Shrouded Sky

Ye Fan had already engraved the image of a three-legged, two-eared round cauldron in his mind. But actually forging the godrunes into a cauldron within his Bitter Sea proved to be extremely difficult. It took him a long time just to fuse the nineteen godrunes together.

Eventually, he melted them into a bead-sized mass, but shaping it into a cauldron remained impossible. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't resemble a cauldron at all.

Ye Fan tried many times. Forget about forming a cauldron, he couldn't even carve a few runes onto it. Forging a cauldron was indeed incredibly hard.

Still, he wasn't anxious. This was only the beginning, and he had plenty of time to refine it. This was destined to be a long and difficult process, not just for him, but likely even harder for others.

As night fell, Ye Fan caught a badger and headed back. Just as he sat down in the little inn, Grandpa Jiang brought out a full table of fragrant dishes.

Little Tingting had changed into a new outfit. Her cheeks were rosy, and her face beamed with a sweet smile, revealing two adorable dimples. Her definition of happiness was simple: as long as she could eat her fill and not be bullied, she was content. And now, she even had new clothes to wear.

"Today, the Li Clan is jumpy as if facing an army, they've gathered a number of strong men and seem to be preparing for something," Grandpa Jiang said at the dinner table.

"What happened?" Ye Fan asked.

"The Li Clan has an old rival who lives dozens of miles away. That Clan also has cultivators among them, and the two clans have long been at odds. The Li Clan suspects it was them who set fire to their caravan of goods. They sent scouts today, but one of their stewards was captured, and the rest were beaten half to death and sent back."

Ye Fan chuckled. "I was planning to stir up more trouble for them, but now it's easier than ever. They'll be too busy watching their backs to suspect anyone else. Let the two families who exploit the townsfolk turn on each other."

After getting the full details, Ye Fan quietly slipped out of the town that night and headed straight for the manor dozens of miles away.

He infiltrated the estate silently. Although that Clan had cultivators, none were home at the moment, essentially leaving it defenseless. After searching for over half an hour, he found someone tightly bound in a woodshed.

"Are you Steward Zhang?"

The man inside had a sharp voice, just as Grandpa Jiang described. He immediately responded, "Yes, that's me. Who are you?"

"Steward Zhang, I'm here to rescue you." Ye Fan walked up and broke his ropes with one twist. "Your young master has returned from Red Mist Grotto-Heaven. This time, he plans to wipe out the Wang Clan."

"What?!" Zhang sounded shocked. "Who are you?"

Ye Fan's voice turned cold. "Calm down. Your young master brought a few of us cultivators back with him. I'm one of them."

"Humble servant greets the Immortal Master!" Even though he could tell Ye Fan was young, the moment he learned he was a cultivator, Zhang dropped to his knees and began kowtowing like a worm.

"No need for that. I have a task for you, listen carefully."

"Please instruct me, Immortal Master!"

"There are several barrels of oil here. Go set fires around the estate. When the fires start, shout loudly and say your young master will wipe out the Wang Clan."

"Won't they catch me and kill me?" At this point, Zhang's only concern was his own life.

"Don't worry. We're watching your back. We want to torment them slowly, let the Wang Clan die in fear."

"Understood! I'll start the fires now, and later I'll join the Immortal Masters in battle!"

Ye Fan patted him on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "You've earned great merit today."

Praised by someone he thought was an immortal, Zhang became feverishly excited. He channeled all the resentment he had from bullying others into his task, grabbing the oil barrels and rushing out.

Ye Fan picked up the broken ropes from the ground and vanished into the night.

Before long, flames erupted across the manor. Four or five locations were ablaze at once. Zhang's shrill voice echoed sharply in the night: "You Wang bastards! I've set fire to your turtle nest! My young master will wipe out your whole clan!"

Chaos erupted. Women screamed, men cursed, and soon people with blades and swords rushed toward Zhang.

Zhang was exhilarated. With immortals backing him, he felt fearless. He lit another four or five fires.

The Wang Clan, seeing this, went wild. They charged at him, swords glinting in the firelight.

Only then did Zhang feel true fear. The "immortals" hadn't appeared. He tried to flee, but it was too late. Just as he turned, a blade struck his neck. Blood gushed, and he died with eyes wide open.

Watching Zhang's death from the shadows, Ye Fan quietly slipped away. But he didn't leave. He used the chaos to light more than a dozen fires. Flames roared high into the sky, lighting up half the heavens.

Only then did Ye Fan finally flee like the wind, vanishing into the darkness.

The next day, word reached Clear Wind Town, throwing the Li Clan into panic.

"The Wang Clan's estate was half-burned down?!"

"What? It was Zhang Shun's doing?!"

"That bastard! Zhang Shun, I'll kill your entire family!"

The Li Clan was thrown into chaos, like ants on a hot pan. They gathered all able-bodied men, preparing for the Wang Clan's retaliation.

The Wang Clan, furious over losing half their estate, immediately burned down the Li Clan's shop in the county and looted all their gold and silver. Then, they assembled their forces and marched on Clear Wind Town.

That day, just outside the town, the two families clashed violently. Blood was spilled. Many were injured or killed. There was nothing left to explain, only blades and blood could settle things now.

By dusk, both sides retreated temporarily. But it was clear this wasn't over. More blood would surely be spilled in the coming days.

That very night, the Wang Clan attacked again, storming Clear Wind Town and setting the Li Clan's property ablaze. If not for prior preparations, the Li estate might have been completely reduced to ashes. Even so, several buildings were destroyed, and no one slept peacefully that night.

The townspeople cheered in private. The Li Clan had long oppressed them. Now that the two bully families were at each other's throats, it was like a dream come true, something they'd never dared hope for.

Grandpa Jiang watched all this unfold and couldn't help showing concern. Ye Fan, seeing this, smiled and said, "Don't worry. These two families are both scum, just dogs tearing each other apart."

The old man nodded but said, "Child, you shouldn't keep doing things like this…"

He worried for Ye Fan. A boy barely twelve years old had incited such chaos with just a few tricks. What if he grew older and walked a darker path?

Ye Fan laughed. "Relax, Grandpa. I never have the heart to harm good people. I only inflict misery and pain to bad people like them."

"The Li Clan's cultivators will probably return soon," the old man said with a sigh, clearly thinking of his own son.

"I thought the same. With everything that's happened, they definitely sent word to Red Mist Grotto-Heaven."

"Even without this, their cultivators would've returned soon."

"Why?" Ye Fan asked, puzzled.

"The Li Clan spends massive amounts on collecting spirit herbs, mainly to supply the few cultivators they have. A while back, it's said that an alchemist found something called a 'source' in an ancient cave deep in the mountains. It's supposed to be incredibly valuable for cultivators."

Ye Fan's heart jolted.

According to ancient texts, during the era when the primal energies of heaven and earth gave birth to all things, vegetation thrived, creatures were powerful, and spiritual herbs were abundant. Many of these herbs condensed into crystalline "sources", amber-like gems brimming with life essence.

Some rare "god-sources" even sealed ancient beings from the beginning of time. When unearthed, they could provide unimaginable vitality.

"They found a source in a mountain cave? The Li Clan just delivered me a gift!" A brilliant smile lit up Ye Fan's face.