Chapter 424

This was the true face of the ancient Ji family, and Fang Yu had long seen through it completely.

So Fang Yu decided to retaliate: kill Ji family cultivators, seize their ancestral treasure—the Void Scripture—and slay a senior ancestor in return.

Even now, his cultivation base was no small thing, especially after absorbing the Seventh Layer Five Elements True Fire and Eighth Layer Seven-Colored Flame into the Great Fire Technique of the Sun, granting him fire-based Divine Abilities capable of annihilating Ji family elders, even great masters.

As long as he could ambush successfully, even a Saint Master-level existence was not beyond killing.

The fire of the Fire Domain was terrifyingly endless, existing since ancient times; rumors claimed it had burned immortals to death—perhaps exaggerated—but if used well, killing a great master was no problem.

Now, Fang Yu had fused the Fire Domain's fire from the Shrouding Heaven Realm with the Great Five Elements Technique of the Eternal Life Realm, greatly enhancing the technique's power, imbuing even supreme Divine Abilities like the Great Fire Technique of the Sun with a terrifying aura of inescapable Five Elements.

This was a great terror.

The news of Ancestor Ji Hui's death had not yet spread, and after eradicating several young Ji disciples who knew the truth, Fang Yu left the battlefield.

He sought a quiet place to study the Ji family's Void Scripture.

The Void Scripture was the cultivation method of the Void Emperor, also the ancestral technique of the Ji family.

The Void Emperor, throughout his life, never yielded to anyone, fighting for humanity until his last drop of blood, but his descendants were truly beyond description—aside from the slumbering Ji Zi bloodline, all others seemed merely decadent playboys.

Now, Fang Yu had obtained the Void Scripture and began comprehending its profound Dao principles.

The Great Void Technique, Void Great Hand Seal, and countless other Void mysteries were all recorded within it; as Fang Yu studied them, he felt the Scripture's immense strength.

The techniques in the Void Scripture, when cultivated to their extreme, placed the cultivator in an invincible position from birth.

In the Eternal Life Realm, if one comprehends the principles of Void and space, one enters the Third Stage of Longevity—the Cave Heaven Realm.

The Third Stage of Longevity, the Cave Heaven Realm, fuses Void Heaven laws with every microscopic particle of the body, so each particle contains a tiny cave heaven; the number of cave heavens equals the number of microscopic particles in the body.

When so many cave heavens coalesce into one great cave heaven, the amount of magic power it can store is unimaginably greater than that of the previous realm.

Especially after entering the Cave Heaven Realm, one effectively ascends a dimension, existing within infinite parallel spaces; attacks from cultivators below the Cave Heaven Realm can hardly touch the body of a Cave Heaven cultivator.

But in this world, things were different—if every Ji family member could cultivate their microscopic particles into cave heavens, the Ji family would have long unified the Eastern Wilderness and the Beidou.

The Void techniques recorded in the Scripture were mostly like the Great Void Technique—merely fusing with Void to teleport, or the Void Great Hand Seal, launching sudden attacks with a giant hand—never fusing Void principles with the body's microscopic particles to forge countless tiny cave heavens and one great cave heaven within.

Their physical particles could not achieve this.

The physical body was too fragile to fuse even a single microscopic particle with Void laws and condense a tiny cave heaven.

After careful study and deep contemplation, Fang Yu reached this conclusion.

Even in the Eternal Life Realm, no one began by fusing their physical particles with space laws; one must cultivate relentlessly—first reaching the 10th Stage of Divine Abilities, the Realm of Life, then breaking into the Longevity Secret Realm, Wan Shou Realm, Immortal Realm; only when the body transforms into countless particles at the Immortal Realm does one begin to comprehend space laws.

This made sense.

If the physical body is not perfected, how can it fuse with space laws and Void power? It's like trying to fuse a small bag with a mountain—the mountain descends, and the bag breaks.

"Good, good, good—though so, the Void's subtle applications are still attainable, and once I break into the Longevity Secret Realm, entering the Cave Heaven Realm will be very easy."

Fang Yu currently could not fuse his physical particles with Void laws; though his body had been enhanced by heavenly-grade elixirs like the Great Five Elements Technique, Yin-Yang Wan Shou Pill, Lei Gu Relic Pill, Dragon God Pill, and Five Cloud Ascension Immortal Pill, and had been nourished by Shrouding Heaven Realm divine herbs, fusing with Void laws now was still far too early.

But now, by activating the Void Scripture's mysteries, his ability to assassinate, ambush, or teleport, and to absorb external magic power, had greatly increased.

He merged completely with Void—attacking him was attacking Void itself; with infinite Void, he could naturally endure infinite magic power, placing him in an invincible position.

As for Ji Hui, she was gone.

Just days after Fang Yu cultivated in this safe place, he finally emerged from seclusion, and the entire southern Eastern Wilderness had erupted into uproar.

This was not quiet unrest—it was a massive uproar, because Ancestor Ji Hui of the Ji family was missing in action during the campaign against Kong Quewang, and several young Ji prodigies had also met untimely deaths.

The Ji family patriarch flew into a rage, vowing to exterminate all demonic races.

But the demonic races had two great masters—Kong Quewang and Qing Jiao Wang; though they could not fully contend with the Ji family's full might, they could flee—they opened the Yu Sect gate that very day and left the southern Eastern Wilderness for the northern Eastern Wilderness.

The Ji family ranted endlessly, still sending powerful cultivators to cross Void and reach the north to kill Kong Quewang, but they were ambushed by northern bandits and suffered heavy losses.

"Have you heard? The Ji family suffered heavy losses—one of their ancestors was actually slain! It's terrifying—who among the demonic races could have done it?"

"No one knows. The most famous demonic great masters are Kong Quewang and Qing Jiao Wang, but they were facing off against the Ji patriarch and the Yaoguang Sect Master—how they killed the Ji ancestor is utterly inexplicable."

"Perhaps someone from the north struck—rumor says the north has thirteen great bandits, each as powerful as a sect master; perhaps one of them acted."

"The northern bandits? Indeed terrifying—they're said to specialize in targeting sacred sects…"

The northern region was boundless, famed across the world for its abundant source mines.

Source was extremely mysterious, formed before the ancient era, even traceable to the dawn of creation, buried deep beneath the earth.

Cultivators found it hard to locate, for all source was wrapped in strange "stone shells" that even cultivators could not penetrate—only after mining could one confirm if source was inside.

This land produced abundant source; people did not worry about food or clothing, but precisely because of source, deadly fights frequently erupted, and the people were fierce, often clashing violently over source mines.

One could say the north was a lawless land.

Its fame came from source, and thus its chaos and bloodshed were destined.

There were many small source mountains, and also large mining zones; many mines were seized by ancient forbidden zones and clans, who amassed countless sources to nurture their disciples—this was one reason ancient clans and sacred sects endured so long.

What troubled these clans and sects were the great bandits of the north.

The fierce local culture bred countless lawless bandits—powerful marauders came from all over the Eastern Wilderness, even wanderers from the Central Continent and the Northern Desert, all drawn by source.

Some bandits rivaled the Supreme Elders of sacred sects; some even possessed ultimate imperial artifacts, making even sacred sects vulnerable to their raids.

In the north, thirteen great bandits were most notorious, each leading bands of powerful warriors, severely threatening the safety of sacred sect source zones.

This time, when Ji family forces arrived in the north to kill Kong Quewang, they were attacked by one or even several great bandits and suffered heavy losses.

The northern bandits, through their actions, warned the ancient Ji family: the north is not a place for you to act recklessly, nor to kill at will.

And such events sent shockwaves across the world.

Fang Yu heard these rumors and returned to Zhuofeng, where many disciples were ecstatic, bowing respectfully: "Ah, our senior brother has returned!"

"Senior brother's safe return is a blessing for Zhuofeng, and for the Tai Xuan Sect!"

"We heard the campaign against Kong Quewang was brutal—many disciples died at the hands of great demons; we were all deeply worried about senior brother's safety. Now that you've returned, it's truly cause for celebration."

"Fang brother, you've finally returned. Master and Zhang Sect were both anxious these past days."

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were also among the crowd, overjoyed at Fang Yu's return; they had heard rumors of the campaign against Kong Quewang—Kong Quewang's cave held not only him, but also Qing Jiao Wang from the north, two terrifying great demons said to have killed many disciples with just a single step.

These past days without Fang Yu's return had indeed worried them; now seeing him back was truly a great blessing.

"Fang Yu, you're back—that's good."

On Zhuofeng, its master Li Ruoyu also emerged; he nodded, and seeing his beloved disciple return safely, his face brightened with a touch of joy.

"Go to Xingfeng and tell Zhang Sect you didn't return these past days—he was very worried about you."

Li Ruoyu said.

"Yes."

Fang Yu nodded and stepped forward, arriving atop Xingfeng, where he met the Zhang Sect of Taixuan Men.

"Good, good! Fang Yu, you're back—that's wonderful. This battle was fierce, and your return is a good thing. Still, you should avoid such events in the future; growing stronger steadily is the wisest path."

The Zhang Sect of Taixuan Men, seeing Fang Yu return, wore a visibly joyful expression.

The battle conditions were truly intense; once fighting began, it reached its peak, leaving no room for distraction.

"Zhang Sect, how could anything happen to me? This time, we were numerous and powerful—even Kong Quewang and Qingjiao Wang had no chance to strike at me, and the other demonic races weren't my match."

Fang Yu spoke calmly.

"As for cultivators from other factions who dared attack me, they wouldn't be my match either."

Fang Yu added another sentence.

This remark clearly referred to allies.

On the battlefield, enemies were easy enough to handle—but treacherous allies were far more dangerous.

"Regardless, you're back—that's what matters."

The Zhang Sect of Taixuan Men nodded; hearing his Holy Son's words, he understood this one had insight into human nature, knowing enemies weren't just demonic races.

That was good—it meant he could survive better.

"But I don't intend to stay within Taixuan Men's walls. I've heard divine sources have appeared in the Northern Region—I want to go see for myself. Perhaps I'll gain some opportunity and advance my cultivation base further."

Fang Yu continued.

"You're going to the Northern Region?"

The Xuanzhang Sect's expression shifted; instinctively, he wanted to refuse—these past days, the outside weather had been off, the atmosphere uneasy—but he recalled how this Holy Son, after training a few days in Taixuan Men's Scripture Library, had mastered many of the sect's divine arts, and knew he shouldn't stop him.

"Fine. Since you've decided to venture out for trials, I won't hinder you. When you leave, tell the Elders—they'll activate Yu Sect to send you off."

"Thank you, Zhang Sect. I plan to depart soon—to undergo trials."

Fang Yu spoke, expressing his gratitude to the Zhang Sect.

One must admit, the Holy Son's status was excellent; for a lone cultivator, traveling to the Northern Region would require surrendering many magic treasures and wealth to the various major sects just to secure passage.

But now, as Taixuan Men's Holy Son, Fang Yu's journey to the Northern Region meant the sect's Yu Sect would open for him, sending him off in person.

Yet Fang Yu did not depart immediately; instead, he went to Zhuofeng.

"Ye Fan, Pang Bo, I'm heading to the Northern Region. Do you want to come?"

"The Northern Region?"