Chapter 97: Promotion to the Life Spring Realm

Chapter 97: Advancing to the Life Spring Realm

Once everything settled down, and he had completely dealt with Elder Han and was no longer in danger, Ye Fan calmed down. Sitting on a stone chair, he began to seriously ponder his next move.

The Jiang family's knights were still pursuing him. At this moment, he lacked the power to contend with them, so it was unwise for him to show himself. The best option was to hide and cultivate to increase his strength.

Undoubtedly, this cave dwelling, built deep within the mountain, was an excellent hiding place. Elder Han had once mentioned that many Dao patterns were carved on the rock surfaces, making it impossible for outsiders to sense or discover the location.

"Alright," Ye Fan decided, "I'll cultivate here."

After making his decision, Ye Fan began to clean the stone chamber. First, he placed Elder Han's body into the medicinal cauldron and sealed it with the lid.

"You refined medicine your whole life," he murmured, "Let this cauldron be your coffin. Rest peacefully in your own cave dwelling."

The cave dwelling was incredibly vast, like a labyrinth. Ye Fan carefully made some markings. As he proceeded, he carried the medicinal cauldron to the deepest part of the mountain and sealed it inside a stone cavern.

Back in the stone chamber, Ye Fan resumed cleaning. He put several medicinal cabinets back in their original positions, then placed the dozens of rare spiritual herbs he had been carrying back into them, as it was the ideal place to preserve them.

Besides the medicinal cabinets, the spacious stone chamber also contained over a dozen bronze medicinal cauldrons, and several stone tables and chairs. On one of the stone tables lay two ancient books. They were made of animal hide and appeared to be very old, at least several centuries old.

Evidently, Elder Han had often perused them. The stone table and chairs were polished smooth from repeated handling. One book lay open, with Elder Han's annotations written on its pages.

"Oh!"

Ye Fan looked surprised. The open ancient book consisted of only a few pages of animal hide. Many strange patterns were carved on them, with almost no readable text; they looked like indecipherable scribbles. Had Elder Han not left annotations, Ye Fan would have found it difficult to understand the meaning of those bizarre patterns.

"These are… Dao patterns!" he exclaimed, startled. Although it was only a few pages, it was a precious ancient text recording Dao patterns.

It was said that "Dao patterns" were transcriptions made by ancient powerful beings after they had gained insights from comprehending the natural world. Some of these had been passed down and circulated.

In a sense, "Dao patterns" were reflections of the ancient mighty ones' insights. The more powerful a cultivator became, the more they delved into the "Dao patterns" that circulated in the world.

Ye Fan examined it carefully. From the few ancient characters he could discern, he learned that this was merely an ordinary ancient text on "Dao patterns," marked with the word "Basic."

Yet, even an ordinary Dao pattern text had been challenging for Elder Han. He had written many annotations and still could not fully comprehend many parts.

"It seems Dao patterns are indeed profound and extensive," Ye Fan mused. "Only powerful cultivators can study them. Even Elder Han could only linger at the threshold." He instantly realized that the Dao patterns outside this cave dwelling were likely carved by Elder Han based on this very book.

"Although I can't fully understand this book, I must carefully study his annotations," he thought. "Otherwise, I might not be able to leave this cave dwelling."

Ye Fan opened another ancient book made of animal hide. It also comprised only a few pages, a thin pamphlet. On it were recorded some ancient elixir recipes, which, once refined, would be immensely beneficial to cultivators.

However, Ye Fan had limited knowledge of spiritual herbs. He might not even recognize the herbs mentioned if they were placed right in front of him, let alone attempt to refine elixirs.

The animal hide ancient book clearly stated that if one found a sacred medicine capable of transforming one's body and soul, it could be refined into a wondrous treasured elixir. This elixir could not only increase a cultivator's lifespan but also significantly boost their cultivation, benefiting cultivators of all realms immensely.

"No wonder that old geezer insisted on capturing me…"

Subsequently, Ye Fan discovered a mountain spring within the cave dwelling, as well as a considerable amount of food stored by Elder Han. This instantly resolved his worries, allowing him to cultivate here with complete peace of mind.

Over the next few days, he meticulously studied Elder Han's annotations on the Dao pattern ancient text. He finally deciphered some of its secrets and successfully found his way out of the cave dwelling.

Thereafter, Ye Fan lived in seclusion, occasionally venturing out to gather some berries and wild vegetables. Most of his time was spent cultivating and comprehending the Dao Scripture.

Time flew by; a year passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Fan had consumed all his spiritual herbs. His golden Sea of Bitterness had expanded to half the size of a fist, dazzling brightly with an endless flow of vital energy.

At the center of the Sea of Bitterness, mist swirled like wolf smoke, shooting straight upwards, no longer merely pervasive and lingering. It was as if an active volcano was erupting!

Ye Fan's golden Sea of Bitterness found it difficult to remain calm, constantly surging, seemingly on the verge of connecting with the Wheel of Life and releasing a divine spring.

Whenever he entered a state of profound emptiness, waves would surge within his Sea of Bitterness, and faint, indistinct sounds of ocean waves would emanate from his body, his entire being enveloped in a layer of sacred light.

Anomalous phenomena would even manifest within the Sea of Bitterness, its very center continuously gushing like an underwater volcano, and frequently, lightning would flash across its surface.

When he activated the profound techniques recorded in the Dao Scripture, powerful life fluctuations would instantly surge within his body. His golden Sea of Bitterness glowed splendidly like a sun. Vital energy flowed endlessly, nourishing his limbs and bones. His physical body became exceptionally powerful, far surpassing its previous strength.

"The Life Spring realm is indeed difficult to break through…" Ye Fan felt a slight regret. He had already attempted to break through to the Life Spring realm five times, but all had failed.

Over this past year or so, he diligently comprehended the Dao Scripture, constantly refining his "vessel." The "divine iron lump," after repeated smelting and continuous etching of the Dao patterns from the green bronze onto it, had begun to display extraordinary characteristics. It now possessed a hint of ancient simplicity and natural essence.

After such a long time, Ye Fan believed the Jiang family's knights must have long since departed. It was unlikely they were still persistently searching for him.

One day, he left the cave dwelling and practiced controlling his divine power in the barren mountains. Waves surged skyward within his Sea of Bitterness, and a burst of fiery divine light emanated from his body, enveloping him. It actually lifted him more than three feet off the ground, propelling him forward.

*Thump!*

Unfortunately, after only flying about thirty meters, he fell to the ground.

"Without entering the Life Spring realm," he mused, "it's impossible to sustain flight. A continuous gush from a divine power source is needed. Only then can one soar through the sky or burrow into the earth."

Although he couldn't ascend high into the sky, this short-distance flight still felt novel to Ye Fan. He practiced continuously, finding that he could fly for a maximum of over a hundred meters. This was much faster than running; he could traverse vegetation without his feet touching the ground, like a wisp of wind.

Not having reached the Life Spring realm yet, Ye Fan was reluctant to leave the cave dwelling. He felt his current strength was too low, and venturing outside would be very dangerous. Furthermore, the fire qi within the mountain could also aid his cultivation; although not extremely dense, that special spiritual energy was continuously flowing, which was its main advantage.

"I should make a trip to Purple Yang Grotto-heaven and retrieve that source," he decided. Although he felt it was not suitable for long-distance travel, he still left the cave. His physique was too unique, like a bottomless pit, requiring massive amounts of spiritual energy to accelerate his cultivation.

Along the way, Ye Fan indirectly learned that the Jiang family's knights had indeed long since departed and no longer posed a threat to him. The Yan region was now very peaceful.

Upon reaching the mountain range where Purple Yang Grotto-heaven was located, Ye Fan was extra cautious, avoiding encountering anyone from that sect. Soon after, he arrived at a river. He dove straight in. Half an hour later, water churned, and Ye Fan emerged from the water. In his hand was a sparkling "source."

"Thank heavens it's still here…"

Initially, when he first came here, he had been worried, fearing someone else might have taken the source.

In fact, the place was very secluded. Unless a top expert from Purple Yang Grotto-heaven passed by, no one else would be able to sense the "source's" aura.

Ye Fan did not want to linger there and walked back along the same path.

"It's her…" Ye Fan suddenly stopped. He saw several young figures, one of whom was Li Xiaoman.

Ye Fan did not linger. He quickly moved away until he disappeared among the mountains.

Half a month later, a rumbling sound emanated from the cave dwelling Elder Han had opened, followed by the roar of a massive tsunami echoing through heaven and earth, and deafening peals of thunder.

*Boom!*

At this very moment, a powerful aura burst forth, shaking the entire cave dwelling. Ye Fan's entire body surged with vital energy, and golden divine flames blazed fiercely around him.

Divine light glittered in his eyes, like two bolts of lightning, shining exceptionally bright within the cave dwelling.

Ye Fan rose to his feet. At this moment, he exuded a majestic aura. The aura he emitted caused the entire stone chamber to shake violently, and massive cracks appeared throughout it.

"Finally, I've broken into the Life Spring realm!" He transformed into a golden bolt of lightning and shot out of the cave dwelling. Then, a fiery divine rainbow enveloped him, and he slowly ascended into mid-air.

At this moment, at the very center of Ye Fan's Sea of Bitterness, a spring eye had appeared, connecting with the Wheel of Life. A divine spring was now gushing forth continuously, enveloped in a hazy, colorful mist.