Before even getting to what the cage was made of, or what was inside of it, Zhou Fan looked into the distance and disappeared.
One of the most well known and ancient places in the Universe, the Cosmic Sect.
Zhou Fan stood above the endlessly large sect and looked at the inner section. There, a familiar face sat. In front of him was a powerful man, one of the strongest within the Cosmic Sect. He was known as Sage Yellow Field.
He looked at Skymerge with a frown.
Zhou Fan could tell that the Skymerge he knew and this Skymerge were slightly different.
It seemed that a memory containing art had been used to imbue him with memories, much like what happened to Ying Xiong after reincarnation. Zhou Fan was able to quickly deduce the situation.
Skymerge's talent was enough to receive a letter from the Cosmic Sect, one of the most powerful sects in the universe.
However, when the Emperor died and the reset occurred, Skymerge would return. This attracted the attention of powerful individuals, but no matter how strong, they were unable to stop this process from occurring.
Eventually, it reached the notice of a Sage, who took a great interest in it.
For millions of years, he had tried everything to stop the scenario, but nothing had even slightly delayed it.
Once, even Ying Xiong was invited to take a look, but simply shook his head upon seeing it.
This pertained to what the cage itself was, and the processes inside connected to it.
The cage was something created by Ye Li, surely countless years ago. It was most likely used to farm Karma. However, it had long been discarded, and after being affected by the natural processes of the Universe, changed in an unpredictable way. This gave rise to the Emperor and his ability to "rewind time" after death, though it was a bit different from that. Instead, everything was destroyed and recreated as it had been, the only constant being the Emperor's memories.
Zhou Fan watched as they conversed for a moment, before descending.
He did not go fast or make any attempt to hide himself.
The Sage looked over, and despite Zhou Fan seeming normal, he couldn't help but feel as though an unimaginable being was standing before him. He didn't even speak.
Zhou Fan looked at Skymerge and spoke. "You are free now." He said.
Skymerge was shocked.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Skymender."
Skymerge didn't have time to react when Zhou Fan disappeared.
After his departure, the Sage learned that someone known as Skymender had suddenly appeared, not having existed until the last two cycles.
Zhou Fan appeared back above the cage.
He stepped into it and looked down at the planet.
The Treant was dead. It was indeed extremely powerful, around the level of a Core Formation realm Cultivator, though it did not have a Cultivation. With the cage split, Zhou Fan could see great changes going on within the planet. Qi was surging in, replenishing the world and bringing a temporary golden age. It was like a dehydrated flower finally receiving water.
Zhou Fan entered the world.
Below, he saw Sword Grandmaster Shang, an incredible talent in the way of the sword, and the Emperor, who had talent no worse than Skymerge.
The only reason he didn't get a Cosmic Sect invitation was because of the cage. It was incredibly lucky that Skymerge could receive an invitation, but it was only because the time he turned a proper age to receive an invitation was at the same time as when a temporary weak spot would appear in the cage.
Having been abandoned for many years, cracks and imperfections had appeared. It was due to such a weakness that Skymender was able to break through the cage at all.
Zhou Fan revealed himself to the Emperor, causing a shocked look to emerge on his face.
As he looked at Zhou Fan, he couldn't help but think of the Cultivators he was told about by the Fisherman.
However, when he looked deeper into Zhou Fan's eyes, he couldn't help but feel familiarity.
"Skymender?" He asked.
Zhou Fan nodded. "Somewhat. Skymender is dead, but he was just my reincarnation. I have returned to my true body."
The Emperor couldn't understand, but didn't ask any more questions.
Zhou Fan waved his arm, and the Emperor and Sword Grandmaster Shang disappeared. He vanished soon after.
When they reappeared, they were in front of a temple. All around were swords, planted into the ground, hung on walls, floating in the air.
As they appeared, the doors opened and a man walked out. He had a sword on his waist. Neither the Emperor nor Sword Grandmaster Shang could feel it, but his imposing presence covered the area around them. Even gods wouldn't dare stand calm in his presence.
His look said all that he wanted to convey.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
He could naturally tell that Zhou Fan was no ordinary person.
"I want you to accept these two as your disciple's." Zhou Fan said.
The man looked all of them up and down.
He then looked back at Zhou Fan.
"If you can defeat me, then we can talk."
Without hesitation, Zhou Fan made a grabbing motion. The man's sword appeared in his grasp, and he waved it.
The man's eyes widened. He felt as though the very universe was splitting before him.
When he regained consciousness, he saw a sword pointing at his forehead.
"Any other requests?" Zhou Fan asked.
The man numbly shook his head.
"Take that slash as compensation. If you spend enough time learning from it, you should be able to enter the True God realm."
The man nodded his head, finally regaining his wits. "Thank you, esteemed one." He said.
Zhou Fan disappeared, leaving Sword Grandmaster Shang and the Emperor behind.
When he reappeared, he was looking at the cage once again.
"It's about time we talk a little bit, Ye Li." He mumbled as he closed his eyes and touched the cage.