"Fellow Daoist, leave him a pair of underwear." Seeing Duan De reach for a cultivator's robe, Lin Xian tactfully said, "We're righteous people."
Wherever Duan De's black hand reached, the cultivators there were left naked and penniless.
"Very well. Today, this Daoist master shall spare your lives." Duan De clapped his hands and grandly waved them. "Scram!"
The few cultivators who had nearly been stripped bare were on the verge of tears. They hastily transformed into divine rainbows and flew away while covering their faces. If anyone recognized them, they would never be able to show themselves in Yan Kingdom again.
"Men do not grow rich without windfalls, and horses do not grow fat without night grass." Plump and prosperous, Duan De chuckled and said, "The haul was not bad. From now on, we're a gang that shares blessings and hardships alike."
"Of course, of course." Ye Fan and Lin Xian readily agreed.
Clang!
Just then, another object fell from the sky and slammed into the ground. It appeared to be a piece of green copper.
The next instant, the three men who had just been calling each other brothers moved almost simultaneously, all reaching for the palm-sized copper plate on the ground.
Ye Fan was driven by instinct, by an inexplicable curiosity that made him feel the copper plate was worth something.
Lin Xian knew the future and recognized the Copper Fragment as part of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron.
Duan De simply had sharp eyes honed through years of treasure hunting. Seeing Ye Fan and Lin Xian move at the same time, he instinctively followed suit.
Among the three, Lin Xian had the highest cultivation and obtained it first.
Holding the fragment of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron, Lin Xian had the system record a trace of the Dao principles within the Green Copper. After studying it for a long while, he sighed. "It is not my Dao."
What lies above form is called the Dao; what lies below form is called an artifact.
An artifact carries the Dao. It is a weapon, but also the manifestation of a Dao Fruit.
Lin Xian's Dao had already been founded the moment he forged the Universe Diagram's artifact form. Such a grand and imposing heavy artifact as the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron, capable of suppressing all things, truly did not suit him.
His Dao was the Universe Diagram. Outwardly, it could encompass all phenomena and draw in the Myriad Dao; inwardly, it could roll into a mat and wrap around its owner. It contained the meaning of Time and Space, transcendent and carefree, emphasizing flexibility and change, coming and going freely.
A cauldron stood firm between heaven and earth, suppressing fate and fortune. That was a Heavenly Emperor Path.
No matter how powerful it was, it was not Lin Xian's path. Other than myself, all paths are heretical.
It could only serve as reference. Forcing a fusion would only create something neither fish nor fowl.
"What a pity. This thing is of little use to me."
Lin Xian shook his head. Unable to emulate the Dao principles upon the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron and forge his own weapon, the copper block had lost its greatest use to him. He smoothly stepped back, evading a plump, oversized hand.
Wherever Duan De's large hand reached, graves sprang up in abundance, and treasures were looted clean. The copper block could not be allowed into his hands. Once he got hold of it, there would be no getting it back.
"I took three sentient weapons, and Duan De took two. This thing shall go to him." With a graceful turn, Lin Xian tossed the copper block to Ye Fan and said with a half-smile, "Fellow Daoist Duan, you have no objections, do you?"
"Naturally not." Duan De gave an awkward smile and withdrew his restless hand.
Ye Fan's heart stirred. Rubbing the copper block, he felt an instinctive pull and curiously asked, "Celestial Master, is this thing precious?"
"Its value differs from person to person. After cultivators temper their 'Divine Runes' into 'artifacts,' they choose Lingbao whose forms match those artifacts. Only when the two are identical can they unleash their greatest power."
"The original form of this copper block was a cauldron, while the artifact form of my Divine Runes is a diagram."
Lin Xian shook his head. "To me, this copper block is of little use. It is inferior to the Immortal Treasure Diagram."
"The Immortal Treasure Diagram..." Ye Fan's eyes flickered. Hearing a new term, he could not help asking, "What is that?"
The Immortal Treasure Diagram was no ordinary object. It recorded the imprints of the Human World Universe and even concealed the Void Diagram of the Immortal Realm. Its value was no less than an Immortal Artifact.
To Lin Xian, it was incomparably precious. The Immortal Treasure Diagram's use to him was comparable to the copper block's use to Ye Fan.
If he could emulate the cosmic Dao principles on the Immortal Treasure Diagram, he would surely forge an ultimate artifact.
"It is an Immortal Diagram. Its front depicts the starry sky, while its back contains maps of three terrains." Lin Xian chuckled. "As far as I know, the Immortal Treasure Diagram seems to be in a Dragon Nest, a burial object within a great tomb."
"It is a blessing as great as a mountain and good fortune as deep as the sea. If you have the chance to enter, you can help me retrieve it."
"If I have the chance to enter the Dragon Nest, I will certainly bring the Immortal Diagram back for Master Lin!" Ye Fan's eyes shone as he cupped his hands in salute. He was a man who clearly distinguished gratitude from grudges: he repaid vengeance and returned kindness.
Lin Xian smiled knowingly. Schemes and tricks did not work on someone like Ye Fan; sincerity was instead the deadliest weapon.
The Immortal Treasure Diagram was difficult to obtain because it was a burial object belonging to one of the Ruthless Great Emperor's incarnations from a certain Lifetime, buried within the Chaos Dragon Nest amid countless deadly dangers.
No one else could enter. Only Ye Fan, with his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body and profound Causality, could go.
"Alas..." System 10086's ethereal sigh rang out as it looked at Ye Fan with a feeling of shared misery.
Its host truly did not want to suffer even a little.
How could a fragment of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron compare with a complete and flawless Immortal Diagram?
"Dragon Nest Tomb!" Duan De's eyes immediately lit up as he pressed, "Fellow Daoist, you truly are unfathomable, to possess such secret information. We must cooperate more in the future."
"Naturally." Lin Xian nodded vaguely, casually finding an excuse to brush him off. "I also know about the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb. Another day, I'll take you to dig it up."
"Fuck!" Duan De could not help swearing. His eyes blazed with ravenous excitement, and he nearly howled, "The Netherworld Emperor's Tomb—the true master of the Underworld, the Yama among Yamas, the Supreme Being among Yin Spirits!"
"Fellow Daoist, you actually know of it?"
Lin Xian smiled faintly. Speak human words to humans, ghost words to ghosts.
Ye Fan was a living man, while Netherworld Emperor Duan De was the number one old ghost under heaven.
If you bared your heart to Duan De, Duan De would scheme against you.
This sort of treacherous bastard even tricked his own teammates!
At critical moments, when life and death hung in the balance, perhaps Duan De could be trusted.
But ordinarily, especially where heavenly treasures and tomb resources were concerned, one absolutely could not trust a single word Duan De said!
Lin Xian vigorously spun his tale. "Not only the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb—even the legendary Source Emperor's Tomb, this poor Daoist knows some clues about."
"Source Emperor's Tomb!" Duan De was nearly driven mad with joy. He did not dare imagine what expression he would wear when he found the Source Emperor's Tomb.
Rumble...
The battlefield was in chaos, with more and more cultivators pouring in. This was no place to linger. Lin Xian grabbed Ye Fan and Duan De and flew to a secluded spot, avoiding the battle.
The moment they landed, Duan De impatiently asked, "Fellow Daoist, besides the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb and the Source Emperor's Tomb, what other great tombs do you know of?"
Lin Xian pointed in the direction of the Qing Emperor's Tomb and smiled without saying a word.
"The Qing Emperor's Tomb, wasn't it already..." Duan De was about to speak when his pupils suddenly contracted. He stopped himself, transformed into a divine rainbow, and flew into the sky to survey the mountains and terrain.