Chapter 104: The People from Six Thousand Years Ago Within the Forbidden Zone
Within the three ancient forbidden zones, ancient trees with gnarled branches stretched out in all directions like coiled flood dragons, each ancient tree soaring into the sky like a small mountain. Thick vines, as wide as water vats, coiled around like massive mountain serpents, each one capable of wrapping around an entire peak, robust and powerful.
If one were unaware of the truth, seeing the lush vegetation and vibrant life here, they would surely think it a pure land. However, upon closer inspection, anomalies quickly become apparent. In this vast forbidden zone, there were no sounds of birds or beasts, no traces of insect activity—it was silent to the point of deathly stillness!
This time, the three families had joined forces, carefully selecting their members. They did not bring many cultivators, totaling no more than eighty people.
"Deep within this forbidden zone of life lie nine sacred mountains. Let our three families advance separately, each climbing one sacred mountain. This will avoid disputes over the uneven distribution of divine medicines," suggested Xu Daoling, the old knight of the Yaoguang Holy Land.
The Yaoguang Holy Land had brought over thirty people, all tall and robust, each riding on strange beasts—massive creatures with brute strength. This was because, whether cultivator or demon beast, once inside this place, the source of divine power would be sealed, making it impossible to use supernatural abilities. The stronger one was, the greater the advantage. The Jiang and Ji families also rode on naturally gifted savage beasts, all for the same reason.
The Jiang family had brought over twenty strong members. Their leader, an old man named Jiang Hanzhong, sat atop a demon elephant covered in black scales, smiling as he said, "Brother Xu, your words are flawed. This place is full of unknown dangers. It's best we advance together. I believe that even if we only climb one sacred mountain, the divine medicines we gather will be enough for all three families to share. For so many years, almost no one has succeeded; we cannot afford to split our forces."
After saying this, Jiang Hanzhong casually glanced at Ye Fan, a strange light flashing in his eyes. Ye Fan's heart tightened instantly. He was especially sensitive to the Jiang family. Two years ago, this aristocratic clan's knights had chased him to the ends of the earth, leaving him no escape.
The old knight Xu Daoling of Yaoguang shook his head and said, "I believe the most terrifying thing in the forbidden zone is the power of the curse. Even if we all gather together, it would be useless. It's better to advance separately; perhaps each of us will find our own fortune."
The Jiang family elder, Jiang Hanzhong, revealed a playful smile, glanced at Ye Fan, and then spoke, "Our Jiang family has only brought over twenty people, insufficient and somewhat thin. I'd like to borrow a few people from Brother Xu."
Ye Fan was entirely covered in divine iron armor, even his head hidden by a helmet, leaving only his eyes exposed. At that moment, he knew the Jiang family had recognized him. There must have been knights among them who had chased him back then.
Xu Daoling of Yaoguang knew that Ye Fan had consumed a sacred fruit, making him more capable than others of resisting the curse. He planned to use Ye Fan to gather divine medicines within the forbidden zone. Now, sensing that the Jiang family also wanted to get their hands on Ye Fan, he refused outright.
The Ji family elder, Ji Yunfeng, watched coldly from the sidelines, sensing the hidden tension between the two. He remained expressionless and said, "It's still too early to discuss this. We can decide when we truly reach the depths of the forbidden zone."
The other two families heeded his advice and continued forward. At first, no one felt anything unusual, but after advancing over ten li, everyone noticed something strange.
"The source of my divine power is no longer surging; it's about to disappear!" A cultivator from the Jiang family was the first to cry out in alarm.
"My life spring has closed; no more divine power flows out." A strong member from Yaoguang also changed color.
Everyone's faces turned grim. Life essence no longer emerged from their bodies, and even their bitter seas were slowly drying up.
"What's there to panic about? This was expected!" The Jiang family elder, Jiang Hanzhong, shouted coldly.
The Ji family elder, Ji Yunfeng, also spoke, "It doesn't matter if the divine power source dries up. We don't need supernatural abilities here. As long as we can withstand the power of the curse, that's enough."
At this moment, Ye Fan felt that the vitality of his life spring had weakened somewhat, but it hadn't dried up; it still flowed steadily. And his golden bitter sea, though somewhat dim, hadn't dried up either.
"Could it be that the potential of the Primordial Saint Body, once awakened, can resist the evil forces of this place?" Ye Fan muttered to himself, unable to calm down. He now had a solid trump card, undoubtedly a killing move.
Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, Wang Ziwen, Li Xiaoman, Zhang Ziling, and Liu Yiyi were also riding on strange beasts, following the group, with several knights responsible for protecting them.
When they advanced over twenty li, many savage beasts began to roar, extremely uneasy. One of the weakest beasts, a striped creature, trembled violently, its body shaking like a sieve, lying prostrate on the ground, refusing to go further.
Ahead, the terrain was gentle, with ancient trees reaching to the sky, branches like giant arms stretching into the high sky, lush and green, showing no signs of abnormality.
Everyone advanced cautiously, no one speaking. They all gripped long spears and sharp swords, ready to charge at any moment. Since supernatural abilities couldn't be used, this was the only option.
When they advanced over two hundred meters, bypassing several ancient trees with diameters of over twenty meters, the mounts at the very front all reared up, throwing the cultivators on their backs to the ground.
Behind an ancient tree, a snow-white skeleton stood upright, facing the crowd, exuding an eerie aura. All the knights retreated, gripping their sharp spears and swords tightly, pointing them forward.
"No signs of life, no fluctuations of divine power, just a skeleton..." Several knights who had been thrown from their mounts strode forward, swinging their long blades to shatter the skeleton.
However, a terrifying thing happened. The moment the skeleton shattered, the several knights all screamed. Their divine iron armor, originally gleaming and impervious to blades, quickly dimmed, making cracking sounds as it fractured, finally falling off like decayed old bark.
The knights' eyes sank deep, their flesh withered, falling like dust. They seemed to have traversed history, experiencing thousands of years, turning to ashes in an instant, leaving only white skeletons that crashed heavily to the ground.
"Retreat!" The Jiang family elder, Jiang Hanzhong, shouted, "No one move!"
Everyone felt an evil force and quickly retreated. The mounts roared uneasily.
The scene just now was terrifying. Seven living lives turned to dust in the blink of an eye, completely vanishing. Such a death sent chills down everyone's spines.
Ahead, it was silent, nothing else happening, leaving only seven white skeletons, even their divine iron armor shattered.
The Ji family elder, Ji Yunfeng, shouted, "Go around from a distance! If you find anything unusual, no one act rashly!"
When they passed through this ancient forest, a knight suddenly screamed in terror, "My..."
He was originally a young cultivator, but now his hands were rough and wrinkled, completely lacking luster. He quickly took off his helmet, trembling as he touched his face, and immediately screamed.
Everyone was horrified. This knight was now covered in wrinkles, with white hair, a hunched body, his life vitality sharply reduced, almost dead of old age.
Next to him, several other knights also let out aged voices, screaming in terror. The same thing happened to them; each had dim, aged eyes, their lives hanging by a thread.
"Why..." One knight, hunched and trembling, his eyes gradually losing their light, then fell from his mount with a thud, completely dead of old age.
Moments later, the other aged knights also died, falling to the ground with eyes wide open. Their mounts also aged rapidly, no longer strong, becoming skinny and sickly, but these strange beasts lived longer than humans and didn't die.
Ye Fan noticed that those who died were the ones who had approached the white skeleton earlier, whose mounts had been startled and thrown them. This made his heart tighten.
The old knight Xu Daoling of Yaoguang warned solemnly, "The terror of the forbidden zone of life is evident. No one should be careless again. Never act rashly."
The journey was heavy with silence. No one spoke, all uneasy, unable to predict life or death.
Ye Fan rode on his savage beast, carefully observing the plants and trees in the mountains. His heart couldn't calm down. He discovered many spiritual herbs, all aged, having grown for who knows how many years.
A dragon-tongue grass glowed green, like carved jade, almost impossible to call grass. It had grown into a green tree, two meters tall, its heart like a small green dragon sticking out its tongue, sparkling with light.
Not far away, in a small lake, a jade lotus shone brilliantly. Its large lotus pod contained nine seeds as big as chicken eggs, crystal clear, green as jade, emitting a refreshing fragrance even from a distance.
However, no one stopped. They had no time to waste. Even if they successfully climbed the sacred mountain and gathered divine medicines, they would die of depleted life force before they could leave this forbidden zone.
A knight from the Jiang family, riding a savage beast glowing with red light, came to Ye Fan's side, riding alongside him, and sneered in a very low voice, "Why aren't you running? Weren't you fast two years ago, scurrying like a stray dog?"
Ye Fan glanced at him and said, "I think you're more like a loyal dog. After more than two years, you can still sniff out my scent."
"Your mouth is quite tough. I wonder if you'll still dare to say that when I slowly carve you up." The knight sneered coldly. "I heard you can't cultivate at all. Truly, ignorance breeds boldness. When the time comes, you won't even know how you died."
"Are you so sure you have me in your grasp, that you'll leave me with no place to be buried?" Ye Fan was very calm, showing no anger.
"Do you want the Yaoguang Holy Land to protect you? Don't daydream. Just obediently go collect sacred medicines for us, and maybe you'll keep a whole corpse. You should clearly understand in your heart that we can't let you leave alive." This knight, named Jiang Feng, revealed a chilling murderous intent. "Of course, I can give you a quick death. If you hand over that heavy treasure, I'll let you die without pain."
"Don't you think it's too early to say these things?" Ye Fan glanced at him indifferently. "In this Ancient Forbidden Land, until the very last moment, who lives and who dies is hard to say. Maybe I'll snap your neck."
The knight named Jiang Feng looked at him contemptuously and said, "Even if my divine power source is temporarily dry, killing you is no different from stepping on an ant. It won't take any effort."
"You're quite confident." A cold smile appeared at the corner of Ye Fan's mouth, and he said nothing more.
Jiang Feng's face carried a cruel smile as he spoke sinisterly, "Three of the five knights who chased you back then are here. We'd love to chase you again. Of course, the outcome this time will definitely be different."
After penetrating over a hundred li into the forbidden zone of life, the nine sacred mountains finally came into view. They weren't particularly tall, but they were majestic, pressing down on everyone with immense pressure, as if the nine heavens and ten lands lay before them.
"That is..."
Everyone couldn't help but gasp, feeling their scalps tingle. From the endless abyss surrounded by the nine sacred mountains, countless white skeletons were climbing up, densely packed, a sea of white.
"How can this be?!" Everyone felt their hair stand on end.
"They are most likely people from six thousand years ago..." The Ji family elder, Ji Yunfeng, had a face full of gravity.
The old knight Xu Daoling of Yaoguang nodded and said solemnly, "Yes, it should be them. Back then, that immortal gate holy land lost countless strong members in the Primordial Abyss. Those are the people."
Ye Fan also felt a chill run down his spine. In that instant, he thought of the Old Madman. The mountain full of bones should be his fellow disciples and old friends.