21: Chapter 21 Enemies All Around, Murderous Intent Abounds

The words at the top of the golden list—"Yin-Yang Dao Body · Ye Fan" "Dual Cultivation Breaks Bottleneck · Heavenly Dao Feedback"—spread like a plague to every corner of the Cultivation World; whether righteous or evil, regardless of race, as long as they possessed intelligence, they all "knew" of this secret.

After a brief silence, the entire Cultivation World went completely insane.

In the Central Plains, the Imperial Dynasty's capital, the Human Emperor rose abruptly: "Find Ye Fan, and I want him alive! Bring him into the Imperial City, treat him with the courtesy of an Imperial Preceptor, and anyone who provides a lead will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households! Anyone who dares to harm his life shall have their nine generations executed!"

The Luck Golden Dragon roared, and the Dark Dragon Guards merged into the Void Realm, speeding toward the Eastern Region.

In the Western Region, at the Great Leiyin Temple, Liao Chen softly chanted a Buddhist mantra: "The Yin-Yang Dao Body was originally a blessing, but the release of this 'detailed explanation' has pushed this child into an ocean of immeasurable calamity. Order the Arhat Hall and Prajna Hall to head to the Eastern Region. If his Heart-Nature is kind, bring him into the Buddhist Sect; if he is swayed by the Demonic Path, suppress him with thunderous force."

The Diamond Arhat responded with a thunderous roar.

In the Northern Region, at the Yuanshi Demon Sect, Yuan Sha laughed wildly: "Heaven has gifted me an opportunity for the Demonic Path to flourish! Search for Ye Fan with all your might. Whoever captures him will be named Deputy Sect Master and enjoy the baptism of the Yuanshi Demon Pool! I want to personally refine him into the greatest Demon Cauldron in history!"

Demonic shadows transformed into rolling demonic clouds, surging toward the Eastern Region.

In the Eastern Region, at the Shushan Sword Pavilion, Ye Gucheng, his white robes whiter than snow, stroked his sword hilt: "External power is, after all, external power. However, this child is quite interesting. Pass the order: Sword Pavilion Disciples may descend the mountain for training, with the Eastern Region as their destination, but they must not participate in the encirclement. Additionally, keep an eye out for a person named 'Lin Feng'."

In the Southern Wilderness, at the Ancestral Court of the Yao Race, the Golden-Winged Great Peng King tilted its head: "Yin-Yang Dao Body? Can it produce offspring? Capture it first and we'll see! Pass the order: Go to the Eastern Region and look around, don't let the Human Race get there first!"

Ten Thousand Yao roared, and Demonic Qi soared into the sky.

The East Sea Dragon Palace, Nine Nether Underworld, Jixia Academy, Jade Pool Holy Land, ancient aristocratic families, Loose Cultivator Alliance, assassin halls... every power of note went completely mad because of the two words "Ye Fan."

On the surface, recruitment orders and bounty orders flew toward the Yuqing Sect like snowflakes. In the shadows, bounties for Ye Fan's head were hung in every black market, with rewards so high that even Soul Transformation monsters were envious. Tracking techniques and detection Magic Treasures were used without regard for cost.

Overnight, the Yuqing Sect became the center of the storm. Outside the mountain gate, countless Divine Senses shrouded the Sect like a spider web, visible and invisible. Envoys coming to "pay a visit" arrived in an endless stream, their smiles hiding greed. The Sect-protecting array remained active day and night, and Disciples were forbidden from going out.

Perfected Lingyun was overwhelmed, dealing with pressure from all sides while secretly sending people to search for Ye Fan, all while trying to suppress the chaos within the Sect.

"Senior Brother Ye is actually at the top of the list..."

"Yin-Yang Dao Body, Dual Cultivation to break the Bottleneck... no wonder his cultivation was mediocre before..."

"Now the whole world is looking for him, will we be implicated?"

"The Sect Master has strictly forbidden discussing Ye Fan; violators will be severely punished!"

Disciples who had mocked Ye Fan in the past were now both regretful and terrified, while some female Disciples who considered themselves attractive began to fantasize about becoming the object of that "Dual Cultivation."

Hearts were filled with anxiety, and the situation was precarious.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan, who had triggered all of this, was currently in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, deep within the Cold Crow Cave.

The cave was deep with many branching paths, filled with faint Demonic Qi. According to the "original work's" memory, there was an Iron-Clawed Cold Crow King and Yin-attribute Spiritual Plants deep in the cave, but at this moment, holding the guixu fragment, he did not go to the Cold Crow King's nest. Instead, following the guidance of the fragment, he chose a remote and ancient side path.

There were faint traces of manual excavation on the rock walls. The deeper he went, the heavier the cold air became, and a trace of deathly silence, originating from the same source as the fragment, began to permeate the air.

After walking for about half an hour, a natural stone chamber appeared ahead. In the center of the stone chamber was not a treasure, but a well.

The well mouth was three feet square, built from strange, ink-black stone. The well rim was carved with grayish-white runes, and a layer of black mist that swallowed light shrouded the well mouth. It was bottomless, and that aura of deathly silence and endings was emanating from the well.

"Is this an 'eye' connected to the 'guixu'?" Ye Fan felt shocked. This well felt more real and dangerous than the guixu projection in the mountain stream earlier. The Yin-attribute True Qi in his body was unusually active, feeling both eager and vigilant.

The guixu fragment trembled to the extreme, emitting a low hum, its surface patterns flowing madly, echoing with the runes on the well mouth.

Just as he hesitated about whether to approach, his Divine Sense caught a faint spiritual energy fluctuation from behind, along with a trace of faint bloody scent.

Someone had followed him in, and it wasn't just one group.

Without hesitation, Ye Fan put away the fragment and activated the Yin-Yang Breath Concealment Technique, silently merging into the shadows in the corner of the stone chamber.

A few breaths later, two groups of people appeared at the entrance of the stone chamber one after another.

The first group consisted of three people in black, masked, with cold auras, holding poisoned short blades. The leader was at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, and the other two were at the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage. They carried the scent of blood, clearly having cleared the Yao Beasts they encountered along the way, and perhaps even eliminated other competitors.

The second group consisted of two people, an old man and a young girl. The old man was hunched over, wearing tattered gray robes, leaning on a green snake-headed cane, his face covered in green spots. His cultivation was at the Peak of Foundation Establishment, faintly touching the threshold of the Golden Core. The young girl was fifteen or sixteen, beautiful but pale, bound by a green spiritual energy chain, stumbling behind him, her cultivation only at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refining.

The two groups confronted each other, their gazes finally falling on the black ancient well in the center of the stone chamber.

"Poison Elder, are you also interested in the 'Yin-Sha Well'?" the leader in black asked in a raspy voice.

"Old Poison isn't interested in the well!" Poison Elder laughed sinisterly. "I'm here chasing a 'big fat sheep.' That brat's aura vanished here. You lot, have you seen a young brat, Middle Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, possessing a special aura?"

"Are you talking about Ye Fan?" The leader in black's eyes narrowed.

"Who else but him?" Poison Elder licked his lips. "Yin-Yang Dao Body, Dual Cultivation to break the Bottleneck... If I can capture him and offer him to Old Ancestor Black Sha, I'll be granted the Heart-Rotting Pill that extends my life by a hundred years..."

"Ye Fan was targeted by our Shadow Kill Pavilion first!" the leader in black snorted coldly. "This Yin-Sha Well is said to seep out 'Yin-Sha Beads,' which are very beneficial for our cultivation of cold-attribute Cultivation Techniques. How about we take the items from the well first, then compete based on our own abilities to hunt down Ye Fan?"

Green light flashed in Poison Elder's eyes: "That's easy to say! But that brat is cunning; he might be hiding nearby. Let me probe it first—"

With a thud of his snake-headed cane, the green snake eyes on the cane lit up, and a ripple with a fishy, sweet scent spread in all directions, sweeping through every inch of the stone chamber.

Ye Fan, hiding in the shadows, felt a chill in his heart. Although the Yin-Yang Breath Concealment Technique was exquisite, he was not entirely confident against the targeted probing of a Peak Foundation Establishment monster.

He held his breath, adjusting his Yin-Yang Two Qi to simulate the deathly silence of the surrounding rocks, while quietly turning his attention to the slightly warm guixu fragment in his bosom.

The ripple swept over the shadow where Ye Fan was hiding, pausing slightly.

A flash of brilliance appeared in Poison Elder's murky eyes: "Found you, little mouse!"

The leader in black shouted: "Do it!"

Killing intent erupted instantly.