Chapter 57: A Single Page of Golden Scripture
Among these powerful beings, if one were to speak purely of speed, it was undoubtedly the golden-haired demon clan maiden. Her wings flapped, and two streaks of golden lightning seemed to flash across the sky. She was the first to reach the ancient hall, extending her wings to push against the tightly shut five-colored jade doors.
"Chi!"
But unexpectedly, a surge of five-colored divine radiance burst forth, sending her flying on the spot. Even a great demon as strong as she was tumbled head over heels five or six times. The others drew in cold breaths. Not daring to be careless, they all offered up their weapons and charged forward, seeking to open the Demon Emperor's tomb.
The entire ancient hall was refined from five-colored divine jade, as if it had torn through time and space from the primordial era, giving one a sense of the sedimentation of time and the breath of history. At the foundation of the glittering ancient hall, many ancient characters were carved. Dragon-shaped characters were vigorous, phoenix-shaped characters soared, black-tortoise-shaped characters were solemn, and qilin-shaped characters were grand. Like dragons and phoenixes, like tortoises and qilins, their strokes were forceful and imposing—they were precisely the demon clan imperial characters from before the primordial era.
These characters possessed a mysterious power. The crowd charged several times, but were all sent flying by the five-colored divine radiance that flowed from them. They could not get close, nor could they push open the doors of the ancient hall.
"Boom!"
Several great demons and the powerful experts of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven struck together. The purple bronze furnace, golden sword, Eight Trigrams mirror, and flood dragon scale blade all crashed simultaneously against the doors of the ancient hall. Finally, they shook it, and with a rumbling sound, a crack opened.
Instantly, a breath of the primordial era rushed forth. A powerful wave of life force surged like a vast ocean, sending everyone outside flying.
"Thump!"
That dull and powerful sound became even more terrifying. The expressions of everyone present changed, as they felt pain in their hearts. But no one lingered. After stabilizing themselves, they charged toward the magnificent ancient hall without a moment's delay.
"Chi, chi, chi!"
Light flickered. Various weapons spewed divine radiance, clashing continuously with clanging sounds. The demon clan experts and human cultivators crowded before the five-colored ancient hall. Battle erupted once more. No one wanted to let the other side get there first; everyone wanted to be the first to rush inside.
Before the magnificent ancient hall, light blazed brilliantly, and demonic qi soared to the heavens. Both sides fought with true fury. This time, it was a life-and-death battle. No one held back. The Demon Emperor's tomb was far too important to them.
Blazing light flickered. The very sky trembled. Various weapons spewed divine radiance, charging and striking in all directions. Killing intent pierced the clouds. Divine power surged. The area before the ancient hall was nearly boiling.
The great battle was extremely fierce. In less than half an hour, one of the Supreme Elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven was forced back step by step, gradually unable to hold on. Then, a great demon pierced through his chest, ripping out half of his shattered heart while it was still alive. Blood sprayed, staining the great demon's body, making him look incomparably ferocious.
The Sect Master of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven had an icy expression. He formed hand seals, tracing strange trajectories in the sky, causing the purple bronze furnace to tremble. Boundless purple mist surged out, instantly sucking two great demons into the furnace.
"Boom!"
Purple divine flames soared to the heavens. Heart-rending screams came from within the furnace. The two great demons were refined alive in an instant, leaving only two wisps of light smoke drifting out.
In the distance, Ye Fan's heart trembled. Such a brutal slaughter was truly terrifying. As a modern person, he found it somewhat hard to accept. He seriously considered whether being a cultivator had any meaning, whether it was worth it.
And at that moment, the dozen or so ferocious birds and beasts on the volcano also erupted into a great battle with the elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven, equally brutal. A humanoid ferocious beast with a wide mouth and fangs, covered in half-foot-long fur, looked extremely hideous. It tore an elder in two on the spot. Blood splattered, and the dismembered corpse fell, a gruesome sight. Nearby, an elder of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven offered up a demon-slaying blade, cleaving a ferocious bird in half. Cold light filled dozens of meters. The demon-slaying blade shone with radiance, dripping with blood, hanging in the air—a truly bloody scene.
Among the dozen or so super ferocious birds and beasts, the Lightning Bird was the most terrifying. It possessed extreme speed, soaring into the sky and extending its golden sharp claws, tearing apart the divine drum offered by an elder. When it swooped down, it brought hundreds of bolts of lightning, dense and crackling, rumbling with thunder, flashing with electricity, like dozens of meters-long shining blades falling from the sky.
"Crack!"
The elder of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven rode a rainbow and shot upward, but he still couldn't avoid it. He was far too slow compared to the hundreds of lightning bolts. He was scorched black all over, trembled a few times, and fell into the volcanic crater, swallowed by the surging magma.
This great battle was filled with blood and slaughter. Both humans and demons suffered casualties. Everyone was fighting for their lives, all wanting to be the first to rush into the Demon Emperor's tomb.
"Is this the life of a cultivator..." Ye Fan muttered to himself. His heart was far from calm. This was completely different from the life he had imagined—riding rainbows and roaming freely between heaven and earth.
"Perhaps different cultivators have different paths." Saying this, his gaze became clear, revealing a resolute expression. "Since I've chosen this path, I have to walk it step by step. My fate cannot be controlled by others. I must become stronger..."
Suddenly, a soft sound interrupted Ye Fan's thoughts. Pang Bo, lying on the ground, was shrouded in a hazy green aura, and a faint green light slowly began to glow on the surface of his body.
"Chi, chi, chi!"
Beams of light flowed out from within Pang Bo's body. These were the dao patterns laid down by Elder Wu Qingfeng, the sealing power he had left behind. But now, they all burst forth. The seal had failed!
At the same time, a faint green light bloomed in Pang Bo's bitter sea. Then his body shook, and his eyes snapped open with a "shua" sound, shooting out two green beams, eerie and strange.
Meanwhile, strange runes appeared on Pang Bo's forehead and face. Some were meaningless stripes, while others resembled characters.
Those runes that seemed like characters were either shaped like dragons and phoenixes, or like black tortoises, or like winding serpentine snakes.
Ye Fan was startled. Although he couldn't recognize the meaning of those runes, he had heard the Dharma Transmission Elder mention them before. They looked exactly like demon clan characters.
Pang Bo's eyes were green and eerie. He sat up stiffly, then stood up silently, coldly staring at Ye Fan, as if he wanted to make a move. But his raised hand trembled, somewhat out of control.
"Pang Bo..." Ye Fan called out loudly. He knew that Pang Bo's will had not completely fallen asleep. He must be fighting for control of his body.
Hearing this call, the body shook. The demon runes on his forehead and face also faded considerably. But a low roar sounded. Pang Bo's body shook violently, then the green light blazed brightly. His forehead and face were covered with demon runes. Finally, he slowly calmed down.
At this moment, he no longer stared at Ye Fan. Instead, he turned to look at the volcano, speaking in a hoarse voice: "I let you seal me on purpose..."
Ye Fan's heart trembled. This unknown existence that had taken over Pang Bo's body seemed very terrifying.
At this moment, the battle before the ancient hall grew even more intense. The hall doors had been pushed open. Both sides were fighting fiercely at the entrance. The Sect Master of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven and two great demons had already stepped one foot inside.
Just then, Pang Bo glanced back at Ye Fan, then suddenly soared into the air, transforming into a green light and charging toward the ancient hall above the volcanic crater.
The battle before the ancient hall was extremely fierce, deadlocked, with casualties on both sides. Pang Bo's sudden appearance startled the elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven. When the great demons saw the demon runes on his forehead and face, they also became suspicious.
But no one paid him any attention at the moment. The Sect Master of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven and two great demons had already stepped into the ancient hall. Pang Bo left an afterimage in the sky and followed the three powerful experts inside.
The sky was a riot of color. The remaining two Supreme Elders and several great demons also rushed into the hall one after another. Below, the Lightning Bird and other super ferocious birds and beasts, as well as the ordinary elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven, all soared into the air, charging toward the ancient hall.
"Thump!"
At that moment, the dull sound within the hall rang out again, far more intense and powerful than before.
"Pfft!"
Two elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven spat out large mouthfuls of blood on the spot, staggering backward. A silver centipede as thick as an arm cracked all over, then its body, as if cast from silver, shattered inch by inch, falling from the ancient hall.
Another ferocious beast, with a body like a wild ox, a lion's head, and covered in dense cyan scales, stood over ten meters tall. It charged into the air like a small mountain, but as soon as it neared the ancient hall, the dull sound shook it so violently that it spat out a large mouthful of blood, coughing up a shattered heart.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"...
The dull sound rang out continuously. The super ferocious birds and beasts and the elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven who had rushed in first all staggered backward, bleeding from all seven orifices, severely injured. The weaker ones among them, along with a few ferocious birds and beasts, died directly inside, their chests split open, blood spraying, unable to retreat from the ancient hall.
In the distance, Ye Fan was shocked. What kind of power did this Demon Emperor's tomb contain, to be so terrifying? Although he was far away, he could still feel the increasingly powerful force. The dull sound was also becoming hard for him to bear.
The magnificent ancient hall shook. People inside were fighting fiercely. Several great demons were shouting, and the Sect Master and Supreme Elders of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven were also roaring.
"Bang!"
A flash of green light. Pang Bo's figure appeared at the entrance of the ancient hall, as if he had been blasted out. His face was ashen. He heavily slapped several corpses on the ground, sending them flying with unimaginable force, all of them crashing onto the high mountain where Ye Fan was, landing heavily.
Ye Fan's heart stirred. He noticed that Pang Bo, his face shrouded in green qi, glanced in his direction before roaring and charging back into the ancient hall.
Ye Fan turned over the corpses and examined them carefully. Then, on the body of a ferocious beast, he discovered something unusual. Faint, extremely weak golden light was flowing from its wound. If one didn't look closely, it would be impossible to notice.
"What's this..." Ye Fan extended his finger into the wound. He felt like he had touched something, then pinched it out with two fingers.
Instantly, dazzling beams of light shot up, so bright that Ye Fan could barely open his eyes. It was a golden sheet of paper, radiating endless divine radiance, brilliant and dazzling.
This page of golden scripture was heavier than metal. It was densely covered with countless ancient characters, so tiny they were almost unreadable. Each ancient character shone like a star, brilliant and resplendent.
Ye Fan's heart began to pound rapidly. His mouth felt dry. Squinting his eyes against the divine radiance of the golden paper, he was utterly captivated.