The boss appeared in the temple of the Gusna tribe, beginning to infect and assimilate the surrounding tribesmen.
And all of this was completely beyond its control!
It could only watch helplessly as it all happened...
From the boss's memory perspective, Ye Fan discovered something.
That he wasn't sealed here by the High Priest back then, but that it didn't want to leave on its own.
If it had wanted to, the High Priest's barrier would have been a joke...
And over these long years, the boss's doubts grew.
It repeatedly asked itself that question.
What was the meaning of its existence?
Was it truly just to destroy everything, as that unknown entity had said?
...
Memory jumps.
Ye Fan and the others arrived at the temple and in front of the boss.
...
All the images disappeared.
Ye Fan found himself back in the temple.
The purple-black mist that formed the boss had been eaten by the stone in his spiritual sea.
And the scenes he had just witnessed made Ye Fan realize a terrifying truth!
Those huge, evil eyes...
It seemed as if all of this had been orchestrated by its own hand!
If he hadn't dealt with this boss, this continent would have inevitably moved towards its demise!
Now the boss was dealt with by him.
But he still knew nothing about the owner of those eyes!
As long as it existed, this continent would be in danger of destruction!
Actually, Ye Fan had no intention of being a savior.
But if he were the only one left in the entire world, what would be the point of living?
He even vaguely felt that he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed at that time!
His ability of infinite resurrection might not even be useful then!
Although Ye Fan didn't know why he had such a ridiculous thought.
He still trusted his intuition very much.
It seemed that in the depths of fate, his life's trajectory had already been linked to that unknown entity.
There would be a day when he would meet it!
Seeing Ye Fan standing there in a daze, Ancestor Yad and the others dared not disturb him.
Perhaps the big shot was thinking about something very important...
Snapping back to reality, Ye Fan swept his gaze over the temple.
"Since the problem has been solved, it's time to go back."
After leaving the temple, they found that the purple-black mist surrounding them had disappeared.
This ancient complex of buildings finally revealed its true, long-buried appearance.
It was a pity, however, that it was now a dead city...
Nothing remained but cold, empty buildings...
They returned all the way to where they had entered.
An exit simply floated in mid-air.
They stepped through the exit and returned to the Beast Forest.
Ye Fan turned to look.
Inside the exit, it was still the same old stone path.
However, there were now transparent souls one after another on this path.
Judging from their attire, they should be the tribesmen of Gusna.
At this moment, those souls showed Ye Fan a friendly smile, and then bowed in unison.
Afterward, they turned into specks of fluorescent light and dissipated into the heavens and earth.
The entrance closed and disappeared.
Ancestor Yad and the others were in good spirits and prepared to return for a celebration.
Many of their companions had died before.
But apart from a few close friends, everyone else showed no particular reaction.
When facing enemies, they were comrades and companions.
But once the enemies disappeared, their bonds were no longer so strong.
Because soon, they would be carving up the territories of the deceased sect leaders.
Such were the rules of survival in the cultivation world.
Cruel and realistic.
After refusing Ancestor Yad's invitation, Ye Fan walked out of the forest alone.
If Ye Fan's mindset had been somewhat indifferent before, it had now completely vanished!
The eyes in the boss's memory fragments were like a sharp sword, hanging heavily in Ye Fan's heart!
Even recalling it now, Ye Fan still felt a lingering fear!
His intuition told him that that thing had long surpassed the scope of the cultivation world!
What he needed to do was to seize the time to improve his strength, so that he wouldn't disappear at some unknown time!
On the outskirts of the Beast Forest.
Traces of battle could still be found on the ground, but Mu Yuqing and the others had already vanished.
Everything around them remained unchanged.
It seemed that the Yad Empire had not been destroyed while he was exploring the dungeon.
Ye Fan took out his flying boat and headed towards the Qingxin Sect.
Qingxin Sect's stronghold.
The disciples were as usual, as if the previous beast tide had had no impact on their lives.
Mu Yuqing was also wise enough not to inquire about what had happened to Ye Fan afterward.
"Sect Master Mu, I have troubled you a lot during this period," Ye Fan said with cupped fists. "It's time for me to leave."
"You are too kind, Young Master." Mu Yuqing quickly returned a bow. "You are welcome to return anytime you wish."
Mm.
These were all standard pleasantries.
After all, Mu Yuqing also knew.
Her small temple couldn't possibly accommodate a great Buddha like Ye Fan.
Maintaining the current relationship was already fortunate.
Upon returning to his residence, Ye Fan began to pack his belongings.
Kurota, upon learning that Ye Fan was leaving, had intended to leave with him.
After all, he was unfamiliar with the place, and besides Ye Fan, he trusted no one.
"This journey of mine might not be peaceful," Ye Fan advised. "Why don't you stay here and study the books I've given you? When you've achieved some success, perhaps you can help me then."
Kurota thought about it and realized it made sense, so it reluctantly agreed.
After all, if any danger were to arise now, it would only be a burden to Ye Fan.
"Alright, I'll wait for you!"
Not long after, Mu Yuqing personally escorted Ye Fan to the mountain gate.
"Ye Fan..." Liang Rujing bit her lower lip as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't.
"I have some matters to attend to, so I have to leave," Ye Fan said, gently patting Liang Rujing's head. "I'll come back to find you when I have time."
"Then... be careful..."
"Mm."
Ye Fan stood on the flying boat and waved goodbye to everyone.
Watching the flying boat gradually recede into the distance, Liang Rujing clenched her fist tightly.
She had originally wanted to say that she would leave with Ye Fan.
But considering that her strength would only cause trouble for Ye Fan, she ultimately didn't say it.
At this moment, Liang Rujing secretly made up her mind!
She would cultivate diligently and strive to catch up to Ye Fan's footsteps as soon as possible!
The flying boat sailed away from the Yad Empire.
In the few days he had been flying the boat, he discovered a frustrating matter.
His current realm meant that eating ores of the sixth or seventh tier was no longer useful.
He had consumed all the ores he had obtained from Ancestor Yad and the auction house, but his cultivation had not budged at all.
During this time, he had also tried to continue fusing the talismans on the circular platform in the stone world, but the effect was minimal.
After much effort, there had been no substantial progress.
Without high-tier ores, his cultivation could not break through.
If his cultivation didn't break through, he couldn't continue to comprehend and fuse talismans.
Without fusing more talismans, he couldn't continue climbing the heavenly ladder.
The path to leveling up seemed to have come to a standstill all at once...
Originally, Ye Fan's plan was to find a hidden spot and desperately level up.
But now, it seemed impossible...
As for finding high-tier ores?
On this continent where tier six or seven was considered high-tier material, it was no different from a dream...
The only fortunate thing was that even if he stopped eating ores now, his body wouldn't experience that feeling of hunger.
Ye Fan mused that it was probably due to his infinite resurrection physique.
Otherwise, he might have been the first cultivator in the Void Refinement realm to starve himself to death...
And after reaching the Void Refinement realm, Ye Fan no longer had a rigid requirement for ordinary food.
Even without eating, he wouldn't feel any hunger.
According to the laws of cultivation, he had achieved abstention from grains.
However, as a foodie, he still retained the habit of eating.
If there were no delicious food, life would lose a significant part of its joy!
One morning.
Ye Fan was flying the boat.
He planned to head east and check out the number one sect in the Eastern Wilderness.
As the foremost power in the entire Eastern Wilderness, there might be an opportunity for him to advance further there.
Suddenly!
A familiar feeling rose in Ye Fan's heart!
Ye Fan looked up.
The originally clear sky was now covered with dark clouds!
A faint rumble of thunder could be heard from behind the clouds!
Damn it!
It was tribulation clouds!
Ye Fan suddenly remembered something.
He had been leveling up all the way by climbing the heavenly ladder before.
But back then, no matter how he leveled up, not a single tribulation lightning had appeared.
Now, his realm hadn't broken through, so why was the tribulation lightning here?
Could it be that this thing worked on a "more is better, less is a penalty" basis?
As Ye Fan was grumbling, a massive bolt of lightning struck down!
"Crack—!"