The eyes of Fa Yuan held a trace of envy as he looked at Ye Bufan, but Ye Bufan was still confused.
"This is considered holding back? I can't even mobilize the energy from the Dragon Emperor Token," Ye Bufan said to Fa Yuan.
"The Dragon Emperor Token was left by the Ancestral Dragon of the Nine Provinces. It is divided into four pieces, and its energy and secrets are related to the entire Nine Provinces. Only the person chosen by the Ancestral Dragon will have the Dragon Emperor Token recognize them as its master."
"Then what secret does this Dragon Emperor Token hold?" Ye Bufan asked.
Upon hearing this, Fa Yuan mysteriously shook his head and said, "I haven't been able to figure out the purpose of the Dragon Emperor Token after studying it for so many years. Back then, when we suppressed the Eight-Headed Serpent, we had to pay a price with our cultivation to seal it."
"But what about Ye Qingyi and Ye Qingcheng?" Ye Bufan's mind was still replaying the scene he had just witnessed, where Ye Qingyi and Ye Qingcheng merged into one person, their cultivation instantly reaching the Nascent Soul level.
Fa Yuan smiled slightly and said, "This is just a method that we, at the Nascent Soul level, have deduced from the Dragon Emperor Token."
"Can you tell me, senior?" Ye Bufan asked.
"There's no harm in telling you. This method will become impractical after the Heavenly Seal ends," Fa Yuan said. "But if I tell you, you must keep it a secret."
Ye Bufan nodded heavily, and only then did Fa Yuan speak, "Alright, seeing as you were recommended by Ye Qingyi, I will trust you."
"Actually, it's like this. A cultivator, upon reaching the Nascent Soul level, will develop a main body and a Nascent Soul clone. Before this, cultivators who reached the Nascent Soul level would suppress the Core Formation stage with both their main body and Nascent Soul when facing the Heavenly Seal. However, this has a drawback: in combat, cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage can easily unleash the power of their Nascent Soul."
If the Nascent Soul is exposed for too long under the Heavenly Seal, it will attract the heavenly lightning tribulation below the Heavenly Seal, a matter of near-certain death. So far, no one has been able to escape the heavenly lightning tribulation.
"It was like that before, but what about now?" Ye Bufan said, looking at Fa Yuan.
"Let me ask you a question first. How many Inner Pills can a cultivator at the Core Formation stage have?" Fa Yuan asked.
"According to ancient texts, a person can naturally condense one Inner Pill," Ye Bufan answered earnestly.
At this point, Ye Bufan's eyes lit up, and he continued to ask, "Could it be that the method of avoiding the Heavenly Seal is related to Core Formation?"
"Clever! You are teachable." Fa Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "Logically, a cultivator at the Core Formation stage can only condense one Inner Pill. The subsequent Nascent Soul is also derived from this Inner Pill. We learned from the Dragon Emperor Token that it is actually possible not to cultivate into a Nascent Soul after forming a core."
Hearing this, Ye Bufan's eyes were filled with fervor. He had a rough idea of what was going on.
"So, we just need to re-condense the true qi that has been strengthened into another Inner Pill separately. This way, we can ensure that the Inner Pill does not evolve into a Nascent Soul," Fa Yuan said.
"As expected!" Ye Bufan said excitedly.
"However, doing this still has a disadvantage, which is that re-condensing a core consumes a great deal of time and energy. Especially the true qi, a significant amount will be wasted," Yuan Zhen said.
"Then, senior, how many Inner Pills have you condensed so far?" Ye Bufan asked.
"How many do you think this is easy to condense?" Fa Yuan snorted. "I have currently condensed four Inner Pills at the late Core Formation stage. The fifth one has reached the middle Core Formation stage."
"Then what about Ye Qingyi?" Ye Bufan asked.
Fa Yuan was also stunned for a moment upon hearing this. "Ye Qingyi's strength is a mystery. You can see Ye Qingcheng appear, yet you cannot fathom Ye Qingyi's strength. This only means that his strength is far beyond mine."
Ye Bufan took a deep breath. He hadn't expected the Dragon Emperor Token to have so many miraculous uses, even being able to circumvent the problem of the Heavenly Seal.
"Follow me."
Fa Yuan turned and left, and Ye Bufan quickly followed.
After walking only a few steps, the dense forest Ye Bufan had been in began to change continuously. They first passed through a bamboo forest. As soon as they entered, the bamboo began to part to the sides, creating a path for the two of them. After they passed, the bamboo forest slowly closed up again, astonishing anyone who witnessed it.
Finally, Fa Yuan led Ye Bufan into a mountain cave. Standing at the entrance, Ye Bufan felt an immense pressure.
"Not bad, you weren't intimidated by the pressure here," Fa Yuan nodded.
"What is this place?" Ye Bufan asked.
"This is my cave dwelling, and it's also an ancient cultivation relic I discovered," Fa Yuan explained. "When I established the Fa Yuan Temple here, it was because I knew about the relics within."
"Senior, how old are you?" Ye Bufan asked.
"Rude!" Fa Yuan reprimanded. "Why do you ask my age right away? Don't I have any dignity?"
Ye Bufan chuckled and said, "Then the Fa Yuan Temple is said to have a hundred years of history, and you found a cultivation relic. So I deduced that you must be quite old."
"Alright, alright, if you want to call me old, just say it," Fa Yuan rolled his eyes. "I am three hundred and sixty-one years old this year. Do all you young people nowadays like to bring up people's ages?"
"Oh? Who else has asked?" Ye Bufan inquired.
"Who else but Ye Qingyi," Fa Yuan said. "However, Ye Qingyi is also considered old now."
Fa Yuan began to console himself as he spoke. Ye Bufan couldn't help but smile, not expecting this old man to still have such a youthful mindset.
"Let's go, come inside with me," Fa Yuan said.
The two of them walked into the mountain cave, and immediately, lamps within the cave lit up, illuminating the space.
A breeze blew from the deepest part, making it feel as if the cave was breathing. Before long, Ye Bufan saw a giant beast skeleton. Looking at the shape of the white bones.
"Senior, this beast's bones, could it be..."
"That's right, these are the remains of a Flood Dragon," Fa Yuan said. "It was dying from a certain potent poison back then and fell into a village, eventually turning into white bones. I saw it and perhaps brought it back to this cultivation relic."
"This... could this be the legendary Dragon Fall Incident from back then?" Ye Bufan asked, his eyes wide.
Fa Yuan turned to look at Ye Bufan and said, "You know quite a bit. Let's go, let's keep moving forward."
The two walked further inside for a while longer, finally arriving at a vast world. This place was a world unto itself, with a sun, flowers, and birds singing, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance.