Cao Ya's carefree nature was clearly not of concern to the Ruthless Great Emperor.
The Empress glanced at Cao Ya only once before turning her gaze to Ye Fan.
Her gaze was no longer clear, but deep, flowing with nine-colored immortal light, seemingly piercing through Ye Fan's body, including his sea of consciousness.
Upon seeing this, Cao Ya's heart stirred, but he did not stop him. He didn't have the ability to stop him, and he knew that the Ruthless Great Emperor would never harm Ye Fan!
Whether Ye Fan and the Ruthless Great Emperor's brother are the same person is uncertain, even the Ruthless Great Emperor himself is unsure. Only Cao Ya, who has opened his Heavenly Eye, knows that the two are similar flowers, nothing more.
【Covering the Sky】The universe is incomplete and there is no reincarnation.
Similar flowers are ultimately just similar.
The Empress remained calm and composed, the nine-colored immortal light fading away without leaving a trace. In the end, she still did not probe Ye Fan's sea of consciousness to inquire whether Ye Fan was her brother.
In a daze, Cao Ya stared blankly at the Empress, whose eyes were as deep as the starry sky, unfathomable.
In this bustling world, I await your return.
Driven by his obsession, he embarked on the path of cultivation and rose against the heavens, proving the Dao with a mortal body, becoming invincible throughout heaven and earth, and sweeping across the past, present and future.
Normally speaking, even the most outstanding talents, goddesses, and heroes are prone to stagnation if they have obsessions in their hearts, let alone becoming emperors or immortals in the mortal world.
But the Ruthless Emperor is clearly a special exception.
Rising from unwavering conviction, it forged unparalleled brilliance, illuminating eternity and shining throughout the heavens.
But Cao Ya also knew very well that the Empress had never cared about glory or honor; she only wanted to wait for his return in the mortal world.
In the ancient palace, there was not a sound. The Empress, as serene as a jade sculpture, slowly closed her eyes, motionless, like a celestial sculpture, like a divine statue.
"Great Emperor, please save someone!" Cao Yalian cried out urgently the instant their gazes left each other. He activated the magic jar, which instantly wrapped around Zhang Lin, the fifth-generation Source Master, whose body was decaying and about to pass away.
Ye Fan, Jiang Taixu, and Hei Huang were taken aback. Hearing Cao Ya's words, although they didn't know what the Great Sage Cao Ya was going to do, it was clear that he had no ill intentions and was trying to rescue Master Yuan.
"Zhang Lin, I'm sending you into the depths of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. Remember, you must show the Ruthless Great Emperor the utmost respect... Well, now that you've become a slave of the Desolate Land, you can't disrespect him." Cao Ya hurriedly transmitted his voice.
“Great Sage…” Zhang Lin was stunned, as if he wanted to say something.
“Yang Yi is still waiting for you,” Cao Ya said. Zhang Lin had nothing to say and sighed.
Dark light surged, and finally, relying on the Devouring Demon Jar, Cao Ya sent Zhang Lin into the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, isolating him from the influence of the Ruthless Great Emperor's mighty power, and then stepped into the Bronze Immortal Palace. The dark light dissipated, divine power surged, and Zhang Lin instantly became a Desolate Slave, standing alongside the dozen or so people.
The Ruthless Emperor tacitly approved of Cao Ya's actions.
The Devouring Demon Jar and Ye Fan's influence are of paramount importance.
Cao Ya completely looked away, stopped activating the magic jar, landed outside the forbidden area, gazed at the desolate ancient forbidden area, and sighed softly.
The will of the Ruthless Great Emperor is rare throughout history and commands respect.
Behind them, Ye Fan, Jiang Taixu, Hei Huang, Duan De, and the old blind man came over.
"Great Sage, what about the Patriarch...?" Ye Fan asked, still puzzled by Cao Ya's previous actions.
Cao Ya gave a brief explanation, leaving everyone stunned.
"A slave? Is there really a chance to regain one's true self?" the old blind man asked.
“Becoming a slave to the wilderness is difficult to recover from, but it can still be considered as living. After all, one’s self still exists, only it is suppressed. Without this, one cannot achieve immortality,” Cao Ya sighed.
The crowd fell silent. Immortality was something that countless heroes throughout history had never attained.
Throughout the millennia, emperors and sovereigns of various eras have bowed down in their pursuit of immortality.
"That's good, then Saintess Yang Yi will have the motivation to live on," Ye Fan suddenly smiled and said.
If Zhang Lin were to pass away, Yang Yi would definitely commit suicide for love, just like she did ten thousand years ago.
"Great Sage Cao, the grand gathering at Yaochi Holy Land needs your support," Jiang Taixu said. Without the Great Sage, the human race would inevitably be weak at such a grand gathering, even if multiple supreme imperial weapons were brought out.
Weapons are not living people after all.
Cao Ya nodded, promising to arrive on time.
At this moment, a group of human cultivators who had followed behind also came over, their faces burning with fervor and showing great respect for Cao Ya.
"Greetings, Great Sage!"
Cao Yalang smiled, chatted with them for a while, and then left. The lid and body of the Devouring Demon Jar were returned to their rightful owners, Duan De and the old blind man.
Cao Ya was deeply moved by this use of the magic pot. Coincidentally, the Yaochi Grand Gathering was still some time away, and he needed to find a place to go into seclusion and digest his gains.
Under the guidance of Ye Fan and the Black Emperor, Cao Ya went to Shizhai and went into seclusion there.
The people of Shizhai were very welcoming, showing great respect for such a great human saint.
"Doggy, slow down," a little girl said. She was very cute and sat on the back of the Black King, circling around the stone village.
The Black Emperor is usually very proud, calling himself the Great Emperor and wanting to become the ancient emperor of the demon race. However, when he meets this little girl, he is very doting and willing to take her everywhere.
If it were Ye Fan or someone else sitting on his back, Black Emperor would immediately bite them.
"That's Xiao Nannan, a very pitiful little girl." Ye Fan sighed. When he first met Xiao Nannan, she was wearing tattered clothes and shoes with holes in her toes. She was begging alone in the crowd, timid and with her head down, looking like she had done something wrong. Her big eyes were filled with tears. Even now, thinking back on it, Ye Fan felt heartbroken.
Later, when Xiao Nannan and other talented children from the Eastern Wilderness were kidnapped, Ye Fan also caused a great disturbance at the Yin Yang Sect, killed the sect's holy maiden, and rescued Xiao Nannan and the other children. From then on, Ye Fan adopted Xiao Nannan. When he had to go out, he asked Master Zhang of Shizhai to take care of her.
“Little girl…” Cao Ya whispered.
At this moment, Hei Huang, carrying Xiao Nannan on his back, was passing by. Xiao Nannan had a smile on her face and looked very happy.
The little girl's story is both pitiful and heartbreaking. She lives alone in the world, and although she is immortal, there are records about her from thousands of years ago, or even more ancient times, but the little girl has forgotten her past.
Sendai is as one, untouched by dust, undisturbed by the mortal world, having forgotten the past, pure and clear, having cut off all unhappiness, and powerless, seemingly anyone could bully her.
He begged from a young age and had a very hard life. Even in the dead of winter, he wore tattered clothes and shoes, with his toes sticking out.
Now that I've been following Ye Fan and the others, things have gotten much better.
"Big brother, who are you? Why do you seem so familiar?" Little Nannan blinked her big eyes and looked at Cao Ya with a puzzled expression.
She was dressed in a rosy dress, and after washing and dressing up, the little one looked like a porcelain doll, exquisitely beautiful.
Upon hearing Xiao Nannan's words, Ye Fan, Hei Huang, Zhang Wuye, and the others were all taken aback.
"Could it be that Great Sage Cao Ya knows Little Nannan?!" Ye Fan frowned. Great Sage Cao Ya was an ancient being from over 200,000 years ago, who had only recently been extracted from the divine source. Yet, Little Nannan claimed to feel familiar with him upon their first meeting...
Ye Fan couldn't think of any other explanation besides the fact that they had known each other for a long time.
"This... how is this possible? Great Sage Cao Ya is an ancient sage from more than 200,000 years ago!" Black Emperor exclaimed, his eyes wide.
Everyone looked at each other in shock.
"Little girl, do you think I look familiar?" Cao Ya was also surprised, her mind racing, but she seemed to understand something.
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