Chapter 1126: Chasing the Azure Emperor

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**Chapter 1127: Seeking the Azure Emperor**

Clear moonlight fell upon the quiet ancient star, not a single cloud in the sky. Ye Fan walked alone, carefully sensing the unfamiliar land.

After stepping out from the Five-Colored Altar, he arrived at an unknown ancient star. Its surface was dry and hard, and the temperature was bitingly cold; this was a desolate and bitter land. There were no plants, no water sources. Stars twinkled in the deep, silent night. The land was vast and empty, with only some mist lingering among the mountains.

“Is it really this hard to find a true life-bearing ancient star?”

Ye Fan had been traveling for more than half a year. The only place he had seen living beings was a boneyard. Other star systems didn't even have a single bone, nothing related to life. This place was barren; the ground was as hard as flagstone. He had walked for thousands of miles without discovering anything, yet he was not in a hurry to proceed.

“Star after star, connected by an ancient path—what were the ancients exploring? It certainly wasn't a trial ground specially arranged for future generations. Perhaps it was precisely because they discovered various hardships that it was utilized by later generations.”

“Could it be that, at the very forefront, ancient sages are still fighting?”

Ye Fan thought of many things. The path opened by ancient predecessors must have been full of dangers. Perhaps the battles had been ongoing, and they were merely descendants living in safe zones.

Suddenly, his expression froze. After walking a few hundred miles, under the clear moonlight, he saw a withered figure also strolling.

“Someone?”

Ye Fan's expression showed surprise. He had just scanned the distance with his divine sense and seen nothing, yet now he suddenly saw a life form. Far away, at the edge of the horizon, that person was thin and tall, like a phantom, walking unhurriedly.

“Who is this?” Ye Fan became highly vigilant. By all appearances, this was a dead star: the air was thin and full of toxic gas, devoid of vegetation or vitality. The sudden appearance of a humanoid creature naturally startled him. He wanted to find out more, hoping to make an unexpected discovery.

The moment Ye Fan opened his Heavenly Eye, he was immediately startled. This was not human, but a creature covered in red fur, walking unhurriedly with its head down.

“A red-furred humanoid creature…” The moment Ye Fan saw it, he felt a strange sensation. His first thought was of the Source Heavenly Master's later years, and he shook his head vigorously.

“We’ve already entered the star domain; it should be unrelated to the Source Heavenly Master’s lineage.” He cautiously trailed behind, walking forward.

“Owoooh…”

Suddenly, a roar erupted. The withered humanoid creature’s entire body of red fur stood on end. It howled at the moon, roaring towards the vast sky. This was a terrifying scene. The deathly silent, barren star instantly broke its tranquility. Mountains shook, the ground trembled, and various rocks tumbled down.

This was a creature that had "cut its path," possessing immense power and harboring anger. It only calmed down after a long time and then entered the mountain range. At the end of the mountains, there was a large black cave leading directly underground. Mist boiled there, constantly surging upwards, making people fearful. Ordinary people reaching this point would not dare to enter and would surely turn back.

However, Ye Fan did not stop. He wanted to find clues, thinking that perhaps this creature had seen Ji Haoyue, Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, or Western Bodhisattva. The cave was very deep, leading directly to the depths of the earth. Soon after descending, he felt waves of vital energy. At this instant, Ye Fan realized that this ancient star was not devoid of life; it was all underground, forming a small world of its own.

After descending several thousand zhang deep, lava appeared, boiling and surging. Many humanoid creatures were underground; they could even drink the lava and absorb energy. "Fire God Monkeys," this name immediately appeared in his mind. Long extinct in Beidou, he didn't expect to see them here. They resided underground, able to survive as long as there was a source of fire. This was a powerful humanoid species, with bodies indestructible and impervious to blades and spears. It was a very terrifying race, and some spiritual treasures coexisted in their habitat.

“Who is it?”

The moment Ye Fan entered, a loud shout came, naturally a ripple of divine sense sweeping over like a tide.

A Half-Saint! This ancient cave had a Half-Saint-level existence. Ye Fan had vaguely sensed it when he first entered, and now that it was confirmed, he felt even more at ease.

“Humans! Humans again! Detestable!” cried the Fire God Monkey that had been strolling on the surface. It was a figure like a leader.

“I am passing by this ancient star. I don’t wish to make enemies with you; I only wish to ask you some questions,” Ye Fan said.

“I don't trust humans. You stole our clan's Fire God Stone, making our survival much harder. Humans are despicable! We will never associate with you again.”

A group of Fire God Monkeys lunged forward, each one roaring ferociously, their bodies covered in menacing red fur, wishing to tear him apart instantly. Ye Fan frowned. He had suffered an undeserved calamity, taking the blame for others, and he had no choice but to explain.

“Even if it’s not you, it’s still your human race! If I don’t kill you, I won’t be able to quell the hatred in my heart!” the powerful old monkey roared.

A battle was simply unavoidable. But unfortunately for them, they encountered Ye Fan. Even a group of indestructible Fire God Monkeys were no match. Each one was shaken to the point of vomiting blood, and their bodies cracked. Ye Fan did not stand on ceremony. He entered their ancient cave and searched it thoroughly, opening one stone jar after another. Immediately, the aroma of wine soared, almost making him drunk.

“Divine wine!”

He unceremoniously took a large gulp from a jar. His whole body felt like it was on fire, vital energy overflowed, greatly benefiting his cultivation.

“You monkeys, each one with red eyes fighting me to the death, why are you all prostrate now?” Ye Fan unceremoniously loaded the monkeys’ divine wine into his magical artifact. This truly was a fine wine.

The group of Fire God Monkeys’ eyes turned red, thinking they had encountered another looter. Their hearts were filled with extreme indignation. Each one hissed, glaring at him furiously.

Ye Fan smiled. He collected dozens of jars of divine wine and then dropped a large pile of divine sources, vital energy overflowing and illuminating the entire ancient cave.

“I know this wine is extraordinary and likely very useful for your cultivation. I won’t take it for free; I will exchange it with you at equivalent value.”

The group of Fire God Monkeys were greatly surprised. They all looked at each other and stopped hissing.

“I want to know if you have seen these people?” He took out portraits of Ji Ziyue, Pang Bo, and others, wanting to confirm if they were ahead on the path.

“Yes, we’ve seen them. They passed by a few years apart.”

Upon receiving a positive answer, Ye Fan let out a long breath and said, “You’ve been here for so many years, have your ancestors also seen any special people?”

“There are a few people we remember vividly. One named Wushi, one named Wanqing… I remember now! There was also someone similar to you, whose golden vital energy surged whenever they fought!”

The Fire God Monkeys recalled some legends from their ancestors. Because they were isolated from the world, opportunities to see outsiders were rare, thus these memories were very deep. Ye Fan’s heart trembled. The strongest individuals in Beidou’s history had indeed been here. Wushi, needless to say, was known throughout the world, and Wanqing must be "The Azure Sky Lotus of Ages," referring to the Azure Emperor.

“This time, the reason we suffered misfortune and had our treasure, the Fire God Stone, plundered, was related to that Wanqing.”

The old monkey, who had reached the Half-Saint realm, saw Ye Fan give them so many divine sources, which would be of immense benefit to the cultivation of their juniors. He calmed down and seriously discussed some matters.

“What? Related to the Azure Emperor? What happened?” Ye Fan’s mind was shaken, feeling there was likely a great secret. After the Desolate Ancient Era, heaven and earth underwent great changes. The Azure Emperor was the only one to achieve Dao and was called "The Emperor of All Ages" by the demon race, precisely because he walked this strongest trial path.

For these reasons, Ye Fan had to pay attention. He hadn't expected that the Fire God Monkey tribe seemed to know something.

“It is said that Wanqing went to the star domain of those bandits, lived there for a long time, and left many traces. In recent years, they seem to have discovered some important clues at Wanqing’s cultivation retreat, becoming incredibly frantic, pursuing something.” The Fire God Monkey tribe had merely suffered an undeserved calamity; those people originally didn't come for the Fire God Stone, but since they discovered it, they naturally took it.

Ye Fan’s heart was shaken. What did the Azure Emperor leave behind? Could it be the secret of his Dao realization from back then? This caused tumultuous waves to rise in his heart! Finally, after learning enough information, he bid farewell to the tribe and once again embarked on the ancient starry path.

“A life-bearing ancient star appearing, I yearn for it immensely, finally appearing in the star domain of that group of people.” Ye Fan prayed, truly tired of the monotonous journey across one barren star after another.

Time passed quickly; another year passed in the blink of an eye. Along the way, Ye Fan encountered several crises, but he narrowly overcame them all. In the past year, he hadn't encountered a true life-bearing ancient star, but he had encountered more than ten kinds of powerful solitary creatures, some of which were very terrifying.

“Another ancient star, still no living beings?” Ye Fan felt helpless. He yearned for green vegetation, hoping to see other races. Unfortunately, he was disappointed once again. This was a small, bare planet, with nothing on it.

“Huh, something’s wrong. Is something watching me?”

Ye Fan stood firm in the sky, suddenly looked up, quickly opened his Heavenly Eye, and suddenly saw a small flying craft pass overhead.

“Hmm?”

This made his expression change. He used the "Walk" character technique, his body transforming into a bolt of lightning and chasing after it, rapidly rushing towards the metallic flying object, catching up in an instant.

“This is…”

Ye Fan was truly startled. This was an ancient flying craft, orbiting this small star, performing orbital motion.

“Looking at the traces on it, it’s likely tens of thousands of years old. It hasn’t fallen yet and is still orbiting…”

His mind was shaken. This was a product of technological civilization, but it had long been abandoned for tens of thousands of years. As he slowly analyzed it, electrical sparks flickered continuously.

“An extremely advanced technological civilization once emerged here,” Ye Fan murmured to himself. A moment of hesitation arose in his heart: should he continue along the ancient starry path, or search horizontally in this area?

Ultimately, Ye Fan stopped, deciding to search this star domain to see if he could make any astonishing discoveries. He used the array platforms that Black Emperor had prepared for him to cross over to several adjacent planets. Of course, it was impossible to reach them all at once, but rather by repeatedly switching between array platforms.

He consecutively landed on four dry small planets, discovering some ruins that seemed to be temporary landing bases for spacecraft, but unfortunately, they were also abandoned. When he landed on the fifth small planet, Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He saw a massive high platform, and to his surprise, two spacecraft were parked on it. There was a base here. Although it had been abandoned for countless ages, it was clear that it had recently been re-utilized, with strong life fluctuations.

“Someone is here!” Ye Fan quickly snuck over, remaining underground, using Dao marks to conceal his aura as much as possible.

“Do you have any gains? We’ve been busy for so long, but we haven’t found anything at all. What exactly did Wanqing leave behind back then? It’s been twenty or thirty thousand years, and yet the higher-ups are still paying so much attention, searching for the places he passed through.”

Ye Fan understood their meaning through his divine sense. His heart was quite uneasy. Wanqing was the Azure Emperor, and these people were tracing his former footsteps!

“We don’t have any clues about Wanqing, but we’ve had other great gains. We obtained a Fire God Stone, which is a very rare mineral for refining the strongest physique evolution fluid.”