A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

"Master, you've returned?" Behind him, Gaius' voice rang out, filled with surprise and delight.

These days, aside from occasionally stepping out to chat with young women, Gaius spent most of his time in Mount Kransbay.

He had no choice but to obey Ye Fan's orders.

Moreover, Gaius had to stay here to ensure the presence of the Dragon Temple in the Mount Kransbay region.

Otherwise, sometime later, it was likely that the martial artists from various nations will divide this mountain region among themselves, leaving no share for Dragon God Temple.

"Mm. Did anything unusual happen these past few months?" Ye Fan asked.

Gaius shook his head. "Master, things are still the same. The only change is that the flowers, plants, and trees no longer grow. However, this divine tree before our eyes continue to grow at a terrifying speed each day. Moreover, the golden energy flowing down from the Sky Gate was largely absorbed by this divine tree."

Due to its extraordinary characteristics, the people here simply refer to the tree as a divine tree.

Ye Fan suddenly fell silent.

Previously, Ye Fan didn't pay much attention to it.

He thought this tree wouldn't be much different from the other plants.

Now, he increasingly felt that this tree was becoming more and more peculiar.

After a moment of hesitation, Ye Fan flicked his long sleeve, unleashing his aura.

With a crisp swish, a green leaf was severed from the tree by Ye Fan.

A crystal-clear juice started to flow from within.

Ye Fan held the green leaf in his hand, examining it closely.

Gaius explained, "Master, the leaves of this divine tree are filled with extremely pure heaven and earth energy. It can be used for medicinal purposes, as well as for drinking tea. Many minor injuries and ailments people suffer from can be healed simply by using water infused with these tree leaves. Moreover, the juice from these leaves, when taken directly, surprisingly has a remarkable effect on cultivation. During this period, several warriors have managed to break through to Grandmaster by utilizing the sap of this divine tree. Now, this divine tree is under the control of various parties. Every day, one can only pick a maximum of ten leaves. They are afraid if they pick too much, they might end up killing this divine tree."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan shook his head and chuckled. "Those fools are unable to learn from their past mistakes. Back at the Dragon Gate Project, they had not succumbed to the allure of power and instead flocked to it eagerly. In the end, someone took control of their souls. Now, the origins of this tree are unknown, and yet they recklessly consume the sap. Are they not afraid of repeating their mistakes?" Ye Fan asked coldly.

Gaius' face suddenly turned grim. "Master, that shouldn't be happening. It's just a dead tree, devoid of any soul or consciousness. It shouldn't be able to control our minds, should it?" Gaius felt a bit uneasy and scared.

Ye Fan gave him an annoyed glance. "You old geezer. You've definitely eaten some too, haven't you? If you can't control your desire, can't you control your mind?" he chided sternly. Gaius hung his head in shame, too embarrassed to speak.

"Okay, don't fret too much. I examined it, and this sap appears to be a basic conversion of heaven and earth energy. There shouldn't be any hidden complexities. Of course, this is just my assumption. I'll bring back and let Wan'er take a closer look. Stay here, and if anything out of the ordinary occurs, inform me right away," Ye Fan instructed.

After he finished speaking, Ye Fan took another stroll around this mountain range.

He even soared to the peak of the blue sky to take a closer look at the Sky Gate. Yes, the Sky Gate was still there.

Moreover, golden light flowed out incessantly from within, like a tide.

Ye Fan tried to enter again.

However, that invisible barrier still kept Ye Fan on the outside.

"What on earth is it?"

Everything that happened after the great battle of Mount Kransbay was a mystery to Ye Fan.

The Sky Gate had opened, yet apart from a continuous stream of golden light orbs, nothing else transpired.

If there really was some consciousness controlling things behind this the Sky Gate, their purpose was to transform this mortal world, making the earth, drained of its spiritual energy, into a land fit for saints. After all, in Ye Fan's view, these golden light orbs were nothing but pure heaven and earth energy.

And now they were flowing out continuously, as if there was no end.

There must be some purpose to that, right?

After much thought, Ye Fan could only speculate that the appearance of the Sky Gate was intended to transform earth, filling earth with heaven and earth energy.

After spending half a day researching, he still ended up with nothing.

Ye Fan returned to the secret realm of India, continuing his secluded cultivation.

At the same time, when Ye Fan saw Duanmu Wan'er, he handed over the leaf of the divine tree to her.

After seeing it, Duanmu Wan'er was greatly astonished.

"Ye Fan, where did you get this leaf? It's surprisingly rich in the essence of heaven and earth, filled with the spiritual energy of the sun and the moon. The energy contained in this juice is even comparable to the spirit-nurturing pills I crafted for you."

Duanmu Wan'er had quite an accomplishment in the path of alchemy.

In her eyes, this leaf was undoubtedly an excellent material for alchemy.

"It's the same tree I showed you before. Wan'er, I don't know why, but I always feel that there's something eerie about this tree. Can you discern its true nature and origin?"

Perhaps it was Ye Fan's innate caution that kept him constantly preoccupied with that tree.

After all, he had seen a seed falling from the Sky Gate with his own eyes and grew into this large tree.

"Origins? It's just a tree. What kind of origin could it possibly have? Did you get eaten by it?" Huangniu mocked.

Du Mu Wan'er took a look and shook her head. "Ye Fann, this leaf is no different compared to other trees. I really can't tell if there's something special about its origin." "Okay then," Ye Fan replied with a nod.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing things, and it's just a tree after all. Even if plants and trees have their own essence, they are limited in their movements. If it poses any danger in the future, it likely won't cause significant harm. When I eventually unravel its true nature, I can always uproot it if necessary.

As for now, Ye Fan was indeed contemplating the idea of removing it.

On second thought, if this tree happened to be a spiritual plant descended from the Celestial Realm, with the power to rejuvenate the aura-depleted land and transform it into a realm suitable for cultivation, then it could potentially bring blessings to countless generations.

Removing the tree might mean squandering a remarkable opportunity for humanity.

So, after weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, Ye Fan decided to wait and see what would happen.

Let's give it some time, and see what changes this world will experience.

After coming to that realization, Ye Fan no longer worried about the matter.

Instead, he chose to make a breakthrough right there in the secret realm.

Ye Fan was currently facing a bottleneck.

Simply absorbing energy was no longer significantly effective for his cultivation.

Therefore, he needed both practical experience and cultivation.

Naturally, Ye Fan's sparring partner was Huangniu.

Following that, Ye Fan continued to strive for a higher level of the Celestial Cloud technique, while also engaging in a head-on confrontation with Huangniu.

"Get lost! If you want a fight, go outside and pick a fight with those humans! Stop messing with me! Ye Fan, are you a d*mn fool? I said I won't fight with you. Why are you still hitting me? D*mn it! You've gone too far. I'm going to fight you!"

Time within the cave was always dull and slow.

However, the dull moments undoubtedly became interesting due to the banter between Ye Fan and Huangniu.

Even time itself seemed to fly by quickly.

In the blink of an eye, a year had already passed.

After a year of isolation from the world, Ye Fan decided to venture out to see if there had been any changes in Mount Kransbay.

At the same time, Huangniu was really feeling pent up and wanted to go out to see the girls outside.