Before he could even catch his breath.
Ye Fan's figure clung to him like a shadow, closing the distance instantly. True Yang flames surged between his palms and fingers, manifesting into the phantom of a three-legged golden crow that pecked directly at his forehead!
"A Divine Ability?!"
"It is the Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body!"
Cao Jiyi frantically pushed his Cultivation Method to its limits. Nine flaming golden lotuses emerged behind him, barely managing to block the golden crow's strike.
As the lotus petals shattered, Ye Fan pushed through the heavy shockwaves of energy and arrived right in front of him.
His left hand slipped through the gaps in the flames.
"Smack!"
A harsh slap landed squarely on Cao Jiyi's left cheek!
Then came a kick!
The sound of his ribs snapping crackled like popping beans, and it felt as though his internal organs were being crushed by an immense force.
Cao Jiyi crashed into the palace courtyards below like a falling meteorite, bringing the pavilions crumbling down in a thunderous collapse.
The entire city fell into a deathly silence.
Only the thick dust plumed upward.
After a long moment, a wretched crimson figure shot into the sky from the ruins. His face was deathly pale, and he looked at Ye Fan outside the grand array with eyes full of terror.
"Who... who exactly are you?!"
His voice was far weaker than before.
"Cao Jiyi... lost?!"
Watching the battle from afar, Lei Yunchao's expression was as heavy as dark water. Several Foundation Establishment Elders stood close beside him.
"Family Head, how could this person be so powerful... His physical body is truly terrifying!" one Foundation Establishment Elder exclaimed.
"Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body, he must be a Prodigy!" Lei Yunchao declared with profound gravity.
"Father, should we step forward to help?" Lei Xiaoyun asked.
Lei Yunchao glanced at him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he thought to himself, 'You really are my good son. You want to see your father go up there and get slapped too, don't you?'
He let out a soft sigh and spoke slowly, "Watch the Changes Quietly."
"Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body."
Inside the array, Cao Jiyi's hair was disheveled and stained with blood. His voice was as hoarse as a cracked gong. "This region could never produce a figure like you!
Where exactly are you from?!
Could it be from the outside?"
Ye Fan hovered in the void, his black robes snapping in the wind. His mocking laughter echoed through the clouds. "Hundreds of years of bitter cultivation and this is all you amount to? Just an old fossil!
If you have any trump cards, play them now. I'll be waiting right here!"
Fifteen minutes passed.
The imperial palace remained dead silent. The grand array shimmered with flowing light, yet showed no signs of attacking.
Even the Ancestor was not a match for a single exchange. What could the rest of them do even if they rushed forward?
"Truly boring," he sneered with disdain. "Since you have nothing left, I'll be taking my leave!"
Ye Fan let out a long, hearty laugh before transforming into a dark rainbow that tore through the sky.
A long while later, the discussions across the city erupted like boiling water.
"Slapping away a Golden Core Cultivator with one strike... Am I dreaming?"
"What did the Cao Clan Ancestor mean by the 'outside'?"
"This man is so powerful. How does he compare to Xu Mingwei, the Grand Elder of the Immortal Martial Alliance?"
"Senior Xu's Dao of the Arrow is unmatched. Without a true duel, it is hard to say!" an old Foundation Establishment Cultivator replied.
"Looking at his actions, it seems he came specifically to challenge the Cao Clan Ancestor. Could he be planning to challenge other Golden Core Cultivators too?"
Hearing this, the eyes of many surrounding Cultivators lit up.
"Perhaps there really is such a possibility!"
Many Rogue Cultivators and Foundation Establishment Aristocratic Families from the Imperial City flooded out of the gates, heading toward Guangling Commandery in hopes of witnessing a peerless battle.
'Cao Jiyi is not worth mentioning. I don't know what Honored Master was worried about. Could he truly have some special trump card?'
Ye Fan flew toward Great Jin, his eyes flickering. 'If he really has one and didn't use it even after being humiliated to such a degree, then the price of using it must be immense.
'Or perhaps it is a single-use item, saved only for the most critical moment.
'Alternatively, once exposed, it would surely draw the covetous eyes of everyone.
'It cannot be casually revealed to others!'
After pondering for a moment, Ye Fan dismissed the thought and sighed softly. "Honored Master is right. I am not him. My way of looking at things and my thought process are different.
"I might not be able to see the layers he considers.
"Besides, this isn't my style anyway.
"I should just stick to doing my job honestly!"
Mocking himself lightly, he accelerated his flight speed.
Over two hours later.
He arrived in Great Jin.
Suddenly, his flight came to an abrupt halt.
Ye Fan hovered in the air, his black robes fluttering gently amidst the clouds.
"Wait, where exactly is the Sima Family in Great Jin?"
He frowned slightly, realizing a serious oversight.
But after a brief moment of thought, he muttered to himself, "As a Golden Core Aristocratic Family of Great Jin, the Sima Family is so famous that everyone must know of them.
"Finding a Rogue Cultivator to ask should do the trick."
His Divine sense spread out like an invisible tide, sweeping over the continuous barren ridges below.
In an instant, he caught a ripple of Spirit Power to the southeast.
Over a dozen Foundation Establishment auras were hunting down a single person like a pack of wolves.
With a shift in his thoughts, he concealed himself in the high clouds and went to investigate.
The middle-aged Cultivator being chased appeared wretched; his posture was unsteady, and his shoulder was stained with blood.
However, Ye Fan noticed that as he fled, the man was secretly deploying Formation Flags.
When the pursuers finally closed in.
The man suddenly formed hand seals. A pale yellow Light Screen, resembling a massive inverted bowl, covered the area for several miles around.
The others were instantly alarmed and looked around in panic.
"A Confinement Formation?!"
Once the grand array was formed, Ye Fan could no longer sense the fluctuations inside.
Unless his Divine sense forcefully broke through the formation's blockade.
But doing so would undoubtedly alert the one who set up the formation.
"This formation seems somewhat familiar..."
Ye Fan muttered to himself.
Inside the grand array.
The middle-aged Cultivator's aura rapidly climbed, rising from the Late Foundation Establishment straight to Foundation Establishment Perfection.
He pushed out both palms, and billowing grayish-black baleful energy surged forth, condensing into a massive ghost claw covered in blood-red patterns.
Wherever it swept, vegetation withered, and the protective spiritual lights of the Cultivators shattered upon contact.
A single strike severely injured six or seven people.
"Is that a Demonic Dao Divine Ability? Looking at its formidable power, he must have comprehended at least seventy percent of the entry-level True Intent."
Although Ye Fan could not probe with his Divine sense, his eyes could still observe the situation within the array, allowing him to judge its power.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
In the Azure Dragon Prefecture, even among those at Foundation Establishment Perfection, not even one in a hundred could touch the threshold of a Divine Ability.
Yet this person not only controlled a Divine Ability but had cultivated it to such a profound degree.
'This man should be less than Two Jiazi in age. At such an age, even in the Heavenly Azure Prefecture, he would absolutely be considered a top-tier genius.'
However, what caught Ye Fan's attention more was the formation.
After pondering for a moment, he finally remembered the name of this formation.
"It is the Six Harmonies Absolute Sealing Formation. Before heading to Heavenly South, Honored Master had such a Confinement Formation in his possession."
'How could he have it? Is it a coincidence?'
'Could this person be a member of my Xu Family?'
Harboring these doubts, Ye Fan prepared to reveal himself and ask a few questions shortly.
The miserable screams inside the array quickly weakened.
In just a few moments, nothing remained but a ground littered with corpses.
The middle-aged Cultivator collected all the Storage Pouches and scattered Dharma Tools.
He glanced at the corpses and flicked his fingers. Over a dozen streaks of gray baleful flames flew out, burning them to ashes.
He had perfectly executed the act of Disguising as a Pig to Eat a Tiger.
Afterward, he expressionlessly packed up the Formation Flags. Just as he was preparing to leave the area...
"What clean and efficient methods."
A calm voice echoed from not far behind him.
The middle-aged Cultivator's muscles instantly tensed. Without even turning his head, he threw a backhand strike, sending a highly condensed grayish-black baleful energy Flood Dragon roaring forward!
The vicious phantom of the Flood Dragon obscured the line of sight, while his actual body shot backward into the dense forest like a wisp of smoke, his escape speed astonishingly fast.
"I haven't even asked my questions yet."
"Isn't this a bit too decisive?"
Ye Fan shook his head helplessly and casually threw a punch, shattering the baleful energy Flood Dragon.
Then, following the aura, he chased into the dense forest.
This kind of terrain prevented a Golden Core Cultivator from pushing their speed to the absolute maximum.
In merely the blink of an eye, the middle-aged Cultivator vanished without a trace.
Ye Fan tracked him while carefully sweeping the area with his Divine sense.
The middle-aged man was extremely cautious, not daring to fly high, merely darting through the complex terrain of the mountain forest.
Even more bizarrely, his aura was rapidly fading.
In just a few seconds, even Divine sense found it hard to lock onto him, as if he had completely melded into the woods.
'These Concealment Arts, the method of blocking a Golden Core's Divine Sense Probing, along with that formation and Divine Ability from earlier...' Ye Fan pondered deeply. 'Could he really be a member of my Xu Family?'
'But who is this person?'
Ye Fan had only recently returned and had not yet fully understood the current situation of the Xu Clan.
He was only familiar with a few core figures of the Xu Family.
In the blink of an eye.
He arrived at the spot where the other party's aura had vanished.
Without pursuing any further, he stood perfectly still and spoke loudly, "I know you are still nearby. Come out."
The mountain forest remained silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Ye Fan flicked his sleeve, shooting a streak of dark light that hovered in midair.
It was exactly the Xu Family Token.
With a gentle push of Mana, the token radiated a brilliant green light. An ancient and heavy phantom of the character "Xu" materialized in the air, exuding the unique imprint aura of the family.
The silence stretched on for about ten seconds.
"Where did you get that token?"
The voice echoed faintly from behind an ancient tree on the left, from the cracks in the rocks on the right, and even from the empty space above.
It was ethereal and erratic, impossible to pinpoint.
"My name is Ye Fan," Ye Fan stated candidly.
There was no response; the mountain forest remained silent.
Ye Fan paused, raising a hand to touch his disguised, scar-covered face, and spoke with a hint of resignation, "My wife is Xu Deyue. Do you know her?"
"What? Deyue is back?!"
The drifting voice suddenly spiked, filled with unbelievable joy, before it was forcefully suppressed, turning cautious. "Are you... truly Deyue's husband?"
"Absolutely genuine."
"Then let me ask you, where was Deyue before this? And where did she return from?"
The voice pressed on, scrutinizing every single word.
"Heavenly South," Ye Fan answered with a smile. "Not only has Deyue returned, but my Honored Master, my father-in-law, and Sister Deling have all returned as well."
"Honored Master... father-in-law..."
The voice murmured, repeating the words.
Suddenly, a figure slowly emerged from the shadow of an old tree over a hundred feet away.
It was indeed that middle-aged Cultivator.
At this moment, all the baleful energy around his body was fully retracted. His resolute and unadorned face looked just like that of a rural farmer.
Only those eyes of his, gleaming with sharp clarity, were fixed intently on Ye Fan.
"Your Honored Master is...?"
"Naturally, it is the Ancestor of the Xu Family."
Ye Fan met his gaze and spoke slowly.
"Grandfather... Hahahaha!"
The middle-aged Cultivator was taken aback at first, but then he burst into hearty laughter. "So we are family! This has truly become a joke."
With a flicker of his figure, he arrived right in front of Ye Fan and said, "My name is Xu Dewen. I wonder if you have ever heard of me?
The Sister Deling you mentioned is my biological younger sister from the same mother!"
"So it's you."
Realization dawned on Ye Fan, and a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Deyue has indeed mentioned you. I never expected to cross paths with you here, Brother Wen."
"The twists of fate and Opportunity are indeed beyond imagination sometimes."
Xu Dewen reined in his laughter and then carefully evaluated Ye Fan. "If I am not mistaken, you should be at the Golden Core stage, right?"
Ye Fan did not hide it, nodding candidly with the corners of his lips raised slightly. "Just a stroke of luck."
"Incredible."
Xu Dewen praised sincerely. "Achieving Core Formation at such an age, it is no wonder Grandfather accepted you as a disciple."
"Brother Wen praises me too highly."
Ye Fan said with a calm expression, "My Core Formation was actually rather slow. Father-in-law, Sister Deling, and the others all achieved it much earlier than I did."
Xu Dewen raised an eyebrow. "They... have all attained the Golden Core as well?"
"Naturally."
Ye Fan chuckled. "With Honored Master's meticulous planning, coupled with the fact that father-in-law and the rest possess supreme Innate Aptitude and extraordinary Comprehension, the Golden Core Realm naturally couldn't stump them."
Xu Dewen nodded slightly, though he secretly muttered in his heart, 'With all that Cheating going on, how could they not have supreme Innate Aptitude?'
'However, I am also a man who has experienced Cheating now!'
Immediately, he changed the subject and asked, "By the way, for what matter did you come to Great Jin this time?"
Ye Fan didn't conceal anything, speaking bluntly. "Honored Master ordered me to come and test the profound Heritage of the Cao Clan in Great Wei, the Sima Family in Great Jin, and the Liu Family in Great Liang.
"I just came from the Imperial City a couple of hours ago.
"Now, I am heading to the Sima Family.
"But I have never been here before and don't know where the Sima Family is located. I was originally planning to find a local Rogue Cultivator to ask.
"And that is when I discovered you, Brother Wen."
"The Sima Family?" Xu Dewen understood. "I know the way. I can take you there."
But Ye Fan shook his head in refusal. "Brother Wen, just telling me the direction will suffice.
"I am going there to stir up trouble. A fight is inevitable, and the commotion will not be small.
"If anyone with ulterior motives sees that you were traveling with me, I'm afraid it might bring you unnecessary trouble."
"That makes sense."
Xu Dewen mused for a moment and no longer insisted.
He immediately informed Ye Fan of the location of the Sima Family Ancestral Land.
"Brother Wen," Ye Fan said suddenly after listening. "I see that the Divine Ability you practice has already reached the entry level, and your foundation is profound. You should not be far from Core Formation.
"Have you prepared the auxiliary spiritual items required for Core Formation?
"If you are lacking anything, I can bring some for you the next time we meet."
Xu Dewen waved his hand and smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but there is no need to trouble yourself.
"My situation is special. The less contact I have with the clan, the better, so as to avoid unexpected complications.
"As for Core Formation..."
A sharp light flashed in his eyes. "I have my own preparations, and I am quite confident."
After a pause, Xu Dewen continued, "Since you have important matters to attend to, you should hurry on your way.
"With my abilities, as long as a Golden Core Perfected Being does not personally corner me, no one else can do anything to me."
Hearing this, Ye Fan also smiled.
He remembered how he had almost lost track of Xu Dewen during the chase.
With his caution and methods, even if a Golden Core Cultivator attacked, he would still have a certain degree of confidence in escaping.
Ye Fan immediately cupped his fists and said, "Brother Wen, I shall take my leave first then.
"If we meet again another day, I will definitely share a drink and have a good chat with you."
Xu Dewen smiled and nodded, returning the gesture. "Take care. Be careful yourself; the Sima Family is not simple."
Ye Fan nodded and said no more. The Mana around his body surged slightly, transforming into a subtle crimson streak of light as he sped off in the direction Xu Dewen had pointed.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the distant horizon.
Xu Dewen stood alone in place, watching the streak of light vanish completely. The relaxed and casual expression on his face gradually faded.
He reverted to his usual state, as calm and deep as an abyss.
He looked around, sweeping the area carefully with his Divine sense.
After confirming there were no traces of anyone spying on him, his figure flickered silently.
As if dissolving into the wind, he fled silently into the distance, heading in a completely opposite direction from Ye Fan.
Nearly two hours later.
Ye Fan arrived at the city where the Sima Family was located.
It was a massive city, not the slightest bit inferior to the Great Wei Imperial City.
The entire city was cast in shades of dark black and iron gray, covered in the mottled marks of time and wind erosion.
The walls stretched out endlessly, reaching beyond what the eye could see.
A rough estimate suggested it spanned over thirty miles in radius.
It sat like a colossal beast quietly crouching on the vast, desolate earth.