On this day, Ye Fan drank a full thirteen bottles of Hundred-Grass Liquid. Combined with the seven he had taken over the previous two days, the total reached twenty bottles. Yet, aside from the surging essence in his blood, he felt no discomfort at all.
Watching him gulp them down, Pang Bo became visibly anxious.
"Let's stop for now," he said nervously. "My heart's pounding, my eyelids won't stop twitching. I'm terrified you're just going to pop and I'll never see you again…"
"Don't jinx it, you damn crow's mouth," Ye Fan said, giving him a look. Then, sensing inwardly, he added, "Though I do feel something strange."
"What?! You mean it's working?" Pang Bo's eyes lit up. "I'll go find Elder Wu Qingfeng to guide you."
Ye Fan stopped him. "Don't. I'd rather sense it slowly myself."
Elder Wu Qingfeng had once said that Ye Fan's unique physique could only be cultivated through his own efforts, no one could guide him. He had compared Ye Fan's Life Wheel not to fertile soil like others', but to divine iron. Seeds planted in soil, when properly nurtured, would sprout and thrive. But divine iron? Even a divine root wouldn't grow unless the metal itself transformed. No matter how optimal the external conditions, it was useless unless the core changed from within.
Now, having finally felt a trace of something strange, Ye Fan was excited. Though his body had once been hailed as a Sacred Physique in the desolate era, he was now treated like a cripple. The bitterness weighed heavily on his heart. So this faint shift filled him with anticipation.
At this point, Pang Bo's eyes were bulging. Ye Fan was chugging Hundred-Grass Liquid like water, one bottle after another. The pile of empty bottles at his feet kept growing.
"Seriously… can we slow down? I'm freaking out here. Let's save the rest for tomorrow, alright? You're scaring the hell out of me…" Pang Bo pleaded, his voice shaky. By now, Ye Fan had consumed forty bottles.
"Don't worry. I feel great. The boiling energy in my blood has completely calmed down, and I'm sensing intense fluctuations where my Life Wheel is located."
He kept drinking. Finally, the bottles ran dry. Of the original stash, excluding the seven Pang Bo had taken, Ye Fan had consumed fifty-nine bottles.
"How do you feel now?" Pang Bo asked, holding his breath.
"I finally sensed the presence of my Life Wheel. The godpower source there is boiling over…" Ye Fan replied, then fell silent and began silently circulating the mystical techniques from the Dao Scripture, channeling energy into his Bitter Sea.
Pang Bo was left dumbfounded. "A boiling godpower source inside the Life Wheel… Why have I never felt that before?"
The cottage gradually quieted. Ye Fan sat like a stone statue, still and serene, while Pang Bo watched over him anxiously.
No one knew how much time passed before the hut suddenly burst into radiant light. Roars like crashing waves thundered through the space, as Ye Fan's Bitter Sea exploded with divine brilliance, a sea of golden light, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
Pang Bo was stunned speechless, staring blankly at the unfolding spectacle.
From Ye Fan's Bitter Sea, divine rays blazed forth in all directions like a rainbow. Waves of golden energy surged as if a stormy ocean had erupted within him. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed amidst towering tidal waves.
This phenomenon was utterly unheard of. Pang Bo was overwhelmed.
"What in the world is happening…" he murmured.
The roaring sea was deafening, like thousands of warhorses galloping through the skies. Pang Bo slapped himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Thunderous waves, lightning in the sky, crashing surf upon surf…" He was parched, heart racing. The scene felt surreal, as if he stood not inside their hut, but at the edge of a vast ocean.
Ye Fan remained completely still, silently seated, while divine light erupted from his Bitter Sea. The roar of waves, the blinding gold, the lightning, it was all real.
"That golden ocean… is it really his Bitter Sea? Why can I see it? Shouldn't it be hidden inside the body?" Pang Bo was both amazed and confused.
He could now observe his own Bitter Sea, dark and murky like ink, still and lifeless. Elder Wu Qingfeng had said that without connecting to the Life Wheel, the Bitter Sea was dormant, either black or dark green, with no sign of vitality. Energy would only float above it, not within.
But Ye Fan's was nothing like that. It completely defied expectations.
"Rumble…"
Above the raging golden sea, thunder crashed and lightning crackled, lighting up the heavens. It was as though sea and sky had merged in dazzling brilliance.
Pang Bo stood there petrified, fearing something might go wrong. But Ye Fan remained as calm as ever, immersed in the Dao Scripture's techniques.
Hours passed before the golden light slowly faded and the sea sounds began to quiet. Half an hour later, peace returned to the hut. The golden waves receded, the brilliance dimmed, and silence fell.
Soon after, Ye Fan opened his eyes, divine light flashing in his gaze. As he stood, he seemed more ethereal, there was now something of the immortal in his bearing.
"What the hell just happened? How do you feel now?" Pang Bo rushed to ask.
"I sensed the Life Wheel," Ye Fan said. "I saw the boiling godpower source within it, then surged it into the Bitter Sea. I think… I saw a golden ocean. Maybe it was an illusion."
Pang Bo's jaw dropped.
"It wasn't an illusion. I saw it too!"
"You did?" Ye Fan was surprised.
"Absolutely! You have no idea how overwhelming it was. The waves, the divine glow, the sheer brilliance, it shook the whole hut. If we weren't in such a remote spot, this would've caused a huge uproar."
After hearing Pang Bo's account, Ye Fan was finally sure that the golden sea and crashing waves had not been his imagination.
"So… how are you feeling now?" Pang Bo asked, concerned. "I saw that golden Bitter Sea fade at the end. Did it fail after all?"
"I'm not sure…" Ye Fan replied. He began circulating the Dao Scripture once more. In the place where his Bitter Sea was, a tiny golden light flickered, no bigger than a sesame seed, yet gleaming brightly.
"It's small, but that doesn't matter. You've broken through! It'll grow with time." Pang Bo was thrilled. "I'm sure your Bitter Sea is extraordinary. It's golden, unlike anything normal. Its radiance even shone outside your body!"
Though he had only opened a tiny "drop" of a Bitter Sea, Ye Fan was overjoyed. He had finally broken through, carving out a golden Bitter Sea of his own.
"Is it just me, or does that tiny golden dot already contain traces of god-energy?" Pang Bo asked, puzzled. "Could it be… that it's a very concentrated essence?"