Chapter 96: Life's Greatest Regret

## Chapter 96: Life's Deepest Regret

Ye Fan’s mind was utterly calm. He had adjusted himself to peak condition, ready at any moment to unleash a powerful strike. The golden scripture shimmered with an unusual radiance within his Sea of Suffering.

Elder Han, convinced he was blessed by heaven, was overcome with excitement. With trembling hands, he reached out, gripped the cauldron lid, and lifted it with force. He fully expected a furnace of supreme treasure pills to be revealed, radiating brilliant light and divine splendor.

Indeed, a blinding, exceptionally dazzling golden light burst forth, making it impossible to open one's eyes, and instantly flew towards Elder Han. At first, he thought the treasure pills had come to life and were rushing out of the cauldron. But in that same instant, terror seized him; he felt as if he had been cast directly from heaven into hell.

There were no treasure pills; it was clearly a dazzling piece of divine metal, swiftly slashing towards his neck. Moreover, inside the bronze cauldron, a handsome young man sat cross-legged, completely unharmed, not refined into a pill at all, and staring at him unblinkingly.

"Oh no!" Elder Han cried out in terror, drenched in cold sweat. He wanted to leap back, but it was too late. The golden light struck like lightning, and with a soft *thud*, it sliced through his throat.

Blood gushed out, and the excruciating pain made Elder Han’s head swim, his vision darkening. He toppled backward on the spot, collapsing heavily into a pool of blood.

The golden sheet was incredibly sharp, instantly severing Elder Han’s neck, leaving only a thin layer of old skin still connected as blood gushed forth like a spring.

However, Elder Han was, after all, a powerful cultivator. Although he appeared extremely old and frail, as if he could breathe his last at any moment, his body still contained a vast amount of divine power. Even with his neck severed, he did not die instantly. He reached out with his right hand, pressing it against his head, attempting to reattach it.

Simultaneously, his Sea of Suffering shimmered with green light, emitting a dazzling radiance as divine springs gushed forth, providing him with immense vitality. At the same moment, several green wooden swords shot out, flying towards Ye Fan.

A chill ran through Ye Fan’s heart. As expected, the gap between different cultivation realms was like an insurmountable chasm, impossible to cross! If he hadn't patiently endured and launched this decisive strike at the last possible moment, there would have been no hope of killing Elder Han.

Agile as a leopard, he leaped up and hid behind the bronze cauldron, controlling the brilliant golden scripture to slash forward.

Elder Han had, after all, suffered severe injuries, and his survival was uncertain. Though the green wooden swords were dazzling and radiated sharp, vibrant green light when they first emerged, their brilliance quickly faded. The swords swayed precariously, on the verge of falling.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

The golden sheet was sharper than divine iron, its brilliant divine light as blinding as the scorching sun, as if it had ignited. It instantly intercepted the green wooden swords, slicing through them with a spinning motion, emitting a clanging sound, and severing all of them!

Ye Fan dared not be careless in the slightest. The golden scripture transformed into a divine rainbow, like a bright moon cutting across the dark sky, erupting with a terrifying energy fluctuation as it shot towards Elder Han’s abdomen.

In the dazzling radiance, blood splattered. With a soft *thud*, Elder Han’s Sea of Suffering shattered instantly. His body was flung backward on the spot, colliding heavily with the stone chamber wall, leaving a human-shaped bloody imprint before slowly sliding down to the base of the wall.

Golden light diffused in all directions, and the golden scripture transformed into a brilliant beam of light, returning to Ye Fan’s body.

Elder Han was not entirely dead yet. He pressed his head firmly with his right arm, preventing it from rolling off his neck. It was clear how terrifying cultivators beyond the Sea of Suffering realm were, simply not something an ordinary person could contend with.

Ye Fan secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Had he not quietly endured for seven days, without making any rash moves, it would have been utterly impossible to kill Elder Han.

At this moment, Elder Han’s eyes blazed with fury; he simply could not accept this reality! He had not found the supreme treasure pills; instead, the grim reaper’s scythe awaited him. This was utterly unbelievable, a sudden plummet from heaven to hell, and the unbearable feeling drove him mad.

"Ugh... Ah... Gurgle..." Blood flowed from Elder Han’s severed throat, and also spilled from the corners of his mouth. He was unable to speak, his eyes wide open, fixedly staring at Ye Fan.

"Wh-why... why..." Finally, Elder Han managed to force out a few unclear words. He seemed unable to draw his last breath, unwilling to die such an ignominious death.

"Did you truly take me for a fool?" Ye Fan wasn't careless. He calmly looked at Elder Han and said, "It's a pity, you're not the Supreme Being."

Much blood overflowed from Elder Han’s wound. He opened his mouth with difficulty, saying, "You... I... I hate you so much..."

*Pfft!*

He was spitting up large mouthfuls of blood, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair. An enormous resentment swelled within him. Everything had been perfect, but the final outcome was so cruel that he could not accept it even in death.

"Did you truly think I was a soft persimmon, to be squeezed however you pleased? You even tried to refine me into a divine medicine. A vicious and cruel person like you deserves this outcome." Ye Fan stood not far away, mercilessly taunting, "Your death is not unfair in the slightest. I endured for seven days and seven nights, unleashing this killing blow only at the very last moment. Be a good person in your next life, or else you still won't find a peaceful end."

Elder Han was overwhelmed by a surge of rage. His neck was nearly severed, yet he still refused to draw his last breath. Blood continuously spurted from his mouth as he gnashed his teeth, his words indistinct: "I... won't accept... you... deserve to die..."

Ye Fan glanced at Elder Han, then opened all the nearby medicine cabinets. Instantly, wafts of delightful fragrance filled the air. He took out all dozen or so rare spirit herbs, none of which were inferior to the Phoenix Divine Herb.

"Old coot, I can see you've been incredibly diligent, working tirelessly your whole life, like an old ox. To have collected so many rare spirit herbs, something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of, is truly admirable. All I can say is, thank you. I'll gladly accept these!"

"You—" Elder Han was so enraged that he coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, his eyes blazing with fury. If he could have moved, he would have swallowed Ye Fan whole.

"Don't worry, I won't let your painstaking efforts go to waste. I will make excellent use of these rare heavenly treasures and strive to break through to the Life Spring realm within two years."

"You... bastard!" These words, coming from Elder Han’s mouth, were surprising, but they truly conveyed his utmost indignation.

"One must remain calm and collected in difficult situations; opportunity always favors the prepared..." Ye Fan's lips curled into a faint smile as he teased, "The ancients truly did not deceive me!"

Upon hearing the words "The ancients truly did not deceive me," Elder Han completely lost his mind. Blood gushed from his mouth like a mountain spring as he choked out his last few words: "Ancients... I... hate..."

Elder Han was literally angered to death. His right hand fell limply, and his head rolled off with a soft *thud*. He died an unnatural death, his eyes wide open, unable to find peace even in death.

"May you be born into a good family in your next life..." Ye Fan uttered the exact same words Elder Han had once said. It was conceivable that both had felt the same emotions when speaking those words, but the outcomes were vastly different.

If Elder Han had known this in the afterlife, he surely would have spit up three more liters of blood and struggled to rise again.

Ye Fan strode to a corner of the stone chamber, picked up his Bodhi seed from the stone table, and put it into his pocket.

This mysterious Bodhi seed could aid one in achieving enlightenment, and its value was immeasurable. If word were to get out, all the powerful figures in the Eastern Wasteland would likely rush to seize it. Furthermore, it was foreseeable that the more powerful an individual, the more they would value this mystical seed, because cultivation became increasingly difficult the further one progressed, and every insight and epiphany represented an unimaginably great opportunity.

Ye Fan’s current cultivation realm was still low, so he couldn't fully comprehend such things. He didn't know how challenging "enlightenment" was for cultivators in the later stages. At that point, no heavenly treasures or divine medicines would be of use; true peak powerhouses needed "enlightenment" to break through.