Chapter 408

Not good, not bad.

"Their qi… "

The old madman's gaze suddenly turned to Ye Fan, then seized his arm, his eyes instantly deepening.

In the next instant, the old madman swept his hand over Ye Fan, and instantly an image of a peerless woman appeared—this woman materialized vividly in midair, exquisitely beautiful, with bright eyes and white teeth, her bearing like jade, lifelike.

She was a nearly perfect woman, as if existing in Ye Fan's past.

Clearly, Ye Fan had seen this white-robed woman in past ages, and now the woman's form had been drawn forth by the old madman.

This divine art was truly powerful.

The old madman swept again, and endless white bones appeared around Ye Fan's void, densely packed upon several Shengshan peaks.

"Ancient Forbidden Zone, Tianxuan Holy Maiden."

Fang Yu observed those white bones and the peerless woman, and understood what they were: the elite experts of the Tianxuan Sacred Sect who had perished entirely during the assault on the Ancient Forbidden Zone.

Time had flowed to the present; the Tianxuan Holy Maiden had become a wasteland slave, while the other Sacred Sect experts had not even earned the right to become wasteland slaves, reduced to piles of white bones.

Here, the Tianxuan Holy Maiden stood dignified and graceful, surpassing all others, making stars and moon dim in comparison.

The endless white bones radiated chilling yin energy, as if truly manifesting here, revolving around the old madman.

The scene was profoundly eerie, even making Ye Fan and Pang Bo feel as if they had entered the Ancient Forbidden Zone.

Fang Yu had no memory of this—he clearly was witnessing a scene encountered by Ye Fan and Pang Bo only after their second entry into the Ancient Forbidden Zone.

During their second entry, they had seen the Tianxuan Holy Maiden.

"You're still here. You're all still here."

The old madman murmured to himself, staring straight at the Tianxuan Holy Maiden and the white bones, two brilliant beams shooting from his eyes, finally carving a "Dao" character into the void.

This Dao character rotated slowly, and as it turned, all the figures sank into it—within it, the Tianxuan Holy Maiden wore white robes whiter than snow, her black hair flowing like a waterfall, surrounded by endless white bones, mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The old madman moved his hands again, carving another character into the void: "Xian."

When the Dao and Xian characters both hung in the void, everything within it grew hazy, until finally all dissolved into shadows—even the Tianxuan Holy Maiden at the center blurred.

Dao and Xian, along with all the images, entered the old madman's forehead. At this moment, his face displayed a spectrum of emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Yet at this moment, Fang Yu's body still bore the Blessing Art, as if a gentle stream of Daoic chants flowed through him; finally, the old madman's expression returned to calm.

"Your divine art is profoundly mysterious—even if I wished to go mad, I could not."

The old madman's gaze fixed on Fang Yu, as if perceiving many mysteries within him; at this moment, he was lucid.

"I took something from you, and now I return something to you."

This statement was spoken by the old madman to Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Fang Yu. He glanced at Ye Fan, then slid his finger across the large green stone he had been leaning against, carving numerous runes upon it.

The others looked and saw that the green stone bore many Dao patterns, seemingly recording some supreme truth of heaven and earth.

As Fang Yu's mind shifted, he instantly memorized this Dao diagram; after a brief contemplation, he understood what it was.

The Dao diagram the old madman had transmitted was clearly a stepping technique—this technique was astonishingly swift.

Fang Yu took a step, and instantly appeared a hundred li away.

He took another step, and returned to Tai Xuan Sect.

At this moment, Ye Fan and Pang Bo had just memorized this Dao diagram, waiting for future time to contemplate it.

Seeing Fang Yu make a round trip, both men wore expressions of shock—they had never imagined such a complex Dao pattern could be comprehended instantly by Brother Fang.

"I just memorized this Dao diagram, and already my head spins trying to understand it."

Pang Bo shook his head, deeply awed.

We all learned the same thing, yet Brother Fang's learning speed is too fast—unimaginable, leaving us overwhelmed.

I had felt my wisdom increase, making comprehension easier, but what the old madman taught us is not easily understood—it demands deep thought and vast time.

Yet unexpectedly, Brother Fang comprehended it so swiftly.

"You are strange. Extremely strange."

Even the old madman seemed surprised.

The stepping technique he taught—normally, ordinary cultivators would need months or even years to grasp even fragments, at which point they could move freely tens of li away.

But today, he met a mysterious youth who comprehended his stepping technique in an instant—truly unexpected.

"If we meet again, I will teach you divine arts. But today, I depart."

The old madman retracted his gaze, stepped forward, and instantly appeared in a desolate wilderness.

This place surpassed Zhuofeng in desolation, yet was not the main peak—on its surface, no one was visible.

After advancing about ten li, the old madman suddenly stomped his foot, and a hundred-meter-high hill before him split open.

The hill split into two halves, like two Liangshanda gates; the old madman walked straight inside.

"Who dares invade the sacred grounds of Tai Xuan?"

A shout suddenly rang out from beneath the Shanfeng.

There, elders of Tai Xuan Sect roared; dazzling lights shot skyward—various magic treasures appeared: a sky-covering net, a powerful iron seal—but the old madman swept his hand, and all shattered.

Seven or eight figures, upon seeing this, were terrified—but before they could react, the old madman roared, instantly stunning them all.

These men were all elderly with white hair and beards—undoubtedly elders of Tai Xuan Sect—but before the old madman, they were nothing.

Fang Yu, seeing this, stepped forward and instantly arrived beyond the valley, where he saw a massive altar adorned with ancient Dao patterns marking regions of the Eastern Wilderness.

Yu Sect!

This was the location of Tai Xuan Sect's Yu Sect.

If sufficient Yuan was provided to activate the Dao patterns, one could cross the void from here.

The Eastern Wilderness was vast beyond measure; ordinary cultivators wishing to travel from one domain to another must pass through a Yu Sect.

The regions of Tai Xuan Sect, Ji Family, and Yaoguang Sacred Sect lay in the southern Eastern Wilderness; the northern Eastern Wilderness held the Yaochi Sacred Sect, and farther north beyond that lay the legendary Northern Plains.

With Fang Yu's current strength, even though he mastered the Great Void Art, traversing the void repeatedly to reach the northern Eastern Wilderness or the Northern Plains would still require a very long time.

This was also the reason Fang Yu had descended here with a single thought.

He wanted to observe the old lunatic's dao patterns and learn the method of setting up a Yu Sect.

The old lunatic paid no attention to Fang Yu at this moment. He ascended the altar, but did not make use of the dao patterns already on it; instead, he personally took action and carved dao patterns himself.

His expression was extremely focused; stone chips flew about, the intricate dao patterns densely packed, truly profound.

An ordinary person would be utterly unable to comprehend them, or even record them down, yet Fang Yu watched with rapt attention, deeply interested.

It had to be said, this existence had a very deep study of space; every dao pattern he carved revealed an aura of space.

These were spatial runes; ordinary people simply could not comprehend them, and it was very easy to get lost within them.

Yet the more Fang Yu looked, the more excited he became, because these spatial runes in the Eternal Life Realm could only possibly be comprehended upon reaching the Longevity 3rd Stage Cave Heaven Realm, and yet he himself was only at the 5th Stage of Divine Abilities Heavenly Man Realm, yet here he had already seen spatial runes — it could be said he had made up the lesson in advance.

All four minds comprehended carefully; every move and every stroke of the old lunatic was deeply engraved by Fang Yu — that was the principle of the great Dao, and it greatly pleased Fang Yu.

Matters concerning the void and space had always been good things; if one could comprehend them a little earlier, it would be of great benefit to cultivation.

This time, the benefit Fang Yu obtained from the old lunatic was not the footsteps the old lunatic had passed down, but rather the dao patterns he had carved for the Yu Sect.

These spatial dao patterns, together with the root of primal qi, were the greatest harvest from his coming to the Shrouding Heaven Realm this time, and their effect on him was extremely great.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Just at this moment, the altar shook, jade radiated brilliance, and all the dao patterns were finished being carved by the old lunatic. He rose to his full height and stood at the center of the altar.

"Safe travels, senior."

Seeing this scene, Fang Yu spoke.

He would not be leaving Tai Xuan Sect for now, so he watched this senior depart.

The old lunatic said nothing, and beneath him the altar began to draw energy; the "sources" buried underground radiated light, flowing toward the altar like ripples of water.

The dao patterns carved by the old lunatic seemed to come alive, trembling ceaselessly and growing bright.

The void here twisted, collapsing ceaselessly, and then a pitch-black portal opened, connecting to the distance.

The old lunatic stepped forward directly, entering the black hole.

As the black hole closed, this great figure from six thousand years ago vanished without a trace.

It was unknown whether he had successfully crossed the void.

Fang Yu stepped forward and left the place where the Yu Sect was located.

If he waited for those Elders to wake and discovered him here, there would be some trouble.

"Where's Senior Old Lunatic?"

When Fang Yu met Ye Fan and Pang Bo, both of them asked.

"He carved the dao patterns and left this place."

Fang Yu said.

"He's gone, just like that — such a great power leaving just like that."