Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 444: Chapter 449 Visiting an Old Friend

“Let’s not act rashly for now. The current situation in Yan’s capital is complex, and any move I make will likely be watched closely. We should refrain from acting at such a critical moment,” Ye Fan said.

His primary concern was the Ruthless Individual’s issue. Such a powerful and terrifying legacy, if its inheritor were allowed to mature, would certainly become a formidable enemy in the future.

The technique ‘One Thought Flower Blooming,’ which allowed one to reign supreme over the world, represented the Ruthless Individual’s unparalleled magnificence in ancient times. This art, coupled with the world-renowned Myriad Transformations Saint Technique, was said to be capable of slaying nearly every hero under heaven.

Rumor had it that the Ruthless Individual had even created a supreme secret art specifically to slay various kings. It was said to be unparalleled in the world, and the mere legends surrounding it were enough to make one shudder.

“He nurtured a Divine Embryo from an old body, regenerating in his later years. Isn’t that terrifying? It’s equivalent to experiencing two lifetimes as a Great Emperor!” Li Heishui gasped.

“They say he lived the longest. Could it be that he’s still in the mortal world?” Tu Fei also had doubts. His grandfather possessed the Ancient Heaven-devouring Demon Jar, and as his understanding of the Ruthless Individual deepened, he often felt a chilling fear, as if handling a hot potato.

“Impossible. If he were still in the world back then, the Unstarting Great Emperor would have surely engaged him in a world-shaking battle,” the Black Emperor muttered.

“Didn’t any of the ancient Great Emperors survive? They were astonishingly talented, looking down on all of ancient and modern times. I truly cannot believe they all passed away,” Pang Bo said.

“If he weren’t dead, after I excavated his Dao Field and dug up his grave, with his temperament, he would have jumped out and skinned me alive long ago,” the big black dog grumbled.

The group fell silent. Upon deeper reflection, it was true. If he were still alive, how could he have allowed the Heaven-devouring Demon Jar to be separated and scattered across the world instead of keeping it in his own hands?

Ye Fan felt the pressure. The various mysterious arts corresponding to the Heaven-devouring Demon Technique were all peerless Holy Techniques, and the Immortal Heavenly Technique was even more enigmatic. Even the Black Emperor was unaware of what astounding Strange Techniques might correspond to it.

I need to go to the Holy Cliff and find the third of the nine secret arts… Ye Fan thought.

Although he had studied the Dao Scripture and the West Emperor Scripture, they were only heart techniques for specific secret boundaries, not the complete scriptures, and thus lacked records of Supreme Sacred Techniques.

At this moment, he keenly felt the lack of secret arts; powerful heart techniques alone were far from sufficient.

Fortunately, the Fighting Saint Technique was unparalleled in the world, its attacking Holy Power foremost. It could transform endlessly, evolving into infinite Killing Techniques. Otherwise, he would surely be stretched thin when facing his mortal enemies.

“Have you found any trace of the Divine King?” Ye Fan asked.

Back when he crossed over from the northern region, he had made an agreement with several people: if he successfully healed his Dao Injury, he would certainly create a significant stir to help them locate the peerless Divine King.

“No, it’s as if he vanished into thin air, not a trace. I had Jiang the Scoundrel make inquiries. Even his grandfather, Jiang Hi, personally went into the Jiang Family, but he couldn’t get any clues either,” Tu Fei said.

Li Heishui also sighed, “The Eastern Wastelands are too vast; trying to find the peerless Divine King is easier said than done.”

Ye Fan frowned. After countless brushes with death, he had finally pieced together a complete Undying Divine Medicine. Yet, there was no way to find the Divine King, which caused him great distress.

“Rest assured, if the Jiang Family gets any news, we will be the first to know,” Li Heishui said.

The peerless Divine King had shown great kindness to Ye Fan, and he did not wish to see the Divine King fade and fall. He wanted to find a path to revival for him. Now, though a glimmer of hope had appeared, there was still no way to implement it.

“I think the Divine King should still be alive. After all, Little Tingting is with him. When he senses his time is near, I believe he would send that little girl back to the Jiang Family,” Pang Bo judged.

Ye Fan shook his head and sighed, “This is exactly my greatest concern.”

He was very worried that the Divine King might use his last remaining strength to defy fate and change Little Tingting’s destiny, thereby exhausting his final hope of revival.

This was a very likely possibility. Ever since the Divine King had disappeared with Tingting, Ye Fan had harbored this thought.

The Divine King had lived a tragic life. If such heart-wrenching news were to spread again, it would truly be heartbreaking and bring tears to one’s eyes.

At this moment, the outside world was in an uproar. Many significant figures were flocking to the Taixuan Sect, heading towards Star Peak.

The emergence of the Ruthless Great Emperor’s heritage was something no one could ignore. If it were true, it would be a catastrophe, an unbearable man-made disaster.

The eyes of the world turned in this direction, with an intensity that surpassed even the time when the sacred body broke its curse. Even the Supreme Great Sects had people arriving.

Ye Fan had succeeded in diverting the world’s attention. A dying sacred body was no longer to be feared, but the legacy of the foremost Ruthless One in all of history was a different matter entirely.

He finally smiled. The tides had turned; calamity had been diverted. Everyone was now focused on another person; the world had begun to search for the Ruthless Individual’s successor.

Hua Yunfei had disappeared. Everyone was searching for him, investigating his whereabouts. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, he was already considered an enemy by almost the entire world.

“This move is brilliant! Hua Yunfei alive is far more useful than dead. He can bear this heavy pressure in Ye Fan’s stead!” Tu Fei laughed.

“Indeed. By pushing him into the spotlight, little kid Ye can cultivate in peace and slowly accumulate strength. By the time those people realize what’s happened, it’ll be too late,” Li Heishui also guffawed.

“Don’t be blindly optimistic. The more I hear, the more I feel this Hua Yunfei is not easy to deal with. He’s deeply scheming and ruthless. Such a person won’t die easily. Be careful not to force him into becoming a second Ruthless One,” warned the Black Emperor.

Pang Bo chuckled, “From now on, we can make our arrangements calmly. This time we pushed out a Ruthless One; next time, we’ll push out an Unstarting One.”

The outside world was seething, with all sorts of discussions spreading like wildfire. Ye Fan could finally relax for a while.

In the following days, he constantly searched for the pitiful little girl. He had to find her; otherwise, his conscience would trouble him.

However, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack; not a single clue could be found.

Ye Huiling should be coming out soon, right? If she heard I was unharmed, she would surely come for the sacred fruit.

Ye Fan took out the sacred fruit and distributed them among his companions. The Black Emperor drooled, its greedy old habits resurfacing, and it once again started to viciously bite and snatch from its own comrades.

Fortunately, Li Heishui and Tu Fei knew its ways and reacted quickly enough. Although they were bitten a few times, they managed to save their fruits.

“Damn it, this blasted dog is too hateful! Everything else about it is fine, but this incorrigible habit of snatching any treasure it sees is incurable!” the two of them cursed repeatedly.

“Am I that sort of creature? This Emperor was merely testing your reaction abilities,” the Black Emperor said, its shamelessness leaving them speechless.

Initially, everyone insisted on refusing the fruit. They understood that various sacred fruits needed to be combined to create a complete Undying Divine Medicine, which was intended to save the Divine King and Little Tingting.

Ye Fan still insisted on giving one to each of them, but he himself did not consume any more. There was barely enough as it was, and Divine Roots were already needed to make up the difference.

After several days passed without any sign of the pitiful little girl, Ye Fan grew uneasy, fearing that some accident might have befallen her.

Ultimately, he and Pang Bo left Yan’s capital to visit some old acquaintances—classmates who had come to this world with them and who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should still be in the land of Yan.

Their first stop, naturally, was Spirit Ruins Paradise. The two of them had lived there for nearly a year, and the events of the past were still vividly etched in their memories.

However, upon arriving, they received terrible news: their classmate, Zhang Ninfeng, had died.

Back then, Ye Fan and twelve others had been led out of the Eight Hundred Li Primitive Forest by Weiwei. The six Blessed Paradises had each accepted two of them as disciples.

Spirit Ruins Paradise had taken Pang Bo and Zhang Ninfeng as disciples. Ye Fan had merely accompanied Pang Bo and was not a true disciple, as he had been identified as a Desolate Ancient Wasted Body at the time.

After their arrival, Zhang Ninfeng had been taken into secluded cultivation by his master. Ye Fan and Pang Bo had only seen him a few times. They never imagined that upon their return, their classmate would have already been buried for over a year.

“Let’s add some earth to his grave.” Both felt a pang of sorrow. They had come to this world together, yet one of them had already departed, never to be seen again.

Zhang Ninfeng had not been killed by cultivators. A year ago, while gathering a type of spiritual medicine, he had been torn apart by a Fierce Beast, suffering a gruesome death.

“I still remember at graduation, when you were drunk, crying and laughing, talking about your dreams and regrets…”

“After coming to this world, we never had much time to spend together, and in the end, we didn’t even get to see you one last time.”

They poured wine onto his grave and remained silent for a long time. This was the world of cultivators—everything was incredibly cruel and fraught with danger.

When the two returned to Spirit Ruins Paradise, many people were so scared they hardly dared to breathe. Both Spirit Ruins Head Elders were very nervous; even they were only at the First Layer Heaven of the Dao Palace realm, and they feared the duo would become angry and punish them for the incident.

“There’s no need for such formality. Spirit Ruins Paradise has done us a kindness. His accidental death had nothing to do with Spirit Ruins Paradise.”

Nearly six years had passed. They were now cultivators of the Four Extremes secret boundary, powerful enough to look down upon the entire land of Yan.

The Eastern Wastelands were truly immense. Spirit Ruins Paradise was among the lowest tier of sects. In the state of Yan, figures at the First Layer Heaven of Dao Palace were already considered top-tier experts. Cultivators at the Four Extremes secret boundary could dominate over a dozen countries.

Several tens of nations might give rise to a medium-sized sect, while an area encompassing hundreds of nations might not even have a single Great Sect. In the boundless Eastern Wastelands, the number of countries was countless.

Old Senior Wu Qingfeng was invited out. The Head Elder of Spirit Ruins Paradise was still uneasy, as he knew this elder had shown kindness to the two.

Actually, aside from visiting their classmate, Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s main intention was to see this old man, who had guided them onto the path of cultivation.

Several years had passed, and Senior Wu Qingfeng had aged somewhat, but his spirits were good. He was very happy to see them.

“Child, I’ve heard about your situation… your Dao Injury…” the old man sighed.

“Don’t worry, he’s tough. He’ll get through this. You can rest assured,” Pang Bo said with a smile, unable to tell the whole truth due to the immense implications.

“I never imagined you would achieve such accomplishments, even able to contend with those Saint Heirs.” Senior Wu Qingfeng was very emotional; one of these accomplished young men was his disciple.

The two of them spent a long time with Senior Wu Qingfeng. Afterwards, Ye Fan left several pounds of Divine Spring, in which a Divine Root was soaking, before they departed. After this farewell, it might be very difficult for them to meet again…

As they walked far away, they found the old man still standing at the mountain gate. With his white hair, no longer straight back, and gaunt figure, he seemed petrified there, watching them depart into the distance.

This was very likely their last meeting. Ye Fan and Pang Bo also felt a deep sadness. Turning back, they performed a deep bow from afar before soaring into the sky.