Chapter 35: A World Like This
In the brightly lit hall, several old men with eyes as sharp as lightning continuously swept their gazes back and forth, sizing up Ye Fan and the others with astonishment.
"Why are your clothes so strange?"
"Why do you keep your hair so short?"
"And you are all mortals—how did you mistakenly enter the Ancient Forbidden Land?"
"Why is your language so peculiar? Where do you come from?"
"With your level of strength, how could you approach the Primordial Abyss and even pick the legendary sacred fruit…"
The old men were meticulous and thorough, pressing with question after question, trying to fully uncover their origins.
From the other shore of the starry sky, separated by tens or hundreds of light-years—a distance that would take millions or billions of years to cross even in flight—how could such words be spoken? Ye Fan and the others remained silent in response.
"Why aren't you speaking?" One old man's gaze instantly turned fierce.
"Even if we tell you the truth, would you believe us?" Ye Fan looked at the people in the hall, speaking calmly and steadily. "Our homeland is very far from here. We merely climbed an ancient mountain and ended up on the other side of the heavens. We don't know where we are, and we can't look back to see where we came from."
The several old men exchanged glances with each other, and then one of them nodded. "That is understandable. An extraordinary powerhouse must have laid down a 'formation' on that ancient mountain, capable of instantly dimming the sun and moon and shifting the stars. But to have such means… is truly terrifying!"
Since the old men had stopped pressing, Ye Fan and the others did not mention the Nine Dragons Coffin or crossing the desolate universe to reach the other shore of the starry sky.
At this moment, the copper lamp, alms bowl, and ancient bell in Ye Fan's hands caught the attention of the old men.
"What are these…"
One of the old men focused his gaze, took the copper lamp from Ye Fan's hand, and examined it carefully and thoroughly. After a long time, he sighed deeply. "A very refined technique. I suspect that the wick had already nurtured a 'spirit,' but unfortunately, it is now ruined. There is no trace of any pattern left inside."
Then, he carefully examined the alms bowl, ancient bell, copper plaque, and other items, his face full of shock and regret. He sighed repeatedly. "These were all fine treasures—how did they all become useless?! The valuable 'Dao patterns' inside have all been destroyed. Even trying to glimpse the technique is impossible."
"How did you obtain these things?" The old men all seemed pained, their faces filled with regret as they sighed continuously.
At this moment, Ye Fan did not respond. His earlier words had been watertight—even if Zhou Yi and the others later revealed the truth, what he said did not contradict the facts. But this time was different.
Someone followed his line of thought and answered, claiming that these divine relics were obtained on the ancient mountain where the "formation" was laid, and that they had not abandoned them even after inexplicably entering the Ancient Forbidden Land.
Clearly, not only did Ye Fan not want to talk about the other shore of the starry sky, but the others also understood that the matter was too important to be casually disclosed.
"I see. I am becoming more and more interested in this ancient mountain you speak of. I would very much like to go and investigate it myself." One old man smiled, squinting his eyes—whether in suspicion or genuine curiosity was unclear.
"Where did you originally live? Is there a general region?" Another old man asked.
By now, almost everyone was following Ye Fan's lead, lying together. One female classmate said they came from the Western Region.
"The Western Region? So you come from the vast and boundless Western Desert…" One old man frowned, muttering to himself. "From the Western Desert to the Eastern Wasteland, the distance is endless. Even if I were to fly on a rainbow, it would probably take me over thirty years. Who could possess such heaven-and-earth-shaking talent to lay down such a powerful 'formation' on that ancient mountain? Unimaginable!"
"So, we have arrived in the Eastern Wasteland." Zhou Yi seized the opportunity to ask, "How large is the Eastern Wasteland?"
"The Eastern Wasteland is so vast it has no bounds. Even if a mortal could live for dozens of lifetimes, they could never traverse it all."
"That big?!" Ye Fan and the others all showed expressions of disbelief.
"In the mortal world, the country that rules over this region of the Ancient Forbidden Land is called 'Yan.' It stretches two thousand li from north to south and three thousand li from east to west. Yet such a territory is merely a drop in the ocean within the Eastern Wasteland. There are countless countries like this one."
Hearing these words, Pang Bo nearly jumped up. How vast was this land? The territory of 'Yan' was so expansive, yet it counted for nothing in the Eastern Wasteland. Countries of the same size were too numerous to count.
The Eastern Wasteland—truly boundless and immeasurable! It was hard to imagine just how enormous it was!
"How can it be this big?!" Pang Bo's pupils contracted. He felt that these facts severely defied common sense, too incredible to believe. But then, thinking that even gods and spirits existed in this world, he could only shake his head.
Seeing that they had stunned Pang Bo, the old men all showed pleased smiles. This boy, who looked only eleven or twelve years old, would be a "seed" they would focus on nurturing in the future. One of them continued, "Although the Yan Kingdom is merely a corner of the Eastern Wasteland, a drop in the ocean, it is not unknown. The Ancient Forbidden Land within its borders is one of the seven great Forbidden Zones of Life in the vast, boundless Eastern Wasteland."
Everyone was speechless for a long time. They had gained a great deal of useful information, and their hearts were truly shaken, surging with waves of shock.
"You mentioned the Western Desert earlier. How does it compare to the Eastern Wasteland?" Wang Ziwen, being more meticulous, couldn't help but ask.
"The Western Desert and the Eastern Wasteland are roughly the same in size—equally vast and boundless."
Hearing this affirmative answer, waves of emotion stirred in everyone's hearts. What an enormous region that would be!
Yet what shocked them even more was yet to come. Another old man added, "The Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Ridge, Northern Plains, and Central Province—among them, the Central Province is the largest, truly vast and boundless. Even cultivators find it difficult to cross…"
Everyone was completely petrified, their mouths dry, unable to say anything more.
The old men were very satisfied and encouraged them, "In a single lifetime, mortals are ultimately too insignificant, like ants. They can hardly even understand what the world they live in is like. But now, you all have the opportunity to look down upon this vast land. As long as you are willing to train diligently and cultivate hard, one day you will be able to stir the winds and clouds and stand atop the clouds."
It took a long time for everyone to snap out of their daze. Some hesitated, uncertain. "We… cultivate…"
"That's right. You entered the Ancient Forbidden Land and lost your youth, but this world is balanced. What you lose, you gain. Though the thorny path of cultivation is treacherous and difficult, you have already opened a small trail."
"Indeed. Your 'Seas of Suffering' have all been activated. One day, even crossing the 'Sea of Suffering,' stepping onto the 'Divine Bridge,' and finding your own 'Deity' is not impossible."
The old men spoke words of encouragement one after another, guiding them onto the path of cultivation.
"We still don't know who you are…" Zhou Yi seized the moment to say.
"Within the Yan Kingdom, there are six Cave Heaven Paradise. Our place of cultivation is one of them—though not here, not in the mortal world." One old man replied with a smile.
"The Yan Kingdom is just a drop in the ocean in the Eastern Wasteland, and even this corner has six Cave Heaven Paradise. How many immortal cultivation sects are there in this world…" Pang Bo muttered quietly.
Clearly, these old men regarded him and Ye Fan with special favor, showing no displeasure. Instead, they smiled kindly and said, "Don't aim too high. The foundation is most important. Our Cave Heaven Paradise inherits from a certain Holy Land, and our foundational techniques are absolutely top-tier in this world. Moreover, if you can soar to great heights in the future, we will provide you with even broader room for development."
"That's right!" Another old man said proudly, "Although we are merely a Cave Heaven Paradise, we are affiliated with a renowned Holy Land in the Eastern Wasteland. If you prove to be exceptionally talented in the future, you might even be selected to enter that Holy Land's gates."
With that, the old men looked affectionately at the young girl beside them, Wei Wei. "Wei Wei is a once-in-a-millennium prodigy from our Cave Heaven Paradise. She will soon be selected to enter the Holy Land. It's truly hard to let her go, but we don't want to delay her cultivation."
Just then, loud laughter came from outside the hall. "Your 'Paradise' is inadequate. If you have good talents, you might as well send them to our 'Cave Heaven.' I heard you've discovered over a dozen good seedlings for cultivation?"
More than a dozen streaks of rainbow light descended from the sky. These people all entered without invitation, walking straight into the hall.