It took Jiang Ming's original memories two years, with the aid of the Dao Scripture Guidance Chapter, to sense the Sea of Bitterness and Life Wheel and step into the Sea of Bitterness Realm.
For the next six years, he had steadily opened up his Sea of Bitterness bit by bit.
Do not think that cultivation was slow. Look at that old thief Han Bugua—at one hundred and forty-eight years old, he was only a Life Spring cultivator.
The six Cave-Heaven Paradises of Yan Kingdom were more like a beginner's village. The cultivators here were generally weak, giving Ye Fan time to develop.
When Jiang Ming had cultivated before, he had never displayed such terrifying might. The Heavenly Tyrant Body truly lived up to its name. The Nine Divine Forms were all branded deep within the origin of his Life Wheel, and as he cultivated the Shrouding Method, they would gradually be developed.
Since that was the case.
There was no way he could continue living in the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven. He needed to keep searching for heavenly treasures, open up his Sea of Bitterness, and cultivate the Great Freedom Sword Art.
All of that required cultivation resources.
Although the Heavenly Tyrant Body had not been cursed and did not require resources as absurdly vast as the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.
Its innate strength naturally demanded resources to sustain it. Besides, he cultivated two methods, both of which required cultivation resources.
Jiang Ming silently circulated the profound cultivation method within the Yaoguang Scripture. In his Sea of Bitterness, the Nine Divine Forms reflected a trace of their might through purple qi.
At dawn, the misty purple qi outside and threads of golden sunlight were drawn over, gathering and scattering above the cave abode where he cultivated. Inside, purple radiance blazed brilliantly. Only when Jiang Ming slowly finished his cultivation did it gradually recede. The sounds of tidal waves and thunder, of dragon-and-phoenix cries, also slowly faded until everything returned to stillness. In an instant, all radiance withdrew, as though everything from before had been an illusion.
Outside the cave abode.
Not only had Han Yishui been drawn over, but Han Bugua, their disciples, and even some elders of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven had also been alarmed.
Because of the peculiar cultivation method, the Yaoguang Scripture was the sort of cultivation art that attracted attention. Jiang Ming had truly not expected it to cause such a huge disturbance.
But no matter what, Jiang Ming was not afraid of these old fossils from the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven. Even if someone harbored ill intentions, it would not matter.
Those with ill intentions would harbor the same thoughts upon seeing Ye Fan in the future. When that time came, Ye Fan could reap them, while he collected the rewards.
Those without ill intentions would not develop malicious thoughts even after seeing Ye Fan, so naturally, they would not have to die.
"Master, who is cultivating inside? How could he produce such a phenomenon?"
Han Yishui's eldest disciple was a Divine Bridge Realm cultivator. He looked around fifty, but that was merely because he knew how to preserve his appearance. He was already seventy years old.
Han Yishui had taken him as a disciple when he himself was eighty. Han Yishui's talent was inferior to this disciple's; when Han Yishui had been eighty, he had only been a Life Spring cultivator.
Han Yishui valued this eldest disciple greatly. At such a young age, he had already become a Divine Bridge cultivator, with cultivation equal to his master's.
There was also his favored second disciple, who had become a Divine Bridge cultivator at sixty-five. She was a female cultivator who looked to be around forty, with delicate features, and she looked toward her master, awaiting his answer.
The others also looked over eagerly. In truth, they had already heard some rumors and merely wanted their master to confirm them.
"Yes, he is a friend your martial uncle met while training outside. He came from Mount Sumeru in the Western Desert. Now, it seems there can be no mistake. Such a cultivation phenomenon is truly astonishing.
I heard that only true disciples of the sacred lands could display such might while cultivating."
Seeing more and more people gathering around, Han Yishui knew paper could not wrap fire and simply spoke with a sigh.
Even if he had entertained crooked thoughts of killing that monk Sanzang, or imprisoning him to seize the inheritance and secret arts on his person.
Given the current situation, it was certainly not appropriate to make a move within the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.
He would also need to ask his foolish younger brother in detail just how strong this monk Sanzang was and what his cultivation level was.
In any case, he had not been able to discern anything about the monk.
When his divine sense swept over, it was immediately torn to pieces by a thread of sharp aura. When he looked with his Dharma Eye, all he saw was a Radiant Glazed Buddha Dharma Form.
What the hell was there left to look at?
If that Dharma Form was real, then it was terrifying.
This man was, at the very least, the heir of some major force from the Western Desert.
However, from what he could see now, it was likely real.
The master of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven was finally alarmed as well.
The master of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven wore a purple Daoist robe wreathed in faint purple qi. It was clearly a Spirit Artifact-grade Dharma robe. He certainly had not refined it himself; it was most likely an inheritance of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven or an opportunity he had encountered.
With a sweep of his wide sleeve, hazy purple qi spread around him. Like a flash of azure light, he appeared in the clearing and looked toward Jiang Ming's cave abode.
"Grotto-Heaven Master."
Everyone immediately bowed slightly and clasped their fists in greeting. Their etiquette was the same as the Daoist fist-and-sword-finger salute.
After all, the origin of this place's inheritance came from Earth in this world.
There, before the Mythological Era, was the origin of the Ancient Heavenly Court founded by Emperor.
After the Desolate Heavenly Emperor severed eternity, no one remembered anything that had happened in the distant past. As far as the story of the Shrouding the Heavens era was concerned, the entire span of eras covered by Shrouding the Heavens amounted to only a single calendar era, which could be called the Shrouding Era Calendar.
"Mhm. I have already learned some of what happened. A senior monk from the Western Desert?
Sanzang—burying heaven, burying earth, burying oneself. The Great Dao is vast and elusive, while immortality is difficult to seek. One can tell from his Dharma name alone that this master's inheritance must have an extraordinary origin. Listen carefully, all of you: do not entertain any improper thoughts. The foundation of the Western Desert is not something a mere Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven can touch.
Just treat that master as though he were a core heir of a Desolate Ancient Family."
The master of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven spoke thus.
As the master of a Cave-Heaven Paradise, his knowledge was broader. He understood clearly that not every cultivation method could trigger phenomena between heaven and earth. At the very least, such methods came from the inheritance of Sage scriptures.
Not just anyone was qualified to cultivate such inheritances. Once discovered, they would be reclaimed.
As for how they were reclaimed, the lighter punishment was having one's cultivation crippled and memories erased.
The harsher punishment was being captured and imprisoned forever, or even directly erased and killed.
Those sacred lands and Desolate Ancient Families valued their inheritances more than their own lives. Every time one leaked out, it brought a storm of bloodshed. Everyone implicated would suffer, and even stray dogs caught up in it would be skinned, have their tendons pulled out, their bones ground to dust, and their ashes scattered.
That was why the master of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven had warned his elders and disciples so sternly.
He still understood the character of certain people.
As for Ye Fan, no one had bothered with him in the original story because he had no one to rely on and looked easy to bully.
But Jiang Ming had announced his origins from the moment he appeared, using the legendary Buddhist School secret art, Buddhland in the Palm. Buddha light arose naturally behind his head—no matter how one looked at it, he did not seem like a fraud.
And now, his cultivation had even drawn forth strange phenomena of heaven and earth, further proving that the Ancient Scripture he possessed had an astonishing origin.
For a tiny Cave-Heaven Paradise like the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven, the best course when encountering such a matter was to report it to the Yaoguang Sacred Land. They could not bear such pressure and risk.
One careless mistake could bring eternal damnation and the destruction of their lineage.
In the world of immortal cultivators, reason meant nothing. Only fists mattered.