Land. He stood on its periphery, but unfortunately found nothing.

"Can that Immortal Palace only be found by emerging from the forbidden zone? But who can guarantee entry?"

Would those few people one day emerge from the Immortal Palace, or had they already gone to another star field? He pondered silently.

"Starry sky, how many secrets do you truly hide? How many ancient life planets are there? Where is the Nine Dragons pulling the Coffin truly going?" Ye Fan looked up at the sky and murmured to himself.

Now, he had no time to delve into these thoughts. The Path to Immortality was about to appear, and heaven knew what this world would become. Everyone had to prepare.

He left the Primordial Forbidden Land and once again passed by the Ji family, whispering, "Where are you all?"

Ye Fan decided that after handling some matters, he would visit Qishi Mansion. If there was truly a need, he would go to rescue his old acquaintances.

He brought out his chessboard formation platform, opened a domain gate, and the next moment appeared in the Western Desert. Immediately, he sensed a mysterious power of thought.