Chapter 1085: Saints Gather at the Forbidden Zone of Life
"There are still six months before the Star Gate can be opened..." Ye Fan frowned. Many years had passed, and he wondered how Ji Ziyue, the Southern Demon, Pang Bo, and the others were doing—whether any had fallen.
The strong don't necessarily survive, and the weak don't necessarily perish. This ancient path is very long; if one finds it too perilous, they can choose to stop and not necessarily reach the end. That was what the old sage had said.
Ye Fan returned to the Eastern Wasteland. Along the way, he examined a bloodstained battle robe but found nothing particularly special about it. There wasn't a single word on it, only drops of blood scattered like plum blossoms in bloom.
This was sent back by Ji Haoyue through special means. Back then, even the people at the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion were stunned, not knowing what kind of teleportation platform he had discovered. He sent back the bloodstained robe but never returned himself.
The Divine King Ji sent back the bloodstained battle robe, but what kind of message he intended to convey was unclear. It was because of this that Ji Ziyue embarked on the star path and ventured beyond the domain.
"The Divine Fortune Teller of the Central Province deduced many years ago that the path to immortality would open, and this world would become terrifying. Those who are not sages would be nothing but ants. The Central Emperor, the Western Bodhisattva, Yao Guang, and others left, perhaps to avoid this calamity," Ye Fan muttered to himself.
This was what the old sage of the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion had said before he left, involving some secrets unknown to outsiders.
The Divine Fortune Teller had passed away many years ago—struck dead by heavenly thunder, to be precise, because he violated taboos and revealed forbidden heavenly secrets related to the ancient great emperors and the path to immortality.
This ancient star path was not exclusive to the life-bearing star of the Big Dipper. There might be nodes ahead, which the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion had learned through mysterious channels.
"Could it be that Rongcheng Shi went ahead with the ginseng fruit tree, and Laozi rode his green ox into this path as well... A star named Flying Immortal, or even farther... Divine blood splattering, a place where ancient ancestors fought?" Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Ye Fan returned to the Eastern Wasteland, standing atop a mountain peak that pierced the sky. So many years had passed, and he had risen from the lowest ranks of cultivators to stand firm and overlook the eight directions.
Yet, this was still not enough!
"Who is buried in the Immortal Mound? Is there an emperor within the Divine Ruins? When can I descend into the Ancient Forbidden Land to see the truth? When can I enter the Immortal Mountain to dig up the immortal medicine? When can I go into the Primordial Ancient Mine to see through its depths?"
The Eastern Wasteland had seven Forbidden Zones of Life. Since ancient times, no one had truly explored them all. Ye Fan craved power, hoping that one day he could truly rise, fearlessly face the forbidden zones, and understand them completely.
"So many years have passed. Where is Little Nannan? Why did she disappear? That poor little one—how can I find her?"
This was a burden on Ye Fan's heart. Back then, the big-eyed, pure and innocent, pitiful Little Nannan had vanished without a trace and never reappeared.
"Mobilize all forces to find her, no matter the cost." This was Ye Fan's wish; otherwise, he would feel he had failed the little girl.
Now, he stood in the Yan region, but this capital city had been destroyed by a single strike from the Celestial Prince and no longer existed.
It was here that he had first met Little Nannan. He still remembered her appearance—her little clothes were tattered, her small shoes had holes revealing her toes, and her big eyes were pure and flawless. Yet she lowered her head and said to him, "I'm hungry..." She was so pitiful.
If not for the seven-colored little stone Little Nannan had given him, Ye Fan would have died in the Ancient Forbidden Land. It was thanks to her that he could heal the wounds of the Dao.
"Where is she..." Ye Fan thought of her small, lonely figure, enduring the coldness of the world, and his heart ached with bitterness.
Over the years, the Black Emperor had searched for her like a madman, but to no avail. No one knew where she was, and there had never been any news.
Now that Ye Fan had returned, he once again mobilized all channels of power, even using the divine material Phoenix Blood Red Gold as a reward. If any credible information emerged, he would surely pay the bounty.
"When will the path to immortality open?"
Ye Fan stood outside the Ancient Forbidden Land, once again observing the Nine Sacred Mountains. Now that his Heavenly Eye had reached great mastery, he could even clearly see the nine immortal medicines and the nine divine spring pools.
The nine spiritual roots were a perfect nine-marvelous divine medicine split into parts. One day, they would reunite. The ancient imperial clan of the Divine Silkworm Ridge had been waiting all along—this was their divine medicine.
"What lies at the bottom of the Primordial Abyss? Is there truly a path to the Immortal Domain? Or something else? Or, as an old friend speculated, is there an immortal sleeping there?"
Ye Fan's thoughts wandered endlessly, considering many possibilities.
"Did Li Xiaoman fall, turning to ashes, or did she become something else...?"
That day, in the final battle, Li Xiaoman resolutely jumped into the abyss. The last time she looked back at him, her expression was so complicated—two lines of crystal tears streaming down her face, as if she were smiling brilliantly, yet also infinitely sorrowful. Even now, thinking of it stirred his heart.
With a sigh, he shook his head, unable to clarify his own feelings.
"What is the origin of that supreme existence below? This place has the nine-marvelous divine medicine split into nine immortal roots. Could this forbidden zone be the transformation of the ancient emperor of the Divine Silkworm Clan?"
After the ancient clans awakened, someone made such a guess. The Divine Silkworm undergoes nine transformations, each one a life. To become the emperor of the Divine Silkworm Clan, one needs the ultimate tenth transformation. This place might be formed from the shed shell of the Divine Silkworm Clan's ancient emperor, or it might even contain a life.
Nine immortal lives, the tenth defying heaven!
But the human race was more inclined to believe that an immortal resided here, a completely different speculation from the ancient clans. According to ancient legends, there might be a great emperor who achieved immortality within!
"Hmm?"
Ye Fan's heart stirred as he felt two gazes upon him. He turned his head and saw a man in green robes standing on a cliff not far away, also gazing into the Primordial Abyss.
This was a very powerful man, at the Dao Severing realm, with the blood energy of a half-saint. Though his divine power was restrained, he still gave off the feeling of facing an eternal divine furnace.
Within his body seemed to harbor a terrifying force capable of shattering the heavens. If released, it could threaten even imperial prince-level figures, far surpassing ordinary half-saints!
Ye Fan's heart stirred. When had such a figure appeared? He had never seen him before. This was a greatly accomplished human cultivator, only half a step away from becoming a sage.
The man in green robes looked young. He nodded at Ye Fan, then turned and continued observing the Ancient Forbidden Land.
At the same time, Ye Fan noticed a thatched hut on the opposite side of the Ancient Forbidden Land, perched on a mountain peak, with a blurry figure standing there.
Ye Fan's body suddenly chilled, his heart shaken. Across this Forbidden Zone of Life, those two gazes were so terrifying—what astonishing cultivation was this?
A sage! And one unfathomably deep, a sage he had never seen before.
"Could another sage from beyond the domain have arrived, descended upon the Eastern Wasteland, deduced the location where the path to immortality will open, and intends to settle here permanently?" Ye Fan's heart tightened.
Soon after, the young man in green robes left, circling the forbidden zone and flying to the opposite shore. He appeared before the thatched hut and bowed to the blurry figure.
"Could it really be a sage from beyond the domain? With the path to immortality opening, will chaos begin here?"
Ye Fan observed from a distance, not daring to approach. Separated by the Ancient Forbidden Land, he could come and go freely. But without this barrier, facing a sage of unknown origin would make him uneasy.
"Oh? Someone else is coming."
A domain gate opened, and three figures emerged. An old man covered in Dao marks led the way, followed by two young men. One of them was Wang Xu, his expression gloomy.
They also chose a mountain peak, built a thatched hut, and stood guard on the summit, gazing toward the Ancient Forbidden Land.
"I've never seen any of them before. That means two sages from beyond the domain have already arrived. They can cross star domains, come for the path to immortality, and their cultivation is absolutely terrifying!"
Ye Fan didn't want to provoke any of them. He kept his distance, circling around to the other side of the forbidden zone. He believed that even a sage couldn't instantly cross this forbidden zone.
Suddenly, an eerie aura appeared. Ye Fan's heart tightened, and a chill ran up his spine.
He abruptly turned and looked deep into the Forbidden Zone of Life. Above the Primordial Abyss, several figures appeared, each wearing very ancient attire.
Abyss Slaves!
At the same time, the masters of the two thatched huts stepped forward simultaneously, their eyes shooting terrifying beams of light into the Ancient Forbidden Land, trying to see clearly.
Silently, an even more chilling aura emerged. The Dao of heaven and earth became chaotic, the rules and order on the verge of collapse, plunging the space around the forbidden zone into darkness.
A blurry figure appeared, bound in chains, shrouded in black mist, standing at the mouth of the abyss. Even with the Heavenly Eye, one couldn't see through it; even a sage had no way.
Was he or she the "Desolate One"? Ye Fan's heart trembled. He never thought he would see this being again.
This was absolutely an invincible existence in the world! Back then, the Battle Victory Buddha came with three imperial weapons and could only retreat. At the last moment, he used an ancient great emperor's decree to stop this person.
The two thatched huts and the two sages from beyond the domain all involuntarily stepped back. In the black mist, a pair of eyes, cold and merciless, swept over them as if looking at lifeless objects.
"Chaos begins in the Southern Domain. The path to immortality might really be here..." Ye Fan murmured to himself.
At the same time, his body tensed again. In the Primordial Abyss, that supreme existence, through the black mist, actually looked at him, as if it could see through his body and perceive all essence.
At that moment, the broken green cauldron inside him trembled several times, as if sensing an inexplicable pressure.
Ye Fan's heart shook. He involuntarily stepped back. This existence, whose gender he couldn't even tell, had definitely seen the Primordial Qi Cauldron!
On the opposite shore, before the two thatched huts, the sages from beyond the domain also looked over, because they sensed that the "Desolate One" seemed to have swept his gaze toward Ye Fan. They were all somewhat surprised.
"Swish"
The next moment, Ye Fan directly opened a domain gate, stepped in, and fled without looking back. This place could not be lingered in!
"A great chaos is about to come. Perhaps it will be an unprecedented catastrophe!" he murmured to himself. The fact that sages from beyond the domain chose this place as soon as they arrived was a huge problem.
Space twisted, and Ye Fan appeared over a hundred thousand li away. He hadn't left the Southern Domain yet. He wanted to go near the Yaoguang Holy Land to take a look and make a trip.
Half a day later, he arrived alone, standing before a magnificent sacred land.
"Oh!"
As soon as he arrived, he showed a look of surprise. He couldn't help but take a deep breath. It was indeed as Duan De had said—the terrain was too peculiar.
Looking from afar, the terrain ahead suddenly rose, like a huge mound standing on the earth.
The mound was very large. If he weren't an Origin Heavenly Master, highly attentive to terrain patterns, he wouldn't have noticed such undulating changes.
Because on the mound, there were also beautiful peaks, valleys, and ravines, as well as waterfalls and springs, forming a scenery of its own.
To outsiders, this was just a slightly elevated area, a kind of plateau. Only Duan De, the tomb raider, and Ye Fan, the dragon vein seeker, would see the oddity.
"Could it really be a great tomb, with some mysterious mechanism?" he marveled.
On a great tomb, beautiful peaks and thousand-zhang silver waterfalls had grown. Qilin beasts roamed, Golden Crows flew across the sky, and auspicious herbs covered the ground. But the more it seemed this way, the more eerie it felt.
"Hmm, I wonder if this place has any connection to the Ancient Forbidden Land?" Ye Fan shook his head, feeling he might be too sensitive. (To be continued)