Ye Tian stood further away, covered in wounds, his hands empty.
Blood was still dripping from his palm, and the light of the Immortal Seed had completely disappeared.
In his mind, the aged, remnant soul's voice rang out again, weaker than before, yet carrying a rare gentleness. "Child... give up."
"What?"
" Immortal Seed... This item will be obtained by someone destined to find it."
If you can't hold on, it's simply because the time isn't right. Forcing it will only bring disaster upon yourself.
Ye Tian clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "But... Ancestor, that's something our Ye Clan risked our lives to protect..."
"Things from the Ye Clan?"
The remnant soul's voice carried a bitter smile, "Child, don't you understand yet? The Ye Clan protected the Immortal Seed back then because the Immortal Seed chose the Ye Clan."
"Now that it has chosen someone else, it means the Ye Clan's fate has come to an end."
"It's good that you're alive..."
"As long as you are alive, my Ye Clan has a chance to return to its former glory."
" The Immortal Seed is not the root of the Ye Clan; you are."
Ye Tian remained silent for a long time.
He looked down at the healing wound on his palm, the empty space beneath. Resentment and struggle churned deep within his pupils, but finally, he let out a long breath, as if lifting a heavy weight from his chest. "... Okay."
On the other side.
Tang Fengtian and Ouyang Bin walked to a cliff at the edge of the ruins. They stood side by side, but neither of them looked at the other.
Tang Fengtian spoke first, his voice filled with barely suppressed resentment. "Damn it, the pride of our prestigious Changsheng family is being suppressed by someone from a small place."
"And he even stole the Immortal Seed right in front of others."
"Can you swallow this insult?"
Ouyang Bin was silent for a moment. "What can we do if we can't swallow it?"
"He possesses three strands of Immortal Qi, he has a complete Immortal Artifact, and he can shatter the dark Immortal Dao with a single blow. Even if the two of us attacked together, we wouldn't be enough to defeat him with one hand."
"If you can't beat them, you can't beat them. Just accept it."
Tang Fengtian turned his head sharply, his gaze intense. "You just admit it like that?"
Ouyang Bin glanced at him, a faint smile curving his lips, a smile tinged with coldness, "Admitted it? When did I say I admitted it?"
Tang Fengtian frowned. "Then what do you mean?"
He'll go to the Emperor Pass sooner or later.
Ouyang Bin's voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it carried a calmness like a viper's hiss, "He is the Lin Clan son of the Lin family. He wants to advance further and cannot stay in the Three Thousand Provinces forever. Once he enters the Emperor Pass, that will be our territory."
" Emperor Pass?"
Tang Fengtian's eyes flashed suddenly, as if a lamp had been lit. "You mean..."
"No rush."
Ouyang Bin reached out and gently patted his shoulder. "After you get back, contact the clan elders and make plans as soon as possible."
"He won't be able to cause any trouble then."
" The Emperor Pass is not like the Three Thousand Provinces."
"That place is our territory."
Tang Fengtian finally curled into a smile, tinged with a chilling certainty. "Alright, I'll go contact my family elders right away."
" The Tang Clan, the Ouyang Clan, and now the Jin Clan..."
"If we join forces to set a trap, are we afraid of a mere Quasi-Emperor?"
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a chill in each other's eyes.
Then, they turned around, each transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon at the edge of the ruins.
Meanwhile, deep within the ruins...
Lin Fan sat cross-legged on a patch of scorched earth, holding the dark golden Immortal Seed in his palm, his gaze slightly focused.
The Immortal Seed is glowing.
It wasn't the kind of light that was forcibly awakened, but rather an extremely gentle and natural resonance, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, slowly spreading and resonating with his bloodline.
"It is recognizing its master."
Lin Fan said in a low voice.
The Chaos Gods and Devils Body operated on its own, and the three streams of Immortal Qi in its dantian, like three awakened dragons, began to slowly swim towards the Immortal Seed, just as three streams were converging into the same lake.
The dark golden light film on the surface of the Immortal Seed cracked slightly, revealing a faint gray-gold light. The light flowed like mercury, seeping into Lin Fan's meridians along the lines of his palm.
"Hiss..."
Lin Fan's pupils contracted slightly.
The moment that ray of light entered his body, he felt as if he had been thrown into a hot spring, with every pore on his body opening at the same time, and his entire soul trembling slightly.
That feeling wasn't pain.
It was like a sudden awakening.
The Law of the Immortal Dao contained within the Immortal Seed are like a river compressed for countless years, slowly opening a floodgate for him. Every drop flowing out is more perfect, more ancient, and more pure than any law he has ever seen.
He felt like he was ascending to heaven.
"This thing... it's got something."
Lin Fan took a deep breath, closed his eyes and Chaos Scripture. The Law of the Immortal Dao into his dantian, where it merged with the three strands of Immortal Qi.
The moment that law entered his body, his aura began to slowly rise.
The barriers erected by the Early-Stage Quasi-Emperor are like a dam soaked by water, gradually loosening inch by inch.
Buzz!
A soft sound came from his body.
That was the sound of something cracking, or like a long-sealed door being slowly pushed open from the inside.
Lin Fan opened his eyes, and a flash of gray-gold light passed through the depths of his pupils.
He felt that his Immortal Qi was more solid than before, like divine iron that had been tempered countless times, each strand carrying a natural sense of weight.
" Immortal Seed... indeed, it's not just a rumor."
He looked down at the still faintly glowing Immortal Seed, a slight smile playing on his lips, "If we take this back for our clan elders to study, the Lin Clan might just gain another powerful Immortal Dao."
"At that time, all those Emperor Pass clans and immortal families, all those Foreign Domain dark armies, will be nothing but trash."
He stored the Immortal Seed in his storage ring, stood up, and patted off non-existent dust from his robes.
"Now that this matter is settled, it's time to go."
He turned and walked towards the exit of the ruins.
Behind me, the dissipating dark dust was like a silent farewell.
A few days later.
At the edge of the ruins, a figure in white emerged from a rift in the void and landed on a desolate hill Immortal Burial City.
He stood atop the hill, facing the wind, gazing into the distance.
The setting sun, like blood, dyed the sky a dark red.
Lin Fan stood on the hill, squinting as he looked at the distant horizon that was slowly darkening. He then glanced down at the still faintly glowing Immortal Seed in his palm, and grinned.
" Emperor Pass..."
"Just you wait, Your Highness."
A gust of wind rises, and the white-clad figure flutters in the wind.
The figure disappeared into the afterglow of the setting sun, like a speck of dust swallowed by heaven and earth.