Chapter 1106: Flying Saucer
“With my one million eight hundred thousand years of Dao cultivation for divination, combined with my many years of archaeological experience as supporting evidence, the great tomb beneath Yao Guang must belong to the Desolate One, who is undoubtedly the Ruthless One!” Duan De declared.
“Senior Uncle Duan, the Human Ancestor descended upon the Big Dipper ancient star only a little over a million years ago, far less than one million eight hundred thousand years,” Ye Tong said softly.
Duan De laughed heartily, saying, “Who am I? A single dream spans a million autumns; I built the path to immortality in the primordial era.”
Ye Tong rolled his eyes and ignored him.
The words ‘Ruthless Great Emperor’ sent a tremor through Ye Fan’s heart. Throughout his journey, he had forged many karmic ties with this stunning woman.
“Kid, you’re in big trouble. Not to mention the Primordial Qi Cauldron, the Immortal Treasure Map, and such, even the sacred fruit you picked when you first arrived at Big Dipper on the Nine Dragons Bronze Coffin was the Nine Marvelous Divine Medicine planted by the Ruthless One. From the very beginning, you’ve owed her an immense debt of gratitude,” Black Emperor bared his teeth.
Ye Fan’s head throbbed. If he delved deeper, even retrieving the Green Cauldron from the Immortal Site on Earth was connected to the Ruthless One’s past deeds.
“Impossible. How could a person live for over two hundred thousand years? I find it hard to believe, even if she was a Human Great Emperor!” Dragon Horse shook his massive head.
“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. All signs point to the Desolate One possibly being a physical shell shed by the Ruthless One!” Black Emperor sneered.
“This defies logic. Did she become an immortal? A discarded mortal shell enduring for eternity, capable of transforming into a forbidden zone—what couldn’t she accomplish?” Dragon Horse’s eyes bulged.
“This Emperor didn’t believe it before either. But the Blackgold Imperial Cauldron at Yao Guang, this great tomb, and the Desolate One’s power of longevity made me realize the true meaning behind Emperor Wu Shi’s gaze at the Nine Sacred Mountains, his glance back at the old Yao Guang grounds, and his distant look toward the Northern Domain back then. The Ancient Forbidden Land was most likely transformed by a Human Great Emperor!” Black Emperor gazed toward the southern lands.
If this were to spread, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar—a shocking revelation. One of the seven Forbidden Zones of Life was created by the human race—how could that not be earth-shattering?
“How could she be so heaven-defying as to accomplish all this?” Dragon Horse came from the other shore of the starry sky and knew little of the ancient Great Emperors, finding it hard to comprehend.
“Because she is the Ruthless One!” Duan De said. The implication was clear: no other reason was needed. Just because she was the Ruthless One, that was enough. There was nothing she couldn’t do!
A cold wind blew, and the old grounds of Yao Guang were desolate. Bones littered the surrounding wilderness, and nearly all birds and beasts had been wiped out.
Once the Desolate One emerged, she would devour heaven and earth, draining all life energy—terrifying and boundless.
Ye Fan and the others returned to the Northern Domain and entered Heavenly Village. Dongfang Ye, Yan Yixi, Li Heishui, and others gathered from time to time, all shaken when discussing the Ancient Forbidden Land.
For now, they could only guess it was related to the Ruthless One, possibly even her, but there was no solid evidence. What origins did the other six Forbidden Zones of Life have?
The path to immortality was about to open. No one knew if the supreme beings within these forbidden zones would emerge on that day, and it was hard to imagine what waves would be stirred.
“The most glorious golden age has arrived. The magnificent battle hymn has already sounded. Who knows how many will die…” Killing Sage Qi Luo squinted as he spoke.
In the following days, Ye Fan kept a low profile—he had no choice. First, he killed the Celestial Prince, then chased the Golden Heavenly Maiden until she fled bare-bottomed, and finally slaughtered the Ancient Saint Huo Tan. His actions were too conspicuous.
Some among the Ancient Clan secretly offered a reward: anyone who could kill Ye Fan would receive astonishing prizes. Many major clans wanted him dead, and undercurrents surged. The radical faction didn’t want to see Ye Fan become a saint.
Allowing a potential Dao-prover to grow smoothly would be a disaster for them. Nipping him in the bud was the best choice.
For nearly two months, Ye Fan had been in seclusion. Even those skilled in divination and deduction couldn’t calculate his whereabouts, as he carried the Green Copper Cauldron.
During these days, he stood on the sixth small step of Immortal Three Severing the Dao, ready to step onto the seventh at any time, but he couldn’t grasp the key to advancing.
Sitting in meditation could no longer solve the problem. In another three or four months, he would leave this world. Ye Fan sighed softly, stood up, and decided to take a walk—to take one last look.
Once he set foot on the Heavenly Path and embarked on the ultimate trial journey, he might never return, perhaps becoming a handful of yellow earth scattered beyond the domain.
The old master of the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion had made it clear: even three Human Sacred Bodies had died in battle, their blood staining the starry sky, their bones buried in foreign lands. They were his predecessors, with the same physique as his, and perhaps no weaker.
In recent days, the world had been in turmoil, never settling. Three more Ancient Sages had arrived from beyond the domain, descending upon this ancient star, causing widespread unease.
This signaled that the opening of the path to immortality was near. People were both expectant and fearful. The limited quotas for entering the Immortal Domain would likely lead to battles that could shatter the ancient star.
After Ye Fan emerged, he found unrest everywhere. Through secret channels, he learned that anyone providing clues about him would be rewarded with a Saint Artifact.
How shocking was that? Even most Ancient Saints lacked divine materials to forge weapons; only a few possessed legendary Saint Weapons!
Moreover, the Ancient Forbidden Land had become a sacred pilgrimage site. Daily, incense smoke curled upward as many human cultivators went to pay respects, treating the Desolate One as a great benefactor of the human race.
“West out of Hangu Pass, the small one-way Five-Colored Altars extend continuously, appearing on many ancient stars. Where do they lead?” Ye Fan muttered to himself.
That day, he and Dragon Horse landed outside Immortal Mountain but couldn’t find the Five-Colored Altar that should have appeared. According to their speculation, it might be inside Immortal Mountain, but they simply couldn’t enter to search.
“Perhaps it’s outside Immortal Mountain, who knows…”
Ye Fan arrived in the Central Domain again, standing outside Immortal Mountain, gazing at the towering black mountains. Each was majestic, the kings and emperors among mountains!
“Swoosh!”
Suddenly, a streak of light shot past—too fast to see clearly—brushing past Immortal Mountain and vanishing into the distant wilderness.
“What was that?” Ye Fan was startled, finding it somewhat familiar, and gave chase. Unfortunately, after searching for nearly an hour, he found nothing. Later, a group of cultivators chased after it, leaving the mountain range in chaos.
“Dao brother, what happened?” Ye Fan asked someone.
“Are you from the Central Domain? Don’t you know what’s been happening lately?” Someone stopped and looked at him strangely.
“I just happened to pass by and saw it. Is there something going on?” Ye Fan asked.
“A strange magical artifact has appeared near Immortal Mountain. It’s been getting bolder lately, often plundering cultivators and collecting their blood. Just now, a renowned elder was taken away.”
“What? Such a thing?” Ye Fan was surprised. Except for a few special cases, generally only Saint Weapons could give birth to a spirit and develop intelligence. Yet now, such a secret treasure had emerged.
In the end, the search fizzled out with no findings. Ye Fan also searched outside Immortal Mountain for a few days but still couldn’t find the small Five-Colored Altar, so he had to leave.
“Ah…” As he was leaving, Ye Fan saw a silver flying artifact flash by, tearing through the sky like lightning and vanishing into the distance.
“It’s… that!”
Ye Fan was shocked, recognizing it as the artifact he had seen a few days ago—and also the mysterious flying vehicle he had seen decades ago in the ancient city of “Wang Kong” in the Central Domain.
Wang Kong City was one of the ten great cities of the Central Domain. Within it stood a crystal platform, where legend said Emperor Wu Shi often gazed into the outer domain in ancient times.
Decades ago, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Black Emperor had personally witnessed a flying vehicle descending from beyond the heavens, sparking a frantic pursuit by Central Domain cultivators, only for it to fall into Immortal Mountain.
In the distant ancient years, legends often told of powerful divine objects occasionally falling from the vast, boundless starry sky.
At the time, people naturally thought it was an outer domain divine artifact. But Ye Fan saw clearly—it looked just like a flying saucer!
“It really is like a flying saucer…” Seeing it again now, his heart trembled. It was identical to what he had seen years ago.
It was a massive luminous object, extremely fast, diving into the depths of the mountain range like a streak of silver light. Shaped like a huge disc, it gleamed with a cold metallic luster.
Ye Fan activated the Stride Art and gave chase, but again found nothing, uncovering no clues.
“It came out of Immortal Mountain…” He was astonished. What kind of place was Immortal Mountain? No one knew better than him, having personally ventured in. Without Little Nannan, even with Black Emperor, the grand formation master, he would have surely died inside.
Ye Fan re-entered Wang Kong City and learned in detail about recent events in the Central Domain, confirming it was the same flying vehicle that had fallen from beyond the domain years ago, as many others remembered it too.
“It seemed damaged back then, but now it’s repaired and has become reckless, attacking many cultivators.”
“With just a sweep of light, no expert can withstand it—they get taken. People are panicking now.”
Ye Fan was surprised. This flying vehicle was collecting blood. The first batch of captives had some die and some be released, which was how people learned about it.
“The stronger the creature, the more interested it is. From strange beasts to humans to the Ancient Clan, in just half a month, it has plundered hundreds, if not thousands, of people.”
“You’re wrong. It started acting years ago, but only recently has it become so blatant that more people have found out. I suspect it may have achieved its goal and wants to leave, so it’s no longer hiding.”
Indeed, in the following days, the disc-shaped flying vehicle appeared frequently. Eventually, a shocking rumor emerged.
“Several Dao Cutters of the Ancient Clan… were swept by divine light and captured too!”
“What? It’s starting to target Dao Cutters, with no restraint!”
People were dumbfounded and chilled. What kind of weapon was this? Why was it doing this, always targeting cultivators?
In the next few days, the mysterious artifact, shimmering with silver light and seemingly forged from azure-white divine gold, often appeared, even attacking the ancient sacred land of the Demon Clan… the Ten Thousand Demon Hall.
On the same day, several key locations of the human and Ancient Clans in the Central Domain were also invaded, with many experts going missing.
“Crazy! A weapon daring to act like this will likely draw out Ancient Saints, because it must be an extraordinary Saint Weapon!”
Everyone was stunned.
“Buzz”
The void rumbled. No one expected it to appear in Wang Kong City, seeking powerful targets.
Ye Fan frowned. This disc-shaped flying vehicle was enormous, moving at speeds rivaling light—truly astonishing. Its material was also special, comparable to divine materials used for forging Saint Weapons.
“Swish!”
A divine light swept down, heading straight for him. Ye Fan activated the Stride Art, but he was too late. The light pillar was immense, covering nearly half the city.
“Damn it, it’s targeting me!” Ye Fan found himself involuntarily rising with the light pillar, straight toward the azure-gold disc.
Brothers and sisters, did you hear the divine thought transmission? Monthly votes, a little nagging—it’s the first day, and it’s pretty miserable. I’m hoping for your guaranteed monthly votes.
Labor Day, I should work harder, but I have things to do, so I can only update normally. Can’t go all out. (To be continued)