Shrouding the Heavens - Chapter 217

"Capture!"

The Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect shouted. His long hair was disheveled, silver strands dancing wildly, as he exerted all his strength to control the Fire God Furnace, attempting to recapture Ye Fan within it.

The copper cauldron trembled. Its crystalline and translucent body shimmered as flames soared into the sky. It expanded fiercely, its mouth resembling a black hole, frantically devouring everything around it.

BOOM!

Beside it, that Qing Peak trembled. The mountaintop collapsed, and the summit, over twenty meters high, broke off in an instant, sucked into the Fire God Furnace like dust.

CRACK!

The Green Mountain continued to crumble. Larger boulders and pieces of the mountain fell off, rushing towards the horrifying furnace.

It was a fearsome spectacle. The power of the Fire God Furnace was unimaginable, possessing the might to uproot mountains and evaporate seas, and Heaven-devouring force.

Although Ye Fan had forcibly broken free, he was being dragged back down by the furnace below, about to be engulfed by the scorching furnace.

At the same time, a five-colored mist swirled, and the furnace lid flew back, smashing directly towards Ye Fan, trying to press him back into the furnace and seal him inside once more.

CLANG!

Ye Fan’s eyes were sharp. He struck the five-colored lid with a golden Great Finger Seal, sending it flying away.

"Capture!"

The Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect was anxious. He spat out three mouthfuls of essence blood in succession, shooting it onto the furnace, binding his Heart Spirit to it, using all his strength to activate this great killing weapon.

RUMBLE!

Boulders tumbled and massive trees were uprooted, all flying towards the gigantic black hole in the sky. Everything was swallowed.

Nearby, that broken mountain collapsed again, another section over twenty meters high sucked into the mighty Divine Furnace, where it turned directly into flying ash.

The Fire God Furnace refined all things. Its gaping mouth was like a black hole connected to the Hell Abyss, with no end in sight.

CLANG!

Ye Fan was forcibly dragged down but did not fall into the copper cauldron. His feet stomped heavily on the furnace mouth, like a giant hammer of immense weight striking it.

A deep, resonant clang, capable of piercing gold and splitting stone, shook the Qingxia Eighteen Peaks. Many people screamed, covered their ears, and fell from the sky, blood seeping from between their fingers.

Ye Fan’s feet were imprinted deeply on the furnace mouth, as if possessing the force to ascend the heavens, making the entire Fire Furnace tremble violently.

Not far away, the Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect bled from his mouth and nose, fine cracks appearing on the surface of his body.

This... The Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave grew anxious. The Demon Painting he had summoned was too far to harm Ye Fan. Getting too close also posed the danger of being swallowed by the copper cauldron.

Ye Fan stood on the furnace mouth. Facing the giant copper cauldron that was like a mountain, he firmly held his ground. His body seemed rooted there, and the strong devouring force could not shake him.

CLANG!

His hands moved like windmills, continuously striking down on the furnace, producing booming echoes.

The Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect’s body trembled. He required immense divine energy to drive this killing weapon, and he seemed fused with the copper cauldron.

The copper cauldron, despite its size, kept shaking, as if it would be overturned at any moment, rumbling as flames shot to the sky.

Ye Fan’s golden palms and fingers were more terrifying than others’ spiritual treasures. His strikes made the copper furnace resound thunderously, leaving clear finger marks on it.

PUFF!

The Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect finally could not hold on. His power of the Dao was nearly exhausted. He coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, teetering as if about to fall from the sky.

Ye Fan’s divine energy was valiant and untiring, surpassing cultivators of the same realm. His Attack Power not only did not diminish but grew even stronger.

CLANG!

Finally, with a single slap, he sent the Fire God Furnace flying. Although he still could not shatter it, he hurled the hundred-meter-high giant furnace far away.

With incomparable Combat Power, a spirit as sharp as a rainbow, and an unstoppable Attack and Kill Holy Technique, Ye Fan was awe-inspiring as he forcefully struck away the Fire God Furnace.

At this moment, he spun around swiftly. Though in the guise of a youth, his sharpness was fully revealed. Stepping into the void, he charged at the Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect.

In the distance, all the young disciples were utterly terrified, not daring to breathe loudly.

"HMPH!"

The Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave gave a low shout and finally made another move. The Demon Painting in his hand unfurled with a loud RUSTLE! It instantly filled the sky like a great river blocking the path forward.

Ye Fan shouted lightly. His hands changed constantly, forming seals rapidly. Phantasms arose, hazy and blurred, resembling the Thousand-Handed Guanyin or a multi-armed demon.

A Phoenix Cry resounded across the heavens. A Fire Phoenix soared into the sky, burning the very firmament. It flapped its wings with a long cry, its Divine Feathers shining, as its all-encompassing phoenix might swept across the high sky.

The Fire Phoenix crossed the skies. It was like a thousand armies galloping, or like ancient war chariots crushing the azure sky, rumbling as the heavens trembled.

This is... The Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave was astonished; this Fire Phoenix was even more formidable than the one that had rushed out of the copper cauldron.

How did he summon a Fire Phoenix?! The disciples of the Li Huo Sect were incredibly shocked.

The nine secret arts were supreme secret techniques, formidable Attack and Kill Great Techniques. Once comprehended, they underwent myriad changes, with endless killing forms. Each insight would bring forth different Killing Techniques.

Earlier, Ye Fan had been sealed within the Fire God Furnace. Facing overwhelming flames, he had an epiphany, and now he formed the Fire Phoenix Seal.

BOOM!

Under the firmament, the Fire Phoenix, carrying a world-blanketing fire, pounced on the enormous Demon Painting. They collided fiercely, flames erupting everywhere.

The Fire Phoenix confronted the Demon Painting. Terrifying auras spread, flashing incessantly. Ye Fan traversed the sky and appeared before the Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect.

At this point, no one could save him. Ye Fan, brimming with killing intent, his Combat Power boiling, struck forward with a palm.

SMACK!

Over a dozen weapons were ground into powder by the Fighting Saint Technique. The large golden palm struck the Grand Elder of the Li Huo Sect’s body, smashing it to pieces at once.

Even though his head was not directly hit by the golden palm, it burst open, white brain matter splattering like bean curd.

PUFF!

Ye Fan backhanded with a sweeping palm. The grinding-disc-sized golden hand turned everything in the sky into flying ash, leaving nothing in the end.

"A great evil person! This Daoist is a great evil person!"

In the distant sky, the disciples of the Li Huo Sect were ashen-faced. This outcome was difficult for them to accept. Their sect’s strongest expert, wielding the sect-guarding Divine Furnace, had been beaten into ashes. How could they possibly resist?

They wanted to flee but found Qingxia sealed, leaving them no escape route. Every one of them looked deathly pale.

The Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave’s heart went cold. Even the Fire God Furnace could not suppress this young Daoist. He knew that his chances of survival today were slim.

The Demon Painting sounded with a continuous RUSTLE, like a world alternately sinking and rising, as it covered the sky and pressed down on Ye Fan. Thousands of streams of Purple Mist and innumerable threads of fog formed a great vortex, seeking to draw Ye Fan into the painting.

Regrettably, while the scroll was extraordinary, it could not compare to the Fire God Furnace and was unable to pull Ye Fan inside.

BOOM!

Ye Fan swung his arms towards the high sky, deploying the Attack Holy Technique. It was varied and endless. For a full fifteen minutes, his attacks made the firmament itself tremble!

CRACK!

Finally, Ye Fan tore the enormous Demon Painting covering the heavens apart with his bare hands!

The Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave cried out, but it could not change a thing.

Ye Fan arrived instantly. A massive golden hand covered the sky, pressing him down beneath it.

He sealed this part of the sky, elevating his cultivation base to the Limitless Realm, demonstrating his most powerful Combat Power.

Killing Techniques emerged in endless succession!

Without any suspense, the golden fist punched through, shattering the Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave into pieces. He died with lingering regrets.

The shockwave of the golden fist spread, and the Supreme Sect Leader of Xuanyue Cave vanished into ash, eternally erased from this world.

Throughout this process, the former Sect Hierarch of Xuanyue Cave had unleashed an unknown number of weapons. Even several gods from within his body charged out, but they could not prevent this from happening.

Separated by one realm, a full First Layer Heaven apart, Ye Fan, a mortal, had struck down an Immortal—a cross-realm kill, successfully executed!

Ye Fan stood silently in the void. His black hair danced, his eyes were clear, and his Daoist robe was pristine. He had slain two great experts without a single drop of blood tainting him.

"Spare... me," Du Chengkun, the Sect Leader’s Disciple of the Li Huo Sect, said, his voice trembling.

Ye Fan turned and lightly pointed a finger. PUFF! A flower of blood bloomed as a hole appeared on Du Chengkun’s forehead, killing him instantly.

"You..." Li Youran, a disciple of Xuanyue Cave, showed fear and quickly retreated.

PUFF!

Ye Fan pointed again. A flower of blood bloomed on Li Youran’s brow, and he fell backward to the ground, face up.

"Don’t kill us..." The others trembled.

Ye Fan spoke no words, merely extended his divine scan, sweeping in all directions.

He was not a bloodthirsty person, but in this bleeding northern region, some people had to be killed. The Li Huo Sect and Xuanyue Cave, much like the Qingxia sect, were nominally righteous organizations but secretly committed great evils. They plundered all around, treating human lives as worthless grass. Their hands were stained with blood, their sins countless.

Ye Fan used his divine scan to investigate their Seas of Consciousness. His ten fingers flicked continuously, beams of light shooting out, causing strings of blood flowers to splatter.

The grass and trees were dyed with blood. He drifted lightly past, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake.

When Ye Fan stopped, there was no life left in the Qingxia sect. Over seventy people had met violent deaths, all mercilessly slain by him.

He sighed, then stepped onto the ancient stone steps, walking away step by step.

Killing is not a joyful act. No one wants to stain their hands with blood, and no one is born heartless. Yet, he had to act. Some people had to be killed. When faced with those who deserved eradication, showing mercy is tantamount to condoning evil. Ye Fan felt that he was not a bad person, but he certainly could not be called a saint either. How many wicked people are there in the world? He could not possibly go around slaughtering them all. He could only take action when he encountered them and had the ability to do so.

BUZZ!

The Fire God Furnace rose from the ground. It flew from the thirteenth Qing Peak, slowly shrinking until it was only an inch high. It appeared in Ye Fan’s palm, its entire body crystalline and shimmering, with waves of heat emanating from it.

CLANG!

Threads of five-colored mist drifted as the furnace lid was also drawn over by Ye Fan. It sealed atop the copper cauldron, a perfect, seamless fit, forming a single, gleaming, exquisite object.

On the furnace body, there were some faint, etched markings, very indistinct. Perhaps they had gradually worn away with the passage of time.

Vaguely, one could see a sun and several Divine Birds. The imprints were blurred and difficult to discern.

Could this truly be a replica of a peak weapon—the Taiyang God Furnace?

Ye Fan’s fingers turned golden. He squeezed hard but still could not destroy this small Divine Furnace, merely an inch high.

After this battle, he keenly sensed the gap between different realms. Against an opponent one realm higher, he, a mortal challenging an Immortal, had experienced considerable pressure. If his opponent had been two realms higher, his chances of survival would surely have been grim.

Yet, he also saw his own potential and felt the extraordinariness of the nine secret arts. If his realm were to advance, he would fear nothing!

Ye Fan left the Qingxia sect’s former grounds and flew directly to the Luoxia Sect. He transformed into the guise of the Li Huo Sect’s Grand Elder and charged in, slaughtering.

At the mountain gate, he unleashed the Fire God Furnace. Instantly, flames surged to the heavens, turning an Immortal Peak there into a sea of fire.

Afterward, he retrieved the copper cauldron and advanced to the Seven Stars Pavilion. Using the Fire God Furnace, he unleashed a great conflagration that burned down two Immortal Peaks before departing gracefully.

Ye Fan did not linger. His large sleeves fluttered as he arrived at Xuanyue Cave, appearing at the former residence of Great Emperor Wushi.

Stone cliffs stood starkly, with no vegetation in sight; it was an extremely desolate place.

In the most remote part, among the broken stone mountains, there was an Ancient Cave. Time flowed like water, and the void itself seemed to resonate with sound, as if the Great Dao emanated from within.

Ye Fan stood with his hands clasped behind him, gazing up at the cliff face where three lines of fading ancient script were carved.

"The Dao is vast and unknowable, the heart is free and unrestrained, all things cycle, and nothing is not so."

The silent, barren land evoked a sense of endless time stretching into eternity.

The Emperor Jade in Ye Fan’s hand grew warm, shining with a gentle radiance that flowed out from between his fingers.