Chapter 289: Stone Tool - Divine Treasure

The Nine Secrets of Lizhou originated from a highly mysterious place. Ye Fan carefully examined the silk scroll, which indicated that the location was very distant, nearing the central region of the Eastern Wasteland.

Saint Cliff, an ancient name, was marked on the silk scroll as the exact location where the Nine Secrets were hidden.

Ye Fan found the name a bit unusual and couldn't help but ask the big black dog, "Blackie, have you heard of Saint Cliff?"

The big black dog's heart skipped a beat. "How do you know that name?" it asked.

"I gave the ancient scroll to Duan De and kept this silk scroll," Ye Fan explained. "It mentions that the Nine Secrets are hidden there." Ye Fan didn't hide anything from Blackie.

"That place is quite extraordinary," Blackie said. "A Great Emperor once visited there. Facing the ancient cliff, he was moved and commemorated something there."

"What kind of place is it, exactly?" Ye Fan asked, even more surprised.

"There are rumors that a Great Accomplished Desolate Ancient Sacred Body perished there, its blood staining the stone cliff red," Blackie explained. "The ancient Great Emperors, all peerlessly lonely, when they visited the ancient cliff, likely felt that if that Sacred Body were still alive, it would have been worthy of their challenge."

"Such an anecdote..." Ye Fan stroked his chin. This was no ordinary place; with the Nine Secrets hidden in that area, he absolutely had to go there.

However, he didn't want to leave just yet. With the silk scroll in hand, the Nine Secrets wouldn't run away; he could just follow the map when the time was right. What he needed most currently was to improve his cultivation realm, not to urgently search for secret techniques.

In recent days, he had visited dozens of cities, constantly buying stone materials, then going to deserted places to cut them open. Including what he already had, he had accumulated over ten thousand catties of source.

Currently, he could break through to the Triple Heaven of the Dao Palace, but he wasn't satisfied. He really wanted to advance to the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Palace.

The difficulty was too great, as it required one hundred thousand catties of source—a dizzying amount. Relying solely on stone gambling would be difficult.

"Perhaps I should go to Saint City..." Ye Fan murmured to himself.

Over the past half a month or so, the turmoil in Lizhou had not subsided; instead, it intensified. Duan De, the other focal figure from that day, could be described as far more miserable than Ye Fan.

The unscrupulous Daoist was indeed a character. Under those circumstances that day, he actually found an opportunity and successfully escaped.

However, his subsequent days were very difficult. All the Holy Lands were simultaneously searching for him, Wu Dao, one of the Thirteen Great Bandits, roared in pursuit, and the demon race also relentlessly clung to him.

Duan De fled for half a month straight, so exhausted he nearly vomited blood, and almost got flayed alive. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer and threw away the ancient scroll.

But even so, he didn't have an easy time. Wu Dao, one of the Thirteen Great Bandits, seemed to have locked onto him, pursuing him relentlessly, day and night.

Some people saw that after half a month, Duan De had lost a lot of weight and was covered in bloodstains. However, the only surprising thing was that he was still hopping around energetically, showing no signs of collapse.

"This dead fatty really has nine lives," Ye Fan muttered, somewhat speechless. "All the Holy Lands couldn't kill him, and even Wu Dao personally took action and still hasn't caught him."

According to the latest news, Duan De, relentlessly pursued by Wu Dao, had no escape route and fled towards Central Province.

After the ancient scroll was thrown away by the unscrupulous Daoist, the successors of all the Holy Lands fought intensely, shocking even the elder generation with their astonishing combat power.

"We need to go back to Stone Village and move the people away," Ye Fan thought. "It's estimated that in a while, the struggle for the ancient scroll will conclude, and the various Holy Lands will likely sit down to discuss."

That was not the Nine Secrets, but a world-shocking map. If the various great sects understood it, there would certainly be immense upheaval. No single faction could monopolize it, and no single Holy Land could conquer that place alone.

He didn't want the people of Stone Village to be affected, so he wanted to settle them in advance and move them away from Purple Mountain.

"If the Holy Lands launch a full-scale assault on Purple Mountain, other places will inevitably be empty," Ye Fan thought, filled with longing. "At that time, there might be an excellent opportunity... I need source!"

Half a month later, Ye Fan and Blackie returned to Stone Village. It was still as it had been, with no significant changes.

This place was far from rich or beautiful. The village, enclosed by reddish-brown stones, was quite desolate with sparse vegetation. It was merely a small oasis, about ten-odd li in size.

However, the people here were in good spirits. They lived by mining source, and their lives were worry-free. They could go to distant oases to exchange for daily necessities.

"Brother Ye is back, and that... Blackie," the people in Stone Village greeted them warmly, almost misnaming the big black dog.

When they learned they had to move from here, many elders fell silent. They had lived here for generations, and suddenly leaving was difficult for anyone to accept.

"We have to move. This place will no longer be peaceful; a massive storm is coming," Ye Fan patiently explained.

In the end, he had no choice. He invited Old Man Zhang and briefly explained the situation at Purple Mountain.

Hearing that the Holy Lands were coming, Old Man Zhang's expression changed. He sighed, "Our ancestors told us to guard this place. Do we really have to evacuate now?"

Blackie poked its large head over and said, "Leave. Your clan will have great blessings in the future."

Ye Fan had heard that Old Man Zhang's ancestor—the Origin Stone Master—once said that guarding this place and revering Purple Mountain would bring great blessings in the future.

For many people, completely moving away from this place was a sad process. Ye Fan didn't rush them impatiently, because there was still plenty of time.

Even if the ancient scroll fell into the hands of a Holy Land, it would be difficult for any immediate outcome to emerge. Various factions would contend, requiring continuous compromise and redistribution of benefits.

However, at this moment, the big black dog made a discovery. When it ran to observe Purple Mountain, it surprisingly found human figures—someone had already arrived!

"Are you sure?" Ye Fan was startled. This was too fast.

"That person was terrifying," the big black dog said gravely. "I only saw a fleeting shadow; it vanished in a flash."

Blackie only vaguely saw a person wearing a Daoist robe, standing on the peak of Purple Mountain, who then disappeared in an instant, which greatly startled it.

"Wearing a Daoist robe... could it be that dead fatty again?" Ye Fan wondered doubtfully. "But wasn't he chased towards Central Province?"

"It's definitely not that fatty," Blackie asserted. "He couldn't be that fast. I remember very clearly anyone I've bitten. This person is quite terrifying; this Emperor blinked, and he was gone."

Ye Fan felt they needed to leave quickly. This place was no longer peaceful, and the turmoil was arriving faster than he had imagined.

"You urge them to pack up quickly, I'm going out for a bit." He left Stone Village and went to Pingyan City to gather information. He learned that the Holy Lands hadn't acted yet, and the ancient scroll controversy hadn't died down.

"What's going on? The Holy Lands haven't arrived, but someone else is already here. It must be a supreme master," Ye Fan secretly guessed. "This person must have already seen the ancient scroll."

When Ye Fan returned, he saw the big black dog tens of li outside Stone Village. "Why are you here?" he asked in surprise.

"An old Daoist came and entered Stone Village," Blackie replied. "This Emperor couldn't see through him and feared he might be a threat to this Emperor."

"So, you ran out?" Ye Fan asked, surprised. He was a little worried about the people in Stone Village.

"Don't worry," Blackie said. "Someone with cultivation at that level certainly wouldn't trouble ordinary mortals. This Emperor just doesn't know why he entered Stone Village."

"This Daoist you're talking about," Ye Fan asked, "could it be the one you saw on the peak of Purple Mountain?"

"Most likely, it's that old Daoist," Blackie mused for a moment. "Otherwise, how could there be two supreme masters in the same area? Go take a look; what's he doing?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment. He changed his appearance, disguising himself as Wang Shu, even making his innate aura almost identical.

At present, as they were about to leave this place, Wang Shu was not in Stone Village; he was currently in Pingyan City purchasing necessary supplies.

He returned to Stone Village in Wang Shu's guise. As soon as he arrived, he saw many people gathered in the village, discussing something.

"What's going on?" Ye Fan asked.

"An old Daoist came, and he's very strange," someone replied. "He took a liking to Old Man Zhang's stone roller and also to Er Lengzi's millstone, and he plans to buy them."

"This old Daoist's discernment is terrible," another person commented. "Even I can tell that the roller and millstone certainly don't contain source. He actually wants to pay a high price for them; I really don't know what he's thinking."

Ye Fan's heart skipped a beat. He quickly walked forward. Inside the crowd was an old Daoist wearing an ancient robe. It looked quite old and was faded from washing.

"Such attire is quite different from what's worn today..." Ye Fan's heart stirred, noticing the ancient style of the Daoist robe.

His expression remained calm, but inwardly, he felt a shiver of terror. A fleeting spiritual intuition made him feel as if he were facing a sleeping Desolate Ancient Tyrant Dragon.

However, the spiritual intuition vanished in a flash, and he quickly lost that feeling. He remained unfazed, showing no unusual reactions.

This was an old Daoist with white hair draped over his shoulders. He looked to be sixty or seventy years old, with a robust spirit, and was intently observing Er Lengzi's stone millstone.

"I'll give you ten catties of source; I want this millstone," the old Daoist said to Er Lengzi's parents.

"Ten catties?!" Everyone around was greatly astonished.

Even Ye Fan was somewhat puzzled. He was also carefully observing the millstone, but he didn't detect anything unusual.

In the end, the old Daoist bought the millstone and began to cut the stone in front of everyone.

Stone chips flew as he carefully peeled it layer by layer, as if afraid of damaging some treasure, without any drastic chopping or cleaving.

However, in the end, the millstone turned into a pile of stone chips, but nothing was cut out. The old Daoist frowned, stood up, and pointed to the stone roller in front of Old Man Zhang's house nearby. "For this roller, I'll offer twenty catties of source," he said.

"This..." The people in Stone Village were quite shocked.

"Old Man Zhang, do these stone rollers and millstones have any special origin?" Ye Fan quietly asked.

"I haven't heard of any special origin..." Old Man Zhang frowned, thinking carefully for a long time. "Our ancestors have been using them for generations. There's nothing special about them, and I certainly can't see any source within them."

Suddenly, Old Man Zhang's expression changed. He exchanged a glance with Ye Fan, as they both considered the same possibility: Could these stone millstones and rollers have been specially left by their ancestors?

One must know, Old Man Zhang's ancestors were not ordinary people; they were extraordinary figures of their generation.

If they were specially left by their ancestors, they must be extraordinary. Yet, with their discernment, they couldn't see anything special at all.

"Are there many such stone implements in the village?" Ye Fan asked.

"Specifically... no one has counted," Old Man Zhang replied, his fingers trembling slightly.

Could the things that extraordinary figure left for his descendants all be the most ordinary stone blocks, millstones, and rollers? Ye Fan's heart was shaken.