Chapter 67: 荒塔与绿铜

**Chapter 67: The Desolate Pagoda and the Green Copper**

The unscrupulous Taoist walked back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, frowning and muttering to himself, "The Demon Emperor truly lives up to his reputation, setting up both a 'Yang Tomb' and a 'Yin Grave.' Is this place... a deliberate flaw he left behind?"

The stout Taoist gazed at the distant active volcano and then at the unfathomable black pool nearby, his eyebrows almost twisting together in surprise and uncertainty. "If I'm not mistaken," he said, "this Yin Grave is far from simple. Whoever enters it will surely perish..."

"Aren't you doing quite well, Taoist priest?" Ye Fan interjected from the side.

"Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?" The unscrupulous Taoist now found Ye Fan utterly displeasing. "You wasteful profligate," he scoffed, "why don't you just go down and keep the Demon Emperor company!"

"No, please, Taoist priest, don't take your anger out on me. This really has nothing to do with me."

"Sigh!" The unscrupulous Taoist plopped down onto the ground, looking utterly dejected. "Although I've uncovered an astonishing secret, I can't open the Yin Grave. I suspect there's a deadly trap laid down below. If I had dived to the bottom of the black pool and entered the Yin Hall just now, I probably wouldn't be in this world anymore."

"So, the supreme treasure of the Eastern Wasteland's human race—the Desolate Pagoda—is in the Yin Grave beneath this black pool?" Ye Fan sat on a distant rock, not daring to get too close lest he jinx himself. "No wonder those five powerful figures couldn't find the Desolate Pagoda no matter what," he mused. "It turns out it was suppressed here."

The unscrupulous Taoist ignored him, deep in thought. He began sketching on the ground, seemingly deducing the various connections between the Yang Tomb and the Yin Grave. Finally, he let out a long sigh, a look of helplessness on his face. "To miss a supreme treasure," he lamented, "only to accidentally discover an astonishing Yin Grave that I can't enter, truly brings both regret and distress!"

"Aren't there a few important figures over there?" Ye Fan gestured towards the five top-tier experts hovering above the active volcano.

"Even if they went in, it would be difficult for them to escape unharmed. This is a certain death trap! The Yang Tomb was a deliberate flaw left by the Demon Emperor to pass on the demon race's supreme treasure and his source of power to his descendants. But this place is his final resting spot, not to be disturbed by outsiders. Revealing the Yang Tomb was to conceal the Yin Grave! Perhaps there are other profound uses—Yin and Yang, embracing the Tai Chi, deeply mysterious." At this point, the unscrupulous Taoist looked wistful. "Unless we have the Eastern Wasteland human race's supreme treasure, even if a peerless expert could break this deadly trap, they wouldn't be able to stabilize the Yin Grave. It would plunge deep beneath the Eastern Wasteland, like a dragon returning to the sea, leaving no trace."

"The Desolate Pagoda is actually that miraculous? It can stabilize the Demon Emperor's Yin Grave and is even more powerful than a peerless expert?" Ye Fan looked surprised.

"Of course!" The unscrupulous Taoist's face showed yearning. "Legend has it that the Desolate Pagoda has existed for countless ages. No one knows when it first appeared. In this world, there is nothing it cannot suppress, no person or object!"

"Is it really that terrifying?"

The stout Taoist looked utterly captivated. "Since ancient times, there's been no definitive answer on whether immortals truly exist; no one can say for sure. However, every legend about immortals in the Eastern Wasteland is somehow connected to the Desolate Pagoda."

"What's the connection to the Desolate Pagoda?" Ye Fan asked, surprised.

"According to legend, over these countless ages, immortals have appeared in the Eastern Wasteland on several occasions, and these events were recorded in ancient texts. Without exception, each of these 'immortals' was suppressed and killed by the Desolate Pagoda!"

"No way, the Desolate Pagoda is that terrifying?!" Ye Fan was quite shocked. While there was no definitive conclusion on whether immortals existed in the current era, it was conceivable that if they did, they would undoubtedly transcend all other cultivators in the world! For something so powerful to be unable to resist the Desolate Pagoda's suppression was truly astounding.

"Naturally, it's terrifying, otherwise why would so many important figures come here? I don't think it will be long before the masters of the Sacred Lands themselves arrive. After all, the Eastern Wasteland is vast, and some people received the news late. Once they learn of it, they will certainly set up 'Dao patterns' and cross the void directly to get here."

"What exactly is the origin of the Desolate Pagoda to be so extraordinary and powerful?" Ye Fan's heart was troubled.

"Legend says it existed in this world long before any living beings were born in the Eastern Wasteland. No one knows its true origin."

"What a pity," Ye Fan said, shaking his head and sighing dramatically, "a treasure you had in hand, Taoist priest, and you threw it away, mistaking a supreme artifact for scrap metal."

Hearing this, the unscrupulous Taoist's expression immediately turned grim, greener than the green copper itself, and he fumed, "If it weren't for you, I would have had it already."

"Taoist priest, you can't say that. You were the one who threw it away first. What a shame about that Desolate Pagoda."

"Who told you it was the Desolate Pagoda? When did I ever say it was the supreme treasure of the Eastern Wasteland's human race?"

Ye Fan looked very surprised. "If it's not the Desolate Pagoda, why are you so agitated? It's just a piece of scrap copper, and I also think it has nothing to do with the Desolate Pagoda."

"What do you know, you little brat? I can't be bothered with you!" The unscrupulous Taoist was seething with unexpressed anger and didn't want to talk about the green copper anymore.

Although Ye Fan currently appeared to be only eleven or twelve years old, his true age had already surpassed twenty. Being called a "little brat" naturally displeased him, and he mumbled, "I'll be damned!"

"Who are you telling?" the unscrupulous Taoist asked, uncertain.

"I'll be damned if I tell you!" Ye Fan replied ungraciously, feeling annoyed.

"You'll be damned if you tell me? What nonsense are you spouting? I don't have time for you." With that, the unscrupulous Taoist turned around and stared blankly at the black pool.

"Taoist priest, since you don't dare to venture into the Yin Grave anyway, and with nothing else to do, why don't you tell me what's so special about that green copper? Let me know its origin, especially since I was the one who threw it away..."

"You... you have the nerve to say that!" Hearing these words, the stout Taoist was furious, his eyes turning red.

"It seems truly extraordinary. I'd guess it's only slightly inferior to the Desolate Pagoda..." Ye Fan was indeed up to no good, deliberately provoking the unscrupulous Taoist, though he dared not go too far.

"You little brat, trying to play mind games with me? I'll stifle you! I'm not telling you anything." The stout Taoist turned away, ignoring him.

"Taoist priest, that's not fair! You snatched three spiritual weapons from me, and now when I ask you a simple question, you act like this..."

Seeing Ye Fan's constant taunting, the unscrupulous Taoist genuinely wanted to strangle him. "Even ten, a hundred, a thousand spiritual weapons wouldn't be worth the green copper you threw away!" he exclaimed.

"Taoist priest, please don't be so resentful. All I did was casually toss it into this black pool. Why didn't you tell me earlier it was a supreme treasure...?"

Watching the eleven or twelve-year-old brat whine and gloat incessantly, the unscrupulous Taoist felt increasingly bitter with every recollection. Eventually, he was almost moved to tears, wishing he could chop off his own hands. How could he have been so foolish, why didn't he keep it back then?

"Damn it all to hell!" He exhaled heavily. "Stop whining and behave yourself!"

"Sigh!" Ye Fan shook his head and sighed, but inwardly, he felt a burst of satisfaction. In just a brief moment, he had made the unscrupulous Taoist deeply regretful, successfully provoking his negative emotions. He had finally gotten some revenge.

When Ye Fan said nothing more, the stout Taoist spoke himself, seemingly filled with regret. "Who said this scrap copper isn't as good as the Desolate Pagoda? Ten thousand years ago, the Eastern Wasteland nearly turned upside down because of this green copper."

"Something like that happened?" Ye Fan looked puzzled.

"Yes, even when the Desolate Pagoda was lost, there wasn't such a disturbance. But this piece of green copper brought unrest to the entire Eastern Wasteland."

"The Desolate Pagoda can suppress and kill immortals; its power is unstoppable, making it a supreme treasure of the Eastern Wasteland. Is the green copper even more powerful than that?"

The stout Taoist looked dispirited. "The green copper originated from the Central Plains. When it was lost back then, all the top experts from the Central Plains emerged, almost completely overturning the Eastern Wasteland, Southern Ridge, Western Desert, and Northern Plains. That was an enormous upheaval!"

Hearing this, Ye Fan gasped.

He knew well that the Central Plains were even more boundless than the Eastern Wasteland. Even cultivators riding divine rainbows found it difficult to traverse. To travel from one end to the other, one had to inscribe "Dao patterns" onto the landscape, gather "heavenly momentum," and then move through and across the void.

It was said that the Central Plains were rich in ancient ruins, a land of outstanding people, constantly producing powerful figures—an extremely mysterious and prosperous ancient land.

"Who was so audacious as to provoke all the top experts from the Central Plains...?"

"Naturally, it was the last Great Emperor to unify the demon race of the Eastern Wasteland, bringing enormous trouble upon the Eastern Wasteland's human race!"

"It seems the Demon Emperor was very powerful, stirring up trouble in all directions. He was indeed an extraordinary figure."

The unscrupulous Taoist shot him an annoyed glance. "Do you even need to say that? If he wasn't powerful enough, how could he have unified the Eastern Wasteland's demon race and achieved an immortal imperial legacy?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment, then asked, "How can you be sure that green copper belongs to the Central Plains? And what exactly is it?"