Upon arriving at the glacier, Mu Chen Dong asked Ye Fan, "Boss, why did you bring us to this barren land?"
Ye Fan replied, "To find a friend, of course!"
"Find a friend? I get it. You’re saying you don’t want to get your hands dirty, so you want us to do it for you!" Wu Fa asked, thinking himself clever.
Just then, Ye Fan gave him a sharp flick on the head that almost brought Wu Fa to tears. The Boss’s method of teaching was truly one of a kind.
"A true friend," Ye Fan clarified, "or rather, the partner least likely to betray me. A brother!"
"Oh?" The two looked at Ye Fan with curiosity.
At that moment, Ye Fan called out, "Little guy, I’m here! How have you been?"
His voice boomed, covering the entire glacial expanse.
Suddenly, a small creature emerged from the glacier, wagging its tail as it ran toward Ye Fan.
"What a cute little bear!" Mu Chen Dong said with a laugh. At that moment, however, the Grassland Bear bared its fangs.
Mu Chen Dong laughed again. "Quite the temper! This bear is so adorable. I never expected the Boss to be someone who likes keeping pets!"
But just as he finished speaking, the Grassland Bear exhaled a breath of Cold Ice Qi, instantly freezing him solid. Mu Chen Dong could never have imagined that he would be encased in ice in a mere instant.
Wu Fa laughed, and so did Ye Fan.
"I told you not to provoke it," Ye Fan said. "You just had to, and now you’re facing the music!"
Ye Fan went over and hugged the Grassland Bear, which nuzzled him affectionately. As for Wu Fa, he wickedly strolled over and kicked Mu Chen Dong’s frozen form, sending it toppling over.
"Third Brother, I’ll get you for this!" Mu Chen Dong’s furious voice echoed from within the ice. There was nothing he could do. With such a mischievous friend, he really couldn’t handle it.
The Grassland Bear’s cultivation had greatly improved, and it had now stepped into the ranks of Divine Beasts. Ye Fan knew that if he took it to the Divine Domain, it would surely become a Divine Beast that could awe the entire realm.
From then on, the trio gained another companion: the Grassland Bear, though it wasn’t particularly friendly toward Mu Chen Dong. Consequently, these were miserable days for him. He had tried to bribe the Grassland Bear with meat, only to be bitten again. As it turned out, the bear didn’t eat meat.
The three men and the Grassland Bear arrived at Taishan.
This was the progenitor of all mountains, the home of the gods. All mythological origins were connected to Taishan. Ye Fan had visited this place more than once, reaching its peak time and again, even achieving breakthroughs here. Just when he thought he had thoroughly understood Taishan, he realized he had never truly grasped it. The mountain’s secrets were simply too numerous.
The trio and the Grassland Bear entered Taishan unhindered. They circled the entire mountain but still found nothing.
At that point, Mu Chen Dong said to Ye Fan, "Boss, could that old geezer have tricked us? We haven’t found a single thing!"
"Don’t be so hasty," Ye Fan replied. "I think my little buddy should have the final say here!"
He then turned to the Grassland Bear. "Go! Find the Array for me!"
Instantly, the Grassland Bear sprang into action. Soon, thanks to its keen sensitivity to ice and snow, it located the Array.
"Break the Array!"
Wu Fa and Mu Chen Dong were about to rush forward to find a weak point and shatter it.
But Ye Fan stopped them. "No need for all that trouble!"
With a single slash of his sword, the Array shattered. The two were speechless. The Boss was still the Boss, handling things with such terrifying violence.
Ye Fan declared proudly, "If it can be solved with brute force, don’t waste time!"
"Boss, watch out!" the two shouted.
Ye Fan turned just in time to see a massive avalanche thundering down toward him.
"Damn it!"
Before he could get out of the way, he was buried by the endless snow. The unfortunate Ye Fan staggered to his feet, looking a mess. His two companions burst into hearty laughter. They had tried not to, but seeing Ye Fan’s pathetic state, they simply couldn’t hold it in.
Ye Fan calmly brushed the snow off himself, then turned to them. "Come over here. I have something to discuss with you."
"What is it, Boss?" they asked, curiously walking over.
BANG!
SMACK!
The next moment, the two of them were lying in the snow with bruised faces, on the verge of tears. The vast expanse of white reflected their current mood perfectly.
"Damn, that felt good!" Ye Fan shook his head. It had been a long time since he’d felt this satisfied. Those two were just asking for a beating by walking right into his line of fire. He couldn’t be blamed.
The Array was broken, revealing an entirely new world. But as soon as he stepped into this space, Ye Fan felt an extremely powerful presence.
"A Divine General!" Ye Fan exclaimed in shock.
"What?" The other two were just as stunned. They had never expected a Divine General to be hidden here.
"I understand now," Ye Fan said. "The Ancestor of Tianyuan is immensely powerful, so how could his disciple be weak? It seems we have a real fight on our hands today."
"Stay sharp. This person is already awake. He woke up the moment we broke the Array. He’s most likely targeting us right now!"
Hearing this, Mu Chen Dong and Wu Fa didn’t dare to be careless. They knew full well how fearsome a Divine General was. Although a Divine General’s realm was not as high as a Main God’s, their power was still immense. In the Divine Domain, a Divine General was at least the Controller of a city, or even an entire region. At that moment, they cast aside any trace of arrogance and followed Ye Fan closely.
Indeed, this had become a hunt. Ye Fan led the way, with the Grassland Bear, Mu Chen Dong, and Wu Fa each guarding a flank. They were all sensing the Divine General’s aura.
Ye Fan repeatedly used his spiritual power to scour the space, but power emanated from all directions. Clearly, this person was no fool; he was an expert at concealing himself. Ye Fan felt multiple forces approaching.
Finally, in the snowy lands ahead, a surging force hidden within the white snow came rushing toward them.
"Returning to the Sect Sword!" Ye Fan shouted.
The Yuanhong Sword surged upward and clashed with the threat in the snow, causing a massive explosion before everything fell silent again.
"The other side!"
Sure enough, three forces attacked at once. Mu Chen Dong and Wu Fa blocked one, Ye Fan took another, and the Grassland Bear intercepted the third.
"Ah!"
Mu Chen Dong and Wu Fa cried out as a bloody mist erupted from their bodies. Their target had been real, and they had been wounded.
"Where do you think you’re going!" Ye Fan shouted, brandishing the Yuanhong Sword as he charged forward. The Grassland Bear started to follow but was called back by Ye Fan to protect the seriously injured Mu Chen Dong and Wu Fa.
He pursued the fleeing presence to the top of the snowy mountain.
Just as he was about to lose the trail, he struck down with his sword. A massive explosion tore the mountaintop apart.
Amidst the blizzard, a figure emerged. It was an old Daoist with a hunched back who looked frail and withered, yet his power was formidable. In Ye Fan’s view, this person’s strength was profound. He was undoubtedly the Hidden Shark Taoist.
"Fellow Daoist," the old man said to Ye Fan, "you have already taken the Yuanhong Sword. Why do you still pursue me? Won’t you leave me a path to survival?"
"I have two main reasons why I absolutely will not let you go!" Ye Fan replied.
"And what might those be?" the Daoist asked.
"First," Ye Fan continued, "you are strong enough to go to the Divine Domain, yet you remain in this world. If I were to leave, you would surely bring destruction upon it. For that reason, I cannot let you leave this place alive!"
"Since you hunted me down, you must know my circumstances," the Daoist said. "And if you know them, you should realize that with this sinful body of mine, I can no longer enter the Divine Domain. Where would I find refuge there? My master’s subordinates alone would never spare me!"
"I am in this world simply to hide from disaster. Please, spare my life. Let’s just go our separate ways!"
"Since you’ve put it so plainly," Ye Fan said, "there’s no need for me to state the second reason. You already know it perfectly well."
"You have committed too many wrongs. I will eliminate you, this scourge, on behalf of the Ancestor of Tianyuan. Make your move! If you want to leave here alive today, you’ll have to defeat me!" Ye Fan had already drawn his sword.
"Your strength is great, especially for someone so young. The world of the future will surely be yours. But right now, compared to me, you are still too weak."
"I have broken through six major realms, while you have only broken through five. You are no match for me. Even if you fight with all your might, the most you could do is seriously wound me, at the cost of your own life!"
"Since we’re in the same boat, why must you make things so difficult for me? You have your own path to walk, so why bother an old man?"
"Enough talk," Ye Fan sneered. "Let’s see what you can really do!"