Shrouded Sky

Chapter 164 - The Storm I

Above, the sky was azure and vast, deep and distant. Ye Fan could see nothing unusual, nor could he deduce anything from it.

Within his Bitter Sea, a single green lotus stood tall and vibrant, as if birthing a living world. Around it swirled chaotic mist, mysterious and hazy.

At this moment, Ye Fan felt calm. His mind was tranquil and empty as he observed closely. The lotus had just emerged, bearing only three verdant leaves. It carried a natural Dao essence, as if manifesting the origins of the universe: the Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things.

“There is a thing formed from chaos, born before Heaven and Earth, the progenitor of all things, present before the heavenly emperor himself.”

Ye Fan recalled these words from an ancient text.

This green lotus was one with his Oceanic Wheel, radiating an extraordinary spiritual charm, like an unfathomable well of Dao, serene and eternal, as though it would exist forever.

Ye Fan had crossed the Bitter Sea and reached the Other Shore. His Oceanic Wheel had begun to evolve, mystical and profound, difficult to fully comprehend.

His cauldron, barely an inch tall, floated beneath the sky and above the lotus, gently bobbing up and down, exuding a majestic aura.

Moved, Ye Fan tried once more to summon the cauldron, now as a cultivator who had reached the Other Shore, his strength had grown significantly.

Shua!

The cauldron appeared outside his body, silently suspended in front of him. He still felt a pressure like a mountain, but this time, he could move it.

Boom!

The cauldron, without any dazzling light, shot forward and struck a boulder more than ten meters tall. In an instant, dust filled the air, and the boulder silently disintegrated.

It gave only the faintest tremble, yet the entire surrounding stone forest, those massive rocks shaped like crouching oxen or bamboo shoots, were pulverized into dust. The cauldron’s power was plain to see!

However, Ye Fan’s body trembled as well. Though the cauldron had not yet developed Dao runes, it already behaved like a bottomless pit. Despite his powerful physique, one-third of his energy was instantly drained.

In other words, he could only summon it three times in his current state. Though the cauldron was mighty, he could not yet wield it freely, leaving him both elated and concerned.

He summoned it again, this time enlarging it to about one meter tall, the maximum he could currently control. Any larger, and he wouldn't be able to bear it.

Suspended in the air, the cauldron resembled a void capable of devouring the heavens. In front of it, the stone forest vanished as rocks resembling crouching beasts or bamboo shoots were sucked in, disappearing into the cauldron.

Ye Fan retracted the cauldron and looked inside. It was packed with stones. With a gentle tremble, all contents were ground into dust. As he slowly inverted it, the ashes fell away, and the interior appeared spotless, pristine and new.

Though his godpower was nearly depleted, he was very satisfied. He liked this cauldron immensely, its power was terrifying.

There was no commotion, no radiant divine light. The cauldron silently vanished, returning to his Oceanic Wheel.

Now that the cauldron was forged and he had reached the Other Shore Stage, his confidence grew. After cultivating here for over several months, he was eager to learn what was happening outside.

“I wonder if the Ji Clan’s people have left…” Once he recovered his godpower, Ye Fan began walking outward.

Outside the Flame Domain, the land was scorched and cracked, an endless expanse of desolation. More than half a year had passed. The Ji Clan’s people had long since departed.

“Well, that’s better. They must think I’ve turned to ash. It’ll be a nice surprise when I show up again!”

Ye Fan returned to the Flame Domain, preparing to summon the Seventh Layer’s Five-Colored Cloud Flame to temper his cauldron and refine it further.

The Five-Colored Cloud Flame was even hotter than the Purple Qi. Just getting close, without even entering, he could feel waves of searing heat. He held the Bodhi Seed, yet still felt a sense of dread. Without the seed, he doubted he could even approach.

“Can I really control such powerful flames?” he wondered uneasily.

Cautiously, he absorbed a single thread of five-colored mist. Instantly, hissing sounds erupted as it burned away a cluster of his godpower completely.

Ye Fan inhaled sharply. This flame was too powerful, capable of burning even top cultivators alive. The human-shaped ashes on the ground proved that. He had no safe method to draw it into his Oceanic Wheel for cauldron refinement.

In the days that followed, he kept testing carefully, never acting recklessly.

Suddenly, he heard faint sounds from outside. If not for his sharp divine sense, he wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

“Someone’s here?”

Ye Fan concealed himself and crept outward.

In the Fourth Layer of the Flame Domain, where black nether flames danced, a middle-aged man sat motionless atop a massive rock. Above his head floated a half-man-tall ancient tower, hovering silently.

Bird-like glimmers of flame were continuously drawn into the tower, making it ring out with metallic chimes as it slowly transformed.

“Why is he refining a weapon outside his body? He doesn’t seem to value it much, so why come all the way into the Flame Domain?”

Ye Fan was puzzled, until he saw the tower. Then his expression changed.

A five-tiered ancient tower, entirely silver-white, faintly glowing yet visibly weathered. It exuded a profound ancient aura.

“The man in hemp clothes!”

Ye Fan immediately recalled the group that had once tried to kill him and Ji Ziyue. Among them was a middle-aged cultivator in hemp clothes who had carried such a tower and nearly slain him.

Now this man, dressed in black, sat silently, but the silver tower above him was transforming. He was trying to melt it and reforge it.

“A five-floor ancient tower, quite a powerful weapon. And he’s melting it down…”

When a wisp of primal Black-Gold Dualforce burst from the tower, Ye Fan’s suspicions were confirmed. This was definitely the hemp-clothed man. Although he hadn’t seen his face clearly that day, the tower was unmistakable.

“He’s afraid the Ji Clan will track the tower, trying to erase the final clue!” Ye Fan was determined to learn this man’s origins. Hidden enemies left him uneasy.

“Maybe he really is just a puppet, like Ji Ziyue said. He seems sluggish, like a block of wood.”

Ye Fan scrutinized him and felt the man was abnormally stiff.

“I need to capture him and uncover the truth!”

After a moment of thought, he judged the man to be very powerful, likely a Dao Palace Realm cultivator, well beyond Ye Fan’s current strength.

“I need to be flawless. If I fail and expose myself, it’ll be a disaster.”

Ye Fan returned silently to the Sixth Layer of the Flame Domain. He summoned his cauldron, letting it gulp down vast amounts of Purple Fire. Then he quickly meditated to restore his godpower.

Half a quarter-hour later, he returned to the Fourth Layer’s nether flame zone and lay in wait.

Two hours passed. The black-clothed man had now fully melted the silver tower, reshaping it into a silver bell. Just as the final transformation neared completion, Ye Fan struck.

At that moment, the man was completely focused, his mind immersed in the silver bell’s forging.

Silently, Ye Fan’s cauldron crept forward and struck fiercely. Purple flames surged like a tidal wave, blazing furiously.

This temperature could kill powerful cultivators. For lesser ones, death was certain.

But unexpectedly, the man had prepared. He had carved Dao runes around him. Radiant lights surged upward, blocking the Purple Fire.

Ordinary treasures couldn’t withstand Purple Fire, they’d snap into pieces. The Dao runes couldn’t stop it either, but they bought him time.

Like a phantom, he darted aside.

Shiiing!

Ye Fan was ready. The golden book was already waiting. As soon as the man moved, boom!

Spurt!

A flash of blood. The black-clothed man was gravely wounded! His body froze for a moment. Simultaneously, the Purple Fire brushed him, his left side instantly turned to ash.

Buzz!

The sky trembled. The cauldron expanded to a meter tall, exerting devouring force. The half-destroyed man was sucked in and sealed.

Only then did Ye Fan exhale in relief. He took out the Jade Purification Vase, drank some divine spring water, and instantly recovered his godpower. Then he looked into the cauldron.

Inside, the black-clothed man’s half-ruined body trembled. He struggled upright, looked up, and upon seeing Ye Fan, his face showed shock.

“You, you're still alive?!”

Ye Fan was stirred. The man recognized him, and not just vaguely. This wasn’t simply a case of hunting him before. Ye Fan smiled coldly.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Hard to believe… you’re still alive…” the man sighed. Then suddenly, he lowered his head. A beam of light shot from his brow, trying to escape the cauldron, but failed.

“Just as I thought, a walking corpse under someone’s control.” Ye Fan released his divine sense to bind the man.

But the man acted decisively. That beam of light shattered like a firework, scattering into specks of light that quickly vanished within the cauldron.

Ye Fan’s expression darkened, it was too late to stop it.

He searched the man’s remains, nothing. The silver bell had been completely destroyed by Purple Fire. No clues remained.

He threw the half-burned body into the nether flames, where it turned to ash. Muttering to himself, he said:

“Who was that? Felt… familiar.”

After cleaning up all traces, Ye Fan hid in the Fifth Layer’s golden flames to observe, waiting to see if anyone else would appear.

Three days later, an old man with a tall frame arrived, inspecting the pile of ashes.

“He really died here…”

“I don’t know this old man,” Ye Fan thought to himself.

Shua!

A flash of light, and the old man exited the Flame Domain, vanishing into the distance.

Three days later, Ye Fan stepped into the Seventh Layer of the Flame Domain. Even with the Bodhi Seed protecting him, he felt intense burning pain. The heat of the Five-Colored Cloud Flame was unimaginable.

Cultivators’ refined godpower could be instantly ignited, there was no resisting it. The flame seemed almost demonic, capable of devouring anything.

Though Ye Fan had entered, he didn’t yet know how to absorb the flames. The Five-Colored Cloud Flame was far too fearsome.

Three days passed.

Suddenly, beasts roared and humans shouted. It sounded like thousands of cavalry were charging. The ground shook violently. Countless exotic beasts stormed the Flame Domain.

Some mighty beasts roared so loudly they could be heard for dozens of miles. Ye Fan, with his keen senses, was instantly alerted.

He scanned the scene and was shocked. “The Ji Clan has come!”

Outside the Flame Domain, over a hundred fierce beasts arrived. Each was majestic, galloping through the air. Their rumbling steps shook both earth and sky. Every rider wore black iron armor, radiating killing intent.

A great banner flapped in the wind, bearing a single character: Ji.

Ye Fan saw Ji Hui, Ji Biyue, and several elders. There was also a grand carriage pulled by nine god beasts, hovering outside the Flame Domain.

The divine beasts roared thunderously, each one the size of a mammoth, covered in gleaming scales, radiating immense pressure. The carriage sparkled and emitted auspicious light, clearly carrying a very important Ji Clan member.

“Could they be here for me? That doesn’t make sense. It’s been half a year… what could they be here for?”

Ye Fan was deeply puzzled.

An old man stepped out of the carriage. Ji Hui hurried to help him down, treating him with utmost respect.

“Damn it!”

Ye Fan dared not peek further. He withdrew into the depths of the Flame Domain.