Chapter 98: One Tool Breaks Ten Thousand Methods

**Chapter Ninety-Eight: One Artifact Shatters All Techniques**

This was a completely new experience. Ye Fan stood high in the sky, strong winds making his clothes flap as mountains and lands lay beneath his feet. A sense of controlling "everything" surged within him.

With a vast view, looking out into the distance, this was an unprecedented feeling. Soaring into the sky with his own power and looking down upon the world where he once lived filled him with awe.

Magnificent mountains and rivers, boundless lands—everything was within his sight, making him feel uplifted and aspire to great heights. Every creature and plant, every blade of grass, filled his heart, stirring an uncontrollable surge of heroic ambition to conquer the world.

"Is this the Life Spring realm? I feel a powerful force..." Ye Fan stood high in the sky, his flesh and blood pristine, his whole body translucent, shimmering with a faint glow like a beautiful work of art, giving him a sense of complete transformation.

At this point, he finally understood the immense difference between various realms. His physical body was flawless, almost perfect. If he were to encounter a cultivator from the Sea of Bitterness realm, he felt he could turn them to dust with a mere lift of his hand. This wasn't blind confidence, but rather a real, unending, and formidable power within him.

Ye Fan flew on a rainbow, traversing the heavens and the earth. A brilliant long rainbow streaked across the sky, sometimes like a comet striking the earth, sometimes like the moon rising from the sea, or a celestial dragon ascending.

It was not until half an hour later that he completely calmed down, standing on the mountaintop, letting the breeze caress his face. His long black hair gently swayed, and his eyes sparkled like two stars.

Ye Fan was silent, his powerful and sharp aura completely withdrawn, replaced by an aura of peace and tranquility. He was flawless, his robes fluttering, like an immortal descended to the mortal world, ethereal and graceful, giving one a sense of extraordinary naturalness.

At this moment, within his body, the half-fist-sized Sea of Bitterness had completely calmed down. There were no wild "volcanoes," no surging waves, and no more billowing smoke.

The golden Sea of Bitterness was extremely tranquil. At its very center, a spring eye gurgled, exuding abundant life energy—that was the flowing source of divine power.

The Wheel of Life, hidden beneath the Sea of Bitterness, had been connected, and the endless life energy it contained surged forth like a spring. This was the fundamental source of a cultivator's strength.

Ripples spread from the Life Spring towards all corners of the Sea of Bitterness, transforming into gentle waves, adding a sense of vitality and naturalness. The golden sea rippled, the divine spring gurgled; when the two merged, divine power flowed incessantly, and life was vibrant.

At this very moment, the mysterious green copper had shifted its position, settling into the spring eye at the bottom of the sea, continuously receiving the baptism of the divine Life Spring, while the golden scroll remained squeezed at the edge, unable to get close to the divine spring eye.

The "Cauldron" that Ye Fan intended to forge now only had a vague outline, still not fully formed. It was about the size of a cherry, suspended above the Sea of Bitterness.

Ordinarily, in the four great realms—Sea of Bitterness, Life Spring, Divine Bridge, and Other Shore—one could forge an "artifact" in each realm. But Ye Fan had already reached the second major realm, yet he hadn't forged a single "artifact," making him frown involuntarily. The "Cauldron" was indeed the most difficult to forge.

However, he was not overly worried, for the Dao Scripture clearly stated that the more profound and complex an "artifact," the harder it was to form, as they contained the "Dao" and "principles" of heaven and earth.

According to the Dao Scripture, one could focus on forging a single "artifact." The most powerful "artifacts" were often formed through the fusion of all four realms. That is to say, to obtain the strongest "artifact," one should forge only one "artifact" across the Sea of Bitterness, Life Spring, Divine Bridge, and Other Shore realms, instead of four.

This was what was known as "greatness taking time to mature." Once successful, it could shatter all techniques with one artifact, and after its bloom, all other flowers would wither.

Across the entire Eastern Wasteland, only a few ancient scriptures recorded this profound secret method of forging one "artifact" across four realms. Ordinary cultivators had no chance to access it.

However, even in the Sacred Lands and Ancient Desolate Families who possessed these ancient scriptures, very few of their disciples dared to take such a risk, because opportunity always coexisted with risk. The greater the reward sought, the potentially unbearable the cost. Throughout history, most who attempted to forge a single "artifact" across four realms failed to complete it, wasting their years in vain. Without their own "artifact," they couldn't control objects, making them almost useless. Therefore, very few disciples from Sacred Lands and Ancient Desolate Families made such a choice.

In the Sea of Bitterness realm, Ye Fan didn't need to make a decision; he only had to focus on forging the "Cauldron." But now that he had broken into the Life Spring realm, and the "artifact" was still not formed, he had to make a decision.

"Although it's fraught with peril and might lead to a lifetime of failure, I have no retreat. I chose to forge the 'Cauldron' because I want the strongest 'artifact,' which might someday give birth to the 'Dao' and 'principles' of heaven and earth. Forging one 'artifact' across four realms is not contrary to my choice; in fact, it aligns perfectly. I have no reason to back down."

Ye Fan was not worried about appearing disadvantaged because others had many "artifacts" while he had few. He believed in the heroic words recorded in the Dao Scripture: "One artifact shatters all techniques; after its bloom, all other flowers wither."

"I hope for greatness to mature late, rather than a lifetime of wasted effort..."

After reaching the Life Spring realm, he could fly in the sky. Ye Fan began to consider a trip to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land, but he needed to be fully prepared, otherwise, it could very well be his grave.

He was not in a hurry to leave but remained to consolidate his realm, as a breakthrough in cultivation required a period of adaptation. In the following period, the cave dwelling was dug beyond recognition by Ye Fan. To extract spiritual energy from the fire qi, he kept digging deep underground, almost causing the fire vein to erupt.

Time flew by, and Ye Fan cultivated for nearly another year. He had refined the entire fire vein almost to depletion. His realm was completely stable and had steadily improved significantly, and the gurgling divine spring was even more vigorous.

Of course, this was not the greatest gain. What made him most satisfied and excited was that the "rough embryo" of the "Cauldron" had been forged into shape. Utilizing the strange spiritual energy of the fire qi, and after millions of refinements, the three-legged round cauldron was finally initially formed and had come into being.

"It seems that forging an 'artifact' successfully requires unique spiritual energy. Without a doubt, the energy of various divine fires is most effective. Just as in reality, forging weapons requires a source of fire for smelting to temper divine weapons and treasured blades, it is the same for forging a 'Cauldron' within one's body!"

Above Ye Fan's Sea of Bitterness, a rough embryo of a small cauldron, about the size of a cherry, had all its brilliant divine radiance contained, appearing ancient and natural. Over the past year, after millions of refinements and repeatedly carving the "Dao patterns" from the green copper, the small cauldron had acquired an extraordinary aura, giving off a sense of natural Dao charm.

With a thought from Ye Fan, the small cauldron immediately shot out of his body, silently piercing through a stone wall more than ten meters thick, directly flying out of the cave dwelling and hovering in the sky.

"One cauldron, two ears, three legs. Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things; all things carry yin and embrace yang... Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"

Ye Fan was extremely satisfied. The ancient and natural small cauldron gave him a sense of the Dao's naturalness, as if it had truly given birth to the "Dao" and "principles" of heaven and earth, appearing mysterious and profound.

"I look forward to the moment when one artifact shatters all techniques..."

The nascent small cauldron was already a powerful weapon, capable of both offense and defense, indestructible. The mysterious "Dao patterns" on the green copper imbued it with strange power, allowing it to constantly transform.

Ye Fan had been in this world for three years, living in the Spirit Void Cavern for one year and cultivating in this cave dwelling for nearly two years. His body had grown significantly taller, reaching about 170 centimeters, but he still looked very young, like a child around fourteen years old.

His former short hair was now two feet long, black and dense, naturally cascading over his chest and back, swaying gently with the wind. He looked very delicate and handsome; no one would have guessed that such a youth was already a cultivator in the Life Spring realm.

"It's time to leave..." Ye Fan looked back at the cave dwelling behind him, then flew low along the mountains, heading out of the mountains.

Ye Fan dragged a water deer into a small town. After exchanging it for some coins, he first chose a suitable set of clothes for himself. His body had grown significantly taller in the past two years, and his old clothes were already tattered and could be described as rags, so he had been pointed at when entering the town.

"To cultivate in the mortal world, the first step is to integrate into the mundane world."

Ye Fan found a place to eat and chose a window seat. At the table next to him, several people seated around it had an unusual aura, different from ordinary folk.

True cultivators generally didn't interact with mortals and wouldn't reveal their extraordinary nature to the public; even if they met face to face, ordinary people wouldn't know. It was clear these individuals were cultivators. Adhering to their usual principle of not disturbing the surrounding mortals, they were conversing in low voices. Unless one's spiritual senses were exceptionally keen, ordinary people wouldn't be able to hear anything.

"That Demon Emperor's Tomb is truly too sinister. Over two years, countless cultivators have died, but it still can't be opened."

"The entire Eastern Wasteland has been alarmed. All major sects have sent masters to that ruin, but they still can't open that sinister tomb."

"Mainly, the true peerless experts are apprehensive and dare not act rashly, because that sinister tomb is exceedingly wicked and almost sentient. Unless there is a supreme treasure of the Eastern Wasteland's human race, otherwise, even if a peerless expert can break the death trap, they still can't secure the sinister tomb. It would plunge beneath the Eastern Wasteland, like a dragon returning to the sea, becoming untraceable."

"It's rumored that three great figures have already died. Is that true?"

"Naturally, it's true. Over the past two years, countless cultivators have died or been injured. That deep pool is almost filled with corpses. Even several great figures have fallen one after another, and a few other great figures are said to be on the verge of death."

Ye Fan was very surprised. He hadn't expected that after two years, the Demon Emperor's Tomb still hadn't been opened, and the death trap within the sinister tomb had claimed the lives of many cultivators. He ate quietly while listening, showing no unusual expression, not wanting to be noticed by those cultivators.

"Around that deep pool, bones are piled like mountains; it has completely become a demonic land. Just gazing at it from afar sends shivers down one's spine. Grievance fills the air there, and every inch of ground is stained with cultivators' blood."

"Since that deep pool is a place of no return, a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, why are there still countless cultivators continuously flocking there?"

"Without benefits, who would disregard life and death like that? That's the tomb of a Great Emperor who unified the Eastern Wasteland's demon race; it must contain countless treasures."

"Exactly, even those transcendent great figures have been alarmed. Legend has it that the Demon Emperor's sinister tomb contains the supreme treasure of our Eastern Wasteland human race—the Desolate Pagoda!"

"Is it the legendary Desolate Pagoda that can suppress and kill immortals?"

"Of course it is! Otherwise, how could those great figures disregard the risk of falling and venture deep inside at the risk of their lives?"

"It's been two full years. The disciples of various sects are already terrified, fearing they'll be sent to that ruin, but the sects refuse to give up. If this continues, who knows how many more people will die."

"You might not know this yet, but it's rumored that even people from the Central Plains have been alarmed. Recently, some mysterious figures have arrived in the Eastern Wasteland."

"Do they want to seize our Eastern Wasteland's supreme treasure—the Desolate Pagoda?"

"That's not it. They wouldn't extend their reach so far. Even if the cultivators of the Central Plains are unparalleled in strength, surpassing the other four regions, they wouldn't easily make an enemy of the entire Eastern Wasteland. If such a war broke out, it's hard to imagine how many would die. It's said they seem to be searching for a supreme treasure from the Central Plains..."

Not far away, Ye Fan's heart instantly skipped a beat. He knew without a doubt that the great figures from the Central Plains must have come for the mysterious green copper.