Weiwei

"Why is there a bunch of old men and women over there?"

"Why are they wearing Earth clothes? Could it be that we've actually returned to Earth instead of ending up in some strange world?"

"I mean, is there a chance that they're Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and the others?"

Fang Yang and his two companions arrived at a patch of wasteland and saw a group of old men and women sprawled about in disheveled clothes—a truly jarring sight.

"Ye Zi, that little old lady is wearing Li Xiaoman's clothes. Do you still like her or not?"

Pang Bo teased.

"Don't talk nonsense. I don't, and Li Xiaoman and I broke up long ago. Don't say things that tarnish my reputation."

Ye Fan quickly waved his hands.

Looking at the sixty-or-seventy-year-old woman before him, the unforgettable memories in his heart suddenly grew hazy.

He simply couldn't connect the dazzling, graceful beauty of the past with the old woman in front of him.

"Ah!!!"

"Ya!!!"

As the aged group woke up one by one, screams echoed through the area, lingering for a long time.

"Why are you young?"

Zhou Yi, the first to wake, wore an ugly expression. After composing himself, he asked Ye Fan.

He didn't dare look at Fang Yang.

For a ruthless man with a gun, his elders had repeatedly warned him to stay as far away as possible—porcelain doesn't clash with broken tiles.

People die when they're killed.

No matter how great a mortal's power, they're still just flesh and blood. A blade or a bullet can kill anyone fairly.

"I woke up like this after passing out. The real reason, only heaven knows."

Ye Fan replied casually, not revealing the existence of the Sacred Fruit.

Zhou Yi knew Ye Fan was making things up, but he lacked the courage to call him out and risk souring their relationship.

Now a decrepit old man, he might have to rely on the other to leave this desolate place and find the legendary cultivators.

The immortal sects on Earth were aloof, rarely recruiting disciples in this age of declining Dharma, but in this unknown world, he might yet enter the immortal path.

Next, a group of frail elders followed behind Fang Yang and his two companions, trudging over hill after hill, no longer having the strength to dodge.

Old and weak, suddenly struck by such a drastic change, some even entertained thoughts of suicide. Naturally, they no longer cared whether walking with a murderer like Fang Yang posed any danger.

Just as everyone was exhausted, and even Fang Yang was panting, a rainbow light streaked across the sky, strikingly conspicuous in this bleak, uninhabited land.

The next moment, as if it had noticed their group, the rainbow light nimbly turned and dove downward.

The rainbow light halted in midair and dissipated, and a figure stepped down from the void.

The newcomer appeared to be a young woman of about twenty, with jade-like bones and icy skin, long legs, and a ice-blue dress that made her skin look even more radiant, giving her an ethereal, immortal air.

"Who are you, and why are you at the edge of the Ancient Forbidden Land?"

Her voice, crisp like a oriole's, matched her appearance perfectly, but the group dared not answer.

Flying through the sky and escaping the earth.

The young woman before them was clearly no mortal.

Fang Yang's five gunshots had taught them a harsh lesson, making them timid and unwilling to speak carelessly, lest they die without knowing how.

"Esteemed immortal, we..."

Fang Yang spoke first, glossing over the details and telling the future Holy Lord of Yaoguang about their origins.

The matter of the Ancient Forbidden Land couldn't be hidden.

But the Bodhi Tree had to be kept secret.

"You're very lucky to have survived the Ancient Forbidden Land and, by chance, consumed the Sacred Fruits that even the holy land masters covet."

"My name is Weiwei, a disciple of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven, one of the six grotto-heavens of the Yan Kingdom. Are you willing to follow me into the grotto-heaven to cultivate?"

A glint of spiritual light flashed in Weiwei's clear eyes, as if she had seen through Fang Yang and his two companions.

"I am willing!"

"Me too!"

Fang Yang and the others quickly agreed.

As for the remaining eighteen, they looked on with envy, regretting that they hadn't followed the three in their actions.

If they had, could they have also consumed the Sacred Fruit, avoided becoming decrepit old folks, and joined the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven to cultivate immortality?

"Your Bitter Seas have also been awakened, making you good candidates for cultivation. You can join the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven. If you achieve success in cultivation, you can naturally regain your youth."

Weiwei's words rekindled hope in the rest.

To regain youth—what a tempting goal.

Only those who have lost it truly know how to cherish it.

Especially Li Xiaoman and Lin Jia, beauties once pursued by many, could not accept their aged faces and longed to restore their supple, youthful skin.

Then, Weiwei led their group of twenty-one to a small town to meet up with several elders from Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

"What fine seedlings!"

"Unbelievable—those who have taken the Sacred Fruit!"

"These are true immortal saplings for cultivation!"

The elders measured their bone structures. Aside from Fang Yang's trio, who had consumed the Sacred Fruit, the other eighteen also possessed impressive bones, destined for future achievements.

"Come, let us measure your bones and assess your spirit!"

After finishing with Zhou Yi and the others, the elders approached Fang Yang's group and began to feel their bodies freely.

"Young man, your physique is quite sturdy."

The elder examining Fang Yang's bones remarked with slight surprise, sensing the vast blood energy hidden within that body.

He had never seen a mortal who hadn't begun cultivation possess such a powerful physique.

"A pity—though far better than mediocrities, it's ultimately not a special constitution."

The elder finished the assessment with some regret.

"Desolate Ancient Sacred Body?!"

The elder examining Ye Fan's bones exclaimed in shock, drawing everyone's attention.

"Nice one, Ye Zi! Sacred Body sounds like no joke."

Pang Bo, judged to have excellent aptitude but no special constitution, was still happy for Ye Fan upon learning he had the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.

"The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body was the strongest constitution in the Desolate Ancient era—at its peak, it could rival an Emperor. But in this age, it's nothing but a crippled body, barely able to open the Bitter Sea!"

The elder from Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven sighed.

A Sacred Body, rare even in ten thousand years, born in this era—a pearl cast into darkness.

Just as Ye Fan was about to ask why the Sacred Body had become a crippled one, cultivators from the other five grotto-heavens of the Yan Kingdom arrived, eager to claim their share.

Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven was weaker among the Yan Kingdom's grotto-heavens, but with Weiwei as their immortal seedling, they won the contest and earned the right to choose three people first.

"Fang Yang, Pang Bo, and..."

Weiwei pointed her jade-like finger, selecting Fang Yang and Pang Bo, the two best seedlings, for Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.

"Please take Ye Fan as well, immortal."

Fang Yang and Pang Bo spoke in unison.

"You two..."

Ye Fan was moved.

He understood that as a Desolate Ancient crippled body, unable to even step onto the path of cultivation, no grotto-heaven would likely take him.

"Then let's take Ye Fan too. We've already picked the best two—we should leave some face for the fellow daoists from other grotto-heavens."

The elder from Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven settled the matter.

With Fang Yang and Pang Bo, this harvest was already good enough. Ye Fan and the others were merely extras.