Shrouded Sky

The shameless Daoist stood with his hands behind his back, frowning and pacing restlessly. He muttered to himself, "The Demon Emperor truly lives up to his name. He actually created two Tombs, one Yang, one Yin. This... did he leave behind this flaw on purpose?"

The fat Daoist was clearly unsettled. He stared at the distant active volcano, then at the unfathomable black pool in front of him. His brows were knitted so tightly they were practically one. "If I'm not wrong, this Yin Tomb is no small thing. Whoever enters it... dies."

"But didn't you come out just fine, Daoist?" Ye Fan chimed in from the side.

"Are you trying to piss me off on purpose?" The shameless Daoist looked at Ye Fan with obvious disdain. "You little brat, why not go down there yourself and keep the Demon Emperor company?"

"Come on, Daoist, don't take it out on me. This really isn't my fault."

"Sigh..." The Daoist plopped to the ground, deeply dejected. "I may have discovered a heaven-shaking secret, but I can't get into the Yin Tomb. I'm certain it's rigged with a fatal killing formation. If I had gone all the way to the bottom of the black pool and entered the hidden palace... I'd probably be dead by now."

"So that means the Eastern Wilderness's supreme treasure, the Desolate Tower, is down in that Yin Tomb under the black pool?" Ye Fan asked from a boulder nearby, keeping some distance to avoid being caught in the Daoist's bad mood. "No wonder those five bigshots couldn't find the Desolate Tower, it's suppressed down here."

The Daoist didn't respond. Instead, he sank into deep thought, sketching calculations and formations on the ground. He seemed to be deducing the connections between the Yang and Yin Tombs. In the end, he sighed heavily and looked defeated. "I missed the supreme treasure, but stumbled on this earth-shaking Yin Tomb... yet I can't enter. It's regret and frustration all at once!"

"Aren't there five great figures up there?" Ye Fan gestured toward the five top experts hovering above the volcano.

"Even if they go in, they might not come out alive. This is a death trap! The Yang Tomb was a decoy left by the Demon Emperor, meant to pass on the demon race's treasures and his power to future generations. But this Yin Tomb... this is where he truly rests. It's sacred, not to be disturbed. The exposure of the Yang Tomb was just a ploy to conceal the Yin Tomb. Or maybe it had other purposes too. Yin and Yang in balance, embracing hamony, so profound…" He looked both awed and bitter. "Unless someone has the Eastern Wilderness' supreme treasure, even the most powerful beings couldn't stabilize the Yin Tomb. Without it, it will vanish beneath the Eastern Wilderness, like a dragon returning to the sea, leaving no trace."

"So the Desolate Tower is that amazing? It can stabilize the Demon Emperor's Yin Tomb and is stronger than even supreme cultivators?" Ye Fan was visibly shocked.

"Of course!" the Daoist said, eyes gleaming with longing. "It's said that the Desolate Tower has existed since time immemorial. No one knows what era it came from. But there's nothing in this world it can't suppress!"

"Is it really that terrifying?"

With a wistful look, the fat Daoist said, "Throughout history, the question of whether immortals exist has remained unanswered. But every legend of immortals in the Eastern Wilderness is connected to the Desolate Tower."

"What do you mean?" Ye Fan looked surprised.

"According to ancient records, there have been several instances where so-called 'immortals' appeared in the Eastern Wilderness. Each time, without exception, they were suppressed, killed, by the Desolate Tower!"

"No way. That powerful?" Ye Fan was stunned. Whether immortals truly existed was still debated, but one thing was certain: if they did, they were far beyond any mortal cultivator. And yet even they couldn't resist the Tower's suppression?

"Of course it's that terrifying. Otherwise, why do you think all these top-tier figures are here? I expect that soon, even the Overlords of Sacred Grounds will show up. The Eastern Wilderness is vast. Some received the news late, but once they hear, they'll carve Dao Runes to traverse the void and arrive instantly."

"So what exactly is the Desolate Tower? How can it be so exceptional?" Ye Fan couldn't stay calm.

"Legend says that before even the first life was born in the Eastern Wilderness, the Tower already existed. Its origins are a total mystery."

"What a shame. You had a treasure in your hands and threw it away like trash." Ye Fan shook his head dramatically, deliberately provoking him.

The Daoist's face turned an ugly shade of green, darker than the copper itself. "If it weren't for you, I'd already have it!"

"Come on, Daoist, that's not fair. You were the one who tossed it aside. Such a pity about that Desolate Tower…"

"Who told you it was the Desolate Tower? When did I ever say that piece of green copper was the Eastern Wilderness's supreme treasure?"

Ye Fan blinked. "Then why were you so desperate over it? It's just a chunk of copper, right? I didn't think it was related to the Tower at all."

"What do you know, you little brat? Not worth explaining to you!" The Daoist was clearly furious and didn't want to say anything more about the copper.

Although Ye Fan looked like an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy, he was actually over twenty-five. Being called a brat made him bristle. He muttered under his breath, "I'll 'gaofei' you!"

"Who are you 'gaofei'-ing?" the Daoist asked, confused.

"I'm gaofei-ing you!" Ye Fan replied, thoroughly annoyed.

"What the hell does that even mean? Get lost." The Daoist turned away and stared blankly at the black pool.

"Daoist, since you're not going into the Yin Tomb, and you've got time to kill, why not tell me what that green copper really is? I mean, I was the one who threw it away…"

"You've got some nerve!" The Daoist's eyes turned red with rage.

"So it really was something extraordinary, huh? I'd bet it's just a hair below the Desolate Tower…" Ye Fan was clearly egging him on, not pushing too far but still poking at the wound.

"You little runt, playing mind games with me, I won't tell you a damn thing!" The Daoist turned his back on him.

"Daoist, that's not cool. You snatched three sentient weapons from me, and now when I ask one simple question, you clam up…"

The Daoist wanted to strangle him on the spot. "Even if you gave me ten, a hundred, a thousand sentient weapons, it still wouldn't make up for that green copper you tossed!"

"You don't need to be so bitter. I only tossed it into the pond by accident. If you'd just told me earlier it was a treasure…"

Looking at this annoying eleven-year-old yammering on, the Daoist grew increasingly agitated. In the end, he nearly burst into tears. He looked down at his hands, regret all over his face. Why had he been so careless? Why hadn't he kept it?

"Amitabha, damn the heavens!" He exhaled heavily. "Enough with your whining. Be quiet!"

"Sigh." Ye Fan gave an exaggerated sigh and shook his head. But inside, he was thrilled. In just a few minutes, he'd successfully driven the shameless Daoist to despair and completely vented his own frustrations.

But as Ye Fan stopped talking, the Daoist spoke up again on his own. He sounded full of regret. "Who says that scrap copper is inferior to the Desolate Tower? Tens of thousands of years ago, it nearly overturned the entire Eastern Wilderness."

"Woah... for real?" Ye Fan asked, feigning innocence.

"Yes. When the Desolate Tower was lost, things stayed relatively calm. But that piece of green copper threw the Eastern Wilderness into total chaos."

"If the Desolate Tower can kill immortals and suppress all things, it's already the ultimate treasure. Are you saying the green copper is even stronger?"

The Daoist looked listless. "That green copper came from Heartlands. When it went missing, every overlord in Heartlands came looking for it. They nearly overturned the Eastern Wilderness, the Southern Ridge, the Western Desert, and the Northern Reaches. It was a catastrophe!"

Ye Fan gasped. He knew full well how vast Heartlands was, far bigger than the Eastern Wilderness. Even with divine rainbows, crossing it was nearly impossible. The only way to travel such distances was to carve Dao Patterns across mountains and earth, using them to form Heavenly Might and teleport across space.

It was said that Heartlands was full of primordial relics, with abundant spirit energy and countless powerful cultivators. It was a mysterious and flourishing land of legends.

"Who had the guts to provoke all of Heartlands's top masters?"

"The last Emperor of the Eastern Wilderness's demon race, of course. He brought unimaginable trouble to the human clans of the East!"

"So the Demon Emperor was that strong… stirring up chaos across all regions. He was truly a legendary figure."

The Daoist rolled his eyes. "Didn't that occur to you already? How else could he have unified the demon races and founded an immortal empire?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment, then asked, "How do you know the green copper came from Heartlands? And what exactly is it?"