9: Chapter 9 A Prodigy's First Glimpse

In the Yuqing Sect, the main peak's discussion hall was brightly lit. Although the sounds of argument were isolated by a Restriction, an atmosphere of an impending storm still shrouded the entire Sect.

Ye Fan sat on a prayer mat in a quiet room, a blank Jade Slip spread out before him. He raised and lowered his Talisman brush, unable to write the first word of his application document. It wasn't for a lack of words, but because his mind was uneasy.

The slight ripple of a "flaw" from the heart-questioning mirror during the day, Tian Xuanzi's meaningful glance, the Sect Masters' hurried departure... all were like invisible threads tangled around his heart. Leaving had become inevitable, but how and when to go required caution at every step.

He looked toward the night sky. The golden list was still glowing, but the area for the top fifty, after the nineteenth place, was temporarily silent. Purple-gold light flowed as if it were gathering strength.

The mere appearance of the "Heavenly Dao Sacred Body" (Dao Grade Low Grade, 20th) and the "Chaos Sword Body" (Saint Grade Peak Grade, 24th) was enough to make one feel suffocated.

“Where would my Yin-Yang Dao Body rank?” This question followed him like a shadow.

Suddenly, a faint vibration came from his chest. Ye Fan reached in and pulled out a black fragment half the size of a palm. Its edges were jagged, and its surface was covered in fine patterns, feeling cool to the touch. This was left by the original owner's mother on her deathbed, said to be passed down from ancestors, but since it could never be infused with Spiritual Qi, he had kept it as a memento.

At this moment, this fragment that had been silent for many years was trembling slightly in his palm! A faint grey-white light flowed through the patterns on its surface.

Ye Fan's Divine Sense probed inward and touched a sensation that was cold, deathly silent, and vast—like a collapsing starry sky, yet older than the stars. The patterns inside the fragment condensed into two obscure Dao runes: Guixu.

Guixu? The legendary final destination where all things end, a place of nothingness where even time is swallowed. Was this fragment related to Guixu?

Before he could investigate further, the fragment returned to its deathly silence, as if what just happened was merely an illusion.

But Ye Fan knew it wasn't an illusion. He gripped the fragment tightly and tucked it away close to his body.

Meanwhile, the storm caused by the golden list was sweeping through the entire Cultivation World.

On the Star-Gazing Platform of the Solar Divine Sect in the Central Plains, Dao Xuan, the possessor of the Heavenly Dao Sacred Body, stood at the edge of the high platform. His voice was flat: “Twentieth... Dao Grade Low Grade. I wonder what kind of elegance the nineteen people ranked before this humble Daoist possess.”

In a Secret Realm of the Solar Divine Sect in the Western Regions, Lieyangzi soaked in the “Great Sun Nirvana Pool.” His skin cracked and repaired itself as he growled: “Fifty-fourth... What a humiliation! Once my Divine Body reaches Perfection, I will surely fight my way into the top twenty!”

In the Heavenly Demon Hall of the Northern Region, Li Tianxing sat cross-legged in a vortex of Devilish Qi, his face distorted: “The Chaos Demon Physique is contaminated? Then let it be contaminated even more thoroughly! Let those Sacred Bodies become my nourishment!”

In a secluded valley in the Eastern Region, Qing Li, the possessor of the Creation Immortal Body, sat by a stream and sighed softly: “I was still discovered... This Heavenly Dao is quite sharp.”

In the Golden-Winged Great Peng Clan of the Southern Wilderness, a giant Peng spoke in human tongue: “Forty-first, just so-so. Let that little brat go to the Human Race's territory and use his claws and teeth to tear apart those empty reputations.”

Countless eyes focused on the golden list, specifically on the top twenty that had yet to be revealed.

---

Before dawn, the morning bell of the Yuqing Sect rang.

Ye Fan opened his eyes, got up, and left his room. In the dim morning light, a few scattered Disciples were already moving about. He was walking toward the General Affairs Hall when a sudden commotion broke out ahead.

“Make way! The Law Enforcement Hall is conducting business!”

A team of black-clothed Disciples arrived, escorting several dejected Inner Sect Disciples whose clothes were stained with blood. Ye Fan vaguely recognized one of the faces; he was a minor lackey of a certain True Disciple Senior Brother, usually quite arrogant, but now his face was bruised and swollen, and his cultivation was sealed.

The surrounding Disciples whispered among themselves.

“It's Wang Mang and his group! Last night in Black Wind Valley, they were fighting over a Three-Leaf Green Grass and went too far, getting caught by the Law Enforcement team.”

“Black Wind Valley? That place is near the Sect boundary and the Spiritual Qi is thin. How could there be Three-Leaf Green Grass?”

“Who knows? They just happened to get caught. They'll probably be facing the wall for a few months at least.”

Ye Fan stood in place, a faint light flashing in his eyes.

Black Wind Valley... conflict... Law Enforcement Hall asserting authority...

A plan instantly took shape. He turned around, no longer heading to the General Affairs Hall, but instead walked quickly toward the Sect's free trade zone.

---

Half an hour later, Ye Fan returned to his small courtyard. He changed into a set of slightly worn martial attire and stuffed the necessary Talismans, Medicinal Pills, the guixu fragment, and a small amount of Spirit Stones into his Storage Pouch. He also bought a Diamond Talisman and a bag of Spirit-Gathering Powder, hiding them in his sleeve.

He pushed open the door, his face wearing a look of anxiety and gloom as he walked toward the mountain gate. Meeting fellow Disciples on the way, he nodded coldly or ignored them, perfectly playing the role of a frustrated person with unhealed injuries and a foul mood.

At the mountain gate guard post, the Disciple on duty today happened to be a Disciple surnamed Wang who had a history with the original owner.

“Ye Fan? What are you doing here?”

Ye Fan squeezed out a fawning smile and approached: “Senior Brother Wang, this Junior Brother wants to go out for a bit and will be back soon.”

“Go out? Don't you know the situation in the Sect? Leaving the mountain is strictly forbidden without special circumstances!”

“This...” Ye Fan looked left and right, lowering his voice, “Junior Brother heard there’s some movement over at Black Wind Valley and wants to try my luck. I’ll just wander around the valley entrance and be back before sunset.”

As he spoke, that bag of Spirit-Gathering Powder slipped into Senior Brother Wang's sleeve.

Senior Brother Wang's expression softened slightly, though he still scolded him for a few sentences. Finally, he tossed out an entry-exit token: “Just this once! You must be back before sunset! Don't blame me for being unkind if you cause trouble!”

“Thank you, Senior Brother!”

Ye Fan took the token, walked quickly through the mountain gate's Restriction, and stepped onto the stone steps leading out of the mountain.

The moment he stepped out of the Restriction's range, the free yet dangerous air of the wild hit him. He glanced back at the outline of the Sect, the last trace of disguise fading from his eyes, leaving only calmness.

Without the slightest delay, he slapped on the Diamond Talisman, cast the Wind-Riding Technique, and sped toward Black Wind Valley. Of course, he wasn't actually going to Black Wind Valley; that was just a link in his plan to leave a trail.

---

The main peak's discussion hall of the Yuqing Sect.

Perfected Lingyun sat in the main seat, his face as dark as water.

“Is the news confirmed?” he asked.

“Confirmed.” Peak Master Anying's voice was hoarse. “The Xuantian Sword Sect has a True Disciple coming to 'visit' Zhao Yuanqing, and the Solar Divine Sect's Saint Lieyangzi also said he wants to travel east.”

“They come with ill intent!” Peak Master Danchen sneered. “It's nothing more than testing our strength, with the intention of either recruiting or suppressing us.”

“And—” Peak Master Anying continued, “Tianji Pavilion's secret message says the top ten on the golden list might involve secrets of the Immortal Realm. Major forces are secretly connecting with each other, and our Yuqing Sect has already been targeted by many eyes.”

The hall fell silent.

Tian Xuanzi suddenly spoke: “Just now I did a casual divination. It seems a Disciple has left the mountain. Their aura is turbulent; I fear complications may arise.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“The aura is weak, only vaguely pointing southwest, toward Black Wind Valley.”

Law Enforcement Hall Master Lei Wanjun knitted his thick brows: “Black Wind Valley again! I'll send someone to check immediately!”

“Forget it!” Perfected Lingyun rubbed his brow. “In these extraordinary times, it's normal for Disciples to want to try their luck. Just send two people to follow from a distance; there's no need to interfere.”

Tian Xuanzi lowered his eyelids, his fingers inside his sleeve pinching a few more times. His brow furrowed slightly and then smoothed out.

He seemed to have calculated something, yet also seemed to have calculated nothing at all.

---

By now, Ye Fan was far from the Yuqing Sect, entering a desolate mountain range.

He looked back to confirm no one was following, then suddenly turned at a fork in the road, ducking into a small path hidden by vines.

This was a secret beast path mentioned in the 'original work' that connected the Yuqing Sect to the edge of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, allowing one to avoid tracking.

His goal was an abandoned ancient Cultivator's cave dwelling on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains called 'Cold Crow Cave.' It was hidden enough for a temporary refuge.

He held the guixu fragment in his palm and whispered to himself: “I hope you don't disappoint me.”

His figure quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

---

Outside the Yuqing Sect's mountain gate, two Law Enforcement Hall Disciples revealed themselves, looking at the compass artifacts in their hands.

“The aura indeed went toward Black Wind Valley.”

“Catch up and keep a distant eye on him.”

They chased after the direction of Black Wind Valley, unaware that the person they were pursuing had already escaped like a cicada shedding its skin.

---

At the edge of the Eastern Region, in a Loose Cultivator market, Lin Feng stepped on a corpse and pulled a Storage Pouch from the opponent's chest.

[Killed a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator, destiny points +8; Found a fragmented Poison Art, exchange it? Found one black iron piece of unknown material.]

“Exchange the manual, keep the iron piece.”

He licked the blood from his lips. Overnight, his destiny points had risen to over sixty, and his strength had recovered to Qi Refining Great Perfection.

“It's not enough.” A fierce light flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. “Ye Fan... wait for me.”

He vanished into the shadows once more, like the most experienced hunter.