16 Chapter 16.
So does anyone know what to do once you lose your motivation to write?
I am facing this problem all of a sudden.
~~~~~~~
Above the towering mountains, a figure streaked through the sky at an incredible speed, breaking the sound barrier with each movement.
The rapid pace of the figure's flight sent shockwaves through the air, causing fear among the demon beasts inhabiting the peaks below.
This figure was none other than Ye Han, who had been journeying northward for several days.
Initially, he had considered travelling on foot, but upon consulting his grandfather's map, he quickly realized the folly of such a decision.
In ages past, the world had been comprised of six continents collectively known as the Divine Continents. However, during the Age of Darkness, five of these continents fell to ruin, rendered uninhabitable by poison or other calamities.
The destination Ye Han sought to lay on one of these distant continents, far removed from his own. Thus, he opted for the swifter method of flight.
"Even at this speed, it seems I'm still not making enough progress," Ye Han lamented, his expression troubled.
Though he soared at his maximum velocity, he found himself yet to breach the formidable St. Mountain range. Doubt crept into his mind—was he too slow, or were the mountains simply insurmountable?
"If I continue like this, I may not reach my destination in time," he muttered, his expression conflicted.
In truth, tardiness posed little concern to Ye Han; he had already made ample preparations for his absence, confident in his ability to withstand any challenges.
However, the disappointment of his two younger sisters and his other students weighed heavily on his mind.
"I must retrieve that book from the desert," Ye Han resolved, a smile gracing his lips. "It should be still present there."
Known as the most powerful artifact in existence, Ye Han believed the book held myriad undiscovered abilities, waiting to be unearthed.
"Though I would be quite angry if I found out that it can only nourish the soul realms of humans and demon beasts," Ye Han said with a chuckle as he further increased his speed.
Basking in the sunlight, he could feel himself growing stronger, which in turn affected his flight speed.
And just like that, another couple of days passed, and he finally managed to cross the mountain range and arrive at a beautiful beach.
Feeling excited, he landed on the beach, paying no mind to the demon beasts present there.
"Don't even think about coming here," Ye Han warned the demon beasts. When they attempted to attack him, he simply used his heat vision to dispose of every one of them.
"Damn, this place looks amazing…" He wandered around the beach in search of something extraordinary but ultimately came up empty-handed.
However, from where he stood, he could see giant ice mountains in the sea, indicating that he was very close to his destination.
He turned to his left and activated his telescopic vision, peering at a forest in the distance.
"The Black Devil Forest…"
A frown creased his face as he recalled Ning'er's words from the novel.
According to her, there was a being in that forest so frightening and powerful that even the top experts of the Draconic Rune Realms paled in comparison.
"It doesn't seem to be working for some reason…"
Ye Han soon encountered a problem: no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see into the dark forest.
Frowning, he decided to use X-ray vision along with telescopic vision, but still couldn't penetrate the forest's depths.
"Should I venture inside?"
It was the first time his abilities had failed him, and it left him both curious and cautious.
{Boy, with that measly strength, stop trying to pry here.}
An eerie voice suddenly echoed in his ears, causing a shocked expression to cross his face.
"Who the heck are you?" Ye Han quickly calmed himself and demanded. "Are you the one blocking my sight?"
{I am simply warning you, boy. If you look into that place with your current power, you will go insane.}
"You're underestimating me," Ye Han replied calmly. "My power isn't something you can gauge."
{I don't know what your power is, but your soul strength is extremely weak.}
{If you want to explore this place, then accept the will of one of those six ancient masters; otherwise, just get stronger.}
"Who are you exactly?" Ye Han asked curiously, but he received no answers.
Despite his attempts with different questions, the voice remained silent, as if it had vanished altogether.
"Who could that have been? I don't recall any mention of someone like this in the novel," Ye Han mused, a curious smile playing on his lips.
Now aware of why his powers had failed, he debated whether to visit the forest.
"It seems the soul and whatever dangerous entity is bound to that forest cannot venture out," Ye Han murmured thoughtfully. Even in the novel, the being within the forest never emerged after the protagonist departed for the higher realm.
With no immediate threat, Ye Han decided against exploring the forest for now. Though his body and soul had grown stronger, there was no need to unnecessarily risk himself.
"Especially when I'm completely unaware of the dangers that lurk within," Ye Han reasoned, shaking his head before taking flight once more, heading toward the ice mountains.
"I never knew one could accept the will of those six ancient masters…" Ye Han muttered in curiosity.
The ancient masters were the ones who had battled and ultimately defeated the supreme expert who had fallen into the Draconic Ruins Realm alongside the Temporal Demon Spirit.
They were the only ones in past who could fight the Sage Emperor at his full strength.
Though they had weakened the Sage Emperor by sealing his demonic bone, reducing him to a tenth of his power, they had never managed to vanquish him entirely.
"They never succeeded…" Ye Han chuckled as he thought of the sole known reincarnated Demon Lord.
"If only I could get my hands on that individual… The knowledge they possess must be invaluable, far surpassing even Nie Li's," Ye Han mused, his thoughts momentarily drifting to the prospect.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he refocused on the looming ice mountains ahead.
Alighting upon one of the ice peaks, Ye Han observed his surroundings.
"It's certainly cold here," he remarked as he felt the chill in the air. While it didn't affect him, he could understand why his grandfather couldn't tolerate the climate.
Everywhere he looked, massive ice mountains and demon beasts dotted the landscape.
"Where is the empire?" Ye Han activated his X-ray vision, scanning the towering mountains surrounding him. To his surprise, there was no sign of it, prompting him to venture deeper into the icy expanse.
"Will he awaken or not?" Ye Han pondered aloud, contemplating the slumbering demon beast sealed within the ice.
Considering the creature's status as a spiritual god, it might dismiss him as inconsequential and expect him to depart of his own volition.
"If that's the case, it would be a grave mistake," Ye Han chuckled, increasing his pace as he continued to employ his X-ray vision.
After two days of trekking, he finally located the dormant demon beast ensconced in the ice.
Halting his X-ray vision, Ye Han flew toward the creature at full speed, reaching it within one hour.
"Hey, do you plan to sleep through this? Even now that someone has discovered your body?" Ye Han quipped, but received no response.
"Ignoring me? Are you sure about that?" Ye Han drew his sword, assuming a combat stance.
"Why are you in such a rush to meet your end, pathetic human?" The white-haired man finally opened his eyes, regarding Ye Han with disdain. "Do you even realize who you're addressing?"
"Do you think I came all this way just to exchange pleasantries with a stranger?" Ye Han replied with a chuckle. "Of course, I know who you are, which is precisely why I'm here."
The figure before him was Zhu Long, the strongest demon beast on the Divine Continent and the Spiritual God of Ice.
"You're aware of my identity, yet you dare to approach? Is this confidence or foolishness?" Zhu Long sneered.
"Simply confidence," Ye Han stated. With a burst of speed, he vanished from his position, surprising the Spiritual God.
"You're quite fast, I'll give you that," Zhu Long remarked with an amused smile, emerging from the ice, prepared for retaliation. "But speed alone won't avail you against him."
As he spoke, Ye Han's sword pierced Zhu Long's chest. Instead of fear, Zhu Long simply laughed.
"Do you believe this will end me?" Zhu Long asked, amused. However, his amusement turned to horror as he felt his life force wane. "What have you done? How is this possible? How could you kill me?"
"Didn't I tell you? I came here not out of foolishness, but confidence," Ye Han said with a smile, twisting the sword. "And here's something amusing: when you die, you won't return, for your divine spark will be no more."
As Zhu Long stared in horror, Ye Han chuckled and withdrew his sword, then settled upon the ice, ready to absorb the memories and cultivation.
"This demon wainat the Heavenly Fate realm. I wonder how much higher I can ascend now…" Ye Han absorbed the memories first, then utilized his cultivation method to assimilate the power.
His cultivation, initially at 3 Star Black Gold, surged higher:
4 Star Black Gold!
5 Star Black Gold!
1 Star Legend!
2 Star Legend!
3 Star Legend!
4 Star Legend!
5 Star Legend!
Peak Legend!
Even after reaching the pinnacle of the Legend rank, some Law energy remained, prompting him to fortify his soul realm with the surplus energy.
"I have grown strong, very strong," Ye Han mumbled, feeling the power surging through his body.
Though tempted, he decided against stepping into the other realm; it was still too soon for him to form a Fate soul inside his dantian.
Getting up, he stretched his body lightly. Another sun had formed inside his dantian, doubling his soul and physical strength and granting him a new ability called Purification.
"Fortunately, it can also cleanse curses, which will be useful in the higher realms," Ye Han remarked with a smile. "Now, let's delve into the memories of this ancient being."
Ye Han began to witness the demon's childhood, adulthood, and the rest of his life. Soon, a frown creased his face.
"How could someone be so cowardly?" Ye Han cursed as he watched the memories of the war in the Age of Darkness between humans and demon beasts.
Despite the demon's initial daring and power, after being defeated by the Spiritual Goddess of Fire three times simultaneously, he devised a plan to retreat and hide to grow stronger to seek revenge.
"The logic escapes me," Ye Han muttered. "Even I know that demon beasts grow stronger through combat. Yet he chose to hide here."
"No wonder he sought the Nether Realm after learning of her escape," Ye Han chuckled. "But it seems his chance for revenge has passed."
While the memories yielded little useful knowledge, Ye Han did acquire some useful inscription arrays, including the Demon Spirit Devouring Technique—an array for accelerating soul force training by absorbing demon spirits.
"With this and the Thunder God's Meteorite sword's unique ability, I should be able to bridge our soul realms," Ye Han remarked.
Shaking his head, he raised both hands, crackling with lightning on his left and encased in ice on his right.
"I have mastered two entirely different laws. I wonder how she will react to that," Ye Han mused with a chuckle before dispersing the powers.
"Except for the Spiritual God of Time and Space, no one has mastered two laws, as it was deemed too dangerous and impossible," Ye Han mused.
Realizing that the empire no longer existed, Ye Han decided to head back. However, before departing, he considered collecting some demon spirits of the Ice attribute demon beasts present throughout the ice mountains.
As Ye Han contemplated collecting the demon spirits, he recalled the diverse talents among the cultivators of Glory City.
"I might not have a need for these demon spirits myself, but they could prove invaluable to others," Ye Han thought. "Perhaps there's someone in Glory City who could harness their power for the greater good."
With a sense of purpose, Ye Han set out to gather the demon spirits, moving swiftly through the icy terrain with practiced ease.
After hours of meticulous searching and battles against fierce opponents, Ye Han amassed a significant collection of demon spirits. Satisfied with his efforts, he prepared to make the journey back to Glory City.
