Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 299 - Standing Alone Against The World

This mountain peak was not very tall, yet dragon energy coiled around it. It was the ancestral root of this mountain range, a truly excellent place for cultivation. Ancient pines grew lush and green, strange rocks jutted upward, and streams of spirit springs surged forth.

Duan De was wholly focused, carefully carving Dao Runes on the summit. Beside him, a withered old Daoist busied himself, running back and forth. From the distant mountain ridges, the Black Emperor spoke,

Ye Fan, afraid that the unscrupulous fat man might sense something, gestured, and the two men and the dog quietly retreated.

In Chaos Cloud Prefecture, mountains stretched everywhere. Ancient pines reached the heavens, green peaks pierced the clouds. They came upon a sheer cliff thousands of feet tall, where a few ancient pines, like coiled dragons, stretched their branches into the mist, exuding a rugged vigor.

Tu Fei suggested, “When everything is ready, we’ll claim the bounty in his stead and lure the great holy lands here.”

Ye Fan smiled and said, “We have to consider every step carefully, no mistakes. Otherwise we’d be letting that fat bastard off too lightly. If this works, Duan De will cough blood. All that hard work, all that risk, only to make wedding clothes for others.”

The Black Emperor, wagging its big tail like a wolf, also longed for the fifty thousand kilo of source. It wanted to replace Duan De and laughed sinisterly.

From the cliff, the laughter of two men and a dog echoed. Hundreds of miles away, Duan De sneezed, glanced at the sky, cursed, and went back to carving Dao Runes.

Ye Fan ordered, “Black Emperor, stay here and watch. If the fat man tries to leave, change the Dao Runes. Tu Fei and I will head into town, ready to lure the holy land people at any time.”

But when Ye Fan and Tu Fei arrived at Mountain Rock City, unease struck them. Too many cultivators had gathered.

And besides, many rogue cultivators had come, renowned ones at that. Compared to them, the younger generation wasn’t so frightening.

Ye Fan even suspected that great powers, or even holy masters, might have arrived. That was no good omen.

Tu Fei pressed, “Duan De will finish carving today. At the latest, he’ll act tomorrow. We don’t have time. Do we leave, or do we set him up? We must decide quickly.”

They returned to the mountains to discuss. The Black Emperor, broad-headed and big-eared, stood under an ancient pine and said, “If you ask me, the simplest and safest way is to rob that bull-nosed Daoist directly.”

But holy lands with hundred-thousand-year legacies were not easy to provoke. The storm had grown too big, with many elder figures appearing.

Tu Fei frowned, “But this shameless Daoist is unfathomable. We may not be able to subdue him.”

Duan De’s origins were mysterious, his methods brilliant. He had been hunted by Wu Dao for days and yet returned alive and kicking, clearly extraordinary. He also cultivated ancient techniques tens of thousands of years old. His strength was immeasurable.

Ye Fan said, “For now, best to let Duan De do everything. Let him take all the blame. As for ambushing him later, that’s easier said than done.”

Tu Fei muttered, “This fat man stirred up too big a storm. Even he must be having headaches, and may not be able to clean up the mess.”

Ye Fan added, “The problem is we can’t gauge his true strength. But what we’re really dealing with isn’t his body, it’s that wooden-faced Daoist of his.”

The Black Emperor suddenly spoke, “If it’s just the wooden-faced Daoist, there should be no problem. I just remembered, the ancient technique he cultivates has a fatal flaw before reaching completion.”

Tu Fei was surprised, “You know how to deal with him?”

Ye Fan brought out materials he had collected in Demon City, and the Black Emperor carefully inscribed runes. By sunset, it was finished.

Tu Fei muttered, “This damn dog is vicious, what kind of perverse Dao Runes did it just carve?”

At the same time, Duan De also finished, storing away five divine incarnations and exhaling deeply.

Ye Fan and the others, hidden across more than ten mountain ranges, watched his vague figure, careful not to be discovered.

Ye Fan judged, “Looks like he won’t act tonight. The real storm will be tomorrow.”

Indeed, Duan De sat cross-legged on the peak, meditating until the latter half of the night. Then, like a ghost, he rose and darted toward the distant mountains, cautious and observant.

Ye Fan sent a voice transmission, “Black Emperor, it’s up to you!”

The Black Emperor slipped away silently, and before long returned.

Tu Fei asked, “He won’t notice, will he?”

At dawn, Duan De sat on the peak, breathing deeply. Thick streams of white energy, as wide as arms, like coiling dragons, surged in and out of his seven orifices. It was Ye Fan’s first time seeing him cultivate, and he truly could not gauge the depth of his strength. Those streams were innate primordial essence.

Suddenly.

Whoosh!

The wooden-faced Daoist shot out from Duan De’s Dao Palace, flying toward Mountain Rock City three thousand miles away.

Ye Fan swept his sleeve, collecting the shrunken Black Emperor, then silently retreated with Tu Fei, heading toward the city.

Now there was no need to monitor Duan De, just watching the wooden-faced Daoist was enough.

Tu Fei chuckled, “Heh… everything left to that shameless Daoist, all the blame dumped on him. Aren’t we being too ruthless?”

Ye Fan sneered, “That fat bastard deserves it. He’s always been like this. Now he’s fallen into his own pit.”

This time, they wouldn’t even risk claiming the source reward. They only needed to rob the wooden-faced Daoist at the crucial moment.

Mountain Rock City was not grand. Nestled in steep mountains, yellow leaves drifted across its forests.

At noon, the city’s atmosphere shifted, an undercurrent stirred. Then, countless cultivators shot into the sky, flying toward the mountains.

Ye Fan’s eyes gleamed, “It’s begun!”

Many had white hair and beards, elders of formidable strength.

Tu Fei gasped, “So many old monsters… how did Duan De trick them without exposing flaws?”

The Black Emperor explained, “The Heavenly Tribulation Crossing Art includes the Supreme Ruthless Severing. It can temporarily make him seem like another person. Naturally, the bull-nosed Daoist won’t slip up.”

At that moment, Absolute Dao Sacred Ground’s maiden Daoist, Grand Ascension’s Xiang Yifei, the Ji Clan’s Ji Biyue, and Purple Mansion’s heir all revealed their true selves and gave chase.

Tu Fei exclaimed, “The Ji Clan’s future God King is here.”

Ye Fan’s eyes sharpened, “The heir of Primordial Beginning Sacred Ground too.”

Tu Fei added, “Even Xia Jiuyou showed up. That brat is too arrogant, today we ought to give him a thrashing too.”

In the sky, Xia Jiuyou, only thirteen or fourteen, appeared in snow-white robes, pure and dustless, like an exiled immortal. Nine streams of dragon qi carried him forward, with two gray-robed elders at his side.

Ye Fan said, “Let’s follow. The wooden-faced Daoist is leading the way. He’s likely already obtained some source, we mustn’t let him slip away midway.”

Chaos Cloud Prefecture’s mountains pierced the clouds, towering endlessly.

Today, the skies swarmed with cultivators, beautiful maidens, elders hundreds of years old, all flying the same direction.

Tu Fei smirked, “Duan De really went too far this time. He thought he could toy with everyone. But now, surrounded and unable to cross the void, let’s see how he handles it. I can’t wait to see his face then.”

They flew quickly, gradually catching up. From afar, they spotted the wooden-faced Daoist, still calm and steady.

The strongest elders and the holy sons and daughters in front moved with blinding speed, nearly stepping across the earth in an instant.

An hour later, they reached a celestial mountain. The crowd fanned out, surrounding it from all sides.

The mountain was not tall, covered in verdant pines, white streams cascading down its slopes.

Two vigorous elders nodded, their hair white but faces ruddy, like divine immortals.

Ye Fan was shocked, these were Radiant Light’s two Grand Elders. Nearby hovered three extraordinary old men, Ji Clan’s three Grand Elders.

Ye Fan felt lucky he hadn’t acted rashly and left Duan De to take the heat. With so many great figures, the situation was far too complex.

Tu Fei whispered, “Hear that? Just now people said every holy land brought Grand Elders. And one elder even glimpsed a Sacred Lord flashing past.”

The cultivator on the spiritual mountain sensed something and revealed himself.

The crowd cried out, “It’s him!”

“No mistake, that’s the youth surnamed Ye, the Motherly Energy of All Things is on him!”

The mountains roared with noise, everyone recognized him, Ye Fan.

He wore purple robes, black hair flowing like a waterfall, eyes bright. Only about fifteen years old, handsome yet still youthful.

The purple-robed youth shouted, “You holy lands, do you all have dog noses? You actually found me here!”

The crowd was shaken. This “Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique” dared to have such audacity, even when surrounded.

One elder scolded, “Brat, you’re at death’s door, yet still mouthing off!”

But “Ye Fan” laughed loudly, hair wild, and declared, “Spare me your posturing. You holy lands, one day I’ll visit each of you. When my physique reaches Grand Completion, I’ll crush your Sacred Lords one by one!”

The crowd erupted, such words were heretical. Only he in the entire Eastern Wilderness would dare utter them.

Ye Fan gritted his teeth, “Fatty, I want to see how you’ll end this! This shameless Daoist runs his mouth without restraint, and the debt will surely be pinned on me...”

Tu Fei chuckled, “When he realizes he can’t cross the void, I bet his face will turn green.”