Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 287 - Fame Spreads In All Directions

“Have you heard of a youth named Ye Fan? He suppressed the young genius of the Demon Race, the Leviathan Prince.”

“I did hear such news, could it be true? They say that boy is only fifteen or sixteen, a mere little cultivator. How could he possibly suppress the Leviathan Prince, who can contend with the God Physique?”

“Your news is too old. This has already gone viral in the Northern Region, it’s absolutely true. People from the Five Elements Palace saw it with their own eyes.”

…

These were the voices of discussion inside a teahouse, and such rumors were spreading rapidly, sweeping through most of the Northern Region.

Not far away, in a gambling stone hall, a group of powerful cultivators were also talking about it.

“This is insane. Not only was the Leviathan Prince suppressed, even Radiant Light’s Saint and Saintess were taken as well. That’s practically tearing a hole in the sky.”

“No way! Are you sure this news is real? The Saint and Saintess of the mighty Radiant Light, both captured? That’s too outrageous.”

“There’s no mistake. The people of Illusion-Extinguishing Palace witnessed everything. Their disciples were even slain by that youth named Ye Fan. They saw it with their own eyes.”

“This is unbelievable. What’s the background of this Ye Fan? To suppress even the Saint of Radiant Light! All the great sects said the Saint had no rival in his generation, how could he be subdued in an instant? Truly inconceivable.”

“Who exactly is this Ye Fan? Does he truly have world-shaking powers? To seize three prodigies in one stroke, it’s shocking beyond measure!”

Inside the gambling stone hall, people buzzed with disbelief, feeling it was all too surreal.

The Radiant Light Saint had a towering reputation among the human race’s younger generation. Even many veterans were no longer his match. Other holy lands regarded him with fear, believing his future achievements would be unimaginable.

Yet now he had been crushed, how could the world not be shaken?

The Leviathan Prince and the Radiant Light Saint Son were essentially the future sovereigns of the demon and human races. Now both had been suppress by the same person.

“Just who is this Ye Fan? Where does he come from, and why does he possess such methods, able to suppress three paragons with one hand?”

“The Ji Clan once hunted him. Some cities recently circulated his portraits, I even glimpsed one. They said he was only between the Oceanic Wheel and Dao Palace realms, and yet now he’s stirred up such a storm!”

…

As the news spread, bits and pieces of Ye Fan’s past were unearthed. Though still incomplete, many cultivators across the Northern Region began to understand him.

“Damn, this kid’s ruthless. Even when thrown into the sixth layer of the Fire Domain he didn’t die. Half a year later he emerged and caused a huge upheaval in the Southern Region, burning the Ji Clan’s Grand Elder alive.”

“He has no background, no backing, yet he crossed the void from the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland to reach the Northern Region. Who knows how he did it? Likely he snuck through a holy land. Truly astounding.”

From teahouses to taverns, from city to city, oasis to oasis, the rumors spread quickly. Half a month later, all the major sects knew of the matter.

And as Ye Fan’s story became clearer, people were shocked to discover, he was actually a Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique.

“He has such a constitution and still achieved so much, astonishing. Could it be that the Sacred Physique will once again shine with its former peerless glory?”

“Impossible. He hasn’t broken through the Dao Palace realm. He hasn’t shattered the curse. Unless one day he enters the Four Pillars realm, there’s no hope.”

“A little cultivator in the Dao Palace realm, and yet he suppress three prodigies? And he holds the Motherly Energy Source Root? This is jaw-dropping. Is Heaven signaling the resurgence of the Sacred Physique?”

…

The news that Ye Fan possessed a cauldron forged from the Motherly Energy of All Things tugged on countless hearts. Many wanted to hunt him down.

For the holy lands in particular, the desire for such a sacred artifact was overwhelming. Not every holy land had produced a Grand Emperor, and thus not all possessed Paragon Artifacts.

Throughout history, there had only been a handful of Grand Emperors. But that didn’t mean only Emperors could found holy lands. Many holy lands established by others were equally terrifying, their heritage unimaginably deep.

Some followed nature itself and engraved the marks of the Grand Dao. Some inherited nameless legacies of unfathomable depth. Others produced generation after generation of sages, accumulating supreme scriptures over time.

No holy land was falsely named; all were formidable beyond imagination. The only thing they lacked was a Paragon Artifact.

Since Grand Emperors were long gone, only the weapons they left behind remained as the ultimate power. For holy lands that never birthed an Emperor, obtaining a sacred artifact was their greatest dream.

“Latest news: Radiant Light Sacred Ground and the Ji Clan have issued a sky-high bounty. Anyone who provides clues can claim three square sources!”

“That’s extravagant. Just for providing information on Ye Fan, one can get ten thousand catties of source. With wealth like this, the Northern Region will go mad.”

“That’s not even the biggest news. The real bounty is this: anyone who provides Ye Fan’s exact location will be rewarded with thirty square sources.”

“Thirty square sources, one hundred thousand catties of source essence! That’s heaven-defying!”

The moment this spread, the Northern Region boiled over. Countless people moved to hunt Ye Fan.

But clearly, it wasn’t Ye Fan’s personal worth that mattered, it was the Motherly Energy Source Root.

Many sneered. A sacred artifact is priceless. Even millions of catties of source essence wouldn’t suffice. Any great power with heritage would never trade it away.

Still, many cultivators took action. Knowing they couldn’t keep such a treasure, they sought instead to sell information to other holy lands, who might outbid Radiant Light and the Ji Clan.

…

In the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland, at Supreme Mystery’s Dull Peak, all plants had withered. The place was bleak and lifeless.

Since Ye Fan left, after burning the Ji Clan’s Grand Elder alive, the peak had faced immense pressure. Even the Supreme Mystery Sect Master had to recall disciples to the main peaks.

The Crude Peak, just as it had begun to flourish, was once again desolate.

Now only Li Ruoyu remained, sitting quietly in the ruins.

“You truly brought out a fine student, enough to throw the holy lands into chaos,” said the Supreme Mystery Sect Master, descending onto the peak, having heard the news from the Northern Region.

“He is not my disciple. But if I could have such a student, it would be worth it. Even if this peak lies barren, with someone like him, the legacy will flourish one day.” Li Ruoyu replied calmly.

“You see it lightly. But Supreme Mystery bears heavy pressure,” said the Sect Master, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the clouds. “Everyone wishes for a disciple whose name shakes the world. To die with a smile in the underworld would be enough. But one must know moderation, otherwise disaster will follow.”

At another Supreme Mystery subsidiary peak, a man in blue sat. Handsome and elegant, like an immortal, he plucked his zither, releasing beautiful music. Flowers bloomed at the sound, and birds gathered, dancing in reverence.

When the piece ended, he looked up at a beautiful woman in snow-white robes across from him. “Junior Sister Xiaoman, what kind of place is your homeland? Tell me about it, and also about this Ye Fan.”

…

In the Ji Clan’s Northern Region palace, Ji Ziyue bit her shiny little tiger teeth, sulking to herself: “So that little Daoist was him all along.”

Then she wrinkled her delicate nose, hugging Ji Haoyue’s arm, and muttered: “Good thing he didn’t throw Brother into that furnace.”

“I will capture him sooner or later!” Ji Haoyue declared. Divine radiance cloaked him, dragon might coiling, already exuding the aura of a God King.

…

The Northern Region’s Celestial City was vast and ancient, its exact size unknown. Since records began, it had never moved. Its age was beyond reckoning.

Known as the first ancient city, the first divine city, legends said it once floated in the sky.

Grand powers of the Northern Reaches and even royal clans from the Middle Continent resided here. By now, even the city’s top figures knew Ye Fan’s name.

A Northern Reaches expert laughed wildly in the city, startling many.

“Ancient Leviathan Monarch, I see you strutting around with your chin in the sky. You boasted that my eighteen grandsons couldn’t match your one descendant. How about now? All that talk of walking the Emperor’s path, yet your descendant was suppress with a flip of the hand. Hahaha…”

“Pity Ancient Leviathan Monarch is scouring the world for his heir, or else we’d get to see another earth-shaking battle between you two,” chuckled an elder from a Middle Continent royal clan.

If anyone burned with fury now, the Ancient Leviathan Monarch wasn’t the angriest, the people of Radiant Light Sacred Ground were.

A dignified holy land, and their two greatest young figures were taken, both stuffed into a furnace with none left behind.

The Saint of Radiant Light had ambitions to become a Grand Emperor. His talent was acknowledged by all. And yet he’d been swept away like nothing by a “broken cauldron.”

It was a humiliation beyond bearing!

And Ye Fan’s words had spread: he would one day visit Radiant Light and the Ji Clan personally. This was no less than a declaration of war from a mere youth to eternal lineages.

For half a month the Northern Region churned with storm, but no one could find Ye Fan.

At this moment, he felt no crisis. Disguised as a handsome young man, he wandered freely through gambling stone halls.

“Leviathan Prince, Radiant Light Saint, Yao Xi, you three better behave. Push me too far and I’ll toss you into the Primordial Mine!” Ye Fan threatened from outside the Departing Fire God Furnace.

But how could the Young Leviathan Prince, with his unshakable pride, submit? Nor would the Saint or Yao Xi yield. Every day they pounded at the furnace, trying to break the seal.

“I’m keeping you alive because you’re useful. Don’t force me to take desperate measures, or I’ll leave this furnace in a giant toilet pit for ten thousand years!”

At those words, even the aloof Radiant Light Saint nearly cursed, and Yao Xi’s beautiful face turned pale with rage.

Yet the threat worked, even the arrogant Young Leviathan Prince had nothing to say.