Chapter 296: Ten Thousand Jin of Origin

"You're thinking of the divine wood mentioned in the Void Scripture? Don't entertain such foolish notions!" Several members of the Ji family looked displeased. This person was actually Ye Fan, who had previously tricked them out of ten thousand jin of Source, and was now eyeing the ancient Void Scripture.

"Why be so secretive?" Ye Fan smiled. "I also possess ancient scriptures. Why don't we sit down and discuss scriptures and principles?"

"There are only a few ancient scriptures in the Eastern Wasteland, and my Ji family possesses one exclusively," one of them said. "What scriptures do you have to discuss?" He was trying to buy time, waiting for reinforcements.

"I have a volume of the Dao Scripture and a volume of the Western Emperor Scripture," Ye Fan said, asking casually. He knew their intentions but didn't care. "Which one are you interested in?"

"What? You have ancient scriptures too? Not just the Dao Scripture, but also the Western Emperor Scripture from the Jade Lake? How did you obtain them?"

The Ji family members were astonished. They believed that in this situation, Ye Fan had no reason to lie; they were trapped there, completely at his mercy.

"So... it wouldn't be a loss for you to discuss scriptures and principles with me, would it?" Ye Fan's smile deepened.

"Recite a passage from a scripture for us first," the Ji family members demanded.

"How can that be?" Ye Fan said, his tone suggesting a negotiation. "How about we recite scriptures simultaneously?"

The tense atmosphere immediately eased. The Ji family members relaxed, trying to stall Ye Fan and buy more time.

Ye Fan looked harmless and discussed seriously with them, but suddenly, a golden beam of light shot out from his glabella, piercing into one person's head.

He wasn't trying to kill. Instead, he wanted to make a sudden move to extract the scripture imprints from their minds using his spiritual sense.

This was because he feared he wouldn't get them under normal circumstances. Not long ago, in the Cloud Mountain Range, he had tried to strip away the spiritual sea imprints of a Ji family disciple, but the disciple's spiritual sense had suddenly shattered.

"Pffft!" The head of this Ji family disciple instantly exploded. Ye Fan's spiritual sense retreated in disarray, rushing back into his glabella.

"Boom!" A destructive aura permeated the air, and terrifying mental energy surged out like a flood, sweeping towards Ye Fan. He let out a low shout, and the Mother Qi of All Things descended, shielding him.

"Clang!" An earth-shattering sound erupted. An ancient, simple great cauldron blocked the terrifying killing intent, shattering the mental energy and dissipating it into the void. This attempt also failed, just like the previous one. There was a mysterious seal in the opponent's spiritual sea that would activate if probed.

"You..." The remaining four Ji family members' expressions drastically changed.

"Things have come to this; there's nothing more to say," Ye Fan said gravely. "If you want to live, exchange the ancient Void Scripture for your lives. Otherwise, there's only one word: death." He didn't have much hope. Since he couldn't extract it with his spiritual sense, it would be extremely difficult to make them reveal it themselves.

"Attack!" Two more Ji family members had not lost their combat ability. They didn't want to sit idly and wait for death, so each conjured seven or eight weapons, all shining like stars.

They went all out, not caring about damaging their weapons, hoping to severely injure Ye Fan. Each weapon was almost ablaze, dazzling brightly.

"Clang!" The cauldron, forged from the Mother Qi of All Things, lightly vibrated. The weapons that were about to shatter were all drawn inside. Blinding light erupted from within, energy surged, and all the weapons burned and cracked apart. However, they couldn't harm Ye Fan at all. Eventually, peace returned inside the cauldron, leaving only a pile of scrap metal.

Ye Fan acted with lightning speed, striking the two men down and incapacitating them.

"I won't say much more," Ye Fan declared. "Whoever reveals the Innate Grand Void Gang Qi, I will spare them. Otherwise, you will die."

At first, all four remained silent, showing stubborn refusal to compromise. This made Ye Fan frown. If he tried to forcefully extract it, their spiritual seas would surely shatter.

"I'm giving you a chance..."

Eventually, Ye Fan allowed them to recover their combat strength. He then sparred with each of the four separately, secretly using the Saint Battle Method to imitate the Innate Grand Void Gang Qi.

Eventually, he finally figured it out. This was a secret art that blended innate qi with the void. He didn't know the exact cultivation method, but he understood the concept.

When Ye Fan used the Saint Battle Method to unleash this divine art, the four individuals, including Ji Yunteng and Ji Yunsheng, had their eyes nearly pop out.

Ye Fan let out a low shout, and a divine light surged from his mouth, sweeping in all directions like a tsunami, incredibly powerful. "You... how can you possess such a divine art?"

"Let's have a match and see who is stronger."

Ye Fan, accepting the challenge, used the Saint Battle Method to fight against them. It wasn't the true Innate Grand Void Gang Qi, but its power was not inferior.

This was the Dou (Fight) character secret among the Nine Secrets. It could evolve into various offensive divine arts, ever-changing, truly a supreme saint art. Later, Ye Fan became increasingly proficient. With a single exhalation from his mouth, it was like a celestial river pouring down, with unmatched power. His essence, qi, and spirit far surpassed ordinary people, and his innate qi was like a sea, making this divine art perfectly suited for him to wield. Unlike the people before him, who would be drained of their essence and qi, almost collapsing from exhaustion, after exhaling a mouthful of Innate Grand Void Gang Qi.

"Hmph!" Ye Fan unleashed it again. With an exhalation, it materialized into a scroll, upon which Dao patterns flickered. Like an ancient sealing scroll, it directly suppressed the four individuals.

"How is this possible?" Ji Yunteng and the others wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Ye Fan's mastery of the Innate Grand Void Gang Qi was far more terrifying than theirs. It was as if he had been profoundly skilled in it for many years, which they couldn't comprehend.

"Thank you for allowing me to acquire another offensive divine art!" Ye Fan, after performing for a long time, finally stopped. This was not the Ji family's divine art; it was activated using the Dou (Fight) character secret among the Nine Secrets.

Half an hour later, Ye Fan returned to Fire Cloud City, spreading word everywhere that the Ji family did not keep their promises, and that anyone claiming their reward would face dire consequences.

Afterward, he quickly vanished. The Ji family was in a frenzy, but eventually managed to quell the storm, claiming that someone had used false information to defraud Source.

It must be said that Ancient Aristocratic Families were formidable entities. Afterward, Fire Cloud City became "harmonious," and few people believed what Ye Fan had spread.

Ye Fan already knew that with the Ji family's power, there was no commotion they couldn't settle. He did all this merely to make them wary, to facilitate his next move.

Half a month later, Ye Fan returned to Haozhou and arrived at Stone Village. The big black dog had finally recovered, having lost a lot of weight, and was now allergic to pink fruits. "Black Emperor," Ye Fan asked, "what effect did that immortal fruit have on you? Did you gain a great benefit?" "Mention that again, and I'll get furious!" the big black dog growled, its face darkening. It never suffered a loss, but for the first time, a single fruit had laid it low, making it still feel like foaming at the mouth whenever it thought about it.

"It should have had some effect; that fruit was clearly unusual," Ye Fan mused, stroking his chin. "Effect my ass!" the dog barked. "It made everything I eat taste like bitter herbs, my mouth is terribly bitter, and I don't know when it'll completely fade." The big black dog was utterly depressed. It couldn't blame anyone else; it was its own greed that made it scramble for the fruit.

Tu Fei lived up to expectations, having collected twenty-five thousand jin of Source, all shimmering, high-quality pure Source.

"So much Source! This Emperor wants half!" The greedy big black dog pounced, eager to snatch some, but Ye Fan swept his sleeve, collecting it all.

"Woof!" "Stupid dog, stop trying to grab it!" "This Emperor has helped you several times, yet always ended up suffering. You must compensate me!" "Alright, no problem," Ye Fan readily agreed. His main reason for returning was to execute a major plan with the big black dog. Afterward, Ye Fan sought out Tu Fei to discuss with him.

"What? Are you crazy? Revealing your tracks and letting people claim a hundred thousand jin of Source?" Tu Fei exclaimed in shock. "Precisely," Ye Fan nodded. "This is a rare opportunity, and its feasibility is very high."

Tu Fei shook his head and said, "You've already defrauded them of ten thousand jin of Source; they'll certainly be on guard. You can't keep taking from a tiger's mouth."

"The previous method indeed won't work anymore," Ye Fan said. "I heard that now, those who provide clues need to corroborate them with their spiritual sense. Therefore, I need to reveal my true self and give them information that couldn't be more real."

"That's too dangerous," Tu Fei objected.

"No worries. If we operate it well, the success rate is high. Once we get the hundred thousand jin of Source, I will—" "You're gambling with your life! If something goes wrong, it will be too late for regrets!" Tu Dazui strongly objected. "With the Black Emperor here, I can turn danger into safety..."

"Woof!" The big black dog looked displeased. "Kid, whenever this Emperor is with you, I never get any benefit, always just bad luck. Don't count on me this time."

Ye Fan smiled faintly, "Didn't you always want Source? This time, we're going for a hundred thousand jin of Source. You'd better think carefully."

"A hundred thousand jin..." The big black dog's drool nearly flowed out. It wanted to refuse, but the temptation was too great. "Damn it, I'll go for it! If I have bad luck again this time, kid, you'll be hunted down!"

Ye Fan chuckled and said to Tu Fei and the big black dog, "Actually, this time, as long as we plan it well, there's no danger."

"Then elaborate."

"First step: you need to find a suitable person who will discover me at the right time and report it to the Yaoguang Holy Land. This is quite difficult because now, those who provide clues need to corroborate them with their spiritual sense. Anyone with ulterior motives will surely reveal themselves. The suitable candidate must be genuine and truly unaware of our plan." Tu Fei pondered for a moment and said, "Finding someone to betray you isn't the problem. The key is to make him naturally fall into the trap, which is somewhat difficult. We can't leave any traces of our setup."

Ye Fan continued, smiling, "Next, we need to create a stir. After that person reports to the Holy Land, it's best to create a huge commotion, making sure all cultivators in that region know about it and follow them as witnesses." "If that happens, wouldn't you be in even greater danger if you're surrounded?"

Ye Fan chuckled, "The Black Emperor is proficient in Dao patterns. Traversing the void is nothing for it. I only need to show my face briefly, and then immediately teleport thousands of li away."

Tu Fei said, "Hearing you say that, the feasibility is very high. Perhaps it really can succeed."

"Black Emperor, can you guarantee absolute safety when traversing the void?" Ye Fan asked. This step was the most crucial; if he couldn't escape, he would surely die.

"You're thinking too simply," the Black Emperor mercilessly retorted. It said, "As Ancient Aristocratic Families, they must have secret treasures that can stabilize the void. You might not be able to escape then."

"Such artifacts exist?" Ye Fan was surprised.

"The Holy Lands have ancient inheritances; they would certainly forge such secret treasures." The big black dog squinted, thought for a moment, and said, "Fortunately, this Emperor isn't one to be trifled with either. I have a way to deal with it."

That very day, they departed from Haozhou, setting off for the hundred thousand jin of Source.