Stealing the Secret from the Cover of Heaven

Chapter 401: Yearning for Life
The Northern Region Divine City is still as majestic as ever. Its city walls are like mountains, majestic and magnificent. Energy from all directions converges here, making the Divine City look like a dream.

Even in the mountains and forests outside the city, there were colorful clouds and spiritual mists floating in the air. The ancient beasts in the mountains and forests all had powerful auras, adding a sense of heaviness to the divine city.

Entering the Divine City again after many years, Li Zhi could still feel the magnificence of the Divine City, especially the Dragon Pool in the city. Spiritual springs gushed out and waves rippled, as if the essence of heaven and earth was liquefied. Moreover, the laws of heaven and earth were intertwined, and dragon energy was rolling, no longer dry as it was in the past.

As the heaven and earth revived, the divine city, which was originally a treasure land, evolved into a paradise on earth.

It looks like a fairy city left by the ancient emperor of heaven on earth.

The divine city is more prosperous than ever before. Inside the major palaces and restaurants, the music of stringed instruments is melodious and the place is bustling with activity.

The stone archways of all sizes in the city were crowded with tourists. Li Zhi even saw many monks from outside the region gambling on stones in the stone archways.

There were also many small vendors setting up stalls along the street, talking eloquently about how to make a fortune by gambling on stones, and even citing Ye Fan's record in the Divine City as an example.

As the sixth generation Yuan Tianshi of Donghuang, Ye Fan’s portraits are hung all over the stone archways in the Divine City.

They almost worshipped Ye Fan as the ancestor of the source art lineage.

Most gamblers will worship Ye Fan's portrait before cutting the stone, praying for good luck, and then cut the stone.

After taking a look at the business of the major stone shops, Li Zhi discovered that it did not seem to become depressed with the recovery of heaven and earth. In fact, because the road to immortality was about to open, the stones in the major stone shops that had been unable to be sold due to high prices were all cut by wealthy customers.

In particular, the stones produced near the Taichu ancient mine are the most popular, and almost every piece that comes along is cut into pieces.

Although there were no more precious treasures such as immortal gold and magical medicine, many top-level treasures were also produced.

Of course, as the stone became in short supply, the price naturally soared, causing many big stone gamblers to suffer heavy losses.

After Li Zhi took a tour around the sacred city, he came to the stone archway of Daoyi Holy Land.

Li Zhi, the old Taoist guarding the stone archway, knew him. He was already a great immortal in his day. Now, with the revival of heaven and earth, he succeeded in cutting off the Dao and became a king.

It may be that he does not have enough potential. Now he is only at the middle stage of the king. If he can cultivate to the great king level in the future, it will be the peak level he can achieve in his lifetime.

After seeing Li Zhi's true face, the old Taoist immediately went up to him, but a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

When Li Zhi first came to Daoyi Stone Square, he was still a teenager, but now he has grown to a height that their ancestors could only reach.

"Little Lord, I am honored to meet you." The old Taoist took the lead in greeting Li.

"Old senior, there is no need for such a generous gift. It is an honor to me. You can just call me Changshou." Li Zhi quickly returned the greeting.

"Master Changshou, please come in." After hearing that Li Zhi did not want to join their Daoyi Holy Land, the old Taoist welcomed Li Zhi to the Three Saints Temple in the stone archway.

"Old senior, I wonder how Daoist Fellow Yuchen is doing these days." After entering the Three Saints Temple, Li Zhi asked about Saint Maiden Daoyi.

After returning from the ancient trial road outside the domain, Li Zhi had not heard any legends about Saint Daoyi in the Central Domain, nor did he know what level of cultivation she had reached.

"After traveling in the mortal world for more than a hundred years, the Saint returned to the holy land to go into seclusion. She has not been out for fifty years." The old Taoist knew the relationship between his Saint and Li Zhi, so he did not hide it and told him some things about Saint Daoyi.

After Saint Daoyi separated from Li Zhi, she began her journey of seeking the truth in the world, and did not deliberately improve her cultivation during this period.

In this way, she spent more than a hundred years in the world.

Even after all the Daos revived and the essence of heaven and earth returned, the little Taoist nun Yu Chen did not return to the holy land to improve her cultivation, but continued to travel in the mortal world.

Her journey in the mortal world took her more than a hundred years. Only after she had almost measured the entire five regions of Beidou did she return to the Daoyi Holy Land.

At that time, most of the geniuses of her generation who were still alive had already become saints.

But the little Taoist nun Yuchen doesn't even have the ability to kill.

She returned to Daoyi Holy Land with the cultivation level of the second great perfection of the immortal realm.

So much so that when she reappeared in Daoyi Holy Land, the higher-ups of the holy land thought that she was useless and unfit to shoulder the responsibility of Daoyi Holy Land.

However, after the Taoist nun Yu Chen returned to the Daoyi Holy Land, she broke through the realm after only a few days of rest and succeeded in cutting off the Dao. Even when she succeeded in cutting off the Dao, no strange phenomena appeared between heaven and earth.

It was as if he was just an ordinary little Taoist monk.

But after she killed Dao, the aura of Dao emanating from her body shocked everyone in Daoyi Holy Land.

When facing the young Taoist nun Yuchen, they seemed to see a real Taoist female deity.

Later, the young Taoist nun Yuchen entered the Patriarch's Hall to practice, and directly resonated with the ancient tablet of the Heavenly Venerable. She then obtained the "Infinite Sutra of the Great Way" left by the Infinite Heavenly Venerable, which the Daoyi Holy Land had longed for.

Afterwards, the cultivation level of the Taoist nun Yuchen increased rapidly as if she had been given a cheat code.

After Saint Daoyi returned to the holy land, it took her only more than ten years to complete the king-level practice and break through to the saint realm in one fell swoop, almost one small level a year. The speed was so fast that even the ancestors of the Daoyi holy land were shocked.

But after checking, they found that Saint Daoyi's foundation was very solid, without any superficiality.

After she entered the realm of saints, her progress in cultivation showed no signs of slowing down. She was able to break through a small realm almost every three to five years. Five years ago, she successfully survived the Saint King calamity outside the realm. Now, she is already a cultivator in the second realm of Saint King.

Moreover, her cultivation speed still showed no signs of slowing down. It seemed that her journey in the secular world that lasted for more than a hundred years had allowed her to accumulate a foundation that was unimaginable to others.

The ancestors of Daoyi Holy Land unanimously concluded that the cultivation of little Taoist Nun Yuchen would not encounter any bottlenecks before she reached the ninth level of perfection of the Saint King.

For her safety, and also for Daoyi Holy Land to be able to survive the turmoil that is bound to come.

The little Taoist nun Yuchen was left in seclusion at the ancient monument of Tianzun in the ancestral hall to practice, and she would not be allowed to come into the world until the turmoil on her path to immortality dissipated.

After listening to the old Taoist's introduction, Li Zhi immediately took out a jade talisman and asked him to pass it to the young Taoist nun Yuchen.

With the ancient monument of Tianzun, Li Zhi didn't worry that she would be eaten by the Supreme of the Forbidden Zone as material to replenish her life energy in the upcoming dark turmoil.

Although the ancient stele of Tianzun is not an imperial weapon, its ability to block the secrets of heaven is no weaker than that of an imperial weapon. The ancient stele used by Tianzun to preach the Tao has its own magical features.

"Old senior, I still have things to do, so I'll take my leave now."

Afterwards, Li Zhi said goodbye to the old Taoist priest, and left all the instructions for Saint Daoyi in the jade talisman.

After leaving Daoyi Stone Archway, Li Zhi came to Jijia Stone Archway.

He did not wander around the periphery, but went directly into the last stone garden of the Ji family stone workshop.

The last stone garden has a beautiful environment and is filled with various exotic trees. When the breeze blows, petals fall in all directions and the fragrance is refreshing. There are hills of source stones piled up everywhere.

Li Zhixing walked inside the stone workshop, observing each piece of stone.

Unfortunately, even with his great sage supernatural powers, he was unable to locate the exact whereabouts of the stone that sealed the spirit of the Chengxian Cauldron.

It seems that the immortal source that seals the spirit of the divine baby is extraordinary. I wonder if it was sealed by the emperor himself.

Li Zhi was not in a hurry when he didn't find the stone. Everyone has his own expertise. When it came to locking down the stone that sealed the spirit of the artifact, Ye Fan, who had surpassed previous generations of Yuan Tianshi, was more professional.

Of course, if Li Zhi was willing to use violent stone cutting and take away all the stones in the entire stone garden without leaving a single piece behind, he would be able to find that stone.

However, he did not do so because it might lead to unexpected events and even cause causal relations with the Emperor.

Even though the Emperor performs rather poorly in front of Ye Fan, apart from Ye Fan, the Emperor is simply a director-level figure who can cover the sky with one hand.

Strictly speaking, the Emperor is much more difficult and dangerous than the Immortal Emperor.

He is the first person after Emperor Huangtian to successfully establish the Heavenly Palace in this world.

Later generations, whether it was the Immortal Emperor, the Beginningless Emperor, or the Ruthless Emperor, all failed to successfully establish the Heavenly Palace.

In front of the Emperor, the Immortal Emperor is just a young man with good talents.

Rather than saying that the Emperor died at the hands of Ye Fan in the end, it would be better to say that he died due to the plot.

Strictly speaking, the heaven built by Ye Fan is not as good as the mythical ancient heaven of Emperor Zun in terms of structure. Of course, Emperor Zun's fate was not strong enough, and the heaven he built finally collapsed.

But on the other hand, his life was strong enough that he managed to survive after the collapse of heaven.

You know, in this ancient history, anyone who was able to establish the Heavenly Palace was a gifted being, but they all ended up badly.

Except for Emperor Huang Tian and Emperor Ye Tian, ​​all other people who established the Heavenly Palace died in the end.

Even if a quasi-immortal emperor established the heaven, he would die in the end.

Even the heavenly palace established by Emperor Huang Tian and Emperor Ye Tian collapsed after a period of time.

The Heavenly Palace is almost a real taboo in this ancient history. It seems that there is a great cause and effect in the dark that does not allow the emergence of such an organization that will forever rule over all living beings.

On the second day after entering the Ji family stone garden, Li Zhi suddenly heard noisy exclamations coming from outside.

A group of people were shouting there, as if they had seen their idol, which immediately caused a sensation.

"Hey, who is that person? Why does he look similar to the person in the painting? Oh my god, could it be that the ancestor has appeared in spirit?"

"Grandmaster, please give us some energy. We kowtow to you every day and burn three sticks of incense a day!"

After hearing such voices, Li Zhi looked up and saw Ye Fan surrounded by a group of people. He was as dazzling as a superstar surrounded by fans.

Amid the crowd's onlookers, Ye Fan passed through more than a dozen courtyards and came directly to the No. 1 Divine Garden in the Ji Family Stone Garden.

"Master Yuan is here, everyone please get out of the way quickly and let the master give us guidance and blessings!" People kept shouting along the way to make way for Ye Fan. The scene was quite spectacular. Seeing Ye Fan's embarrassed look made Li Zhi happy in his heart.

With Ye Fan's arrival, this usually quiet Tianzihao Stone Garden suddenly became crowded with people, and a steady stream of people rushed to the Ji family stone workshop after receiving the news.

At one point, the monks of the Ji family who were guarding the stone archway felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and even the gate of the stone archway was squeezed down.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, what are you doing..." An old man from the Ji family who was in charge of guarding the stone archway came to Ye Fan and asked with a suspicious look, fearing that Ye Fan was here to cause trouble.

"I just came by to take a look and cut a piece of stone." Ye Fan said, not wanting to embarrass the old man.

But as soon as these words were spoken, they caused a sensation.

Who is Ye Fan? He is the sixth generation Yuan Tianshi. Things that he values ​​are naturally extraordinary.

"Could it be that there is still elixir of immortality or immortal gold in this stone garden?"

Many people recalled Ye Fan’s past achievements in the Divine City and immediately felt their blood boiling.

There were even quite a few cultivators who immediately began to select stones from the Ji family's No. 1 Stone Garden, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make some bargains.

Finally, after cutting the stone, many people cried out that they had been cheated.

But Ye Fan ignored them and began to look for the whereabouts of the Stone King under the guidance of the old man of the Ji family.

After Yuan Tian used his magical powers to turn stone into gold, he finally located a piece of broken stone over one meter high in the small lake.

The stone is earth-gray in color and looks unremarkable on the outside. There are many cracks on it, and it is almost falling apart. There are even transparent holes in the front and back. Anyone would regard it as waste stone and it is impossible for it to contain any magical treasures.

However, under Ye Fan's guidance of the source technique, the stone burst out with astonishing momentum, and even emanated a kind of holy power, causing everyone to retreat quickly.

At the same time, as Ye Fan began to break the stone, a kind of original energy leaked out from the stone, and wisps of chaos filled the air, looking mysterious.

Seeing this, Li Zhi instantly appeared beside Ye Fan, opened his third eye and stared at the broken stone.

"Li Zhi, why are you here?" Ye Fan was slightly surprised when he saw Li Zhi. He didn't expect that Li Zhi would appear here.

"Don't worry about me for now. Ye Fan, start cutting the stone. We'll talk after you finish cutting the stone." Li Zhi urged, staring at the stone with anticipation.

As Ye Fan gradually peeled off the outer layer of the stone, the stone finally showed its extraordinary qualities.

First, a terrifying chaotic energy erupted, like the thick chaotic energy that appears when a small world is born.

Then, nine-colored rays of light burst out again. Li Zhi felt quite familiar with them. He felt that those lights were somewhat similar to the lights on the human-shaped elixir of immortality.

Afterwards, there was an even more terrifying spectacle of flying fairies. One emperor after another stood side by side, overlooking the eternity in an illusory fairyland, as if recreating the grand scene of the coexistence of all the emperors in the ancient heaven in mythology.

After layer after layer of shocking wonders disappeared, Ye Fan finally released the immortal source that was sealed into the spirit of the immortal cauldron.

The huge fairy source was as bright as the sun, so bright that people couldn’t open their eyes.

However, it had no effect on Li Zhi. He saw a chubby white boy in the fairyland. He was about three or four years old. He was chubby and round, and he was very cute lying naked inside.

After seeing the little fat man in the fairyland, Ye Fan was a little dazed, as if he had not recovered from the shock just now.

However, Li Zhi seemed to have seen an incredible treasure. He stared at the little fat boy and observed him constantly, even using the Great Sage's divine consciousness to observe his condition inside and out.

He kept muttering, "Life is such a miracle. He is no different from a normal child."

"Li Zhi, do you know his origins?" Ye Fan asked hurriedly after hearing Li Zhi's muttering.

"This is the choice of life, and also the yearning for life and freedom. His existence allows me to see the right path to immortality." Li Zhi said in a mysterious voice, and he was in no mood to explain anything for Ye Fan.

That kind of excitement made the little fat man in Xianyuan feel scared, as if Li Zhi was a mad scientist who was going to put him on the experimental table for dissection.

The little fat man wanted to control the fairy source to escape, but was suppressed by Li Zhi.

Through his divine sense, Li Zhi saw the fat man's immortal platform, and of course his memories, but Li Zhi had no interest in his memories.

Instead, he developed a strong interest in his body structure. His immortal platform was pure and flawless, like a fairyland. It was the purest immortal platform among all the creatures Li Zhi had ever seen, without a trace of worldly air or a speck of dust.

Every inch of his flesh and blood seemed to contain terrifying runes of the Great Dao. Upon careful observation, Li Zhi felt his heart tremble with fear.

Apart from this, his life form is no different from that of a normal creature.

His level of spiritual awareness is almost the same as that of normal creatures.

Li Zhi seemed to see in him an impulse that came from the instinct of life.

If he is still the spirit of the Chengxian Cauldron, then he is an immortal being.

However, a life that could have lived forever gave up the chance of immortality and chose to struggle in the world of mortals.

This instinctive pursuit of freedom and desire for life evolution reveals the true meaning of life.

As the spirit of the Chengxian Cauldron, although he can gain eternal life, he cannot grow and evolve freely like normal life.

Only by breaking free from the fate of being an instrument can he have the possibility of moving into a broader world on the road of evolution.

Just like the ancestral fish fry that Emperor Huang Tian encountered in a foreign sea waterfall during the chaotic ancient times, they swam upstream to break free from the shackles of fate, and they would rather pay a heavy price for it.

Perhaps this is the true meaning of life.

Life's yearning and pursuit for free growth is endless.

Only by constantly fighting against the so-called fate can we gain the freedom to evolve in life.

Looking at Li Zhi who was like a madman in front of the fairyland, Ye Fan felt extremely surprised. He had never seen Li Zhi behave in such an "inappropriate" way before.

It was not until the Great Sage Hun Tuo came to recognize him as his relative that Li Zhi woke up from his delirious state and returned the little fat boy sealed in the fairyland to Ye Fan.

"Li Zhi, tell me about his background." Ye Fan asked hurriedly.

The Great Sage Hun Tuo, who originally wanted to "recognize his relatives", also stared at Li Zhi with a strange look on his face, as if he also wanted to know the origins of this little ancestor.

(End of this chapter)