Ye Fan Leaves

After using the Reflection Points, Jiang Yun felt his vision blur. In the span of a shifting moment, it was as though he had arrived in the depths of the cosmos.

A towering figure emerged from the void before him. The instant he appeared, all Dao resonated with him, and the stars pulsed with his breathing.

Seeing that the illusory figure before him had its eyes tightly shut, Jiang Yun let out a sigh of relief. He had thought Emperor Hengyu had revived.

Jiang Yun's mind suddenly stirred, and in the darkness, he understood certain principles. He could choose several scriptures and secret arts.

The secret arts and scriptures Emperor Hengyu had mastered were as vast as the sea. Jiang Yun even saw the complete Solar Scripture and the Lunar Scripture, which lacked its forbidden secret arts.

There were even five inheritances of the Nine Secrets: Bing, Dou, Zhe, Zu, and Jie.

Reflection Points were earned according to favorability. Though they were not difficult to obtain, there was a limit.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yun chose the complete Solar Scripture and Nine Secrets: Zhe. It was just a pity there was no Secret of Xing.

Although he could not cultivate the former for now, it could broaden his horizons. Nine Secrets: Zhe could save his life—his sorry life mattered most.

As for the Hengyu Scripture, Jiang Yun decided not to choose it. Once he joined the Jiang Family in the future, they would all be family.

Since he could obtain it naturally, he could not waste one of his chances to choose.

His vision blurred again, and Jiang Yun's consciousness returned to his body. The Solar Scripture and Nine Secrets: Zhe had already been imprinted deep in his heart.

After making his choices, Jiang Yun did not dwell on the matter any further. Cultivating either of them was even more impossible.

He had not even reached the Life Spring yet. Rather than cultivating those, it was more practical to honestly raise his cultivation realm.

After consuming some Divine Spring Fluid, he grasped a Source Stone and began cultivating. His entire being sank into a mysterious state. Above the dark green Sea of Bitterness, three radiant Divine Patterns stretched across the sky.

As Jiang Yun refined the Divine Spring Fluid, his Sea of Bitterness gradually expanded. Clouds rose, lightning flashed, and amid the circulation of essence energy, a new Divine Pattern split off.

Under his arduous cultivation, a month passed in the blink of an eye. Jiang Yun cultivated diligently during the day, and worked diligently at night.

After one month, Jiang Shuanglan was positively glowing. Her originally elegant and dignified temperament had gained a hint of a mature woman's charm, making her seem graceful and noble.

At first, she had cooperated willingly, but after more than a month, she was completely worn out. She could barely endure three or four hours every day, and in the past few days, she had found it difficult to get up and cultivate after it was over.

Jiang Shuanglan felt proud that Jiang Yun was so infatuated with her, but she also felt it delayed his cultivation too much and warned him more than once.

Yet when she saw the ten divine chains shooting out from Jiang Yun's Sea of Bitterness, she fell silent.

At present, there were only eight Divine Patterns above her Sea of Bitterness. That was the result of three years of cultivation, yet now that she had an ample supply of Hundred-Grass Liquid, she cultivated even more diligently.

Jiang Yun gave his hundred bottles of Hundred-Grass Liquid to Ye Fan, helping him open up a golden Sea of Bitterness. The tumultuous, stormy commotion truly shocked Jiang Yun.

The gap between people was simply too enormous. It was even greater than the difference between a human and a dog.

That day, the sky was clear, the sun shone brightly, and not a cloud stretched across the endless heavens. It was a fine day to go out.

Ye Fan packed his belongings and knocked on Jiang Yun's door.

"You're leaving?"

Though he had been prepared for it, when the day truly came, Jiang Yun was still somewhat surprised. He had not expected Ye Fan to want to leave so soon.

"Cousin, I've already opened up my Sea of Bitterness and nurtured two Divine Patterns. I now have some ability to protect myself while traveling outside. I want to see this land of the Eastern Wilderness and seek a way to break the Sacred Physique Curse."

Ye Fan had prepared for this day for a long time. Although he had joined Jade Cauldron Paradise, he had only done so because of Jiang Yun, and he did not feel much belonging here.

The Sacred Physique had merely opened up its Sea of Bitterness, yet it had already consumed so many resources. Ye Fan was too embarrassed to let Jiang Yun support him. Jiang Yun was his cousin, not his father.

Ye Fan had a strong sense of pride. He was unwilling to live dependent on others like this. When his cousin married, he could not even afford a wedding gift.

A true man was born between heaven and earth—how could he remain depressed beneath others for long?

"Are you really prepared? Do you have cultivation scriptures for the other secret realms? Do you know where to obtain cultivation resources? Do you even know where you are in the Eastern Wilderness?"

Jiang Yun fired off a barrage of questions, successfully leaving Ye Fan bewildered.

"I..." Ye Fan wanted to say none of that was urgent. He could slowly ask around and search for the answers.

"Don't worry. I know you have none of those things, but I've prepared them all for you."

Jiang Yun interrupted Ye Fan, directly pulled him into the pill room, and gave him the complete cultivation method of the Dao Scripture.

He then took out a map of part of the Eastern Wilderness, which he had previously asked Elder Feng to obtain.

He also handed Ye Fan a bottle of Divine Spring Fluid the size of a mineral water bottle.

"So what if the Ancient Sacred Body cannot cultivate? I believe you will eventually break the Sacred Physique Curse. Your future is destined to be brilliant and glorious. If you remain in Jade Cauldron Paradise forever, you'll only be restricted. Your cousin believes in you."

Jiang Yun grabbed Ye Fan and spoke passionately, filling him with a whole bellyful of encouragement.

Ye Fan had imagined many possible scenarios. If his cousin refused to let him leave, he had even considered sneaking away at night.

But he had never imagined a situation like this.

Ye Fan quickly calmed down. Since his cousin supported him so much, he certainly would not betray his cousin's trust.

The two men did not say much more in farewell. It was not as though they would never meet again.

Jiang Yun called Jiang Shuanglan out, and together they saw Ye Fan off from Jade Cauldron Paradise.

At the moment of parting, Jiang Shuanglan also gave Ye Fan fifty bottles of Hundred-Grass Liquid as aid.

"No matter what happens outside, remember that you have a cousin who can support you."

Ye Fan's eyes immediately reddened. He rubbed away the sand that had gotten into them and promptly turned to leave.

Watching Ye Fan's receding back, Jiang Shuanglan looked at Jiang Yun and asked,

"You're really this at ease with letting your cousin leave Jade Cauldron Paradise and travel alone?"

"You don't understand. If he stays in Jade Cauldron Paradise, he'll only be Ye Fan. Only by going out can he become Heavenly Emperor Ye."

Jiang Yun watched Ye Fan's distant back and muttered softly.

"Hmph, what nonsense."

Hearing such unrealistic words, Jiang Shuanglan replied with a phrase from Jiang Yun's homeland.

Yet Jiang Shuanglan understood Jiang Yun's regard for his cousin.

Jiang Yun smiled and said nothing. No one would believe those words, no matter who he told.

After all, if Ye Fan did not cultivate diligently, he could only go home and inherit the Dao-Merging Flower, with becoming a Great Emperor as his guaranteed minimum.

How many people could understand such troubles?

After seeing Ye Fan off, the two returned to the valley.

"From now on, we can finally begin our true world of two!"

Looking at the valley without an unwanted third wheel, Jiang Yun happily picked Jiang Shuanglan up and spun her around.

That night.

With only the two of them, Jiang Shuanglan no longer needed to suppress her voice.

After entering a state of enlightenment, Jiang Yun felt Lan'er in his arms.

Her flowing hair carried a faint fragrance.

"I can't do this anymore. We can't do this again next time. I can't cultivate like this. I need to get up and cultivate."

Jiang Shuanglan muttered dizzily.

Jiang Yun felt somewhat distressed as he listened. Jiang Shuanglan cultivated very diligently, but every night Jiang Yun took up so much of her time that she had no way to cultivate.

Although Jiang Shuanglan cared greatly about cultivation, she had never refused Jiang Yun.

In truth, their happy life at night could also be considered a kind of cultivation.

After more than a month of effort, Jiang Shuanglan's physique had improved somewhat. Though the change was not great, perseverance was what mattered.

Dripping water could wear through stone, and an iron pestle could be ground into a needle. One day, there would be a qualitative change.

Sharpening the knife did not delay chopping wood. Jiang Yun comforted himself with that thought, and his sense of guilt faded away.