Chapter 605: Second Saint

The dark clouds receded, and countless stars twinkled as moonlight spilled down. The low mountain was tranquil, and everything appeared as if nothing had happened.

Ye Fan walked step by step towards the ancient tree. This old pine was at least four thousand years old, its trunk hollow and its needles sparse, clearly on the verge of death.

At the base of the tree lay a flat, blue stone slab, no more than 1.67 meters long, coincidentally similar in length to the old Daoist priest. It seemed quite extraordinary.

“Occasionally I come under the pine tree, resting my head on a stone to sleep. No calendar exists in the mountains; I don't know the year when winter ends…”

Ye Fan stared blankly, lost in thought. Could this old Daoist priest truly still be alive? How many times had the world transformed from sea to land? If he sighed like that, how incredibly old must he be?!

He strode towards the back of the small Daoist temple, arriving at the yellow earth grave. Activating his Origin Heaven Divine Sense to observe, a shiver ran down his spine at that moment.

Beneath the yellow earth, the tattered Daoist robe was still there, and the ancient wooden hairpin still lay, having not moved an inch. It remained in its original position.

"How could this be…?" Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart. The man had clearly already "turned into Dao" and ceased to exist, yet why had he just seen his figure again?

What he had just witnessed couldn't have been an illusion. The dark clouds had appeared, the old Daoist priest had materialized, then inexplicably vanished—it was all very real, and those words still seemed to echo.

"It's not a residual imprint of divine consciousness, because I heard a real voice," Ye Fan murmured. He returned to the front of the temple and walked around the low mountain, feeling utterly perplexed.

The night was serene, and complete silence reigned, save for the occasional cry of a night bird. There were no other unusual sounds, no trace of a stranger's presence, and certainly no divine power fluctuations.

His heart was filled with questions, but he had no way to resolve them. In the end, he could only continue to meditate, believing that no matter how powerful that being was, it likely bore him no ill will.

Ye Fan secluded himself here, and more than half a month passed in a flash. Every day he sat quietly in front of the Daoist temple, silently contemplating the Dao.

This was a pure land, a return to nature, far from the clamor. Yet, there was no auspicious energy lingering; everything was perfectly natural, like a simple and elegant ink wash painting.

During the day, woodcutters occasionally sang loudly, and sometimes hunters would chase wild beasts from deep within the mountains, their roars echoing through the peaks. Ye Fan, with an ethereal heart, savored all of this.

In recent days, he had perceived a strange Dao trace. The low mountain harbored spiritual energy, and even before consuming the Dragon Marrow, he already had a mysterious sensation, his body and mind feeling spiritual.

"A place where one has 'turned into Dao' is divine land on Earth. If a great sect were to learn of it, they would undoubtedly seize it immediately, set up a Heaven's Net formation, and turn it into a forbidden area inaccessible to outsiders."

Another deep night descended. Dark clouds rolled, almost pressing down on the mountaintop, making it pitch black. Soon after, lightning flashed and thunder roared as heavy rain poured down.

A curtain of rain covered the world. Ye Fan stood in the Daoist temple, observing the world amidst the downpour. Occasionally, streaks of lightning cut across the dark night sky, revealing for a fleeting instant a bright world of rain.

"Boom!"

Lightning struck erratically. In an instant, over a hundred silver streaks appeared between heaven and earth, connecting sky and ground. Endless heavy rain poured down, and the rain-drenched mountains instantly lit up.

But immediately after, boundless darkness descended again. The lightning vanished, and only the heavy rain poured down; nothing else could be seen. In the terrifying deep night, standing alone, an unusual atmosphere prevailed.

"Boom!"

Another burst of thunder, with hundreds and thousands of golden serpents dancing, made the vast expanse between heaven and earth incandescent. Distant mountain ranges became clearly visible.

"That's…"

Ye Fan stood by the window, his expression instantly changing. He saw the old Daoist priest again, still in his tattered robe, with a wooden hairpin stuck in his hairbun.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged in the pouring rain in the night sky. He opened his mouth and inhaled; thousands of electric lights all vanished into his mouth.

"Boom!"

Heavy rain fell like a waterfall, and water was everywhere. The lightning intensified; this time, ten-thousand-zhang bolts of lightning descended, thousands striking down simultaneously.

"So much lightning, it's comparable to a great heavenly tribulation…" Ye Fan muttered to himself.

However, to his astonishment, the old Daoist priest repeated the same action: he opened his mouth and inhaled, and thousands of lightning bolts instantly vanished, all rushing into his mouth.

"This is just too insane!"

Ye Fan's expression changed. He had undergone several heavenly tribulations and could resist them fearlessly, but he always had to pay a price, his body often injured by the lightning. When had he ever, like the old Daoist priest, swallowed them all in one gulp?

This was like something out of a fairy tale; not a single trace of lightning fell. All of it was swallowed into his body by his open mouth. It didn't look like a heavenly tribulation; it looked more like he was drinking water.

"Boom!"

Endless lightning descended, turning heaven and earth into a vast expanse of white. Various lightning tribulations manifested: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water tribulations descended, along with streaks of Primordial Chaos Heavenly Thunder.

And at the very top, an ancient celestial palace even appeared, with humanoid lightning figures emerging, intertwining, and striking erratically across the sky.

"Could he possibly swallow such a great heavenly tribulation?" Ye Fan couldn't believe it; the level of this tribulation had reached an unimaginable realm.

He had once seen celestial palaces formed by lightning, with humanoid electric figures moving about, but he had never experienced them himself. He knew deeply that they contained endless terror; being struck would definitely turn one into ashes.

However, at this moment, the old Daoist priest remained unchanged. Even as heavy rain poured down and lightning engulfed the sky, he merely opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing all the lightning into his mouth.

"Is this… still human?!"

Ye Fan's hair stood on end. When he underwent his own tribulations and fought against them, the endless lightning eventually dissipated between heaven and earth, but this old man didn't let a single trace escape; he absorbed it all.

This was terrifying and utterly defied all reason. It made no sense at all, especially the celestial palace formed by lightning and those streaks of humanoid lightning, which were unimaginably horrifying, yet they too were swallowed.

The old Daoist priest appeared out of thin air in front of the dilapidated temple, so fast it was incomprehensible. The boundless lightning in his mouth transformed into a pill that slid into his abdomen, causing his entire body to glow before it dimmed and became ordinary once more.

Ye Fan was stunned. This old Daoist priest was truly terrifying—had he turned those lightning tribulations into pills?

Between heaven and earth, the lightning disappeared, leaving only the torrential rain. Curtains of rain fell through the pitch-black night sky, and the sound of water was everywhere.

Ye Fan remained motionless, quietly watching the old Daoist priest. He was afraid that if he made a sound, the man would suddenly vanish again, just like last time.

“How many tens of thousands of autumns have passed since seas turned to dust, the Dao has turned my hair yellow, and immortality brings sorrow. A single dream lasts thousands of years; where does the arduous immortal path lead…”

The old Daoist priest murmured softly, sitting motionless on the blue stone. He seemed to merge with the night rain and the world around him, without any radiance or divine power. Raindrops fell upon him, yet did not wet his robes.

This was undoubtedly a true master. Ye Fan's heart trembled; he felt he might have encountered a Saint!

He had originally thought that in this era, only the Old Madman had achieved Sainthood. He never imagined there would be another in the Central Province, whose words were profound and unfathomable, and whose realm was immeasurable.

"Senior…"

He walked into the heavy rain and called out softly, with great piety and respect. But the old man remained motionless, his eyes closed like stone.

Ye Fan cautiously tried to sense him, finding the slender old Daoist priest sitting on the blue stone, close at hand, yet he couldn't detect his presence.

"No, this isn't a mental imprint, yet he also has no physical form…" He was startled, for at this moment, his Origin Heaven Divine Eye opened, revealing that this was merely a phantom.

Suddenly, the old man stood up and walked straight towards him. Ye Fan was immediately startled but made no move. If a Saint wished to act, in this era, no matter how many masters combined, they couldn't stop him, save for the Old Madman.

Swoosh!

The old Daoist priest walked straight towards the temple, brushing past him and dispersing like air, passing through and then slowly disappearing.

"Not a real person; he eventually… died." Ye Fan was stunned.

Afterwards, he carefully examined the low mountain in the heavy rain and discovered many magnetic rocks, realizing it was an iron ore mountain.

"That's it, I understand…"

He recalled the reports he had seen from the other side of the starry sky: figures appearing in ancient tombs, ancient soldiers fighting in grand canyons—everything seemed real.

In reality, all these scenes were merely replays of the past. Magnetic rock formations in nature, among other things, could replay these "past events" under specific conditions.

Ye Fan felt immense regret; he had actually missed a Saint of old, arriving only two years too late and thus unable to meet him. This person's cultivation had reached an incredible state.

Refining heavenly tribulations into pills—this method wasn't even recorded in ancient texts. One could imagine the level of power he possessed; that was a heavenly tribulation capable of weaving out an ancient heavenly court, its terrifying intensity beyond imagination!

"A Saint silently passed away here, and no one knew," Ye Fan thought. "None of the five great domains knew. Apart from the Old Madman, there was still another Saint in the Central Province…"

Ye Fan sighed deeply. Perhaps this was the mark of a true master: someone who had no ambition to dominate the world, possessing such world-shaking cultivation, yet passing away in the wilderness, unknown to anyone.

"This is the realm of a Saint!"

In comparison, other cultivators were far inferior. Such individuals had long grown indifferent to the mortal world, having no attachments, possessing only a heart dedicated to seeking immortality.

After Ye Fan realized it was a phantom, he paid even more attention and decided to reside there permanently. If he could witness the old Daoist priest's various cultivation practices, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous opportunity.

Time flew by. After two months, Ye Fan was in quiet cultivation, silently comprehending the Dao and refining Dragon Marrow. A breakthrough was imminent, and he might trigger a heavenly tribulation very soon.

However, in these few days, his heart found it hard to calm down, for he had witnessed several more scenes and obtained astonishing information.

When the old Daoist priest muttered to himself, he mentioned the Nine Secrets, revealing that he came from an ancient family and possessed one of the secrets!

Of course, these were just a few words, not enough to be conclusive proof. Ye Fan connected them through various clues, and it was a result of his speculation, not necessarily true.

But even so, his heart was stirred. The Nine Secrets had almost lost their lineage, with only three or four remaining in the world. Now, unexpectedly, a clue to one of the secrets had been found in the Central Province, a matter of great importance.

"The Cai family… there's no such ancient family in the Central Province…" Ye Fan muttered to himself. Before coming to the Central Province, he had carefully studied the major forces and found no mention of a Cai family.

"Could it be a reclusive aristocratic family?"

"Or perhaps, the Cai family that was once extremely prosperous ten thousand years ago but suddenly declined and vanished?"

In these past few days, the sky was frequently covered with thunderclouds, and Ye Fan felt he might be about to take that crucial step.

That very night, with the moon bright and stars sparse, he saw the old Daoist priest's figure again. Having only seen him five or six times in total, Ye Fan paid special attention.

"If only I could hear him recite a section of Daoist incantations, or one of the Nine Secrets."

Ye Fan wished for it, but he knew it was almost impossible. The fact that the old Daoist priest hadn't left a single word after passing away was enough to show his truly transcendent state of mind.

“What in this world does not bring tears? Gains and losses, human sentiments, none prolong life. Just now drinking in the family hall, looking back, already eight thousand years have passed…”

This time, the old Daoist priest actually showed a hint of wistfulness, unlike before. He sadly walked around the temple three times, then looked up towards the west, finally arriving at the back of the temple.

"His tone… why is it like this? Why does it sound like he's about to depart the world?"

Ye Fan's heart trembled. This old Daoist priest had lived for at least eight thousand years and had been away from home for eight millennia—this was simply terrifying!

He must be a Saint, there was no mistake. Otherwise, he absolutely couldn't have had such a lifespan, and he was a peak existence among them.

The old Daoist priest found an empty spot behind the small Daoist temple, dug a pit, and calmly and naturally walked into it step by step, thus burying himself.

This spot perfectly coincided with the original yellow earth grave, being one and the same location.

“Coming without a trace, leaving without a shadow; departing is the same as arriving. Why ask more about worldly affairs? This fleeting life is but a dream…” These were the old Daoist priest's last few words before he "turned into Dao" and vanished between heaven and earth.

"This… is a Saint of old!" Ye Fan could only sigh out these few words.