The Path to Another World

Having changed into clean clothes, Ye Fan was excitedly examining his body. He clearly felt a world of difference between his body and his previous one, as if he were a machine brimming with energy, possessing inexhaustible strength and power. Even his heartbeat and breathing felt stronger than before. He casually circulated the Dao Scripture, and the overwhelming spiritual energy directly converged into a small river and was absorbed into his body, more than ten times faster than before. Quietly clenching his fist and feeling the immense power in his hand, Ye Fan was extremely excited and wanted to burst into song.

Thinking that all of this was thanks to Qinglong, she wondered how he was doing. His body was already quite weak, and now he had expended so much energy to pass on the cultivation technique and transform her body. Surely nothing bad had happened to him? A sense of urgency rose within her, and she hurriedly ran outside. Thankfully, the first thing she saw was Qinglong still sitting there cross-legged, seemingly discussing something with Ge Qiusha. Although he was almost invisible, at least he was still there; nothing else mattered.

He quickly ran to Qinglong and respectfully asked, "Master, are you alright?" Seeing Ye Fan's worried and sincere face after he regained consciousness, he felt much warmer in his heart. His previously weak body seemed to have recovered quite a bit. He nodded with a smile, "It's nothing serious. I've already come this far, so sleeping for a few more years won't matter! Are you satisfied with this body?"

"Satisfied, satisfied! I just tried it, and the speed at which I absorb Yuan energy is many times faster than before. If there were no Yuan energy limitation, my cultivation speed would probably increase a lot. Thank you, Master!" Ye Fan felt a surge of excitement when he mentioned this new body, as it would be of great help to his future cultivation.

"I'm glad you're satisfied. It's a pity your cultivation level is too low, otherwise I would have directly raised your physical strength to a higher level. It wouldn't just be about increasing your cultivation speed, but also greatly improving your physical strength. I estimate that your physical strength alone is enough to fight against ordinary mortals. Try it yourself." Qinglong smiled with satisfaction and casually tossed Ye Fan a watermelon knife.

Ye Fan took the fruit knife and, with a hint of doubt, made a light cut on his palm. The knife sank deep into the soft flesh, yet left not a single white mark. Ye Fan was stunned, then delighted, he increased his strength, until he used about 80% of his power, snapping the watermelon knife in two. The two pieces fell to the ground from either side of his hand. He was astonished to find that his seemingly baby-like skin had only been scratched by a thin layer of cuticle, with only a drop or two of blood dripping. Ye Fan stared at his hands in disbelief. With his current strength, 80% of his power would have been equivalent to several hundred pounds of force, yet it had only broken a layer of skin. The defensive power was truly terrifying.

Seeing Ye Fan's overjoyed expression, Qinglong nodded in satisfaction. Ye Fan was now his only disciple and hope, so naturally he wanted everything to go well for him. "Come here, Fanzi. I sense my time is running out. I have one more crucial Daoist technique to impart to you. This Nine-Character Mantra is a supreme Daoist technique, left behind by Laozi. It consists of only nine characters, and even I didn't fully comprehend it back then. It's incredibly profound. It can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words. Therefore, I cannot convey my cultivation insights to you through divine sense; you must comprehend it yourself." "A supreme Daoist technique?" Ye Fan's mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a fist. He hadn't expected happiness to arrive so quickly. "Nine-Character Mantra? Which nine characters?"

"Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Lie, Zhen, Yu Qian! Legend has it that these nine characters contain the supreme Dao, possessing the power to terrify gods and ghosts and to create heaven and earth. It's just a pity that I only grasped a tiny fraction of it back then, and I can't help you at all." Qinglong said with some shame, feeling a little embarrassed that he couldn't offer any help.

"It's alright, Master. It's all about human effort. Since someone has been able to comprehend it, I still have a chance. The Dao follows nature; when the time is right, it will naturally come to fruition." Ye Fan was very confident in his cultivation, patting his chest as he assured him. "Alright, then I'm relieved. I should probably go now. I feel my body can't hold on much longer. Ye Fan, promise me, if you have the chance in the future, you must return to the Eastern Immortal Realm for a visit. This is my last wish. Goodbye. I hope that when I wake up again, you will have achieved success in your cultivation. Goodbye, child..." The Azure Dragon looked at Ye Fan with longing, its face full of reluctance. It reached out to stroke Ye Fan's tender, youthful face, but its body finally turned into specks of starlight, disappearing little by little into the night sky, and was absorbed into the bronze Bagua with a trace of unwillingness.

"Master..." Watching the Azure Dragon vanish, Ye Fan could no longer control his emotions, shouting hoarsely, his voice piercing the heavens and earth, filled with unbearable sorrow. Ye Fan, who never knelt before heaven or earth, desperately held back his tears, his eyes red, and knelt on the ground with a thud. His hands frantically tried to gather the scattered starlight in the air, but the trembling starlight leaked through his fingers and vanished again. Ye Fan could only kneel helplessly on the ground, his eyes blankly staring at the scattering starlight, his expression devoid of any other emotion than sorrow.

Hearing Ye Fan's piercing cries, Tian Jun and Ge Qiusha, who were chatting, were startled awake and instantly understood what had happened. The two quickly rushed to Ye Fan's side, fearing he might do something irrational. Looking at the starlight scattering across the sky, Tian Jun's eyes reddened, and he immediately knelt down, respectfully kowtowing three times. Qinglong had saved his life and taught him, though he had never acknowledged him as his disciple.

Ge Qiusha, who had just fought alongside him, looked sadly at the vanished Azure Dragon, feeling a pang of envy. He had fulfilled his wish, and his legacy had found a successor. Even in death, he could rest in peace. Moreover, it was merely a period of slumber. For a god, tens of thousands of years was not a long time; a few seclusions would easily amount to more. Looking at the two kneeling figures, Ge Qiusha's mind began to stir. Could she learn from the Azure Dragon? Secretly sensing the strength of her own soul, she realized it was already severely damaged. The forced expenditure of her spiritual power had wounded the very foundation of her soul. Without tens of thousands of years of seclusion, it would be difficult to recover. "It seems Heaven had already made arrangements, otherwise it wouldn't have sent an elemental body to me. Well, I'll make one last contribution to the Millennium Calamity! I hope these two can better protect my people in the future Holy War, and restore peace and tranquility to the Mayan continent," Ge Qiusha murmured to herself.