Chapter 612: Chapter 611 Reigniting Confidence
Tu Shen remained calm and collected, as if all this was just empty talk to him. Ye Fan spoke again, "As for you, Senior, if you wanted to kill me, you would have done so long ago. Why bother showing me face by keeping me alive until now?"
"Young man, do not presume to guess another’s intentions," Tu Shen said coldly, then asked, "Let me ask you, how many years have you cultivated?"
"A little over thirty," Ye Fan replied.
Tu Shen was stunned. He hadn’t expected Ye Fan to have cultivated for a mere thirty years, yet he had already broken through six Minor Nirvanas. Such a feat was something not even the Ancestor of Tianyuan had accomplished. I always considered myself to have extraordinary talent, but reaching Ye Fan’s current realm took me a full five hundred years. He did it in a fraction of that time... Such talent is unimaginable.
He then said, "No wonder you speak with such confidence. So you are a peerless talent!"
"I wouldn’t dare make such a claim," Ye Fan replied humbly.
Tu Shen sighed and said to Ye Fan, "Back in my youth, I harbored the same dreams as you. Alas, reality is too cruel. Now, I’ve lost that impulsive drive I once had." In his prime, he was undoubtedly a powerhouse among powerhouses, but now he was still living a dull life of slaughter.
Just then, Ye Fan asked, "Could it be that Senior also comes from the Human Clan’s secular world?"
"No, I am not from the Human Clan’s secular world. I am a slave!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan instantly understood Tu Shen’s meaning. Indeed, a slave was a slave, even in the Divine Domain. Just like the Human Clan, they were at the bottom of the food chain, and a change in location did nothing to alter that.
"The Ancestor of Tianyuan was my honored master," Tu Shen said.
Ye Fan could no longer remain calm. So that’s why! No wonder Tu Shen has shown me so much courtesy and spoken with me for so long. The Ancestor of Tianyuan was his master! I heard from Zhuang Zhou that the Ancestor of Tianyuan’s first few disciples were all incredibly powerful, but they were torn apart by internal conflict. Tu Shen must have been one of the most outstanding among them.
"What? Are you shocked?" Tu Shen asked.
Ye Fan replied, "I am a bit shocked, yes. While I am not a disciple of the Ancestor of Tianyuan, our relationship was that of both a mentor and a friend."
Tu Shen nodded, a touch of sorrow in his eyes. "Honored Master was the person I respected most in my life. It’s a pity he fell in that great battle." When the Ancestor of Tianyuan perished, Tu Shen had only just reached the rank of Divine Captain. He watched as the Divine Race crushed everything, but he was powerless to intervene. Perhaps that is why my personality became so withdrawn.
Ye Fan said, "I see. Then what happened to the Ancestor of Tianyuan’s strongest disciples?"
Tu Shen’s voice was tinged with sorrow. "They fought amongst themselves over Evil Valley. Some died, and the rest went into hiding." He continued, "In truth, it doesn’t matter if you succeed in overthrowing the Divine Race. All people are greedy. There’s no guarantee that the victors won’t just become the next Divine Race."
Ye Fan was stunned by Tu Shen’s words. He felt that Tu Shen had hit upon a critical, irrefutable point.
"I understand what you mean," Ye Fan said. "But Senior, have you truly lost all confidence?" This was the question he had wanted to ask all along.
Tu Shen replied, "I had lost all confidence. But after seeing you, I have found it again." For some reason, even though Ye Fan’s current cultivation was pathetically weak, he couldn’t help but feel a renewed confidence in the young man. It was as if he could see Ye Fan creating a miracle in the coming war against the Divine Race. He had faith in him.
"Thank you for your undue praise, Senior," Ye Fan said.
"Alright, enough with the pleasantries," Tu Shen said. "I just want to tell you that our honored master still has many old followers, including the Evil Punishment Main God."
"What?" Ye Fan had never expected the Ancestor of Tianyuan’s old followers to be so formidable.
Tu Shen continued, "The Evil Punishment Main God is my Senior Brother. And not just him—many people in Evil Valley were once his subordinates! If you become strong enough one day, they will surely answer your call to arms and fight alongside you. But if you are not strong enough and they answer your call, you will only get them killed. Do you understand what I mean?"
Ye Fan nodded. "Senior, I understand." At this point, it was impossible not to understand. He had a point. Evil Valley is just one region in the vast land of Shen Zhou. How could it possibly contend with an alliance of all the other great powers?
Then Tu Shen said, "Alright, I will speak with the Evil Punishment Main God. I will at least ensure you can come and go as you please within Evil Valley. We will lend you our aid.
"Do not disappoint us. If even you fail, then our hope will never be rekindled."
The words were harsh but true.
Ye Fan nodded solemnly. He hadn’t expected Tu Shen to help him. Perhaps it was just as Tu Shen said... he’d had enough of this dull life.
At that moment, Tu Shen sighed. "Actually, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you for much longer."
"Why?" Ye Fan asked, puzzled.
Tu Shen explained, "Because long ago, when I needed an Immortal Mine to stabilize my Godhead, I launched a sneak attack on the Hu Ben Main God’s mine. As it turned out, he was there.
"He wounded me grievously, leaving my Godhead flawed. The Godhead is linked to the divine soul, so... my days are numbered. At most, I can only support you for another hundred years."
Hearing this from Tu Shen, Ye Fan finally understood why the auction house was so desperate to acquire high-grade Immortal Mines. It was for Tu Shen’s treatment.
Ye Fan asked, "Senior, how can your injuries be treated?"
Tu Shen replied, "Stop calling me Senior. Since your relationship with our honored master was that of mentor and friend, you should call me Senior Brother.
"My condition is incurable. It can only be patched up with Spirit Stones, but I require a vast amount. A small amount is useless for the repairs.
"If that weren’t the case, I would have broken through to the Main God Level long ago! Why else would I have been stuck in this realm for decades with no sign of a breakthrough?"
Tu Shen’s bitterness was palpable. He cursed the Hu Ben Main God for being so ruthless back then. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been stagnating at this level for decades.
At that moment, Ye Fan said, "Senior Brother, take out your Godhead. Let me have a look."
Tu Shen stared at Ye Fan warily, his eyes like those of someone guarding against a wolf.
"What is it?" Ye Fan asked.
Tu Shen replied with a bizarre expression, "Take out my Godhead? I have roamed the Divine Domain my entire life and have never once heard that a Godhead could be removed!"
Tu Shen was genuinely frightened by Ye Fan’s words.
In response, Ye Fan simply said, "Mine can."
Tu Shen was incredulous. The Godhead is fused with one’s very flesh and blood. How could it possibly be removed? This is like spouting nonsense in broad daylight!
Without another word, Ye Fan channeled his power and painstakingly extracted his Godhead. Throughout the entire process, Tu Shen could only watch, dumbfounded. In that moment, he felt his entire understanding of the world collapse. It was terrifying to witness. A Godhead could actually be removed. For anyone else, the instant their Godhead was extracted, they would be utterly annihilated, vanishing into thin air. There would be no chance of survival. Yet this freak, Ye Fan, had managed to do it. He had accomplished an unprecedented feat, something no one had ever done before or would ever do again. He was staggered by Ye Fan’s action.
"How... how did you do that?" Tu Shen asked, his voice trembling so badly he could barely form the words.
