I've Always Lived in Their Shadow

"When will we ever get out of here?!"

A long sigh carried endless bitterness.

Obtaining an Emperor Weapon should have been such a joyous thing, so why had it turned out like this?

They had not been trapped here for long, but the crucial point was that they could see no hope of getting out.

Ye Fan looked at Qin Sheng. He was still cultivating seriously, his aura immense, as though he could swallow heaven and earth.

Ever since being with Qin Sheng, Ye Fan could not help wondering what Ancient Scripture Qin Immortal cultivated. It was far too terrifying.

Sometimes, when facing Qin Sheng, Ye Fan's spiritual senses would tremble and his heart would turn cold, as if he were keeping company with some savage beast that could devour people.

That strange sensation seemed to be warning Ye Fan of something.

In fact, by now, Ye Fan already had a premonition.

Qin Sheng had likely embarked upon a terrifying path unlike any other.

At a certain moment, vast chanting rose from within Qin Sheng's body. Ye Fan could even hear faint Dao sounds.

It was like the ancient people of the Desolate Ancient Era worshipping deities, yet also like the eternal Heavenly Dao warning the world.

Ye Fan clicked his tongue. Had he improved again?

A short while later, Qin Sheng opened his eyes. His pitch-black pupils resembled abysses that could swallow one's soul.

"Did you break through again?" Ye Fan could not help asking.

"It doesn't count as a breakthrough."

Qin Sheng shook his head. "When we came here, I had only recently entered the Dao Palace Fifth Heaven. Now, I can be considered to have cultivated it to completion."

"With a little preparation, I can try to break through and advance into the Four Extremes Secret Realm."

Ye Fan felt depressed. "I'm still in the Sea of Reincarnation Secret Realm."

"Your time to soar into the heavens will come soon enough." Qin Sheng smiled.

"I'm a Mortal Body, so I need fewer resources. You're different."

"Moreover, once you reach the Four Extremes Secret Realm, you need to comprehend heaven and earth and come into contact with laws to continue advancing. Source Stones alone will no longer be useful."

"When that time comes, surpassing me despite starting later won't be a problem. Like I said, the future is yours!"

"I always feel like you're fooling me." Ye Fan began to doubt whether the future really belonged to him.

"When is this future you speak of supposed to arrive?"

"It will naturally come when it is meant to."

Ye Fan was somewhat frustrated and asked again,

"Do you want to try breaking through here? If you can enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm and activate the Swallowing Heaven Immortal Canopy again, maybe you can break this place open."

"The environment here can't support my breakthrough." Qin Sheng shook his head.

Breaking into the Four Extremes would definitely not be as exaggerated for him as it was for the Sacred Physique, which required ten million jin of Source.

But at that moment, he would indeed need to absorb a massive amount of heaven-and-earth essence in a short time to transform.

This place did not meet those conditions.

"Sigh." Ye Fan sighed.

But before long, they heard another sound.

"Are there other people here?" Ye Fan was startled.

They had explored this entire space thoroughly. There had been nothing at all, so how could such a change have occurred?

Qin Sheng listened carefully. Sure enough, there were footsteps, along with indistinct whispers, like Devils or perhaps ghosts.

"Be careful."

They became vigilant and watched the direction from which the sounds came. Soon, a figure emerged from the Gray Fog.

"Boundless Heavenly Venerable, this Daoist has finally made it in!"

Qin Sheng and the other exchanged glances, delight bursting forth.

"Daoist priest!" Ye Fan called.

"Hahahaha."

Qin Sheng laughed heartily. "Fellow Daoist, we meet again. Fate, this truly is fate!"

"Damn it, why do I hear that black-hearted bastard's voice? Could there be some kind of illusion here?"

The plump Daoist stepped out of the Gray Fog. Seeing Qin Sheng and Ye Fan staring eagerly at him, he froze completely.

Damn it, was this really an illusion? Since when...

"Why are you two here?!"

"Hahaha."

Qin Sheng smiled especially brightly. He walked over to Duan De and gave his shoulder a hard pat.

"Fellow Daoist, ever since we parted last time, I have missed you every moment of every day. Now that we have met here, heaven must have heard my heartfelt wishes and deliberately reunited us."

"What a pity you are a monk. Otherwise, I would truly like to cut off a chicken's head and burn yellow paper with you, becoming sworn brothers of different surnames from this day onward!"

"Same here!"

Ye Fan patted Duan De's other shoulder, his face nearly stiff from smiling.

"Daoist priest, you were right. Our fate truly was ordained by heaven."

Looking at their faces, Duan De felt as miserable as if he had swallowed dozens of tons of flies.

"Boundless... fucking Heavenly Venerable!"

He had really run into these two jinxes again. No, why? Why was this happening?

Duan De could not accept it.

But Qin Sheng and Ye Fan... could not have accepted it more!

"Fellow Daoist, come sit. Don't be polite. Yezi and I are both your fans. Just treat this place like home."

"Daoist priest, how did you get in here?" Ye Fan asked enthusiastically.

Duan De looked at the two of them. Even as his teeth itched with irritation, he was also deeply curious about them.

"This Daoist naturally walked in. What exactly is going on with you two? How did you end up here?"

"Sigh, it's a long story, so I'll keep it short."

Qin Sheng sighed. "The two of us came to explore these Sacred Land Ruins and accidentally entered this place."

Duan De: "..."

That was way too short.

Ye Fan smiled and added the details of how they had gotten in. Upon hearing it, Duan De leapt straight up.

"What? You accidentally opened a stone door, rolled around in the water, and ended up here? You didn't encounter any danger at all?"

"Yes, that's exactly what happened." Qin Sheng asked in return,

"From the sound of it, Fellow Daoist, you entered differently from us?"

Duan De threw back his head and howled, overcome with grief and indignation.

"I fucking crossed through the Nine Dragons Devouring Sun Tomb, Zhoujue Yin Land, and other lethal terrains! Yin Soldiers and ghost pawns chased me, and a thousand-year-old corpse bit my ass..."

"I got trapped in more than one Dao-Mark Killing Formation and nearly left these few hundred jin of mine outside before I finally managed to get in!"

"Was it really that hard? I don't believe it."

Ye Fan was doubtful. "Daoist priest, aren't you exaggerating?"

Ye Fan knew that this Fatty had some skills, but did he really have that much ability?

Ye Fan did not believe it. Did Duan De think he was a Great Emperor?

Duan De wanted to vomit blood. His entire body shook with rage.

"You don't believe my ass!"

Duan De wailed like a ghost. "I refuse to accept this! I really refuse to accept this! Why was it so easy for you two to get in?"

"Damn it, is this place actually your home?!"

Duan De's feelings at that moment were extremely complicated.

He had entered this treasure land only after immense hardship and exhausting every method at his disposal. Before entering, he had thought he was the first and would be able to enjoy it properly.

Yet in the end, he discovered that others had explored it long ago, and they had gotten in without expending the slightest effort!

After going mad for a while, Duan De finally calmed down somewhat and hurriedly asked,

"You've been here for several months already. What treasures did you obtain here?"

"Those who see it get a share!"

Fatty's nature had not changed. All he could think about were treasures.

Qin Sheng shook his head. "This place is completely empty. What treasures could there be?"

Clearly, the Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy was what Duan De had obtained during this adventure.

But now...

Duan De stomped his foot. "Nonsense."

"How could a legendary Great Emperor's cultivation site possibly contain no treasures!"

Qin Sheng and Ye Fan exchanged glances and shook their heads together.

"A Great Emperor's cultivation site?"

"We don't know anything about that. We didn't see a thing!"

Hearing this, Duan De felt as though his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all ached.

The treasures had to be on these two black-hearted bastards!

What the hell was going on? Why were these two brats everywhere?

Duan De felt as though he had always lived in their shadow.