Ye Bufan understood what was happening after watching for a while; it was a replay of the battle against the Eight-Headed Serpent from years ago.
He already knew most of what happened before from Ye Qingyi. The scene he was witnessing was not much different from Ye Qingyi's description, but the events that followed were something Ye Qingyi hadn't mentioned.
After the Foundation Establishment cultivators died, the Eight-Headed Serpent, still in agony, devoured some of their corpses, absorbing their residual true energy to heal itself. The souls of these cultivators were then extracted by the people of Sakura Island, absorbed into a Soul Pearl, and used to refine Shikigami.
Just as the Eight-Headed Serpent was about to recover, a group of cultivators from the Kyushu region arrived. However, this time, there were fewer of them. To Ye Bufan's surprise, he heard Ye Qingyi's voice among them.
But the Ye Qingyi at that time was entirely different from the present. Beside Ye Qingyi was an old monk in a kasaya, followed by several cultivators who appeared to be at the Core Formation stage.
Ye Bufan couldn't understand why there were Core Formation cultivators here if the Eight-Headed Serpent wasn't even at that stage yet.
As he watched, his confusion grew, and he could only try to figure out what was happening from the scene itself.
Suddenly!
After Ye Qingyi and the others arrived, a black shadow appeared and began circling the Eight-Headed Serpent.
Ye Bufan initially thought the shadow was another cultivator from the Kyushu region coming to deal with the Eight-Headed Serpent. However, he saw that the figure produced a bead similar to a Soul Pearl, though not quite the same. The shadow fed it to the Eight-Headed Serpent, which immediately surged in power, escalating from the Foundation Establishment stage to Core Formation.
"What is this?" Ye Bufan narrowed his eyes, watching the Eight-Headed Serpent. Soon, the shadow stopped, and Ye Bufan realized it was an Onmyoji dressed in black robes.
"A Nascent Soul level expert?" someone among the cultivators exclaimed, recognizing the Onmyoji's strength.
"Amitabha, beneath the Heavenly Seal, even Nascent Soul level experts have their strength suppressed to the Core Formation stage. To us, he is merely a Core Formation cultivator," Fayuan stated.
"Hmph, hmph, yes, bald monk, you are quite right. But before me, you are all mere ants," the Onmyoji retorted. "The Eight-Headed Serpent has consumed the Gu Spirit Pearl I found in a cultivation ruin. That is the inner core of a Core Formation level Gu Master."
Ye Bufan finally understood. It turned out that besides the Eight-Headed Serpent, there was another Nascent Soul level cultivator, whose strength was suppressed to the late Core Formation stage, causing trouble.
Following this, both sides engaged in a fierce battle.
As Ye Bufan was engrossed in the unfolding events, the black shadow suddenly turned and attacked him.
"Trouble!" Ye Bufan had forgotten that they were still in the dense forest, and he was facing Fayuan's test. He had passed the first trial, but Fayuan hadn't explained the second. Instead, he was shown the illusion of the past. He hadn't expected the second trial to be hidden within this illusion.
"Roar!" Ye Bufan attacked, unleashing his sword energy towards the black-robed Onmyoji. The opponent easily dodged the attack and appeared beside Ye Bufan. Despite Ye Bufan's speed, he couldn't match the speed of a Core Formation cultivator and took a solid punch.
"Pfft—"
Ye Bufan spat out a mouthful of blood before getting back on his feet.
"Is this for real?" Ye Bufan wiped away the blood and shouted, "I'm not afraid of you, even at the Core Formation stage."
"Roar—"
The Violet Nether Cold Flame and the Void-Piercing Thunder Art were instantly activated. The violet flames contained the overbearing power of lightning. Ye Bufan activated his Sword Domain, and the broken sword whirled rapidly in the air.
"Hum—"
Within his body, the energy from the Dragon Emperor Token, which he had suppressed, surged uncontrollably.
"Die!" Ye Bufan unleashed his full power, striking at the black-robed Onmyoji, who vanished after taking the blow.
It was only then that Ye Bufan realized that the black-robed Onmyoji attacking him and the one in the illusion were two separate entities.
"Eh—" Fayuan's voice echoed again. He could sense the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token within Ye Bufan.
"The Dragon Emperor Token?" Fayuan exclaimed excitedly.
Ye Bufan ignored him. For the second trial, he was pitted against a Core Formation stage cultivator when he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Ye Bufan felt like slapping the old man a few times.
Silence descended upon the scene. Fayuan made no further remarks and continued playing the illusion. In the footage, the later arriving Core Formation cultivators from the Kyushu region were now engaged in battle with the black-robed Onmyoji and the Eight-Headed Serpent.
The fight was intense. Ye Bufan also witnessed Ye Qingyi's strength at this time, realizing she was a late Core Formation cultivator.
The battle raged on for a long time. In the end, the black-robed Onmyoji, along with five Core Formation cultivators, perished in a mutual destruction. Only three remained, but the Eight-Headed Serpent was incredibly tenacious, leaving the remaining three severely wounded.
Ye Bufan thought the situation had reached a stalemate, but unexpectedly, Ye Qingcheng appeared at this moment.
"Eh—"
Ye Bufan looked at Ye Qingcheng, utterly perplexed. Wasn't Ye Qingcheng also at the Core Formation stage at this time?
"What's going on?" Ye Bufan's confusion deepened.
It wasn't until Ye Qingcheng and Ye Qingyi merged into one person, driven by the Dragon Emperor Token, that Ye Bufan suddenly understood.
"A Nascent Soul level cultivator?" Ye Bufan's mind flashed back to Ye Qingyi's appearance.
In the scene, the Eight-Headed Serpent attempted to perish with "Ye Qingyi." In the end, "Ye Qingyi" managed to seal the Eight-Headed Serpent.
"That's not right. Based on 'Ye Qingyi's' strength here, she should have been able to defeat the Eight-Headed Serpent," Ye Bufan's mind was filled with questions.
The illusion vanished, and a bald man stood before Ye Bufan, looking at him with a smile.
"Yuan Zhen?" Ye Bufan looked at the man, realizing he wasn't a residual soul or a phantom, but a living person.
"I know you have many questions," Yuan Zhen said. "This involves the secrets of our underground city."
"If it's a secret, then why show me this illusion?" Ye Bufan retorted.
"Because of the Dragon Emperor Token," Yuan Zhen replied. "Ye Qingyi told me the Dragon Emperor Token had found a master. I didn't believe her until the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token surged within you, and only then could I be completely certain."
Hearing Yuan Zhen's words, Ye Bufan was completely stunned. "Found... found a master?"