Ye Fan was exceptionally calm. He adjusted himself to peak condition, ready at any moment to unleash a decisive blow. The golden book shimmered within his Bitter Sea, glowing with strange brilliance.
Elder Han, thinking himself favored by the heavens, was overwhelmed with excitement. His trembling right hand gripped the cauldron lid and lifted it with force. In his mind, a supreme elixir was about to appear, radiant with god light, exuding auspicious mist.
Sure enough, golden light burst forth, blindingly bright and dazzling. For a brief instant, Elder Han believed the sacred pill had gained sentience and leapt from the cauldron. But in the blink of an eye, his soul almost fled in terror, as if he'd been cast from heaven into the depths of hell.
There was no divine pill, only a blindingly radiant sheet of divine metal, slashing swiftly toward his neck. And inside the bronze cauldron sat a clear-eyed, youthful boy, completely unharmed, staring straight at him.
"Not good!" Elder Han broke out in a cold sweat, screaming in horror, trying to flee backward. But it was far too late. The golden light struck like lightning.
Pfft!
It sliced clean through his throat.
Blood sprayed everywhere. The searing pain overwhelmed Elder Han. Darkness crept over his vision, and he collapsed backward, falling heavily into a pool of his own blood.
The golden paper was unimaginably sharp, it nearly decapitated him, with only a thin layer of skin still holding his head on. Blood gushed like a spring!
However, Elder Han was a powerful cultivator. Despite his aged and frail appearance, his body harbored immense strength. Even with his neck severed, he didn't immediately die. His right hand clutched his head, desperately trying to reattach it.
At the same time, green light surged from his Bitter Sea, blazing brilliantly. His divine spring gushed out life force, trying to restore him. Simultaneously, several green wooden swords flew from his body, aiming at Ye Fan.
Ye Fan felt a chill. The gap between realms truly was like a heavenly chasm, impossible to cross. If he hadn't endured patiently and launched this surprise attack at the critical moment, he would have had zero chance of killing Elder Han.
He moved with the agility of a leopard, leaping behind the cauldron while directing the golden book forward in another strike.
Elder Han had suffered grave injuries, his life hanging by a thread. The green wooden swords initially glowed brightly, radiating lethal energy, but they quickly dimmed. They wavered midair, on the verge of falling.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The golden paper, sharper than divine steel, burned like the sun. It intercepted the swords in an instant and sliced them all apart with a flurry of metallic echoes.
Ye Fan didn't dare relax. The golden book turned into a divine rainbow, like moonlight splitting the darkness, bursting forth with terrifying energy aimed at Elder Han's abdomen.
In the blinding flash, blood exploded.
Pfft!
Elder Han's Bitter Sea shattered. His body was flung across the chamber, crashing into the stone wall and leaving a human-shaped bloodstain before sliding to the ground.
A thousand rays of golden light burst forth. Auspicious clouds swirled as the golden book, glowing like a shooting star, returned to Ye Fan's body.
Though still alive, Elder Han clung desperately to his head with one hand to keep it from falling. This showed just how terrifying cultivators above the Bitter Sea realm could be, not something ordinary people could handle.
Ye Fan wiped a cold sweat from his brow. Had he not suppressed himself in silence for seven days, this assassination would have been impossible.
Now, Elder Han's eyes blazed with hatred. He could not accept this outcome! He hadn't received a supreme pill, only death's blade. The emotional whiplash of falling from heaven into hell drove him mad.
"Ugh… ah… guh…" Blood streamed from Elder Han's severed throat. His mouth overflowed with more blood as he struggled to speak, eyes wide open, locked onto Ye Fan.
"Why…?" he rasped out in a hoarse, barely audible voice. He couldn't swallow that last breath. He didn't want to die so humiliatingly.
"You really thought I was some dumb monkey?" Ye Fan replied coldly.
Blood poured from Elder Han's wound. He gritted out, "You… I… hate…"
Pfft!
He coughed up blood violently. His eyes burned with unwillingness and despair. Everything had seemed perfect, yet the end was so cruel. Even in death, he couldn't accept it.
"You thought I was an easy target? That you could treat me like some divine medicine to be refined?" Ye Fan said with no mercy. "A man as sinister and cruel as you deserves no better. You got exactly what you deserved. I endured seven days and nights just for this one fatal strike. Next life, try being a decent human, or die even worse."
The emotional blow pushed Elder Han past the edge. His nearly-severed neck still refused to let go of life. Blood spewed from his mouth as he ground his teeth, forcing out slurred words: "I… won't… accept… you… deserve… to die…"
Ye Fan ignored him and walked over to the nearby medicine cabinets. As he opened them, waves of fragrant aroma burst forth. He took out over a dozen rare herbs, each as valuable as the Phoenix Grass.
"Old man, I gotta say, you were real hardworking, like an ox. Spent your whole life gathering all these rare herbs. Stuff most people wouldn't even dream of. Gotta hand it to you. So, from the bottom of my heart… thanks. I'll be taking these now."
"You…" Elder Han choked and coughed more blood. His eyes blazed like fire. If he could still move, he'd tear Ye Fan apart.
"Don't worry, I won't let all your efforts go to waste. I'll make good use of these rare spiritual treasures. With any luck, I'll reach the Life Spring realm in two years."
"You… bastard!" The words came from Elder Han's mouth, surprising but brutally honest. His fury had reached its peak.
"Always stay calm in a crisis. Fortune favors the prepared…" Ye Fan said with a faint smile, mocking him. "The ancients didn't lie."
Hearing that, Elder Han completely lost it. Blood gushed like a mountain spring. He spat out his final, bitter words: "Ancients… I… hate…"
He died of rage.
His right hand finally lost strength. His head fell to the ground with a thud. He died a miserable death, his eyes wide open, refusing to close.
"Next life, pick a better family…" Ye Fan repeated Elder Han's final words mockingly. Their words were the same, but the outcome couldn't have been more different.
If Elder Han had any awareness in the afterlife, he'd cough up three more liters of blood and claw his way back to life just to fight again.
Ye Fan walked to the corner of the chamber and retrieved his Bodhi Seed from the stone table, tucking it away safely.
This mystical Bodhi Seed aided in understanding the Dao, its value beyond measure. If word got out, all the strongest cultivators in the Eastern Wasteland would come to snatch it. In fact, the more powerful someone was, the more they'd treasure it. As cultivation deepened, breakthroughs became increasingly difficult. At that level, no divine medicine or treasure mattered, true breakthroughs required comprehension.
Ye Fan, being in a lower realm, couldn't yet appreciate how rare and precious enlightenment was. But in the higher realms, understanding the Dao was the only path forward for true apex powerhouses.