Chapter 720: Heavenly Talent

"Tap," "tap"... In the darkness, only Ye Fan's footsteps echoed, the sounds carrying far as he trod on the cold, hard ground.

There was nothing else—no life, no light. This was an empty, desolate place where not a blade of grass grew, all vitality extinguished. Only darkness and desolation remained.

This forbidden land, where ancient Great Emperors banished great evils, was fraught with the unknown and the bizarre. It was an eye of the sea, as deep as a great abyss.

There was no water, no black ocean pouring in, only a deathly stillness. It was very cold and dry here.

Ye Fan walked for tens of miles, yet still couldn't reach the end. Along the way, he finally encountered something peculiar: several skeletal remains!

"The bones of a Saint!"

The world had long undergone drastic changes. In this era, ancient Saints were almost unheard of; at most, one or two might exist. Their bones, blood, and flesh were immortal divine substances, capable of being refined into Saint weapons.

However, while the few bones on the ground were incredibly hard and indestructible, they showed no trace of Saint power fluctuations, having long lost their inherent divinity.

"Had too much time passed?"

Not long after, he encountered a piece of human skin, wrinkled and dull. A few drops of blood clinging to it were indistinguishable from ordinary blood.

"Yes, that's it," he thought. "Legend has it this place can devour heaven and earth, refining even deities. That's why ancient Great Emperors chose it to banish criminals; it can even exhaust the vital blood of Saints!"

Ye Fan advanced for over a hundred miles, discovering a terrifying truth: once imprisoned here, escape seemed incredibly difficult. Over a dozen Saints, one after another, had seemingly self-destructed in an attempt to blast open a path, but none had succeeded.

"The divine thought formed by the Human Saint Emperor bestowed a great fortune upon me, yet ultimately imprisoned me in this place of banishment..." He felt a profound uncertainty. Could he still get out?

The area was only about two hundred miles in circumference, and Ye Fan had already reached its boundary. All around, only chaotic energy swirled, utterly unapproachable.

Ye Fan finally discovered several intact skeletal remains: two human, and five belonging to alien races he had never seen or heard of, their forms bizarre and grotesque.

"Great Saints! There were seven Great Saints! These were peerless figures from the peak of all ages, yet they were banished here!"

Including the bone fragments he had seen earlier, this place had, at minimum, been used to banish nearly thirty Saints. This was truly astonishing; if word got out, it would be enough to shake this ancient starfield.

This was a cage that suppressed Saints, unbreakable for all eternity!

Ye Fan searched for a long time but found no way out. Instead, he felt his vital essence rapidly draining, as if evaporating.

"As expected," he mused, "the Eye of the North Sea refines gods and demons, devouring heaven and earth. These Saints were all consumed to death here." He pondered his own fate, knowing that if this continued, he too would be unable to escape a great catastrophe.

Wisps of mist, a primordial chaos, surrounded him on all sides, offering no exit. This empty, dark place was shaped much like the inside of a pot.

Ye Fan returned along his original path. The Fusang divine tree stood fixed in the central area like a bright lamp, its entire form radiating golden light, like a miniature sun.

Only upon returning here did his vital essence cease to drain away, solely because an immortal divine tree was rooted in this spot.

However, Ye Fan couldn't approach, for a stone coffin lay horizontally, its aura daunting. At this moment, two pieces of old bronze had returned to his Sea of Wheels.

With no other recourse, he could only continue cultivating. Ye Fan sat cross-legged on the ground, silently practicing, a branch of the divine tree, about a zhang long, resting in his hand.

On his forehead, nine ancient characters appeared one by one, each radiating a divine halo. Nine halos encircled him, like a god from the Central Limitless Soil.

Ye Fan believed the Human Saint Emperor's divine thought couldn't genuinely intend to banish him here. By diligently studying the nine ancient characters it left behind, he should be able to find a clue.

Time left no trace, passing swiftly. Ye Fan cultivated alone in silence, his entire body enveloped in golden light. The branch in his hand shortened somewhat, and some of its leaves vanished.

Seven months later, he faced a terrifying heavenly tribulation. It did not bypass him merely because he had fallen into the Eye of the North Sea; humanoid lightning, celestial palace thunder, and ancient watchtowers descended upon him simultaneously.

When the heavenly punishment subsided, all was silent. Only Ye Fan remained, sitting cross-legged within his divine halos, his body radiating light as if carved from jade, complementing the Fusang tree not far away.

Enlightenment! Cultivation! With a clear mind, forgetting himself and his surroundings, only by wandering and sublimating within the Dao Realm could he truly understand his own existence. Silently comprehending, this was all he could do now.

Thus, time flowed like water, slowly. Ye Fan remained motionless, like a steadfast rock. The divine tree branch in his hand grew increasingly dim, and nearly all its golden leaves had fallen.

Threads and wisps of Solar Source Saint power were absorbed into his body, and the entire divine tree branch was almost completely assimilated by him.

Over four years, the golden divine tree branch slowly shrank, finally disappearing from his hand. His physical body, now like divine gold, shone with a dazzling brilliance.

During this process, Ye Fan experienced heavenly tribulations multiple times. He ascended the nine small steps of the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven one by one. It must be said that he possessed remarkable talent in cultivation, and bottlenecks were no match for him!

Over two years, he cultivated Solar Saint power, then switched to Lunar Essence, harmonizing them with the Grand Ultimate Dao. Though he narrowly escaped great dangers several times, he passed through them safely.

Lunar and Solar, which is weaker, which is stronger? When Yin and Yang complement each other, one can rule supreme.

Throughout history, some Great Saints had cultivated in this manner, but they ultimately embarked on a path of no return, perishing with their Dao, leaving only lingering regrets.

Being in the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven, Ye Fan naturally couldn't compare to those Great Saints. His current ability to cultivate both paths didn't mean he could continue progressing smoothly; rather, he was now harmonizing with the Dao through Tai Chi.

Over these four years, Ye Fan also continuously studied the Eight Restrictions domain. He struggled to comprehend the Dao, constantly gaining insights. Occasionally, he would experience a novel sensation: a momentary sublimation, breaking through the Eight Restrictions!

However, in four years, he only experienced it eight times. That feeling was too wonderful: the "Jie" Character Secret could be employed, boosting his combat power tenfold, surpassing the Eight Restrictions!

In an instant, he felt as if he had ascended, his pores opening wide, as if undergoing a divine baptism. But each time, he would quickly fall back into the mortal world, unable to sustain it.

"As the ancients tell it," he mused, "only by being in the Eight Restrictions domain can one have that astounding momentary experience, a chance to glimpse the infinite mysteries of the Myriad Ages Divine Restriction domain, but one can never truly step into it..." He recalled the words of Yi Qingwu.

That was the Divine Restriction domain! As long as one was human, it was forever impossible to touch. Only those in the Eight Restrictions domain could have a momentary experience of it, and Yin Tiande had once had a similar realization.

Cultivating in solitude, reciting scriptures in leisure—this was Ye Fan's life. Alone, trapped in the Saint's place of banishment, he was accompanied by desolation and befriended by darkness.

Without joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness; without the love of life or the sorrow of death, he chewed on loneliness in solitude. Here, there was only cultivation, forgetting everything in the world, with nothing else left to do.

"Does 'heaven-bestowed talent' refer to me?"

Ye Fan awoke from his Dao Comprehension state once again, muttering to himself. This wasn't narcissism or arrogance, but a calm statement of fact.

Over four years, he ascended step by step from the first small step of the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven, reaching the eighth small step.

All of this felt so natural. Whenever a barrier appeared, his will, like his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist Intent, surged forward relentlessly, crushing it with a single blow!

"Immortal Three Dao Severance—is this saying true?"

Ye Fan asked himself, recalling the laments of various Saint Lord-level figures and the experiences of numerous living fossils.

Some astonishingly talented sect masters, ascending the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven step by step, were mostly blocked at the eighth small step, while a few were trapped at the ninth peak.

Trapped for two thousand years!

In the current era, whether in the Beidou Starfield or the Ziwei Ancient Starfield, there was no shortage of Celestial Terrace Second Heaven sect masters, yet figures of the Celestial Terrace Third Heaven were almost never seen.

This was the Immortal Three Dao Severance!

Otherwise, why would old Saint Lords on the verge of death enter the Seven Great Forbidden Life Zones, seeking immortal divine medicine to extend their lives?

This was because they were so unwilling. They had cultivated their Dao for a lifetime, reaching the peak of the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven in their early years, only to remain trapped there for nearly three thousand years.

Even though one foot had clearly stepped out, it could never land; they couldn't enter the Celestial Terrace Third Heaven. That was the lifelong regret!

Reading the Nanhua in solitude, reciting the Huangting in leisure—after cultivating for over four years, Ye Fan began to change. He tried to recall the ancient texts from the other side of the starry sky, using them to pass the time.

"I ascended step by step, reaching the eighth small step of the Celestial Terrace Second Heaven, but unfortunately, I cannot escape this predicament."

Ye Fan did not give up. He believed that the divine thought born from the Human Saint Emperor would not let him perish here, so he diligently studied the nine ancient characters every day.

"Buzz."

On this very day, Ye Fan imprinted the nine ancient characters onto his body, then carved them into the void. As he repeatedly combined them, this void actually cracked open a fissure.

Ye Fan's heart stirred. He carved the nine ancient characters over and over again, dividing them into different combinations.

In the distance, the immortal tree seemed to sense something, swaying and emitting a sky-full of golden divine light as its leaves rustled.

Simultaneously, the stone coffin circulated a mysterious aura. The Eye of the North Sea became unstable, shaking violently. Giant waves surged on the sea, immediately overturning several great demons patrolling the area.

"As expected, the nine ancient characters left by the Solar Saint Emperor can break the restrictions!"

Ye Fan guarded his Dao heart, concentrated his vital essence, qi, and spirit, and with intense focus, meticulously carved the nine ancient characters, forming a mysterious Dao trace.

"Boom!"

The Eye of the Sea opened wide, and the ocean above seemed to pour down. At this very moment, Ye Fan moved, shooting upwards without any hesitation.

The bottomless abyss below receded as he instantly plunged into the black ocean, using the "Movement" Character Secret to break through the waves and escape.

Ye Fan ascended into the high sky like a golden lightning bolt, standing among the clouds at an extreme speed.

Below, some great demons were highly suspicious. The black North Sea's mighty waves surged sky-high, churning and stirring like an awakening, world-shaking ancient ferocious beast.

However, it soon calmed down, and the sea surface returned to normal.

"Did you see that? I seemed to see the Eye of the Sea appear just now?"

"Impossible. The Eye of the North Sea is where ancient Great Emperors banished criminals. How could anyone open it? You must have seen wrong."

"No mistake. I just saw a golden lightning bolt shoot out. Do you think it could be the person who disappeared with Tanggu four years ago?"

This was a group of very powerful demon races, including great sea demons and land demons. When Tanggu appeared and then vanished years ago, it shook this starfield, leading major powers from all sides to leave people here to guard it.

"If that person really broke out, there's likely to be a huge disturbance. That's a formidable one."

"Not necessarily. The master of the Eight Scenery Palace is unmatched in the world. Who can rival them now?"

"The Divine Maiden Yi Qingwu is unparalleled in her grace. Over these four years, she has made rapid progress and broken into the Eight Restrictions domain, astonishing the world. Who can compare to her?"

"The nine princes of the Golden Crow clan are all exceptionally brave, one after another. Currently, few can probably match Lu Ya."

"The Daoist San Que and the Lunar Divine Son are both heaven-blessed geniuses. It's rumored that the Longevity Temple and the Human King Hall are exchanging immortal scriptures..."