As soon as Ye Fan entered the secret realm, he met many acquaintances.
“It’s you. You really have a teleportation token.” Mu Xue stared at Ye Fan and said.
Ye Fan nodded and said solemnly, “Yes, it’s me. Even if I have a teleportation token, you shouldn’t chase me! I have a wife. I love my wife the most! I won’t look at others.”
Mu Xue looked at Ye Fan and smiled coldly.
When Lin Mo heard Ye Fan’s words, he couldn’t help but smile, “Alchemist Ye, you are still the same! You like Fellow Daoist Bai the most.”
Ye Fan glanced at Lin Mo, snorted lightly, and said, “Are you here too?”
Lin Mo nodded, “My Xuanjian Sect was lucky enough to get a teleportation token, and the Sect Master let me come.”
When Lin Mo arrived at Pill Capital, he also went to find Ye Fan’s whereabouts, but Ye Fan had disappeared long ago, and Lin Mo naturally found nothing.
Ye Fan nodded and said, “Oh, that’s it! Miss Luo is here too.”
Hearing this, Luo Dieyi nodded to Ye Fan and said, “Alchemist Ye, it’s been a long time.”
When Lin Mo saw Ye Fan, he quickly guessed the origin of Ye Fan’s token. Not long after Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi arrived at Ice Sword Island, the news of the death of Wu Yuan from Xuanming Sect came out. At that time, Xuanming Sect sent people to Ice Sword Island to investigate.
Lin Mo originally thought that with the strength of Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi, it would be impossible to kill Wu Yuan, but seeing Ye Fan appear here, Lin Mo understood that he had probably guessed wrong.
Lin Mo glanced at Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi, and said, “Fellow Daoist Ye, Fellow Daoist Bai, take care. We will go first.”
Ye Fan waved his hand and said, “Let’s go, let’s go. See you later.”
Lin Mo’s figure flashed, and he quickly disappeared with Luo Dieyi and others.
Luo Dieyi looked at Lin Mo and said, “Senior brother, I think there is some misunderstanding between Miss Mu Xue and Alchemist Ye. Should we just leave like this?”
Lin Mo said nonchalantly, “Don’t worry, Alchemist Ye can handle it. As for us, the things the Sect Master asked us to find are also being targeted by others. We have to act quickly, and not let other groups snatch them. Go quickly. If we can’t secure the things, it’ll be hard to explain when we go back.”
Lin Mo secretly thought: When Wu Yuan died, Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi should both have been in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Now both of them had entered the middle stage. Bai Yunxi also had his life-bound spiritual weapon and had comprehended sword intent. Although Mu Xue had the advantage in terms of cultivation base, she was an alchemist, and her fighting strength was not too strong. What was more, even if they really couldn’t beat her, Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi definitely had no problems escaping.
“Senior brother, where do you think Alchemist Ye’s teleportation token came from?” Luo Dieyi asked.
Lin Mo smiled and said, “For someone like Alchemist Ye, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone gave him a teleportation token!”
Luo Dieyi nodded and said, “That’s true.”
…
Ye Fan looked at Mu Xue and asked, “Miss Mu, aren’t you leaving?”
Mu Xue looked at Ye Fan coldly and did not speak.
“Even if you don’t go, we have to go.” Ye Fan took Bai Yunxi and left quickly.
Mu Xue watched Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi leave, but did not chase. Mu Xue did not chase, but other cultivators who were watching in secret quickly caught up.
After the news of the wood-heart flame spread, many people in Pill Capital coveted the flame on Ye Fan’s body, but because Ye Fan was hiding in secret, no one could find him.
“I think you are Ye Fan.” A big man in the late stage of Foundation Establishment stood in front of Ye Fan.
Ye Fan nodded and said, “Yes, is something wrong?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Hand over the wood-heart flame, and I will spare your life.” The big man said carelessly.
The big man was the grandson of a Golden Core ancestor from the Puppet Sect, and his puppet skills were good.
Ye Fan looked at the big man and said, “Oh, you are so confident even though there are two of us.”
The big man laughed, and five puppets appeared in front of Ye Fan. Each puppet’s cultivation base was in the Foundation Establishment stage.
“Oh, local tyrant*!” Ye Fan’s eyes lit up.
Each puppet was equipped with treasure clothes and spiritual weapons, and the treasure clothes and spiritual weapons were very valuable at first glance.
The big man looked at Ye Fan, smiled proudly, and said, “Now I have six here, while you only have two. Hand over the wood-heart flame quickly.”
With the voice of the big man, the five puppets’ spiritual energy erupted, and each one of them approached Ye Fan with fierceness.
Ye Fan’s eyes flickered, and a bit of excitement flashed in his eyes.
The Taotie ghost sneered, “Idiot, actually using a puppet in front of Ye Fan. Isn’t this beating a dog with meat buns* and never looking back?”
“Hurry up and put away the puppets.” Mu Xue, who was chasing after them, shouted quickly.
The big man frowned, glanced at Mu Xue, and said with displeasure, “Miss Mu Xue, I like these two little white faces*. How about we keep the well water away from the river water*.”
Mu Xue glanced at the big man helplessly and said, “You really…”
As the saying went, don’t be afraid of god-like opponents, but be afraid of pig-like teammates*.
Mu Xue wanted to help the big man, but the big man obviously didn’t understand Mu Xue’s good intentions.
The big man screamed and found that the connection between himself and the five puppets was suddenly cut off. The five puppets turned their weapons and aimed them at the big man.
The big man widened his eyes and looked at Ye Fan in surprise.
“You… what did you do?”
A puppet master’s skills were all based on controlling puppets. A puppet cultivator who had lost a puppet was like a sword cultivator with a broken arm.
The big man originally wanted to use these few puppets to run rampant in the secret realm, but he did not expect that he would not succeed.
Mu Xue looked at Ye Fan, and was shocked. A cultivator who could control puppets could usually rely on their puppets to defeat small groups through numerical advantage, and be invincible at the same level. However, they couldn’t use puppets to challenge those of higher cultivation even if they had the advantage in numbers, because those of higher cultivation had more powerful soul power. They could easily erase the soul imprint on the puppet.
However, ordinary puppets in the Foundation Establishment stage required the soul power of a Golden Core cultivator to erase their soul imprint. Mu Xue’s natural soul power mutation could also erase the soul imprint on the puppets. However, if she really took action, it would probably take several hours.
Mu Xue was too lazy to pay attention to the puppet master who was like a widow in mourning, and just stared at Ye Fan. Without his puppets, the puppet master was pretty much worthless.
“Alchemist Ye has a strong soul. No wonder he was able to go all the way to the twelfth floor of the Pill Pagoda, but I don’t know why Alchemist Ye didn’t subdue the Pill Pagoda?”
Bai Yunxi was just about to stop him, but Ye Fan had already blurted out his careless words.
“The pagoda spirit of the Pill Pagoda disliked my low cultivation level and was unwilling to recognize me as its master.” Ye Fan said with distress.
Mu Xue looked at Ye Fan in surprise, and said, “It really is you.” Mu Xue just casually tested him, but she didn’t expect that Ye Fan would really give an answer.
Ye Fan looked at Mu Xue in confusion and said, “Don’t you know?”
Ye Fan quickly reacted with a grim look on his face, “Damn girl, did you trick me?”
Bai Yunxi glanced at Ye Fan, rolled his eyes, and thought secretly: This guy, Ye Fan, was not completely hopeless. This guy actually knew that this dead girl had tricked him. It was really rare!
Mu Xue looked at Ye Fan and smiled, and said, “Alchemist Ye, see you later. I’ll go first.”
Mu Xue really wanted to find out Ye Fan’s bottom line, but Ye Fan had obtained five puppets at once, and his strength increased greatly. At this time, it would be unwise to fight Ye Fan.
Mu Xue’s figure flashed and disappeared without a trace.
“This woman runs really fast.” Ye Fan retracted his gaze and looked at the big man.
The big man looked at the puppets reluctantly, showing a look of pain on his face. While Ye Fan and Mu Xue were talking, the big man tried to re-establish contact with a puppet, but the big man found that Ye Fan’s soul imprint on the puppet was unfathomable and he could not erase it at all.
Sensing the big man’s small movements, Ye Fan couldn’t help but laugh a little. The big man’s soul power was a little more tyrannical than that of cultivators of the same level, but compared to him, it was too far behind.
Ye Fan raised his hand in high spirits and said, “Attack him.”
The five puppets moved their hands together and attacked the big man. When the big man saw that his puppets turned their heads and attacked him, he couldn’t help shaking.
Unable to withstand the attacks of the puppets, the big man finally ran away.
Ye Fan looked at the big man who ran away, sneered, and said, “Hmph, with this ability, you still dare to covet my wood-heart flame.”
A bit of coldness flashed in Bai Yunxi’s eyes. The wood-heart flame and Ye Fan had already merged into one. If the wood-heart flame was forcibly separated, Ye Fan would definitely be seriously injured. So if he lost the wood-heart flame, Ye Fan would be in trouble.
Ye Fan’s eyes swept around, and several cultivators who were hiding in the dark waiting to take advantage of them all dispersed, one by one running faster than the other.
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan and said, “Let’s go.”
Ye Fan nodded and said, “Okay.”
…
“Miss, who was that person just now?” Qing Li couldn’t help asking.
Mu Xue frowned and said, “I’m afraid he will be a tough opponent.”
“But he’s only in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment!” Qing Li couldn’t help saying.
“He is only in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, but he is more difficult to deal with than the peak of Foundation Establishment. Didn’t you hear him? He entered the twelfth floor of the Pill Pagoda and activated the pill diagram.”
Qing Li frowned and said somewhat puzzled, “Wasn’t he joking? I heard that the one who entered the twelfth floor of the Pill Pagoda is an old Nascent Soul monster!”
Mu Xue: “…”
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan and asked, “Do you feel the breath of the flame of life?”
Ye Fan shook his head and said, “No.”
Bai Yunxi nodded and said, “Then let’s look for it slowly. Anyway, we have to stay in this place for several years.”
…
Ye Fan’s soul power spread out and he quickly opened his eyes.
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan and asked, “How is it?”
Ye Fan shook his head and said, “I didn’t find the flame of life, but I found a Heavenly Thunder Bamboo Forest. Let’s go there first.”
Bai Yunxi didn’t ask Ye Fan what he wanted to do in the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo Forest. Hearing this, he just nodded and replied, “Okay.”
As soon as they approached the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo’s territory, Bai Yunxi felt a strong power of thunder and lightning.
“What a strong power of thunder and lightning! In such an environment, plants can still grow.” Bai Yunxi said.
The Taotie ghost shrank his body and said, “Heavenly Thunder Bamboo was originally born by absorbing the power of thunder and lightning.”
The Taotie ghost was a yin* ghost, and had a natural fear of the power of thunder and lightning. Coming here, it naturally felt a little restrained.
Seeing that the Taotie ghost was a little embarrassed, Ye Fan was in a good mood.
“The lightning in the center of the bamboo forest is so dense!” Bai Yunxi said.
Ye Fan nodded and said, “Yes, there may be something in this lightning center that attracts lightning.”
“The lightning in the center might even kill a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
Ye Fan grinned and said gloatingly to the Taotie ghost, “I don’t think you’re comfortable with it. Do you want to hide in the ghost banner?”
The Taotie ghost thought for a while and said, “I just need a rest.”
The territory of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo was extremely vast. The closer to the center of the bamboo forest, the denser the lightning.
“We have to stay here for a while,” Ye Fan said.
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan and said, “Aren’t you worried that the heavenly fire will be subdued by someone else?”
Ye Fan shook his head and said, “It’s useless to be anxious. After fusing the wood-heart flame, I found out that with my physical condition, if I want to integrate with heavenly fire, it’s still a long way off. If I really want to integrate with heavenly fire, I have to wait. Let’s talk about body refining first.”
Bai Yunxi nodded and said, “En, you are right to think so.”
The Heavenly Wood Secret Realm had been opened many times. There were many talented cultivators who had come in, and there were also many who were at the peak of Foundation Establishment. However, the flame of life had remained in the secret realm all this time. It could be seen that heavenly fire was not so easy to conquer.
“You want to stay here to refine your body?”
Ye Fan nodded, glanced at Bai Yunxi, a little light flashed in his eyes, and said, “Yunxi, body refining cultivators generally have very good figures.”
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan, nodded, and said, “Oh, then you practice hard. You are like a white chicken with a white face…”
Ye Fan puffed out his cheeks and looked at Bai Yunxi full of anger.
Bai Yunxi shook his head and said, “I’m joking.”
Ye Fan said sullenly, “My figure is also very good.”
***
T/N: Secret is finally out that Ye Fan was the one who lit up the twelve pill diagrams in the Pill Pagoda! Of course, the wider world won’t know until they leave the secret realm. Poor Ye Fan is so easily tricked into revealing the truth.
I hope it’s clear about the heavenly fire – if you’re not strong enough, rashly trying to subdue it would just burn you to ashes – that’s what they’re implying about cultivators that entered the secret realm in the past. Ye Fan knows he’s not strong enough to subdue heavenly fire because just merging the wood-heart flame, a much weaker flame, was tough.
I’m really excited for the secret realm arc because in cultivation novels, a secret realm usually equals a power-up for the main characters.
*Local tyrant – slang for a wealthy person.
*Beating a dog with meat buns – giving someone exactly what they want.
*Little white face – slang (derogatory) for a man who only has his face and is otherwise useless.
*Keep the well water away from the river water – each keeps to their own business, i.e. mind your own business.
*Don’t be afraid of god-like opponents, but be afraid of pig-like teammates – exactly as it sounds, a saying that means you should worry about your own people dragging you down (pig teammates) rather than worrying about encountering a powerful (god-like) opponent.
*Hopefully everyone is familiar with the concepts of yin and yang… if not, basically yin is negative, dark and feminine, while yang is positive, bright and masculine. Ghosts and spirits are classic examples of yin things, while the sun is usually the classic example of something yang.
