Chapter 1002: The Emperor is Dead
That same day, forces including Kunlun, the Immortal Sword Sect, the Shangqing Sect, the Quanzhen Sect, as well as the Vermilion Phoenix and the Ten Thousand Demon Valley all provided clues that stirred Ye Fan's heart and mind.
“This is that divine stone, weighing over ten thousand jun. Some ancestors said it was a heavenly stone from beyond the stars, while others claimed it was a foundation stone of the Heavenly Court.” The Shangqing Sect Master ordered a purple stone to be placed on the ground.
The stone was entirely purple, about the size of a millstone, resembling a dusty ancient jade—dull and lusterless, yet extremely heavy. Just now, two Supreme Elders had been sweating profusely from moving it.
Ye Fan circled it once, feeling it truly seemed to be a foundation stone, and couldn't help asking where it had been obtained.
The Shangqing Sect Master told him truthfully: in ancient times, during a torrential rainy night, a mountain flood carved a gully at the foot of Mao Mountain, and purple clouds surged up. The old Sect Master of that era was awakened in the middle of the night and, looking down the mountain, saw a celestial palace collapsing. He rushed into the heavy rain, only to find that the celestial palace and other sights were illusions, nonexistent—likely a replay of ancient scenes. Only the purple stone was found in the gully.
Everyone marveled at this, gathering around to examine the strange stone. Ye Fan placed his hand on it; it was very warm and smooth. Concentrating his senses, he heard sounds of thunder and lightning, along with the clashing of Dao swords.
He activated his Dao principles, drawing out a blurry scene: torrential rain, shouts of battle shaking the heavens, the roar of supreme experts, and then a celestial palace collapsing, falling from the sky.
“A pity, it's not clear enough to say whether it was a divine war.” Ye Fan shook his head.
The half-ancient palace that Snow Dust Sect Master had transported also arrived. It stood dozens of zhang tall, like a small mountain, quite magnificent and grand. The entire structure was built from green feathers. Though only half remained, its imposing aura was undiminished.
“This truly is a celestial palace. Such scale, enduring for so many years without decay—truly extraordinary,” someone exclaimed.
Ye Fan's mind stirred. This resembled the style of the Divine Ruins in the Big Dipper Star Domain. He had never been to that Forbidden Zone of Life, but he had seen descriptions in ancient texts.
Before the Divine Ruins, the Southern Heavenly Gate stood tall, half-collapsed there, leaving endless legends in the world.
Could it really be a relic of the Heavenly Court? Ye Fan asked Snow Dust Sect Master in detail about the origin of this palace. He was told truthfully that it had been excavated from the foot of Kunlun.
Ye Fan gently stroked this ancient palace, then channeled his cultivation to trace back to its origins, carving out all the imprints left from bygone years.
Within this green jade palace, there existed mysterious formations, complex and profound. This was precisely why it had endured through the ages, protected from decay.
Ye Fan was startled. Such laws were transcendent and saintly, far beyond ordinary imagination. He was beginning to believe this was indeed a building of the Heavenly Court.
He activated his laws, and his body burst forth with a cascade of phoenix feathers. Chains of order linked to the green celestial palace, sensing events from countless ages past.
But it was too ancient, impossible to restore. Even someone as powerful as him found it futile, because he vaguely guessed it dated back at least a million years.
“Hum—”
Just as Ye Fan was about to let go, the green palace suddenly rippled. A flash of light emitted a majestic voice, shaking the entire low mountain.
“The Emperor is dead. The divine generals of all domains will fall into chaos. The Heavenly Court collapses, disintegrating in an instant…”
This was not actual speech but an extremely faint divine thought, so powerful it made everyone tremble. Except for Ye Fan, all present knelt down.
Every soul quaked. What kind of existence was this? From endless ages past—at least a million years or more—yet its lingering voice within the green palace was still unbearable.
“Ah…”
Some Dao sect disciples could not withstand it; their bodies cracked, nearly splitting apart. The cauldron above Ye Fan's head hummed, emitting a strand of Mother Qi to protect him.
“Pfft”
A Sect Master, too close, was enveloped by this pressure. He coughed up blood heavily, unable to resist, unable to endure.
Ye Fan's expression changed. The Primordial Mother Qi rose and fell, emitting streams of auspicious energy, shielding everyone below to prevent death and Dao dissolution.
What kind of existence was this? Across endless ages, its mournful voice alone could kill people of the present. Its power was terrifyingly great, beyond comprehension.
“If not an Ancient Emperor, then at least a Quasi-Emperor,” Ye Fan murmured to himself. He even thought it might be a Sacred Emperor. In that mythical era, perhaps several Great Emperors existed, which wouldn't be surprising.
He did his utmost to restore the imprints left from ancient times, but endless ages could shatter everything. Only this mournful cry remained; nothing else survived.
After severing the Dao, he possessed heaven-reaching, earth-shaking abilities, but he could not create something from nothing or reverse the passage of countless years.
When everything calmed down, everyone looked at each other, filled with awe for Ye Fan. This was truly heaven-defying—making the voice of the ancient Heavenly Court resurface, revealing a glimpse of heavenly secrets and ancient mysteries.
“Hmm, the mythical Heavenly Court really existed, appearing on ancient Earth. I wonder what other traces remain.” Ye Fan pondered, lost in thought.
“Brother, if you choose ‘Heavenly Court’ as your sect's name, please think thrice. There were once brilliant ancient prodigies who attempted such a great undertaking, but they all met with calamity.”
“Yes, the name ‘Heavenly Court’ crushes past and present across time and space. It is not something we can bear. Without becoming an immortal, rashly establishing a Heavenly Court will ultimately collapse, leading to unforeseen disaster.”
Everyone advised him out of goodwill. Previously, they hadn't thought much of it, but hearing that mournful cry just now made their hearts pound, recalling various ancient legends.
Ye Fan nodded without saying much. That day, various sects sent a large number of ancient artifacts, all related to the divine war and connected to the ancient Heavenly Court.
Finally, the congratulatory guests departed. The Sect Masters left, the crowd dispersed, and the low mountain was left with a pile of artifacts and ancient texts as large as a hill.
In the following half-month, Ye Fan buried himself in a sea of ancient books, forgetting to eat and sleep, searching for various paths.
His parents were gone; there was little on Earth to attract him anymore, except achieving the Dao and becoming an immortal.
He wanted to investigate the mythical Heavenly Court, but the time was too distant, burying everything in the dust of history. Now, he could only trace it through legends, anecdotes, oracle bone texts, and the like.
Time flowed like water, always slipping away unnoticed. Another three years passed in a flash. Six years had gone by since Ye Fan returned to this side of the stars.
During these years, aside from cultivation, he spent most of his time investigating the divine war and the secrets of immortality, learning quite a few ancient mysteries.
Now, the prestige of the Heavenly Court grew daily. Ye Fan could hardly find an opponent in the world. When collecting ancient texts and secret records, he naturally received help from all sides.
Over these five years, he exhausted his abilities, visiting various sects. He had been to the Vatican, climbed Mount Olympus, visited the sacred lands of Egypt, and delved deep into the Buddhist lands of India. Every famous Dao site in the world bore his footprints.
The ancient Heavenly Court was not unearthed, but he unexpectedly obtained some ancient scriptures, which inspired him greatly and yielded substantial gains.
Ye Fan mobilized all forces, not only searching for the ancient Heavenly Court but also seeking clues to the Immortal Ascension Diagram. Unexpectedly, he made a breakthrough discovery.
The eighth corner of the Immortal Ascension Opportunity Diagram was buried beneath the foundation of an ancient temple. Opening the Buddhist shrine revealed not only some relics but also a bone fragment.
This was an ancient monastery, accidentally discovered by a young monk. Even the powerful Buddhist sect, upon learning that Ye Fan wanted to see the bone fragment, dared not refuse and directly gifted it to him.
This was a great harvest!
Besides searching for the ancient Heavenly Court and the divine war ruins, Ye Fan had also been tirelessly hunting for the Immortal Ascension Opportunity Diagram, which would be of great use to him in the future.
After obtaining the eighth corner of the Immortal Diagram, he put aside other matters, including the pursuit of the Heavenly Court. Everything would be shelved for now, because he had made a major decision in his heart!
“Rong Chengshi, a Quasi-Emperor, entered the immortal ascension site, ultimately obtained a Divine Immortality Pill, and barely returned alive. I have severed the Dao, and though my strength is far inferior to his, I have obtained the eight-cornered Immortal Diagram, nearly complete. Perhaps I can go further.”
The secret of immortality was too tempting; no one would give it up. It was the lifelong goal of even Great Emperors, let alone Ye Fan. It was his ultimate objective.
“I really want to go in and take a look,” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Only one corner of the diagram was missing to complete it. It wasn't that he couldn't wait or was too impatient, but he knew that corner had been shattered in ancient times and could never be recovered. Otherwise, the ancient sages would not have left collectively.
“Hmm, missing one corner made them retreat. It seems the hope is slim, hard to succeed. Forget it, I'll just scout the path, take a look first, without expecting to succeed.”
Ye Fan set out, bringing only Little Pine. They traveled westward into Kunlun, then bypassed ancient formations to reach a vast, boundless region.
Little Pine's eyes widened immediately. This was a ten-thousand-year dragon mountain range, the ancestor of all mountains—immense, boundless, and awe-inspiring, like a living true dragon coiled here.
The true Kunlun mountain range stretched endlessly, with countless great peaks. Each mountain was like a dragon bone, piercing into the clouds, majestic and grand.
Ancient pines were lush, waterfalls stretched endlessly, like a scroll painting spread before them.
Ye Fan spent about half a month circling this mountain region, observing the terrain, not daring to act rashly. He pieced together the eight-cornered Immortal Diagram, repeatedly studying it to find a safe path.
However, the central section of the road leading to the heart of the immortal ascension site was blank. After assembling the diagram, only that middle area was missing, a regrettable gap.
Over twenty days later, a flash of purple light appeared in the distance. Little Pine, like a little purple spirit, leaped out. Its small body carried a square piece of pure white jade, about a meter across. Its black gem-like eyes sparkled as it wobbled deliberately, staggering toward Ye Fan to show off.
“Eh, similar to the foundation stone of the Heavenly Court?” Ye Fan was surprised.
Little Pine puffed out its small chest, then nodded, turning to leap toward a cliff. It led Ye Fan to a broken mountain, which seemed to have been collapsed by something.
Ye Fan searched around and found a small ruin nearby. Cultivators had once lived here, building caves with these jade stones, but they had been destroyed.
He rubbed these jade stones, his heart trembling. They were indeed of the same origin as the Heavenly Court's foundation stones, containing similar formations inside. Unfortunately, there were only a dozen or so pieces.
“Heavenly Court… Kunlun…”
After careful thought, Ye Fan's heart shook. “Could it be that the ancient Heavenly Court and the ninety-nine dragon mountains are connected?”
He couldn't help but feel shocked, suddenly thinking of many things. Both originated from before the ancient era, so ancient that time was impossible to trace.
In that era, who could have driven ninety-nine vast dragon mountains from one ancient star to another? Perhaps only the ancient Heavenly Court.
“If such a superpower existed, capable of driving dragon mountains, willing to destroy many life-bearing ancient stars to nurture the hope of immortality, then it could only be the Heavenly Court!”
In the end, the Emperor died, the divine generals of all domains fell into chaos, and a great disaster occurred, shattering the Heavenly Court. The various causes and ancient secrets behind this are now unknowable.
Ye Fan's heart surged with waves, unable to calm for a long time. The divine war and the Heavenly Court might be linked to the ninety-nine dragon mountains. He stared fixedly into the depths of Kunlun and said, “Let's go. Relying on the eight-cornered diagram, we'll go in and take a look. Even if we gain nothing, we can protect ourselves. Let's see what the so-called immortal ascension site has nurtured, and what the so-called hope of immortality truly is.”
Little Pine's big, sparkling eyes flickered with lively light as it leaped to his side. Ye Fan carved the terrain map, then strode into the mountains, heading toward the deepest part of Kunlun.