Let Ye Fan Suffer; I'll Bear the Infamy

At that moment, only Pang Bo still dared to speak. He asked in a tiny voice, "Celestial Master, where does my Demon God Blood rank?"

"Around a hundredth in the universe." Lin Xian estimated. "If you work hard and become a Quasi-Emperor, you might make it into the top fifty."

"Of course, if you can break free of the restraints left by those before you, there may be the slightest chance of becoming an emperor."

"Though physiques may be invincible, that does not guarantee anything. Many ancient emperors had ordinary bodies and still rose to attain the Dao."

"A hundredth is good enough." Pang Bo had a big heart. Beaming with delight, he laughed. "Top hundred in the universe—I wouldn't have dared dream of it. I never even made the top hundred on Earth."

"Whether you're a demon—uh, a human—you should know contentment and happiness."

His shamelessly boastful remarks drew envy, jealousy, and hatred from the crowd.

Forget the top hundred on Earth—even the top ten thousand or top hundred thousand was beyond them.

And that was before considering another world entirely, where he had directly entered the ranks of the universe. It was unbelievable.

"An ordinary body becoming emperor?"

Ye Fan pondered those four words. Something stirred within him, and he asked thoughtfully, "Celestial Master, if even ordinary bodies can produce emperors, can't the Sacred Body become emperor?"

"Unfortunately, not a single one has done so throughout eternity." Lin Xian shook his head and said meaningfully, "Everything has its benefits and drawbacks. If you enjoy the immense advantages of the Sacred Body, you must bear its restrictions. For the Sacred Body to become emperor is countless times harder than for other physiques."

"Even the Ancestor of the Sacred Body failed to attain the Dao and become emperor."

"So that's how it is..." Ye Fan murmured. A future as second under heaven already exceeded his expectations, yet he could not help asking, "Is there really no exception?"

"Perhaps there is one exception."

Lin Xian paused, then smiled strangely. "After the Sacred Body reaches Great Accomplishment, if it goes one step further—taking the Alternative Path to Enlightenment, undergoing Ultimate Sublimation, attaining flawless crimson blood and true consummation—it can contend with an emperor and vie for supremacy."

"The nine invincible Sacred Bodies of the Desolate Antiquity era all stood at the consummate realm."

"Among those nine invincible Sacred Bodies, one outstanding figure directly suppressed Western Empress beneath him, leading her by a step."

Western Empress!

Everyone's thoughts stirred, and they instinctively thought of the Queen Mother of the West from Yaochi in myth and legend. Could there be some connection between them?

The more Ye Fan listened, the more something felt off. Why were Celestial Master Lin's words so awkward, and why was he smiling so strangely? He could not help asking, "Celestial Master, what was the relationship between that Sacred Body and the Western Empress?"

"They were husband and wife." Lin Xian smiled brightly and specifically pointed out, "Western Empress was a woman, and her physique was the Innate Dao Embryo."

"They had a son, who possessed the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo and later also became emperor."

"A family of three, two emperors. Guess who failed to become emperor."

The three supreme figures of Yaochi: a family of three, two emperors. Guess who failed to become emperor.

Ye Fan's mouth twitched. He did not want to guess. Even thinking with his toes, he knew it was the Great Accomplished Saint Physique, whose status in the family was the lowest.

Pang Bo patted Ye Fan's shoulder and said carelessly, "It's fine, Yezi. Living off a woman isn't shameful. Maybe you'll hook up with a female emperor in the future too. Once you're family, first under heaven and second under heaven are no different."

"Get lost." Ye Fan rolled his eyes. Laughter rang out within the bronze coffin, dispersing most of the panic brought by this disaster.

Human fear came from the unknown. Now that they had a knowledgeable cultivator among them, everyone felt as though they had found their backbone and believed Lin Xian's words without question.

No matter how bizarre something was, compared to cultivation, it was only a small matter.

Cultivation itself was shrouded in mystery, making it easier for people to accept.

"Celestial Master, do you think we can cultivate?"

Zhou Yi performed an ancient salute and stepped beside Pang Bo and Ye Fan. In a sincere tone, he asked, "Do we have immortal affinity?"

Zhou Yi was a very wise man. Afraid of being rejected, he had brought Pang Bo and Ye Fan into it.

Even if he lacked talent for cultivation, Celestial Master Lin of Mount Longhu would answer for the sake of the Demon God Blood and Sacred Body.

Scorching gazes fell upon Lin Xian. Even Pang Bo and Ye Fan, who had already been deemed talented for cultivation, could not help growing nervous.

"Immortal affinity?"

Lin Xian swept his gaze around the crowd and said meaningfully, "The fact that you were able to board Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin is the greatest immortal affinity in the universe."

"It will carry you away from Earth, where the Great Dao is heavily suppressed and cultivation is almost at the end of the Dharma era, to the vast and boundless Big Dipper Cultivation Realm."

"In the future, you may even become saints and patriarchs!"

"Climb the path to heaven, sing as you go, and with a flick of the finger, shroud the heavens."

As soon as he finished speaking, unrest broke out inside the bronze coffin. Leaving Earth and heading to Big Dipper—what did that mean? Could this truly be interstellar travel?

"Where exactly are we going? I want to go home..."

Some of the female students were terrified. They murmured, "I don't want to cultivate. I just want to be with my family."

Many faces turned pale as countless possibilities came to mind.

Cultivation might be wonderful, but if the price was leaving their homes and loved ones, some of them were unwilling to pay it.

"Celestial Master, you're an immortal. You must have a way."

"Please let us go back. We don't want to cultivate."

Some people looked toward Lin Xian, the only cultivator in the bronze coffin, and begged bitterly, trying to find a way out.

"I told you long ago: this is a one-way interstellar train ticket. There is no return trip."

Lin Xian sighed. "This is also an immortal opportunity rarely seen throughout eternity. Cultivation on Earth is difficult; only by going to the other side of the starry sky is there any hope of becoming immortal."

Many people fell into despair. Even a cultivator had no solution—were they really unable to return?!

"Celestial Master, is there truly no other way?"

Ye Fan's expression darkened. He had family on Earth too—parents and bonds of kinship he could not bear to leave behind.

"It's not that there is no way."

Lin Xian continued drawing one grand promise after another to steady the crowd. Leisurely, he said, "If you cultivate to the realm of ancient sages, you can cross the starry sky in the flesh and come and go freely."

"Or, find a Five-Colored Altar. It is a starry-sky teleportation array built by ancient ancestors, capable of crossing one star domain after another."

Sages?!

Many people looked miserable upon hearing that. It sounded like a realm impossible to reach. Ordinary people had no hope, though perhaps Ye Fan and Pang Bo could reach it.

The Sacred Body had the word "saint" in its name, after all. Perhaps it could cultivate into a sage.

Someone asked, "Celestial Master, how many years does it take to become a saint?"

"Those who ride Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin all possess great fortune." Lin Xian smiled faintly and continued deceiving them. "Normally, twenty or thirty years will do."

Twenty or thirty years?!

Many people rejoiced inwardly, as if they had glimpsed a sliver of hope.

More people placed their hopes on the Five-Colored Altar.

"I remember now! There was also a Five-Colored Altar on Mount Tai, and Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin was parked on top of it!"

Someone cried excitedly, "If we find another Five-Colored Altar, perhaps we can go home."

A faint glimmer appeared in many people's eyes, including Ye Fan's. The hope was slim, but hope was still hope.

People needed hope in order to live on.

"You will return. Otherwise, there would have been no point in the ancient ancestors setting up the Five-Colored Altar."

Lin Xian offered a word of comfort, then rose and walked deeper into the bronze coffin, drawing everyone's attention. They shone their phones toward the depths and discovered blurred bronze carvings: a savage nine-headed divine bird soaring with spread wings, enormous vicious beasts covered in foot-long hard spines roaring at the sky...

"These are patterns from the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Someone said joyfully, "Perhaps the ancient ancestors left behind the Classic of Mountains and Seas because it originated here."

"Perhaps ancient ancestors truly came here, recorded everything, and then returned to Earth."

The crowd hurriedly examined them and found that the bronze engravings, covered in verdigris, truly depicted the ancient vicious beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Taotie, Qiongqi, Taowu, and others were enormous, ferocious, and lifelike enough to inspire fear at a glance.

"Could we be repeating the experiences of the ancient ancestors?"

"Is this a cycle?"

"Crossing through eternity to reenact what once happened."

Someone boldly speculated. Beyond the vicious beasts, ancient ancestors, and several ancient deities, there was also a vast expanse of strange patterns on the bronze coffin—dense and dotted like a map of the starry sky.

Several stars among them flickered with light.

"It really is starry-sky travel! We're riding a starry-sky train!"

Someone said excitedly, "The ancient ancestors were crossing the universe. Is this not the power of technology, but of immortals or gods?"

At the mention of gods and immortals, everyone was filled with longing.

"The Big Dipper Cultivation Realm... could it be the Big Dipper Emperor Star?"

Ye Fan spoke softly, deep in thought as he recalled Lin Xian's earlier words.

This journey went from the Primordial Ancient Star to the Big Dipper Ancient Star.

Big Dipper was the destination, and Primordial was the starting point.

In other words, Primordial Ancient Star was another name for Earth.

The ancients said: Heaven and Earth were dark and yellow; the universe was primordial and vast.

"Primordial" meant incomparably ancient. Ye Fan could not help sighing. It seemed Earth had once possessed an incredibly brilliant mythological civilization, and the immortal figures accumulated in historical records were likely real.

Western Empress might well have been the Queen Mother of the West from myth and legend.

He still knew far too little about his home planet.

As he thought, Ye Fan could not help looking toward Lin Xian. This Celestial Master of Mount Longhu was a cultivator from Earth, and he had spoken fluently and confidently throughout the journey, as if he had long anticipated everything that was happening.

If everyone else had accidentally stumbled onto Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin, then this Celestial Master had come prepared. Perhaps he knew even more of the inside story.

Lin Xian glanced around, ignored the ancient bronze carvings, and walked straight to the small coffin at the center of the bronze coffin before sitting beside it. He crossed his legs, cultivating the Qi-State Origin-Flow to scour his Wheel of Life while communicating with the system, attempting to sense the small coffin.

"There's a coffin inside the coffin—it's another bronze coffin!" When the light from their phones illuminated it, many people sucked in a breath of cold air.

Another bronze coffin rested at the very center. It was less than four meters long and less than two meters wide, ancient and dim. Old patterns were engraved upon it, and verdigris covered its surface. It bore the weathering of countless years, chilling the heart and inspiring fear at a glance.

"It isn't a coffin inside a coffin. This one is the actual coffin, the vessel that holds a corpse. The massive outer bronze coffin is called a burial casing, a coffin shell. Together, they are called a coffin and casing."

Pang Bo seemed to have a special understanding of coffins and explained it to the others.

In an instant, countless hearts skipped a beat. Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin was so sacred and mysterious—who had been buried within it?

A god, an immortal, a demon, a Buddha... or some unknown red-haired monster.

Suddenly, the bronze coffin and casing shook violently. No one could stand steady; they swayed back and forth, and many fell directly to the ground.

"What's happening?!"

The crowd was alarmed and instinctively looked toward Lin Xian.

"Everyone, we have arrived at the Mars transfer station."

Lin Xian spoke calmly. "There is a Great Thunderclap Temple on this planet. You may go explore it, but remember to return early. If you miss the time, this dragon coffin will set off again."

"A Mars transfer station?!"

"Great Thunderclap Temple—is it the Great Thunderclap Temple from the legends?"

"There are even stops on an interstellar journey?"

Everyone reacted differently, but most were excited. They were lifting a corner of the mysterious world and exploring the secrets of immortals and Buddhas.

"Celestial Master Lin, is the Great Thunderclap Temple you mentioned the legendary Great Thunderclap Temple, the dwelling place of the Buddha?"

Someone asked excitedly, "The Buddha preached the Dharma with a voice like thunder—is it that temple?"

"Ancient texts record that the Buddha once built a temple here."

Celestial Master Lin's tone was filled with temptation. "Though thousands of years have passed, there should still be some Buddhist artifacts left behind that can be used for protection."

Dreamlike expressions appeared on everyone's faces. They were stepping into myth and becoming part of legend.

If the Great Thunderclap Temple existed, then what about the Victorious Fighting Buddha? What about the immortals of the Heavenly Court?!

"Celestial Master, aren't you coming with us?" Ye Fan suddenly noticed something. Looking at Lin Xian, who remained motionless beside the bronze coffin, he could not help asking.

"Do you think it is appropriate for a Daoist like me to enter a holy site of Buddhism?" Lin Xian revealed a strange expression and pointed outside. "You people who have never cultivated may perhaps be chosen by the Buddha."

"Remember to be respectful when you enter. You can take some Buddhist artifacts, but don't scrape the place clean and carry off even the Great Thunderclap Temple's plaque."

Everyone suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly. They secretly thought that the cultivation world indeed had distinctions between different factions.

Some people could no longer restrain their desire to cultivate or seek the Buddha. They rushed outside, filing out one after another.

"Host? Why aren't you going to the Great Thunderclap Temple to seek opportunities? There are Buddhist artifacts, an Immortal Elixir, and a Bodhi Seed there!"

System 10086 finally could not hold back and spoke. It was not like those ordinary mortals, so easily fooled.

Mars was the beginner village for countless transmigrators and reborn people!

How many people had risen to greatness because of that Bodhi Seed? It was a divine treasure that aided enlightenment, the first pot of gold on the path of cultivation!

Without the Immortal Elixir Bodhi Seed, how could one contend against imperial sons and imperial daughters? One would probably not even be able to understand an Emperor Scripture.

"Because I'm slacking off."

Lin Xian shrugged and asked, "What can I do with the Bodhi Seed?"

"Of course, work hard, show off and slap faces, display holiness before others, kill decisively, and be cold-blooded..." System 10086 answered instinctively, but as it spoke, the sound of electrical current grew fainter and fainter.

"Exactly. That's Ye Fan's job. He takes the Bodhi Seed to grow stronger, so that he can pacify the dark turmoil and wage war against the plateau of calamity in the future."

Lin Xian pointed at himself and complained, "Are you expecting me to fight the supreme beings of the restricted zones?"

"Come on, man. I'm not an Ancient Sacred Body. How many slaps from a supreme being do you think I can take?"

"Of course, if you were a sign-in system and could sign me in for an emperor's cultivation, a Chaotic Body, and a few batches of Immortal Metal, I wouldn't mind showing off for a bit."

System 10086: "...I'm only a low-level system."

Don't make things difficult for me. Sign-in systems were for high-level systems—high investment, high risk, high return. It did not have that kind of capital.

"So let proper people do proper things."

"Someone has to be useless. Why can't that someone be me?"

"Let Heavenly Emperor Ye fight monsters and level up in front while we pick up the equipment behind him. That is the true path of kings."

"I have one leaf that can move mountains and overturn seas, slay demons and eliminate devils, execute gods and kill immortals, shroud the heavens and blot out the sun!"

Lin Xian's smile faded. His expression became solemn as he said with utmost seriousness, "Let Ye Fan suffer; I'll bear the infamy!"

The false golden finger: System 10086 (×)

The true golden finger: Future Sacrificial Dao Ye Fan (√)