Origin City was small and old-fashioned. Rather than calling it a small city, it was better to call it a slightly larger town. No one could remember what era it was built in. The reddish-brown city walls were full of traces of the passage of time, many cracks appearing.
As Ye Fan walked through the city, he could feel the accumulation of time, the ancientness of the passage of time. The stone slabs on the streets were all caved in from being stepped on, cultivators coming and going everywhere.
"Little brother, it's your first time in Origin City, right? Do you want to purchase Origin Stones? Come take a look inside our Stone Shop, I guarantee that there will be a strange stone you like."
"Does little daoist need good materials that were transported from the edge of Origin Ancient Mine? The goods are genuine, there is no harm in taking a look."
There were many shops on both sides of the street, selling all types of Origin Stones, enthusiastically greeting the cultivators coming and going.
Ye Fan didn't dare look down on these people. Even though the shops were small, they all had quite the background, having countless connections with the Great Sage's land.
He walked into a stone shop and chatted with the owner. The price of the stones here was ridiculously high.
The Stone Shop wasn't large, just a single room that faced the street. There was only a red sandalwood shelf inside, on it only a dozen or so stones.
Ye Fan was speechless. These stones were worth ten times the Origin Source of the same weight.
"This is just too expensive!"
"These aren't ordinary stones, but precious materials that are to be sent to the holy city. They are contaminated with Origin energy." The owner introduced.
With how expensive they were, what they were gambling on was already not Origin Source, but rather the even more precious things sealed within the stones. After comprehending the Origin Heavenly Book, Ye Fan's eyesight was extraordinary. He only chose a single piece of material, and then didn't take any more.
The gains of gambling on stones here didn't make up for the losses. Things even more precious than Origin Source could only be encountered and not sought after, so how could he randomly see them? The reason he took action was just to get on good terms with the owner.
"Old bro, is there any way? I want to take a look at Origin Ancient Mine." He wanted to go to Origin Ancient Mine, but he encountered trouble.
The mining areas outside Origin Ancient Mine were all divided up by the Great Sage's land. The other areas were still fine, but the regions near the life restricted areas were difficult for outsiders to pass through.
Ye Fan was not a descendant of a Holy Land. If there was no other way, a Rogue Cultivator like him would not be able to pass through those regions.
"I say, little brother, you absolutely cannot go to that place. Even the Great Sage Lords couldn't do anything after entering." Shi Zhai's master advised.
Ye Fan smiled and said, "I'm not going to throw my life away. I just want to watch from afar. I've long heard of Tai Chu's great name, yet I can't see him in person. It truly is a type of regret."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "I completely understand. There are often young people like you who want to observe from afar, but in the end, they can't control themselves. It's as if they were summoned by a demon lord and walked into the depths of the forbidden area. Every year, many people go missing."
"Does that mean there's a way to get to Absolute Beginning?" Ye Fan's eyes lit up.
"Little Daoist, I advise you not to take the risk. Curiosity can really kill you." The owner of the stone house advised him kindly.
"I still have to ask old brother for help. I know the severity of the matter." Ye Fan insisted on going.
"Since that's the case, you should go look for someone called Old Blade Honcho. However, the price isn't cheap, it's quite a scam." The shopkeeper gave Ye Fan this piece of information.
Then, he wandered around this stone city a bit, understanding what kind of person this Old Blade Honcho was.
This was a local tyrant. Of course, he wasn't a ruffian among mortals, but rather a troublemaker among cultivators. His network in this region was quite extensive, and he accepted all types of business, such as escorting Origin Stones, and even assassinations.
Old Blade Honcho lived in the southern part of the city, there were only five short green tiled houses that looked rather shabby.
He didn't have the demeanor of an old tyrant at all, he looked more like a dutiful old farmer. His face was full of wrinkles, one of his hands was rough and calloused. He squatted on the ground, puffing on his tobacco pipe. It was impossible to see the depth of his cultivation.
"Really evil, every year there are people who go to their own death …" Old Blade Honcho mumbled with an almost inaudible voice. Then, he raised his head and looked at Ye Fan, saying, "Let's wait for a few days, gather enough people before we go."
"Old Sir, are these all the business you accepted?" Ye Fan noticed that there were a lot of notices on one of the walls.
"I'm a dutiful man, I won't kill people. These are all entrustment letters, I'm just a middleman, those who want to take a job will come to me to accept the mission." Old Blade Honcho puffed on his tobacco pipe and said, "If you want to take a job, I can also help you contact them. As for the reward, I want to increase it by twenty percent."
Ye Fan casually browsed through them, and his eyebrows suddenly jumped. Some of these missions actually involved him.
He picked up a golden piece of paper, on which his appearance was clearly drawn. Just providing a clue would give him a hundred kilograms of Origin Source, killing him would give him five hundred kilograms, and capturing him alive would give him a thousand kilograms.
This was really a high price, they didn't hesitate to pay a heavy price to drag him out.
The employer didn't hide his identity, it clearly wrote a large character — Ji.
You motherf * cker!
Although Ye Fan was already mentally prepared, he still felt some waves. He escaped to the northern region, but the Ji family still didn't want to let him go, so they issued an arrest warrant.
Yao Guang's people knew that he came to the northern region, so it was impossible that the Ji family didn't know about it.
"I think I've seen this kind of arrest warrant in other cities." Ye Fan probed.
Old Blade Honcho puffed out a mouthful of smoke and said, "He provoked someone he shouldn't have, this kid won't live for long. Many people from the younger generation of the Ji family came, and there are also some youngsters from Yao Guang with them. "
Ye Fan didn't pay attention, he checked other commissioned missions, and saw a few more about him — arrest warrants.
Not only were there the signatures of the top young masters of the Ji family, but there was also an arrest warrant issued by a disciple of Yao Guang.
Ye Fan learned the Great Void Technique and burned the Ji family's Great Supreme Elder to death, so this family wouldn't let him go. Why would a disciple of Yao Guang whom he had never met do this? He immediately thought of Yao Xi, it was probably her idea.
"Arrest me … I'd like to see how you're going to drag me out." Ye Fan sneered in his heart. He cultivated the Book of Source Heaven and could change his aura, making it difficult for the enemy to find him.
"I'd like to see the young masters." Ye Fan's strength had been increasing recently, and he was quite tempted to find some people to test his blade on.
He didn't believe that everyone was like Ji Haoyue and Yao Guang's son. If they were young cultivators in the second or third tier of the Holy Zhi Palace, he felt he could kill them.
"How strong is this Ye Fan? Why are they mobilizing so many people?" Ye Fan asked casually.
"I heard that he was a cultivator in the Sea of Reincarnation half a year ago. In such a short time, he shouldn't have changed too much." Old Blade Honcho blew out a smoke ring, stared at him with his muddy eyes, and said, "Are you interested in taking on this mission? I'll only take 15% of the reward, the rest is yours."
"Okay, I'll take it. Please tell me the details."
Half an hour later, Ye Fan left the Southern District.
"How was it? Did you make the deal? Did you get ripped off by that old thing?" When they passed by the stone house, the owner asked enthusiastically.
"I'll take 25 pounds of Source Stone and we'll leave in two days," Ye Fan answered.
"Although the price is high, I didn't rip you off too much." The owner of the stone house recommended, "Buy a stone coat from me. It's an old stone skin peeled off from the Source Stone. It has the effect of warding off evil."
Wild beasts roared, and a group of people rushed into the Origin City. They were a group of young people, all of them looked to be in their twenties. Their mounts were extraordinary. They were three feet off the ground and rushed through the streets.
Ye Fan rubbed his chin. He was still pondering just now, but he didn't expect to meet people from the Ji family so soon. He didn't want to take the initiative to cause trouble.
Two days later, Ye Fan arrived in front of Old Blade Honcho's shabby tile-roofed house in the Southern District. There were already a dozen people waiting there, most of them were young people.
"It's been half a month, the number of people is finally almost here." Old Blade Honcho held a tobacco pipe in his mouth and said, "Let me make it clear first, I'm only responsible for leading the way. I'm responsible for my own life and death. If I'm really summoned into the old mine, it has nothing to do with me."
These people already knew the rules. No one said anything else and only urged him to go on his way.
"Why bother? What's so good about an old mine? Every year, many people die there." Old Blade Honcho grumbled.
Some people didn't like what he said and said, "I say, old man, can't you say something more festive? It's as if you're cursing us to throw away our lives."
"Alright, I wish us a safe journey!" Old Blade Honcho didn't say anything else. For this mission, he never let others do it, always taking care of it himself.
When they walked out of Origin City, Ye Fan saw those youngsters from the Ji family again. They seemed to be in a hurry, riding on their savage beasts as they galloped away.
Even though those strange beasts' feet didn't touch the ground, the violent winds still stirred up quite a bit of dust and sand, making these people who wanted to enter the Origin Ancient Mine glare at them angrily.
"What is there to be so arrogant about? Do you really think this city is your temporary imperial residence?"
"Shh, lower your voice. Do you know who those people are? They are from the Ji family, they will bring about a great disaster."
A few of the people who rushed out turned their heads around and glared at them. One of them revealed a hint of a sneer and said, "Disaster comes from a loose tongue, control your own mouths." They didn't stop and left as if they were flying.
"Truly … too arrogant. What's so great about the Huanggu family?!" There were some people who were unconvinced, but they only dared to mutter in a low voice after those people left.
Old Blade Honcho was worthy of having walked this path for several decades, actually avoiding the holy land's sealed region, following the secret path to enter.
Everyone walked and stopped from time to time. Ten days later, they made their way through a large uninhabited region, passing through the boundless great desert. Old Blade Honcho brought everyone to the outskirts of the Origin Ancient Mine.
They were already less than a thousand li from the so-called Origin Ancient Mine's border. They arrived outside the legendary Life Restricted Region.
"We can only advance another eight hundred li, or else we will be in danger. You all must control yourselves, don't act rashly, and even more so, don't speak irresponsibly." Old Blade Honcho warned seriously.
There was nothing here. The great earth was scarlet like blood, having been like this since the ancient times. Desolation was the eternal theme.
Sand and gravel covered the ground, the occasional rocky mountain that could be seen was also scarlet like blood, silent like a tombstone.
"This place really is desolate, not even a ghost's shadow can be seen." Someone sighed.
"Don't speak irresponsibly!" Old Blade Honcho angrily berated.
"Is there a need to be like this? There's nothing here, what's there to be afraid of if you speak irresponsibly?" A youngster was very dissatisfied, believing that they were being overly cautious.
Old Blade Honcho continuously muttered, no one knew what he was saying. At the same time, he bowed to the front again and again, only then did he turn his head around and angrily glare at him, shouting, "If you want to die, leave by yourself, don't follow us. Since I am the leader, you must listen to everything I say."
"Old Blade Honcho, aren't you going too far? We paid you the Source, how can you have this kind of attitude?" That youngster was unconvinced, coldly questioning.
"I can return the Source to you, then you can leave by yourself." Old Blade Honcho indifferently replied.
"Forget it, let's all cool down. In any case, we are almost at the destination, let's all talk a bit less." Someone at the side advised.
Old Blade Honcho coldly said, "I am doing this for your own good. Speaking irresponsibly in this region can lead to death."
"Is it that serious?" The people at the side didn't believe him.
Old Blade Honcho coldly snorted and said, "Three years ago, because there was one person in our team who spoke irresponsibly, as a result, he provoked a big disaster. More than twenty people, in the end, only me and two others survived."
"So scary, what happened, the others … all died?" A few more timid people carefully asked.
"No one knows what happened, at that time, all of us were blind, we couldn't sense anything, only heard blood-curdling screams. When we regained our spiritual sense, there were only twenty or so pools of blood on the ground." Old Blade Honcho calmly said.
The vast land was a vast expanse of emptiness, a thousand li of crimson, with no end in sight. Occasionally, sand and dust would roll up.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, all of them were skeptical.
But the youngster just now obviously didn't believe him, he sneered and said, "We are all cultivators, how could we be afraid of demonic ghosts? I believe that as long as we don't enter the forbidden area for life, nothing bad will happen outside. "
"Pa!"
Old Blade Honcho threw a pouch of Source on the ground and said, "You can go, this is your Source, you can't walk together with us anymore."
"Forget it, everyone, don't talk irresponsibly, let's continue forward." Someone advised.
"Alright, I won't talk anymore, okay?" Seeing Old Blade Honcho's serious face, the youngster also felt a bit scared.
"Remember, no one is allowed to talk irresponsibly!" Old Blade Honcho solemnly warned with a gloomy face.
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