Chapter 2096 - 2092: The Method of Mastery

Ye Fan had been together with Lan Jing the whole time.

Even though Ye Fan could also feel that the heavenly tribulation was about to descend, he still didn’t stop what he was doing. He liked Lan Jing’s gentleness, and he liked the calm ease right before his eyes.

But in the end, the heavenly tribulation still arrived uninvited. This was also the thing Ye Fan was most worried about in his heart. He closed his eyes, sensing the energy being generated in the universe that did not belong to the universe itself, and he felt an immense anxiety inside.

Lan Jing asked, "Ye Fan, are you okay?"

"Lan Jing, we’d better stop for now. You may need to come with me to see someone first!" Ye Fan said.

"Who?" Lan Jing looked very curious. "Is it Sister Zhao Jun, or someone close to you?"

Ye Fan said, "Come with me. Once we get there, you’ll naturally understand."

Ye Fan took Lan Jing and left Earth, heading straight into the Pan Gu secret realm. At this moment, signs of the heavenly tribulation were already beginning to appear within the Pan Gu secret realm. Thunderclouds were rolling, and the entire realm was being drenched in a torrential downpour. The rainwater was filled with tremendously powerful energy. This storm was like a flood pouring down, as if it meant to drown the entire Pan Gu secret realm afterward.

But Ye Fan didn’t bother with these ominous signs of disaster; he insisted on seeing someone first. That person was Zhuo Junwu.

Ye Fan had temporarily imprisoned Zhuo Junwu inside the Pan Gu secret realm. When he appeared before Zhuo Junwu, Zhuo Junwu was still in a near-meditative state. Ye Fan loosened part of the restriction, and only then did Zhuo Junwu raise his head, answering Ye Fan with a cold sneer: "What, Ye Fan, are you scared?"

"Should I be calling you Zhuo Junwu, or Li Yunhuo?" Ye Fan asked.

Zhuo Junwu sneered. "Call me whatever you like. The heavenly tribulation has already arrived, hasn’t it? This is the end you deserve. You know perfectly well that the heavenly tribulation was born from the arrogance of the ancient cultivators. Even without the ancient cultivators, the tribulation will still continue. The next tribulation will be aimed at you. If you can accept the recruitment of the upper-layer creators, then you will no longer be merely a target of the heavenly tribulation—your very self will become the tribulation... You will uphold this order on behalf of those upper-layer creators!"

"Save that bullshit for a three-year-old!" Ye Fan said with clear disdain. "You’re nothing but a tool used by the upper-layer creators. You’ve already gone completely deranged. Did you really think I’d believe this crap? Even if I joined the heavenly tribulation’s faction, my cultivation would be heavily limited. When the next tribulation comes, I still wouldn’t be able to control my own life. So why not fight for myself just once? I didn’t come to discuss this with you. You know I will never accept those so-called ’best offers’ of yours!"

Zhuo Junwu closed his eyes, looking very annoyed. "Then why did you come?"

"I want to know one thing: why does the heavenly tribulation’s faction continue to exist? I mean... aside from you, are there any other forces out there?" Ye Fan asked insistently.

"You’re asking me that—how am I supposed to answer? When the tribulation comes, you might succeed, but I will definitely fail. I’ll die, so I won’t struggle. As for what you want to know, you’d better explore it yourself. I have no obligation to answer these questions for you!" Zhuo Junwu said.

Ye Fan glanced at Lan Jing beside him and said, "You should know who she is, right?"

"She’s the chosen one you found, the hope you mentioned... But as for her identity, I won’t comment. Whether she’s truly the chosen one, and what help she can offer you in facing the heavenly tribulation—that’s something only you can learn through your own practice!" Zhuo Junwu said.

Ye Fan laughed lightly. "Since you won’t say it, I’ll just say it myself. Her name is Lan Jing, the ancient spirit found by Xuan Nv. To put it bluntly, she’s the first small crystal, and also the most powerful one. In fact, there are nine small crystals in all between heaven and earth. I’ve already found eight. I kept wondering where the last crystal was, and now I know—it’s been by my side all along. It’s Lan Jing..."

Zhuo Junwu narrowed his eyes at Ye Fan, as if saying, And what does that have to do with me directly?

Ye Fan continued, "Maybe you don’t understand what I’m getting at, so I’ll explain it more clearly. Do you know what secret is hidden within Lan Jing? Maybe you don’t, or maybe you know a bit of the surface... As the strongest among the nine small crystals, what she carries is the method of facing and dissolving the heavenly tribulation... The biggest difference with a heavenly tribulation is that from the moment it’s born, all the methods of dissolving it are already set in place. And Lan Jing is the key to this tribulation. Her rise in power is actually the very cause of the tribulation’s arrival—and it is precisely her rise that ultimately dissolves the tribulation..."

"Enough!" Zhuo Junwu said angrily. "I don’t want to know any of this, and you don’t need to tell me. I don’t care what this girl’s identity is. I just want to remind you, Ye Fan—you’d better not push your luck. You’re arrogant now, but have you thought about how pathetic you’ll be once the tribulation comes?"

Ye Fan smiled. "What, you don’t want to listen anymore? I’ve already found the final method to oppose the heavenly tribulation. Before I came to see you, I hadn’t quite figured it out—maybe it was one move of yours that made my thoughts completely click into place!"

"Hm?" Zhuo Junwu looked at Ye Fan again, very curious what Ye Fan had seen from him.

Ye Fan laughed and said, "You think I’m just trying to scare you? Wrong. I’m telling the truth. If I want to regain the power of the six small crystals in my body, and also fuse Lan Jing’s power with the other small crystals, the right way isn’t to directly absorb that power. Those powers were never meant to belong to my body; they’re meant to be used and allocated by me. That leaves only one outcome... letting Lan Jing fuse with the power of these eight small crystals. As long as her power rises to a certain realm, all I need to do then is cooperate with her!"

"Oh? You don’t want to pursue even greater power?" Zhuo Junwu asked curiously.

"It’s not that I don’t want to; it’s that I’m not qualified. I already can’t fully absorb the power of six small crystals, let alone nine. As long as I can let Lan Jing obtain the power of all nine small crystals, then as long as she’s my woman, I’ll have the capital to defeat everything!" Ye Fan said, brimming with confidence.

Zhuo Junwu looked extremely disdainful. "Leaving aside whether what you’re saying is even correct, just look at you now... and that girl. With so little time left, you still think you have any chance of success? Truly delusions of grandeur!"