Chapter One Hundred Thirty: The Immortal Artifact Emerges, The Northern Dipper Goes Mad

Ye Fan and his companions had set off.

With Shi Yi, the Double-Pupil, they stepped once more into a world of turbulent, perilous waves, awaiting yet another series of bloody battles. Yet, with the addition of Shi Yi, the future had become unpredictable; no one could foresee who would ultimately stand at the pinnacle of this great era. To Ye Fan’s relief, the prototype of the Profound Yellow Cauldron he had produced was not claimed by the two little ones, and it returned to his hands—a stroke of luck indeed.

By now, the "Unscrupulous Trio" was filled with soaring ambition and confidence, believing that as they re-entered the world, they would fear no challenge, slaying gods if gods stood in their way, and slaying Buddhas if Buddhas blocked their path. Watching their departing figures, Liu Yiyi felt a hollow ache in her heart, as if she had lost something of great importance. For a long while, she stared blankly, though Shi Yi’s figure was long gone.

"Senior Sister, let us go back. Shi Yi will be fine, don't worry," Ji Ziyue comforted her from the side.

"Mmh," Liu Yiyi nodded, and together with Ji Ziyue, she returned to the Chen residence.

In the blink of an eye, several years had passed since their departure. During these years, the head of the Ji family had come to pay his respects many times, hoping to inquire about the whereabouts of the Void Emperor, only to be dismissed by Chen Xing with the excuse that the time was not yet ripe. From time to time, Chen Xing would take the two little ones out to play, their footsteps covering the lands across all four cardinal directions.

During these travels, Chen Xing often heard rumors about Ye Fan and his group—robbing the saints of various holy lands, teasing saintesses, and wreaking havoc in the lairs of ancient tribes. For a time, they were thriving, though they had also gained a notorious reputation. Hearing this, Chen Xing would merely smile faintly, continuing to happily take the children out to play without paying much heed.

However, their actions over the past few years had shocked countless great powers. Despite caution regarding the words of the God King Jiang Taixu, some factions had secretly attempted to surround and eliminate them. To their astonishment, these attempts had failed. Rumor had it that the Unscrupulous Trio had been joined by a man with double pupils, whose eyes were incredibly eerie, capable of seeing through any trapping array, making it nearly impossible to hem them in. Under the reinforcement of his double pupils, this man’s combat power was no less than that of a Sacred Body, and perhaps even superior.

What puzzled them most was that, for some unknown reason, the Sacred Body’s combat power had reached the peak of the Dragon Transformation realm. This terrified those in the great powers. In their view, the Sacred Body had long been abandoned by heaven and earth, and reaching perfection was considered impossible; the Dragon Transformation realm had been its greatest obstacle. Now that the Sacred Body had broken through this barrier without a sound, how could they not be afraid? After all, they had already formed a blood feud with him, and they did not want Ye Fan to come seeking retribution once he reached perfection.

The appearance of the Double-Pupil, with combat power rivaling the Sacred Body, filled them with even greater fear. They resolved to kill them completely while they were still growing to prevent future trouble. Later, an unknown faction had a great expert wield an Imperial Weapon in an attempt to commit extermination. Unexpectedly, the group joined forces to unleash a bottle-shaped treasure, which nearly shattered the Imperial Weapon and forced the unnamed expert to flee, spitting blood.

This battle left the major powers completely stunned. That was an Imperial Weapon! That it could be nearly shattered was inconceivable. Gradually, rumors spread that Ye Fan and his group possessed an Immortal Artifact.

With this, the entire Big Dipper region went mad. Countless factions sent experts to search for their whereabouts, hoping to seize the artifact; some even brought out their hidden foundations, wielding Imperial Weapons to capture them in one fell swoop. News even spread that the various forbidden zones were stirring, with slumbering supreme existences desiring to emerge. For a time, dark energy shrouded the heavens, causing many powers descended from ancient emperors to tremble in fear. They hastily brought out their own Imperial Weapons, emitting world-destroying auras to prepare for the great calamity, which seemed on the verge of erupting into a catastrophe.

Yet, at this critical moment, the group vanished completely, leaving not a single trace. Countless great powers failed to find even a clue. Because of their disappearance, the endless dark energy emanating from the forbidden zones subsided once more, allowing many to breathe a sigh of relief.

Eastern Wilderness, on the outskirts of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, several bedraggled figures appeared. If anyone recognized them, they would instantly identify them as Ye Fan’s group.

"I told you the Immortal Artifact shouldn't be exposed so easily! You insisted on doing it. If you had alarmed those existences in the forbidden zones, we wouldn't even have been able to run!" Duan De complained as he ran.

Ye Fan nodded, saying with lingering fear, "It was fortunate that it was only an Imperial Weapon driven by a great expert and didn't erupt with its full might. Otherwise, if we had awakened those existences in the forbidden zones, everything would have been over!"

"Pah! What’s so great about that? Once we reach the Quasi-Emperor realm, we can fully rely on the power of the Immortal Artifact and fear no one—we might even be able to inflict heavy damage on them!" the Black Dog said with disdain.

Only Shi Yi remained silent, secretly swearing to cultivate to perfection as soon as possible, so that in the future, he could settle the shame of today’s flight with those people. They were, after all, merely existences who had reached the Supreme level in their own time; as a natural-born saint, why should he fear them?

Just as they were desperately running, Ye Fan suddenly stopped and motioned for everyone to halt. "Alright, let’s stop here. Any further in, and I fear there will be danger."

The group stopped. Duan De panted, "Is it safe here? We have the Immortal Artifact for protection anyway; why don't we go in a bit further?"

Ye Fan shook his head, explaining, "After all, this is a forbidden zone. If we provoke that kind of existence, it will be a disaster rather than a blessing for us. Let us hide in these outskirts for a period of time and wait for the storm to pass."

The group nodded, accepting Ye Fan’s reasoning. They found a nearby cave, ducked inside, tidied it up a bit, and settled down.

"I wonder when we’ll be able to go out again. This time we’ve caused a huge disaster. An Immortal Artifact! Who wouldn't want to get their hands on it?" Duan De sat on the ground, saying bitterly.

"At worst, we just cultivate here. Once our cultivation is high enough, we’ll go out and sweep through everything! What is there to fear?" the Black Dog said domineeringly.

"Easy for you to say. Is it really that easy to improve one’s cultivation?" Ye Fan rolled his eyes, retorting crossly.

"Why don't you, Ye, contribute that Nine-Turn Profound Art that Senior Chen Xing gave you to help everyone improve their cultivation?" the Black Dog nudged up to Ye Fan, saying shamelessly.

Ye Fan’s mouth twitched. He glared at the Black Dog and said, "This technique only has miraculous effects on the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body. Even if you practiced it, it would be impossible for you to improve quickly. You had better give up on that idea."

Just as the Black Dog was about to argue with Ye Fan, a strange voice suddenly rang in their ears: "Oh? What kind of technique has a miraculous effect on the Sacred Body? Could you tell me about it and let me broaden my horizons as well?"

Ye Fan and the others were shocked, standing up immediately and looking toward the cave entrance with vigilance. A flash of killing intent crossed Ye Fan’s eyes as he shouted in a deep voice, "Who is it? Come out!"

At that moment, the group saw a sturdy figure appear at the cave entrance, his back to the sunlight outside, making it impossible for them to discern his features. With heavy, rhythmic footsteps, the person walked toward them. It was only then that Ye Fan and the others saw him clearly: he had a burly build, thick brows, and large eyes, looking exactly like an honest, simple farmer. Had it not been for the blood energy surging to the heavens from his body, no one would have mistaken him for a terrifying expert.