Chapter 103: The Giant Bronze Coffin Appears Again
A thick fog drifted and swirled, filling the forest with a pungent stench of blood. Amidst the thorns and tangled undergrowth, among the scattered rocks, corpses lay strewn about. Their bodies were either pierced through or torn apart, all with eyes wide open in death.
The vast mountain forest was silent, utterly devoid of sound, a deathly stillness. The old madman's prophecy had come true. As far as the eye could see, bones littered the ground. Everyone was dead, blood dyeing the earth red. He stood there, muttering to himself.
"You were wrong. At least the two of us survived." Ye Fan spoke, his heart still pounding with fear. Not long ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes the scene of over a dozen savage beasts slaughtering cultivators. It was pure butchery; no one could resist.
In that moment, Ye Fan thought he would die as well. Even the powerful elders of the Yaoguang Holy Land and the Jiang Family were helpless before those terrifying strange beasts. But what he hadn't expected was that the old madman stood foolishly in the forest, laughing idiotically, and all those savage beasts actually gave him a wide berth.
"Waaah, waaah, waaah!" The old madman wailed loudly, tears streaming from his cloudy old eyes. He violently tore at his own messy white hair.
"Old man, try to see things more openly. You've walked through over six thousand long years; what is there you can't come to terms with?"
The old madman cried bitterly to the heavens, stamping his feet and beating his chest. Then, like a ghost, he began to wander through the forest. From start to finish, he never once looked at Ye Fan, completely immersed in his own world.
Ye Fan stuck close to his side, afraid those strange beasts might descend again. The old madman, utterly dejected, eventually climbed a stone mountain. Gazing towards the direction of the Ancient Forbidden Land, he stood there in a daze, not moving for a long time, like a fossilized statue. In the end, he stood there for an entire night, his cloudy old eyes never blinking once. It wasn't until the first rays of the morning sun touched his eyes that he came back to his senses.
"The music ends, the people disperse. Gone, scattered. I'll come see you all another time..." The old madman cried out three times, then laughed foolishly and walked down the mountain.
When the crazy, demented old man took a big stride, Ye Fan was shocked to discover that he covered several li in a single step—a true case of shrinking the ground into an inch. If Ye Fan hadn't been supporting him, holding onto his arm, he would have been left far behind without a trace.
"Dao patterns!" At that moment, Ye Fan was greatly startled. Each of the old madman's footprints was extraordinary, interwoven with mysterious lines and patterns, carrying a flavor of naturally formed Dao resonance.
His heart was utterly shaken. The old madman's achievements were unimaginable. Every move he made condensed Dao resonance, casually leaving behind Dao patterns. There was simply no way to estimate his cultivation realm.
"Legend says that 'Dao patterns' are things ancient great powers imprinted after comprehending heaven, earth, and nature, the inheritance of their spiritual insights. For the old madman to spontaneously form 'Dao patterns' with just a casual action... it's terrifying. He's comparable to the legendary ancient great powers. No wonder those strange beasts that could easily kill Holy Land elders avoided him like the plague." Ye Fan muttered to himself, deeply shocked. He focused all his concentration, silently memorizing the patterns on the ground.
He was practically hanging onto the old madman, staring intently at every footprint. Those Dao patterns flashed and vanished, disappearing in an instant. However, these patterns were all the same; each footprint bore an identical mark. It wasn't until they were far from that bone-strewn mountain forest that Ye Fan had completely memorized them.
In the distant mountains, many cultivators were gazing towards the depths of the primeval mountain range, but no one dared to venture in to explore. These people were cautious, sensing that something terrible had happened in the deep forest.
They hadn't followed in yesterday, choosing instead to stop at the outer regions, thus escaping the disaster. Otherwise, there would have been many more corpses in the forest.
Ye Fan looked back. It felt like a lifetime ago. Only he and the old madman had walked out alive. No one could remain calm in the face of that.
The old madman waved his tattered sleeve, sending Ye Fan flying several meters away. Clearly, he intended to leave.
"Old man, please wait. This junior wishes to follow by your side and listen to your teachings." Ye Fan hurriedly chased after him.
The old madman seemed to have sobered up a bit. He looked at Ye Fan with confusion, asking, "Who are you?"
"I..."
"I shouldn't even exist in this world. Do you want to turn into yellow earth with me too?" With that, the old madman waved his sleeve and vanished in an instant.
Ye Fan stood there for a while, then took a detour to leave this mountain range and exit the great mountains.
After returning, Ye Fan saw Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, Li Xiaoman, and Wang Ziwen outside the mountains. They were with their respective sect elders and hadn't ventured deep into the mountains.
Soon, the news spread, shocking the entire Eastern Wasteland.
"Near the Ancient Forbidden Land, a great demon power is about to emerge. Countless terrifying strange beasts guard the place. No one who trespasses can survive. It's even more terrifying than the Demon Emperor's tomb—a true Shura field reaping lives."
This statement quickly spread across the land, unsettling all human cultivators in the Eastern Wasteland. Some directly pointed out that the heart that flew out of the Demon Emperor's tomb two years ago had been inherited by some great demon power. The new generation Demon Emperor was about to appear in the Eastern Wasteland.
Half a month later, both the Yaoguang Holy Land and the Jiang Family once again sent powerful experts to the outskirts of these mountains. According to rumors, a Supreme Elder of the Yaoguang Holy Land and a younger cousin of the Jiang Family Patriarch had arrived together. True big shots had descended, turning that small town into a gathering place for influential figures once more.
Ye Fan didn't leave. He stayed outside the mountains, unwilling to give up. He wanted to wait for things to calm down before finding a way to go deeper.
Over the next ten-plus days, powerful experts ventured deep into the mountains every day to explore, but none returned. It wasn't until the Supreme Elder of the Yaoguang Holy Land and the big shot from the Jiang Family personally set out that people felt the truth might finally come to light.
After a full day and night, the two big shots retreated, their faces pale. An even more shocking piece of news spread across the Eastern Wasteland: the two figures had forcefully opened their immortal eyes, peering hundreds of li into the distance, and had seen a shocking scene—a giant bronze coffin had appeared above the abyss of the Ancient Forbidden Land.
Those powerful strange beasts seemed to want to break into the forbidden zone to retrieve the bronze coffin, temporarily sealing off the outer regions.
When Ye Fan learned of this, he was shocked. Others didn't know what the giant bronze coffin meant, but he understood it perfectly well.
"Didn't it fall into the abyss? How could it appear again?"
Half a month later, more news came. Those powerful strange beasts finally made their move, but it ended in a miserable defeat. Seven strange beasts went in, and not a single one walked out alive.
In the end, those powerful strange beasts stopped blockading the Ancient Forbidden Land and dispersed. The Eastern Wasteland was in an uproar. The appearance of a giant bronze coffin in the Ancient Forbidden Land had touched the nerves of all the major figures. However, no Holy Land or Primordial Aristocratic Clan acted rashly. The fact that those terrifying demon powers had been forced to retreat served as a warning.
A month later, the three superpowers—the Yaoguang Holy Land, the Jiang Family, and the Ji Family—joined forces to venture deep into the Forbidden Zone of Life once more.
This time, quite a few cultivators came, but most were just there to watch the excitement. Few truly intended to go deep. All the various sects were observing.
"Ye Fan, it's you!" Outside the mountains, an extremely beautiful woman showed a surprised expression. Her jade-like body was tall and slender, with graceful curves—a truly devilish figure and a fairy's face. She had a pair of phoenix eyes that slanted slightly upward, giving her a uniquely alluring and captivating temperament.
"Lin Jia!" Ye Fan was also startled. He hadn't expected Lin Jia to spot him. In truth, he already knew that Lin Jia, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and Li Xiaoman were in that small town ahead. This time, the three parties had joined forces and summoned them again, most likely to question them about something.
Not far away, several powerful knights heard the sound and immediately charged over on their mounts.
"He's my friend. Don't misunderstand," Lin Jia quickly called out, and the knights stopped in the distance.
"They are..." Ye Fan asked.
"They're people from the Yaoguang Holy Land. When Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Li Xiaoman, and I want to go out, there's always someone guarding us." Lin Jia shook her head and continued, "These are all matters of the cultivation world. You wouldn't understand anyway. The cultivation world in the Eastern Wasteland is very chaotic right now." She glanced at Ye Fan and asked, "Little Ye, how did you end up here? How have you been these past three years?"
Ye Fan smiled. "I'm fine. Everything's been going smoothly."
"If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. Maybe I can help you solve them."
"No difficulties for now. Here, I congratulate Lin Jie on regaining her youth and becoming beautiful as a flower again."
"Looking for a beating?" She shot him a glance, then smiled charmingly. "It seems you've been doing well these past three years, different from what I imagined." She sighed. "Time flies. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. I really miss the past."
"Maybe one day we can go back."
"The hope is almost zero." Lin Jia lowered her voice as if remembering something. "If you ever run into trouble, you can come find me at the Misty Grotto Heaven. Now, you should leave quickly."
"What's wrong?"
"I have no choice. I'm being forced to return to the Ancient Forbidden Land. If those people find out you've eaten the sacred fruit... you'll be in trouble too. You'd better get far away from here."
Ye Fan didn't say much. He just nodded. "Take care!"
But trouble came anyway. Just a quarter of an hour later, Ye Fan was silently surrounded by over a dozen knights in the mountains. The old knight leading them made Ye Fan very wary. He didn't try to break through, because he could feel a vast, ocean-like terrifying fluctuation from the old man. If he acted rashly, the other party might explode with power instantly.
"I understand why you've come. Fine, I'll go with you." Ye Fan was very calm.
In the end, Ye Fan was taken back to the small town, but he didn't see Lin Jia, Zhou Yi, Li Xiaoman, or Wang Ziwen. The people from the Yaoguang Holy Land had learned that he had eaten a sacred fruit. They disguised him as a knight, planning to use him to pick sacred medicine at a critical moment.
"With your physique, you'll definitely be able to resist the power of the curse. If you pick the sacred medicine, the Holy Land won't treat you unfairly," the old knight warned, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"I understand." Ye Fan nodded, but inwardly he sneered. When the time came to enter the Ancient Forbidden Land, no one knew who would be using whom.
Five days later, the Yaoguang Holy Land, the Jiang Family, and the Ji Family set out for the deep mountains again. From a distance, Ye Fan saw Lin Jia, Li Xiaoman, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Zhang Ziling, and Liu Yiyi. They had all been brought along.
But at this moment, Ye Fan was riding a savage beast, clad in divine iron armor. Those people couldn't recognize him.
This time, there were no terrifying savage beasts blocking the way. The three parties' forces smoothly reached the boundary stele of the Ancient Forbidden Land.
Several chariots shimmering with divine radiance hovered in the sky, not advancing further. Several big shots were preparing to provide support from outside. They didn't dare risk entering themselves, because the Ancient Forbidden Land had the greatest impact on super-strong cultivators. It could even reduce them to ordinary mortals.
Entering the Ancient Forbidden Land again, Ye Fan felt a surge of excitement. Perhaps his great opportunity was about to arrive. At the same time, he thought of the giant bronze coffin. He wondered why it had left the abyss and appeared on the sacred mountain.
"We must pick the sacred medicine!" Several big shots transmitted their voices from the sky, their chariots shimmering with divine radiance.