Chapter 95: Clouds Rising and Rosy Clouds

Chapter 95: Clouds and Mists

Elder Han had never been so joyful as he was today. The wrinkles on his old face seemed to melt away as he gesticulated excitedly and laughed heartily.

At this very moment, Ye Fan was as serene as an ancient well, focusing on opening his Sea of Suffering and cultivating peacefully.

The ceaseless roar of waves, earth-shattering tsunamis, and flashes of lightning accompanied by thunder echoed loudly throughout the stone chamber. Elder Han's heart was filled with longing, and he desperately wished for the seven days to pass quickly.

The bronze medicinal cauldron was enveloped in silver flames, continuously absorbing spiritual energy. Sacred radiance diffused outwards, shrouding the entire stone chamber in a haze.

This continued for over two hours until the sound of waves slowly subsided, and the deafening thunder gradually faded. Inside the bronze medicinal cauldron, peace returned, with only the silver flames burning fiercely.

Elder Han was not concerned. The cauldron required seven days and seven nights of refining before its lid could be opened, and such anomalous phenomena could not persist throughout. He had already concluded that this was a batch of supreme-grade spiritual elixirs, as everything matched the descriptions in ancient texts.

A full day and night passed, and the medicinal cauldron remained perfectly calm. Only the fire energy pulsed vigorously, and a milky-white radiance continuously flickered.

Inside the bronze medicinal cauldron, Ye Fan had entered an ethereal state, from which he only gradually awakened now. His golden Sea of Suffering had been opened up further, expanding considerably. It was now as large as an unpeeled lychee, golden and shimmering, like a brilliant star plucked from the cosmos and fixed within his body.

Suddenly, twenty-seven more divine patterns appeared, like chains of divine iron or streaks of lightning, stretching horizontally above the Sea of Suffering. The most peculiar change, however, was the appearance of subtle ripples within the Sea of Suffering itself. Bubbles continuously emerged from its center, bursting to form a hazy, colorful mist that enveloped the golden Sea of Suffering.

Ye Fan opened his eyes, clearly perceiving the changes in his Sea of Suffering. A vigorous life force surged within him, and two dazzling divine lights shot from his eyes. Not content with this, he reached out and grasped the fruit of the Azure Jade Snow Lotus.

This egg-sized green fruit shimmered with a captivating brilliance, as if polished from divine green jade marrow. It emitted a soft, translucent glow, sparkling with verdant light.

The Azure Jade Snow Lotus fruit is extremely rare. Its parent plant grows on snow-capped mountains tens of thousands of meters high, only forming after a millennium without sunlight and guarded by powerful demonic creatures. It took Elder Han a full eight years to finally acquire just one.

Upon taking the fruit, Ye Fan felt an icy chill. The boiling medicinal liquid had not dissolved the Azure Jade Snow Lotus fruit, so he carefully sampled it as if biting an apple. Naturally, this time he was extremely cautious, making not the slightest sound. Everything proceeded in complete silence, as a day and night had already passed, and by all logical accounts, he should have been cooked through.

The green jade-like fruit tasted sweet and refreshing, yet it was as cold as ice, causing Ye Fan's body to tremble involuntarily. A vigorous life essence rapidly spread throughout his limbs and meridians.

Eventually, rays of green light enveloped Ye Fan. His skin turned an emerald green, shimmering with an unusual luster, which caused the temperature inside the medicinal cauldron to steadily decrease until the liquid ceased boiling.

Half an hour later, the sound of a tsunami once again emanated from the bronze medicinal cauldron, even grander than before. Accompanied by lightning and thunder, the great cauldron itself trembled slightly.

The entire stone chamber rumbled, making Elder Han feel as though he stood before a vast and furious sea. His emotions surged with the imagined waves as he murmured to himself, "The phenomena have resurfaced; the precious elixir is surely complete!"

Elder Han seemed to instantly shed more than ten years of age. He laughed heartily, his heart brimming with anticipation, wishing the seven days would pass immediately.

Thousands of crashing, deafening waves; lightning streaking across the sky; thunder shaking the heavens—the stone chamber trembled ceaselessly!

"The day the elixir is complete is the day I shall break through!" Elder Han was invigorated and filled with a profound sense of accomplishment. He believed that with such a batch of peerless precious elixirs in hand, breaking through bottlenecks and advancing several stages would be no problem at all.

Inside the bronze medicinal cauldron, heaven-shaking sounds and numerous anomalous phenomena unfolded, though from outside, only the sounds were discernible. Elder Han found it impossible to remain calm, pacing incessantly around the cauldron, excited beyond measure.

This time, the tsunami and thunder lasted for a full three hours before gradually subsiding, and calm slowly returned to the stone chamber.

"Once the medicinal cauldron is sealed, it cannot be reopened; one must wait seven days..." Elder Han's sole regret was his excessive caution in not adding all the other rare spiritual herbs. Otherwise, perhaps even more anomalous phenomena might have appeared, and the "auspicious colored light descending from heaven" mentioned in ancient texts might actually have manifested.

Despite this, Elder Han remained supremely confident. He believed he had firmly seized a grand opportunity, and nothing could alter that fact.

Another day and night passed. Ye Fan slowly opened his eyes, which glimmered with divine radiance. His body was brimming with vitality, and the wounds on his limbs and chest had completely vanished, leaving no scars.

Ye Fan's golden Sea of Suffering had transformed once more. It was now a full circle larger, and at its very center, ripples surged even more intensely. Bubbles gushed like a spring, continuously erupting and bursting to form a hazy, colorful mist that completely enveloped the area, rendering the Sea of Suffering profoundly mysterious.

At this moment, Ye Fan, like Elder Han, was also filled with a profound sense of accomplishment. Their moods were virtually identical.

Unwilling to be content, he reached out and grasped the Divine Phoenix Grass. It was warm to the touch, causing ripples of divine power to emanate. Legend has it that this divine grass can only grow in pure lands blessed by phoenix divine blood. Elder Han had spent over a decade traversing countless ancient lands and ruins to find this single stalk, making it truly priceless!

The Nine-Leaf Divine Phoenix Grass glowed brilliantly like red agate throughout its form. A peculiar, intoxicating fragrance wafted from it, refreshing the mind and leading to involuntary enchantment.

Ye Fan placed it in his mouth, and after just a few chews, the divine grass transformed into a magnificent red glow that surged into his body. Instantly, his form was enveloped in a mysterious reddish hue, as if crimson flames were burning within him.

An ordinary person's body would have long turned to ash, but Ye Fan's physique was extremely unique. His Sea of Suffering was like a bottomless pit, seemingly impossible to fill, and all the brilliant red glow was absorbed, like a thousand rivers flowing into the ocean.

At this moment, his flesh, organs, and bones became exceptionally crystalline, spotless and pure, like exquisite works of art, radiating brilliant splendor. His skin also shimmered with a translucent luster as the power of life slowly circulated within him.

When the tsunami and thunder erupted, Elder Han was startled and stood up again, pacing incessantly around the great bronze cauldron. "I, Han, am indeed favored by the heavens..." he declared.

When Ye Fan awakened once more, he found his golden Sea of Suffering had expanded by a full circle, though not excessively. This was because cultivation becomes increasingly difficult at later stages, and since the three spiritual medicines he had consumed possessed similar efficacies, the first expansion had been the most significant.

After the three rare spiritual medicines were refined, Ye Fan's Sea of Suffering underwent astonishing transformations. At its very center, a colorful mist steamed, entwined with countless divine patterns. Beneath the Sea of Suffering, it was as if a volcano was reawakening, with bubbles gushing forth like a spring and streams of radiant light continuously erupting from the surface.

Ye Fan understood this clearly and felt no confusion.

Cultivators in the Sea of Suffering realm must undergo several stages. Initially, only a small amount of life essence swirls above the Sea of Suffering. Over time, as this essence accumulates and increases, it condenses into divine patterns, stretching like chains of divine iron above the Sea of Suffering.

As the Sea of Suffering continues to open up and cultivation deepens, bubbles will emerge, bursting to form clouds and mist. Later still, bubbles will gush like a spring from beneath the Sea of Suffering, akin to a reawakening volcano, with clouds and mist rising and spreading in dazzling splendor.

When the "volcano" beneath the Sea of Suffering fully reawakens one day, the brilliant clouds and mist will gradually liquefy. At that point, one can attempt to break through to the Life Spring realm. If successful, a divine spring will gush forth from the "volcano's mouth."

Cultivators in the Sea of Suffering realm must undergo these three processes to enter the Life Spring realm. Today, Ye Fan experienced the second stage: the center of his golden Sea of Suffering was almost boiling, with qi gushing like a spring. There, clouds steamed and mists rose, like a reawakening volcano, continuously erupting with extraordinary brilliance.

"If I were to refine all of the dozens of rare spiritual medicines Elder Han has collected, find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and carefully comprehend the Dao Sutra, perhaps I could break through to the Life Spring realm within one or two years..." Ye Fan mused inwardly, a faint sense of anticipation stirring within him.

However, he first had to escape his current perilous situation and secure his own life; otherwise, everything would remain mere fantasy.

After refining all three spiritual medicines, Ye Fan did not make any rash moves. He quietly waited for his opportunity. Three days had passed, and he still had to wait four more before the cauldron could be opened.

The liquid inside the bronze medicinal cauldron, a full half-cauldron's worth, could be entirely used to extract hundred-herb essence. Although not comparable to rare spiritual medicines like the Nine-Leaf Divine Phoenix Grass, it still contained a vast amount of life essence. With ample time, Ye Fan naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He quietly meditated and cultivated, absorbing every wisp of essence into his body.

Two days later, Elder Han felt a peculiar sensation. No further anomalous phenomena occurred, and the medicinal fragrance emanating from the bronze cauldron grew fainter and fainter, until finally, there was almost no aroma left.

"What's going on...?" He was somewhat perplexed. Finally, as if recalling something, he murmured to himself, "Could it be that the precious elixir is just forming, and its essence is being internally contained?"

"Yes, that must be it!" Elder Han exclaimed, extremely agitated. "Legend says that when supreme-grade precious elixirs are about to complete, all their essence becomes internally contained, allowing not a single trace of fragrance to escape and ensuring no medicinal efficacy is wasted. Now I can be sure: I have successfully refined the legendary precious elixir!"

Over these two days, Ye Fan absorbed all the essence contained within the medicinal liquid. In his Sea of Suffering, qi gushed like a spring, and clouds and mists rose as if from a reawakening volcano. It was a spectacle of swirling radiance, permeating spiritual energy, and hazy, colorful mists.

Counting the time, two more days remained until the cauldron could be opened. Ye Fan remained perfectly calm, quietly awaiting his opportunity. He began to refine the spiritual energy contained within the "fire essence," and specks of silver light continuously surged into his body.

Time passed swiftly, and two days flew by. Elder Han laughed heartily, sounding like an hooting owl, as he prepared to open the cauldron lid and retrieve the "precious elixir."

"Little brat, it's only your fault for consuming the legendary holy fruit and divine spring. May you be reborn into a good family in your next life, for in this one, you were destined to fulfill my purpose."