Chapter 610: Pointing to the Azure Emperor

The mysterious ascetic from the Western Desert lay dying, his body severed in two. The head of that monstrous talent, Yan Yunluan, had been lopped off and was on the verge of falling.

It was a blood-soaked scene; both mighty experts met their doom after Ye Fan transformed into a dragon-shaped Dao mark, unable to withstand the Yin-Yang dividing line of the Taiji Diagram.

Ye Fan stood in the arena, holding Yan Yunluan's head in one hand, while his other hand, transformed into a golden heavenly stele, suppressed the ascetic's upper body.

A pin drop could be heard in the stillness of the arena. Blood flowed, dripping one by one, like the somber melody of the Yellow Springs. The sight of two great masters subdued by a single person, their bodies broken, was truly heart-stopping.

From a distance, the crowd remained silent, utterly awestruck. Ye Fan's final demonstration of the "Dou" secret character was overwhelmingly powerful, his methods so potent that they felt suffocated; it was simply too terrifying.

Only much later did people begin to speak, their discussions hushed, their hearts filled with profound shock.

"The legendary Nine Secrets—the 'Dou' character technique—is indeed in his hands," someone murmured. "It can deduce all combat techniques and evolve every method of battle."

"Unfortunately, the ascetic's 'Om' mantra was incomplete," another added, "rendering it unable to contend with the Daoist 'Dou' secret."

"The Buddhist Six-Character True Word will surely reappear in the world," someone else remarked. "In the future, it will most likely truly contend with the Daoist Nine Secrets to determine which is superior."

Ye Fan fixed his gaze on the ascetic and asked, "What is the story of the Fighting Buddha? What is his origin?"

This was the answer everyone else also desired. In the post-Archaic era, Buddhism still possessed an ancient Buddha, a testament to its incredibly deep and unimaginable heritage.

The ascetic did not reply. Though extremely unwilling to speak, he remained silent, the incompleteness of his "Om" mantra filling his heart with despair.

"If you refuse to speak, I will make you understand that form is emptiness, and death is emptiness."

"Stop!" A loud shout suddenly echoed from afar as two old men flew towards them, their faces contorted with horror as they stared at Yan Yunluan's head in Ye Fan's hand.

"Let go of Yunluan!" another man cried out, his face filled with alarm.

They were Yan Yunluan's guardians, though they didn't always remain inseparable from him. Realizing they had arrived too late, their expressions instantly changed.

"You tell me to let go, and I'll just let go?" Ye Fan asked indifferently.

"Stop at once! Release Yunluan!" The two men charged forward.

"What if I don't stop?" Ye Fan inquired.

"If you dare harm Yunluan, you will come to no good end; the Yan clan will never let you go..."

"I despise threats," Ye Fan interrupted, and with a swift 'bang,' he shattered Yan Yunluan's head with a single finger, as easily as cracking a walnut.

"You... I'll kill you!"

Both men's faces turned ashen white, utterly drained of color, their hearts feeling as though they had plunged into an abyss. Ye Fan, completely unrestrained and fearing neither sacred lands nor divine dynasties, had cleanly dispatched Yan Yunluan.

"Yunluan... You brat named Ye, pay with your life!" The two Yan clan members lunged, their hair disheveled and their eyes wild with madness.

"Since you miss him so much," Ye Fan said, "go and join him; I will reunite you." He then collected Yan Yunluan's bronze battle armor and Sky Halberd.

"Kill!" The two mighty experts charged forward.

At the Scholar's Manor, before a picturesque peak, two young men stood hesitantly outside Wang Teng's cave dwelling, not daring to disturb him.

"Who is out there? Come in," a calm voice resonated.

The stone door rumbled open, releasing a misty, spiritual radiance, resplendent with color and enveloped in immortal energy. The two young men nervously stepped inside.

Inside the cave dwelling, on a bed of dark jade, a man sat quietly in the lotus position. His long hair was thick, dark, and lustrous, and in his eyes, endless stars seemed to appear and vanish, making him utterly unfathomable.

"G-greetings, Brother Wang," one of them stammered, his voice trembling slightly. The man before them exerted even greater pressure than their own patriarch.

"Is there something you need?" Wang Teng asked placidly.

"The Sacred Body Ye Fan has appeared..." one of them quickly recounted the events that had transpired outside.

However, after a long silence, Wang Teng said nothing, causing the two men to exchange bewildered glances.

"Brother Wang..."

"I know," Wang Teng simply replied, showing no intention of taking action.

"He used the Nine Secrets," one of them continued, "defeating Yan Yunluan and an ascetic with the 'Dou' character technique, and the Buddhist 'Om' mantra also appeared."

"Is that so? The Nine Secrets..." Wang Teng's eyes flickered. A divine light surged from the crown of his head, and a golden ancient war chariot rumbled into existence.

The divine light coalesced into a majestic, towering figure, entirely enveloped in golden light that pierced the heavens. This figure, bearing a sacred sword on its back, stood upon the war chariot like a Heavenly Emperor descended to the mortal realm.

Around him, divine light shone brilliantly, where nine true dragons, nine divine phoenixes, nine white tigers, and nine Black Tortoises flashed with dazzling radiance, forming the Four Symbols that encircled him.

"Lead the way!" The figure commanded softly, his voice resonating through the sky.

The two young men found themselves standing on the war chariot, which had already surged out of the cave dwelling and was now soaring towards the sky. Both couldn't help but tremble with awe.

A mere avatar of Wang Teng possessed such immense power. As it stood upon the golden ancient war chariot, dragons and phoenixes harmonized, white tigers roared to the heavens, and Black Tortoises appeared to expand the seas. Ten thousand layers of golden light shone brilliantly, a sight akin to an ancient emperor touring the cosmos.

"It's... Wang Teng!"

"Wang Teng is leaving on his war chariot!"

"This is merely an avatar of his, bearing the Emperor Sword. Who is he going to slay? Is he going to have a decisive battle with the Central Emperor?"

Throughout the Scholar's Manor, with its numerous picturesque peaks, many witnessed this scene and were utterly astonished. Figures shot into the sky, following in pursuit.

Every action of Wang Teng garnered immense attention. The departure of his avatar naturally captivated many, who followed closely in its wake.

"He is going to slay the monstrous talent of the Eastern Wasteland!"

"What? The Sacred Body Ye Fan has appeared again? He's battling in the distance; this time, he's most likely in grave danger."

"The Nine Secrets have appeared," someone remarked. "Wang Teng is determined to acquire and master all of the Daoist Nine Secrets; no wonder he's personally taking action."

Along the way, hundreds of figures followed, their numbers swelling. More than half of the Scholar's Manor had been alerted, all eager to witness the Northern Emperor's grandeur.

With the appearance of the Nine Secrets and the Northern Emperor's emergence, the golden ancient war chariot sped like lightning. Along its path, dragon roars and phoenix cries resounded, white tigers illuminated the sky, creating a dazzling and awe-inspiring display of majestic grandeur.

However, by the time the war chariot arrived, the battlefield had long since fallen silent and desolate. Everything was over; the two mighty experts protecting Yan Yunluan had been defeated and killed, and Ye Fan had departed a long time ago.

The ascetic also lay dead, leaving only a tattered piece of monk's robe. All the powerful cultivators had been slain by Ye Fan; not a single one escaped.

"What a pity, we missed it again, couldn't make it in time," someone lamented. It was rare to see Wang Teng emerge from seclusion, yet they couldn't witness his invincible grandeur.

Ye Fan was unaware of any of this. He was already thousands of *li* away, having bid farewell to Pang Bo, Li Heishui, and the others, and was not concerned for their safety.

The Second Great Bandit of the Northern Region had recently been active in Central State, and had once appeared in the Scholar's Manor carrying the Demon Swallowing Pot. While he might not interfere in contests among the younger generation, he certainly wouldn't tolerate anyone attempting to take their lives.

"Thirty to forty thousand *li* isn't that far; we can meet often," Ye Fan said as he bid them farewell and headed west.

The Scholar's Manor, it must be said, was profoundly mysterious, housing all manner of ancient texts. Pang Bo had found numerous resources for him, allowing him to now deduce a rough area.

Ten thousand years ago, Central State was home to the flourishing Cai clan, an ancient lineage with a terrifying foundation, suspected of possessing one of the Nine Secrets. Yet, they were wiped out overnight.

"The Nine Secrets originated from the Eastern Wasteland and were dispersed, with one even ending up in Central State. It's a pity that the lineages of the other secrets seem to have truly been broken."

What truly disquieted Ye Fan, however, was the collapse of the Cai clan. Who could have been responsible for annihilating an ancient aristocratic family not much weaker than a divine dynasty?

Various ancient texts from that era offered no definitive conclusions, as there was no evidence or clues, not a single trace to be found; it remained a cold case.

Ye Fan perused these materials, noting that there had been no conclusions at the time. However, thousands of years later, numerous speculations had emerged, with widely differing viewpoints.

Some speculated that the Great Xia Divine Dynasty had acted, wielding the ultimate divine might of the Grand Emperor Sword, to obliterate the Cai clan with a single strike. Others claimed the Nine Li Divine Dynasty had refined this ancient lineage using an ultimate weapon.

Still others proposed that it was done by someone from the Eastern Wasteland, who appeared with an ultimate imperial weapon to reclaim the Nine Secrets, thereby erasing the Cai clan of Central State without leaving a trace.

And some even suggested that the case was the work of Western Desert Buddhism, arguing that Mount Sumeru was profoundly mysterious and unfathomable, with unparalleled figures residing there who could accomplish such a feat.

"The Fighting Buddha? No, the timing doesn't match."

Afterward, Ye Fan encountered many more deductions, all of which seemed quite plausible.

"It truly became a historical cold case, impossible to unravel."

Finally, tucked within the pile of materials, Ye Fan discovered a piece of unofficial history containing a startling theory, vastly different from all previous viewpoints.

"It wasn't a group of people committing slaughter, but just one person, from tens of thousands of *li* away, who merely flicked a finger and annihilated an immortal lineage..."

Upon reading this, Ye Fan shivered. Could a single person's power, with just a flick of a finger, truly erase an ancient aristocratic family?

This was simply too horrifying to believe. One must remember that the Cai clan back then was barely weaker than a divine dynasty!

This unofficial history did not explicitly name the individual, but it subtly pointed towards one person. Such terrifying combat power, from ancient times to the present, was possessed by only a handful of individuals. And in that specific era... the name was practically on the tip of his tongue!

The Azure Emperor!

Ten thousand years ago, a Great Emperor lived in the world. If such a person truly existed, it could only have been the Azure Emperor.

"A Great Emperor was involved... what exactly happened back then? Did the Azure Emperor truly take action?"

Ye Fan was stunned; this was an astonishing theory. Why would the last Great Emperor of this world do such a thing? What was so significant that it warranted the Azure Emperor's personal intervention? Were there hidden secrets?

"All these theories, so hard to discern..." he sighed softly. Too many years had passed; now everything was a mystery, and he could only make wild guesses.

Traveling west for thirty to forty thousand *li*, Ye Fan arrived at an ancient land, where he beheld endless desolation: a boundless ancient forest encircling a vast ruin.

Lush greenery stretched across the four directions, with endless primitive forests, yet only the central area remained barren, not a blade of grass growing, utterly silent and desolate.

"This is the Cai clan's ruins..."

Only a few shattered walls and broken remnants remained, where crows perched, cawing mournfully. It was a stark contrast between the clan's former prosperity and its present desolation.

A massive abyss, over a hundred *li* long, cut through this barren land. Debris and rubble lay along its edge, making it clear that the countless heavenly palaces of old had been shattered and plunged into its depths.

"In the past, the Cai clan's pure land must have been built upon this great canyon, but it has since sunk."

Ye Fan flew high into the sky and observed the area using the Origin Heaven Divine Art. In that instant, his heart was profoundly stirred!

The abyss appeared irregular and terrifying. However, since he cultivated the Origin Arts, which could restore the topography of mountains and rivers, he was able to accurately deduce the changes in the terrain.

Light flickered in his eyes, bright and dim, as he repeatedly deduced, weaving together the various landforms of the past.

The abyss constantly shifted, then transformed into a regular shape, over a hundred *li* long and unfathomably deep!

"This is a finger mark!"

Ye Fan could barely believe his eyes. A hundred-li-long abyss seemed to have been created by a flick of a finger, and then later erased!

"Did the Azure Emperor truly take action? Why would he do such a thing..."